Chapter 2: Into the Lion’s Den
18,23,4
The Bastard Intern
The revolving doors of Kangsan Tower gleamed like a mouth of polished steel, ready to swallow its prey. Kang Ji-won stood outside for a full ten seconds before stepping through. The building hadn't changed—forty-nine floors of mirrored pride, housing South Korea's most ruthless dynasty in suits.
Employees passed by in a blur of perfect hair, ID tags, and half-swallowed yawns. The hum of ambition was heavy in the air.
Ji-won, dressed in a slightly oversized suit he pulled from his old closet, looked like exactly what they thought he was: an outsider. An intern. A nobody.
But this time, he wasn't walking in blind.
The Legacy System pulsed softly at the edge of his vision, invisible to others. The glowing panel hovered like a private god.
> [Status: Neutral – Intern, Legal Division]
Influence: 0
Reputation: +5 (Invisible)
Wealth: ₩6,300
Skills: "Market Memory" (Active), "Corporate Camouflage" (Passive)
Next Update: After Initial Evaluation
Ji-won pushed the elevator button and waited with two junior associates, both whispering about merger contracts and shareholder fallout. He kept his hands still, chin slightly lowered, just enough to avoid suspicion.
This was a company built on image. On dominance. The moment you looked unsure, you were meat.
When the doors opened, Ji-won stepped into the elevator last—just like a real intern would.
Corporate Camouflage kicked in. It wasn't magic, but it worked like it. The System nudged his body language, tone, posture—shifting everything by invisible degrees until he blended in perfectly. Not important. Not threatening. Just another intern.
> System Notification:
You have successfully activated Corporate Camouflage.
Duration: Continuous
Detection: -30% by higher-ups
Social threat level: "Non-existent"
He hid a smirk.
Perfect.
---
10th Floor – Legal Division.
The doors slid open to reveal a jungle of glass, papers, and hierarchy. Desks packed tight. Staff too busy to look up. But some heads turned when Ji-won entered.
That was the problem with being a Kang.
Even without a title, the blood showed—especially in the eyes.
"Ah, you must be the new intern," came a voice from behind a half-glass partition. "Ji-won, right?"
It was Director Kwon—mid-50s, thinning hair, and always with the same coffee-stained tie. The man had once told Ji-won: "This company runs on silence and submission. Do both, and you'll survive."
Ji-won offered a bow. "Yes, sir. Kang Ji-won."
The man gestured toward a side desk near the archive shelves.
"No frills here. You're on document prep, runner duty, and record reconciliation. I don't care who your father is. We're busy and short-staffed."
"Understood, sir," Ji-won replied.
He didn't flinch. He knew this man wouldn't protect him. Kwon was just someone who pitied him enough in the past timeline to let him exist.
This time, Ji-won wouldn't need pity.
He would use everything—eve
n this windowless corner of the legal division—to begin his rise.
---
Ji-won's new workspace was more broom closet than office—wedged between a broken file cabinet and the copier that sounded like it might explode. He sat quietly, scanning contracts from 2008 to 2010, digitizing paper files no one had touched in years.
The other interns chuckled behind his back.
They thought they were lucky, posted to Finance or PR, where at least the coffee was better. Ji-won knew better. This was where the dirt lived. The quiet corner of the empire where deals were buried and rewritten under NDA.
The System chimed softly in the corner of his eye.
> Side Quest Unlocked: "Find the Rotten Root"
Hidden Objective: Locate illegal or undisclosed mergers pre-2010.
Reward: +15 Influence, Unlock "Legal Blackmail" tree.
Hint: Check all documents involving Daemin BioTech Holdings.
Ji-won froze.
Daemin BioTech.
He remembered that name.
In his previous life, Daemin had been a no-name firm absorbed in 2012 by Kangsan during a silent acquisition campaign. Two years later, the company was found guilty of insider drug trials, and five people died from an experimental medication.
But Kangsan never got touched. It was swept clean—like it never happened.
Now he knew why.
He dug through the files, ignoring the smell of mold and aged paper. And there it was: a merger draft dated August 2009, unsigned, but with footnotes in red pen.
Ji-won scanned the page quickly.
"Full absorption clause through off-market equity swap. No shareholder announcement. Corporate veil to be maintained until legal immunity secured."
It was damning.
It was gold.
It was leverage.
He copied the document into a private flash drive, carefully sliding it into his inner coat pocket. He'd start a dead-drop cloud folder later. For now, it was enough to know the beast bled somewhere beneath its scales.
He returned to his task, face calm, posture unassuming—just another faceless intern moving papers.
But inside, his heart thudded.
The moment he found the first rot in Kangsan's
perfect foundation, everything changed.
---
The hum of the copier masked the soft chime in Ji-won's ear.
> [System Update]
Hidden Evidence Secured: Partial success
Progress toward "Rotten Root" – 34%
Reward Unlocked:
Skill: "Legal Pattern Recognition"
Effect: Automatically detects suspicious clause structures in legal documents.
Cooldown: Passive
Ji-won's eyes flicked toward the stack of contracts waiting to be scanned. The game had changed. With this new skill, the System highlighted portions of the documents in pale blue—a subtle shimmer only he could see.
He didn't just read now. He hunted.
And that's when he found it: a contract between Kangsan Group and a shell company called Blue Prism Logistics.
Something was off.
A routine supply contract—on the surface. But Ji-won's new skill highlighted the payout structure and offshore escrow clauses. It was a funnel. Someone was embezzling money through freight logistics.
> Suspicious Flow Detected:
"Estimate: ₩1.3 billion moved off-books over 9 months."
Primary Beneficiary: [REDACTED – Access Level Too Low]
Ji-won's breath slowed.
This wasn't just dirt. This was fresh, still active in 2010. If he traced the right people and stayed ahead of the System's cooldowns, he could peel back the entire black market portfolio the Kang family operated.
But something made him pause.
Why was the beneficiary redacted?
Even the System couldn't show him unless his access level rose.
He saved the contract to his hidden archive and shut the file drawer. He would need more than technical skill to climb. He needed proximity—access to higher-tier files and inner-circle meetings.
And as if the universe was listening, the office door opened.
Director Kwon leaned in.
"Kang Ji-won."
Ji-won stood. "Yes, sir?"
"You're being summoned to the executive conference room. Chairman's third son is visiting the legal floor today and wants to observe intern integration. You've been selected to assist."
Ji-won's face didn't twitch.
Third son.
That meant Kang Min-jae—the polished strategist of the Kang clan, always smiling, always calculating. The same man who, in Ji-won's past life, became CEO after Ji-won's murder.
And now he was calling Ji-won up personally?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"Understood," Ji-won said smoothly. "Should I bring a notepad?"
---
The 36th floor of Kangsan Tower wasn't like the rest.
Up here, the lights were warmer, the ceilings higher. Oil paintings lined the corridors, and the staff wore suits with tags worth more than Ji-won's monthly rent. The hallway to the executive conference room was quiet, carpeted in dark red—imperial.
Ji-won followed Director Kwon silently, letting Corporate Camouflage guide his pace and posture. Just enough humility to look invisible. But inside, he was calculating.
This was where the core moved—the true players.
The conference door opened.
Inside, a long mahogany table ran down the center, polished until it gleamed like glass. Seven executives sat spaced out across it, each with folders, coffee, and unreadable expressions.
And at the head sat Kang Min-jae.
Tall. Smooth-skinned. He had the family's hawk-like eyes but none of the overt arrogance his older brothers flaunted. His expression was open, even friendly.
"Ah, the intern," Min-jae said, smiling as Ji-won entered. "Please, come in."
Ji-won bowed respectfully. "Kang Ji-won. It's an honor, sir."
Min-jae studied him for a second too long.
And then: "You're the chairman's… nephew, aren't you?"
There it was. The test.
Not a question. A reminder.
Ji-won met his gaze. "I was, sir. But I'm here as an intern, not family."
Min-jae chuckled softly. "That's a good answer."
> [System Notice]
Influence Check: Passed
Min-jae's Interest Level: 12% → 29%
Hidden Trait Detected: "Subtle Challenger"
Min-jae sees you as a potential disruptor, not a threat… yet.
"Tell me, Ji-won," Min-jae said, tapping a file, "do you believe interns should stay in their lane, or do you think they should speak up when they see something wrong in a contract?"
Another test.
In Ji-won's first life, silence would've been safe. But silence never saved him.
"Sir," Ji-won replied, voice steady, "if an intern notices something wrong and stays quiet, that's incompetence. If they speak and they're right—that's loyalty."
One of the executives gave a soft snort. Min-jae raised a brow, amused.
"Interesting."
He tossed a thick file across the table.
"Then let's test that loyalty. Spot the error in this contract."
Ji-won flipped the folder open.
The System flickered to life beside the page, illuminating several lines in blue.
> Clause 12.4 – "Remuneration of retroactive advisory roles shall be distributed quarterly to..."
System Flag:
Language designed to obscure siphoning clause. Artificial consulting roles can launder funds.
Ji-won underlined the clause with a pen and looked up.
"This line. It allows post-deal advisors to bill fictitious hours. The amount isn't capped, and the quarterly payout avoids detection."
Silence.
Min-jae's expression didn't change—but the room noticed.
Director Kwon blinked. One of the suits on the right stiffened slightly.
Min-jae leaned back and smiled wider.
"Well done."
> System Alert:
You have gained +5 Influence
You are now on Min-jae's Watchlist
Skill "Legal Pattern Recognition" has leveled up
New Skill Preview: "Tactical Conversation (Locked)" – Will unlock upon third encounter with Min-jae.
Ji-won bowed again. "Just doing my
part, sir."
But in his heart, he knew something had shifted.
He wasn't invisible anymore.
Back at his corner on the 10th floor, Ji-won slid the Blue Prism contract onto his desk and opened a fresh legal ledger.
The scent of cheap paper couldn't mask the scent of victory.
He'd done more than pass a test. He'd placed a blade in the room—pointed just low enough to be mistaken for compliance, but sharp enough to be remembered.
> [System Update]
Influence: +10
Access Level: Tier 1 (Junior)
New Feature Unlocked:
Data Spider (Beta) – Allows background trace of shell companies connected to contracts within Kangsan Group.
Limit: 2 queries per day
Stealth: High (non-traceable unless counter-hacked)
He activated Data Spider, targeting Blue Prism Logistics.
The results were fast—and troubling.
> Entity Structure:
→ Blue Prism Logistics
↳ Owned by Lunar Holdings
↳ Subsumed under Kangsan Venture Division C
↳ Primary Beneficiary: Kang Min-jae
Ji-won stared at the screen.
So that's why the System redacted it before.
The clean-faced third son. The smiling executioner. Behind all the layers of PR and polite language, he was funneling off money through "supply logistics."
It wasn't just embezzlement—it was a private war chest.
Ji-won carefully saved the structure tree, encrypted it, and copied it to both local and cloud vaults.
He wouldn't use it yet.
But the day Min-jae stopped smiling at him… this would be his answer.
---
The next day, Ji-won's desk was moved. A quiet note was placed on his chair:
> "Relocated to Internal Affairs Subdivision – Contract Verification Team 2."
He blinked.
That division didn't exist in the intern schedule. It was a paper title. Which meant someone above had carved a quiet corner for him. A cage. Or a sanctuary.
Either way, Ji-won smiled.
It was a mistake to think he was being buried.
He was being
replanted—in the dark, where seeds learn to grow into blades.