An Youngsoo soon averted his gaze and stepped out of the elevator.
I brought him into the hotel room and sat facing him.
Steam curled up from the coffee that Manager Ma had ordered his n to prepare in advance.
Watching it idly, I leaned back against the sofa and folded my arms.
Perhaps recalling the humiliation he’d just suffered, An Youngsoo’s face was stiff and rigid.
Just as I suspected, he seed to be a man steeped in authoritarianism down to the bone.
People like that never reflect on their own rudeness.
They obsess only over the fact that their authority has been scratched.
“Go on. Let’s hear it. I don’t have much ti. Leaving my grandmother’s seventieth birthday banquet for too long is discourteous to her and to the guests who ca. Since you’re a man who values manners, Mayor An Youngsoo, I trust you’ll understand.”
I deliberately mocked the word manners he had just been lecturing Myungsoo about.
There was no way An Youngsoo didn’t grasp the aning behind my words. His expression grew even harsher.
“President Kim Muhyuk. What exactly are you trying to do here? I ca to congratulate your grandmother on her seventieth birthday—”
“We clearly declined. We told you that no politicians, and no one from the business world either, would be attending. Do you think you were the only one who wanted to co to this banquet? If anything, you’re late, Mayor. We even turned down National Assembly mbers from Seoul who wanted to attend.”
An Youngsoo smacked his lips, apparently at a loss for words. Watching him, I unfolded my arms and leaned forward.
“Do you know why? Because today is a day ant entirely for my grandmother. I didn’t want her acquaintances to feel uncomfortable, and as her grandson, I wanted to celebrate her seventieth birthday purely and completely. Do you think everyone else stayed away because they lacked the sense to co? No. They stayed away because they didn’t want to be on bad terms with —and because they respected . But you, Mayor, who has no connection to at all, dared to barge in and disrupt the celebration. Did you really think I would welco you?”
At my icy tone, An Youngsoo sucked in a sharp breath.
In my previous life, and in this one as well, I had never t An Youngsoo even once.
If there had been even the slightest point of contact—if he’d co trying to get sothing from —I might have understood.
But to , An Youngsoo was nothing more than an uninvited intruder who had crashed my grandmother’s seventieth birthday.
“······As the Mayor of Busan, it’s part of my job to attend various events. A seventieth birthday? If necessary, I’d even go to a first birthday. And yet, just because I showed up to a re seventieth birthday without an invitation, I deserve to be treated like this—”
“A re······? Did you just say re?”
I cut him off and glared at him.
In my previous life, Grandma had suffered endlessly because of before passing away suddenly.
In this life, she had safely reached her seventieth birthday. To , nothing was more important than this.
“Yes. To you, Mayor, it might look like nothing more than a re birthday banquet. But to , it’s more important than anything else. Important enough that even if the President himself called right now, I wouldn’t go. And yet you—who aren’t even the President—dare to try and ruin sothing that matters to .”
“Watch your words, young man! I am An Youngsoo, the Mayor of Busan! In Busan, I am the king, and I am the law!”
When An Youngsoo slamd the table and shouted, the guards standing behind us all turned their heads at once.
I felt him flinch—but instead of backing off, I leaned in closer and stared him down.
“Yes, well. I understand why you’ve grown so arrogant when everyone fawns over you and there’s nothing to gamble for your position. I’m sure you’re welcod wherever you go. But that’s only by people who want sothing from you. I want nothing from you, Mayor. What exactly could a Busan mayor, reduced to acting as Han Jiho’s ssenger, possibly offer ?”
At so point, Manager Ma had moved to stand behind .
He stared at An Youngsoo expressionlessly.
Yet the murderous intent filling his eyes was thick enough to make a man’s knees tremble.
Caught in that gaze, An Youngsoo stiffened and clamped his mouth shut.
“Do you understand now why people accepted my refusal without protest? Well, there are probably several reasons Chairman Han Jiho sent you. Either he didn’t properly grasp who I am, or he deliberately sent you to absorb my anger in his place. In any case, that’s not what matters to . What matters is deciding what to do with the person standing in front of right now.”
I spoke casually and leaned back into the sofa.
“There’s no need to dance around it. I want to get back to the banquet as soon as possible, so I’ll be blunt. What exactly did Chairman Han Jiho tell you?”
“······.”
An Youngsoo’s lips moved slightly, but no words ca out.
People like him always reacted the sa way when the authority they trusted so completely failed them.
When they encountered soone who wasn’t crushed under their authority, they had no idea what to do.
That was especially true of local power brokers.
If politics in Yeouido was the wilderness itself, then influential local politicians ruled their own yards like absolute kings.
“Mayor. If you have nothing to say, then get up. Don’t waste my valuable ti.”
At my words, An Youngsoo furrowed his brow, clearly torn.
Whether to stand up and leave—or to swallow his pride and deliver Han Jiho’s ssage.
In the end, he chose to deliver it.
“······Chairman Han Jiho said he’ll be coming down to Busan in person tomorrow. He asked that you make ti for him.”
He stirred up all this trouble and sent the Mayor of Busan over just to set up an appointnt?
Han Jiho must really be desperate.
“Is that all?”
“That’s all I was told to convey.”
“And the reason he wants to et ? You’re telling a man of your stature moved just to deliver that, without even knowing why?”
After causing such an uproar, all he brought was a request for ti—nothing more.
An Youngsoo bit his lip, his pride clearly wounded, and nodded.
“······He said it was an important /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ matter.”
“So you’re saying he didn’t tell you a single word about this ‘important matter,’ and simply sent you to arrange a eting with .”
“There are things that are better known, and things that are better left unknown. That’s politics, isn’t it? The more you try to know everything, the deeper you sink into the mire. If it were sothing ant for , he would’ve told . The fact that he didn’t ans the Chairman has his own reasons.”
He hadn’t spent his years in politics for nothing. I nodded faintly at his words.
If I wanted to know what Han Jiho planned to say, it seed I’d have to et him.
“Very well. You may leave now.”
“He told to get a definite answer.”
“Tell him to co here tomorrow at 6 p.m.—to the very seat you’re sitting in right now.”
Before An Youngsoo could say anything else, I stood up first.
“I will never forget today’s rudeness.”
eting my cold gaze, An Youngsoo rose as well and muttered,
“······You disregard to the very end.”
“I didn’t disregard you, Mayor. You disregarded . If you’d contacted beforehand, none of this would have happened.”
“You’ll regret this soday. I am An Youngsoo—An Youngsoo. There’s no one more powerful than in Busan. If innocent people over there suffer because of you, don’t bla .”
Threatening , of all people?
It had been a while—almost refreshing.
That alone told he had no idea who I really was.
I looked at An Youngsoo and curled my lips into a thin smile.
“Bla······? Interesting. I discarded that emotion a long ti ago. Why would I need sothing like bla? All one has to do is drag the other person down and grind them into the dirt.”
After finishing my parents’ revenge, what I felt wasn’t satisfaction—but emptiness.
I no longer bla anyone. I simply return more than I was given.
“Young man. You’re far too arrogant. One day, you’ll pay dearly for it. Rice bows its head as it ripens—but you don’t seem to have learned that yet. Even your grandfather wasn’t this stiff-necked······.”
Hearing my grandfather ntioned by soone who’d thrown manners to the gutter caught off guard.
The unexpected turn piqued my interest.
“Did you know my grandfather well?”
“Of course I did. How could I not? Cheon Taesan. The loan shark king of Myeongdong. When it ca to mobilizing cash, even chaebol chairn couldn’t beat him. There were hardly any politicians who didn’t owe him sothing—mind you, I an the elders of the past, not today’s lot. In any case, even Cheon Taesan never treated this rudely. And yet his grandson, his heir, turns out to be so high-handed. I’m deeply disappointed. I had high expectations for today’s eting.”
An Youngsoo smacked his lips and extended his hand.
“Let warn you. Next ti, you’ll be the one coming to find . It was a pleasure eting you, President Kim Muhyuk.”
I thought no one would dare bring up my grandfather directly in front of anymore.
Looks like I’ll have to dig into this man as well. This ti, I didn’t refuse—I took his hand.
“I hope that day cos. I’ll be looking forward to it, Mayor An Youngsoo.”
With an unpleasant look on his face, An Youngsoo ended the handshake, turned on his heel, and left the hotel room.
I let out a deep sigh and sat back down. Even rotten fish is still fish—eting politicians always drains .
Manager Ma approached my side.
“Manager.”
“Yes, Boss. Give the order.”
“Go up to Seoul right away and go through my grandfather’s ledgers. Check whether that man’s na is in there, and dig up any weaknesses you can find. And look into Chairman Han Jiho as well.”
The only people with access to my grandfather’s ledgers—and the records detailing the dirty secrets of politicians and business leaders—were Manager Ma and .
Since I had to stay for Grandma’s seventieth birthday banquet, Manager Ma was the only one who could check the ledgers personally.
“I’ll handle things here, so go.”
Perhaps uneasy about leaving my side, Manager Ma didn’t answer right away.
When I repeated the order, he bowed his head.
“······Understood, Boss. I’ll leave a few of the n here with you.”
“Do that. Don’t rush—take your ti. Hurrying only leads to mistakes. Let’s head back down. More ti has passed than I expected.”
I stood up again and rubbed my face a few tis, loosening the stiff expression.
I didn’t want to show Grandma a hardened face. I kept kneading my cheeks all the way back to the banquet hall.
“Then I’ll be on my way. Please take care of yourself, Boss.”
As I stepped out of the elevator, Manager Ma bowed deeply once more.
That man worries too much.
“Go without worrying.”
Leaving Manager Ma still bowing behind , I headed back into the banquet hall.
Only after seeing people drinking and enjoying themselves as if nothing had happened did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
On a day like this, I wanted Grandma to be left with nothing but good mories. Thankfully.
I crossed the hall and walked toward Grandma.
She was laughing, surrounded by Cheon Jiyoung and her friends.
When she spotted , Grandma asked with a worried look,
“You back, Muhyuk?”
“Yeah.”
“Nothing wrong, right?”
“No. I just feel bad that things got a bit awkward because of .”
“Oh, my baby. No, no. Everyone’s just enjoying themselves without a thought. Don’t say things like that.”
I smiled brightly so Grandma wouldn’t worry and got to my feet.
I walked over to the karaoke machine and picked up the microphone. After turning it on and tapping it a couple of tis, I spoke.
“Thank you all for coming to celebrate my grandmother’s seventieth birthday. While I’m at it, I’ll sing a song for you as well.”
Then I selected a song I’d morized by heart—one Grandma loved.
“Flowers blooming~”
As I started singing the song, also known as the Giants’ cheer song, people stood up and began clapping.
“Wow······.”
I saw Cheon Jiyoung, glued to Grandma’s side, gape in amazent.
I had a pretty good idea what she was thinking and chose to ignore it.
“Jiyoung, is this your first ti hearing Muhyuk sing?” Myungsoo asked her, mischief written all over his face.
“Yes. I’ve never heard him sing before. I had no idea he was this good.”
“He’d have made it big even if he’d beco a singer. I honestly wonder what that bastard can’t do. Sotis I want to crack his skull open and see if he’s really the sa kind of human as us.”
At Myungsoo’s exaggeration, Cheon Jiyoung covered her mouth and laughed.
“Seriously. He’s my brother, but sotis he doesn’t even seem human.”
After finishing the song, I set the microphone down and walked over to Myungsoo.
“Hey, stop hitting on my sister and go sing a song yourself.”
“What the hell are you talking about, you lunatic? Who’s hitting on her?”
Caught red-handed, Myungsoo jumped and imdiately started swearing.
Everyone burst into laughter at his reaction.
Outside, Myungsoo showed a solemn image as a National Assembly mber—but among us, this unguarded side was far more familiar.
“Quit your nonsense and go sing. Grandma likes your singing. After Myungsoo, we’ll start with Hyunseong and have everyone sing one song each.”
I said, looking at my friends.
As if he’d expected this, Hyunseong nodded calmly, but Myungsoo frowned.
“Are you out of your mind? Telling to sing after you? You’re basically telling to die. I’ll look terrible by comparison.”
Myungsoo complained, but Hyunseong shoved him forward from behind.
Unable to withstand the pressure, Myungsoo stepped up, grabbed the microphone, and looked back at .
At that pitiful look, Hyunseong and I both burst out laughing.
Seeing us, Myungsoo scrunched his face, then finally opened his mouth.
“Hah······. The son of Busan! I, Lee Myungsoo, will present a song for you all.”
His reluctance lasted only a mont. Soon, Lee Myungsoo confidently selected a trot song and began singing.
It should’ve been lively, but sohow when Myungsoo sang, it sounded oddly plaintive. Still, the neighborhood folks clapped along happily and sang with him.
And so, Grandma’s seventieth birthday banquet carried on late into the night.
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