Max-Level Son of a Chaebol Family - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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38. Getting the Invitation (1)

From early morning, people began flocking to the Hannam-dong Mansion.

Taeseong Group elites had each come carrying thick document bundles.

Thanks to this, Grandmother was bustling about preparing meals, and Mother was rushing around saying she needed to go grocery shopping.

Even with all that, there weren’t enough hands, so Secretary Kim had to bring in several more helpers.

Our house was running around frantically busy.

In the midst of this, I got in the car accompanied by Uncle Cheol-gu and Yoo Jong-tae.

Yoo Jong-tae was in the driver’s seat, Uncle Cheol-gu in the passenger seat, and the back seat was mine.

“Young Master, where shall I take you?”

“Hyeonmu Construction.”

My purpose was clear.

To get an invitation from the Hyeonmu Construction President.

To send invitations to the big shots of the underground finance world.

That would be sufficient preparation for the year-end night event.

* * *

The car arrived at its destination.

Uncle Cheol-gu smoked a cigarette in the parking lot, and Yoo Jong-tae came back carrying a black plastic bag.

“Young Master?”

“Just a moment. I just need to write this.”

I leaned over in the back seat of the car and continued writing on white paper with my Montblanc fountain pen.

Scratch scratch scratch.

Yoo Jong-tae, sitting in the driver’s seat, peeked his head out slightly.

“What are you writing so carefully and meticulously?”

“It’s a note to give to the Hyeonmu Construction President.”

“As expected of our Young Master! You’re sending a greeting note to President Oh?”

“It’s not a greeting note though?”

“Huh? Then what is it?”

“······A business proposal?”

Right, as long as it’s not a threatening note, that’s fine.

“A business proposal?”

“A business proposal?”

Yoo Jong-tae and Uncle Cheol-gu looked back at me with extremely curious expressions.

Regardless of that.

I was too busy frantically moving my fountain pen to pay attention.

“All done!”

I blew on the paper to help the ink dry properly.

Only after confirming it was completely dry did I fold it neatly and write numbers on the outside.

“Young Master, why are you specifically writing numbers on the outside of the notes?”

“To make the errand easier. Just hand the notes to the president of Hyeonmu Construction in the order of the numbers written here.”

“Ah, I understand.”

Yoo Jong-tae obediently took the notes.

But he still had an expression like he was dying of curiosity.

“May I ask what this is?”

“Of course. However, whether to earn my trust or satisfy your curiosity – that choice is yours, Team Leader Yoo.”

The reason I brought Yoo Jong-tae this time was also to confirm whether he had the qualifications to become my right-hand man.

Yoo Jong-tae saluted sharply and grinned.

“Having come this far on intuition alone, I choose trust over curiosity.”

I handed the document envelope to Yoo Jong-tae as well and grinned.

“There are only 3 notes. If you don’t check the contents of the notes beforehand, you’ll have to handle everything else by intuition. Won’t that be difficult?”

“I’ll just handle it with intuition! Surely I won’t die from lacking intuition, right?”

“I don’t mind if you get kicked out for acting clueless, but it would be troublesome if you can’t bring back the invitation.”

“Ahem, I’ll somehow manage to get it with my abilities! I, Yoo Jong-tae, am a man with that much competence! Please trust me and leave it to me!”

I do like capable guys!

Yoo Jong-tae confirmed that the document envelope had no numbers written on it and asked subtly.

“This one doesn’t have numbers – may I check it?”

“Of course. But since you’re checking it beforehand, you must definitely get President Oh of Hyeonmu Construction’s signature and seal, right?”

“I’ll stake my life on making it happen!”

Actually, there was a separate reason why Yoo Jong-tae, a Taeseong Group Bodyguard, had to run this errand.

‘To cause a ruckus at this year-end night, I definitely need a reliable ally who’s the hotel owner.’

One more thing.

It’s also an opportunity to win favor with the Hyeonmu Construction President under the name of Taeseong.

“Have a safe trip.”

I smiled and waved my hand.

“Wait a moment, Young Master.”

Yoo Jong-tae rummaged around and pulled something out of the black plastic bag.

“I had a feeling you’d send only me inside and make me wait in the cold, so I bought these.”

It was steaming hot steamed buns and warm bottled soy milk.

Ah, winter is definitely about steamed buns and warm soy milk!

Yoo Jong-tae winked at Uncle Cheol-gu.

“Then please take good care of our Young Master until I return. Colonel Pak, no, Park Cheol-gu.”

“Huh…”

“This is for Park Cheol-gu!”

What Yoo Jong-tae slyly offered was hardtack.

“…”

“If you look around, there should be star candy somewhere too. Well then, I’ll be back!”

Yoo Jong-tae strode into the Hyeonmu Construction Office.

Click.

‘Hey, Guardian Spirit!’

[Vision Sharing!]

Good!

* * *

For some reason, the Hyeonmu Construction President’s Office was packed with executives who had been called in since morning.

President Oh of Hyeonmu Construction spoke.

“I had drinks with the Blue House Chief of Staff last night, and I heard that those above are keeping a close eye on apartment redevelopment.”

“Oh, showing interest in apartment redevelopment must be a good sign, right?”

“There’s been a huge development boom in Gangnam lately. Just as the government intended.”

The Hyeonmu Construction executives were cheerful and optimistic.

“This also aligns with cleaning up the city’s appearance before the Asian Games.”

“Plus, it’s about expanding housing for ordinary citizens, which is what the government wants.”

The Hyeonmu Construction president shook his head.

“It’s the opposite. It’s a bad sign.”

“Excuse me?”

“Orders came down to refrain from using hired thugs for forced demolitions for the time being.”

“What? So suddenly?”

The Hyeonmu Construction executives couldn’t hide their bewildered expressions.

“How are we supposed to proceed with redevelopment construction without using hired thugs?”

“We need to tear down the slums to build apartments, don’t we?”

“The government has been encouraging development until now. Why did such orders suddenly come down?”

The Hyeonmu Construction president furrowed his brow.

“It seems Wookwang Construction even set fires while demolishing the Guro-dong shantytown this time. I hear there was quite a lot of casualties and property damage.”

“What? Something like that happened?”

“There wasn’t a single mention of it in the newspapers or broadcasting station news though?”

“People don’t know how the Guro-dong shantytown was demolished anyway. Let’s just push ahead ourselves.”

The Hyeonmu Construction president clicked his tongue.

“His Excellency finds that very point extremely displeasing.”

“What? Why?”

“He knows that Wooguang even blocked the media.”

President Oh of Hyeonmu Construction’s complexion darkened.

“He exploded in anger, saying how dare a mere company try to cover his eyes and ears.”

“Hmm.”

“It seems he’s holding back this one time since he owes Wooguang something, but he appears to be seriously holding a grudge over this incident. This is a tip from the Blue House Chief of Staff.”

The Hyeonmu Construction executives’ complexions also changed accordingly.

“If those above are keeping a close watch, we shouldn’t act rashly.”

“In this situation, if our Hyeonmu also conducts forced demolitions and something goes wrong, the Blue House’s anger will turn toward us.”

“They say you should never even go near a house on fire.”

The Hyeonmu Construction President looked back with cold eyes.

“So we’re in a very difficult position. In this booming market for Gangnam apartment sales, we have to just sit here twiddling our thumbs.”

There was exactly one reason why Hyeonmu Construction was left twiddling their thumbs.

“Without land, how can we build apartments?”

That was it.

Hyeonmu Construction’s problem was that they hadn’t secured suitable apartment sites.

‘As expected. I knew it!’

When I heard from Secretary Kim yesterday that this year’s year-end party would be held at Hyeonmu Hotel.

That was why I cheered about my good luck.

‘I knew from reading the Hyeonmu Group Report. At this time, Hyeonmu Construction was struggling because they couldn’t secure apartment sites and regretted missing good opportunities.’

Because of the bitter taste they experienced at this time, Hyeonmu Construction would later collect land nationwide whenever they had the chance.

Certainly, President Oh of Hyeonmu Construction looked very displeased with the current situation.

“How many times have I told you to secure apartment sites, yet not a single one of the executives here has found a decent apartment site?”

The Hyeonmu Construction Executives began reading the room.

“When we built the Apgujeong Hyeonmu Apartment complex, we were short on funds and had to sell off all the apartment sites we owned.”

“Back then, shareholders as well as banks and private loan companies all said the large apartment complex sales would fail and withdrew their investments early…”

Building a large apartment complex required an unprecedented amount of capital investment.

Moreover, until that time, Gangnam development wasn’t enjoying such a boom.

It was also a time when people had a strong perception that homes meant shanty houses or single-family houses.

The prevailing opinion was that apartments were called chicken coops, asking who would pay money for such things, and they would naturally fail.

“But we pushed forward with determination, and as a result, the Apgujeong Hyeonmu Apartment sales created a boom and became an unprecedented hit.”

In short, they made a fortune.

Thanks to the Apgujeong Hyeonmu Apartment brand, Hyeonmu Construction gained the reputation of being the Republic of Korea’s representative premium apartment construction company.

“We have a lot of money now. But here’s the thing. Why haven’t we secured proper apartment sites until now?”

The heads of Hyeonmu Construction executives drooped lower and lower toward the floor.

“We also went around the redevelopment areas like Wooguang to reach agreements, so it took a lot of time.”

“The resistance from the slum residents was no joke. Since their livelihoods were at stake…”

“So we had no choice but to call in contractors for forced demolition, but then this order came down from above…”

The Hyeonmu Construction president’s eyes narrowed.

“So you’re saying you’re incompetent. If the slums were going to be delayed, you should have at least bought orchards or farmland.”

“Most of those areas are tied up in the Green Belt.”

“The Ministry of Construction officials won’t issue development permits.”

“Even if we bought them, we can’t build apartments without development permits.”

President Oh of Hyeonmu Construction thumped his chest with his hand.

“The president’s position exists precisely to solve such problems. Does Hyeonmu seem incapable of the lobbying that Wooguang does? Do I look that incompetent to you?”

“N-no, that’s not what we meant…”

“I need something properly prepared before I can spread bribes and buy drinks. What do you think?”

“…We’re sorry.”

“Do you think I called you all here from early morning just to hear apologies?”

The Hyeonmu Construction president irritably ran his hand through his hair.

“I heard some disturbing news yesterday. Word is starting to spread both in the Blue House Secretariat and the Ministry of Construction. They’re saying Gangnam development has gone beyond success to become a venue for real estate speculation.”

“That means…”

“It seems the government is planning to implement real estate regulations soon.”

Wait. Real estate regulations?

‘Ah, the 8.8 real estate regulation measures! This is what nearly destroyed Cheonma Group with the Cheonma Apartment unsold inventory crisis.’

For construction companies, real estate regulation measures are literally nothing short of a catastrophe.

“Once the government’s real estate regulations begin, we won’t be able to sell even if we want to. Banks will freeze money, the government will draw the sword of tax audits, and the market will freeze cold.”

The government’s purpose is to put brakes on the real estate market to prevent overheating.

Conversely, that means the real estate market is currently that hot.

Money is always made at times like this.

“These days, Apgujeong Hyeonmu Apartment is selling like hotcakes. We need to hit consecutive successes at times like this to firmly embed our Hyeonmu Construction name in the public’s mind.”

President Oh of Hyeonmu Construction gritted his teeth.

“If we want to build and sell apartments, now is the only time, but how can we put up apartments without land? Huh? What do you think about this? If you have mouths, try giving me an answer!”

The Hyeonmu Construction executives had no choice but to break out in cold sweat.

Silent screams that they couldn’t dare let out of their throats must have been echoing in their hearts.

Just looking at their expressions, it was obvious what kind of feelings they had.

-Just because you’re pressuring us like this doesn’t mean land will just fall from the sky!

-The Apgujeong Hyeonmu Apartment presales have been a huge hit now. Look how much money has come in!

-That’s why when we begged you not to sell at least the apartment site, you didn’t even pretend to listen!

Whether the Hyeonmu Construction executives were groaning in silent frustration or not.

“In the end, what else can I say except that you bastards have done absolutely nothing until now? The apartment site, what are you going to do about it?”

The executives all hung their heads low and could only say ‘I’m dead!’

It must be because they had no confidence in being able to magically procure an apartment site right now.

That’s when it happened.

Knock knock knock.

“What is it!”

“President, someone who says he’s a Taeseong Group bodyguard has come to see you.”

“A Taeseong Group bodyguard?”

The air in the President’s Office froze cold.

“Why is Taeseong Group looking for me? Without any prior appointment. Do I have to deal with some other company’s bodyguard in this situation? Send him away immediately!”

“Well…”

The secretary who carefully opened the door and entered cautiously handed over a note while reading the president’s mood.

【Do you happen to need an apartment site?】

It was my note with the number 1 written on the outside.

“Tell him to come in right now!”

“…”

The executives looked at the president with bewildered expressions.

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