Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 53

53. As Desired (1)

Rahman, phone in hand, was lost in thought.

Because of what Tae-soo had said.

“I have something to tell you. This information is for your father, Khalid bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, not just for you, Rahman.”

It was important information.

Even more so for the Minister of Defense, who oversaw the war.

‘Is this a favor, or malice? A blessing, or a trap?’

Tae-soo had said confidently.

“I will light the way for you, Rahman.”

“Is there any reason we can’t be allies? Let’s join forces.”

That’s why he was worried.

He had already suffered the consequences of being betrayed by Han Cheong-ho and Samwon Construction.

‘This information is precious, capable of swaying my position and influence.’

Rahman had been exiled to the west, a victim of a power struggle.

Perhaps this information could catapult him back to the center, making him a key figure.

As Rahman pondered, another of Tae-soo’s words, deeply embedded in his heart, surfaced.

“As I said before, you should look at the money, not people’s words. Isn’t the foundation of trust a contract?”

He was so thorough that he even prepared the contract in advance.

This meant he was confident that this information would be profitable.

‘I can’t trust people’s words, but I must trust the contract.’

His mind felt clearer.

There was no need to decipher the true meaning of people’s words.

He just needed to trace the money’s whereabouts.

‘Winner takes all. Isn’t that how it is? I’ll bet big on this game too.’

Rahman picked up the phone.

Meanwhile, in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

The owner of a large mansion, slightly away from the Saudi Royal Palace, was Khalid bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.

He received a call from his son Rahman, and his expression changed.

[Son, are you saying that war may break out soon?]

“Yes, that’s right.”

He suddenly felt suspicious.

How did a fellow stuck in a western Saudi city get such top-secret information?

[Could it be information from your brother?]

“No. Han Cheong-ho has already cut ties with me. You know that, Father.”

[Hmm.]

His brother, and Han Cheong-ho.

They had betrayed his son Rahman and trapped him.

The more he thought about it, the more he gritted his teeth.

But Khalid steeled himself.

‘I won’t be shaken by this. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made the decision to send Rahman to the west temporarily.’

Khalid clenched his fist.

‘Brother, I’ve already lost three sons. I can’t take it anymore.’

He considered Rahman to be his most outstanding son.

Rahman had been known for his intelligence since he was young.

Khalid had been considering Rahman as his successor.

‘He surpasses my brother in every way. A talented guy like him shouldn’t be broken by something like this.’

He felt resentful.

But there was nothing he could do.

‘If my brother ends his ambition with this, I can handle it. But if he tries to drive my son out of this country, I won’t stand idly by.’

Just then, Rahman’s voice came over the receiver.

“Father, to put it bluntly, we must prepare for war immediately.”

If anyone else had said that, he would have dismissed it as foolish talk.

But the one who said this was none other than Rahman.

[Rahman, do you believe the words of that braggart Sadat?]

“No, I won’t trust people’s deceitful words anymore. I believe this is all a deceptive tactic by Egyptian President Sadat.”

[Then what makes you think so, my son?]

“The flow of money. Because people don’t waste money.”

It was what Tae-soo had taught him.

But now, it was a word deeply embedded in Rahman’s heart.

It was unexpected for Khalid.

‘The beginning and end of the world are ultimately desire. And desire is inseparable from money. Has Rahman realized that?’

If he had realized that, he would have the basics of understanding the world.

Khalid’s lips curled up.

[Who gave you such a teaching?]

There must be someone who had instilled such a deep teaching in Rahman.

That person was guiding his son.

His son might not know it, but he thought it was a favor, no matter how he looked at it.

“It’s a man named Kang Tae-soo from South Korea.”

It was the first time he had heard of him.

[What kind of person is he?]

“He was a man who knew the weight of money and words. None of his words were frivolous. He was a man who could see through people even while looking at wine.”

It was the first time.

Rahman had praised someone so highly.

‘If Rahman acknowledges him…’

Rahman was a man destined for greatness.

If he was a friend who could properly help Rahman grow into a successor, nothing would be too good for him.

“I have a request to make of you, Father.”

[A request? What is it?]

“I need oil.”

Rahman told him about his meeting with Tae-soo.

When he got to the contract he had made with Tae-soo, Khalid clapped his knees and laughed loudly.

[What a remarkable fellow! He’s really resourceful. You had no choice but to fall for it. Even I would have found it hard to refuse.]

But there was something he didn’t like.

[Rahman, why did you agree to raise the stakes?]

He could give that much oil, but there was no need to push himself.

[Were you caught up in the excitement of the bet, or were you played by him?]

“No, Father. I just chose the most efficient way to win properly.”

Khalid liked his son’s answer.

[Rahman, you’ve bet everything on this project.]

“That’s right. If I ruin this project, there will be no place for me in the Saudi royal family.”

[Well done. Rather, you took advantage of his greed. You’ve learned how to profit by exploiting people’s desires.]

What if Rahman was kicked out because of this project?

Khalid was planning to pretend not to know Tae-soo.

‘Han Cheong-ho, you bastard.’

How could he just let someone who ruined his son’s work go?

He was planning to ruin his work as revenge.

“It’s just oil. I wanted him to be so blinded by greed that he would desperately finish the road construction. We’re in the same boat, so we’ll taste the bitterness of failure together.”

[Excellent. You’ve chosen the position you must win at all costs.]

It was rare for Khalid to praise him.

[You’ve also learned how to move the pieces. You’ve learned a valuable lesson from meeting him this time.]

“Thank you, Father.”

Khalid was moved.

[He’s from South Korea?]

“Yes, he will take over and complete the construction that was entrusted to Samwon Construction.”

[If the road construction is completed safely, bring him to me. I want to meet him.]

“Understood, Father. Then I’ll see you then.”

Khalid hung up the phone and turned to his butler.

[There’s something I need you to find out discreetly.]

* * *

Tae-soo, who had returned to his lodging, checked the date.

April 25, 1973.

‘It’s about time the special agents came to the Middle East.’

Just then, Second Secretary Song Chang-joon came to see Tae-soo.

“The special agents will arrive in a week.”

The special agents, who were supposed to follow Tae-soo three days after he came to the Middle East, still hadn’t arrived.

The schedule had already been postponed several times.

Song Chang-joon scratched his head.

“I hope they come this time. I don’t know how many times this has been postponed.”

The special agents weren’t exactly necessary, but Tae-soo was curious about the reason.

Why the special agents kept delaying their schedule.

‘Is it Han Cheong-ho’s doing again?’

Probably.

He must have guessed that Tae-soo would take the special agents with him when he met the Bedouins and was plotting something.

‘He must have spent quite a bit of money to make things difficult for me? But what to do? It’s all wasted money.’

Tae-soo had met the Bedouins without the special agents and had solved everything.

All that was left was to finish the road construction and send the executives of Samwon Construction back to Korea.

“Please calm down. There must be a reason, right?”

“Well, I do have a few ideas. I heard that there was an unfortunate incident at the Easter service held at the Namsan Outdoor Music Hall a few days ago.”

Tae-soo immediately realized.

‘The Namsan Easter United Service incident.’

In 1973, under Park Jung-hee’s [South Korean president from 1963 to 1979] Yushin regime [a series of emergency measures that granted dictatorial powers], reformist Protestants who advocated the need for poverty relief and democratization movements were suppressed for allegedly plotting a rebellion.

At the time, the problem of urban poverty was very serious, so many people were engaged in urban poor missionary work centered on shantytowns.

But they caused trouble at the Easter service held at the Namsan Outdoor Music Hall.

They hung up banners calling for democracy and distributed leaflets to the church members.

As a result, Park Jung-hee was greatly angered and defined them as ‘preparatory for rebellion’ and later had them arrested by the Public Security Department of the Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office.

“It seems to have been a bit noisy because of that. Cha Ki-beom [Chief of the Presidential Security Service] is crouching down to avoid offending the President. It seems that things are being delayed a bit because of that.”

“I see. Then there’s nothing we can do.”

“You’re so calm. How can you be so generous? I would have protested right away.”

Song Chang-joon was frustrated, but Tae-soo wasn’t frustrated at all.

‘It doesn’t matter. In the first place, they were just people I called to come and take the Samwon Construction people.’

Wasn’t it literally a ‘face-saving image show for Park Jung-hee’?

But Song Chang-joon, who had no way of knowing the inside story, was at a loss.

“Besides, the 6th Inter-Korean Red Cross Talks are scheduled to be held in Seoul in a few days, so the special agents can’t stay in the Middle East for a few days.”

He liked that too.

He didn’t want them to stay in the Middle East and interfere with things when they didn’t have anything to do.

“If that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do.”

“But this isn’t right, is it? Ah, Chief of Presidential Security Cha Ki-beom has something to tell you.”

Song Chang-joon handed Tae-soo a telegram.

‘It is regrettable that I cannot understand your situation. But this will make you grateful to me in the future.’

Song Chang-joon sighed as he looked at the telegram.

“It’s too much, even if I look at it again. The President himself sent the special agents to protect Kang Tae-soo when he was negotiating with the Bedouins.”

Anyone would think that’s what the special agents were for.

“Well, it’s okay. Didn’t the conversation with the Bedouins end safely? And they did their part even without coming.”

“What? Special agents who haven’t even arrived yet?”

“Haha, there’s that. Anyway, I’m fine, so don’t get too worked up. I’m afraid you’ll collapse in this hot country.”

There were two main reasons why Tae-soo requested special agents.

The first was, as mentioned earlier, to use Samwon Construction as bait.

‘And one more thing. I wanted Han Cheong-ho to underestimate me.’

In fact, Tae-soo had a lot to rely on.

But he didn’t want Han Cheong-ho to know that.

‘It’s not time yet.’

He wanted to make Han Cheong-ho complacent.

That way, he could properly stab him in the back when an important opportunity came.

The more he did that, the more Han Cheong-ho would feel sick.

‘By the way, what is Cha Ki-beom’s real intention? What is he aiming for?’

Tae-soo recalled when he met Cha Ki-beom in Pohang.

It was Park Tae-jong’s turn to volunteer to dispatch special agents as planned.

But unexpectedly, Cha Ki-beom made the first move.

“Your Excellency, may I choose the special agents?”

Park Tae-jong was at a loss, but there was no justification.

Anyway, Park Tae-jong had already taken off his military uniform, and Cha Ki-beom was the incumbent Chief of Presidential Security.

‘I expected it then. Interesting things would happen depending on whose side Cha Ki-beom took.’

Tae-soo smiled as he looked at the telegram.

‘Normally, it’s something to be angry about like Song Chang-joon, and Cha Ki-beom should be sorry. But Cha Ki-beom is showing a completely different reaction.’

He guessed there were two reasons.

‘Either Cha Ki-beom is an insane person who doesn’t understand common sense, or the postponement of the special agents’ departure schedule is really beneficial to me.’

He was curious.

Why Cha Ki-beom was acting like that.

‘I’ll find out soon when the special agents come.’