“Is it Jang Hyeokjin?”
Manager Kim picked up the phone and wiped it clean with his sleeve. Fortunately, this time it had escaped getting smashed. It was thanks to Manager Kim, who knew Taesung’s bad habit of throwing anything and everything, having put a thick case on it in advance.
Manager Kim tapped the screen to check who had called just before. Dog Dick… it must be Jang Hyeokjin.
President of Wonin Construction.
Someone both Taesung and Manager Kim had once ‘served.’
“…Let’s just ignore it?”
Taesung glanced at Manager Kim. Just moments ago, he’d been calling Jang Hyeokjin’s name like calling a dog and insisting they just go independent, but now he was cowering and mumbling. Still, it was admirable how he forced out the words “let’s ignore it” trying to please Taesung.
But what could he do? If he ignored it, that insidious bastard Jang Hyeokjin would just chew out the guys under Taesung.
Taesung smacked the back of innocent Manager Kim’s head and headed to the parking lot.
“What are you doing? Fuck, aren’t you driving?”
Urging Manager Kim again as he stood with drooping shoulders.
Hyun Hongwon, the founder of Wonin Construction who had been called ‘Chairman Noh,’ once called Taesung to the tailor shop he used to frequent and said while having clothes fitted for him:
“Han Taesung, you look handsome dressed like this. From now on, always wear suits.”
As Chairman Noh had judged, suits suited Taesung well. His sharp features that made him look like a thug who’d pick fights with random passersby when wearing a t-shirt or jacket transformed into the feel of a sharp and sensitive young businessman when he wore a suit. Of course, it also helped that fitted suits looked more impressive thanks to his good proportions that made him look taller and more striking, and the tailored, solid yet slim fit.
Taesung didn’t particularly have a complex about his thug-like face. Rather, giving off an impression that made people wary was more convenient for doing work in ‘this field’ than looking easy to deal with. Still, the reason he always dressed properly in suits was probably because Chairman Noh had said, ‘From now on, always wear suits.’ Taesung didn’t know what meaning Chairman Noh had intended with those words, but he accepted them as Chairman Noh’s ‘order.’
Though the suit that had been tailored for him then had been carefully stored in the closet since Chairman Noh’s funeral.
“President, President Han Taesung of Hansae Construction is here to see you.”
The employees who had been hovering around curiously scattered like rats hit by a broom at these words. Even those who didn’t know Taesung’s face had heard enough to know that ‘Han Taesung of Hansae Construction’ was a pain in the ass. Han Taesung snatched the receiver from the reception employee playing at being a second-rate secretary and slammed down the call. The employee made way with a terrified expression.
Taesung threw open the door with the president’s office nameplate.
A familiar place, a familiar scene.
Sitting in the spot Chairman Noh had loved most, overlooking the city center, the ‘fucking bastard’ who had boldly placed a nameplate with his own name instead of Chairman Noh’s name glanced at Taesung. Then he flicked his finger as if telling him to close the door. Taesung grumbled curses under his breath but did as he wanted.
At some point, Jang Hyeokjin had started deliberately not dyeing his hair and letting his gray hair grow to affect the air of a mid-sized company president. It would’ve been perfect if all his liver went bald, but the lucky bastard even had distinguished-looking gray hair—his half-salt-and-pepper hair, with black and white hair exquisitely mixed, created quite a dignified atmosphere.
The knuckles tapping on the desk were particularly large and thick. The forearm wearing an expensive luxury watch was also robust enough to be unbelievable for someone approaching his late fifties. He’d been planning to knock him over as soon as he became feeble with age, but at this rate, Taesung would die before Jang Hyeokjin died of old age.
“Taesung-ah.”
Jang Hyeokjin called Taesung in a sunken voice. For no reason, it felt like his mouth was burning. Taesung swallowed dry saliva and nodded at him.
“If you take a job, you should handle it properly. Neither you nor I are at an age to go back and forth over things like this anymore.”
“I handled the job I took properly, and I refused because President Jang’s lackeys were throwing a fit telling us to handle even trivial odd jobs. Neither President Jang nor I are in positions to handle work so haphazardly anymore.”
He spat out the words he’d been repeating in his head all the way there in one breath. Thinking it was pretty good himself, Taesung cleared his throat to smooth out his voice that kept cracking.
“That was included in the price. Otherwise, why would I give that money to a company like yours…”
Jang Hyeokjin clicked his tongue hard enough to make it fall off.
“…a worthless company.”
He wanted to say ‘dick-sized bastards,’ didn’t he? The path to becoming a ‘high-ranking person’ was so long and arduous that Jang Hyeokjin still hadn’t succeeded in completely fixing the vulgar speech patterns ingrained in his bones.
“There are a lot of complaints about why I’m giving work to Hansae when there are plenty of other decent companies. Should I be hearing that kind of talk from my subordinates?”
Why do ‘subordinates’ everywhere have so many complaints?
“That’s why we’re not going to take Wonin work anymore either.”
Taesung responded with his head held high. Jang Hyeokjin’s thick eyebrows wriggled like caterpillars.
“What?”
“My guys also say they’re tired of being worked like servants with constant orders whenever we take Wonin jobs. Fuck, if both sides don’t want to do it, isn’t it a happy ending if we quit?”
“Who the fuck are you cursing in front of right now, you bastard?”
“I didn’t learn any better, so ‘fuck’ comes out every time I open my mouth—what do you want me to do about it? Let’s not make each other’s faces red and end it here, President Jang. Okay?”
“Haha, this bastard.”
Jang Hyeokjin kicked his chair back and stood up. Taesung instinctively flinched and shrank. Jang Hyeokjin smirked. As if mocking him for cowering just because he stood up, after struggling to crawl up so far.
‘Pathetic.’
Taesung clenched his molars and straightened his hunched shoulders. But he couldn’t stop the goosebumps rising on the back of his neck at the sound of footsteps approaching steadily.
“Taesung-ah.”
The shadow that approached right in front of him was still huge. Even though Taesung wasn’t short, he always felt suffocated like this when facing Jang Hyeokjin.
“I’m not asking for much.”
Thump—a kick flew into his left leg below the knee. Taesung tried to maintain his balance, barely supporting his powerlessly buckled leg.
“I just told you to catch the food I throw and perform your tricks well.”
But then a kick also flew into his right leg below the knee. Taesung had no choice but to collapse to his knees on the spot.
“What the hell is a bastard with no brains trying to scheme? Huh?”
Jang Hyeokjin struck him near the temple. Though he’d only hit with his hand, his skull rang as if he’d been pummeled with a hammer. Taesung squeezed his eyes shut. He felt dizzy and thought he’d vomit if he kept them open.
“Did that bastard Kim Cheolgu tell you to do this? Did he say if you went and said this, I’d throw you a carrot?”
Why is Manager Kim’s name coming up here? Taesung spat the sour saliva pooled in his mouth onto the floor and looked up at Jang Hyeokjin.
“President Jang must listen well to what his errand boy bastards say? I don’t even listen with one ear to whatever those bastards say.”
“Ha, this bastard. At least you’re trying to play the hyung role.”
Jang Hyeokjin patted Taesung’s cheek like coaxing a puppy. Then, before Taesung could even get the words “don’t” out of his mouth, he kicked him in the chest. Taesung let out a groan—ugh—as if he’d stop breathing any moment, and rolled onto the floor. Then he wrapped both hands around his chest and curled his body into a ball.
“Taesung-ah, you need to know this. If it were any other bastard crawling up like this, I would’ve killed them long ago.”
You’re killing me right now, you son of a bitch.
…was what he thought, but Taesung was wheezing with metallic-sounding breaths and couldn’t get any words out.
Jang Hyeokjin rolled up his sleeves and crouched in front of Taesung. Then he clicked his tongue, grabbed Taesung’s hair, and lifted it up. Taesung barely raised his head with his face completely scrunched up.
“I only endure it because it’s you, Taesung-ah. Because you’re a bastard who can’t even think of fighting back once while getting beaten like this.”
“Fuck, so did you kill Jaeha too?”
As soon as he heard the name ‘Jaeha,’ the smile disappeared from Jang Hyeokjin’s face.
Hyun Jaeha.
Chairman Hyun Hongwon’s grandson and only blood relative, he had disappeared right after the funeral of Chairman Noh, who had died three years ago after battling cancer, and his whereabouts remained unknown to this day. Since he’d been just a kid who’d barely graduated high school at the time, no one thought Hyun Jaeha had left somewhere on his own. As the only legal heir of Chairman Noh and the biggest obstacle to Jang Hyeokjin taking over Wonin Construction, people only speculated that he might have ‘taken care of’ him.
“Seems a bit too late to be worrying about the young master.”
Jang Hyeokjin sneered without even hiding his completely distorted expression.
“Taesung-ah, you of all people shouldn’t be worrying about the young master. Not with what you did.”
Taesung bit his lower lip. Right, wasn’t Taesung the person who found Hyun Jaeha most inconvenient? Because he was the one who had stolen everything Taesung might have had.
