Chairman Cheon and Lee Yonghyun were smiling at each other as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time.
To those who didn't know the situation, it looked like a perfectly ordinary scene.
"Shall we go in?"
"Sure."
Without saying much, the two walked side by side.
Chairman Cheon, seemingly familiar with the geography of the house, took confident steps.
After a while, the two sent everyone else away and sat facing each other in the spacious living room.
Lee Yonghyun was the first to speak.
"Chairman Cheon, what wind brought you here personally?"
Chairman Cheon didn't answer, just put down the teacup he was holding.
"Why are you silent? You came here to say something, didn't you? We're not the kind of people who share a cup of tea like old times, are we?"
Lee Yonghyun shrugged playfully.
But Chairman Cheon's expression was stern.
The words that came out of his mouth were a declaration, a proclamation.
"Stop it. What you're about to do."
Chairman Cheon spoke as if he knew everything.
"What are you talking about?"
"What you're planning to do to my grandson. Back then, you must have thought you would finish me off for real."
"Phew, Chairman Cheon. What are you talking about?"
Chairman Cheon's eyes seemed to pierce through Lee Yonghyun, who was pretending not to know.
"Even if you're crazy, do you think I'll just stand by? Absolutely not."
The smile disappeared from Lee Yonghyun's face.
"If something happens to Muhyuk, I'll be prepared to give up everything and bring you down."
On the other hand, Chairman Cheon twisted his lips into a sneer, a smile that was hard to tell if it was mocking or self-deprecating.
"I know you're involved in my daughter's death. You know why my sons turned out the way they did, right? It's all because of your greed. What could you possibly be lacking?"
At that, the expressionless Lee Yonghyun suddenly burst into laughter.
"Haha, because of my greed? Look, Chairman Cheon. What could I possibly gain from killing your daughter? You know that, right? I understand you want to pass all the blame to me, but it was your children's greed."
Chairman Cheon's eyes shook violently.
"You've always been like this. You're ruthless to others but weak for your family. Your children might not have known, but you were just pretending to be cold to raise them strong. Don't I know?"
Lee Yonghyun glanced at Chairman Cheon's trembling hands and removed the teacup from the table.
"Right, I killed them. At your son's request. Reason? Is that necessary? Well, even if you weren't, your children would have become my pawns. Just for killing two people. You would have done anything for money, right? It's problematic to think I'm the cause of everything now."
Lee Yonghyun continued without any change in his tone, as if talking about someone else.
"Originally, I planned to kill your son too. I couldn't leave any loose ends. But your son couldn't bring himself to kill his nephew. He didn't expect that the young one would come back as a hunting dog to tear him apart, did he?"
"You... you..."
Chairman Cheon's voice began to tremble.
But Lee Yonghyun remained calm.
"Listen, Chairman Cheon. I'm Lee Yonghyun. You want to finish me off? Do you really think that kind of threat will work on me? You can't. If you really wanted to, you would have used everything at your disposal to fight me the moment you found out I ordered your daughter's death. In the end, you were too afraid, weren't you? Afraid of losing everything."
Lee Yonghyun spoke as if he knew everything.
Having known each other for so long, they were too familiar with each other's ways.
Lee Yonghyun clicked his tongue at Chairman Cheon, who couldn't say a word.
"I have nothing left to lose. Muhyuk is the only one left. I've abandoned my children and other grandchildren. Muhyuk is all I have left."
Chairman Cheon lifted his head, and the tremor in his eyes had disappeared.
"But what if you touch even that? What will I have left to protect? I have nothing to fear. Yes, I might not be able to beat you. But one thing is certain. You'll have to be prepared for significant losses. You know I'm the kind of person who would do anything for money. You know better than anyone how far I can go."
Lee Yonghyun swallowed hard.
"There's no reason to keep him alive, right? Go ahead. You might be a match for me now. If you're willing to give up everything. Will you?"
Their gazes clashed in the air.
In the end, it was Lee Yonghyun who spoke first.
"Ha... I understand. I'll keep him alive as long as you're alive, as I originally planned. But don't keep provoking me. Unlike you, I don't need to give up everything to bring you down. Don't forget that. I've been holding back because of our past connection."
It sounded like he was stepping back, but Lee Yonghyun wasn't the type to back down easily.
"That's as far as I'll go. I consider this the end of our debts. If you keep eating away at my power... not only you, but your grandchildren will face problems."
Lee Yonghyun was under the impression that Chairman Cheon had orchestrated everything, not Muhyuk.
But Chairman Cheon didn't show it and just nodded.
For now, he needed to be Muhyuk's shield.
"Then, I'll be going."
"Don't leave so soon. It's nice to have tea together after so long. It brings back old memories."
"We've come too far to reminisce. If you hadn't coveted Myeongdong, we might still be getting along, right?"
"If you had made a little compromise, it would have been fine."
Chairman Cheon, who was about to stand up, laughed bitterly.
"Nonsense! What kind of people are the Japanese? If they ask for one thing, they'll ask for ten next. They're untrustworthy scoundrels."
"Don't live in the past. Even if you try to stop them, the loan market will be taken over by the Japanese. I plan to make it happen."
"It's not because they're Japanese. I don't want them in my territory. Don't even think about it until I'm in my grave."
Their conversation was going in different directions.
Chairman Cheon turned around, deciding that further dialogue was pointless.
"The next time we meet will be at your funeral or mine. Don't go too far. Be careful."
As Chairman Cheon left the living room, Lee Yonghyun's words followed him.
Manager Ha supported Chairman Cheon as he got into the car.
The car carrying Chairman Cheon quickly left Lee Yonghyun's mansion.
"Are you okay?"
Manager Ha, who was driving, asked Chairman Cheon with concern.
"I'm fine. It's just been a while since I went out. I'm a bit tired. I need to rest. Wake me up when we arrive."
"Understood."
Chairman Cheon closed his eyes, looking exhausted.
The first meeting with Lee Yonghyun came to mind.
He fell asleep, reminiscing about the past until they arrived in Pyeongchang-dong.
* * *
Gangnam District in Seoul was the most coveted area by organized crime groups.
Due to the numerous entertainment venues in Yeoksam-dong and Seolleung, managing these places alone brought in a lot of money.
Until recently, the Baekho faction had managed the room salons, where Park Dongsoo and Kim Muhyuk were now seated.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"I cooked everything for you. If you can't eat this, you'll have to leave. Isn't that right?"
"Haha. Have you absorbed the rest of the gang members?"
"Now that I need middle managers, I've filtered them out. I've accepted those who can be useful and retired those who can't."
"Don't let your guard down. In this world, you can be betrayed at any moment."
"Hmm... How long do you think Suhyung and the other leaders will survive?"
"Yang Suhyung and the other leaders will be out in a few years. But with the best lawyers, we can wait and see. They'll reduce the sentences as much as possible. It will cost a lot, though."
"Thank you."
With Gangnam under his control, Park Dongsoo had now firmly established himself as a major figure in the organized crime world.
"Who will manage Yeongdeungpo?"
"I've entrusted it to Executive Lee. There are too few reliable people, and Geopdong Construction is there."
"Don't just retire the well-known ones. Give them appropriate positions and manage them. They won't dare to act recklessly now. But no more threats or extortion against civilians."
Park Dongsoo made a pained expression.
"Gangnam kids have plenty to eat, so they don't need to do such things. But it's not easy elsewhere. They need to eat to listen to me. You also banned drugs, didn't you?"
"Absolutely not, drugs."
"Really? Just because we don't do it, does that mean drugs will stop? The Chinese gangs are already getting into the drug trade."
"Leave it for now. For a while. We can use law enforcement to crack down. There are no major gangs left to challenge Mr. Park, right?"
"Right. The old leaders in Gangbuk, the Gwangju faction in Jeolla, and the Jagal faction in Daegu are still a threat. We don't know when they'll attack, now that the three major Gangnam gangs have been dismantled."
"You shouldn't go to war for a while. If it happens again, the police and prosecutors won't be able to look the other way."
Thanks to the president's resolve and Prosecutor Yoon's efforts, most of the top bosses of the three major Gangnam gangs were arrested.
They were all designated as leaders of criminal organizations, facing sentences ranging from a minimum of seven years to a maximum of the death penalty.
But the situation wasn't entirely positive. As Park Dongsoo said, it was uncertain when another gang might attack.
Dealing with the three major Gangnam gangs was easier than dealing with Park Dongsoo alone.
"Let's properly consolidate Seoul this time."
"What?"
While talking with Andrew from the Genovese Family in the U.S., I had this thought.
If we could consolidate Seoul into one organization through negotiation rather than war, and distribute the profits while maintaining control, we could solve things without drawing unnecessary attention.
"Let's consolidate Seoul into one organization. Through negotiation, not war. Even if the profits are distributed, all the power will be in Mr. Park's hands. Isn't it easy to persuade the old leaders?"
No matter how much money the gangs make, it's not a significant amount to me.
I'm not helping this guy just to get a little money or tribute from Park Dongsoo. To achieve my goal of using Park Dongsoo against the Yakuza, unnecessary conflicts must be minimized.
"Will you try it? Don't worry about the money."
"It won't be easy."
"You already have two territories in Seoul. If you consolidate it into one organization, you'll control two major cities: the capital and the second-largest city. Once that happens, the other gangs, weakened by the war against crime, won't dare to challenge Mr. Park. You'll naturally dominate the darkness of South Korea."
In a country with a strong government, the gangs pretend to operate within legal boundaries.
They may resort to violence and intimidation when necessary, but they carefully navigate the line between legal and illegal activities.
A typical example is the Yakuza in Japan and the Mafia in the U.S.
Ultimately, they can't escape the framework of being violent organizations, but they don't openly engage in wars. The government doesn't let them.
In some places, just a bit south of the U.S., there are drug cartels stronger than the government, but that's because the government's power is weak. In a normal country, the government would try to manage violent organizations.
"I'll give it a try."
"You already have two territories in Seoul. The major gangs are the old leaders in Gangbuk, right?"
"It's not about their power. It's about the networks they've built over their lives and the respect they command among the gangsters. We'd win a war, but that's not the point."
"Exactly. Try talking to them."
"I understand. I'll give it a shot."
The old leaders in Gangbuk would likely accept.
When the Japanese Yakuza and Gangnam gangs tried to take over the Korean underworld, the old leaders in Gangbuk joined them to preserve their positions.
Respect among gangsters? Ha.
They're just relics of the past, clinging to their former glory.