Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 118

118. Not Selling! (1)

A taxi pulled up in front of the farmhouse.

Slim jumped out of the car as if he’d been ejected.

“Grandma! I’m here!”

“Oh, my puppies are here!”

Slim’s grandma rushed out of the yard.

Slim ran towards his grandma, but she bypassed him and hugged Taesu tightly.

“You’ve worked so hard, you’ve suffered so much. Taesu, you’ve really gone through a lot.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Thank you, thank you. Every month, you take care of the living expenses, food, and clothes. The hospital bills, the medicine, the car, and even that young man over there.”

A black head peeked out from over the fence.

“Taesu, I can only thank you. How did you grow up so wonderfully? When your article was published, I bought all the newspapers and stuck them on the wall. Your parents must be happy, right?”

Happy? That’s an understatement.

They held a village feast for a whole week.

Cousins and distant relatives called to congratulate, and their voices were hoarse from answering all the calls.

“Grandma, Grandma, your grandson isn’t Taesu, it’s me.”

“Yes, my little rascal.”

Only now did Slim’s grandma hold her precious grandson’s face.

It felt like a dream.

“My baby, you’ve gained some weight. Oh, good. Oh, well done.”

“I ate well, slept well, rested well, and exercised hard. Look, I have muscles now, right?”

Slim flexed his muscles.

To Taesu, they still looked scrawny, but to Slim’s grandma, they looked like iron arms.

“Oh, those muscles are as big as your waist!”

Grandma hugged Slim and rejoiced.

But a large shadow lurking in the neighbor’s yard stuck to the wall.

“As big as your waist? More like your heart.”

A man over 2 meters tall.

A giant whose entire body was trained with muscles.

“Muscles should be at least this big.”

When he flexed his muscles, an overwhelming mass of muscle bulged.

Slim’s mouth dropped open, and he shouted as if possessed.

“Brother Gwangrok!”

Taesu knew him well too.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well. Just guarding the house like a dog.”

Kim Gwangrok smiled.

“Taesu, it’s been a long time. Are you planning to stay in Korea for good now?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Have you greeted General Park yet?”

Kim Gwangrok was sent by Park Taejong.

He was also a neighborhood older brother, five years older, who grew up with him in Yeongdeungpo.

“I left the military to protect you, but I never thought I’d be guarding your house.”

Slim’s next-door neighbor *was* Taesu’s house.

When he bought Slim a house, he bought the house next door together.

When Slim’s grandma returned to her house, he assigned him as her bodyguard.

“If you keep grumbling, I’ll raise the rent.”

“…It was a satisfying time. Country life suits me. Hahaha.”

There’s nothing scarier to a tenant than the landlord raising the rent.

Especially if that landlord is also your employer.

* * *

Thanks to Grandma, they had a hearty dinner after a long time.

After putting Grandma to bed early, they came out to the yard.

They set up a platform in the yard and had a drinking party for the first time in a while.

The one who liked this moment the most was, of course, Slim.

“Sweet. This *makgeolli* [Korean rice wine] is sweet. You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this moment. Hehehe.”

Alcohol is prohibited in Saudi Arabia.

So, Slim, who had been forced to abstain from alcohol, must have missed it terribly.

“What kind of wealth and glory was I trying to enjoy in Saudi Arabia? Leaving this good stuff behind.”

He went to protect Taesu’s back, but he suffered from Song’s harsh training.

The taste of alcohol after a long time was like honey.

“By the way, Brother Gwangrok has become almost a monster?”

“My body?”

“Yes, you were tall and muscular before, but not to this extent…”

Slim shuddered as he looked at Kim Gwangrok’s muscles.

No matter how much he insisted that his ribs were *king* (王) muscles, he couldn’t even show his face in front of him.

“Brother, these abs aren’t a washboard, they’re a staircase!”

“Hahaha!”

Kim Gwangrok, pleased with Slim’s flattery, laughed heartily.

“Brother, your skin has become like a rag in the meantime? What are all these scars?”

“What else? They’re badges of honor.”

How many knife scars are there?

There weren’t even that many scars when he was the best fighter in Yeongdeungpo.

What kind of fights has he been in so much in the few years he hasn’t seen him?

“These kinds of scars are common when you receive special training.”

“Did you come back from some kind of North Korean commando operation?”

“Are you curious?”

Kim Gwangrok bared his gums and smiled menacingly, and Slim shook his head violently.

“No, if Brother’s arm has a knife scar, the opponent’s head would have been cut off. Of course. They would have stepped into the land of the dead right away.”

“Hahaha!”

Kim Gwangrok laughed with delight.

Taesu asked cautiously.

“I heard you were going to stay in the military for good, how did you get out?”

Kim Gwangrok’s dream was to become a general.

If he had been born in a chaotic era like the Three Kingdoms, he would have become a general.

Kim Gwangrok entered the Korea Military Academy early on.

“I wasn’t meant to be a general.”

Kim Gwangrok smiled bitterly.

“Now, the military is an era where you rise through connections, not merit.”

The war is over now.

So, the opportunity to gain merit is over.

“They pull each other up, push each other, and lift each other up. They do everything together. There was no place for me there.”

Ability, force, and tactics are all useless.

“Secret private organizations are rampant in the military, so people like me are the first to be put on the execution stand.”

“What kind of people are people like you?”

“Me? People with no money, no background, and no greed.”

“Not people who are thoughtless and clueless?”

“Let’s just say I’m someone who can’t see people. I was betrayed by a classmate and came out.”

Taesu was also well aware of this.

‘He’s talking about Jeon Du-hwan’s Oseonghoe [secret society within the military].’

*Oseonghoe* refers to the New Military Clique.

It is a secret military organization formed in 1963, mainly by Jeon Du-hwan, Roh Tae-woo, Jeong Ho-yeong, Kim Bok-dal, and Yoon Pal-yong, who were the 11th graduates of the Korea Military Academy.

They have been steadily recruiting members, mainly targeting young officers from Gyeongsang Province, as they came down each class.

‘A person who came to me with Park Taejong’s recommendation was rejected by *Oseonghoe*.’

Taesu looked at Kim Gwangrok with strange eyes.

Park Jeong-hwan and Park Taejong were actively supporting Jeon Du-hwan.

‘Brother Gwangrok didn’t ride the *Oseonghoe* train in his past life. I heard he went abroad to work as a mercenary, but I don’t know what happened after that.’

Hansu and Slim couldn’t understand Kim Gwangrok’s words at all.

“Secret private organizations are rampant in the military? And the President is just watching it happen?”

Kim Gwangrok clicked his tongue.

“You don’t know anything. It’s an organization that the President is fostering and supporting from behind.”

“That’s impossible.”

“What’s impossible? Isn’t it natural to have guys who listen well monitor the lower classes of the military and prevent them from doing nonsense?”

Originally, private organizations within the military are not allowed.

However, the basics of political maneuvering are organization management.

Especially, organizations that are a threat to oneself must be strictly controlled to reduce variables.

“Rather than worrying about another military coup, it’s a more certain and better way to grab the real power that controls the military and use it.”

“Taesu knows a thing or two.”

Park Jeong-hwan is the one who seized power through the May 16 military coup in 1961.

Since then, he has not given up the power he holds.

The reason is that he firmly held the military forces.

‘If Park Jeong-hwan loses power, he must be thinking that there is no other way than a military coup. So, he created the *Oseonghoe* centered around Jeon Du-hwan to monitor the military.’

Jeon Du-hwan cleverly incited the Korea Military Academy students to hold a demonstration in support of the May 16 military coup.

With that, he was able to attract Park Jeong-hwan’s attention and catch his eye.

-Park Jeong-hwan supports Jeon Du-hwan.

-Jeon Du-hwan secretly gathers military officers and systematically supports Park Jeong-hwan.

-Identifies and punishes impure elements within the military.

That was the reason why Park Jeong-hwan was able to enjoy military dictatorship for so long.

“Brother Gwangrok, you’re from the same military academy, why did you give up so early? You would have had a chance.”

“They forced me to do disgusting things. They told me to take an oath of allegiance that would force me to obey absolutely. They were going to commit personality destruction, it wasn’t right.”

Taesu also knew about this.

This *Oseonghoe* incident will be subject to a massive purge only after President Kim Young-sam’s civilian government in 1993.

“I got on the wrong side and only suffered really dirty things, so I got annoyed and took off my military uniform. Damn it, the air outside the military is terribly good. It’s just that I can’t meet pretty women.”

The person he has to protect is a seventy-year-old grandma.

What a fate.

Kim Gwangrok gulped down *makgeolli* from the kettle.

He roughly wiped the *makgeolli* that flowed down his chin with the back of his hand.

“Anyway, it’s nice to see you after a long time!”

“Nice to see you too.”

Clang.

The *makgeolli* bowls collided in the air.

Taesu looked around and asked.

“Are there any guys snooping around these days looking to buy land?”

Kim Gwangrok’s eyes widened.

“How did you know? I heard there are people looking for land around here these days.”

I knew it.

“They’re from Cheongil Construction, right?”

“How did you know? Did you meet them too?”

That’s impossible.

But I expected it.

Kim Gwangrok smiled awkwardly.

“Taesu, I bought a few patches of farmland in this neighborhood with my retirement money at your request, but should I sell them this time?”

“The land price will go up if you wait.”

“When will this wasteland ever be developed? That’s why everyone is impatient. Cheongil Construction offered double the price. Everyone is tempted and flocking to them.”

“I figured.”

This place will soon become prime real estate.

But currently, it’s just worthless land at a cheap price, so everyone must be anxious.

“Slim, let’s take Grandma back to the Gangwon Province mine for a while.”

“Why? I came back to Korea, so I want to live with her here.”

“I’m afraid this house will become noisy soon.”

I know better than anyone how Cheongil acts when things go wrong.

So, I’m worried that Slim’s elderly grandma will suffer.

“I’m worried that a strange person might cause trouble when we’re not here.”

“Brother Gwangrok lives next door, though?”

“What if Grandma falls and gets hurt during a scuffle? How many people have you seen break a bone and die at that age?”

“That’s true.”

Slim heard a lot about Cheongil from Secretary Song.

He immediately understood Taesu’s words.

“I’ll have to take Grandma to Gangwon Province tomorrow.”

“Good.”

“Taesu, what about you?”

“I’m planning to stay at the hotel as usual for the time being.”

“Then what about Brother Gwangrok?”

Suddenly, Kim Gwangrok slapped his fist into his palm.

“Ah! So, I have to follow Slim’s grandma to Gangwon Province?”

There are many miners in Gangwon Province, so it’s okay.

“No, you can stay here as usual, Brother. Of course, I won’t charge you rent either.”

“Oh, good. Hahaha!”

Taesu smiled.

“Instead, you have to guard the house well. You’re confident you can teach the thugs a lesson if they break in, right?”

“Hahaha. Why are you asking the obvious?”

Kim Gwangrok smiled more evilly than Taesu.

“That’s my specialty. My body is itching to do something anyway. I hope some bastard comes in. I’d be grateful!”

Kim Gwangrok’s bulging muscles were furious.

“I really like the things you’ve supported me with.”

Taesu had sent him a lot of useful things in advance.

It’s easy to get them because he’s friends with a weapons dealer.

“Landlord, don’t worry. I’ll protect this house. Hahaha!”

This brother is very reliable.

‘I’ll show them what real holdout tactics are this time.’

The war has just begun.