Seoul.
Unity Village.
We had been busy since early morning.
Today, guests were scheduled to arrive at Unity Village.
Unity Village was well maintained even on ordinary days, but today we paid extra attention.
The landscaping team tidied the flower beds, and the window glass was wiped again.
Even the smallest specks of dust on the terrace were wiped away.
Unity Village was maintained daily by a hotel room cleaning team with over twenty years of experience.
The security team was equally busy.
They re-checked all entry and exit logs and verified today’s guests.
They inspected the external communication network and checked the CCTV.
Security agents were checking movement routes at intervals.
The first to arrive was Daehun.
“You’re here?”
“It’s been a while.”
I greeted Daehun lightly,
and Daehun extended his fist as he looked at me.
I lightly bumped his fist.
“Good to see your face after so long.”
“Right. Hasn’t it been too long? Why have you been so busy?”
“No. I had some business in Japan, so I stayed there for a while.”
“What business?”
Daehun asked, but I couldn’t tell him the truth.
It was hard to say I had been busy paralyzing Japan’s logistics and destroying the Seiwakai.
I wanted to prevent any sparks from flying at Daehun, no matter how slight the chance.
The fewer people who knew about this kind of thing, the better.
“Just this and that?”
“Ah. What is it? Why won’t you tell me quickly?”
“By the way, aren’t you going to move in here?”
“What, why are you changing the subject?”
“I gave you a unit here, so you should come live in it. Geunsu moved out, so it’s lonely. Come live here. I’m bored too.”
“I want to, but it’s a bit scary every time I come here.”
“Heh, what’s scary?”
“The security is so tight. It feels like someone is watching. Like I shouldn’t do anything wrong. I can’t even smoke here. It makes me unnecessarily cautious.”
“Enough, come live here. Let’s see each other more often.”
“I’ll see, I’ll stop by often.”
“Okay.”
As I was chatting idly with Daehun, the radio buzzed.
“Boss, Chairman Dumansik of the Samhap Association has arrived.”
“Yeah. Let him in.”
A short while later.
“It has been a while. Dumansik greets you.”
Dumansik entered and bowed respectfully.
Even so, his eyes were busy looking around.
This place didn’t seem to be just a high-end residential area.
CCTV cameras hidden everywhere.
Security personnel standing casually but looking far from ordinary.
Slightly different window angles.
He seemed to quickly grasp that this wasn’t a simple townhouse.
It was a massive fortress, and a trap with no exit.
The belief that this place would be safe no matter what happened,
and the contradictory feeling that one could die from even a small mistake.
It was quiet, yet more oppressive.
Dumansik seemed slightly flustered as he smoothed his gleaming head.
His signature hairless body remained the same.
No, it seemed even more gleaming.
Did he wax?
But he seemed to have an aura to match.
As they say, does the seat make the man?
He looked completely different from when he first became chairman of the Samhap Association.
It was the same face, but the depth had changed.
Dumansik briefly reported on the Samhap Association’s current situation.
As I listened, a radio call came that Kurokawa had arrived.
“Kurokawa? Who is Kurokawa?”
I was familiar with him, but it was Dumansik’s first time.
Daehun had only seen Kurokawa when we first went to Japan, and he had been prickly.
“Kurokawa? That yakuza Kurokawa?”
“Yeah.”
“Why is Kurokawa coming here?”
“It’s nothing much. I just called him to have a meal together.”
“You called him all the way from Japan just to eat?”
“You know I called you all the time when I was in the Philippines, too.”
“Still, though…”
“He’s here.”
Kurokawa, dressed in a suit for once after taking off his work clothes, looked quite dashing.
Kurokawa looked around throughout his entrance.
He was no different from Dumansik.
He seemed surprised and slightly tense.
He seemed to instinctively feel the oppressive pressure of this space.
Kurokawa entered and greeted lightly.
He didn’t bow his head, but his greeting was not light.
It was a small greeting, but held deep respect.
And so, at Unity Village, Korean gangsters, Japanese yakuza, and Asia’s Samhap Association were gathered in one place.
And the person who appeared last.
“Sorry, am I late?”
It was Sandro.
Sandro, who held the Philippines in his grasp.
Confirming that Sandro had arrived too, I grinned and spoke.
“Everyone’s here. Shall we eat now?”
We all gathered together and started grilling meat.
Today’s menu was samgyeopsal.
Charcoal was lit, and the meat went on.
*Sizzle—*
Fat dripped, and weak flames sparked.
In the acrid smoke, a savory scent mixed together.
Mushrooms and garlic went on together.
“Shall we go with somaek today?”
“Sounds good.”
Daehun started mixing somaek.
He poured beer over some properly portioned soju and sprayed it like a water gun to make somaek.
Daehun’s hand movements were almost at the level of a somaek auntie.
In the meantime, I grilled the meat.
Dumansik offered to grill, but I was good at grilling meat.
I didn’t know how much meat I had grilled during my days as a guide.
When going on hopping tours, I would often grill the meat.
When I flipped the meat, samgyeopsal with grill marks from the Maillard reaction was visible.
The meat juice glistened.
Dipped in ssamjang and eaten with garlic in one bite, it was pure bliss.
“Oh. Hyung-nim, it’s really delicious.”
Dumansik, who wasn’t the youngest but was filling that role, exclaimed in admiration.
Kurokawa also had a surprised expression.
Sandro had eaten it many times, but perhaps because it had been a while, he ate deliciously.
Besides samgyeopsal, beef, shrimp, and various seafood were served, but as expected, samgyeopsal was the most popular.
“This is the menu I ate here with President Gim Minsu and Wei Zhonglin.”
“Yes?”
I took out my phone and showed them a photo.
There was a photo of me, President Gim Minsu, and Chairman Wei Zhonglin with our arms around each other in good spirits.
In front of us, samgyeopsal was being grilled.
Dumansik and Kurokawa were shocked to see it.
Daehun and Sandro were just as surprised.
“I knew Hyung-nim was amazing, but I didn’t know you were to this extent.”
Dumansik spoke while seeming to think of something.
“Then was Chairman Wei Zhonglin’s sudden announcement last time because of this?”
After eating meat with us, Wei Zhonglin had declared Korea an ‘eternal friend’ and warned that ‘to ignore Korea is no different from ignoring China.’
I nodded slightly.
Dumansik’s mouth hung open.
Meanwhile, Kurokawa, watching this situation, felt puzzled.
Even while holding such immense power.
Even with tremendous wealth, he didn’t try to reign over them,
Could there be a person who placed his shoulder alongside theirs and said let’s walk together?
Calling them one family,
this man who accepted tribute, disliked being called boss, but said he would help when things were difficult.
Could Kurokawa have acted like Alex if he had everything?
He shook his head.
Absolutely not.
That man was young, but he was great and magnificent.
How could one not serve him?
Kurokawa barely held back tears that threatened to burst forth.
And so, the Second Samgyeopsal Summit began at Unity Village.
If the first was a summit between heads of state,
the second was an Asian black market summit gathering yakuza, the Samhap Association, the Sandro Group, and gangsters.
Somaek went around, and as we chatted lightly, deeper conversations gradually began.
They started revealing their inner thoughts.
“Hyung-nim. No matter how much I think about it, I think we need to reorganize the management system. With organizations across all of Southeast Asia, management is difficult. I can’t trust the personnel, either.”
Dumansik was the first.
“We’re the same. We changed into waste disposal company uniforms, but we still can’t lay a foundation. It’s such a good time to expand now, but ships are too hard to acquire. And it’s all because of whom.”
Kurokawa said this while glancing at me.
Because I had messed up Japan’s logistics, it was now too hard to acquire ships.
“We’re growing in scale, too, but as the unit of money grows, laundering becomes difficult.”
Sandro said.
“Doesn’t Aena handle that?”
“Aena was already struggling with your money processing, wasn’t she? Compared to what you earn, we’re a hole-in-the-wall store? No, just at the level of begging.”
Sandro let out a short laugh.
“We’re worried because we lack manpower. There are swarms of guys who can push pens, but no one to grind with their bodies on site. That’s the worry.”
They all looked good on the outside, but they were harboring various problems.
They were growing pains that any organization experiences as it grows.
But as I listened to them, I thought differently.
I thought they could be solved if they cooperated.
I thought Dumansik’s worries could be solved by asking the rebel army.
The rebel army is the best at controlling personnel and training them.
Once they’re enlisted, they make sure you learn the basics.
They also build mental strength.
If they teach Korean on top of that?
Daehun’s worry of having no one to grind alongside him on the ground is also solved.
They would gain excellent personnel.
Then Dumansik and Daehun’s worries would all be solved.
And Kurokawa’s worry was even easier.
Using Jason the smuggler would solve it immediately.
Sandro could also solve it sufficiently by utilizing the yakuza.
Unlike the Philippines, Japan’s economy was large, so the scale of money it could handle was completely different.
Money laundering was possible.
Using Jason, they could create evidence that goods had moved back and forth by sending and receiving goods with each other.
Looking at it, these were all problems solvable right here.
They had merely spoken of each other’s difficulties, yet solutions came out immediately.
“Wow~ we just talked, and it’s solved immediately? Hahaha.”
Dumansik spoke, truly in a good mood.
“Right. I wish we could meet often like this, eat, and talk.”
“That would be nice.”
Everyone agreed.
We decided to call this the ‘Unity Union.’
But everyone except me called this organization the ‘Alex Group.’
********
At that time, Singapore.
The moment Gaebin’s call ended,
the office of an ordinary-looking trading company near Singapore’s Raffles Place instantly became busy.
Outwardly, it was a trading company handling Southeast Asian agricultural products,
but opening the security door revealed a completely different world.
The entire wall was covered with monitors.
Numerous people focused on their monitors, tapping keyboards.
This was both Parallax’s Singapore branch and a cover office in charge of intelligence gathering and special operations in the Asian region.
Victor, the leader of the Singapore team, gave orders immediately after receiving Gaebin’s call.
“Intelligence analysis team, look into something called ‘Phantom Grid’ immediately.”
“Check whether it’s real or just a bunch of scammer bastards.”
“Find out when and where the Phantom Grid demonstration is being held.”
“Hacking team, check where their servers are first.”
“Check if hacking is possible, and if it is, extract it immediately.”
“Dennis, start marking him 24/7 from now.”
“Check everything: which hotel he’s staying at, which restaurants he’s gone to, what card he’s using.”
“Pull CCTV and secure his entire movement route.”
At Victor’s command, agents moved in unison.
.
.
.
Thirty minutes later, reports began arriving one by one.
“No data related to Phantom Grid.”
“Server location cannot be found.”
“The demonstration is not confirmed, either.”
“The target is dining at Marina Bay Sands.”
“The target’s device has a satellite security link and is inaccessible. However, we have captured a backdoor signal being transmitted from Zamboanga, Philippines. That appears to be their main base.”
“Where? Zamboanga?”
“Yes. Zamboanga.”
“Hmm…”
Victor crossed his arms and pondered.
Zamboanga, where rugged jungles and rebel forces swarmed.
It was not an easy place even for Parallax.
But Victor was not one to give up on a captured signal.
“Find the signal’s point of origin. Specify it enough to be strikeable. And send the retrieval team to the site immediately.”
“Yes.”
“Go and retrieve only the technical data, destroy the rest. Erase it cleanly, make it impossible for forensics.”
“That’s what the retrieval team does best. They’ll probably handle it cleanly.”
.
.
.
Unlike Victor, who commanded the operation amid tension,
Dennis was dining leisurely at Marina Bay Sands.
While on a call.
“They’re coming, I told you.”
“Still, it’s Parallax. Would they really act so petty? They’re not thugs.”
Shin Junggi’s voice came through the phone.
“Those who have it all act even worse.”
Dennis smirked at Shin Junggi’s words.
“If they show up as you say… they’ll die.”
This was a bet between just the two of them.
Shin Junggi, who said they would definitely come to steal Phantom Grid upon seeing it,
and Dennis, who said surely a big shot like Parallax wouldn’t come out so despicably.
If Dennis lost, for one month he would buy Shin Junggi’s iced chocolate,
and if Shin Junggi lost, he would treat him to unlimited beer.
So they sent a fake signal using Phantom Grid.
It was bait.
Hundreds of tons of explosives, not servers, were installed in the abandoned factory.
To handle any survivors, rebel forces were also waiting nearby.
Early the next morning.
Parallax’s retrieval team arrived at the signal’s point of origin.
The moment the retrieval team confirmed there were no danger factors and kicked down the steel door to enter,
what they found was not server racks, but the timer of a detonation device flashing red.
There was no time to escape.
*Rumble boom boom!!!*
A thunderous roar engulfed the abandoned factory.
Parallax’s vaunted retrieval team disappeared along with the factory.
There was not a single survivor.