Lee Sa-rang's Past (3) Jeong Man-sik's Downfall. Now You Understand Where You're Standing?
Today was different from before. There was no Kim Min-gu today to protect me.
I couldn't ask the guy who trusted me and followed me around to join me in committing crimes, so I'd come here alone.
Well, that doesn't mean I was afraid.
What should I say... it just felt familiar?
I'd heard so much about this place from those bastards in the past that it felt oddly familiar despite being my first time.
'Damn... I've already been stained.'
Maybe that's why I could even consider this crazy idea of briefly kidnapping Jeong Man-sik—perhaps it was the influence of the people I used to hang out with before my regression.
It's dirty and dangerous, but it's effective as hell.
Words Kim Gil-gang used to always stick to his lips...
He always said there was nothing more effective and reliable for breaking someone than fear.
Well, I'd agreed with that to some extent, which was why I was doing this insane thing...
Especially for someone like Jeong Man-sik, a scaredy-cat with a rotten tail, this worked perfectly.
Those kinds of people feared violence more than the law, strangely enough.
"Chief Kang, are you here?"
Kim Gil-gang's voice was gentle and soft, dressed in impeccable attire.
He looked like a harmless, good-natured businessman, but you couldn't be fooled by that smooth smile.
Even if he looked that way, a slight opening and he'd rip out your throat like a dangerous predator.
So, I couldn't show any fear in front of him.
Not too relaxed... and not too tense either. Just as natural as usual.
"Thanks for your hard work, President Kim?"
"No, no. This isn't anything special... But you came alone?"
"Well, the fewer people who know about my relationship with President Kim, the better, right?"
Kim Gil-gang smiled with a rare, intense grin, clearly satisfied with my coming alone.
That smile probably meant he thought I was a pretty capable guy who could handle his business, or that I was someone who didn't care about his own ass.
Of course, neither was true, but I had no reason to correct him, so I just maintained a poker face and accepted his smile.
"Is this it?"
"It's a bit rundown, but the security's solid."
In the remote corner of the eerie Cheonhang Port, just one abandoned container box sat alone.
I wondered how long it had been neglected.
Looking at the rusted container, as Kim Gil-gang said, the security was definitely top-notch.
The dangerous aura radiating from there was the kind that even if a few people died here, no one would notice.
"How do you feel? Does it appeal to you?"
Kim Gil-gang asked with a cruel smile.
'I see this guy's still the same.'
He was always like this.
Showing off his violent side and trying to seize control. That bad habit of his.
The unique gangsta vibe that warned, "I'm such a scary person, so back off."
He'd done this in front of me before.
Deliberately beating subordinates cruelly right in front of me,
Or choosing this dangerous spot to "play rough" and kill someone.
In the past, those actions of his were terrifying...
But after dying and returning, this life, his actions somehow felt amusing.
What to call it?
Like a scared, tail-between-the-legs dog?
Or like a hormone-driven teenage boy who didn't know any better?
I didn't know exactly, but one thing was clear: Kim Gil-gang was overstepping right in front of me now.
"You don't need to be so bold, Mr. Kim Gil-gang..."
"..."
"I know exactly what kind of person you are, so there's no need for this act."
"Khum..."
For his discomfort, I smiled softly and lightly patted his shoulders a few times.
Kim Gil-gang cleared his throat as if he had exposed his inner thoughts.
"But is Jeong Man-sik still alive?"
"You don't have to worry about that at all."
"Huh? Really?"
"I didn't touch his face or anything. I did a perfect job with the packaging. How about seeing for yourself right now?"
"Sounds good. Between us, busy people, no need to drag this out."
"Then for a moment... what? Not opening?"
"Yes! President."
Some burly guys listening to his orders clung to the container and worked hard.
With a screeching, bone-chilling metal friction sound, the door of the container opened.
'This smell is disgusting...'
A foul, ominous stench immediately hit my nose.
What kind of smell was this...
It smelled a bit like rot and a bit like pungent blood—a musty, moldy stench.
Just smelling it sent an instinctive revulsion through me—extremely dangerous.
Strangely, today this scent of danger didn't feel as unbearable as usual.
"Then, please step aside, President Kim."
"Are you sure you can handle this alone...?"
"..."
I just looked at him emotionlessly for a moment, without giving a proper answer.
Kim Gil-gang hesitated, then quietly bowed his head and stepped out of the container.
***
Jeong Man-sik was right on the verge of losing his mind.
I remembered coming to the familiar massage parlor I used to go to and getting a good rubdown.
But when I opened my eyes, I was lying in complete darkness, covered in something, with a musty smell...
'What the hell is happening right now...?'
At first I thought it was a dream.
But the overwhelming pain that followed quickly made me realize it wasn't a dream.
I was kidnapped. This was reality.
In Korea, where even the police and safety were among the world's top five, I had been kidnapped.
"Wh-why are you doing this to me? Uhm!"
I struggled and screamed.
Every time, I only got more brutal beatings and this unyielding, suffocating darkness.
No answers... no voices.
"Please... please let me live... please..."
I didn't even think about why I deserved this treatment or how much time had passed.
It had only been a day since I was locked up here.
The only emotions left in me were utter loneliness and mind-shattering fear...
"If you just take me out... please just get me out of here..."
As long as you pull me out of this hellish loneliness.
I could even lick his toes.
As long as you save me from this hellish darkness.
I could serve you for the rest of my life.
In that desperate darkness and fear, Jeong Man-sik was slowly breaking.
-Riick... riick...
Right then, a chilling scraping sound echoed, followed by a faint yellow light.
I didn't know if he had come to kill me or save me, but I screamed with all my might.
"Please! If you just save me, I'll live a good life. I won't do anything bad, I swear... Ehehe."
"Hahaha, Man-sik, are you crying now?"
A voice familiar to my ears came from beside me.
That smooth, low voice I'd heard somewhere before.
It was possible that the person who locked me up here was someone I knew.
"Who is it...? Who the hell are you...!"
"Man-sik, it seems you've still not calmed down."
Yes. Whether this man was someone I knew or not didn't matter.
What mattered was that this man was powerful enough not to care about loose ends,
And cruel enough to casually threaten and kidnap people.
"I'm sorry! I'm completely at fault! Please, just let me live... Ehehe."
"Tell me. What exactly did you do wrong..."
In that creepy man's voice, Jeong Man-sik started rambling like a madman.
About all the petty crimes he had committed since he was born and lived through.
Starting with frequenting illegal establishments,
Forcing trainees at his previous company to give him sexual favors.
Trying to get a woman for Choi Min-seok recently, and blackmailing Lee Sa-rang.
'Of course... that's why it's so effective—the dirty and dangerous.'
Darkness, pain, and fear...
I wasn't exactly fond of Kim Gil-gang, but I had no disagreement on the three things he always emphasized for breaking someone.
"Hoo~ Our Chief Jeong's guts are really something. You thought you'd get away with all these things?"
Since I'd already gotten what I wanted, I pressed the stop button on my phone and ended the recording.
Then I walked up to him, pulled off the black cloth covering his head, and flashed a bright smile.
"You... you..."
"Nice to meet you, Chief Jeong."
"You bastard... you bastard...!"
-Slap!
I slapped the cheek of the cursing guy and grabbed his hair.
Slapping the cheek of Chief Jeong was something I had always wanted to do since my previous life.
How much did he deserve for me to have dreamed of slapping his cheek?
This was the highest on my bucket list, so my hand had no hesitation as I slapped his cheek.
-Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!
"S-stop... please stop now."
"Huh, Jeong Man-sik... you still haven't figured out the situation?"
"K-Kang... Min-hyuk... w-what, what did you...?"
"Why did you touch Sa-rang..."
"Sa-rang... did that girl make you do this?"
"You idiot. So you think you can do this kind of thing? You still haven't realized the situation?"
"Sa-rang doesn't have that kind of power to order something like this!"
Just like the version of me from before did to him, I poked Jeong Man-sik's forehead repeatedly and whispered my last words.
"Choi Min-seok... you believed that guy, huh?"
"Y-you... how did you...?"
"Say President Lee's name."
"Lee Jong-seok..."
"Lee Jong-seok, Choi Min-seok... you still haven't figured out the situation?"
The names Lee Jong-seok and Choi Min-seok were only one character different.
And the faces of those two people, oddly similar.
The attitude of Choi Min-seok, who had swallowed Daeyoung Agency to attack JS Entertainment.
And Kang Min-hyuk, Chief, the right-hand man of Lee Jong-seok who had locked me up here.
Everything pointed to one thing.
"N-no way...!"
"Yeah, you idiot. Now you understand where you're stepping on, right?"
Choi Min-seok and Lee Jong-seok—the two sons of the Myeongdong President.
Of course, they had no connection to this incident, and they probably didn't even know it was happening.
It wasn't important now whether they were involved or not.
What mattered now was making that stupid Chief Jeong believe all this.
Jeong Man-sik, you didn't just defect Lee Sa-rang.
You stepped foot into the successor fight of this dangerous group, YM Financial.
Jeong Man-sik's face, who had been scammed by me, was soon dying black like a man on his last breath.