Chapter 108: Chapter 108: To Remove a Nuisance
After Yamamoto Ken and 13 other groups simultaneously withdrew from the Yamaguchi-gumi, they established a new faction called the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, centered around Kobe.
Lee Yong-hyun had asked the Japanese government to pressure Korea, promising he could secure Dokdo for them, but no answer came.
"It seems things back in the homeland are getting pretty tense."
The tea leaves in the cup floated up slowly.
Lee Yong-hyun, who had been squinting down at them, lifted his head.
The core members of the Cheongpung Group gathered at Lee Yong-hyun's mansion, bowing their heads at his movement.
"The homeland's in chaos, thanks to those Wall Street bastards. And now, even the Yamaguchi-gumi is splitting apart…"
Yamamoto Ken had unilaterally declared his withdrawal and formed a new faction, essentially staging a coup. The Yamaguchi-gumi responded by sending members to carry out ongoing attacks against them.
One of the members, after some hesitation, spoke up.
"The Goryeo Daily isn't listening to us anymore. Everyone we planted there has been fired."
"Who knows what Go Eung-soo is thinking. The man who once swore allegiance to Japan…"
"Go Ho-seon seems to be handling the operations now. It's probably his doing."
Several media outlets, led by the Goryeo Daily, were publishing non-stop articles about the Cheongpung Group.
More than half of the people gathered here had already seen their names plastered across the headlines. The media had plenty of material to work with.
Even the outlets following the Goryeo Daily joined in, competing to churn out even more sensational stories.
"Some of those ungrateful animals have already cut ties with us, I hear. Fools, the lot of them. We always survive, no matter what."
Lee Yong-hyun didn't think the situation was all that dire.
Whether it was when Korea broke free from Japanese rule or when the military regime took control, the Cheongpung Group had always survived. Korea couldn't get rid of them.
This was because the remnants of Japan's influence were still interwoven like a spiderweb throughout the country.
"Our work in Myeong-dong isn't going smoothly either… Forcing Bae Beom-gyu to move was a mistake. Who would've thought that old man Cheon Tae-san would bring up the er, especially when he's got one foot in the grave?"
"The Chairman gave Cheon Tae-san way too much leeway should've taken care of him earlier."
When Lee Yong-hyun and Cheon Tae-san first clashed over loan shark market, everyone had urged Lee to get rid of him.
But in the end, Lee had chosen to hold back.
"Hah… I should've listened to you all."
Lee massaged his temples, clearly irritated.
But what was done, was done.
"It's not too late now. Send Teacher Pyo to eliminate Cheon Tae-san and Kim Mu-hyeok."
Lee Yong-hyun shook his head at the suggestion.
"Watanabe's been watching for an opening, but he said there isn't one."
"Teacher Pyo could make something happen, couldn't he?"
Though none of the members had ever met Teacher Pyo in person, they had unwavering faith in him.
Teacher Pyo had always eliminated those who opposed the Cheongpung Group without fail.
He was a weapon they knew could be turned on them at any time. Lee Yong-hyun smirked inwardly at their foolishness as he shook his head.
"Fine, we'll give it a try. But Cheon Tae-san and Kim Mu-hyeok ar our biggest oncern right now. The homeland is the real issue. Any ideas on how to handle it?"
"We've already spoken to our people in the Blue House. They're working on mending relations with the Japanese government."
The group spent the entire night discussing strategies and brainstorming solutions.
Despite everything, not one of them believed the Cheongpung Group would fall.
However, contrary to their confidence, the Korean public's anger was fierce and enduring.
The IMF crisis had rekindled memories of Japanese colonization, reopening old wounds.
The people needed someone to blame.
And the Cheongpung Group's name, which had conveniently surfaced, became the perfect target for the public, the media, and even the government.
* * *
From my window, I could see all of Myeong-dong spread out below.
The sunlight glinted harshly off the countless glass windows.
"Hey! Little bro!"
Park Dong-su waved as he entered the office, followed by a bowing Lee Sang-geun.
"Welcome."
"Long time no see."
Park Dong-su grinned boldly and sat to my left with Lee Sang-geun.
Soon after, Kim Ho-sik and Noh Ik-seon entered..
"Good to see you, Boss. It's been a while."
They too bowed before taking seats next to Park and Lee.
Lastly, Oliver, the leader of the Black Bear elite team, freshly arrived from abroad, stepped inside.
"Have a seat, Manager."
"Yes, sir."
Manager Ma took a seat next to Oliver.
With everyone now gathered, I had all the forces I could mobilize in Korea.
"It's time to wrap things up properly."
The moment for final action had arrived.
"First, the Dong-soo faction will take out Watanabe Saoru. I've already secured the location. Use every man you can—don't let him escape."
The Dong-soo faction was tasked with eliminating Watanabe Saoru and the Yakuza.
"Whether you kill Yang Suhyeong's killer on the spot or bring him back, I'll leave that to your judgment, Mr. Park."
"Got it."
Next, I turned to the Myeong-dong group.
"Keep squeezing Rush & Money as hard as you can. If Watanabe falls, they won't last much longer."
Considering their bad debts, the maximum interest rate a loan company could sustain was capped at 20%. This was a consensus among those who had been in the loan shark business for a long time.
If they exceeded that, there was no point in staying in the business.
"The Yen's value keeps dropping. They're already suffering from the exchange rate losses."
This was one of the benefits of the strike against Japan.
Even if they tried to pull out and convert their funds back to Japan, the Won had risen while the Yen had plummeted.
There was no way they wouldn't take massive losses.
"Once this is over, there won't be any need for further interference. You two just keep running things as you always have."
"Yes, Boss."
The final target was the Cheongpung Group's main stronghold, Lee Yong-hyun's mansion.
I planned to storm it with the Black Bear elite team and Manager Ma's men.
"The first team that entered and everyone from the Korean branch will be in charge of guarding Grandfather and Grandmother. Oliver's team and Manager Ma's men will handle the assault."
"Understood."
"Only use the smuggled guns if absolutely necessary. This is Korea, after all. Just having firearms is a problem here."
"Don't worry. Compared to a warzone like Kosovo, this is heaven. It's my first time in Korea, but it's definitely a nice place to live."
Oliver's face lit up with a smile, clearly charmed by Korea.
"Still, don't let your guard down. Make sure everything goes smoothly."
"Don't worry. A soldier who lets his guard down is as good as dead. My team knows that well. Even if carrying firearms is illegal here, we don't know what kind of weapons they might be packing."
Just as Oliver had said, it was impossible to know what kind of defenses Lee Yong-hyun's mansion might have.
But Oliver's team was made up of battle-hardened veterans. I could trust them.
"I'll trust your judgment, Oliver."
Oliver grinned and gave a crisp salute.
"This is an all-out assault. Mobilize everything. Oliver's team will be split into assault and support squads, so they won't have enough manpower. Manager Ma, you'll need to fill in the gaps."
"Yes, Boss."
Not long ago, Chief Ha had handed over the rest of his men.
Since Black Bear was handling security, he said there was no need for them and transferred his subordinates to Manager Ma. He stayed by Grandfather's side every moment except when Grandfather was sleeping.
"Unless we take out the Cheongpung Group, we'll keep clashing with them. This is our chance to finish them off. I have personal reasons, but this is also vital for our business. Give it your all."
Just eliminating the Cheongpung Group wasn't enough for me.
Revenge would be delivered tenfold.
It'd be a waste to wrap things up here in Korea.
"D-Day is next Monday. Make sure everything is perfect. Be extra careful about leaks. Don't trust anyone, not even your family. Keep everything tight-lipped until the job's done."
After finishing the meeting at the Myeong-dong office, I headed to the Mirae Building in Daechi-dong to meet with Eva.
"Boss, you're here."
When I arrived at the top floor of the Mirae Building, Eva was buried under a mountain of paperwork.
She looked much worse than the last time I saw her.
"Take a break now and then."
"You're giving me the money, Seong-jin's bringing me food, but I still have to eat it myself. Still, it's kind of fun."
Eva rubbed her temples, looking exhausted, but she still managed to stand up with a wobbly smile.
I laughed and gently pushed her back into her seat.
"How's it going?"
"The debt's worse than I thought. It's a miracle they haven't gone bankrupt yet. Compared to this, Peregrine was a walk in the park. If we were in Hong Kong, they'd already be out of business."
"Well, this is Korea, where the government controls finance. Things will change slowly. You've already secured public funds, right?"
"Yeah, but seriously, these old bureaucrats are something else. You know what the Financial Supervisory Commission chairman said to me?"
"What did he say?"
Eva twisted her lips, mimicking the man's voice.
"Je-seong Bank is the largest bank in Korea. Does Mirae Investment really have the funds to acquire both Je-seong Bank and the Foreign Exchange Bank?" I was speechless, honestly."
I couldn't help but laugh.
"Wasn't that Lee Jae-heon?"
"Yeah. Even Seong-jin was stunned. Anyway, we negotiated. We'll pay 500 billion for 51% of the shares."
"What about the bad debts?"
"The government agreed to buy them. Public funds have already been injected, and after the acquisition, they'll put in more. We're paying in dollars."
There were domestic corporations and conglomerates that could have acquired Je-seong Bank.
However, to prevent the privatization of finance, there was a principle that prevented conglomerates from owning financial institutions like banks.
"Well, they agreed to the merger with the Foreign Exchange Bank, so it's not a bad deal."
"The MOU's been signed. What about the final contract?"
"The government's in a hurry, so they want to finish the contract as soon as possible. We're signing next month. Without Seong-jin, it would've been tough."
Thanks to the Mofia's help, the negotiations had been relatively smooth.
The Financial Supervisory Commission had even tried to propose that although Mirae would purchase 51% of the shares, the government would retain management rights.
Eva had been under intense stress as the government kept trying to add new conditions even after the MOU was signed. She didn't hold back in cursing Lee Jae-heon.
It was only after Baek Seong-jin mobilized his entire network of officials to exert pressure that they were able to finalize the deal as originally planned.
"Yun & Jang is handling the contract review, right?"
"Yeah, they're incredible. They even went directly to the Deposit Insurance Corporation to help push things along."
"How's the bank merger going?"
"Just like you said. The government loves the idea of combining them into a single entity."
"Yun & Jang will handle the merger ratios and all that. Don't stress yourself out too much."
"Nah, it's fun. When else will I get to handle a deal this big? Once Je-seong and the Foreign Exchange Bank are merged, we'll be looking at one of the biggest banks in Asia."
Despite the dark circles under her eyes, Eva was smiling brightly.
"So, what brings you here?"
I gave a small nod.
"I'll be out of contact for a few days. You'll handle things fine, but if there's something you're unsure about, just wait for me."
"What's going on?"
"I've got a nuisance to take care of."
* * *
"Got it. By the way, what's the new bank's name going to be?"
I had already decided on the name.
"Taesan Bank."
"Taesan Bank? Sounds good."
Eva didn't know, but it was a gift for my grandfather.
For a man who had spent his whole life in the shadows of the loan shark business, the name carried special meaning.
With my revenge against the Cheongpung Group and a bank named after my grandfather, everything was ready.
Now, it was time to throw the party.
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