CH94 | MCT

Cracking Park Jung-hwan’s Secret Vault (1)

Jang Maldong twitched his lips.

“Of the three things you came here for, I’ve figured out at least one. It’s this, right?”

He gestured with his fan toward a stack of documents he’d been sorting through.

“That’s right,” Tae-soo replied with a grin.

Jang Maldong gave a triumphant laugh.

“You’ve picked out some real gems.”

He pointed to the documents one by one with his fan.

“This pile is finance and insurance, this one is construction, this one’s for parts factories, over here is toys, and this one… Ah, it’s getting confusing. You check it yourself. Don’t expect me to do everything! Bah!”

Tae-soo glanced at the messy pile of papers stacked in the opposite corner and asked,

“Then what’s that pile over there?”

“Those are duds. I’ve already gone through the effort of weeding out the weak ones. No need to even look at that stack.”

Han-soo nodded in agreement.

“The elder and a few others have been working on this for hours straight. It’s exhausting.”

“You’ve done great,” Tae-soo said with a smile, offering something he’d brought.

“You must be running low on sugar after all that work—here’s a little treat to refresh yourself.”

Fanning himself, Jang Maldong eyed it curiously.

“What’s that?”

“There was a shop selling Japanese sweets on the way here. I bought them as a snack for you.”

“If it’s something like that, you should’ve brought it out right away. Let’s have a look.”

The cookies were neatly packaged.

Jang Maldong’s eyes lit up as he smiled.

“Not only are you good-looking, but your manners are sweet, too. No wonder I want you to marry my daughter…”

“That’s enough. If you keep saying stuff like that, I won’t come around here anymore.”

“Tch. A man should play hard to get, but you’re just plain stubborn!”

No matter how much he was poked, Tae-soo wouldn’t budge—he was as firm as ever.

Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Jang Maldong sighed.

“As I said, I have three reasons for coming here today.”

Tae-soo continued.

“First, I came to gather information on the profitable companies that Taeyang plans to acquire.”

Jang Maldong had already guessed that.

He shrugged with a grin.

“Second, I’d like you to help sort through the documents we seized from the offices of Cheongil Heavy Equipment and Cheongil Oil.”

“Why are you dumping that tedious job on me? I refuse!”

Though he grumbled, Tae-soo had already seen Jang Maldong groaning as he worked through the document sorting.

“This is Han Cheong-ho’s weakness. He came charging in, eyes bloodshot, desperate to find those papers. I don’t need to explain how important they are.”

Tae-soo gave a gentle smile.

“If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t even bring it up. I’d just pull a few all-nighters and find it myself.”

That was how much he trusted Jang Maldong.

Jang Maldong’s lips kept twitching upward. To suppress a smile, he secretly pinched his thigh under the table.

“Besides, aren’t you a professional information broker? If you work through those papers, you’ll find a goldmine of valuable data.”

As they dug through and organized the files, the inner workings of the Cheongil Group’s finances—especially their slush funds—would start to emerge.

And by piecing together all the tangled information, a pretty solid picture would begin to form.

“This is the kind of valuable information you couldn’t buy with money. Don’t you agree?”

That much was true.

That’s exactly why Jang Maldong had jumped on the opportunity so eagerly.

“So, what do you want in return?”

“Aren’t we allies? Let’s not nickel and dime each other.”

“You’re just going to give it to me for free?”

“If it bothers you that much, you can repay me however you see fit.”

“Ahem!”

Jang Maldong was at a loss for words.

So, he cautiously brought up the topic again.

“Well, if you're feeling generous, as a token of appreciation, how about marrying my daughter—”

But of course, the moment he mentioned “daughter,” Tae-soo cut him off coldly, as always.

“My final reason for coming. I want to know what Han Cheong-ho’s been up to. I heard he met with some bank presidents.”

“He did.”

After all, Jang Maldong was the president of Jangsu Bank himself.

Earlier, Han Cheong-ho had told Tae-soo:

—Do you know why I was late getting here? I just came from a meeting with the bank presidents.

—Not a single bank will lend you even ten won now.

—You’ve been cut off from every line of credit with no repayment deadlines. How do you plan to get around that?

Jang Maldong said,
“He gathered the bank presidents and demanded a loan. On top of that, he also asked for an extension on existing loans and a reduction in interest rates.”

“How did it go?”

“Most of his demands were accepted.”

“So it’s true that loans to Taeyang have been blocked by the banks?”

“Yeah. The pressure came from above.”

Jang Maldong pointed a finger upward.

“Park Jung-hwan pulled some strings. So the bank presidents had no choice but to go along. Damn bastard, he’s got the banks in the palm of his hand, pushing them around like his toys. Completely out of control. Ugh!”

Tae-soo frowned.

“How much of Han Cheong-ho’s request was accepted?”

“An additional loan of 35 billion won, a 3% reduction in interest rates, and a five-year extension on the existing loans.”

That was an absurdly generous deal.

“What did he put up as collateral?”

“The blueprint for the Euljiro Hotel.”

Tae-soo felt like he’d been smacked in the back of the head.

“The Euljiro Hotel?”

In his previous life, Cheongil Group never had any Euljiro Hotel.

Jang Maldong continued,
“It’s a hotel that’ll be built where the government-owned Bando Hotel and the National Central Library used to be. While you were over in Saudi Arabia, Bando Hotel was prepping for demolition, and the National Library moved to Namsan.”

Tae-soo instantly knew which hotel it was.

In his past life, that hotel had become the Charlotte Hotel Seoul.

“Gaining ownership of the Charlotte Hotel Seoul was what caused Charlotte to shift its focus to hotels, duty-free shops, and retail. It became the cornerstone for building the Charlotte brand image.”

It was a five-star hotel located in the heart of Seoul.

It would eventually become the headquarters of the Korean Charlotte Group, and the flagship location of what would be known as Charlotte Department Store.

Later, it would be joined by luxury brands in Avenue, and a young, trendy shopping complex called Young Flower, all forming a massive development known as Charlotte Town.

“What kind of scale are we talking about?” Tae-soo asked.

“It’s huge. I saw the blueprints—three basement levels and either 34 or 38 floors above ground. Over 1,000 rooms.”

There was no doubt about it now.

That was the place.

Tae-soo closed his eyes.

“I thought Cheongil Group wasn’t the one originally planning to build there.”

“You’re right. It was supposed to be Charlotte, the Japanese company that sells gum, candy, and snacks. They even had the blueprints finalized. But then, Park Jung-hwan suddenly changed his mind. Ugh!”

Why did Park Jung-hwan suddenly change his mind?

What kind of scheme did Han Cheong-ho pull?

This wasn’t something that could be swayed by a simple bribe.

“Three years ago, metal shavings were found in Charlotte's products. As a result, their confectionery manufacturing was suspended for three months. In exchange for lifting the ban, it was Park Jung-hwan himself who first suggested the construction of a luxury hotel.”

Park Jung-hwan wasn’t the type to change his mind easily.

He was someone who believed a head of state’s words should carry weight. He despised going back on his word.

And yet, Han Cheong-ho managed to make that happen.

“I heard Park Jung-hwan sent a telegram to Charlotte. Most likely, it was an order to pull out of the hotel project.”

That would explain it.

Han Cheong-ho had gotten his hands on Charlotte’s hotel blueprints.

Charlotte wouldn’t have handed them over willingly, so Park must have forcibly taken them and given them to Han.

“Besides, Charlotte’s Shin Gun-ho holed himself up in Japan and dragged things out for three years.”

In his previous life, it hadn’t just been three years.

The order to suspend Charlotte Confectionery’s operations came down on November 13th, 1970.

That same day, Park Jung-hwan personally summoned Chairman Shin Gun-ho, who had been in Japan, to the Blue House for a one-on-one meeting.

The result of that meeting was the decision to build Charlotte Hotel Seoul.

“He kept stalling—dragging his feet on taking over the National Central Library, wasting years focused on running Bando Hotel, and then more delays with the demolition process…”

Jang Maldong clicked his tongue.

“To any outsider, it looked like Shin Gun-ho prioritized his Japanese business and was brushing Park off. According to Han Cheong-ho, Park eventually said he couldn’t let it slide anymore.”

Han Cheong-ho had goaded Park Jung-hwan into letting him snatch away Charlotte Hotel Seoul.

“Han must have offered up Cheongil Refining in exchange and demanded the hotel from Park.”

No wonder he’d been brimming with arrogant confidence when he’d walked out of that room at Geumseong Hotel.

That must’ve been when he sealed the deal.

“That’s not all. Han Cheong-ho is also pushing for a loan to build a soccer stadium.”

“A soccer stadium?”

Soccer? From the Cheongil Group?

Cheongil had a baseball team, not a soccer team.

Another change from Tae-soo’s previous life.

“I heard Park Jung-hwan approved it without hesitation. After all, every time we enter an international football tournament, we get humiliated without even a single win. I get it, though.”

So Han Cheong-ho had stirred up Park’s emotions through soccer.

“Now I see where all this is going.”

Tae-soo fell silent, lost in thought.

Tick, tock.

Only the sound of the clock echoed through the room.

After a long pause, Jang Maldong spoke.

“Han Cheong-ho’s not the type to sit back and take a beating. Aren’t you worried about retaliation?”

“Han Cheong-ho can’t threaten the safety of me or my family.”

“Why not?”

“I threatened him,” Tae-soo said calmly. “Told him if he laid a finger on me, I’d drop a nuclear bomb that would obliterate Cheongil.”

Jang Maldong squirmed in his seat, unable to contain his curiosity.

“What is it? Come on, let me in on it.”

“If we keep digging through those documents, we might be able to sketch out the outline. I’m sure he hid it well, but some kind of lead should turn up.”

Otherwise, Han Cheong-ho wouldn’t have rushed over in such a panic.

It meant there was a vital secret buried somewhere among the paperwork.

“What are you saying? You already threatened him? What did you use to threaten him with?”

“If you knew, you might get hurt. I’ll tell you later.”

“Tch! Acting all high and mighty now!”

Jang Maldong slapped the low table with the folding fan in his hand.

“Just blow it wide open already! What good is saving it for later? That bastard’s dangerous—he’s not going to sit still after you’ve found his weakness.”

“I know.”

“And you still have the nerve to look so relaxed? Han Cheong-ho has probably already started wiping away every trace and making his exit.”

Once someone realizes their weakness has been exposed, their first instinct is to neutralize it.

They erase evidence, create alibis, eliminate proof, bribe people.

But Tae-soo shook his head.

“He won’t be able to. The matter’s too big for him to just sweep under the rug.”

“Then what the hell is it?!”

“Aren’t you the famed information broker? Shouldn’t you be the one telling me, not the other way around?”

“Tch! Just admit it—you’re teasing me to death with curiosity!”

Jang Maldong sulked and turned his head away in frustration.

Because of that, he missed the wry smile spreading across Tae-soo’s lips.

“I’d like to just spill it all too. But even if I want to, I can’t. What can I do?”

Tae-soo quietly swallowed a sigh.

There was no one more eager to bring down Cheongil than him.

“The scattered documents Secretary Song managed to gather aren’t enough to serve as decisive evidence. Han could wriggle out of it if he really wanted to.”

And that was the real issue.

The documents Song had worked so hard to compile were full of holes—just a hollow shell.

He had gone to great lengths to collect them under Han Cheong-ho’s nose, but acquiring evidence for a matter this sensitive was never going to be easy.

“If it had been real, undeniable proof, Secretary Song would’ve released it already. I would’ve made the move myself too.”

Tae-soo bit back his frustration.

“But at least we’ve gotten a vague outline. Han Cheong-ho is doing something dangerous—something that could provoke Park Jung-hwan’s fury.”

In his past life, Tae-soo had been the chief secretary to the chairman and de facto head of Cheongil Group.

But even then, he’d had no knowledge of this matter.

“Not even Cheongil Group’s internal intelligence archive had any trace of this. That means it was handled in complete secrecy.”

Knowing Han Cheong-ho’s personality, he must have been obsessively careful.

“Maybe he left a record in the black ledger. But Han Il-gwon had that, and I never got to see it.”

That was why Tae-soo had been so shocked when Secretary Song first brought him that notebook.

It contained secrets he had never seen before.

“Right now, all I can do is bluff to scare Han Cheong-ho. Like sitting at a poker table and raising the stakes with a garbage hand.”

But if Han Cheong-ho caught on, it would all come crashing down.

That’s why Tae-soo was combing through the documents with such intensity.

A clue.

If he could just find one solid lead, he could trace it back to the core.

“If you, sir, manage to find a clue among these documents,” Tae-soo said, “I promise I’ll tell you everything then.”

“Fine! I swear I’ll find that damn clue if only to satisfy my own curiosity!”

Jang Maldong’s spirit flared with determination.

* * *

Daewoongak, an upscale gisaeng house in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul.

A prominent establishment in the 1970s, it was the very place where Park Jung-hwan, Cha Gi-beom, and Tae-soo had met in secret.

Han Cheong-ho had come here right after finalizing the merger and acquisition, and he was here again that evening.

“A drink for you, sir,” he said politely.

Kneeling, Han Cheong-ho held up a celadon-colored liquor kettle with both hands.

Park Jung-hwan extended his cup.

“I received the contract from Chairman Jang of Geumsan.”

Park scanned the document and blinked in disbelief.

It was supposed to be only Cheongil Oil Refinery that was handed over—but the contract included Cheongil Heavy Equipment as well.

“You gave it away for ten won? And you even took on all the debt yourself?”

His voice turned cold, and his gaze grew sharp.

“Speak. What kind of leverage does that bastard have on you?”

There was no way something like this could happen otherwise.

Park Jung-hwan knew the rules of this world better than anyone.

And the man kneeling in front of him was none other than Han Cheong-ho.

“Here it comes.”

There was no way he could tell Park the truth.

So Han Cheong-ho scrambled for a quick excuse.

“It’s not my weakness, sir. It’s yours. So what choice did I have?”

Park Jung-hwan’s eyebrow twitched.

“What weakness?”