A Rule Breaker at the Door
“If Ganjeol Point wants to swallow this place, what exactly is the problem? Do we all have to join Ganjeol Point?”
Geosan raised his hand and asked.
“That goes without saying…… normally you pay tribute.”
“Hm? We already pay money to the shelter, don't we?”
“That's separate. Depending on how they want things, Ganjeol Point might insist on running this place their way.”
Sanghae and Sapiens were more grave in tone than usual. It was deliberate—the situation needed to look as serious as it was.
“Their way, meaning total control like they did with Slow? So only Ganjeol Point people can use it?”
“Well…… actually, Sanghae-hyung and I don't quite see eye to eye on this. I think they're fully capable of it. But Sanghae-hyung figures Sabbath is such a well-run shelter that they wouldn't dare.”
“Ain't no way to know who's right 'til it happens, is there?”
“Exactly.”
“And if it goes the way Sanghae here says, what then?”
“Tribute. But they'll bite down hard, no question.”
“Aigoo…… this ain't no small problem, that's for sure……”
Only then did the shop owners realize, with quiet unease, just how many enormous benefits they'd been enjoying all this time.
That was human nature for you. Like how you only learn the true value of something once it's taken away—now that Director Gong was gone, his real role had finally become visible.
What Gong Won-goo had done in Sabbath was simple: he kept the board stable.
Because he was there, the gangs and the fixer outfits followed the rules.
But the moment he disappeared, a rule breaker called Ganjeol Point had appeared at the edges of the map.
Now that the rule breaker was stepping into the master bedroom, they finally understood.
The fire had landed right at their feet.
“For now, how the place gets run is Ganjeol's call. We don't get a vote.”
“So we're just supposed to hand it over, that it?”
“…….”
“…….”
Once again, Sapiens and Sanghae both fell silent at the same time.
“Why've you turned into a mute with a mouthful of honey again.”
“We discussed it plenty before setting up this meeting. Blocking them is going to be hard.”
“Do we really have that few capable people in this shelter?”
“There've been some major incidents lately. The biggest one was Buri Island. Respect's troll move bled the gangs dry, and……”
“So what you're tellin' me is it was Director Gong holdin' all that together, hmm……”
“That's about the size of it.”
“What about Abal? You know, Abal.”
It was Geosan who spoke.
“Abal has plenty of other bases besides here. And how is she supposed to take on Ganjeol Point alone? With the Black Shelters broken, it won't be easy for her to fight them.”
“Wait…… then why did we hit the Black Shelters in the first place? Director Gong didn't see Ganjeol Point coming?”
One of the shelter's shop owners protested.
“That's why your customer counts went up, isn't it? Business has boomed since the Black Shelters disappeared—you've all felt it, haven't you?”
“But if he couldn't hold off Ganjeol Point……”
“Director Gong and Ganjeol Point made a pact back in the early days. Each side respects the other's territory. When the Director was still around, did any of you ever hear of Ganjeol Point operating anywhere near here?”
Everyone shook their heads.
It really hadn't happened. They may have quietly used the shelter now and then, but never once had Ganjeol Point openly thrown its weight around in this area.
After all, even Ganjeol himself—the head of the whole coalition—had once come to see Won-goo in person, quietly.
At that, Dr. Woo raised his hand.
“Was there ever a formal contract drawn up between Ganjeol Point and Director Gong?”
“Not that I know of.”
“And still they never came anywhere near, eh.”
“You know how he is. Hyung-nim hates breaking a promise more than anything. Director Gong versus Ganjeol Point—if they fought, Ganjeol would obviously win, but the damage would be catastrophic. Ganjeol Point still had plenty of other territory to expand into, so negotiating was the smartest play available.”
“Especially since Director Gong is a goddamn demon when it comes to exploiting weak points. A fight would've cost Ganjeol dearly. A big body means more places to hit it.”
Everyone nodded along.
Gong Won-goo was grotesquely good at finding weaknesses. He had a gift for homing in on exactly where it hurt and beating his target bloody.
It wasn't for nothing they called him the Physical Therapist.
“The more I hear, the less ordinary this all sounds…… so what are the two of you plannin' to do about it? Surely you've drawn up some kind of plan.”
“Well…… we think we have to at least push back, even if we can't win outright.”
“Against Ganjeol Point?”
“If we just hand everything over, we have no idea how much they'll demand. And if they order us tomorrow to serve Ganjeol customers only, do you honestly think everyone here would swallow it?”
“That'd be mighty hard to swallow, sure.”
“So what if they demand half our revenue?”
“Then it sounds like we've got no choice but to push back just to have a seat at that table…… What does everyone think? Is it a reasonable enough case? To me this opinion looks mighty fair and sound, I'll say.”
“Dr. Woo, that's as good as declaring war on Ganjeol Point. You think we can handle that?”
“That's right! Ganjeol Point of all people! Look at their numbers!”
“Exactly! And with Director Gong gone too…… war with Ganjeol Point, of all things!”
The shop owners pushed back immediately. And yet, even as they objected, they couldn't quite settle on what the right decision actually was.
“Aigoo, shopkeepers, you're all bark and bite today, ain't ye? Usually quiet as mice nibblin' on a crumb. But listen here, lemme say just one thing. Even if we're outmatched, shouldn't we at least squirm a little? I can't bring myself to just roll over—not with the eyes of our own folk on me, ye hear? And hell, even our Abal—win or no win, she can surely throw hands with Ganjeol Point a bit, can't she? And if that shaves even a hair off what we owe, well, what could be better than that?”
“Then we'd better decide where the line gets drawn before anything starts.”
“Where is Abal right now, does anyone know?”
“I'll make the call.”
The man who quietly raised his hand was Neoguri.
He'd been doing nothing but chain-smoking and listening since the meeting began.
He was dating Spin. And Spin was, for all practical purposes, Abal's best friend—which meant he knew exactly how to reach her.
“Obligated, I am.”
Cain of Ganjeol Point came calling again three days later.
He'd made an appointment in advance this time.
The difference from before: he'd brought a considerable entourage of subordinates along.
Sanghae was in the middle of laying out a lavish spread, timed to the hour of Cain's arrival. Sapiens stood beside him.
“So the rumors about the food were true after all.”
Cain sauntered over with a smirk plastered across his face and dropped heavily into a seat at the laden table.
“Business been coming in nicely?”
Cain giggled to himself and reached for the food.
His first target: the evenly golden fried pieces.
But Sanghae's hand shot out and stopped him.
“Business first. Food after.”
“Fine.”
“Your terms?”
Sanghae didn't bother with a long preamble. This wasn't a matter that deserved one. The situation demanded they match whatever conditions Ganjeol Point set.
“You put the Ganjeol name on the door. And this place gets run the way Slow is.”
“You came all this way twice just to spout that nonsense…… Guess the rumors were true—no one at Ganjeol Point has a working brain.”
Cain turned his head toward Sapiens. His mouth was smiling; his eyes were not.
“You've got a talent for amusing conversation, I see? Nice to meet you. I'm All Kind. Cain, for short.”
“Introductions were supposed to happen before you sat down at my table.”
“Right. My mistake.”
“Your real mistake was that offer just now. You came all this way without even getting a quote for how this place actually operates?”
“Hahaha. Must be a nice, comfortable neighborhood…… nobody here knows fear. Sapiens. Or should I say, Donggu-yeon. You're off the active roster now, aren't you? You do know that in this line of work, the moment you step off the field you fall behind, right? The world's a different place from when you were running it.”
“Did you come all this way just to tell me that? You set up a one-sided appointment, so I figured maybe you'd brought an offer worth hearing.”
When Cain threw the first crude jab, Sapiens returned fire without missing a beat.
He slouched back in his chair and glared at Cain with open aggression, just for good measure.
Screeeech—!
Cain swiveled his own chair around to face Sapiens head-on.
Both men were smiling.
They both knew perfectly well nothing would actually happen here.
Fights only ever broke out in the Field.
Tension stretched taut between them, wound tight as wire.
Sanghae watched it all with a flat expression. Not a trace of the easy warmth from his conversations with Gong Won-goo.
“Honestly…… where does all that confidence come from? Did you raise your people well? Or do you genuinely think you could step back onto the Field yourself?”
“Want to find out? Come and see.”
“Meet me in the Field, and it won't end with just a scar. Got it?”
“Every punk who ran his tongue like that is lying face-down in the Field right now. You're the one who got rude first. Sure, we all know the tide's turned. But this? This doesn't fly. Run this place like Slow? Honestly…… does Ganjeol Point just collect empty heads in one place?”
“Sapiens, that's enough. It's unpleasant to listen to.”
Sanghae added quietly. Cain threw his head back and roared with laughter.
“Hahaha! Now that I look closer, this wasn't a meal you laid out for me to eat. It was one you laid out to feed me to the wolves.”
“There's an old saying. Shit words come in, shit words go out. If you'd come as a guest, we'd have eaten first and talked business after. But you didn't come as a guest, did you?”
“Heheh. Right—wagging tongues won't settle anything, no point stalling. Let's settle whose word counts where it matters. In the Field.”
Cain rose from his chair. Without a moment's hesitation, he walked for the door—then paused at it and added one last thing.
“You've been receiving regular reports, haven't you? You won't be getting those anymore. You didn't think we just left that alone because we didn't know about it?”
“…….”
“…….”
“I figured it was something Director Gong had planted…… but you two kept insisting it wasn't, right to the end? So which one of you is his little pup?”
Cain turned back around, jabbing his index finger at them. Sapiens and Sanghae watched him without a flicker of expression.
They didn't give him an answer, either.
“Fine. We'll check that one in the Field too.”
The apartment complex became a fortress almost overnight. Every accessible route was sealed off so that any intrusion from outside could be stopped before it started.
With so many of the crew gathered in one place, the lockdown came together fast.
And besides, weren't these all survivors capable of doing the work of several ordinary people each?
They barricaded the complex's perimeter entirely, leaving just one entrance open.
It was at that entrance that a stranger appeared. The sentry naturally stepped out to meet her, aggressive.
“Whaddaya want? No one gets in for the time being.”
“I'm here to see Director Gong.”
“Hm? Gong Won-goo-hyung-nim?”
“Tell him Baek Seol's here. He'll know.”
The visitor was Baek Seol.
Baek Seol was laying out a whole array of different medicines.
“Knew you had the sense.”
“When trouble breaks out, medicine is the first thing everyone needs. Since I couldn't know exactly what you'd want, I brought a little of everything.”
“Good work. I'll cover the full price for all of it.”
“This much is nothing. Especially after what happened last time.”
Director Gong and Baek Seol were talking alone.
“Yeah. About last time—your company went way too far. You know that, right?”
“That's why I'm here, isn't it?”
“Good. It's water under the bridge. Time to move on cool.”
“So what happened?”
“You haven't looked into it?”
“I know the rough outline. The detailed ins and outs never even circulated in the shelter.”
So Won-goo walked her through everything that had happened.
“So it really was Ganjeol I saw at the company.”
“Why? What does Baek Seol's outfit make of him?”
“On paper, we rated him a fine specimen of humanity.”
“After this incident, even the paper won't look good.”
“I suppose not. But, Director Gong…… you do understand we can't officially take part in this, right? Ganjeol Point is one of our biggest clients.”
“I didn't expect you to. Just stay neutral. Neutral, that's all I ask.”
“That you can count on, always.”
“And Poke.”
“Poke?”
“Is that bastard's mind still intact?”
“He's not in any state to be given work yet…… but yes, he's fine.”
“Can you squeeze him a little for me?”
“……?”
“That bastard's got a straw stuck straight into Ganjeol Point.”