The Genius Grandson of the Loan King - Chapter 22 (22/840)
< Are You Serious, Mr. Yoo? >
#22
Are you serious, Mr. Yoo?
"How much time do you need?"
No Eok-seon answered quickly.
"A month... no, a week will be enough."
He stared at Mr. No's face as if trying to pierce through it.
Mr. No avoided his gaze like a venomous snake.
"Hmm... First, please prepare and hand it over within a week. I won't report to Grandfather. I've helped you enough to establish yourself, so why do you have to be greedy? It would be better if you lived according to your position, wouldn't it? Right?"
"..."
No Eok-seon's face turned red, and he couldn't answer.
He clicked his tongue and added,
"Grandfather is still in good health. Whatever schemes you make with your uncles, Grandfather knows everything. Be careful. I'm telling you this out of concern. Throughout history, those who bite the hand that feeds them end up dead. I'll see you in a week."
He bowed and turned to leave, but Mr. No didn't react at all.
When he opened the door and went out, sure enough, Manager Ha was standing there.
He smiled brightly and said,
"Manager Ha, let's go."
"It seems the conversation went well, young master."
"Yes, thanks to you."
After that, I visited the other presidents over the course of a week.
Ma Jeok, Shin Sung-il.
A young man from a merchant family who had been supported by Grandfather since he was young.
Perhaps because of this, he was the president among the Myeongdong presidents who had the highest respect and loyalty for Grandfather.
"Welcome, young master."
His reaction was completely different from the others from the first meeting.
In a warm atmosphere, the handover of the ledger and the nominee account was completed, and after sending Manager Ha out, I asked about the slush fund account.
"Oh, did you also ask for that? Please wait a moment."
Ma Jeok opened a safe hidden behind a picture frame and handed me the account.
'This guy didn't have a hidden agenda? But why did he team up with Cheon Su-man and Cheon Su-han in my previous life?'
I had doubts, but I couldn't press him on future matters.
I bowed to Ma Jeok and left.
Shin Sung-il, who followed me to the entrance of the office, bowed his head.
"Young master, I'll see you next time."
"Hmm. Yes, see you next time. But Mr. Shin, the extreme respect is a bit burdensome. From now on, you can speak more casually."
"Ha ha ha. No, if I speak too casually, my dialect will come out, and people will misunderstand. I'll just serve you at this level."
"Okay, if that's more comfortable for you, do it that way."
Thinking I needed to observe Mr. Shin more, I left the place.
Finally, I went to the office of Mange.
Mange, Yoo Ji-gang.
The oldest among the four Myeongdong presidents.
A man who always carried a hammer in his pocket.
Though somewhat short, he was a formidable figure not to be underestimated.
He didn't even greet us as we entered, just sitting in his chair and doing his work.
Manager Ha showed his discomfort but didn't step forward.
"Mr. Yoo?"
"Wait a moment. I'll finish what I'm doing and hand over the ledger. Sit and wait."
He said this without even looking at us.
'What a guy.'
I sent a look to Manager Ha not to step forward and sat on the sofa.
Thirty minutes passed.
Just as my patience was about to run out, Mange got up from his chair and approached.
"Sorry. I had to clean up the ledger to report to the chairman, so it took some time. You're not upset, are you? Manager Ha, young master?"
He sat in the seat of honor, crossed his legs, and put a cigarette in his mouth.
After lighting it, he took a puff and said,
"Check the ledger. There shouldn't be any problems, but if there are any mistakes, let me know."
His casual attitude made it hard to find a moment to get angry.
I could sense his experience behind the nickname Mange.
"Then I'll take a look."
While I was checking the ledger, Yoo Ji-gang puffed smoke and spoke to Manager Ha.
"Manager Ha, you've been working hard lately, haven't you? Taking care of the young master's diapers. With your experience, you shouldn't have to do such things, so it must be tough. The chairman is too strict. If it gets too hard, send him to me. I'll treat him kindly from A to Z."
"Mr. Yoo, he's the chairman's grandson. Be careful what you say."
"No, it's not the Joseon era. Calling him young master is enough. What more do you want? That's for the chairman's loyal servant, Manager Ha, to do. Don't do it to me. I've been in this business for a long time."
When the conversation with Manager Ha ended, he turned to me, who was checking the ledger.
"Young master, can you check it? Just hand it over to Manager Ha? Don't waste time. Can you see it?"
His words, thrown out one by one, felt like barbs.
"Wait."
I checked the ledger while holding back my anger.
There were no issues with the ledger.
Though it felt strange that all the Myeongdong presidents had no issues with their ledgers, I needed the account urgently, so I smiled and said,
"There are no issues with the ledger. Please give me the account as well."
"Account? What account?"
"The nominee account, right?"
"Huh? You want that? Why?"
"The chairman asked me to retrieve it."
Yoo Ji-gang frowned and blew smoke in my face.
"Huh, the chairman asked you to retrieve it, so you should give it to me? Shouldn't the chairman come himself? That's only natural, right? The chairman entrusted it to me, so he should come to retrieve it. Isn't that right, young master?"
Manager Ha's cold voice then rang out.
"Are you serious, Mr. Yoo?"
Yoo Ji-gang replied with a sardonic smile.
"Why would I make a joke when I'm eating expensive food? So, I'm serious. Why?"
"..."
Manager Ha, looking angry, tried to stand up.
I raised my hand to stop him.
Manager Ha, who had been glaring at Yoo Ji-gang, turned to look at me.
"Manager Ha, please step outside for a moment."
"Young master!"
"Just a moment. We need to resolve this through conversation. Go outside and calm down."
"Hmm... I understand."
He glanced at Yoo Ji-gang before leaving.
"Mr. Yoo, stop playing games and hand over the account. And the slush fund account that the chairman entrusted to you in secret."
"Knowing about the slush fund account, it seems the chairman is really grooming you. But what's the point? It's no different from before. Tell the chairman to come himself. Then I'll give it to you."
"Mr. Yoo!"
"Why are you shouting? Hey! I've been cleaning the chairman's ass since I was a kid, watching out for the sharp-eyed agents in Myeongdong. You can't order me around like that. Be satisfied with being treated as a young master. The only person who can order me around is the chairman!"
The person who just mentioned the chairman shouldn't be saying such things.
"Even the Cheon presidents don't order me around. Who are you to demand things from me? A kid who hasn't even grown up yet!"
Yoo Ji-gang, who had put out his cigarette, took out a hammer from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"This hammer is the history of Myeongdong and a witness to the loan market. Don't act tough in front of me, kid."
"Ha... Are you going to push it to the end?"
"Ha ha ha. The end? Hey, you can't be treated as my equal just because you're the chairman's blood. Do you want to die together? If that's what you want, just say it. I'll tell the chairman."
What gives him the confidence to say such things?
All kinds of thoughts ran through my mind.
His attitude was too extreme.
He shouldn't be in a position to defy Grandfather just because he teamed up with the Cheon brothers.
'There must be something I don't know. Anyway...'
I decided to take a step back.
"Mr. Yoo, I'll come back tomorrow. If it's the same tomorrow, I won't let it go."
"Ha ha, is that a threat? A threat is like this!"
Yoo Ji-gang, with a fierce look, picked up the hammer and swung it.
The dark hammer aimed for my head.
I didn't flinch and glared at him.
The hammer stopped just before hitting my head.
Yoo Ji-gang laughed and put the hammer away.
"Still, you have some guts for being the chairman's blood. You have better eyes than the other two presidents. Get out. Tell the chairman to come himself. Then we can end this amicably."
As I stood up without a word, Yoo Ji-gang slumped back into his chair and picked up a pack of cigarettes.
I reached out and grabbed the cigarette he was about to take.
"Why did you take it out if you don't have the nerve to use it?"
Seeing his expression stiffen, I bared my teeth in a smile.
"If you swing it, you'll die too. Did you think I'd be scared by your act? Stop playing games. If you want to live, prepare the account by tomorrow."
I opened my hand, and the crushed cigarette fell in front of Yoo Ji-gang.
I turned and left.
"See you tomorrow. Let's see if you can do it."
Before closing the door, I added.
Manager Ha and Yoo Ji-gang's subordinates were looking at each other.
Manager Ha, relieved to see me unharmed, said,
"Is the conversation over?"
"I'll come back tomorrow. Let's go."
"Yes."
We left the office, passing by Yoo Ji-gang's subordinates.
While driving, Manager Ha asked if everything was okay.
"Hmm. There was a conflict. He tried to hit me with the hammer."
Screech!
The car stopped with a loud noise.
Surprised by the sudden brake, Manager Ha turned to look at me in the back seat.
"What did you say?"
"Calm down. We're in the middle of the road."
Sure enough, the sound of honking and cursing started coming from behind.
"Are you hurt?"
"He stopped just before hitting me. Let's go for now."
"Yes."
The car started moving again slowly.
When we arrived at the house in Pyeongchang-dong, Manager Ha and I went to the study to report to Grandfather.
"What?"
"He said the chairman should come to retrieve it himself."
"...... Ha ha ha, interesting. Very interesting. And?"
"He said he tried to hit you with the hammer."
"What?"
Chairman Cheon, surprised by Manager Ha's words, looked at me.
"He stopped just before hitting me. I'm not hurt. There's no need to worry."
"Are you really not hurt?"
"Yes."
In the study, Chairman Cheon usually treated me formally.
But upon hearing that I almost got hit by a hammer, he turned into a worried grandfather.
"Hmm... What is Ji-gang thinking?"
Chairman Cheon muttered to himself.
"Min-hoon, why do you think he's acting like this?"
"I don't understand either. I heard he competed with the chairman when he first entered the Myeongdong market. But since I started serving the chairman, I've never seen him act like this... Today was strange. It felt like he was deliberately provoking me."
"Is that so? What did you decide to do?"
I answered, receiving a look from Grandfather.
"I told him I'll come back tomorrow and that he should prepare the accounts."
"Is that so? Are you confident? You might get hurt."
"This is a task Grandfather entrusted to me. I can do it."
Chairman Cheon, pleased with my answer, nodded.
For a while, only the sound of his fingers tapping the table filled the study.
After collecting his thoughts, Chairman Cheon spoke to Manager Ha.
"Min-hoon."
"Yes."
"Handle this matter yourself."
"Me, directly?"
"Yes."
"Understood."
"Can you retrieve everything by tomorrow?"
"Yes, Chairman."
"And there's one more slush fund account. Retrieve that as well."
"Yes."
Manager Ha, who mentioned the slush fund account he didn't know about, didn't even raise a question.
"Go and handle it quickly. Make a judgment on how to dispose of it. Resolve it cleanly without any issues."
"Yes, Chairman."
After bowing, Manager Ha left the room.
As Manager Ha left, Grandfather looked at me with a worried expression.
"Kid, you don't need to do dangerous things to gain my approval. I told you to learn, not to do rough work."
"While doing loan business, it's inevitable to encounter difficult and rough situations. Grandfather has experienced them all. I can handle it."
"Let the subordinates do it. You don't need to follow the path I walked. I'll make sure you can work comfortably, so don't push yourself."
This was a completely different reaction from my previous life, where I had to start from the bottom.
"I haven't had an easy life either. If I can't handle one person, how can I succeed Grandfather?"
"Ha ha ha. That guy, really."
After laughing for a while, Chairman Cheon suddenly stopped and said,
"Leave this matter to Manager Ha. Watch how he handles it and learn from it. Understand?"
"Yes."
That was the end of the conversation with Grandfather.