“Hey, I think Junho looks a little surprised. Then again, I was pretty shocked too when I heard you were third-generation Kangho Group.”
The coach was right.
Kangho Group might not have been one of the ten biggest mega-conglomerates in Korea, but it was still a major corporation with well over five trillion won in assets.
If you were third-generation in a company like that, anyone would treat you like a chaebol. And anyone meeting you face-to-face would be shocked.
“Man, cut that out already. I’m just the loser who got pushed out of the succession line. I’m lucky I even got the food company and the resort division. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to sponsor you guys either.”
“Mm. Definitely an unfortunate thing for you, Baekho, but incredible luck for us.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Come on, seriously. My resort business is already going under because of COVID, and now you want me to pull your sponsorship too?”
“Oh, come on~ The pride of Kangho Group, the pride of our gym, the pride of my life, our beloved Representative Kang Baekho, why would you say such a thing? Since you came all this way for once, how about hitting the mitts? I’ll hold for you.”
The owner struck a mitt-holding pose, and Kang Baekho let out a faint laugh.
“No thanks. I came for the year-end dinner anyway, so let’s just go eat. Let’s see... have the health rules loosened up these days? How many people can sit together now?”
At Baekho’s question, a young woman among the suited aides answered calmly.
“Up to eight people per room. How many will be going?”
“How many are coming, then? Oh, Junho, come too. I’m not exactly someone who shows up every day. Lucky you, Junho.”
“Huh? Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Junho nodded before he even really thought about it.
But inside—
'This is even better.'
He had no idea what kind of joke fate was playing here, but there was nothing bad about this situation.
If anything, it was a perfect opportunity.
'Cross the river from Namyangju and you’re in Gwangju, Gyeonggi right away. Kang Baekho is the man who led the biggest survivor group there.'
And calling it just a survivor group almost felt inadequate. He had led thousands of people. Maybe even tens of thousands.
In other words, in the apocalypse, he had been a ruler who possessed everything needed to keep a large population alive—food, drinking water, power, equipment, infrastructure.
As someone planning to build a shelter in Namyangju, Junho needed to learn more about this man somehow.
At the very least, it would be good to figure out what kind of person he was.
“All right, let’s go. It’s been a while, so this one’s on me.”
His appearance definitely had the polished air of a third-generation chaebol, but he wasn’t the arrogant, cold chaebol type you saw in movies and dramas.
Quietly, Junho followed after Kang Baekho, whose clean-cut looks and easygoing personality made him seem likable at a glance.
***
“Let’s see. One whole Korean beef set? What’s that?”
“It’s two hundred grams of every cut put together. One point two kilos total.”
The owner of the Korean beef grill restaurant greeted Kang Baekho with a bright smile.
Her place had been quiet for a while because of the pandemic, so of course she was thrilled when a group of more than ten big, well-built men came in and took two private rooms.
“Oh, really? Then bring four of those to start, one for each room. As for alcohol... everyone’s got training tomorrow too, so just give this room two bottles of soju and two bottles of beer. And meals and soft drinks for the full headcount.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll get it ready right away.”
The first round of orders alone ran well over a million won, and the woman looked so excited it was like the corners of her mouth were reaching her ears.
Seeing that, the owner said apologetically,
“Representative Kang, this place is kind of expensive. We could’ve just gone to the pork rib place we usually go to. That place is good too.”
“It’s fine. I don’t come by that often, so I should at least feed you Korean beef. I may be the castoff, but I’m still third-generation chaebol. I had Korean beef yesterday too! And I went to a hotel sauna!”
When Kang Baekho imitated a famous movie line with a perfectly straight face, his girlfriend burst out laughing and lightly smacked his shoulder.
“Pfft! Oh my God, you’re insane.”
“You’re calling your boyfriend insane now? Our Youngmi’s all grown up...”
“I told you to call me Somi. There are people around.”
“Your real name’s on your wiki page. The whole country probably knows it.”
“Tch.”
She shot him a look, pretending to be annoyed.
She was an actress who had once been in a fairly popular girl group.
Junho recognized her from TV himself—she was a celebrity with a decent amount of name recognition—but despite her glamorous looks, she was easygoing and unpretentious, and she blended in with the gym people without any trouble.
But Junho’s gaze stayed fixed on Kang Baekho the whole time.
'Kang Baekho. So far... he just seems like a decent person.'
Junho hadn’t really known much about him to begin with.
All he knew was that after the apocalypse, Baekho had led one of the largest forces in Gwangju—no, in the entire greater Seoul area.
He knew nothing about his personality or character.
But the Kang Baekho he had met in person today seemed much better than expected.
He had the composure and commanding presence you’d expect from a third-generation chaebol, but none of it came with the kind of arrogance that rubbed people the wrong way.
He called himself a castoff, but that was only within the Kangho Group owner family. In Korean society as a whole, he was clearly part of the top 0.1 percent.
And for someone like that to naturally mix with fighters just because he was their sponsor—that wasn’t something money alone could explain.
Maybe it worked on worn-out old men in associations and federations, but hot-blooded young fighters were never going to put up for years with someone arrogant and rotten just because he was third-generation chaebol.
“Hey, don’t overdo it. Just drink something nonalcoholic. You hardly ever drink.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s our Representative Kang... urp... he came after such a long time. If I die from drinking tonight, so be it.”
The owner, who normally barely drank at all, already had his face flushed bright red after just one bottle of soju.
And even then, when he tried to pour himself another glass, Kang Baekho waved him off and stopped him.
“Oh man, here he goes again. Coach Taeyoung, please take the owner outside for a minute.”
“Yes, sir! Sir, why don’t we step out and get some air?”
“I’m fiiine... hey, hey...”
The owner got up, pretending he couldn’t help it as the coach supported him.
“I’ll get my head straight and be right back, so make sure our Representative Kang doesn’t go anywhere, all right?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just go sober up already.”
As he said that, Kang Baekho gave a glance toward one of the aides quietly eating at the end of the table.
The calm-looking female aide set down her chopsticks and followed after the owner and the coach.
From the look of it, they were planning to quietly send the now-tipsy owner home.
'He’s third-generation chaebol, and considerate too...'
Junho nodded to himself.
The more he watched Kang Baekho, the more solid he seemed as a person.
Of course, it was too early to make firm judgments about someone he had only seen for barely over an hour, but at least so far, regardless of Junho’s personal preferences, he seemed like a genuinely decent person by ordinary standards.
“Ah, now that the washed-up old man’s gone, there’s nobody left to drink with me.”
As Baekho said that and looked around, the fighters smiled awkwardly.
Both of them were pros or near-pros, and neither of them normally touched alcohol.
“Sorry, babe. If I didn’t have a shoot tomorrow, I’d drink with you.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. What matters more, the shoot or your aging boyfriend?”
“Oh my God, come on...”
After patting Kim Youngmi on the waist as she pouted, Kang Baekho’s gaze shifted to Junho.
“Ah, Junho, you can drink, right? You’re okay with alcohol?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Great. Then have a drink with me.”
Kang Baekho picked up his glass and started to stand, but Junho quickly rose first.
“No, it’s all right. I’ll come over there.”
It wasn’t because the man was third-generation chaebol.
It was just basic courtesy toward an older man, and although he looked around thirty-three or thirty-four, he was actually in his late thirties—about ten years older than Junho.
Junho took the seat the owner had been using and picked up the soju bottle.
“Please, have a drink.”
“Thank you. You’ve got good manners, Junho.”
Baekho smiled as he held out his glass, looking at Junho with a meaningful gaze.
After Junho poured for him, Baekho returned the favor and filled Junho’s glass.
“Cheers.”
Because it was still during the pandemic, they didn’t clink glasses. They simply raised them and emptied them in one shot.
“Ahh. Nice. Soju really does have its own kind of flavor. Here, have one more.”
“Yes.”
They filled their glasses again and kept talking.
“Did you eat a lot of meat?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I had a really great meal. Thank you.”
“Good. But I heard you’re an office worker? Must be hard, working a company job and still training too.”
“I ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) used to work at an advertising company, but I quit not long ago. Right now I’m taking a short break.”
“Oh, really? Why? You’re at the age when you should be working hardest.”
Junho, whose ability to read people had gone from average to sharper after years in the workforce, caught the meaning behind the words immediately.
'What, some young guy already quit his company job and is just loafing around?' That kind of undertone.
Junho had anticipated a situation like this, so he naturally brought out the answer he had prepared ahead of time.
First, in a calm voice—
“My father passed away in an accident last year.”
“Ah...”
Not only Kang Baekho, but even Kim Youngmi beside him wavered for a moment.
Without giving Baekho time to choose his next words, Junho continued immediately.
“That made me think I should really try doing what I want to do. I spent the last year making plans and preparing while still working. Now I quit so I can make those plans more concrete.”
“Ah... you’ve been through something big. It must’ve been hard.”
“Aww. I’m weak to stories like that. But that’s really admirable, Junho.”
Once their expressions settled back down, Junho smiled faintly.
“It’s nothing. The timing’s different for everyone, but it’s something everybody goes through once. Right now, my brother and I are both doing well. The two of us are living strong.”
“Damn, that’s a man right there. Come on, let’s have a drink.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, I want to drink too!”
“You’ve got a shoot early tomorrow morning, and that’s more important than your boyfriend, right? You should go home and sleep early. Somi, you head out first.”
“It’s not more important than my boyfriend. But... yeah, I should. I’ll call you when I get home. You’re busy with year-end stuff too, so don’t drink too much, okay?”
“Got it.”
Kim Youngmi left with one of the aides, and Junho and Kang Baekho kept trading glasses while making small talk.
After about thirty minutes, everyone was full and looked pleasantly drowsy.
“Sir, should we wrap it up for tonight?”
“Yeah, maybe we should. Let’s get up.”
Everyone got up all at once and stepped out of the room, and the group in the room next to them came out at the same time.
“Sir, I’ll take care of the bill—”
“No, no. I’ll use my personal card for this. The company’s having a hard time too, so I shouldn’t go throwing the corporate card around.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kang Baekho waved off the aide and personally took out his card from his wallet to pay.
That too left an impression on Junho.
“Representative Kang, thanks for the meal today!”
“Thank you! COVID’s almost over now, so please come by the gym more often!”
“Thank you for coming even though you’re so busy!”
When all the large men from the gym greeted him at once, startled looks turned their way from people passing by.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t make a scene for other people. Everybody get going already. I’ve been busy lately, but things will get better next year, so I’ll make time and come by more often. Next year, let’s eat somewhere even better. But anybody who steps into a fight without fire in them gets nothing from me, got it? It’s okay if you lose. Just make it count. In the new year too, bring the fight! You hear me? Hang on and survive, like our stubborn Kangho Resort! Okay?”
“Yes, sir!”
The gym people answered loudly, then headed off in small groups.
Normally, they would have stayed until the sponsor left first, but the atmosphere was relaxed because they knew what kind of person Kang Baekho was.
And that, too, was important information to Junho.
'No obsession with authority, and the kind of personality that puts the people around him at ease.'
It still wasn’t certain, but Junho could roughly imagine how Kang Baekho had led that survivor group in Gwangju.
The leadership he had developed as a third-generation chaebol and an executive running two companies.
He was tolerant, but firm when necessary. He knew how to reward clearly. And he was approachable enough to casually strike up a conversation even with an unemployed new gym member he had just met that day.
'The third-generation chaebol title probably helped too, but as a person, he really had everything you’d want in a leader during the apocalypse.'
Leading that many survivors in an apocalypse that brutal and savage was not something just anyone could do.
Of course, there were also plenty who ruled through violence.
No—far more than plenty. That was the norm.
But Junho had seen what happened to groups like that, over and over.
They were betrayed by insiders holding grudges. Or they collapsed helplessly under outside attacks because their members were passive, slave-like followers.
Most groups were like that when not only the ordinary members, but even the leader’s close people, didn’t truly follow from the heart.
'Good. We made a good impression on each other today. Even if we meet again after the apocalypse starts, at least we won’t start out throwing punches.'
This had been a gathering he came to by chance.
Even if he was the gym sponsor, how many times would Junho ever really see someone like Kang Baekho again, a man who had to be insanely busy running two companies?
Today was probably the first and last time.
So Junho was about to leave with the others, when—
“Huh? Where are you going? You and I should have one more drink.”
“...???”
Even after nearly two full bottles of soju, Kang Baekho still looked completely fine as he stopped Junho.
