The Choice
There was blood on the back of Kang Min-ho's head. The circumstances clearly pointed to an assault, but there was no evidence—not even a witness. No matter how many times Sergeant Nam questioned the three men, their answers were always the same. The situation seemed hopelessly stalled.
Frustrated, Sergeant Nam rolled up the newspaper on his desk and smacked each of the three men on the head in turn.
"You gonna keep bullshitting me? You said you got hit earlier—what, is that ketchup on his head?"
"How the hell should we know?"
"Keep your mouths shut like that, and you'll all be eating prison rice."
"We didn't hit him! How many times do we have to say it?"
Kang Min-ho opened his eyes in the holding cell, of course with no memory of it. The perpetrators were just stonewalling. Sergeant Nam and Lawyer Choi could only sigh in exasperation.
"Choi, this is gonna be a headache."
"If the young master has no memory and they're staying silent, we'll have to wait and hunt for witnesses."
"We've got a victim but no perp. Hang on—I'll get a confession out of them somehow."
"If you make this a big deal, our chairman won't be pleased."
"I know, don't worry."
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Lawyer Choi and Sergeant Nam sighed. Meanwhile, Min-ho subtly lifted one corner of his mouth in a smile.
He'd forgotten about the incident—but now it came rushing back. January 5, 1990. The day Kang Min-ho's life had plummeted into the abyss.
As usual, he'd headed to a bar as the sun set and started pounding whiskey like always. Soon the buzz hit, and he got up to hit the bathroom. Opening the door, he bumped shoulders with a guy coming out.
It should've ended with a quick nod, but Min-ho's neck was stiff as a cast. The other guy was the son of a mid-tier company doing pretty well. Neither hot-blooded youth would back down, and it escalated to grabbing collars.
Onlookers pulled them apart, and things seemed to calm. But the guy glaring daggers at Min-ho grabbed a soju bottle and smashed it into the back of his head.
Both ended up at the station. Min-ho was a regular there back then.
"I'm telling you, it's not me! That guy hit the back of my head!"
"Shut it! How many times you gotten into bar fights drunk?"
No one believed the boy who cried wolf. His protests of innocence fell on deaf ears—the cops weren't listening. Betrayed by the police and wrongly labeled the aggressor, Min-ho finally snapped and caused a major scene. He snatched a baton from a cop's belt and beat the guy to a pulp.
Already on deferred prosecution for multiple DUIs, even as JK's grandson, real jail time was inevitable. This incident got him completely sidelined from key JK positions. That was when Kang Min-ho's life truly started unraveling.
But it hadn't happened yet. He knew all about the other guy, and he had time. As Min-ho took a step forward, he said,
"No witnesses? Then get a confession. I'll handle it."
Sergeant Nam jumped, grabbing Min-ho's arm.
"Think I don't know that temper of yours? You planning to throw a punch?"
"What, you think I'm a kid? Come on."
Sergeant Nam shook his head.
"I can't trust you."
"You've been burned before? Sometimes you gotta take a leap of faith."
"How many times have you caused trouble here?"
"Nothing'll happen. I promise."
"For real?"
"Yeah. Even the boy who cried wolf deserves a listen sometimes."
Hooking his pinky with the dubious sergeant's, Min-ho approached the men. Sergeant Nam tilted his head and whispered to Lawyer Choi,
"Choi, the young master's acting kinda weird, right?"
"You're not the only one who thinks so."
"Right? His eyes look different, sharper somehow, and his speech is all... clever."
"Even how he calls me changed."
"Seriously? Not like his usual?"
"Yes. Let's watch for now. If anything seems off, we stop him—won't be too late."
"Okay, deal."
Min-ho stepped up to the men claiming victimhood, staring them down as he pondered his approach. In his past life as a mere thug, he'd have found their weak spot and backed them off a cliff. But now his status was different. Still a punk, but JK royalty with Kang Jin-gwang's blood in his veins.
Royalty... No strategy needed.
Min-ho's smile vanished in an instant.
"Lawyer Choi, give them my card."
"Yes, sir."
The quietly waiting lawyer handed business cards to the men. No need for long explanations. The bold JK stamped large on the cards said it all. Realizing their mistake, the three sighed and started whispering.
—Dude, we had to tangle with JK?
—That guy's who I think he is, right?
—Man, just say you did it quick.
At the time, JK wasn't a fully formed conglomerate yet, but its loan sharking already dominated Korea's financial world. Even sons of decent mid-tier firms were small fry before JK.
Min-ho placed hands firmly on their shoulders, rattling off their details.
"Lee Jae-seon, eldest son of Daeyeon Pipe. Jeon Baek-seon, second son of Daeseong Reinforcing Bars. And you're Seong Bu-yeon of Seongdo Machinery."
"Y-yes... How do you know us?"
"Don't wanna drag this out. Tell me what happened to my head, and I'll let it slide nice."
"No. We didn't hit you—we know nothing."
"I just threw you a lifeline."
Min-ho had faced off against newspaper owners, BH, and the Seocho prosecutors. Roasting these green twenty-somethings was child's play. Despite minimal talk, the three were overwhelmed by Min-ho's intense aura. They uncrossed their legs, tension easing from their eyes.
Pacing with hands behind his back, Min-ho spoke.
"Lawyer Choi."
"Yes, young master."
"How much do their dads' companies owe JK? Minus interest."
"Daeyeon Pipe: 250 million. Daeseong Reinforcing Bars: 150 million. Seongdo Machinery: 130 million."
In an era when a Daecheong Silver Mansion apartment in Daechi-dong went for 90 million, these were staggering sums. Min-ho knew his position perfectly. He dropped a bombshell.
The quick-witted Lawyer Choi played along.
"Call in the funds by tomorrow morning."
"Understood."
"Noon if not, forced execution."
"No delays."
The three men's faces drained of color in real time. Min-ho wasn't one to pity a staggering foe.
"They hold a lot of promissory notes, right?"
"Yes, quite a volume in circulation."
"Ban all notes from Daeyeon, Daeseong, and Seongdo."
"Yes, young master."
Of course, Min-ho had no actual authority. But these were just hot-headed kids. Plausible threats from JK's clout worked wonders—past or present. If JK choked their cash flow for real, bankruptcy was a heartbeat away. The men's pupils quivered violently.
"Uh... listen..."
"Told you—should've grabbed the lifeline."
"I'll talk! Please, just hear me out once."
"I just did. Go tell your dads: company's toast, all your fault."
Even hot-blooded twenty-somethings could hold their bowels. Finally, the middle guy dropped to his knees before Min-ho, terrified, and confessed.
"I'll tell you everything."
"Spit it out."
"Actually, it was me... I..."
"What, ate some Japanese acorns? Stop stuttering—talk straight."
"I hit him with the soju bottle. Please, just once—I'm sorry!"
Without a word, Min-ho turned to Sergeant Nam.
"That enough?"
"Overkill."
Sergeant Nam blinked wildly and yelled,
"You said you got hit—what happened? Spill it straight!"
"I did it..."
"Why say so now?"
"You didn't ask before."
"Argh! Stay put—no bathroom breaks!"
Min-ho was undeniably changed. Sergeant Nam was inwardly shocked but played it cool with his usual sly grin.
"Aigoo, my bad. Min-ho, you need a hospital?"
"What, for this?"
"What about them?"
"You know I don't need their money."
"Course. Head home safe, tell your dad right."
"Yeah, don't worry. I'm out."
First day of his second life in a police station? Min-ho chalked it up to getting the bad luck out early. He wrapped it quick and headed out.
"Young master, how to handle the perps?"
"Strictly by the book—no more, no less. The debt collection was bluff, of course."
"Got it."
Min-ho's eyes, speech, actions, rational judgment—Lawyer Choi couldn't help tilting his head. The bloodstain still on Min-ho's occiput. Cautiously, he spoke.
"Young master, bleeding stopped, but you should get checked at a hospital."
"Nah, for this? Hey, you free a bit?"
"Nothing pressing."
"Wanna grab a bowl of kkukbap?"
"Sure."
"Perfect—there's a spot up ahead. This way."
Min-ho was stepping into royal life. Heart pounding unlike his forgotten fact: the blow to his head. He should've gone straight to the hospital like Choi said.
A few steps toward the soup joint, Min-ho staggered and blacked out, collapsing.
"Young master! Young master!"
When Min-ho opened his eyes again, he was in a hospital in central Seoul.