Chairman on His Own, Chapter 24
That was the end of the investigation.
“This way, Chairman.”
When I stepped out of the police station, Kim Museong, who had been waiting for me, opened the back door of the car.
“How did it go?”
“Exactly as planned.”
“Then this whole affair will end up being written off as nothing more than an internal dispute between Kim Jungyeong and Kim Gijung. For us, there couldn’t be a better outcome. From here on out, the important thing is for the Baekho Faction to quietly take over Gangbuk before a bunch of fools who don’t know their place start filling Kim Hasa Faction’s vacancy.”
Kim Museong nodded and laid out the plan going forward.
“We have to take the big pieces for ourselves. The water trade, the entertainment halls, and the other shadow businesses that make up Kim Hasa Faction’s core operations. You may not want to keep them, Chairman, but even if we throw them away later, we need to take them into our own hands for now.”
“Do that.”
Just as Kim Museong said, it was something that had to be done. But it was not something I would be doing myself.
“Thank you. I’m the one who decided and ordered all of this. Officially, doesn’t that make me the second boss of the Baekho Faction?”
Kim Museong knew exactly what his role was. If Shin Gilwoo was the blade that would stand in for me on the legal side of things, then Kim Museong was the hidden blade in the dark.
“Still, there’s something I’m curious about....”
“Yes? What is it?”
“I asked Senior Park Giwan for a favor. I told him to lock Kim Jungyeong and Kim Gijung up in the same prison. Along with the Kim Hasa Faction’s men, of course.”
“What? That’s possible?”
“Hm? Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You’re not actually placing them in the same cell block, are you?”
“That’s right.”
Kim Museong’s doubt was reasonable. If you packed gangsters from the same organization into one place, a new faction could easily form inside the prison, and the chances of clashes and trouble between inmates would rise sharply.
Besides, if it was Chairman Kim Jungyeong or Kim Gijung of Kim Hasa Faction, they were the kind of heavyweights known as beomteol, and men of that caliber would never be lumped together in one place. Gangsters who had nothing left to lose but pride would never yield to one another, and trouble was practically guaranteed.
“Ha.... Chairman, are you possibly aiming for....”
“That’s right.”
Kim Museong, who had built a solid name for himself and carved out his place in this world, knew the nature of both gangs and prisons too well.
I was planning to use iije and chamdosallin for this. Use one barbarian to cut down another. Kill the enemy with another man’s blade.
Kim Jungyeong had lost the nationwide organization he had built over his entire life because of Kim Gijung, and Kim Gijung, who could be “mysteriously” killed in prison at any time unless he got rid of Kim Jungyeong first.
“Shall we make a wager on who survives?”
“Who would you bet on, Director Kim?”
“Me? Obviously Kim Jungyeong. Kim Gijung is just a scarecrow Chairman Kim put in place. There’s no way the members would follow Kim Gijung. Even in prison, Kim Jungyeong’s money and connections will still remain.”
“Are you certain?”
“Even if the money and connections disappear.... I’d still put a million won on Chairman Kim Jungyeong.”
“Within a month, Kim Jungyeong will be dead. No, bet on both of them dying.”
“Good.”
* * *
A Chinese restaurant that had been in business in the same spot since the 1960s.
It was a hidden local favorite mainly frequented by civil servants and office workers who worked in Jongno.
In the late afternoon, long after lunch had passed, a sturdy father and son sat across from each other, a thick envelope of documents set down at one corner of the table.
They were Jeong Taeseong, captain of the riot police unit at Mapo Police Station, and Jeong Suhan, chief of Jongno Police Station.
“It was jajangmyeon yesterday too, and today it’s jajangmyeon again.”
“For a public official, this is practically a feast. Why don’t you quit the police and open an office in Seocho-dong while you’re at it?”
“Father. If I were going to do that, I’d have become a prosecutor or a judge long ago. Do you really think I’d be sitting here otherwise?”
“Work hours aren’t over yet.”
“Pardon?”
“Call me Chief.”
“....”
Jeong Taeseong said no more and simply worked his chopsticks busily.
“So, you really intend to do this?”
Chief Jeong Suhan, having finished his meal in a rough sort of way, lifted the stack of documents in one hand and shook it back and forth.
“Yes.”
“Do you think it’ll work?”
“Why wouldn’t it?”
“There’s one sitting lawmaker and three three-term lawmakers in there, for a total of ten National Assembly badges. On top of that, the Gangbuk and Dongdaemun police chiefs are involved too. You know these people are my juniors, don’t you?”
“The police academy would be strange if it didn’t care about class rankings, but you don’t care about that sort of thing, do you, Father?”
“Fine. As you say, if it were only that much, I might have supported it actively. But this is too big. It’s an event entangled with Johwa Group as well.”
“What did you tell me when I was commissioned....? That the police should bow their heads for the people, not become the dog of power.”
“You little....”
Vertical lines creased the forehead of Chief Jeong Suhan of Jongno Police Station.
“Chief.”
Now came the real point.
“The police chief’s term only has six months left. And the chiefs of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office and the Northern District Prosecutors’ Office have already given their orders. The swordsmen are already sharpening their blades, so shouldn’t we at least dance the sword dance with them? What do we gain by half-stepping out here?”
“Nothing to lose either.”
“I’ve got a lot to gain.”
Jeong Taeseong’s voice dropped lower.
“I’ve already made a bet with a friend. To you, it probably looks like a bunch of hot-blooded kids running wild because they can’t control themselves, but Jaehyun is the real deal. He’s going to go far.”
“So the saying was right after all. A man like you, who passed the bar and then did your time in intelligence or special duty or officer work, is telling me this?”
“It’s different. Jaehyun chose his path willingly, but I did it half willingly and half not.”
That was one reason Jeong Taeseong and Jeong Suhan lacked the thick, intimate bond of other fathers and sons.
Jeong Taeseong had become a police officer, not a prosecutor, because he could not bend Jeong Suhan’s stubborn will.
“And Taeyang-hyung is involved too.”
Bang!
Chief Jeong Suhan slammed his fist down on the table. The father-and-son atmosphere, which had been strained but not yet broken, froze in an instant.
Jeong Taeyang.
Jeong Taeseong’s half-brother was, to Jeong Suhan, as if he were his reverse scale.
“Don’t even bring that bastard up. I cut ties with him a long time ago.”
Jeong Taeseong, who had never once openly defied his father before, rose from his seat.
“Chief, this is the last chance, isn’t it? The chance to go after police chief. The first and last chance your son is handing you. Take it. At first I didn’t understand why you wanted to make me a cop.”
Jeong Taeseong pressed both hands to the table and bowed toward Jeong Suhan, and the sharp gaze of the two nearly identical faces collided across the narrow gap between them.
“But now I’ve changed my mind. I looked at it as coldly and objectively as I could, and I realized that the vessel called Jeong Taeseong would, at best, make it to chief prosecutor in the prosecution. And then he’d probably just become a lawyer. But in the police, no matter how bad I am, I can at least reach your position, can’t I?”
“....”
“Wasn’t it your great-grandfather? The first and last man in the family to ever become police chief. No one after him ever could, and all the elders in the family are still watching you. This time, it’s your turn, Father. Please respect what I want. I have no intention of stopping.”
“You won’t even look away from my eyes.”
“You’re old.”
Jeong Taeseong straightened and smiled faintly.
“Think about your age, Father. No matter how well you do, police chief is the limit. I’m done hesitating. From now on, I’m only going to look ahead. Since I became a cop anyway, I ought to at least go as far as Minister of the Interior and Safety, don’t you think?”
At Jeong Taeseong’s bold ambition, the corners of Jeong Suhan’s mouth twitched. He was barely holding back the upward pull of his lips.
“I’ll take that as your permission. Oh, and you should really stop flying off the handle every time Taeyang gets mentioned. Honestly, what did hyung ever do wrong? It was you who made the mistake....”
“You little....”
“Listen. Don’t try to crush me with authority like I’m some child.”
“....”
“When I was five, my mother died. And then for twenty years, you lived here with Taeyang-hyung and Taeyang-hyung’s mother.... no, my stepmother. In all those twenty years, she never once treated me differently from Taeyang-hyung. All that talk about where my stepmother came from and how Taeyang-hyung went off the rails and so on is just your excuse.”
“Jeong Taeseong!”
Chief Jeong Suhan’s shout rang through the Chinese restaurant, and the handful of other customers stopped eating, chopsticks suspended in midair as they turned their heads toward the father-and-son table.
“I believe this is enough for you to understand. Next time I see you, I’ll bring Taeyang-hyung with me.”
Jeong Taeseong rose, put on his cap, and bowed politely.
“By then, you won’t be ashamed of him anymore.”
* * *
Seven in the morning.
Yesterday at dawn, I had been discharged from the emergency room, and after that I rested at home for three full days. The wound on my shoulder had almost healed without lingering effects, and more than anything, I could finally rest without a care after sweeping away a huge obstacle like Kim Hasa Faction.
The sender of the text message was Choi Hwangyeol, assistant manager at WH Entertainment.
At the time, when Shin Gilwoo had stepped away with me to rescue Jinyoung, Choi Hwangyeol had been handling Shin Gilwoo’s work in his place.
I had been on edge because of the kidnapping incident involving Jinyoung. Choi Hwangyeol, quick to read the room, had spared me and waited until the matter was resolved before reporting what had happened.
The representative director’s office at WH Entertainment.
It was a fairly spacious office with two desks: one for Shin Gilwoo, the representative director, and one for Choi Hwangyeol, his executive secretary and administrative secretary, who also functioned as a staff officer for the Red Dog Faction.
Knock, knock.
“May I come in for a moment? This is Director Bae Hyeonjeong.”
“Yes, come in.”
Right then, Choi Hwangyeol, who had been holding down the representative director’s office alone in Shin Gilwoo’s temporary absence for reasons of his own, closed the document he was reading.
“Is the representative director not here?”
“Yes, he stepped out because something urgent came up. I don’t think he’ll be back until tomorrow at the earliest. What can I do for you?”
“I came because the representative director gave special instructions.”
“Did he? Then let me hear it.”
“Yes. Do you remember Chairman Do Jaehyun specifically telling us that if any kid came to our management office, we should not let them slip away and should be sure to let him know?”
“Yes.”
“Well, one has come.... but Representative Shin Gilwoo isn’t here. Should I tell him to come back another time? You seem busy too, Assistant Manager Choi.”
“It’s fine. It won’t take long. Let me see him first.”
“I’ll bring him in.”
A little later, the boy Director Bae Hyeonjeong brought in was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans and carrying a single CD case.
To Choi Hwangyeol, he looked like someone who would attract attention anywhere if he just cleaned himself up a little, but aside from that, he didn’t seem especially outstanding compared to the trainees at WH Entertainment.
There was, however, one difference between the current trainees and the boy Director Bae Hyeonjeong had just brought in.
The trainees were kids who had been contacted by management or had passed auditions, even if only half by choice and half by circumstance. The boy who had come today had neither gone through a proper audition nor been contacted by WH Entertainment.
“Hello. My name is An Chanhyeon.”
“All right, good to meet you. Uncle’s name is Choi Hwangyeol. Since the representative director isn’t here right now, I thought I’d speak with you instead. Is that okay?”
“Yes. If I can talk to someone, that’s enough. I’ve been kicked out everywhere else without even getting in the door.”
The boy gave a bitter smile with a sigh.
“Director Bae Hyeonjeong. Could I ask you for some drinks and snacks?”
“Yes, I’ll prepare them. What would you like, student? Green tea? Or cola?”
“Green tea, please.”
While Director Bae Hyeonjeong went to get the drinks, Choi Hwangyeol made light conversation with the boy who had introduced himself as An Chanhyeon.
An Chanhyeon, currently a third-year middle school student, was deeply interested in American house music and gangster rap. He had given up on entering high school and was seriously considering a career as a singer.
And unlike most kids his age, he had clear convictions and a definite idea of his future, which Choi Hwangyeol liked.
More than anything, Choi Hwangyeol, who had cut off his own education because of an unhappy family background and gone down the wrong road, found himself drawn to An Chanhyeon, who was trying to shape his own path with a dream in mind.
“Then make yourself comfortable and talk.”
After Director Bae Hyeonjeong left, An Chanhyeon set the CD case, which he had been treating like a sacred object, down on the table and slid it toward Choi Hwangyeol.
“Could you play this for me?”
“Here?”
“Yes. I prepared something.”
“If this is some kind of audition, I think it’d be better to call Director Bae Hyeonjeong back. Uncle wouldn’t know what he was looking at.”
“Then that’s even better.”
“Hm?”
“Even if the experts like it, that only means it’s trot or music for the older generation. I don’t want that. Please just look once. After that, you can kick me out if you want.”
“Ha, don’t worry. There’s no way I’d kick you out. If anything, I’d like to ask you for a favor.”
“Thank you. I’ll do my best.”
A small bead of moisture gathered at the corner of An Chanhyeon’s eye. He had knocked on the doors of more than ten management companies, but no one had taken him in, and if he was going to be rejected anyway, he had decided he might as well be rejected by a famous place, so he had come to WH Entertainment.
But to be welcomed so warmly by WH Entertainment, one of the biggest agencies in Korea after only SN Entertainment and IG Entertainment, was moving enough to make him emotional.
Thunk... doo-doong...!
The beat flowed out.
But....
“Huh?! Th-this is....”