Wearing a gray coat and carrying a briefcase in one hand, Choi Ho-geun walked into the office.
"Good morning, everyone!"
Maybe it was because he had just bought a new car with his generous year-end bonus, but his voice was especially cheerful.
"Good morning, sir."
The team members, already at their desks, greeted him with smiles. Just then, Manager Jung Hwan-yeop came out of the break room holding a cup of coffee, his silk tie neatly knotted.
"Oh? Sir, you're in early today."
Placing his briefcase on the desk, Choi shot back with a playful scolding.
"Of course. Do you think I'm a chronic latecomer like you?"
"Come on, I don't do that anymore."
"Exactly—so keep it that way."
Taking off his coat and hanging it on the rack behind him, Choi casually snatched the coffee from Jung's hand.
"Uh—that's my coffee…"
Ignoring his protest, Choi took a noisy sip.
"You can make yourself another one."
"Ah, seriously? This counts as workplace harassment."
"You want me to show you what real harassment looks like?"
Choi snorted, and Jung quickly averted his eyes.
"Kidding, kidding. I brewed it with you in mind anyway, sir."
"Good. Then I'll enjoy it."
As always, their morning began with light bickering. Just then, the youngest member of the team, Noh Hee-won, approached and set down two clear plastic cases on the desk.
"Sir, your new business cards are here. Two boxes, as requested."
"Ah, thanks."
At the start of the new year, Seok-won's securities and venture capital company finally cut ties with Daheung Group, ending its long-standing ambiguous position. Now it had completely branched out and rebranded itself under the new name Bluehole.
Naturally, this meant all the employees needed new business cards, and the freshly printed ones had just arrived today.
Opening the lid of the case and pulling one out, Choi Ho-geun nodded with satisfaction.
"Mm. The material feels premium, and the design is nice and clean."
"This looks way better than those tacky gold-stamped ones. The company must have put some effort into the design—very sleek," Manager Jung Hwan-yeop chimed in while peeking over his shoulder.
Running his thumb across the newly embossed company logo, Choi felt a sudden, solid sense of reality—it hit him that they were truly outside Daheung Group's shadow now.
But rather than anxiety, he was filled with anticipation and hope for the future. His teammates seemed to share that same feeling.
"Sir."
"What now? Why are you still hanging around here instead of at your desk?"
Choi was about to start scolding him about actually getting some work done when he noticed Jung hesitating with a sheepish expression.
"I have something for you too…"
A bad hunch prickled at Choi, and he narrowed his eyes.
"What did you do this time? Don't tell me you added an extra zero during a stock trade or something like that? You didn't, right?"
"No, no, it's not that."
Jung scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well… I guess you could call it an accident."
"What?!"
Choi's heart sank, convinced the man had done something catastrophic. He instantly barked at him.
But instead, Jung pulled something from his pocket and held it out.
Choi blinked at the white envelope in his hand.
"…And what's this supposed to be?"
With an awkward smile, Jung replied,
"It's a wedding invitation."
"A wedding invitation? Whose?"
"Mine, of course."
The team, who had been secretly listening in, all widened their eyes in surprise.
"Manager Jung, you're getting married?"
"Oh my! Congratulations!"
As congratulations poured in from all sides, Jung Hwan-yeop scratched his head bashfully.
"Ahem… thanks, everyone."
Choi Ho-geun, who had ended up holding the wedding invitation in his hand, looked utterly dumbfounded.
"What kind of marriage is this, springing it on us without even signaling a turn?"
"There were… circumstances. That's why we had to rush the ceremony."
"Circumstances? Wait a minute—you don't mean…!"
Choi pointed a finger at him and shouted.
"So that's what you meant by an accident? She's pregnant, isn't she?"
At that, Hong Jae-hee's eyes widened as she turned to Jung.
"Oh my! Is that really it?"
When Noh Hee-won and Yoo Seok-hyun also stared at him in shock, Jung gave an embarrassed nod.
"Hahaha… yeah, it just kind of happened that way."
"You punk! The moment you handed me that invitation out of nowhere, I should've known."
Choi planted his hands on his hips and scolded him, while the other team members offered more congratulations.
"Getting married and having a baby—double congratulations!"
"Wow, you'll be getting both the wedding gift money and the baby bonus all at once."
"Talk about a blessing. A real lucky charm."
Hearing the good-natured envy in their voices, Jung grinned sheepishly.
"It wasn't planned, but when I did the math, it actually works out pretty well."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… lucky you."
Choi shot him a look of exasperation.
"You've got a family to take care of now. Time to buckle down and live responsibly."
"Of course! I'll have to work extra hard to cover formula and diaper expenses."
"You'd better."
Even as he offered his final jab, Choi tossed in a gruff word of congratulations.
"Anyway… congrats on your wedding."
"Hehehe, thank you!"
Jung bowed his head deeply, unable to wipe the silly, lovestruck grin off his face.
***
"We've finalized the agreement to purchase all 610,000 pyeong of Ministry of Defense land in the Moseulpo area for 176 billion won."
Seok-won, seated at the head of the sofa, gave a slight nod as he responded to Bluehole Construction's president, Jung Gyu-chul.
"So that works out to just under 290,000 won per pyeong."
"That's correct."
Pointing to the map of the Moseulpo area spread out on the table, Jung added,
"Once we also acquire the additional 210,000 pyeong of privately owned land within the planned site, the land procurement will be fully complete."
"The government has agreed to designate the area as a restricted land-trade zone before the press release, to prevent speculation. There's no benefit in dragging this out—let's move quickly to wrap up the land acquisition."
"Understood."
Leaning back in his chair, Seok-won turned toward Choi Tae-ho, president of Blue Space, who was seated to his left.
"So including the reclaimed land we'll create by filling in the sea, the launch site will expand to 900,000 pyeong."
It was more than double the original plan of 400,000 pyeong.
Carefully testing the waters, Choi spoke up.
"Since the inland acquisitions already exceed what was originally planned, wouldn't it be better to forgo the costly coastal reclamation?"
"Not only would that save on construction costs, but it would also avoid conflicts over fishing rights and environmental concerns. It might be the more prudent option."
The reclamation project covered 80,000 pyeong, and to minimize backlash from local residents and environmental groups, the plan called for shipping soil from the mainland on barges and dumping it into the sea. Naturally, this made the project enormously expensive.
Even though President Jung showed signs of agreement, Seok-won shook his head without hesitation.
"No. To mitigate collateral damage—like falling debris or noise—the launch site and other high-risk facilities need to be built as far away from civilian areas as possible. That's why we planned the reclamation area in the first place. Stick to the original plan."
With Seok-won—the one holding the purse strings—saying it was fine to proceed, there was nothing left to argue.
"Yes, sir."
"Understood."
Seok-won lifted his teacup, took a sip of the cooled coffee, and set it down.
"Once the land acquisition is complete, we'll immediately move on to coastal reclamation and site preparation. How is the design work for the launch pad, rocket assembly building, and control center coming along?"
At that, President Choi Tae-ho responded as if he had been waiting for the question.
"Domestic construction companies are highly skilled and technically capable, but none of them have any prior experience in designing or building a space launch facility. That has posed considerable challenges."
"It's completely different from putting up apartments or bridges, so that's to be expected."
"Fortunately, thanks to the design materials and technical experts from the Baikonur Cosmodrome that you, Chairman, secured for us not long ago, we've been able to steadily move forward with the design."
Since splitting completely from the Daheung Group, Seok-won's title had changed from president to chairman. In fact, considering not only securities and venture capital but also his recent acquisitions—including WB Bank and four subsidiaries of the Hansan Group—an earlier promotion would have made sense.
"It would be ideal to handle everything internally, but the domestic technological base is too underdeveloped, and doing so would take far too long. Make sure to actively recruit not only Russian specialists but also American engineers."
"Yes, understood."
Seok-won laced his fingers together and continued.
"Ah, and when drafting the designs, leave untouched the northeastern grounds where the underground bunkers and aircraft hangars from the Japanese occupation remain, along with the Seotal Oreum 4·3 historical site."
Both men looked puzzled at his words.
President Jung Gyu-chul glanced at the map spread out on the table, then looked back at him and asked,
"That's a considerable amount of land. Surely you don't intend to just leave it vacant?"
A faint smile tugged at Seok-won's lips.
"I'm planning to integrate the two sites and create a historical park."
"A historical park?"
"Right there?"
The unexpected suggestion left both men momentarily speechless.
But Seok-won continued calmly.
"Yes. Since these are historically significant sites, preserving them as a park rather than demolishing them outright will ease a great deal of local and civic opposition."
"...!"
"On top of that, the park can serve as a kind of buffer zone for safety purposes. Don't you think that's killing two birds with one stone?"
After pondering it for a moment, Jung Gyu-chul nodded in admiration.
"Now that you explain it, it really is a brilliant idea."
Choi Tae-ho looked at Seok-won with astonishment.
"Don't tell me you bought up all that Ministry of Defense land with this in mind from the very beginning?"
If that were true, it would mean his foresight stretched so far ahead that one could only be impressed.
"It wasn't planned from the start. The idea came to me when I visited the Ministry of Defense last time."
"Still, to come up with such a thought in that short moment… that's remarkable."
President Choi let out an exclamation of admiration.
"In any case, the two of you should make sure to minimize early opposition by announcing the construction of the Mosulpo Space Center together with the plan to establish a historical park. Spread the word widely."
"You mean we should move the media before civic groups have a chance to oppose it," said Jung Gyu-cheol quickly, catching on.
"Exactly. These things are all about who seizes the initiative first. Don't hesitate to spend money if necessary."
Jung, who had years of experience in construction and knew how troublesome it could be once local residents or civic groups rallied against a project, nodded firmly.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure the opposition loses steam before it ever gains momentum."
"And also, once the Space Center is established, make preparations to hold a town hall as soon as possible. We need to explain that it won't harm the residents—in fact, it will benefit them."
"You mean… you intend to meet the residents yourself, Chairman?"
Choi's eyes widened.
"If I step forward to persuade them personally, won't the residents trust and believe it more than if anyone else did?"
"Well, that's true, but…"
His expression suggested he thought it unnecessary, but Choi eventually accepted Seok-won's determined stance.
"Let's aim to finish land purchases and secure resident approval by this summer, so we can break ground immediately after."
"Yes, sir."
"Understood."
Seok-won looked at the two men bowing their heads in unison and said,
"Then let's end the meeting here."
With that, Jung Gyu-cheol and Choi Tae-ho gathered their diaries and maps, rose from the sofa, offered a polite bow, and exited the chairman's office.
Left alone, Seok-won lifted the teacup in front of him, bringing it to his lips, only to set it down again when he realized the coffee had already gone cold.
Just as he was about to rise, his phone began to vibrate.
Picking it up from the table, he checked the number on the screen, pressed the call button, and answered.
"It's me."
[Hyun-woo and TG are about to make a big semiconductor deal.]
"...!"
At Lee Cheol-gyun's words on the other end of the line, Seok-won's eyebrows shot up.