After wrapping up everything in the U.S., I returned to Korea.
The first thing I did was head to Seocho-dong to et Prosecutor Yoon—it had been a while.
“It’s been a while, Chief Prosecutor.”
I arrived ahead of schedule, but Prosecutor Yoon was already seated.
“Good to see you, junior. It really has been a while.”
As I took my seat, I offered so polite small talk.
“Word in the political world is that you’ll be the next Prosecutor General. Congratulations in advance.”
“Hahaha. Thank you.”
Though the current Prosecutor General still had ti {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} left in his term, he was widely seen as a pro-Blue House figure who’d accomplished nothing notable.
He simply followed orders from the presidential office—that was all.
Despite his attempts to check Prosecutor Yoon’s power, the major cases Yoon had handled at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office made it difficult to remove him without just cause.
“You must be getting quite a bit of attention from the political world, no?”
“Haha. The ruling and opposition parties alike keep whispering into my ear—it's getting to my head.”
“Don’t waver. Retire at the peak of your career as Prosecutor General, and then enter politics. I’ll make sure you’re well funded. Just keep managing your image with conviction.”
Maybe I’d struck a nerve—he looked visibly excited by my words.
“You’re saying I should go into politics after stepping down?”
“Of course. With your current public support, you’d be elected no matter where you run. Prosecutor General first, then straight down the expressway to Yeouido.”
Just imagining it must’ve made him feel good—the smile on his face was bright and wide.
“Alright.”
As the al neared its end, I brought up the real reason for today’s eting.
“When do you think the ‘Correcting the Past’ initiative will conclude? The two forr presidents are the final targets, right?”
Prosecutor Yoon, surprised, put down his spoon.
“How did you know about that? The investigation is strictly confidential.”
“Hahaha. Co on, you know .”
Ultimately, the end goal of “Correcting the Past” was the arrest of two forr presidents.
Though Cheongpunghoe had weakened under consistent pressure from the presidency, the looming foreign exchange crisis and support from Japan had given them greater power than before.
We had to seize Gangnam while Cheongpunghoe was still faltering. Miss this chance, and we’d be looking at a bloody war.
“That prosecutor who investigated the slot machine scandal—he’s still in Jeju, right?”
“Who? Oh, that hardhead?”
“Yeah. Still clinging to his job?”
“He’s got a lot of pride in being a prosecutor. Seems a bit worn out, though. I told him I’d promote him to the Central Investigation Departnt next year, but still...”
“Don’t do that. Bring him to the Violent Cris Division in Seoul. Let’s use this chance to clean out the Gangnam punks.”
Prosecutor Yoon was mid-sip of his punch when he started coughing.
“What? Gangnam? That’s tough. They’ve got deep political ties—any pressure on them is t with serious pushback. They even survived the War on Cri. Now they’re disguised as legitimate companies—it’s even harder.”
“The mont those two forr presidents are arrested, all the politicians will go into hiding. We’ll have justification under Article 4 of the Law on Punishnt of Violent Acts.”
“Hmm...”
Prosecutor Yoon hesitated, then asked, sounding concerned.
“There’s not enough evidence to charge them as organized cri syndicates. No matter how hard the Violent Cris Division works, these aren’t petty thugs—they’re three nationwide organizations. They’ll just cut off the tail.”
“We’ll provide the pretext. But in return, let our people off lightly.”
I laid out the plan I’d devised.
Listening carefully, Prosecutor Yoon made several adjustnts to the plan—proving he wasn’t a prosecutor for nothing.
“Good. This should work. I’ll make sure that guy gets back in the field. He’ll love it.”
“D-Day is the day the two forr presidents are arrested. When everyone’s focused on that, Park Dongsu will launch his attack. Just be ready to make the arrests.”
“A gang war in the middle of Gangnam... It’s going to get noisy.”
Though he sounded concerned, the corners of Prosecutor Yoon’s lips were curled upward.
Of course—how could he not be excited about personally taking down the leaders of national criminal syndicates?
After the al, I got back in Chief Ma’s car.
“Take to Geukseong Construction.”
After a long drive, we arrived.
A staffer led to the president’s office.
“Welco, sir.”
Park Dongsu wasn’t around—Lee Sanggeun was buried in paperwork alone.
“Where’s President Park?”
“He’ll be in shortly. He usually works near the construction sites.”
I’d heard they were working on securing their foundation after a bloodless takeover of Daechi-dong. It seed Geukseong Construction had been completely handed over to Lee Sanggeun.
As I took the head seat, Sanggeun sat beside .
“Busy?”
“It’s fun.”
“You’re not short on funding for the orphanage, right?”
“Thanks to you, it’s running just fine.”
Ever since Sanggeun fully beca one of Park Dongsu’s n, we’d made sure the orphanage he ca from was well funded.
A small price to win over one man’s loyalty.
Just then, the office door opened and Park Dongsu walked in.
“Hey, boss!”
With a cheerful grin, he sat across from Sanggeun.
“You should’ve called. I’m late now.”
“How’s Daechi-dong?”
“Not much for us gangsters to touch.”
“That’s expected. It’s just a beachhead for taking Gangnam. Just be ready.”
“A full-out war with Gangnam favors them. I could handle Baekho alone, but if we go up against the New Gangnam group and Honam-PK, we’re screwed.”
Even though Park Dongsu controlled Busan and southwest Seoul including Yeongdeungpo, he couldn’t take all of Gangnam on his own.
Not without the prosecution’s help.
“When your n hit their core business spots, the prosecution will move in simultaneously.”
“What? That ans our guys get arrested too.”
“Most will be released from the station, aside from a few designated fall guys. If things get too heated, just have soone ready to take the hit. What was the na of the guy in charge of Busan?”
“Who? Soohyeong?”
“Yes. Use him as the fall guy.”
Park Dongsu’s cheerful expression hardened instantly.
“Soohyeong’s like a real brother to . You want to throw him under the bus?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll get him the lightest sentence possible. anwhile, their side will be hit with Article 4—organized cri. Minimum five years.”
“Still...”
“President Park, we’re talking about taking all of Gangnam. Not just one district. If you’re not willing to risk so damage, this won’t work.”
“Sigh...”
Park Dongsu, visibly frustrated, loosened the tie around his neck like a salaryman.
“Just make sure he gets the lightest possible sentence. Got it?”
“Yes. It’s just a contingency plan in case things blow up. A knife fight between gangsters in the middle of Gangnam isn’t going to go quietly.”
No matter how much Prosecutor Yoon and I worked behind the scenes, we couldn’t stop the dia or public attention. So of Park Dongsu’s people had to go down too.
If it was Yang Soohyeong managing Busan, the dia would eat it up.
“Plenty of ti left. Secure Yeongdeungpo completely for now. I’ll let you know the date.”
“Alright. How about a drink tonight?”
“Just got back from the States. I’m exhausted. Next ti.”
Leaving a disappointed Park Dongsu behind, I exited Geukseong Construction.
After working nonstop since landing back in Korea, I felt dead on my feet.
By the ti I returned to Pyeongchang-dong, Cheon Jiyoung was chatting with Grandfather in the living room.
“I’m back.”
“You sure hit the ground running.”
I smiled at Grandfather’s playful scolding.
“Haha, I know.”
“Oppa!”
“Jiyoung, you’re here?”
“Yeah, I’ve been coming by since you weren’t around. Didn’t want Grandpa to be lonely.”
“Thanks. Keep coming.”
“Okay!”
Jiyoung was slowly returning to the lively girl she used to be.
“I’ll head up and rest now.”
“Sure. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“See you later, Jiyoung.”
I said goodbye and went upstairs.
“Chief Ma, you should rest too. Thanks for your work. Take your ti preparing for the PMC.”
Chief Ma bowed slightly and disappeared as I entered my room.
Finally alone, I could relax.
For a while, I focused on collecting the bonds Grandfather still held.
Ti passed quickly—and on November 1st, for the first ti in the country’s constitutional history, a forr president was arrested.
History didn’t change.
Cheongpunghoe was probably preparing to launch a new political party for the 1996 general elections. The party in power wasn’t providing them enough influence, so they were likely working to unite remnants of the Fifth and Sixth Republics.
But due to a whistleblower’s exposé of the opposition’s slush funds, the president was arrested.
Cheongpunghoe launched a full-scale rescue effort.
But the Special Law on May 18 passed through the National Assembly, and prosecutors stord the forr president’s residence to serve the arrest warrant.
I told Park Dongsu to be on standby, with everything ready.
— He’s moved. It’s ti for you to move too.
After Prosecutor Yoon’s call, I gave the order to Park Dongsu.
“Let’s take Gangnam. Execute.”
— Okay.
Park Dongsu mobilized all his n and launched simultaneous strikes on the core business sites of the Gangnam gangs. It was a full-scale war, drawing manpower from Busan and Yeongdeungpo.
By dawn, as the sun began to rise, I got a call from Park Dongsu.
— They’ve all been arrested.
“Well done. Stay at Geukseong Construction. I’ll call when it’s ti for Yang Soohyeong to surrender.”
— Got it.
A little later, Prosecutor Yoon called.
— We’ve arrested all the top bosses. We’ll charge them properly as organized cri groups. Today’s quiet thanks to the president’s arrest. We’ll leak this to the press. Have Dongsu’s underboss prep for surrender too.
“I’ve already inford him. Thank you. And the prosecutor?”
— Hahaha. In his elent. Says nothing beats being on the front lines. He’s perfect for it.
The next day.
Because the forr president’s arrest dominated headlines and news, the Gangnam incident went largely unreported.
Still, Prosecutor Yoon used every tool at his disposal to leak his achievents to the press.
The arrest of major gang leaders—who even survived the War on Cri—was more than enough to attract public attention.
A massive brawl with dozens of injuries, right in the heart of Seoul’s Gangnam—citizens were stunned.
The president demanded strict enforcent of the law, and Prosecutor Yoon responded by indicting the Gangnam cri bosses under organized cri statutes.
Of course, Park Dongsu didn’t escape untouched.
Yang Soohyeong and several squad leaders were arrested, along with many of their mbers.
It was a necessary sacrifice to take control of all of Gangnam.
With the rest of his forces, Park Dongsu swept up the remaining gangs and seized every business location.
Cheongpunghoe wouldn’t be able to respond anyti soon anyway.
It was a calculated move.
* * *
“Muhyuk attacked Gangnam?”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Cheon Taesan, eyes closed deep in thought, finally stood from his seat.
“Myeonghun. It’s been a while since I got out. Call Yonghyeon. Tell him I’m coming.”
“Yes, sir.”
Bringing only his aide, Chief Ha, Chairman Cheon said nothing during the entire ride.
Eventually, the car arrived at Lee Yonghyeon’s residence in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
“It’s been a long ti since I was here.”
He muttered quietly as he stepped out of the car.
The mansion looked like a traditional Korean hanok at first glance, but the windows were glass, the floors were covered with tatami mats, and the hallways had Japanese-style doors with glass.
An elderly man with sharp eyes and white hair greeted Chairman Cheon in the yard. He was none other than the head of Cheongpunghoe—Lee Yonghyeon.
“Chairman Cheon. It’s been a while.”
“Yonghyeon, you’ve aged quite a bit.”
They spoke like old friends.
< Let’s Take Gangnam. Execute. > End.
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