Park Dongsu ca up to Seoul.
After finishing the cleanup in Busan, he arrived right on the promised date. Of course, Lee Sanggeun was with him.
We had arranged to et at the hotel café in Jongno. I arrived there with Chief Ma.
“Hey! Brother!”
At the sound of Park Dongsu’s voice, Chief Ma’s eyebrows twitched.
This guy really hasn’t changed.
I shook my head and sat down.
“You kept your promise, I see?”
“Of course. I didn’t deal with it sloppily like before. Sanggeun here cleaned up all the shares in the businesses, and Suhyeong’s in charge of managing the boys.”
There was a confident air about Park Dongsu.
He had always been too soft, but after going through the process of purging Lee Saseong’s faction at my final warning, it seed like he’d hardened up.
Good. A gangster has to be a little ruthless when it counts.
“You’ve worked hard, Dongsu-hyung. From here on out, I’ll pave you a bright future. Just stick with .”
His smile blood the mont I called him hyung, and I smiled with him.
“What was that? Did you just call hyung? Damn! I finally got to hear it from our kid here. That feels amazing, doesn’t it, Sanggeun?”
Lee Sanggeun gave a slight nod—his way of showing that he now pledged complete loyalty to Park Dongsu.
After so light catching up, I shifted the mood to business.
“President Park, shall we talk business now?”
Maybe it was the sudden change in title, but Park Dongsu looked at for a beat.
I offered a small smile.
“We’re talking business now. We can’t stay in the ‘hyung-dongsaeng’ dynamic, can we?”
With a sigh, he relented.
“Alright, got it.”
“Please be careful around others. I an, I’ve known you since I was young, so informally is fine in private—but we can’t keep that up while working together. It’s common in the underworld. I’m your sponsor now.”
He nodded in agreent.
“You can still speak casually, but I’d like you to maintain basic respect.”
“Understood. So, what’s first?”
A quick answer.
Clearly, he’d gained so perspective while cleaning up Busan.
“Before that—have you looked into what I asked about my parents?”
“Oh, that. Still sniffing around. Once I get sothing, you’ll hear right away. If the cops back then were just looking through people with records like you said, there’s a good chance soone from the gangs got questioned. Give a little more ti.”
I hadn’t pinned too much hope on it, so I just nodded.
Originally, I’d planned to start from Yeongdeungpo, build up a company with security contracts through a fake construction firm—but once I decided to go after Jo Hyungu’s Geukseong Construction, I chose to accelerate things.
“Do you know Jo Hyungu? He’s the president of Geukseong Construction.”
“Jo Hyungu? Oh, you an the Cheongju gangster Jo Hyungu?”
“Used to be a thug from Chungcheong-do. Now he’s the CEO of a mid-sized company. You know him well?”
“Seen him a few tis at events, said hi. Just know his face. I heard he bought out a construction firm and is playing businessman now. Why?”
So they do know each other.
“I plan to eliminate him. President Park, Geukseong Construction will be yours. Think you can handle that?”
Spurt, cough.
Park Dongsu choked mid-drink and stared at .
“Jo Hyungu’s not an easy target. He’s connected in Cheongju and even has ties with politicians and civil servants in Seoul. That’s how he transitioned from gangster to businessman.”
“I’ll take care of the backing. Can you beat him in a straight fight? As long as law enforcent doesn’t get involved?”
“We’ll have to see. You’re jumping into a war right after showing up? Planning to storm the place?”
I shook my head.
“I’ll lay the groundwork. But first, I need you to do one thing.”
“What is it?”
“He has a son. Jo Chanseong. Break his Achilles tendon so he limps for the rest of his life.”
“What? Not Jo Hyungu, but his kid?”
He looked visibly uncomfortable.
I stared at him in silence.
After seeing the emotionless look in my eyes, he sighed.
“Look, kid... even in our line of work, there are rules. You don’t go after civilians. Especially not family. That’ll get you blacklisted in this world.”
“Do it anyway. If you want to keep working with , this is a test of whether you can keep going with . It’s not a request.”
When I first t Park Dongsu on that hospital rooftop, I helped him because I planned to use him in the coming war with Cheongpunghoe.
In my past life, I hadn’t known about the strength Manager Ha possessed. Now I knew—it was Grandfather’s hidden sword.
So it was ti to re-evaluate. Did I really need Park Dongsu as my blade?
“I know. That’s why I’m asking you to do it. If you’re going to keep pushing back and picking and choosing jobs, then we can’t work together.”
“Kid...”
“You know my friend, right? Park Hyunseong. Son of Inspector Park. That friend of mine—he can’t do judo anymore because one of Jo Hyungu’s n ran him over. And now you want to talk to about rules?”
“...What? Inspector Park’s kid got hit?”
“Will you do it?”
If Park Dongsu could go through with this, even if it went against his code, then he was worth keeping—for the war that would co later, when Japanese money and yakuza tried to enter the loan shark market.
He stayed silent for a long ti, then finally nodded.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
Lee Sanggeun, who had been silent, turned to look at him.
“If Jo Hyungu struck first, then fine. I’ll handle it as you say. But you’d better cover our backs. I’m trusting you.”
Park Dongsu hesitated a mont more before adding,
“And don’t betray . A lot of thugs get used by people with power and then tossed aside. I don’t want to be one of them.”
“If I planned to dump you, I wouldn’t have shared intel from Busan in the first place. Let’s work together. Once we take Geukseong Construction, even the cops won’t be able to touch us easily.”
He muttered sothing under his breath about being tough as steel and sighed again.
“As soon as the Jo Chanseong job is done, we’re moving on Geukseong Construction. Start calling people in and wait for my signal.”
“Alright. Give a week. I just got up here—I need ti to prep.”
I nodded and stood.
“Once we wrap things up, let’s grab a drink. We’ve never had a proper one together, have we?”
“Yeah.”
He stood as well.
I held out my hand. He grinned and took it.
“Let’s make it work, kid.”
“Yes, President Park. I’m counting on you.”
After parting ways with Park Dongsu, I got into the car with Chief Ma.
Before pulling away, Chief Ma turned from the driver’s seat and asked,
“Do we really need people like that?”
“You an gangsters?”
“Yes.”
“At first, I didn’t know Grandfather had hidden power. I didn’t know soone like you would end up on my side, either. I just wanted a blade of my own. That’s when he caught my eye.”
He still looked a little unconvinced.
“But after helping him a few tis, I realized—he’s not a bad guy. And even if he becos useless, there’s no reason to throw him away as long as he listens to . The more blades I have, the better.”
Chief Ma silently studied the cold smile on my face.
* * *
Ma Seokdae followed the staff down the stairs.
Inside a secluded room, familiar faces greeted him.
Each one had cold eyes and impressive builds.
“How long’s it been since we were all together?”
At Ha Myeonghun’s words, everyone smiled and looked around.
“We’ve t a few tis here and there, but it was hard to see Myeonghun-hyung or Seokdae-hyung. Myeonghun was busy with the Chairman, and Seokdae didn’t seem to want to co back from overseas.”
One guy grumbled. Ma Seokdae laughed aloud.
“Haha. Don’t scold just because it’s been a few years.”
“Scold? I’m just whining that we never see your face.”
Everyone laughed.
Ha Myeonghun raised a glass and looked around.
“Alright! The Chairman gave his blessing today. Let’s drink and party like hell!”
“To our brotherhood!”
Glasses clinked, voices rang out, and drinks flowed.
As the conversation deepened—
“Seokdae.”
“Yeah?”
“So you’ve decided to follow the Young Master? That was fast.”
Ma Seokdae smiled wryly at Ha Myeonghun.
“Well... I did co back to Korea intending to follow him. But it was when I saw how he flew back imdiately after his friend got hurt that I knew. This man will never abandon us. He’s not like the Chairman.”
“Still blaming the Chairman?”
A cautious question.
Ma Seokdae didn’t hesitate.
“Bla? How could we bla him? We grew up because of him—we’re drinking together because of him. We were just young. That’s why I ran off overseas.”
“Then I’m glad.”
Ha Myeonghun looked relieved and refilled his glass.
Ma Seokdae downed it in one go.
“He took in an orphan who’d been abandoned by his parents. And if the Young Master really is his blood, and not so major liability... then yeah, I’ll follow him.”
“He’s got talent. Treat him well. By the way... everything okay with his friend’s incident?”
“What?”
“That situation...”
“Ask the boss yourself.”
“What? This bastard... hahaha!”
Ha Myeonghun burst ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) into laughter at Ma Seokdae’s blunt reply.
“Yeah, that’s right. If you’re going to follow him, even if I or the Chairman ask, the answer should co from him.”
“Then don’t ask.”
“Fine, damn it.”
They laughed and clinked their glasses.
* * *
A few days passed after I handed the job over to Park Dongsu.
I was in the backseat of the car, legs crossed, listening to Chief Ma’s report.
“Since the new administration ca in, redevelopnt permits have been frozen. So Geukseong isn’t running any major construction projects. It’s unlisted, and most shares are held by Jo Hyungu and his family. A few mid-tier bosses seem to hold minor stakes.”
I nodded, and Chief Ma continued from the driver’s seat.
“He’s childhood friends with three-term ruling party lawmaker Kim Seyoung. He’s confird to have funded the man’s political campaigns. Most public contracts in Cheongju are handled by Geukseong Construction. He also holds major sway in the judo association.”
“So, once we acquire Jo Hyungu’s shares, we can take over Geukseong without issue?”
Acquiring shares wasn’t hard. Just get him locked up, and everything would fall into place.
“What about the corruption materials for the prosecution?”
“It’s a gift set of corruption. You barely need to dig. Touch it even a little, and everything spills out. If the prosecutors actually go in, there’s no way he escapes arrest.”
“Then once Park Dongsu finishes the Jo Chanseong job, pass the info to the prosecution. Start preparing.”
Without waiting for a reply, I got out of the car.
Today, I had a eting with Chief Prosecutor Yoon at a Korean restaurant in Seocho.
After a few minutes, the door opened and he walked in.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Was it long?”
“Not at all. I just got here myself.”
He hung up his coat, smiled, and sat down.
“How’ve things been? No issues on your end? Word is, all the loan sharks are whining about frozen capital. It’s made it all the way to Seocho.”
“The Chairman wouldn’t get shaken by sothing this small. We weathered it. Took a bit of a hit, but nothing major.”
“Haha, as expected of Chairman Cheon.”
We talked over dinner, catching up on recent events.
While drinking sujeonggwa, Yoon finally got to the point.
“I looked into Geukseong Construction like you asked. Doesn’t seem like the kind of company the Chairman would care about—too small.”
“As I said, it’s not about the Chairman. This is personal. I’m determined to ruin Jo Hyungu.”
“...Hmm.”
No imdiate answer...
I set my cup down and looked at him.
“Is it going to be difficult, Chief Prosecutor?”
A deep smile crept onto my lips.
< President Park, I’m Counting on You. > End.
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