Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 158

Inner Conflict (3)

“The money?”

“It’s here.”

The man handed over a travel trunk he had been dragging.

It was a money bag full of blue bills.

Choi Mu-ryong frowned after checking the amount.

“Hey, I thought you’d give me twice as much.”

The woman was not easy to deal with.

She cleanly ignored Choi Mu-ryong’s grumbling.

“Suit yourself. You know better than anyone whether Cheongil Motors stock is worth its weight in gold or just trash.”

Was it because Cheongil Motors was the car only rich people in the ’70s drove, or was it because Cheongil was particularly bad at management?

Cheongil Motors reacted particularly sensitively to the market.

After the oil shock, Cheongil Motors stock hit the daily low every day.

The lucrative heavy equipment business was handed over to the Taeyang Group, and they couldn’t afford technology alliances, so they stopped paying royalties.

“Hey, who said I didn’t want it? If I didn’t want it, I wouldn’t have called you first.”

Choi Mu-ryong took the money, and the woman took the Cheongil Motors stock.

“I gave you a little more than the market price.”

This was why Chomyung Bank was trading with this woman, not other companies or banks.

‘If I didn’t have this money, Chomyung Bank would have gone bankrupt a long time ago.’

So Choi Mu-ryong didn’t dare to argue with her.

Choi Mu-ryong wore a servile smile and rubbed his palms together.

“Why did you bring that money bag? Hehehe.”

“Are you tempted? Do you need more money? Then let’s trade something else.”

She shifted her crossed legs and smiled.

“I heard that Chomyung Bank has a ledger of embezzled funds in collusion with high-ranking officials?”

Choi Mu-ryong flinched.

It was something he had used to seize the weaknesses of political and business figures during his days as a loan shark.

Thanks to this, he survived the August 3rd Private Loan Freeze [a government measure in 1972 to curb the private loan market and stabilize the economy].

“It’s just there for emergencies anyway. Once you hand over the original when asking for favors, it won’t be very effective.”

That’s true.

The original was already exchanged during the private loan freeze.

He kept a copy in case of an emergency, but it was no longer useful.

“Let’s trade that. 10 million won for the top tier, 5 million won for the middle tier, and 2 million won for the bottom tier.”

10 million won was the price of two ordinary apartments in 1975.

Choi Mu-ryong sighed.

“Double it. Let’s start with 20 million won for the top tier.”

“It’s no fun if you haggle like a miser. 5 million won for the top tier. If you keep complaining, I’ll cut it in half again.”

“Aren’t you being too harsh?”

“Suit yourself. That old ledger scrap you used once and threw away doesn’t seem very useful to me.”

Choi Mu-ryong grabbed the woman who was about to get up.

“Don’t be so hasty. I was too greedy. 10 million won for the top tier, as I initially suggested.”

“2.5 million won for the top tier. Are you going to keep haggling? I’m confident I can cut it in half again.”

“Damn it.”

To be honest, that ledger was only useful for blackmailing people when he was a loan shark, but now that he’s out in the open, it’s useless.

Now that he’s in the public eye, the bank itself has become a source of power.

But what power does a bank without money have?

To get money, he has to sell everything he can.

‘Han Cheong-ho, I have to live. I can’t die with you because of you.’

This isn’t betrayal, is it?

* * *

Knock knock.

Someone was knocking on Tae-soo’s hotel room door.

When he opened the door, it was Ahn So-jung.

“I was waiting for you.”

She smiled, shaking a paper bag.

“Hmm, was Tae-soo waiting for me, or this?”

It was clearly a joke, but somehow all he could feel from this woman was allure.

Tae-soo opened the door wide and stepped aside.

“Please, come in.”

“Wouldn’t it have been nice if you had said you were waiting for me?”

“I was waiting for you.”

“I’m glad to hear that, even though I know you’re just doing it to please me. Answer me like that next time too. Got it?”

Ahn So-jung, in a good mood, handed the paper bag to Tae-soo.

“Here. It’s what you’ve been waiting for.”

“What percentage is it this time?”

“It’s 7%.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

A satisfied smile spread across Tae-soo’s face.

Ahn So-jung smiled, her eyes crinkling, after confirming that.

This woman was clearly just smiling, but somehow it felt like she was winking.

She was a mysterious woman.

Ahn So-jung sat down on a chair and crossed her legs.

“Did you wait long?”

“A little.”

The appointment was for 8 PM.

But there was another reason why she couldn’t keep the appointment.

“Choi Mu-ryong sent people out to follow me again this time. He’s quite persistent and tenacious.”

Choi Mu-ryong wanted to know her identity.

He must have been curious about where the Cheongil Motors stock she gave him was going.

However, Ahn So-jung repeatedly evaded Choi Mu-ryong’s pursuit.

Thanks to that, she had to come the long way around.

“I don’t know how many laps I drove around downtown Seoul.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Ahn So-jung’s eyes sparkled.

“I want a reward.”

“A reward? Of course, I have to give you one.”

The moment Tae-soo took out his wallet from his pocket, Ahn So-jung pouted.

“Who said anything about money? I’m hungry.”

She leaned on the table and tilted her head playfully.

She was playfully exaggerating.

“I haven’t eaten all day. I don’t have the strength to have an important conversation.”

“Oh dear, if you weren’t feeling well, you could have had someone else deliver it.”

“…….”

“Let’s talk again next time. I’ll take you home.”

“…….”

Was this an attempt to kick her out, or was he just clueless?

Ahn So-jung had no choice but to throw out bait.

“Don’t you want to know about Cha Ki-beom?”

He couldn’t refuse news about Cha Ki-beom.

Tae-soo smiled.

“What do you like? Let’s go eat something delicious.”

“Can we go far?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.”

Ahn So-jung jumped up.

“I know a really good place.”

* * *

Tae-soo and Ahn So-jung rode the elevator side by side.

On the way down to the first floor lobby, the door opened on the third floor.

Ding.

The moment the door opened, a familiar person appeared.

It was Jang Seo-yeon.

“Oh?”

Jang Seo-yeon looked back and forth between Tae-soo and Ahn So-jung.

‘Did they come down together from the 7th floor?’

Tae-soo was staying on the 7th floor.

Tae-soo greeted Jang Seo-yeon lightly.

“Good evening. Aren’t you getting on?”

“Ah, yes. I’m getting on.”

Jang Seo-yeon got on the elevator, trying to hide her surprise.

She quickly scanned Ahn So-jung secretly, and Ahn So-jung tilted her head, looking at Jang Seo-yeon.

“Hmm.”

Ahn So-jung grabbed Tae-soo’s arm and smiled.

“Can I pick something expensive?”

“As much as you want.”

Jang Seo-yeon’s eyes fluttered.

The man wasn’t stupid.

He wouldn’t spend money on just any woman without a purpose.

Even if he was a chaebol [conglomerate] chairman with overflowing money.

‘Something expensive? What kind of thing? Jewelry?’

Jang Seo-yeon was so concerned that she couldn’t help but focus.

Ahn So-jung asked in a softer, more seductive voice than usual.

“Shall we have some drinks with it later?”

“Drinks?”

Did she mean to have a drink with the meal?

“You can’t have a secret conversation without alcohol.”

“I suppose not.”

Jang Seo-yeon bit her lip.

‘What kind of secret conversation can’t you have without alcohol?’

Ahn So-jung and Jang Seo-yeon’s eyes met in the air.

Ding.

The elevator arrived on the first floor.

Tae-soo and Ahn So-jung got off first.

Jang Seo-yeon watched their backs with a complicated look.

Ahn So-jung glanced back.

“Hmm.”

Ahn So-jung and Jang Seo-yeon made the same sound at the same time.

* * *

Seongbuk-dong Daewoon-gak.

Tae-soo and Ahn So-jung visited a high-end Korean restaurant.

Ahn So-jung headed deep into the private room with familiar steps.

Since it was a high-end Korean restaurant that operated on a reservation-only basis, the current situation was a bit unexpected.

‘It sounds like there’s another reason why she brought me here.’

This wasn’t a place you could come to for a casual meal.

“This way.”

Ahn So-jung skillfully guided Tae-soo.

After settling down in a detached building, Ahn So-jung asked.

“Is there any food you can’t eat?”

“No.”

“Then can I recommend the food?”

“Yes.”

Ahn So-jung called the employee and placed a complicated order.

She didn’t even look at the menu.

She was definitely familiar with this place.

“Is Cheongju [a type of refined rice wine] okay?”

“Yes.”

“Which do you prefer, warm or cold?”

“Let’s go with warm.”

The employee quickly retreated.

The employee’s attitude toward Ahn So-jung was also subtly different.

Suddenly, he realized something.

‘Ahn So-jung has information brokers. Where did that information broker get high-end information?’

Not only that.

‘She has extraordinary culinary skills. Moreover, this place, which is difficult for young women to frequent, is familiar to her, and you can tell just by looking at the employees that she has been here often.’

Now he understood.

Tae-soo looked at Ahn So-jung with new eyes.

“I didn’t know you owned such a high-end Korean restaurant. That’s unexpected.”

Ahn So-jung looked at Tae-soo with strange eyes.

He could sense a hint of admiration.

“Hmm, how did you notice? Now that I see it, your perception is also extraordinary.”

Ahn So-jung nodded.

“That’s right. I’m the owner of Seongbuk-dong Daewoon-gak.”

This was a fact that had not been known until now.

Tae-soo also didn’t know that she was the owner of this place in his previous life.

‘In my previous life, the owner donated Daewoon-gak, and it became a temple.’

In his previous life, Ahn Jung-woo was framed as the president’s assassin and died, and Jang Mal-dong went bankrupt due to private loans.

She may not have had a reason to continue as an information broker.

Perhaps the reason she made Daewoon-gak a temple was to commemorate her dead family.

“I heard that Daewoon-gak was built quite a long time ago.”

“I inherited it from my late mother. Do you not like women who run food and alcohol businesses?”

“Is there anyone who would treat Seongbuk-dong Daewoon-gak as a regular restaurant?”

Seongbuk-dong Daewoon-gak, considered the best of the three major high-end Korean restaurants in the 1970s in Korea.

It was a place where key figures in politics and business, including Park Jung-hwan and Cha Ki-beom, met secretly.

Tae-soo had also secretly met Park Jung-hwan and Cha Ki-beom here.

“It’s an honor to meet the veiled owner of Daewoon-gak like this.”

“You’re welcome.”

Tae-soo chuckled without realizing it.

‘Lee Gun-woo took me to the Samcheong Hotel restaurant, Jang Seo-yeon took me to the Geumsan Hotel bar, and Ahn So-jung also brought me to Daewoon-gak.’

He didn’t know why everyone was doing this.

Ahn So-jung tilted her head and smiled.

“The reason I asked you to come here isn’t just to have a meal.”

“I know. Then shall we hear the story?”

“Hmm.”

She checked her watch.

“You’ll be able to check it yourself in 20 minutes.”

“20 minutes?”

“It’s the perfect time to wait while eating, right?”

Just in time, the meal came out.

It was a splendid feast.

Ahn So-jung smiled as she poured warm Cheongju into Tae-soo’s glass.

“This room is a little different from the other rooms. It’s a place that can connect to the next room. That’s why I brought you here.”

The next room was separated by a thin paper door.

It was a room that could be connected into one by simply opening the paper door.

“Are you guessing? Who is the guest who reserved the next room?”

“Cha Ki-beom.”

She brought Tae-soo out, saying she would tell him news about Cha Ki-beom.

“Then who do you think Cha Ki-beom will meet shortly?”

The reason she deliberately called Tae-soo to the next room at Daewoon-gak.

The reason she was telling Tae-soo to check it himself.

Now he understood.

“Han Cheong-ho.”