Chapter 48. Master Plan - Poker

"Ah!"

Park Gang-woo trembled like a shivering aspen, staring at the large red logging axe held by the foreigner next to him.

If he had made a mistake, it wouldn’t have been the wooden box but his own limbs that would have been cut off.

"We must celebrate, then."

The man sitting at the head of the table, with his legs crossed, looked down at Park Gang-woo and spoke.

This man was undoubtedly the one who had grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away.

Park Gang-woo, rolling his eyes to assess the situation, wriggled his bound body quickly and knelt down.

Park Gang-woo had risen to the top of the organization through his social skills rather than courage, and through his perceptiveness rather than brute force.

With his limbs bound, his head naturally hit the ground as he knelt.

Then the floor swayed and tilted, and Park Gang-woo, who had fallen over, hurriedly bowed his head again.

Looking at the continuously moving interior, it seemed that this place was a cabin on a ship.

"Oh, interesting. You’re very perceptive. Treat the guest well."

At Pierre Choi’s words, the subordinates untied the ropes binding Park Gang-woo and had him sit in a chair.

"Hey, old friend. I did some digging. You were a small-time operator in Gyeonggi Province, weren’t you?"

Pierre Choi, leaning back on the swaying ship, spoke to Park Gang-woo with exaggerated movements and expressions, as if performing a play.

Park Gang-woo’s throat tightened as he met the madman’s eyes.

"Speak, you need to answer."

At Pierre’s words, Park Gang-woo rolled his eyes and spat out the cotton stuffed in his mouth.

"S-Spare me, please."

"You’re alive now, aren’t you?"

Pierre Choi, stroking his chin with a smirk.

He gestured to the foreigner standing behind, who approached and knelt respectfully before Pierre Choi.

Pierre Choi then gave some instructions in a foreign language.

"Hey, Park Gang-woo."

"Yes, yes!"

"People in my position, do you know what’s most important? Money? That’s not really important. What I need is something to alleviate the boredom of this life... entertainment."

This was not a performance to deceive Park Gang-woo but Pierre Choi’s true thoughts.

"I came here after a long time because I heard that some cute friends were playing tricks on our Sicilian brothers who supply sugar... "

Park Gang-woo, listening to the man’s words, was thinking as hard as he could.

'...If the Sicilian brothers are Italian mafia, and sugar means drugs...'

Pierre Choi continued.

"Before the main event, I met this cute preview. I find it very entertaining."

Pierre Choi, who finished speaking, tapped the table twice.

Then the old man standing behind walked over and sat between Pierre Choi and Park Gang-woo.

"From now on, we’re going to play a game. If you win, I’ll let you handle the drug distribution in Korea. I like well-behaved dogs."

Park Gang-woo’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.

"T-Teacher, what happens if I lose?"

At that moment, the ship swayed again.

Pierre Choi silently looked at the ropes scattered on the floor and the cotton spit out.

Then he smiled at Park Gang-woo.

Park Gang-woo, unable to hear the answer, trembled, imagining the outside of the swaying ship.

"Shall we start? Dealer."

At Pierre’s words, the old man bowed and shuffled the cards, placing one card face-up in front of Pierre Choi and Park Gang-woo.

"Wait a moment, Teacher. Is this poker? Why are they face-up...?"

Park Gang-woo, who couldn’t resist asking about the familiar poker cards, despite his expertise in the game.

If it was poker, he wondered why the cards were placed face-up.

"You don’t have anything else to bet on, do you? The cards that come out are your fate."

Pierre Choi, looking at the poker cards on the table, smiled.

In front of both of them were six cards each.

In front of Pierre, a 6 of Spades.

In front of Park Gang-woo, a 6 of Clubs.

Park Gang-woo, unable to engage in any psychological warfare, trembled as he watched the cards being placed one by one.

With six cards out of seven in a poker game, Park Gang-woo was filled with despair.

In front of Pierre, the cards were laid out in numerical order from 6 to 10, forming a Straight.

Despite receiving one less card, it was already a Straight.

In front of Park Gang-woo, there were three 6s and two mismatched cards, forming a Triple.

The chances of winning were extremely slim.

"Isn’t it fun? Hahaha. Dealer, give me the last card."

Now, both Park Gang-woo’s arms and legs were trembling.

Having played poker before, Park Gang-woo, despite being terrified, tried to count the cards.

Since both received a 6 on the first card, it was impossible to form a Four of a Kind with the same number.

The only way to win was to form a Full House by getting a pair with one of the mismatched cards to add to the Triple.

The approximate probability was about 20%.

In other words, the probability of dying this way was 80%.

The card, moving from the old man’s hand to both of them, was revealed.

In front of Pierre, a 3.

In front of Park Gang-woo, a 7.

A 7 pair was added to the 6 Triple, forming a Full House.

"Ah!"

Park Gang-woo, who completed a Full House and beat the Straight.

"Ha ha ha."

Pierre Choi, laughing like a madman, tilting his head back.

Park Gang-woo, unable to relax, was tense, not knowing when this unpredictable man would change his mind.

"A Seven of Diamonds. It seems you have some luck. I’ll tell you the location in two weeks. Bring three bricks. You need to gather that much to distribute all the drugs in this country."

"Three bricks, that’s 30 billion...?"

Before he could finish, Pierre Choi’s face turned cold, and he shook his head.

"Ah, 300 billion...?"

"Why? Are you a minnow who can’t even raise that much?"

Pierre Choi, glancing at the ropes.

Park Gang-woo, looking at Pierre and the foreigners with rifles.

"Ah, no. With that amount, I can gather it somehow, using construction companies and casinos as collateral."

"Indeed, you understand well."

Pierre Choi, smiling devilishly at Park Gang-woo, raising one corner of his mouth.

"Okay! Cut! That was very good."

With Director Park Chan-hong’s clear okay sign, Ryu Yeon-woo, who had been acting in the special set, quickly approached Jung Ha-kyun, who was in front of him, and held his hands.

"Senior, you’ve worked so hard."

Jung Ha-kyun, who had been hit countless times, knelt, and rolled around during the scene.

"No, I’m very satisfied with how the scene turned out."

Yeon-woo, feeling sorry for the senior who had worked hard, did not let go of his hand.

They both held hands and walked out of the special set, which was designed to look like a moving ship.

Although there was no more filming, Ma Seok-do and Han So-hyun, who were monitoring an important scene in the movie, approached.

"Senior, Yeon-woo, you looked great on screen."

"Right, it was amazing!"

Ma Seok-do, raising his thumb, and Han So-hyun, chiming in.

"Haha. Yeon-woo did a great job."

"What are you talking about, Senior? I just sat there comfortably."

Yeon-woo, who had delivered a masterful performance by controlling the atmosphere with his expressions and lines while sitting still, but giving all the credit to Jung Ha-kyun, who had rolled around while bound in the moving special set.

"Our movie is now in the final stages of filming. I’m really looking forward to the ending."

"Right, So-hyun. When I received the completed script, it was quite a fresh shock."

***

Before starting the latter part of the filming, they took a few days off.

There were many props and locations to prepare for the filming, and the action scenes in the latter part required coordination and timing with the stunt team, so the actors, who had been running non-stop for months, were given a brief rest.

The suddenly free schedule.

'Hmm, what should I do?'

Lying in the office apartment, Yeon-woo checked the fan cafe and YouTube comments, then called Son Jin-wook.

- Oh, Yeon-woo.

"Are you busy, brother?"

- No, I’m done with filming. Aren’t you busy?

"I’ve taken a few days off. I called because I’m bored."

Jin-wook chuckled at Yeon-woo’s words.

- Hey, why call me, your senior, instead of your friends?

"Well, it’s more comfortable with you. And the kids are probably in their exam period."

Jin-wook, secretly pleased with Yeon-woo’s words.

As you get older, you tend to enjoy it more when younger juniors and siblings contact you first.

- Then, do you want to come over to my place today? Don’t call Min-su. I’ll pick you up.

"Really? I’m fine with that! It’s a bit inconvenient without a car, though."

- Hmm, is that so? Do you still not want to buy a car?"

Yeon-woo, pondering at Jin-wook’s words. He had gotten his license right after graduation and had a lot of money in his bank account. In a way, he had more savings than in his previous life.

"Should I buy a car now?"

Yeon-woo prepared to go out, knowing Jin-wook would pick him up soon.

Having experienced the cycle of life and death in his previous life, he had no intention of living extravagantly but didn’t want to live frugally in this life.

Not long after, Jin-wook called to say he had arrived, and Yeon-woo went down to the parking lot to find Jin-wook’s car waiting.

Yeon-woo, who had always ridden in the company’s van, saw Jin-wook’s personal car for the first time.

"Thank you for coming, brother."

"I was just bored, too."

Yeon-woo opened the door and got into the passenger seat.

"Is this the B model?"

A famous SUV among celebrities.

"Yeah. Do you have any ideas for your first car? Like a price range?"

Jin-wook, offering to go car shopping with Yeon-woo today.

Yeon-woo, hearing Jin-wook’s words, fell into thought.

Actually, Yeon-woo’s first car in his previous life was a 1996 model, which would be hard to find even in a junkyard and could only be seen in classic car clubs.

"First car... Hmm. How about a sports car? As long as it’s not too expensive, a few hundred million won is fine."

"Really? I didn’t expect that."

Yeon-woo, still immersed in the role of Pierre Choi, was a bit more high-spirited than usual.

And he had a good memory of driving sports cars during his undercover operation in his previous life when he entered the Czech Republic and Dubai as a businessman.

"Then, I think a sports car might be too flashy. Hmm..."

Jin-wook, stroking his chin in thought.

"What about P brand?"

"Ah, I’ve never bought a good car, but the waiting time for P brand is very long, right?"

Yeon-wook, smiling at Yeon-woo’s words.

"There are ways. Let’s go take a look at least."

Jin-wook’s car headed straight for Seocho District.