A black van quietly came to a stop in the supermarket parking lot across from Geumsan Clinic.
"Let's see."
O Daegwon pushed up his horn-rimmed glasses and opened a clear file folder.
"One entrance, one side door. It's quiet in the morning since it's mostly appointment patients, but it gets crowded starting at lunch. Jeong Miyeong is on the second floor near the inpatient rooms. We don't have a guardian card, so the route is hallway, lobby, then front entrance, in that order."
Choe Gyeongpal, with his dumpling-like ears, chewed gum and nodded.
"Let's go in."
"Now?"
I Seonu, sitting in the driver's seat, looked at the clinic in the rearview mirror.
"There seem to be more people than before. Should we go in through the side door and just drag her out?"
O Daegwon furrowed his brow deeply.
"Do we look like gangsters, you bastard? We go through the front door. We resolve this like civilized people, with words. We follow procedure first. Get the printer ready."
As Choe Gyeongpal turned on the printer in the back, O Daegwon spoke.
"Print the warning document in this format. Make it look like a cooperation request form. Stamp it too."
"Do we really need to go through all this? It's a hassle..."
"If it looks like an official document, ordinary people quiet down."
Choe Gyeongpal looked out the window.
"The entrance is narrow. If we block it there, she won't be able to get out."
"Stand there, but absolutely do not lay a hand on Jeong Miyeong."
O Daegwon emphasized once more.
"We have to make her come voluntarily. Persuade with words, settle it with paperwork. Got it?"
The printer whirred and spat out A4 paper. I Seonu stamped it with a red seal.
"Manager. Shall we go like this?"
"Yes."
O Daegwon showed them his lines first. His voice was calm but forceful at the end.
"We're here to visit Ms. Jeong Miyeong. Let's just do a brief check with a staff member present. We've come to resolve this amicably."
Choe Gyeongpal asked briefly.
"What if that director comes out?"
"We tell him we want to talk with official documents. Just change the location. These days, there's no need to use force."
"Yes. Understood, Manager."
Choe Gyeongpal lowered his voice.
At the afternoon treatment hours just after lunchtime, the lobby of Geumsan Clinic was peaceful.
Patients sat waiting for their appointments, and Nurse Bak Geumja and the nursing assistants were organizing charts at the reception desk.
The automatic door opened and three men entered. They wore suits but something about them was awkward, and especially the man in the lead with horn-rimmed glasses—his eyes gleamed with a cold light.
The three tried to go straight up to the second floor, but Bak Geumja called them to a stop.
"Excuse me. You there. What brings you here?"
"Us? Ah, hello. Which room is patient Jeong Miyeong in?"
O Daegwon, wearing horn-rimmed glasses, spoke politely.
Bak Geumja tensed instantly. The intuition she had developed over more than twenty years working the hospital desk kicked in.
These were not good people.
"What business do you have?"
"We've come for a customer consultation regarding a debt adjustment matter. We just need a brief check."
"Just a moment. No, don't go in; wait right there."
Bak Geumja quickly picked up the phone.
"Director, some people are here saying they've come to visit patient Jeong Miyeong."
—Understood. I'll be right there.
Director Gang Taeho happened to be out.
In the meantime, Choe Gyeongpal naturally positioned himself in front of the entrance. He didn't lay a hand on anyone, but he was definitely standing in a position that blocked the way.
O Daegwon looked around the lobby and smiled.
"We can't cause a disturbance in front of the patients. It would interfere with business here too, wouldn't it? That's our principle as well. Once we've checked on Ms. Jeong Miyeong's outstanding debt matter, we'll leave quietly."
A subtle threat.
O Daegwon unfolded the printed document and showed it.
The nursing assistants looked at each other with bewildered expressions.
Vice Director Bak Suhyeok had come out to go to the bathroom but walked over wondering what was happening.
"What's going on here?"
"Ah, you must be the Vice Director?"
O Daegwon greeted him politely.
"We've come to visit patient Jeong Miyeong regarding a debt adjustment. We won't interfere with your business. We just need to talk for a moment and then we'll leave."
The ends of Bak Suhyeok's eyebrows rose.
"What, debt? You can't see the patient now. She's in the middle of treatment."
"Then we'll just record it as a refusal by the guardian."
I Seonu snickered.
"If it comes to this, we'll have no choice but to use other methods..."
Bak Suhyeok's face hardened. Their tone was polite, but the threat contained within was unmistakable.
"Do these people know where they are!"
Bak Suhyeok blocked the way, thrusting his round belly forward.
O Daegwon smiled with a look of contempt.
"No matter how much of a doctor you are, it would be difficult to block our legitimate exercise of rights like this, wouldn't it?"
As O Daegwon pushed his chest forward, Bak Suhyeok was pushed back.
Just then, sirens wailed and two police cars arrived in front of the clinic. They had come in response to Bak Geumja's report.
A police officer entered.
"We received a report. Please explain what's happening."
"Those people are demanding to see a hospitalized patient and threatening us."
Nurse Bak Geumja spoke first.
O Daegwon responded calmly.
"Officer, we are employees of a registered moneylending company."
He presented his identification card and company registration certificate.
"We are engaged in lawful collection activities in accordance with Article 8 of the Act on the Regulation of Collection of Claims."
The police officer checked the documents. The moneylending business registration, employee ID, and debt assignment certificates were all in order.
"You haven't used physical coercion or threats, correct?"
"Of course. We are strictly adhering to the debt collection business guidelines. It was the hospital side that was using physical coercion, wasn't it, Vice Director?"
As O Daegwon smirked and met his eyes, Bak Suhyeok's face flushed red and pale.
O Daegwon added further explanation.
"We requested a meeting with the debtor in accordance with the prior notice principle, and the hospital side is the one refusing."
The police officer asked according to protocol.
"Have you confirmed the debtor's own intentions?"
"That's why we're trying to meet her directly to confirm."
The mediating police officer spoke to both sides.
"Debt collection is a civil matter. However, since a hospital is a treatment facility, there is an obligation to maintain order within the medical institution."
"But the right to debt collection is also a legally guaranteed right. Article 23 of the Constitution, the property rights guarantee clause."
O Daegwon immediately rebutted.
As he directly cited a legal clause, the police officer handled it according to protocol.
"As it stands, this does not constitute a criminal case. Please seek civil mediation or a court decision."
As the officer left, he quietly spoke to Bak Geumja.
"Record everything, and if they threaten you, report it immediately. Then we can arrest them as flagrant offenders."
After the police left, O Daegwon and his companions couldn't hide their smiles of victory.
"See, we followed procedure so there's no problem, right? Our Ms. Jeong Miyeong can't avoid us. A debt is a debt."
Bak Geumja said in a voice filled with anger.
"You come here to collect money from a sick person, and you say you're not threatening the patient?"
"It's not a threat, ma'am. It's a legitimate exercise of rights."
The nursing assistants and Bak Suhyeok were all furious, but there was nothing they could do legally. It was because these men were executing perfectly calculated actions.
Just then, Taeho opened the front door and appeared. Taeho slipped past Choe Gyeongpal, who was standing in front of the door with his large build, and came inside.
"Huh, what's this?"
"What's going on?"
O Daegwon smiled as he looked at Taeho.
"Ah, you must be the Director. We've come regarding Ms. Jeong Miyeong's debt."
"That's what this is about."
Taeho nodded with a smile.
"That's perfect timing. There's someone I'd like to introduce you to."
"An introduction?"
O Daegwon and his group showed puzzled expressions.
The door opened and a large man entered.
It was Jo Eokbae, a man with a vicious, rugged face. Two subordinate employees followed behind him.
The faces of O Daegwon and his group turned pale in an instant. They had recognized Jo Eokbae.
"T-Team Leader Jo?"
O Daegwon said in a trembling voice.
"Huh?"
Jo Eokbae looked down at O Daegwon.
"You're from Gimssi Daebu? What are you bastards doing here?"
Even though they were in the same moneylending business, their levels were different. If Seongun Capital was a first-class company, Gimssi Daebu was truly a bottom-tier one.
Jo Eokbae was the special collection team leader of Seongun Capital, a core figure of the company.
"Team Leader Jo, we were just..."
"Shut your mouths!"
Jo Eokbae cut him off with a single word.
"Don't tell me you bastards were causing a scene in front of our Director?"
"Team Leader Jo, I'm sorry, but this is a separate matter. Jeong Miyeong is a debtor who signed a contract directly with us, and she's currently on the run."
As O Daegwon argued point by point, Jo Eokbae furrowed his eyes.
"What?"
"Seongun Capital also recognizes legitimate debt collection, don't you? We're also operating within legal boundaries."
O Daegwon spoke while taking a step back.
"We also have a contract signed voluntarily by Jeong Miyeong."
"Falling over yourself talking about voluntary signatures. You human-trafficking bastards..."
"Human trafficking? It was an employment contract by mutual agreement..."
"Shut up!"
Jo Eokbae's voice was as cold as ice.
"Shall we check at the police station? Should I call Detective Park at the Metropolitan Investigation Unit and ask how the investigation into the Gimssi Daebu case is going?"
O Daegwon's face turned pale in an instant.
"That's..."
Jo Eokbae signaled to his subordinates.
"Put these guys in their car. Escort them to Seoul."
"Team Leader Jo, we..."
"Shut up and follow. Our President wants to check personally."
O Daegwon's group was completely subdued. If they fell out of favor with President Ha Doyun of Seongun Capital, it would be hard to make a living in their world.
Jo Eokbae turned to Taeho and spoke.
"We will dispose of the documents for Ms. Jeong Miyeong that you mentioned."
"But..."
"But my ass."
As Jo Eokbae raised one hand as if to strike, O Daegwon immediately flinched.
"Our President's word is law. Got it? Don't ever show your face around here again. Don't approach Ms. Jeong Miyeong either."
O Daegwon's group couldn't even make a peep.
As Jo Eokbae led them out, he finally greeted Taeho.
"Director, this won't happen again. Please focus on your treatment comfortably."
"I'm indebted to Team Leader Jo. And to President Ha Doyun."
"You have no need to feel indebted. Considering that you saved my life, Director, this is nothing. Our President also said he would be glad to help Director Gang anytime."
As Jo Eokbae bowed, bending his waist in half, the subordinates behind him also bent at ninety degrees.
They exited Geumsan Clinic like an ebbing tide.
As the lobby grew quiet, Bak Suhyeok let out a sigh of relief.
"Taeho, how do you know people like that?"
"Once before, when that man collapsed from a myocardial infarction, I performed emergency treatment on him. Through that connection."
Taeho grinned.
Jeong Miyeong was crouched on the stair landing, covering her mouth with her hand, but she couldn't stop the sobs from bursting out.
"Hnng... Hngh..."
The emotions she had suppressed for the past two years poured out like a collapsing dam. When she heard their voices from the lobby, her heart had nearly stopped.
Those familiar yet spine-chilling voices. They were the sounds of nightmares that recalled the hellish times.
But the time of terror was brief; the matter was resolved in an instant.
"Now I'm truly free..."
She sank down on the stairs, covered her face with both hands, and sobbed. It was a complex mixture of joy and relief.
She no longer had to live in hiding.
She no longer had to put Ha Yul in danger.
"Ha Yul. Mom is really free now. Now I can truly be with you."
Jeong Miyeong felt a warm emotion rising from deep within her chest. It was a feeling she had long forgotten.
It was hope.