Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 142

142. Cha Ki-beom’s Reward (2)

Tae-soo was touring the construction site of the Taeyang Apartment.

Song Chang-joon rushed over to report to Tae-soo.

“Chairman, Director Lee Geon-hoo from TBS Dongin Broadcasting Station has arrived.”

Lee Geon-hoo, dressed neatly in a suit, smiled and waved from over there.

It was Lee Geon-hoo’s first visit.

“I was curious about the progress, so I stopped by for a moment.”

“Welcome.”

Tae-soo was also curious about the progress of the broadcasting station.

“How is the broadcast preparation going?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. We are on standby so that we can start filming right away.”

“That’s very good news.”

“How much progress has been made on the studio? We should be able to start filming within a month as promised, right? I’ve already set the broadcast schedule, so it would be difficult if it’s delayed any further…”

Tae-soo cut off the lengthy speech.

“The studio work is almost finished. We can start filming from tomorrow.”

“……!”

Lee Geon-hoo struggled to close his mouth, which was about to gape open.

Then, Lee Geon-hoo suddenly smiled.

“Now that I see it, you have quite the sense of humor. You surprised me for a moment. Hahaha.”

“I called the broadcasting station earlier, but I guess you didn’t get the message.”

“Yes?”

It was unbelievable.

It had only been a fortnight [two weeks], but how could a studio be built so quickly?

“Even with a month’s schedule, the construction would be tight.”

He had come to urge him on.

Even if Tae-soo was rumored to be good at his job, he didn’t think this was possible.

“Let’s take a look together.”

Seeing is believing.

Tae-soo took Lee Geon-hoo directly to the model house.

A large steel-framed building could be seen in the corner of the vacant lot.

“We’ve finished the interior work. Only the exterior finishing remains. We’ll finish the painting by the end of today.”

“Huh…….”

Lee Geon-hoo’s eyes shook wildly.

“Just… a fortnight…….”

It didn’t make sense.

How was this possible?

It was impossible no matter how you looked at it.

Lee Geon-hoo snorted in excitement.

“Even at the fastest, it takes several days just to get the blueprints. It takes at least three days for the concrete to harden. And then there’s the foundation, the plastering, and even…….”

Tae-soo raised his hand.

Was there any need to explain it with difficulty?

It was enough to show him.

“Let’s go inside.”

Lee Geon-hoo swallowed hard.

Following Tae-soo’s guidance, he stepped inside the place that would serve as both a model house and a studio.

Click.

When the lights came on, the interior was brightly lit.

It was perfectly set up to the point where people could move in and live there right away.

It was fully equipped with water, electricity, appliances, and furniture.

Of course, most of the products on display were from the Taeyang Group.

“Good heavens!”

It’s a real house!

“How could you do this in such a short time……!”

“Taeyang Construction worked hard.”

Park Cheol-wan’s framing team and interior team were ground down for a fortnight.

They not only worked overtime but even solved their meals and lodging in containers.

Thanks to this, a container office was set up at the Taeyang Apartment construction site.

Even Tae-soo has been working in the container office these days.

“All construction will be finished as soon as the exterior finishing is completed today. You can start broadcasting tomorrow.”

Lee Geon-hoo even felt like he was possessed by a ghost.

He was thrilled with excitement and goosebumps.

“I feel like I’m at a housewarming party.”

“Take a look around.”

Lee Geon-hoo walked around the studio as if he were touring someone else’s house.

He checked the living room, kitchen, master bedroom, bathroom, and even the veranda.

“You put a lot of thought into the interior. The lighting, furniture, carpets, curtains, and props. It’s beyond my expectations.”

“It’s a rich man’s house, after all. Besides, we have to think about the CFs [commercial films].”

“It’s decorated like a hotel. No, it’s better than a hotel.”

Lee Geon-hoo was familiar with hotels.

There was the Samcheong Hotel, an affiliate of the Samcheong Group.

In addition, he had used many foreign hotels for business and study abroad.

So he knew how sophisticated this model house was decorated.

“Now that I see it, the people at Taeyang Group have high standards. I never thought they would decorate it so well, even better than foreign hotels.”

Tae-soo was also familiar with hotels.

He had even experienced 21st-century hotels, so naturally, his standards were high.

Lee Geon-hoo could only exclaim in admiration.

“Did you say it was a model house?”

“We made it exactly the same as the structure of Taeyang Apartment.”

“The ceiling is quite high.”

“It’ll look great on camera, right? Rich people’s houses have high ceilings from the start.”

“Huh…….”

He was speechless.

“We have 32-pyeong [approximately 1,138 square feet], 48-pyeong [approximately 1,706 square feet], and 64-pyeong [approximately 2,275 square feet] as standard, and we’ve added one more structure this time. Let me introduce you to a new type of apartment that will actually be added to Taeyang Apartment.”

Tae-soo smiled as he opened the door.

“Taeyang Apartment’s penthouse, 128-pyeong [approximately 4,550 square feet].”

It was the house Tae-soo would move into and live in when Taeyang Apartment was built.

“Eight rooms, two living rooms, four bathrooms. In addition, there’s a separate dressing room, veranda, utility room, laundry room, storage room, and pantry.”

Lee Geon-hoo’s eyes trembled wildly.

“Wow…….”

This is better than my house.

The house Lee Geon-hoo lived in was a two-story house with a yard, with 700-pyeong [approximately 24,882 square feet] of land and 94-pyeong [approximately 3,344 square feet] of building area.

But this was just one floor with 128-pyeong [approximately 4,550 square feet].

“Are you actually adding this to Taeyang Apartment?”

“Yes, it’s a penthouse that only eight out of 4,824 households in Taeyang Apartment will have. It’s on the top 14th floor, so a separate outdoor terrace will be added. The view will be amazing.”

Gulp.

Lee Geon-hoo swallowed.

“Sell me one.”

“……?”

He was introducing the studio, but suddenly he was talking about sales?

Lee Geon-hoo’s eyes blazed.

“I’d like you to sell me one with the same interior as this. I’ll buy it.”

As soon as the model house opened, it looked like Taeyang Apartment’s sales performance would increase.

* * *

Daewoon Pavilion in Seongbuk-dong.

Secret meetings were taking place in the high-end restaurant again today.

Han Cheong-ho knelt down and held a jade-colored porcelain liquor pot.

“Please have a drink.”

The man across from him took the porcelain liquor cup.

It was Cha Ki-beom.

“I never dreamed that Chief Secretary Cha would call me separately.”

Han Cheong-ho watched Cha Ki-beom’s expression.

Cha Ki-beom, who was expressionless as usual, silently took the cup and drank.

As soon as he put down the empty cup, Han Cheong-ho quickly refilled it.

“Did His Excellency send you?”

Cha Ki-beom only drank without saying a word.

Like that, one cup, two cups, three cups, four cups.

He drank, but he didn’t speak.

Drip, drip.

How many minutes had they been doing this?

Han Cheong-ho couldn’t stand it and opened his mouth.

“Is it perhaps because of my future in-law?”

Clang.

Cha Ki-beom put the porcelain liquor cup down on the table with a loud noise.

Cha Ki-beom’s brow was furrowed.

Han Cheong-ho swallowed hard.

‘It’s because of Jeon Doo-ho.’

He had been expecting it.

Why wouldn’t Han Cheong-ho know that Cha Ki-beom and Jeon Doo-ho were competing for Park Jeong-hwan’s favor?

Jeon Doo-ho clashed with Cha Ki-beom over a face-to-face report to the President.

‘He should have tempered his temper and planned for the future. Jeon Doo-ho was a little hasty this time.’

Jeon Doo-ho was summoned to the Army Chief of Staff this time and was severely scolded.

Han Cheong-ho was the one who coaxed and appeased Jeon Doo-ho, who was angry and fuming.

But this time, he was going to have to appease even Cha Ki-beom.

‘Cha Ki-beom is His Excellency’s closest aide. If I get on his bad side, it’ll be difficult in many ways. This is a big problem.’

Han Cheong-ho kept drinking because his mouth was dry.

Cha Ki-beom stared at Han Cheong-ho for a long time.

It was like sitting on pins and needles.

“Chairman Han.”

“Yes.”

“Congratulations on the wedding.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Have a congratulatory drink.”

Was this a congratulatory drink or poison?

He couldn’t help but politely accept the drink from Cha Ki-beom, but he was extremely uncomfortable.

It was all because of Jeon Doo-ho.

‘There’s not much time left for these days of being mindful of others.’

Jeon Doo-ho was sharpening his sword.

Han Cheong-ho had put in a lot of effort for a long time.

Soon, the fruits of his labor would see the light of day.

‘There are too many awkward things with Park Jeong-hwan. Moreover, he’s become increasingly cold to me these days.’

The dirty relationship between Park Jeong-hwan and him was very strong.

But this is an accomplice when it’s good, but a shackle when it’s bad.

‘From the moment Park Jeong-hwan’s weakness was revealed to the world in the Japanese secret vault, the relationship with Park Jeong-hwan began to twist.’

It was from the moment Khalid of Saudi Arabia mentioned it to Park Jeong-hwan.

He tried to fix it, but the situation was getting worse and worse.

‘Kang Tae-soo, it’s all because of that bastard.’

Everything went wrong when Kang Tae-soo appeared.

That guy simply took Park Jeong-hwan’s attention away.

I’m giving more bribes and taking care of the dirty work!

‘Park Jeong-hwan is more inclined to Kang Tae-soo than me. It’s time to switch to a new ship.’

To a big and strong ship called Jeon Doo-ho!

Cha Ki-beom, who had been drinking silently, opened his mouth.

“About your daughter’s wedding.”

“Yes.”

“Have you booked the venue?”

“Not yet. But Commander Jeon Doo-ho of the Security Command is using the army generals…….”

Cha Ki-beom cut off Han Cheong-ho’s words in one stroke.

“Leaving Cheongil Hotel aside?”

Cheongil Hotel.

It was the hotel that Park Jeong-hwan ordered to be built to welcome foreign dignitaries.

Shin Gun-ho of Charlotte was scheduled to build it, but Han Cheong-ho took advantage of the delayed construction and snatched it away.

“Can’t you build it by May 18th next year?”

“That is…….”

There was still plenty of time for the construction period.

But the problem wasn’t the construction period.

It’s money.

“Because it’s being built together with Cheongil Apartment…….”

Clang.

This time, Cha Ki-beom put down the liquor cup with a loud noise.

Han Cheong-ho’s mouth was shut as he cut off the excuses like a knife.

“His Excellency has to wait for several years just to build one national hotel?”

Park Jeong-hwan has been waiting for 3 years because of Shin Gun-ho and 1 year because of Han Cheong-ho.

Cha Ki-beom’s eyes were cold.

“Last time, a prince from Saudi Arabia came to Korea.”

He was talking about Rahman.

That bastard who came to the Taeyang Group launching ceremony and made a mess at the Cheongil Hotel groundbreaking ceremony!

“He stayed at the Geumsan Hotel, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know that His Excellency was very displeased with that?”

“Did he?”

Han Cheong-ho also had ears to hear.

He heard that Rahman complained that the suite was small and there was no high-end red wine.

Since then, he heard that the Geumsan Hotel bar had been preparing high-end liquors one after another.

“It’s a hotel worthy of a national guest. If you took it away from Cheongil because you delayed the construction, you have to take responsibility for your words and produce the results.”

Clang.

The porcelain liquor cup was about to break.

Han Cheong-ho quickly picked up the liquor pot and filled Cha Ki-beom’s cup.

“His Excellency said one word in passing.”

“What did he say?”

“Han Cheong-ho, that friend won’t do.”

He was sweating.

It meant that Park Jeong-hwan’s patience had run out.

“I won’t stop you if you’re going to use the army’s outdoor wedding venue instead of Cheongil Hotel.”

Han Cheong-ho couldn’t answer.

“But just know that His Excellency is watching Cheongil Hotel.”

Cha Ki-beom’s eyes were cold.

“You should remember how Cheongil Apartment was built.”

Park Jeong-hwan forcibly took Kang Tae-soo’s land away from Han Cheong-ho.

At that time, Park Jeong-hwan told Han Cheong-ho to stay behind alone.

-Am I the type to take land documents from a brat? How embarrassing!

Han Cheong-ho had to prostrate himself on the floor and beg at that time.

Park Jeong-hwan said coldly.

-Cheongil Hotel and Cheongil Apartment. You have to build it quickly.

Park Jeong-hwan didn’t say anything more.

That was enough for him to understand.

“Do you have to hear a warning directly from His Excellency to understand?”

“No.”

It would be over if Park Jeong-hwan mentioned the matter again.

Han Cheong-ho had no choice but to bow his head.

“It’s my daughter’s wedding. If possible, shouldn’t the father pave the virgin road [auspicious path]?”

Cha Ki-beom smiled coldly.

“Your daughter has a good father.”

Cha Ki-beom got up from his seat after saying those words.

The business was over.

He left Daewoon Pavilion without giving Han Cheong-ho a single glance.

‘Kang Tae-soo, I’ve granted the first favor you asked for.’

Kang Tae-soo said.

-Please pressure Han Cheong-ho to hold the wedding at Cheongil Hotel.

He got a definite answer from Han Cheong-ho like that.

Cha Ki-beom got into the car without looking back.

“Let’s go.”

The car disappeared leisurely into the darkness.