Free Web Novel- Uh, they added a few more CT scans for today. Doesn’t seem like anything I need to worry too much about. Thanks for worrying about me, Hoya.
“No problem. Then I’ll see you tonight.”
- Right. I’ll call after I’m done meeting the companies I already set appointments with. I’ve got four places to hit today, so I’m gonna be busy too. I’m hanging up.
“Yes, big brother. Take care.”
After ending the call with Baek Hail, Junho started the engine.
The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that coming down to Busan as soon as he secured the money had been the right move.
No matter how long he had imagined and planned everything on his own, having a real expert flesh it out and actually execute it was a completely different level.
Now it was time to go meet the person who would solve the legal side of things.
***
Bujeon-dong, Busanjin District, Busan.
After arriving in the downtown area known as Seomyeon, Junho parked in the underground garage of the building where Lee Dongcheol’s office was located.
Using the elevator doors like a mirror, Junho checked his appearance.
Thanks to the hotel’s dry-cleaning service, his clothes were immaculate.
He had Company A’s smartwatch on his left wrist, and unlike usual, his hair was neatly swept back to expose his forehead, making him look, to anyone’s eyes, like a young, promising businessman—or the son of a wealthy family.
Ding—
After getting off on the first floor, Junho headed toward the café where they were supposed to meet and called someone.
But the moment the call connected once, he hung up immediately.
‘If he’s quick, within five minutes. If not, twenty at most.’
No matter how busy he was, he was the kind of person who would always call back within that window if he saw a missed call from Junho. Since it was a weekend today, it might even be faster.
When he entered the café and looked toward the back, he spotted a man who looked to be around forty, sitting at a table in a neatly coordinated golf outfit.
‘Lee Dongcheol...?’
Junho was more than a little surprised.
He looked too different from how he had in the apocalypse.
Back then, he had been skin-and-bones and so worn down he looked nothing but sly.
Now, though still somewhat thin, he looked like the kind of clean-cut, trustworthy professional anyone would take a liking to.
After ordering an Americano and taking the vibrating pager, Junho approached him while placing a call.
“Hello.”
Junho gave a small wave to Lee Dongcheol, who had answered almost at the same time as the ringtone, and said,
“Hello. I’m Lee Junho. We spoke on the phone.”
“Ah... yes. Nice to meet you. I’m attorney Lee Dongcheol.”
Looking flustered, Lee Dongcheol rose halfway from his seat, then hurriedly pulled a business card from his wallet and held it out.
Junho handed over his own as well.
A simple card with nothing but his name and number printed on it.
But anyone who had spent time in the working world would recognize immediately that even the material of the card was high-end and unconcerned with cost-effectiveness.
Sure enough, Lee Dongcheol looked back and forth between the card and Junho, showing a bright white smile.
“Ah, I’m sorry. From your voice, I figured you’d be a younger man, but I didn’t expect you to be this young.”
Junho smiled too and replied,
“I really am young.” freēwēbηovel.c૦m
“Haha. Please, have a seat.”
Junho sat across from him.
He could feel Lee Dongcheol’s gaze, his surprise now somewhat faded, quickly scanning him over.
Junho set his phone and the vibrating pager on the table.
“So what brings you to Busan? Business?”
“Yes. I had a few things to take care of, and if the opportunity came up, I figured I’d meet with you too, Counselor.”
“Ah, I see. If you don’t mind me asking, what line of work are you in right now—”
Just then, the pager buzzed.
“Ah, that’s me.”
“No, it’s mine. Please, stay seated.”
Picking up the pager, Junho stood, got his coffee, and came back.
With only a few steps left before reaching the table where Lee Dongcheol sat, Junho’s phone, which he had left on top, buzzed against the tabletop.
‘Nice timing.’
Sure enough, Lee Dongcheol’s eyes naturally shifted toward the screen.
[Kangho Group Kang Baekho hyung]
His shoulders twitched slightly.
Smiling to himself, Junho sat down, set the coffee on the table, and picked up the phone.
“Ah, big brother.”
- What is it? On a weekend morning?
“I’m doing great. Ha ha.”
- Huh? The hell did you eat for breakfast, you little punk... Yeah, okay, you sound like you’re doing fine. So what’s up?
“Nothing much. Ah, that thing you mentioned before. The place in Busan. I was thinking I might go take a look today.”
- The place in Busan? Oh, our hotel. Huh? You’re in Busan right now?
“Yeah, I came down because I had some business.”
- You should’ve said so. Then I could’ve— no, forget it. I’ve got too much to do today too. Ah, fuck, I never get a break, never. Anyway, I’ll call the hotel right now, so take it easy and get some rest there.
“Thanks. I know you’re busy and all, big brother. Next time, let’s come down together.”
- Let’s do that. But... Juno Juno, your energy’s weirdly high today.
“No, not at all. Anyway, I’ll call you when I get back up there. Yes. Yep, I’ll see you that day.”
After ending the call, Junho lowered his phone and gave Lee Dongcheol a smiling glance.
“Sorry about that. He’s a close big brother of mine, so I couldn’t exactly cut him off.”
“Could that possibly be... Kangho Food... CEO Kang Baekho?”
“Huh? How do you know him?”
Of course he knew because he had seen the phone screen, but Junho put on an innocent look of surprise.
Lee Dongcheol straightened up from his previously relaxed posture and said,
“My specialty is corporate civil litigation. I’ve had a few referrals from the Kangho side too.”
You? My ass.
Kangho Group might not rank at the absolute top of the business world, but it was still a quasi-conglomerate with total assets pushing ten trillion won.
There was almost no chance the legal team of a company like that—not even one of its underlings—would have anything to do with some small-time lawyer in Busan.
Even if there had been a connection, it would have been through a subcontractor of Kangho Group, or a subcontractor of one of their subcontractors.
“You must be pretty close with Mr. Kang Baekho?”
“Yeah, well. He’s just a good big brother. He’s got a very straightforward style in business too.”
Junho smiled faintly.
That was enough.
After talking to him yesterday and then seeing him in person today, Lee Dongcheol had already decided Junho was not just a mark, but a young mark.
But even so, for a former prosecutor turned corporate lawyer, there was no way he wouldn’t know Kang Baekho—that unusual name belonging to a third-generation heir of Kangho Group.
And here was a young man who appeared to be personally very close with someone like that.
“So then, President ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Lee Junho.”
Lee Dongcheol quickly reorganized his position. freёweɓnovel.com
“What can I help you with?”
His attitude now markedly more respectful, Lee Dongcheol listened as Junho flashed a grin and got down to business.
***
“Then I’ll organize everything and send it to you over text, and I’ll come up to see you before the auction.”
“Yes. Try speaking with President Baek Hail once too. Whether it ends up being a pension or a campground, President Baek Hail will be overseeing the construction.”
“Understood. I’ll contact him separately. Then I’ll be on my way first.”
After offering an impeccably polite goodbye, Lee Dongcheol got into the taxi he had summoned in advance.
Their first meeting had been at a café in Seomyeon, but their goodbye happened at the KH Hotel in Haeundae.
Just as planned, Junho had brought Lee Dongcheol all the way to KH Hotel, an affiliate of Kangho Group.
Kang Baekho—a member of the owner family, and a VVIP who, according to rampant rumors, was set to take over hotel management within the year in addition to the resort and food businesses now headed by current CEO Kang Hyojin.
The hotel had received separate instructions from that Kang Baekho, so the moment Junho gave his name, the front office manager and the head of the concierge team came out in person, mentioned Kang Baekho, and treated him with extreme courtesy.
They were so attentive that even Junho felt a little taken aback inside.
But he didn’t let it show. Maintaining an easygoing manner, he pulled out his Pentium Black Card and paid every expense.
And Lee Dongcheol watched that entire process from beginning to end.
‘He’s the real deal! A real VIP!’
The last scraps of doubt lingering in one corner of Lee Dongcheol’s mind were wiped away clean.
In his eyes, Junho was no longer some clumsy little rich-kid sucker, but a full-retention client who needed to be treated as top priority.
After that, the consultation at the hotel moved at lightning speed.
Having worked as a prosecutor in Namyangju, Lee Dongcheol loudly boasted that Junho only needed to trust him.
He didn’t even ask why Junho was choosing a place that remote.
Because it was hardly unusual for a chaebol heir or someone from the ultra-elite to build a secret villa where they could live out a discreet private life.
Still, he carefully suggested that, procedurally, it would be far more advantageous to get the property permitted as a campground and pension business, rather than as a country house.
Since the land had already been used as a campground by the previous operator in the first place, he said there should be no issue getting the permits.
Lee Dongcheol never said it out loud, but inwardly he seemed to regard Junho as both a close associate of Kang Baekho and his proxy.
As if Kang Baekho was trying to build a secret villa in a secluded mountain valley in Namyangju, disguised as a campground and pension, under Junho’s name.
But Junho had no intention of correcting that misunderstanding.
If anything, it was much better for Lee Dongcheol to believe exactly that.
Compared to some punk in his twenties who had struck it rich off crypto, Kang Baekho—a member of a chaebol family who had seen everything life could throw at him—was someone Lee Dongcheol would be far more tense and careful around.
“Then let’s see you put your heart and soul into it, Lee Dongcheol.”
Watching the taxi carrying Lee Dongcheol disappear into the distance, Junho muttered under his breath.
***
“If you ask me, Urim Engineering Architects is the best option. They can handle everything in one shot, from design to permits.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ve supplied materials to one of their sites before, and I know the head manager pretty well. They’re trustworthy.”
Today, following Junho’s lead, Baek Hail tossed back a shot of soju over a spread of assorted sashimi and seafood and continued speaking.
“They’ve got plenty of experience designing high-end country houses, warehouse-style farms, agricultural storage facilities, even combined warehouse complexes. On top of that, they’ll connect you with permit-processing, supervision, and even structural diagnostics companies all in one go. The head of design there also has ties to a licensed structural engineer.”
“Then that’d make things easier, right?”
“Exactly. If we have to go find a structural diagnostics company separately, then sign another contract with a site supervisor... your head’s gonna explode. A place that handles it all in one shot is the best.”
“Then let’s go with them. Urim Engineering...”
“Just call it Urim Office.”
“Yes, Urim.”
Chewing a thick slice of sashimi wrapped in greens, Junho nodded.
“Then what about the equipment and facilities?”
Baek Hail pulled out an old notebook and held it out to Junho.
“You see the places I circled in there? Those are the final candidates.”
“That’s... kind of a lot, isn’t it?”
There were no fewer than five companies marked in the notebook.
Baek Hail stuffed a piece of sashimi drenched in red dipping sauce into his mouth and mumbled around it.
“That’s because they all specialize in different things.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. First off, Nambu Machine Wholesale is centered on machinery like general-purpose lathes, milling machines, and drill presses. Then there’s Sangdo Used Machinery—I worked there myself back in the day—and they specialize in medium-sized equipment like plasma cutters, automatic bending machines, and machining centers. Ah, for us, even a small machining center would be enough. Expensive as hell, though. And then...”
Probably because this was his field, Baek Hail sounded a little excited as he kept explaining.
“...But if you ask me, the first place we ought to contact is Boss Electronics in Gimhae.”
“Why?”
“I know the factory manager there a little, and sounds like they’re about to shut down. Their precision CNC machines, anti-vibration worktables, and dust-collection systems are all gonna hit the market as one big lot. We won’t need the dust-collection system, but anyway, it’d be perfect for setting up precision parts work.”
“But they’re all used. Used is okay?”
Junho asked because, generally speaking, he assumed new machines would be better.
Baek Hail nodded firmly.
“Of course. Even used, if the condition’s good, it can be better than brand-new. That equipment was still running up until two months ago, so it’s in good shape. I went and looked at it myself. It’s already been properly broken in, and if we bring it in, all we’d need is to realign the spindle and replace the coolant.”
“Okay. But big brother, honestly...”
Handing the notebook back, Junho shrugged.
“I’m a liberal-arts guy, so I have no idea what any of that means.”
“Ah......”
“Just buy whatever you think we need. I’ve got plenty of money, remember?”
“R-right. You’ve got fifteen billion won, that’s right... Still...”
Baek Hail nodded with an uneasy look on his face.
