Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Ransomware (3)
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“Huh? Han Hwa-gi?”
Jo Seok-gu and Joo Gwae-yul received the sealed letter from the prison guard.
This morning, Han Hwa-gi had his parole confirmed and left Anyang Prison under the March 1st special pardon.
The guard relayed Han Hwa-gi’s message that this letter was a sort of “down payment.”
And true to the name “down payment,” Joo Gwae-yul’s lips curled into an increasingly greedy smile.
“Looks like he’s not all talk after all. Teacher Jo, take a look at this.”
“Lemme see… Whoa, it’s packed tight. My eyes hurt just tryin’ to read it. Hey, Thickie!”
Jo Seok-gu called out to one of his underlings from the next cell. Soon enough, a guy as plump as his nickname waddled over and bowed his head.
“Yes, Big Brother!”
“Get me some reading glasses! Strong ones!”
Only after slipping the glasses onto the bridge of his nose could Jo Seok-gu finally make out the contents of the letter.
Lying half-buried in his blanket, he flicked the paper with his finger and opened his mouth.
“Here I thought he was some soft young master with no real bite, but damn if he ain’t a dutiful son. Pickin’ the juiciest spots and scratchin’ deep.”
“An offer we can’t refuse. Neither you nor I, Teacher Jo.”
An offer impossible to turn down.
Han Hwa-gi, the man who had once put these two former organized crime bosses on death row.
“Well, he did lay out everything we needed to hear upfront.”
The day before leaving this hellish Anyang Prison.
Han Hwa-gi had summoned Jo Seok-gu and Joo Gwae-yul to the warden’s office once more. With his feet propped up on the table, he tossed them his proposal.
“Start filling the baskets on this scale of justice. You first.”
The tip of Han Hwa-gi’s dangling ankle pointed at Jo Seok-gu.
“Yeah, you.”
“Ha! Spit it out quick-like. My ears are wide open.”
A statue of Themis, goddess of justice, sat on the edge of the table—maybe ordered in bulk from some court.
Staring at the blindfolded figure holding the scales, Han Hwa-gi slowly began listing what Jo Seok-gu would pile onto one side.
“On the left: every bit of your savings bank’s capital. Plus all the customer deposits.”
“You crazy bastard. You ain’t even pluckin’ the feathers—just swallowin’ the whole damn chicken!”
Han Hwa-gi’s demand: not only bet everything Jo owned, but risk the label of a massive financial fraudster.
Ignoring Jo Seok-gu’s incredulous outburst, Han Hwa-gi simply continued.
“And on the right arm of the scale as payment…”
Complaints like that would fade in the face of overwhelming compensation anyway.
“<Cocoa>.”
“……!”
Separate from the original plan to devour the rest of Ammunition Group affiliates whole—this was Han Hwa-gi offering to hand <Cocoa> entirely to Jo Seok-gu.
Jo Seok-gu, calculating furiously in his head, looked up at him with greed creeping over his face.
“You sure that’s doable? That Arab sand rat Bin Salman gonna sit quiet?”
“The majority shareholder’s Han Seo-jun anyway, so taking control won’t be an issue. Whatever’s left with the Saudis is your problem to handle.”
“Hmph, sellin’ the moon you don’t even own like it’s goin’ outta style.”
Jo Seok-gu’s dissatisfied expression.
But he had only one choice.
“But… if I buy this moon, cherry blossoms’ll bloom wild in my hands.”
When the moonlight of <Cocoa> that Han Hwa-gi dangled shone brightest, pink petals would burst open in Jo Seok-gu’s grasp.
“Then I reckon I’ll grab my three-eight special and head up from Honam. Better to be a Seoul aristocrat than some local hillbilly clan, right?”
The wildly swinging scale that was Jo Seok-gu settled as steady and calm as a mountain temple.
Now for the other side.
“Joo Gwae-yul. What you need most is freedom, no doubt.”
“…….”
And balancing that scale was child’s play for Han Hwa-gi.
“Unlike Jo Seok-gu here with just a bit left on his sentence, you’ve got another twenty years to rot.”
“Feels like you could spring me from this joint anytime.”
“Nothing to it. There’s an easy way out staring us in the face—only a fool wouldn’t take it.”
Escape.
The hardest kind was the literal one: sneaking past everyone’s eyes and bolting from prison.
Near impossible to pull off, and even if you did, recapture was guaranteed. Just pointless thrashing.
But.
“I’ll give you a legal escape. One where you walk out the front gate proud as you please.”
The simplest, fully legal breakout.
As a chaebol heir who once gripped Ammunition Group’s steering wheel tight, Han Hwa-gi could gift-wrap that easy exit for Joo Gwae-yul.
“Ammunition Medical Center still bends to my will. Enough power there to turn even a strapping young buck into a pitiful invalid.”
“Huh…!”
“Suspension of sentence due to illness. That’ll get you your freedom. Satisfied now, Joo Gwae-yul?”
Freedom following revenge.
No testing the waters with an offer like that—Joo Gwae-yul just cut to the chase.
“…And the price?”
“Obvious, isn’t it?”
His face merely twisted at the invoice listing the massive quid pro quo.
“The unlaundered Ilseong faction stash: 120 billion in cash bundles.”
“……!”
“Rumors say it’s buried in some garlic field. I know it’s more than rumor.”
Han Hwa-gi demanding every last bit of the black money set aside for hunting Ammunition Group.
Stroking his gray-white goatee in thought, a groan slipped from Joo Gwae-yul’s lips.
“You’re asking me to bet it all.”
“You’ll lose it all anyway if you don’t.”
The deal sealed with a reluctant nod.
With pledges from bosses Jo Seok-gu and Joo Gwae-yul secured, Han Hwa-gi rose from his seat, satisfied.
“The scale’s tipping even now. I’ll head out first.”
Today, sunlight poured warmly through the window for some reason.
Sweeping aside the curtains, Han Hwa-gi left one last line behind as he stepped out.
“I’ll be waiting. Until we meet again.”
And now.
Recalling that moment as they eyed the down payment letter.
“Woo-hoo… This’ll come quicker than I thought.”
“Indeed. ‘Down payment’ fits perfectly.”
They couldn’t hide their grins at the unexpected advance.
The countdown to the coming war was crystal clear: Liberation Day, August 15th.
-[Liberation Day Special Pardon Additional List] Inmate #4747, Jo Seok-gu.
-[Ammunition Medical Center Detailed Physical Exam Subject] Inmate #1214, Joo Gwae-yul.
Jo Seok-gu lay back with a hearty laugh.
Tucking the folded letter into his sleeve, he looked at Joo Gwae-yul and spoke, his mind on the massive spoils if Han Hwa-gi won.
“Heh heh heh, let’s meet up again around summer. Us three, includin’ that Han Hwa-gi fella.”
* * * *
Han Seo-ho was less spiritually tempered than expected.
“Han Seo-jun, you…!”
Overcome by fury, he pointed straight at me without a hello.
In contrast to his brother’s disgrace, Han Seo-hu appeared composed.
“Chairman Han Seo-jun, it’s been a while.”
Han Seo-hu treated me with uncharacteristic respect.
I could tell from a glance his true feelings differed from his facade, but it was a total shift from his old thug days.
“Since you’ve taken the chairman’s seat, you deserve respect for the position. Even in private.”
“Make yourselves comfortable. Whatever feels right.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Perhaps embarrassed by his brother’s display, Han Seo-ho cleared his throat awkwardly and raised his speech.
“Ahem, then me too. I mean, I will as well.”
An awkward reunion between cousins, brimming with invisible hostility.
Having gauged the vibes of these two for the ransomware play, I cut straight to the main topic.
“Perfect timing. Before we see Grandmother, let’s talk personnel changes.”
I announced the transfers right away.
Han Seo-ho to <Cocoa> auditor, Han Seo-hu to China executive director.
They couldn’t hide their shock.
“……!”
“Why…?”
I could hear their eyeballs rolling already, each calculating gains and losses in their positions. Pretending ignorance, I tossed a light question.
“Any discomfort with my decisions? I can handle it, but being under the youngest sister might chafe.”
“No, no! Of course not!”
Exactly.
As if.
Auditing <Cocoa>, with full access to Ammunition Group’s books.
And China exec director, the gatekeeper inviting in external foes.
Two blades clearly aimed at me—and they gripped the hilts, bowing their heads with beaming smiles.
“Thank you, Chairman! I’ll work hard!”
“Whatever direction that ‘hard’ goes, let’s hope for the best.”
Relatively transparent Han Seo-ho.
“Ahem, thank you, Chairman. It’s more than I deserve, but I’ll do my utmost.”
“And whether it’s deserved? Sit first, then decide.”
Even Han Seo-hu, now somewhat adept at hiding his schemes.
Of course, they had no clue.
That in the end… it would all play out in the palm of my hand.
I glanced at my watch.
Against its gold face, the black hour hand pointed to 7.
“Alright then. Ten minutes, then we greet Grandmother. Someone else is coming.”
“Someone else…?”
Someone else.
One person who’d leave me disappointed if he didn’t show right now.
“A surprise gift. Auditor Han Seo-ho and Exec Director Han Seo-hu will welcome him too.”
Seo Taehu’s frozen heart thawing on death’s doorstep, chains falling from her limbs.
That man was none other than.
“Former HQ Director Han Hwa-gi. Ah, now Advisor Han Hwa-gi is on his way here.”
As I finished speaking, the hospital room door burst open without a knock.
Staring at that viper face I hadn’t seen in ages, I muttered under my breath without thinking.
“Speak of the devil.”
Then, as if nothing happened, I extended my hand with a greeting.
A handshake like a declaration of war. Our gripped hands squeezed until the blood drained, each vying for dominance.
“Been well, Advisor Han?”
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