“What? Hold on for a second here! You can’t decide that on your own!”

Manager Bak Sang-Cheol’s expression crumpled as he yelled at the phone.

“If it's possible to reduce the construction time at will, anyone should be able to do whatever they please in this world, you know! Shouldn't you at least increase our budget first before telling us to do that? If I could reduce the construction time while using the same workforce and equipment as before, why would I be wasting my bloody time here? I'd be in Dubai with my personal team, building super-tall skyscrapers instead!”

This was why paper pushers were no good in Manager Bak Sang-Cheol’s view.

‘The Office of Secretaries? Who gives a sh*t!’

Events like this were unfortunate and all-too-frequent occurrences in various construction sites. Such was the frequency that practically all on-site managers like Bak Sang-Cheol possessed manuals on how to respond to clueless higher-ups and their unreasonable demands.

Unfortunately, morons who literally knew nothing about construction and situations on site demanding this and that was an unavoidable reality in Korea's construction industry.

And here was a good demonstration.

‘What was that? You want me to reduce the construction time?’

What a crazy bastard!

Bastards who demanded stuff like this were clueless idiots with zero understanding of what went down on a construction site. They could utter bullsh*t like this because they thought there was no appreciable difference between scale models of houses they built during uni days and the actual buildings built with concrete and steel!

Did they think reducing construction time was child's play?

Most higher-ups idiotically thought that on-site workers took their sweet-ass time, and that was why all constructions took too damn long. People like that needed to be pushed off a tower crane with a bungee cord tied around their ankles so that they could wake up to reality!

‘We are in Hell Joseon, you fool!’

Where would anyone find workers taking their sweet time in Hell Joseon, anyway? All construction projects' initial planning began under the assumption of the work finishing in the shortest time possible.

In the end, construction was all about people doing their work as quickly as possible. However, if the construction were to be extended by another day for some unavoidable reason, additional compensation must be given to all the workers. And any additional expenses would squeeze the profit margins derived from the budget allocated to the construction.

In other words… Who would take their sweet time in construction when doing so would only decrease their potential payday?

The parties involved considered all local construction-related laws, the situation on-site, and the absolute minimum time required to complete the project and then tried to shave as many hours and days off as possible. That was how they drew up the current construction schedule, yet… This idiot on the phone wanted to reduce the time even further?

“That's utter nonsense, and I don't want to hear about it! Or, if you're dead-set about it, why don't you increase our budget? At least that will help me hire more people, wouldn't you say! The number of workers is the same, so how the hell do you expect me to reduce the construction time? What, you want us to work through the night, too?”

-Yes, that’s exactly it.

Bak Sang-Cheol’s expression hideously crumpled at that straightforward reply.

“Did you say you’re calling from Jaegyeong’s Office of Secretaries?”

-Yes, I did.

“Do you have any idea who I am?! You think I’m your subordinate just because I work for Jaegyeong?! I can still find plenty of work in other places even if I quit Jaegyeong, you hear me? You ain’t even calling from the Chairman’s Office, so you think I’ll just obediently say how high when some bloody secretary tells me to jump? You think I won’t fight back? Huh!?”

-Well, you can lodge a complaint if you want.

“Say what now?!” Bak Sang-Cheol cried out. To his credit, though, he managed to barely suppress non-PG words trying to leap out of his mouth.

‘Goddamn it!’

Pouring out a flood of insults at this secretary over the phone would be a simple affair for Bak Sang-Cheol. And he wasn't entirely exaggerating about finding plenty of work even after walking away from this crappy workplace.

Unfortunately, moving to a new workplace was always accompanied by a ton of stress. Entertaining the idea was fine, but Bak Sang-Cheol didn't want to go through with it if he could help it.

Unleashing a torrent of verbal abuse on this young secretary should have been a cakewalk for Bak Sang-Cheol, but the burden of the aftermath acted like glue that clamped his mouth shut.

Besides, leaving an active construction site carried huge risks, whether it was done willingly or not. It'd remain as an ugly black mark in his career, and people working for Bak Sang-Cheol would be put in a tight spot, too.

-There is no need to get that worked up, Manager Bak. I’m not asking for something unreasonable, after all.

“You think it’s not unreasonable?! You think working through the night is not unreasonable! Fella, do you even know the construction law?!”

-Manager Bak, we've already obtained the necessary permit. All you have to do is proceed.

“...Say what? You… have the permit?”

-Yes. It wasn't that challenging to obtain it, anyway. It's not like that area is designated as residential, so noise pollution was never going to be an issue. And the nearest national highways don't go through populated areas, so we don't have to worry about the nighttime restrictions on operating dump trucks either. So the only issue is related to safety, but I'm certain that you can handle it just fine, Manager Bak.

‘Who the hell is this guy?’

Things couldn’t be that straightforward, though?

If the law was always applied 'perfectly' to match the individual circumstances of the taxpayers, absolutely nobody in South Korea would feel that the law had let them down.

Things were especially nebulous with construction laws. Basically, it was a bloody Wild Wild West where anything went. Even an innocent man would morph into a criminal literally overnight. And such things happened with alarming regularity, too!

But now, this secretary had obtained the permits?

‘Just how much greasing did this guy do?’

A permit like this wouldn't be issued through normal means. If the possibility of obtaining the permit 'legitimately' had existed, the team would have obtained it long before proceeding with the construction.

Yet, they now had the permit to work during the night? Didn’t that indicate a not-so-above-board method had been employed here?

Then again… So what if it did? Why should Manager Bak care, anyway?

If they had obtained the permit, so be it. Even if a problem reared its head later down the line, Bak Sang-Cheol should not be blamed here since he was simply doing what he was ordered to, anyway. The higher-ups would have to deal with coughing up potential fines or even serving jail time, not him.

The issue he needed to raise was something else entirely.

“Even with a permit, it's still not happening. We don't have enough workers here. Yes, workers! We have a set limit on how much of the budget can be allocated to wages, so how are we supposed to proceed with nighttime construction? Not only the workforce, but we need to hire more supervisors. And don't forget about the additional cost to operate the heavy machinery in the dark, too!”

-You don’t have to worry about the cost, Manager Bak. Just send us the bill.

Bak Sang-Cheol’s brows quivered. “...Huh?”

-All you have to do is focus on reducing the construction time. Even if the expenses seem a bit excessive, we'll still give you all the necessary approval.

“Hang on a minute here. You’re from the Office of the Secretaries, right? In that case, who are you to adjust the construction budget willy-nilly like this?”

-In that regard, you will receive revised orders from your direct superiors before the end of the day. You don't have to worry.

Bak Sang-Cheol suddenly felt like he got tricked by a spooky phantom.

‘What the heck is going on here? What just happened?’

Bak Sang-Cheol would've tried to understand this development if he had been involved in a high-profile construction project, such as building a massively tall skyscraper in the middle of Seoul or filling up the sea near Incheon's coast to create a golf course.

But this project was nothing like those.

Sure, carving out the face of a nameless mountain in the actual middle of nowhere, then developing the land for a large-scale residential area was a pretty insane undertaking in its own right. Even so, the residential buildings being built were as plain and unremarkable as they could get.

In fact, Bak Sang-Cheol's task was to build a whole bunch of plain one-room apartment blocks as cheaply as possible. Such a task didn't even require incredible technical know-how, although lots of workers and enough time were still necessary.

In other words, having additional workers could substantially reduce the construction time. Even so…

“H-hang on. This still isn’t going to work, Mister Secretary,” said Bak Sang-Cheol, his demeanor suddenly becoming a little politer. “Don’t forget that we still don’t have the necessary workforce. It was already a big ask to find enough people to work in the middle of nowhere, you know? So where am I supposed to find more people willing to work night shifts?”

-We're recruiting the additional workforce as we speak.

“Wha?”

-They should be arriving soon. The first round of reinforcements, that is.

“W-what? Hold on a sec…” Bak Sang-Cheol was briefly left speechless just then.

‘What the freak is going on with this construction site?’

-We can continuously provide you with additional labor. However, please note that the skill levels of the additional workers joining later on will progressively get worse. In return, their stamina and strength will more than make up for their shortcoming, so please use them as you see fit. With these factors in play, you can now reduce the construction time, yes?

“...Well, as long as you let me use the equipment as long as I want.”

-Done. Do whatever it takes, Manager Bak.

“A-also… Supervisors on site will have to work double shifts during the day and night, which means we gotta compensate them some more. And you'll have to provide us with additional managerial staff on-site, too.”

-I see. Again, please send us the bill.

“...Can I really?”

-I haven't confirmed who is in charge of the construction, but you will receive the orders very soon. Don't worry about the cost, and just attack this project with everything you have, Manager Bak. However, please don't do a shoddy job.

“Don't you know who you are talking to, Mister Secretary? That won't happen under my watch. It's not like we're back in the not-so-good ol' eighties, anyway.”

-We'll believe in you, then. If you run into any trouble, don't waste your time talking to other channels. Directly call this number and look for Jo Gyu-Min. That's me. I give you my word that I'll resolve your problems.

“...I still don’t get what’s going on here, but okay. Leave it to me.”

-Thank you. We’ll leave it to you, then.

After the call ended, Bak Sang-Cheol dazedly stared at the phone for a long time. “Maybe… North Koreans are about to settle down here?”

Even from the get-go, this construction project seemed fishy. Why would anyone start a large-scale residential area development in the middle of the deep countryside with seemingly zero inhabitants and a poor road network?

Anyone who had spent even a little bit of time in construction would immediately start crying foul. It was just that the construction company taking the lead was none other than Jaegyeong Construction, and that was why no one had voiced their suspicions yet.

But now, this project was receiving massive support from the investors, too? No wonder Bak Sang-Cheol couldn't help but keep asking, '

What the hell is going on?’

over and over again.

That was when one of the supervisors wearing a hard hat opened the door to the temporary construction office and rushed inside. “Manager Bak!”

“Mm?”

“Lots of buses filled with people arrived just now, and I was wondering if you had called them in. Who are they?”

“Buses?” Bak Sang-Cheol tilted his head in confusion. Why would buses show up in the middle of a construction site? “...Eh?”

Bak Sang-Cheol suddenly shot up to his feet as if he had remembered something.

‘Wait. That secretary named Jo Gyu-Min said he had already sent the first batch of additional workers, didn't he?'

Did that mean those workers were already here? But, was this situation something that could be resolved at the snap of a finger? To think workers participating in a construction project on a nameless mountainside would be bused in like this...! Just where did that Jo Gyu-Min even find all those people?

‘Well, I guess I’ll find out.’

Bak Sang-Cheol rushed outside and finally witnessed the rows of buses still entering the construction site.

‘Holy cow? How many of them are there?’

This was supposed to be the first batch? Then… Just how many additional workers were they looking at here?

‘What the hell? Am I supposed to build pyramids or something?’

Watching the lines of buses still driving into the construction site, and all the people continuously disembarking from said buses, left a strange impression that maybe... They were on a secret mission to build a modern-day pyramid instead.

“Manager Bak… I think they are all Chinese laborers?”

“Well, since they are supposed to work night shifts, I’m sure some of them are ethnic Korean Chinese… Hang on, did you say they are ALL Chinese?” Bak Sang-Cheol gasped, his jaw going slack.

While he stood there and dazedly watched the laborers, someone leisurely approached him.

“Good day. Are you the person in charge?”

“...I'm sorry?” Bak Sang-Cheol turned his head and stared at this young man.

‘What the hell? Why is he so handsome?’

Obviously, being handsome wasn't a crime. It was just that such a handsome face didn't exactly suit a construction site like this one. Since his looks contrasted so much with the weather-worn weary faces of the laborers, his presence here felt like such an outlier.

The young man chuckled slightly. “We heard you were looking for additional workers, so we brought them.”

“Oh, uh… Thank you. But, uh…” Bak Sang-Cheol faltered after his instincts told him not to be rude to this young man. “Even though people commonly think the construction work is pretty straightforward, we can't shove inexperienced people into the thick of things immediately. At least a minimum experience is…”

“Oh, that. It’ll be fine. These people are all experienced construction workers.”

Bak Sang-Cheol grew dazed again. “I’m sorry?”

“We’ve chosen only the people with previous work experience. Everyone here has at least over a year of on-site experience, so you can deploy them wherever you want. Oh, and…” The young man glanced behind him, then called some people over.

That prompted several strapping men to quickly rush to the young man’s position.

“None of the workers are ethnic Korean Chinese, so communicating with them will be impossible unless you speak Chinese. However, these guys here will work as interpreters, so if you have something to say, speak to them,” said the young man.

“…”

“Also, if you encounter any issues, talk to them. They will contact me immediately. Well, then…” The young man nodded coolly, then turned around to leave.

Bak Sang-Cheol wordlessly alternated his gaze between the Chinese laborers flooding out of buses and the back of the mysterious young man disappearing into the distance before quietly muttering to no one in particular.

“...Just what the hell is going on in this place?”

The Martial Assembly’s drastic advancement was sweeping up everything in its path.