It was definitely Moon Tae-beom, despite his youthful appearance.
"Master?"
At the repeated call, I snapped back to reality.
I put on a habitual smile as I looked at Mr. Shin's face.
"Ah, I was just thinking about something else. Let's go in. Are the people behind you employees?"
"Yes, do you know any of them?"
"No. Is everything going well with your work?"
While talking to Mr. Shin, my mind was still in turmoil.
Moon Tae-beom was definitely a Korean-Japanese yakuza.
The vanguard of Japan's invasion of the Korean loan market.
The link between the Cheongpung Society and Japan.
Why is Moon Tae-beom with Mr. Shin?
I sat on the sofa with Mr. Shin in the office.
I pretended to look around while sitting in the seat of honor and confirmed his face again, but it was indeed Moon Tae-beom.
"Why did you come here? Do you have any instructions?"
Moon Tae-beom's appearance made me completely abandon my original plan.
"No, do I need a reason to come? I was just checking up on the Myeongdong bosses since I haven't paid much attention to them lately. Is it inconvenient?"
"Would I dare think such a thing? I am merely a servant of the chairman."
Is what this servant of the chairman saying true?
'That guy is the most unpredictable. He does what he's told, but that's it.'
I recalled what my grandfather had said.
"You always show great loyalty to the chairman. But now, it seems like it's time to show loyalty to me, doesn't it?"
"Haha, isn't my loyalty to the chairman the same as my loyalty to you, Master?"
I nodded and observed Mr. Shin's face.
His smiling face seemed particularly insincere today.
"Alright, I understand. Is there any other issue?"
"Yes, the same. People who can't get loans from banks or financial companies come to us."
"Since you know this business better than I do, I trust you."
"Thank you. Ah, Master. A junior from my hometown has come up. Would you like me to introduce him to you?"
"Introduce?"
"Hey, Tae-beom, come here for a moment."
Shin Sung-il gestured to Moon Tae-beom.
I suppressed a smile.
"Did you call me, sir?"
"Introduce yourself. This is the Master."
Moon Tae-beom bowed to me.
"Hello, my name is Moon Tae-beom. It's an honor to meet you, Master."
"Mr. Shin's junior from your hometown?"
"Yes, my father and the chairman are friends. We've known each other since we were young."
"Your hometown?"
"Masan."
"But your accent sounds like you're from Seoul?"
"I moved to Seoul when I was young and have lived there ever since."
"Ah, I see. Work hard."
"Thank you."
Moon Tae-beom bowed again and stepped back.
I scanned his face, which was lowered and bowed.
"He seems confident."
"Is that so? I thought he would be a good fit to serve you, so I introduced him."
Ha...
What kind of trick is this?
What is this guy's true identity?
I tried to read Mr. Shin's face, but he was smiling.
"Let's see. I do need some help anyway."
"He's a smart one. He's also very good at foreign languages and would be a good fit to serve you."
"Seems that way."
I wrapped up the conversation and stood up.
"Leaving already?"
"I have to meet other bosses."
"Ah, I understand. But I think your security detail is too small. Isn't Manager Ma alone not enough to protect you anymore?"
It was a meaningful statement.
I maintained a calm face and smiled.
"Don't worry about me. Manager Ma is still sufficient. I'll see you next time, Mr. Shin."
I walked out and stopped in front of Moon Tae-beom.
"Moon Tae-beom, right?"
"Yes, Master."
"See you often."
"It's an honor, Master."
I patted Moon Tae-beom's shoulder and left the office.
"Manager."
I called out to Manager Ma, who was driving.
"Yes, Boss."
"Mr. Shin Sung-il. You said you didn't find anything unusual when you investigated him, right?"
"Yes, is there something wrong?"
"Please investigate Moon Tae-beom as well."
"Understood."
I had thoroughly investigated the Myeongdong bosses.
I couldn't find any connection to the Cheongpung Society among the four bosses.
But Moon Tae-beom, a member of the Cheongpung Society, was with Mr. Shin and introduced to me as his junior from his hometown.
At the very least, it meant that Mr. Shin was connected to the Japanese yakuza.
"Let's meet with the Double Knives next time. Cancel the appointment and let's go home."
"Understood."
I arrived home and went to my grandfather's study.
"Grandfather, it's Mu-hyuk."
"Come in."
I opened the door to the study, and my grandfather put down the book he was reading and smiled.
"You said you were going to meet the Myeongdong bosses today, right?"
"I met Mr. No Ik-sun and Mr. Shin Sung-il. I postponed the meeting with Mr. Kim Ho-sik."
"Is something wrong?"
My grandfather sensed something was off and tilted his head.
"About the Myeongdong bosses. How much do you trust them?"
"How much do I trust them, you say?"
"Yes."
"Hehehe, Mu-hyuk. I don't trust anyone except for Myeong-hoon. Among the family, the only person I trust is Myeong-hoon."
"But why did you give them money and entrust them with managing Myeongdong?"
"......There is something going on, isn't there?"
My grandfather, intrigued, got up from his desk and walked to the sofa, sitting in the seat of honor.
"Sit down. This sounds interesting."
I was surprised and looked at my grandfather.
In the study, no one except my grandfather was allowed to sit.
I had never sat in the study, not even once, in the past or now.
Not even my uncles, Cheon Ji-won, or Cheon Ji-soo had ever sat in the study.
Ji-young was an exception, but...
"Grandfather."
"Hehe. What's the big deal about sitting?"
I silently bowed my head and sat down.
"In this study, the only people who can sit with me are the chairman of Ilseong Group, the chairman of Daehyun Group, and the chairman of Jungwoo Group. Do you know why?"
"I don't know."
"Because I had to tell them who holds the leash of your group. Now, there are many banks and financial companies lending money to companies at low interest rates. But it wasn't always like that. They ignored me, thinking I was just a money player."
A cold smile appeared on my grandfather's face.
"I cut off their loans. During the second oil crisis. The CEOs of companies that had been boasting came to me and bowed, begging for loans. That's when I made it so no one could sit in front of me in this study."
My grandfather often got lost in his memories.
As the national economy grew and banks and financial companies borrowed money from abroad to lend to companies at low interest rates, the number of large company CEOs coming to my grandfather decreased.
There were outstanding loans, but the large companies were not borrowing new money.
"There will be another day like that. Grandfather."
"On that day, Mu-hyuk, you will sit in this seat. I'm getting old."
"Grandfather."
"By asking you to sit, I mean I want to have an equal conversation with you. So, what's going on with the Myeongdong bosses?"
My grandfather, determined not to hear any objections, changed the subject, and I had no choice but to speak.
"Mr. Shin Sung-il is suspicious. I strongly feel he is connected to Japan."
"Seong-il? What could that country bumpkin, who only wrestled, have to do with Japan?"
"He could have hidden his true identity for a long time, even from you, Grandfather."
"Hmm... Seong-il is unpredictable, but he's not very smart."
"That's why I plan to eliminate him."
I thought about it on the way from Pyeongchang-dong to Myeongdong.
"Eliminate?"
"Yes. I don't want to waste my energy on Mr. Shin. If it feels wrong, it should be eliminated. It's also a warning to the Double Knives and the Viper."
"Hmm..."
My grandfather closed his eyes with a small sigh.
"Do as you see fit."
It took a while for him to answer.
"Yes."
"Can you do it?"
"Manager Ma has taken over half of the power from Manager Ha, and I have some gangsters helping me."
"Park Dong-su, right?"
"Yes."
"Can you trust him?"
"I don't trust people easily either. But he is still useful."
My grandfather's warm smile made me feel warm.
"Grandfather. About the loans to the top 20 groups. Can they be recovered now?"
"Hmm. They can be recovered at any time. Why do you ask?"
"I want them to be recovered."
"Let's think about it slowly. Most of them are convertible bonds from companies at the top of the circular investment chain, which can be converted to stocks at any time. Don't worry."
"But if they change their governance structure, they could become worthless, right?"
"I'm not dead yet. If there are any signs, we can act then. We can get the money back and take revenge."
"Understood."
I bowed to my grandfather and left the study.
After returning to my room, I gave instructions to Manager Ma.
"Let's deal with Shin Sung-il. Bring Mr. Shin and Moon Tae-beom to the factory and handle the rest as you see fit. You can get help from Mr. Park. Try working together with him."
"Understood."
Manager Ma answered without any hesitation, despite the sudden instructions.
"How long will it take?"
"Since it's the first time working with Mr. Park, it will take about two days."
"Leave the outskirts to Mr. Park. Don't worry about the small fry; focus on Shin Sung-il and Moon Tae-beom. Make sure to secure them."
"Understood."
Manager Ma bowed and left.
I called Park Dong-su.
- Dong-sang!
I smiled slightly at Park Dong-su's usual voice.
"I have a job for you. Work with Manager Ma. He will give the instructions, and you just handle the outskirts. It's not a difficult job, so don't worry."
- Got it. Ah, and we took over the redevelopment site. There was some resistance, but it was taken over without major issues.
"I expected as much. See you after the job is done."
- Got it. Dong-sang!
A few days later.
I arrived at an abandoned factory in the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
It was drizzling, and I had a slightly troubled expression as I got out of the car.
To be honest, I had underestimated the situation.
'Something didn't feel right.'
Manager Ma's forces suffered some losses, but Park Dong-su's organization, which handled the outskirts, suffered significant damage.
"Hmm... Is Park Dong-su weak, or is Mr. Shin's power stronger than I thought?"
"I'm sorry."
"No, Manager. I'm not blaming you. I combined two of my forces, and we still suffered losses."
As we walked towards the factory, Manager Ma explained under the umbrella.
"If it weren't for Mr. Park Dong-su, we would have suffered major losses. We easily entered the building, but suddenly they attacked from the outskirts, which Mr. Park was guarding. If he hadn't stopped them, we would have been trapped in the building."
Fortunately, we secured Shin Sung-il and Moon Tae-beom.
I shuddered at the thought that I might have lost Manager Ma if I had only sent him.
"Let's go in."
The sound of the iron gate opening in the abandoned factory, surrounded by farmland, was loud.
I entered with Manager Ma.
Manager Ma's subordinates, who I had seen a few times, were standing around and stepped back a bit. They were badly injured.
I stared at the bound and lying Shin Sung-il and Moon Tae-beom.
Looking at their faces, I was certain that Shin Sung-il was connected to the Cheongpung Society.