Chapter 8: Myungjin Construction (3)
A few hours earlier.
Go Chang-beom was deep in thought.
He stepped outside and lit a cigarette on the busy street.
Fsshh.
“Phew, my head’s killing me.”
His conversation with Kim Hyunsung.
He couldn’t make a hasty judgment.
Kim Hyunsung’s words were convincing, but he couldn’t recklessly trust the word of a 17-year-old high schooler. If things went wrong, it would all be on him. Inhaling nearly the entire cigarette in one go, Go Chang-beom threw the smoke-filled butt to the ground and lit another one.
Creak.
“…Excuse me, sir. This is a non-smoking area.”
It was the café owner.
Go Chang-beom looked like a thug at first glance.
The owner’s careful tone made Go Chang-beom’s brow shoot up.
“Hey, don’t piss me off and get back inside. Fuck, I might just trash your whole damn café.”
The café owner flinched in surprise.
Reading the mood, he quietly went back inside.
Go Chang-beom.
He lived exactly the way he looked.
Born the eldest son of Myungjin Construction, he lived like he owned the world, and in Daesan, he was notorious as a ticking time bomb no one dared to provoke. Kim Hyunsung hadn’t approached him because he was upright. It was precisely because he was rotten enough to crush his own brother for power that Kim Hyunsung judged him as the right person.
The difference between him and Go Chang-seok was clear.
Go Chang-beom, despite everything, had a warped sense of loyalty when it came to his family.
“Chang-seok, fuck, you should’ve held back.”
Recently.
He had started to suspect Go Chang-seok’s schemes.
That’s why he tried to avoid conflict when some passersby picked a fight, but his fiery temper couldn’t hold back the rage, and he ended up causing a scene anyway. That was who Go Chang-beom was. He only saw what was in front of him, and as a result, he often found himself driven to the edge without realizing it.
Kim Hyunsung’s remarks.
They rubbed him the wrong way.
He had blatantly called him bottom-tier and belittled him.
Normally, he would’ve flipped the table regardless of debt or gratitude, but Kim Hyunsung hadn’t just insulted him.
‘Maybe I ended up like this because I only kept smooth-talking bastards around. Kim Hyunsung wasn’t wrong. Compared to Chang-seok, I don’t have anything. At this rate, I’ll just get the successor spot snatched from me like a chump. And there’s no way Chang-seok will ever share it with me. So, in this situation, am I really supposed to listen to some snot-nosed kid I’ve never seen before in my life?’
It was a dilemma.
If the other person had been around his age.
No—even just an adult—it might’ve been easier to accept.
No matter how he looked at it, seventeen was just too young to trust.
He agonized for a long while.
As cigarette butts piled up at his feet, Go Chang-beom suddenly recalled something his father once said.
– “Chang-beom. If you lack ability, keep someone with ability by your side. Don’t think about their age, gender, or conditions—if someone has what you need, keep them close, and you’ll be able to lead Myungjin Construction.”
Years ago.
He had said that to his good-for-nothing son.
Those words, spoken out of concern, now felt almost like divine guidance.
“Fuck it, whatever.”
Flick.
He tossed the long cigarette to the ground.
Go Chang-beom stepped into the café, returned to his seat, and sat across from Kim Hyunsung.
“Tell me the plan. I’ll listen to everything before I decide.”
Go Chang-beom and Go Chang-seok.
David and Goliath.
It was a fight he couldn’t win, which is exactly why Kim Hyunsung saw meaning in it.
‘If Go Chang-beom had the same foundation as Go Chang-seok, he wouldn’t give a damn about a high schooler’s opinion. That’s part of why I chose him. Not because he’s less of a scumbag—but because he still has room in his heart to let someone new in. I have to become the person he needs.’
It was a deal.
Offering his abilities and receiving compensation in return.
In this moment where the first relationship was being formed, Kim Hyunsung calmly spoke.
“To win the successor battle, three conditions are necessary. The first is background. Mr. Go Chang-beom, you’ve already lost in this category. Even though you were born as the eldest son of Myungjin Construction, Go Chang-seok secured his own faction by marrying into one of Daesan’s most prestigious families. Because of the background that blindly supports Go Chang-seok, he gained the upper hand in the successor race. So, what about the second condition? The second is reputation. Do you think you’ve won in terms of reputation?”
“…No.”
He shook his head.
Unlike himself, who was called the thug of Myungjin Construction, Go Chang-seok had an excellent public image.
“These first two conditions tie directly into the third. The third is ability. Having graduated from a prestigious university abroad and now managing the practical affairs of Myungjin Construction, Go Chang-seok naturally holds a good reputation within the company thanks to his proven abilities. Whether he’s truly competent is beside the point. In a head-to-head comparison with only two candidates, if he’s seen as more capable than you, then that’s all that matters.”
The defeat was obvious.
All three conditions.
He had lost them all.
Though his pride flared and his face turned red, Go Chang-beom clenched his anger to at least hear out the solution.
If the outcome was sweet—
He’d swallow the bitter pill.
Go Chang-beom wasn’t clever, but he had his own convictions.
If he committed to something, he went all the way.
Just like when he sent the heckling pedestrians to the emergency room—he had made up his mind, and now he was ready to hear Kim Hyunsung out.
“We need to overturn the three conditions required of a successor one by one. So let’s go back to the first—background. How do we flip this? There’s no way for you to suddenly marry someone of equal background to Go Chang-seok or rally the same kind of support. That leaves only one option.”
He smiled.
And that smile gave Go Chang-beom an inexplicable chill.
“Drive a wedge between Go Chang-seok and his wife. If their relationship collapses, then Go Chang-seok will lose his background—just like us.”
* * *
Back to the present.
Go Chang-seok was desperately speeding down the road.
A single phone call informing him that his wife had stormed into the Hansung officetel sent Go Chang-seok into a panic he couldn’t hide.
“Goddamn it, goddamn it, goddamn it!”
His wife.
His marriage to Kim Ji-hye lacked love.
Sure, Kim Ji-hye said she loved him sincerely, but Go Chang-seok had chosen her based on conditions.
Kim Ji-hye’s family.
With a former prosecutor as her father, her family held considerable influence in Daesan, and Go Chang-seok had received various forms of support from them while working at Myungjin Construction. Just as planned. When he returned to Korea after finishing his studies, he judged that a solid background was essential to seize the position of heir.
Kim Ji-hye was the perfect solution.
Though her looks were average, he believed her family would be the wings on his back.
Everything had gone smoothly.
He thought the summit was within reach—until, of all times, his sponsor girl had been discovered by his wife.
‘If my wife finds out about the sponsor girl, it’s all over. My father-in-law told me himself—no matter what I do, he’ll always support me, but the moment Ji-hye sheds tears, it’s the end.’
He was desperate.
His father-in-law wasn’t exactly clean, either.
Just the right amount of rotten.
A former prosecutor who owned property in Daesan—he was the perfect in-law for someone like Go Chang-seok who had no intention of living an honest life. That’s why he had tried, for the most part, to avoid problems with women. But his cravings, which had driven him through countless flings before marriage, were too much to suppress. And since his wife Kim Ji-hye wasn’t much to look at, he’d been sneaking around to brothels to satisfy his desires.
That’s when he met the girl from the brothel.
Her looks rivaled those of most celebrities, and he ended up sponsoring her. To avoid getting caught by Kim Ji-hye, he set her up in a separate officetel. It was perfect. As long as he remained devoted to his wife at home, he believed their relationship would remain stable.
But—
He got caught.
Every time he hit a red light, he wanted to ignore the crosswalks and floor the accelerator.
‘Ji-hye probably hasn’t gotten inside yet. Once I get there, I have to buy some time and sneak the girl out. The officetel isn’t even under my name—it’s a borrowed name. If I play it off as company housing for some staff, Ji-hye won’t have much to go on. Doubt and certainty are two different things. As long as I don’t arrive too late, I can still salvage this.’
At the time of the call—
The officetel door had not yet been opened.
The staff member stationed there had spotted Kim Ji-hye, and the sponsor girl had quickly locked the door and chosen to hold her ground.
There was still a chance.
A chance to contain the situation.
His blood felt like it was boiling.
Time passed, and when he finally arrived at the officetel, he came face-to-face with the dreadful sight he had desperately prayed not to see.
“…Ah.”
The doorknob lay smashed on the floor.
And the door stood wide open.
Inside, he found his wife, Kim Ji-hye, gripping another woman’s hair and slapping her across the face.
Slap, slap!
“You bitch! How dare you mess with someone else’s husband?!”
It was over.
Go Chang-seok could only squeeze his eyes shut.
* * *
The next day.
The two sons of Myungjin Construction—
Go Chang-beom and Go Chang-seok—were summoned by their father.
Faced with Go Myungjin’s cold, stone-like expression, Go Chang-seok admitted fault before even being scolded.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Tsk tsk. Pathetic bastard.”
Go Myungjin looked away.
He had considered him the more presentable of the two, but the cheating scandal had ruined it all.
“I’ve already contacted your in-laws. I told them my son made a grave mistake but that I’d strictly discipline you so it won’t lead to divorce. Thankfully, your father-in-law agreed, likely thinking about his reputation in Daesan. But I couldn’t stop them from deciding to live separately for a while and observe how sincerely you apologize.”
“I’m truly sorry.”
“‘Sorry’ my ass. I warned you over and over—if a man can’t keep it in his pants, he’ll ruin the family. If you were just going to mess around with women, you should’ve stayed a pathetic old bachelor like your brother Chang-beom!”
He had no defense.
With his father’s sharp tongue lashing him, Go Chang-seok could only keep his head bowed and repeat his apologies.
“Damn it, I’ve failed at raising my sons.”
Go Myungjin pounded his chest in frustration.
His in-laws—
They treasured their only daughter like gold.
With the affair caught red-handed and no room for excuses, they would no longer blindly support Go Chang-seok as they had before. It was pathetic. If he hadn’t been caught, maybe things would be different. But now, ruining his own chances during such a crucial time for determining the successor—he could only be seen as a fool.
And that wasn’t the only issue.
According to his secretary, Go Chang-beom had also recently caused trouble.
“And you, Go Chang-beom. What the hell were you doing at the police station?”
He already knew the truth.
The other party had started it, and Go Chang-beom had simply gotten caught up in it.
Normally, he would’ve overlooked something like that. But with Go Chang-seok’s scandal now out in the open, even Go Chang-beom started to feel like a nuisance. If the eldest son of the Go family had been a proper man, Go Myungjin wouldn’t have this headache about choosing a successor.
He was angry.
And disillusioned.
He blamed himself—if he had lived upright as a father, maybe his two sons wouldn’t have turned out like this.
‘He’ll probably start shouting like always, denying any fault of his own. He’ll gloat at his brother’s downfall without thinking about how pitiful he is. The future of Myungjin Construction looks grim.’
But then.
Go Myungjin, who had been expecting the same reaction as always, was taken aback to see Go Chang-beom bowing his head with a genuinely remorseful expression.
This moment.
It was exactly the scenario Kim Hyunsung had anticipated.
Swallowing his nervousness, Go Chang-beom recited his prepared lines as apologetically as he could.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on so nothing like this happens again.”
“So you’re finally admitting… huh?”
In that instant.
Go Myungjin’s eyes widened.
That attitude of repentance.
For Go Myungjin, it was a completely unexpected turn of events.
