Dare to Use Me? (2)
"President, Superintendent Seo is here."
"Tell him to come in."
Eight in the morning. Superintendent Seo had appeared so quickly that one had to wonder if he even bothered to clock in at the police station at all.
"President Ryu, I've found out everything!"
"I appreciate the speed. Are you certain?"
"Of course. If the information I've gathered is wrong, I'll take off this police uniform immediately."
"With that level of confidence, I suppose I can trust you. Let me see it."
"Here it is."
As Superintendent Seo handed over a brown envelope, Ryu Geun-tae pulled out the documents inside and began to read.
'As I thought...!'
Just as Ryu Geun-tae had suspected, Kim Gi-deok and the other individual were connected to the same organization. Of course, they worked in different offices and had different contact information. However, the account used to pay for the rent of both offices was identical. That meant the organization they belonged to was one and the same.
'It was those bastards at Seth.'
By the standards of the 2010s, Seth was a massive conglomerate ranking within the top ten in the business world, but in the 80s, they hadn't even cracked the top thirty. Of course, compared to Samwoo, which was still struggling in the 90s in the business rankings as of '82, they were leagues ahead.
'Seth's main businesses are food and department stores. If it's Seth, they have plenty of reason to get in our way.'
Naturally, the department stores operated by Seth were focused on the working class, featuring restaurants and supermarkets in the basements and affordable clothing on the upper floors. But having seen YK Department Store succeed as a brand, it was only natural that Seth, the frontrunner in the industry, wouldn't just sit idly by. In particular, since Seth was already operating duty-free shops in the hotels they owned, it was clear that YK Department Store's success must have been a thorn in their side.
'One of the Chairman's current goals is to dominate the retail sector. In that sense, it's certain that we are a pain in Seth's eyes.'
Ryu Geun-tae concluded that Seth's reason for securing land in Jamsil was to sabotage the second branch of YK Department Store.
'Since they don't know where we'll build the second branch, it's highly likely they're buying up land simultaneously. Or, they might be buying land this way so that they can build their own department stores on the decent plots.'
Ryu Geun-tae sneered inwardly.
'Morons. They probably don't realize that the absolute share of YK Department Store's success lies with the Chairman. Without him, we wouldn't have even been able to bring in the brands in the first place.'
It seemed laughable that they were trying to reap the rewards in such a short time for a plan that even the brilliant Yoon-gi had only managed to complete after nearly five years of effort.
'Wait...'
A sudden suspicion flashed through Ryu Geun-tae's mind.
'How did Seth find out about the Jamsil second branch?'
Yoon-gi had mentioned the second branch about three weeks ago. And the Seth "offices" had been established shortly after that. It was almost immediate.
'If the offices had been established earlier, I wouldn't be so sure, but they all appeared afterward. That means this information reached Seth's ears only after the Chairman spoke about it.'
As Ryu Geun-tae considered the possibilities, he couldn't help but be horrified.
'Damn it...'
The scale of YK Department Store had grown. That meant the workload for Yoon-gi's secretarial staff had increased as well. Naturally, Ryu Geun-tae had occasionally delegated tasks to his subordinates to handle Yoon-gi's affairs, and he had tipped off a small number of them about this matter. Of course, that included his uncle, Kim Jeong-seon.
'I'm going crazy. There's a spy inside.'
Of course, Choi Cheol-gyu could also be involved, as he had heard it from Yoon-gi last time. But the Choi Cheol-gyu that Ryu Geun-tae knew was absolutely loyal to Yoon-gi. At the very least, he wasn't the type to leak information to the outside like himself.
'It's less likely that the information leaked from Chief Choi's side. This whole thing is likely... my fault.'
Feeling a tightness in his chest, Ryu Geun-tae put down the documents. Superintendent Seo, who had been watching him with nervous anticipation, spoke up cautiously.
"How is it? Are you satisfied...?"
Ryu Geun-tae didn't show any emotion in front of the Superintendent; instead, he smiled.
"I'm very pleased. I can feel your hard work, Superintendent Seo."
A bright smile appeared on Superintendent Seo's face at the praise, but it quickly turned into a cautious expression.
"President Ryu, please speak comfortably. You don't need to use formal language with me."
"I've been using it for so long that it's not easy."
"Oh, not at all. People change, don't they? I actually prefer it when you treat me comfortably."
"Understood."
Ryu Geun-tae nodded and continued.
"Superintendent Seo, I'm saying this just in case, but you must not tell anyone about these documents."
Superintendent Seo stood at attention.
"Of course. I will make sure to tell everyone involved in this investigation not to speak a word of it."
"Good."
Though it sounded like a simple request for silence, the hidden meaning behind this conversation was immense.
[Are you going to side with Seth, or are you going to side with YK?]
To this question, Superintendent Seo had answered that he would side with YK, and since he had been promised loyalty, Ryu Geun-tae had to provide compensation for it.
"You'll have some good news soon."
"Thank you!"
As Superintendent Seo beamed, Ryu Geun-tae pulled an envelope from his desk drawer and handed it to him. It was a rather thick brown envelope. As soon as he saw it, Superintendent Seo knew what was inside.
"N-no, that's fine! You've already promised me something..."
"Take it. I'm not giving it to you to spend on yourself. You need operational expenses, don't you?"
"I feel terrible..."
"Nothing to feel terrible about. If I want to ask for favors in the future, it's better for both of us if we keep things smooth."
"I will make sure there are absolutely no problems."
Superintendent Seo, who carefully received the envelope with both hands, smiled and walked out of the office. The door closed quietly, without even a sound. Ryu Geun-tae watched the door for a moment, sighed, and stood up from his seat.
"Phew, it's my turn now."
Ryu Geun-tae headed to Yoon-gi's mansion.
***
"You think there's a spy among the staff?"
Yoon-gi, who was eating a ripe plum in his study, made a thoughtful expression and finished chewing. With a crisp *crunch*, the scent of the plum spread through the study, and Ryu Geun-tae felt his mouth water before he could stop it. The same went for Choi Cheol-gyu. Both of them nearly reached out for the bowl of plums sitting next to Yoon-gi.
"Ah, I was eating them alone."
Yoon-gi moved the bowl to the center of the three, but neither Ryu Geun-tae nor Choi Cheol-gyu dared to reach out.
"Aren't you eating?"
"Isn't... the current situation a bit serious?"
At Choi Cheol-gyu's response, Yoon-gi reacted with unexpected indifference.
"I don't know. I don't think it's worth getting excited about. Isn't it natural for internal information to leak out when a company grows in size?"
Ryu Geun-tae breathed a sigh of relief inwardly that Yoon-gi wasn't angry, but he had no choice but to tense up again at the next sound.
"It's something you could brush off with indifference, but it's certainly an unpleasant matter."
With a loud *crunch*, the plum exploded between Yoon-gi's teeth, scattering juice in all directions and unintentionally acting as an air freshener on Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Cheol-gyu's clothes.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
As Yoon-gi pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Cheol-gyu both smiled and pulled out their own handkerchiefs to wipe the juice off their clothes.
"I apologize, Chairman."
"Ah, I'm not angry at Secretary Ryu. I'm angry at the spy."
"Even so, the spy is nine times out of ten among my subordinates. It's clearly my fault for not managing them properly, so this matter is entirely my responsibility."
"If you have that awareness, that's enough. Anyway."
There was another *crunch* sound, but this time, Yoon-gi kept his mouth closed while chewing, so thankfully, the juice didn't spray everywhere.
"I'll certainly use industrial spies later on, too, but me being the victim is a completely different issue."
Choi Deok-bae, who was next to him, added a word. Of course, that wasn't the end of the conversation. Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Cheol-gyu actually liked this reaction from Yoon-gi. A self-centered master is much more worth serving than a weak one. At least, that was what Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Cheol-gyu believed.
"Secretary Ryu."
"Yes, Chairman."
"Is the only thing you have to report that there is a spy?"
"No, sir."
Ryu Geun-tae hurriedly placed the materials he had investigated in front of Yoon-gi. Yoon-gi read Superintendent Seo's materials thoroughly and then looked back at Ryu Geun-tae.
"If it's Seth, they have plenty of reason to do this."
"Seth? Are big shots like Seth starting to pay attention to us?"
Choi Cheol-gyu exclaimed, looking satisfied. Although they were definitely outside the top 30 in the business rankings, in the days when Choi Cheol-gyu was at Samwoo, Seth was a group that sat so high up that one wouldn't even dare to look at them.
"Seth is a group that entered the department store industry a few years earlier than us. Even if the direction is a little different. But even if the direction is different, YK Department Store must be a thorn in their side. They're about to be blindsided by a latecomer, aren't they?"
Choi Cheol-gyu nodded at Yoon-gi's words.
"But because of our connections, it would have been difficult for them to touch us directly."
After finishing his sentence, Choi Cheol-gyu took the documents from Yoon-gi and read them, squinting one eye.
"What is this? Since it's hard to touch us directly, are they trying to sabotage the second branch?"
Choi Cheol-gyu, who had reached the same conclusion as Ryu Geun-tae, suggested the most obvious solution first.
"No matter how much YK Department Store is growing, it's not easy to enter a power game at this point. Requesting mediation through JSD would be the primary method."
"I wouldn't choose such a humiliating method."
Requesting mediation was essentially admitting that they couldn't beat Seth. If they truly couldn't win, that would be one thing, but the fact that Yoon-gi said this meant he was confident he could beat Seth.
'The opponent is a group within the top 50 in the business world; does Yoon-gi have a method?'
The second method Choi Cheol-gyu thought of was to build the second branch somewhere other than Jamsil. As far as he knew, Yoon-gi owned land all over Seoul. However, seeing Yoon-gi's reaction now, it didn't seem like he would choose that method either.
'Not mediation, and not avoidance. Then is it a head-on collision?'
As if to prove Choi Cheol-gyu's thought that that wouldn't be it either, Yoon-gi asked Ryu Geun-tae.
"Is there anyone you suspect?"