Chapter 24

[Yes, I’m here in Sajik-dong, west of Gyeongbokgung Palace. These aging alleyways behind me will soon be transformed into towering skyscrapers. At a briefing moments ago, Mayor Oh announced what he is calling the Seoul Reset Plan, which would abolish all height restrictions and turn this district into a twenty-four-hour business hub linked to the Gate Hall. Let’s hear his statement.]

Mayor Oh stood before a microphone on the rooftop of City Hall in a dark navy suit, with Gwanghwamun Gate Hall clearly visible behind him.
There was a strange fervor on his face that went beyond mere determination.

“Citizens of Seoul! We now stand before the great wave known as Dimensional Fusion. Even after seeing that magnificent Gate Hall rise in Gwanghwamun, are we supposed to leave the crumbling tiled houses and mold-covered alleys at its feet untouched in the name of tradition? That isn’t preservation. It’s negligence.”

He struck the podium and raised his voice.

“The redevelopment of Sajik and Pilun is not merely a real-estate project. This is a matter of national security and a strategy for the survival of the Republic of Korea!”

He looked toward the civil servants who had been dragged away from their work to stand behind him and continued forcefully.

“I will not allow the property-rights claims of a small minority to stand in the way of Seoul’s future! Now that even the Blue House has moved down to Sejong¹, Seoul’s very survival hangs by a thread! As of this moment, I will mobilize every administrative enforcement power at my disposal and order immediate relocation and demolition without a single exception! For the great reconstruction of Seoul! I am fully prepared to play the villain!!!”

Tap-

Seung-ho turned off the tablet.

“The Sajik-dong they’re talking about is the same place you’re talking about, Jun-gyeong hyung-nim.”
“Hyung-nim?”

Jun-gyeong’s brow narrowed slightly, but Seung-ho smoothly changed the subject.

“Ah, that’s not important. Anyway, the point is that the mayor is doing everything he can to bulldoze the place.”
“It looked like people were still living there.”
“Exactly. That’s the problem. Only thirty percent have signed the consent forms for acquisition. The other seventy percent have no intention of leaving the neighborhood.”

Jun-gyeong tilted his head.

“And he’s pushing ahead like that anyway?”
“Yes.”
“Is he insane?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”

The two nodded as though they had found an unexpected point of agreement.
Beside them, Hyeon-seok took a sip of sujeonggwa² and calmly added his analysis.

“Han-o Construction has been carrying out ‘strategic block deals’ throughout this district for the past three years. On the surface, they look like ordinary acquisitions, but in practice it’s a dragnet strategy closer to a hostile M&A.”

Hyeon-seok took another sip of the sujeonggwa served as their final dessert and continued.

“They thoroughly exploited information asymmetry before the redevelopment was publicly announced. Before speculators looking to profit from soaring land prices could move in, they used shell companies to corner the market through indirect purchases. As far as we’ve confirmed, they’ve already secured a strategic foothold exceeding twenty percent of the total land ownership in the district.”

Jun-gyeong’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Could you say that in Korean?”
“It means twenty of the thirty percentage points supporting redevelopment are controlled by construction-company fronts.”

Seung-ho nodded and added,

“We’ve heard they poured roughly two hundred billion won into it in cash.”
“Two hundred billion won… That’s an enormous amount.”
“If redevelopment there could generate ten to fifteen trillion won in net profit, that level of investment is reasonable for a corporation.”
“Then moving in there now would be difficult.”
“Huh? Is there somewhere you liked?”
“Not anywhere in particular. The land itself seemed good.”
“The land…”

Seung-ho’s eyebrows began twitching thoughtfully.

“Should I buy the whole thing for you?”

Jun-gyeong let out a deep sigh.

“Forget it. I don’t need that much land.”
“No, we can just give you the part you want and handle the redevelopment ourselves. Right, Chief Secretary?”
“Yes. It would be somewhat ambitious, but it isn’t impossible. We’d have to participate in the bidding, so it would get a little complicated…”

Hyeon-seok glanced at Jun-gyeong and continued.

“We could do it.”
“He’s an economics graduate from Seoul National University. Feasibility study or whatever else we need, he’ll whip it up. If I put Samo Construction in motion, we could take this redevelopment project for ourselves.”
“No.”

At that moment, Ok-hee joined the conversation.

“That company, Han-o Construction. Something about it is strange. Look at this.”

She turned the tablet she had been examining around for them to see and continued.

“They’ve only been around for about five years, and they’re not even a top-tier construction firm. So where did they get enough money to buy twenty percent of the land? Two hundred billion won’s worth? This could get interesting if we dig into it.”
“Oh-ho~ So there might be a real financial backer behind them. Hmm. Interesting.”

Seung-ho took a sip of his dessert sujeonggwa before continuing.

“I’ll dig into Han-o Construction. When money’s involved, a chaebol knows more than an SNU economics graduate.”

A rather convincing smile appeared on his face.

“And this.”

Seung-ho slid an elegant wooden box across the table.

“This is actually why I wanted to see you today.”

When Jun-gyeong opened it, a clear, delicate fragrance drifted out. Inside rested a single medicinal pill wrapped in gold leaf.
Merely smelling its fragrance made Jun-gyeong feel his Qi stir. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Seung-ho questioningly.

“What is this?”
“Medicine. Extremely difficult medicine to make.”
“I can tell that much just by looking at it.”
“We had the best goblin alchemist make it. Goblin alchemists are the best in that field. It’s made from wild ginseng over a hundred years old mixed with all kinds of medicinal ingredients. That single pill cost more than one billion won to make, and that’s just the ingredients.”
“To think something like this is possible…”

Jun-gyeong stared down at the pill in disbelief.
A smile naturally appeared on his face.

“Thank you.”
“I’m glad you like it.”

Jun-gyeong was genuinely grateful.
He still hadn’t found a definite place where he could cultivate his internal energy.
With this one pill, he would not have to worry for a while.

“Can you make more of these?”
“Of course. The ingredients are difficult to obtain, so this is all we could make on short notice. As soon as we secure more materials, we’ll keep making them for you.”
“I’d like you to introduce me to that alchemist. I need to have a pill made specifically for my body.”
“Yes! Of course. Shall I call them here?”

Jun-gyeong shook his head.

“No. I plan to look around Sajik-dong a little more today before heading home. I’ll meet the alchemist another time.”

First, he needed to absorb the pill.
Only then would he be able to tell where the flow of his Qi and blood was deficient and what kind of energy he needed.
After that, he could speak with the goblin alchemist, identify the proper ingredients, and have a pill made to match his needs.
He took the wooden box and calmly settled his thoughts.

“Let’s get going. It seems I have a lot to do today.”
“Yes. Let’s.”

After parting ways with Seung-ho’s group, Ok-hee and Jun-gyeong headed straight for Sajik-dong.

A neighborhood hidden beneath the shadow of the enormous Gate Hall.
Formerly near the Blue House and now near the Gate Hall, it was an area that had been somewhat overlooked and left untouched by redevelopment.
That was also why it still retained the atmosphere of an older age.
Cafés and small wine bars lined one side of the road, while charming little shops dotted the alleys.

“It’s a beautifully kept neighborhood. A little quiet for central Seoul, but that’s probably because it isn’t very well known. It’s peaceful. I like it.”
“There are plenty of trees too. Good.”

Just as Jun-gyeong said, there were street trees everywhere, and nearly every house with a yard had one or two trees planted inside.
Then Jun-gyeong suddenly stopped.
At the entrance to an alley stood what appeared to be a small bar converted from a hanok.
The peach tree in its courtyard was covered in blossoms.
Beautiful petals faded from white into delicate pink.
A soft, warm, sweet fragrance filled the entire alley.

“…Peach blossoms.”
“Ah~ What a lovely fragrance. Faint and sweet.”
“…It is.”

Jun-gyeong gazed at the peach tree with eyes heavy with longing.

“I’d love to go in for a drink, but it isn’t open yet.”

Just as Ok-hee said, there was no front gate, leaving the courtyard clearly visible, but the lights inside the small converted hanok were off.

“Let’s finish looking around before sunset.”
“All right.”

The two hurried onward.
Here and there along the main road stood buildings covered in crude graffiti sprayed in red.

“Those are buildings Han-o Construction bought, like we were talking about earlier. They’ve deliberately left them like that to make the whole area feel threatening.”

Jun-gyeong’s expression darkened.
Just as she said, the small buildings looked as though someone had deliberately made them even more of a mess.

“That must be why even fewer people come here.”
“Probably. Things like that make people not want to visit. And then you’ve got guys like those wandering around too.”

Jun-gyeong turned at Ok-hee’s words and saw a group of thugs openly displaying tattoos across their arms and legs.
As if deliberately showing off, they strutted down the street in shorts and sleeveless shirts despite the lingering chill in the spring air.

“There are beastfolk mixed in with them. Those hairy ones over there are beastfolk. Looks like wolves.”
“I know that much.”

They passed the thugs and buildings and continued deeper into the neighborhood.
There was a park near its center.
At the entrance, a massive tree had been cut down, leaving only the stump.
Jun-gyeong sat on the stump and drew a deep breath.
He felt his Qi tingle in response.
The place he had failed to find after searching the entire country had been right under his nose.

“If possible, I’d like to buy the place with the peach tree.”
“You liked that place?”
“Yes. The location, the tree, the house itself. I liked all of it.”

Ok-hee smiled brightly.

“Yeah, it was nice. Should we just buy it before more problems come up?”

Jun-gyeong shook his head.

“I doubt it’s a place the owner would sell easily.”
“How do you know that?”
“The peach tree was well cared for. The lawn was neatly maintained. Not a single roof tile was damaged. You could feel how much care the owner had put into the place.”

Ok-hee chuckled.

“You noticed an awful lot in such a short time.”
“The peach tree… had so many blossoms. It looked nice.”
“Still, you never know. Let’s wait and see. Business probably hasn’t been good lately.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“All right. Let’s head back for now. The sun’s going down.”
“All right. Let’s go.”

Jun-gyeong and Ok-hee headed toward the parking lot.

After returning home, Jun-gyeong sat cross-legged on the wooden platform in the rooftop courtyard.
Lately, he had been using the power of Water to wash himself and clean his clothes.
It was an extraordinarily convenient ability that let him wash things clean wherever he happened to be and freely handle cool water.
He found the power extremely useful and very much to his liking.

He slowly steadied his breathing and brought his Qi under control.
The night air was cold, but the energy surging inside his body was hot.

Click-

He picked up the golden pill and examined it.
Along with its clear fragrance, his Qi stirred.
Jun-gyeong slowly brought it to his mouth.

Ssshh-

The pill dissolved the instant it touched his tongue.

The change was immediate.
The Qi already filling his dantian combined with the energy pouring from the pill and expanded explosively.
Beginning at his dantian, the energy rapidly circulated through the Qi meridians throughout his body.

If the energy that had formed his internal energy when he absorbed the Kappa’s Inner Core had been a violent shock, the energy from this pill was a soothing caress.
The pill’s energy slowly began blending into his internal energy.

Thump- Thump- Crackle! Crackle-!

The energy merged with Jun-gyeong’s internal energy and stirred the powers of the Thunder Bead and Water at the same time.
The moment the two currents met at opposite ends of his body, a vast circular pathway was completed.

SHAAAAA-!

His Qi completed a circuit through his body, pounding through the enlarged meridians.
With every passage, the Qi meridians grew a little stronger.
At last, the energies scattered throughout his body had come under a single system of control.

Jun-gyeong steadied his breathing and slowly opened his eyes to the nightscape of Seoul.
The flow of the air, the scents around him, even the vibrations of vehicles moving below the hill registered as clearly as sensations resting in the palm of his hand.
It was a success.
A smile that wouldn’t fade settled across Jun-gyeong’s face.