“···Wh-What are you talking about?”
Flustered, the elderly gentleman glared fiercely at me.
“The waste oil storage tank buried underground. Is that not an unreported illegal installation? It seems you simply buried it without demolishing it. Do you not know that it has completely ruptured right now and is contaminating the soil?”
“···I-I asked you what on earth you are talking about?!”
“You would know better than anyone, sir. Even though it is spring, not a single blade of grass is growing there. It must have been nice not having to do any weeding.”
The elderly gentleman's face turned red and blue.
“Where do you get off spouting such nonsense! My factory is clean!”
“Is that so? Then shall I report it to the district office right this instant and have them check? Are you confident?”
As my voice sank to a chilly tone, the elderly gentleman's mouth clamped shut.
Sure enough, the diary app's records were flawless.
“Even aside from that, it is a piece of land with plenty of problems. When I checked the road access, it is practically landlocked property where a new building cannot even be built.”
“What?! Calling a corner lot on a four-way intersection landlocked?! What kind of cheap trick are you trying to pull?!”
The reason I had been able to slash the price down to 8 billion won three years ago.
I drew a bold red line across the road on the cadastral map.
“There is a section here that is not even 4 meters wide. Do you know what this means? Heavy equipment has to come in to put up a building, and entry itself is impossible. Under the Building Act, a new construction permit will not be issued.”
The old real estate broker's jaw dropped wide open.
“I-Is that true?”
“Why are you acting like this? Does the man called the Land Ghost of Mullae-dong broker deals without even checking something like that? This is a clear-cut brokerage malpractice incident. If a lawsuit is filed later, are you going to take responsibility?”
One thing had become certain.
The old real estate broker wasn't an accomplice, just an ignorant man.
Sure enough, years of experience didn't necessarily equal competence.
Even so, I had no intention of going easy on him.
Now it was time to use one barbarian to catch another.
“What were you thinking? For someone who has spent his entire life doing real estate in Mullae-dong, there is no way you do not know how serious this situation is.”
Turning pale at my rebuke, the real estate agency owner looked at the elderly gentleman.
“S-Sir. Is it true? New construction is impossible? You never mentioned anything about that!”
“N-No! That's··· if you just borrow a bit of the yard from the building next door···.”
“But that place is···.”
The real estate agency owner trailed off.
What good did stopping now do when I already knew all about the building next door?
I already knew the words they were holding back.
The reason I had dropped the Daeyeong Precision site from the fashion outlet candidates three years ago, even after knocking the price down to 8 billion won.
Because unless you bought Seongjin Logistics right next door as well, both properties were practically landlocked.
However, right now I had a diary app that could show me future misfortunes.
If Seongjin Logistics were going to hold me back this time too, something related to it would have been recorded in the diary.
“By the factory next door, do you mean Seongjin Logistics? Are the two landowners not sworn enemies? I heard a deal that was practically finalized fell through once before because the owner over there interfered.”
Unable to even breathe properly, the elderly gentleman just gaped like a fish.
A hidden bomb in the form of a waste oil tank, plus the fatal defect of being unable to build anew.
On top of that, seeing me see right through even the inside circumstances known only to locals must have made him feel stripped completely bare.
It was about time to wrap things up.
Springing up from the sofa, I issued a warning.
“Landlocked property hiding a waste oil tank. To think you tried to pass off trash like this for 12.5 billion won. This is fraud. Outright fraud. I am reporting this immediately.”
The real estate agency owner clung to my right arm.
“…Wh-Where do you think you are going, sir! Let us talk for just a moment···.”
The old building owner clung to my left arm.
“W-Wait! Wait just a moment! I-It was all my fault!”
Had they spent their lives eating only the finest health foods?
The old men sure had a strong grip.
Wearing a deep smile invisible to their eyes, I walked slowly toward the exit.
The two men trailed along, clinging to me comically.
Desperate bargaining spilled out of the old building owner's mouth.
“Look here, young boss! Let's act like gentlemen! Huh? 8 billion won! How about 8 billion won? Huh?”
This was fun.
In less than an hour, I had earned 4.5 billion won.
Though it was still far from enough.
“Like gentlemen? Was the way you acted toward me gentlemanly?”
“···I-I was wrong. Truth be told, 12.5 billion won was a price I set a long time ago. I was going to knock it down for you anyway. So please, reconsider. Don't they say it's best to keep things amicable? I'll let you have it for 8 billion won. Wouldn't that much be plenty?”
I coldly shook off his hand.
These people still hadn't come to their senses.
“8 billion won is the exact amount Seongun Group offered three years ago, isn't it?”
His jaw dropped as if it would never stop.
“···H-How do you know about that······?”
What would happen if he found out that I was the very person who had discovered the road width issue and slashed the price back then?
An ambulance, not an older-model Equus, would be coming to pick him up.
Though I had no intention of bothering civil servants who were already busy enough.
“Does it matter how I found out? What matters is that I know the reason Seongun gave up on it.”
The price had dropped by 4.5 billion won in an instant, but it still had a long way to go before reaching the figure I had in mind.
“You have no shame at all. Seongun set the price at 8 billion won when they had no idea a massive amount of waste oil was buried underground. Or to be more precise, it was the amount offered before the factory next door interfered. Is that not right?”
The elderly gentleman's pupils trembled rapidly.
Land that had been priced at 8 billion won due to the road width issue, only for the contract to fall through because of Seongjin Logistics' interference.
And on top of that, even the waste oil problem had now been exposed.
Unable to even speak properly, the elderly gentleman could only twitch his lips.
It seemed he had finally realized it.
That I had been looking right at every single card in his hand without missing one.
“5 billion won. And even this is being generous. If everything we have discussed so far gets out, no one will buy it for over 5 billion won.”
“······.”
The once-imposing old man's head drooped weakly.
This is the result you brought upon yourself.
Trying to pocket 12.5 billion won and bolt to the United States, of all things.
“Do you think I am being too harsh? When you combine the impossibility of expansion with the waste oil, knocking off 3 billion won seems like a reasonable compromise.”
“···I-It's not that, but couldn't you give me just one day to think it over?”
A move whose ulterior motive was painfully obvious.
He must have thought of Seongun, which hadn't known about the buried waste oil.
He was probably calculating that he could get more from them than the 5 billion won I had offered.
I hadn't planned on revealing my identity if I didn't have to, but it seemed he wasn't going to give up so easily.
“Are you planning to contact Seongun again? To ask if they might be willing to buy it for 6 or 7 billion won?”
“···N-No, just who on earth are you······?”
“If that is what you are thinking, there is no need to call them. Because I would be the one answering that call. My introduction is a bit late.”
I opened my wallet and held out a business card.
[Seongun Group Commercial District Analysis Team, Manager Kang Jin-hyeok.]
In this situation, the power my business card carried was truly immense.
“I was also the one who set that price three years ago. Do you still need more time?”
With even his last thread of hope snapped, he sank straight to the floor.
“There is no need to look for other buyers either. I will personally go around spreading the word about just how many problems that land has. Surely you are not thinking of selling it while hiding those facts, are you? Seongun's power is formidable. You might have to spend the rest of your life in prison.”
The moment the word prison came out, the real estate agency owner stepped up eagerly to persuade the building owner.
“Sir. If problems like these come to light, even 5 billion won might be difficult to get. You need to make up your mind. Okay?”
Sure enough, it seemed the old real estate broker hadn't known about the waste oil.
Even so, I had no intention of treating him kindly.
A position where incompetence caused harm to others.
That was true for me as a commercial district analyst, and it was just as true for him as a real estate broker.
“Shall I give you time to think? Though I cannot guarantee what decision I might make in the meantime.”
Biting his lip so hard it nearly bled, the old man bowed his head weakly.
It was over.
I had hoped simply to buy it for under 8 billion won, and yet by learning of the buried waste oil, I had slashed the price by an additional 3 billion won.
Would the old building owner still leave for the United States as planned?
It would be wonderful if, before he left, I could show him the sight of the building he sold for 5 billion won soaring in value to over 20 billion won.
***
“Division Head. It is Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun.”
Summoned by the Division Head, Seok-hun carefully opened the door to the Division Head's office and stepped inside.
In his hand was the Mullae-dong 3-ga commercial district analysis report with only the name changed.
“Come over here and have a seat.”
Division Head Baek Kang-jin.
He was the man who, alongside the Chairman, had built the group into what it was today.
A man more than qualified to serve as company President had taken charge of the Integrated Development Division.
The reason was simple.
The presidency had to be held by someone who could lead the company for a long time.
With his retirement approaching, Kang-jin had left the President's seat completely vacant and focused solely on normalizing the company.
Kang-jin's objective was clear.
To restore Seongun Development, which had strayed far too wide from the group's founding values, back to normal.
For that to happen, change had to start with the Integrated Development Division, the core department of Seongun Development.
That was why he had transferred the previous department heads to other affiliates and promoted Senior Managers to Team Leaders.
However, was the position itself the problem?
The new Team Leaders were also showing nothing but disappointing behavior, chasing only their own performance numbers.
Actions that paid no regard whatsoever to subcontractors or franchisees, let alone their own subordinates.
It was a sight completely unbecoming of the corporate value established by the Chairman to prioritize mutual growth above all else.
“I called you in because I wanted to hear about what happened the other day. I am referring to the Etoile Bakery Sillim branch matter.”
Seok-hun, who had thought he was summoned over the Mullae-dong report, flinched in surprise.
Because it was both the place where Jin-hyeok had caused trouble and a site whose commercial district Seok-hun had analyzed himself.
“Are you referring to the complaint calls that came in? We convened a disciplinary committee and handled that matter.”
“I am aware. That is not what I wish to ask about. I simply found it rather odd that an Etoile Bakery was approved for a location like that in the first place.”
Thinking the inevitable had finally arrived, Seok-hun squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.
“Well, there is heavy foot traffic of office workers there as well, so on paper, the data showed it to be a good location.”
“No. I am not trying to scold you for misanalyzing the commercial district. Anyone can make a mistake. What I wish to speak about is the follow-up management. Strictly speaking, that would be the Franchise Operations Team's job, yet that was not the case this time.”
Unable to tell whether it was a reprimand or not, Seok-hun quietly waited for his next words.
“What I felt from this incident is that even for matters under the Franchise Operations Team, having the assistance of the Commercial District Analysis Team can produce better results. It is also a commendable example of correcting one's own mistake firsthand.”
Realizing it wasn't a reprimand, Seok-hun bowed his head with a slightly more relaxed heart.
“You are quite right, Division Head. Whenever there is anything we can do to help, we will gladly assist.”
“Indeed. One must not act as though a matter is none of one's business simply because it has left one's hands. Though, of course, procedures must not be violated as they were this time.”
“I will keep that firmly in mind, Division Head. And I will pay even closer attention to managing my team members.”
“Speaking of which, what sort of fellow is that Manager Kang Jin-hyeok?”
Learning that the target was Manager Kang Jin-hyeok and not himself, Seok-hun breathed an inward sigh of relief.
Having spent his whole career reading his superiors' moods, Seok-hun could tell.
Judging by the flow of the conversation, the only fault that could fall on Seok-hun was failing to properly manage his team member.
“His work ability is not bad, but he has a rather stubborn streak. Just like with this incident, there are times when he does not follow instructions, but I will manage him properly.”
Kang-jin's eyebrow twitched.
It had been a year since he took charge of the Integrated Development Division.
Not once had praise for a subordinate ever come out of Seok-hun's mouth.
The type who always calculated only his own gains and losses.
There wasn't a shred of the leadership required of a department head in him.
Seok-hun had completely failed to grasp the other man's intentions.
It was simply baffling how someone with this level of competence had climbed all the way to Senior Manager.
“I am asking why he acted that way when he must have known full well that he himself would suffer the consequences. Surely a ten-year Manager would have anticipated that much?”
“…Th-That is…….”
Unable to come up with a suitable answer right away, Seok-hun's mind raced.
He had to say what the other man wanted to hear.
In his eyes, the Division Head seemed to be looking to criticize Manager Kang Jin-hyeok's actions.
To look like a proper department head, he had to make it look as though he were taking responsibility for his subordinate's wrongdoing while still pinning the flaw on him.
“It seems to be a sort of habit or disposition of his. He ought to always put the company first, yet whenever he sees the weak, he cannot seem to hold himself back. I should have paid closer attention; I apologize, Division Head.”
Once again, Seok-hun was barking up the completely wrong tree.
It was the exact moment the Division Head, realizing there was no point talking further with him, decided to speak with Jin-hyeok directly.
“…I see. Let us drop that topic. By the way, what is that you are holding in your hand?”
“It is the Mullae-dong commercial district analysis report you instructed me to prepare.”
Relieved to escape the somewhat uncomfortable topic, Seok-hun held out the report.
[Mullae-dong 3-ga Commercial District Analysis Report]
As the Division Head turned the first page, his eyes narrowed.
Having taken an interest in Manager Kang Jin-hyeok because of the Etoile incident, the Division Head had looked into his past work.
The contents were completely identical to Jin-hyeok's report, which he had read just a day earlier.
“Did you write this yourself, Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun?”
“Yes, I did, Division Head.”
“Huhu…. My word.”
“Is there some problem……?”
“Not at all. I shall take my time reading through this. More importantly, could you send Manager Kang Jin-hyeok in to see me?”
Cold sweat trickled down Seok-hun's spine.
He was asking for Jin-hyeok the moment he saw the Mullae-dong report.
Because the Division Head had only ever spoken with department heads over the past year, it was all the more puzzling.
‘Don't tell me I got caught? There's no way….’
The Mullae-dong commercial district analysis report had been written long before he arrived as Division Head.
There was no way he could know about it unless he had dug through old archives.
Unable to hide his unease, Seok-hun asked cautiously.
“May I ask what this is regarding?”
“There are a few things I wish to ask him regarding the Etoile matter. I think I ought to hear the thoughts of the person directly involved.”
Hearing that it wasn't because of the report, Seok-hun cheered inwardly.
The Etoile Sillim branch incident.
It seemed the Division Head intended to reprimand him over the incident that had resulted in a three-month pay cut.
“Understood, Division Head. He left early today, so I will tell him to come see you first thing tomorrow morning.”
“No. I have external business tomorrow, so tell him to come the morning after tomorrow.”
“Understood, Division Head.”
Bowing at a 90-degree angle, Seok-hun stepped out of the Division Head's office with a much lighter heart.
Seok-hun never dreamed that the original Mullae-dong commercial district analysis report written by Jin-hyeok was sitting right inside Kang-jin's desk drawer.
***
I had never once imagined a day like this would come in my life.
A 5-billion-won contract.
Holding the contract that was hard to believe even while looking right at it, I stepped out of the real estate agency.
I entrusted the remaining paperwork to a judicial scrivener I knew.
The judicial scrivener said he could wrap up all the procedures in a single day.
It felt refreshing.
I had become a building owner, something I hadn't even dared to dream of before.
The process of buying up Seongjin Logistics wouldn't be easy, of course, but the diary app remained completely clean.
That meant the future me would find a way somehow.
I decided to leave tomorrow's matters to tomorrow's me, and let today's me fully enjoy what little remained of today.
A somewhat modest flex.
Instead of the neighborhood market I always went to, I parked my car at a large hypermarket.
The first place I stopped by was the electronics section.
After strapping the latest smartwatch—something I had always considered a luxury—onto my wrist, I synced it with the diary app.
So that my wrist would vibrate the instant a new diary entry was registered.
Next was the Johnnie Walker Blue Label I had wanted to taste for so long.
Instead of the 50,000-won Black Label I drank only on rare occasions, I picked up a bottle of Blue Label costing a whopping 300,000 won.
For a side dish, assorted sushi.
Instead of sushi plastered with layers of discount stickers as closing time approached, I picked up freshly made sushi and headed to the checkout counter.
A total of 750,000 won.
After casually paying an amount close to double my monthly rent, I returned home.
“Kugh-. That hits the spot.”
The fiery warmth of the hard liquor spread through my entire body.
A sense of leisure I was feeling for the very first time in my life.
I was under the illusion that the stars, which had always felt so indifferent, existed just for me.
What if this happiness had gone to Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun instead?
I didn't know what came after that diary entry, but I probably wouldn't have been able to live in my right mind.
Tomorrow was a workday.
I had snatched the lottery ticket away and become a building owner, but I still had no intention of quitting the company.
First, I was going to use Seongun's power to do all the things I wanted to do.
Preparing to start my own business could be done slowly.
As long as I ignored Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun, there was no one to bother me.
With no stress, there was no need to quit the company right away.
Is this the power of money?
Now that my pockets were full, the company I had been so sick and tired of felt like a fun playground.
I was going to do everything I wanted to do.
Because if they tried to stop me, I could just walk out then.
Looking up at the night sky from a place that was still a bit low, I raised my mug filled with whiskey.
Shall I record a diary entry?
My very own emotional trash can.
A dark bamboo forest where I had always poured only profanity, lamentations, or curses aimed at someone.
However, today was different.
I pressed the record button and, for the first time in my life, recorded happiness.
[Monday, March 9th. Today is the best day of my life.
I became a building owner. Right now it's an old factory building, but I'm going to put up my very own high-rise there.
It doesn't get any better than this. It was truly an insanely happy day.]
At the time, I had no idea what kind of result this change in my behavior would bring about.
While I was asleep.
Having tasted happiness for the first time, the diary app began its first update.