Chapter 55
***
Stee Construction president Kwon Woo-byeong licked his lips.
'If I can just get my hands on Kang Ho-tae.'
Kang Ho-tae was a well-known figure in Gwangmyeong City.
A native of Gwangmyeong.
On top of that, his late father had quite a bit of wealth, but rather than using it to make more money, he had opened an orphanage.
His kind-hearted nature.
And if there were neighbors in hardship, he never hesitated to go out and help them.
He also seemed to be on good terms with several political figures.
Kwon Woo-byeong needed someone like him.
'I'd be the kingmaker.'
He would turn Kang Ho-tae into a city councilman.
He had considerable popularity in Gwangmyeong City.
What if the man who had turned down several invitations to run took support and backing from him and became a city councilman?
'Then I'd be able to control him.'
Kwon Woo-byeong took a sip of his mix coffee.
More than the sweetness, the delightful vision of a rosy future was making him flush.
'He'll refuse, of course. But orphanage buildings are already being built with my support.'
How much did it cost to build even one building?
And he had told Kang Ho-tae that he would use only the best materials for the buildings.
Though that was a lie.
The outside looked respectable, but the inside was only average quality.
Of course, for a building at an orphanage, it was pretty decent.
Anyway, he had accepted it, and they were gradually building up a relationship.
'It's almost done.'
He recalled Kang Ho-tae, whom he had met a few days earlier.
Drunk to the gills, he had bowed and scraped while calling him "brother" and brought up the city councilman idea.
There are quite a few children in Gwangmyeong City who are struggling and suffering right now.
There are also many neglected elderly people.
If you became a city councilman and helped them, wouldn't that also be Jesus' will..
He had initially denied it, but the idea that he could help more people seemed to be tempting him little by little.
Good.
From now on, all he had to do was slowly make proposals, show him the taste of power, and make him move as he wished.
"Heh heh heh..."
If Kang Ho-tae became a city councilman, he would support him and take a big slice of the construction projects in Gwangmyeong City.
And if he went further and put Kang Ho-tae forward to become a provincial assemblyman in Gyeonggi-do, and maybe even a National Assembly member if things went well?
Naturally, wouldn't he himself be able to aim for a higher position afterward?
A dazzling rosy future was unfolding in his mind.
"President."
Then came a knock.
"Come in!! What is it?"
"Director Kang Ho-tae has come to see you."
"Oh my. We have an honored guest. Show him in."
"Yes."
After the secretary went out, a moment later the door opened.
Kang Ho-tae came in.
Bringing a young man with him.
'That stupid bitch...'
If he had brought someone with him, shouldn't he have said so?
He let out a deep sigh inwardly and glanced toward the door.
'Once I get more successful, I'll replace that bitch and hire a proper secretary.'
He wanted to storm out and rain curses on her right then and there, but he endured it.
Because he needed to leave a good impression on Kang Ho-tae.
So he greeted Kang Ho-tae with a smile.
"Oh my!! Brother! What brings such a distinguished guest all the way to this humble place? Hahaha!! And who's that beside you...?"
"Hello. My name is Kang Noah."
"Oh... A Kang? Perhaps he's your hidden son?"
As far as he knew, Kang Ho-tae had no children.
But a young man that grown.
And even his surname was Kang.
It was suspicious, wasn't it?
If it had been a youthful mistake.
If he was revealing his secret because he trusted him.
It was a good opportunity for Kwon Woo-byeong, who was already thinking of tossing Kang Ho-tae aside as soon as he became unnecessary.
"Haha. No, no. He came from our orphanage."
"Ah... really?"
"Yes. Due to circumstances, I gave him my surname."
"I see. Anyway, he's a very handsome young man. As expected, he grew up under you, brother."
"Haha... He's nothing but a troublemaker. The reason I came to meet you today, President Kwon, was to introduce him to you."
"Oh... If you've come to ask me for a job..."
"Haha. I'm only twenty and haven't even graduated college yet, so I can't just be hired in right away."
"No, there are openings on site..."
"That's not it. I heard you were helping our orphanage, so I came to pay my respects."
"Ah, I see. Nice to meet you. I was moved by my brother's lofty spirit and noble intentions, so I wanted to help the orphanage a little."
"Oh-ho. So you mean it was pure goodwill."
"Of course. Of course."
He nodded like a roly-poly doll.
Unaware that the young man in front of him.
Was smiling very coldly.
***
As expected, he was trash and a conman.
As I'd seen in the future where he exploited the director, his past couldn't be described as good, even in the politest terms.
Cooking the books was standard practice, and giving bribes to politicians or civil servants was something he took for granted.
He didn't even care about sending gangsters to where the landowner was in order to buy land for a pittance.
Was that all?
Beating people up was routine, and stealing foreign workers' passports and not paying their wages were as natural to him as breathing.
That was why I made my decision.
This guy couldn't be left alone.
"What kind of person does he seem to you?"
"He's not a good person."
"...Haa. I knew it."
After meeting Kwon Woo-byeong and returning to the orphanage, the director let out a feeble sigh.
"Then... what now? The building is already being built. Should I tell him to stop and go away?"
"What? Why would we stop it?"
"...What are you talking about?"
"The building is a donation anyway, isn't it?"
"Well, yes..."
"And that's why that man got tax breaks and all sorts of benefits too."
Take what can be taken.
And cut off what needs to be cut off.
Why should we bother destroying a building that's already going up?
"I checked, and those buildings seem like they'll be built properly. So we should take what's given."
"...I-Is that okay?"
Of course, if we just took the building and wiped our hands of it, Kwon Woo-byeong wouldn't sit still.
And the director knew that too.
"Why did you stay close to him if you knew he wasn't a good person?"
"Hey. Try running an orphanage yourself. You can't afford to separate good money from bad money."
And among the people he thought were evil, there were often some with surprisingly soft hearts.
"You know Seon-gyu, right?"
"Yeah. Yes, I know him."
He was someone who left the orphanage when I was ten, I think.
"Seon-gyu's surgery was paid for by a National Assembly member everyone called trash."
"Huh!? Really?"
"Yeah. Of course, he probably did it for his own popularity, but to Seon-gyu, he was still the man who saved his life."
"Well, I guess that's true."
"The rooms where the kids sleep and the classroom are old too..."
In many ways, the situation really was bad.
He let out a heavy sigh.
"If things keep going like this and I die, I'm worried that running Hosanna Orphanage will grind to a halt."
"Don't worry. You'll be nowhere near dying yet, Director."
"Hmph."
Snorting, he let out a sigh and said.
"And cut back on the money you send to the orphanage. You made that cash through hard work, so should you really be spending it like that?"
He hadn't exactly earned it through hard work.
Because the company where he was registered as an outside director paid him a salary just for breathing.
And the amount he sent each month wasn't even that different from other donors.
"Good grief. And you're the one saying I blew away the Go-stop money I worked like a dog to earn?"
"You brat! That... that's different."
Well, anyway, this seemed like it could be resolved that way.
I picked up my phone.
In fact, squeezing a small local construction company like that wasn't very difficult for me.
If I made one call to Saseong and asked for a favor, I could dry up his funding and bring him down right now.
But then who would build the orphanage building?
Let's call someone else.
Wasn't there someone who could help in times like this?
"Hello. Prosecutor Gu Nam-cheol. Hope you've been well."
-Oh my! Isn't that Mr. Kang?! For such an amazing person to even call a nobody prosecutor like me...
"Come on. A nobody prosecutor?"
-I am a nobody, yes. My goodness. You're a hero who saved countless children from facing death.
As expected, he was indeed a viewer who kept up with my broadcasts faithfully.
So he knew about what happened in America.
-By the way, what brings you here?
"Prosecutor. Sorry, but... could you do me a favor?"
Gu Nam-cheol fell silent.
And then he burst into laughter so hard it nearly blew out the phone.
-Hahahahahahaha!!! Of course!! Should I go clean your house for you, sir?
"Hey, I don't need that. The thing is..."
I explained the current situation at Hosanna Orphanage.
And also about Kwon Woo-byeong.
After listening quietly, he only spoke calmly once I was done.
-So you're saying that once the building is up at the orphanage, you want me to arrest that bastard right away.
"Yes."
-I'm sure he's guilty of something. Hm. Then this won't be difficult. When do you think the building will be completed?
"About half a year?"
-Understood. Then I'll have everything ready right away.
Good. That's settled.
Since Prosecutor Gu Nam-cheol was stepping in, there shouldn't be a problem.
I hung up the phone, then looked at the director who was staring blankly at me and grinned.
"I should've asked you to arrest the thief who stole somebody else's Go-stop money too."
"....Could you let that one slide."
.
.
.
I went to the orphanage and then came back home.
After seeing Mr. Cheolhon off, who looked pretty worn out from the kids, I went to the café.
I ordered a latte.
When I was sitting there in my corner seat, sipping it, the café door opened.
"Huh?!"
"Ahahaha~! I'm here~!"
It was Hong Si-yeon.
Had she come back from America?
She was carrying a small luxury paper bag in her hand.
"When did you get here?"
"You're asking while knowing full well. I just got here."
She had come to see me right after arriving in Korea.
She smiled brightly and held out the paper bag.
"What's this?"
"A present~! Open it."
Inside the paper bag was a watch box.
A wristwatch.
One that looked really expensive.
"Such a valuable thing..."
"Eh. It's not as valuable as you, Noah. And I bought a bunch of other things besides this too, so I'll give them to you later over dinner... Huh? What's wrong?"
I looked past her as she naturally started making dinner plans.
"There's another customer."
Through the window beyond the café, I could see a man.
A foreigner.
The door slowly opened.
A massive white man in a suit came our way and bowed his head.
"Hello. Mr. Kang. I am..."
"Could you turn this over for me?"
I wasn't particularly surprised to hear fluent Korean from the white man.
I simply held out the card.
He smiled, and promptly flipped the card over.
The Tower, reversed.
Before he could say anything, I spoke first.
"You're Bill Stanley from the FBI. Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Noah."
That man hadn't come chasing after Hong Si-yeon.
It had simply been a coincidence.
And it's no secret that I appear in Jongno often.
A quick internet search would turn that up immediately.
As I stopped her just as her expression sharpened and she was about to say something, Bill gave an awkward smile.
"...As expected, you're impressive. Then let me get straight to the point... no, you probably already know, don't you?"
When he asked politely, I nodded.
"The FBI caught a member of a terrorist organization, and through him you want to know where the next attack will happen?"
Bill's polite expression completely collapsed.
There was only one thing to see on his face.
Shock.