As soon as I stepped out of Team Leader Park's office, Captain Kang escorted me.
He had been hiding nearby with more than twenty men.
The moment I walked outside, he personally prepared a vehicle and ushered me inside.
"It looks like Team Leader Park has joined hands with Executive Lee."
"Team Leader Park? But wasn't he the one who showed unwavering loyalty to the Gwanghwamun Bear?"
"There's an old saying: When a prime minister's dog dies, people pay their respects, but when the prime minister himself dies, not even a single dog shows up. Team Leader Park wasn't loyal to the Gwanghwamun Bear himself—he was loyal to the power the Bear wielded."
The Gwanghwamun Bear was dead.
Had Team Leader Park been there when Executive Lee tried to kill him, he would have risked his life to protect Chairman Lee.
But now, the Gwanghwamun Bear was gone.
There was no longer any reason to stay loyal to a dead man's power, so he allied himself with Executive Lee for his own benefit—despite knowing that Executive Lee was the very one who had killed the man he once followed.
"It seems the Yakuza's funds are flowing toward Executive Lee. If we add Team Leader Park's assets to that, it's only a matter of time before Myeong-dong falls into their hands."
"It'll be difficult for Lee Young-han to stop them with his inheritance alone. A few loan sharks may have sided with him, but Team Leader Park knows Myeong-dong inside out. He won't stand a chance."
"Are you planning to help Lee Young-han?"
"I'll decide after speaking with him. I need to meet him in secret."
"I'll arrange a meeting before the day is over."
It had been a long time since my mind felt this clouded.
I had gone so far as to lay the groundwork to support Team Leader Park, yet he was the first to betray the Gwanghwamun Bear.
* * *
Late at Night
I finally met with Lee Young-han at a small gym.
This gym was where Captain Kang's men trained, and the second and third floors served as their living quarters.
"I didn't expect you to call me to a place like this. And why are you ordering me around?"
"If you don't like it, you're free to leave. Whether Myeong-dong falls into Team Leader Park's hands or Lee Joon-soo's, I won't care either way."
Lee Young-han was still someone I had no desire to deal with.
I wasn't sure what kind of delusion he was under, but he was speaking to me as if I were beneath him.
"Didn't my grandfather help you out a lot? And this is how you treat me? This is why they say you should never take in an ungrateful wretch. The moment my grandfather passed, you turned into a different person."
"Let me correct you on one thing—you're mistaken if you think Chairman Lee helped me. It was I who helped him. He didn't take me in; rather, I took him in."
I spoke with the utmost politeness, though the content of my words was anything but.
"You think you can act high and mighty just because you're the heir to Taewoo Group? A brat who just barely graduated from being a minor, claiming he took in my grandfather? They say third-generation chaebols have no manners, and I see they were right."
"Let's cut this pointless argument short. Honestly, I have no reason to waste my time with you. No matter who ends up controlling Myeong-dong, it has nothing to do with Taewoo Group."
This guy was hopeless.
He had no sense of the situation, let alone the awareness to understand the position he was in.
I dusted off my clothes and stood up.
Even with the Gwanghwamun Bear gone, Myeong-dong had always been divided among four people.
Perhaps it was time to give the opportunity to Cash King, Old Lady Baek, or Chairman Kang instead.
"Wait a minute! You called me all the way here just to walk out like this?"
"Out of respect for Chairman Lee, I'll give you a piece of advice—take your inheritance and leave Myeong-dong. That's your best shot at survival. You've got a stash of hidden stocks in the U.S., don't you? Check into it. Those IT stocks should have turned a decent profit by now."
"How the hell do you know that?! The only ones who knew about my Nasdaq investments were my grandfather and me! Not even Team Leader Park knew about this—how do you know?!"
Lee Young-han's demeanor shifted in an instant.
The man who had been slithering like a snake suddenly turned serious.
"How do I know? Because I was the one who told him. Do you really think Chairman Lee, who valued real estate above all else, would suddenly sell his properties to invest in American stocks for no reason? Frankly, I'm more surprised you knew about his U.S. dealings."
"…Were you the benefactor my grandfather spoke of? The one who helped pass off the corporate bonds of failing companies to other Myeong-dong loan sharks, and the one who provided information about U.S. stocks—was that you, Director Kim Min-jae?"
Could a person change this drastically?
So all this time, he had been deliberately acting like a reckless fool.
Of course, from the moment I first saw him, I knew he wasn't lacking in ability.
As the grandson of the Gwanghwamun Bear, it was only natural that he wouldn't be an idiot.
"And if I were? What difference would it make?"
"Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Lee Young-han, grandson of Chairman Lee Sun-il. I sincerely apologize for my past rudeness."
Lee Young-han dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
I turned away from the door and walked toward him.
"Was that all an act? Why did you pretend to be someone you're not?"
"I had no choice. I needed to uncover the truth behind my grandfather's death. I couldn't trust anyone—especially those who had frequent dealings with him."
"Now I'm somewhat interested. Tell me everything. I need to hear the full story before deciding whether to trust you. And don't kneel—I'm not fond of empty gestures."
Lee Young-han stood up.
With cautious movements, he took a seat and began speaking.
"My grandfather wanted me to live in the light, not in the shadows. That's why he kept me away from Myeong-dong and even spread rumors that we had a strained relationship."
"So that's why you never lived in the Gwanghwamun estate with him."
"Exactly. But in secret, he was educating me. A few years ago, he even sent me to the U.S. to manage investments in Nasdaq."
I could understand the Gwanghwamun Bear's mindset.
To survive in Myeong-dong, he must have done countless unspeakable things.
At the very least, he didn't want his grandson to follow the same path.
"Then you must not have had much to do lately, considering most of the funds invested in Nasdaq were brought back to Korea."
"Over 80% of the stocks were sold, and the dollars were transferred to Korea. I returned as part of that process."
"There's talk that you inherited 10 billion won. What's that about?"
"He gave me that inheritance to establish an investment firm in Korea. If I was going to work in the light, I needed a legitimate means to inherit wealth."
I could see the bigger picture.
He likely planned for his grandson to run an investment firm, using his own funds as the primary capital.
That way, even after his death, the Myeong-dong loan sharks wouldn't be able to lay a hand on the money.
"So Chairman Lee must have passed away before he could transfer all the funds to the firm."
"About half of the assets were moved, but the ones under borrowed names couldn't be transferred in time."
"You'll need Manager Park's help to retrieve those shadow assets. But from what I've seen, he doesn't seem willing to cooperate."
"Based on what I've gathered, it seems Team Leader Park and Lee Joon-soo conspired to kill my grandfather. But no matter how I think about it, I can't figure out why Team Leader Park would betray him. My grandfather intended to pass Myeong-dong down to him."
Who would want a fish-shaped bun without red bean filling?
If Chairman Lee had completed the inheritance process while he was alive, Team Leader Park would have had no choice but to accept the empty bun.
But now that the person holding his leash was gone, he naturally wanted to fill the bun with red bean paste himself.
"From what I've found, Lee Joon-soo joined forces with the Ohseong Clan to take out Chairman Lee. After that, he seems to have aligned himself with Team Leader Park."
"Lee Joon-soo working with Ohseong Clan? …That damn leech, after all this time."
"And the Ohseong Clan is connected to the Japanese Yakuza. The Japanese loan industry is planning to take over Korea's private lending market. From their perspective, Chairman Lee, who controlled Myeong-dong, was an obstacle."
"Lee Joon-soo and Team Leader Park… My grandfather fed and nurtured them. They say you should never take in an ungrateful beast, but they were the last people who should have turned against him."
Lee Young-han's eyes burned with rage.
For a moment, I saw a reflection of my past self before my regression.
But his situation was far better than mine. I had possessed nothing, whereas he had inherited his grandfather's wealth and still had people willing to help him.
"If you want, I can assist you. My promise to make Chairman Lee the ruler of Myeong-dong is still valid. Are you ready to step out of the light and return to the shadows?"
"I've already stepped into the shadows. Though my abilities are lacking, I've been meeting with loan sharks and expanding my influence to take control of Myeong-dong."
Lee Young-han was still as cunning as a snake.
He was carefully hiding his venom, preparing step by step for his revenge.
But his fangs were far too weak to take a bite out of Team Leader Park, who had Japan's backing.
"Before long, Team Leader Park and Executive Director Lee will use Japanese funds to seize control of Myeong-dong."
"I plan to invest all my assets to stop them."
"Half of your assets won't be nearly enough. I'll provide financial support. To take on Japanese capital, you'll need at least an equal amount. With 10 trillion won, we can crush them."
Lee Young-han swallowed hard, the sound audible in the silence.
He looked visibly shaken by the mention of 10 trillion won.
"As far as I know, Taewoo Group doesn't have 10 trillion won in liquid assets. But… how can you possibly raise that much?"
"I was the one who advised Chairman Lee on U.S. stock investments. Naturally, I've also made my own investments there. On top of that, I have connections that can easily mobilize 10 trillion won."
In reality, I didn't even need to call in my connections.
Through SAVE Investment alone, I could easily inject 10 trillion won into Myeong-dong.
But there was no need to reveal that. Just because Lee Young-han seemed sincere didn't mean I had to disclose everything.
"With 10 trillion won, we can definitely hold our ground!"
"We're not just going to hold our ground. We're going to crush them completely. If Team Leader Park is lending money at 60% interest, you'll lend at 50%. If he lowers it to 30%, you'll drop it to 20%."
"Are you sure about that? The profit margins will shrink significantly."
"In business, you get used to price wars. A true entrepreneur is willing to take losses to eliminate the competition."
Even now, I was engaged in price wars across multiple industries.
Especially with Taewoo Telecom, where we were investing heavily to challenge KS Telecom—going as far as launching our own OTT streaming service.
Compared to that, Myeong-dong was nothing.
Even at 20% interest, the profits would still be substantial.
Of course, the returns wouldn't be as high as managing money on Wall Street, but in the long run, it wouldn't be a loss.
"Thank you… truly, thank you."
Lee Young-han bowed deeply, pressing his forehead to the floor in gratitude.
I turned to the window and gazed up at the sky.
Through his grandson, I could finally fulfill the promise I made to the Gwanghwamun Bear.