Silver or Lead (2)
The apartment where Seo Yeong-seok lived.
He had finished work earlier than usual and stepped inside.
'Since I got off early today, I should call Yeon-jeong for once in a long time.'
Thinking this, he headed for the elevator.
Next to Seo Yeong-seok, a girl who looked about eighteen and a woman who seemed to be her mother were waiting for the elevator.
While waiting for the descending elevator, the girl asked the woman.
"Mom… I don’t think I can go to the hospital anymore…?"
At this, the mother woman matched eyes with the girl and said to her.
"You have to go to the hospital so that our Seo-hyun’s illness doesn’t get worse."
But the woman’s expression when she said this was far from bright.
"Even if I go to the hospital, the pain is the same… I can’t play with my friends…"
The girl muttered in a dejected tone.
"You have to go to the hospital every day so that later you can play with your friends."
At that moment, the elevator door opened and the three stepped inside.
Seo Yeong-seok pressed 12, then asked the mother-daughter who weren’t pressing any buttons.
"What floor are you going to?"
"Ah, we’re also going to the 12th floor."
"Is that so? Did Mr. Jo Tae-min move?"
"No. We’re people who are staying at his house for a while."
"Ah… So you’re relatives of Mr. Jo Tae-min."
"It’s not relatives, but friends."
As he said this, the woman seemed to be on guard against Seo Yeong-seok for some reason.
Perhaps because of the aura unique to gangsters, or perhaps for another reason.
"Are you close with Tae-min?"
"Ah, yes. He is a person who has helped me a lot. When I first came here after living in the countryside, he helped me a lot."
"As expected… He seems like a kind person…"
At that moment, the girl coughed, and the woman pressed some L-shaped object to the girl’s mouth.
The girl, as if accustomed to this action, exhaled as much as possible, put the object in her mouth, and slowly inhaled.
'I guess the girl has asthma.'
And as the girl’s cough gradually stopped, Seo Yeong-seok asked the woman.
"Is the girl in a lot of pain?"
"Yes. A little…"
The girl was quietly looking at Seo Yeong-seok’s scarred hand.
'Oh, perhaps she was scared because of my hand shape?'
Seo Yeong-seok had fought with many things in his hands since he was in North Korea until now.
Through various experiences, scars from his own mistakes or someone else’s swinging blades appeared on his hands.
So his hand had become like this now, covered in ugly scars.
Recalling his ugly hand shape, Seo Yeong-seok hurriedly put his hand in his pocket.
Then the girl rummaged through her pocket and handed him something.
"Uncle… Your hand must hurt a lot, right?"
As she said this, what the girl handed was a band-aid with a cartoon character drawn on it.
Seo Yeong-seok chuckled and took the girl’s band-aid, sticking it on some place on his left hand.
Then he showed the girl the hand with the band-aid and smiled.
"Now it doesn’t hurt."
At this, the girl smiled brightly at him.
At that moment, the elevator arrived at the 12th floor.
"Please go in."
"Goodbye."
The mother-daughter politely greeted Seo Yeong-seok.
"Yes. Please go in."
And Seo Yeong-seok smiled at the girl and waved his hand.
After entering the house, Seo Yeong-seok looked at the band-aid on his left hand and recalled some memory.
------
"Brother… Are you free?"
When Yeon-jeong was seven years old, eighteen-year-old Seo Yeong-seok sat in front of her with his body covered in blood, matching eyes with her.
"Brother is free. Our Yeon-jeong… You were scared, right?"
Seo Yeong-seok stroked the head of the crying Yeon-jeong and showed her a smile.
Behind Seo Yeong-seok, there were many men lying in pools of blood.
They were twitching their bodies in pain, bleeding from their stomachs, arms, legs, and letting out pained screams.
Yeon-jeong looked at the injured Seo Yeong-seok with tearful eyes as she tried to protect him from the thugs, then stuck a band-aid on his forehead.
"Brother… It doesn’t hurt… It doesn’t hurt…"
Seo Yeong-seok kept hugging the crying younger sister while crying, then smiled and said.
"Brother is free. Why are you worried so much?"
And the siblings walked on the street as the sun was setting.
------
'That was already nine years ago.'
Thinking this, Seo Yeong-seok looked at the band-aid on his left hand.
Looking at the band-aid, he recalled his younger sister Seo Yeon-jeong who was still in North Korea.
And he took out his phone from his pocket and contacted somewhere.
"Hello? This is Seo Yeong-seok, older brother of Seo Yeon-jeong. Is it possible to talk to Yeon-jeong right now?"
A few hours later, a cafe.
The cafe was bustling with many people.
At that moment, a man entered the cafe, and another man inside saw him and waved his hand.
The man went to that side and sat in front of the man who had waved at him.
"Are you Mr. Goyu-jin?"
"What business did you call me for?"
[Goyu-jin. Reporter from KBC]
The man sitting in front of Goyu-jin sipped an Americano with a straw.
And he pointed at the latte in front of Goyu-jin with his right hand and said.
"I wanted to give you an opportunity."
[Gyun-gil. Member of Yeonghoda]
"Opportunity?"
"An opportunity to atone for your sins."
At this, Goyu-jin let out a scoff as if he couldn’t believe it.
"Sins? I just wrote the article as it is."
"Well, can you really say that the article written by Mr. Goyu-jin is as it is?"
And Gyun-gil sipped the Americano with a straw again and said to Goyu-jin.
"I heard you have a very pretty daughter. Her name… was it Seo-hyun? But she is currently suffering from asthma, right?"
Goyu-jin glared at Gyun-gil and growled at him.
"Are you threatening me now?"
"More like a warning, let’s say."
"Do you think doing this will cover up your sins?"
Gyun-gil sighed as if he was frustrated.
"Mr. Goyu-jin. Let’s make it easy on each other. You and your family could live well without any problems… Why did you make such a choice and make your family uncomfortable."
"You are the ones who are comfortable. If I become a bystander, my remaining life will be uncomfortable."
After saying this, Goyu-jin slid the latte cup in front of him towards Gyun-gil and continued.
"And my family has never said that they are uncomfortable because of my decision. Rather, they actively supported it."
Then Gyun-gil silently looked at the latte that came to him and asked Goyu-jin.
"Mr. Goyu-jin, do you know the phrase 'Silver or Lead'?"
"I know. It’s Pablo Escobar’s threat method from Colombia."
"There is a fork in the road in front of you, Mr. Goyu-jin. One is the road of lead, and the other is the road of silver."
"If you choose the road of lead, Mr. Goyu-jin’s future will be very dark. Perhaps the darkness may even spread to your family."
"But if you choose the road of silver, not only will you be able to move around the broadcasting station well, but we will also help you reach higher positions."
Goyu-jin listened silently to Gyun-gil’s words.
"No matter what you choose, we will definitely pay the price accordingly. I promise."
And Gyun-gil pushed the latte back to Goyu-jin.
As if saying that if you drink this sweet latte, you will agree with us.
Goyu-jin looked at the latte cup and was silent for a moment, then asked Gyun-gil.
"Do you know Pablo Escobar… how his end was?"
At this, Gyun-gil’s eyebrows twitched, and he said to Gyun-gil.
"While boasting as the drug king and committing various crimes, he met a miserable end with a photo of him being shot dead while fleeing in an ugly manner all over the internet."
And he slid the latte cup towards Gyun-gil and glared at him.
As if not accepting anything from you.
"There is a saying 'Flowers bloom for a short time.' It means that once something is prosperous, it is bound to wither."
"Like Pablo Escobar’s power withered, if Mr. Cha also repeats his sins without admitting his guilt in this way,"
"The flower of that power will wither faster than Mr. Cha himself thinks."
Upon Goyu-jin’s words, Gyun-gil slowly nodded his head, then stood up and said to him.
"Mr. Goyu-jin. Meeting in a crowded place is the last time today. From now on…"
As he said this, he looked down at Goyu-jin with a murderous gaze.
"We will meet you in a place with no one."
Goyu-jin swallowed dryly, but didn’t bend his thoughts.
Gyun-gil left the cafe and contacted somewhere with his phone.
"This is Gyun-gil."
"What happened?"
[Myeong-gang. Leader of Yeonghoda]
At this, Gyun-gil bit his lip tightly and answered.
"Failed. He was quite stubborn."
"As expected…"
And Myeong-gang sat on the sofa and looked at the newspaper Cha Jin-yeong was reading.
"Handle it as soon as possible."
"Is the target just Goyu-jin?"
"It would be better to end it with just one if possible."
As he said this, Myeong-gang looked at Jin-yeong.
While reading the newspaper, he noticed Myeong-gang’s gaze and slowly nodded to him.
Myeong-gang, realizing Jin-yeong’s intention, instructed Gyun-gil.
"In unavoidable cases, it doesn’t matter how many die."
"Understood. I will prepare."
And Gyun-gil ended the call, and Myeong-gang asked Jin-yeong.
"Will you really kill Goyu-jin’s family in unavoidable cases?"
"To kill one mosquito, there’s no need to worry about the mosquito’s family. But…"
And he placed the newspaper he was reading on the table.
The newspaper reported suspicions about Cha Jin-yeong’s relationship with Gwangsaenggyo.
"If that mosquito sucks blood and spreads disease around it, it must be eradicated, right?"
That night, in some PC bang.
Jae-hyeok entered the PC bang and sat in an empty seat in the corner, turning on the computer.
And he plugged a USB into the main body, then opened the file inside the USB.
The documents inside were all the information Jae-hyeok had compiled about Gangryonghoe.
Recalling memories from his previous life or engaging in undercover activities in this life.
Jae-hyeok accessed his email and checked the emails he sent.
The email had several video files.
They were all videos of various crimes such as organ trafficking secretly filmed by Jae-hyeok at D-Workshop.
Jae-hyeok first saved those files to his USB, then sent them to some email.
'I have secured most of the necessary videos. Now I just need to prove the connections between Gangryonghoe’s business companies and local police.'
Thinking this, Jae-hyeok, watching the monitor, lightly tapped the mouse with his index finger.
'But it’s not easy to find materials to prove that. In my previous life, it took over a year to find similar materials…'
At that moment, a call came to Jae-hyeok.
The phone that just rang was the burner phone given by Jeong Seung-gyu earlier.
"Hello?"
"Are you in Suwon now?"
"Yes. But why?"
"I want to tell you information that could be helpful."
"What kind of information?"
He was typing on the computer keyboard, writing some document.
"Do you know Gwangsaenggyo?"
"I know. It’s a pseudo-religious cult."
"Cha Jin-yeong and Choi Gyeong-su are business partners of Cheon Manhyeong, the cult leader there."
"Then by digging up Cheon Manhyeong, we can catch the connection between Gangryonghoe and Cha Jin-yeong, right?"
"Yes. But there is someone in Suwon who has secured information that Cheon Manhyeong is connected not only to Cha Jin-yeong and Choi Gyeong-su but also to some public power and crimes."
"Who has that information?"
"A reporter named Goyu-jin from KBC. Right now, my colleague is protecting his family along with that reporter."
At this, Jae-hyeok’s eyebrows twitched.
"Protecting them?"
"I tried to report the information I gave, but it failed because of Cha Jin-yeong and Choi Gyeong-su."
"So now he’s being chased by them."
"Before Cha Jin-yeong’s side moves first, I need to hide Goyu-jin as quickly as possible in a safer place."
"So you contacted me to ask for help?"
"Yes. If you help, it will be easier to protect Goyu-jin and his family."
"Most of the members are busy, so I couldn’t send many people to Suwon."
At this, Jae-hyeok was silent for a moment.
"If your work is busy, it’s okay not to do it. If you’re really busy, I can take over…"
"Where is the place where Mr. Goyu-jin is currently staying?"
And Jae-hyeok turned off the computer and stood up.
"Please tell me where that person is right now."
"As much as I can, I will protect that person."