Perfect, with a Twist
Half an hour later.
"Boss."
Gong Hyeongtae, carrying three warm sheets of A4 paper fresh off the printer, called out to Kim Museong.
"It's ready. This is Kim Yujin, a kid who just turned twenty-five. He borrowed a thousand in principal, and with interest it comes to about twelve hundred. He hadn't been able to pay back AK for nearly half a year. He used to go to a good university, but this guy's circumstances are..."
"Enough. I don't care."
Kim Museong cut him off, waving his hand the same way Do Jaehyun did.
"Yes, Boss."
"You know AK Capital, right?"
"The industrial complex up ahead? The one inside there? You mean the place Chairman Do used to be at?"
"Take that and go there."
"Yes, Boss. Should I hand it directly to the chairman?"
"Yeah. Don't go alone. Take three of the guys with you. It'll be pretty heavy. Drive."
"It's less than ten minutes on foot. You want me to take a car?"
He had thought it was just a matter of delivering three pages of paper to Chairman Do Jaehyun. But something felt off.
It wasn't like Yeonhui Credit Union was forgiving the debt of some man who'd borrowed from loan sharks on top of it. It looked more like Chairman Do Jaehyun intended to pay back the money that a stranger had borrowed from AK Capital. He couldn't figure out what the man was really after.
"...Understood."
Still, the answer that came out of Gong Hyeongtae's mouth was obedience. Bone-deep gangster that he was, he would not dare talk back to his boss.
"Before you go see the chairman, take the guys and circle the nearby banks."
"The banks... boss?"
"And..."
Kim Museong opened the cabinet and pulled out a bundle of one-million-won notes at random.
"One, two, three, four..."
As soon as Kim Museong had taken out thirteen stacks of ten-thousand-won bills, Gong Hyeongtae brought over a department-store shopping bag he had been waiting with and stuffed the money inside.
"Hyeongtae."
"Yes, Boss."
"When you're done, the guys will have worked hard, so take a million out, get them a drink, and send them off."
"Yes, Boss."
"And..."
With the faintly wicked smile of a brat who had just thought of something entertaining, a smile slowly spread over Kim Museong's mouth.
"Take the guys around the banks and exchange the twelve hundred into coins."
"Exchange them... boss?"
"Yeah."
"Into dollars? Or yen? What do you mean?"
"Coins."
"Coins, Boss? How much should I change? Should I do five-hundred-won coins?"
"No. All of it into ten-won coins. Don't mix in any hundred- or five-hundred-won pieces. If the banks run short of tens, then mix in fifties or hundreds if you have to, but go to every branch in Yeongdeungpo first and exchange as many ten-won coins as you can, then dump them into sacks. Got it?"
"...Yes, I understand, Boss."
It was as sudden and absurd as a beam falling out of the blue, but Gong Hyeongtae still did not question Kim Museong's words.
"Oh, and Hyeongtae."
"Yes, Boss."
Just as Gong Hyeongtae was about to leave the office, he turned back.
"That loan contract."
"Yes, Boss."
"It's definitely the guy who borrowed from AK Capital, right?"
"No doubt about it, Boss. Debtor Kim Yujin, creditor AK Capital, confirmed. Boss."
Gong Hyeongtae checked the documents once more.
"You've verified the text messages and call logs from the guy who keeps phoning the borrower every day to demand repayment, right?"
"Yes, Boss. I clearly confirmed that the AK Capital Personal Credit Management Team 1 employees said they were calling and texting. I also heard that even this morning they sent a message saying a field collection visit was scheduled under the name of Kim Donggeon from AK Capital Personal Credit Management Team 1, Boss."
At Gong Hyeongtae's crisp answer, Kim Museong nodded with a satisfied expression. The team leader of AK Capital Personal Credit Management Team 1 was a bastard named Kim Donggeon, and it matched exactly what Do Jaehyun had instructed.
"Good. Hurry up. The chairman will be waiting."
"Yes, Boss. I'll handle it."
* * *
"Hello~."
The door of a small, well-kept cafe across from the building where AK Capital was located opened, and a man came in.
"Welcome."
It was just after lunch and the place was a little quiet, so the female owner in her thirties, who had been reading a book at the counter, closed it and rose to greet him.
"You've been well?"
"Jaehyun? I heard you'd quit. What brings you here?"
"I was passing by, so I stopped in for a moment. I felt like having a cup of coffee after a while."
"Oh, perfect. I still have a little of the beans you like. Wait just a moment. I'll make it nice for you."
The owner hummed under her breath as she brewed the coffee, then set a pretty plate with a sweet cookie beside it.
"Even today, your face is shining..."
She muttered so softly that Do Jaehyun could not hear her, then placed the tray down on the table where he sat by the window, bathed in sunlight and looking outside.
"Since you came after so long, the cookie's on the house."
"I'll enjoy it."
How long had it been since he had been able to breathe like this?
"Back then, this was the kind of thing I dreamed about..."
After going through regression, he had forced the events of his life to happen far more quickly. If it had been his former self, he would have taken a day off in the middle of his busy life, sat in a cafe like this, and hoped for the small happiness of coffee and a book.
Ring-ring-ring~
"Yes, this is Do Jaehyun."
"I know."
An abrupt answer.
"Do Jaehyun, I heard you came looking for me at the office."
It was a call from Department Manager Lee Jinhee, the very person he had been waiting for.
"Yes, you weren't there."
"You little punk, you should've called first. If you came, you could've waited."
"I did wait."
"You didn't leave because I wasn't there, did you?"
"I'm at the cafe on the first floor."
"Can you wait one more hour?"
"An hour?"
"I'm busy right now. If it's not important, we can talk later."
"Hmm..."
He had no intention of deciding whether to wait. He could call Lee Jinhee out this very second if he wanted. And the thing he had been waiting for just as much as Department Manager Lee Jinhee's call was finally arriving.
"Just come down now."
"What? Hey, I just got back from an executive meeting and I've got a pile of things to deal with. Wait a bit."
"You can do that later anyway. It's department work. The department head, meaning you, can just approve it. Why are you suddenly acting so busy?"
"What did you say? You little bastard, listen to your mouth. Did you come looking for trouble? I heard you already had it out with Kim Donggeon, didn't you?"
"Yes. That's exactly why. So come down now. Don't let the mud splash onto you for nothing."
"What?"
For a moment I checked the text message Kim Museong had sent on my phone, then spoke to Department Manager Lee Jinhee again.
"You've got one bad debt under Team Leader Kim Donggeon, don't you? A long-term account that's been overdue for more than six months. Principal of ten million won, customer Kim Yujin."
"How do you know that? Which bastard told a former employee customer information!"
"The customer told me."
"Huh? Customer Kim Yujin, do you know him?"
"No, I just found out today."
"Stop dodging the question and say what you want to say."
"Because of that one bad debt under Team Leader Kim Donggeon, you haven't been able to achieve Perfect yet, right? The term means collecting every delinquent account assigned for the month. I'm trying to help you with that legally. It should be good for your performance too..."
"I'm coming down now. But..."
Department Manager Lee Jinhee drew a breath and precisely caught the implication hidden in my words.
"Explain exactly what you mean by mud splashing onto me."
"Understood."
I closed the phone and went to the cafe counter.
"An iced caffe latte. A little syrup, please."
"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop on purpose, but is Department Manager Lee Jinhee coming?"
"Yes."
"Jaehyun, didn't you quit the company?"
"That's right."
"Then why are you like this with your former boss? Did you come to pick a fight?"
"Come on, do I look like the type?"
"No, I guess not."
I tilted my head just enough toward the window that the cafe owner would not notice, checking for Gong Hyeongtae waiting outside with his hands politely folded.
"I need to step out for a cigarette."
"Take your time. If you're going to the restroom, the key's hanging by the door."
When I opened the cafe door and stepped out, Gong Hyeongtae bowed his head slightly.
"You called for me, Chairman?"
"You've changed."
"Thank you."
Truly, Gong Hyeongtae had changed a great deal from the man he had been just days earlier. Was it because he had officially earned an executive title? Or because of the salary review that would be reflected next year?
I didn't know which answer was right, but if it had been before, Gong Hyeongtae would have had to bow from the waist even in a public place like this and shout, "Good day, Chairman." So this change was a very important point.
For Do Jaehyun and for Gong Hyeongtae.
"What I told you to bring?"
"It's ready."
"Follow me."
"Yes, Chairman."
There was no need to smoke in front of the cafe door. I moved toward the smoking area.
"If you're going to smoke, don't worry about what people think."
"It's fine. I already smoked."
"And the money?"
"The younger guys loaded it into the car."
"Do you know what you're supposed to do here? Didn't Kim Museong tell you anything?"
"I'm not sure."
Well, since I had told him to get the money and run as fast as possible, there probably hadn't been time to hear the details.
"AK Capital has a debt collection department. It should be a fairly big one, with something called Personal Credit Management Team 1. The team leader is Kim Donggeon."
"Yes, I confirmed that."
"Good. Then..."
While smoking, I told Gong Hyeongtae what he had to do, and the more he listened, the more his eyes changed.
Not the eyes of Gong Hyeongtae, director at Yeonhui Credit Union, but the eyes of Gong Hyeongtae, number two of the Red Dog Faction, the Brown Bear.
"Don't worry, Chairman. I'll handle it without causing any trouble."
Ring-ring-ring~
Then my phone rang. The caller was Department Manager Lee Jinhee.
"You here?"
"Yeah, damn it. You called me and then disappeared where?"
"I stepped out for a cigarette. I'll be right there. I ordered yours in advance, so go ahead and drink it."
After taking Department Manager Lee Jinhee's call, I headed back to the cafe, and Gong Hyeongtae lowered his head slightly. It meant he would go and take care of business.
* * *
Fifth floor, Building 1 of the XX Knowledge Industry Center.
The elevator stopped at the hallway where AK Capital's Personal Credit Management Department was located. Three gangsters in black suits got out.
Their faces were bad enough already, and with heavy burlap sacks gripped in both hands, straining under the weight, they looked even more ferocious than usual.
Then,
a male employee who had come out of the office to smoke a cigarette and was heading toward the elevator asked the gangsters, "What brings you here?"
It was not unheard of for debtors or their family members to come in person to repay money, so the man naturally looked them up and down as he asked.
"By car."
The youngest-looking of the gangsters spoke, his face full of irritation.
"Excuse me?"
"This gentleman's not hearing right. We said we came by car. You asked how we came, and that's the answer."
"Ah, yes..."
The AK Capital employee decided it was best not to get involved and pressed the elevator button without saying anything else to the gangsters.
"This is the place where AK Capital handles debt collection, right?"
"Ah, yes. That's right, but..."
"Damn, the way they treat customers is trash."
"Customers?"
"If we came to pay back money, doesn't that make us customers?"
"...So?"
As expected of employees from a loan shark company not much different from loan sharks themselves, they showed no sign of shrinking back even in front of gangsters.
"Open the door and get out of the way. We're here to pay."
"Who did you come to see? Who's the person in charge?"
At the employee's words, the gangster who seemed to be the leader, and who had been silent until now, finally opened his mouth.
"Personal Credit Management Team 1, Team Leader Kim Donggeon."