Chapter 48

< President Park, please take care of me. >

#48

President Park, please take care of me.

Park Dong-su came up to Seoul.

He had finished tidying up in Busan and arrived on time as promised. Of course, Lee Sang-geun was with him.

We had arranged to meet at a hotel coffee shop in Jongno, and arrived there with Ma Gwang-jae.

“Hey! Dong-sang!”

At Park Dong-su’s voice, Ma Gwang-jae’s eyebrows twitched.

This guy is really the same as ever.

I shook my head and sat down.

“You kept your promise?”

“Of course, I didn’t handle it clumsily like before. Sang-geun tidied up the business shares and such neatly, and I left the management of the kids to Su-hyeong.”

Park Dong-su’s face exuded confidence.

He was usually too nice for his own good, but it seemed he had toughened up after my ultimatum and the process of tidying up the business, which I found satisfying.

Yeah, you have to be a bit ruthless to be a gangster.

“Dong-su hyung, thank you for your hard work. I’ll make sure your future is bright, so just follow me.”

Seeing his face light up at the word ‘hyung,’ I smiled along.

“What? Dong-su hyung? Wow! Finally, Dong-sang is calling me hyung. It feels great. Isn’t that right, Sang-geun?”

Lee Sang-geun bowed his head slightly, which seemed to indicate his complete loyalty to Park Dong-su.

After the casual small talk ended, I decided to get serious.

“President Park, let’s talk business now.”

Perhaps due to the sudden change in address, Park Dong-su stared at me intently.

I smiled at him.

“We’re going to talk business, but we can’t keep calling each other hyung and dongsaeng, right?”

He sighed at that.

“Yeah, I get it.”

“Please be careful in front of others. Since I met you when I was young, we can be informal privately, but we can’t keep this relationship while working, right? It’s common in the gangster world. I’ll be your sponsor, after all.”

He nodded in agreement with my words.

“Casual talk is fine, but please maintain proper etiquette.”

“Got it. What should I do now?”

It was a quick agreement.

It seemed he had learned something while tidying up in Busan.

“Before that, did you find out anything about my parents?”

“Ah, that. I’m still looking around, so I’ll contact you as soon as I find something. As you said, if the police only targeted ex-convicts back then, there might be some gangsters who were investigated. Just wait a bit.”

I nodded, not having high expectations.

Originally, I planned to start with Yeongdeungpo, set up a construction company, and make it look like a legitimate business. However, since I decided to take over Jo Hyun-gu’s Geumseong Construction, I decided to speed things up.

“Have you heard of Jo Hyun-gu? He’s the president of Geumseong Construction.”

“Jo Hyun-gu? Ah, the gangster Jo Hyun-gu from Cheongju?”

“He used to be a gangster from Chungcheong Province but is now the president of a mid-sized company. You know him well?”

“I’ve seen him a few times at events and exchanged greetings. I only know his face, but I heard he became the president after acquiring a construction company. Wow.”

Indeed, they knew each other.

“I plan to get rid of him. You can have Geumseong Construction. Is that possible?”

“Wha, cough.”

Park Dong-su, who was drinking water, was startled and coughed, then looked at me.

“Jo Hyun-gu isn’t an easy target. He’s well-connected with officials and politicians in Cheongju and even in Seoul. He’s a former gangster who has transformed into a businessman.”

“I’ll handle the background. We can win if we go up against him, right? As long as there’s no interference from the authorities.”

“We’ll see when we go up against him. Why are you starting a war as soon as you get here? Can we just storm in?”

I shook my head.

“I’ll make sure the groundwork is solid. But first, do me one favor.”

“What is it?”

“There’s Jo Hyun-gu’s son, Jo Chan-sung. Break his Achilles tendon and make him limp for the rest of his life.”

“What? You want me to take out his son, not Jo Hyun-gu?”

Park Dong-su showed some reluctance.

I just stared at him silently.

He sighed after looking into my emotionless eyes.

“Sigh... Dong-sang, there are rules even among gangsters. We don’t target civilians, especially not family members. If you do, you’ll be buried in this world.”

“Still, do it. If you want to continue working with me, you have to. Consider this a test to see if you can work with me.”

When I first met Park Dong-su on the hospital rooftop, I helped him with the idea of using him in the future fight against the Cheongpung Society.

I learned about the power that Secretary Ha had, which I didn’t know in my previous life, and that he was Grandfather’s hidden blade.

It was time to reconsider whether I needed to use Park Dong-su as my blade.

“I know. I’m asking you to do it because I know. If you can’t do what I ask, we can’t work together.”

“Dong-sang...”

“My friend, you know President Park, too. Park Hyun-sung, the son of Director Park. He can’t do the sports he’s been doing for half his life because of Jo Hyun-gu’s subordinates. What do you mean by rules now?”

“What? Director Park’s son was targeted?”

“Will you do it?”

But if Park Dong-su could do what I asked, even if it went against his beliefs, it would be enough reason to work together.

Especially for the upcoming war with the Japanese yakuza and the influx of Japanese funds into the loan market.

After a long silence, Park Dong-su nodded.

“Got it. I’ll do it.”

Seeing this, Lee Sang-geun turned his head to look at Park Dong-su.

“Jo Hyun-gu started it. I’ll do as you say, but you have to take responsibility for the aftermath. I’m doing this because I trust you.”

Park Dong-su, who was a bit hesitant, added:

“And don’t ever betray me. Many gangsters have ended up dead after helping powerful people. I don’t want that.”

“I wouldn’t have given you information in Busan if I planned to abandon you. Let’s work together. Once we take over Geumseong Construction, the police won’t be able to touch us easily.”

Park Dong-su sighed and muttered something about ‘a heart of steel’ under his breath.

“I’ll storm Geumseong Construction as soon as the job on Jo Chan-sung is done. Gather your people and wait. I’ll contact you.”

“Got it. Wait a week. I just got here, so I need to prepare.”

I nodded and stood up.

“Let’s have a drink once the Geumseong Construction job is done. I’ve never had a proper drink with you, President Park.”

“Sure.”

Park Dong-su also stood up.

When I extended my hand, he smiled and shook it.

“Let’s do well, Dong-sang.”

“Yes, President Park. Please take care of me.”

After parting ways with Park Dong-su, I got into the car with Ma Gwang-jae.

Before we started, Ma Gwang-jae turned his head from the driver’s seat and asked.

“Do we really need people like him?”

“Gangsters?”

“Yes.”

“At first, I didn’t know about Grandfather’s hidden power. I didn’t expect to meet someone like you, Manager Ma. I thought it would be good to have my own blade, and he caught my eye.”

Still, there was a puzzled look in his eyes.

“He’s been helpful a few times. There’s no need to abandon him just because he’s become useless. He doesn’t defy me. The more blades, the better.”

Ma Gwang-jae stared at the cold smile on my face.

* * *

Ma Seok-dae descended the stairs, guided by an employee.

As he entered the room isolated from the outside world, familiar faces greeted him.

Each one had a chilling gaze and a formidable build.

“How long has it been since we all gathered like this?”

At Ha Myeong-hoon’s words, everyone smiled and looked at each other.

“We occasionally gather, but it’s been hard to see you, Myeong-hoon hyung and Seok-dae hyung. Myeong-hoon hyung has been busy with the chairman, and Seok-dae hyung never thought about coming back from abroad.”

One of them said grumpily, and Ma Seok-dae laughed out loud.

“Haha. Don’t complain just because we haven’t seen each other in a few years.”

“It’s not complaining. I just missed seeing you, hyung.”

Everyone couldn’t hide their laughter at that.

Ha Myeong-hoon raised his glass and looked at everyone.

“Here’s to the chairman’s permission. Let’s drink to the fullest and die together.”

“To our brothers!”

They all shouted loudly, clinking their glasses and taking a drink.

As they conversed, the drinking party deepened.

“Seok-dae.”

“Yeah.”

“You said you decided to follow the young master? That was faster than I thought.”

Ma Seok-dae gave a bitter smile towards Ha Myeong-hoon.

“Well... I came to Korea with the intention of following him, and it seemed like a good idea. I made my decision when I heard that his friend was injured in America and he immediately came to Korea. I thought, this guy would never abandon us, and he’s different from the chairman.”

“Do you still resent the chairman?”

It was a cautious question.

Ma Seok-dae shook his head without much hesitation.

“Resent? How can we resent the chairman? We’re all here, grown up thanks to him, and drinking together. Back then, we were young and just ran away to a foreign country.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Ha Myeong-hoon looked a bit relieved and refilled Ma Seok-dae’s glass.

He drank it in one gulp as soon as he received it.

“The chairman took us in when our parents abandoned us and raised us. Besides, he’s of the chairman’s blood. If there’s no major flaw, there’s no reason not to follow him.”

“He’s capable. Take good care of him. Is there any problem with what you’re doing now?”

“What?”

“The young master’s friend’s matter.”

“Ask the boss directly.”

“What? This guy, hahaha!”

Ha Myeong-hoon laughed heartily at Ma Seok-dae’s blunt response.

“Yeah, that’s right. If you’re going to follow him, you should seek answers from him, whether the chairman asks or I do.”

“Don’t ask if you already know.”

“Got it, man.”

They laughed and clinked their glasses together.

* * *

A few days had passed since I assigned the job to Park Dong-su.

I was sitting in the back seat of the car, crossing my legs, and listening to Ma Gwang-jae’s report.

“There’s no major construction work going on because the redevelopment permits haven’t been issued since the new government came in. Most of the shares are held by Jo Hyun-gu and his family, as it’s an unlisted company. It seems he has given a few shares to the middle-level bosses.”

I nodded, and Ma Gwang-jae, who was in the driver’s seat, continued his report.

“It’s confirmed that he has been friends with Kim Se-young, a three-term ruling party member of parliament, since childhood and is providing him with political funds. Most of the government contracts in Cheongju are handled by Geumseong Construction. He also has significant influence in the Judo Association.”

“So, if we can get the shares from Jo Hyun-gu, we can take over Geumseong Construction without much trouble.”

Acquiring the shares wouldn’t be that difficult, and once we put him in jail, the rest would be smooth sailing.

“What about the corrupt information to hand over to the prosecution?”

“It was a comprehensive package of corruption. Just a slight touch, and a lot came out. If the prosecution decides to dig deeper, it will be hard for him to avoid arrest.”

“Then, as soon as Park Dong-su finishes the job on Jo Chan-sung, hand over the information to the prosecution. Please prepare it.”

Ma Gwang-jae, who didn’t respond, bowed his head slightly.

I got out of the car, leaving him behind.

Today, I had an appointment with Prosecutor Yoon at a Korean restaurant in Seocho.

After waiting for a few minutes, Prosecutor Yoon entered.

“Sorry. Did you wait long?”

“No, I just got here.”

He took off his coat, hung it on the hanger, and sat down with a smile.

“How are things these days? Are you okay? I heard that loan sharks in Seocho are complaining about their funds being tied up.”

“The chairman wouldn’t be bothered by such a minor issue. It went smoothly, although we did suffer some losses.”

“Haha, indeed, Chairman Cheon.”

We had dinner while catching up on each other’s recent affairs.

As we were about to finish the soju, Prosecutor Yoon brought up the topic.

“I did some research on Geumseong Construction after hearing from you. It seems too small for the chairman to target, doesn’t it?”

He didn’t answer immediately...

I put down my soju and looked at him.

“Is it a difficult task, Prosecutor Yoon?”

A deep smile appeared on my face.

< President Park, please take care of me. > End