CH5 | MCT

Molybdenum Mine, and Brothers (1)

After Tae-soo left, Song Jingu stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Jjakgwi."

"Yes, hyung-nim."

"Look into that guy."

"You mean that stubborn lunatic?"

"Yeah, him. He insisted on that mine even though he knew it was a lost cause."

Kang Tae-soo—there was something unusual about his eyes.

"I'm curious why he chose that mine."

"Is there really a reason? It’s just a worthless abandoned mine worth 100,000 won."

"Find out what he's doing with it. No questions."

"Understood, hyung-nim."

Song Jingu turned his gaze toward the direction where Kang Tae-soo and Jjakgwi had left.

‘Strange. He’s someone I want to keep a close eye on.’

A guy who stirred the instincts of a loan shark.

Song Jingu had a vague sense that his fate was tightly intertwined with Kang Tae-soo’s.

On the way home, the three men remained silent.

‘Was Tae-soo always this strong-willed?’

The father looked at his eldest son with fresh eyes.

‘His back really is broad.’

A sturdy back that shielded him from the loan sharks.

A steady back that didn’t waver, even in that tense situation, as he secured the mine’s deed.

A resolute back that firmly turned away from Chunsik.

‘Come to think of it, something’s different about him.’

Tae-soo’s posture seemed straighter than usual, his confidence more pronounced, and his gaze sharper.

Most of all, he had faced the loan sharks without backing down in the slightest.

This wasn’t the clumsy, naive eldest son he was used to.

‘He seems more mature today… It’s not just my imagination, is it?’

There were many things he wanted to ask Tae-soo, many things he wanted to say, but he didn’t know where to begin.

After all, this had all happened because he had recklessly borrowed 100,000 won.

When they arrived home, the mother rushed out to greet them.

"Tae-soo, you’re back! I’m so relieved you’re safe. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"I'm fine. And don’t worry about the loan papers. I took care of everything."

"That’s my eldest son! I made some haejangguk. Sit down and eat."

Tae-soo quickly sat down in front of the small steel dining table.

‘How long has it been since I last had a meal like this? A home-cooked meal… I can’t even remember.’

When was the last time he truly enjoyed a meal at home?

And this time, it was a meal his mother had personally prepared.

‘Back then, I never would have imagined it would be over 40 years before I’d see this again.’

Who could have known his parents would pass away in just a few short years?

In his younger days, he had always preferred eating out rather than his mother’s cooking.

He thought that even when he turned 80 or 90, he’d still be able to sit down to a meal prepared by her.

"Han-soo, aren’t you hungry?"

Kang Han-soo, who had been standing blankly, cleared his throat.

"Mother, Father is here too."

"Who’s this now? Judging by his face, he looks like the kind of scoundrel who would let his own family end up on the streets while giving away his entire fortune to help a friend in need."

"H-honey…"

Mother reached for a handful of coarse salt but hesitated.

Salt was expensive.

"Sigh, a poor woman can’t even throw salt as she pleases. Oh, my miserable fate."

"Honey…"

"Honey? Who are you calling honey? How dare you say such a thing to me? I don’t know you, hmph!"

She turned her back on him coldly, a chill radiating from her.

Yet, as if she had never been upset, she smiled warmly at her sons, her tone now as gentle as a spring breeze.

"Tae-soo, have some while it’s still hot. If you don’t take care of your hangover in time, it’ll wear you down. Your stomach isn’t hurting, is it? No headache?"

"I’m fine."

"Come on, eat up. You skipped breakfast, and now you’ve been starving all day."

Her eyes, full of love, glistened as she looked at her eldest son.

She even placed a piece of kkakdugi on his spoon.

Tae-soo stared blankly at the piece of radish kimchi resting on his spoon.

‘To think a day like this would come again.’

He used to hate it when his mother tried to put food on his spoon.

Crunch.

Today, though, one spoonful of her haejangguk, one bite of kkakdugi—it all made him smile from ear to ear.

"It’s delicious."

"Good, my Tae-soo. Eat plenty."

His mother smiled warmly and placed another piece of kkakdugi on his spoon.

Something so simple, yet it made him feel like crying from happiness.

"Tae-soo, did everything go well?"

"Yes."

"Oh, right. Mother, here."

Tap.

Tae-soo placed the mine deed on the table.

His father let out a deep sigh.

The thought of his friend, who had been in tears over this very deed after using it to settle his debt, weighed heavily on his heart.

"I brought this in exchange for the 100,000 won loan."

"What is this? Is it some kind of land deed?"

Though his mother couldn’t read, she understood the value of important documents. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"It’s a mine deed. I’m planning to visit the mine."

***

After a refreshing bath, Tae-soo changed into clean clothes.

He felt noticeably better.

Lying down on a bedding mat in his room, he felt as if he were in heaven.

‘I really have returned to the past. Everything is exactly as it was.’

It had been so long since he lived without a bed that he couldn’t help but chuckle.

The cramped one-room shack, the windows covered with hanji paper, the old-fashioned pump faucet, and the small outdoor water spout in the yard—

Everything was a nostalgic sight he had only dreamed of seeing again.

‘But still… does this mine really have molybdenum?’

He knew Oh Chunsik had struck it rich with a molybdenum mine, becoming a mining tycoon.

But was this really that molybdenum mine?

‘No, I need to trust my instincts. The moment I saw that mine deed, I could practically smell the money.’

Tae-soo closed his eyes.

‘Too bad I don’t have a car.’

In the 1970s, owning a car was a symbol of wealth.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that the My Car boom made private cars more accessible to the middle class.

‘Having to rely on the infrequent intercity buses is a hassle. I’ll have to wake up early tomorrow.’

He planned to take a bus from the Dongyang Express Terminal near Seoul Station.

If necessary, he might even take a train.

The more he thought about it, the more he resented wasting time on the road.

‘If only there were KTX or airplanes available. Heck, even the subway hasn’t opened yet.’

But there was nothing he could do about it.

It’s not like he could build them overnight.

"Oh? This is nostalgic."

As Tae-soo searched for the light switch, he paused and looked at the ceiling lamp.

A toy-like switch dangled from the cord.

‘Right, that’s how it used to be. The switch was attached to the lamp cord. No LED lights—just fluorescent or incandescent bulbs.’

Just then, the door opened, and Han-soo walked in after washing up.

"You're going to bed already?"

"You should sleep early too. We're leaving at dawn."

Han-soo hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"What was that about today?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uncle Chunsik."

"I should’ve beaten that bastard up even more. Mom told me not to cripple him, but she didn’t say I couldn’t leave him half-dead."

Han-soo let out a low chuckle.

"Since when did you act like such a devoted son?"

"Starting today, I’m turning over a new leaf."

"I heard from Mom. You gave her 100,000 won? Where did you get that kind of money?"

"I saved it bit by bit."

"No way. I’ve never seen you save a dime. You always just toss your salary from the rice store onto the table for living expenses."

"I was saving up for marriage."

Han-soo raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You were planning to get married? Then why…?"

"Why did I give the 100,000 won away? Our family was about to end up on the streets. I had to put out the fire first."

"That's not what I—"

"Forget it. It’s already done. Guess it was just fate."

Tae-soo smirked.

He knew exactly what Han-soo was getting at.

To put it simply, the marriage Tae-soo had once envisioned had naturally fallen apart.

There was no way a wedding could have gone smoothly when he was being chased by loan sharks.

In the end, Tae-soo got married in his thirties to a woman introduced by Chairman Han Cheong-ho.

‘But this time, I cut the ties myself.’

No regrets.

Now that he was back in the past, rushing into marriage was the last thing on his mind.

Han-soo wore a strange expression.

"Why are you acting like a completely different person all of a sudden? This isn’t like you."

"Why? Do I suddenly look cool or something?"

"…."

Han-soo stared at Tae-soo for a long time.

Being unusually sharp, he must have sensed something off.

‘Han-soo, the NIS Needle.’

That was his nickname.

Sharp and piercing like an awl, his instincts were razor-sharp.

A true nangjungjichu (囊中之錐)—a hidden talent bound to rise to prominence.

One of the most outstanding agents in the National Intelligence Service.

A man who could break through anything when he set his mind to it.

A man who stabbed straight through his target without hesitation.

Han-soo was precise. Sharp.

He wasn’t easy to handle, but once he set his sights on something, his loyalty never wavered.

‘No wonder all the top conglomerates wanted him as their enforcer. His eyes are sharp as ever.’

Han-soo spoke.

"You're definitely different. The way you handled the beating earlier. The way you stood your ground against those loan sharks."

"My temperament was never that great to begin with."

"As if your thug-like temper wasn’t bad enough already. But hey, not bad."

For some reason, Han-soo chuckled.

His face was as unreadable as ever, yet something was subtly different.

"…It was satisfying."

"What are you even talking about?"

Tae-soo looked puzzled.

Han-soo ruffled his damp hair with a towel and said,

"If you hadn’t beaten up that bastard Oh Chunsik, I would have."

"Oh."

"And you holding your own against the loan sharks? That was actually worth watching."

"I don’t know. I just lose it whenever I see guys like them."

Do you know what I learned after five years of being hounded by loan sharks day and night?

If you show weakness in front of those bastards, they’ll latch onto you even more viciously.

At that moment, Han-soo muttered under his breath.

"Anyway… it wasn’t very you, but I kinda liked it."

"Hm?"

"Just go to sleep."

Click.

Han-soo switched off the light.

"Ugh! Kang Han-soo, you totally just stepped on me on purpose!"

"You're imagining things."

It definitely didn’t feel like my imagination, though?

He's grinding his foot into me like he's putting out a cigarette!

Thud!

"Hey, Kang Tae-soo, you totally tripped me on purpose just now!"

"It’s just your imagination."

Yeah, right.

The room was dark, but that was definitely a spinning kick!

The sound of wrestling and scuffling echoed through the darkness.

***

July 21, 1972, 7:00 AM.

Sangdong Abandoned Mine, Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province.

"This is the place."

"Not bad for your first time here. As expected of The Needle—there’s nothing you can’t break through."

"The Needle? Where’d that come from?"

"It’s a thing."

The abandoned mine looked even more desolate than an old haunted house.

Overgrown weeds sprawled across the area, and discarded tools lay scattered about.

The mine entrance was sealed with wooden planks.

In the middle of the planks, a warning was scrawled in bright red paint:

- 出入禁止 (No Entry).

Han-soo let out a sigh.

"This looks hopeless."

The miner beside him didn’t look too optimistic either.

Han-soo had searched high and low to find this particular miner.

An expert in mineral exploration and identification, unrivaled when it came to vein development.

A well-known figure in the industry.

Most importantly, he was tight-lipped.

"Listen, if a mine has been abandoned this long, it’s best to just give up on it."

"Is it really that bad?"

"Think about it. Even the damned Japs abandoned this place. If there was any profit to be made, would those greedy bastards have left it like this?"

"Well, you’re not wrong."

A specialist’s opinion was as good as a guarantee.

Even to an untrained eye, this place was clearly worthless.

‘That explains why the mining rights kept getting passed around like a gambling chip for over 15 years.’

Han-soo turned to Tae-soo.

"The expert says the same thing. It’s just a 100,000-won mine. If there was anything valuable here, it wouldn’t have sold for such a cheap price."

But Tae-soo simply hummed a carefree tune to himself.

He could almost smell the money in the air.

"Han-soo, we haven’t even gone inside yet. Let’s check it out first before jumping to conclusions."

Tae-soo started prying off the wooden planks blocking the mine entrance.

"You’re just gonna give up? I’ve already spent time on this, so I might as well see it through."

"...Fine."

Han-soo sighed and helped remove the planks.

"You sure are one stubborn kid. It’s obvious there’s nothing worth digging up here."

"You already got paid in advance, didn’t you?"

"Ugh."

The miner couldn’t argue with that. Reluctantly, he joined in.

Thud.

As the entrance was revealed, the miner took the lead, shining his flashlight ahead.

Tae-soo and Han-soo followed him inside.

The tunnel bore clear signs of past excavation.

Old mining tracks stretched across the ground.

The tunnel was deep.

"Looks like the damn Japs drained this place dry."

A long-abandoned mine, owned by the Japanese during the colonial era.

It had been discarded because the extraction costs outweighed the remaining deposits.

Tae-soo had expected as much.

"They really stripped it clean."

"There’s always a reason why a mine gets abandoned."

"Not exactly what a mine owner should be saying."

"But it’s still the truth, isn’t it?"

"Hah..."

It didn’t matter.

The smell of money was getting stronger.

There was something in here.

"Let’s go deeper."

"We should stop here. We’ve come this far, and there’s still nothing."

"You were paid in advance. No turning back now. Keep going."

"Hah…"

Han-soo knew by now.

That damn stubbornness of Tae-soo’s was unbreakable.

If even the loan sharks couldn’t bend him, what chance did a miner have?

"Let’s just keep going. Arguing will only waste more energy. It’ll be faster to just show him."

"Ugh."

With no other choice, the miner pressed on.

The further they went, the stronger the scent of money became.

It was so intoxicating it almost made Tae-soo lightheaded.

The sweet smell of profit.

Stopping in front of a section of the wall, he sniffed the air.

"We need to dig here."