Kim Hyunsik showed a ruthless approach from the very beginning.
The first blade he drew was aimed at a sitting mayor who had already served two terms as mayor of Daegu. Without even granting him the right to participate in the primary, he cut him off completely.
The man was infamous enough to be nicknamed the “four-time convicted mayor” due to two drunk driving offenses and several other crimes.
Even so, within Daegu, he was practically a king.
Even I hadn’t expected them to cut him off entirely without giving him the chance to compete in the primary.
“They’re throwing out Mayor Min Gyeongjin like this?”
It seemed Myungsoo wanted to change the very constitution of the party through this opportunity.
Sure enough, Mayor Min Gyeongjin immediately held a press conference, calling it an unfair decision and demanding another review.
He even left behind a warning that he might leave the party.
The notebook I had given Myungsoo also contained Min Gyeongjin’s weaknesses.
Whether Myungsoo would use them or choose another method, watching how things unfolded would be entertaining.
I lowered the newspaper and checked the Seven-Gwanggu materials Michael had brought me.
The oil reserves discovered this time were far more substantial than expected.
The information in my hands had not yet been made public.
I spent quite a long time reviewing the documents.
While organizing all the information in my head after going through every file, Manager Ma entered the room.
I placed the papers in my hand down and looked at him.
“Boss, I confirmed what you asked for.”
I had instructed Manager Ma to investigate Kim Hyunsik’s grandson, Kim Junhyeok.
“Really? Let me see.”
Manager Ma handed over the document envelope he had been carrying.
After spending the entire day reading paperwork, my eyes felt stiff, so I rubbed them before opening the envelope.
The first thing that greeted me was a sheet with a photograph attached.
“He looks like an exemplary student.”
“Yes. His grades are also at the very top.”
I nodded and began checking the materials Manager Ma had gathered.
Then I suddenly stopped at one section.
Looking at the photograph attached beside it, I asked:
“This kid?”
“Yes.”
“How bad is it?”
“He’s being treated like he doesn’t exist in his class.”
“And Kim Junhyeok is the one leading it?”
Manager Ma nodded. Why would he do something like that?
“What’s the reason?”
“We don’t know the details. During the first semester, they apparently weren’t on bad terms, but at some point, bullying and ostracism began.”
Physical violence wasn’t the only kind of violence.
Sometimes psychological violence was even more painful.
Bullying accompanied by isolation and harassment.
The victim probably wouldn’t be able to endure the shock forever.
The clearest evidence of the aftermath was visible in the report card.
“A student who used to compete for fifth place in the entire school suddenly saw his grades collapse.”
“Yes. During the first semester, Kim Junhyeok had better grades, but in the second semester, that student surpassed him.”
Was he unable to tolerate someone ranking above him?
I knew people like «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Kim Junhyeok all too well.
They bowed before those stronger than themselves while becoming crueler than anyone toward those they considered weak.
They were the kind of people I hated the most.
“Let’s see... the name is Han Mugil. What about his family?”
“Their circumstances aren’t very good.”
I nodded. Just as I expected.
If he had come from a powerful or wealthy family, Kim Junhyeok never would have targeted him like this.
He must have carefully selected someone he could suppress even if things were exposed later.
After organizing the Seven-Gwanggu materials on the table and placing them into the safe, I spoke.
“Let’s go. I’ll see his face myself.”
This was something I could never tell Myungsoo.
Myungsoo himself had also been bullied in high school.
If he learned about this, he’d expose the matter publicly regardless of whether Kim Hyunsik was the nomination committee chairman or not.
You could tell just by looking at the bills Myungsoo proposed after becoming a National Assembly member.
Most of them focused on punishing bullying and school violence.
“Let’s resolve this before Myungsoo finds out.”
In my previous life, Kim Junhyeok’s case only became known because Kim Hyunsik’s son—Kim Junhyeok’s father, Kim Cheolgeun—entered politics.
An opposing candidate publicized the incident, and in the end, Kim Cheolgeun withdrew his candidacy and disappeared from public view.
Kim Cheolgeun currently worked at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. Backed by his father’s influence and his own exceptional political instincts, people said his career would likely end with him becoming Prosecutor General.
In an era overflowing with corruption, a son’s school violence scandal alone wasn’t enough to force a candidate to resign.
However, the fact that Kim Cheolgeun used his position to quietly bury the incident dealt a fatal blow to his morality.
And Kim Hyunsik couldn’t escape responsibility either.
“Where would you like to go first?”
“Let’s meet the victim first.”
Together with Manager Ma, I headed toward Han Mugil’s home.
“Guryong Village?”
Han Mugil lived in Guryong Village. However, his registered address was somewhere else.
“Ha...”
I knew his situation wasn’t good, but to think he lived in a place like this.
Guryong Village, existing right in the middle of Gangnam—the very heart of Seoul.
It was practically a symbol of Seoul’s wealth disparity.
“Please wait here. I’ll have them bring him out, Boss.”
I watched Manager Ma move toward Guryong Village together with his subordinates while sinking briefly into thought.
‘Guryong Village...’
Tower Palace, the ultra-luxury residential complex, stood extremely close to Guryong Village.
The land where Tower Palace was built had once also been a shantytown like Guryong Village, but Ilsung Group purchased the land and constructed luxury residential towers there.
As a result, Tower Palace had become one of Seoul’s representative high-end residential areas.
While I was organizing my thoughts, I suddenly felt someone’s gaze.
A self-defense patrol had appeared near the village entrance. Seeing the wariness filling their faces gave me a glimpse into Guryong Village’s current situation.
After speaking with Manager Ma, the patrol members opened the way.
Manager Ma returned after sending the employees inside.
“What did they say?”
“They asked who we came to see. I gave them Han Mugil’s name and slipped them some money. I didn’t want any trouble, so I handled it on my own judgment. Sorry.”
“No, you handled it well.”
In Guryong Village, where countless interests were tangled together, money ultimately came first.
“Manager. What do you think about developing Guryong Village ourselves? Don’t we own some land there too?”
If I remembered correctly, when we received real estate assets from Chairman Jang of Hyeonbo Group, we also acquired land around Guryong Village.
“Yes. We do.”
“Good. Look into the land ownership situation in Guryong Village and find out who owns what.”
“Yes. I’ll investigate as soon as we return.”
At that moment, I saw one student walking down together with our employees from the distance.
It was Han Mugil—the same face I had seen in the photograph.
Manager Ma stepped out of the car. The moment Han Mugil saw his size, he visibly flinched.
“Manager. You brought him.”
“Yes.”
Manager Ma addressed Han Mugil. Upon receiving his gaze, Han Mugil lowered his head entirely.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Manager Ma spoke in an unexpectedly gentle voice.
“Han Mugil.”
“Huh? Y-Yes?”
“We’re not here to hurt you, so don’t be too nervous. Someone wanted to see you.”
“M-Me?”
I lowered the slightly opened car window and continued after Manager Ma.
“Student. Get in the car first.”
Han Mugil’s eyes shook.
His gaze was filled with anxiety and caution.
“We came because of Kim Junhyeok.”
“J-Junhyeok? I don’t know anything.”
“We already know everything. Just get in. People are watching.”
The self-defense patrol members were staring at us.
“Please get in, Mugil.”
Manager Ma opened the door for him, and after hesitating for a long while, Han Mugil reluctantly climbed into the car.
He sat beside me with his head lowered deeply.
“Manager. Let’s go somewhere quiet.”
“Yes.”
The car carrying Han Mugil left Guryong Village.
Only after arriving at the parking garage of one of my buildings did I finally speak.
“Han Mugil. Or should I call you student? Well, I’m older than you, so would it be alright if I spoke casually?”
Han Mugil, who had remained silent with his head lowered the entire time, nodded.
Was he naturally this timid?
“Alright, Mugil. I came because I want to help you. I know you’re being bullied at school.”
At the word bullied, Han Mugil immediately raised his head and shook it frantically.
“Bullied? Nothing like that is happening.”
“You don’t have to lie to me.”
“N-No. Really.”
I placed my hand on Han Mugil’s shoulder and spoke calmly.
“I’m trying to help you. So something like this never happens again. Look at me.”
Han Mugil’s shoulders were trembling.
The typical demeanor of a school violence victim.
The perpetrators walked confidently through the streets while the victims couldn’t even raise their heads and became withdrawn.
Suddenly, I thought of Myungsoo, and my voice softened even more.
“Won’t you tell me for your grandmother’s sake? I was also raised by my grandmother, so this doesn’t feel like someone else’s problem to me.”
Han Mugil was in the same situation as me.
Both his parents had passed away, and he lived with his grandmother.
“I’m someone who can help you. Trust me. The kids bullying you? They’re nothing to me.”
“......”
“If you want to help yourself, look at me and say it. Say you want to escape that hell. Then just tell me everything that happened.”
After my persistent persuasion continued, Han Mugil slowly turned and looked into my eyes.
Fear still filled his trembling gaze.
“I don’t lie. And I don’t make promises I can’t keep. It probably feels strange hearing this from someone you met for the first time today, doesn’t it?”
“...Yes.”
“So I’ll be honest. I know Kim Junhyeok’s grandfather personally. But I think Kim Junhyeok could end up hurting him. That’s why I want you to continue keeping your mouth shut in the future.”
I wasn’t trying to help this kid simply because I pitied him.
I just wanted to resolve things before the bullying worsened further.
Before he made a terrible choice.
“I’m not helping you out of pure goodwill either. I’m stepping in for that man’s sake. So if our interests align, wouldn’t it be better for us to work together?”
At my honest words, Han Mugil, who had been breathing anxiously, suddenly stilled.
Even the trembling in his eyes settled down.
So he wasn’t naturally timid after all.
“...How are you going to help me?”
“How should I help? Should I transfer Kim Junhyeok to another school? Should I punish the kids who bullied you? Or should I get you compensation money?”
“I want an apology.”
The unexpected answer made me furrow my brow without realizing it.
“An apology?”
“Yes. Even if Junhyeok transfers schools, that doesn’t erase the fact that he bullied me. I want a sincere apology and a promise that he’ll never involve himself with me again.”
Well now.
Han Mugil wanted the one thing Kim Junhyeok would probably find most unbearable.
“To be honest, even you know that’s the hardest thing to get. The Junhyeok you know doesn’t seem like the type to apologize.”
“No. That’s why I want to see it. Money? I don’t need that. I just want an apology.”
“......”
Honestly, asking for money would’ve been the easiest option.
His bold response made my head throb slightly. Were kids these days all like this?
“What if Kim Junhyeok refuses to apologize?”
“Then I don’t want your help. And I realized something this time. That I’m Kim Junhyeok’s weakness.”
Interesting.
For a moment, it even felt like the corners of Han Mugil’s lips had curled upward slightly.
I silently stared at him.
“Will you help me?”
Han Mugil wasn’t someone who suffered because he was weak.
He simply lacked power.
In fact, he was sharp.
From just a few words I had spoken, he fully understood the leverage he possessed and knew how to use it.
“Alright. A sincere apology and a promise never to bother you again. That’s enough?”
Han Mugil nodded slowly but firmly.
“Does your grandmother know about this?”
“No. She doesn’t.”
“That’s fortunate. If she found out, it would break her heart.”
“That’s why I’ve endured it. Otherwise... I probably would’ve done something too.”
Han Mugil spoke in a voice firm as steel.
A kid like this chose death on his own?
There might have been hidden circumstances behind his death too.
“Alright. I’ll make sure you get what you want. It’d be best if you went home for today. Manager, have the employees drive him back.”
Manager Ma nodded and stepped out of the car to open the rear door.
Before getting out, Han Mugil looked directly at me and spoke.
“Mister. I don’t know who you are, but I’ll trust you.”
After stepping out of the car, Han Mugil got into another vehicle together with the employees.
I turned toward Manager Ma after he climbed back into the car.
“Manager. What do you think about him?”
“He’s a child without power, but definitely not a weak child.”
“Right? And of all things, he picked the hardest demand possible. He also knows exactly what kind of weapon he possesses.”
“What do you plan to do, Boss?”
“What do you mean what? We made a promise, so we should keep it. A businessman lives on trust.”
Should I go directly to Kim Junhyeok?
Or should I meet Kim Junhyeok’s father instead?
No matter what, Professor Kim Hyunsik absolutely could not learn about this.
Because if he did, he was the type of man who would voluntarily step down on his own.
