Kang Mo briefly fiddled with the phone in his hand before suppressing his rising emotions and swiftly putting on his business facade.

Even if he was boiling inside, outwardly he remained composed without any hint of agitation, even wearing a faint, trustworthy smile.

Only Seung Ho, standing right next to him, would know that Kang Mo was gritting his teeth. When Kang Mo nodded, Seung Ho opened his mouth with a grave expression.

“Executive Director Lee Kang Mo is here.”

Chang Joo, who had his arms draped over the back of the sofa, slightly turned his head to look at Kang Mo.

“Well well, our busy executive director has finally arrived. Boys, what are you doing? Stand up and greet the executive director.”

Ha, really. He still thinks he’s a gangster.

Kang Mo couldn’t suppress a wry smile at the foolish behavior of this man who was supposedly the CEO of a company.

No wonder the companies that used to get ready-mixed concrete from Bogak Industries were cutting ties with Kim Chang Joo one by one. The reasons were more than obvious.

No, the scene before him was just the tip of the iceberg among the abundant reasons.

At a gesture from Chang Joo, five men who were either employees or underlings of the organization stood up and bowed, speaking in unison.

“Greetings, Executive Director.”

Kang Mo smirked and shook his head at the exaggerated gesture.

The show had gone on long enough. Unable to tolerate their pathetic behavior any longer, Kang Mo looked down at the top of Chang Joo’s head and opened his mouth that he had kept tightly shut until now.

“How did you get here?”

Only then did Chang Joo slowly rise from his seat and saunter around the sofa to stand in front of Kang Mo.

“I have some urgent matters to discuss, and it’s been a while since I’ve seen my nephew, so I thought I’d kill two birds with…”

Kang Mo couldn’t suppress a scoff at Chang Joo’s repulsive face.

How dare he call him nephew with that mouth? Kang Mo’s hands itched to grab Chang Joo by the collar and beat him to a pulp.

Kim Chang Joo was a long-time enemy of Kang Mo’s father Seok Hoon, and also the father of the man who drove Kang Mo’s sister to her death. In short, they were sworn enemies.

Kang Mo’s sister, who had so many dreams, ended her life without hesitation because of the heinous deeds committed by Kim Chang Joo’s son, Kim Min Do. Unable to accept her daughter’s death, Kang Mo’s mother withered away and eventually joined her daughter. When his father found out about Min Do’s evil acts, he clashed violently with the Kim father and son.

Kang Mo’s father, who had always shunned and been extremely wary of violence, lost his reason and crippled Min Do, ultimately ending up in prison.

The masterminds who had turned an ordinary family into a mess were strutting around in front of Kang Mo without any guilt, and ironically, Seo Hee, who didn’t even know these sordid details, had been blaming herself for a long time, agonizing over the fact that she had taken her friend’s troubles as a joke.

It was evident that if Seo Hee found out the truth, she would suffer from even greater self-reproach, so Kang Mo couldn’t bring himself to tell her and had to suffer in silence alone, like a mute with a heartburn.

So how could the word ‘nephew’ sound pleasant coming from that bastard’s mouth?

Kang Mo barely managed to hold back the curses that were about to spill out, clinging to a thin thread of patience.

“Let’s hear your business first.”

A hideous wrinkle formed on Chang Joo’s forehead, which had a long knife scar running down to his chin. He approached Kang Mo with a vile smirk, slinging his arm over Kang Mo’s shoulder as if they were close.

“Hey, we go way back. This isn’t something to discuss in the lobby. Let’s go up to Executive Lee’s office and have a cup of…”

“Mr. Kim.”

Kang Mo lightly shrugged off his right shoulder. As Chang Joo’s arm fell away, Kang Mo tilted his head from side to side and slowly rolled his shoulders. It was a silent expression of displeasure, but the dense Chang Joo didn’t seem to notice.

From the moment Kang Mo heard that Chang Joo had barged in, his anger gauge had been rising to his throat, accumulating bit by bit, making his temples throb. Kang Mo wasn’t sure how much longer he could endure. Trying to control his rage with a long sigh, he enunciated each word clearly so that Chang Joo could understand.

“Are we on such terms that we can sit face to face and share a cup of tea?”

In other words, he wanted to tell Chang Joo to stop spouting nonsense and get out of his sight, but he restrained himself and expressed it in a roundabout way.

“If you have something to say, say it here. If not, please leave.”

Kang Mo already knew why Chang Joo had come. Which company would accept the ready-mixed concrete that had already been flagged by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport? The fact that Chang Joo, who would be trembling in front of Kang Mo’s father Seok Hoon, had come all the way here was proof that his current financial situation wasn’t good.

Perhaps it was a request disguised as a threat, or an attempt to turn the tables in Chang Joo’s favor through appeasement or some petty scheme.

As expected, Chang Joo cleared his throat and casually brought up the topic.

“Our Executive Lee has become quite bold, huh? There was a time when you couldn’t even look me in the eye properly.”

Ha, when was that? Bringing up the past like it’s some kind of pickle.

When Kang Mo was young, there were times when he would tremble in fear whenever he encountered Chang Joo on the street. Chang Joo, who harbored a deep sense of defeat and inferiority towards Kang Mo’s father Seok Hoon, didn’t hesitate to threaten even the preschool-aged Kang Mo.

‘You little brat, the spitting image of your dad. Makes me want to slash your face.’

‘Watch closely. I’m your uncle. The next time you grow up, I’ll personally bury you. So make sure to grow up healthy.’

‘When you see your uncle, you should greet him. Where do you think you’re glaring at? I’ll gouge out your eyeballs.’

Whenever they happened to run into each other at events or corporate parties, Chang Joo would wait for an opportunity and personally spew venom into Kang Mo’s ear while patting his head.

On top of the unspeakable curses, Chang Joo’s words were incomprehensible to the young Kang Mo at the time. However, the knife scars adorning Chang Joo’s face, his vile expression, and ominous tone were enough to make even a clueless child wary and tremble in fear.

Kang Mo, who had been known for his intelligence and quick wit from a young age, remembered every single word, even the ones he should have forgotten. When he reached an age where he could understand those words, he realized why his father had insisted on him learning martial arts from such a young age.

Thanks to that, Kang Mo had diligently trained his body and mind by learning a wide range of martial arts, including taekwondo, kendo, judo, boxing, and mixed martial arts. Now, he had become strong-hearted enough not to bat an eye at the likes of Chang Joo and the goons he had brought with him.

Kang Mo quickly brushed off the memories he didn’t want to recall and also discarded the business facade he had been maintaining for appearance’s sake.

“Well, since you don’t seem to have anything particular to say, I’ll be going.”

It was Chang Joo who stopped Kang Mo as he turned away without hesitation.

“Ha, you’re in quite a hurry.”

For a brief moment, irritation, anger, bewilderment, and awkwardness flashed across Chang Joo’s contorted face, but in the end, a glimmer of resignation appeared.

Kang Mo watched Chang Joo’s expression with interest, then tilted his head diagonally and shifted his gaze past Chang Joo.

“So, you should have spoken quickly when given the chance. You should know that time is precious.”

The sky turning crimson at dusk beyond the front window was a sight to behold. Seo Hee’s lovely face briefly crossed Kang Mo’s mind as he admired the breathtaking scenery that never failed to amaze him.

His twisted insides calmed down for a moment, but dealing with a piece of trash while surrounded by such a beautiful view made his eyes bloodshot.

Kang Mo turned his gaze away from the enchanting orange background and fixed his eyes directly on Kim Chang Joo, who was a head shorter than him. He raised his eyebrows, urging Chang Joo to get to the point.

Chang Joo smoothed out his contorted face, forced a smile, and muttered curses under his breath before opening his mouth.

“About the ready-mixed concrete for our Bogak Industries…”

“We won’t do it.”

Before Chang Joo could even finish his sentence, Kang Mo’s firm rejection rang out, causing Chang Joo’s face to flush with heat.

“…What?”

“Our company’s suppliers are already determined, but even if they weren’t, we have no intention of accepting ready-mixed concrete from Bogak Industries.”

“What?”

Chang Joo’s face instantly crumpled, and Kang Mo stared at him intently, as if he had been waiting for this moment, and spoke.

“Our construction company only uses high-quality ready-mixed concrete. We cannot use substandard ready-mixed concrete without knowing what materials were used and how they were mixed. Wasn’t it already flagged during the quality inspection? I believe there was a directive to dispose of all the ready-mixed concrete that did not meet the specifications. Am I wrong?”

Chang Joo swallowed hard, his face turning red and blue, and he raised his hand as if he was about to strike.

“Substandard? Substandard my ass! Bullshit. It’s the ready-mixed concrete that has been used without any issues so far. What do those pen-pushers in the government know? Do you have any idea how much money that is to just throw it away?”

“What do you mean there are no issues? It just hasn’t surfaced yet, but if you thoughtlessly pour in low-quality ready-mixed concrete, it will lead to cracks in the concrete and defects. How long are you going to turn a blind eye?”

“You little bastard, just because you’ve grown up a bit, you think you can run your mouth recklessly in front of me? Do you want to die?”

Even in the face of Chang Joo’s threat, Kang Mo didn’t bat an eye and nonchalantly replied with a smirk.

“If you really want to supply to our company, bring a proper quality inspection report and formally submit a bid. That is, if you’re confident about the quality.”

“You, you bastard!”

The provocation seemed to have worked. Chang Joo had already lost his reason. Kang Mo relentlessly poured gasoline on Chang Joo’s burning heart.

“Ah, and if the disposal order has been issued, dispose of it properly. Don’t even think about selling it off behind the scenes. You know this is grounds for reporting to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, right? Do you want to close down your factory for good?”

“Well, well, our Kang Mo has grown up quite a bit. You little brat.”

Chang Joo’s thick hand struck Kang Mo’s face with a sharp slap, causing Kang Mo to smirk. In an instant, Seung Ho, who was standing next to Kang Mo, stepped forward in a fit of rage.

“Mr. Kim, what do you think you’re doing?!”

It wasn’t just Seung Ho who was outraged. People who had been passing by and glancing at the scene stopped to watch, and the murmur of the onlookers reached Kang Mo’s ears.

Slap. Chang Joo’s hand came down again, this time with greater force than before, twisting Kang Mo’s head at a 45-degree angle. Kang Mo raised a hand silently towards Seung Ho, who looked like he was about to lunge at Chang Joo and grab him by the collar at any moment.

Slap.

“Executive Director!”

Kang Mo stretched out his hand to the side, grabbing Seung Ho’s chest to stop him from charging forward, and warned Chang Joo in a low voice.

“I endured exactly three times. From now on, I won’t be able to hold back.”

The smile that Kang Mo had been wearing while quietly taking Chang Joo’s blows disappeared without a trace. The languid gaze in his eyes suddenly changed. Chang Joo, who was about to raise his hand again, faltered at the murderous aura emanating from Kang Mo’s sharp eyes.

Those eyes, he had seen them somewhere before. They closely resembled the eyes of Kang Mo’s father, Seok Hoon. The piercing gaze that exuded venom as Kang Mo moved his tongue inside his slapped cheek and tilted his head defiantly conveyed an overwhelming pressure that one dared not approach.

The half-loosened stance, the oppressive feeling that came from just being glared at. Chang Joo was momentarily startled by the strange sense of déjà vu, but he knew his underlings would be standing behind him in a line. He hated the idea of showing weakness in front of this green young man.

“Y-You little punk, are you mocking me? Huh?”

Chang Joo demonstratively brought down his hand, which had been suspended in mid-air, towards Kang Mo’s reddened cheek, but before he could feel the sharp impact, a flash of light burst forth.

“Argh!”