Your Goons? No, Mine. (2)
That didn't mean I had any reason to skip the meeting. When the two of us came face to face, I wouldn't be the one getting shaken down like crumbs off a cutting board.
- Fine. When do you want to meet?
- You should know something right away. How about 5 a.m. tomorrow, before work?
What was this sudden concern for my well-being? He was laying it on way too thick.
- Works for me.
- Good. This involves our family, so no one else can know. Come alone.
- Got it.
After the chaos he'd caused at the executive meeting, watching him act all friendly now made me want to gag. While I kept my replies short, Je-gyun sent over the meeting location. A quick search showed an abandoned redevelopment zone on the outskirts of Seoul, nothing left but derelict buildings that had never been demolished. Once the messages ended, I kept my phone in hand and issued the execution orders for every contingency I'd prepared.
Top priority was Seok Dong-hoon, the man who'd taken 1.7 billion won from Je-gyun only to turn around and stab him in the back. When I asked if Seok Dong-hoon was scheduled to appear at the time and place Je-gyun had named, the answer came back that Je-gyun was indeed planning something there—but he himself wouldn't be showing up. In Seok Dong-hoon's words, personally stepping onto the "field" carried too high a risk of arrest, so he stayed out of it. Still, he added that the "field players" I'd instructed would handle everything perfectly, so I had nothing to worry about.
Next, I contacted Han Seung-woo and the security team. Je-gyun had told me to come alone, but knowing exactly what kind of stunt he was pulling, going without protection would be like riding a roller coaster with the safety bar up. According to Seok Dong-hoon, Je-gyun had also asked him to check whether I had bodyguards nearby. Seok Dong-hoon had naturally agreed, and he would indeed scout the area for my security detail. Once his men and my security team recognized each other, they'd exchange handshakes and smiles—and say nothing to Je-gyun. That took care of my safety.
To put the perfect finishing touch on tonight's meeting, I made one more call.
"Deputy Kim Chul-joong, good evening."
- Yes, Young Master. I've been following the group chat messages from your personal security team. What brings the phone call?
"There's something I'd like you to handle separately."
* * *
Just because something big was happening at dawn didn't mean my regular workload disappeared. I switched my messenger status from "Do Not Disturb" to "Working," and four staff members from the headquarters office filed in as if they'd been waiting for the signal. Looking slightly embarrassed, they simply smiled without a word, piled the mountain of documents they'd brought onto the conference table, and left. At the same time, messenger notifications kept popping up with files requesting my review and approval.
Good grief. The amount of paperwork I had to read seemed to grow every single day. Of course, this was partly self-inflicted. Chairman Kwon Byung-do had scattered the division head's authority everywhere, and I'd gathered it all into my own hands. Flip the perspective, though, and all this work was proof of my authority—and handling it was how that authority became secure.
- A great man's path has opened wide; why would busyness be a problem?
I recalled the words I'd spoken when I first joined the Central Management Division as head of the audit team, then sat down at the wide conference table and began working through the documents one by one.
As expected, QS Movies President Baek Seung-guk had recommended himself for the QS EnM representative director position. The headquarters staff didn't seem opposed, though some worried his connections in the film and broadcasting industries could become a liability. Personally, I didn't trust him after watching him play both sides, so I set the matter aside for now.
The hottest topic was still the QS representative director seat, one of the group's three pillars. There were two main opinions: appoint a domestic marketing specialist, or bring in someone with overseas experience to push Korean food as part of the Hallyu wave. I already had someone in mind, so both suggestions were rejected.
From QS FnB came a proposal, led by Finance Director Jung Ju-seong after a full executive meeting, to skip appointing a new president and instead merge with QS Food. Since the company had only existed so Je-gyun could add one more presidential title to his résumé, the idea made perfect sense. I approved it immediately.
The stack of documents gradually shrank as time passed. Past quitting time, midnight approached. I'd already reviewed everything that needed handling today, and the urge to leave had been nagging at me for a while. Yet the more documents I read, the sharper my focus became, and the tighter the tension wound with every passing hour. Each item on the agenda was genuinely critical—appointing the president of a company that, taken alone, would rank as a solid mid-sized firm. Still, that wasn't the real reason I couldn't leave. Imagining what would happen at dawn made my chest swell with anticipation.
According to the plan I'd laid out so meticulously that failure was almost impossible, Je-gyun would be completely ruined by dawn tomorrow. As a businessman, he'd already met his end at the last executive meeting when he kicked over his chair in spectacular self-destruction. After tonight, he would face the final curtain not only as a family member but as a member of society itself. I wouldn't personally commit Kwon Je-gyun to a psychiatric ward, but given how rotten his mind already was, he might end up there anyway.
By the time those thoughts finished running through my head, it was well past midnight. Less than five hours remained until I met Je-gyun. Rather than forcing myself to sleep now, I decided resting after everything was over would be better, so I kept turning pages. When the alarm I'd set for 4 a.m. finally went off, I closed the last document, drove out of the underground garage, and headed for the meeting place.
Vroooom—
The drive that began in the heart of Seoul at QS Tower grew steadily more desolate. Buildings outside the window thinned one by one until even the streetlights became sparse. Relying only on headlights, I entered the stalled redevelopment zone and felt an eerie sense of déjà vu—the final scene of my previous life. It had been exactly like this. Driving a supercar down a winding road into an abandoned building, only to be framed as a drug addict and forced into a staged suicide in place of the spoiled Kwon Ho-gyun. Maybe that spoiled brat had learned from his older brother that a half-built ruin was the perfect place to dispose of someone.
But the similarity ended there. Everything that was about to unfold was part of my design, and tonight I stood on the opposite side from the victim. Looking back, I'd grown a great deal. The pathetic lawyer Kang Min-chan who knew the law but not how the world worked no longer existed. Law was no longer some ultimate value I had to protect; it had become a useful tool I could wield to achieve my goals and success. Dreams as modest as escaping monthly rent and buying a home were over. The money I could move right now already ran into hundreds of billions of won, and my concerns weren't about a single house—they were about whether I would take over QS Tower. I no longer pledged my entire heart to anyone. I cooperated with those who could help me and crushed those who couldn't. Just like Kwon Je-gyun standing in front of me now.
* * *
Thud, thud-thud—
When I got out of the car and stepped into the designated abandoned building, Je-gyun, already waiting, appeared with the loud click of dress shoes. Seeing him in a full suit, it seemed he'd done his own share of mental preparation. The echo of his heels against the exposed steel beams faded, and Je-gyun spoke.
"You came? Father left a will just for me. You must've been curious, huh? I can't show you the part he left only for you, but I'm a good older brother for making mine public. Right?"
I knew full well that Chairman Kwon Byung-do had left no such will for Je-gyun, but I decided to play along for now.
"So what's in the will?"
At my question, Je-gyun reached into his suit jacket's inner pocket and pulled out a twice-folded A4 sheet, holding it between his index finger and thumb.
"Take it and read it yourself."
Pretending to comply, I accepted the paper and unfolded it. At the bottom was a forged seal of Chairman Kwon Byung-do. Above it, what passed for "content" was written—and it was so childish I could barely stand to look.
— Eat this, asshole. *Flips the middle finger.*
A sudden wave of secondhand embarrassment hit me. I quickly turned off my phone's flashlight and folded the paper again. When I looked up, Je-gyun's left hand was raised high.
"Come out!"
Five burly men who looked far more like gangsters than Seok Dong-hoon emerged from the side rooms and lined up behind him. What were they holding? They looked even more menacing than the ruined building itself. Baseball bats and wooden clubs were expected, but was that a bicycle chain? And the guy next to him—was that holding a sledgehammer?
"It was a trap?"
Je-gyun snorted derisively at my question.
"That's right. A trap. You act so smart all by yourself, but you really have no sense, do you? You're caught red-handed."
"I didn't come here unaware it was a trap. The question is, who's really caught?"
"What the hell are you talking about? Grab that bastard and make him kneel!"
Je-gyun swung his raised left hand down like a commander, but the men didn't move an inch—just as I'd instructed through Seok Dong-hoon.
"You still think I'm the one who's caught?"
Still not grasping the situation, Je-gyun ignored me and whipped his head around, shouting.
"Did you glue your feet to the floor? Why aren't you moving? You took 1.7 billion won from me! You were supposed to grab that bastard and throw him in a mental hospital. What the hell is this? And why are you holding your phone? You damn lackeys!"
The men Je-gyun had believed were his lackeys finally moved when I took one step forward and met his eyes at the same level. Still gripping their vicious weapons, they bowed their heads toward me as planned, then shifted from behind Je-gyun to stand behind me instead. Staring straight into the depths of Je-gyun's eyes as if to bore through them, I spoke in a low voice.
"Je-gyun. These men aren't your goons. They're mine."