Chairman Kim Jungyoung’s Sudden Change
Chairman Kim Jungyong’s eyes changed.
Then the bodyguard standing beside Chairman Kim Jungyoung, the one holding a gun, moved the muzzle back and forth between me and Gilwoo as if threatening us.
“Are you planning to start shooting in Korea?”
At that moment, Gilwoo, reading my hand signal, put a little more distance between us and provoked Chairman Kim Jungyoung’s bodyguard.
“You gangsters are even running around with guns now. Jesus, what the hell is this country coming to...?”
“Take one more step and I’ll put a hole in your chest.”
“Haha, all right, all right. Okay, okay. I’ll put the knife down.”
Gilwoo lowered the knife in his hand as slowly as possible, drawing Chairman Kim Jungyoung and the armed bodyguard’s attention. For one brief instant, the opening I wanted appeared.
“Ugh...”
Click. Bang!
As everyone’s attention locked onto Shin Gilwoo, I quickly threw the throwing blade I had hidden in my hand. It struck cleanly into the back of the bodyguard’s hand gripping the gun. The bodyguard hurriedly tried to chamber another round and pull the trigger, but by then Gilwoo had already lunged, seized his wrist, and yanked it up toward the ceiling.
Crash! Thud-thud-thud.
The bullet the bodyguard fired shattered the chandelier instead, and the wreckage came raining down.
“You son of a bitch, you actually fired?”
Gilwoo trusted me completely, so he moved without hesitation according to my plan. If the timing had slipped even a little, Shin Gilwoo would have been killed or badly injured.
“Ugh! Gah...”
Thud!
Gilwoo showed no mercy. With a gloved fist studded with metal knobs, he hammered the bodyguard’s vital points again and again. In less than ten seconds, the bodyguard lost consciousness and dropped to the floor.
“You crazy old bastard. You too, come here. I’m gonna grind you up and drink you.”
Even after reducing the bodyguard to a pulp, Gilwoo still hadn’t cooled off. Grinding his teeth, he seized Chairman Kim Jungyoung by the collar.
“Chairman Do! Wait, just a moment...”
Thwack! Smash, crash!
Gilwoo drove his fist into Chairman Kim Jungyoung’s face without the slightest hesitation. His nose broke, blood poured out, and the dignified face of Chairman Kim Jungyoung became a mask of gore.
“Hyung, what should we do with him?”
After roughly finishing Chairman Kim Jungyoung’s lesson, Gilwoo picked up the gun that had fallen to the floor and tilted his head.
“Shoot him.”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I said shoot.”
Shin Gilwoo turned the muzzle and aimed it at Chairman Kim Jungyoung, whose face drained white.
“You’re really going to pull the trigger?”
“Wait!”
Chairman Kim Jungyoung’s eyelids trembled violently.
“You said your name was Shin Gilwoo, right?”
“And?”
“I’d like to make you an offer.”
“An offer? Not a last will?”
Click.
Gilwoo cocked the revolver. It looked like a bullet could fly out any second.
“Think of it as a last will if you want. Since I’m going to die anyway, I can at least hear out a dying man’s words, can’t I?”
But as the saying went, a man’s true nature showed when he was driven to the edge. Little by little, Kim Jungyoung’s real nature was beginning to surface.
“You won’t lose anything. No, this could be the kind of chance that changes your life all at once.”
Chairman Kim Jungyoung kept speaking, aiming his words at Shin Gilwoo instead of me.
“Shouldn’t you be saying that to Hyung Jaehyun and not to me?”
“No. I want to negotiate with you, not Do Jaehyun.”
Gilwoo shrugged and turned his head toward me. I gave no reaction at all.
“All right. Let’s hear it.”
“Pretty soon, the police will be barging in. So make your choice.”
Kim Jungyoung moved closer to Gilwoo and pressed his forehead against the gun barrel.
“Shoot me as I am and become a murderer at a young age, or turn that muzzle and shoot that friend of yours. I’ll give you everything I have. With Baekho gone, if you eliminate only Do Jaehyun, you’ll inherit all of it. Then how hard could it be for you to crush the Baekho Faction, which is left with only Red Dog?”
“...”
“If you’re a man, you should at least stand at the summit once.”
Kim Jungyoung’s hand slowly moved Gilwoo’s gun muzzle toward me.
Whee-eeeeeeng!
Then the shrill siren of a police car came echoing from far away. At that volume, the police would arrive within five minutes.
“Make your choice. Even if you kill me and run, the men left here will testify that I was killed by you and Do Jaehyun. But I’m different. I’ll take full responsibility. That means the only people who know how Do Jaehyun dies here are you and me.”
He was like a snake.
With cold skin that held no trace of emotion, he was a poisonous viper searching for prey, hiding fangs full of venom while working its thin tongue.
I could see why Kim Jungyoung had reached the top of the underworld.
“Pull the trigger. Don’t worry about what comes after. I’ve never broken a promise.”
Kim Jungyoung whispered into Shin Gilwoo’s ear in a devil’s voice.
Wheeee-eeeeng! Wee-oo! Wee-oo!
And now the police were truly right on top of us.
“Looks like we can’t help it. Sorry, Hyung Jaehyun. I’ll try to make it hurt as little as possible.”
Bang!
The revolver in Shin Gilwoo’s hand spat fire.
* * *
“Ah, you’re here?”
Seeing Shin Gilwoo come in through the door with a tired face, Choi Hwangyeol stood up from his seat.
“Yeah. Morning.”
“Representative, I have several things to report.”
“Is it urgent?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
Shin Gilwoo draped his jacket over the back of a chair and sat down.
“After I relayed the situation to Representative Kim Museong, I had a few of our people positioned at WH Entertainment just in case. I told them they were headquarters security, but the WH Entertainment staff still seemed a little uncomfortable.”
“Disband them. It’s good to prepare for contingencies, but from now on, report to me before gathering the guys unless it’s unavoidable.”
“Understood, Representative. I’ll do that.”
“And...”
“Anything else?”
“Yes. Yesterday, a kid named An Chanhyeon came by. That kid...”
Choi Hwangyeol gave Gilwoo a brief report on An Chanhyeon. But since Gilwoo knew even less about music or entertainment than Choi Hwangyeol did, all he could do was nod.
“You handle that, Chief Choi.”
“Understood. Lastly...”
As he was giving Gilwoo his business report with perfect professionalism, Choi Hwangyeol struggled to continue and let his words trail off.
“Why are you dragging it out like that?”
“It doesn’t seem like something I should be so presumptuous as to ask...”
“Then don’t say it. Listen, if we’ve eaten from the same pot and danced on a blade together, that makes us family and comrades. What can’t you say to family? Go on.”
“Thank you.”
It had been a careless remark tossed out without thought, but Choi Hwangyeol seemed deeply moved by Shin Gilwoo’s words.
That one offhand line from Gilwoo carried a sincerity that could never be found in gangsters who preached loyalty while sticking knives into each other’s backs the moment money was on the table.
“I heard Chairman Do was injured in Yangpyeong last night. The police and an ambulance were dispatched, and I was told he was taken to the hospital... Is he all right?”
“Ah, Do Jaehyun?”
“Pardon?”
The unfamiliar name was neither Chairman Do nor Hyung Jaehyun, but Do Jaehyun. Even if he tried not to show it, the shock he couldn’t hide came through plainly on Choi Hwangyeol’s face.
“Hey, what kind of man is Do Jaehyun? You think a washed-up thug like that would ever end up in the hospital over something like this? He was shot, but he’s fine. He won’t die from that. It didn’t even hit anything vital.”
“S-shot?”
“Yeah.”
“W-who shot Chairman?”
“I did...”
“What?”
Choi Hwangyeol’s pupils widened like a startled rabbit’s.
“I said I shot him, Hyung Jaehyun.”
* * *
Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Major Crimes Unit, interrogation room.
It wasn’t the eighties, but the dark closed room had no windows, only a dim incandescent bulb that looked like it might go out any second, casting weak light across the interior.
Two men sat facing each other there.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
“Damn it, if there’s no laptop, at least bring in a computer. I’ve already got another typo.”
The man typing away in the interrogation room put the typewriter aside, pulled out an A4 sheet on top of a flat file folder, and spoke as he scribbled something with a pen.
“Your name is Kim Dogi, right?”
Kim Dogi.
He had been a former action leader of the Kimhasa Faction, a man who had guarded Kim Junggi, the former chairman of the Kimhasa Faction, from up close.
His official title was chief of management support at Jungyoung Trading, one of the businesses owned by the Kimhasa Faction.
“Yes.”
“I’ll ask you one last time. You’re the one who fired the gun, right?”
“Detective, I didn’t shoot anyone.”
Smack!
Park Jinkyu, the detective from the Major Crimes Unit, swung the file folder in his hand and cracked the back of the suspect’s head.
“Hah. These damn gangsters. If you try to talk to them nicely, this lowlife streak always comes out. Hey, bring me evidence number one.”
At Park Jinkyu’s shout, the interrogation room door opened and the youngest detective, with a boyish face, came in carrying a stack of documents.
“Senior. The evidence has been submitted, and here are the forensic results.”
“You made copies of the same thing and brought two of each, right? Ah, right. Got a light?”
“Yes. Give it to me later.”
“Oh, good work. You can go.”
The door closed again, and cigarette smoke from Detective Park Jinkyu gradually filled the narrow, unventilated room.
“Hey, gangster.”
“...”
“Do you think Kim Jungyoung will save your ass?”
“Chairman Kim has nothing to do with this.”
“Chairman, my ass. You crazy bastard, how long has the civilian government been in place, and you’re still playing at being a thug? Kim Jungyoung is finished. Think carefully.”
Detective Park Jinkyu tossed the copy of the thick forensic report in front of Kim Dogi.
“...”
“Read it slowly yourself. There’s proof of the crime and testimony from Kim Jungyoung, who you trust so damn much.”
“...”
With a face that clearly showed he didn’t want to, Kim Dogi read the documents Park Jinkyu handed him, one page at a time.
Smack! Smack! Crack!
From the opposite side of the room, Park Jinkyu, who had been reviewing the evidence from the Yangpyeong incident, suddenly spat out his cigarette, got to his feet, and struck the back of Kim Dogi’s head several times.
“Attempted murder, aggravated assault, illegal possession of weapons, membership in a criminal organization, extortion, abetting child abduction... Jesus Christ, there are a lot of them. Just from what happened in Yangpyeong, the list is already this long. If we include everything else you’ve done until now, it’d take thirty minutes just to read off the charges. Hah, this motherfucker really is a sight. The more I look at you, the worse it gets.”
“Detective, let’s keep this reasonable. I’m not saying a word until my lawyer gets here.”
“Your lawyer? Haha, yeah. So that’s your move?”
“Damn right, do whatever you want. You second-rate bastard. Since when is it okay for detectives to beat people in the civilian government? Huh?! Am I wrong? You son of a bitch!”
“You bastard, you really...”
As the two men’s emotions surged and Park Jinkyu’s anger exploded, he sprang up and grabbed Kim Dogi by the collar.
At that moment, the interrogation room door opened, and the lawyer Kim Dogi had been waiting for so desperately came in.
“You must be Mr. Kim Dogi? I’m attorney Lee Haneul from Parallel Law Firm.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
With the lawyer’s appearance, relief lit up Kim Dogi’s face, and Detective Park Jinkyu, who had looked ready to smash him in the mouth, quietly let go of his collar, sat back down, and placed his fingers on the typewriter keys.
“Attorney. I’ve been wronged. That detective over there is trying to pin everything on me without warning...”
“Hold on, client. I think it would be best if you stayed quiet for now.”
Just as Kim Dogi was about to seize the lawyer and pour out his grievance, the interrogation room door opened yet again and two people entered together.
“Ch-Chairman?!”
“Has the prosecutor arrived?”
It was none other than Kim Jungyoung, the former chairman of the Kimhasa Faction, and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Giwan of the Criminal Division 3 at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office.
“Detective Park Jinkyu, long time no see. Is your kid growing up well?”
“Haha, yes, sir. He’s very healthy, just like me.”
“I’d like to have a private word with the attorney here. Would that be all right?”
“Of course. Please, take your time.”
Without another word, Detective Park Jinkyu left the interrogation room.
“Looks like everyone who needed to leave has gone. Attorney.”
“Yes, Senior.”
“I don’t need to beat around the bush, do I?”
“No, sir.”
“Atto... Attorney. What is this all of a sudden? And why is Chairman Kim here?”
Kim Dogi, panicking, grabbed at the lawyer and looked over at Kim Jungyoung, but neither Kim Jungyoung nor attorney Lee Haneul said a word.
“Damn it, you lowlife bastard, you still haven’t read the room? You wanted a lawyer, didn’t you? There you go, you son of a bitch!”
Smack!
And what came back to Kim Dogi was Prosecutor Park Giwan’s furious kick.
“This is a confrontation interrogation, you fucking bastard. You saw the evidence, didn’t you? The innocent Do Jaehyun was shot and wounded by the gun you fired. Luckily, it only went through his shoulder. If the shot had been even a little off, he would’ve been killed instantly. You hear me, you bastard?”
For a while, Park Giwan’s merciless beating continued, and Kim Dogi, unable to breathe properly, curled up like a shrimp as he was trampled into a rag under the prosecutor’s shoe.
“Hey, gangster.”
Having vented enough of his rage, Prosecutor Park Giwan lit the cigarette in his mouth and spoke to Kim Dogi in a low voice.
“Do you want to get hit with two full rounds as the ringleader of a criminal organization and come out after fifty, or do you want to sign the facts investigation report I filed with the truth written plainly in it and serve just five years as a minor participant?”
“Th-that...”
Kim Dogi looked up at Chairman Kim Jungyoung in confusion, and Kim Jungyoung returned the look with a pitiful face.
And in that instant.
Smack!
Prosecutor Park Giwan mercilessly struck the back of Chairman Kim Jungyoung’s head.
“Old man, don’t get clever. Do you really think I’ll let you off just because you toss this one bastard to me? The guys backing you are pretty impressive, too.”
But Kim Jungyoung was different from Kim Dogi.
“Do you really think I’ll end like this? You may not know it, Prosecutor, but I won’t be going down alone.”
“I know, you fucking bastard. That’s why I’m planning to take you all out at once, including the lawmakers and the people with gold badges connected to you.”
“The country’s going to get pretty noisy. It’s not the Fifth Republic anymore. Do you really think that’s possible?”
“Attorney. Didn’t you tell these bastards I used to be a public security prosecutor?”
Public security prosecutor.
A fearsome kind of prosecutor whose main job was rooting out spies hidden inside Korea.
“Gangster boss. I’ve already buried a hundred spies like you.”
“A spy like me...?”
“Yeah, you red bastard gangster. But...”
Prosecutor Park Giwan sat back down, crossed his legs, and let a thin smile curl over his lips.
“How many of the bastards I buried do you think were actual spies?”
---