Chapter 54. The Chairman Who Does It All Himself
“Just a moment.”
The security guard seemed not to have expected the police to arrive this quickly, and he faltered, turning toward them in confusion.
“Put the weapon down!”
“Any further movement and we’ll open fire.”
“Drop the gun and get on the ground!”
As the muzzle swung toward the police, they drew their pistols in one motion, aimed at the guard, and issued a sharp warning exactly as the manual dictated.
“Face down!”
“Y-yes!”
Overwhelmed by the police officers’ chilling force, the guard tossed the gun away.
“Slowly. Slowly lie down. Hands on your head and get down!”
The guard obeyed the instructions meekly and lay flat on the floor. One of the officers, a broad-shouldered man who looked the strongest of the group, moved in quickly, took the gun from him, and removed the blank and live rounds from the chamber.
“Sir, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say from this point on may be used against you in court. And... you also have the right to legal counsel. If you cannot afford an attorney, the state will provide a public defender.”
“Slowly, slowly. Stand up.”
Completely subdued now, with handcuffs on him, the guard could only get to his feet with the police officer’s support.
“Wait a second!”
Once things had more or less settled, the guard finally seemed to regain his senses and called out to the police.
“What is it? Mr. Park... Jongtae?”
The broad-shouldered officer confirmed the name tag on the guard’s chest and asked the question.
“I... I’m just a bank security guard. I’m not a robber.”
“Please refrain from speaking for the moment. We’re confirming the situation.”
The officer turned and exchanged a look with the field commander, who appeared to be the highest-ranking person there. The commander gave a small nod.
“We’ll need to verify your identity for a moment. Do you have an ID card?”
“My wallet. My wallet is in my back pocket. My resident registration card’s in there.”
“May I take it out?”
“Yes.”
The officer removed the wallet from Park Jongtae’s back pocket and checked his ID. After carefully matching the photograph against Park Jongtae’s face, the officer gave a light nod.
“It matches. Now, can you loosen these?”
“Your identity has been confirmed.”
The broad-shouldered officer cut him off.
“As you said, your identity doesn’t appear to be a major issue. However, that photo looks a little old. We can only confirm your exact identity after fingerprint verification. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but you’ll have to come with us.”
“Come on. No, why? I need to get back to my post. I work for ABK Bank.”
“Please understand. Once you point a firearm at a civilian, you become a current offender. Given the nature of police work, public safety comes first. We’ll take a brief statement at the station, complete the identity check, and release you right away.”
“Hoo...”
Park Jongtae let out a long breath.
“Looks like I don’t have a choice.”
“Officer Oh, Officer Kim, take this gentleman back with you and return to the station.”
“Yes, sir.”
The smallest male officer and the female officer each took an arm on either side of Park Jongtae and escorted him out of the office.
“Who made the report?”
“I did.”
The broad-shouldered officer turned his gaze to the youngest one, Ha Taeseon.
“Reporter, I’m Detective Jo Taehyung from the Yeongdeungpo Police Station Violent Crimes Unit.”
“Yes. I’m Ha Taeseon.”
“What happened here?”
“Well...”
Anyone could see that the whole group was dressed like gangsters and had come to visit AK Capital, so Ha Taeseon fumbled and couldn’t get the words out. He had plenty of experience from his childhood, when minor incidents kept dragging him to the police station, but that had only ever meant dealing with the kindly female and juvenile crimes detectives. He had never met a violent-crimes detective like this one, especially one carrying a gun and issuing threats, and since he had only just started life among thugs, this kind of big event was completely new to him. Without realizing it, his leg was shaking.
“Thank you for your hard work. May I explain on his behalf?”
“And you are?”
“Yoo Hobin, manager at Yeonhui Credit Union. I’m this young man’s direct superior.”
“I see.”
At last, it seemed he had found someone he could talk to, and Detective Jo Taehyung’s sharp tone softened a little.
“What a complete mess.”
With his eyes narrowed, Detective Jo Taehyung slowly and carefully surveyed the office from one end to the other.
“That’s one way to put it. We came here to settle a debt, and then this happened...”
“Settle a debt?”
“Yes. Here’s what happened...”
Yoo Hobin began explaining everything that had happened so far to Detective Jo Taehyung, making it sound as detailed as possible and, where possible, padding it in ways that favored their side.
As Yoo Hobin’s explanation went on, a faint smile began to spread across the faces of Gong Hyeongtae’s group, while Team Leader Kim Donggeon’s expression curdled by the second.
“Detective. That’s not it. He’s lying.”
At last, unable to hold it in any longer, Team Leader Kim Donggeon stepped forward.
“Are you an employee here?”
“I’m Kim Donggeon, team leader of AK Capital Personal Credit Management Team 1.”
Anyone could tell Kim Donggeon worked for AK Capital, so Detective Jo Taehyung didn’t bother asking him for ID.
“What part is different from the truth?”
“Those people over there are gangsters. They threatened to kill me.”
“Threatened you?”
“Yes.”
“What threat, who made it, and when? Does it have anything to do with the current situation?”
“Yes. I really thought I was going to die.”
Team Leader Kim Donggeon complained bitterly from his own perspective about everything that had happened, but what he said was not much different from Yoo Hobin’s account.
There was, however, one decisive difference.
“So, according to you, that man over there leaned in close to your ear and threatened you?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly did he say?”
“Well...”
Team Leader Kim Donggeon glanced at Yoo Hobin, but Yoo Hobin only looked back with a perfectly calm face and said nothing. He didn’t even furrow his brow. He simply watched Detective Jo Taehyung and Team Leader Kim Donggeon as if he were a bystander, a spectator.
As if to say, When did I ever do that?
“There. You see that man? The one with the scar across his face in a cross shape?”
“And?”
“That man is a famous thug called the Mullaedong Knife. But apparently the one who made that man’s face look like that was that Yoo Hobin manager over there. Then he told me he’d do the same to me if I messed around. That’s how he threatened me.”
“I see.”
Detective Jo Taehyung’s eyes sharpened. If Team Leader Kim Donggeon’s words were true, then the chaos in the office made more sense, and the pieces of the puzzle about why the security guard had pointed a gun at Gong Hyeongtae’s group more or less clicked into place.
“Ask our employees. They clearly saw and heard that Yoo Hobin manager lean in and threaten me. Right? Deputy Kim, Employee Kang, tell him I’m right.”
“Ah, yes...”
“Yes, we did see it.”
They didn’t want to get dragged into trouble, and above all they didn’t want to catch the attention of the gangsters, but they couldn’t pretend they hadn’t seen what they had seen. So the employees of Credit Management Team 1 reluctantly backed up their team leader’s claim with sour expressions.
“There, see? Detective, those bastards are all rotten.”
Now convinced the momentum had swung his way, Team Leader Kim Donggeon shot Yoo Hobin a smug look.
“Sir, is what he says true?”
“No. Frankly, I’d like to sue him for defamation.”
“What do you mean?”
“He says I threatened him, but that isn’t true. It is true that I whispered to him. But I never threatened him.”
Yoo Hobin shrugged as if it were nothing and denied Kim Donggeon’s accusation. That was when Kim Donggeon, his true nature restored, had his trigger pulled.
“Hey, you punk bastard. You did threaten me. You told me you’d carved up the face of that so-called Mullaedong Knife guy, and then you threatened me into settling this nicely, didn’t you!”
Team Leader Kim Donggeon’s voice shot up in volume, and everyone there, including the police, frowned.
“That’s a seriously offensive statement. It’s true that Deputy Manager Kim Yujeong has a facial scar. But when she was younger, she did a bit of wrestling. Her face got scratched by something sharp, like broken glass mixed into the sand. She already had a complex about her looks, and to insult one of our employees’ dignity like that...”
Manager Yoo Hobin shook his head and let out a sigh.
“As her superior at work, and as someone who’s known her for a long time, it’s hard to let that pass. However...”
Before long, Yoo Hobin, who had reclaimed the initiative, added one more thing.
“What Team Leader Kim Donggeon said about me telling them to settle it nicely is true. I did whisper to him, because he kept yelling at us to get out. We were already uncomfortable and embarrassed being here, so I told him there was no need to go that far. I said I’d buy them a drink later and asked him to save face for us. So hearing him describe it like that is honestly surprising to me.”
“I-I... You damn hypocritical bastard...”
“Mr. Kim Donggeon. Enough.”
Just as Team Leader Kim Donggeon was about to erupt again, Detective Jo Taehyung cut him off.
“So, taking everything together, the employees from Yeonhui Credit Union came to AK Capital to repay Ms. Kim Yujin’s debt on her behalf, and they did so with ten-won coins and other change, which they then scattered on the floor. Is that correct?”
“That’s right.”
Manager Yoo Hobin nodded readily.
“See that? He’s admitting it too. This is clearly obstruction of business. Not only that, they interfered in the most malicious way and even threatened me. They could have just transferred the money or handed over bills, but they deliberately did this to torment me. Detective, please help me.”
As if he were the one who had suffered every indignity in the world, Team Leader Kim Donggeon pleaded with Detective Jo Taehyung one last time.
“Mr. Yoo Hobin. Is that true?”
“Yes. But we had no choice.”
“You had no choice?”
“It’s true that our employees threw the money on the floor. But we came here only to repay the debt properly. We told that Team Leader Kim Donggeon several times that we were here to pay, and yet from the start he spoke to us in a flat, disrespectful tone and looked down on us. Even after that, he kept insulting us, saying things like I should teach my employees properly and asking what the hell we thought we were doing. I think my people just lost their temper for a moment because of that.”
“Hmm...”
Detective Jo Taehyung thought it over and glanced toward the commander on site. Then Gong Hyeongtae, who had been quietly observing the situation until now, finally stepped forward.
“Detective.”