Chapter 1518 Specified (3)

“Seriously... Just the sight of this building is giving me the chills, senior,” said Bak Gyu-Yeon playfully while looking up at MK’s headquarters.

Ha Gwang-Sik tutted. “Their building is the only impressive thing, okay?”

“Really? But I thought their boss’s face was pretty dang impressive, too.”

“Tsk...”

When Ha Gwang-Sik tutted again in obvious disapproval of that useless joke, Bak Gyu-Yeon pouted deeply. That wasn’t a joke, though. I really feel that way, senior.

This imposing building standing tall in the middle of Gangnam had this inexplicable power to cower anyone standing in front of it. It was even worse for these two reporters since they knew they’d be interviewing this building’s owner pretty soon.

Ha Gwang-Sik glanced at Bak Gyu-Yeon. “Look, don’t act like this is our first time interviewing the boss of a large company, okay?”

“Sure, but the ones we’ve interviewed so far were all bosses in name only, you know? They were all salarymen at the end of the day. But Kang Jin-Ho really is the owner of this place. This and that aren’t the same, senior. Didn’t you confirm the equity structure of this company?”

“Getting listed on the stock exchange would have laid bare the truth, though...”

“Sure, senior. And going public would make them trillions, too.”

Ha Gwang-Sik didn’t respond to that sarcasm and began walking briskly toward MK’s building.

Of course, they won’t go public. Never.

A company with such a murky background would never try to get listed on a stock exchange. Because it’d need to go public with its inner workings as required by the rules. And doing so would generate too much attention for itself.

Maybe this whole cafe franchise thing is nothing more than a way to launder their capital?

No matter what he tried, Ha Gwang-Sik just couldn’t view things related to Kang Jin-Ho in a positive light.

“Okay, let’s go inside.”

“Alright,” said Bak Gyu-Yeon, his expression tense. It wasn’t only him, however, as Ha Gwang-Sik also carried a somewhat stiff face.

“How can we help you, gentlemen?”

When the two reporters entered the lobby of the building, a burly security guard blocked their path. Ha Gwang-Sik subtly narrowed his eyes at this development. Not because he was stopped so unceremoniously, however.

It didn’t take a genius to guess that countless people walked in and out of a corporation’s HQ building every day. Even a random mid-tier company would see dozens of visitors showing up at its doorway.

However, this security guard instantly picked Ha Gwang-Sik and Bak Gyu-Yeon out as outsiders merely by looking at their faces. That pretty much proved how abnormally closed-off this place was.

“Good day, we’re from the Jae-Il Business News. We have a prior appointment with your chairperson today. For an interview, that is.”

When Bak Gyu-Yeon presented his press pass, the security guard accepted it and began comparing the face in the photo and the face of the real person.

“And who is accompanying you, Mister Bak?”

Bak Gyu-Yeon glanced at his senior reporter. “What are you doing, senior? Show him your pass.”

“Hmm...”

Feeling slightly annoyed now, Ha Gwang-Sik tried to pull out his press card. However, he stopped when someone shouted in his direction.

“Oii! Let those reporters through! Bring them here!”

“Oh, Chief Lee!”

The security guard discovered Lee Hyeon-Su calling out to them and hurriedly bowed at him, then turned around to address the two reporters.

“Please, this way.”

Ha Gwang-Sik glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su, his expression unreadable, when the security guard became much more courteous.

Hmm...? Even though that man doesn’t look like anything special?

The security guard was big enough to wrestle a bear and utterly crush it. People like this guy would always hold a certain level of pride at how manly they were even if they acted all courteous and friendly. In other words, they wouldn’t act all subservient toward someone who looked weaker than they were. Even if that someone held a much loftier societal position than theirs!

Ha Gwang-Sik’s discernment was good enough to differentiate between a submission brought on by societal pressures and a submission caused by something more individualistic. And, as far as he could tell, this security guard wasn’t being submissive due to the other person’s higher position in the hierarchy.

It could mean that that ordinary-looking man had this rough-looking security guard dancing on his palm!

Ha Gwang-Sik narrowed his eyes subtly while studying Lee Hyeon-Su.

Ordinary...? No, he’s not ordinary at all. This is strange...?

After noticing Lee Hyeon-Su’s sharpness, Ha Gwang-Sik walked up to him while smiling like a good-natured uncle. “Good day.”

“Good day to you, too. Welcome to MK.” Lee Hyeon-Su smiled back while offering his hand.

Han Gwang-Sik gripped the offered hand a little harder than usual. “Thank you for letting us snoop around your offices.”

“It’s fine. Although I didn’t approve anything, after all. Besides, it’s not snooping, but a cordial interview.”

Lee Hyeon-Su was implying that the two intrepid reporters were simply here to convey Kang Jin-Ho’s opinions on the matter, not dig into MK’s secrets.

Ha Gwang-Sik’s brows twitched subtly. “Oops. Forgive me. A slip of my stupid tongue there.”

“Oh, no. No need to apologize. Please come this way.”

Lee Hyeon-Su pressed the button on the elevator and ushered the reporters inside once the doors slickly opened. Ha Gwang-Sik entered without complaining, then while staring at his reflection, asked Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Chairman Kang must be worried about the current situation.”

“Don’t even mention it. He’s even skipping out on his meals! With how much he cares about the franchisees, it’s unfortunate but not all that surprising, really.”

“Ah. Ha... haha. He’s not eating well, you say.”

Ha Gwang-Sik couldn’t help but chuckle weakly at that. What a tough customer this guy was.

People usually would get tense, even by a little bit, when facing a reporter for an interview. But never mind being tense, Lee Hyeon-Su was actually cracking jokes instead!

And he hasn’t even given me his business card yet, either.

The timing seemed perfect to exchange business cards, yet he opened the elevator doors instead with such natural smoothness.

Yup, this feels more like the MK I’ve been expecting.

A subtle smirk now formed on Ha Gwang-Sik’s lips. Being here helped him understand the situation even better. Without a shred of doubt, this place... was not a normal company. As for these people? They sure as hell weren’t normal people, either!

It stinks.

A stink indescribably disgusting wafted from every pore of Lee Hyeon-Su. In that case, it should be several times worse with Kang Jin-Ho.

Tting~!

The elevator reached the uppermost floor and opened its doors.

“This way, please.”

“Of course.”

Under Lee Hyeon-Su’s guidance, the two men walked along the corridor heading to the chairman’s office. The corridor’s furnishing was modern and sparse. Some might even say the overall design was a bit too spartan, too.

So, the chairman’s not the type to care about looking good to others.

Most chairpersons Ha Gwang-Sik knew enjoyed decorating the corridors to their offices as flashily as possible. They believed that doing so helped in maintaining and even boosting their prestige. Which wasn’t exactly wrong, if he was being honest about it.

But it seemed Kang Jin-Ho wasn’t interested in such things.

The trio arrived at the chairman’s office, and Lee Hyeon-Su smartly knocked on the door. “Chairman, sir. It’s Lee Hyeon-Su. I’ve brought the reporters.”

“Got it. Show them in.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ha Gwang-Sik reflexively clenched his fist at the voice coming from beyond the doorway. That’s Kang Jin-Ho!

This wasn’t their first encounter, of course. They “ran” into each other during MK’s opening ceremony, after all. However, Ha Gwang-Sik didn’t know a single damn thing about Kang Jin-Ho back then.

He still couldn’t say he knew something about this mysterious young man even now, but at least it was more than what he knew back then. Which meant his second impression was bound to be worlds apart from the first one.

Back then, I figured he’d be just another second-gen chaebol brat, so to think he was actually a super massive Big Fish like this!

The door opened before Ha Gwang-Sik’s eyes, allowing him to peer into the chairman’s office. Tension filled his expression as he scanned its interior. The first impression he got was... spartan. However, that feeling instantly morphed into something else. And that transformation happened when Kang Jin-Ho got up from behind the desk located deeper in the office.

That spartan feeling changed to indescribable weightiness instead.

Kang Jin-Ho, kitted out in a sleek deep navy blue suit and with his hair neatly combed back, strolled around the desk and approached Ha Gwang-Sik.

The veteran reporter bit his lip hard without realizing it. They hadn’t even exchanged a word yet. Technically speaking, a complete stranger was walking up to him, and that should have been it.

So, why was Ha Gwang-Sik feeling this way?

He clamped his mouth shut. What was with this overwhelming sense of presence?

It felt like Kang Jin-Ho’s figure completely and utterly filled this office. Despite encountering countless movers and shakers of various industries over the years, Ha Gwang-Sik had never felt like this before. Not even once!

Even Bak Gyu-Yeon seemed overwhelmed by Kang Jin-Ho’s presence, judging from how much he flinched in silence.

Kang Jin-Ho stopped before Ha Gwang-Sik and offered his hand for a shake, a subtle grin etched on his face. “Good day. I’m Kang Jin-Ho.”

“Oh... A-ah! Y-yes, hello! I’m Ha Gwang-Sik! It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance!”

Ha Gwang-Sik reflexively grabbed and shook Kang Jin-Ho’s hand. The correct etiquette was to present his business card first, but his overwhelmed brain had no leeway to remember that right now.

“Thank you for coming all this way, Mister Ha. I should have been the one to visit your offices, after all. But my work has been keeping me busy lately.”

“N-no, not at all, sir. C-chairman... Uh, please forgive me. I’m not sure how to address you.”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su, but the latter could only stare back while looking somewhat troubled himself.

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned slightly. “I think ‘chairman’ will be fine, sir.”

Thanks to how haphazardly put-together this company was, they still hadn’t settled on the right title for Kang Jin-Ho. The correct term was undoubtedly “chairman,” but the problem with that was how much Kang Jin-Ho disliked being called one. Then again, even Lee Hyeon-Su had to admit that the title did sound a bit old-fashioned.

But, sir. You are a wrinkly old man inside, aren’t you?

Kang Jin-Ho ignored Lee Hyeon-Su’s counsel and offered his take. “Just... call me ‘representative’, please.”

Ha Gwang-Sik weighed his options before nodding. “Then, we’ll stick to ‘representative’, Mister Kang. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to do an interview with us.”

Bak Gyu-Yeon stared weirdly at the back of Ha Gwang-Sik’s head while listening to this exchange. Wow. My senior can be such a funny guy, no?

Before coming here, Ha Gwang-Sik would routinely badmouth Kang Jin-Ho as if he was scratching a bad itch that wouldn’t go away. But now that they were here, he was being extremely polite and affable. Which was totally understandable, of course.

Bak Gyu-Yeon had a feeling he’d never be able to address Kang Jin-Ho casually. Even he could sense himself flinching subtly at every gesture and movement Kang Jin-Ho made, after all.

Yup, this dude is the real deal. A real big fish!

This feeling had nothing to do with Kang Jin-Ho’s position.

Bak Gyu-Yeon had an epiphany after encountering countless people over the years as a reporter. He realized that some people in this world were simply titans even without things like wealth or power backing them up.

In Bak Gyu-Yeon’s view, Kang Jin-Ho was definitely one of those people.

Kang Jin-Ho pointed to empty spots on the couch. “Please, take a seat.”

“Thank you.”

Ha Gwang-Sik and Bak Gyu-Yeon cautiously settled down and watched Kang Jin-Ho relaxedly take up a spot on the couch across them.

Ha Gwang-Sik swallowed his saliva nervously.

This is driving me nuts.

Kang Jin-Ho sitting opposite, not in the seat of honor, was making Ha Gwang-Sik so awkward right now. It’d be only natural for a man like Kang Jin-Ho to commandeer a seat of honor even in places like a cafe, after all!

Kang Jin-Ho spoke first. “You wanted to interview me?”

“S-sorry? Oh, uh... Yes. We wanted to hear your opinion on the restraint of trade against your Caffe Luogo.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled slightly. “That’s interesting. No one asked us to interview me despite all the coverage this incident has received.”

Ha Gwang-Sik sheepishly grinned. “Oh, that... We also didn’t expect much when making the request, sir. But thankfully, you gave us your go-ahead. Us reporters routinely get rejected, you see? And interviewing the people handling the case is usually enough, too.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly turned his head to look at a certain someone in the office. Lee Hyeon-Su, now subjected to an unimpressed gaze from his boss, sneakily looked up at the patterns on the ceiling instead.

Kang Jin-Ho grunted unhappily, then grinned back at the reporters.

Ha Gwang-Sik put on a cramped smile. “Forgive us if we’re inconveniencing you, sir.”

“Not at all. Giving an interview isn’t all that difficult, after all.”

Of course, it was difficult, but Kang Jin-Ho didn’t think he should say that in front of a reporter.

“Then, shall we get started?”

“Of course. Please excuse us.”

Ha Gwang-Sik and Bak Gyu-Yeon began setting up their cameras and a recorder. When that was done, they quickly perused the list of questions they had prepared earlier.

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly called out. “Oh. Please wait.”

“Yes? What is it?”

Ha Gwang-Sik furrowed his brow ever so slightly while staring at Lee Hyeon-Su.

Sometimes, the interviewee or their people would ask to exclude certain lines of questioning before the interview began. They usually didn’t bring that up ahead of time because doing so could cancel the interview altogether, so they would only mention it after the appointment was made.

However, doing so would turn the interview into a window dressing, or more correctly, a waste of time for the reporters involved.

Dang it. In that case, what should I...

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned. “Please do not forget your promise of plastering our chairman’s face on the front page of your newspaper!”

“...”

Eh? You meant that?

Lee Hyeon-Su grew even more serious. “Our chairman even went to a hair salon in the morning to prepare for this interview, you know! Please make him look good in the photos!”

“...”

Ha Gwang-Sik dazedly turned his head to stare at Kang Jin-Ho, prompting the latter to cover his mouth and fake-cough. That wasn’t enough to mask his slightly reddened cheeks, however.

Seriously now... Ha Gwang-Sik sighed inwardly. I just can’t figure these people out.