Chapter 30
Chapter 30
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: That Dawn
-----------------------------------------------------------------
That dawn.
“After the pork soup joint, now it’s a gamjatang place?”
Kim Min-gyu grimaced as he sat across from Lee Dae-hyeok at the gamjatang restaurant.
“What’s wrong? Don’t like gamjatang?”
Kim Min-gyu was exasperated by Lee Dae-hyeok’s casual use of informal speech.
But unlike at the pork soup place, he couldn’t bring himself to stand up this time.
There was one nagging question.
“How the hell… did you find out?”
“Find out what?”
“About… Park Chun-ho’s trading partners.”
No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
It wasn’t the kind of info you could dig up with a simple background check.
“Why’s that bothering you?”
Lee Dae-hyeok grinned and poured soju into his glass.
“Even if it doesn’t look like it, I’m the son of the Daehan Group chairman. Of course I’d have that kind of intel and pull.”
Kim Min-gyu started to say, “That’s not obvious at all,” but dropped his head instead.
What was the point of arguing in this situation?
“Whew—!”
A sigh escaped Kim Min-gyu’s lips.
“So what do you want from me?”
“Your life.”
Lee Dae-hyeok casually brought up Kim Min-gyu’s life.
Ha—!
Kim Min-gyu let out a hollow laugh and continued.
“…You’re saying you’re gonna make me risk my life for this.”
He got it—Lee Dae-hyeok was special.
But using him as cannon fodder was no different from Lee Dae-hwan or Park Chun-ho.
‘It wasn’t a lifeline. It was a noose on the gallows.’
Kim Min-gyu clenched his fist.
If he picked a fight with Lee Dae-hwan under Lee Dae-hyeok, even his sister Min-sun could be in danger.
Maybe it’d be better to end things here.
“I… have a family.”
“I know. You’ve got a sister about to get married, right?”
Flinch—!
Kim Min-gyu’s face paled at Lee Dae-hyeok’s response.
Lee Dae-hyeok waved it off as he scanned his expression.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. You know what a scumbag Park Chun-ho is. I looked into your family just to head off any trouble—he’s the type to go after them.”
“Head off trouble… for me?”
“I’ve even assigned bodyguards to your sister. You know Park Chun-ho better than anyone. If things get dicey…”
“He hits family first… Thank you, for now.”
Kim Min-gyu bowed his head sincerely.
But when he looked up, his eyes still held wariness toward Lee Dae-hyeok.
Clack—!
Lee Dae-hyeok, who had been watching him, set down his chopsticks.
“Kim Min-gyu, look at your situation objectively. Every path’s blocked for you right now. Even without me, Park Chun-ho would’ve taken you out.”
Park Chun-ho had been planning to eliminate Kim Min-gyu and his sister at the right moment.
“You know it too, right? The ship’s sailed. Not just Park Chun-ho—Lee Dae-hwan will come after you too. Why? Because you’re on my side now.”
“…So I’m in even more danger now?”
“If you wanna stay alive, grab tight to this lifeline called ‘Lee Dae-hyeok.’”
Lee Dae-hyeok joked in response to Kim Min-gyu’s retort.
He’d been using informal speech the whole time.
A subtle way of establishing hierarchy.
But Kim Min-gyu, cornered on all sides, had no bandwidth to care.
“…….”
He bit his lip hard and spat out.
“How… can I trust you, Lee Dae-hyeok?”
There was another meaning hidden in that question.
Prove you’re not scum like Park Chun-ho or Lee Dae-hwan.
Lee Dae-hyeok leaned back in his chair, pondering for a moment.
Back when he was Kim Gun-woo, he’d been in the exact same spot as Kim Min-gyu.
Fighting enemy groups in front, never knowing when colleagues behind might betray him—every day felt like walking on thin ice.
The one thing he’d wanted to hear most back then was simple.
“Let’s do a few jobs together. If I act like trash after that, you can leave on your own.”
“You mean that?”
He wouldn’t try to stop him?
Kim Min-gyu couldn’t help but be shocked by Lee Dae-hyeok’s unexpected offer.
After dragging him out amid the clash with Park Chun-ho, he’d let him go just like that?
As Kim Min-gyu shot him a doubtful look, Lee Dae-hyeok continued.
“I’m giving you time to decide.”
Lee Dae-hyeok was relaxed.
Kim Min-gyu had nowhere else to go but to him.
Plus, if he’d wanted to refuse, he would’ve stormed out already.
Sticking around through this conversation meant…
He probably wanted to grab onto the ‘Lee Dae-hyeok’ lifeline.
While Lee Dae-hyeok read his intentions, Kim Min-gyu wrestled with his own doubts.
He couldn’t fully trust Lee Dae-hyeok.
But right now, making Lee Dae-hyeok the winner was his path to survival.
“What… do I need to do?”
Lee Dae-hyeok answered Kim Min-gyu’s question with one of his own.
“How many guys under Park Chun-ho can you pull over?”
“…Around twenty, for now.”
Kim Min-gyu estimated after a quick mental count.
About half of Park Chun-ho’s crew followed him.
But following him inside the group was one thing—breaking off and openly opposing Park Chun-ho was another.
It could cost lives.
Only about twenty would gamble that much on him.
“Does it have to include my guys too?”
“…….”
Lee Dae-hyeok felt a twinge of regret at the number.
He’d boasted about taking Park Chun-ho’s faction, but only twenty for now.
Still, rushing and biting off too much could backfire.
This was enough to start.
“The more the better, but twenty-one’s about right.”
Stroking his chin, Lee Dae-hyeok calculated the smuggled goods in Yoo Jae-man’s secret warehouse and continued.
It’d been a while, so he didn’t know the exact stockpile now, but…
This many should be enough to clean the place out smoothly.
“Plenty for hauling furniture.”
“Furniture?”
Kim Min-gyu grew even more confused by Lee Dae-hyeok’s words.
After risking it all to settle with Park Chun-ho, just to move furniture?
“Don’t feel shortchanged. It’s not ordinary furniture.”
Lee Dae-hyeok flashed a meaningful smile as he refilled the soju glass.
Faced with that smile, Kim Min-gyu hesitated to drink.
“Regretting it already?”
“No.”
As Lee Dae-hyeok teased, Kim Min-gyu grabbed his glass roughly.
He’d already decided, and regrets always came too late.
Gulp—.
Clack—.
Setting down the empty glass, Kim Min-gyu shot back.
“I regretted it the moment I left that room salon.”
“Yeah? That might be your last regret.”
“If you don’t crush Park Chun-ho, I’ll have more.”
Lee Dae-hyeok replied calmly to Kim Min-gyu’s challenge.
“Wait a year. I’ll take him down with you in that time.”
He could call in the security team now and handle Park Chun-ho easily.
But.
‘Gotta uproot it all, or it’s pointless.’
Without dealing with the backer Lee Dae-hwan, another Park Chun-ho wannabe would pop up.
He had to strike roots and stem in one go.
However.
‘Need to shut down the organ trade route too.’
Innocent victims had to be spared.
With foreign syndicates involved, he couldn’t stop it with his current power alone.
‘Hate to do it, but I’ll need the authorities.’
But he couldn’t hand the Park Chun-ho case to just anyone.
‘Someone reliable… Ah.’
Racking his brain, a trustworthy name surfaced.
Kim Il-jung, the chaebol-hunting prosecutor from a chaebol family.
Third son of Hyeonsan Group, who became a prosecutor to take down chaebols.
‘Good. I’ll meet him soon.’
Having roughly outlined the plan in his head, Lee Dae-hyeok spoke up.
“Just wait a bit.”
Kim Min-gyu nodded at Lee Dae-hyeok’s words, grasping the implication.
“Got it.”
“Oh, and from now on, call me ‘President.’”
“…Understood.”
With the title settled, Lee Dae-hyeok picked up his spoon.
“Alright. Let’s eat.”
Chomp chomp—!
Lee Dae-hyeok dug in, and Kim Min-gyu followed, mixing rice into his gamjatang.
Munch munch—.
As he scooped a spoonful of rice soaked in broth, a sudden question came to Kim Min-gyu.
“But when’s this ‘move’ happening?”
Lee Dae-hyeok, who’d paused to think, replied.
“Midnight tomorrow.”
“What? That… soon?”
As Kim Min-gyu looked stunned, Lee Dae-hyeok continued.
“Better to handle homework quick. Right? Oh, and it’s not really furniture… it’s smuggled goods to build me up.”
Kim Min-gyu’s eyes widened, his mouth full of gamjatang.
“Smuggled goods?!!”
***
There was a special warehouse on Incheon’s docks.
It was about 2,000 square feet, but only four staff managed it.
They split into two teams of two for guard duty.
Officially owned by an obscure company called Taehwang Freight, this rundown warehouse hid an enormous secret.
Namely, that it stored ultra-expensive artworks worth hundreds of millions each.
The organization running it was one of Yoo Jae-man’s black ops teams.
And the black ops guards on duty that night were a bit irritated.
Each was a martial arts black belt and Ivy League grad—top-tier elites.
Yet their job was just babysitting a plain warehouse.
“Damn it.”
“What’s up?”
One guard spat a curse while on watch.
“Think about it. Our careers are toast. We’ll rot here till we age out and retire.”
The griping guard kept complaining.
It was only natural.
You had to be in the field to rack up merits.
Merits led to promotions.
Even Kim Gun-woo’s underlings would climb faster than them.
But his bored-looking partner shook his head.
“No risks, just sitting here on guard—salary, bonuses roll in easy. What’s to complain?”
Better than busting your ass for the same pay.
They knew the warehouse held artworks worth hundreds of millions.
And that those pieces flowed to politicians, prosecutors, and media bigwigs via Seojin Group channels.
No surveillance cams, lest evidence linger—just in case.
Only the two transport leads knew the door code.
As long as no incidents, this cushy gig lasted till retirement, he figured.
But that hope shattered at the sudden sound of footsteps.
Thud thud—.
“Huh?”
Ripped, able-bodied men had emerged from the darkness, staring them down.
Ten? No, about twenty.
Rush rush rush—!
Suits with baseball caps and black masks charged.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Call HQ!!”
The guards yelled frantically.
Thud thud crack—!
But they were swiftly overpowered by the masked men, no real fight.
Two against twenty.
No contest.
In seconds—dozens at most—the guards lay sprawled.
The masked men halted.
No time for noise.
Now, move quiet and efficient.
From behind, a black-jacketed masked man who’d watched it all stepped to the door.
He punched in the code like it was routine.
Beep—. Beep beep—!
Whirr—!
The heavy shutter rose with a rumble.
Click—!
The warehouse revealed itself, packed with crated artworks.
Lee Dae-hyeok scanned the interior.
Just as he remembered.
Packed in plain boxes to avoid attention, but…
These smuggled goods were worth at least ten billion.
Convert to seed money, invest with his future knowledge…
‘At least hundreds of billions.’
Not just stocks.
He already knew which new cities would redevelop.
Real estate too, and he’d make more than he dreamed.
‘Ironic.’
These were Yoo Jae-man’s prized collections.
He’d watched him pour effort and time into them.
Now that effort became his ‘blade’ aimed at Yoo Jae-man.
Hand on hip, Lee Dae-hyeok said coolly.
“Let’s start the move.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------