Chapter 46: All Eyes on Taeseong

The Year-End Night event held at Hyeonmu Hotel.

It’s a charity bazaar and fundraising event to help neighbors in need during the end-of-year and New Year’s season.

The car we were riding in came to a gentle stop in front of the main entrance of Hyeonmu Hotel.

Tak.

Father stepped out first and offered his hand to escort Mother.

Father and Mother stood side by side.

They looked like a picture-perfect couple.

I, too, dressed in a young master’s suit matching Father’s style, stood with them.

Father confidently grasped my hand as well, giving me a sly smile.

“Let’s go in.”

It was a gathering of the political and business elite you’d only expect to see on the news, along with renowned leaders from every sector of society.

In the hall, musicians gathered for an ensemble performance.

An invited singer led the atmosphere with their song.

Waiters carried trays topped with champagne, weaving between the guests.

‘So this is what the Year-End Night is like?’

I’d only heard of it in passing—this was my first time actually attending.

For people like us, who operated in the shadows, just getting in was never allowed.

No matter how much money we had, whenever they needed money, they’d come crawling to us, desperate.

But the upper class never let us into their circle.

‘Now that I’m here, it’s not so special after all.’

Compared to the flashy, over-the-top parties of Namsan Leech, this isn’t that impressive.

‘Still, it’s fascinating to see these people’s younger days. All those who once strutted about, now being treated like rookies here.’

People gathered in small groups, sipping champagne.

Amid casual greetings, high-level information passed back and forth as if it was nothing.

You could overhear city development plans, the latest stocks rising and falling, as well as diplomatic affairs and the state of foreign companies.

“Young Master, you’re here?”

Secretary Kim, who had been assisting Grandfather, spotted me and walked over.

I looked up at Father.

“I’m going to the restroom. I’ll ask Secretary Kim to look after me, so you and Mom go ahead first.”

“Alright.”

I took Secretary Kim’s hand.

I had something to ask him.

“Have the guests I invited separately arrived yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Then, let me know quietly when Horsehead shows up. Today, people from the Korea Racing Authority and Ttukseom Seoul Racecourse, as well as the managers of the banks in the racecourse, are all attending.”

“May I ask the reason?”

“Horsehead promised to cooperate with Taeseong, but he never said he wouldn’t cause trouble in other ways.”

Horsehead was a man aiming to make his way into the racecourse.

“If I let him know that he needs to stay in the good graces here or he’ll lose his chance to set up a loan window at the racecourse, he’ll mind his behavior.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, and what about the people we sent letters to? Any reactions?”

“They seem to be exchanging information among themselves.”

Secretary Kim lifted one corner of his mouth in a subtle smile.

“There’s nothing to worry about. We’ve sent a few of our side’s lawmakers as instigators to muddy the issue and sway public opinion.”

“Good.”

Only then did I return to Father’s side.

I could hear quiet whispers from here and there.

But the music and laughter buried most of the words.

‘Hey, Guardian Spirit.’

[Sound sharing or vision sharing?]

‘Do I have to spell everything out for you? Just wander around the hall and send me only the useful conversations and situations.’

[...That’s difficult. Understood.]

The Grim Reaper faded away.

Drifting like smoke, he slipped among the people.

---

Suddenly, my vision cleared.

It was vision sharing.

Three people with unpleasant expressions whispered in very low voices.

“A few days ago, I received a very unpleasant letter. It was tucked in with the approval documents.”

“You got it with your approval documents? I tore mine off the wall in the National Assembly corridor.”

“That must have been nerve-wracking. I got mine in the restroom—it made me dizzy.”

There was a strange look in their eyes as they glanced at one another.

They’d suspected for a while that they’d been sharing Woo Gwang’s bribe money.

Now, with this conversation, their suspicions solidified into certainty.

“I never thought Woo Gwang would be this sloppy.”

It was a dissatisfied voice.

“The problem is, whose hands did it end up in? Could it be Taeseong?”

“Taeseong?”

At the sudden interjection, the three who were quietly talking jumped.

Turning, they saw a lawmaker from the opposition party.

“Assemblyman Choi!”

“I kept hearing you mention letters and Taeseong, so I wondered if this is what you were talking about.”

Assemblyman Choi took a neatly folded letter from his pocket.

The three, who had been discussing the blackmail letters, couldn’t hide their surprise.

They had torn up and destroyed theirs as soon as they saw them.

“How could you even think to bring that out in front of people?”

“Aren’t you going to burn it immediately? You’ve got guts.”

“Guts? It’s nothing to fuss over.”

Assemblyman Choi unfolded the letter.



Their expressions shifted oddly.

The letter Assemblyman Choi from the opposition received was quite different from theirs.

Choi pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

“Turns out there are a lot of people who received similar letters. Even Chairman Cha of Taeseong got one.”

“The same letter?”

“Even Chairman Cha of Taeseong?”

Assemblyman Choi gave a smirk.

“Looks like Taeseong has found itself a remarkable sponsor. To go so far as to send me this letter, asking for support.”

“Who’s the sponsor backing Taeseong?”

“That, I don’t know. Chairman Cha of Taeseong was bragging about it so much, even I’m curious. Haha. I wish I could get some support too.”

The recipients of the blackmail letter looked at each other.

A brief exchange of glances carried a multitude of meanings.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

They left Assemblyman Choi and began searching for Grandfather among the crowd.

The instigators I’d arranged hadn’t even arrived yet, but the ones Secretary Kim had deployed were already hard at work.

“Chairman Cha!”

They spotted Grandfather standing at the center of the hall, surrounded by people.

“Is it true there’s someone sponsoring Taeseong Construction?”

“That’s right. In my lifetime, I’ve never had this kind of sponsorship. Whoever it is, it’s very reassuring.”

Grandfather chuckled heartily.

They quickly read the letter Grandfather was deliberately holding out for all to see.



They exchanged uneasy glances.

Grandfather took a sip of champagne, his expression full of confidence.

“With this kind of expectation on me, I have no choice but to live up to it. We must make sure Taeseong wins the Subway Line 2 construction.”

Grandfather held up three fingers.

“Taeseong Construction has already received investments—thirty billion won in cash.”

“Thirty billion?”

“Already found investors?”

The looks in people’s eyes changed.

When there’s talk of investors, it means they smell money.

The whispering grew louder.

“Maybe in promissory notes, but is there an investor who can mobilize thirty billion in cash all at once?”

“Could they have gotten a foreign loan?”

“I hear oil money is overflowing in the Middle East, and Taeseong Construction has been winning lots of contracts there.”

“Makes sense. Even most domestic banks couldn’t move that kind of money easily.”

Thanks to the Grim Reaper, I could clearly hear even the quiet whispers exchanged in people’s ears.

Before long, people began to focus their attention on Father.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve heard often that Taeseong Group’s youngest son landed a major construction deal in the Middle East.”

“He was even invited as an honored guest by the Saudi royal family. Samhwang Refinery, who went to Saudi for oil price negotiations, was so surprised they had to rub their eyes and look again.”

“I heard he’s exceptionally handsome, and now it turns out he’s incredibly capable. I wondered why someone who stayed in the Middle East for so long came back—maybe it’s because of the foreign loan.”

Before long, Taeseong Group’s sponsor was firmly believed to be someone from the Middle East.

Not a bad, even a welcome misunderstanding.

Soon, the heavyweights of the previous era would arrive.

Everyone would see with their own eyes that Taeseong Group had secured enormous financial backing.

“Father, could we maybe find some connections in the Middle East and bring in a foreign loan ourselves?”

“That young man must be about your age? Try to build a friendship. Business always starts with connections—helping each other, pulling each other up together.”

“Yes, I’ll go for a bit, then.”

Even though the flies buzzing around will only get worse from here.

The way things are moving is not bad at all.

---

I broke off vision sharing with the Grim Reaper.

‘Everyone’s obsessed with the subway project and oil money.’

The bidding for Subway Line 2 construction was less than a month away.

Whoever won between Taeseong and Woo Gwang would determine the fortunes of everyone here.

As someone said, business always starts with connections, and people profit from the information they gather from those ties.

‘Just the high-level information traded at events like this can make you rich—if you know where the subway stations will go, you could make a killing in speculative profits.’

That’s why people were swarming near Grandfather and Father.

To gather any information they could about the Subway Line 2 project.

Even young people were slyly drifting over to Father’s side.

“Seongjun, long time no see. How many years has it been since you went to the army?”

“Why are you so busy alone? How’ve you been?”

Naturally, Mother and I, standing beside Father, became the focus of attention too.

“Who’s that? That stunning beauty over there?”

“And who’s this little Young Master? He looks exactly like you did when you were a kid...”

They trailed off mid-sentence.

A look of disbelief crossed their faces.

Father calmly introduced us.

“Let me introduce you. My wife, Lee Sujin, and my son, Cha Jeonghyeok.”

“I’m Lee Sujin.”

“Hello, I’m Cha Jeonghyeok.”

When we greeted them, everyone could not hide their bewilderment.

“What?”

“Wait, Seongjun! Are you...!”

“What about the marriage alliance with Woo Gwang? What is all this...!”

Grandfather burst out laughing.

“Seongjun’s friends, are you? Please look after my daughter-in-law and Jeonghyeok.”

The head of Taeseong Group had made it official.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the people gathered nearby.

Their gazes lingered on us—persistent, hot, sharp, and cynical.

“Chairman Cha, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that your youngest son was married.”

“That’s how it turned out.”

The number of eyes watching us grew rapidly.

The murmuring grew louder and louder.

“Then what about the alliance with Woo Gwang...?”

At that moment—

“Woo Gwang has arrived.”

“The Woo Gwang Group head family and the presidents of Woo Gwang’s subsidiaries are here.”

The murmuring in the hall stopped instantly.

A moment later, the president of Woo Gwang Construction, the head of Woo Gwang Group, and a group of people entered the hall.

The man at the very front was walking with a noticeable limp, leaning heavily on his cane.

‘That’s Kim Woo Gwang, the head of Woo Gwang Group.’

Back when I ran errands for my teacher, Chairman Kim of Woo Gwang Group was usually in a wheelchair.

But now he looked much healthier, walking with a cane.

Even so, his cold, sharp gaze was the same as ever.

“...”

The musicians’ ensemble faded, and the invited singer’s song ended.

Everyone in the hall watched their entrance intently.

Some of those who had received the blackmail letter instantly wore fierce expressions.

Somewhere, I heard the faint sound of teeth grinding.

The president of Woo Gwang Construction could not hide his look of embarrassment.