The King of Labor (1)
Yoon-gi never reported to JSD that he was planning to build a department store from the very beginning. There was simply no need to. If he were to submit the paperwork and it got rejected, that would be the time to use his influence. If he followed a procedure of reporting and seeking approval from the start, he would only increase the chances of being devoured later. Of course, in this era, it was difficult to process official documents without bribes. Under normal circumstances, he would have had to pay a significant amount in bribes just for standard document processing, but when Ryu Geun-tae presented the business card of JSD that he had received from Yoon-gi, the absurdly high bribe amount turned into "trivial pocket change." Furthermore, the intended use of the department store was not an issue at all. After all, the director of the department store was none other than the second son of the former U.S. Army General, Guster.
"I’d like to send my eldest son as the director, but that kid is currently on the elite track in the military. On the other hand, my second son has been working at a private company after his short-term service, but with my halo and his brother's, the military won't be able to touch him."
It was a harvest beyond imagination. Yoon-gi had expected some distant relative or acquaintance of Guster to come as the director, but Guster had sent his own second son. Of course, in return, he had to play a few violin pieces for Guster's granddaughter, Merrill, but compared to what he had gained, it was hardly a price to pay.
"Merrill likes your violin playing. I hope you don't mind if I ask you to play for her occasionally? Though I say occasionally, it would only be once or twice during her school breaks."
Even though Merrill was 17 by Korean standards, she still seemed unable to shed her shyness, hiding her body behind Guster. Furthermore, Yoon-gi was well aware that Merrill had a crush on him. Before his regression, he had lived a life completely disconnected from women, but in this life, he was living a life receiving the affection of many members of the opposite sex.
'I have no intention of taking advantage of her goodwill, but it’s a shame I don’t have the time to worry about dating right now.'
Perhaps because his violin performance, filled with that sense of regret, had resonated with her, Merrill's affection seemed to remain, and the meeting with Guster ended successfully. In the room, Choi Deok-bae brought up the subject to Yoon-gi, who was lying on the mattress. Yoon-gi looked at Choi Deok-bae with a look of feigned contempt.
"Hmm..., considering the nonsense you've spouted so far..."
"Alright, alright. I get it." Yoon-gi nodded at Choi Deok-bae's words. "She is pretty. But I’m in a situation where I’m so short on time that I wish I had two bodies, so I don’t have the capacity to invest in other things."
Considering their ages, it was impossible for them to attend middle school, let alone high school, together. Furthermore, since Yoon-gi was scheduled to enter Gyeonggi High School, it was effectively concluded that it would be impossible for Merrill to have contact with Yoon-gi during his school days. Maybe after Yoon-gi entered university? If Merrill maintained her girlish crush on him until then, that would be a good thing, and even if not, once the department store business got on track, Guster would help from a business perspective anyway, so there was nothing to worry about.
"Did that thief say that?"
"That guy from my past life must have been born with good luck."
The conversation between Yoon-gi and Choi Deok-bae lasted longer than expected. It was also because his maternal grandfather was coming soon. As he was waiting for an important favor, he needed to relieve some tension.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Yoon-gi, your grandfather is here, are you not even going to show your face?"
At Brigadier General Colson's voice, Yoon-gi snapped to attention, threw the door open, and hugged his grandfather. "I'm sorry. I was lost in thought and didn't hear you coming."
Brigadier General Colson patted Yoon-gi's head. "I thought you were already tired of this old man. Anyway, what kind of favor do you want to ask?"
Originally, Yoon-gi had said he would visit him, but Brigadier General Colson had insisted on coming himself. Lately, there were other happy events besides Yoon-gi.
"Ah, can we talk in my room?"
"No reason why not." Brigadier General Colson closed the door and sat in Yoon-gi's desk chair, while Yoon-gi sat on the mattress, and they looked at each other.
"So, what is it?"
"It's nothing else, but I heard that a major incident is currently unfolding in Gwangju."
"How do you know about that...?"
The current date was May 19th. It had been 24 hours since the Gwangju Democratization Movement had broken out.
"I accidentally overheard Colonel JSD talking to another soldier."
"Hmm, you're so friendly that he must have made such a mistake. But what is the favor you want to ask regarding that? It doesn't quite come to mind..."
Yoon-gi carefully brought it up. "Could you possibly have your subordinates film the actions of the martial law troops?"
"Film them?"
"Yes. In my opinion, this will become the Achilles' heel of the new military regime."
Yoon-gi gave a reason different from his true intentions to persuade Brigadier General Colson. In fact, the reason Yoon-gi was asking Colson for photos was none other than the minimum conscience a human being possesses. He was troubled by whether he should just stand by while knowing the historical fact that many people were being massacred. However, no matter what scenario he drew up, he concluded that he couldn't stop it. Ask JSD to stop this? Even if he made up an excuse that he got the information from his grandfather, JSD wasn't the second-in-command at this time, so he didn't have the capacity to make such a suggestion. Furthermore, he wasn't the type to say things that would offend JD in the first place. Then, ask JD? Not only was there no connection to JD, but to persuade JD, who had now seized power, he would have to send Guster, not Brigadier General Colson. But Guster could only go as far as a meeting, and for a former U.S. Army General to tell the leader of another country what to do was interference in internal affairs, so Guster had no reason to help. While their interests aligned on the department store business, what happened in Gwangju had nothing to do with Guster. Furthermore, Choi Deok-bae's advice also prevented him from influencing things without thought. Yoon-gi intended to use the power of the new military regime, but basically, he wasn't in a position to support them; he was just creating connections to prevent 'unexpected situations.'
Yoon-gi's ears caught the sound of his grandfather's voice as he was contemplating his conversation with Choi Deok-bae.
"...Yoon-gi, Yoon-gi!"
At the slightly raised voice, Yoon-gi snapped to his senses and blinked his eyes a few times.
"Why are you closing your mouth while talking?"
"Ah..., I'm sorry. I must have been tired lately."
Brigadier General Colson patted Yoon-gi's head with a worried expression. "Don't overwork yourself. I know you live diligently, but you're still at an age where you can play."
"Thank you, Grandfather." Yoon-gi smiled softly and continued. "As I said just now, this situation will become the Achilles' heel of the new military regime. Because a ruler's massacre of civilians will remain as a stain; it can never be an advantage."
"Well, I'm only telling you this, but the U.S. side has a similar judgment to yours. They judge that if they don't intervene in this matter, they can hold JD by the throat."
Yoon-gi nodded. "That's why I'm asking. Don't stop JD, but please take pictures of the situations unfolding from this. If JD falls from power later, we can recover quite a bit of the money that went into him until he falls through those materials. If we do it well, it could be even more than that."
"What if JD doesn't fall?"
"There's no such thing as an eternal dictator, is there?"
Colson thought for a moment and nodded. "It's not a very easy task, but it's not a difficult one either. I can't send many, but I'll send about 3 or 4. My subordinates will depart by tomorrow morning."
"Thank you!" Yoon-gi hugged his grandfather and let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
'This era is one where if you get on the wrong side of the military, you lose everything. Your property, your family, and your own life. Military, the moment your power falls, I will stab a knife into your backs.'
Recalling the sight of his grandfather bowing his head to military figures in his study when he was young, Yoon-gi quietly gritted his teeth.
"Anyway, it seems like we're done talking, so let's go out now."
Brigadier General Colson stood up with a face full of anticipation and headed to the living room.
"Are you done talking?"
Yoon-gi's mother, Park Yeon-ji, was holding a child who looked about three years old.
"Yes, is Jung-ah growing well?"
"Of course. Look."
Yoon-gi's younger sister, Choi Jung-ah, had clear skin and thick hair. Brigadier General Colson burst into laughter as he looked at his granddaughter, then looked around and asked his daughter.
"Are your in-laws and husband still busy these days?"
Park Yeon-ji nodded. "They practically live at the company these days. They're making such a fuss about wanting to see Jung-ah."
It was a chaotic time, but Yoon-gi's baby sister was sleeping soundly in her mother's arms without a single worry.
'Time really goes by incredibly fast...'
Looking at his younger sister's face, which was innocence itself, Yoon-gi felt the passage of time anew. It had already been three years since he heard the news of his mother's pregnancy. His sister was born the year before last, and last year was her first birthday party. However, Yoon-gi had been spending such busy days that it wasn't easy to realize those things.
'To think I'm already 13, I don't think I'd realize how 12 years passed if I didn't think about it carefully. But this life is much happier than the old life that felt unnecessarily long.'
A smile formed on his lips automatically.
"Can I hold her?"
At his grandfather's words, Yoon-gi, who had come to his senses, looked at his family again. His grandfather wanted to hold his granddaughter.
"Of course. Once she falls asleep, she doesn't know if someone carries her away. She thinks of her parents in a different way than Yoon-gi does."
Brigadier General Colson, who received his granddaughter, looked at her with a warm smile. "I was worried that since Yoon-gi resembles you, if a granddaughter was born, she might resemble your husband, but I'm really glad both of you resemble you."
At Colson's words, not only Yoon-gi but also Park Yeon-ji and the housekeepers covered their mouths and held back their laughter.
'A younger sister who resembles my father..., at least I don't think some strict guy will take her away.'
His younger sister wouldn't have that happen now either, but Yoon-gi suddenly thought that such a world would also be fun.
* * *
July 1980. Construction finally began. Since construction was difficult in winter, there was a high possibility that delaying it further would push the construction itself to next year, and since approval had been granted in terms of procedure, there was no reason to dawdle.
"Come on, move quickly! We have to finish as much as possible before winter comes!"
The shouts of the labor foremen echoed throughout the site, and the sweat of the construction workers poured onto the summer ground. Even under these conditions, there were many who wanted to work at the construction site, and among them, there were many who wanted to work but were late in lining up and were left sucking their fingers. Representatively, Oh Joong-seon's group. It had been a long time since they received a request from Choi Cheol-min to crush the construction site, but Oh Joong-seon waited patiently for 'that day,' and finally, they were able to confirm the construction taking place at Cheonggyecheon.
"Ah, if we had discovered this at dawn, we could have worked."
At the words of one of the gang members, Oh Joong-seon shook his head. "No, let's enter in about 2 weeks."
"In 2 weeks?"
"Yeah. If we go in right now, we'll just end up doing all the foundation work or something. There's no need to waste our energy on that."
"Then what?"
"That's why let's go in 2 weeks later. And if we enter as soon as construction starts, we might arouse unnecessary suspicion."
"Why?"
Oh Joong-seon struck the back of the gang member's head hard.
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
"You idiot, we begged them to take us in before, but if we show up as soon as the construction site starts, anyone would think, 'How did these guys show up at this timing?' They might have forgotten our faces, but it's much better to go a little late than to take unnecessary risks."
The younger brother who was hit on the back of the head rubbed his head while letting out a servile laugh. "Hehehe..., as expected of you, Boss. By the way, if this job goes well, will it really be like you said?"
Oh Joong-seon nodded. "I told you. You guys will definitely get a 50-seat room salon each, right?"
Although he was thinking of ripping off ten 500-seat room salons for himself, Oh Joong-seon was hiding the talk about such compensation from his subordinates as much as possible.
"Kuh, as expected of you, Boss. We will only trust you."
"Yeah, just follow me. If this job goes well, we just have to be called 'Boss' and touch the thighs of madams."
The gang members, who didn't dream of Oh Joong-seon's inner thoughts, imagined a dream-like future while listening to Oh Joong-seon. And a moment later, one of the gang members asked a question.
"But Boss, how do you plan to destroy the construction site?"
"That pushover said it. It's not about destroying the construction site, but destroying the construction itself."
"What does that mean?"
Oh Joong-seon opened his mouth with a sinister smile. "It's making that building collapse later."
"What? Is that possible?"
Oh Joong-seon continued as if he was frustrated. "You idiot, what's difficult about that? Just mix impurities into the concrete. Mix it roughly, and make the color a bit lighter. If you do that in various places in the building, there's no problem, right? And later, if you secretly spray corrosive substances during interior work, it will definitely collapse within a few years."
The gang members who heard the explanation all gave a thumbs up without exception.
"Wow, as expected of you, Boss!"
Everyone was impressed, and 2 weeks passed. Oh Joong-seon's group succeeded in entering the construction site by mixing in with hundreds of day laborers.
* * *
August. Even in the heat that was getting hotter, construction was constantly taking place. Thanks to the popsicles supplied almost infinitely by Yoon-gi's instructions, the workers were still quite satisfied and worked hard on construction, and thanks to that, the department store was being built quickly.
"Boss, you're here!"
The workers bowed their heads to Ryu Geun-tae, who was next to Yoon-gi, not Yoon-gi, and then started working again. Internally, Yoon-gi was Ryu Geun-tae's superior, but externally, Ryu Geun-tae would be the president of this department store. Because there was still much more profit to be gained through the non-taxable sector.
'The loyalty of the workers is being drawn out just by the price of popsicles that doesn't cost much.'
Ryu Geun-tae was impressed by Yoon-gi's instructions, but he walked slowly and through various places so that Yoon-gi could look around the construction site well. Thanks to this, Yoon-gi was able to see the sight of 'my own' being built, not 'someone else's,' for the first time in his life. However, at some point, Yoon-gi's footsteps stopped.
'Here..., something is strange?'
It was the moment when his intuition from 25 years of labor life was activated.