I look forward to working with you. Park Dong-soo came up to Seoul. He had finished tying up loose ends in Busan and came up right on time for our appointment.
Of course, Lee Sang-geun was with him. We had set up an appointment to meet at a hotel coffee shop in Jongno, and I arrived there with Section Chief Ma.
"Hey! Little brother!"
Section Chief Ma's eyebrows twitched at Park Dong-soo's voice. This guy really hasn't changed. I shook my head and sat down.
"You kept your promise, I see?"
"Of course. I didn't handle it sloppily like before. Sang-geun cleanly finished organizing the business shares and things like that, and I left the management of the boys to Su-hyeong."
I could feel the confidence on Park Dong-soo's face. He used to have a problem of being uncharacteristically too nice, but after going through the process of taking care of Lee Sa-seong due to my ultimatum, it seemed he had firmly resolved himself, which I liked. Right, a gangster needs to be ruthless when the time calls for it.
"Brother Dong-soo, you worked hard. Now I will make your future bright, so just follow me."
Seeing his face bloom with a smile at the word brother, I smiled along with him.
"What was that? Brother Dong-soo? Wow! I finally get to be called brother by our little brother. I feel amazing. Isn't that right, Sang-geun?"
Lee Sang-geun gave a small bow. It seemed to be an action showing that he was now completely loyal to Park Dong-soo. After the light small talk ended, I set the mood to continue the conversation seriously.
"Boss Park, shall we talk about work now?"
Perhaps because of the sudden change in title, Park Dong-soo stared at me intently. I gave a slight smile.
"We are about to talk about work, so we cannot just act like older and younger brothers."
He let out a sigh at those words.
"Phew, understood."
"Please be careful in front of others. I met you when I was young, so we can be casual in private, but we cannot keep maintaining this kind of relationship while working, right? It is a common thing in the gangster world. Because I will be your sponsor."
He nodded, as if agreeing with my words.
"Speaking casually to some extent is fine. But I want you to keep your manners."
"Understood. What should I do now?"
It was a quick acceptance. As expected, it seemed he had realized something while tying things up in Busan.
"Before that, did you look into the matter regarding my parents?"
"Ah, that. I am asking around, so I will get a call as soon as they find something. Like you said, if the police were only poking around at people with criminal records back then, there must be someone among the gangsters who was investigated. Let's wait just a bit."
I did not have high expectations, so I nodded and said I understood. Originally, I was planning to have him take over Yeongdeungpo first and set up a construction company and a hired muscle agency to make it look like a real business, but since I decided to swallow Jo Hyeon-gu's Geukseong Construction, I decided to move things forward.
"Do you happen to know Jo Hyeon-gu? It is the name of the boss of Geukseong Construction."
"Jo Hyeon-gu? Ah, are you talking about that Cheongju gangster Jo Hyeon-gu?"
"He used to be a thug from Chungcheong Province, and now he is the boss of a mid-sized company. Do you know him well?"
"I have seen him a few times at events and exchanged greetings. Just to the point of knowing his face? Well, I heard the news that he took over a construction company and is playing boss. Why?"
They did know each other, as expected.
"I plan to get rid of him. Boss Park, you can take Geukseong Construction. Will that be possible?"
"Pfft, cough."
Park Dong-soo coughed in surprise while drinking water and stared at me.
"Jo Hyeon-gu is not an opponent you can look down on. He has a solid grip on Cheongju, and he is close to civil servants and politicians in Seoul too. That is how a former gangster transformed into a businessman."
"I will take care of his backers. If you clash, can you win? Assuming there is no interference from public authorities."
"We will only know once we clash. You are starting a war as soon as I come up here. Should I just march right in?"
I shook my head.
"I will make sure the groundwork is properly laid out. Before that, please do one other thing for me first."
"What is it?"
"Jo Hyeon-gu has a son named Jo Chan-seong. Smash his Achilles tendon and make him limp for the rest of his life."
"What? You want me to take out his son instead of Jo Hyeon-gu?"
Park Dong-soo showed reluctance. I stared at him wordlessly. He looked into my emotionless eyes and let out a sigh.
"Phew... Little brother, even among gangsters, there are rules. We do not target ordinary people. Especially not family members. If you do that, you will be buried in this field."
"Do it anyway. If you want to keep working with me, you have to do it. Think of this not as a favor, but as a test to see if you can walk alongside me."
When I first met Park Dong-soo on the hospital rooftop, I helped him with the intention of using him later in the fight against the Blue Wind Association. I found out about the existence of the power Manager Ha possessed, which I did not know in my previous life, and also learned that it was Grandfather's hidden blade.
It was time to reconsider whether I really needed to use Park Dong-soo as my blade.
"I know. I am telling you to do it while knowing that. If you are going to weigh this and that and say you cannot do what I order you to do, we cannot work together."
"Little brother..."
"My friend, you know him too, right, Boss Park? Park Hyun-seong. Detective Park's son. Because of Jo Hyeon-gu's underlings, my friend's body is now in a state where he cannot do the sports he has dedicated half his life to. And you are talking to me about rules now?"
"What? Detective Park's son got attacked?"
"Will you do it?"
However, if Park Dong-soo could do what I ordered even if it conflicted with his own beliefs, that was reason enough to go together. Even if just for the sake of the future war against the Japanese funds and the yakuza entering the private loan market. After a long moment of silence, Park Dong-soo nodded.
"Understood. I will do it."
At those words, Lee Sang-geun, who had been staying still, turned his head and stared at Park Dong-soo.
"You said Jo Hyeon-gu messed with him first. I will have the boys do it, just as you said. But you have to take responsibility for the aftermath. I am doing this because I trust you."
Park Dong-soo added after a bit of hesitation.
"And do not ever betray me. There are plenty of gangsters who ended up dead while doing the dirty work for bastards with power. I do not want to end up like that."
"If I had planned to throw you away first, I would not have given you the information in Busan. Let's work together. Once you swallow Geukseong Construction, even the police will not be able to mess with you easily."
Park Dong-soo sighed and mumbled something under his breath about a "stubborn bastard."
"As soon as the job on Jo Chan-seong is done, we will charge straight into Geukseong Construction. Gather your people in advance and wait. I will contact you."
"Understood. Just give me a week. It hasn't been long since I came up, so I need to prepare."
I nodded and stood up from my seat.
"Let's have a drink once the Geukseong Construction matter is wrapped up. Come to think of it, I have never properly had a drink with you, Boss."
"Alright."
Park Dong-soo also stood up. When I held out my hand, he grinned and took it.
"Let's do this well. Little brother."
"Yes, Boss Park. I look forward to working with you."
After parting ways with Park Dong-soo, I got into the car with Section Chief Ma. Before starting the car, Section Chief Ma turned his head from the driver's seat and asked.
"Do you really need people like them?"
"You mean gangsters?"
"Yes."
"At first, I didn't know Grandfather had a hidden power. I didn't expect to gain someone like you, Section Chief Ma, either. That man caught my eye right when I was thinking it would be nice to have a blade of my own."
Even so, a look of doubt still lingered in his eyes.
"After helping him a few times, he turned out to be a decent person. Is there a need to throw him away just because he became less useful? It's not like he disobeys me either. Because when it comes to blades, the more you have, the better."
Section Chief Ma quietly watched the chilling smile that surfaced on my lips.
Ma Seok-dae followed an employee's guidance and went down the stairs. As he entered a room cut off from the outside, familiar faces welcomed him. Every single one of them had a cold gaze and an unusual build.
"How many years has it been since we all gathered like this?"
At Ha Myeong-hun's words, they all looked at each other with smiling faces.
"The rest of us gathered sparsely, but it was hard to see Brother Myeong-hun and Brother Seok-dae. Brother Myeong-hun was busy serving the Chairman, and Brother Seok-dae never even thought about returning from overseas."
When one of them spoke sullenly, Ma Seok-dae laughed out loud.
"Haha. You're giving me a hard time just because we haven't seen each other in a few years."
"What hard time? It's just a younger brother complaining because it was hard to see his older brothers' faces."
Everyone couldn't hide their laughter at those words. Ha Myeong-hun lifted his glass and looked at everyone.
"Now! We even got the Chairman's permission today, so let's drink up and drink till we drop."
"For our brothers!"
They clinked their glasses, shouted loudly, and downed their drinks. The drinking party deepened as they talked among themselves.
"Seok-dae."
"Yeah."
"I heard you decided to follow the Young Master? That was faster than I expected."
Ma Seok-dae smiled bitterly at Ha Myeong-hun.
"Well... I did come back to Korea with the thought of following him, and he seemed decent. I made my decision when I saw him return to Korea immediately after hearing his friend got hurt while he was in America. It made me think that this person would never abandon us, that he was different from the Chairman."
"Do you still resent the Chairman?"
It was a cautious question. Ma Seok-dae shook his head without much hesitation.
"Resentment? How could we resent the Chairman? We all grew up and are drinking together like this because of him. I was just young back then. That's why I blindly took off overseas."
"That's a relief then."
Ha Myeong-hun filled Ma Seok-dae's glass with a slightly relieved expression. He drank it in one gulp as soon as he received it.
"It is a fact that the Chairman took us in and raised us after we were abandoned by our parents. Besides, he is the Chairman's bloodline, so unless he has a major flaw, there is no reason not to follow him."
"He is a capable person. Serve him well. Are there any problems with what you're doing right now?"
"What?"
"The matter with the Young Master's friend."
"What are you talking about, ask the boss directly."
"What? Look at this punk, hahaha!"
Ha Myeong-hun laughed loudly at Ma Seok-dae's blunt remark.
"Right, that is how it should be. If you plan to follow him, you should seek the answers from him, even if the Chairman asks, or if I ask."
"If you know, don't ask."
"Understood, man."
The two laughed and raised their glasses to clink them together.
A few days passed after leaving the job to Park Dong-soo. I sat in the back seat of the car with my legs crossed, listening to Section Chief Ma's report.
"Perhaps because redevelopment permits haven't been issued since the current administration came in, they do not have any large ongoing construction projects. Since it is an unlisted company, Jo Hyeon-gu and his family hold most of the shares. It seems they distributed small amounts to their mid-level bosses."
When I nodded, Section Chief Ma continued his report from the driver's seat.
"It was confirmed that he has been friends with Assemblyman Kim Se-young, a three-term lawmaker of the ruling party, since childhood, and is providing his political funds. It turns out that Geukseong Construction handles most of the government-contracted construction projects in Cheongju. Besides that, he exercises great influence over the Judo Association as well."
"Then, as long as we get Jo Hyeon-gu to transfer his shares to us, we can take control of Geukseong Construction without much trouble."
Getting the shares transferred wasn't too difficult; as long as we caught him and put him in a detention center, the rest would proceed at lightning speed.
"What about the information on his corruption to hand over to the prosecution?"
"It was a comprehensive gift set of corruption. There was no need to dig deep; a slight poke was all it took for everything to spill out. The moment the prosecution makes up their mind to investigate, it will be hard for him to avoid arrest."
"Then, as soon as Park Dong-soo finishes the job on Jo Chan-seong, we will hand the materials over to the prosecution right away. Please get it ready."
I left Section Chief Ma, who bowed his head instead of answering, and got out of the car. Today, I had an appointment to meet with Chief Prosecutor Yoon, so I was at a traditional Korean restaurant in Seocho District. After waiting for a few minutes, the door opened shortly after, and Chief Prosecutor Yoon walked in.
"I apologize. Have you waited long?"
"Not at all. I just arrived as well."
He took off his coat, hung it on the coat rack, and sat down with a smile.
"How are things lately? Any problems on your end? The sound of loan sharks lamenting about all their funds being tied up can be heard all the way here in Seocho."
"The Chairman isn't someone who would care about something on this level, is he? We moved past it without any major issues. Even though we did take some losses."
"Haha, as expected of Chairman Cheon."
We shared how we were doing and had our meal. Around the time we were drinking traditional cinnamon punch, Chief Prosecutor Yoon brought up the subject.
"I looked into Geukseong Construction a little after hearing about it from you. The size seems too small for the Chairman to be targeting it, don't you think?"
"Like I mentioned before, it is not the Chairman but a personal matter of mine. Because I am dead set on burying Boss Jo Hyeon-gu."
"Hmm..."
No immediate answer, huh... I put down the cinnamon punch I was drinking and looked at him.
"Is it a difficult task, Chief Prosecutor?"
A deep smile surfaced on my lips.
< Boss Park. I look forward to working with you. > The End