Chapter 489: Let’s Watch How This Plays Out

On a pitch-black night Hong Seok-gi woke up in an abandoned factory in Gyeonggi Province.

After being unconscious for quite some time he immediately surveyed his surroundings upon regaining consciousness.

"Where am I?"

His eyes widened as he searched his memories.

He remembered being attacked by assailants right as he opened his door after leaving Il-sung Hospital.

They must have been waiting inside his home.

Hong Seok-gi gritted his teeth when he realized his body was tied to a chair and pillar.

"Which bastards would dare…"

Just as his eyes adjusted to the dark factory the interior lit up.

When the iron door opened Hong Seok-gi spotted a familiar face.

It was Ma Seok-dae who had broken his finger at the hospital.

Hong Seok-gi glared at Ma Seok-dae and shouted.

"Wh-what is this? Untie me right now!"

"Ah you're awake. Nice to see you again."

Ma Seok-dae casually responded dragging a chair over to sit in front of Hong Seok-gi.

Looking straight into Hong Seok-gi's eyes he spoke.

"Answer my questions honestly and you can go home unharmed. But every time you refuse to answer or lie you'll lose a finger."

Ma Seok-dae pointed at Hong Seok-gi's fingers tied to the chair.

At the clear threat Hong Seok-gi scowled deeply as he replied.

"What? Who are you? You think you'll get away with this? A prison guard of Korea…"

Hong Seok-gi who had been thrashing around and yelling suddenly flinched and stopped mid-sentence.

Ma Seok-dae's cold gaze carried such murderous intent that he instinctively felt himself shrinking.

Ma Seok-dae continued in a chilling voice.

"I ask questions and you answer. Understood?"

"…"

"Answer."

"Y-yes. I understand."

"Good. Getting hurt only hurts you."

Ma Seok-dae slowly nodded interlacing his fingers as he leaned forward.

"Who ordered Seo Jae-hoon's death?"

"Wh-what? What are you talking about?"

Hong Seok-gi's eyes trembled. Though he tried to act normal his voice quivered.

At Ma Seok-dae's gesture the man beside him strode over.

THWACK!

A pinky finger disappeared under the hatchet's blade.

Hong Seok-gi writhed. This pain was on a completely different level from having fingers broken.

Unlike Hong Seok-gi who couldn't even properly scream through his groans Ma Seok-dae remained perfectly calm.

"I told you I ask the questions. Whether you know or don't know just answer. That's your only way out of here today."

"Urgh…"

"Answer."

The man who cut off the finger crushed Hong Seok-gi's severed pinky under his shoe.

Hong Seok-gi's eyes glazed over at the sight. As he floundered unable to collect himself Ma Seok-dae raised an eyebrow.

When he nodded at his subordinate again the man silently raised his hatchet.

Hong Seok-gi hastily responded.

"I-I'll answer properly."

"I'll ask again. Who ordered Seo Jae-hoon's death?"

"They didn't directly tell me to kill him. They just said to leave the door open and step away for a moment and they'd pay me… I really didn't know they planned to kill him."

Ma Seok-dae's brow furrowed. What nonsense is this?

"So you just opened the prison door and stepped away? Then who carried it out? Don't say you don't know. I know very well how detention centers work."

Hong Seok-gi answered quickly.

"It was one of the inmates. I didn't recruit him personally they had everything prepared and came to find me."

Ma Seok-dae nodded. Just as expected they talk better after experiencing some pain.

"Who told you to step away and who carried it out?"

"It was a lawyer. Well…"

Hong Seok-gi fell silent briefly as if struggling to remember.

Ma Seok-dae stared at him coldly. Hong Seok-gi hurriedly answered.

"An Ji-ho! That's right it was Lawyer An Ji-ho. His business card should be in my wallet."

"Oh? And the name of who carried it out?"

"Kim Seok-jae. He's an inmate in for robbery and murder."

One of the subordinates brought over a stack of business cards from the wallet.

Ma Seok-dae took them and began checking each card one by one.

"Why does a prison guard have so many lawyer business cards? Looks like you've been up to a lot."

Hearing Ma Seok-dae's muttering Hong Seok-gi's face reddened.

Hong Seok-gi was notorious for taking bribes in exchange for granting favors to inmates.

Of course Ma Seok-dae knew this which is why he chose Hong Seok-gi but this was excessive even for him.

After quite some time Ma Seok-dae picked up one card.

"An Ji-ho. Hyesung Law Firm? This is getting interesting."

Ma Seok-dae's lips curled slightly as he confirmed the name on the card.

Ma Seok-dae waved the card in front of Hong Seok-gi and asked.

"This is the guy? An Ji-ho Partner Attorney at Hyesung Law Firm."

"Y-yes that's him. He offered 300 million won before the job and 500 million after completion."

"Did you get it all?"

"…"

Hong Seok-gi who had been answering eagerly suddenly clammed up.

"Why? Didn't get paid? No there's something else. Don't talk if you don't want to."

Glancing at the man with the hatchet Hong Seok-gi stammered out an answer.

"N-no they said there'd be one more job at the hospital. They asked me to clear out again tomorrow at dawn."

"Another job? Are they trying to kill or save him?"

"I'm not sure. They just said to clear the area like before and they'd handle the rest… Like last time just take the others away. They said they'd pay the 500 million once this job was done too."

Ma Seok-dae continued asking various questions and Hong Seok-gi revealed everything he knew.

Seeming to think he'd extracted enough information Ma Seok-dae straightened up.

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. You helped someone try to kill Il-seong Group's Vice Chairman Seo Jae-hoon. The moment that gets out you won't be able to live in Korea."

"I really didn't know they meant to kill him. I thought I just had to clear the area for a moment…"

"Stop talking nonsense. Maybe you didn't know the first time. But not the second time."

Hong Seok-gi fidgeted nervously watching for reactions. Ma Seok-dae let out a small sigh before speaking again.

"Get your hand treated and go to the hospital tomorrow as usual. Then do what they asked. I suggest submitting your resignation and leaving Korea the moment you receive that 500 million."

Hong Seok-gi's eyes widened at Ma Seok-dae's words.

"Leave Korea?"

"Yes leave immediately. Or you'll die. Not by my hand but by those who paid you. If it were me I wouldn't leave you alive."

"Wh-what do you…"

Instead of answering Ma Seok-dae stood up and spoke to the subordinate holding the hatchet.

"Take him to the hospital for treatment then escort him home. Watch him closely and don't let him try anything. There can't be any mistakes. Understood?"

Hong Seok-gi urgently cut in.

"W-wait a moment! What do you mean? They'll kill me?"

Ma Seok-dae looked down at him impassively.

"Of course. Why would they let someone live who knows everything? You haven't received money you've swallowed poison. You were dead the moment you accepted their offer. Why did you have to get greedy and cause trouble?"

Having finished speaking Ma Seok-dae turned away without hesitation.

"P-please save me. I'll do anything. Please…"

"For now go back and keep your mouth shut. Do what they ask and act completely normal. Whether we help you or not will be up to the boss."

Only his boss Kim Mu-hyeok could decide whether this man lived or died.

Hong Seok-gi stared blankly into space.

* * *

There was a knock at the study door.

"Come in."

As soon as permission was given Manager Ma opened the door and entered.

I set down the newspaper I'd been reading and moved to sit on the sofa.

Seems the cleanup is finished. I gestured to the opposite sofa and Manager Ma took a seat.

"Did you wrap things up well? Did Hong Seok-gi know anything?"

"Yes Boss. We found out who ordered Seo Jae-hoon's death."

This piqued my interest considerably. I'd only expected to find a lead.

"Who is it?"

"An Ji-ho a partner attorney at Hyesung Law Firm asked Hong Seok-gi to clear the area."

A law firm? Why would a law firm be involved here? And if it's Hyesung Law Firm is it the Hyesung I know?

"Hyesung Law Firm you mean that one?"

"Yes that's right. It's the firm handling Seo Hee-kyung's lawsuit. Though we haven't found direct evidence that Seo Hee-kyung ordered it it can't be coincidence that An Ji-ho is involved in this."

Seo Hee-kyung's law firm… This is getting quite interesting.

Seo Hee-kyung tried to kill Seo Jae-hoon. No more accurately she put on a show of trying to kill him.

If she really meant to kill him she wouldn't have left him alive like this.

"Did Hong Seok-gi strangle Seo Jae-hoon himself?"

"No another inmate did the strangling. Hong Seok-gi just opened the door and cleared the area. We've already confirmed the inmate's identity."

I nodded. Hong Seok-gi was greedy for money but didn't seem like someone who'd dirty his own hands.

"What about Hong Seok-gi? Did you send him back?"

"I sent him back for now. They said there's another job tomorrow so I told him to go to work as usual and do what they ask. What should we do Boss?"

"Oh? They're doing another job?"

"Yes. They asked him to clear the area again."

A question crossed my mind. What do they want?

I wondered why they didn't kill him when they had the chance.

"What exactly do they want? If they meant to kill him they would've done it at the detention center."

"That's what puzzles me too. It doesn't seem like they intend to kill him."

I sank deep into the sofa and crossed my legs.

What kind of game are they playing?

Looks like I'll need to meet Seo Hee-kyung.

"Manager Ma set up a meeting with Seo Hee-kyung."

"Understood. But what should we do about tomorrow?"

"When did they ask him to clear the area?"

"Dawn. Hong Seok-gi works the night shift tomorrow so they seem to have planned around that."

"Dawn… I wonder which would be more fun."

It might be fun to watch it might be fun to stop it… This is quite the dilemma.

But the deliberation didn't last long. I felt it would be more interesting to just let it play out.

Watching how far they'll go might not be bad.

"For now let's watch how they handle it. Install cameras in Seo Jae-hoon's room first and we'll observe their movements."

"Yes I'll do that. But what about Hong Seok-gi? He'll surely die if we leave him like this."

This is another dilemma. Hong Seok-gi could become leverage against Seo Hee-kyung.

Though I didn't like his behavior and manner of speaking keeping him alive would be more helpful to me than letting him die.

"Let's keep him alive for now. He might prove useful so it's better to keep him around."

"I think so too. Then I'll speak with the prison warden. Where should we have him leave the country for?"

Manager Ma seems to be thinking along the same lines. Satisfied with his seamless response I nodded and answered.

"Send him to China. Tell Hao Xun to handle it."

"Understood. I'll take care of it."

Even after Manager Ma bowed and left a smile lingered on my face for quite some time.

"Has Seo Hee-kyung been hiding her claws?"

The Seo Hee-kyung I knew wasn't such a ruthless woman.

Though she was quite vain she was an extremely timid woman.

"This seems more like Cheon Ji-su."

I had that feeling somehow. This cruel yet somewhat arrogant method bore a striking resemblance to Cheon Ji-su's style that I knew well.

When Seo Jae-hoon was in deep sleep the hospital room door slowly opened.

Through the half-open door entered a man.

As if familiar with the surroundings he crossed the lightless hospital room without hesitation heading straight for Seo Jae-hoon's bed.

Until then Seo Jae-hoon remained obliviously asleep.

After briefly looking down at Seo Jae-hoon the man climbed right onto him.

Seo Jae-hoon's eyes snapped open.

"Wh-what! Who are you!"

Despite Seo Jae-hoon's startled shout the man showed no reaction.

The only visible part of the black-masked man's face his lips curved into a crescent smile.