I got a burner phone.
And a voice changer that could conceal my voice.
“Chairman Yoon Gi-hwan?”
- Who is this?
“Santa?”
- I have no hobby of taking prank calls... I’m hanging up.
“Wait a minute... You’re awfully impatient. I’m someone giving you what you need, so I guess I am Santa.”
- Do you know what I need?
“You need drugs, don’t you?”
- Drugs?
- It isn’t Christmas, but I left a present for you. I left it at the hotel lobby, so go pick it up. We’ll discuss the deal afterward.
Yoon Gi-hwan immediately sent someone to retrieve the item from the lobby.
“How is it?”
“It’s the highest quality. It’s so rare to see this level of quality domestically. If we can keep getting a supply of this stuff, going nationwide won’t be a dream.”
Top-grade drugs.
To Yoon Gi-hwan, who desperately wanted to break out of Gunsan and go nationwide, they were a lifeline.
He had to seize this opportunity, no matter what.
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- I’ve confirmed it. We’ll discuss the details in person.
“I’m a hikikomori. I can’t leave the house.”
- I’ll come to you.
“I was saying I don’t want to meet you, just in a roundabout way. I guess I wasn’t clear enough. You really don’t understand, do you?”
- Ahem. How did you know I was looking for drugs?
“How did I know? You’ve been advertising it everywhere. You’ve been poking around all over the place. The rumor’s already spread.”
- So how do you intend to conduct the deal?
“How much do you want to buy?”
- One kilogram to start?
“Your guts are pretty small. Well, it’s your first deal, so I’ll understand. Once the money is deposited, I’ll leave it at the hotel.”
- That won’t do.
“Why?”
- I don’t know if you’ll take the money and run. I know nothing about you.
“Ah. I suppose that’s possible. I’m a deeply devout person, so I don’t tend to suspect others, but I can understand why you might. Fine. Then there’s no deal.”
- No, we can just meet and make the exchange. Why make things so difficult?
“Who’s making things difficult? Aren’t you the one complicating things? We could just make the exchange, but you insist on seeing each other and making it complicated. I give you the drugs, you give me the money. How much cleaner can it get?”
- I don’t think that will work. I don’t give money first.
“I’ve already shown you goodwill, but you’re filled with nothing but suspicion. Fine. I still have to accommodate my customer, I suppose. See how kind I am? Let’s meet. We’ll meet, but I’ll send a representative too. That’s all right, isn’t it? I told you—I’m a hikikomori.”
- I don’t care who comes. As long as I can verify the goods on-site.
“Good. I’ll send you the time and place.
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I chose Daehoon as my representative.
In truth, he was the only person who could handle things in my place,
and he was also the last uncontaminated area untouched by the Geumho faction’s influence.
That didn’t mean I would tell Daehoon that I was smuggling drugs.
I wanted to keep that hidden from everyone.
That was why I lived as Candy Boy and Alex.
It was also why I never met people in person when making deals, instead using hotels or unmanned lockers.
And there was another reason I chose Daehoon as my drug-trade representative.
I needed to know the extent of Daehoon’s abilities.
Whether he had the capability to properly complete the task he was given.
Whether he could respond appropriately when a crisis arose.
Whether he could finish an operation without being consumed by his emotions.
If he performed well, he would grow into a partner,
and if he didn’t, things would end with me assigning him online site operations.
Daehoon didn’t know it,
but this was a process I absolutely needed.
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Daehoon received a small box from an errand-center employee riding a motorcycle.
The box contained one kilogram of drugs.
He only had to hand it over and return with 90 million won in cash.
Easy.
But there was always such a thing as an unexpected variable.
He had a knife tucked into the back of his waistband.
The wound from being stabbed last time had nearly healed, but he still felt a slight pain there.
It was uncomfortable and unsettling.
Still, he wasn’t alone this time.
Geunsu was accompanying him.
They drove to a small café in downtown Gunsan.
When Daehoon entered the café, he saw a face he never wanted to see.
Jo Dong-jin, who had beaten and tormented Daehoon every day at the orphanage, was sitting there.
Daehoon knew Jo Dong-jin was with the Geumho faction, but this was the first time he had seen his face.
Along with the rage that made him want to kill him, memories of being brutally beaten came flooding back, bringing with them a trace of fear.
But this was just business.
He only had to hand over the goods and return with the money.
He suppressed his unease.
It was an easy job. It was nothing. He just had to act naturally. There was nothing wrong.
Repeating those resolutions to himself, he walked over to the table where Jo Dong-jin sat and took a seat.
Jo Dong-jin was sitting alone at the table, but several men who looked like members of the Geumho faction were seated behind him.
There were probably a few more outside as well.
“Oh—who do we have here? Isn’t this Seo Daehoon? Fuck, it’s damn good to see you.”
“Enough. Let’s get down to business.”
Seo Daehoon answered curtly.
“We haven’t seen each other in ages. Why are you being so stiff? And you see your older brother, but you don’t even say hello?”
“We’re not exactly close enough to greet each other with smiles, are we?”
“Heh heh. You little fucker. You’re still sulking because I smacked you around a few times when you were young? If your body’s grown, your head should’ve grown with it. What use is a man who’s so petty?”
“I’ll take care of my own concerns, so let’s get to work. I guess the Geumho faction pays you even when you don’t work and just sit around chatting in a café. We’ll have to grow as big as the Geumho faction before we can get paid to loaf around too.”
“Ha ha ha! You think I came here to loaf around? I came here to work.”
“Then let’s work. Shut that mouth of yours for a while.”
Daehoon’s words hardened Jo Dong-jin’s expression.
He had still been thinking of the Seo Daehoon from high school, but it seemed he had realized that something about him had changed.
“You fucking bastard. I’ll deal with you later.”
“Ah! You talk too damn much. Aren’t you going to work? Are you planning to set up house here?”
“Fuck. Fine, let’s do it. Show me the goods first.”
“Why are you acting like this? Money first.”
Jo Dong-jin glanced irritably behind him and spoke under his breath.
“Bring the bag.”
When one of the men sitting behind him brought over a small bag and handed it to Jo Dong-jin,
Jo Dong-jin pushed the bag across the table toward Daehoon.
“Count it.”
“It should be right. You’re not too stupid to count, are you?”
Daehoon spoke without even checking the bag.
But apparently Geunsu, sitting beside him, thought differently.
He opened the bag and checked the money.
Geunsu nodded.
“You picked up a real shitty way of talking while I wasn’t looking.”
“I learned it from some fucking moron at the orphanage. The art of talking like shit.”
“Ha ha ha. You won’t be leaving here in one piece today. Take out the goods.”
Daehoon pulled out the small box he had received earlier.
“Check it.”
Jo Dong-jin took out a drug-testing kit he had prepared.
“Let’s see.”
He opened the package and inspected the drugs.
After confirming with the testing kit that they were drugs, Dong-jin broke into a broad grin.
“Kid, your stuff is the real deal.”
“We’re not somewhere that pays you to loaf around. You have to do your job properly.”
As Daehoon began to stand,
“You leaving already? We haven’t seen each other in ages. Have a shot of soju before you go. Your big brother will buy. Let’s get some sashimi too.”
“I’m busy. Eat plenty of sashimi by yourself. Buy some for the younger guys too.”
“You’ve got to be unpleasant right to the end.”
“I’m leaving. Let’s never run into each other again.”
“Hey!”
Jo Dong-jin called after Daehoon.
“Don’t get cocky. Live humbly. The reason we’re leaving you alone isn’t because we can’t take you down. We’re leaving you alone because we need you. But if you keep acting up, you could end up dead. Remember that.”
“Yes, yes. Live humbly like a dog under Yoon Gi-hwan for the rest of your life. I wonder if Yoon Gi-hwan gives his dogs enough chew toys. Heh heh.”
Daehoon stood and left the café.
Dong-jin watched his retreating back.
He wanted nothing more than to knock Daehoon down right then and beat him half to death,
but the chairman had ordered him to make the deal at all costs.
Beating Daehoon to a pulp would be easy,
and taking the money in his hands would be even easier,
but doing so would make them lose the hard-won supplier.
That was why he had endured Daehoon’s insults and somehow completed the deal.
He could deal with Daehoon separately later.
“Hey. Let’s go too.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Take the goods.”
One of the men behind him picked up the box containing the drugs.
The instant they exited the café, a motorcycle came flying toward them at a mad speed.
Everyone froze as if their bodies had stopped responding,
and the motorcycle snatched the box containing the drugs with perfect accuracy before speeding away.
“Hey! Get that bastard! I said catch him!”
Jo Dong-jin’s rough voice rang out, and only then did his men scramble into the car and start the engine.
But the motorcycle had already vanished.
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Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Jo Dong-jin lay face down as Yoon Gi-hwan beat him with a golf club.
The blows made a fairly dull sound, but not even a groan escaped Jo Dong-jin’s mouth.
He clenched his molars and endured it somehow.
Perhaps Yoon Gi-hwan had grown tired of beating him. He tossed the golf club aside and sat down on the sofa, putting a cigarette between his lips.
An old Zippo lighter flared to life.
“You were supposed to bring back one package of drugs. You couldn’t even do that? You lost it because you couldn’t manage that?”
“I’m sorry, Chairman.”
Jo Dong-jin had somehow ended up on his knees.
“You lost the money, and you lost the drugs too?”
“I think that bastard Seo Daehoon set us up. A motorcycle showed up the moment we came out, as if it had been waiting for us.”
“So you’re saying you’re such a brainless idiot that you couldn’t even anticipate something like that.”
“I’m sorry, Chairman.”
“The 90 million won you gave Seo Daehoon. The 90 million won worth of drugs you lost. That’s 180 million won altogether. What are you going to do about it?”
Something about the calculation seemed off, but Jo Dong-jin couldn’t make excuses.
“I’m sorry. I’ll repay it somehow.”
“How are you going to repay it? Did you forget about the interest? Has Manager Jo never worked in the capital-loan business? Do you think life’s problems can be solved just by running your mouth?”
“I’ll sell my organs if I have to.”
“Even if you sold all your organs, it wouldn’t cover it... How am I supposed to recover the money...”
At that moment, Chairman Yoon Gi-hwan’s phone rang.
“Hello, Chief Kim. What happened with the CCTV? Did you check it?”
- We confirmed that the motorcycle fell into the sea off Gunsan.
“Forget the motorcycle. What happened to the bastard riding it? Did he fall in too?”
- The rider fell in together with the motorcycle.
“Make sure you catch that bastard.”
- We’ve even deployed divers to search for him, but visibility is poor, so it may take some time.
“Chief Kim. Find him by any means necessary. Understood?”
- Yes, sir.
He hung up,
and just as he began thinking again about how to recover the money from Jo Dong-jin, the phone rang once more.
- I received the money safely. Thank you for doing business with us, customer.
“We didn’t.”
- Pardon? What do you mean? I asked our representative, and although he said your brat’s tongue was fucking filthy, he confirmed that the deal went smoothly.
“We were robbed the moment we left the café.”
- Oh my! How terrible. What a frightening thing to happen. Gunsan is dangerous. They say Korea has good public safety, but I suppose Gunsan is the exception. You’ll have to be more careful, Chairman.
“Was this your doing?”
- Why would I do something like that? I’d much rather have a regular customer.
“You’re the only one who knew where the deal was taking place—and the only one who knew about it. You’re telling me not to suspect you?”
- Why do you think I was the only one who knew? You knew too, Chairman. The people who came there to make the deal knew as well. Wouldn’t it have been more convenient for them to prepare something like this?
“What?”
- Think about it. In Gunsan, can anyone carry out a mugging without the Geumho faction’s permission? What kind of lunatic would do that? If you look at it that way, it makes more sense to say this was the Geumho faction’s own scheme, not ours. Aren’t you writing this whole scenario so you can hide the goods somewhere and then demand money from us, claiming you never received them?
“What did you just say, you little shit?”
- And since we’re on the subject, the deal ended successfully. Why are you blaming us for losing the goods? If we were carrying the money and lost it, then came to you and asked you to give us more because we’d lost it, would you?
“Th-That…”
- So let’s not waste our strength on something neither of us can get through. We should just think of it as a valuable life experience. Don’t you agree?
“Even so…”
- Don’t think about pressuring me. Just keep your own organization in line. We need to figure out where the information leaked from, don’t we?
“That’s true.”
- Then, are we going to do business again?
“Do you have more of the drugs?”
- It was only because you handled the first deal cautiously, Chairman. I can supply as much as you want.
“Then can you do three kilograms?”
- As much as you want.
“This time, I’ll go out there myself, so you come out personally too.”
- Why are you acting like this again? I told you I’m a hikikomori. I have a fear of people, so I can’t leave the house.
“Do you think I’m going to believe that?”
- Whether you believe me or not doesn’t matter. Are we doing the deal or not?
“Do it. I’m going out there myself this time.”
- Very well. Since the Chairman is coming personally this time—and since you said you lost the merchandise—I’ll give you a little discount. It’s 270 million won, but just give me 250 million. I’ll take the payment in Bitcoin.”
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[The coins have been received. Yamido Wharf. Daepung-ho at 7 p.m. I’ve put in a little present as well. Merry Christmas—Santa]
Yoon Gihwan went out personally this time so that he wouldn’t make another mistake.
He took quite a few members of the organization with him and headed for Yamido Wharf.
It had been a long time since he had gone out into the field, and he felt as though his blood was boiling again.
As the surroundings grew dark and the time hit exactly seven o’clock, a fishing boat came in as if on cue.
The name Daepung-ho was written on it.
His men went out first to meet the boat.
The person steering the boat said nothing. He merely unloaded the goods and disappeared just as he had come.
“Check it.”
At Chairman Yoon Gihwan’s command, his men stepped forward to inspect the goods.
There were three kilograms of drugs and two pistols inside.
Yoon Gihwan wore a satisfied expression.
‘The bastard talks like shit, but at least he keeps the deals clean.’
“Let’s go back.”
They maintained an ironclad watch.
They were worried there might be another surprise attack like last time.
They were careful, then even more careful.
As they were driving back to Gunsan, a van suddenly blocked the road ahead.
“What the fuck is that?”
Uneasy, Yoon Gihwan gave an order.
“Turn the car around. We’re making a U-turn.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
But another vehicle blocked them from behind.
They were trapped between cars in front and behind.
They had to escape.
But it wasn’t easy.
Yamido, where the wharf was located, was an island, but it was connected to the mainland by the Saemangeum Seawall.
A seawall was a dyke built in the sea to protect reclaimed land.
Put simply, it was like a bridge.
The sea stretched out on both sides.
There was nowhere to run.
Detectives poured out of the vehicle blocking the road ahead.
“Police! Put your hands up and get out of the car!”
They had been completely set up.
For Yoon Gihwan, this was the first crisis he had ever faced.
He had been caught at the scene, with drugs in his possession.
There were even pistols.
If he was arrested, he would never get off easily.
No matter how good a lawyer he hired, he would have to accept several years in prison.
“Fuck, do something! Do something, somehow!”
“Go out and stop them. I said stop them!”
“Fuck, where’s the gun we got earlier? Shoot them with that, at least!”
“Dump the drugs! I said dump them into the sea!”
Yoon Gihwan shouted himself hoarse, but the Geumho faction’s men were just as panicked.
The Geumho faction, which had enjoyed the protection of all the public authorities in Gunsan, had many members who had never even been in a proper fight.
Normally, all they had to do was go over, intimidate someone, and throw a chair around, and everything would be resolved.
But not today.
The police smashed the car windows with their three-section batons.
They had to fight back, but they were afraid.
Everyone sat helplessly inside the vehicles.
“Fuck, get out and fight! What the hell are you doing?”
Yoon Gihwan threatened the members from behind with his gun.
One of the men, terrified at the sight of it, climbed out and began attacking a detective.
Fights broke out here and there.
Amid the chaos, Yoon Gihwan leaped into the sea without anyone noticing.
It wasn’t a bridge but a seawall, so it wasn’t very high.
Fortunately, it seemed no one had seen Yoon Gihwan jump.
He remained motionless in the seawater, observing the situation with his eyes and ears as though he were dead.
His entire body was submerged in the cold seawater, with only his head barely above the surface.
He was cold, but there was nothing he could do. He had to survive.
How long had he been in the water?
It seemed the police had subdued and arrested every member of the Geumho faction.
The surroundings grew quiet.
After confirming that the police had left,
Yoon Gihwan carefully climbed back onto land.
His body trembled violently.
He had been in the cold water too long.
When he cautiously climbed up onto the road,
he felt a little relieved as soon as his feet touched the ground.
Then came a thunderous roar from somewhere.
A dump truck appeared not far away.
It came barreling toward Yoon Gihwan.
He had to run, but his body had frozen and refused to move.
Ah. Fuck.