Black Sky (4)
Three days later, Park Gwang-cheol came looking for Jang Cheon in his room.
“This isn't because I'm regretting the three billion won or anything.”
As he spoke, Park Gwang-cheol slipped slyly into the room. Jang Cheon didn't stop him.
“I'm not saying the company nearly collapsed because of it either. Want some booze?”
Park Gwang-cheol poured himself a glass of whiskey from the bottle sitting nearby.
Jang Cheon shook his head, so Park Gwang-cheol drank alone.
“Whew, bitter. Just like my mood.”
“Get to the point.”
“What point? You're not some girl—why would there be a point? I just came to ask about the warranty period on this job. No after-service?”
“After-service?”
“Those Guwolmun bastards don't seem like the type to just let me off the hook. What if they come back and kidnap me or something?”
“From now on, you're on your own.”
“Whoa, cold as ice. Must be nice having such a straightforward personality.”
“Scared? Then hire a martial artist with your money.”
“How?”
“Through someone you know, or hit up the market and find one.”
“What if the guy I hire turns out to be a weirdo? A psycho? What if he eyes my fortune and kidnaps me?”
“If you're worrying that far ahead, you can't use anyone. You're so suspicious—how do you even trust the people you're with now?”
“They've been with the company from the start.”
“You've really never accomplished anything on your own, have you?”
Park Gwang-cheol's pride bristled. Ever since meeting Jang Cheon, his ego had taken hit after hit, but each one stung like the first.
“Hmph!”
Park Gwang-cheol downed his second glass in one go. The booze tasted even more bitter.
Jang Cheon picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
“You seriously gonna watch TV right now?”
“You should see this.”
The news was in full swing on the screen.
Park Gwang-cheol jumped in shock.
“What? The Guwolmun leader's dead? What the hell happened? You knew about this?”
“It's been all over the news since morning. Watch it sometime.”
“This is insane!”
Park Gwang-cheol snatched the remote and flipped channels. Another news station was covering the same story.
Finally grasping that the Guwolmun leader was truly dead, Park Gwang-cheol's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the sofa.
One thing was clear: all of this was tied to the disappearance of Gangnam branch leader Tae Jin-gu and Seoul branch head.
“You did this, right?”
“You're the one who got tangled up with the black path in the first place. Why drag me into it?”
“Damn it! What's going on here?”
Park Gwang-cheol poured whiskey and gulped it down. The thought that he might be connected to the Guwolmun leader's death made his whole body tremble.
Then Jang Cheon said something unexpected.
“You should be happy about this.”
“What? Why?”
“Guwolmun will be thrown into chaos fighting over the new leader position. They won't have any bandwidth left to bother with you.”
“What about the police?”
There could be a police investigation.
“You're not scared of the cops, are you?”
“Well, no.”
He hadn't been directly involved anyway. With the group lawyers on his side, any issues could be handled.
“Phew. That's a relief.”
Park Gwang-cheol let out a belated sigh of relief. Once calmed, he asked casually,
“My dad's okay, right?”
“Not sure yet.”
“You can make it okay, though?”
“Working on it.”
As Park Gwang-cheol nodded, Jang Cheon said abruptly,
“Park Gwang-cheol.”
Park Gwang-cheol flinched.
“Now you're calling me by name? I've never done that to you.”
“Stay back now that you're safe. This isn't your fight.”
Jang Cheon's words pierced his pride deeper and more painfully than ever before.
In the past, he would've thrown a raging fit like a madman. No—in the past, no one would've dared say such a thing.
Instead of anger, regret flooded in.
Why have I lived like such a pathetic loser?
Jang Cheon, around the same age, handled his life with such composure.
And here he was, begging to save his own skin, while Jang Cheon was out saving his father.
No loser is as pathetic as me.
Something welled up from deep inside—his first taste of true emotional turmoil.
“Fuck, Jang Cheon! I'll call you by name from now on too. Jang Cheon!”
He couldn't let Jang Cheon see his tears, so he bolted from the room.
Watching his retreating figure, Jang Cheon quietly closed the door.
With the BS issue cleanly resolved, it was time to get back to the task at hand.
Jang Cheon's first move was to meet Park Jin-ho again.
This time, he didn't bring Lee Yeon. There were things that needed to be discussed just between the two of them.
Park Jin-ho looked somewhat dejected. The guilt from the assassination attempt, combined with his failed bid for the heir position, left him feeling like he'd lost his last shot forever.
“What brings you here today?”
Unlike the listless Park Jin-ho, Jang Cheon's tone was firm.
“I need answers you didn't give me last time.”
“What answers?”
“What did you discuss with the Korea Murim Alliance Leader?”
The first time Jang Cheon had asked, Park Jin-ho had refused, saying he couldn't talk about it.
“Isn't that all over now?”
“No. What you say could be the start of everything.”
Park Jin-ho looked troubled.
“I promised the Murim Alliance Leader I wouldn't tell anyone.”
“The situation's completely different from when you made that promise. Right now, we're hunting the mastermind behind the chairman's assassination.”
“A promise with the Murim Alliance Leader, of all people...”
It was a moment that showed just how deeply the title of Murim Alliance Leader was etched into ordinary minds.
“If all this stems from that meeting, the Alliance Leader becomes a suspect too.”
Park Jin-ho was stunned.
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Why do you trust the Alliance Leader so much?”
“Because he's the most renowned and upstanding figure in Murim! He couldn't be involved in this assassination.”
Jang Cheon asked calmly,
“How much do you really know about Murim?”
“I know plenty.”
“No, you know nothing. Not about what kind of people Murim folks are. That's why you jumped headfirst into Murim business without a second thought.”
“That was—”
Jang Cheon cut off Park Jin-ho's attempt to explain.
“Wrong from the start. The Korea Murim Alliance Leader position isn't won by virtue alone. It's for the strongest in martial arts or politics.”
“Even so...”
“Sure, he might actually be a good man. We don't know yet. But to uncover the truth behind this incident, I need you to be honest. The assassination attempts on the chairman aren't over.”
Park Jin-ho still clung to his promise, lips sealed.
Jang Cheon stood to leave.
“You're still at the river's edge, Mr. Park. Everyone makes mistakes. You might still have a shot at the chairman's seat. But if you keep silent to the end, you'll cross that bridge. And there's no coming back—remember that.”
With that, Jang Cheon headed for the door.
Then Park Jin-ho shouted,
“Wait!”
He'd finally changed his mind. The hint of lingering opportunity had swayed him heavily.
“Fine, I'll tell you everything.”
Besides, with his father's life on the line, he couldn't stubborn it out anymore.
“I couldn't just dive into Murim business blindly, so I figured I'd start by getting the Korea Murim Alliance on my side.”
A sensible choice so far.
“First time I met the Alliance Leader, I broached the subject carefully. Asked if HT Group could help the Alliance with anything.”
“What'd he say?”
“Just chuckled it off. We talked world events and parted ways. No matter how I tried to steer toward business, he shut it down. Then the article came out about that meeting.”
“So the article was fake news.”
There'd been intent, but no actual discussion.
“Not entirely.”
From that, Jang Cheon picked up on something.
“You met the Leader again.”
“Yes. Second meeting. This time, they reached out first.”
“From the Leader's side?”
Jang Cheon's eyes sharpened. He'd avoided business talk the first time, yet initiated contact for a second? Highly suspicious.
“The second meeting was very discreet. Not in the official reception hall like before—after midnight, in some room down an underground corridor. A martial artist sent by the Leader guided me secretly.”
“You don't know who the guide was?”
“No.”
“What did you discuss?”
“The Leader said the Murim Alliance was stagnant water, rotting away. Needed fresh streams. Asked HT Group to step in and help. But with backlash from old powers, it had to be done in absolute secrecy.”
“And?”
“I asked how I could help. That's when he brought up a secret support project.”
“What kind?”
“Said details later. But it'd cost big money and be a huge boost for Murim and the Alliance.”
“What'd you say?”
“Of course I was all in. A direct deal with the Murim Alliance Leader? I was ready for some losses. We even promised secrecy that day.”
Troubled by breaking his word, Park Jin-ho gulped down the water in front of him.
“After the article broke?”
“It hit, we pulled strings, and it was down in 40 minutes. When I contacted the Leader again, he'd gone into closed-door training. Then the assassination attempt happened, as you know.”
Jang Cheon nodded, and Park Jin-ho asked,
“Was that helpful?”
“Very.”
“Tell the chairman I broke a promise with the Alliance Leader to help.”
“I will.”
Jang Cheon bowed and left the room.
It was clear: Korea Murim Alliance Leader Cheon Myeong-jin had definitely tried to pull HT Group into some scheme.
Why target HT Group? What was the Leader planning?
As he walked the corridor, Jang Cheon called Bishop.
Jang Cheon paused, deep in thought. Bishop, who'd synced with him for years, knew this was a pivotal moment.
Finally, Jang Cheon made his call.
Jang Cheon hung up and stepped into the elevator. The open-air lift began descending, slicing through the building.
Beyond the glass, across the street, a massive Korea Murim Alliance billboard loomed on the opposite structure. It was a BST recruitment ad, featuring the Alliance Leader as the model—sword at his side, gazing imperiously straight ahead.
Jang Cheon stared silently at the man on the billboard.
But only for a moment. Soon, the descending elevator carried the Leader's image out of view.