CH81 | MCT

Geumsan Hotel Banquet Hall (2)

As Tae-soo took a step outside, the same voice called out from behind him.

It was an unpleasant voice, no matter how many times he heard it.

"Hey, waiter. Who did you bring here? Just looking at his face, I think I know. Are you a celebrity?"

"Uh, um..."

The employee, now directly questioned, stammered, unsure of what to do.

He hesitated, glancing anxiously between the man and Tae-soo, unable to move.

Tae-soo had planned to follow the employee’s guidance to meet Jang Jun-yong, but he paused for a moment.

"Why can't you answer? Did you let some lowly celebrity in here?"

"N-no, this gentleman is from Taeyang Construction. I also checked his invitation."

"Taeyang Construction? Never heard of it."

There was no need to waste time dealing with annoying flies.

Tae-soo turned to the employee and asked, "Where is Chairman Jang Junyong?"

Suddenly, another person joined in.

"Wow, no matter how clueless you are, where do you get the guts to think you can meet the head of Geumsan Group?"

Yet another person chimed in.

"I've never even heard of Taeyang Construction. Are you some nouveau riche kid?"

Three of them approached Tae-soo.

The first one to pick a fight spoke again.

"This is your first time at a gathering like this, isn't it? Then you should learn the rules of this world first. Want me to teach you?"

He reached out to grab Tae-soo's shoulder, attempting to turn him around.

With a sharp smack, Tae-soo brushed his hand away.

"A well-bred gentleman resorting to physical contact with a stranger on first meeting? Before learning the rules of this world, maybe you should go back and learn some basic manners."

Tae-soo casually brushed off the spot where the man had grabbed him.

He didn’t even feel the need to get angry—these people weren’t worth his time.

"What are you waiting for? Lead the way," he urged the employee.

Just as he was about to move forward, the man who had tried grabbed him blocked his path.

"Since you're already here, you should get used to socializing with your peers. You’re too old to go crying for daddy, aren’t you? Hah!"

The man was Kim Jaehak, the son of Kim Bongnam, the president of Cheongil Chemicals.

He had always held a grudge against Tae-soo, who was Han Ilkwon’s right-hand man.

'This guy is always annoying, no matter the lifetime.'

In his past life and now, every time they met, it started with a provocation. There was no way Tae-soo could let this slide.

"Since we've run into each other, let's introduce ourselves properly. My father is the president of Cheongil Chemicals."

"So you introduce yourself with your father's name?"

"That’s how it works in this world. In business circles, corporate rankings matter more than age. A son's social standing is determined by who his father is. What rank does your father’s Taeyang Construction hold?"

Kim Jaehak grinned as he pulled out a business card and tucked it into Tae-soo’s front pocket.

"When someone gives you a business card, it's customary to return one. That’s the rule here."

Another man followed suit, shoving his business card into Tae-soo’s pocket. But this one deliberately used Chinese.

[Of course, that’s the most basic rule. My father is the president of Cheongil Refining. Where does a nouveau riche brat think he’s showing his face?]

A third man did the same, this time using German.

[My father is the president of Cheongil Heavy Equipment. But I guess you don’t even understand what I’m saying. Ah, maybe you’ll figure it out when you look at the business card? Surely, you can at least read Korean?]

Now, it was clear—they were all lackeys of Cheongil’s Han Ilkwon.

Tae-soo's eyes scanned the room, searching for the mastermind behind this.

And then, he saw him.

Sitting leisurely on the other side, Han Ilkwon watched the scene unfold with amusement.

He was reclining comfortably on a plush sofa, a champagne glass in hand, gazing at Tae-soo in silence.

‘Han Ilkwon...!’

Just seeing that smug face made Tae-soo clench his fist.

He wanted nothing more than to smash that expression into oblivion.

Han Ilkwon casually raised his champagne glass and spoke in French.

His tone was exceptionally smooth and polite.

[Do you need my business card too? If you want it, come and get it yourself.]

With his friendly voice and charming smile, anyone who didn’t understand French might have thought he was showing interest in Tae-soo.

By now, everyone in the hall had turned their attention to Tae-soo and the heirs of Cheongil.

"Who is that guy?"

"Does anyone know anything about this Taeyang Construction?"

The people gathered here were all heirs of major conglomerates or children of influential politicians.

‘Now I see why Han Ilkwon’s lackeys picked a fight with me. They’re testing the waters.’

Tae-soo smirked.

Locking eyes with Han Ilkwon, Tae-soo responded in French, his tone refined and elegant.

[Your business card is worthless to me. Keep it for yourself.]

His pronunciation was far superior to Han Ilkwon’s, his choice of words far more sophisticated.

After all, he had been trained for years and had polished his foreign language skills while building connections with world-class leaders.

[Ah, I almost forgot.]

Tae-soo reached into his front pocket and pulled out a business card.

[How pathetic. You insist on introductions, yet the only thing you have to boast about is your father’s name? You can’t even say your own?]

He searched through the cards and picked out the one from the son of Cheongil Heavy Equipment’s president—the same guy who had mocked him about reading Korean and sneered in German.

With a casual flick, Tae-soo tucked it back into the guy’s suit pocket.

Of course, he spoke in flawless, high-level German.

[If you were going to act pretentious, you should have at least prepared a business card in German. Oh, wait—you can’t read it? What a shame.]

Next, he picked out the card from the son of Cheongil Refining’s president—the one who had called him a nouveau riche brat.

Naturally, Tae-soo returned it in fluent Chinese.

[I heard your father’s been running around desperately trying to secure oil deals. Must be tough, considering he’s just a salaried CEO. Instead of envying self-made men, why don’t you try becoming one yourself? How unfortunate.]

Now, only one business card remained in Tae-soo’s hand.

He turned to Kim Jaehak, the son of the Cheongil Chemicals president, and smirked.

"Did you spend your childhood playing while your friends were learning foreign languages? Your home training is already lacking—guess foreign language education was too much to ask. I understand."

Tae-soo deliberately patted Kim Jaehak’s shoulder and laughed.

"You’re just not at the level to mingle with me. So, I’ll have to politely decline your little social gathering."

The hall fell silent.

Everyone stared at Tae-soo with wide eyes.

Just then, someone arrived—having come down from the fifth floor to the third, searching for Tae-soo.

"Kang Tae-soo, what are you doing here?"

It was Cha Ga-beom, the Chief of the Presidential Security Service.

"Oh, Chief Cha, you're here as well? That must mean His Excellency is present, too."

"He's waiting for you upstairs."

Cha Ga-beom swept his gaze around the hall with a subtle glance.

"Wasting time down here? This isn’t the moment for you to be playing around with your peers."

Though it sounded like a reprimand, his tone was not particularly harsh.

"Geumsan, Samcheong, Lucky Seven, and Daehan Refining—the heads of all these groups are waiting for you to come up."

Each of these groups owned major oil businesses.

Notably, Cheongil Group was absent from the list.

Tae-soo had a good idea why Park Jeonghwan was waiting for him with those men.

"You’re the key to resolving the oil supply issue. Do you think I’d have come down here myself if it weren’t important?"

"Understood. Let’s go."

A hushed silence fell over the crowd in the hall.

‘The President and the heads of major conglomerates are waiting for him?’

‘He’s the one who can resolve the oil supply issue?’

The heirs of influential families, who had just been watching him with scorn, now looked at Tae-soo with newfound curiosity.

With a bright, polite smile, Tae-soo turned to them and bowed slightly.

"Well then, I’ll be on my way. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your evening."

Tae-soo walked side by side with Cha Ga-beom, leaving the third-floor hall behind.

As soon as he was out of sight, murmurs spread through the room.

"Has anyone even heard of this Taeyang Construction before?"

"Who the hell is he?"

The very same questions that had been muttered earlier when Tae-soo clashed with Cheongil’s lackeys were now being asked again—except this time, the tone was completely different.

"How many languages does he even speak?"

"All of them sounded flawless. Even his pronunciation was perfect."

"Is he really just some nouveau riche kid?"

The women in the hall began whispering among themselves.

Among them, one woman in particular fixed her gaze on the entrance where Tae-soo had disappeared—her expression brimming with intrigue.

It was Park Gyeong-hye, the daughter of Park Jeong-hwan.

Meanwhile, Kim Jaehak and his friends finally snapped out of their daze—but only after Tae-soo had long since vanished from the third floor.

"What the hell was that? He actually understood everything we said?"

"Whose son is he? I've never even heard of Taeyang Construction before!"

Frustrated, they downed their whiskey like water, pouring glass after glass in agitation.

"This is ridiculous."

"More! Isn’t there anything stronger?"

They were completely beside themselves with anger.

Yet, no matter how furious they were, they couldn’t afford to cause a scene at Geumsan’s event.

All they could do was drown their burning resentment in alcohol.

"Take it easy," one of them muttered.

"Ilkwon! You saw what happened, and yet you—"

"If you want to sit here and sulk like sore losers, then keep drinking," Han Ilkwon interrupted coldly.

Kim Jaehak and the others flinched.

"If you're that humiliated, just make sure you pay him back tenfold—instead of whining about it."

Han Ilkwon’s eyes gleamed ominously.

"That bastard better watch his back at night."

* * *

Geumsan Hotel, 5th Floor Hall

The hall was filled with prominent figures from the political and business world, gathered in small groups, engaged in quiet conversations.

‘A lot of familiar faces.’

As soon as Cha Ga-beom appeared, the crowd instinctively parted like the Red Sea.

Step, step.

Cha Ga-beom led Tae-soo toward a private room at the far end of the hall.

Inside were President Park Jeong-hwan and a select few conglomerate leaders.

"Let's go in."

"Yes, sir."

The moment Tae-soo and Cha Ga-beom disappeared behind the doors, murmurs erupted among the guests.

"Who is that young man?"

"Chief Cha personally escorted him inside. And to the room where the major corporate leaders are meeting, no less."

"I can’t make sense of this. How is some young upstart being allowed into a room that even we can’t enter?"

The room was a space strictly reserved for those personally summoned by the President himself.

Even senior politicians and the heads of Korea’s top ten business groups were left waiting outside.

Then, a loud, hearty laugh rang out from one corner of the room.

It was Park Tae-joong.

"Haha! Do you still not get it? He’s here because His Excellency personally called for him."

Park Taejong took a sip of whiskey, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

"Mark my words. Take a good look at him now because soon enough, he’ll be standing shoulder to shoulder with us."

In contrast, a snide chuckle came from the other side of the hall.

It was Kim Bongnam, president of Cheongil Chemicals.

"His Excellency probably just had some minor business with him. What could a brat like that possibly be worth?"

Park Tae-joong simply nodded.

"Then that means he’s important enough for the President to summon him personally."

"Let’s not play word games, President Park of Pohang Steel."

"This isn’t a word game. Just look at the facts. His Excellency didn’t call for Cheongil’s Chairman Han—but he did call for Taeyang Construction’s Kang Tae-soo. That says everything, doesn’t it?"

Kim Bongnam scoffed.

"Facts? Hah. Let’s be clear. Our Chairman Han isn’t here because he’s busy, not because His Excellency didn’t summon him."

Chairman Han Cheongho of Cheongil Group had indeed not attended the Geumsan Shipbuilding inauguration event.

But no one in the room truly believed Kim Bongnam’s words.

Instead, they believed what they had just witnessed with their own eyes.

—Kang Tae-soo of Taeyang Construction.

At that moment, his name was burned into their memories.

* * *

Outside Han Cheongho’s Study

Secretary Park felt uneasy.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

It had been six hours since Han Cheongho entered his study, his face twisted into a terrifying scowl like that of a vengeful spirit.

Yet, the silence was deafening—like the calm before a storm.

There were no sounds of objects shattering, no furious curses, no shouting.

‘This is a first.’

Never before had the study been this eerily still. In a way, the silence was even more terrifying.

"Come in."

At last, Han Cheongho’s voice broke the stillness.

Secretary Park carefully opened the study door.

‘This can’t be…’

It was dark—yet everything was intact.

Not a single thing was out of place. The study remained impeccably neat, as if untouched by the storm raging within its occupant.

Han Cheongho sat alone in the darkness, unmoving.

‘What on earth has Chairman Han been doing in this darkness all this time?’

A question that gnawed at Secretary Park’s mind.

The only light in the room came from the moonlight seeping through the window, casting an eerie glow.

Han Cheongho’s face was barely visible, but the part that emerged from the shadows was ghastly, exuding an ominous, ghostly aura.

"We're heading to the Geumsan Hotel."

His voice was hoarse, as if worn down by deep contemplation.

Then, from within the shadows, Han Cheongho rose to his feet.

"Let’s go."

It was a step taken with resolve—but it carried the weight of something heavy, inescapable.