CNC 176

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8 AM. At this hour, Jo Seong-hyeon would normally be starting his day with a swim at the Nox Hotel fitness club, where he had been a member for years. Although he enjoyed a variety of exercises, he did not prefer outdoor activities. Golf, in particular, which was relatively static and akin to a social sport, was even less to Jo Seong-hyeon’s taste.

Nevertheless, he was at the golf course clubhouse early in the morning, braving the December chill, because of the hospitality.

“Winter rounds have their own charm, don’t you think, Chairman Jo?”

“Of course, Chairman. The harsher the environment, the greater the sense of accomplishment.”

“Indeed. Like someone who made it big on their own, Chairman Jo, you seem to enjoy a challenge. A true golfer should know how to enjoy winter rounds. You can’t just hide away in a screen golf facility because it’s cold, can you?”

The man, standing at the entrance with his graying hair half-bald, nodded, satisfied with Jo Seong-hyeon’s answer.

This man was the key figure in today’s entertainment.

The selection of the implementing company for the large-scale national land development and revitalization project, which the Korea National Land Development Corporation (GX) was set to undertake after signing agreements with four North African governments, was scheduled for early next year.

Park Yong-hoon was precisely the Chairman of GX, and it was no exaggeration to say that the power to select the implementing company lay with him. And Jo Seong-hyeon absolutely had to win this project.

Even the Chairman of JS Construction had stepped in, personally calling Jo Seong-hyeon to a meal to emphasize the importance of this project. The Chairman, after a long lecture about the company’s stagnant growth rate for several years, had finally raised his voice, telling him to be prepared to resign if he failed to secure the project.

In Korea, construction projects were no longer as active as they once were. This was a common phenomenon in countries that had achieved a certain level of economic growth. Yet, the Chairman, citing the incompetence of management, insisted on higher growth rates.

This is why those born with diamond spoons are no good… Damn it, people who don’t know the first thing about business bark orders while strangling us, and then when results come out, they think it’s their own ability.

Grinding his teeth inwardly, Jo Seong-hyeon had no choice but to curry favor with Park Yong-hoon of GX. After entertaining the head of GX’s overseas business division for two months, he had finally managed to arrange a meeting with Park Yong-hoon, and this was the third entertainment. Unfortunately, because Park Yong-hoon was obsessed with golf, all three occasions had been golf entertainment.

I wish he was an old man who only chased young women.

Eating galbitang at the golf course clubhouse early in the morning was unbearable for Jo Seong-hyeon.

“Chairman, about this North African project… Chairman Jo is suitable in many ways. He’s been in charge of JS’s overseas business for a long time, and also…”

The head of the overseas business division, who had arranged the meeting with Chairman Park Yong-hoon only after receiving tens of millions of won, cautiously broached the subject. If the deal went through successfully, he had promised to receive an additional 20 million won, so the division head had no choice but to actively participate.

“Division Head, are we talking business even while on a round? I told you that matter was under consideration.”

However, Chairman Park Yong-hoon immediately frowned, showing his displeasure.

He was the type who wouldn’t budge with just a golf invitation. While he was insensitive to sex, the old man was motivated by money. Given the scale of the project, he wouldn’t be swayed by 100 or 200 million won. If he spent about 500 million won, it would be one-sixth of his annual salary, but there was no other way. He couldn’t step down as CEO of JS Construction over 500 million won.

Moreover, since he was expecting a substantial side income soon, he could consider that amount as an investment.

Jo Seong-hyeon thought of the data on Yoon Hye-an stored on his hard drive and phone. Just thinking about that data made him feel full without eating.

Thanks to that data, he could extort a hefty allowance from Lee Hae-sung after humiliating him, so he didn’t need to force a smile while looking at Chairman Park Yong-hoon’s disgusting face. He smiled naturally.

“Yes, Division Head. Why rush business talk when we’re out here enjoying ourselves? Shall we head downstairs?”

“Let’s do that. I feel more relaxed after a hearty meal.”

“They say the greens aren’t too frozen today, even though the temperature is low, because the sun is good.”

“Even if they were frozen, what does it matter? I’m someone who’s shot a 90 on a snow-covered field at minus 5 degrees Celsius.”

“Ah, yes, Chairman. I heard that story too! You’re truly amazing!”

Jo Seong-hyeon’s face was on the verge of spasming from constantly smiling and flattering Park Yong-hoon. But it was worth enduring. Not securing the project meant he had to resign, but conversely, successfully acquiring it meant his position within the company would be even more solid.

As they descended to the starter house, their cart for the day was waiting.

“Chairman, I heard they sell odeng at the cafe on the first floor. You’ve already eaten, but shall I prepare some broth so you can have it hot?”

“Odeng? Chairman Jo, you’re educated, yet you say odeng?”

The First Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, one of the attendees today and a key associate of Park Yong-hoon, pointed this out with a sigh. Chairman Park Yong-hoon shook his head and sided with Jo Seong-hyeon.

“No, no. For old folks like me, odeng just rolls off the tongue. If you say eomuk, it just doesn’t… doesn’t taste as good.”

Of course, Jo Seong-hyeon had said that strategically.

“As expected, Chairman Jo, you’re also self-made like me, so we understand each other. On a day like this, a skewer of odeng outdoors, that’s great. Chairman Jo is surprisingly good at these small gestures.”

While the others warmed up briefly on the practice green, Jo Seong-hyeon left with his secretary to buy eomuk. Normally, he wouldn’t have to do such a thing himself, but to impress someone like Park Yong-hoon, it was important to show he was willing to put in the effort, even for trivial matters.

While his secretary ordered eomuk at the golf course starter house cafe, Jo Seong-hyeon looked out the window at Park Yong-hoon’s entourage and muttered curses.

That old bastard is senile. How dare he lump me in with himself? Someone born to parents who farmed in the countryside.

Unlike Chairman Park Yong-hoon, who, despite being self-made, hailed from a small town in the countryside, Jo Seong-hyeon was a typical Gangnam kid. He wasn’t from a family with a dazzling background, like owning a general hospital or producing high-ranking officials for generations. Thanks to his grandfather’s good timing in moving to Gangnam early, Jo Seong-hyeon’s father grew up comfortably, studied enough not to lack anything, and retired with a position like a department head at a large corporation.

Jo Seong-hyeon also grew up without hardship, but his family environment was considered quite ordinary during his upbringing. Even while making rapid progress in his career, Jo Seong-hyeon had benefited more from his elite university seniors than from his parents or family background.

He simultaneously harbored a deep-seated hatred for those born into diamond-spoon environments and a contemptuous disregard for ordinary commoners like Chairman Park Yong-hoon, which formed the bedrock of his consciousness.

Jo Seong-hyeon, glaring as if chewing on Park Yong-hoon, who was practicing putts surrounded by flattering associates, took out his phone and called the number saved as ‘Romeo’.

[Yes.]

The call connected before the second or third ring. It was Park Dong-ha.

“Be on standby today. I’ll stop by.”

[A-at what time? Today is my acting lesson day…]

Jo Seong-hyeon, whose mood was already at rock bottom, glared and ground his teeth.

“Did you eat something wrong? Do I have to plan whether it will end at noon, at 4 PM, or after dinner and drinks, and report it to you? Cancel your lesson and wait. Isn’t that what you should do? Dong-ha, I’m already in a terrible mood, should I play rougher today?”

[No, no. I’ll cancel. I’ll cancel my lesson and stay home.]

Feeling a small sense of satisfaction at the terrified voice, Jo Seong-hyeon ended the call.

While canceling the casting for a drama that was almost finalized with him as the lead and forcing him out of his current officetel were effective in making Park Dong-ha obedient, the most efficient method was, of course, the video.

Ever since seeing the video Jo Seong-hyeon possessed, Park Dong-ha had become as docile as a puppy. It was fortunate he didn’t wet himself. Just like the other kids before him.

Making him watch the scene where Yoon Hye-an was threatened was a good choice too. He needed to know for sure that the threat wouldn’t just be words.

As Jo Seong-hyeon’s lips curled into a sinister smile, his secretary arrived with a tray of eomuk.

“Chairman, the eomuk is here.”

“I’ll give this to Park Yong-hoon and Kang Min-wook, so you take the Division Head.”

“Yes, understood.”

He left the cafe holding a large, thick paper cup filled with eomuk and broth.

“Here, the odeng is served. It’s more generous than I expected. Be careful, it’s hot.”

“This isn’t old-fashioned odeng. It looks neat, but it doesn’t have that taste I remember from childhood. Why, back in the day…”

While he listened with one ear and let it out the other as Park Yong-hoon continued his usual talk about the old days, he felt a vibration in his jacket pocket. It wasn’t the secretary’s official phone, but Jo Seong-hyeon’s personal phone, the one he had just used to call Park Dong-ha. Contacts coming to this number were usually much more discreet and important, so he rarely missed them.

“Well then, Chairman, shall we head to the cart now?”

As he followed the secretary, watching Park Yong-hoon and his group walk away, Jo Seong-hyeon took out his phone.

“What is this?”

Only a select few knew this number, yet a messenger message had arrived from an unknown account.

‘As a token of my gratitude to Chairman Jo Seong-hyeon, a small gift…’ Seeing his name appear in the preview, Jo Seong-hyeon, without much thought, clicked on the chat window, and his face instantly turned pale.

“Damn it… What… what is this?”

Jo Seong-hyeon instinctively fumbled to lower the video’s volume.

It was a sex tape. But it wasn’t a sex tape showing only the other party, whom Jo Seong-hyeon himself had filmed. Because the portion of Jo Seong-hyeon had been cropped and enlarged from the original, the image quality wasn’t excellent, but it was clear enough for anyone to recognize that the man in the video was Jo Seong-hyeon.

He could guess who the sender of the video was. Jo Seong-hyeon’s lips twisted violently, and his cheek twitched.

“Lee Hae-sung. This damn bastard… Is he really trying to pick a fight?”

Ting. Ting. Ting… Ting.

Just then. The notification sound for incoming messages rang out sequentially from the phones of Jo Seong-hyeon’s group, who were a few steps ahead.

Jo Seong-hyeon clearly felt what it was like for blood to run cold.

His hands, gripping the phone, were trembling. He could do nothing, even as he watched the old men pull out their phones from their pockets.

Korea National Land Development Corporation (GX): Fictional organization.