After meeting Kim Muhyuk, Hong Jinpyo quickly arranged a meeting with the Secretary General of the National Federation of Demolition Victims.

“Is this Mr. Jeon Jihun?”

“Yes. But......”

“This way, please.”

Jeon Jihun, Secretary General of the federation, couldn’t hide his dubious expression as he was guided into the basement of an unmarked building in Seolleung.

When he opened the door to the room tucked away in the farthest corner, Hong Jinpyo stood up from his seat to greet him.

“Welcome, Secretary General. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Y-Yeah. It has.”

“Please, sit down first.”

Hong Jinpyo guided him over with a relaxed smile.

On the table sat a bottle of whiskey worth several million won.

Opening it, Hong Jinpyo poured Jeon Jihun a drink and said,

“I owed you a lot back when I was with the federation, but I was so busy I ended up treating you this late. I apologize.”

“Ah, what are you saying? No, no. It’s fine.”

Jeon Jihun openly scanned Hong Jinpyo from head to toe.

Luxury brands covered him from top to bottom, and on his wrist sat a watch worth tens of millions of won.

The moment Jeon Jihun realized it was the very Rolex he had always dreamed of owning, his expression subtly changed.

“Let’s have a drink first.”

The two men chatted about old times while downing glass after glass.

Some time later, Jeon Jihun, his face flushed red from alcohol, called out to him.

“Jinpyo.”

“Yes, Secretary General.”

“I heard you’ve been doing pretty well lately?”

“I make enough to get by.”

“Tch. When people get chased by money, they become corrupted. You do remember why we help displaced residents, don’t you?”

Jeon Jihun started spouting ridiculous moral lectures.

Hong Jinpyo let them go in one ear and out the other.

“Of course. That’s what I learned from you early on, Secretary General. Thanks to that, I’ve been carrying out the role of mediator quite smoothly. The reason several redevelopment projects went through without a single issue is all thanks to your teachings.”

“Riiight......?”

The obvious flattery loosened Jeon Jihun’s tongue even more.

Nodding, Hong Jinpyo removed the Rolex from his wrist and placed it on the table.

Then he casually slid it toward Jeon Jihun.

Jeon Jihun’s gaze naturally followed the watch.

“A man who forgets kindness is no better than a beast, isn’t he? I called you here separately today to offer you a good opportunity.”

“A good opportunity?”

“Yes. If you handle this job well, there’ll be a huge reward waiting for you. It’s about time you hit the jackpot and retired, Secretary General.”

The Jeon Jihun Hong Jinpyo knew was an incredibly greedy man.

He pretended to fight for displaced residents while secretly stuffing his pockets with bribe money.

That greed made him the perfect partner for this job.

“Retire?”

“How long are you planning to run around getting hit by tear gas at protest sites?”

The blunt remark made Jeon Jihun visibly uncomfortable.

“Tch. Since when were we afraid of something like that......?”

“Still. Isn’t your daughter getting to the age where she’ll marry soon? At the very least, you should buy her a house before she does.”

Unable to argue back, Jeon Jihun lifted his glass.

Watching him empty it in one shot, Hong Jinpyo spoke again.

“It’s not even that difficult. It’s something you can easily do.”

Jeon Jihun still hesitated without answering.

Letting out a small sigh, Hong Jinpyo stiffened his neck and addressed him differently than before.

“Secretary General. No, hyungnim. Are you still attached to the federation? Look at me. Ever since I left, I’ve been living this well. Stop obsessing over the pocket change you get from under-the-table deals and do something big for once. Then retire. Who’s going to say anything? Or better yet, why don’t you join me and work redevelopment association jobs together?”

“Hah....... What do you want, Jinpyo?”

“Hyungnim. I want you to stir up Guryong Village a little.”

“Guryong Village?”

The moment Guryong Village was mentioned, Jeon Jihun frowned.

“Yes. Just make Guryong Village noisy.”

“What do you mean by noisy?”

“If your federation steps in, getting the residents riled up won’t be difficult, right?”

“Mm. That place is difficult to redevelop. The interests involved are way too tangled. We only have one foot in there ourselves and haven’t °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° really been paying much attention to it......”

Without realizing it, Hong Jinpyo nearly let out a scoff internally.

Even though it was obvious the residents’ autonomous committee had the federation backing it, Jeon Jihun shamelessly pretended ignorance.

Knowing full well, Hong Jinpyo still acted like he didn’t.

“That’s why I came to you, hyungnim. It’s too quiet. At this rate, nothing will happen and it’ll just fizzle out.”

As if trying to coax the still-hesitating Jeon Jihun, Hong Jinpyo softened his voice.

“You just need to make it noisy. We’ll take care of the rest.”

“What exactly do you want? Redevelopment projects usually go worse the noisier they get.”

“That’s the normal way, sure. But Guryong Village needs to get a little loud for the project to move smoothly. There’s a presidential election next year, right? Just cause enough trouble for the politicians to start paying attention.”

Hong Jinpyo spoke gently while refilling Jeon Jihun’s empty glass.

The clear sound echoed through the room.

Jeon Jihun unconsciously swallowed dryly.

“That’s all you need to do. And later, when we ask, the federation just quietly steps back.”

Jeon Jihun fell silent in thought.

Hong Jinpyo’s request really wasn’t difficult.

Sensing that he was wavering, Hong Jinpyo pushed the watch toward him once more.

Jeon Jihun’s eyes drifted to the Rolex.

“Want to try it on?”

His gaze shook.

Hong Jinpyo subtly urged him on.

“Go ahead, hyungnim.”

Unable to resist, Jeon Jihun put the watch on his wrist.

Seeing that, Hong Jinpyo broke into a wide grin.

“Wow, hyungnim, that’s completely your watch. It suits you perfectly. What do you think? Fits your wrist exactly, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose it does.......”

“Looks like the watch finally found its owner. I should just give it to you as a gift. Keep it, hyungnim.”

Jeon Jihun’s eyes widened.

Even if Hong Jinpyo wrapped himself in luxury goods, he had never imagined the man would casually hand over a watch worth tens of millions of won.

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. So what’ll it be? Will you do it?”

“If I refuse, do I have to return this?”

Jeon Jihun mumbled while rubbing the watch.

“Haha! No. That’s just a gift for you, hyungnim. If you refuse, I’ll just find someone else. Somebody will accept my offer.”

The moment he heard there were other candidates, Jeon Jihun flinched slightly.

Hong Jinpyo noticed immediately and curled up the corners of his mouth.

To begin with, there were plenty of people besides Jeon Jihun who would bite the bait.

The only reason he approached him first was because his greed was the greatest.

“There’s nothing complicated about it. Ignore the landowners and focus solely on inciting the residents and creating conflict there.”

“Understood. I’ll do it.”

“If things end exactly the way we want, I’ll give you ten.”

“Ten? One hundred million?”

“Come on, hyungnim. Do you think I’d smooth over a redevelopment project the size of Guryong Village for a mere hundred million won?”

If not one hundred million, then one billion.

Jeon Jihun’s jaw dropped open.

It was an amount he had never even dreamed of hearing.

The federation usually extorted only a few thousand at a time from construction firms or displaced residents.

And they fought brutal battles for even that amount.

But one billion won?

Jeon Jihun’s voice trembled.

“Y-You’re really saying you’ll give me one billion?”

“Yes. If you follow our plan properly, I’ll give you one billion won.”

Jeon Jihun swallowed hard.

Even after distributing shares to others, at least five hundred million would remain in his own hands.

He had spent over ten years struggling in the federation and had never once seen that kind of money.

“I’ll push it through. No, I’ll definitely make it happen. So don’t tell anyone else about this, alright?”

“Of course. The fewer people who know, the better. If you say you’ll do it, I won’t speak to anyone else. Here, here. Have another drink.”

At Hong Jinpyo’s words, Jeon Jihun emptied his glass in one go and held it back out.

“Let’s go all the way tonight, hyungnim. I’ll treat you properly.”

When Hong Jinpyo pressed the bell beside him, an employee entered.

“We’re done talking. Prepare everything now.”

“Yes, I’ll prepare it right away.”

Even while side dishes and alcohol were brought in, Jeon Jihun kept touching the watch and grinning.

Watching him, a deep smile spread across Hong Jinpyo’s lips.

* * *

At last, articles about me started pouring out.

The media continuously requested interviews, but I refused every single one from that point onward.

After some time passed and public interest began cooling down, I arranged a meeting with Choi Hyuk of Jungwon.

“Nice to meet you, Branch Manager Kim Muhyuk.”

“Nice to meet you too, CEO Choi Hyuk.”

Choi Hyuk, who had arrived first and was waiting at the meeting place, welcomed me warmly.

After finishing our handshake, we sat facing each other.

“I was surprised when you contacted me. Aren’t you the most famous person in Korea these days?”

“You flatter me.”

“Flatter you? Not at all. I envy the financial power required to donate five hundred billion won of your personal fortune like that. No matter how rich someone is, that can’t be easy.”

Instead of answering, I simply smiled.

Maybe because my reaction was lukewarm, Choi Hyuk awkwardly chuckled.

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll stop talking about it.”

“Thank you. I didn’t do it to hear praise anyway, so it honestly just feels embarrassing.”

Nodding, Choi Hyuk asked,

“By the way, why did you want to meet me today? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure out why someone like you would want to meet someone like me.”

Instead of dancing around the issue, he asked directly.

Looks like he’s got quite a straightforward personality.

“I own a bit of land in Guryong Village.”

“Guryong Village?”

At the mention of Guryong Village, Choi Hyuk’s eyes widened.

Then his brows gradually furrowed.

“As far as I know, there’s no landowner there named Kim Muhyuk.”

“Haedong.”

The instant I brought up the name Haedong, Choi Hyuk’s expression stiffened.

“All the land I own is under Haedong’s name.”

“I had no idea Haedong was your company. No matter how much I tried contacting them, they never agreed to meet. Honestly, they were so shrouded in secrecy I wasn’t even sure the company truly existed.”

The reason he kept trying to contact Haedong was obvious.

Without including the land I owned in Guryong Village, redevelopment there was impossible.

“I wasn’t paying attention to it at all. That land was outside my interests. I just happened to acquire it a long time ago. Besides, I’m not exactly free enough to worry over land that isn’t even worth much.”

Jungwon had already succeeded in buying up most of the land except for the lots owned by residents belonging to the autonomous committee.

Apparently they believed dismantling the committee itself wouldn’t be difficult, because instead of negotiating with them, they kept trying to approach Haedong.

But I had completely forgotten about the company called Haedong.

It wasn’t until I heard Manager Ma’s report later that I remembered it existed.

That was also when I realized developing Guryong Village might actually be my fate.

The land owned by Haedong totaled only fifty thousand pyeong.

But the problem was that it perfectly cut across the center of Guryong Village.

Without that land, redevelopment was effectively impossible.

That was why, even after purchasing so much land already, Jungwon still couldn’t proceed with the project.

“By the way, CEO Choi. I heard the prosecution carried out a raid on Haedong. Was that your doing?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Really? That’s a relief. I would’ve been disappointed if it had been you.”

A year earlier, Haedong had undergone a large-scale tax investigation and prosecutorial raid.

Thankfully, even if it was a company I paid little attention to, we had never handled things carelessly.

Despite the intense investigation and search-and-seizure operation, they failed to uncover even a single illegal activity.

Well, if there had been any real problems, the report would’ve reached me long ago.

When I recently reviewed Haedong’s reports and heard about the raid, Hong Jinpyo’s words resurfaced in my mind.

‘There’s a rumor that a heavyweight politician is backing CEO Choi Hyuk.’

A heavyweight politician capable of moving both the prosecution and the National Tax Service.

That could only mean someone from the ruling party, not the opposition.

Rather than saying more, I simply curled up the corners of my lips.

The one growing anxious from that reaction was Choi Hyuk.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“You need the land I own, don’t you?”

“Will you sell it?”

“How much are you offering? If the price is reasonable, there’s no reason not to sell.”

After hesitating briefly, Choi Hyuk answered,

“I’ll give you two million won per pyeong.”

The moment he said that, I burst out laughing.

“CEO Choi. Are you playing house right now?”

“What?”

“Then let me ask you the opposite. If I demanded you sell every piece of land Jungwon owns for two million won per pyeong, would you do it?”

Choi Hyuk couldn’t answer.

I hadn’t asked expecting an answer anyway, so I continued.

“And I have no intention of selling that land.”

“Then why exactly did you ask to meet me?”

“Who is it?”

“...What?”

“I’m asking who’s behind you.”

Watching Choi Hyuk silently open and close his lips in confusion, I spoke again.

“Choi Hyuk. Born in Busan, currently forty-seven years old......”

As I casually listed his personal information one after another, Choi Hyuk’s face turned pale.

“No matter how much I investigate, the origin of Jungwon’s initial redevelopment funds can’t be explained. Could you explain that to me?”

“......We received investments. You already know that.”

“Exactly. Which is why it makes no sense that someone with no military connections received investments from the Military Mutual Aid Association. So who is it?”

This was a kind of test.

I already knew who was backing Choi Hyuk.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really? Then I suppose I can do the same thing you did. How about it? Should Jungwon undergo an intensive tax investigation too?”

“What? What did you say?”

Choi Hyuk’s voice rose sharply.

“Why? Is there something wrong with receiving a tax investigation?”

With a sinister smile, I stared at Choi Hyuk.