Chapter 64: Brawl in Myeong-dong

Park Dong-su was waiting for Ma Seok-dae in the car.

Moments later, Ma Seok-dae and his subordinates arrived. Recognizing Ma Seok-dae's vehicle, Park Dong-su got out of his car.

Ma Seok-dae stepped out of his car too, surveying Park Dong-su and his men before flashing a cold smile.

"Mr. Park, I see you've come prepared."

"Of course. It's our first joint operation with Manager Ma. We can't afford to embarrass ourselves in front of Mu-hyeok, can we?"

Ma Seok-dae nodded slightly at those words and continued,

"We'll handle entering the building. Just keep anyone from getting in from the outside. If you're overwhelmed, abandon the perimeter and come inside."

Park Dong-su, who had been nodding along, looked over Ma Seok-dae's subordinates and said,

"Isn't your team a bit small?"

Ma Seok-dae laughed at Park Dong-su's words.

"These guys guard the boss up close. If they can't handle this, they might as well be dead."

"Alright then. We'll make sure not even an ant gets through the perimeter. You handle things inside."

They finalized their plans and chatted a bit more before getting into their respective vehicles.

Manager Ma's team moved out first, followed by Park Dong-su and his men in separate cars.

They soon arrived near Shin Seong-il's office. The cars carrying Ma Seok-dae and Park Dong-su's groups split up.

Park Dong-su's car dispersed to the surrounding area while Ma Seok-dae and his subordinates got out near the office.

"What the-!"

One of Shin Seong-il's men standing guard in front of the building shouted.

But his cry was cut short as a man behind Ma Seok-dae rushed forward. The sentry was swiftly dealt with, unable to even make a sound.

Ma Seok-dae stepped past him and entered the building.

As Ma Seok-dae went inside, Park Dong-su blocked the building entrance and instructed his men,

"Don't let even an ant through. If a fight breaks out, absolutely no knives. Got it?"

"Yes!"

Park Dong-su turned to Lee Sang-geun beside him and said with a smile,

"Think you can fight without your knife? If it gets dangerous, just pull it out."

"Understood, Boss."

Park Dong-su muttered while looking up at the building entrance,

"Looks like we'll get to see Manager Ma's skills firsthand."

Meanwhile, Ma Seok-dae and his men who had entered the building quickly climbed the stairs and arrived in front of Shin Seong-il's office.

A man, catching Ma Seok-dae's eye, nodded and opened the door.

Shin Seong-il's men inside jumped to their feet at the sight of Ma Seok-dae and his subordinates entering.

"What the- Who are these bastards?"

The man speaking frowned when he saw Ma Seok-dae entering last.

"Manager Ma? Is that you?"

Ignoring his words, Ma Seok-dae asked,

"Where's Boss Shin?"

"What's going on here?"

"Is he inside?"

"No, Manager Ma!"

Giving up on the conversation, Ma Seok-dae told his subordinates,

"Only Seok-woo and Myeong-geun follow me. The rest clean up here."

At Ma Seok-dae's order, all but two of his men rushed at Shin Seong-il's subordinates.

Leaving the office that was quickly turning into chaos behind him, Ma Seok-dae opened the door to Shin Seong-il's room.

Inside, Shin Seong-il and Moon Tae-beom were already on their feet, staring at the door, having sensed the commotion outside.

"What the hell is going on!"

Shin Seong-il shouted, his face contorted.

However, Ma Seok-dae only wore a vicious smile.

"The young master wants you brought in."

"The young master? For what reason? No, this could have been done quietly… What's all this about!"

Ma Seok-dae didn't answer. He simply ordered the two men beside him,

"Subdue them, but don't kill them."

"Okay, bro."

Watching the situation unfold, Moon Tae-beom cursed and pulled out a sashimi knife from his jacket.

"Hey, hey, put that toy away. You'll get hurt."

One of Ma Seok-dae's subordinates approaching them said playfully.

"Looks like these guys caught on. Shin! Are you gonna let yourself get caught like this?"

Moon Tae-beom, who had introduced himself as a junior, was now speaking informally to Shin Seong-il.

Manager Ma just stared at the two impassively.

"Shit…"

Shin Seong-il also raised his hands, taking a stance.

The fight began as Ma Seok-dae's subordinates each rushed at one of them.

Moon Tae-beom swung his knife at the approaching subordinate of Manager Ma.

The man seemed to hesitate for a moment.

But it was brief. Apparently unfazed by the knife, he charged at Moon Tae-beom at full speed.

His arm got slashed a few times and bled, but the man didn't care. He closed in and his fist struck Moon Tae-beom's eye with precision.

Thwack!

Though staggering, Moon Tae-beom didn't let go of the sashimi knife and swung it again.

The man dodged backward slightly, but his shirt was cut, leaving a thin wound on his chest. Blood quickly soaked his white shirt.

"Whoa, that was close!"

"Seok-woo, stop playing around and finish this quickly."

"Ah, bro~ But it's fun after so long. Alright, I got it."

The man called Seok-woo, while dodging Moon Tae-beom's knife, casually replied to Ma Seok-dae before suddenly lunging forward and grabbing the arm holding the knife.

In the blink of an eye, Moon Tae-beom was sent flying onto the table. As he collapsed on the table, he finally lost his grip on the knife.

The man approached him, sneering,

"Told you to put the toy away. You'll get hurt."

On Shin Seong-il's side, quite a struggle was taking place.

Perhaps due to his wrestling background, he kept trying to grapple his opponent while dodging punches.

The attacks were sharp, but Shin Seong-il's endurance was no joke either.

Finally succeeding in grabbing his opponent, Shin Seong-il flashed a cold smile and slammed him down.

"Ugh!"

Ma Seok-dae's gaze shifted from Moon Tae-beom to Shin Seong-il.

"What are you doing, Myeong-geun?"

"I'm sorry."

At Manager Ma's words, Myeong-geun quickly stood up despite gasping from the shock.

He took a boxing stance and approached Shin Seong-il.

Wham!

Striking away Shin Seong-il's grasping hands, he dove in and landed a solid hit on his side.

As Shin Seong-il hunched over from the sudden impact, a fist connected with his jaw. While he stumbled, several more punches followed in rapid succession.

Then, Myeong-geun rushed at the staggering Shin Seong-il.

Crack!

His knee smashed into Shin Seong-il's face. There was a sickening crunch of a nose breaking.

Even the tough Shin Seong-il finally collapsed.

Myeong-geun, his breathing still rough from the impact, kept his eyes on Shin Seong-il sprawled on the floor.

At the same time,

Outside, Park Dong-su's eyes caught sight of several vans approaching.

Park Dong-su let out a snicker.

"Ah… I wondered why it was going so smoothly. Everyone, get ready."

At Park Dong-su's words, his subordinates all grabbed steel pipes and baseball bats that were nearby.

Park Dong-su said to Lee Sang-geun beside him,

"Block the entrance. Don't let anyone up, and if it gets dangerous, use your knife. You guys protect Sang-geun well too."

"Yes, bro."

Soon, the vans screeched to a halt, and burly men poured out.

Park Dong-su's subordinates charged at them without giving them a chance.

A massive gang fight broke out in the heart of Myeong-dong.

Park Dong-su spotted one particular man and raised an eyebrow.

"What? What are you doing here?"

"It's been a while, Brother Dong-su."

A man with a shallow scar near his eye bowed slightly with a sinister smile.

Park Dong-su clicked his tongue.

"Tch… Gil. Did Brother Baek-ho send you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You bastard, did you put your neck in a cast? Are you so eager to get beaten up?"

"It's a bit late to be talking about hierarchy now, isn't it?"

The man flashed a calm smile at Park Dong-su, who was frowning.

"Don't complicate things. Just step aside. We only need to take Boss Shin Seong-il and Moon Tae-beom."

"Cut the crap. I don't know who they are, and I'm not letting anyone into this building."

"Sigh… You started this first, brother?"

The man suddenly lunged at Park Dong-su.

Not expecting such a quick attack, Park Dong-su blocked the punch a bit late.

There was some distance, so it wasn't too powerful, but Park Dong-su took a direct hit to the nose. He stepped back, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. His hand came away red with blood.

"You son of a bitch!"

Park Dong-su cursed and charged forward.

Their fight ended quicker than expected.

In the end, Park Dong-su won, but even for him, it was impossible to end a fight without taking any damage.

'This isn't good.'

The numbers were too uneven.

Park Dong-su, who nearly got surrounded by the man's subordinates, wiped the blood from his face and stepped back.

"Damn, this is a mess."

Finally pushed back to the building entrance, Park Dong-su and his men glared at those in front of them.

The man, supported by his subordinates, walked up and stopped in front of them.

"The police aren't coming. Why don't you step aside now, brother?"

"Stop talking nonsense and come at me."

The man, frowning, barked out,

"Secure the entrance!"

"Yes, boss!"

At that moment, Manager Ma's subordinates inside the building assessed the situation and ran out.

It was just a few men, excluding Ma Seok-dae and the two upstairs, but the scales tipped dramatically in Park Dong-su's favor.

Finally, Park Dong-su and Ma Seok-dae's subordinates subdued everyone and threw them in front of the building.

It was then that Ma Seok-dae came down, dragging Shin Seong-il and Moon Tae-beom.

Seeing their condition, Ma Seok-dae frowned.

"What's all this about?"

"We just need to take this bastard."

Park Dong-su pointed at the man kneeling and glaring at him.

Ma Seok-dae kicked the man's face hard. Ma Seok-dae's subordinates grabbed the man who had fallen face-first and shoved him into a car.

Looking around at the chaotic scene, Ma Seok-dae sighed.

"This is beyond what we can cover up discreetly. We'll need someone to take the fall."

"Sigh… Tell Mu-hyeok to handle the cleanup, will you?"

Ma Seok-dae nodded and left the scene. The cars carrying the men quickly drove away.

Left alone, Park Dong-su looked around at his men and sighed.

"What are you doing? Take the boys to the hospital. Hurry up, move it!"

* * *

"Who the hell did you bring in?"

"Park said to take him. Seems he's the boss of the gangsters who attacked."

I smiled coldly.

Manager Ma brought over a chair and set it down. As I sat down, the man writhing on the floor looked up.

"So Gangnam thugs are invading Myeong-dong? I don't know what you're thinking, but you're giving us a perfect excuse."

"What are you talking about?"

"Hey, Oh Gil-seok. It's too late to deny it. You came to Myeong-dong first, so I guess we can take that as a declaration of war, right?"

"…"

He was the right-hand man of Baek-ho, the current boss controlling Gangnam.

This bastard wouldn't move without Baek-ho's orders.

"Did Baek-ho send you? What's so special about Boss Shin?"

"Shut your damn mouth! Who are you to casually mention our Big Brother's name?"

I nodded at the snarling Oh Gil-seok.

"The reactions of real gangsters are always the same. Equally stupid too. Let's rough him up a bit before we start. Don't kill him though. We'll need him to pressure Baek Jeong-gi."

Manager Ma grabbed Oh Gil-seok by the scruff of his neck.

"You bastard! How dare you speak our Big Brother's name?"

"What, should I call him the White Tiger bastard?"

Manager Ma's foot struck Oh Gil-seok's face. He rolled across the floor.

Following Manager Ma's gaze, his subordinates dragged Oh Gil-seok to a corner.

I was already bored of this familiar scene.

"Let's start with Shin Seong-il."

Manager Ma grabbed Shin Seong-il, who was lying on his side, and dragged him in front of me.

"Boss Shin, how long has it been?"

Manager Ma ripped off the tape covering his mouth.

"Young master, why are you doing this?"

"Sigh…"

A sigh of irritation escaped me.

"That's all you have to say after being caught like this? Let's drop the act, shall we? We all know what's going on. With Moon Tae-beom and Oh Gil-seok, that's two. Even without evidence, you're finished."

"…Fuck."

Shin Seong-il quietly cursed, then looked up and glared at me.

"You were the problem. Chairman Cheon was perfect as a figurehead, but then you suddenly appeared and ruined everything."

"You planted Moon Tae-beom to try and kill me?"

"I don't know."

"Grandfather said he'd been supporting you since you were young. When did it start?"

"…"

I got annoyed again.

"Don't clam up for no reason. Let's make this quick and painless. When and from whom did you receive orders?"

"When I quit wrestling and went to see the Chairman, I was already serving someone else. No, it wasn't my choice. Since my father's father served their ancestors…"

He had appeared to be loyal to my grandfather.

While other managers acted like opportunistic bats, seeking the most advantageous side, Shin Seong-il pretended to be a steadfast man who only knew my grandfather.

If I hadn't recognized Moon Tae-beom, if I hadn't made the first move when suspicions arose, he might have tried to stab my heart someday.

A chill ran down my spine.

"Damn it, so you recognized Moon Tae-beom back then? How the hell did you know that bastard?"

"Well, why don't you tell me everything you know? Then I'll let you go easily."

"I don't know. A dog like me doesn't know anything."

I had expected this, but there was nothing to gain compared to the potential loss. I clicked my tongue and looked at Manager Ma.

"You can kill him. Find out everything he knows."

"Yes, Boss."

Manager Ma's subordinates dragged Shin Seong-il away.

Now it was Moon Tae-beom's turn.

Moon Tae-beom, dragged in by the subordinates' hands, struggled and glared at me.

It's impressive that he still had the energy to do that, though I'm not sure if I should call it admirable or foolish.

As Manager Ma ripped off the tape covering his mouth, Moon Tae-beom started cursing in Japanese.

"Speak Korean. This is Korea."