Chapter 228
Chapter 228
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 228
Chapter Title: Money Lord (3)
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Even when you go out of your way to cater to someone's tastes, there are times when you unexpectedly get chewed out for it.
Just like right now, having booked a VIP room in some club in Gangnam Cheongdam-dong and sent an invitation to our dear Kim Beom-ho.
"Ah, what the hell now!"
Judging by that heated reaction, he must have been pretty excited after receiving the invitation.
Well, who wouldn't be thrilled by the line: [A special invitation just for you. Even celebrity-level beauties will be attending!]?
Of course, it wasn't a lie. Yoo Se-na, the aide who came with me, had celebrity-level looks, after all.
"...Ugh."
And Kim Beom-ho, who had a particular soft spot for Aide Yoo Se-na.
Back during his affair with Seo Yun-ji, when Yoo Se-na had infiltrated as a cleaning lady. He still seemed to have a thing for that look from back then.
"Ahh, my beloved cleaning noona... Don't look at me like that."
"Ugh. Disgusting."
Aide Yoo Se-na's blatant look of contempt. In a way, it might even be a reward for Kim Beom-ho.
Having been thoroughly torn down like that, Kim Beom-ho seemed to snap out of it a bit. He straightened his clothes and spoke to me in a pretentious tone.
"Ahem, Chairman Han. You keep trying to use a high-class talent like me only for the dirty jobs."
Thud. Kim Beom-ho plopped down in the middle of the club VIP room sofa. He naturally poured himself some top-shelf cognac and started showing off.
"I'm not the old Kim Beom-ho anymore. Quit drugs! Cut back on booze! Seeing women in moderation! Nothing to worry about."
It was obvious. No need to say more.
This guy Kim Beom-ho was definitely thirsty for booze lately.
He filled a glass packed with ice to the brim with premium cognac and downed it in one go. Then, trying to act cool, he said to me,
"Keuh! So, don't stick some random prosecutress on me like last time. Let's not do that crap, please."
"Who said anything? No, I didn't bring you here to tell you to live like a good boy."
Clink. Was it the flustered vibe reaching his fingertips? The ice in his glass rattled. Kim Beom-ho's pupils shook like there was an earthquake as he asked back,
"What...?"
"Aren't you struggling? Suppressing your playboy instincts and all."
Bam, bam, bampam! Club music leaked in through the slightly open door crack.
Perfect timing. I wanted a drink too.
I had Aide Yoo Se-na lock the door, then sat down right in front of Kim Beom-ho and filled my glass to the brim.
Then, I handed him his financial transaction records.
"You got your card back, but the usage history still goes straight to your dad in real-time. You can't spend freely like before, and it gets confiscated whenever they crack down at home."
"How did you even...!"
"The lounge bar at K Hotel, your old hideout? It's going into renovations early next year. Turning it into a VIP indoor pool."
Kim Beom-ho shriveled up in an instant.
I skewered a piece of fruit with a toothpick and handed it over, whispering to him,
"Don't you need it? Entertainment funds."
"Ah, seriously!"
And Kim Beom-ho wasn't the type of guy who could refuse the devil's temptation.
"Our Chairman Han knows me too damn well, that's the problem. So, what? You footing the bill?"
"What's there I can't do?"
"What did you say...?"
"Here."
A little star sparkling brightly.
An Ammunition card one level below the top tier—still pretty high-end.
Kim Beom-ho's eyes widened like saucers as he saw the card, along with a note scribbled with the PIN.
"Ammunition... Platinum card?"
"Yeah, limit of 30 billion won. Should be enough to play for two months, right?"
"30 billion for two months...! For real?"
"Of course it's real. The Ammunition Group Chairman personally ordered it made."
He looked at the card in his hand once.
Then at my face again.
Too much money to turn down, so Kim Beom-ho's clown show kicked off right away.
"Hehehe, as I always say, I'm Kim Beom-ho, the eternal rattle of Chairman Han Seo-jun. If you need girls anytime, just call! Loyalty!"
"Loyalty my ass—you never even served in the army. But now, there's a condition."
"Condition...?"
Gulp. Kim Beom-ho's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. I slid over next to him, threw an arm around his shoulder, and whispered in his ear,
"Play babysitter for one. I'll stick you with a fellow playboy buddy, so hang out with him."
"There it is. So, you want me as a watchdog or a sidekick or something...?"
"You catch on quick. Good."
"Hey, works for me if you bring a short-term buddy. But who's the guy?"
"Oh, someone we both know well. Even same age as you, Beom-ho hyung."
"Same age? No way...?"
A current playboy paired with a former one. These two chaebol wastrels were bound to hit it off thick as thieves.
With four years of pent-up Nigeria frustration, plus interest.
"Han Seo-hu. Help him blow off some steam he couldn't for a while—big time."
* * *
At the same time.
In the study of Han Hwa-gi's residence, Han Seo-hu rubbed his bleary eyes as he reviewed documents.
"Ugh, damn it. I'm dying here, for real. Why's everything piling up like this?"
He talked big, but the negotiations with [Shanghai Capital] weren't easy.
With his father Han Hwa-gi unable to move freely right now, Han Seo-hu was handling almost everything alone.
To the point where he even missed his annoying older brother.
"Ha, that jerk Han Seo-ho is useless as a brother. Can't even boss him around as an errand boy."
Han Seo-hu exhaled a long plume of gray cigarette smoke, clicking the mouse.
Scrolling down to the middle of an internet news forum, a familiar three-syllable name caught his eye.
-[Former Cocoa Auditor, Han Seo-ho Arrest Warrant Issued]
Along with news of his fall into dire straits.
"Ha, pinning embezzlement on him? Looks like big bro's got a knack for the slammer. Might as well call it home."
The price of incompetence was downfall.
No need to watch his brother Han Seo-ho's fate—he'd already etched that lesson into his bones.
A lesson earned through all sorts of hardships in the Nigerian jungle.
"I can't end up like that."
Stress mounting, apparently cigarettes weren't cutting it anymore.
He pulled a bottle of strong Chinese liquor from the cabinet and chugged straight from it.
"Keuh, what the hell does Dad expect me to do?"
And that anxiety wasn't just Han Seo-hu's—his father Han Hwa-gi felt it too.
To the extent he'd been grilling his second son every day.
'I told you we're out of time! Why's the meeting with the Chinese getting delayed!'
'James Wang Director says his position in central politics is shaky, so it's taking time...'
'No more excuses!'
D-day marked in red pen on the calendar: August 15th.
Soon, they'd emerge into the world. Furious, with their cash flow tied up by the savings bank crisis.
'Finish this before those two crazy gangsters bust out on Liberation Day. No matter what!'
Recalling that low growl and piercing glare, Han Seo-hu shook his head and let out a groan.
He downed more Chinese liquor, lamenting his plight.
"Ah, seriously. He's my dad and all, but what a lunatic. Temper like... whew."
The booze piling up, heating his buzz. As a young man in his thirties, he always craved the usual outlets at times like this.
Booze's best friend: nightlife. Women, parties... maybe even drugs.
'Can't do anything till the job's done, he says... Ugh?"
And right then.
As if scratching an itch, a call came in.
"What the—? Hey, what's up?"
-Hey, you back in Korea! Why didn't you tell me?
The business world's eternal bachelor, Kim Beom-ho.
"Hey, I'm busy. Hang up, asshole."
-Ehehe, acting all high and mighty again.
"Not high and mighty, dickhead. Can't spend on fun 'cause of Dad for a bit, so let's party later."
-What? Han Seo-hu a beggar now? You full-on Nigerian yet? Like mud cookies?
"Ah, you little shit...!"
Kim Beom-ho scratched at Han Seo-hu's nerves with all sorts of racist jabs.
After teasing him for a good while, Kim Beom-ho tossed out the bait, his tone a bit more cautious.
-Hey, whatever. Just come out. To K Hotel.
"What...?"
-Just come play. You got work? Then I pay this time, you pay after it's done.
"Urgh... Fair enough."
The float bobbed on the surface.
Kim Beom-ho, knowing full well the mindset of a broke ex-playboy, reeled in at the perfect moment.
Hooking the massive carp named Han Seo-ho.
-K-pop trainee girls all mobilized.
"For real...?"
-Hurry your ass over. Nothing like local black chicks.
"Didn't fool around with black chicks, asshole."
Three, two, one.
Time for the buzz to cloud his judgment.
Han Seo-hu, already grabbing his clothes without realizing, spoke into the phone with an excited voice.
"Don't you support local? Heading out now—save the hottest one for me."
* * *
At the same time. Shanghai.
"You mustn't do this, my lord."
"......"
Overlooking Pudong District across the Yangtze River from a high-rise building.
With no reply from James Wang Director, Yan Long pressed on like a remonstration.
"You barely escaped with your life from Beijing, you know that. For now, build strength... When central politics shifts again, that's when to move, my lord."
"Will that time even come?"
"My lord...?"
"Somehow, I doubt it."
Step by step, James Wang Director walked from the glass window toward Yan Long.
Wearing a deeply cornered expression.
"Beijing's fully in the Taizidang's grip. Our Shanghai faction? All chased out, hiding in the boonies."
"......"
"The shift was too fast. Faster than anyone predicted. Like someone forcibly twisted history's turning point."
And James Wang Director's gaze lifted upward.
A wooden Northeast Asia map carved into the ceiling. Staring at the Korean Peninsula jutting out like a dagger, he recalled the one man who'd driven him to this cliff's edge.
"Han Seo-jun... That man."
The already twisted historical fork.
Uncertain where that chain of causality led, James Wang Director resolved to stake everything against fate.
"I'll see it through. One trillion won in Hanwha funds—I'll pour in everything I have."
"My lord...!"
"Can't swallow it all, so I'll go with Han Hwa-gi and his son's plan. Tear the Ammunition Group to shreds. And."
His fist clenched toward the ceiling. The Korean Peninsula crumpling inward.
In the silent room, only James Wang Director's trembling voice filled the space.
"This damn karmic tie... I'll sever it with my own hands."