Chapter 1138. Proving (3)

“Senior, what are we even doing here?”

A reporter named Bak Gyu-Yeon stole several glances to his side, evidently not pleased about his latest assignment.

His senior, another reporter named Ha Gwang-Sik, grabbed the scruff of the younger man’s neck before squeezing it tightly. “Listen, man.”

“Yes, senior?”

“Aren’t you a reporter?”

“Yes, that I am.”

“And I am one, too. Our job is to report, right? In that case, why should we stick to regurgitating press releases? Shouldn’t we be digging into anything that smells fishy, see who's been cooking what, and report on our findings?”

“Well, yes. That’s true.”

“That’s why we’re here, dude.”

“Really?” Bak Gyu-Yeon frowned in dissatisfaction while scanning his surroundings. How should he describe this situation, then...?

‘Well, sure. This situation does seem a bit weird.’

The current real estate price meant very few people wanted to construct new buildings in Gangnam, so it was rather surprising to see a spacious ten-story building being erected in the middle of this area. What's even more surprising was the fact that the whole building would be used as the headquarters of one company!

The clincher was that neither man had ever heard of the company in question!

“Come on, Gyu-Yeon. Can’t you smell all this fishiness?”

“Fishiness, you say?” Bak Gyu-Yeon chuckled helplessly. “Senior, how many times have you seen finance bros getting drunk on all the capital from private equity funds and acting like they own the world before falling into ruin? If we try to report on each and every one of those events, we’d be publishing a book every day.”

“That’s not it, you dumbass.”

“Then, what?”

Ha Gwang-Sik tutted. “Sure, you could be right. These people might also be idiots who got too full of themselves from foreign investment capital and spent money like there’s no tomorrow, not knowing that bankruptcy is just right around the corner. Crap like that happens often enough, after all. But I’m telling you, these guys? They are on another scale, man!”

“...

Huh

?”

“Just know that they stink like crazy, okay? So do your job and take as many pictures as possible.”

“...Yes, yes. Sure thing, senior,” Bak Gyu-Yeon stealthily glanced at Ha Gwang-Sik before sighing softly.

‘You’re being paranoid, though.’

This situation might seem strange from the perspective of an ordinary man on the street, but in this profession? This was a fairly common occurrence.

A company nobody had heard of would suddenly spring up without any warning. Then, large corporations would suddenly give this new company a ton of contracts for some unfathomable reason.

Eventually, though, people would learn that the new company was headed by a successor to one of the largest chaebol families in the country.

There were various reasons for chaebol families to do something like this.

They might set up a new company to go around the restrictions posed by the shareholder situation within their corporations. Or, if they were a penny-pinching type, they could set up such companies and give themselves the contracts meant for subcontractors.

Ordinary folks and their common sense wouldn't do things like that, but chaebols were not exactly ordinary, now were they? They wouldn't have been able to run such large businesses had their greed for wealth been no worse than the common folk's.

‘You think this situation is weird?’

Of course they were weird. However, in the world of high finance, weird things happened more frequently than normal things.

Knowing this, Bak Gyu-Yeon couldn’t understand why they were wasting time like this when there was no story to be found here.

Ha Gwang-Sik tutted softly at the sight of the younger reporter pouting like a petulant child.

‘And you’re supposed to be a reporter, too...!’

Then again, it wasn't as if Ha Gwang-Sik couldn't understand the reasons for Bak Gyu-Yeon's dissatisfaction. After all, he still withheld the really juicy bits of information from the junior reporter.

‘The rumors state that the Prime Minister is somehow involved in this thing.’

Also, according to what Ha Gwang-Sik had dug up through his own investigation, the Minister of Strategy and Finance seemed very much interested in this company, too.

That minister used to belong to the pro-China faction in the government. But he suddenly began baring his fangs at China as if he had transformed into someone else literally overnight!

What Ha Gwang-Sik’s investigation uncovered suggested that the minister’s sudden turn coincided with him showing interest in this company.

‘I don’t know what that man is aiming for here, but...!’

Ha Gwang-Sik could think of various hypotheses. The first one was the most obvious—this new company was backed by the government itself. Not officially, of course.

Politicians with no realistic chances of moving up the hierarchy would resort to setting up companies under different people's names as a way to secure a... 'comfy' retirement. Obviously, they would try to help out such companies in secret while they were still in office.

It was illegal for a still-active politician to back a company under their name, so they would find someone to act as the company owner and pretend they were completely uninvolved. Once their term in office ended, they'd use the money the company had generated to finance their lavish lifestyle.

‘Such things happen fairly regularly, too. Even if there’s a chance that this situation isn’t one of those...’

Considering the current President's inclinations, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Strategy and Finance might be too scared to take things that far. After all, the previous administration got busted for something similar, didn't it?

Even if Ha Gwang-Sik’s hunch was wrong, and things weren’t as stinky as he feared, his instincts still kept saying that the government was secretly backing this company.

‘First clue is this.’

Ha Gwang-Sik glanced at his notepad.

‘This fella named Kang Jin-Ho!’

He had never heard of that name before. And, according to his investigation, this Kang Jin-Ho was a young man still in his mid-twenties.

Someone that young was about to become the owner of a company this big?

‘Don’t make me laugh, okay?’

Something like this couldn’t happen unless this Kang Jin-Ho was a scion of an incredible chaebol family that gifted him an apartment building in Gangnam while he was still in his mother’s womb, and gave him shares worth billions during his birthdays.

Of course, Ha Gwang-Sik didn’t know any chaebol family like that in South Korea.

“A company with a boss no one has heard of before. But it’s so loaded that it can construct a new building near Gangnam Boulevard? And register itself as a real estate firm, of all things? Seriously now?”

What an unfunny joke that was.

According to Ha Gwang-Sik's knowledge, not a single company in this world started life this way.

Bak Gyu-Yeon cocked an eyebrow. “Are you saying it’s a shell company?”

“What shell company are you talking about? Can’t you see the building right in front of you? No, this one must be a bit different, even if its purpose is roughly the same.”

“Hmm...?” Bak Gyu-Yeon frowned while scratching his chin. “Senior?”

Ha Gwang-Sik glanced back. “What now?”

“I get what you’re trying to say. And that’s why I gotta tell you this. I think you should back off a bit, senior. Or you might get burned unnecessarily.”

“Say what now?”

“I mean, it’s true, isn’t it? It’s not like you’re our paper’s political correspondent, you know? Why do you always try to get involved in stuff like this? Also, if we get in the way of these high-and-mighty folks and their money, poor reporters like us will get crushed in no time at all. We aren’t even famous, so you can’t even count on that to protect us, either. Besides, I might escape the worst of it, but you...”

Bak Gyu-Yeon used his thumb to draw a single straight line just below his chin.

“Senior, I’m telling you, we should do it in moderation unless you wish to personally find out how deep the Yellow Sea is.”

Ha Gwang-Sik tutted loudly. “What the f*ck... Would you listen to this brat? And you call yourself a reporter?! We exist to uncover stuff like this!”

“Sure, sure. That's what our job is supposed to be. And that's why the species called reporters is in decline. No one is interested in us doing that these days, you know?”

“What the hell are you on about? We ain't living in the military regime era anymore, okay! No one's gonna feed us to the fishes for investigating a bit of government corruption.”

“Wow, senior. Looks like you still don't know how scary the world can be.”

“Shut up, kid. Someone’s coming.”

Bak Gyu-Yeon hurriedly turned his head to look when Ha Gwang-Sik issued that warning. And then...

“Holy cow...!” He nervously swallowed his saliva. “Senior, are you sure about this? Because, forget the government, it looks like gangsters have opened this company as far as I can tell! I mean, look at the sizes of those fellas. They put most athletes and bodybuilders to shame, wouldn’t you say?”

Ha Gwang-Sik was also flustered by what he could see.

Several hundred burly men kitted out in smart black business suits and sunglasses had taken over the road and were walking toward the building in question.

‘Are they... filming a movie or something?’

If Ha Gwang-Sik had a friend who was a filmmaker trying to shoot a gangster epic, he would have definitely told that friend to reference this scene. That was how impressive this sight was.

A large crowd of burly men silently heading somewhere possessed this powerful aura that could scare the bejesus out of most people!

Bak Gyu-Yeon frowned slightly. “Rather than real estate, maybe they are into money lending? Loan sharks, maybe? Senior, what did you say the name of this company was?”

“I heard it’s called MK.”

“Wow. That’s a perfect name for a loan shark, isn’t it? Like, MK Money. Or MK Cash.”

Ha Gwang-Sik couldn’t help but think that the junior reporter could be right about this one. He then used his chin to point at the crowd of burly men in the distance. “Take their pictures.”

Bak Gyu-Yeon tilted his head. “

Huh

? Why? What would we do with their pictures?”

“Who knows? Just take their pictures, okay? It might come in handy later.”

“Should I use the flash?”

“...Of course not."

Although Ha Gwang-Sik's retort was nearly inaudible, Bak Gyu-Yeon didn't call him out on it. Anyone with functioning survival instincts would’ve behaved the same as him, after all!

If he was being honest, Bak Gyu-Yeon was also nervous about wielding this camera to take pictures of those scary-looking men.

Click, click!

However, just as he pointed the camera at the men and snapped two pictures...!

Every burly man captured within the camera’s viewfinder suddenly turned their heads in Bak Gyu-Yeon’s direction simultaneously!

‘W-what the hell?’

He was using a camera with a telephoto lens meant for long-distance photography. The distance from here to the crowd of men had to be at least three hundred meters, yet they still realized they were being photographed? Not only that but every single one of them at the same time, too?!

“What the f*ck!”

“Over there! Get’em!”

...And then, the burly men began charging straight toward the location of the two reporters.

Bak Gyu-Yeon’s complexion instantly paled. He urgently turned toward Ha Gwang-Sik. “S-senior! I think they really are gangsters! Shouldn’t we get out of here?!”

Ha Gwang-Sik groaned loudly. “...You think we can?”

“No, not really.”

Those burly men looked like they were in top physical shape. Meanwhile, Ha Gwang-Sik and Bak Gyu-Yeon were reporters lugging around weighty camera equipment. There was no way they could successfully outrun those men.

While the two reporters nervously swallowed their saliva and trembled pitifully in their spots, the black-suited men quickly surrounded them from all sides.

“You bastards! Who gave you permission to take our pictures!”

“Who the f*ck are you two?! Who sent you?!”

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Should we just f*cking bury them somewhere?!”

Cold sweat flooded down Ha Gwang-Sik’s forehead.

‘Hold on, I think I’ve seen this scene from a movie, too!’

Thankfully, these scary men hadn't done anything physical yet, like ripping the cameras out of the reporters' hands. Even so, being surrounded like this was still more terrifying than Ha Gwang-Sik had bargained for. So much so that his legs pitifully trembled nonstop, and he couldn't even think straight!

“

Oi

! What are you guys doing?”

That was when a sharp, disgruntled voice registered in Ha Gwang-Sik’s hearing. Funnily enough, it was the scary dudes in black business suits, not the reporters, who flinched nastily from that irritated-sounding voice!

One of the men hurriedly defended themselves to the owner of that sharp voice. “C-chief! These bastards were taking our pictures without permission!”

The crowd of scary men parted to make room. And a man wearing a smart navy blue business suit strode past them.

‘He looks kinda young? Around thirty-ish?’

That was the impression Ha Gwang-Sik got. What a strange thing this was, a man in his early thirties commanding these many scary men like his subordinates!

This man in his thirties glanced at the crowd. “Okay, so what?”

“Sorry?”

“So what if they took your pictures? What’s the problem?”

“

Oh

,

uh

...”

When the crowd grew sheepish and lost, the thirty-something man frowned deeply. “Hang on a minute. Who told you to rock up here in your sunglasses?”

“T-that is,

uh

...”

“Listen here, you bunch of asswipes!” The man in the navy blue suit, Lee Hyeon-Su, began spitting flames out of his mouth. “You bastards already look like walking, talking bundles of trouble, so when you show up in black suits and sunglasses, anyone with eyes will think of you as gangsters! What the hell? Did you come here to start a brawl or something?”

“...We’re sorry, sir.”

“Take off the bloody sunglasses, now! Besides, you were hiding your faces behind sunglasses anyway! Why get bent out of shape from someone taking your pictures?”

“But,

uh

, we also have portrait rights, though...?”

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned even more. “Where the hell did you even pick that up from? Stop wasting time with that nonsense and get out of the road already!”

“You heard the chief. Let’s get out of here. Everyone, gather in front of the building, pronto!”

The burly men who didn't want to get an earful from Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly fled from the spot.

It felt like a storm had swept past here.

Lee Hyeon-Su walked up to the still-dazed Ha Gwang-Sik and reached out for a handshake. “Hello, there. Are you reporters?”

“Ah? A-ah, yes! I’m Ha Gwang-Sik from Jae-Il Business News,” said the veteran reporter. He then quickly took out his business card and handed it over to Lee Hyeon-Su.

Lee Hyeon-Su accepted it, then handed out his own business card to Ha Gwang-Sik with a warm smile. “Are you here to write an article about us? In that case, we’ll be in your care.”

“Oh...”

“Those kids... Uh, our employees aren’t really used to this kind of situation, you see? And that’s why they overreacted a bit just now. Allow me to apologize on their behalf.”

Ha Gwang-Sik urgently waved his hand. “N-no, it’s fine, Mister Lee. It’s not like we were harmed just now, anyway. But you... don’t mind us taking pictures?”

“Of course. As long as the articles aren’t hit pieces, we’re getting free publicity. In that case, we’re only happy to give you our blessing. However, I don’t think you’ll find enough material here to write an interesting article. Hahaha~.”

Lee Hyeon-Su laughed affably as if he was an old friend.

Ha Gwang-Sik’s thoughts instantly became more complicated as he studied Lee Hyeon-Su.

‘Where the hell did this guy come from?'

Ha Gwang-Sik had never met or seen this guy before. However, judging from how Lee Hyeon-Su carried himself, he should be a grizzled veteran in this field of work.

Lee Hyeon-Su continued to speak. “How did you find out about us, though? After all, we haven’t done anything notable yet. And we still haven’t issued any press releases either.”

“Well, it’s our job to sniff out stories like this, you see.”

“

Aha

. Is that so...? Well, if only we knew you’d be here today, I might have prepared small gifts in advance.”

“Unfortunately, Mister Lee, such things are no longer legal.”

“

Ah

, that's right.” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled while casually shrugging away. “Since we’re focused on the opening ceremony, there isn’t much information we can provide you with at the moment. If you wish to know more about us, why don't you give me a call after the ceremony is over? I’ll be happy to answer any of your questions.”

“...Thank you. I’ll do that.”

“Great! Then, please excuse me. The chairman is about to arrive, you see...?”

“Really?”

Ha Gwang-Sik hurriedly turned his head to look. That was when he saw a striking supercar speedily approaching the building while spitting out rumbling exhaust noises.