Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 120

120. Not Selling! (3)

The Gukbin Hall in Jongno. [Jongno is a district in Seoul, South Korea.]

A glamorous entertainment establishment where shows unfold every night.

But the daytime is quieter than one might think.

Han Il-kwon visited the place after a long time.

“Just a moment, sir. The sight might not be suitable for a young master like you.”

“Do you think I haven’t seen this before? Lead the way.”

Terrible things often happened in the basement of the Gukbin Hall.

Just like now.

Creak. Creak.

A flickering light bulb, an interior thick with cigarette smoke.

The basement was perfect as a torture chamber.

They dunked the head of a bloodied man into a bathtub and pulled it out.

“Puhah! Cough, cough. Kehek!”

The young man, the boss of the Gukbin Hall, asked.

“It’s pointless to resist stubbornly. No one will know even if a bastard like you dies. Is there a need to waste your energy? You’ll talk soon anyway, right?”

Glug.

The Gukbin Hall boss dunked the man’s head back into the water.

Han Il-kwon chuckled.

“This is always fun to watch.”

The boss finally noticed Han Il-kwon standing at the entrance.

“Long time no see. I’m busy right now, what should I do?”

“I’m busier.”

Han Il-kwon held up a wad of bills from his pocket.

“Ah, if you put it that way… I’m busy right now, but I have no choice.”

The young man wiped his hands with a handkerchief.

The man entered the next room with Han Il-kwon.

Han Il-kwon sat down on a chair and brought up the matter.

“I want to use some of your boys.”

“What do you need our boys for this time?”

The reward is always good, but sometimes the jobs are too extreme, so he hesitates.

“The landowner isn’t listening.”

“Ah, if it’s something like that.”

He was wondering why he was asking for help with such an easy task.

“I’m having trouble with the Jamsil land. Ordinary thugs are no match.”

Kim Jae-hak, who had taken a bunch of thugs, had both legs broken cleanly and was carried away on a stretcher.

“You were using flimsy guys. How many of our boys do you need?”

“About 50? With tools.”

He was taken aback.

“You’re going to meet the landowner, why do you need as many as 50 people? Which gang is it?”

“I don’t know.”

He said they weren’t ordinary.

Kim Jae-hak avoids even mentioning that day, shaking his head whenever he recalls it.

It was the first time he had seen him so terrified.

“Send 10 men with plenty of tools. Our boys’ skills are more than enough.”

“Seven went and couldn’t even lay a hand on him. It’ll be difficult even if 10 go?”

“That’s the wrong question. How many guys do we need to catch?”

“One guy.”

“One guy? That’s absurd.”

Han Il-kwon took out a thick wad of money.

One, two.

A total of 20 million won. [Approximately $15,000 – $20,000 USD, depending on the exchange rate.]

“I just need to bring the land deed and the house deed.”

Ten million won per document.

It’s more than the price of three apartments.

Greed flickered in the eyes of the Gukbin Hall boss.

“20 men. That should be enough, right?”

“Stubborn. But you’re responsible for what happens afterward.”

“No problem. I’ll send the action leader, so don’t worry. He’s very skilled.”

Han Il-kwon came out first and got into the car.

“Shall we see how skilled you are?”

He wouldn’t be able to handle 20 gangsters with knives.

After waiting for a while, 20 burly men with gleaming blades got into trucks and started moving.

“Follow them.”

At Han Il-kwon’s command, the driver quietly started the car.

* * *

Kim Kwang-rok was bored.

“If he just trusted me… but that Tae-soo, really.”

He lay sprawled in the living room of Skinny’s house, idly looking out the window.

“Let a truckload of gangsters come. Am I scared? But the employer is so firm that I can’t even insist.”

Thanks to Tae-soo’s firm stance, he was in the house next door.

Already finished moving out completely, leaving only the house.

“I don’t know why he’s making such a fuss… Actually, I think I do.”

Kim Kwang-rok’s eyes narrowed.

Burly men in suits are holding blades.

“These fucking bastards!”

Kim Kwang-rok jumped up.

Then he recalled Tae-soo’s instructions once again.

“Ah, right, he told me to call first, didn’t he?”

He found the contact information Tae-soo had left and dialed the phone.

You have to follow the words of the employer who pays you.

* * *

Crash.

The action leader kicked down the roughly blocked gate.

All the subordinates following behind held sharp blades in their hands.

A murderous aura, a grim appearance.

“Hey, homeowner!”

It’s quiet.

Only silence.

“Hey, come out. If you don’t come out, I’m going in!”

The gangsters rush into the yard, into the house.

“Boss, there’s nothing here.”

“Looks like he got scared and ran away?”

It’s clean without any luggage.

“Ah, shit, what should we do?”

“Boss, but there’s some paper…….”

He received the paper, and large letters were visible.

It was then.

Tumbling.

Something rolls haphazardly into the house.

There’s a lot of smoke.

Fssssss-

Tear gas.

“Cough cough!”

“Kehek!”

“Shibaal-!” [A Korean curse word, similar to “shit!”]

They run out of the house with tears and snot.

The yard is also full of smoke from tear gas and smoke bombs.

“What is it!”

I can’t see properly because of the smoke.

But I hear screams.

Along with the sound of being hit.

“Who is it!”

Someone instantly punched the action leader in the solar plexus.

That was the end of his memory.

* * *

“Agh, shit! Is my rib broken? I feel like I’m going to die.”

When he came to his senses, the action leader was startled.

“Where is this again?”

Bang bang!

The police shouted.

“Who’s making a fuss in the detention center?”

He woke up in a police station detention center.

“Breaking and entering, possession of weapons, and even a group fight.”

The violent crimes unit chief sighed.

“Why did you mess with the National Intelligence Service personnel?”

“National Intelligence Service?”

I didn’t hear anything like that?

The action leader’s face turned blue.

“Please, let me use the phone!”

He needs to ask the boss, Han Il-kwon, for help.

* * *

Kim Kwang-rok dusted off his hands outside the police station.

In front of him was a man bowing at a 90-degree angle.

It was Captain.

“Long time no see, Lieutenant Colonel Kim. How have you been?”

“I’ve been discharged.”

Lieutenant Colonel Kim is nothing.

He’s just a bodyguard now.

“It’s been a while. You said you’re with the National Intelligence Service now?”

“Yes.”

It was Cha Ki-beom’s intention.

It was to plant an eye in the National Intelligence Service, which holds information.

It was the opposite of Kim Kwang-rok, who had grabbed Park Tae-jong’s line but had become a fallen figure.

Most of Park Tae-jong’s line were discharged early and went to Pohang Steel or the security office, so there were no seniors to pull him up in the military.

‘Should I have gone to the National Intelligence Service too? No, it’s better to be next to Tae-soo. I can’t stand scheming dirty tricks. It’s easier to just follow orders.’

Using his head is not Kim Kwang-rok’s style.

It’s much easier to just use his body.

Kim Kwang-rok reached out his hand first.

“Congratulations.”

“It’s nothing. But you were working with Kang Tae-soo after being discharged?”

Captain took Kim Kwang-rok’s hand and shook it.

“You know Tae-soo?”

“I owe him a bit. Thanks to him, I got a special promotion.”

“Wow, it’s no wonder Tae-soo knew your contact information. He kept telling me to contact you.”

Kim Kwang-rok laughed heartily.

“I got some help from you this time.”

“Help? The lieutenant colonel beat up the gangsters, but I’m going to take all the credit. I just carried the guys you caught.”

“Anyway, good job.”

Captain looked at Kim Kwang-rok with a strange expression.

“You seem to have mellowed out a lot since you were discharged.”

He hears a lot that he has a bad temper, but it’s the first time he’s heard that he’s mellowed out.

“I think it’s the first time I’ve seen guys with knives in front of Lieutenant Colonel Kim and still looking so intact.”

He definitely broke their bones.

Cleanly.

But Captain was puzzled that they were still too intact.

“You always said that you have to pay the price for wielding a knife recklessly, so you always leave at least one knife scar somewhere. As a punishment for being insolent.”

“They’re not North Korean spies, you have to do it moderately. It’s a hassle if those weak bastards die after being messed with recklessly.”

Kim Kwang-rok glanced back.

A black sedan came into view.

It was the car that had been following Kim Kwang-rok since Jamsil.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

“Yes, senior.”

“The guy who regularly delivers money to Commander Jeon Doo-hwan of the Security Command. That rat-like guy.”

“Are you talking about Han Cheong-ho?”

Kim Kwang-rok smiled.

“Oh, Han Cheong-ho.”

That rat is always the problem.

“Just a moment.”

It’s what his employer, Tae-soo, asked him to do.

He said he would borrow some power from the National Intelligence Service.

He doesn’t know what kind of trap he’s setting for Han Cheong-ho, but he’s asking him to follow him to Japan and investigate.

‘When did I start using my head to live? It’s best to do as I’m told.’

I don’t know.

I’m too lazy to use my head.

* * *

There was a car watching this scene from outside the police station.

Han Il-kwon stroked his chin.

“Hmm.”

Kim Kwang-rok and Captain go in different directions.

The driver asked cautiously.

“Who should we follow now?”

Han Il-kwon pointed with his chin.

“The big one.”

A dog goes to its owner after finishing its work.

* * *

The Daechidong apartment construction site.

Dozens of excavators are attached, plowing up 85,000 pyeong of land. [A pyeong is a Korean unit of area, approximately 3.3 square meters or 35.6 square feet. 85,000 pyeong is roughly 69 acres.]

On one side, bulldozers are moving around, and on the other side, ready-mix concrete trucks and pump cars are laying the foundation.

Park Cheol-wan stood next to Tae-soo with a land register and architectural drawings.

“Chairman, this is where the Taeyang Building will be built.”

“Hmm.”

Very good.

The Taeyang Building will stand tall in the middle of the Taeyang Apartment main gate shopping district.

A huge 14-story building will be built to serve as the headquarters of the Taeyang Group.

“We will start construction of Taeyang Apartment Complex 1 from that side, and 58 buildings will be built sequentially in this direction.”

“Good.”

Originally, the foundation of architecture is the foundation work.

But this place was flat, so there was no need to put in a lot of effort to cut down the mountain and level it.

Moreover, a huge amount of heavy equipment was put in.

Thanks to this, Taeyang Apartment was being built at an unprecedented speed.

“The cement factory is running at full capacity. Steel bars are coming up from Pohang Steel.”

Materials were neatly arranged in one corner.

“We will need a lot of materials at once, so won’t there be a shortage of materials?”

“That’s no problem. We’re preparing by stacking materials over there in advance.”

“Is there a shortage of heavy equipment?”

“There is currently a shortage. But they keep supporting us, so I think it will be okay soon.”

Taeyang Heavy Equipment is giving priority to supporting heavy equipment.

Park Cheol-wan proudly looked at the heavy equipment that was working hard.

“The new ready-mix concrete truck from Taeyang Heavy Equipment this time was 뽑혔습니다 [chosen/selected].”

The heavy equipment that is most prominent these days is the ready-mix concrete truck.

“The capacity is larger than the existing ready-mix concrete truck, and the mixing function has been reinforced. This is a real 물건입니다 [a real gem/treasure].”

Park Cheol-wan gave a thumbs up.

Thanks to the new ready-mix concrete truck, the construction speed has increased even more.

“However, there is a shortage of skilled heavy equipment operators.”

They supported a lot of heavy equipment, but there is a shortage of skilled people who can skillfully handle the heavy equipment.

Tae-soo didn’t take it seriously.

“That’s not a very difficult problem. Time and experience will solve it. But we can’t just wait, so the Taeyang Group will have to provide some support.”

“Yes? If you say support…….”

“Let’s have them practice operating heavy equipment in one side of the vacant lot after work, and have them take their own skills test separately every month.”

Park Cheol-wan thought for a moment.

“Will the employees try to take the test? It will be additional work.”

“Let’s raise the salary and rank for those who pass the in-house test. Then everyone will be dedicated to practicing to challenge the test.”

Money is a good way to encourage motivation.

Moreover, if you pass the exam, the group promises better treatment.

“How is the wiring problem at Taeyang Electric?”

“I’ve checked. We are preparing to match all 220V with plenty of capacity.”

“What about the water and sewage pipe problem?”

“We have buried huge drainage, piping facilities, and septic tanks underground.”

“Good.”

Tae-soo looked at the site where dust was rising.

“Now that the foundation is finished, all that’s left is to go up.”

Very satisfactory.

Just in time, a jeep enters the site.

Kim Kwang-rok gets out of the jeep and approaches Tae-soo.

“Tae-soo.”

His expression is bright.

“Did you handle the work well?”

“Yes. It turns out I knew someone.”

“Did you know Captain?”

“Captain? Keuhahat, do you call him Captain?”

Kim Kwang-rok laughed loudly.

Then he pointed behind him.

“Tae-soo, I brought the tail properly as you ordered.”

Han Il-kwon was looking this way, lowering the window of the black car.

Han Il-kwon, it’s been a long time.

Is it so hard to see your face? Isn’t it?