Cheon Tae-san, the living legend of Myeon District’s private loan market. Born during the Japanese colonial period to a father who was a servant, he came to Seoul on his own at the age of twelve and did whatever he could to earn money.
After Korea’s liberation from Japan in 1945, he moved faster than anyone to buy up the confiscated properties that the Japanese were selling for cheap, amassing a great fortune. After the Korean War, he also bought up confiscated properties that the government was selling off.
Having gathered his capital, he recklessly jumped into the private loan market, narrowly escaping death several times. And now, he had become a great tycoon, said to have the greatest ability to mobilize cash in all of Korea. The Iron Fortress.
The Third Republic, which seized power through a military coup, the Fifth Republic, which followed it by also seizing power through a military coup, and even to this day… he was the king of private loans who had protected his wealth from the blades of all those in power.
This was the very place where he lived, a place where even the chairmen of major corporations would wait for hours just to meet him.
“You’re here?”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“Hahaha. Grandfather… That sounds nice. This is only our second time meeting, but it feels like I’m seeing Mi-sook. Have a seat.”
“Yes.”
I sat on the sofa opposite my grandfather.
“I heard the news. You ranked first in the entire school?”
“Yes.”
“Did you always study? Otherwise, this is simply inexplicable.”
I quietly shook my head.
“No, sir. I believe my stormy youth was of great help to me. My grandmother’s collapse had a significant impact.”
“Hahaha! A stormy youth… I also had a difficult childhood. I fought, I took, I hid. That’s how I lived. What did you gain during that stormy period of yours? Was it a meaningless time?”
The conversation that followed felt nothing like one between a grandfather and his grandson. With every question, his gaze was like a blade grazing the back of my neck.
“I gained a friend. A friend I can likely keep by my side until the day I die.”
“Hoh, a friend? You are still young! So young.”
I met the gaze of Chairman Cheon, which seemed to see right through me.
“From the beggar on the street to the president in the Blue House over there, isn't it all about dealing with people in the end? I believe the path one has walked is determined by how many people one can truly trust with their back. And I have made a friend to whom I can entrust my back at any time. So, you could say I have gained everything.”
“Hahaha. Am I talking to my young grandson right now, or to a worldly, cunning old politician?”
The expression on Chairman Cheon’s face was a smile I had never once seen in my previous life.
“Is there something you want?”
“The promised two years have not yet passed. I will tell you after the college entrance exam. Please just don’t forget your promise to grant me anything.”
“Alright. In all my time getting to where I am, I have never once broken a promise. You too should feel the weight of a promise.”
Chairman Cheon nodded his head, satisfied.
“In any case, that is just a bet between you and me. I want to give a gift to my grandson who has come to his senses… What would be good?”
I didn’t answer.
“Do you know what this grandfather of yours does for a living? Why have you never once asked?”
“Is that important? No matter what you do, the fact that you are my maternal grandfather doesn't change, does it?”
“Hoho, that’s true. Well, let’s eat first. Madam Anseong!”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Is it ready?”
“Yes.”
I followed Chairman Cheon, rising from my seat and heading to the dining room. The table was set with about five or six side dishes.
“Eat a lot.”
“I will eat well.”
As Old Man Cheon picked up his spoon, I picked up mine as well. Throughout the entire meal, not a single word was exchanged between us. Old Man Cheon never speaks while eating.
I don’t know if it’s because of his memories of growing up unable to eat well, or something else, but it was said to be an old habit. After the meal, we sat in the living room again.
“This grandfather wants to give his grandson a gift… I suppose I’ll have to decide on my own, since you say there’s nothing you want. Manager Ha!”
Manager Ha, who had been waiting at a distance, rushed over at Old Man Cheon’s call.
“You called, Chairman.”
“What kind of gift should I give my grandson? I’m not used to this, so I have no idea.”
“You can give Mu-hyeok what he wants.”
“He won’t say.”
“Doesn’t that mean he wants you to figure out what he wants and give it to him? The Mu-hyeok I saw was that kind of boy.”
“What’s that? Hahaha. Did you also see something in Mu-hyeok, Manager Ha?”
Smiling, Old Man Cheon was lost in thought for a long while before he finally spoke.
“Manager Ha, you have those Dae-hyun shares in your name, don’t you? Was it 4%?”
“Yes.”
“Transfer them to this boy’s name. Pay the taxes properly. I don’t want any trouble over a gift to my grandson.”
“Understood.”
Dae-hyun…
It was a conglomerate that stood out even among the top ten. Although it would later be split into several companies due to infighting among the children after the founder’s death, it was currently the unrivaled number one. Even after being split, it was a massive corporation, with its parts ranking second and sixth among the conglomerates.
“This should be enough as a gift for my grandson. You may not understand it yet, but you will when you are older. The weight carried by the name Dae-hyun.”
I know.
I know all too well. I know that these are shares that can’t be bought simply with money… and that 4%, beyond its monetary value, is enough to hold the deciding vote in a future succession battle… It was a gift I had never imagined.
“Thank you.”
“Can’t you speak a little more comfortably?”
“…I’m still not comfortable. Next time, when I’m more at ease, then…”
I deliberately trailed off. He could have been offended, but Chairman Cheon surprisingly accepted it easily and nodded.
“I understand. Stay in Seoul for a few days. If there’s anywhere you want to go, tell Manager Ha. I’ll let them know in Busan. Rest comfortably.”
“Yes.”
Manager Ha guided me to the room where I would be staying for the time being. It was the same room I had lived in after entering university… nothing had changed.
“Please call if you need anything.”
“Yes.”
The door closed, and I was left alone. My grandfather’s smile, the extravagant gift—these were things that had never happened, not once, in my past life.
Dae-hyun shares…
I thought he would just toss me some money. But to hand over Dae-hyun shares, whose value was immeasurable.
‘He really is on a different level.’
It made me wonder if I ever truly knew Chairman Cheon. My life in Seoul was monotonous. I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner with my grandfather, and during the day, Manager Ha took me around, saying he would give me a tour of Seoul. …As if I were some country bumpkin.
From stopping by department stores to buy watches, shoes, and clothes, Manager Ha did his best for me for several days.
The day before I was to go down to Busan. It was the day I would meet the brothers, Cheon Su-man and Cheon Su-han.
“Father, we’ve arrived.”
First, the elder son, Cheon Su-han, entered with his wife, Lee Su-gyeong, and their son and daughter, Cheon Ji-won and Cheon Ji-soo. The whole family was here.
‘I can endure this… I can endure this…’
I repeated it over and over in my head. But the moment I saw Cheon Su-man’s face, I almost threw a punch without realizing it. Soon after, Cheon Su-han’s family also arrived, and Chairman Cheon’s once quiet mansion became bustling with activity.
And then, it was time for dinner. The entire family, knowing Old Man Cheon’s habit, ate in silence. Throughout the meal, the two brothers’ eyes darted around, busy trying to size me up.
The tense meal, like walking on thin ice, ended, and everyone had gathered in the living room.
“Is that boy supposed to be Mi-sook’s son?”
“Yes, is there a problem?”
“No, isn’t it ridiculous? The child who left as she pleased because she didn’t want to live as her father dictated sends her son after 17 years, and we’re supposed to believe that?”
“That’s right. I agree with my older brother. Where is Mi-sook, and why did she just send the kid? Have you properly looked into this?”
The brothers, Cheon Su-man and Cheon Su-han, desperately tried to deny me. In the past, they were people I feared and hated, but now, they just looked pathetic. As I was snickering inwardly, a thunderbolt fell upon the brothers.
“Mi-sook? Does her name dare to leave your mouths?! You call yourselves her older brothers, yet you never once bothered to find out if your own sister was dead or alive after she left home, and now you ask if he’s really her son? You ask where Mi-sook is?”
Chairman Cheon roared in a fit of rage. From that point on, the two began to stutter.
“W-Well, that’s because you said you only had two children…”
What a load of crap. You were probably glad. Your younger sister, who was born the youngest daughter and monopolized your father’s love, disappeared, so it’s a wonder you didn’t dance for joy.
“Since when have you two listened to me so well? Did you ask where Mi-sook is? She’s dead. Died 15 years ago, at an age when that poor child couldn’t even remember his mother’s face. It has been 17 years. If you had put your minds to it, you could have easily found her in all that time. Did you think I didn’t know? Or did you know and just not tell me?”
Beads of sweat began to form on their foreheads. They probably had no idea she was already in her grave. But they had asked where Mi-sook was and why I had come alone…
“Whether you acknowledge him or not, he is my grandson. I don’t need your permission. I called you here so you could at least get acquainted with your nephew, but seeing how you’re behaving, it seems nothing good will come from letting him get involved with you.”
“Father.”
“Father, that’s not it…”
Chairman Cheon, his face hardened with displeasure, turned away from his two sons.
“Mu-hyeok, go up to your room. Su-man and Su-han, you two bring your wives and follow me to the study. Tell the children to go to their own rooms.”
The atmosphere was already uncomfortable. At the words to go to my room, I gave a bow without looking back.
“Yes, Grandfather. I’ll be going up now. And it was nice to meet you both, uncles. I hope we can meet with smiles next time. Well then.”
Saying words I didn’t mean felt like my insides were twisting into knots.
“Hoo…”
Only after entering the room could I let out a sigh. It was a relief that no one had noticed the murderous intent that had risen the moment I first saw the brothers, Su-man and Su-han. To clear my cluttered mind, I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Just then, the door opened without a knock.
“Hey~” Lying down, I turned my head toward the door to see Cheon Su-man’s eldest son, Cheon Ji-won, entering the room with a vile smile.
Right, there was this bastard.
“I hear you’re the son of our youngest aunt?”
“So?”
“So? You’re speaking informally?”
“You spoke informally first.”
“I hear you’re 17. I’m 23. Use honorifics.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“This crazy bastard…”
This guy’s script hasn’t changed a bit. I turned my head back to stare at the ceiling and waved my hand dismissively.
“Hey. This is annoying. Can you shut up and get out? It’d be nice if you turned off the light on your way out.”
Cheon Ji-won, who must not have expected such a reaction, just glared at me in silence for a while. He must have always been fawned over, so this was probably the first time anyone had spoken to him like this.
A scoundrel.
No other word could better describe Cheon Ji-won. With a father who was the eldest son of Cheon Tae-san, the big boss of Myeon District’s money market, and a mother who was the daughter of the Ilseong Group’s chairman, who would dare to throw a stone at him? Such an environment had further ruined Cheon Ji-won’s character.
“How dare a bastard with no pedigree talk to me like that! Hey, get up. Who said you could lie down in front of me? Are you not getting up?”
“Yes, older brother. We’re family, right?”
“What?”
“My pedigree is your pedigree. You should get the hint. Pick one: either you’re stupid or you’re just plain nasty.”
“Hey! Are you crazy? Do you have a death wish?”
Ah, he’s so annoying.
Really.
I sat up in bed.
“What? Why? I’m up. If you have something to say, say it quick and go. I’m tired.”
“I told you to use honorifics. This is your last warning.”
“Yes, yes~ Please say what you have to say and leave, older brother! This humble one will listen quietly.”
“…”
“If you have nothing to say, your younger brother would like to go to sleep now, so could you please leave, older brother?”
“Hahaha! This is insane. Hey! Enough of this, just take some money and get lost. This isn’t a place for someone like you. How much do you want? One hundred million? One billion?”
I had to struggle to keep from laughing. You said that exact same line back then too, didn’t you? At that time, I couldn’t say a word and just stood there like an idiot.
“Wow! Is my dear older brother trying to give his younger brother some pocket money?”
“What?”
“Isn’t one hundred million just pocket money?”
Cheon Ji-won let out a hollow laugh.
“This guy’s really nuts. You could end up getting quietly taken care of. You seem too young to know, but fists come before the law. Don’t ignore my warning.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Ha, is it because you grew up without parents? Your upbringing is a mess. Ha… This is why you shouldn’t talk to parentless bastards.” …This bastard is crossing the line too?
“Did your grandma raise you? Or your grandpa? Looking at you, I can tell what state those old folks are in.”
I grabbed the snickering Cheon Ji-won by the collar and slammed him against the door.
“That’s right, I don’t have parents, so there’s nothing holding me back. How about you get beaten to a pulp by a parentless bastard?”