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Translator: uly
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Aspiring to Daehan Construction
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While Lee Daehyuk sat there dumbfounded, another flash burst forth, and Lee Myung-guk's memories began flowing into his mind.
Lee Myung-guk stroking the head of nine-year-old Lee Daehyuk as he lay in bed.
Lee Myung-guk sneakily placing a piece of dried yellow croaker on Lee Daehyuk's rice during a meal.
The warm gaze in Lee Myung-guk's eyes as he looked at Lee Daehyuk's graduation album photo with the academic cap on.
.
.
.
Countless other scenes followed.
And through the voices emerging from those images, Lee Daehyuk could read Lee Myung-guk's true feelings.
- I'm sorry, my son.
- But thank you for staying alive.
Lee Myung-guk truly loved Lee Daehyuk.
Even though he was a son from a different mother, he loved him with all his heart.
'At least that's a relief. This man definitely loves his son.'
Lee Daehyuk felt a strange sense of relief.
Feeling Lee Myung-guk's genuine affection even eased the pity he had felt for the original Lee Daehyuk.
On top of that, it was a welcome and grateful development for him as well.
Someone who held affection for him would be that much easier to use.
'No choice. Right now, I have to turn anything into a weapon.'
Considering what he had to do ahead, he needed to deceive Lee Myung-guk from now on.
To put it precisely... it would be making him an ally.
In any case, Lee Daehyuk resolved to become the perfect son that Lee Myung-guk desired in order to take over Daehan Group.
'Better than those damn siblings who call themselves my older brothers and sister.'
Memories surfaced in Lee Daehyuk's mind of his half-siblings abusing him while avoiding Lee Myung-guk's gaze.
Memories of them tormenting and beating him, calling him a 'filthy-blooded worm bastard.'
'This isn't some historical drama, but these kids sure did a lot of nasty things.'
Right now, Lee Daehyuk was rational.
Since it was something the past Lee Daehyuk had endured, no particular thirst for revenge stirred.
He simply decided to compete with his siblings while maintaining proper decorum, all to claim the intact Daehan Group.
But there was one prerequisite condition.
'As long as they don't mess with the current me.'
However, Lee Daehyuk knew full well.
Once his plans started coming to fruition one by one, they would move in some way to eliminate their half-brother from the succession war.
'That's when things will get fun.'
Imagining the fratricidal strife among siblings that would unfold ahead, Lee Daehyuk flashed a chilling smile.
Unaware of that smile, Lee Myung-guk set down the glass in his hand and rose from his seat.
"Your complexion looks... better than I feared. I'll be going now."
Lee Myung-guk swallowed the words "I'm glad."
The lingering distance between him and Lee Daehyuk made it awkward to express affection rashly.
Was it because he heard Lee Myung-guk's voice?
The front door opened, and two bodyguards entered the house.
'Bringing bodyguards to his son's house? This guy's life is really tough.'
For a moment, Lee Daehyuk felt sympathy for Lee Myung-guk.
It wasn't as if he had come with bodyguards out of fear of him.
It was simply that he had to prepare for any possibility at every moment. That seemed to be the life of Daehan Group's chairman.
But.
Grit-
The sympathy vanished from Lee Daehyuk's eyes in an instant as he bit his lip.
Right now, he needed to set aside personal emotions and move sharply for revenge.
"Father."
Lee Myung-guk's eyes wavered as he prepared to leave the house with the bodyguards.
'...Father?'
For a moment, he doubted his own ears.
From the first day Lee Daehyuk had entered this house until now, he had never once called him 'Father.'
Even when they were alone, he had kept his distance by calling him 'Chairman.'
It was probably because of his position as the 'illegitimate son.'
Until now, that gap and distance hadn't narrowed, only bitter time had passed, so he had somewhat given up....
And now, in this moment, the word 'Father' emerged from Lee Daehyuk's mouth for the first time.
While Lee Myung-guk stood there dumbfounded for a moment.
Lee Daehyuk spoke again.
"I have something to say."
"Go ahead... tell me."
"It's not something for others to hear."
'Others.'
A short word, but one laden with heavy weight.
Feeling an intimidating presence from his son that he had never seen before, Lee Myung-guk fell silent.
It was true that he was shaken by his son's sudden change.
However, Lee Myung-guk was a cool-headed businessman.
A businessman who prioritized reason over emotional turmoil.
He quietly observed his son.
Lee Daehyuk silently withstood his father's gaze as well.
"..."
"..."
The one who broke the ensuing silence was Lee Myung-guk.
"Ahem!"
At Lee Myung-guk's short cough, the two bodyguards nodded and exited through the front door.
Creak-. Click-!
Even after the door closed, the silence lingered for a moment.
Even as Lee Myung-guk and Lee Daehyuk sat facing each other on the sofa again.
.
.
.
Tweet-. Tweet tweet-!
As if trying to break their silence, birdsong came from outside the window.
And then.
"..."
"..."
When the birdsong stopped again, Lee Daehyuk opened his mouth.
"I've found something I want to do."
"...!!"
Lee Myung-guk's eyes widened.
The chairman of Daehan Group—who had weathered the IMF crisis, political pressures, countless scandals, and traps—was shocked once more.
"Something you want to do.... Tell me."
"I want to work at Daehan Construction, one of Daehan Group's affiliates."
"Daehan Construction?"
Hearing his son's words, Lee Myung-guk felt his throat burn with astonishment.
He wanted to drink some cold water, but the glass in front of him was already empty.
In the end, Lee Myung-guk swallowed dryly and asked.
"The guy who had no interest in anything in the world... suddenly wants to work?"
"I wasn't uninterested in the world. I just tried not to pay attention to it."
"What?"
"I wasn't supposed to have even the things that are taken for granted."
Lee Daehyuk trailed off.
There were many things he meant by "things taken for granted."
The honor, shares, and wealth that came with being part of Daehan Group's royal family.
And things like affection from his father, Lee Myung-guk.
But.
'Not anymore.'
Lee Daehyuk gripped his interlaced hands tightly and met Lee Myung-guk's eyes as he spoke.
"But now, I want to claim what's mine."
Lee Daehyuk didn't give a long explanation.
Instead, he packed his resolve into a few short words.
Lee Myung-guk, too, stared straight into his son's eyes.
In that gaze, Lee Myung-guk could read the firmness of Lee Daehyuk's determination.
The son, who had seemed so weak-willed until now, had transformed in this moment.
His intense eyes were so striking that one might doubt if he was truly his son.
That's why Lee Myung-guk wanted to continue the conversation with Lee Daehyuk.
He was curious.
Curious about what his son, whose eyes now burned hot, would say.
"It's good that you've found something you want to do. As a father, I welcome it. But...."
Having something you wanted to do was tantamount to finding meaning in life.
As a father, Lee Myung-guk felt grateful.
However, as a businessman, there was a point he absolutely had to address.
"I am your father, but before that, I am Daehan Group's chairman. Daehan Construction may be a sore spot, but it's not an affiliate I can entrust to just anyone lightly."
Daehan Group's sore spot.
That was the moniker the world gave Daehan Construction.
Of course, Daehan Construction had diligently and earnestly built buildings.
The problem was.
'They missed all the important urban projects and shoveled money into the wrong places.'
For a construction company, building good structures or bridges was important, but there was something that took priority.
Namely, securing proper contracts.
It went without saying, but for a construction company to make real money, winning national policy projects came first.
'They needed to land big ones like new satellite cities or the administrative capital, but Daehan Construction oddly lacked in that area.'
They were good at the work itself but poor at deals.
Even during his time as Kim Geon-woo, he had wondered about it.
'Unlike other Daehan Group affiliates, why couldn't Daehan Construction land proper jobs?'
He later learned the truth: there was a spy inside Daehan Construction.
A spy selling only the prime information to Seojin Construction.
Right now, Lee Daehyuk was saying he wanted to work at Daehan Construction, where he could uncover that spy planted by Seojin Construction, earn merit, and check Yu Jaeman in the process.
'But the problem is not knowing who the spy is.... In that case, the only option is to go inside and investigate step by step.'
He had the 'Psychometry' ability, but right now, there was no evidence.
Lee Myung-guk wouldn't believe him without proof.
'How to convince him....'
While Lee Daehyuk was lost in thought, Lee Myung-guk asked.
"Tell me the reasons and vision for why you should work at Daehan Construction. If I deem them reasonable, I'll arrange a position for you in a week."
Hearing Lee Myung-guk's words, Lee Daehyuk spoke up.
Hesitating might mean missing the chance, so a direct confrontation was better.
"The problem with Daehan Construction is its dealings. They've let all the really good projects go to Seojin Construction or others, and only taken on the leftovers pushed to the back."
Lee Myung-guk's mouth fell slightly open.
He had thought his son was a fool holed up in his room, but he had accurately grasped the lay of the land.
From Lee Myung-guk's perspective, he couldn't help but be surprised.
However, grasping the problem was something anyone could do.
As a chaebol heir, he shouldn't stop there—he needed to find solutions.
"Right, that's Daehan Construction's issue. So, how do you plan to solve it?"
"I believe the most important thing in dealings is information. But the people collecting and analyzing that information at Daehan Construction right now are all idiots."
"Idiots?"
Lee Myung-guk's eye twitched.
Daehan Construction's executives were, in their own way, founding contributors to Daehan Group.
Calling such people idiots.
If it had been anyone else but his son, a stern rebuke would have fallen immediately.
Yet Lee Myung-guk waited calmly for Lee Daehyuk's next words with steady eyes.
"...Choose your next words carefully."
"..."
"Let's hear it. What you think."
At Lee Myung-guk's question, Lee Daehyuk answered in a precise and clear tone.
"If they're incompetent and useless, of course they should be replaced."
"...!!"
Lee Myung-guk was stunned by his son's response.
He knew the executive line was problematic.
Even domestically and abroad, major contracts were strangely going to Seojin Construction, so he couldn't be pleased.
However, there was no justification to replace them.
Anything could fail.
If you replaced people every time, who would stay loyal to Daehan Group and him?
That was Lee Myung-guk's concern.
"If failures continue, someone has to take responsibility. But replacing people just for failures would make it impossible to sustain the group."
Lee Daehyuk knew Lee Myung-guk's concern.
He too had once led an organization—not to Lee Myung-guk's level, but he had agonized over personnel matters.
The answer was singular.
"If it's a matter of ability, we can tolerate and wait. But if it's a matter of the people themselves, that's different."
"The people themselves?"
"For a company like Daehan Construction to fail this repeatedly, it could be the people in some way. Figuring it out and dealing with it would be straightforward."
Lee Myung-guk furrowed his brow at Lee Daehyuk's words.
"You're saying you can handle it?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"I'll enter Daehan Construction as a regular employee."