Fl 82

“Do you think this makes sense? Teaming up with those thugs! Chairman would be shocked if he knew!”

“Exactly my point. There’s no way we can agree to this. What are we supposed to trust them with? What if they stab us in the back? Even if you’re the acting Chairman, this is too much.”

“Wasn’t the head of that organization your subordinate back in the day, Acting Chairman? I heard you favored him. Are you doing this because of personal feelings?”

Kim Ha-yoon stared at the Old man’s faces with a bored expression. He wished he had a gun so he could just mow them all down. He had convened the committee and said he would let the rebel forces live in district d, and everyone’s faces turned red with opposition. He hadn’t even brought up the power plant story yet; they’d foam at the mouth if they knew about that too.

He banged on the desk, and the room finally quieted down. Then, something appeared on the large screen behind him. The committee members looked puzzled, alternating their gaze between the screen and Kim Ha-yoon’s face.

“These are the conditions they’ve proposed. Take a look and decide.”

“Isn’t that… gold? Why would they…”

Kim Ha-yoon’s secretary brought a box, opened it, and took out the Gold ore inside, placing it on the table for the members to see. Realizing it was exactly like the picture, the members wore expressions of disbelief. The gold veins in this land had disappeared long ago, and even if there were any, they were only small amounts of low-grade ore.

“These are the conditions they’ve proposed. They’ve discovered a gold mine and will share the location if we share the profits. Unfortunately, I’m sure the esteemed members here have no intention of doing so, not even a tiny bit.”

No intention, my ass. Their eyes were already boiling over with desire. It was funny how their greed only grew with age; even with mountains of wealth, their expressions changed in front of a gold nugget. One of them even tried to bite it with his front teeth, and his dentures popped out.

“What’s the estimated amount buried?”

“I plan to form a team of related experts and soldiers and go there myself. After confirming, I’ll consider adjusting what they’re asking for. Of course, that’s if you all approve.”

Park Mu-jin’s father, who had been listening quietly, wore a displeased expression.

“Isn’t this on our land anyway? I don’t know why they’re acting like they’re doing us a favor.”

“Come to think of it, you’re right. Whether it’s district b or area c, it’s all ours.”

“Let’s be clear. How is it all ours? We’re coexisting.”

“If you’re for coexistence, why were you the first to agree when taxes were raised?”

“Haha, why are you talking like that?”

“Let’s not fight and think wisely. How about we coax them along and then deal with them later?”

“That’s underhanded.”

“They’re thieves. Frankly, what’s wrong with taking from thieves?”

Kim Ha-yoon, who had been listening, leaned back and sighed. He finally understood why his father had developed a brain disease at such an early age. Seeing this every day, it was a miracle his head hadn’t exploded.

Since opinions were not easily gathered, Ha-yoon closed the documents in front of him.

“Alright. Let’s consider this matter dropped. It seems like everyone’s not happy with it.”

The conference room became as quiet as a mouse.

“Who said they didn’t like it…? The problem is whether we can trust those bastards.”

“Don’t worry about that. If I decide it’s not right, I’ll clean it up neatly.”

At Kim Ha-yoon’s words, several members stirred and came forward.

“I’m in favor. Let’s go and see before we decide.”

Everyone seemed to have similar thoughts, even if they weren’t thrilled about it. The Gold ore went around and reached Kim Ha-yoon, and then a vote was taken by a show of hands. As expected, the “yes” side was overwhelmingly in the majority, so he was able to end the tedious meeting without dragging it out further. After the members left, he was about to go home when Kim Seon-oh was waiting in front of his parked car.

“I thought you’d returned to your post?”

“I couldn’t stand the anxiety that you might be up to something strange, hyung. Get in. I’ll drive you instead of the driver.”

Kim Ha-yoon got in obediently, and Kim Seon-oh sat in the driver’s seat and started the engine. After the car started, Kim Seon-oh glanced at him.

“Are you really going to do it?”

Kim Ha-yoon took the Gold ore out of his pocket. What was the big deal about this? There were so many things better and more precious than gold in the world. He wasn’t sure if he had any of those things, though.

“Pick out a few useful guys and send them over.”

“Are you going too?”

“Yeah.”

“Can we trust them? What if it’s a trap?”

Kim Seon-oh knew what he was worried about. He suddenly wanted to know exactly what he was trying to grab, whether it was gold or people. So, he gave a strange smile and shifted his gaze outside.

“We’ll know when we get there. What’s there.”

“Oh my god.”

“Is this real gold?”

“Wow—this is the first time I’ve ever seen gold in my life.”

“Are you stupid? How do you know it’s gold if it’s the first time you’ve seen it?”

“Do you want to die? That’s what I mean.”

While watching Gilsu and Baek Seol bickering, Jang-cheon took the Gold ore and examined it from every angle. Gangsan was also fascinated and wouldn’t leave his side. The people of district a were starting to prepare to build a city called Gold City, and Ire had gone to spy on it and discovered this.

“Will this be okay?”

“There’s no other way. It’s not something we can handle, and the road there isn’t easy.”

“What if they betray us? What if they stab us in the back after agreeing to share?”

“Yeah. That’s definitely something that could happen.”

“Judging by his face, I don’t think he’s the type to deceive people.”

“Baek Seol. You’re only lenient with handsome people.”

“Yeah, now do you understand why I’m so harsh on you?”

Ire unfolded a map and took it out. It was a map of district d that he had acquired from the research lab. When he circled it in red, everyone’s attention was drawn to it.

“See? The power plant is here.”

Gilsu and Jang-cheon only blinked, but Baek Seol and Gangsan, who could at least read, nodded.

“If we help them fix this, we can use electricity too.”

“Did they say they’d do it?”

“Yeah.”

“What if they don’t keep their promise?”

That seemed to be Gilsu’s biggest concern. The district a bastards broke their promises like it was nothing. But to be fair, breaking promises and betraying others was the same in other districts too. It’s just that they were richer, so they were more hated.

“They’ll keep it. I’ll make sure of it.”

Baek Seol’s face, who had been listening quietly, lit up.

“Then we won’t have to go around lighting candles every night?”

“Of course not. And we won’t trip over things anymore.”

“And we won’t fall in the bathroom and break our teeth.”

Everyone seemed happy just imagining the electricity that hadn’t even been generated yet, when Gilsu nudged Jang-cheon. Then Jang-cheon gently nudged Baek Seol. Baek Seol then nudged Gangsan. You say it. You ask. They should have just made it so he couldn’t hear them.

“Why are you guys doing that? Do you have something to say to me?”

“Well… I wasn’t going to ask because it’s kind of a personal question…”

Ire noticed and quickly covered his mouth.

“Don’t.”

“What? Now it’s even more suspicious.”

“We’re nothing. We’ll use each other and suck each other dry. That’s all.”

Baek Seol, who had been listening, made a strange sound. He said that using each other and sucking each other dry was so romantic. Gilsu was just amazed at which of those words sounded romantic to him.

In the meantime, Lee Boram came in with a knock. He was from district a and had been exiled as a drug addict, but Jang-cheon had saved his life, and now he was working here. He specialized in illegally manufacturing weapons, and thanks to him, they had the opportunity to use good weapons instead of outdated ones.

Lee Boram showed them a newly made small bomb and then paused, unlike usual.

“Boss, are soldiers coming too?”

“Yeah. Probably.”

“I have a favor to ask. If you happen to meet my brother, can you tell him I said hi?”

Hearing that, Gilsu chuckled.

“How would the boss know who your brother is?”

“His name is Lee Ga-ram. He looks completely different from me. He has a big mole on his cheek.”

Ire frowned as he searched his memory. Lee Ga-ram? The Lee Ga-ram who had dropped out of Park Mu-jin’s group during island training and screwed them over? Lee Boram and Lee Ga-ram… Ah, why hadn’t he realized it until now? It wasn’t just a similar name.

“Were you close to your brother?”

When he asked, pretending not to know, Lee Boram smiled awkwardly.

“Even though my parents treated me like trash, my brother was really good to me. He always took care of me when I was little because my parents were busy.”

Ire thought of Lee Ga-ram in his head. He felt strange thinking that someone who was a bad guy to someone else could be a precious brother to his family. When he readily agreed to tell him, Lee Boram was happy and went outside. Seeing that, Ire suddenly thought of his younger siblings and couldn’t smile anymore.