It was a familiar road to home.
Kim Hyunsung walked down an alley lined with shabby villas, and while reflecting on his memories, he headed toward his long-time home.
[Sun Villa]
An old building that would not be strange if it collapsed at any moment.
The basement of the building, which was worth barely 50 million won at current market prices, was Kim Hyunsung’s home. In fact, if it hadn’t been for his parents’ insurance money, he would have had to live here on rent. Staring at the run-down building, a bitter smile escaped his lips. When he was young, he thought this place was truly shabby, but when he heard the rumor that his grandmother had to sell the villa in his previous life because she couldn’t afford his medical bills, it felt like the world was crashing down on him.
Now.
He was grateful just for the fact that he had a place to return to.
Kim Hyunsung took a step inside, descended into the dimly lit basement, and opened the door.
Creak.
“Grandma….?”
A cold wind blew inside.
His Grandma wasn’t home.
The emotions that had been boiling over at the thought of meeting her again after a long time were tinged with sadness at the sight of the simple dinner table set for her grandchildren. Around this time, his Grandma was at work every day. As the image of his grandmother working tirelessly for her grandsons’ education came to mind, he realized that he didn’t have the luxury of wasting time like this.
‘I have been given a golden opportunity. I will not turn away from revenge, but I won’t ignore the difficulties of my family either.’
He clenched his teeth.
There was a lot to do ahead.
There was only a week left until the disciplinary committee.
Kim Hyunsung sat down at his desk, opened a notebook, and began to organize his thoughts.
Scribble, scribble.
‘The plan for the future is clear. Within two years, I will need to expand my influence, taking over the surrounding areas and laying a solid foundation, and in the final year, I will eliminate their stronghold. To achieve this, three conditions are necessary. The first is my own personal strength.’
It was essential.
Those who led school violence.
For them, the foremost value was power.
In order to bring them down, he needed enough strength to stand his ground, and not to be pushed back in any situation where he would confront them.
‘I can train myself from now on. In particular, if I can recruit the person I already have in mind in advance, I will be able to gain a significant advantage in the future fight. The second condition is along the same lines. The guys I will be dealing with are already forming their own force. In order to handle those people, I also need to form a force with people of the same goal.’
In the end.
It was a matter of having trustworthy people.
At present, Kim Hyunsung was nothing more than a first-year high school student with little to offer.
Even if he came up with a perfect plan in his mind, he knew that he could never achieve revenge on his own.
Of course, this didn’t mean he would be relying on others.
He had to take the lead himself, but he still needed to secure the necessary people.
‘The third and final one.’
It was important.
A different way from his previous life.
A problem that could be solved because of his past experiences.
Even bringing someone like Kim Youngchul into his fold was an extension of the third problem.
“Background. To execute my plan, I need a background that would make all the problems seem like nothing.”
Scratch.
He underlined it.
Even to solve the immediate problem with the disciplinary committee.
The first thing Kim Hyunsung needed to secure was this background.
* * *
Daesan Metropolitan City.
In a police station there.
In the usually noisy place, a man of enormous size added to the noise.
“Hey, you sons of b*tches. Do you know who I am? I’m the eldest son of Myeongjin Construction. If you don’t know me in this Daesan area, you must be an outsider. Do you think a mere cop can treat me like this and get away with it? Hey! Do you think you’ll get away with it?”
“Uncle, please be quiet.”
“Uncle? Uncle?! You little b*stard. Even with a face like this, I’m still a vibrant 35-year-old single man!”
Bang.
Crash!
It was total chaos.
The eldest son of Myeongjin Construction, Go Changbum.
Even with his rampage, the police couldn’t easily intervene.
It was just as he said.
Myeongjin Construction was a well-known company in the Daesan neighborhood, and messing with Go Changbum was no small matter. It wouldn’t be surprising if a mere police officer lost his head for provoking him. But they still didn’t let Go Changbum go. Normally, this would have been a problem easily resolved, but in this slow-moving situation, it was only natural for Go Changbum to feel frustrated.
In the end.
“Oh, sh*t.”
Go Changbum sat down, suppressing his anger.
This problem.
It was unfair to him.
On his way home, he got into an argument with some passersby, and since the other person swung his fist first without being civil, Go Changbum had no choice but to fight back. The problem was that Go Changbum boasted incredible strength as much as his physique. The three people who had confronted him were immediately rushed to the emergency room, and Go Changbum was dragged to the police station.
It was a difficult situation.
If he couldn’t resolve this issue properly, it was clear that his enemies would surely use it to raise more problems.
‘What a sh*tty situation.’
In recent years.
The father of Go Changbum, the chairman of Myeongjin Construction, publicly declared a succession competition between his two sons.
He also said that if either of his sons demonstrated the qualifications to take over Myeongjin Construction, he would pass on his position to one of them.
For Go Changbum, it was a bolt from the blue.
Go Changbum had always been confident that he would naturally be the successor because he was the eldest son, but was now certain he couldn’t win in a competition against his younger brother, go Changsuk. While he barely graduated from high school, Go Changsuk was a graduate of a prestigious foreign university. Moreover, three years ago, since Go Changsuk married into a well-known prestigious family in Daesan, the atmosphere became one where it seemed preferable for him to inherit Myeongjin Construction.
It was the edge of a cliff.
However, if a violent incident were to break out in such a situation, Go Changbum would not be able to keep his position.
A police officer explained.
“Mr. Go Changbum, I understand you’re angry, but you clearly made a mistake in this incident. You beat innocent bystanders until they were covered in blood, and there is no simple way to resolve this.”
“I told you. The other party was the first to use violence….”
“Yes, yes. Mr. Go Changbum has been claiming that, but look at the results. The victims, who became a bloody mess, are claiming that Mr. Go Changbum suddenly used violence.”
It was unfavorable.
3 against 1.
The police sided with the majority’s opinion.
The other party said they had no intention of reconciling, so it was only a matter of time before this incident would escalate.
Go Changbum was seething with anger.
Just as he was contemplating whether to throw away the position of successor or not, a boy appeared in Go Changbum’s sight.
He seemed out of place.
A presence that didn’t belong here.
The boy looked directly at Go Changbum and said.
“I came here to testify about that man. Who should I speak to?”
* * *
The police glanced at the monitor once.
Then looked up at the boy.
They looked at the monitor again, then scratched their head with a slightly bewildered expression.
“….How did you get this?”
Inside the monitor.
The assault scene was recorded.
It was just as Go Changbum claimed.
Go Changbum did not initiate the confrontation, and the passersby swung their fists first, prompting Go Changbum to fight back. The problem, however, was the attitude of the 3 passersby. They insisted on their innocence, but in the video, they made the situation worse by persistently holding on to Go Changbum, who was trying to pass by, to the point where it seemed malicious.
The boy.
Kim Hyunsung replied.
“I happened to witness the situation while passing by. Since there was no CCTV on the street, I thought it might be a difficult situation, so I asked for the dashcam footage of a car parked nearby and got it. As a minor, my testimony might not be very convincing. But as shown in the dashcam footage, this man was trying to avoid the situation somehow, but the other party rushed at him first, leaving him with no choice but to retaliate. If there’s any fault on the man’s part, it’s that he had enough strength to send the other party to the emergency room, but I firmly believe this was clearly an act of self-defense.”
“Yeah, yeah! Not only are you good-looking, but how can you speak so nicely? See? I told you. It’s not my fault, is it?”
Go Changbum intervened as if he had been waiting.
He had a bright smile on his face. He was so happy that, if there weren’t people around, he would have kissed Kim Hyunsung right on the cheek.
The dashcam footage.
It was perfect evidence.
Now that the evidence and witness had appeared, there was no reason for his position to be shaken by this problem no matter how much the other party raised the issue. His father was a very combative person. He believed that if someone deserved to be hit, they should be hit. To him, there was no reason to punish someone who had acted in self-defense.
The police swallowed their groans.
It was difficult.
Since they had captured not only an innocent person, but the eldest son of Myeongjin Construction on top of that, there was no doubt that there would be a backlash in the future.
But what could they do?
The evidence was clear.
For now, they had no choice but to treat him fairly.
“……We understand. We’ll wrap up the investigation briefly, and once the victims, no, the perpetrators, are treated, we’ll arrange another meeting. We apologize. We should have listened more carefully to Mr. Go Changbum’s side, but seeing their bloodied faces, it was hard to think objectively.”
Suddenly.
Go Changbum rose from his seat.
He glared at the police officer, baring his fierce teeth.
“I don’t know about your situation. But I’ll remember your face. Your days ahead are likely to be very difficult.”
* * *
Go Changbum burst out laughing as he left the police station.
“Hahahahaha. Thank you so much, kid. If it weren’t for your help, I would have been screwed. No, how did he get such a good upbringing that he’s so smart? I’m not the kind of person who forgets a favor.”
He took out his wallet.
Then quickly pulled out a thick stack of bills from his noticeably bulky wallet, which looked like it was over a million won.
“Take it. It’s my way of showing gratitude.”
“Thank you.”
Kim Hyunsung didn’t refuse.
Go Changbum looked at him with an amused expression as he took the money without hesitation.
Usually, students at this age tend to hesitate when faced with a large sum of money, but the fact that he calmly searched for the dashcam footage, and the way he handled the situation certainly seemed unusual. That thought soon turned into conviction. As Kim Hyunsung stuffed the money into his pocket, he casually blurted out a topic that would make it impossible for Go Changbum not to react.
“But, Sir. I’m just curious, but do you think this incident happened by chance?”
“……What do you mean?”
“I’ll get straight to the point. I know who you are. The eldest son of Myeongjin Construction. You’re competing for the successor position with your younger brother, Go Changsuk, right?”
At that moment.
The look in Go Changbum’s eyes changed.
He no longer looked at the other person as a charming boy.
If the person knew his identity and approached him on purpose, it was impossible not to think that they had a special purpose in mind.
“Who are you?”
“You don’t need to overthink it. I don’t think this incident happened by chance. And I have evidence to prove it. What do you think of what I’m saying, Sir?”
Their eyes met.
His gaze was like that of a tiger.
Kim Hyunsung laughed inside at the ferocious gaze of Go Changbum, which threatened to trample on anyone, even children, if they didn’t tell the truth.
Go Changbum.
He was a well-known figure.
At least, in this big city.
Thanks to that, even though he wasn’t directly involved with him, he still remembered some details about the Go family’s matters.
How they lived.
What kind of ending they had.
Kim Hyunsung spoke.
“If you’re truly grateful to me, just give me one hour of your time. I can assure you, Sir. No, Mr. Go Changbum, it won’t be something that will harm your life.”
