Monopolizing Fortunes (33)
Monopolizing Fortunes (33)
"You little shit! You brought a hag like that here, so you should take responsibility!"
"P-please spare me! I was wrong!"
When they entered the room, they saw two men smashing the furnishings while Jo Gwang-un viciously raked the steward's face. The steward knelt before Jo Gwang-un, his face badly scratched.
"It's been a long time."
Jo Gwang-un, who had been raising his hand toward the steward, turned his gaze to Hwang Seon-jung.
"Who the—huh? The snot-nosed Seon-jung?"
"I am Hwang Seon-jung, but I didn't have a runny nose."
When Jo Gwang-un had gone to prison, Hwang Seon-jung had already been in his mid-thirties.
"You little shit, look at that face. You've been eating well and living well, haven't you?"
"Thanks to you."
"Then it is thanks to me. If I'd become Society Leader, would a coward like you be in a high position?"
"Surely you haven't come back because you covet the Society Leader's seat?"
"Hey, if you get out of prison, of course you come home. But I get here and order's gone to hell. Fuck, back when I was around, people were busy running at the mere sight of our shadows, but now they treat the underworld like dogshit. That can't happen. Right?"
"So what are you saying you'll change by becoming Society Leader, Boss?"
"I can't take my little brother's seat."
'He's saying that much, at least.'
"That bastard just goes back to his original place, and I find mine."
'He's just blatant about it.'
"What are you going to do?"
"Are you telling me to side with you and betray the Society Leader?"
"You little shit, siding with Chi-un is the betrayal! Originally, I should have become Society Leader!"
"If you wanted to become Society Leader, you shouldn't have done something that landed you in prison."
"Oh? Is that a lecture?"
"Even now, stay quiet. If you want to spend your old age in peace, that is."
Jo Gwang-un's half-gray eyebrows shot up.
"You son of a bitch, look at the way you talk. The bastard who couldn't even lift his head in front of me has sure grown."
"I'm not the man I used to be. And you're not the boss you used to be, either."
"That's right. I'm not the man I used to be. In prison I found a fortuitous encounter and learned martial arts."
"What?"
"Let's see how strong you are now."
What could martial arts learned in prison amount to?
"If you'd rather take a beating than a drink, I'll oblige. Boys!"
The eight men who had followed him drew daggers from their coats. But even at the sight of their superior numbers and weapons, there was no fear on the faces of Jo Gwang-un's party.
'They're acting high and mighty because they don't know me.'
That was what Hwang Seon-jung thought. When Jo Gwang-un had gone to prison ten years ago, Hwang Seon-jung had already been stronger. It was just that Jo Gwang-un's violent temperament had created a fear greater than his actual skill.
"Boss, be careful!"
With those words, Hwang Seon-jung lunged at Jo Gwang-un. It was a fairly fast attack, but Jo Gwang-un slipped back lightly and dodged it with ease.
Hwang Seon-jung's attack signaled the start of the fight.
"You bastards! Die!"
In a brawl between thugs, cursing was mandatory. Hwang Seon-jung didn't worry about his eight underlings. They were the elite of the Red Tiger Society, handpicked from among countless men.
They would send two or so of the enemy to the grave without much trouble, and he himself would soon put Jo Gwang-un down.
He believed that until he had thrown four punches. Even though not a single one had landed, he believed it.
Thwack!
Jo Gwang-un, who had only been dodging, suddenly extended his arm and struck Hwang Seon-jung on the bridge of the nose. It was fast enough that Hwang Seon-jung had trouble avoiding it.
"The little shit's all flash and no substance."
"Fuck!"
Hwang Seon-jung swung his fists and kicked, pressing Jo Gwang-un hard, but the man slipped away like an eel.
And the punches Jo Gwang-un occasionally threw landed squarely on Hwang Seon-jung's face without fail. It looked as though Hwang Seon-jung was driving him back, but in reality Jo Gwang-un was toying with him.
"You're the Red Tiger Society's greatest fighter? While I was gone, the Red Tiger Society turned into a pack of trash."
Crack!
Hwang Seon-jung's head snapped to the side.
"Count yourself lucky I've come back even now. Of course...."
Thwack!
Punched in the stomach, Hwang Seon-jung doubled over.
"Traitors like you all have to die."
From then on, Jo Gwang-un's beating began in earnest. He was unbelievably strong. He had said he learned martial arts in prison, and it seemed he had learned genuine techniques used by martial artists.
Hwang Seon-jung could do nothing but take the hits. As he fell after being struck in the jaw, he looked for his underlings with a faint hope.
They could have taken down two of the enemy and come to his aid. But his underlings were also nearly all lying on the floor.
Not only Jo Gwang-un, but the two men who had come with him were strong as well.
Bam!
As Hwang Seon-jung toppled over, Jo Gwang-un's final punch slammed into his face.
* * *
Five fingers trembled and curled inward. The half-bent fingers strained desperately to touch the palm, but they only quivered like rain-beaten blades of grass and could not meet it.
"Hah! Hah!"
Even the simple motion of bending his fingers drained Do Tong-dal completely. His whole body was drenched in sweat, and his breath came in ragged gasps.
"There's improvement."
At the physician in black's words, Do Tong-dal snapped.
"I can't even make a fist—what improvement!"
"Only someone like me could make this much progress in a month."
"Progress, my ass."
He said that, but Do Tong-dal had no real complaint. Being able to move this much meant there was a possibility of a full recovery.
The physician in black packed up the acupuncture supplies and asked.
"The Red Tiger Society you belong to has been quite noisy lately."
"Why is a physician interested in Underworld affairs?"
"Because when there's trouble in the Underworld, the patients increase."
The physician in black said this and grinned.
"This fellow's gone money-crazy. It'll be settled before long, so there won't be any chance for you to rake in a fortune."
"You're going to settle it?"
"It'll end up that way. I'm the only one in the Red Tiger Society who can catch that mad dog."
"You do know you still can't make a fist?"
Do Tong-dal jerked his chin toward Namgung Seol-rin, who stood silently off to one side.
"There's an arm right there that can swing a sword."
"Hm. It seems better than the original arm."
Do Tong-dal shouted.
"The original arm is better, so just do your job and treat it!"
"The treatment fee...."
"I already gave you a silver nyang!"
"Hey, that one nyang wore off ages ago."
"This fellow thinks I'm some rooster that lays golden eggs!"
The physician in black looked at Do Tong-dal with an expression that said, 'So are you going to pay or not?' Even without the Mind-Reading Art, the physician's thoughts were written plainly on that face.
"Fine! I'll pay more! More!"
Only then did a broad smile bloom on the physician in black's face.
"Dear customer, I will do my utmost to treat you."
Grumbling, Do Tong-dal left the clinic.
"I've been well and truly fleeced. Fleeced. He wasn't that kind of man before, but they say once a monk tastes meat, there isn't a bedbug left in the temple—he got a taste of money and changed. Changed."
When he returned to the Seo-ung Branch, one of his underlings spoke cautiously.
"The Branch Chief is looking for you."
There was no need to ask what it was about.
"Where the hell has the Deputy Branch Chief been wandering off to!"
Branch Chief Seo Cheol-bang bellowed. After Jang Jeong-baek had disappeared, headquarters had sent Seo Cheol-bang down as the new Branch Chief.
If Jang Jeong-baek was a meticulous viper, Seo Cheol-bang was a bullheaded viper. Because of his arrogant, shitty personality, the number of people in the Red Tiger Society who liked him could be counted on one hand.
The problem was that among the people who liked Seo Cheol-bang was Jo Chi-un.
The reason Jo Chi-un had sent Seo Cheol-bang down to the Seo-ung Branch was one thing.
—Get rid of Do Tong-dal.
Do Tong-dal, who had lost the use of his arm, no longer had any utility. The hated man had also become useless, so it was only natural that Jo Chi-un wanted him driven out.
So the only thing Seo Cheol-bang did as Branch Chief was torment Do Tong-dal.
"I've just come from receiving treatment."
"Bullshit. If you're a cripple, just accept it. Treatment, my ass."
Do Tong-dal was suppressing his anger with a deep breath when Namgung Seol-rin asked.
"Shall I kill him?"
Seo Cheol-bang's eyes went wide with fury.
"Did you just say you'd kill me?"
"One move is enough."
Her face was hidden by a mask, but the murderous glint in her eyes was unmistakable. Thugs by nature had a special knack for sensing killing intent. That was how they survived long in the back alleys.
Seo Cheol-bang's gaze turned to Do Tong-dal.
"I-if you kill me, you'll never get away with it."
"Guts the size of a rat's balls."
"Wh-what?"
"If you've got nothing to say, let's call it a day."
"You little shit! We're not done talking—where do you think you're going!"
Ignoring Seo Cheol-bang, Do Tong-dal left the Seo-ung Branch. The post of Deputy Branch Chief was supposed to assist the Branch Chief, but since there was nothing to assist Seo Cheol-bang with, Do Tong-dal naturally had nothing to do.
Do Tong-dal headed to Jang Yu-seom's house. Jang Yu-seom, who had been getting ready to go to work at Cheonsangru, greeted him with a pleased face.
"Are you receiving your treatment well?"
"Yes. It's slow, but there's improvement."
"That's good."
"Jo Gwang-un will be coming to Cheonsangru before long."
* * *
"What? You want me to take Boss to Cheonsangru?"
Jo Chi-un lit his tobacco and spoke.
"Coordinator Wang, you're close with Boss, aren't you?"
Wang Chil wore a baffled expression.
"Close? I served under him for about three months."
"If you lasted three months under a boss with a shitty temper like that, you're close. Take him to Cheonsangru and buy him a drink."
"Is this really just about treating him to a drink?"
"What else would it be?"
Wang Chil looked at Hwang Seon-jung, who sat beside Jo Chi-un. His left arm and leg were splinted, and half his face was covered in bandages. It was astonishing that he could move at all in that state.
'If only he fought as well as his willpower.'
The title of Red Tiger Society's greatest fighter kept getting shit splattered on it.
"Why me, of all people? There are plenty of people who were closer to Boss than I was."
"Why? You don't want to entertain Boss? If you don't want to follow my orders, say so. I'll have you expelled."
History showed that the end of an Underworld thug expelled by the Society Leader was a gruesome one.
"Understood. Tomorrow...."
"Today. Right now."
Jo Gwang-un must have been making Jo Chi-un quite miserable.
"Understood."
Leaving the office, Wang Chil headed for the Seo-ung Branch.
"That Tong-dal probably won't be at the branch."
Wang Chil knew well that Do Tong-dal had been having a hard time lately. What pained him was that there was nothing he could do about it.
Fortunately, he ran into him on the way to the Seo-ung Branch.
"Boss, what brings you here?"
At Do Tong-dal's question, Wang Chil let out a sigh first.
"The Society Leader gave me a shitty assignment."
"To take Jo Gwang-un to Cheonsangru?"
"Huh? How did you know that? I just heard about it myself."
As expected, a man with a gift like that was different.
"It's obvious the Society Leader is scheming to send Jo Gwang-un to Cheonsangru, where Jang Yu-seom is, and have him deal with the problem."
"Can Jang Yu-seom handle Boss? Not that I doubt Jang Yu-seom's skill, but even Protector Hwang, who took eight underlings with him, got thrashed."
"What I'm worried about is Jang Yu-seom settling it too cleanly. If he just beats him up and chases him off, that's one thing, but Jang Yu-seom has gotten ruthless lately."
"Isn't it a good thing if Jo Gwang-un gets dealt with?"
"If Jo Gwang-un gets dealt with, Jo Chi-un gets to stay Society Leader for a long time."
Wang Chil was startled.
"You're planning to put Jo Gwang-un in the Society Leader's seat?"
"That wouldn't be bad either."
"Are you serious?"
"Let's just watch how it plays out. If you take Jo Gwang-un to Cheonsangru, Jo Gwang-un could get himself killed today."
"If you've got something else in mind, shouldn't you give Jang Yu-seom a heads-up?"
"I'm on my way back from meeting him right now."
"Oh-ho! So Jang Yu-seom won't be coming to Cheonsangru today?"
"I've decided to leave it to Jang Yu-seom. I owe Cheonsangru that much loyalty too."
"I have no idea how any of this is going to go."
"Just watch yourself today, Boss. If Jo Gwang-un starts causing a scene, it'd be best to get out of there fast, right?"
"I can't take either side, so that's what I'll do."
* * *
"He really came to the pleasure house."
Jo Gwang-un said that when he arrived at Cheonsangru. Wang Chil asked with a puzzled look.
"I said we were going to a pleasure house for drinks, didn't I?"
"I thought you'd say we were going to a pleasure house and then drag me off to some secluded back alley."
Jo Gwang-un slung an arm over Wang Chil's shoulder and went on.
"Then again, you've always been too straight-laced. I heard you've been treated shabbily even within the Red Tiger Society?"
Jo Gwang-un had already done a great deal of investigating into the Red Tiger Society before coming to Hangzhou.
"I'm a Coordinator now too, so I have no complaints."
"Is that so? Then you've got no need to get on my good side, so why did you offer to buy me a drink?"
Wang Chil gave the answer Do Tong-dal had told him.
"Since no one else was welcoming you, I thought I should at least treat you."
* * *