Capítulo 65: Chapter 65: Please, Please… Kill Me
Despite seeing Oh Gil-seok and Shin Seong-il being dragged away earlier Moon Tae-beom's eyes showed no sign of being intimidated.
Whether he trusted the Cheongpung Group behind him or believed they wouldn't kill him because of his Japanese citizenship I wasn't sure.
"Moon Tae-beom Fune Toshiro."
But as soon as Moon Tae-beom's Japanese name left my lips his eyes began to waver dramatically.
"Adopted son of Choi Jae-su head of the action squad of Hiraguri-gumi a second-tier organization of the Yamaguchi-gumi."
"…How do you know that?"
In my previous life I'd only managed to find out this much.
It was just personal information but definitely not something a mere college student could uncover.
Moon Tae-beom must be thinking the same thing.
I smiled at him with a look that suggested I knew everything.
"Who the hell are you?"
Moon Tae-beom's voice trembled at the end.
"Kim Mu-hyeok… You know right? asn't eliminating me your goal?"
After completely removing the Cheon brothers and establishing myself as the successor his fate had changed too.
Originally Moon Tae-beom had entered Korea in 1997 and from 1998 when the Interest Limitation Act disappeared he'd been slowly eating away at the Myeong-dong market waiting for the main force to arrive from Japan.
"…What do you know?"
"You're not in a position to ask questions. Just tell me everything you know. Then I might consider taking just one arm."
"Stop talking nonsense and kill me. I choose honor."
"Hahaha."
I laughed for a while at those words.
"Honor?"
"If I can die as a subject of the great Japanese empire…"
"After being so disrespected in Japan you're still talking about being a subject? Alright don't say it. I'm thinking of letting you go just like this."
"What?"
Moon Tae-beom looked at me with a bewildered expression.
A chilling smile spread across my face.
"And I'll quietly spread rumors that you begged for your life and told me everything. No need to dirty my hands if you want to die honorably right?"
The color drained from Moon Tae-beom's face.
"Take him back to Myeong-dong and don't touch him Manager Ma."
"Understood."
I got up from the chair and turned around without hesitation.
Moon Tae-beom who had been in a daze suddenly came to his senses. He crawled on the floor trying to reach me despite being tied up.
"Please please… kill me."
I turned around again at Moon Tae-beom's desperate voice.
I looked at him with contemptuous eyes but Moon Tae-beom couldn't say anything even after meeting my gaze.
His previously arrogant demeanor was nowhere to be seen; Moon Tae-beom's eyes were just filled with sheer terror.
"Tell me everything you know. Then I'll kill you. Honorable death? Subject of the great Japanese empire? Sure I'll give you that."
"…Alright I'll tell you everything."
One of Manager Ma's subordinates dragged him and sat him on a chair.
I turned around again and walked out of the factory.
The rain that had been falling when we arrived had turned into snow.
"What interesting weather."
I held out my hand and a delicate snowflake landed on my palm.
The coldness of the snow brought me back to my senses.
"Find out everything you can from Shin Seong-il and Moon Tae-beom and report it. If there's nothing more to learn dispose of them as you see fit. Keep Oh Gil-seok alive though we might need him later."
"Understood."
"Let's go it's cold."
Manager Ma opened an umbrella above my head and walked slowly matching my pace.
Upon arriving in Pyeongchang-dong I went straight to Grandfather's study.
"Grandfather it's Mu-hyeok."
"Come in."
When I opened the door and entered Grandfather's face looking at me was like that of a child brimming with curiosity.
"You've worked hard. Sit down first."
"Yes."
I sat down on the sofa following Grandfather.
He seems to be expecting a lot in many ways.
"Tell me."
"It seems Boss Shin intentionally approached you from the beginning."
"Hmm…"
Grandfather swallowed at my words.
"Manager Ma will find out the details but for now it appears Boss Shin Moon Tae-beom a Japanese yakuza and the Baekho faction in Gangnam were involved."
"Baekho faction? Baek Jeong?"
"Yes. When we went to subdue the two Baek Jeong-gi's right-hand man entered Myeong-dong to save Boss Shin. Or rather it seems he was on standby in the vicinity from the start."
Grandfather's expression became a bit more serious.
"Hmm… So they're no longer concerned about the unspoken rule of not touching each other?"
"Since one of the three major organizations in Gangnam broke the promise first I'm thinking of raising Park Dong-su's forces to strike."
"The news reported that there was a skirmish between gangsters on Myeong-dong street. There needs to be a scapegoat."
"Park Dong-su said he'd prepare one. The Baekho faction will probably prepare a scapegoat too. For now please let it be wrapped up to that extent."
Grandfather nodded at my words.
"Don't engage in all-out war for now. The President isn't an ordinary person so we don't know how he might react."
"I'll tell them to slowly tighten the noose. All-out war would mean death for both sides anyway. The Cheongpung Group won't have anything to say about this much."
"Handle it as you see fit. But don't put yourself on the front lines. Use Myung-hoon's forces too if necessary."
"I'll speak to Chief Ha if needed."
When I spoke emphatically Grandfather's expression seemed to relax a bit.
"But Seong-il intentionally approached me? Since when? I chose that guy myself at the wrestling arena."
"He said he'd been serving someone since birth. For generations apparently."
"Hmm… So that's why he quit wrestling and came to me. No matter how much I investigated there was nothing strange… A spy for the Cheongpung Group."
A hollow laugh or was it a sigh echoed through the study.
"I'll report the details later. We couldn't find any connection to the Cheongpung Group in our investigation either. If it weren't for Moon Tae-beom I wouldn't have noticed either."
At the mention of Moon Tae-beom's name Grandfather looked at me with interested eyes demanding an explanation.
"So how on earth did you find out about that guy?"
Of course I couldn't tell the truth.
I made up an excuse.
"It seems he was acquainted with Boss Park in Busan. That's how I found out."
"Hah… You really never know about people. To think we'd get help from a gangster."
"He's a decent person. I've known him since I was young and he's never made a mistake with any task given to him. He's too kind for a gangster which is a flaw but it could also be seen as a strength."
Grandfather who had been nodding soon leaned back on the sofa.
"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"These days my body is…"
"You should go to the hospital."
"Yes I've already made an appointment for next week."
"Rest. I'll be going now."
I greeted him and went outside.
Chief Ha who was standing outside the door bowed his head when he saw me.
"Grandfather's health seems to be getting worse. Please keep an eye on him Chief."
"I understand."
A few days passed.
In the end one action squad leader and ten members from Park Dong-su's faction took the fall and turned themselves in.
The Baekho faction did something similar. There were too many witnesses to cover it up forcefully.
"Everything has been taken care of."
As always I was sitting on the bed listening to Manager Ma's report who stood straight.
"Boss Shin barely knew anything. He said they always contacted him and he wasn't told what to do. Even for this incident he said he only received instructions to connect Moon Tae-beom with the boss."
"Hmm…"
"I think they might have been preparing for after the Chairman's passing. No matter how close Shin Seong-il got to the Chairman he couldn't act without going through Chief Ha."
My thoughts were similar.
No matter how close Shin Seong-il became it was quite well-known that Grandfather didn't trust people.
How could the Cheongpung Group not know this fact?
"Oh Gil-seok was in charge of guarding Moon Tae-beom. He was always nearby but when we suddenly barged in he seems to have rushed over without thinking."
"To think the right-hand man of the boss of Gangnam's largest organization was just sitting around guarding a Japanese gang's action squad leader."
I clicked my tongue in disbelief.
It wasn't even the Yamaguchi-gumi boss but just guarding the action squad leader of a subordinate organization.
This clearly showed who held the upper hand in their relationship.
"Is there anything else?"
"No he said he was only told to protect Moon Tae-beom."
"Package it up nicely and throw it in front of a big nightclub in Gangnam. It's Baekho faction territory so they'll pick it up themselves."
"Understood."
The conversation moved on to Moon Tae-beom.
This is the important part.
"The boss's words worked well he told us everything willingly."
Yes dying by my hand would have been much better for Moon Tae-beom.
At least then his family in Japan would be safe.
But if I let him go like this and then subtly leaked some of the information I knew Moon Tae-beom himself and even his family would face a harsh fate.
"They were trying to work on the Korean private loan market but because of the Chairman they couldn't properly build up their strength. Only recently did Moon Tae-beom enter first to slowly prepare to establish a foothold."
This was information I already knew.
"But suddenly they got a call from Japan and received orders to approach the boss through Boss Shin's introduction. They said they'd give further orders after the approach."
And this is the changed future.
Their course of action changed due to my actions.
"The boss said to definitely gain trust and kill if the order comes."
Well they must be quite frustrated that things didn't go as they wanted.
I slightly raised the corner of my mouth.
This was perhaps an opportunity.
An opportunity to create a connection point with the Cheongpung Group whose tail had been hard to catch.
"He said the plan changed urgently after Chairman Cheon was driven abroad. He doesn't seem to know much about the plans after eliminating the boss."
It could have crumbled futilely again if I wasn't careful.
I wouldn't have had any reason to keep Moon Tae-beom by my side but I hadn't been suspicious of Boss Shin who seemed to be loyally serving Grandfather without wavering.
"Sigh…"
At the sound of my sigh Manager Ma bowed his head.
"It seems necessary to increase the number of personnel for the boss's security as well."
"…It's inconvenient."
"Even if we move together in a different car we need to increase the number of personnel."
Manager Ma spoke as if he absolutely wouldn't yield.
"I'm not easily taken down either. You're enough Manager Ma."
"Please boss."
If he goes that far there's no helping it.
I nodded with a sigh.
"But only you can be close. The others should support from the perimeter."
"Thank you boss."
"Were any of our men hurt?"
"No one was seriously injured so it's fine."
I nodded slightly.
"Alright you may go. Ah and please relay this to Chief Ha so he can report to the Chairman."
"Yes."
After Manager Ma left I was lost in thought.
"To think they'd already make moves to eliminate me."
I needed to investigate the situation in Japan more.
I was thinking of finding forces that might be hostile to the Yamaguchi-gumi and using them if possible.
I had no intention of just sitting still.
If you give an inch they'll take a mile.
In the end Oh Gil-seok ended up with one arm and one leg in an irreparable state and was thrown into Baekho faction territory.
Shin Seong-il and Moon Tae-beom weren't reported to me but they were probably somewhere in the waters off Incheon.
The cold winter was now in its final stages.
In Japan the Kobe earthquake occurred causing insurance companies that had invested in dollars to recall funds invested overseas to pay insurance claims strengthening the yen.
"Bro let's clear out the yen. Liquidate everything by the end of March and bet on its fall with a maturity around September. The volume will be large."
"Okay the profit is good this time too."
"After this investment is over there won't be any big investments for a while. Leave half in Dream and split the other half into several paper companies."
"What? Paper companies? You mean create shell companies?"
"Yeah work on it so that no one knows who the owner is. Make it as complex as possible. There should be specialists who do this kind of work. No matter how much it costs create it properly and distribute it across several legal entities in various tax havens."
"…You know this is a crime right? The moment we're caught I'll die in an American prison without ever getting out."
A stiff voice came through the receiver.
I chuckled.
"That's why don't worry about the fees and use multiple companies. That way the owner will never be known no matter how much laundering is done."
"Okay I got it. I'll start the distribution work as soon as the Japan thing is over. Oh I found the people you mentioned. Should I recruit them?"
"Keep them on standby for now."
"Sigh… Working with you every day is like a roller coaster ride seriously."
"Hahahahaha it'll be even more fun. Look forward to it."
As soon as I hung up the phone Ma Seok-dae stopped the car as if he had been waiting.
"We've arrived boss."
As I opened the car door and got out a still chilly wind blew in.
Myeong-su was set to enter the Judicial Research and Training Institute next week. Today was an appointment we'd made to have a meal together before that.
When I went inside there was someone I didn't expect to see.
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