Han Shin Textiles (2)
“You know, when you run a business, there’s always money going out the door here and there. But every time that happened, I couldn’t just run to the bank. When would I go explain everything, show them the contracts, and get approved? Half the time the work was already under way without a contract in hand. So there was no choice but to stay on good terms with loan sharks.”
Kim Seong-ju spoke as memories from the past rose up in him.
Kang-hae listened in silence.
“That bastard Lee Jeong-tae was one of those loan-shark punks too. But on the surface, he looked like a complete nice guy. Polite. Every holiday, he’d send over premium Korean beef sets without fail. Every time he called me, it was ‘brother this’ and ‘brother that,’ so I really thought of him like my own younger brother.”
Lee Jeong-tae had been one of the loan sharks Kim Seong-ju knew.
There had even been times when he hadn’t charged interest as long as the money was paid back quickly.
“But then the Kaesong Industrial Complex shut down, and everything went to hell.”
After the first suspension of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in April 2013, Hanshin Textile could no longer produce the clothes it had been ordered to make.
They had already taken advance payments.
They rushed to look for garment factories in South Korea and Southeast Asia, but only a handful could actually operate, and even those demanded high fees.
The money kept flowing out anyway.
In the end, they couldn’t deliver the ordered volume on time, and the companies that had signed contracts demanded penalties.
They had already borrowed everything they could from the second-tier financial market, so there was no choice but to borrow again from Lee Jeong-tae.
“That bastard told me then that if he was going to lend the money, he’d need the company shares as collateral.”
In the end, Kim Seong-ju put up half of his Hanshin Textile stake as security.
But the situation only kept getting worse.
Four months later, the Kaesong Industrial Complex resumed operations, but by then half of their clients had already vanished.
There was no way to repay the money he had borrowed from Lee Jeong-tae.
“And the funniest part was that bastard was quietly buying up our company shares under other people’s names. He’d intended to swallow the whole company from the start.”
In the end, Kim Seong-ju had no choice but to watch Lee Jeong-tae take the company he had built his whole life from him.
But Lee Jeong-tae didn’t stop there.
“The really ridiculous part is that after he swallowed the whole company, he pulled a scheme.”
“A scheme?”
“You don’t know what a scheme is? You pump out media spin about some supposed good news, and the stock price keeps rising, right? Then you secretly dump the shares while everyone’s still buying.”
Lee Jeong-tae had used the company Kim Seong-ju had spent his life building to manipulate the stock price.
And Kim Seong-ju had poured in every last bit of money his family had to buy back his company’s shares as Hanshin Textile surged toward daily upper limits.
Everyone around him tried to stop him.
But the thought of taking the company back blinded Kim Seong-ju completely.
Then one day, after Hanshin Textile’s stock had risen twentyfold, the company was designated a distressed stock.
And in the end, it was delisted.
“I found out later that was the kind of trick gangsters use when they’re hunting companies.”
Kim Seong-ju said that and took another drink of soju.
“Listen, young man. I learned sewing at Pyeonghwa Market when I was fifteen. Someday, I’m going to take Hanshin Textile back.”
“……”
Kang-hae said nothing.
Then, imagining how heartbroken Kim Seong-ju would be if he ever learned that Hanshin Textile had become a front company for manufacturing drugs, he stopped himself.
Kim Seong-ju kept drinking in silence, and when his face had turned red with liquor, Kang-hae called to him.
“Boss.”
“……?”
“I’ll help you.”
“Help……? Help with what?”
“Taking Hanshin Textile back.”
“Hahaha. And how would you help with that?”
“For starters, we can kill that piece of trash Lee Jeong-tae.”
“Hahaha.”
Kim Seong-ju, drunk now, burst out laughing even harder than before.
“Yeah, yeah. That bastard. Go ahead and kill him for me. That’s my lifelong wish.”
He took Kang-hae’s words as drunken talk and said it lightly.
But Kang-hae was serious.
Lee Jeong-tae deserved to die.
He was even part of Jeguk-pa.
There was no reason to let him live.
After parting with Kim Seong-ju, Kang-hae got back in the car and headed toward Gwacheon again.
At that moment, Seong Ha-yeong called him.
“Yes, Kang-hae. Did you meet him all right?”
“Yes. I met him.”
After that, Kang-hae told her what he had heard from Kim Seong-ju.
“Why is the world full of so many filthy bastards……”
Seong Ha-yeong muttered something that sounded like a question and a sigh at the same time.
“Oh, right, Kang-hae. About Lee Jeong-tae—I looked into him a bit while you were on your way to Suwon.”
“Did you find anything?”
“He served two years in prison for stock manipulation. And apparently, he left for Japan a week ago.”
“Japan?”
“Yes. I’ll dig a little deeper.”
“Ha-yeong.”
“Yes?”
“Can you check Lee Jeong-tae’s immigration records right now?”
“Yes.”
“Has a man named Lee Jeong-tae ever gone to Cambodia?”
“Just a moment…… yes, there is. He’s gone back and forth to Cambodia five times since seven years ago.”
“……!”
Strength surged into Kang-hae’s hand on the steering wheel.
That period matched the time when his brother had been in Cambodia.
Which meant Lee Jeong-tae was one of the key figures who had done that to him.
He could not be allowed to live.
After ending the call with Seong Ha-yeong, Kang-hae immediately called Ko Jeong-un.
The phone rang only a few times before Ko Jeong-un answered.
“This is Na Kang-hae.”
[What is it?]
“I need to meet you and report something.”
[Come to my office in one hour.]
“Understood.”
After making the appointment with Ko Jeong-un, Kang-hae drove toward the Yongsan Presidential Office.
An hour later, Kang-hae visited Ko Jeong-un’s office and reported everything he had learned to the man who had been waiting for him.
But what Ko Jeong-un was worried about wasn’t stock manipulation or anything of the sort.
“What concerns me is that Hanshin Textile is a factory making drugs.”
“That concerns me too.”
“If they brought in drug ingredients from North Korea, then there may be a connection to North Korea.”
Kang-hae thought that was entirely possible.
“But I’m starting to think it may not just be a North Korea connection. There could be ties to South Korea as well.”
“……?”
“A company delisted after stock manipulation, and its representative even served prison time. And yet if that company was still able to operate inside the Kaesong Industrial Complex, wouldn’t that mean someone in the government was looking after them?”
“……”
Kang-hae hadn’t thought that far.
“I’d like it to be nothing more than simple bribery. But it could be something much more deeply tied to North Korea.”
“……”
“If a new economic cooperation zone is created, Korean companies will move in. There’s no guarantee this won’t happen again. We’ll need to look into it first.”
“Yes, sir.”
After saying that, Kang-hae left Ko Jeong-un’s office.
As Ko Jeong-un had said, it was something that had to be checked.
Of course, killing Lee Jeong-tae came first.
And at that same time, in a luxury room salon somewhere in Gangnam, the president of Seongil Plant, Seong Jae-hyeon, was clinking glasses with Kim Jeong-min.
“Center Director.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How is our Ha-yeong doing? Is she handling things well?”
“Yes. She’s sharp and quick on the uptake.”
“Haha. I’m her little uncle, after all. Ever since my brother passed away, I’ve been almost like a father to her. At Ha-yeong’s wedding, I’ll be sitting in the position reserved for the bride’s family.”
Kim Jeong-min could only smile awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
All the while, he was thinking about why he had been summoned.
“My father pays a lot of attention to Ha-yeong.”
“Of course he would.”
“But I’m worried, you know. Worried that Ha-yeong might make a mistake and disappoint Father.”
“She’s such a capable young woman that she doesn’t make mistakes.”
Kim Jeong-min said that, but—
“Listen, Center Director.”
Seong Gi-hyeon’s expression hardened, unlike before, and the atmosphere changed in an instant.
“Yes……?”
“Is a civil servant who just handles a set budget and a man who fights corporations all over the world really the same thing? Business, you see, is war every single moment.”
“No, I meant something else……”
“You won’t survive at Ilseong with that kind of complacent attitude. Do you understand?”
It was deeply humiliating for Kim Jeong-min to be lectured like that by someone who had likely been born into a chaebol family and never known a day of hardship.
Still, he bowed his head.
“I’m sorry……”
“Ah, I’m not scolding you. Come on, drink.”
Seong Gi-hyeon lifted his glass.
Clink—
The two of them tapped glasses.
“Ha~. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is this: from now on, I’d appreciate it if you let me know first whenever our Ha-yeong is assigned to anything. Before it reaches Father’s ears. I’m only saying this because I’m worried.”
“Yes, understood.”
Seong Gi-hyeon smiled with obvious satisfaction when he heard Kim Jeong-min’s answer.
Their drinking continued late into the night.
The next day, Kang-hae went looking for Seong Ha-yeong as soon as he arrived at work.
As always, she had come in first and was organizing the tasks for the day.
Kang-hae relayed the instructions he had received from Ko Jeong-un.
“So the Director thinks Hanshin Textile and North Korea have some kind of connection?”
“Yes.”
“And he also thinks someone is backing Hanshin Textile from behind.”
“That’s right.”
“He’s also worried that not only North Korea and Hanshin Textile, but the person behind Hanshin Textile may be deeply connected to North Korea as well.”
“Yes.”
Seong Ha-yeong thought about it for a moment, then spoke again.
“Oh, right. Kang-hae, after we hung up yesterday, I looked into a few more things.”
She said that and started rifling through the documents on her desk.
Then, looking down at the papers, she said,
“I thought it was strange that Lee Jeong-tae went to Japan, so I contacted Customs. Turns out Hanshin Textile has been shipping goods back and forth with Japanese companies for the past five years.”
Seong Ha-yeong showed him a sheet listing Hanshin Textile’s import and export filings.
“But the Japanese companies they dealt with are kind of odd.”
“What’s odd about them?”
“No matter how hard I tried to look them up, nothing came up.”
“I’ll look into it.”
Kang-hae separately wrote down the Japanese companies Hanshin Textile had dealt with, then took out his phone and called someone.
A moment later, a voice as seductive as if it were wrapped in moisture came through the line.
[Oh my~. Who could this be?]
It was Lin Xiaojing, the elder of the twin sisters who had come to kill Kang-hae and Seong Ha-yeong, only to receive Kang-hae’s help and flee to Japan.
“You’re up early.”
[Nope. I was sleeping. I never answer the phone at this hour, but since it was you, I made an exception.]
“Are you still in Japan?”
[Yeah. I’m staying in Kobe right now.]
“I have a favor to ask.”
[Oh, asking me for a favor? I’m already excited.]
“I need you to check something for me.”
[And what would that be~?]
Kang-hae read off the companies he had written down.
[So you want me to find out what those companies do?]
“Yes. Can you do that?”
[That much is no problem.]
“Then find out.”
[But, babe.]
“What is it?”
[Are you coming to Japan then?]
“Maybe.”
[Maybe, huh? So you might not come? That makes it harder for me to look into it~]
“How about you spend less time playing word games and more time investigating?”
[You’re still as prickly as ever. You know that’s what makes you even sexier?]
“Call me when you find something.”
After saying that, Kang-hae hung up.
Then his eyes met Seong Ha-yeong’s, who had been staring at him intently.
Her expression had changed a little since before making the call.
She looked faintly sulky.
“Um, Kang-hae.”
“Yes.”
“Was that person you just called…… the twin sisters from Macau……?”
“Yes.”
For an instant, sparks seemed to flare in Seong Ha-yeong’s eyes.
“Oh~. So you’ve been keeping in touch with them?”
“No. The last time was when you went to Jeju Island to see Miki.”
At Kang-hae’s answer, the fire in Seong Ha-yeong’s eyes vanished.
“Is that so……? Then it’s fine.”
“What exactly is fine?”
Kang-hae asked, but Seong Ha-yeong only sat down in silence.
At that very moment, the office door opened and the people arriving at work began to trickle in one by one.
Then Kim Jeong-min appeared, and work began.
That evening, just before leaving work, Kang-hae received a call from Lin Xiaojing.
“Yeah.”
[Babe.]
“Did you find anything?”
[Are you getting mixed up in something dangerous again?]
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
[The companies you asked me to look into. They’re run by yakuza.]
“Yakuza……?”
[Yeah, guys from the Yamaguchi-gumi. Yakuza operating out of Kobe.]