Chapter 102
"Then, see you tomorrow."
"Yes, thank you for the ride. Have a good night."
By the time they were returning to Seoul, it was already near the end of the workday.
After dropping Su-ho off at his house, Jeong Cheol-min returned to the Association alone.
Su-ho could have gone home right away, but since he was responsible for handling various follow-up tasks as his supervisor, he needed to stay a little longer.
Su-ho understood this, so he didn’t ask any further and just watched as Jeong Cheol-min’s car drove away.
‘Then, I guess I should start making some moves myself.’
He had already given orders to Jo Jin-hwi, but there were still many others he needed to contact.
The most important of these were Park Gyu-min and Pi Seong-yeol.
Even though his relationship with Jeong Cheol-min had become stronger, it still felt a little off to make a call right in front of him.
Su-ho called Pi Seong-yeol first.
Su-ho gave a brief report to Pi Seong-yeol.
He explained that he had conquered a sealed gate and why it had happened.
After hearing the explanation, Pi Seong-yeol chuckled lightly.
It made sense, though. To Pi Seong-yeol, the cleared sealed gates weren’t a big deal.
Su-ho knew this very well, but since he was now required to report everything, no matter how small, he reported it anyway.
Just in case something came up later and they tried to make a big deal out of it.
‘There’s a high chance that someone will hold a grudge for being the last one to know something that everyone else already knows.’
That was the kind of person Pi Seong-yeol was.
Next, Su-ho called Park Gyu-min.
Su-ho repeated the same details to Park Gyu-min that he had shared with Pi Seong-yeol.
The mention of "something important" made Park Gyu-min start to tense up.
Su-ho continued.
"First, Senior, are you aware that there’s been talk within the company that I’m considered 'royal'? And that after my training period ends, I’ll likely start at the Deputy Team Leader level, probably in the Special Forces?"
After hearing Su-ho’s words, Park Gyu-min thought for a moment before responding.
He had a strong sense of superiority and often looked down on others.
Su-ho nodded.
"He won’t care, but the Association Chairman will."
He wasn’t completely naive.
As soon as Su-ho mentioned the Association Chairman, he understood the plan immediately.
Park Gyu-min fell silent for a moment, considering the logic. He had never really thought about aligning himself with the Chairman before, but now the possibility was clear to him.
Su-ho didn’t believe that Park Gyu-min could overcome Pi Seong-yeol’s influence, even with all his efforts.
‘The difference in natural ability is too vast. No matter how much he tries, he’ll only be breaking the smaller pieces.’
That’s why Su-ho was considering using the Chairman.
But Su-ho wasn’t just planning to use the Chairman to promote Park Gyu-min.
He continued.
"Do you know the easiest way to gain popularity and power in the world?"
Whether through appointments or elections, popularity heavily influenced the outcome.
The Chairman wouldn’t be unaware of this, so if Park Gyu-min aligned himself with the Chairman, Su-ho knew that he would get the Chairman’s backing.
‘Then, my power and Park Gyu-min’s power will grow. After that, I’ll start to slowly remodel the internal structure of the Association.’
Su-ho was relying on Park Gyu-min to be a key part of this plan.
Even though Su-ho had advanced quickly, as a young man in his early twenties, he still had a long way to go to reach the top.
The same applied to Jeong Cheol-min.
So for now, the best way to achieve quick results was to utilize the existing infrastructure.
‘Even if I discard them later, I’ll use them efficiently for now.’
Park Gyu-min nodded fervently.
With that, Su-ho ended the call.
Even though Park Gyu-min had asked to know more details, Su-ho didn’t share them.
The reason was simple.
He didn’t trust Park Gyu-min’s judgment fully.
‘I can’t even trust him with one task, so there’s no reason to tell him everything in advance.’
Mistakes, especially verbal ones, could explode at any moment.
After ending the call, Su-ho finally started heading home.