Opportunity's Heavy Footsteps
With heavy footsteps, the door swung open. Kang Min-ho's father, Kang Du-seong, stepped into view. Choi Jong-hoon, the lawyer who had been standing respectfully in one corner of the room, bowed at a perfect ninety degrees in greeting.
The man who had discarded him like yesterday's trash after he'd given everything. There he stood, right in front of him. A tidal wave of rage crashed over Min-ho. Without realizing it, he clenched his fist tight under the covers. His honest impulse was to kill him on the spot.
Killing Kang Du-seong right there would feel damn good, but it would land him with a life sentence for parricide. Emotions wouldn't solve a thing. Min-ho steadied his breathing and sorted his thoughts.
His goal now was to rise to the pinnacle of JK as a royal family member. In the current JK, he was nothing but the troublemaking young master. To reach the top, he absolutely needed Kang Du-seong's help.
Kang Du-seong's presence was as commanding as ever, even in his younger days. He simply stood there silently, yet the spacious hospital room felt cramped. The room fell into an instant hush, the air freezing solid.
As expected, the look in Kang Du-seong's eyes as he stared at Min-ho was far from ordinary. Truth be told, Min-ho was already outside his sphere of interest. Hadn't he prioritized the stock price over his son's life when the accident happened? Would the '90s make it any different? Sure, there might be degrees of severity, but not much else.
Kang Du-seong stared at his son with lips pressed tight. A father's gaze upon his boy. It brimmed with immense anger and disappointment. His firmly shut mouth opened heavily.
"You worthless punk, just brawling and scraping around..."
Once upon a time, Kang Du-seong had doted on his youngest, Min-ho, so much that even his two older brothers grew jealous. With looks, appetite, and habits mirroring his own—unlike his elder sons, who always hesitated and watched his mood before deciding anything—Min-ho had a firm sense of self and a sharpness that stood out. To Kang Du-seong, who valued clarity in all things, this youngest was a son he could hold in the apple of his eye without pain.
But the moment that son hit puberty, he veered off course. No amount of coaxing or soothing worked; it spiraled beyond control. Kang Du-seong had believed ironclad that this boy would succeed him—yet the axe he trusted chopped mercilessly at his own foot, drawing blood. Where once expectation filled his heart, now only disappointment and rage remained. Their depth was unfathomable.
Love and hate, expectation and disappointment— to Kang Du-seong, Min-ho was truly an object of bittersweet torment.
The first day of his difficult second life. Kang Min-ho's circumstances were even more tangled than anticipated. Yet even in this pitch-black darkness where he couldn't see an inch ahead, Min-ho spotted a slender thread of hope.
The father who had rushed to the hospital upon hearing about his son. That meant affection lingered still.
Kang Du-seong barked again at the silent Min-ho. "I told you as much, and you still haven't pulled yourself together?"
How would the old Kang Min-ho have reacted? Just as Lee Ha-ran had said—either firing back or storming out to chain-smoke on the rooftop.
But he wasn't Kang Du-seong's son anymore. He was Kim Ki-hyuk, secretary general of JK Group's non-ferrous metals division.
He had to climb to the top of JK as a royal family member. To do that, he needed to reclaim lost trust first. Without Kang Du-seong's help, his second life would amount to nothing.
There was no reason to trade a golden spoon for a handful of taffy. If he'd done wrong, he should bow his head and apologize. And if he added a flashy action to it, that would be the icing on the cake.
Showing this changed self would at least earn him a minimal chance.
The hitherto silent Min-ho decided on a move that could flip the board in one go. He quietly slipped out of bed.
Lee Ha-ran, the only one on Min-ho's side, grabbed her son's arm. "Son... why are you getting up all of a sudden?"
None of the three could imagine what Min-ho might do next. He trudged straight toward Kang Du-seong.
He pulled out his one card that could overturn everything in a single play. Boldly, he dropped to his knees.
"Ah... son..."
"Y-Young master..."
Of course, this was just an action to gain momentum. Lee Ha-ran and Choi Jong-hoon were so shocked they couldn't utter a word.
Min-ho began slowly, measuredly. "I'm sorry, Father. I won't let anything like this happen again."
Kang Du-seong didn't show it, but he was just as flustered. He'd come ready to erupt in fury, yet Min-ho's unexpected move left him speechless.
"The accident did happen, but please hear me out this time."
"You think you're the victim, lying here after a brawl? You expect me to buy that?"
"It was a pure accident today. The other guy smashed me in the head with a soju bottle, and when I came to, I was in the holding cell."
To verify, Min-ho glanced at Choi Jong-hoon.
"Is that true?"
"Yes, sir. The other party struck the young master in the back of the head with a soju bottle. He didn't lay a hand on them."
"Which bastard did this to my boy?"
"Suppliers from Daeyeon Pipe, Daesung Rebar, and Seondo Machinery—three places."
No matter how much of a disappointment the kid was, no parent could stay calm seeing him beaten up. Even in the hospital room, Kang Du-seong pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He exhaled a puff of hazy smoke with a sigh.
"Go on."
"I lost my memory and was pinned as the perpetrator with no way out. No witnesses, and the only hope was a confession from them."
"Those punks wouldn't confess easily, and with a suspended sentence hanging over you, things looked grim. How'd you pull it off?"
"I grabbed their throats and shook."
Kang Du-seong's eyes narrowed at the unexpected answer. Curiosity piqued, he prodded indirectly. "I didn't come here to play twenty questions with you."
"I knew who they were and had Choi Jong-hoon check their debts first."
Min-ho's usual hotheaded self would have led with curses and fists in such a spot. Hearing about checking debts, Kang Du-seong asked again. "Why check the debts?"
"Any company like that probably borrowed from JK, or at least came to Myeong-dong for bill discounting."
"You pressured them with debts and bills to get the confession?"
"Yes, Father."
"Grabbed their throats and shook..."
Kang Du-seong stared at his son. The sincerity shone in Min-ho's earnest eyes, actions, words. It defied explanation, but this was starkly different from before.
Using force to break the enemy. Crushing them so they'd never dare again. This was precisely Kang Du-seong's ideal way of handling things decisively.
The corner of Kang Du-seong's mouth twitched faintly. As Min-ho nodded, Choi Jong-hoon cautiously added his testimony. "Everything the young master said is true. He even used that card to extract the confession when they tried framing him."
"What about those punks?"
"We'll handle them by the book."
"Doesn't look good for me to meddle in kids' fights. You take care of the rest."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
Having grasped the situation fully, Kang Du-seong stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and said casually, "What kind of man drops to his knees like that?"
This was Kang Du-seong-speak for: you didn't do wrong, so get up.
Min-ho had to act fast. He rose, clasping his hands politely in front.
Kang Du-seong couldn't help but harbor doubts at this uncharacteristic behavior. "If you didn't do wrong, why kneel to your father?"
"I figured you wouldn't listen otherwise—like the boy who cried wolf."
"So you bowed your head just to achieve your goal?"
"Yes, Father."
His words stirred a mix of thoughts and emotions on Kang Du-seong's face, complex and conflicted. Lee Ha-ran, standing beside him, couldn't resist jumping in. "Dear, I heard from our Min-ho that..."
"I already heard it all from the doctors. You stay quiet."
Kang Du-seong, eyes still fixed on Min-ho, continued. "If this was your fault again, I'd have struck you from the family registry... but rest up."
He turned and headed for the door. Min-ho couldn't let him leave like this. Having imprinted his changed self, he resolved to wring at least a handful of dirt from him.
"Father!"
Kang Du-seong had secretly hoped his son would grab him and ask for something. Without turning, he replied to the call he'd awaited. "I'm listening. Speak."
"Give me a job at JK—something I can do."
"That... you mean it?"
"Yes. I'll handle whatever you assign."
The changed son. A trace of lingering affection. Kang Du-seong gripped the door handle, neither advancing nor turning back. Only the wall clock ticked away.
A heavy silence descended on the room. After an eternity, Kang Du-seong spoke gravely. "Can I trust you one last time?"
"I won't disappoint you."
"Even if I give you the toughest jobs?"
"Give me the chance, and I don't care."
"Rest up."
As Kang Du-seong opened the door, he nodded toward Choi Jong-hoon. The two headed to the rooftop.
After a long silence amid his tangled thoughts, Kang Du-seong spoke. "From your face, it seems you sense the same thing I do."
"Yes, sir."
"What do you make of it?"
"He seems like a completely different person."
Kang Du-seong nodded in agreement without specifics. "Recovery takes a week, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Stick by him for now. If his words hold true, his actions will follow."
"Understood. If I may ask boldly—what's your plan after?"
"I'll give him a shot at the bottom."
The bottom meant JK Credit Info, infamous for its grueling work. Choi Jong-hoon blinked in surprise at the unexpected order. "You mean JK Credit Info?"
"Problem?"
"No, sir."
"Watch him closely for a while—no need to worry about legal team duties."
"Understood."
Kang Du-seong stubbed out his cigarette on the floor and left the hospital. Finishing the rooftop talk, Choi Jong-hoon returned to the room.
Expecting Min-ho to be lying obediently, he was startled to see him up, unbuttoning his patient gown.
"Young master, the doctor said you need another week in bed."
"No time for that now."
"Above all, your health comes first."
"Anyway, what'd you talk about out there?"
Min-ho knew Kang Du-seong's habits perfectly. Chatting with the lawyer meant additional orders.
"Well... um..."
"Father's sending me to JK Credit Info, right? With conditions, of course."
"How did you know?"
"It's the lowliest post."
"Your body's still not right."
"Let's head home first. Lots to do."
"Alright. I'll have the car ready."
Min-ho yanked out the IV needle from his arm and walked out of the hospital.