The study of the Seongbuk-dong mansion.

After the call, Ha Cheolgon sat holding his smartphone for a while.

The screen went dark, and the black glass reflected his face, a curious smile on his lips.

Gu Monggyu.

It had been a very long time since the man had called him first. Of course, they hadn't always been this out of touch.

Back when Haryun was riding higher than it was now, Gu Monggyu had always been the one to pick up the phone and ask after him.

They'd often shared a meal, too.

On every holiday, he'd made a point of calling to ask how Hyungnim was doing.

They'd drifted apart when the group was split up.

As Haryun lost the strength it once had, his calls had naturally grown fewer.

That was how this world worked. Rank came before friendship, and the weight of a group counted for more than age.

However old you were, if the power you held was weak, you were the one who had to call first.

The reverse was much the same. And if someone younger ran a bigger group, you treated him with all the deference due a senior.

For anyone born into a chaebol family, it was a law of sorts that went without saying.

Ha Cheolgon had never shown any hurt over it, either. He'd lived his whole life by the same rule.

But today things were a little different.

Gu Monggyu, the real owner of the Hyundo Group, third in the chaebol rankings, had called first.

He'd used New Year's greetings as an excuse, but his purpose had been clear from the start.

His grandson, Ha Tae-ung.

In the end, it had all been about that boy.

"Heo heo."

Ha Cheolgon laughed low and set the smartphone down on the desk.

He wasn't in a bad mood. No — honestly, he was in a very good one.

To think the day would come when the owner of Hyundo had to ask him for a favor.

Couldn't you rein your grandson in a little?

That was what Gu Monggyu had been…