A few hours ago.
Go Changbum fell into deep thought.
After stepping outside for a moment, he lit a cigarette on the busy street where people were passing by.
Chi-chik.
“Huu, my head’s going to explode.”
The conversation with Kim Hyunsung.
He couldn’t make a hasty decision.
The kid spoke plausibly, but he couldn’t blindly believe the words of a 17-year-old high school student and go all out. If something went wrong, wouldn’t it all be his responsibility? Go Changbum, who had almost finished his cigarette in an instant, threw the burning butt on the ground and lit another cigarette.
Clink.
“…Excuse me, Sir. This is a no-smoking area.”
It was the café owner.
Go Changbum looked like a thug at first glance.
At the sight of the café owner speaking as carefully as possible, Go Changbum’s eyebrow shot up.
“Hey, don’t piss me off and just go inside. Damn, I might end up wrecking this whole café.”
The café owner was startled.
He glanced around before quietly stepping into the shop.
Go Changbum.
He was the kind of person who lived just as he pleased.
Born as the eldest son of Myeongjin Construction, he lived with an arrogant attitude, treating others as beneath him. He was notorious in Daesan for being a ticking time bomb that no one dared to provoke. Kim Hyunsung didn’t approach him because he thought he was a righteous person. Rather, he judged him to be the right person because he was corrupt enough to seize power by any means, even if it meant destroying his younger brother.
The difference between him and Go Changsuk was too clear.
However, Go Changbum was born with an unmatched sense of responsibility, the type who didn’t take kindly to anyone messing with his family.
“Changsuk, damn it. You could have just toned it down a little.”
Recently.
He had been suspicious of Go Changsuk’s schemes.
That’s why when those passersby tried to pick a fight, he tried to avoid it as much as possible. But his fiery temper couldn’t hold back his anger, and he ended up causing trouble anyway. That was the characteristic of Go Changbum. He only saw the situation in front of him, and in the process of being swayed left and right, he found himself cornered at the edge of a cliff.
What Kim Hyunsung said.
It was quite irritating.
That kid blatantly referred to him as being at the bottom, putting himself down.
Normally, he would have flipped the table, regardless of whether the person was a benefactor or not, Kim Hyunsung, however, didn’t just spit out words of pure criticism.
‘The reason I ended up like this is probably because I’ve only kept people around who sweet-talk me. Kim Hyunsung wasn’t wrong. Compared to Changsuk, I’m nothing. And if things continue like this, I will definitely lose my position as successor. And Changsuk won’t give me a penny. In this situation, is it right for me to listen to the words of a kid whose brain is still young and someone I’m seeing for the first time?’
It was a dilemma.
If the other person had been around the same age as him.
No, it would have been fine if he was at least an adult.
No matter how much he thought about it, 17 years old was still too young to trust.
He pondered for a long time.
As cigarette butts began to pile up on the ground, Go Changbum suddenly remembered something his father had once told him.
“Changbum. If you don’t have the ability, keep someone who does. Don’t think about age, gender, or conditions. If you have someone by your side who has the abilities you need, you will be able to lead Myeongjin Construction.”
Years ago.
It was something his father had said to him when he was living like a carefree wanderer.
The words spoken out of concern now felt, somehow, like a divine revelation.
“F*ck, I don’t know.”
Thump.
He threw the cigarette on the ground.
Entering the café, Go Changbum returned to his seat and sat across from Kim Hyunsung.
“Tell me your plan first. I will listen to everything and then make my judgment.”
* * *
Go Changbum and Go Changsuk.
They were like David and Goliath.
It was a fight where they were no match, and that’s why Kim Hyunsung thought it was meaningful.
‘If Go Changbum could establish the same foundation as Go Changsuk, he wouldn’t have paid any attention to the words of a high school student. That’s one of the reasons why I chose Go Changbum. It’s not because Go Changbum is less trash, but he still has the mental space to accept new people. I need to become the person he desperately needs.’
It was a transaction.
He would offer his abilities in exchange for a return.
In this situation, as they were establishing their first connection, Kim Hyunsung calmly spoke.
“To win in the successor competition, three conditions are necessary. The first is background. Mr. Go Changbum has already lost in this aspect from the start. Although you were born with the advantage of being the eldest son of Myeongjin Construction, Mr. Go Changsuk built his own power by marrying into a prestigious family in Daesan. Due to the background that blindly supports Mr. Go Changsuk, he was able to gain the upper hand in the succession race. Now, what about the second condition? The second is reputation. Do you think you’ve won in terms of reputation?”
“……No.”
Go Changbum shook his head.
Unlike himself, who was called the thug of Myeongjin Construction, Go Changsuk had an excellent public reputation.
“This second condition is directly connected to the third condition. The third is ability. Mr. Go Changsuk, who graduated from a prestigious foreign university and is working in the practical operations of Myeongjin Construction, naturally has a good reputation within the company due to his already proven personal abilities. Whether he is actually a capable individual is a separate matter. In the comparative evaluation with only two candidates, if Mr. Go Changsuk is superior to Mr. Go Changbum, then it’s a settled issue.”
Defeat was clear.
These three conditions.
He had lost in all of them.
Go Changbum’s pride was naturally hurt, and his face turned red, but he suppressed his anger and held it in, deciding to at least listen to the solution.
If only the result was sweet.
He would swallow bitter medicine.
Go Changbum wasn’t particularly clever, but he had his own principles.
Once he started something, he made sure to see it through.
He had made up his mind when he sent the passersby who started trouble to the emergency room. So, he also paid attention to Kim Hyunsung’s words.
“We need to overturn the three conditions of the successor one by one. Then let’s go back and look at the first condition, the background. How can we overturn this background? Right now, it’s impossible for Mr. Go Changbum to marry into the same level of background as Mr. Go Changsuk or gather that much influence. So, there’s only one way.”
He smiled.
That smile, for some reason, felt eerie to Go Changbum.
“Breaking up the relationship between Mr. Go Changsuk and his wife. If their relationship falls apart, Mr. Go Changsuk will lose his background, just like you.”
* * *
Back to the present.
Go Changsuk drove his car in urgency.
He couldn’t hide his anxiety after receiving a phone call saying that his wife had barged into his Hansung Officetel.
“F*ck, f*ck, f*ck!”
His wife.
His marriage to Kim Jihye lacked love.
Of course, Kim Jihye claimed that she truly loved him, but Go Changsuk chose her based on the conditions.
Kim Jihye’s family.
Her family, with a father who was a former prosecutor, held considerable influence in the Daesan area, and in reality, Go Changsuk received a lot of help during his work in the practical operations. It went according to plan. When he finished his studies and returned to Korea, he determined that he needed a solid background to secure the position against the eldest son.
Kim Jihye was the perfect solution.
Her appearance was ordinary, but he believed that with her family background, they would give him the wings to soar.
It was a breeze.
He thought that he was finally on the verge of victory, but of all things, his wife found out about his mistress.
‘If my wife finds out about the existence of the mistress, it’s all over. My father-in-law told me. No matter what I, his son-in-law, do, he will take my side in the future. But the moment Jihye’s eyes shed tears, it will be the end.’
He was anxious.
His father-in-law wasn’t exactly a clean person.
He was moderately rotten.
Despite being a former prosecutor, Go Changsuk’s father-in-law owned a luxurious building in Daesan, and for someone like Go Changsuk, who had no intention of living a completely clean life, he was the ideal father-in-law. That’s why, for the most part, he tried to tolerate issues with women. However, his uncontrollable desire to replace women endlessly before marriage became an issue he couldn’t ignore. Furthermore, since his wife, Kim Jihye, had an ordinary appearance, he found himself secretly visiting those kinds of establishments to satisfy his desires.
That’s when he met a woman from one of those places.
With looks that could rival those of top celebrities, he ended up making her his mistress. Fearing that his wife, Kim Jihye, would find out, he bought her a separate officetel. It was perfect. He thought as long as he remained loyal to his wife at home, he believed there would be no issues with their current relationship.
[T/N: Err…. has the definition of loyalty changed nowadays?]
But.
He got caught.
Every time the signal turned red, he wanted to ignore the pedestrians crossing the crosswalk and just press the accelerator.
‘For now, Jihye probably hasn’t entered the officetel. Once we get there, I’ll have to buy some time, and in the meantime, I need to figure out how to get the woman out of there. The officetel was bought under a borrowed name anyway, and if I just claim it’s the staff’s accommodation, Jihye won’t have any way to argue. Certainty and doubt are different things. As long as I arrive on time, there’s still a chance to resolve the situation somehow.’
When the phone call came.
The officetel door hadn’t opened yet.
The employee waiting there spotted Kim Jihye, and the mistress quickly locked the door, choosing to hold her ground.
There was still a chance.
A chance to resolve the situation.
He felt like his blood was running cold.
As time passed, he finally arrived at the officetel, only to face a devastating sight he had desperately hoped would never happen.
“……Sh*t.”
The door lock was strewn across the floor.
And the door was wide open.
When he looked inside, Go Changsuk’s wife, Kim Jihye, was grabbing a woman’s head and slapping her across the cheeks.
Slap, slap!
“Hey, you b*tch. How dare you play with someone else’s husband?!”
It was over.
Go Changsuk just shut his eyes tightly.
* * *
The next day.
The two sons of Myeongjin Construction.
Go Changbum and Go Changsuk were called by their father.
Seeing the cold, hard expression on Go Myeongjin’s face, Go Changsuk admitted his mistake before his father could even say anything.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Tsk tsk, you pathetic brat.”
Go Myeongjin turned his gaze away.
He had thought of his son as someone who could at least fulfill his role as a person, but the affair had completely ruined everything.
“I contacted your in-laws. I told that my son made a big mistake, but I’ll be strict with him to make sure this never happens again, so let’s not go as far as divorce. Your in-laws decided to follow my advice because they care about their reputation in Daesan. But I couldn’t stop them from taking their daughter away and living separately for the time being while they observe how you apologize.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Apologies, my *ss. If a man can’t control his lower half, he’ll bring ruin to his family. I should have drilled that into your head. If all you’re gonna do is chase skirts, you should’ve ended up a pathetic lifelong bachelor like your brother Changbum!”
Go Changsuk had nothing to say.
At the sight of his father using somewhat harsh language, he bowed his head and kept repeating that he was sorry.
“Ugh, I’ve ruined my children.”
Go Myeongjin pounded his chest in frustration.
His son’s in-laws’ family.
They cherished their only daughter as the most precious thing in the world.
Having been caught in the affair with no room for excuses, they would no longer blindly support Go Changsuk like they did before. It was truly pathetic. If only it hadn’t been discovered, it might have been different, but in this crucial time when the successor was being decided, Go Changsuk ruining his own opportunity was almost a wasted opportunity.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
According to the secretary, Go Changbum had also gotten into trouble recently.
“And as for you, Go Changbum. Why are you hanging around the police station?”
He knew the truth.
The other party had started the trouble first, and Go Changbum had been dragged into it without any fault of his own.
It was a problem that he would have overlooked normally, but with Go Changsuk’s issues coming to light, Go Changbum also started to look less than favorable. If the eldest son of the Go family had been a proper man, Go Myeongjin wouldn’t have had a headache over the successor problem.
He was angry.
He also felt a sense of doubt.
He thought that his two sons had grown up like this because he had not lived uprightly as a father.
‘He would probably keep arguing like he always did, saying that he had done nothing wrong. And he would enjoy seeing his only younger brother fall without thinking about how pathetic he himself was. The future of Myeongjin Construction is really bleak.’
However.
Go Myeongjin, who had expected the same reaction as usual, found Go Changbum bowing his head with a face of sincere reflection.
This situation.
It was the scenario Kim Hyunsung had anticipated.
Go Changbum swallowed his trembling feelings and recited the lines he had prepared, speaking in the most apologetic tone he could muster.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be careful not to do this again.”
“You still won’t admit it was your fault…… Huh?”
At that moment.
Go Myeongjin’s eyes widened in surprise.
A reflective attitude.
For Go Myeongjin, it was quite an unexpected development.
