Hansin Textile (3)
After hanging up with Lin Xiaojing, Kang-hae informed Seong Ha-yeong of what he had learned.
“A yakuza group...?”
“Yes. It’s a company run by yakuza operating out of Kobe.”
“Then Hansin Textile may have been selling the drugs they produced in Japan...”
“Probably.”
Seong Ha-yeong let out a long sigh.
Then she went on.
“Honestly, I’d rather it was just that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I hope it’s only a simple drug deal. If this is tied to North Korea somehow, things are already complicated enough...”
She couldn’t quite finish the sentence, her face clouded with concern.
“We need to confirm it first.”
“How?”
“We catch Lee Jeong-tae.”
“Then you’re going to Japan?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m going with you.”
“No. I’ll go alone.”
Kang-hae said it because Ha-yeong might end up in danger.
If it came to it, he planned to kill Lee Jeong-tae in Japan.
It would be better to handle him overseas than in Korea.
If Ha-yeong came along, it might create unnecessary constraints.
“No. I’m going too.”
But Ha-yeong didn’t back down.
“It’s dangerous.”
“How exactly do you expect to get to Japan alone, Kang-hae?”
“...”
She wasn’t wrong.
Given the circumstances, with him currently dispatched to the working-level task force, his plan to go to Japan by himself was unrealistic.
A day or two might be possible.
But finding anything meaningful in that time would be difficult.
“If more than just you go, say with a few others, then it should be fine.”
After saying that, Ha-yeong began drafting the business trip proposal for Japan.
That evening, she submitted the travel plan to Kim Jeong-min, the task force leader.
“What’s this?”
“It’s the travel proposal. Please review it.”
Kim Jeong-min checked the document Ha-yeong had prepared.
The title read Japan Economic Cooperation and Funding Discussions, and below it were the stated goals: exploring Japanese investment and financing possibilities for the Second Gaeseong Industrial Complex project, and discussing plans for industrial technology cooperation with Japanese companies.
The list of travelers also included three employees from the Chamber of Commerce who had been dispatched to the task force.
Kim Jeong-min asked a few questions, but Ha-yeong answered all of them without hesitation, and he approved the trip.
That night, Kim Jeong-min called Seong Jae-hyeon, president of Ilseong Plant.
“Yes, sir. This is Kim Jeong-min.”
[What is it?]
“Seong Ha-yeong will be going to Japan on a business trip.”
[Japan?]
“Yes.”
[When is she leaving?]
“It’s scheduled for next week.”
[Thank you. Let’s have a meal sometime.]
“Yes, sir. Goodbye.”
After hanging up, Seong Jae-hyeon immediately called in Kang Man-sik, who ran a company called Hanbando Construction.
Kang Man-sik appeared in the Ilseong Plant president’s office in less than thirty minutes.
“You wanted to see me, boss~!”
The moment he saw Seong Jae-hyeon, he bowed at a perfect ninety degrees and greeted him.
Kang Man-sik was a man in his fifties, a thug from Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. In his younger days he had tried to make it in construction, only to get crushed by the major firms and end up buried under massive debt.
After that, he shifted his business into waste disposal and subcontracted muscle.
And four years ago, he signed a contract with Ilseong Plant, taking charge of waste disposal from construction projects run by the company.
Of course, that wasn’t all he did.
He also handled every dirty errand Seong Jae-hyeon needed done.
Things like falsifying accounting ledgers to quietly build a hidden slush fund for him, or managing the hostesses he bankrolled.
That was the most effective way to keep winning contracts with Ilseong Plant.
“Hey, Kang.”
“Yes, sir.”
“My niece is going to Japan next week on a business trip.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, which niece would that be?”
“You know, my dead brother’s daughter.”
The instant he heard that, Kang Man-sik’s expression hardened.
“I need you to do something for me.”
“And what might that be...?”
“Life needs hardship if you want to grow, don’t you think?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Tell my niece just how scary the world can be.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Good. You can go.”
Kang Man-sik bowed once more.
Then he left the office.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Tokyo Haneda International Airport.
The task force arrived in Japan at 10 a.m., along with the three people dispatched from the Chamber of Commerce.
They split into taxis and headed for the Tokyo Imperial Hotel.
It took forty minutes to reach the hotel, which would serve as both lodging and meeting venue.
As soon as they arrived, everyone unpacked.
Kang-hae shared a room with Lee Sang-hoon, a section chief from the Chamber of Commerce’s industrial cooperation team.
At 2 p.m., the meeting with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce staff began.
But all they could really exchange were broad, general remarks.
It was only natural; the meeting had been arranged on short notice.
The Japanese side had shown up out of courtesy, but they didn’t seem to know what exactly they were supposed to discuss.
“Would it be possible to visit companies in Kobe?”
At that point, Seong Ha-yeong spoke up, and everyone turned to look at her.
She continued,
“I understand that Kobe has a great many heavy industrial companies. I’d like to assess the equipment and raw materials that would be needed to build the economic cooperation zone.”
The Korean delegation looked startled.
They seemed to think she had overstepped her authority.
The Japanese side was surprised too, but for a different reason.
Japan had also formed its own investigative team the moment it heard Korea was pushing ahead with a second Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry had estimated that the zone’s development alone would require between three and five trillion yen.
They were already conducting a broad review, from possible Japanese corporate entry to participation in the construction itself.
To the Japanese Chamber of Commerce staff, it was an unexpected proposal and a welcome one.
Their representative quickly replied,
“Of course. When would you like to visit Kobe?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Is there any particular company you’d like to meet with separately?”
“Would Kobe Steel be possible?”
Kobe Steel was one of Japan’s top three steel companies, founded in 1905.
“I’m sure that can be arranged.”
That ended the first meeting.
“Then I’ll go to Kobe ahead of everyone else.”
Kang-hae said that.
“All right. Then Kang-hae, go ahead to Kobe and look into lodging for us.”
Seong Ha-yeong replied at once.
It had been their plan from the beginning.
Fortunately, no one objected.
And so Kang-hae left the hotel and headed for Tokyo Station.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
By the time Kang-hae arrived at Sannomiya Station on the Shinkansen, it was a little after 9 p.m.
Waiting at the station was the younger of the twin sisters, Chu Meijun.
Kang-hae spotted her standing on the platform, and noticed the men getting off the train stealing glances at her.
Chu Meijun was still beautiful.
Unlike in Korea, she was wearing what was obviously an expensive dress and heels at a glance, and fine jewelry glimmered softly on her arms and neck, enhancing her beauty even further.
“Oh? Darling.”
When Chu Meijun noticed Kang-hae, she raised a hand and smiled.
Everyone nearby turned to look at him.
Jealous looks.
“You seem even more handsome than before.”
She said that as Kang-hae approached her.
“Let’s go first.”
He said it to get away from the attention, but—
“In Europe, men and women who haven’t seen each other in a while greet one another with a kiss on the cheek.”
Chu Meijun stood there, not moving, and said it with a faintly offended tone.
Yet her face was full of mischief and a smile.
She was genuinely happy to see him again.
Without a word, Kang-hae headed for the taxi stand in front of the station.
Chu Meijun followed after him.
Soon, the two of them were in a taxi.
“Kitano Ijinkan.”
Chu Meijun said it in Japanese.
As the taxi drove toward its destination, Kang-hae and Chu Meijun talked.
“When did you come to Kobe?”
“Three months ago.”
With Kang-hae’s help, the sisters had arrived in Shimonoseki, then crossed over to Kobe right away.
They opened a high-end jazz bar in Kitano Ijinkan, Kobe.
Kitano Ijinkan was more of a tourist district than a residential area, full of old, atmospheric buildings.
The twin sisters rented a two-story house built of red brick and converted it into a jazz bar.
It didn’t even take a week for the word to spread about the sisters’ beauty and the bar they ran.
People of every sort came through the doors without caring what they did for a living.
Artists working in Kobe, yakuza, police officers, business owners...
They all opened their wallets gladly for a chance to hear the twin sisters’ seductive smiles and voices that seemed to hold a trace of moisture.
Before long, the taxi stopped in front of the red-brick two-story house.
Chu Meijun and Kang-hae went inside.
A piano stood in the center of the shop, and a jazz pianist active in Japan’s underground scene was playing Erroll Garner’s “Misty,” but the customers’ attention was fixed on Lin Xiaojing, who sat alone with a wineglass in hand, listening to the music.
As soon as Lin Xiaojing spotted Kang-hae and her younger sister coming in, she stood and headed toward them.
Then, with a sudden rush—
She wrapped herself around Kang-hae in a hug.
And Kang-hae met the murderous looks of the men inside the bar.
Carefully, he pushed Lin Xiaojing back by the shoulders.
Lin Xiaojing led Kang-hae to a private room.
“I didn’t expect to see you again this soon.”
Lin Xiaojing said as she sat down.
“Same here.”
“You’re still as cold as ever.”
“Don’t start, sis. She’s been like that since the airport.”
At that moment, Chu Meijun appeared carrying a bottle of wine and glasses, and chimed in while pouring Kang-hae a glass.
Kang-hae drank the wine.
A bitter taste and the scent of flowers filled his mouth.
“It’s the most expensive wine in our bar,”
Chu Meijun said, and took a sip of her own.
“Darling.”
Lin Xiaojing called him then.
“It used to be the Triad, but now it’s yakuza?”
“To be more precise, it’s a Korean gang trading drugs with yakuza. We need to catch him.”
“Hmm...”
The twin sisters fell silent for a moment, thinking it over.
Then Lin Xiaojing spoke again.
“Still, it sounds like you’re going to clash with the yakuza at least once.”
“That’s why I came.”
Kang-hae said it as if it were nothing.
Anyone who didn’t know him would have thought he was just showing off.
But the twin sisters knew his personality and his capabilities.
They knew he wasn’t bluffing.
“So what’s the plan from here?”
Chu Meijun asked after taking a sip of wine.
“There’s a Korean saying: if you want to catch a tiger, you have to go into the tiger’s den.”
When Kang-hae answered, the sisters’ expressions turned worried.
“Don’t tell me... you’re not planning to go straight to the yakuza, are you...?”
“I am.”
“You are...?”
“Yes.”
“When...?”
“Now.”
“Now...?”
“Yeah. Now.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Ten minutes on foot from Kobe Sannomiya Station was a small pachinko parlor managed by one faction of the Yamaguchi-gumi.
The faction’s lowest-ranking member, Inoue Tatsuya, was guarding the entrance.
He had been a sumo wrestler until high school, but after he assaulted the coach who beat him every day, he quit sumo and became a yakuza.
As a former sumo wrestler, he stood over 190 centimeters tall and weighed close to 150 kilos.
The job assigned to him was handling customers who caused trouble at the pachinko parlor.
But because of his massive frame, troublesome customers rarely dared to show up.
So he spent his days idly smoking cigarettes in front of the shop, glaring at men passing by or spewing filthy remarks at women.
Today was no different.
Tatsuya was standing in front of the shop, chain-smoking while watching people go by, when he noticed a man walking toward him.
The guy looked like one of those men who work in host clubs.
Tatsuya didn’t like him at all.
He scowled and glared at the man.
The man didn’t look away.
As if he had been waiting for it, a rough curse burst from Tatsuya’s mouth.
“What’re you staring at, huh? You wanna have your eyes popped out, punk?”
And then Tatsuya heard the man speak.
“Don’t go speaking human language, you pig.”