Chapter 13
***
Han Jun-ho watched TV.
No matter the channel, they were talking about the newly built apartments.
Top-of-the-line apartments.
But inside, they were rebar-less apartments.
"You stupid bastard!!!"
The remote in his hand struck his son on the head.
He had thought of him as a proud son.
He had even studied in the United States and supposedly used advanced, modernized design methods.
And yet that "modernized design method" had ended up being something as stupid as leaving out the rebar?
"Ah, Father..."
His son was trembling all over.
Leaving out the rebar.
Swapping premium materials for cheap Chinese-made ones.
The fraud his son had committed up to now was being reported in the news.
"Father... h-how do I... What do I do..."
The terrified son knelt trembling before him, head bowed and sniffing.
A pitiful, foolish sight utterly unsuited to his large frame.
"Pathetic bastard..."
Han Jun-ho's growl was full of contempt and rage.
He had built the company from scratch with his bare hands.
Along the way, there was one iron rule he could never compromise on.
That was the principle: "Never compromise."
At the very least, when building the homes people live in, he would never compromise on safety.
Leave out the rebar?
Why would he do some insane shit like that?
That's why Saseong had long been famous for building premium buildings.
Buildings that were still perfectly fine even after more than a hundred years.
And yet.
And yet his own son had ruined all of that.
Even so, Han Jun-ho couldn't abandon his son.
Like it or not, he was still his son.
"...I don't know what to do with you."
"Father..."
"Don't come to work from now on. And the company... I'll leave it to Yuna."
"Father!! Just once! Just one more chance!!"
He couldn't let a man like this lead the company.
He stood up and made a phone call.
He called a deputy chief prosecutor he knew well at the prosecutor's office and said in a flat voice.
"...I was the one who ordered this."
For his son, he had decided to bear the disgrace.
***
"There's... a problem with the apartment we're currently building?"
Chairman Han Jun-ho's voice was trembling.
An expression of disbelief.
Suspicious eyes turned to me and Han Yuna.
"Yes."
"Our son wouldn't do something like that. Yuna. No matter what, he's your brother. To slander him like this..."
Han Yuna didn't answer.
She merely wore a shocked expression as well.
"They say it's common practice in the construction industry... but this seems too severe for common practice."
"......."
Fury crept onto Chairman Han Jun-ho's face.
What do you think you're doing?
How dare some orphan nobody like you...
...slander my son, the son who was raised on Han Jun-ho's management philosophy?
But what can he do if it's the truth?
"I may have stepped back from the front lines, but I'm still the group chairman. Are you saying they did something like that without my permission?"
"Didn't the company have an executive director named Jang Yoon-geol?"
"How...?"
His eyes shifted to Han Yuna, wondering if she had told him.
But Han Yuna shook her head.
Looking at him seriously, as if to prove her innocence, Chairman Han Jun-ho turned to me.
"...Are you saying Jang Yoon-geol would know the details?"
"Yes. He's in charge of business operations, so he should know the details."
I didn't know the exact details either.
What I saw was Han Jun-ho's future.
He would take the blame in his son's place and receive a thirty-year prison sentence.
And in the end, Chairman Han Jun-ho would die in prison.
This healthy man.
This passionate man, whose convictions and management philosophy had collapsed.
And after being devastated by the fact that he had completely failed as a father, he'd waste away and be gone.
"Chairman Han is a good man."
Though he's only at the bottom of South Korea's top thirty chaebol groups.
He is a chaebol.
Even so, he was down-to-earth.
He never hesitated to help people in need, and he wanted to be with his employees.
On top of that, he built quite a few orphanages, helping orphans like me.
"I don't think such a bitter ending is right for a man like that."
"......"
His expression had hardened to the point where he could no longer say anything.
He didn't seem inclined to hear any more from me.
"...I should be going now."
"Leaving already?"
It feels like he came and left almost as soon as he arrived.
Instead of answering my question, Chairman Han Jun-ho turned and left the party hall.
"Chairman! Chairman!"
Some of the people who had come to the party because he did had followed Han Jun-ho.
But well...
"Is my job done here?"
"...Uh. Yes. A much bigger story came out than I expected, though."
"What kind of result were you hoping for..."
"I just wanted you to catch your father's eye. If you caught the eye of one of Korea's top thirty conglomerates, your profile would rise too."
She looked around.
And then she brought up the story that only the two of us had just heard.
"But... is it really true?"
"What? The rebar-less apartment? Yes. Hmm. Judging by the result alone, that would be unfortunate for Han Yuna."
That incident would make Han Yuna the heir.
Of course, Saseong would be shaken badly.
In any case, he had thrown away the chance to firmly secure the heir's seat.
"There will be... casualties, right?"
"Yes."
About twenty workers would die, and more than fifty would be injured.
"Then that's fine."
She let out a snort of laughter.
"Because I have no intention of rising on people's blood money."
Then that's a relief.
***
Han Jun-ho couldn't trust the documents.
It was real.
That young fortune-teller he had met at the party he attended at his daughter's insistence.
The words of the con artist named Kang Noa were true.
'How could this happen...'
Staring blankly at the contents written on the documents, he let out a sigh.
A son he had trusted.
A son he had relied on.
But that trust had now collapsed.
"Bring me Han Kyung-il."
"Yes."
After the secretary left, a short while passed.
Han Kyung-il, the well-dressed president of Saseong Construction, came in.
"Chairman. You called for me."
"Pathetic bastard."
"...Huh? Wh-what is this all of a sudden?"
The papers flew through the air.
Han Kyung-il picked them up and stiffened as he read them.
"H-how could you know this..."
How had he hidden it?
To keep it from reaching his father's ears, he had thoroughly filled the relevant positions with his own people.
How on earth had his father found out?
Han Kyung-il desperately tried to explain himself.
"W-well, according to the latest methods, this amount of rebar..."
"Step down from the president's seat."
"F-father...!!"
"From the beginning."
Han Jun-ho was cold.
"Learn it again from the beginning."
So much so that he could ignore his screaming son.
Before long, Han Jun-ho glared at his son being dragged away by the secretary, then leaned back in his chair.
Only a few days had passed, but he looked ten years older.
'By the way, what on earth is he...?'
Kang Noa.
A man who had just become an adult.
But he had gotten everything exactly right.
What kind of man was he, exactly?
Han Jun-ho called for his secretary.
"Look into a man named Kang Noa."
"Yes."
And so the investigation into Kang Noa began.
Surprisingly, there was nothing.
He had absolutely nothing to do with Saseong.
The only connection was the thread that tied him to Han Yuna through a part-time job.
-Chairman Han is a good man.
Kang Noa's words came back to him.
A good person.
That's not exactly welcome praise when it comes to running a company.
But for some reason, the back of his neck itched.
'Ahem. Well, I have lived well, haven't I?'
Even if I did botch raising my child.
Still, I think I've lived with not a single shameful thing to answer to the heavens for.
That was why he became interested.
"That fellow. Find out what he's been up to lately. And... look into Sejin Trade as well."
His daughter Yuna said she was dating him, but according to the secretary's investigation, there was no sign of that.
Maybe it was meant to lend weight to Kang Noa's words.
But whatever the reason, the fact remained that Yuna was showing interest in him.
"If he's someone my daughter is interested in, then I should support him. Right."
Didn't I have an eye for judging people accurately?
Absolutely not.
Chairman Han Jun-ho grinned, thinking absolutely not because he was calling himself a good person.
On the wall,
there were numerous orphanage photos hanging there, each showing him with the orphans.
***
"Then that'll be all for today."
-Please just check mine before you go!!
-Bro!!! Please!! Just tell us where we're supposed to apply!!
I cut off the viewers' desperate pleas to keep me there.
The broadcast was going better than I expected.
Today's earnings alone should be two million won.
If this keeps up, I'll rank among the top on Chajajak.
Even on internet portals and gallery boards, people were talking about me.
My recognition is going up fast.
-Ring ring!!
Huh? Who is it?
It was Han Yuna.
Yes.
"-Mr. Kang. This is Han Yuna. Is this a good time to talk?"
Yes.
"-My father said he'd like to meet you. If it's okay with you, would you like to meet together?"
So Chairman Han Jun-ho wanted to see me.
I searched YouTube's news channels.
Among the news items was a short report that the apartment currently being built by Saseong Construction had been halted, and that during the process, missing materials such as rebar had been discovered through an internal audit.
A brief report that the current president had been dismissed caught my eye.
"Is Chairman Han okay?"
"-The stock price has dropped a bit, but Father is fine."
It was resolved before anything blew up, so there was no problem.
There are some legal issues too, but Saseong's legal team will handle that part just fine.
Then that's good.
"I'm available anytime."
We even did a raid yesterday.
"-Then I'll see you tomorrow."
Yep.
Tomorrow, huh.
Looks like I'll be eating something delicious tomorrow night.
The next evening, Han Yuna came to pick me up herself.
It was a fairly expensive-looking sports car.
Just looking at it, it was sparkling like it was brand new...
"Do you usually drive around in cars like this?"
"No. I prefer a domestic midsize car over this."
"Then why...?"
"I thought you might like it, Mr. Kang."
"I don't even have a license."
"......"
It hadn't even been a year since I became an adult and left the orphanage.
Why would someone like me have a driver's license?
And I don't really like driving.
Seoul's public transportation is so good.
"I-I see. Actually, I was planning to give it to you, Mr. Kang."
"This?"
I don't know much about cars, but isn't this almost the price of an apartment?
"Yes."
"I'll have to decline."
You might as well give me money instead.
Han Yuna gave a bitter smile and nodded.
"Understood. Get in first."
I got into the seat beside her.
Seriously.
It's really, disgustingly uncomfortable.
They say cars like this make a great impression when you step out.
Seeing my expression and apparently guessing what I was thinking, Han Yuna said with a grin.
Step-out prestige, huh.
I'm not really interested in that sort of thing.
"Then allow me to chauffeur you."
The sports car roared away with an obnoxiously loud engine.
Hah.
Is this Moses' miracle?
Not only did no cars cut in on the road, even the cars ahead moved over to the next lane.
The pleasantly smooth ride stopped at a luxurious hanjeongsik restaurant.
It was the place I'd come to with the Hong sisters before.
"The spicy pork stir-fry here is delicious."
"Have you been here before?"
Yes.
"Ah... I see. Anyway, let's go in."
Following her, we went inside.
When we entered the back room, Chairman Han Jun-ho was waiting.
"Mr. Kang."
"You can just call me Kang Noa."
"No, how could I? You're the one who protected not only our company, but also the workers and employees."
Chairman Han Jun-ho took my hand tightly.
And then he bowed his head seriously.
"You have my heartfelt gratitude."
"Haha..."
"And... I have one favor to ask."
"Oh? Yes. Please, go ahead."
"Actually, our company has one project in the works. It's on the overseas construction side..."
His eyes lit up.
"It looks promising??"
Hmm.
Overseas construction, huh.
I held out a card.
When he turned it over, I told him the future I'd seen.
"It's a construction problem on the Iranian side."
"As expected...!! Right. What do you think will happen? We're currently competing with Daehan Construction for the contract..."
"If you win that project, you won't get paid."
"Why not? Iran isn't that bad..."
"
"War is going to break out in that country."