The Genius Grandson of the Loan King - Chapter 25 (25/840)
< I'll organize it for you. >
#25
I'll organize it for you.
"Is this the place?"
I drove straight to the location Mr. Ha had shown me.
A shabby inn in Bulgwang-dong.
As soon as I opened the door and stepped in, the unique smell of the inn hit me.
Making a noise, an old man poked his head out of a small side door near the entrance.
"Looking for a room?"
"No. I'm looking for someone. Is there a Mr. Han Gyungyeong staying here?"
The innkeeper, who had been inspecting me up and down, grumbled.
"Are you... a cop?"
"Me?"
"Is there anyone who fills out the guest register properly in such a shabby inn? How did you even know the name?"
"I'm not a cop. I'm looking for a man in his late twenties. Is there anyone staying here long-term?"
"Hmm... I'm getting old, and my memory is fuzzy."
I took a ten-thousand-won bill from my wallet and placed it on the counter.
"Does it ring a bell now?"
"Oh, right. I don't know his name, but there is a young man staying here long-term. Let me see... the room... "
The innkeeper, who had been indifferent, changed his attitude and flipped through the guest register.
"Room 302. Go up and check."
He quickly took the ten-thousand-won bill I had placed on the counter and closed the small side door.
'Room 302... '
As I was climbing the stairs, I saw a young man coming down.
The moment our eyes met,
the man suddenly stopped and started running up the stairs.
"Hey, Mr. Han Gyungyeong!"
I called out urgently, but there was no response.
I chased after him as he ran up to the rooftop without stopping.
When I opened the door and went up to the rooftop, Han Gyungyeong was looking down, glancing around. I couldn't help but laugh.
It was hard to believe that this was the Han Gyungyeong who was known as the "black-haired foreigner" and had made the Korean stock market tremble.
"I didn't come to collect money. Let's talk, Mr. Han Gyungyeong."
Only then did Han Gyungyeong stiffly turn his head to look at me.
"Are you really not a debt collector?"
"No, I'm not."
"Phew! You made me run so hard. Speak up quickly. Ha!"
Han Gyungyeong, now relaxed, sat on the ground and looked up at me.
"Let's sit and talk. I'm tired. By the way, who are you?"
"My name is Kim Muhyuk. You are Mr. Han Gyungyeong, right? The stock trader?"
"Ah! Yes, that's me, but..."
"I'm glad I found you. Let's work together."
What kind of guy is this?
His expression was one of confusion.
Well, it's understandable to be surprised when a young guy suddenly shows up at your hiding place and asks you to work together.
"I'm not a scammer."
"Then what... a market manipulator? I don't do that. No matter how desperate I am, I won't do something that's not human."
I tried to suppress my laughter.
What about all the people who jumped into the Han River because of the market you manipulated?
I don't need a good person.
I need someone who can read the flow of the stock market and can let go of greed.
Most importantly, I need someone who will follow my instructions without question.
That's why I came to find Han Gyungyeong.
"I don't do that. Anyway, get up. Haven't you eaten? Let's eat and talk. What do you like? Hanwoo? Sashimi? Just say it."
Han Gyungyeong's face brightened at the mention of food.
He got up as if he had never sat down and urged me.
"I haven't had Hanwoo in a long time. What are you waiting for? Let's go, quickly!"
Han Gyungyeong and I left the inn.
"Get in. I'll take you to a good Hanwoo place."
"Oh, a Grandeur! Are you from a wealthy family?"
Han Gyungyeong, who had been looking at the parked car, got into the passenger seat. I slowly started the car.
"Where are we going? If you know a good Hanwoo place in Yeouido, let's go there."
"Ha ha ha. I know a good place in Myeongdong. I'll take you there."
At the mention of Myeongdong, Han Gyungyeong's face turned pale.
"Myeongdong?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"Y-You said you're not here to collect a debt, right?"
"I'm not here to collect a debt. I'm involved in loan business, but don't worry. No one will touch you as long as you're with me in Myeongdong."
But the anxiety on his face didn't disappear.
I laughed as if it was nothing and reassured him.
"Don't worry. If I wanted to catch you, I wouldn't have come alone."
"Phew... I see. Let's go."
Although he said that, Han Gyungyeong sighed, looking pale as if he had given up.
* * *
We arrived at a Hanwoo restaurant in Myeongdong.
I led Han Gyungyeong, who was looking around, into the restaurant.
We were guided to a quiet room, placed our order, and started talking.
"How much do you owe?"
"Why?"
His tone had become a bit harsh, probably because we were in Myeongdong.
I smiled and continued.
"Mr. Han Gyungyeong. I want to build a good relationship with you. I don't intend to harm you. You can see that I found you in a place where even loan sharks couldn't, right?"
"..."
"How much do you owe?"
"300 million won."
300 million won...
It was ridiculous that he was hiding because of just 300 million won.
"300 million won?"
"Yes. I borrowed 300 million won, but with the interest... "
The meat we ordered arrived.
The conversation was interrupted by the server who was grilling the meat.
"Let's eat first. We can talk after we eat."
The smell of the cooking meat had Han Gyungyeong's eyes fixed on it.
We spent about 30 minutes eating.
After finishing the rice and doenjang stew, we sat down to talk.
"Is 300 million won the only debt you have?"
"Yes."
"What about the interest?"
"800 million won."
"800 million won. Compound interest, right?"
"I thought I could pay it back quickly. But... I didn't expect the stocks to become worthless. Ha, ha..."
After eating, he seemed to be more composed, giving an awkward laugh.
"I'll settle your debt for you. Work with me. The Grandeur outside? I'll make you drive something even more expensive. What do you think?"
Han Gyungyeong's face stiffened.
He looked as if he had seen something he shouldn't, and a trembling voice came out of his mouth.
"Are you... an angel? Do you have wings on your back or something? Or a scammer?"
His odd question made me momentarily dazed, but I burst out laughing.
"Ha ha ha. Wow, you're a funny guy."
He kept looking at me, half doubtful and half hopeful.
"Isn't that it? A stranger comes to you, buys you a meal, and offers to pay off your debt in exchange for working together. If you're not an angel, you must be a scammer, right?"
"Let's go. Where did you borrow the money? The office in Myeongdong, right?"
As I got up, Han Gyungyeong became even more flustered.
"What? Where are we going?"
"The office where you borrowed the money. We need to resolve it. If you want to work with me, you can't keep hiding."
"..."
Seeing his hesitation, I added,
"Trust me and get up. We're going to pay off the debt. Just be confident."
"Are you really going to pay it off?"
"Yes, but in exchange for working with me."
"..."
"What if I run away?"
I chuckled.
"You can run, but... I might be scarier than the people you borrowed from. If you're in Korea, I will definitely find you."
Han Gyungyeong swallowed hard.
"What do I have to do?"
"You're good at something, right? Stocks."
"Me?"
"Let's go first. We can talk slowly after we pay off the debt."
Although he still didn't believe it, Han Gyungyeong got up, looking bewildered, and followed me.
He slowly followed behind me.
When we came out of the restaurant, it was almost sunset.
"Where are we going? Lead the way."
I turned around and said, and Han Gyungyeong reluctantly started walking.
But...
He was walking so slowly.
"Are you going to your death? Let's go faster. The sun is setting. At this rate, we'll arrive tomorrow morning."
After about 10 minutes,
Han Gyungyeong stopped in front of an old building.
It was a loan office with no sign, only "loan consultation" written on the third-floor window.
"Is this it?"
"...Yes."
"Let's go up."
I walked up the stairs confidently, leaving the hesitant Han Gyungyeong behind.
Han Gyungyeong, following me, looked like a cow being led to slaughter.
"Are you really okay with this?"
I ignored the voice from behind.
On the third floor, there were no signs that it was a loan office unless you knew.
I opened the door without hesitation and walked in.
Two men with tattoos on their arms and a man with a cunning face, who seemed to be the boss, were visible.
Seeing Han Gyungyeong, who followed me in, the two men got up from their seats.
"What? This guy came here on his own to die?"
Han Gyungyeong flinched at the words.
"Stop! There's someone else here. What are you doing?"
The men sat back down at the boss's words.
Well, good acting.
"Who came with him?"
"Someone to pay off the debt."
At this, the boss got up from his seat and walked to the sofa.
Sitting on the sofa, he looked at the men and said,
"Hey, get up. A customer came, and you're taking up the seats?"
The men got up and stood behind the boss at his command.
Han Gyungyeong and I sat on the sofa.
"So, our customer. Do you have the money to pay?"
"How much?"
"Hmm... bring the ledger."
One of the standing men brought the ledger from the desk and handed it to the boss.
The boss, flipping through the ledger, spoke.
"It's here."
The boss opened a page of the ledger, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards me.
I didn't even look at the ledger, smiling at the boss.
"No, don't show me the ledger. Just tell me the amount. Why are you acting like an amateur?"
Despite my continued informal speech, the boss's expression didn't change.
Instead, the expressions of the men behind him became more menacing.
"Our young customer is disrespectful. The principal is 300 million won, and the interest is 1200 million won, so it's 1500 million won in total. And 30,000 won is a service fee, which I won't take."
300 million won turning into 1500 million won through compound interest!
This was the essence of loan sharking.
"No, no. What kind of interest... "
Han Gyungyeong, who had been listening, tried to argue with a trembling voice.
"Are you unfamiliar with compound interest? If he had run away and come back, he would have been in big trouble."
Han Gyungyeong closed his mouth, frightened by the boss's words.
"1500 million won, then?"
"Young man, you seem to have a lot of money. Yes, 1500 million won, and we can tear up the documents. Bring the cash."
"Can I use the phone?"
The boss pushed the phone on the table towards me.
"Whenever you want."
I called Pyeongchang-dong.
- Yes, this is Ha Myeonghoon.
"Mr. Ha, it's me. Can you bring 1500 million won here?"
- Yes, where are you?
"Where are we? Hold on a moment."
I looked at the men behind and said,
"Hey."
The men looked at each other with strange expressions.
"You. The one on the left."
The man who was pointed at looked at me in disbelief.
"Me?"
"Yes, you. Describe the location for me. I can't explain it."
I waved the phone towards him, and his face contorted.
"Take it. Explain it."
But the man had no choice but to take the phone and explain the location to Mr. Ha.
After hanging up, I smiled at him, who was glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me.
The boss, who had been laughing awkwardly, said,
"Young man, you're fearless."
At this, my smile turned into a sneer.
"Isn't Myeongdong your territory, Mr. Cash?"
"Yes, but the cash hasn't arrived yet, has it? It's not certain until it arrives."
"Ha ha ha!"
A loud laugh burst out of me.
A loan shark who didn't exist in my memory.
He must be one of the people who quietly disappeared after the financial real-name system.
It was hilarious that he was trying to intimidate me.
No matter how much I was targeted by my uncles and the Cheongpung Association, I had rolled around in this world as the successor to Chairman Cheon. How could I be disrespected by a punk like this just because I'm a bit younger?
"Laughing? Ha~ You're really crazy, aren't you?"
"Let's laugh. The guys behind you, relax. They say laughter brings good luck. You look scary enough as it is."
The men, unable to hold back, flinched.
The man on the left, who had taken the call, shouted,
"Are you out of your mind, kid? Do you want to die?"
"Don't do something you can't handle. Just quietly give and take what you need to and be done with it."
"You little—"
"Stop!"
At the boss's voice, the man who had been walking towards me stopped.
"Boss!"
The man looked at the boss with a look of injustice.
The boss also looked at me with a menacing gaze.
"Young man, loan sharks are more ruthless than gangsters. You're not intentionally provoking us, are you? We'll do anything to get the money. Don't compare us to amateur loan sharks."
I nodded.
"You're right, loan sharks are more ruthless. I mean, the real ones. Not guys like you who try to look tough with two pigs. Just take the money and get lost."
The boss's expression, which had been unchanged, finally changed.
"Phew, this kid is really hopeless. Boys!"
"Yes, Boss."
"Let's teach him some manners."
The two men's expressions brightened.
Han Gyungyeong, frightened, tried to run away from beside me.
I also got up from the sofa, chuckling.
At that moment, the door behind us burst open.
I didn't need to turn around to know it was Mr. Ha.
Mr. Ha, who had assessed the situation at a glance, laughed awkwardly.
The men who had been about to attack me shouted menacingly.
"Who is this guy?"
"Hey! What's so funny, you bastard!"
The color drained from the boss's face.
"Hey, you crazy bastards! Shut up!"
The desperation in his voice echoed through the office.