Chapter 6: Myungjin Construction (1)

It was a familiar route home from school.

Walking through an alley lined with shabby villas, Kim Hyunsung headed toward his long-time home, memories flooding his mind.

[Taeyang Villa]

An old building that could collapse at any moment.

The semi-basement of this property—barely worth 50 million won at current market prices—was Kim Hyunsung’s home. In truth, if not for his parents’ insurance payout, even this place would have been rented. Seeing the villa again, a bitter smile crept across his face. As a child, he used to think it was such a pitiful place, but when he heard the rumor that his grandmother had sold the villa because she couldn’t afford her medical bills, it felt like his entire world was collapsing.

Now—

He was simply grateful to have a place to return to.

Kim Hyunsung walked inside, descended into the dark basement, and opened the door.

Creak.

“Grandma…?”

A cool breeze blew from inside.

His grandmother wasn’t there.

The emotion he had been holding back in anticipation of seeing her again turned to sorrow the moment he saw the modest dinner she had prepared for her grandchildren. Around this time, his grandmother used to go to work every day. The image of her working tirelessly for the sake of their education came to mind, and he realized he couldn’t afford to stand around dazed like this.

‘I’ve been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s not just about revenge—I won’t turn my back on my family’s struggles either.’

He clenched his jaw.

There was a lot to do from now on.

There was only a week left until the disciplinary committee.

Kim Hyunsung sat at his desk, opened a notebook, and began organizing his thoughts.

Scribble, scribble.

‘The plan is clear. I’ll use the next two years to devour the surrounding areas and build my foundation, then spend the final year cleaning out their headquarters. To do that, I’ll need three things. First, my own combat strength.’

It was essential.

The ones who led the school violence.

To them, power was the most important value.

To bring them down, he needed enough strength not to falter when facing them head-on.

‘I can train myself from now on. Especially if I can recruit the person I’ve already been thinking of, I’ll gain a huge advantage in the battles ahead. The second point is similar. The enemies I’ll be facing have already formed factions. To deal with so many people, I’ll need to build a faction of my own, one that shares my goal.’

In the end—

It was a matter of people.

At present, Kim Hyunsung was nothing more than a first-year high school student.

No matter how perfect the plan in his head was, he could never achieve revenge on his own.

Of course, that didn’t mean he would rely on others.

He would take the lead, but he had to secure the right people.

‘And lastly, the third.’

It was crucial.

The difference compared to his past life.

A problem he could solve because he had experienced the past.

Recruiting that scumbag Kim Youngcheol was part of that third point.

“A background. I need a background strong enough to make every problem disappear as if it were nothing—that’s the only way I can carry out this plan.”

Scribble, scribble.

He underlined it.

Even just to resolve the disciplinary committee issue—

What Kim Hyunsung needed first was this background.

—

Daesan Metropolitan City.

At a local police station.

The place was always noisy, and today, a large man added to the commotion.

“Hey, you sons of bitches. Do you know who I am? I’m the eldest son of Myungjin Construction. If you don’t know me around Daesan, you’re a damn spy. You think some lowlife cop can treat me like this and walk away in one piece? Huh?! You think you’ll walk away?!”

“Sir, please calm down.”

“Sir? Sir?! You little shit. I may look like this, but I’m still a young and single 35-year-old man!”

Crack.

Crash!

All hell broke loose.

Go Chang-beom, the eldest son of Myungjin Construction.

Despite his rampage, the police officers couldn’t act rashly.

He was right.

Myungjin Construction was a well-known company in Daesan, and upsetting Go Chang-beom could easily cost a low-ranking officer their job. Even so, they didn’t let him go. Normally, this kind of situation would’ve been resolved quickly, but things were dragging on, driving Go Chang-beom mad.

Eventually—

“Fuckin’ hell.”

Go Chang-beom sat down, swallowing his rage.

This situation—

He felt wronged.

He had gotten into a scuffle with some pedestrians on his way home, and since the other side threw the first punch, Go Chang-beom had no choice but to retaliate. The problem was that his physique came with monstrous strength. After he retaliated, the three men were sent straight to the emergency room, and he ended up at the police station.

It was a tricky situation.

If he didn’t resolve this cleanly, his enemies would definitely seize the chance to cause trouble.

‘What a fucking mess.’

Over the past few years—

The chairman of Myungjin Construction, Go Chang-beom’s father, had publicly announced that his two sons would compete to become his successor.

Whoever showed they were capable of inheriting Myungjin Construction would take over his position.

It was a bombshell.

As the eldest, Go Chang-beom had always assumed he was the heir, but now he had to compete with his younger brother, Go Chang-seok—a graduate of a prestigious foreign university. On top of that, three years ago, Go Chang-seok had married into one of Daesan’s most prominent families, and the general consensus was that he was the more suitable heir to Myungjin Construction.

He was at the edge of a cliff.

And now, with this violent incident blowing up, there was no way he could protect his position.

A police officer spoke.

“Mr. Go Chang-beom. I understand that you’re upset, but this time, you clearly did something wrong. You turned innocent passersby into a bloody mess—there’s no way to just let this slide.”

“I told you, they attacked me first—”

“Yes, yes, that’s your claim, Mr. Go. But look at the outcome. The victims, covered in blood, are insisting you attacked them without warning.”

The odds were against him.

Three against one.

The police sided with the majority.

And since the other party had no intention of settling, it was only a matter of time before this blew up.

His stomach churned with rage.

Just as he was contemplating whether to toss aside the whole successor business, Go Chang-beom spotted a boy in his line of sight.

Something felt off.

He didn’t belong in this place.

The boy looked straight at Go Chang-beom and spoke.

“I came to testify on that man’s behalf. Who should I speak to?”

—

The officer glanced at the monitor.

Then at the boy.

He looked back at the monitor and scratched his head, looking slightly flustered.

“…How did you get this?”

On the monitor—

The assault incident was shown.

It was just as Go Chang-beom had claimed.

He hadn’t picked the fight. The pedestrians had thrown the first punches, forcing Go Chang-beom to retaliate. The real issue was the pedestrians’ attitude. Despite claiming innocence, they clung persistently to Go Chang-beom, who had tried to walk away, blowing the situation out of proportion.

The boy—

Kim Hyunsung spoke.

“I just happened to witness it while passing by. Since it was a street with no CCTV, I figured it might be hard to resolve, so I asked around and got black box footage from a parked car. As a minor, my testimony might not carry much weight. But as you can see in the video, the man clearly tried to avoid the conflict, but the others rushed him, forcing him to defend himself. If anything, his only fault was being strong enough to send them to the ER. But I believe this was clearly self-defense.”

“Yeah, yeah! Look at this kid—good-looking and articulate too! See? I told you it wasn’t my fault!”

Go Chang-beom jumped in eagerly.

His face lit up. If no one was around, he might have kissed Kim Hyunsung on the cheek out of sheer joy.

Black box footage.

It was perfect evidence.

With both proof and a witness, even if the other party tried to stir up trouble, there was no reason this incident should shake his footing. His father was a highly combative man. He always said that if someone deserves a beating, they should take one. To him, punishing a son who had acted in self-defense wouldn’t make any sense.

The officer stifled a groan.

This was bad.

They had wrongfully accused the heir of Myungjin Construction—there was sure to be backlash.

But what could they do?

The evidence was undeniable.

For now, they had no choice but to handle it with grace.

“…Understood. We’ll wrap up the investigation briefly for now, and once the victims—no, perpetrators—have recovered, we’ll reconvene. Our apologies. We should’ve listened more closely to Mr. Go’s account, but seeing those bloody faces made it hard to remain objective.”

Suddenly—

Go Chang-beom stood up.

He glared at the officer, baring his teeth like a beast.

“Whatever your reasons are, I’ll remember your face. Life’s about to get a lot tougher for you.”

—

Outside the police station, Go Chang-beom burst into hearty laughter.

“Kuhahaha! Kid, I really owe you one. If it weren’t for you, I’d be screwed right now. Seriously, what kind of upbringing did you have to turn out this smart? Listen, I never forget a favor.”

He pulled out his wallet.

Even at a glance, it was bulging. He took out a wad of cash—easily over a million won.

“Take it. It’s a token of my appreciation.”

“Thank you.”

He didn’t hesitate.

Seeing him accept the money without a fuss, Go Chang-beom gave him an intrigued look.

Most students his age would waver in front of that much cash. But from calmly retrieving the footage to his composed demeanor, this kid was clearly unusual. That suspicion soon turned into certainty. As Kim Hyunsung pocketed the money, he casually dropped a line that would catch Go Chang-beom off guard.

“By the way, sir. Just curious—do you really think today’s incident was a coincidence?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I’ll be blunt. I know who you are. The eldest son of Myungjin Construction. Competing with your brother, Go Chang-seok, for succession—correct?”

For a moment—

Go Chang-beom’s expression changed.

He no longer looked at the boy with warmth.

If the kid had approached him deliberately, knowing his identity, then there had to be a reason behind it.

“Who are you?”

“No need to overthink it. I don’t believe today’s incident was a coincidence. And I have proof to back that up. What do you think about what I just said?”

Their eyes met.

Eyes like a tiger’s.

If he wasn’t telling the truth, those eyes would trample him without hesitation. But Kim Hyunsung laughed inwardly.

Go Chang-beom.

A well-known figure.

At least around Daesan.

Thanks to that, even though he wasn’t directly connected to the Go family, he remembered their affairs to some extent.

How they had lived.

What fate had eventually befallen them.

Kim Hyunsung said,

“If you’re really grateful, just give me one hour of your time. I promise you, Mr. Go Chang-beom—it won’t be a waste of your life.”