I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 51

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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051-Vicente Palace
51.
I returned to the Philippines.
The sweltering Philippine air felt familiar now.
The moment I stepped into the office, Sandro greeted me.
“Boss. You’re back?”
“Yeah. It was rough without me, wasn’t it? Sorry about that.”
“Rough? It’s what we do every day. Besides, the system’s settled in now, so it’s easier. We’re not even going out to the field ourselves.”
“Still, there’s a lot to keep an eye on. Leave it to me and I’ll cause a disaster.”
“Ha. Yeah, that’s true. Anyway, I cause some serious disasters.”
“Did anything happen while I was gone?”
“Yeah, something did.”
“Something happened? What? Is it serious?”
“Yeah. It’s serious.”
Sandro stood up from his chair.
“Let’s go. We need to handle the fallout.”
.
.
.
We arrived at Vicente Palace.
The five-star resort Sandro said he’d acquire.
“The contract’s finalized.”
“Really? Seriously? You must have worked hard. It couldn’t have been easy.”
“Of course it was hard. Who am I? I’m Sandro. The moment I presented the contract, they signed right away.”
I worried whether he’d presented a gun alongside the contract, but I didn’t bother asking.
Looking at the resort as something that belonged to me now, it felt different.
The Philippines, Bohol—resorts are everywhere—but this is the only one that’s mine.
Even with so many homes in Seoul, only my own home feels special.
This resort is special too.
“I’m really grateful. I love it.”
“You know what?”
“What?”
“See that resort being built next to us?”
The resort adjacent to Vicente Palace that we’d purchased.
It was nearly twice the size of Vicente Palace.
They’d been working on it diligently, but at some point, construction stopped.
It was something that bothered us too, honestly.
It’s nice to have a stunning natural landscape stretching out beyond the windows, but a construction site view isn’t ideal.
If the timeline was set and construction was ongoing, there’d be an end in sight to endure, but
having it stalled like this in the middle is rather troublesome.
“Yeah. That construction site has been idle for a while, hasn’t it?”
“It has. Turns out it was something the local Young Boss was building. The moment he saw me, he started begging me to buy that too. He was really desperate about it.”
“Desperate?”
“I told him no. It’s not even finished, and restarting an incomplete project costs almost as much as building from scratch. So I said I couldn’t buy it.”
“I see.”
I hadn’t even wanted to buy it, yet I felt an odd sense of regret.
Sandro had made the right call, but I couldn’t help feeling like we’d missed out.
Buying it would have cost an enormous amount of money.
It would have required constant attention and management.
It was simply too large a property for us to handle.
The resort needed to be a new venture.
It shouldn’t be something I already owned.
“So I told him if he’d sell just the land without the building, I’d consider it.”
“What? You did what???”
“Why are you so shocked? I bought just the land. Just the land.”
“Really?”
“Actually, we should’ve charged him for demolition costs too… but we can’t be too stingy doing business in the Philippines, you know? So I only took the land price. He was asking for forty million pesos—a billion won—so I thought about it, but that seemed reasonable enough to pay.”
Reasonable wasn’t the word for it.
This was an absolute jackpot.
And we’d acquired an adjacent resort to boot.
I was so thrilled I threw my arms around Sandro.
“Thank you, Sandro. You made an incredible deal.”
“Alex. I’m in a very foul mood right now. I don’t have a taste for embracing dark-skinned men. If you could just step back one pace—or better yet, two—I think my mood might improve. Can you manage that?”
“Of course.”
I said it, but I didn’t step back.
I held Sandro even tighter.
I was that pleased.
.
.
.
‘This is going to cost a fortune.’
My elation was short-lived.
Once I toured the actual site, I began noticing areas that needed repairs.
Vicente Palace, which we’d just purchased, had looked fine from a distance,
but upon closer inspection, there were quite a few things that needed fixing.
Like a girlfriend?
Before you date someone, you don’t see their flaws. But once you’re together, the shortcomings start showing.
You only see the bad parts.
This resort was no different.
Now that we’d signed the contract, the drawbacks were becoming apparent.
But isn’t love about embracing even that?
I decided to embrace the resort with love.
More precisely, I decided to embrace it with money.
The bigger problem was that we’d only purchased the land,
for a resort with no name.
This place just needed money slathered all over it.
Still, the silver lining was that we could do it according to our own taste and vision.
I had to find solace in that much, at least.
Fortunately, I knew someone who was exceptionally knowledgeable in this field.
.
.
.
“Here?”
Kang Jae-ho looked aghast at the resort I showed him.
“It’s this large? There appear to be over 70 guest rooms?”
“Ah… ah… I don’t think this will work. The scale is simply too massive.”
“I’ve never tackled anything of this magnitude. The systems are different from South Korea, so it would be difficult.”
“I’m incredibly grateful for this wonderful opportunity, but the scale is far too large for me to handle. I apologize.”
Kang Jae-ho continued refusing, insisting the project was beyond his capacity.
Yet his eyes kept drifting toward the building under construction.
He gazed at it repeatedly, as if reluctant to look away.
He seemed to be surveying the surroundings, contemplating which concept would suit it best.
“I understand your position, sir. Still, since you’ve come all the way to the Philippines, why not enjoy yourself? Just let me know if you need anything.”
“No, I’m already being treated far too generously as it is.”
“Then rest. How about joining me on a tour tomorrow?”
“A tour?”
“Yes. You’ve come all the way to the Philippines—you can’t just stay at the resort the whole time. Our company operates an exclusive tour. Let’s check it out tomorrow.”
“Yes, understood.”
.
.
.
When I first saw the skeletal structure of the building, why had I thought of Kang Jae-ho?
Of course, he’d done excellent work recently on the interior renovation of the third floor at Candy Tour,
but that alone didn’t explain the feeling.
I had this overwhelming sense that if Kang Jae-ho took on this project, he would do an absolutely magnificent job.
So I simply called him.
I said I had things to discuss and things to show him.
I told him to come, talk things over, and take a tour.
I said I’d cover his daily wages for days off work—just come.
And the moment he arrived, I showed him the resort first.
I purchased that resort—nothing but a bare skeleton of a building.
Now I need to dress it up and apply cosmetics to it, so to speak, and you’re the best at that, aren’t you? Help me out.
Kang Jae-ho continued to refuse, but I saw it.
His hands never stopped moving.
I saw hands that desperately wanted to create something.
.
.
.
“You’re up early?”
“Yes. I couldn’t sleep much.”
“Why? Was the room uncomfortable? Oh, you should have said something. I’ll change it for you right away.”
“No, the room was wonderful. I just had some things on my mind.”
“I see. If anything feels inconvenient, please let me know anytime.”
“Your words alone are more than enough. This resort is truly lovely as it is.”
“The resort you’re staying in is the one we just purchased. Along with that building I mentioned yesterday. If you happen to think of any ideas while you’re here, would you mind sharing them with me?”
“Of course. I’ll tell you right away if any ideas come to mind.”
While driving, I asked Kang Jae-ho for permission.
“I’m sorry, but I have a quick errand at a hotel here. Would it be alright to stop by?”
“Of course, feel free to stop by anytime.”
I naturally visited three hotels and resorts in Bohol that had decent interior design.
There were documents to receive.
Things to pick up in person.
The coffee here is good. Let’s have a cup before we go. I made excuses.
Of course, it wasn’t urgent,
and it wasn’t something I necessarily had to do myself,
but I simply wanted to show Kang Jae-ho those hotels.
“And finally, that’s our store over there.”
I pointed with my hand toward the Candy Tour location.
*******
This person is strange.
We’ve only met once.
And that was as the previous and current tenant.
When he said he’d buy the fixtures for five million won during the contract, I was actually grateful.
I was worried he’d ask me to restore the interior to its original state,
but instead he kept the interior as it was, kept the fixtures as they were, and still gave me five million won.
A used furniture dealer had offered me only one million won for everything.
Kang Jae-ho was someone I was grateful to.
Kang Jae-ho originally worked as an interior construction contractor.
He started as a carpenter, then learned electrical work and tile work by watching on the job.
He loved working on-site.
Then one day, as I was doing interior remodeling work, I began to see better methods.
When I mentioned these ideas to my coworkers, they nodded in agreement.
They gave me thumbs up, saying it was impressive.
But my suggestions were never implemented.
No client would listen to the opinions of a high school dropout construction worker.
It was infuriating.
No matter how I looked at it, my methods were superior,
more efficient, and aesthetically better.
Yet no client would hear me out.
Frustrated, I enrolled in university.
I worked during the day and studied at night.
With systematic education combined with my field experience, ideas flowed endlessly.
I obtained various certifications.
After graduating, I poured all my savings into opening an interior design Office.
My former coworkers said they would help me.
They promised aggressive promotion and told me to trust only them.
But,
the Office received very few commissions.
And those only came through people I knew.
Even while running the Office, I continued taking outside work.
I had no choice if I wanted to survive.
The more jobs I took, the greater the disconnect became.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
If I did things my way, I could make them so much more impressive.
But the blueprints were already drawn, and I couldn’t deviate on my own.
I endured like this for two years.
Eventually, I decided I couldn’t continue and abandoned the interior design Office.
I chose to remain simply as a skilled laborer.
Then out of nowhere, he called and asked me to do the third-floor remodeling.
Now he’s asking me to do a massive resort.
I’m not insane.
I’m dying to tell him to stop doing this.
And now he’s dragging me from Hotel to Hotel every morning—why are these Hotels so stunning?
I couldn’t help myself and took photographs.
There was so much to reference everywhere.
And then we arrived at the Candy Tour Office.
People were lined up incredibly long.
“Young Boss, are those people waiting to go on a tour?”
“No~ they’re waiting to see if there are any cancellations. The tours already sold out before that.”
“There must be a lot of cancellations, then?”
“There’s barely any left. Those people worked hard to get their tickets too.”
“Then why are they waiting?”
“Just in case. Once the tour departs, there won’t be another chance. So they’re hoping that maybe a ticket will be cancelled before then. We’re leaving right away.”
I set off on the tour with the Young Boss, who insisted on being called Alex.
Whenever Alex appeared anywhere, people approached him to greet him and act friendly.
They seemed desperate to make a good impression on him.
Was he really such an important person?
Though he looked surprisingly young for it.
“This is Emerald Canyon, a place we operate exclusively. The long lines you saw this morning were all for here and Lumina Lake, which we’ll visit later. Since we have exclusive rights, only we can enter. We bought it because it’s so beautiful.”
Alex led the way, and I followed behind him.
At the entrance, a man with a gun stood guard.
And the sight that greeted me stopped all my thoughts in their tracks.
Was this really the world I knew?
I wondered if I had somehow transcended time and space to arrive here.
I finally understood why those people had lined up so desperately to come here.
I pulled out my phone and took photos like a madman.
“There’s a different view if you go down further. Should we take a look?”
I walked through the empty Emerald Canyon.
I crossed the emerald-colored river flowing between the canyon walls by boat.
It was undoubtedly the greatest experience of my life.
New ideas flooded my mind like a torrent.
I could redesign the interior using this Emerald Canyon as inspiration.
Connect the exterior to the sea,
And create cohesion with Vicente Palace next to it.
The signature color would be emerald.
Cool yet mysterious, imbued with nobility.
The hotels I’d seen this morning had been helpful.
The image came to me instantly, fully formed.
I felt like I’d go mad if I didn’t sketch it out right then.
The moment I got in the car after leaving Emerald Canyon, I pulled out my tablet and sketched the rough design.
I’d never forget it, but putting it down on paper was another matter entirely.
And then there was camping at Lumina Lake.
I was completely captivated there, soul and all.
On the drive back to the hotel the next day,
I gathered my courage.
“Young Boss. About what you mentioned before…”
“What?”
“The resort interior design project.”
“Yes.”
“Would it be alright if I gave it a try, despite my shortcomings?”
“Haha, of course. That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”
“Then I’ll give it my absolute best shot.”
“Thank you for your trust.”
*******
– Haven’t heard from you in ages. I’m getting the goods just fine, but I still miss our chats.
A message came through from Lafei, the owner of the Golden Lotus in Macau.
She said she hadn’t heard from me in forever.
She said she missed me.
The frequency of my visits had dropped significantly lately.
The quantity of drugs delivered each time had increased.
Since they didn’t know my delivery methods, they’d made their requests cautiously.
The larger the shipment, the more difficult the delivery becomes.
That’s why I’d asked them to request smaller quantities each time.
But worried about the frequent border crossings, I’d asked if we could increase the volume instead.
They’d actually welcomed the idea enthusiastically.
What used to be monthly deliveries had stretched to every three or five months.
But that was just an excuse.
The real reason I hadn’t been visiting the Golden Lotus was different.
First, I didn’t want anyone to see me making deliveries if I could help it.
I’d had no choice but to show Lafei my face during our initial transaction.
But there was no reason to keep doing so.
Lafei kept telling me to come visit.
But I had no desire to go.
I just wanted us to remain as a supplier and buyer—nothing more.
That was enough for our relationship.
Second.
Marian is there.
That made me uncomfortable.
I didn’t know what to say if we ran into each other.
Not knowing how to behave, I chose to avoid the situation.
[Sorry. Work’s been hectic lately.]
– Sounds like you’ve got a lot of other deliveries going on?
[I have a day job too, you know?]
– Wait, isn’t delivery your job?
[Well, I get a salary for my other work.]
– Really? But if you’re getting paid for work, why not work with us instead? I’ll treat you better than anyone in this business.
[Thanks, but I’ll pass. I’m satisfied with what I’m doing now.]
– That so? Too bad. By the way, do you have any spare bullets lying around?
[You need some?]
– Nothing urgent, but it’d be nice if you could stock me up soon.
[Understood. I’ll look into it.]
– Thanks. Come visit anytime. I should see Marian again too.
[Yeah… I should.]
I answered with uncertainty, letting my hesitation speak for me.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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