Chapter 26: Are We Working Together?

Shut up, you bastards! I said shut it!"

The boss's outburst startled the two men who turned to stare at him.

Ignoring them, the boss stood up and bowed deeply to Chief Ha.

"Good day, Chief Ha."

"You know me?"

"How many people in Myeong-dong don't know you, Chief Ha? I even greeted you once before. But why are you here…"

The boss glanced between me and Chief Ha, his expression turning to one of dawning realization.

Chief Ha ignored him and approached me, handing over a heavy briefcase.

"Young Master, I've brought it."

Young Master.

At those words from Chief Ha, the color drained from the boss's face.

He couldn't even muster an excuse, his eyes darting between us nervously.

"When I came in, the atmosphere seemed off. Did something happen?" Chief Ha asked flatly, his expression unreadable. I almost felt sorry for the boss.

"Nothing much. I came to pay a debt, and they were sitting here all polite."

"Hmm…"

The boss, who'd been silent until now, cautiously asked Chief Ha,

"Uh… Could it be that this person is Chairman Cheon's grandson…"

His expression begged for it not to be true, but Chief Ha simply nodded.

The boss silently tore at his hair.

But Chief Ha paid him no mind.

"Who's the moneylender? I didn't even know a place like this existed."

"…I work under Chairman Seok."

"Chairman Seok?"

As Chief Ha tilted his head, the boss quickly added,

"Chairman Seok Kang-ho."

"Seok Kang-ho, Seok Kang-ho… Ah, Seok Kang-ho."

"Yes!"

"Since when did Seok become a chairman?"

"…"

The boss's expression, dying in real-time, was quite amusing.

"Do you know him?" I asked.

Chief Ha explained casually, "Yes, he started with daily loans and then set up a proper loan office."

"Ah."

"He's not someone Young Master needs to worry about. But why 15 million won?"

"Oh, I have some business with Mr. Han Gyeong-yeong, but he said he had a debt here, so I'm paying it off and taking over the debt."

At the mention of his name, Han Gyeong-yeong, who had been hugging the wall and watching nervously, flinched.

Seems like he was scared of Chief Ha too.

I chuckled and sat back down.

"You've got the money, right? Hurry up and bring the paperwork."

The boss just kept looking at Chief Ha.

But when Chief Ha remained silent behind me, he quietly went to the cabinet and brought Han Gyeong-yeong's loan documents.

Without even looking at the loan documents on the table, I tore them up right there.

"So Han Gyeong-yeong's debt is settled now?"

The boss, who had been staring at the shredded documents, hurriedly answered,

"Huh? Ah! Yes, yes, of course."

I opened the briefcase Chief Ha had brought.

Inside were bundles of cash, each containing 1 million won, neatly stacked.

I took out three bundles and put them on the table.

"This is the principal."

I took out twelve more bundles and placed them next to the others.

"This is the interest."

"Yes, that's 15 million won. Thank you."

I stopped the boss as he reached for the money on the table. He looked at me, bewildered.

"Hold on, we're not done settling up yet, are we?"

"Huh?"

I smiled brightly at him and picked up the cash bundles.

"Let's start by deducting 3 million won for each insult you threw at me. 'Crazy bastard,' 'fucking bastard,' 'this bastard.' That's 9 million won, right?"

I put nine bundles back in the bag.

Ignoring the boss's trembling gaze following the money, I continued,

"Chief Ha's travel expenses are 5 million won."

I put five more bundles back in the bag.

"1 million won left, huh?"

He looked between me, Chief Ha, and the money bundles, flustered.

"This covers the cost of finding the hidden Han Gyeong-yeong. Perfect."

I put the last bundle in the bag.

"Calculation's done, right?"

"W-what are you saying?"

He seemed to be trying to argue, though his voice was shaking.

With such poor situational awareness…

I mocked him as I closed the briefcase.

"Don't you understand Korean?"

"H-how can this be right? Even if you're Chairman Cheon's grandson, this isn't okay."

"What, are you running a legal business?"

"That's not the point… If you tore up the documents, you should pay. This isn't right, even for Chairman Cheon's grandson."

"Hah, I did pay. 15 million won."

"But…"

"Then is my calculation wrong? Go ahead, tell me where."

"Well…"

He glanced at Chief Ha, then closed his mouth again.

Seriously, why bother complaining if you can't even argue?

"Mr. Boss-whose-name-I-don't-know, it's not about the money. You should be thinking about how to stay alive. Things have come to this, aren't you worried?"

I asked, genuinely curious. The boss shut his mouth.

He might have tried to act tough when the money vanished before his eyes, but he seemed to be grasping the reality of the situation now.

"If I see you in Myeong-dong from tomorrow, it won't end like this. I warned you earlier, didn't I? In Myeong-dong, money is king."

I handed the briefcase to Chief Ha behind me.

He seemed pleased with my actions, a small smile playing on his lips.

I stretched once and stood up.

"You know what happens if I see you again, right? Take care of yourself."

As I was about to turn away, the boss fell to his knees.

"P-please forgive me just this once."

"Forgive? For what? What did you do wrong?"

"I was wrong about everything. Please forgive me."

Don't want to retire, huh?

"Forget it. We're not close enough for forgiveness. Let's go, Chief Ha. Han Gyeong-yeong, don't just stand there, come on."

Han Gyeong-yeong slowly peeled himself off the wall and walked towards me.

He looked back and forth between the kneeling moneylender and me, then hurriedly went outside.

"Ah, right."

I stopped just as I was about to leave, and the boss, still sprawled on the floor, looked up at me quizzically.

I took out 30,000 won from my wallet and threw it on the floor.

The 10,000 won bills fluttered down in front of the boss's blank eyes.

"Gotta keep the math straight. A moneylender can't just waive interest as a service, can they?"

Outside, Chief Ha was waiting in front of the building.

"Chief Ha, I'm sorry for troubling you with something like this."

He shook his head, smiling slightly. "No, not at all. Thanks to you, I got to see something interesting."

"I'm going to talk with Han Gyeong-yeong for a bit before heading home. You can go on ahead."

"Alright, I'll see you later then."

Looking at Han Gyeong-yeong, I saw he was staring this way with a dazed expression.

"Shall we have a quick drink?"

"Huh? Oh, sure."

Seems like he's scared of me too.

I sighed as I side-eyed Han Gyeong-yeong, who was following me like a puppy.

* * *

After parting with Mu-hyeok, Chief Ha went back up to the loan office.

As Chief Ha entered, the boss, who had been smoking, quickly put out his cigarette and stood up.

Surprisingly, it was the boss who spoke first.

"Chief Ha, how can this be right?"

"Hey."

At Chief Ha's cold voice, the boss, who had started off quite boldly, shrank back and closed his mouth.

"Pack up and leave Myeong-dong right now. Otherwise, that chairman or whatever, Seok Kang-ho, he'll be the one disappearing from Myeong-dong first. You understand?"

"…"

"Answer me."

"…Yes, I understand."

"If I send someone here tomorrow morning and you guys are still here? Well, that might be interesting."

With those final words, Chief Ha left again.

The office remained quiet for a while after Chief Ha left.

After staring blankly at the torn loan documents on the floor for a while, the boss picked up the phone and started dialing somewhere.

Chief Ha headed straight to Chairman Cheon's house.

"Hehehe, so Mu-hyeok really did that?"

"Yes, Chairman."

Chairman Cheon couldn't stop smiling after hearing about Kim Mu-hyeok's actions.

"That boy really takes after me, don't you think, Myung-hoon?"

"Yes, he does resemble you a lot, Chairman."

"Tsk, those sons… Mi-suk gave me a great gift, a great gift indeed."

He clicked his tongue at the mention of the Cheon Su-man and Cheon Su-han brothers.

"So, how did you deal with those guys?"

"I told them to leave Myeong-dong by today. Otherwise, I said I'd make Seok Kang-ho disappear from Myeong-dong first."

"Seok Kang-ho, that guy's still being called 'boss'?"

"Yes."

"Hm~ Time sure has passed."

"I heard they call him 'chairman' among themselves."

"What? Hehehe."

Chairman Cheon's amused expression turned cold.

"Tell Seok Kang-ho to leave Myeong-dong too. Whether he knew or not isn't important. We need to show that anyone who defies or makes a mistake against me in Myeong-dong can't live here. You understand what I mean?"

"Yes, I understand."

Chief Ha bowed and left.

Alone, Chairman Cheon's wrinkled face was full of smiles.

* * *

Mu-hyeok and Han Gyeong-yeong entered a nearby pojangmacha. After sitting down, they ordered some simple side dishes and a bottle of soju.

"…Who exactly are you?"

Han Gyeong-yeong was the first to speak.

"Hmm… For now, I'm helping my grandfather with his work. But my main job is being a student at Korea University."

"…Don't joke around."

"Why would I joke with you, Mr. Han? I'm really a college student."

I showed him my student ID.

After examining the student ID front and back for a while, Han Gyeong-yeong let out a deep sigh.

"Hah~ It's real. What the…"

The ajumma brought a bottle of soju and some side dishes.

As I opened the soju bottle and poured him a glass, I said,

"I don't lie. I really have something I want to do with you, Mr. Han. That's why I cleared your debt and all. Have a drink first."

As if his throat was on fire, he downed the soju I poured him in one go and set the glass down with a thud.

"What is it that you want to do?"

"I want you to trade stocks."

"Ha… You caught a guy who was running away after borrowing money to invest in stocks, and now you're telling him to trade stocks? Are you expecting me to believe that?"

"Hmm… Perhaps you're thinking something like this?"

"What?"

"'If only I had more money, if only I had the capital, I could wipe the floor with those market manipulators…'"

He flinched, as if struck.

"I'll lend you the capital, and you show me your skills. That's my condition. Just one thing though, when I say to put money in somewhere or take it out, you have to follow my opinion over yours. That's all."

"…"

I poured another glass of soju for Han Gyeong-yeong, who had a complicated expression.

After pouring one for myself too, I raised my glass.

"If you drink this, we're working together, okay?"

"Damn it, I don't know."

He squeezed his eyes shut and clinked glasses with me.

After emptying his glass again, he suddenly asked,

"Let me ask you one thing. What makes you trust me enough to provide the capital? When did you even see me?"

I just smiled without answering.

You said in your autobiography,

If someone had given me a chance in Korea…

There wouldn't have been a need for me to become a hunting dog for foreign capital and return to Korea…

I'll give you that chance.

But I'm not a good person.

You'll have to become my hunting dog.

That day, I had a long conversation with Han Gyeong-yeong.

We ended up agreeing to speak comfortably with each other.

The next day,

As I handed him a securities account with 100 million won, I said,

"For now, do whatever you want with that. It's okay if you lose it all. Just believe in yourself and give it a try."

"…"

"I'm not joking. Go wild in the stock exchange."

I showed him my trust.

Now it was Han Gyeong-yeong's turn.

* * *

Time passed quickly.

May 1993,

Loud voices echoed in Chairman Cheon's study.

"What? What happened to Su-han?"

"…He's been arrested by the prosecutors."

"What? Without even a word to me, what…"

"It seems he got caught while working on Assemblyman Kim's business."

"You mean that slot machine thing with the gangsters?"

"Yes."

Furrowing his brow and rubbing his forehead, Chairman Cheon spoke,

"Where is it? The Blue House? What does the President think?"

"It doesn't seem to be that. They've put pressure through the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, the Prosecutor General, and even politicians, but they've countered by leaking it to the press and creating public opinion."

"Hm… The Supreme Prosecutors' Office?"

"It's a prosecutor from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Violent Crimes Department. It seems the case grew while they were tracking the slot machine gangsters. They're ignoring orders from their superiors too."

The Cheon Su-han slot machine case, involving sixth republic power players, National Assembly members, organized crime, and loan sharks, had exploded.

It was exactly what Kim Mu-hyeok had been waiting for.