In front of a large hotel in Jangchung-dong, Seoul.
“Get the signal! Get the signal right now!!”
A shout burst from the mouth of the policeman gripping a radio.
The traffic light turned red.
But the light that had changed to red served no purpose at all.
The traffic system had already collapsed.
Once the cars began flooding in, they showed no sign of stopping, and the area in front of the hotel had turned into a massive parking lot.
Police officers had come out to control the situation, but they were hopelessly outmatched by the cars pouring in from every direction.
The front of the hotel was completely paralyzed.
The reason the entire Jangchung-dong area had fallen into such chaos—
It was because of Geunsu’s wedding.
Geunsu’s wedding was scheduled to be held at a luxury hotel in Jangchung-dong.
People coming to attend Geunsu’s wedding had hurried to the hotel from early in the morning.
Geunsu had wanted to get married as quietly as possible, so he hadn’t told many people around him.
But the rumors had already spread as far as they could.
People who heard the rumors competed to head for the wedding hall.
Everyone who wanted to get in Geunsu’s good graces, and in the Daehoonpa’s good graces, went to the venue.
Not only gangsters from all over the country, but even people from related industries flocked to the hotel.
Naturally, there was no way traffic wouldn’t be jammed.
The police had come out to control it, but it wasn’t enough.
That was when it happened.
People in black suits quietly walked out onto the road.
They came out silently and formed a human chain.
At the command of the person who seemed to be their leader, they moved in perfect order.
The suits naturally formed a line,
and forcibly split the tangled flow of traffic to create a guided lane.
For a moment, the congestion got even worse, but only briefly.
The tangled cars began to be sorted out one by one,
and the vehicles that had been unable to move started entering the hotel.
Inside the hotel as well, men in black suits controlled the cars with hand signals.
In an instant, the chaos was cleared up.
They were faster than the police, and above all, more decisive.
The disorder around Jangchung-dong settled down as if it had been a lie.
On the other hand, inside the hotel was busy with wedding preparations.
From the entrance to the wedding hall, congratulatory wreaths stretched on endlessly.
There were so many it was hard to even count them.
There were a lot of people too, but it wasn’t noisy.
Every gangster worth calling a gangster from across the country had gathered, but it was quiet.
There wasn’t even the slightest hint of trouble.
Part of it was because the Daehoonpa’s power was overwhelmingly strong,
but more than that, the message of peace the Daehoonpa had sent all along played a major role.
After expanding its influence to a certain extent, the Daehoonpa had not touched other organizations.
On the contrary, it helped other organizations establish themselves.
It organized the board.
An organization above organizations.
A conglomerate of the gangster world.
A godlike existence that governed order in the underworld.
Perhaps because of that, the gangsters were grateful to the Daehoonpa.
The old organizations were thankful that they hadn’t been struck down and absorbed,
and the newly formed gangs were thankful that they had been helped to grow.
They hadn’t signed any contract, but in their hearts, they all served the Daehoonpa as their “big brother.”
And when Geunsu, the Daehoonpa’s action captain and chief of staff, was getting married, they couldn’t just sit still because they hadn’t received an invitation.
They couldn’t congratulate him from afar.
Though they hadn’t been invited, as human beings, it was only right that they come to the wedding hall.
They sat quietly, waiting for the wedding.
In preparation for any unexpected situation, riot police were standing by outside the hotel,
and plainclothes officers were stationed inside.
The police were already on emergency standby.
But contrary to the police’s concerns, the hall was filled with excitement and blessings like any other wedding.
At last, the wedding began.
“The groom and bride will now enter.”
At the voice of the famous announcer, Geunsu and Eunseo held hands and began walking down the aisle.
In front of them, Hayul, dressed beautifully in a dress, scattered flowers as the flower girl, congratulating them on their wedding.
The large banquet hall was filled with the cheers and applause of the guests.
“Next, we will hear the officiant’s address. The officiant will be Chairman Seo Daehoon of Daeyeon Development.”
Daehoon, dressed sharply, headed to the podium to give the officiant’s address.
Daehoon took out the speech he had prepared from his pocket.
But he did not look at the prepared speech.
In a calm voice, he began his address.
“When Geunsu first asked me to officiate, I refused. It didn’t seem right for someone like me, who isn’t even married, to officiate a wedding. So I refused. But he told me it had to be me.”
It was true.
Geunsu had continued asking Daehoon to officiate.
He said that if Daehoon wouldn’t do it, he would have the wedding without an officiant.
He persuaded Daehoon, saying the only person in his life who could offer him advice was Daehoon.
After repeated persuasion, with three days left before the wedding, Daehoon reluctantly agreed.
“I thought a lot about what I should say. I even read books I normally wouldn’t.”
At Daehoon’s words, the guests laughed.
“But then I had this thought. Was Geunsu ever someone who needed advice?”
“At least in my memory, there has never been such a time.”
“I have never once doubted Geunsu. I have never once worried about anything Geunsu did.”
“This marriage is the same. I do not worry, and I do not doubt. He will do well. The Geunsu I know is that kind of man.”
“So rather than a grand formality called an officiant’s address, I want to say just one thing to him as an older brother.”
“Geunsu. Be happy!”
With those words, Daehoon stepped down from the podium.
As if moved, the guests rose to their feet and applauded.
After that, famous singers and idols came out and sang congratulatory songs.
They said the Daehoonpa had expanded its business and owned several entertainment agencies as well.
The wedding ended safely like that, and we took commemorative photos.
Because there were so many people, even taking photos took quite a while.
And finally, at Geunsu’s request, we took one separate photo.
Me, Daehoon, Geunsu and his new bride. Even Hayul.
In the photo, we were smiling brightly.
But the photographer wasn’t the only one taking pictures of us.
It seemed there was an uninvited guest back there.
*******
We put Geunsu in a car and sent him off on his honeymoon.
We even prepared a private jet for him.
I had also spoken to Hogu-hyung in China.
Our Hogu-hyung is surprisingly good at taking care of things.
There was no need to worry.
Daehoon and I left the banquet hall and went to the suite on the top floor of the hotel.
We were going to meet the Triad bastards there.
When we entered the suite, the Triad bastards were already there waiting.
One woman and two men.
“You arrived first. I’m sorry we’re late. The wedding ended later than expected.”
As soon as we entered, we apologized first.
“Not at all. It’s still before the appointed time. I simply came early. And thank you for inviting me to the wedding.”
The other side also greeted us politely.
“We’re the ones who should thank you for attending. Did you have a meal?”
“Yes. It was very delicious.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried because quite a crowd gathered.”
“I enjoyed it.”
We sat down on the sofa and introduced ourselves.
“I am Seo Daehoon of the Daehoonpa. And this is Alex, who will be in charge of this matter.”
“Hello. I’m Alex.”
“Pleasure to meet you. I am Mao Qin of Zhonglian Tongda Trading Co., Ltd.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“It is an honor to meet you as well.”
After a simple exchange of greetings, we went straight to the main subject.
“You said there was a product you wanted to distribute?”
“That’s right.”
Mao Qin took D-Sand out of her bag.
“This is it.”
I once again examined the candy Mao Qin handed over with close attention.
It was definitely D-Sand.
I had wondered if it might possibly be A-Sand, but it was definitely D-Sand.
The crude workmanship made it unmistakably D-Sand.
If A-Sand were made like this, someone would be dragged away immediately.
That was how poor its condition was.
Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, she was extremely confident in the product.
“You’ve probably heard of A-Sand. It’s a candy that’s caused a sensation in China right now. It’s not only good for recovering from fatigue and improving concentration, but it’s also said to provide new inspiration and psychological stability, so it’s wildly popular in China. Chinese people stockpile it and eat it. It sells so much that people can’t buy it because there isn’t enough. Hoho.”
At Mao Qin’s words, we nodded as if we knew nothing.
“Really?”
“We’ve heard the name A-Sand too.”
“So this is A-Sand.”
This bitch was starting to scam us.
Anyone could see it was D-Sand, but she was deceiving us by calling it A-Sand.
But we pretended not to know anything and let ourselves be fooled.
Perhaps our dim-witted acting worked, because Mao Qin became even more excited and began talking.
“The Chinese authorities classified this as a nationally important technology, so it can’t be taken out of the country. Not even one piece of this candy can leave China. But since we have a deep relationship with the Chinese authorities, we have been able to distribute a certain amount. I’m offering that opportunity to you, Chairman.”
“Aha… I see.”
A deep relationship?
Could it be deeper than mine?
There were too many things to refute in what Mao Qin was saying, but I simply listened in silence.
Now was not the time to refute her.
Rather, it was the time to hear more.
We kept nodding and listened attentively to Mao Qin’s words.
As if we were extremely interested.
Let’s see how far she goes.
“So this is the A-Sand that’s wildly popular in China?”
“Yes, that’s right. Since it can’t be taken out of the country, people even come in from overseas just to eat it. Starting with artists, writers, scholars, and even business executives.”
Mao Qin spoke proudly.
“I think I saw it on the news too. That China’s tourism industry has grown tremendously.”
“That’s right. It’s all because of this A-Sand. If you just distribute this, you’ll probably become chaebols in no time. Hohoho.”
“But how were you able to distribute A-Sand when it can’t be taken out of the country?”
I already knew they were making fakes and selling them, but I asked as if I knew nothing.
“Uh… let’s say that part is a trade secret. We’ve been able to bring it in through our own route.”
Mao Qin answered with an awkward smile.
“Then what would the price be?”
“To be honest, this sells for 5 yuan, about 1,000 won, in China. I’d like to match the Chinese price for you, but the Chinese authorities provide it at that price with almost no margin for the welfare of the people. Since we need to cover distribution costs and make some profit… we’ll give it to you for 8 yuan, about 1,700 won, per piece. Add whatever margin you want and sell it.”
After hearing Mao Qin’s explanation, Daehoon naturally looked at me and asked,
“If we receive it at two thousand won, how much should we sell it for?”
“If it comes in at two thousand won, we should charge twenty thousand won each.”
I answered Daehoon politely.
Right now, I was playing the role of someone assisting Daehoon with his work.
No one speaks casually to the boss of an organization.
“Shouldn’t we charge more? I think we could even get fifty thousand won.”
“If the effect is good, we could charge not fifty thousand, but five hundred thousand won. But right now, we don’t know the effect of this drug. We’ll have to see how things go.”
At our conversation, Mao Qin’s eyes went round.
Seeing people who would take the D-Sand she handed over for two thousand won and inflate the price tenfold, twentyfold, no, two hundredfold before selling it, greed seemed to rise in her heart as well.
She must have thought she could make money just by handing it over to us.
Greed flickered in her eyes.
“If you sign a contract, you won’t regret it.”
Mao Qin spoke with certainty.
“But there’s something I’m curious about.”
I asked Mao Qin.
“Yes. Please ask anything.”
“If it’s such a popular product in China, something people can’t buy because there isn’t enough, why did you contact us instead of a major corporation? If you distributed it through a major corporation, wouldn’t distribution be much faster and more stable?”
At my question, Mao Qin answered naturally, as if she had prepared for it.
“I hinted at it earlier. We have a deep relationship with the Chinese authorities, and A-Sand is banned from being taken overseas.”
“Aha. I see what you mean. So it’s goods that were diverted out the back door?”
“I will refrain from commenting on that part.”
“Because it’s diverted goods, you can’t distribute it officially, and you want to release it into the back alleys through us? That’s a pretty good idea.”
“We also consider it an honor to have this meeting with the Daehoonpa. Isn’t the Daehoonpa the greatest organization in South Korea? We believed you would surely be able to distribute it brilliantly. The organization we most wanted as our partner was none other than the Daehoonpa.”
“Thank you for viewing us favorably. Then how much volume would we be able to receive?”
“Volume… How much do you need?”
“To be honest, I’m not really sure.”
“Pardon?”
“We don’t have any experience distributing something like this, so we don’t really have a sense of how much we’d need.”
“That can happen. But once you try the medicine, you’ll understand. Why it’s so popular.”
Has this bitch lost her mind?
She’s not just trying to sell drugs now, she’s trying to make us take them.
“For now, we don’t have any certainty.”
“Pardon?”
“I understand that it’s popular in China. But there’s no guarantee it’ll be popular in Korea too.”
“That’s true, isn’t it?”
“If you could give us some samples, we’ll gauge the market response.”
“Samples?”
“Koreans and Chinese people have very different tastes. If this happens to fit, that would be great, but there are plenty of things that don’t… Would it be all right if we released some samples first, checked the response, and then decided on the volume?”
“It’s not something you eat for the taste… I told you the effect is certain.”
“In any case, it’s candy. How it feels when it goes into your mouth is important. Honestly, fatigue recovery products are all pretty much the same.”
Mao Qin felt a little frustrated.
This wasn’t just candy.
There was a reason they were charging this kind of price for it…
But she couldn’t say that.
The Daehoon Faction in front of her were people who blocked anything that was a drug, no matter what.
She couldn’t tell people like that that this was a drug.
She had to keep calling it a fatigue recovery product, just as she had at first.
And if so, giving samples was, in a way, only natural for a trading company.
They had to see the market response.
“Then we’ll give you 3,000 as samples.”
Mao Qin spoke as if she had made a major decision.
“Pardon? 3,000? Are you giving us one serving? Is this a tasting booth?”
“What did you say?”
“Aren’t you looking down on our Daehoon Faction too much? If we distribute it, it immediately goes nationwide, and you’re saying 3,000? Even if we hand it out to just ten establishments, that’s only 300 per place.”
“That’s…”
“We need to test it systematically before buying too, don’t we? Isn’t that right? Team Leader, wouldn’t you do the same? Would you just buy something unconditionally because the person selling it told you to?”
“That’s true. Then? How much do you need?”
“If we’re going to test it nationwide, I think we’ll need one million.”
“Pardon? One million?”
“That’s the minimum. In my heart, I’d like to ask for more than ten million, but we want to do business on good terms too, so we’re only asking for exactly ten percent of what we had in mind.”
“That won’t do. One million? Absolutely not.”
“Then how many can you do? Think about it. I’m saying we’re going to spread it nationwide. If we only get a few thousand or a few tens of thousands, we can’t conduct a proper test. Are we supposed to hand out five to each establishment? People are sitting at the same table, and some eat it while others don’t? Some places get it and some don’t? Do we divide it by region? Team Leader, you’re not the kind of person to discriminate by region, are you?”
“……”
“Let’s do one million. To test it in our country, we need at least one million.”
“Mm…”
After pondering, Mao Qin answered.
“To be honest, one million is 1.7 billion won. That’s a burdensome amount to hand out as samples.”
“I understand.”
“Then?”
“We’re cautious people. I don’t think we can recklessly purchase a product that hasn’t even been field-tested just because it’s popular in China. I’m sorry, after you came all this way.”
“No… Don’t do that. How about we talk and adjust the conditions a little?”
“We thought one million was an appropriate number in our own way, but our opinions differ too greatly. I don’t think the gap between one million and 3,000 can be narrowed.”
“We’ll increase it a little more.”
“That won’t be one million, will it?”
“One million is a bit…”
“That’s why we’re giving up.”
“Pardon?”
“You said you were confident in the product. You said it was a hit in China. Then it’s going to sell an incredible amount from now on. Why are you agonizing over that? You people will become chaebol in no time too. If anything, shouldn’t you be putting it forward with even more confidence? Seeing you hesitate, Team Leader, makes me think it must not be that effective. It makes me think that’s why you keep pulling back.”
Only then did Mao Qin realize she had been too defensive.
Because the Triad’s situation was not good, all she had been thinking about was making money quickly.
One million.
Just hearing the number was staggering.
Giving something like that away for free?
For the Triad, which was in a bad situation, it would be a bit of a blow.
However.
In order to establish themselves on Korean soil, it was necessary.
They said 1.7 billion won.
But by cost price, it was far less than that.
And it felt like they would have to invest at least this much
to be able to gain a foothold in Korea.
Soon, Mao Qin made her decision.
“One million. We’ll give them to you.”
“You’ve made the right choice. We’ll do our utmost to distribute them.”
We clasped each other’s hands.
Then Daehoon and I left the suite.
.
.
.
After everyone had left, Mao Qin and her group remained behind.
Mao Qin asked,
“Feels like they fell for it, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. They seemed to have no idea at all that we’re the Triad.”
“They looked like they completely believed we were Zhonglian Tongda Trading Co., Ltd.”
“I think it helped that we only stayed in Chinatown.”
“That’s right. They don’t know our faces.”
“But are you really going to give them one million?”
“We have to.”
“Isn’t that too many?”
“Think about it. We need to spread it all across Korea. How are we supposed to market it without giving them that much?”
“That is true.”
“And if you calculate it by cost price, it’s not that large an amount.”
“Understood.”
“Hahaha. I’m in a good mood.”
“You worked hard.”
“I wonder if the Daehoon Faction knows.”
“What do you mean?”
“That they’ll be distributing, with their own hands, the very drug they tried so hard to lock down. Hahahaha.”