The First Mission: Using the Enemy Against Itself (10)
Shortly after, Seongjun walked down the hotel corridor toward the room where Shinichi was staying.
“(What brings you here?)” One of the yakuza standing guard in front of the door blocked Seongjun’s path and asked. Seongjun replied in Japanese.
“(I need to see Mr. Haneda. Is he inside?)”
“(Mr. Haneda is currently busy. Please come back later.)”
Is he using being busy as an excuse to avoid meeting me? What the hell is his reason?
Seongjun asked the yakuza, “(Why exactly is he busy?)”
“(I cannot disclose that.)”
“(……Understood. I’ll come back later.)”
Just as Seongjun was about to turn away, the door opened and a yakuza inside spoke to him.
“(Mr. Haneda says you may enter.)”
Seongjun stepped into the room. Inside were Haneda Shinichi and several of his subordinate executives. Shinichi, seated on the sofa, remained in place as he offered an apology.
“(Sorry for making you wait, Mr. Ha. I received an urgent call from headquarters and couldn’t help it. Please, have a seat.)”
Seongjun sat down across from Shinichi and asked directly, “(I’ll get straight to the point. Are you aware that Hakuro, a Katsuyama-gumi executive, attacked our subordinate organizations?)”
“(I am aware. However, our boys have obtained something far more important from another business interest. Would you like to hear about it?)”
“(……Go on.)”
Shinichi slid a tablet across to Seongjun and asked, “(I hear that Gangryonghoe plans to scale back its existing Katsuyama-gumi business interests while expanding dealings with the Jawolbang. Is that true?)”
The tablet screen displayed scanned documents. They detailed plans for Gangryonghoe to reduce operations tied to Katsuyama-gumi in favor of significantly expanding business with the Jawolbang.
“(The organizations Hakuro attacked were apparently planning to either strike Katsuyama-gumi businesses in the area or use public authority to eliminate them.)”
Tsk. So that information leaked after all.
Seongjun’s expression twisted slightly, but he replied calmly, “(It’s a misunderstanding. That must have been the hardliners acting on their own.)”
“(With the boss Kang Jiyong still very much alive, you expect me to believe subordinate organizations would act independently? Ha!)”
Shinichi snorted and glared at Seongjun before continuing, “(What a mess.)”
Seongjun glared back, his voice rising with irritation. “(Even so, do you truly believe it was right for your organization members to take our boys’ lives without any prior discussion or notice?)”
“(Well. Whatever Hakuro’s intentions were, it sounds like they simply reaped what they sowed. Besides, to be honest, the matter concerning Hakuro has nothing to do with us.)”
To Seongjun, it sounded as if they were claiming zero responsibility for what Hakuro had done.
“(Compensation from Katsuyama-gumi will be necessary regarding this incident. After all, the root cause was your organization member, Hakuro.)”
“(If we’re keeping score, then you should also provide appropriate compensation for your attempt to reduce Katsuyama-gumi’s business interests within Korea. That is, if it truly was an independent action by those individuals.)”
“(There were no actual losses, were there?)”
“(But if it had been carried out, we would have suffered far greater damage than what Gangryonghoe has taken.)”
The two men stared each other down. The spark ignited by Honda Hideki’s death had grown into a much larger blaze, fueled by Hakuro’s attack on Gangryonghoe’s subordinate organizations and Gangryonghoe’s plan to shrink Katsuyama-gumi’s businesses.
Seongjun stood up and said, “(For now, let’s each report these matters to our superiors and resolve them that way. There’s no point in us growling at each other like this.)”
“(As you wish.)”
Seongjun looked down at Shinichi, then slammed the door with a loud bang as he left the room.
“(Damn it….)”
Shinichi glared at the door Seongjun had exited through and lit a cigarette. Hashimoto Ryuhei spoke to him.
“(Mr. Haneda. At this point, any partnership with Gangryonghoe has gone up in smoke. Shouldn’t we proceed with our original plan and prepare for war against them?)”
Shinichi’s trusted aide, Kuroba Itsuki, agreed. “(Putting the Hakuro matter aside, this incident shows that Gangryonghoe tried to reduce our business interests without any agreement with us, Mr. Haneda. I believe strong measures are necessary.)”
At Itsuki’s opinion, Shinichi remained silent for a moment, smoking continuously as if deep in thought. He glared once more at the door Seongjun had left through, exhaled a plume of smoke, and gave orders to the men around him.
“(……Tell everyone to clear the room. And request additional personnel be sent to the surrounding businesses.)”
The next day, the Katsuyama-gumi yakuza left the hotel early in the morning. Upon hearing the news, the Gangryonghoe gangsters grew uneasy.
“What the hell? Why are they suddenly leaving?”
“Did they have a disagreement with the executives?”
“If it’s come to this, what happens to the relationship between those guys and Gangryonghoe from now on?”
While the gangsters fretted, Jaehyuk was carrying out his duties as an undercover agent.
“Why are they all leaving so suddenly?”
The gangsters answered Jaehyuk’s question. “No idea. There’s still about two days left until their departure…”
“Maybe they didn’t like the accommodations?”
So they still don’t know that Katsuyama-gumi attacked our subordinate organizations?
Jaehyuk decided it was time to start the operation.
“I have an uncle who’s one of our informants. He told me that recently, all our subordinate organizations in Mokpo and Daegu got completely destroyed.”
“Yeah, that happened. So what?”
“He says those yakuza bastards were the ones who did it.”
“What? Is that information solid?”
“Yeah. There’s even CCTV footage. Want to see?”
Jaehyuk showed the gangsters the video he had received from Ma Seungcheol. Other undercover agents did the same, showing the footage to Gangryonghoe members and stoking their hostility toward Katsuyama-gumi.
As a result, complaints about Katsuyama-gumi began surfacing everywhere. Some even suggested attacking the yakuza who had come to Korea while they had the chance.
“If that’s true, there’s no reason to keep this relationship going, is there?”
“Exactly. They nearly wiped out our boys just because we wanted to trim their businesses a little? That makes sense to you?!”
“Fuck, they could’ve at least talked about it!! Why the hell did they have to use force like that?!”
“Should we just take them all out while they’re still in Korea?”
Good. The fuse is lit. Since the relationship between the executives isn’t great right now, Ha Seongjun and the others probably won’t bother clearing up these rumors. At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if Gangryonghoe launched the first strike. I don’t know how the yakuza will react, though….
At that moment, Jaehyuk’s phone rang. He stepped outside to take the call.
“Yes, Uncle.”
“Have you eaten lunch?”
“I had a large bowl of jajangmyeon.”
“What’s the current atmosphere like inside Gangryonghoe?”
Jaehyuk glanced around to make sure no one was listening before answering Seungcheol.
“Thanks to the rumors we spread, hostility toward Katsuyama-gumi is steadily increasing.”
“Perfect timing. We just received word from our Japanese contacts. Haneda Shinichi is planning to attack Ha Seongjun tonight.”
“Are we talking a full-scale war?”
“No. They’ll start with an assassination attempt. Later, they’ll call Seongjun out under the pretense of negotiation. Take a few other undercover agents, follow secretly, and rescue Ha Seongjun. I’ll give the others separate instructions.”
“Where is the location?”
“Aotsuki Japanese Restaurant. Wait nearby. Move immediately when we contact you.”
“Understood.”
That night, Seongjun paced restlessly around his room.
Something feels off. I expected a clash with Katsuyama-gumi eventually, but… now feels premature. We haven’t built up enough power to face them yet. If we had waited another year, it would have been enough… I think I got too heated too quickly.
While Seongjun was lost in these uneasy thoughts, his phone rang. The caller was Haneda Shinichi.
“(Mr. Haneda? What is it?)”
Shinichi spoke to him in Korean. “I just finished a call with headquarters. They said they will deal with Hakuro as soon as possible.”
As he spoke, Shinichi was twirling his main weapon, the HK718 knife. Around him, yakuza members quietly maintained an array of knives, daggers, Japanese swords, and various pistols.
“Since I spoke rather harshly yesterday, I’d like to treat you to a proper meal as an apology. Let’s clear up any misunderstandings over dinner and end this exchange on a good note.”
He suddenly changed his attitude? It’s suspicious, but… antagonizing Katsuyama-gumi right now would be bad timing. I should buy time through conversation, then seek cooperation from the Jawolbang or other organizations to build up more strength.
Though still doubtful, Seongjun saw an opportunity to successfully conclude the exchange, strengthen ties with Katsuyama-gumi for now, and buy time to further expand Gangryonghoe’s power.
“Alright. Where should I go?”
“You know Aotsuki Japanese Restaurant, right? Meet me there.”
“Understood. I’ll head over shortly.”
Seongjun ended the call, fell silent in thought for a moment, then went outside and spoke to one of his subordinates.
“Taechul. Tell Jongtae to pick out about ten of our best fighters. Don’t tell the others.”
“What’s going on?”
“Haneda Shinichi suddenly wants to meet at a restaurant to make peace. But the sudden change in attitude is suspicious, just in case.”
“Understood.”
“And give those guys some guns. Since they’re yakuza, there’s a chance they’ll pull firearms if things go wrong.”
“Yes, sir.”
A short while later, Seongjun and his entourage left the hotel. They each got into Mercedes-Benz sedans and headed for Aotsuki Japanese Restaurant. A Sonata quietly followed behind them.
“Follow them.”
“Aotsuki Japanese Restaurant, correct?”
“Yes. We’ll wait nearby and enter when the signal comes.”
Chan, Byeongsik, and Jaehyuk quietly followed behind Seongjun’s group. A short while later, they parked near Aotsuki Japanese Restaurant.
When Chan saw Seongjun entering the restaurant, he reported to command via his phone.
“Ha Seongjun has entered.”
“Good. Go in immediately when we contact you.”
“Understood.”
Chan ended the call.
At that same moment, inside the restaurant, Shinichi was greeting Seongjun.
“Mr. Ha. I’m sorry for losing my temper yesterday.”
“Not at all. Anyone would have been angry in that situation. I should be the one apologizing.”
On the surface, the two men smiled at each other, but inwardly they were sharpening blades aimed at one another’s throats.
Haneda. If things go wrong, I’ll put a bullet through your skull right away.
(Ha Seongjun. Today’s meal will be your last supper.)
The two men entered a private room. Seongjun and his subordinates took their seats.
Then Seongjun spoke in Japanese to one of the three yakuza present. “(Wait. Could you try just one piece of this tuna sashimi?)”
“(What? What do you…?)”
Seongjun picked up a piece of sashimi and held it in front of the man’s mouth.
“(Eat it. If this meeting isn’t meant to kill us, that is.)”
The yakuza looked flustered. Seongjun’s subordinates sensed something was wrong and prepared to draw their weapons.
“(Why can’t you eat it? It’s not blowfish. Tuna is a fish without poison, isn’t it? Or did it evolve into a poisonous creature without me knowing?)”
The man hesitated. In that moment, Seongjun grabbed his face and forcibly shoved the sashimi into his mouth.
“(Guh…!! G-guh…!!)”
The man struggled. Several of Seongjun’s subordinates noticed what was happening and restrained the yakuza. Seongjun forced his jaw to move, making him swallow the sashimi quickly.
Before the other yakuza could react, the man who had swallowed the sashimi began convulsing. His eyes rolled back, and bloody foam poured from his nose and mouth as he died. Seeing this, another yakuza drew a knife.
“(Damn it!! Everyone, get in here!! We’ve been found out!!)”
In an instant, one of Seongjun’s men stood up and stabbed the yakuza repeatedly in the abdomen, then shoved him toward the door. The man crashed through the broken door and fell.
When another yakuza tried to respond with a Type 213 pistol, one of Seongjun’s subordinates drew a Glock 19 and shot him dead.
More yakuza burst through the door of the room where Seongjun and his men were. Seeing that the yakuza were armed, Seongjun shouted to his subordinates.
“Kill them all!!”
The yakuza and Seongjun’s men clashed violently. The restaurant filled with the sounds of gunshots, screams, and blades slicing through flesh.
One yakuza aimed a pistol at Seongjun, but Seongjun shoved the body of the yakuza he had stabbed earlier forward, using it as a human shield. He knocked both men down at once. When another yakuza aimed at him, Seongjun shot him with his own pistol.
More yakuza tried to kill Seongjun, but his subordinates desperately protected him, firing guns and swinging blades.
Meanwhile, Jaehyuk and the other undercover agents received a call from command.
“Ha Seongjun is currently under attack. Enter immediately.”
“Understood.”
They grabbed their pistols and knives. Jaehyuk took his Glock 19.
“But if we go in now, won’t it be too late? There seem to be quite a few yakuza inside…”
“I doubt it. Still, I’m worried.”
Listening to Byeongsik and Chan’s concerned conversation, Jaehyuk thought calmly.
Ha Seongjun dying? In there? No way. He’s one of the top ten monsters in Gangryonghoe when it comes to pure combat ability….
As they entered the Japanese restaurant, a fierce bloodbath was unfolding inside. Or more accurately, a one-sided massacre.
(What the…?) Even with his other subordinates, how is he…)
(He can put on a performance like this? Is that even human strength?!!)
(That’s a monster…!! He’s not human!!)
Covered head to toe in blood, Seongjun held a knife in his left hand and a pistol in his right. His eyes burned with murderous intent as he glared at the yakuza. Around him lay the gruesome corpses of yakuza who had been riddled with bullets and stab wounds.
Seongjun caught his breath and glared at the yakuza who were hesitating in fear. The moment they regained their senses and tried to respond, he charged toward them at terrifying speed.