Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 81

81. At the Geumsan Hotel Banquet Hall (2)

As Tae-soo stepped outside, he heard the same annoying voice from behind again.

Even hearing it a second time, it grated on him.

“Hey, waiter. Who’d you drag in here? Just looking at his face, I can tell he’s trying too hard. Are you some kind of celebrity?”

“I, well…”

The employee, caught off guard by the direct question, was flustered and didn’t know what to do.

He kept glancing between the loudmouth and Tae-soo, frozen in place.

Tae-soo, who had been about to meet Chairman Jang Jun-yong with the employee’s help, stopped.

“Why can’t you answer? Did you recklessly bring in some attention-seeker?”

“No, sir. This gentleman is from Taeyang Construction. I also checked his invitation.”

“Taeyang Construction? Never heard of it. Some backwater outfit, right?”

Tae-soo decided there was no need to swat at every annoying fly.

He addressed the employee directly. “Where is Chairman Jang Jun-yong?”

Suddenly, another voice chimed in. “Wow, even if you’re clueless, where do you get the nerve to try and meet the head of the Geumsan Group directly?”

Another guy joined the fray. “Taeyang Construction? Never heard of them. Is he the son of some nouveau riche [newly rich person]?”

A total of three people now surrounded Tae-soo.

The first instigator spoke again. “Is this your first time at a gathering like this? Then you need to learn the rules of this world. Should I give you a lesson?”

He reached out to grab Tae-soo’s shoulder and turn him around.

Tae-soo slapped his hand away with a sharp smack.

“For a supposed gentleman to reach out like that at a first meeting shows a serious lack of family education, which you need to relearn before you worry about the rules of this world.”

Tae-soo brushed off his shoulder where the man had touched him.

He didn’t even get angry because the guy wasn’t worth the effort.

“What are you doing? Lead the way,” he urged the employee, but the man who had grabbed Tae-soo’s shoulder blocked his path.

“Now that you’re here, you should mingle with your peers. You’re not going to run off to find your daddy because you’re scared, are you? Hehehe.”

This was Kim Jae-hak, the son of Kim Bong-nam, the president of Cheongil Chemical.

He had always been eager to get under Tae-soo’s skin, viewing him as Han Il-kwon’s right-hand man and secretary.

‘This guy is annoying no matter when I see him,’ Tae-soo thought.

In both his past life and this one, they always ended up fighting, so there was no way he could look kindly upon Kim Jae-hak.

“Since we’ve met like this, let’s introduce ourselves. The president of Cheongil Chemical is my father.”

“You’re introducing yourself with your father’s name?”

“That’s the rule of this world. Business ranking comes before age, and who your father is determines your son’s social position. What’s the business ranking of your father who runs Taeyang Construction?”

Kim Jae-hak smiled and pulled out a business card, shoving it into Tae-soo’s front pocket.

“If you receive a business card, the rule of this world is to return the favor.”

Another guy also stuffed a business card into Tae-soo’s front pocket.

This guy deliberately spoke in Chinese.

“[Of course, that’s the most basic of basics. My father is the president of Cheongil Oil Refinery. Where did the son of a nouveau riche shamelessly stick his face in here?]”

Yet another guy inserted a business card while speaking in German.

“[My father is the president of Cheongil Heavy Industries. But you wouldn’t understand even if I said this, right? Oh, maybe you can tell by looking at the business card? Surely you can read Hangul [Korean alphabet], right?]”

Now that he looked closer, they were Han Il-kwon’s lackeys from Cheongil.

Tae-soo’s eyes searched for the person behind them.

He spotted Han Il-kwon sitting on a plush sofa, leisurely watching the scene unfold, a champagne glass in his hand, his gaze fixed on Tae-soo.

‘Han Il-kwon…!’

Seeing that face made his fists clench involuntarily.

He wanted to smash that smug look off his face right then and there.

Han Il-kwon slightly raised his champagne glass and spoke in French.

His tone was smooth and polite.

“[Do you need my business card too? If you want it, come over here.]”

Han Il-kwon spoke with a smile and a kind voice, so if you didn’t understand French, you might think he was being friendly.

As the situation escalated, everyone in the hall began to pay attention to Tae-soo and Cheongil’s sons.

“Who is he that they’re ganging up on him like this?”

“Does anyone know someone from Taeyang Construction?”

The people gathered here were all children of chaebols [large family-owned conglomerates] or influential politicians.

‘I think I know why Cheongil’s lackeys are suddenly picking a fight. It’s a preliminary probe, isn’t it?’

Tae-soo chuckled inwardly.

Tae-soo looked directly at Han Il-kwon and spoke elegantly and politely in French.

“[Your business card is useless to me. You can keep it.]”

Tae-soo used native-speaker pronunciation and sophisticated vocabulary that far surpassed Han Il-kwon’s abilities.

After all, he had been educated in foreign languages for a long time, cultivating friendships with world-class figures.

“[Oh, I almost forgot.]”

Tae-soo took out a business card from his front pocket.

“[You pathetic things who have nothing to show off but your fathers, and can’t even say your own names while introducing yourselves.]”

Tae-soo found the business card of the son of the president of Cheongil Heavy Industries among them.

He was the one who had sneered, saying he couldn’t read Hangul and didn’t understand German.

He put it back in the front pocket of that guy’s suit.

It goes without saying that he used much more advanced, high-level German.

“[Why didn’t you prepare a business card printed in German, if possible? Oh, you don’t know the letters? That’s a shame.]”

This time, he found the business card of the son of Cheongil Oil Refinery.

He was the one who had made the crack about the son of a nouveau riche.

Of course, he returned it in fluent Chinese.

“[I heard your father is very busy these days running around trying to find oil? It must be hard because your father is a salaried president. Instead of envying the nouveau riche father, you should think about becoming a nouveau riche yourself. It’s a pity.]”

One last business card remained in Tae-soo’s hand.

“You must have been playing alone when your friends were learning foreign languages. I understand that foreign language education would have been too much for your already poor family education.”

Tae-soo deliberately tapped Kim Jae-hak, the son of the president of Cheongil Chemical, on the shoulder and laughed.

“I can’t hang out with you because your level is too low. For that reason, I politely decline this peer gathering.”

Silence hung in the hall.

Everyone’s eyes widened as they looked at Tae-soo.

At that moment, someone who had come down from the 5th floor to the 3rd floor looking for Tae-soo appeared.

“Kang Tae-soo, what are you doing here?”

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

“Ah, Chief Cha, you were here too? Then His Excellency [the President] must have come as well.”

“They are waiting for you upstairs.”

Cha Ki-beom only glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the scene.

“Were you playing here? Now is not the time to play with your peers.”

Cha Ki-beom’s scolding didn’t sound like a scolding at all.

“Geumsan, Samcheong, Lucky Seven, and even Daehan Oil. The heads of all those groups are waiting for you to come up.”

Those groups all owned major oil refineries.

Cheongil Group was conspicuously excluded.

Tae-soo thought he knew why Park Jeong-hwan was waiting for him with them.

“Isn’t it because you need me to finalize the oil supply issue? I wouldn’t have come down here myself otherwise.”

“I understand. Let’s go up.”

The people gathered in the hall gasped.

‘His Excellency and the chaebol chairmen are waiting for this man?’

‘This man can solve the oil supply problem?’

The children of the rich and powerful looked at Tae-soo with newfound respect.

Tae-soo smiled brightly at them and greeted them politely.

“Then I’ll be on my way. I hope everyone has a good time.”

Tae-soo left the 3rd floor hall side by side with Cha Ki-beom.

People began to mutter softly.

“Does anyone know someone from Taeyang Construction?”

“Who is he that they’re doing this for?”

It was the same question that had been asked when Tae-soo got into a fight with Cheongil’s lackeys.

But the nuance was completely different now.

“How many languages does he speak?”

“They’re all top-notch. Even his pronunciation is perfect.”

“Is he really just the son of some nouveau riche?”

The women each began to whisper amongst themselves.

Among them, there was a woman looking at the entrance where Tae-soo had disappeared with particularly keen interest.

It was Park Jeong-hwan’s daughter, Park Kyung-hye.

It was only after Tae-soo had vanished from the 3rd floor that Kim Jae-hak and his friends came to their senses.

“What the hell is that bastard! He understood all of that?”

“So whose son is he? I’ve never even heard of Taeyang Construction!”

They poured out liquor as if they were trying to empty the bottles completely, venting their anger.

“Wow, I’m so dumbfounded.”

“Liquor! Isn’t there anything stronger?”

They were so angry that they didn’t know what to do.

They couldn’t cause a scene at Geumsan’s event.

They kept pouring strong liquor to soothe their burning insides.

“Drink moderately.”

“Il-kwon! You saw that and…”

“If you’re thinking of backing down like that, then keep drinking.”

Kim Jae-hak and his friends paused.

“It’s enough to pay him back more than you’re upset, so why are you so angry?”

Han Il-kwon’s eyes flashed ominously.

“That bastard better watch out tonight.”

* * *

Geumsan Hotel 5th floor hall.

There, famous figures from the political and business world were gathered in groups of three or five, talking.

‘There are many familiar faces.’

When Cha Ki-beom appeared, the crowd parted as if the Red Sea had opened.

Step by step.

Cha Ki-beom led Tae-soo to a room at the end of the 5th floor hall.

It was a place where only President Park Jeong-hwan and a select few group chairmen had been allowed to enter.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

As Tae-soo and Cha Ki-beom disappeared into the room, people began to buzz.

“Who is that young man?”

“Chief Cha brought him himself. He even volunteered to guide him to the place where the group summit was being held.”

“I don’t know what’s going on. How can such a young punk enter the room where His Excellency is…”

It was a room that could not be entered without being personally invited by His Excellency the President.

Even elderly politicians or group chairmen within the top 10 of the business world were not allowed in at this time.

At that moment, a hearty laugh came from a nearby corner.

It was Park Tae-jong.

“Hahaha, don’t you recognize him even when you see him? His Excellency urgently summoned him, so he came here.”

Park Tae-jong smiled contentedly while taking a sip of whiskey.

“Everyone, take a good look now. Because he’s going to rise fiercely soon and stand shoulder to shoulder with us.”

On the other hand, there was also a snorting sound.

It was Kim Bong-nam, the president of Cheongil Chemical.

“It seems His Excellency has something to ask. What is he to be called.”

Park Tae-jong nodded.

“It means he’s important enough that His Excellency has something to ask him.”

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

“It’s not a word game. Let’s just look at the facts. His Excellency didn’t call Chairman Han of Cheongil, but he called Kang Tae-soo of Taeyang Construction. Isn’t that the end of it?”

Han Cheong-ho, the head of Cheongil Group, did not attend this launch event of Geumsan Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries.

But no one believed Kim Bong-nam’s words.

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

-Kang Tae-soo of Taeyang Construction.

It was the moment when Tae-soo’s name was etched into people’s minds.

* * *

Outside Han Cheong-ho’s study.

Secretary Park was puzzled.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

It had already been 6 hours since Han Cheong-ho had entered the study with a face as scary as a demon.

But it was only quiet like the calm before the storm.

There was no sound of things breaking, no swearing, no shouting.

‘It’s a first for me since I joined the company.’

It was even scarier that Han Cheong-ho’s study was so quiet, like a tomb.

“Come in.”

Finally, Han Cheong-ho’s call came.

Secretary Park carefully opened the study door.

‘How can this be?’

It was dark. But that wasn’t the issue.

The study was neat and tidy, without even a single thing out of place.

Han Cheong-ho was sitting alone in the dark study with the lights off.

‘What on earth has the chairman been doing alone in this darkness until now?’

Secretary Park was consumed with curiosity.

Only the moonlight seeping through the window illuminated the study.

Han Cheong-ho’s face was not clearly visible.

Han Cheong-ho’s face, half-revealed in the darkness, was so eerie that it looked ghostly.

“I will head to Geumsan Hotel.”

His voice was also very hoarse.

Han Cheong-ho rose from the darkness.

“Let’s go.”

As if he had made a firm decision, his steps were heavy.