He had finished wrapping up things in Busan and arrived on time as promised. Of course, Lee Sang-geun was with him.
They had arranged to meet at a hotel coffee shop in Jongno and arrived there with Manager Ma.
"Hey! Dong-su!"
At the sound of Park Dong-su's voice, Manager Ma's eyebrows twitched.
This guy is still the same.
I shook my head and sat down.
"You kept your promise?"
"Of course, I didn't handle it as clumsily as before. Sang-geun took care of the business shares and such, and I left the management of the kids to Su-hyung."
Park Dong-su's face exuded confidence.
He used to be too nice for his own good, but after my ultimatum and the process of cleaning up the situation, he seemed to have toughened up, which I appreciated.
Yeah, you have to be a bit ruthless to be a gangster.
"Dong-su, you've worked hard. I'll clear the way for you, so just follow me."
Seeing his face light up with a smile at the word "brother," I smiled along.
"What? 'Brother'? Wow! I finally get to call Dong-sang 'brother.' It feels great. Isn't that right, Sang-geun?"
Lee Sang-geun bowed his head slightly, a gesture that seemed to indicate his complete loyalty to Park Dong-su.
After the casual chitchat ended, I decided to get down to business.
"Mr. Park, let's talk about work now."
The sudden change in address seemed to catch Park Dong-su off guard, and he stared at me.
I smiled.
"We're going to talk about work, so we can't use 'brother' or 'younger brother,' right?"
He sighed.
"Alright."
"Please be careful in front of others. I met you when I was young, so we can be informal privately, but we can't maintain this relationship while working, right? It's common in the gangster world. I'm going to be your sponsor, after all."
He nodded in agreement.
"Sure, but please maintain some decorum."
"Got it. What should we do now?"
His quick agreement suggested he had learned something during the cleanup in Busan.
"Before that, did you find out anything about my parents?"
"Ah, that. I'm still looking into it, but I'll contact you as soon as I find something. As you said, if the police only targeted ex-convicts back then, there might be some gangsters who were investigated. Just give it some time."
I nodded, not expecting much.
Originally, I planned to start with Yeongdeungpo, set up a construction company, and make it look like a legitimate business. However, since I decided to take over Jo Hyun-gu's Geumseong Construction, I decided to speed things up.
"Have you heard of Jo Hyun-gu? He's the president of Geumseong Construction."
"Jo Hyun-gu? Ah, the Cheongju gangster Jo Hyun-gu?"
"He used to be a gangster from Chungcheong Province but is now the president of a mid-sized company. You know him well?"
"I've seen him a few times at events and exchanged greetings. I only know his face, but I heard he took over a construction company and became the president. Wow."
So, they do know each other.
"I plan to eliminate him. I want you to take over Geumseong Construction. Is that possible?"
"Wha, cough."
Park Dong-su, who was drinking water, was startled and started coughing, looking at me.
"Jo Hyun-gu isn't an easy target. He has connections with officials and politicians in Cheongju and Seoul. He used to be a gangster but has transformed into a businessman."
"I'll take care of the backing. We can win if we go head-to-head, as long as there's no interference from the authorities."
"We'll see when we try. Why are you starting a war as soon as you get here? Can we just storm in?"
I shook my head.
"I'll make sure the groundwork is solid. But first, do me a favor."
"What is it?"
"Jo Hyun-gu has a son named Jo Chan-sung. I want you to break his Achilles tendon so he limps for life."
"What? You want me to target Jo Hyun-gu's son, not him?"
Park Dong-su showed some reluctance.
I just looked at him silently.
He sighed after looking into my emotionless eyes.
"Ah... Dong-sang, there are rules even among gangsters. We don't target civilians, especially not family members. If you do, you'll be buried in this world."
"Still, do it. If you want to continue working with me, you have to. Consider this a test to see if you can work with me."
When I first met Park Dong-su on the hospital rooftop, I helped him with the idea of using him in the future fight against the Cheongpung Society.
In my previous life, I didn't know about the power that Manager Ha possessed, and I learned that he was my grandfather's hidden blade.
I needed to reconsider whether to use Park Dong-su as my blade.
"I know. I'm asking you to do it because I know. If you can't do what I ask, we can't work together."
"Dong-sang..."
"My friend, Mr. Park, you know him, right? Park Hyun-sung, the son of Mr. Park. He can't do the sports he loved because of Jo Hyun-gu's subordinates. What rules are you talking about now?"
"What? Mr. Park's son was targeted?"
"Will you do it?"
But if Park Dong-su can do what I ask, even if it goes against his beliefs, it's a good enough reason to work together.
For the upcoming war with the Japanese yakuza and the influx of Japanese funds into the loan market, it's essential.
After a long silence, Park Dong-su nodded.
"Alright. I'll do it."
At his words, Lee Sang-geun turned to look at Park Dong-su.
"Jo Hyun-gu started it. I'll do as you say, but you have to take responsibility. I'm doing this because I trust you."
A bit hesitant, Park Dong-su added,
"And don't ever betray me. Many gangsters have ended up dead because they trusted powerful people. I don't want that."
"If I planned to abandon you, I wouldn't have given you information in Busan. Let's work together. Once we take over Geumseong Construction, the police won't be able to touch us easily."
Park Dong-su sighed and muttered something about me being as tough as steel.
"I'll storm Geumseong Construction as soon as the job on Jo Chan-sung is done. Gather your people and wait. I'll contact you."
"Alright. Give me a week. I just got here, and I need to prepare."
I nodded and stood up.
"Let's have a drink after we finish with Geumseong Construction. I've never had a proper drink with you, Mr. Park."
"Sure."
Park Dong-su also stood up.
I extended my hand, and he smiled and shook it.
"Let's do our best, Dong-sang."
"Yes, Mr. Park. I look forward to working with you."
After parting ways with Park Dong-su, I got into the car with Manager Ma.
Before we started, Manager Ma turned in the driver's seat and asked,
"Do we really need people like him?"
"Gangsters?"
"Yes."
"At first, I didn't know about my grandfather's hidden power, and I didn't expect to meet someone like you, Manager Ma. I thought it would be nice to have my own blade, and he caught my eye."
Still, there was a hint of doubt in his eyes.
"After helping him a few times, I found him to be a decent person. There's no need to discard him just because he's no longer useful. He doesn't defy me, and more blades are always better."
Manager Ma looked at the cold smile on my face.
* * *
Ma Seok-dae followed the staff's guidance down the stairs.
As he entered the room isolated from the outside, familiar faces greeted him.
Each one had a chilling gaze and a formidable build.
"How long has it been since we all gathered like this?"
At Ha Myung-hoon's words, everyone smiled and looked at each other.
"We rarely gather, but it's been a while since we saw you, Myung-hoon and Seok-dae. Myung-hoon has been busy with the chairman, and Seok-dae never thought about coming back from abroad."
One of them grumbled, and Ma Seok-dae laughed out loud.
"Haha. It's been a few years, so you're giving me a hard time."
"It's not that. We missed seeing you, brother."
Everyone couldn't hide their smiles.
Ha Myung-hoon raised his glass and looked at everyone.
"Here's to the chairman's permission. Let's drink and die together."
"To our brothers!"
They clinked their glasses and drank loudly.
As they continued to chat, the drinking party deepened.
"Seok-dae."
"Yeah."
"You said you'd follow the young master? That was faster than I thought."
Ma Seok-dae gave a bitter smile to Ha Myung-hoon.
"Well... I came back to Korea with the intention of following him, and I thought it would be fine. When I heard that a friend in the U.S. was injured, I decided to come back to Korea immediately. I realized that this person would never abandon us, unlike the chairman."
"Do you still resent the chairman?"
It was a delicate question.
Ma Seok-dae shook his head without hesitation.
"Resent? How can we resent the chairman? We're all here, grown up because of him, and drinking together. We were young back then, so we just ran away to a foreign country."
"That's a relief."
Ha Myung-hoon looked relieved and refilled Ma Seok-dae's glass.
He drank it in one gulp.
"The chairman took us in when our parents abandoned us and raised us. Besides, he's family. If there's no major flaw, there's no reason not to follow him."
"He's capable. Take good care of him. Is everything going well with what you're doing now?"
"What?"
"About the young master's friend."
"Ask the boss directly."
"What? Look at this guy, hahaha!"
Ha Myung-hoon laughed heartily at Ma Seok-dae's blunt response.
"Yeah, that's right. If you're going to follow him, you should seek answers from him, whether the chairman or I ask."
"Don't ask if you know."
"Alright, alright."
They laughed and clinked their glasses again.
* * *
A few days had passed since I assigned the task to Park Dong-su.
I sat in the back seat of the car, crossing my legs, and listened to Manager Ma's report.
"Since the new government came in, no major construction projects have been approved, so there are no large-scale constructions underway. Most of the shares are held by Jo Hyun-gu and his family, as it's a private company. It seems that some shares have been distributed to mid-level bosses."
I nodded, and Manager Ma, sitting in the driver's seat, continued.
"Jo Hyun-gu has been friends with Kim Se-young, a three-term ruling party member of parliament, since childhood, and it's confirmed that he provides political funds. Most of the government construction projects in Cheongju are handled by Geumseong Construction. He also wields significant influence in the judo association."
"So, if we can get the shares from Jo Hyun-gu, we can take over Geumseong Construction without much trouble."
Getting the shares isn't that difficult, and once we put him in jail, the rest will be smooth sailing.
"What about the corruption information for the prosecution?"
"It's a comprehensive corruption package. Just a slight investigation would reveal a lot. If the prosecution decides to dig deeper, it will be hard for him to avoid arrest."
"Then, as soon as Park Dong-su finishes the job on Jo Chan-sung, we'll hand over the information to the prosecution. Please prepare it."
I got out of the car, leaving Manager Ma, who nodded without a word.
Today, I had an appointment with Prosecutor Yoon at a Korean restaurant in Seocho.
After waiting for a few minutes, Prosecutor Yoon entered.
"Sorry. Did you wait long?"
"No, I just got here."
He took off his coat, hung it on the hanger, and sat down with a smile.
"How are things? Are you doing well? I heard that loan sharks are complaining about their funds being tied up, even in Seocho."
"The chairman isn't the type to worry about such trivial matters. Everything is fine, although we did take a hit."
"Hehe, indeed, Chairman Cheon."
We talked about our recent lives over dinner.
As we were drinking soju, Prosecutor Yoon brought up the topic.
"I did some research on Geumseong Construction after hearing from you. It seems too small for the chairman to target, doesn't it?"
"As I mentioned before, it's a personal matter, not the chairman's. I'm determined to bury President Jo Hyun-gu."
"Hmm..."
He didn't answer immediately...
I put down my soju and looked at him.
"Is it a difficult task, Prosecutor Yoon?"
A deep smile appeared on my face.
"Mr. Park, I look forward to working with you." End