Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 89

89. The Negotiator’s Victory (5)

In Han Cheong-ho’s mind, only three things could cause a serious rift with Park Jeong-hwan.

First, issues involving Japan.

That was Park Jeong-hwan’s weakness, but Han Cheong-ho felt he could manage it, so it wasn’t a major concern.

Second, matters concerning Park Jeong-hwan’s wife.

This would strike at Park Jeong-hwan’s pride as a man.

It could even lead to him punishing Han Cheong-ho and his wife for disrespecting him.

‘He might not even involve Cheongil Group directly.’

Besides, knowing Park Jeong-hwan, he might simply replace his wife if things got too messy.

But the last one was different.

‘Only this would inevitably lead to the dismantling of Cheongil Group.’

Park Jeong-hwan must never find out about that.

Han Cheong-ho relaxed his clenched fist, releasing the tension.

“Why are you going this far against me?”

“You tried to kill me, too. What was your reason?”

It was, in his view, a trivial reason.

He was annoying.

He was infuriating.

He made him uncomfortable.

“Does that answer your question, then?”

“No, your case and mine are different.”

Han Cheong-ho smiled, a venomous expression.

He was fully armed, having discarded all complacency.

“Back then, I was strong, and you were weak. A strong person doesn’t need a reason to kill a weak one, but a weak person needs a significant reason to stand against a strong one.”

Because it was almost an act of reckless bravado [bold courage or defiance].

There were plenty of ways to compromise.

‘You’ve been like this since you only had that molybdenum mine [a mine producing molybdenum, a metal used in alloys].’

Even then, Tae-soo stood against Han Cheong-ho.

He didn’t have to, but he deliberately chose the difficult path.

From beginning to end, Tae-soo was consistent.

‘I admit it. You are my greatest adversary.’

Until now, he had looked down on Tae-soo.

He treated him like a kid, an immature brat.

He treated him like a weakling because he had nothing.

He dismissed his abilities as insignificant.

‘Thanks to you, I’m now bitterly reflecting on my mistakes.’

Han Cheong-ho finally looked at Tae-soo properly.

Tae-soo was the real deal.

“Give me a reason. The reason you’re hostile to me. No matter how much I think about it, I don’t know. I can’t figure it out.”

That way, I can prepare myself, too.

Tae-soo looked down at Han Cheong-ho for a moment.

Then, without hesitation, he turned his back.

“Kang Tae-soo, say something!”

In the end, Tae-soo said nothing.

Thud.

The conference room door closed.

Han Cheong-ho smiled as he looked at the closed door.

“To remain silent until the end, even after I went this far. He’s a truly formidable guy.”

It was an act to gauge Tae-soo’s true feelings, to learn his weaknesses.

Han Cheong-ho got up effortlessly, as if he had never been frustrated.

Secretary Park, who was plastered against the wall, was startled to see that.

“C-Chairman?”

“You pathetic fool. Your liver is too weak. Tsk, tsk.”

Just a moment ago, Han Cheong-ho was a madman himself, jumping up and down in anger, sitting on the floor in frustration, grinding his teeth and vowing revenge.

But now, he was perfectly normal, just like always.

Han Cheong-ho nonchalantly brushed the dust off his suit.

“What a waste of effort. There’s no way my acting didn’t work at all. I didn’t gain much.”

No, wait.

“I got good information. I learned that he’s a guy who doesn’t budge even when shaken this much. He looks like a gigolo [a young man paid to escort or entertain a woman] on the outside, but he’s completely different on the inside.”

Han Cheong-ho smiled leisurely.

“His eyes didn’t waver until the end.”

That meant it wasn’t just about money or greed.

It meant he couldn’t be swayed with just this much.

That meant his resolve was strong, and his heart was firm.

“He’s not an easy guy. I thought he was a pushover. He’s not easy to deal with.”

Han Cheong-ho’s eyes sank deeply.

* * *

Click.

The conference room door opened.

It was Jang Jun-yong and Secretary Kim, whose curiosity had reached its peak since the door had opened briefly earlier.

They were startled and jumped away when they saw the door.

“What are you doing here?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. It was a bit noisy inside. Did the contract go well?”

Tae-soo took out a contract from his pocket and shook it.

It was just a single-page contract.

“As you can see, it went well.”

“I’m relieved. Han Cheong-ho of Cheongil wouldn’t sign a contract so easily… Huh?”

Something was strange.

Looking closely, it was very strange.

“The contract seems too thin. Did you just bring the cover?”

“No. What’s the point of a thick contract? It just needs to contain the necessary information concisely.”

“Still, it’s too thin, isn’t it? Besides, the title is… Gasp!”

Jang Jun-yong’s eyes widened in disbelief.

It was an unbelievable title.

“Contract Regarding the Merger and Acquisition of Cheongil Oil & Gas and Cheongil Heavy Industries?”

No, why is Cheongil Heavy Industries next to Cheongil Oil & Gas?

Jang Jun-yong rubbed his eyes and opened them wide again.

Tae-soo readily handed the contract to Jang Jun-yong.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“I’m going to give it to His Excellency the President [referring to the President of South Korea]. Please deliver it to him on my behalf.”

“So, why are you giving this to me…?”

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I thought you might be curious about what happened inside, so I’m offering it to you.”

Jang Jun-yong quickly took the contract.

“I’ll take responsibility and deliver it to His Excellency. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

After all, it was easier for Jang Jun-yong of Geumsan to go in and out of the Blue House [the presidential residence in South Korea] than for Tae-soo.

And there was another reason why Tae-soo didn’t want to go to Park Jeong-hwan himself.

“But how did you manage to get Cheongil Heavy Industries too?”

It was because he was reluctant to answer this question.

“Isn’t it written in the contract? It’s only a few lines.”

Tae-soo pointed to one line.

“Huh…”

It was really there.

The reason was even absurd.

“You’re not telling me to believe that Han Cheong-ho gave up Cheongil Heavy Industries for such a ridiculous reason, are you?”

“What can I do? You have to believe it.”

“Will His Excellency believe it too?”

“What can I do? He has no choice but to believe it.”

Tae-soo grinned.

“If you’re curious, His Excellency will call Han Cheong-ho and ask him directly.”

What kind of excuse would Han Cheong-ho make in front of Park Jeong-hwan?

He wouldn’t be able to tell the real reason, even if he died and came back to life.

“If you give this to me, what about your contract?”

“I knew you’d ask, so I had three copies made.”

Tae-soo took out another contract from his pocket and shook it.

Then it quickly disappeared into his pocket.

“Then I’ll be on my way. I’m exhausted from arguing with such a tiring guy.”

“Hahaha, Han Cheong-ho is indeed a tiring person. Speaking of which, now that the contract has been successfully concluded, I’ll buy you a celebratory drink…”

“Goodbye.”

Tae-soo bowed politely at a 90-degree angle and ran away.

“Hey, you!”

“I’ll see you again next time!”

Han-soo also disappeared.

Jang Jun-yong looked at Secretary Kim with a dumbfounded expression.

“That guy just ran away, right?”

“Can’t you tell?”

“Why? I was going to buy him a celebratory drink?”

“I think I know why.”

Secretary Kim glanced at the contract Jang Jun-yong was holding.

Then, she widened her eyes and gasped.

“C-Ch-Chairman!”

“What?”

“Th-Th-This!”

“What?”

Jang Jun-yong looked at the contract again with a nonchalant face.

He rubbed his eyes again.

“Am I getting old and my eyesight is failing? The amount looks strange?”

“Chairman, is this really a contract that I’m looking at?”

“I know, right? It’s like a child’s play. 10 won [approximately $0.007 USD]?”

It was absurd.

“Besides, the Cheongil Group is taking over all the debt?”

“Are they crazy?”

But at the bottom of the contract, in the signature and seal section, Han Cheong-ho really wrote his name and signed it.

“He signed this? The Han Cheong-ho? Why? How?”

He couldn’t believe it even while looking at it.

Jang Jun-yong and Secretary Kim blamed their failing eyesight and looked at it up close, from afar, and then again.

Nothing changed.

Finally, Secretary Kim groaned.

“Chairman, I don’t know about anything else, but I think I know one thing.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I know why Han Cheong-ho was going crazy and smashing everything inside. My curiosity has been satisfied.”

Jang Jun-yong’s curiosity was also satisfied.

Then, another curiosity tormented him even more.

“So, what trick did he use! How did it end up like this!”

Should he catch Kang Tae-soo, who had already run away, and ask him?

* * *

He left the Geumsan Hotel and got into the car.

The car sped smoothly onto the road.

Han-soo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, couldn’t help but ask.

“Hyung [Korean term for older brother or close male friend], what’s the real reason you’re hostile to Cheongil?”

Tae-soo never told him the reason.

So Han-soo still didn’t know.

“Don’t ask. You’ll get hurt if you know.”

“That Chairman is right. The strong don’t need a reason to bully, but the weak must have a reason to stand against the strong.”

“Don’t be swayed by plausible nonsense.”

Tae-soo scoffed.

“That’s all Han Cheong-ho’s acting. He was testing me.”

Han-soo was horrified.

“Acting? That was all acting?”

“Didn’t you, who are so sensitive, feel any sense of incongruity?”

“I felt a bit strangely off at certain points, but that’s because of the situation…”

“That’s it. You definitely have a sharp intuition. You react quickly; you have a talent for it.”

Tae-soo was impressed by Han-soo’s talent.

To be honest, Tae-soo didn’t feel that subtly off part while dealing with Han Cheong-ho.

He was so skilled that there was no sense of incongruity at all.

That was what made Han Cheong-ho so scary.

“How are you so sure, Hyung? That it’s all acting.”

“I can tell by looking at his eyes.”

Tae-soo said.

“Voice, tone, expression, atmosphere, gestures. All of that can be faked.”

“Then why the eyes?”

“The eyes don’t lie.”

Han Cheong-ho’s eyes were deep.

Even when he was angry, when he was sneering, when he was resigned, his eyes were deeply sunken.

In the meantime, he had rational eyes, working hard.

“If you want to deceive someone, don’t look at their eyes. Close your eyes instead.”

Tae-soo looked at Han-soo and smiled.

“You’ll soon find out too. When you meet people who are worn out.”

How many years has Tae-soo been dealing with such people in this industry?

Most people aren’t as skilled at acting as Han Cheong-ho, and he can’t even count how many guys are scheming more than Han Cheong-ho.

But Tae-soo learned properly from Han Il-kwon in the Cheongil Hospital VIP room, to the point of being bone-chilling.

“The eyes are the window to the soul. It wasn’t just a saying.”

It was Han Il-kwon who had been acting by Tae-soo’s side for 45 years.

The eyes of a murderer.

He realized that those eyes were the familiar eyes that Tae-soo usually saw.

‘It’s a lesson learned through death. It was the last education I learned at the highest price.’

In that respect, Han Il-kwon was much better at acting than Han Cheong-ho.

He was more outstanding than anyone in a bad way.

“Han-soo, thanks to Han Cheong-ho’s shallow trick, we gained a great advantage.”

“That’s right. Under that pretext, we bought Cheongil Oil & Gas and Cheongil Heavy Industries for only 20 won. On top of that, we passed the debt back to the Cheongil Group.”

“Originally, I was going to pay a fair price and take over.”

That’s why he told Han-soo to keep the money to acquire Cheongil Oil & Gas.

But the situation had changed.

“If Han Cheong-ho hadn’t played a dirty trick first, President Park Jeong-hwan wouldn’t have turned a blind eye to my trick.”

It was Han Cheong-ho who broke the rules of fair play first.

Park Jeong-hwan would have been displeased that he had taken his intentions lightly and played a trick.

Because of that, he would also turn a blind eye to Tae-soo’s trick.

“Hyung, where are we going now?”

“The president’s office of Cheongil Heavy Industries.”

“Why to the president’s office of Cheongil Heavy Industries?”

Tae-soo grinned.

“Why else? Because there’s something we need to get our hands on before Han Cheong-ho does.”

Right now, Cheongil Oil & Gas would be deserted.

But Cheongil Heavy Industries was different.

“They must be snickering, thinking that Hyung is getting a hard time, but everyone will be horrified when Hyung shows up with the merger and acquisition contract.”

It would be like a bolt from the blue.

Beurrung [onomatopoeia for an engine revving].

Tae-soo’s car sped up.