Chapter 17
It was the last holiday of July, 1998.
It had already been two months since I’d quit the company, started with Red Dog Faction’s Yeonhui Credit Union, and brought down the Baekho Faction before making peace with the three major organizations in Seoul.
“Uncle~!”
“Well, look at you, my niece~! Going to summer camp today?”
“Mm-hm!”
Do Jinyoung.
Jinyoung was my cousin’s nephew. His parents had nowhere to leave him because of work, so he’d been staying at our house for the past few days.
Luckily, the nursery wasn’t far from here, so it wasn’t much of a burden.
“All right, be careful and have a good time. Listen to your teacher.”
“Okay, got it.”
“I put ten thousand won in emergency cash and my business card in the inside pocket of your bag, so if you get lost or anything happens, take a taxi and go straight to the police station or the fire station!”
“Geez. I said I got it. I have to go fast. My friend’s waiting.”
Jinyoung stamped his feet, not even properly wearing his shoes, and used a friend who hadn’t even arrived yet as an excuse.
Maybe because it was his first summer camp from the nursery, he was obviously excited.
Dong-ding~!
Just then, the doorbell rang.
On the intercom screen, I could see Jinyoung’s closest friend standing there with his mother, pressing the bell.
“All right, let’s go. Uncle will drive you.”
“Huh, really? Today it’s you, not Little Uncle? Wow, awesome!”
“Wow, that stings. Hey, Do Jinyoung. Little Uncle’s hurt.”
“Sorry, Little Uncle. But I don’t get to see Uncle much these days.”
Shin Gilwoo had known Jinyoung since he was little, so Jinyoung called him Little Uncle.
Gilwoo grumbled with a sour face, but Jinyoung only seemed thrilled at the thought of his first camp.
“Uncle, let’s go. Hurry! We’re late!”
For whatever reason, Jinyoung slipped on his shoes crookedly and dashed to open the door.
“Hey, Dojin! Why are you so late?”
“Sorry, Jojin. I was talking with Uncle.”
Dojin.
That was the nickname Jinyoung used for his friend. Coincidentally, the child who was his closest friend was named Jo Jinyoung, and Jinyoung called him Jojin.
And every time Jinyoung called Jo Jinyoung by that nickname, the boy’s mother wore a bitter, laugh-or-cry expression and swallowed a wry smile.
“Hello~!”
“That’s right, Jinyoung. You look even more handsome today.”
Jo Jinyoung’s mother, who was two years older than me, smiled as she straightened the shoes Jinyoung had crumpled under his feet.
“Hehe, thank you.”
“Mrs. Jinyoung, you’re coming along too, right?”
“Oh, I could just walk, but is it really all right? I feel like I’d just be causing trouble…….”
“Not at all. Jinyoung can sit in the back with his friend.”
“Okay!”
I started the car and drove out of the alley in front of the house onto the main road when Jinyoung suddenly shot his hand into the air.
“Uncle!”
“Hm?”
“I forgot my bag.”
“Huh……? Really? Then just go get it.”
Honng~! Honng-honng-honng~!
Right then, with my car stopped in the already narrow alley, the cars behind me started honking one after another.
“Call Little Uncle. I’ll go with Little Uncle. It’d be bad if Jojin were late because of me.”
“Really? Since when have you been this considerate?”
“It’s fine, Jinyoung. Your father would be fine being five minutes late. Let’s wait and go together.”
Honng~! Honk-honk-honk~!
“Hey! What are you doing right now, in the middle of rush hour? Move your car already!”
“Haa…… seriously. This damned neighborhood, I should just leave it already.”
If this dragged on, it looked like the place would erupt in louder horns and curses, and my sharp-eyed nephew hurriedly opened the door and got out.
“Uncle, I’ll go back home, get my bag, and come with Little Uncle! Jojin, see you later. Go ahead!”
“Jinyoung!”
Before I could stop him, Jinyoung had already slipped out of the back seat and was running back toward the house.
“Jinyoung really is thoughtful. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have accepted a ride for no reason…….”
“It’s nothing. If anything, I’m the one who should apologize. All right, friend of Jinyoung’s, Jinyoung~! Buckle up, and let’s go!”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
I had no choice but to start driving, and as soon as I did, I took out my phone and called Gilwoo.
“Sorry, Gilwoo. You’ll have to take Jinyoung and head to work.”
“I’m the representative, so who’s going to say anything if I’m a little late? Don’t worry about it, hyung. I’ll do that. But I’m changing clothes now, so I’m probably going to be about twenty minutes late to the nursery.”
“All right, I’ll tell the teacher. Take your time.”
Maybe I was being overly sensitive. Or maybe it was because old memories from my previous life kept surfacing. Either way, I was starting to wonder if I was being too protective of my nephew.
“We’re here. Let’s get out. Mrs. Jinyoung, you go first. Jojin…… I mean, Jinyoung, I’ll help you out.”
“Thank you, Uncle Jinyoung.”
Since my nephew’s name and his friend’s name were the same, it was confusing and strangely awkward all at once.
“Then we’ll head in first.”
Jo Jinyoung and his mother went into the nursery first, and I explained to the teacher why my nephew was late.
Diririring~!
Then my phone rang.
The caller was Manager Oh Handong of Ilseong Investment Securities.
“You’re busy, so don’t worry about Jinyoung and just get to work.”
“Thank you, sir.”
I walked back toward the parked car and answered.
“This is Do Jaehyun.”
“Yes, Chairman. I’ve been waiting.”
Before the signal had even finished ringing through the line, Manager Oh Handong’s voice came through.
He’d said it wasn’t urgent, but this sounded more pressing than I’d expected.
“Go ahead.”
“Yes. I’m with the president of MC Soft right now.”
“Hm? President Kim Deokjin?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Manager Oh Handong was practically my investment proxy. On top of that, I’d entrusted him with a considerable amount of authority and money.
So why was he calling me with President Kim Deokjin sitting right there in front of him?
Could it be?
“Does President Kim Deokjin want to speak to me directly?”
“……Yes.”
“Put him on speaker.”
“Understood.”
A moment later, Kim Deokjin’s voice came through the phone, a little higher-pitched than you’d expect from a man.
“Thank you for accepting the discourtesy. This is Kim Deokjin of MC Soft.”
“It’s a pleasure. This is Do Jaehyun.”
“Chairman, I’ll be blunt.”
I could hear President Kim Deokjin taking a deep breath on the other end of the line.
“I need money. Enough money to completely free myself from my initial investors.”
“How much?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked how much you need.”
“……1.1 billion won.”
“Manager Oh Handong.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Transfer it as soon as we hang up, exactly as President Kim Deokjin wants. Cash or a promissory note is fine.”
“Understood. I’ll contact you again, Chairman.”
“Take care.”
“Wait, hold on! Just a second, wait!”
As Manager Oh was about to hang up, President Kim Deokjin’s urgent voice rang out through the receiver.
“What is it?”
“You’re giving away 1.1 billion won that easily?”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t even stated any conditions yet, and you haven’t asked anything of me either. In a situation like this, I can’t take the money first.”
“It’s a fairly large amount, so it’ll take some time to withdraw from the bank. Think it over during that time. We can discuss the details with Manager Oh Handong. I’ve delegated all authority to him.”
“No, but still…….”
“I hope this turns into a good deal. I’ll hang up now.”
Money.
Money had to keep moving. There was a saying that money only grew when it kept turning over, and I had already learned that the hard way.
At first, the money ball no bigger than a ping-pong ball had grown into a massive snowball and come back to me in just one month.
And now.
I was ready to roll it again and set off an avalanche.
“Welcome. How may I help you?”
Before going into Red Dog Faction’s office, I stopped by the bank. I needed to confirm the hidden funds that Baekho Faction had parked under borrowed names, then move every last bit of it into Red Dog Faction’s Yeonhui Credit Union.
When the nursery door closed and Do Jaehyun’s car pulled away, the window of a black sedan standing at some distance rolled down.
A man with a cigarette in his mouth took out his phone and called someone.
“......Confirmed, boss. Do Jaehyun’s nephew, Do Jinyoung, just went into the nursery holding the kid’s mother’s hand. Looks like they’re going somewhere for camp or something.”
“So the civilian government came in, but the bastard cops haven’t changed one bit. Christ, this is so fucked I could lose my mind.”
A man with a cold stare came out through the front gate of the police station, his face twisted in irritation. In the back seat of the sedan waiting in front of the station, another man lowered the window and put a cigarette in his mouth.
“You’ve had a rough time, Mr. Kim.”
A middle-aged gentleman who had been waiting in the back seat quickly took out a lighter and lit the man’s cigarette.
The man was Kim Gi-jung, the current boss of the Kimhasa Faction.
“Damn it, how many times is this now?”
Kim Gi-jung ground his teeth, exhaling a long stream of smoke.
“This is the last time. Even if the police send it over to the prosecutors, it’ll end with a non-indictment for insufficient evidence.”
“Be honest with me, Attorney Jeon. Big brother…… I mean, the re.ti.red. Kim Jungyeong-hyung, what did he say?”
Kim Gi-jung leaned on the word retired as he pressed Attorney Jeon Jaejun, putting the name of Kimhasa Faction’s founding boss, Kim Jungyeong, under pressure.
Attorney Jeon Jaejun had handled Kimhasa Faction’s legal problems for a long time, but he belonged to Kim Jungyeong.
“......As you know, Representative, he said the gang’s loan business in northern Seoul and two of the establishments had already been handed over. And he told us to avoid friction with the Jung-gu and Gangnam groups for the time being.”
“Really? So we just take it and swallow it? Forgive everything as if nothing happened?”
“If former Chairman Kim Jungyeong hadn’t stepped in, this would have been genuinely dangerous. The former chairman said he was satisfied with the fact that you got out safely. And…….”
“And?”
“He said Myeongdong and Gangnam were bound to clash sooner or later, so we should endure a little longer and wait. When that time comes, we’ll be able to collect the debt that’s been piling up, with interest…….”
“Damn it, big brother’s really gotten old now that he’s retired. Isn’t that right, Attorney Jeon?”
“......”
“What, don’t want to answer?”
“I only relayed what Chairman Kim said.”
“Ha. I’m just saying it plainly. So you want me to act like you, and just shut up and do whatever Big Brother says?”
“......I’m sorry.”
“Attorney Jeon.”
Kim Gi-jung flicked the cigarette butt out the window.
“Even if hyung says that, I can’t forgive this no matter what.”
Diririring! Diririring!
Then Kim Gi-jung’s phone rang.
“Yeah. I got it.”
After listening in silence for a while, Kim Gi-jung’s eyes sharpened with determination as he spoke coldly.
“So you’re sure that bastard Do Jaehyun’s nephew is the real one? Make sure you’re ready to move the moment I give the order.”
“Hello? This is Do Jaehyun.”
“Yes, Chairman. I’ve been waiting.”
Before the phone had even finished ringing, Manager Oh Handong’s voice came through.
He’d said it wasn’t urgent, but it sounded like this was more time-sensitive than he’d claimed.
“Go ahead.”
“Yes. I’m with the president of MC Soft right now.”
“Hm? President Kim Deokjin?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Manager Oh Handong was practically my investment proxy. On top of that, I had delegated a substantial amount of authority and money to him.
So why was he calling me with President Kim Deokjin in front of him?
Could it be?
“Does President Kim Deokjin want to speak to me directly?”
“......Yes.”
“Put him on speaker.”
“Understood.”
After a brief pause, Kim Deokjin’s voice came through the phone, pitched slightly high for a man.
“Thank you for accepting the discourtesy. This is Kim Deokjin of MC Soft.”
“A pleasure. This is Do Jaehyun.”
“Chairman, I’ll be direct.”
I could hear Kim Deokjin take a deep breath on the other end.
“I need money. Enough to completely break free from my early investors.”
“How much?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked how much you need.”
“......1.1 billion won.”
“Manager Oh Handong.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Transfer it the moment we hang up, exactly as President Kim Deokjin wants. Cash or a promissory note is fine.”
“Understood. I’ll contact you again, Chairman.”
“Take care.”
“Wait, hold on! Just a second, wait!”
As Manager Oh was about to hang up, Kim Deokjin’s frantic voice burst through the receiver.
“What is it?”
“You’re handing over 1.1 billion won that easily?”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t even told you the conditions yet, and you haven’t demanded anything from me either. I can’t accept the money first in a situation like this.”
“It’s a fairly large amount, so it’ll take some time to withdraw from the bank. Think it over while you wait. We can go over the details with Manager Oh Handong. I’ve entrusted him with all authority.”
“No, but still…….”
“I hope this becomes a good deal. I’ll hang up now.”
Money.
Money had to keep turning. There was a reason people said money only grows when it keeps moving, and I knew better than most what that meant.
At first, the money ball no bigger than a ping-pong ball had become a huge snowball and come back to me in only a month.
And now, once again, I was ready to roll that snowball and start an avalanche.
“Welcome. How may I help you?”
Before going into Red Dog Faction’s office, I stopped by the bank. I needed to verify the hidden funds Baekho Faction had scattered through borrowed-name accounts and move all of it into Red Dog Faction’s Yeonhui Credit Union.