Coffee and a Contract
"M-Mr. Do Jaehyun...?"
Oh Handong, who had been standing there with his shoulders squared as he coolly explained everything about Jungwoo Securities, suddenly shrank back. The shoulders that had seemed ready to deliver a presidential campaign speech only a moment ago trembled just slightly, like those of a herbivore that had caught sight of a predator.
"Yes."
"Shouldn't you run? I'll buy you a little time."
"Huh? Really?"
That was unexpected.
So Oh Handong Manager had a side like that?
He was the very model of a bookworm, by common consent. And yet he was finding the courage to do this?
"...Yes."
"Why?"
"Well..."
Even Oh Handong himself couldn't quite say why he had offered to block Do Jaehyun's path. No, by the time the two thugs were stomping up to him and drawing every eye in the place, he had almost regretted it enough to wonder why he'd ever done such a thing.
"Boss, I think he's sitting over there."
"Yeah."
Before long, the two thugs had come within arm's reach of Oh Handong and Do Jaehyun. As they slid past Oh Handong, they slipped a hand into their inner pockets and drew something out.
"You're Do Jaehyun, right?"
With their hands still buried in their jacket pockets, the two thugs addressed him, and he answered with a simple nod.
Then.
"Sir, duck!"
Oh Handong, certain by instinct that there could be nothing coming out of those inner pockets except knives, slammed both hands onto the table and sprang up.
Crash.
"Eek!"
"W-what?!"
A coffee cup hit the floor and shattered, and the customers seated near Do Jaehyun's table gasped in shock.
"What are you doing! Run! Somebody call the police, quickly..."
Spreading both arms wide, Oh Handong tried to shove the two thugs back as if he meant to wrap himself around them.
"...?"
Just as the thick veins stood out on Oh Handong's forehead from the strain, he felt all the strength drain from his body. That was because of the thugs' actions.
"This... was sent by the big boss."
What the two men had drawn from their inner pockets was one check and one registered seal.
"Mr. Do Jaehyun...?"
At the sight of the thugs bowing politely and presenting the check and seal to him, Oh Handong collapsed back into his chair.
"What on earth is going on here?"
He seemed to have gone weak in the knees from sheer shock.
"Now we need to figure that out. Why you did this. I told you to come in person, so why didn't you and put on this little show instead?"
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
Jingle.
Then, the bell on the cafe door rang, and a man strode inside with a crooked smile. Tall and sleek in a gentleman's suit, but with a beastlike gleam hidden in his eyes.
It was Jeong Taeseong.
"Those bastards really do what they're told."
Taking in the stares around the cafe as though he enjoyed them, Jeong Taeseong came inside with his usual mischievous grin and sat down between Do Jaehyun and Oh Handong.
"You idiots ended up startling an important guest. You're just causing trouble for the customers."
"Sorry, boss!"
"Go apologize to the cafe owner, and pay for the floor cleanup and the broken cups too."
Only then did the two thugs lift their heads, and this time they bowed respectfully to Oh Handong.
"We're sorry, sir. We couldn't exactly refuse since the big boss ordered it."
"... "
"We'll wait in the car, big boss."
"Fine. On your way out, order another cup of coffee here too."
"Yes, boss. Please continue your discussion."
The thugs bowed once more to Oh Handong and then left the cafe as they were.
"My younger brothers went a little too far. I'll apologize in their place."
Jeong Taeyang politely offered Oh Handong his business card.
Jeong Taeyang, CEO, Taeyang Planning.
"I'm Oh Handong of Ilseong Securities."
He could have leaned on the title of deputy branch manager, but Oh Handong modestly gave only his name as he exchanged cards.
Following proper etiquette, he placed Jeong Taeyang's card on the table and asked Do Jaehyun, "Is this the person you wanted to introduce me to?"
"Looks like it."
Do Jaehyun handed over the check and contract the Taeyang men had brought with them.
"Right. This is the commission included in the contract. I thought it would be rude to send it through the boys."
"A commission?"
Oh Handong turned his gaze to the stack of 100,000-won checks Jeong Taeyang had handed him.
"Take it. It's been laundered clean, so there won't be any trouble if you use it."
"Even a rough look says this is around ten million won..."
"Exactly right. As expected of a fund manager, your eye's no joke."
"May I inspect the contract for a moment? I wasn't expecting you to bring one, since I hadn't exactly recommended any funds."
"Of course. Take your time. Meanwhile, I've got some things to say to this rude little Do Jaehyun brother of mine."
Jeong Taeyang's gaze shifted to him.
"You told me it was fine to call each other hyung and dongsaeng in private, but to mind our manners in public. Didn't you? Chairman Jeong?"
"This is clearly private, isn't it?"
"You're the deputy branch manager."
"Deputy branch manager of what? Is there someone else about to drop by?"
"This is Mr. Oh Handong. He's the deputy branch manager at Ilseong Securities' Yeongdeungpo branch."
"Really? You look young."
"Yeah."
"Hmm..."
Something stirred in Jeong Taeyang's eyes. He didn't look older than thirty, and yet he was already a deputy branch manager. That expression said he smelled something unusual.
"Then I can keep speaking casually, can't I? Sit there for a minute. My little brother's friend showed up too, so I should fetch it myself."
"I said this was a public setting?"
"It'll be private. There's no way our Jaehyun would introduce me in a formal setting."
Jeong Taeyang whistled and got up to retrieve the coffee he'd ordered.
"Mr. Do Jaehyun."
Oh Handong lowered his voice as he asked, "What exactly does that man do?"
"...For now, he's in the entertainment business."
"For now...?"
"You couldn't wait even that long before talking behind my back?"
Jeong Taeyang set the fresh coffee down in front of Do Jaehyun and Oh Handong, then dropped back into his seat.
"Let me introduce him properly. This is Chairman Do Jaehyun, the man I work with. He used to be a thug, but now I'd say he's halfway out of it."
"Ah..."
"You read the contract, right?"
"Yes. The contents themselves are simple. But this may be a little difficult."
"Why?"
"Because the contract itself carries too much risk for me."
"Why worry about that kind of thing? Don't worry about it. If this turns into a problem and you get fired, I'll pay you three times your current salary."
Jeong Taeyang grinned and took a sip of coffee.
What made Oh Handong hesitate was the contract itself. If Do Jaehyun had quietly placed a massive sum on deposit at the Yeongdeungpo branch of Ilseong Securities and then indirectly provided compensation to Oh Handong, Jeong Taeyang was being blatantly direct about it.
In short, it said that all future investments would go through Oh Handong alone. And he wanted him to invest in every stock Do Jaehyun bought, in exactly the same way.
In return, there would be a ten-million-won signing fee, and from then on Do Jaehyun would pay Oh Handong five percent of all investment profits.
"I'm afraid that's impossible. Our company rules prohibit holding outside jobs. And in this case, you'd be helping the customer's personal investments based on information obtained through the company and receiving compensation for it. This isn't something that would end with simple internal discipline."
"Really? That's strange. The Ilseong Securities guys over in Gangnam seem to take good care of me. Well, not that they're making any money for me, which is the problem..."
"...Even so, it's difficult. I'm sorry."
"And if I still want to entrust it to you?"
"... "
If they kept watching this unfold, it looked like the relationship between Jeong Taeyang and Oh Handong would cross a river with no way back.
"All right, both of you, pay attention. Deputy Branch Manager, could I have that contract for a second?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes..."
At the title, Oh Handong looked a little flustered, but he didn't seem offended.
"And Taeyang hyung, pay attention too."
Both men turned their eyes to Do Jaehyun.
Rip. Riiip. Rrrrip.
"Hey!"
"Huh?"
Right there in front of them, I tore the contract cleanly in half.
"Deputy Branch Manager."
"Yes."
"Put the money in your bag."
"Pardon?"
"Hey, hold on. What are you doing?"
"Why, are you tearing up the checks too? They're not cash. You could just report them lost and reissue them."
"Ha. This bastard. If it were Taeseong, I would've started by smacking him across the face."
"Taeseong says if he put his mind to it, he could beat a hyung like you to death with a wooden baton."
"...Damn it."
"You're not going to stop at WH Entertainment and just move into nightclubs and private lending in northern Seoul, are you? You want to do something, but you don't really have anything set, and you've got a fair bit of idle money lying around. You came here thinking you might as well invest it, didn't you?"
"Are you a shaman?"
Jeong Taeyang's eyes widened like a man who had come to have his fortune told at a famous shrine.
"Set up a corporation."
"A corporation? What kind?"
"For film. Add publishing and comics to the business line too."
"Why?"
"Because I don't intend to share the investment portfolio."
"And here I thought you said we were in the same boat."
"Invest somewhere else, Deputy Branch Manager."
Do Jaehyun cut off Jeong Taeyang's complaint and spoke to Oh Handong.
"Take the ten million won, have a drink with the branch manager, and starting tomorrow we'll set up a new corporation under Chairman Jeong Taeyang here and move into film and publishing investments. Pick out a few film production companies or publishers that could be acquired for no more than one billion won in capital."
"Understood."
"Don't worry. Before long, it'll be the branch manager himself saying, like a refrain, that it's absurd to put him through all this for just ten million won."
"Like the Japanese group incident last time?"
There was unmistakable anticipation in Oh Handong's voice.
"Yes. And you two."
Oh Handong and Jeong Taeyang...
"You're the same age. It'll help both of you a lot if you get along like friends from now on."
"That's right! I knew it, Do Jaehyun. I knew you'd side with this hyung. Deputy Branch Manager Oh Handong? Next time we meet, let's talk casually."
"... "
Oh Handong lowered his head slightly and stood.
"Then I'll contact you next time."
After Oh Handong left, Jeong Taeyang's expression, which had until now been relaxed and almost frivolous, hardened.
"So the introduction was just the introduction. You know why I really came here?"
"I know."
"Oh? Really?"
"You had a meeting lined up with Director Cheon Subeom from Johwa Group."
"You're really a ghost, aren't you?"
"You're meeting him tonight, aren't you?"
"Right, that's right, but..."
Jeong Taeyang covered his forehead with his hand.
"I think he's caught on. I think he's roughly figured out that Han Suyeong, the youngest son of the Johwa Group chairman, is dead."