Park Jin-hyuk spoke, then leisurely looked around.
Park Jun-man watched Park Jin-hyuk with an interested gaze, while Park Su-man, flustered, kept talking with the aides sitting behind him about something.
Meanwhile, the other directors were watching Park Jun-man’s reaction, preparing to applaud Park Jin-hyuk.
Park Jin-hyuk winked at Hyun Yi-soo, who stood there with his mouth open in confusion, and then spoke.
“It’s not a definite answer. But now that I’ve found a way to get a definite answer, it won’t take long.”
“A way to get a definite answer, you say… Explain in detail.”
At Park Jun-man’s words, Park Jin-hyuk began to explain without hesitation, as if he had been waiting for the question.
“The Iraqi government is currently blocking loans from the state-run banks, so payments aren’t being made. That’s why I plan to put pressure on the Iraqi government and open up the blocked flow. I believe companies like Dongjeong Industries, which have done business in the Middle East for a long time, will have connections with the government. Through such companies, I intend to pressure the government.”
Hyun Yi-soo shut his eyes tightly at Park Jin-hyuk’s words.
Though he had said something similar to Park Jin-hyuk just moments ago, he hadn’t expected him to say it so openly in front of everyone.
Park Jun-man’s eyes sparkled at Park Jin-hyuk’s explanation.
“Dongjeong Industries? Director Park, did you hear something from Dongjeong Industries?”
“No, I did not.”
“Yet you’re saying you’ll pressure the government through Dongjeong Industries? Where’s that confidence from? Are you thinking that just because Dongjeong’s honorary chairman is your maternal grandfather, he’ll do you a favor if you ask? If so, you’re mistaken. The honorary chairman of Dongjeong isn’t someone who’d do it just because his grandson asks.”
Hyun Yi-soo was thinking the same as Park Jun-man.
From what he understood, Lee Jong-moo was someone who prioritized the company over blood relations.
And he was even less likely to do anyone a favor.
That was why, despite knowing about Park Jin-hyuk’s maternal side, he hadn’t dared to bring it up carelessly.
Park Jin-hyuk listened to Park Jun-man and then looked at Park Su-man.
He was still consulting with his aides about something, checking things over.
‘Why is he making it so obvious?’
Park Jin-hyuk glanced at Park Su-man with a look of exasperation, then turned back to Park Jun-man and replied.
“A favor? I have no intention of asking for a favor.”
“No intention of asking for a favor?”
“Yes. I plan to make a proposal. If you ask for a favor, you end up owing them, and I don’t want any such debt. Besides, I don’t believe it’s right to appeal to personal feelings when it comes to business. That’s why I intend to make a move through a transaction with Dongjeong Industries.”
“I see? Good. You’ll need to show some results before the third quarter performance report. Otherwise, the creditors may act out of disappointment in the numbers.”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind and move quickly.”
“Good. This was your first reporting session, and you did well. I’ll be watching DS Construction closely, so make sure not to slip up.”
As Park Jun-man finished speaking, the directors sent congratulatory glances toward Park Jin-hyuk.
Park Jin-hyuk returned their looks with a slight nod, then went back to his seat.
Hyun Yi-soo leaned forward urgently, addressing Park Jin-hyuk in a hushed tone.
“Director, how could you say that?”
“What’s wrong? Did I say anything untrue? Wasn’t this our plan all along?”
“We haven’t figured out the details yet. What if things go wrong?”
“Nothing will go wrong. I think the chairman agrees there’s no other way.”
“What? The chairman anticipated this?”
Park Jin-hyuk recalled when he had first volunteered to take on DS Construction and went to see Park Jun-man.
Back then, Park Jun-man had advised him to visit Seongbuk-dong.
At the time, it sounded like just a suggestion to greet his elders after a long while, but now, looking back, it seemed there was a deeper intention.
And the reactions of Lee Sun-myung and Lee Jong-moo in Seongbuk-dong only reinforced that conviction.
Park Jin-hyuk gave Hyun Yi-soo’s arm a reassuring tap and laughed.
“People in these positions don’t like evasive answers. Even if things go wrong later, they want a clear answer now. Don’t worry, Deputy Manager Hyun—just find out what Dongjeong Industries wants most right now.”
“What they want most?”
“To make a deal, you have to have what they want most in your hands, don’t you think?”
At Park Jin-hyuk’s words, it seemed Hyun Yi-soo remembered something.
Park Jin-hyuk flashed him a smile and turned away.
*****
“Haah~. The air is nice.”
Park Jin-hyuk strolled around with his hands behind his back, taking in the view.
There were rice paddies, fields, and even gentle hills, creating a lovely landscape.
Because it was locked down as greenbelt land and development was restricted, it looked just like the countryside, despite being near Seoul.
“Director, here’s a map of the area.”
Secretary Kim Jun-woo unfolded a map and handed it to Park Jin-hyuk.
Park Jin-hyuk compared the map to his surroundings several times.
After a while, he folded the map, handed it back to Secretary Kim, and spoke.
“I don’t think this is the place. Let’s try somewhere else.”
“Yes, where should we go next?”
“Let’s head up to the left. From Yongin to Gwangju, then Hanam… In the end, it’s all about who puts in the most effort when it comes to land.”
“Director, is it necessary for you to run around yourself?”
Secretary Kim couldn’t understand why Park Jin-hyuk insisted on doing the legwork when everything could be handled from the office with just a snap of his fingers.
Of course, it was true that going in person was the best way to find land, but in Park Jin-hyuk’s position, that kind of reasoning usually didn’t apply.
Park Jin-hyuk smiled at the curious Kim Jun-woo and got into the back seat of the car first.
Knowing that Kim Jun-woo wouldn’t understand no matter what he said, he didn’t bother to explain.
Once in the car, Park Jin-hyuk flipped through the documents Hyun Yi-soo and the team leaders had handed him.
The list detailed the projects Dongjeong Industries was currently focused on.
[4th New Town Project]
Compared to other projects, this was a massive undertaking.
There were even larger overseas projects, of course.
But in the overseas sector, DS couldn’t even begin to compare to Dongjeong, so Park Jin-hyuk was focused on the largest domestic project—the New Town development.
‘That’s right. Even that day at lunch, Grandfather yelled at Aunt Sun-myung.’
He remembered Lee Jong-moo scolding Lee Sun-myung to find out where the 4th New Town project would be.
At the time, he’d just thought it was a natural target for any construction company, but after reviewing Hyun Yi-soo’s summary, he realized it was more than that.
“Director, but can we even get involved in the 4th New Town Project? It feels like we should be scaling back projects right now.”
“True. Even if someone was pushing us from behind, we’re in no position to do it.”
“Then why are you running around to check the New Town sites?”
“Just because we can’t do it doesn’t mean we can’t at least have a foot in the door. And you heard it too—we need to do business with Dongjeong.”
“So you’re going to find out which site will be selected and use that for negotiations?”
“Hahaha. No, that’s not how negotiations work. Starting a negotiation with only information and nothing in hand? That’s something from a TV drama… You have to have the goods in your hand before you negotiate.”
“Have the goods in hand?”
“Buy the land directly. The land Dongjeong wants.”
Park Jin-hyuk turned his gaze to the car window.
When he first heard about the New Town project from Hyun Yi-soo, he hadn’t understood why Dongjeong wanted to know which area would be chosen.
That’s because the government provided the land and the construction companies simply bought from the government to supply housing.
In other words, no matter where became a New Town, it was the government that purchased the land, and construction companies just hoped to win the best lots.
But then he realized that construction companies made their real money elsewhere.
Specifically, on the land surrounding the development zones.
Since the government didn’t forcibly acquire those areas, buying and selling was free.
Because the prices there weren’t fixed by the government, they moved with the market.
Moreover, because New Town boundaries weren’t drawn with a sharp line on the map, all the adjacent land got treated as part of the New Town as well.
Building apartments or shops in such areas meant you could sell freely, avoiding government interference.
That’s why, lately, people said you could make more profit developing the outskirts of a New Town than being inside it.
“As expected, Korea is all about land.”
Park Jin-hyuk marveled at the soaring land prices around past New Towns and the profits from their development.
Low risk, high return.
The land market was everyone’s dream come true.
“Where is it? Where?”
Park Jin-hyuk went around to the possible New Town sites he’d heard about from Hyun Yi-soo, inspecting them in person.
After a week of this, he finally arrived at one place.
“What’s the going price for land here?”
“It’s trading at about one million won per pyeong. Because it’s greenbelt land and classified as farmland, the price is much lower than elsewhere.”
“One million per pyeong…”
Park Jin-hyuk muttered, looking around.
His ability to see value applied even to land.
At first, he’d been confused because every plot seemed to have a different value, but gradually he realized his sight worked on parcels of land, so by comparing with the map, he could assess their worth.
“Here. Here.”
Whenever Park Jin-hyuk pointed to a spot on the map, Secretary Kim would convert the parcel’s size to pyeong and report it.
“Three hundred pyeong, and four hundred fifty pyeong.”
“Three hundred pyeong? That means the actual market price is about three hundred million won…”
On the parcel Park Jin-hyuk was looking at, a number hovered above it.
That number was two billion won.
“This must be it.”
“This spot?”
“Yeah. It’s about a sevenfold difference. Let’s check the area around here. Park the car properly and follow me.”
Park Jin-hyuk told Secretary Kim, then strode off.
Since it was farmland, the road wasn’t paved but dirt.
And after the rain since yesterday, the farm road had turned into a mud pit, caking mud on their shoes with every step.
Secretary Kim remembered the advice former secretary Hwang had given him as he watched Park Jin-hyuk tromping through the mud without a care for his expensive shoes.
[Jinhyuk young master has never done hard work. He isn’t the type to get his hands dirty, so you might have a rough time. Still, he’s a kind person—if you stick it out by his side, you’ll be rewarded accordingly.]
‘Never done hard work? Not a hands-on person? Secretary Hwang said he’d worked with the director for nearly thirty years—what on earth did he see?’
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up. We’ve got to check that forest before sunset.”
Park Jin-hyuk, who’d gotten quite far ahead, turned around and waved at Kim Jun-woo.
Despite mud splattered up to his trouser cuffs, he didn’t care at all, looking even more at home in this situation than Kim himself.
Kim quickly acknowledged and parked the car to the side.
Then he dashed down the farm road to catch up to Park Jin-hyuk.
Running through wet mud in dress shoes was no easy task.
Still, the fact that the farm road was at least made wide enough for a tractor was a mercy.
But the narrow footpaths between the rice fields were torture.
In the end, Kim Jun-woo got his feet stuck several times trying to catch up with Park Jin-hyuk.
“Wait, Secretary Hwang told me you’d done every hardship there is, and tried every part-time job under the sun? Yet you can’t even run down a single farm path in dress shoes? Has the meaning of hardship changed these days?”
“Part-time jobs and… this are different.”
“Never been down a country path before?”
Kim Jun-woo had stepped into the mud up to his calves twice now.
Staring at his dirty legs, he looked up at Park Jin-hyuk’s question.
‘Honestly, I want to ask you. How are you so good at running through this kind of terrain?’
Watching Park Jin-hyuk, it was clear that he wasn’t just naturally well-balanced—he must have run through farm roads and rice field paths in dress shoes more than once.
“Still, things have gotten a lot better these days. Thirty years ago? Back then it was a real mess. If it rained even a little, the paths would collapse and you’d roll right into the rice paddies—happened all the time.”
Kim Jun-woo didn’t know how to respond.
As far as he knew, Park Jin-hyuk was only twenty-eight. Was there something wrong with his ears, hearing about thirty years ago from this man?
But Park Jin-hyuk patted Kim’s shoulder without a care.
“It’s fine. I don’t think they’ve fertilized the fields yet. If they had, the smell would be much worse. And don’t worry about getting the car dirty. I’m not the type to make a fuss about my car. Even if it gets messy, it’s no big deal.”
With that, Park Jin-hyuk smiled and looked out at the wide fields and the mountain ahead.
“This must be the place. Tell Deputy Manager Hyun to buy up all the land around here. We have about a hundred billion won we can use, right? As long as we get it done before the accounting deadline, just gather all that money and invest it here.”
“Are you sure it’s okay? The company’s in a tough situation right now.”
“It’s fine. We’ll only be holding it for a short while anyway. When’s the New Town announcement?”
“In two months.”
“Really? Then we’ll only have to hold it for about a month.”
Park Jin-hyuk looked over the wide fields, scanning the parcels of land, seeing some that had values seven to ten times higher than current market prices.
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