The Two Faces of Betrayal (2)

"W-who are you people...?" That was what Kim Gi-deok had intended to say, but the words never made it past his lips.

THUD!

"...!"

Struck by a club to the head, Kim Gi-deok collapsed, unconscious. The only one who managed to jump to his feet in the office was Im Si-chan.

"W-who the hell are you!"

But what greeted Im Si-chan was a barrage of blows from the police officers surrounding him. A height of 180 centimeters? A sturdy build? None of that mattered in this situation. Winning a fight against armed police was something that only happened in movies.

"Gah! Argh!"

He didn't lose consciousness like Kim Gi-deok because he hadn't been struck in the head, but that only meant Im Si-chan had to curl into a ball, screaming in agony. Ten minutes later.

"Ugh... ugh..."

Watching Im Si-chan, who was so overwhelmed by pain that he had even wet his pants, Superintendent Seo In-pyo gave a short order to his subordinates.

"Drag him away."

The basement of the Jongno Police Station began to echo with wails. The "electric fan and interrogation" course had been applied to Im Si-chan and his subordinates without question. The next day, when the police demanded that Im Si-chan reveal his connections, he shouted in frustration.

"I'm truly innocent! I'm telling you, we aren't those kinds of people!"

Thanks to his natural stamina, he was able to answer forcefully even after the interrogation, but that was all he could do. His arms were tied to a rope hanging from the ceiling, his toes barely touching the floor.

"This bastard won't crack. Hey, bring him in!"

At the command of Seo In-pyo, who was personally in charge of Im Si-chan, a subordinate officer brought in another person from a different room to confront him.

"Y-you...!"

Im Si-chan doubted his own eyes. He saw Choi Jong-hyo, covered in dried blood. Though his face was somewhat swollen, it was undoubtedly the same Choi Jong-hyo he had spoken with before.

"Still going to deny it? This guy spilled everything. He said you urged him to be pro-North Korean. That makes you the big boss, doesn't it!"

Im Si-chan’s sense of injustice reached its peak, and he shed tears. "It’s not true! I really don't know anything about this! Was this guy a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pro-North Korean sympathizer?"

"This bastard is still... Hey! Choi Jong-hyo! Speak! Tell him what you told us!"

As Seo In-pyo pressed him, Choi Jong-hyo forced the words out through his trembling lips. "I... Manager Im... told me... that if I believed in North Korea... I would become... rich... that he would let me enjoy wealth and glory... He did... The North Korean flag and the Marxist pamphlets... Manager Im gave them to me..."

Choi Jong-hyo hung his head after saying that, but it was more than enough to make the situation clear to Im Si-chan.

'This bastard has decided to drag me down with him!'

He didn't know the details, but Choi Jong-hyo, hanging his head before him, had been caught by the police as a pro-North Korean sympathizer. And under interrogation, he had pointed to Im Si-chan as his mastermind.

'You, you goddamn son of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bitch!'

It was a spiderweb from which he couldn't escape. With Choi Jong-hyo under torture saying such things, there was no way he would get out of this unscathed.

'T-there is only one way.'

Im Si-chan spoke urgently to Seo In-pyo. "I... I am a person belonging to SES. You know them, right? The conglomerate SES."

"SES? Why would SES have any relationship with you?"

"I was buying land in Jamsil under the instructions of SES. I’ve worked under them for a long time. SES can prove that I am absolutely not a pro-North Korean sympathizer. Please, just contact SES once. If you contact them, everything will be cleared up."

The wrinkles on Seo In-pyo’s forehead began to squirm.

"Hmm... is that true? If SES is willing to go that far, we might have to reconsider..."

Seeing Seo In-pyo hesitate, Im Si-chan was certain he had found a way to live. "It’s true! Just call the number I give you and mention my name. Everything will be explained!"

"Alright. Then, I’ll stop the 'hospitality' for you and your subordinates for now, so give me the phone number."

"Yes! The number is..."

With a look of relief, Im Si-chan quickly began to tell Seo In-pyo about his direct superior.

"Good, I'll go check it out, so wait here."

As Seo In-pyo left, Im Si-chan asked the other officer who remained in the interrogation room. "By any chance, what time is it?"

"Why?"

Im Si-chan offered a servile smile to the officer, who was scowling. "I was just worried that if it's too late, I might not be able to reach them."

The officer checked his wristwatch as if it were a nuisance and spat out the answer. "Nine."

"Thank you. Thank you...!"

The officer took Im Si-chan down from the ceiling, cuffed him to the wall instead, and took Choi Jong-hyo out. One hour passed. Im Si-chan didn't know the time, but seeing that Seo In-pyo hadn't returned, he felt a bit relieved. He assumed they were having a conversation. But as the moon rose high, as dawn broke, and as morning arrived, a sinister feeling began to grow in the corner of his heart.

When the police threw rice balls at them for breakfast, and again for lunch, Im Si-chan asked urgently, "What happened with the contact?!"

"I don't know, you bastard. How should I know?"

At the officer's irritated reply, Im Si-chan’s anxiety finally ballooned like an over-inflated balloon. When 6:00 PM rolled around again:

"They said they have nothing to do with you. You dog-like bastard!"

The "electric fan and interrogation" course began again for Im Si-chan and his subordinates.

"Yoon-gi, the negotiations with SES are finished."

At the words of Choi Cheol-kyu, who had opened the study door and entered, Ryu Geun-tae spoke first. "How did it go?"

"They accepted all of our demands. From their perspective, what else could they do? If they didn't accept, they'd be the ones in big trouble."

"That’s a relief."

Ryu Geun-tae let out a sigh of relief, and Yoon-gi wore a satisfied expression.

"That aside, is it okay to be satisfied with just this? If we had played our cards right, we could have even taken the duty-free shop inside their hotel from SES."

Yoon-gi shook his head. "I think that would have been difficult. It’s not hard to fabricate evidence that Choi Jong-hyo was a pro-North Korean sympathizer from the start, but strongly linking that to SES is a task of considerable difficulty. It’s a plan that would be hard to execute with just Superintendent Seo In-pyo."

The reason SES accepted the demands of YK Department Store was to avoid the arrow labeled "unofficially employed a pro-North Korean group."

"If the arrow had been 'SES operated a pro-North Korean group,' that might have been possible, but that’s difficult. So, for the current arrow, this is enough."

In exchange for receiving proof that they had no relationship with the people including Im Si-chan, SES gave up several things to YK Department Store. One was the transfer of ownership for the Jamsil land they had purchased. Of course, they didn't transfer it for free; they handed it over to Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Cheol-kyu at the original market price. If they had transferred it for free, there would have been a high risk of legal problems later.

The second was 1 billion won in cash. The amount itself wasn't very high, but since it was money that wouldn't appear in tax records, it was a huge merit as slush funds. And finally, a ban on additional department store construction for the next five years. Of course, since this clause was a "promise clause," it would be immediately voided if the relationship between YK Department Store and the New Military Regime soured, but if the relationship remained intact, it was a good condition to block a competitor for the next five years. Furthermore, since SES had lost a quite capable shadow organization, this would clearly affect their future activities.

"What happened to Choi Jong-hyo?"

This time, Ryu Geun-tae answered. "Since he had spoken out of anger in the first place, he was released with that taken into account. Of course, the hardship is just beginning for him."

What Choi Jong-hyo saw after being released from the police station was a firmly locked gate and his household goods sitting outside. And he saw his wife and mother trying to protect those goods, while neighborhood people were grabbing them indiscriminately.

[Thieves, thieves!!!] [Help us!]

His wife and mother screamed, but no one offered help, and the people taking the goods were busy pushing his wife and mother aside to grab items. After Choi Jong-hyo arrived, the open stealing decreased, but there was no way to protect the goods. His mother and wife didn't have the strength to move the large items, and if Choi Jong-hyo moved them, the remaining goods would be stolen. In the end, Choi Jong-hyo cried, took only the important jewelry, gave up on his luggage, and left for somewhere.

"That’s just the right level."

Hearing the report, Yoon-gi nodded, and Ryu Geun-tae turned his body back to its original position after reporting, exhaling a faint sigh through his nose and nodding to himself.

"You worked hard."

At Yoon-gi’s words, spoken with a soft expression, Ryu Geun-tae simply bowed his head. "I will make sure such a thing doesn't happen next time."

"No, such things are inevitable. As the organization grows, it can't be helped, can it?"

"Hahaha..."

Yoon-gi added to Ryu Geun-tae, who was offering a bitter smile. "We won't go around labeling people as pro-North Korean next time, but we just need to keep the policy that traitors are definitely punished. Mistakes can happen, but how you handle those mistakes is what’s important."

"I will keep that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in mind."

"Come to think of it, how did the talk with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Superintendent Seo go?"

"He looked like his mouth was going to tear from smiling. We sold him the land near the site of the 2nd branch that SES had secured, and gave him cash equivalent to that amount."

In this negotiation with SES, Yoon-gi had received the land under the names of Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Cheol-kyu to avoid stepping forward himself. He had handed over a portion of the land Ryu Geun-tae received to Superintendent Seo. Naturally, Superintendent Seo swore loyalty to Ryu Geun-tae once again, and YK Department Store had gained a faithful dog.

"Then, there’s no worry about Superintendent Seo either. In that case... Uncle."

"Yes?"

At Yoon-gi’s words, Choi Cheol-kyu quietly put down the plum he was about to eat and looked at Yoon-gi.

"You need to be in charge of the climax of this incident."

This incident, which had heated up the basement of the Jongno Police Station, ended very simply.

[Nothing happened.]

Only a rumor spread slightly among the neighbors that Choi Jong-hyo had "North Korean-related items found in his house," while Im Si-chan and his group simply had to leave the police station with their painful bodies. In a sense, it was luck. Being associated with pro-North Korean activities and coming out with only physical pain was luck in this era. Furthermore, Ryu Geun-tae had strictly instructed Seo In-pyo beforehand, "Don't make them cripples," so even though they had bruises and dried blood, there was almost no possibility of future physical problems.

"Manager... what... what is going to happen to us?"

To Kim Gi-deok’s words, Im Si-chan answered while enduring the pain. "For now... let’s go back to the office. Let’s rest, and think about it tomorrow."

The office Im Si-chan used. When they arrived there with great difficulty, they were bewildered to see the firmly locked office and the door that wouldn't open with their keys.

"What on earth is this..."

Im Si-chan looked for a public phone to make a call, but he had no money, and the same was true for the 20 or so men following him. The items they had when they entered the police station had already been happily divided among the police officers.

[Please, just give me one coin...]

Eventually, his subordinates, who had obtained coins through begging, handed them to Im Si-chan, and Im Si-chan called his superiors. After wasting dozens of coins, the call was finally connected.

[How can you contact us after being associated with pro-North Korean sympathizers? From now on, you are a stranger who has nothing to do with us. So don't contact us again. If you keep contacting us, this time we can make you into pro-North Korean sympathizers.]

Im Si-chan, who had become a discarded card, laughed at first while holding the disconnected receiver, and then he shed tears. Eventually, they went to other offices just in case, but those places were also firmly locked.

"Manager..."

"Don't call me Manager..."

They had been walking for hours, so their fatigue had reached its peak.

"At least it's fortunate that the curfew is gone..."

At Kim Gi-deok’s words, Im Si-chan habitually looked at his wrist, but there was no watch there. Then Im Si-chan looked at Kim Gi-deok with an expression that asked, 'How did you know the time?' and Kim Gi-deok pointed to a clock inside a nearby pharmacy.

"Ha..."

There were ways to head to their respective homes, but it didn't seem easy for everyone to return home penniless. 'What should I do...' In a state where his anxiety had reached its peak, a voice full of familiarity suddenly reached Im Si-chan’s ears.

"Ah, so you were here!"