I set down the beer I had been drinking and contacted Lafei.
Lafei of the Geumryeonbang might know something.
No matter how different Macau’s “one country, two systems” arrangement was from China’s, it was still Chinese territory.
There was no way it wouldn’t have close ties to China.
And Lafei, who lived in Macau and controlled it, might know how to make inroads into China.
Even if she didn’t know how to conquer the market, I thought I might at least get some information, so I contacted her.
“Lafei, it’s been a while. You doing well?”
- Thanks to you. But what’s going on? You contacted me first? Weren’t you the kind of person who never contacted anyone first, no matter what happened?
“There’s something I want to ask you.”
- What is it?
“Does the Geumryeonbang distribute drugs in China as well?”
- No. We don’t do business in China.
“Why? Isn’t China a huge market?”
- It’s an enormous market. But if you want to sell drugs in China, you have to be prepared to put your life on the line. In China, anything involving drugs is punishable by death. The seller, the buyer, and the person who takes them—every one of them.
“I’ve heard that.”
- That’s why nobody is eager to go in. There are rumors that drugs are spreading on their own within China, but we’re not interested in that market anyway, so I never paid attention.
“I see.”
- Are you thinking of going into China?
“I’m considering it.”
- Be careful. It’s really not an easy place. You know about the Opium Wars, right?
Did she really know who she was talking to?
Wasn’t she overestimating me a little too much?
“The Opium Wars?”
- You don’t know? It’s a very long story, so you’d be better off looking it up yourself than having me explain it. Anyway, because of that, China absolutely hates opium. Their country nearly collapsed because of it. That’s why they crack down so severely on drug distribution within their own borders.
“Really?”
- I know China is a good market, but it’s absolutely not an easy one. If you’re going in, you’ll need to make a solid plan. And you’ll have to take good care of your life.
“Thanks. That helped a lot.”
- And I don’t know if this will be of any use, but I know an organization in China. If you need it, I can introduce you.
“I’ll let you know if I need it. Just telling me is enough.”
- All right. Contact me again sometime.
As soon as I finished chatting with Lafei, I searched for the Opium Wars.
I ought to know what they were about, at least.
Oh-ho.
So China had this kind of dark history.
To summarize it simply, before the China of today, there was the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty conducted a tremendous amount of trade with Britain.
But the trade was severely unbalanced.
Britain was suffering an enormous deficit in its trade with the Qing Dynasty.
Britain wanted many things from the Qing—tea, silk, porcelain, and so on—but the Qing had nothing Britain needed.
The only product Britain could offer was wool, but wool was useless to the Qing, who wore silk.
The more trade they conducted, the more Britain lost.
At the time, transactions were made in silver, and Britain hated giving so much silver to the Qing Dynasty.
They wanted to replace it with another commodity, but the Qing immediately refused, saying they had no need for anything else.
The British East India Company, searching for a way to make up the deficit,
began smuggling opium produced in India into the Qing Dynasty.
Opium began spreading at an astonishing rate.
After tasting opium, the people of the Qing lost all sense and hoarded enormous quantities of it with silver.
At some point, the imports had surpassed the exports.
The common people, government officials, and soldiers all smoked opium together in perfect harmony.
The people stopped working, public institutions ground to a halt, and the soldiers lost their ability to fight.
It reached the point where the nation’s functions were paralyzed.
The damage caused by opium was immense.
In the end, the Qing Dynasty decided that things could not continue this way, banned opium, and confiscated all the opium Britain had been distributing.
Britain, claiming that the Qing had no right to destroy their goods as they pleased, started a war over the matter.
To be honest, the Qing Dynasty was grateful to Britain for starting the war.
The Qing believed itself to be a great power and was fairly confident in its chances.
It wanted to crush Britain and once again display the dignity of a great nation.
But once the war actually began, its reality was completely different.
There was no way to win when Qing soldiers charged at British soldiers carrying guns with nothing but swords.
Swords could not defeat guns.
The Qing suffered a crushing defeat and surrendered.
As the price of surrender, it was forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Nanjing.
Hong Kong was also ceded to Britain at this time.
The Qing was forced to open additional ports and pay enormous war reparations.
There was a Second Opium War as well, and it was much the same.
Britain thought, “We assumed the Qing was incredibly powerful, but it’s nothing special. Should we go over there?” So they went and stripped it bare.
China calls the period from the Opium Wars until the establishment of the People’s Republic of China the “Century of National Humiliation.”
That hundred years, during which China went from Asia’s greatest hegemonic power to a semicolonial state, is considered the greatest disgrace in Chinese history.
So, to China, opium was the cause of it all.
The return of opium to China could never be allowed to happen again.
That was why China blocked the distribution of opium, even resorting to executions.
But I would do the opposite. I would become the East India Company once more and distribute opium throughout China.
I would plant opium in every corner of China, in every town and every back alley.
I would make it so anyone could easily get their hands on it.
Men and women, young and old, would all be able to buy opium at a cheap price.
I would return China to the era of the Opium Wars.
*******
Seo Daehoon sat by the sea off Gunsan, looking out toward the open waters as he gathered his thoughts.
He had said something stupid.
He had made a promise he couldn’t keep.
‘Since it’s the boss’s order, I’ll do it. I’ll take Seoul.’
Ugh. That gave me chills.
Why had I said something so insane?
It wasn’t like I was suffering from middle-school syndrome.
Seo Daehoon grabbed at his hair and pulled.
‘How the hell am I supposed to take Seoul?’
It was a completely impossible mission.
Divide and conquer?
What a joke.
He didn’t even know how many organizations existed in Seoul.
He had no idea whether there were dozens or hundreds.
If there were some kind of National Gang Organization Association where they registered and paid dues, he could find out all at once.
He had already mentioned it to Inbae, but the whole thing seemed utterly hopeless.
“Boss. Is something troubling you?”
Geunsu seemed bothered by how different Seo Daehoon had been acting from usual and asked what was on his mind.
“I have to take Seoul, but I can’t think of a way to do it.”
An incredible statement like taking Seoul had just come out of his mouth, yet Geunsu wasn’t surprised at all.
Instead, he offered a solution that was thoroughly Geunsu-like.
“What’s there to worry about? Can’t we just plow straight in?”
“How many organizations are there in Seoul? You want us to take them down one by one, slowly and in order?”
“If we beat the hell out of them one at a time, won’t a solution present itself?”
“Either a solution will present itself, or we’ll end up dead.”
“Then why don’t we make them fight each other instead of fighting us?”
“There’s a way to do that?”
Seo Daehoon asked, his eyes lighting up.
“Hmm… We’d have to think about it.”
“Hahahaha. I like your positive attitude.”
After thinking for a moment, Geunsu came up with a brilliant idea.
“Ah! What if we use the Philippines?”
“The Philippines? How?”
“Couldn’t we say something like, ‘The Philippines is expanding its business on a large scale and is looking for a partner’?”
“If the Philippines is expanding its business, why would the Seoul gangs fight each other?”
“What if we say they’ll choose only one organization—the strongest in the Philippines? That whoever becomes their partner can easily pull in fifty or sixty billion won a year. If we spread that rumor, wouldn’t the money-hungry bastards start moving?”
“They’d move to become number one themselves?”
“If they think they’re strong, they’ll move to prove their superiority. If they’re second or third, they’ll move to take down the number one. And the ones below them will form alliances and move together, won’t they?”
What the hell?
Wasn’t Geunsu supposed to be a guy with nothing but romance in his heart?
I’d thought he was filled with romance and loyalty, but it seemed he had a brain too, unexpectedly enough.
“First we spread the rumor that the Philippines is coming in. Then we spread rumors that one organization is planning to attack another, or that one organization is forming an alliance with another. Won’t they betray each other and start fighting?”
“But wouldn’t there have to be something plausible coming from the Philippines? Those sharp-eyed bastards aren’t going to charge in blindly just because they heard a rumor.”
“We have Boss Inbae in the Philippines.”
*******
“So our boss has been doing something this entertaining behind my back.”
“Entertaining? I didn’t want things to turn out this way, but it’s already happened. We have to clean up what’s been set in motion. Sorry to ask you for a favor like this.”
I received a call from Daehoon.
Daehoon told me about his plan to take control of Seoul.
The godfather of the Philippines was looking for a Korean partner.
If they became his partner, they could earn an additional fifty to sixty billion won a year.
However, he planned to select only the one organization that seemed most suitable as his partner.
They were planning to spread that rumor.
It was a fairly good idea.
It could stimulate the greed of greedy bastards.
That was the kind of bait that would make them bare their teeth and try to devour one another.
When I asked what the business would be, he said they were still thinking about it.
So I told him to make it drugs.
The only thing that could generate fifty to sixty billion won in profit a year was drugs.
“So you want me to enter Korea and make it look as though I’m searching for a partner to work with in Korea? And I’m the godfather of the Philippines?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm…”
“I’m sorry for asking you to do something so difficult. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, but I can’t think of anyone else besides you.”
“What are you talking about? Why would someone else do it? I should be the one to do it. It sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun.”
“No, you seemed hesitant.”
“I’m seriously thinking about it right now. How many people should I bring to make it look cool? What should we wear? It’d be cooler if we all had matching outfits, right?”
“What?”
“If we’re going in anyway, shouldn’t we make a flashy entrance? We have to cause such a commotion that everyone in town hears we’ve arrived, then the Korean gangsters will line up to meet us. If we come and go quietly, nobody will know. Besides, it feels pretty good being called a godfather.”
“It’s not exactly wrong. Aren’t you the godfather of Bohol? Or have you taken over Mindanao by now?”
In reality, the Sandro Group had not stopped at Bohol. It was expanding its influence all the way to Mindanao.
With the help of Damaya, the rebel, and backed by the government’s protection, it was growing at a frightening speed.
“So when should I go? Should I leave tomorrow?”
“You’ll go?”
“Of course. It’s our boss’s order. I have to go no matter what. I’ll line those bastards up and come back.”
“Right. Thanks.”
And as the final touch, Sandro would go to Korea.
As though he were truly looking for a partner.
The moment Sandro appeared in Seoul,
the rumor would become the truth.
******
After work, Mun Gangsu, the team leader of the Jeonnam Violent Crimes Investigation Unit, was eating sundae-guk for dinner while having a shot of soju with it.
It was hard to tell whether he was drinking soju as an accompaniment to the sundae-guk,
or whether he had ordered the sundae-guk as an accompaniment to his soju.
The sundae-guk looked exactly as it had when it was first served.
Mun Gangsu was drinking nothing but soju.
He wasn’t even looking at his phone.
He simply kept running a hand over his troubled face.
He couldn’t think of how to deal with the situation, or how to resolve it.
The number of complaint calls had decreased, but people still looked at Mun Gangsu with hostile eyes.
These damn police officers.
They were always saying that bullying was wrong and should never be tolerated, even making materials and distributing them about it, yet they were ostracizing Mun Gangsu themselves.
People who preached justice only with their mouths.
Now they didn’t even greet him or pretend to know him, and they had excluded him from his work.
He had nearly lost all authority within the team.
If he’d followed his heart, he would have submitted his resignation a hundred times over by now.
But he had a wife and two children.
Even if he quit, he had to prepare a means of survival first.
If he quit like this, the problem would only become bigger.
If he left the police force branded as trash, he would lose all access to the police network.
The only people he knew were police officers. Without their help, the range of work he could do would shrink enormously.
Even if he quit, he had to set something right before leaving the force.
He took another drink of soju.
The soju was sweet even without any food to go with it.
At some point, it had stopped tasting bitter.
He poured himself another glass and drank.
“Eat at least some broth. You’ll ruin your stomach. What are you doing, sitting here looking so pathetic?”
When Mun Gangsu looked toward the voice, Seo Daehoon was standing beside him.
Seo Daehoon naturally sat down in front of Mun Gangsu.
“Damn, the soup’s gone cold. Boss, heat this soup back up for us. And give us a plate of head meat, too. We’ll have some soju.”
Seo Dae-hun sat down and casually placed his order. Mun Gang-su glared at him.
“What the hell are you doing? You come here to mock me?”
“Why would I come all the way here just to mock you? That’d be a lot of trouble. I’m not such a bored man.”
“Then why are you here? Get lost. Just looking at your face makes me want to kill you. I’m barely holding myself back as it is. So get the hell out while I’m still asking nicely.”
“Why are you talking so harshly? You’re scaring me. Besides, the food I ordered hasn’t even come out yet. Have a drink with me.”
“Go somewhere else and stuff your face.”
Mun Gang-su growled low in his throat, but Seo Dae-hun answered in a gentle voice, as though he wasn’t frightened of him in the least.
“Come on, have a drink with me.”
“You think it makes sense for me to drink with a punk gangster like you? What are you planning to use to screw me over this time? You already filed a civil complaint, so you’re not going to do that again. Are you going to report me to my superiors? File an audit request?”
“No. This older brother is seriously misunderstanding me.”
“Misunderstanding what?”
“Let’s be honest. Didn’t you go a little overboard this time? A friend came over from the Philippines, and if the police started following him around, what would that make me? That bastard was far more capable than I was even when we attended special warfare school together. He must have noticed, too, right?”
“What?”
“He must have thought, ‘So Seo Dae-hun has become a gangster with the police following him around now.’ I only see that friend once a year, and now he thinks I’ve become that kind of person. Wouldn’t he wonder how many incidents I’d caused to end up as a gangster with the police on my tail? I could understand it if you followed me around normally. But you stuck to me when I was meeting that friend, and that really pissed me off.”
“Ahem… Ahem… That wasn’t it…”
Mun Gang-su was about to make an excuse, but then he thought that saying he had been following Gong In-bae rather than Seo Dae-hun would only create a bigger problem, so he clamped his mouth shut.
“So, honestly, I was pretty angry. I wanted things with that bastard to last a while. Though it got ruined because of you, Team Leader.”
“Ahem… I’m sorry about that. It wasn’t my intention to…”
“It’s fine. It’s already in the past. I told the boys to keep bothering you, but you seemed to be having a hard time, so I told them to stop that, too.”
“Really?”
“Yes. In return, help me out this time.”
“I should help you? Hey. Do you think the police are a pushover? You shove your head in while I’m eating and say, ‘Please help me,’ and I’m supposed to help you just like that? I let you get away with it because you were cute, but now this bastard really has no limit to the things he’ll say.”
“Your wife doesn’t like you, does she?”
“What? You little—”
“Why do you have to talk so harshly? They say one well-chosen word can repay a debt of a thousand nyang. We could resolve this amicably, and you could hear me out before deciding, but you always have to talk like that. You make people feel insulted. Didn’t our conversation fall apart last time for the same reason? Back then, I politely asked you to stop following me around. You went off the rails then, too, and this is where we ended up. I’m making a polite request again now, and you’re going off the rails again. Are you going to keep doing this?”
“Th-That…”
“If you didn’t want to hear what I had to say, you should have stood up the moment I sat down. There are already tons of pictures being taken of us eating together here. I’m proud to be having a meal with a detective, but are you proud of it, Team Leader? Should I send one of these pictures to the National Police Agency? I’m sure they’d be happy to verify it.”
“You… You little bastard… I swear I’ll never let you off.”
“Deal with that later. You have colleagues at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, don’t you? Introduce me to them.”
“What? Ha… This bastard is unbelievable. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency? Why there?”
“Don’t we need to expand into Seoul now, too? We have to go to Seoul. Come to Seoul with us, Team Leader.”