Who’s the Real Trash? - Chapter 13.2

Chapter 13.2

Yeongshin frowned and glared sideways. He usually made that expression when someone hit the nail on the head.

“So, what kind of case is it that you wanted my advice on today?”

“We’ll talk about that while looking at the materials inside. It’s a long story.”

Yeongshin said, burying his face back into his coat collar. Heeju nodded. She knew that half of it was just an excuse to get her to come out. She pretended not to know and agreed to the meeting because this time, Yeongshin seemed genuinely ready to file a missing person report at the police station.

“Since it’s cold, should we go through the main building?”

“Sure.”

The two of them entered the medical school building to escape the cold. As they felt the warm air and stretched their bodies that had been hunched up, they suddenly heard the urgent sound of footsteps behind them.

“Excuse me! Coming through. Sorry.”

Heeju was jostled to the side by the crowd rushing in. Fortunately, Yeongshin immediately grabbed her arm, preventing her from falling flat on the lobby floor.

“What’s going on…? Why are there so many people?”

It was the first time the medical school lobby was this crowded. The lobby, usually quiet, was bustling with a crowd, and a large banner hung from the ceiling. There were even some reporters with cameras.

“Oh, there’s some event today. You know, the annual medical school development fund donation ceremony that happens around this time.”

Heeju instinctively stopped walking as she looked in the direction Yeongshin pointed. She saw a man on the stage shaking hands with the dean of the medical school and other professors. He was someone Heeju knew well, yet his presence here was very unexpected.

Why is that man here…?

It had been a week. Kwon Gukhyun, dressed in an elegant suit, was receiving a barrage of camera flashes with a gentle smile on his face. His demeanor, as he made eye contact and responded to greetings from those approaching him, appeared very polite and dignified.

His appearance was so different from the last time Heeju remembered that she couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Is that really the same person?’

“He really is handsome. Do they recruit gangsters based on looks these days?”

“…Huh?”

Yeongshin muttered as he looked at the stage.

“If I looked like that, I wouldn’t do anything that could harm my body. Living off my looks would be much easier, so why not become an actor? With looks like that, who cares about acting skills?”

Seeing Kwon Gukhyun in such an unexpected place left Heeju momentarily stunned, and she turned to Yeongshin.

“Do you know that person?”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that Jungdo Construction is a gangster company? Being an executive there says it all.”

Yeongshin pointed to the banner hanging from the ceiling. Heeju also looked up at the banner. Jungdo Construction. It was at this point that the scale and opulence of the mansion and headquarters, which were beyond luxurious, made sense.

When she heard ‘Director Kwon Gukhyun,’ she thought they had set up some kind of loan company among themselves, giving each other impressive-sounding titles like executive director and managing director. But it wasn’t the kind of make-believe company Heeju had imagined.

Over the past decade or so, Jungdo Construction had grown its influence and expanded its business so aggressively that, in terms of size alone, it was now a legitimate corporation comparable to any holding company.

“It’s called ‘Jungdo Construction,’ but they don’t just do construction. They’ve got a strong hold on distribution, shipbuilding, and maritime sectors too. Lately, even the defense industry is said to be tied up with them.”

Yeongshin gestured lightly toward the stage with his chin.

“They say he’s the one who took on all the dirty work as the gangster company devoured profitable industries one by one, growing into a monstrous size and pretending to be a legitimate conglomerate.”

Gukhyun was receiving a bouquet of flowers prepared by children who only reached his waist. They were kids who had been treated and cured at Korea University’s Children’s Hospital. He bent deeply to pat a child’s head, his touch surprisingly gentle. So he could make such an expression. Heeju felt a bit strange.

“They say the chairman secretly took in a child who was cast out from some chaebol family and adopted him, but I don’t know if that’s true.”

Yeongshin lowered his voice.

“Anyway, they say he gets used like a dog whenever needed, but no matter how hard he tries, the company will eventually be passed down to the chairman’s biological child, right?”