Free Web Novel“Did you look into Misook’s case? Anything suspicious?”
Chairman Cheon, gazing out the window, suddenly asked.
Unseasonal rain darkened not only the outside but also the study interior. freewebnøvel.com
In the hazy gloom, Ha Myeonghun’s voice emerged.
“There aren’t any proper records left.”
“The more I think about it, the stranger it seems.”
Chairman Cheon muttered in a grave voice.
It was closer to a lament than a comment. Yet in the room, where only the sound of rain could be heard, his voice felt unusually loud.
“My daughter died, and I didn’t hear a ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) word? That makes no sense—unless someone interfered.”
“I’ll continue investigating for now.”
“······It wasn’t the first or second son who got involved, was it?”
The expression on Chairman Cheon’s face, as he asked, looked pained.
“There’s still nothing we can say for certain. I’ve already sent someone down to Busan. I instructed them to track down the police who handled the case and dig deeper.”
“I’m the sinner. I really am.”
“Chairman······.”
“I sold off my daughter for what? A few scraps of wealth and glory? She was just a girl, just a girl who smiled and said she was happy······.”
“······.”
Raindrops slipped down the windowpane, over the reflection of Chairman Cheon’s face.
“Get to the bottom of it. If there was injustice, it needs to be corrected. I need to catch the one responsible before I die. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
The butterfly effect—no one knows how far it will ripple.
Chairman Cheon had begun to question the circumstances of Cheon Misook’s death.
Something that had never occurred in Kim Muhyuk’s previous life was about to begin.
* * *
After arriving in Seoul, I dropped Myungsoo and Hyunseong off at the place Myungsoo had secured.
Then, I headed to my grandfather’s house in Pyeongchang-dong.
After taking my luggage up to my room and coming back down, my grandfather spoke as if he’d been waiting.
“Let’s go to the study.”
“Huh?”
“Why? We have to decide on your prize for the bet. That sort of conversation belongs in the study. Once we’re there, I’m not your grandfather—I’m your business partner.”
“······Yes, sir.”
Back then, I hadn’t even set foot in this house until after university.
I stepped into my grandfather’s study, feeling a strange mix of emotions.
Nothing had changed—it was exactly as I remembered.
Seated, Chairman Cheon opened his mouth.
“Well now! Tell me what your prize will be.”
He looked at me with curiosity, wondering what I would ask for.
“I want to learn what you do.”
“Do you even know what it is that I do?”
His sharp eyes studied my expression.
“Not in detail. But I know it gives you real power.”
“Power, huh? And what will you do with it?”
“I’ll tell you that later.”
I had agonized over this decision.
What should I ask for?
Money? People?
In the end, I concluded that the best path was to pretend to learn from my grandfather up close and gradually bring him to act according to my will.
“Is that all? Is that a worthy reward for our bet? You could ask for far more.”
“They say excess is as bad as scarcity. Rather than getting greedy, I thought it would be better to learn how to earn money and gain power with my own hands.”
A look of satisfaction crossed Chairman Cheon’s face.
“Hoho, this one’s sharp. Secretary Ha! Are you out there?”
Ha Myeonghun, waiting outside, opened the door and stepped in.
“Yes, Chairman. You called?”
“Muhyuk says he wants to learn the business. What do you think?”
“Isn’t it a bit early? He could start after finishing school.”
“That’s true. But he says this is what he wants as his prize for the bet.”
Ha Myeonghun gave me a new, surprised look.
My grandfather, stroking his chin thoughtfully, gave an order.
“Start teaching him whenever he has time. I was planning to have him start from the bottom after graduation, but since he’s choosing this of his own will as a reward... begin with what you do. Understood?”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Off you go then. I need to speak with Muhyuk a bit more.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ha Myeonghun gave a polite bow and exited.
My grandfather cast me a sidelong glance.
“Does this satisfy you?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Why did you apply to the law school, by the way? Planning to take the bar?”
“No, sir. I went to build connections. I debated between business and law, but for now, law school alumni still seem to carry more influence.”
“Ho? And you’re not regretting the studying you’ve done so far?”
“Even if I passed the bar, I wouldn’t want to become a judge or prosecutor. And studying just to be a lawyer doesn’t appeal to me either.”
“Hohoho.”
I smiled at the booming laugh from Chairman Cheon. freewēbnoveℓ.com
“Still, take school seriously. Whether it’s building a network or whatever—those are years you won’t get back.”
“I’ll manage my time and learn as much as I can.”
Chairman Cheon nodded, seemingly pleased, then paused before adding more.
“You should at least have a car. A foreign one is too much for now, so I’ll give you a Grandeur. Use it to get to school. Do you have a license?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You’re well-prepared. Studying, getting your license—doing it all. Hohoho.”
We talked at length in the study.
When I stepped out, Ha Myeonghun was waiting.
“Young master, let’s go to your room. I’ll explain the work you’ll be doing.”
“Yes.”
We went upstairs.
Once inside and with the door closed, Ha Myeonghun jumped straight to the point without even sitting down.
“Do you know exactly what the Chairman does?”
“Not in detail.”
Of course I knew. I just pretended not to.
“The Chairman is in the moneylending business. In harsher terms, loan sharking—usury. But these days, the people he deals with directly are major conglomerate chairmen.”
“Ah······.”
Back in the previous life, I started from the bottom after graduating university.
When the IMF crisis hit and lending businesses popped up everywhere, I started at the lowest rung and worked my way up.
But this time, I was starting out dealing with top-tier corporate clients.
“In general, I meet with their people to coordinate everything. Then the Chairman meets with the company heads and agrees to the loans. You’ll be learning the prep work I do. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Ha Myeonghun nodded and continued.
“You’ll need to learn how to read ledgers, assess collateral, and understand the related laws. Loan sharking isn’t easy. Huge sums are involved, so collateral has to be rock solid.”
“I see.”
Sitting on the bed, I nodded.
Frankly, as I watched him standing ramrod straight without leaning on anything, I found myself thinking how disciplined he looked.
“The Chairman doesn’t usually take stocks as collateral. Stocks fluctuate too much. If he does, it’s only when the shares are significant—when they affect management control. For example, the Daehyeon shares he took three years ago······.”
I’d never seen Ha Myeonghun talk this much before.
I looked at him anew.
He must’ve thought I was paying attention, because he kept going with enthusiasm.
“The other company heads under the Chairman deal with small businesses and individual proprietors. That’s considered Myeongdong territory.”
I pretended to listen carefully as he gave me the basic rundown.
“In addition to the Chairman and me, there are four key figures from Myeongdong. The Chairman funded and helped them all become independent. You’ll need to know all of them eventually.”
Of course I knew them. Those four would later join forces with Cheon Sooman and Cheon Suhan to become my enemies.
“Doksa (Viper), Ssangkal (Double Knives), Mangchi (Hammer), Majeok (Bandit). Those four. They’ve been in the loan shark world in Myeongdong a long time. They won’t be easy to deal with.”
I gave Ha Myeonghun, who looked a bit concerned, a small smile.
“Don’t worry. If I have to face them anyway, might as well get it over with early.”
“You’re admirable.”
The loan shark world is truly filthy.
People there will do anything to collect money.
Some were so ruthless even gangsters avoided them.
Chairman Cheon himself had survived in that cesspool and risen to the top—he was a legend.
Many loan sharks weren’t gangsters but were more gangster-like than actual gangsters.
‘Still, what can they do to someone who’s already died once?’
In the world of private lending, where money is everything and money is power, Chairman Cheon currently ruled as a mighty dragon—but when that dragon ascended, the Warring States period would begin.
In this life, I planned to clean it all up before that chaos broke out.
“For now, why don’t you come along to the next meeting? But please, enjoy your campus life a bit too. No need to rush.”
“Don’t worry. I’m good at having fun. I’ll hang out with friends and do everything I should. You don’t need to worry.”
At that, Ha Myeonghun smiled faintly, then bowed and left the room.
Lying back on the bed, I went over what I had to do.
‘First, win Grandpa over. Then one by one, get the four Myeongdong groups under my control.’
And after that, the path is clear.
I pictured the faces of Cheon Sooman and Cheon Suhan, sharpening my mental blade.
‘Just wait, uncles. I’ll make sure to repay what you did to me in the last life.’
And so, my first night in Seoul passed.
The next day.
I drove the car Grandpa gave me and headed to Myungsoo’s house.
He had rented a place near the university and would live there while attending school.
Hyunseong was planning to live in the dorms and come stay with Myungsoo on weekends—but with sports college, that might not be so easy.
I arrived and rang the bell.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
Myungsoo opened the door and greeted me.
“What the? You’re early.”
“Yeah. I drove.”
I spun the car key around my finger.
“Ooh! You got a car already?”
“Grandpa gave it to me as a gift. Nice, right? I’ll come pick you up when you need to go to school.”
“Ooh! That’s my friend, Kim Muhyuk! Come in quick. We were just about to make ramen.”
As I stepped inside, the smell of ramen hit me.
“You’re here?”
Hyunseong, mid-cooking, greeted me casually from the kitchen.
I sat down, and he brought the pot over.
“Whoa, how many packs is this? That’s a lot of noodles.”
“Six.”
This punk Hyunseong—ever since he started working out, his speech’s gotten way too casual.
“What the hell. Six is just enough for me and him. We’ve got some rice left from yesterday, but let’s eat this first before it gets soggy.”
With that, the three of us—three healthy twenty-year-old men—silently devoured the ramen.
“Hyunseong, bring the rice cooker over.”
“Okay.”
The noodles vanished in five minutes. Hyunseong brought the entire rice pot.
He dumped the rice into the leftover broth, which turned into a thick porridge from how much rice he added.
And again, we ate like starving beasts.
I was the first to raise my hand.
“I can’t eat anymore.”
But the other two ignored me, still lost in their ravenous state.
I could understand Hyunseong—he was a big athlete. But what the hell was up with Myungsoo?
“Where the hell does all your food go?”
“I dunno. I don’t gain weight. Stop talking while I eat.”
You lucky bastard······.
After eating, we didn’t even bother cleaning up and just stared at the ceiling, dazed.
Myungsoo was the first to speak.
“Did you call your grandma?”
“Yeah. You guys?”
“Yeah, yesterday. Man, my mom wouldn’t shut up. She went on and on without breathing.”
“I called too.”
A sigh slipped out of me.
“I already miss Grandma’s cooking.”
“Hey, you’ll still get decent meals at your grandpa’s place. I’m stuck with ramen or buying food. Yesterday I went to eat with Hyunseong nearby, and the food was so damn bland I lost my appetite.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“My future looks bleak.”
“When are you moving into the dorm?”
I asked Hyunseong.
He tilted his head and answered.
“Next week.”
“You think you’ll have time to come up?”
“We’ll see.”
“Try to come up often. Let’s hang out on weekends. If you call ahead, I won’t make other plans. Just let Myungsoo know.”
Hyunseong gave a silent nod.
“You guys got pagers yet?”
“Planning to get one today. You getting one too, Hyunseong? Muhyuk already has his.”
“Yeah.”
“Really? Where at?”
“Apgujeong? Figured I’d check it out while I’m there.”
“You’re going all the way to Apgujeong for a pager?”
“Pager and a bit of sightseeing. You coming?”
I shook my head.
“Got something else today. Actually, about what I called you both for.”
“Yeah? Go ahead.”
I looked between Myungsoo and Hyunseong.
“This is really important.”
“What is it?”
“Mm.”
Even if I didn’t tell them everything, these two were going to play major roles in what’s to come.
“I need your help.”
< I Want to Learn What You Do. > End.
