In the end, the conquest of Busan failed.
No, we gave up on it.
Geunsu gathered the boys and came all the way to Busan.
The gangsters from all over the country who had taken part in the Busan flash gathering also assembled their men beneath Yeongdo Bridge in Busan.
But the Yeongdo faction, having lost their boss, had lost the will to fight, and they raised a white flag and surrendered.
More than anything, they seemed shocked by the number of people who had come.
So many gangsters had gathered that all of Busan was in an uproar.
The line of tour buses stretching down the road was more than enough to draw the attention of Busan’s citizens.
The lead buses had already arrived at Yeongdo Bridge, while the rear still hadn’t made it past the tollgate.
Tour buses were cutting straight across the whole of Busan.
The Busan police went on emergency alert.
To prevent collisions with citizens, the Busan police stepped in and directed traffic.
Even the police in North and South Gyeongsang had to go on standby.
The entire Busan area was so packed with tour buses that people could barely come and go.
Perhaps the Yeongdo faction had been wise to raise the white flag early.
The fight had ended blandly.
It felt a shame to just leave.
“We came all this way, so let’s at least eat before we go.”
At my words, Daehoon seemed to think something over.
“Why? You don’t like it?”
“No, eating’s fine. But there are a lot of people. It’d be weird for just us to eat, weird to tell them to just go home, and weird to hand them money and send them off… It’s awkward.”
“Then we can eat together.”
“Where are this many people supposed to eat?”
“It’s Busan, though. If we look, shouldn’t there be somewhere? I feel like there would be. Isn’t there a gangster here from Busan?”
“There is. Wait a second.”
A short while later, a man in his late thirties came over to us.
He greeted us politely when he saw us.
He seemed to have already decided which side he was on.
“Good day. I’m No Dohun.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Seo Daehoon.”
“I’m Gong Inbae.”
A Busan-born gangster had come over, but Seo Daehoon said nothing and took a step back.
He stood behind me.
Was he telling me to handle it?
In any case, he was a master at making other people do things.
“We asked you here because we have a favor to request.”
“Please tell me.”
“We were fortunate enough to gather here, so shouldn’t we at least have a meal before parting ways? But with so many people, finding a place to eat is awkward. And since we’ve gathered like this, wouldn’t it be a little ridiculous to eat separately and then split up?”
“That’s true.”
“Could you look into a place for us, sir?”
“Hahaha. If that’s all, don’t worry. I’ll find an incredible place.”
After answering, No Dohun went off somewhere.
Most likely he was going to where his organization was and would have his men handle it.
But what about the food?
Even if we rented a place, food was the problem.
The best option would be renting a large restaurant.
Then we could just order from the restaurant.
But it would be hard to find a restaurant that could fit close to a thousand people.
If there was no venue and we rented an indoor gymnasium or something like that, we’d have to bring the food in from elsewhere.
That was an even bigger problem.
Getting one meal was this difficult.
We couldn’t exactly feed them cup noodles.
“We’ve found a place.”
“What? Already?”
While I was worrying about food, No Dohun came back in no time.
“It’s a five-star hotel in Gijang. Since it’s a weekday, they say the hotel’s banquet hall is empty. It’s the largest banquet hall in Busan, and I told them we’d use it.”
“There are over a thousand people. Will all of them fit?”
“They’ll fit easily. The banquet hall alone should fit over a thousand, and if we use the smaller banquet hall in front of it and the outdoor terrace too, it’ll be more than enough.”
“That’s a relief. Thank you.”
“Not at all. Aren’t you guests who came to Busan? We should be treating you.”
“No. Looking into it for us is more than enough. We’ll pay the costs.”
“We can handle it.”
“Since we’re at it, could I ask you for one more favor?”
“Yes. Please tell me.”
“We need food to eat. We’ll order from the hotel, but since we’re in Busan, shouldn’t we have some raw fish and try some hagfish too?”
At my words, No Dohun seemed excited and readily agreed.
“That’s right. Since you came to Busan, you should try all the Busan food before you go. I’ll prepare it from the best places.”
“Please take care of alcohol and drinks as well.”
“We run a liquor wholesale business. I’ll have several two-and-a-half-ton trucks brought in.”
“It’s a relief you’re here, sir. Thanks to you, we’ll be able to feed them before sending them off.”
“You’re a very kind-hearted man, sir.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
We, who had gathered under Yeongdo Bridge, no longer had any reason to remain there.
Everything we could prepare there was finished.
All that was left was to move to the hotel where the venue had been arranged.
“Let’s go, Jeongwon.”
“……”
*********
We headed to the hotel in Gijang.
As expected of a five-star hotel, it boasted an enormous scale.
There were many buildings and facilities, and the layout was complicated.
I nearly got lost.
And then there was the Grand Ballroom we had reserved.
The moment we opened the doors and went in, we were overwhelmed by its sheer size.
At the far end of the spacious banquet hall, which spread out without a single pillar, a huge floor-to-ceiling window offered a full view of Busan’s sea.
It was impressive just as it was.
Staff entered the empty banquet hall to set the tables.
The schedule had been arranged at the last minute.
Banquet halls were usually kept empty, with the table layout changed depending on the event.
But when an event was set this suddenly, they could only begin preparing then.
They had to place tables in a banquet hall with nothing in it, set out chairs, and set the tableware.
As the slender female employees came in dragging carts loaded with tables and were about to start setting them up,
a voice came from somewhere.
“What are you all just standing around for!!! Move the tables.”
“““Yes!!”””
At someone’s single shout, men in black suits rushed over in a swarm and began moving the tables.
Hundreds of tables and chairs were arranged in the blink of an eye.
While the tables were being set,
the food began arriving as well.
Starting with freshly sliced raw fish, spicy fish stew, hagfish, pork-and-rice soup, boiled pork slices, cold raw fish soup, milmyeon noodles, fish cake soup, grilled clams, Dongnae pajeon, and more kept coming in.
Perhaps it had been brought in from several places, because the packaging, sizes, and menus were all different, but every last one gave off a wonderful smell.
The food prepared by the hotel kept coming in too.
Steak, as well as dishes prepared by the Chinese restaurant, continued to arrive.
Before long, the tables had grown abundant.
They were filled with food.
Once things were more or less settled, No Dohun took the microphone.
“If everything is more or less arranged, please take your seats.”
At No Dohun’s words, people sat down.
When the huge banquet hall filled with people in black suits, it was a spectacle in itself.
“Then let us hear a few words from the big brother who made this gathering possible.”
I was quietly sitting in my seat, but Daehoon poked me.
“What?”
“You have to go up.”
“Why me? You should go.”
“I told you earlier. You’re the real boss.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Go. That No Dohun is looking at you too.”
Now that I looked, No Dohun was indeed looking at me.
Even earlier, when we asked No Dohun to arrange the place and the food, Daehoon had stayed one step back.
Daehoon had completely gotten me.
Still, this was wrong.
Daehoon had to go up for this.
I was someone who would leave, and Daehoon was someone who would remain.
“Daehoon. You should go up for this. I helped, but you led them, so you should go.”
At my words, Daehoon reluctantly went out and took the microphone.
“Good to meet you. I’m Seo Daehoon.”
“““Good day, hyungnim!”””
At that simple greeting, voices loud enough to shake the banquet hall came back.
I was startled.
Those Filipino bastards, when I tell them to come, they just go, “Huh?” and pull that crap.
“First, I want to thank you for coming all the way here. It couldn’t have been an easy decision, but thank you for standing with us. I won’t forget it.”
“We came all the way to Busan because trouble arose, but we have no intention of taking over or attacking Busan, or anywhere else for that matter. So you don’t need to worry for nothing. I wanted to make sure I told you that.”
“We are not brothers. But that does not mean we have to become enemies. We can be friends, and we can be business partners. Let’s take our time getting to know one another. Today is the day we take that first step.”
“When the tables were being set earlier, I was deeply impressed by the way you stepped forward on your own without anyone telling you to. But your goodwill ends there. We are guests here, not employees. Guests have the duties and rights of guests, and employees have the duties and rights of employees. Enjoy your rights as guests to the fullest. Just don’t act like assholes.”
“I, too, will do my utmost to fulfill my duty and role of paying the bill.”
“Eat as much as you want, and order as much as you want.”
“““Waaaaah~~~~~~”””
“And the person sitting over there is the actual boss of this organization. He is running a large business elsewhere, and I am merely acting as his proxy. So from now on, serve him with the utmost respect.”
“““Yes, sir!!!!!”””
“Then I’ll make a toast. Just for today, I want to call you all brothers. To the loyalty of brothers.”
“““To loyalty.”””
With everyone emptying the glasses in front of them, the gathering began.
Perhaps everyone was hungry, because the food on the tables vanished like snow in sunlight.
But food was still being delivered continuously,
and the hotel was continuing to bring out dishes.
There was no chance of running short on food.
As for alcohol, several truckloads were standing by as well.
At that moment, No Dohun came to our table.
“Allow me to greet you formally once again. I am No Dohun, boss of the Haeundae faction. Please let me pour you a drink.”
“You don’t have to go this far…”
“I look forward to working with you from now on.”
As No Dohun greeted us, he kept glancing at me.
He must have been curious about who I was.
I greeted No Dohun as well.
“We’re the ones who should be asking for your favor from now on. And this.”
I held out an envelope.
“I put in enough for fuel costs.”
“No, sir. We acted out of pure will, and if I take money like this, I won’t be able to save face.”
I held out another envelope.
“This is for today’s food. I put in plenty, so it shouldn’t be lacking. I look forward to working with you.”
“Thank you very much.”
After finishing his greeting, No Dohun stepped away, and another person was waiting behind him.
“I’m Sin Daehyeon of the Busan Dadaepo faction. I offer my greetings.”
“I’m Gwon Jaewu of the Ulsan Taehwa faction. Please allow me to pour you a drink.”
“I’m Ha Jongu of the Pohang Jukdo faction. I will be loyal to you from now on.”
I handed an envelope to every person who came to greet us.
In truth, once the drinking party began, I had planned to go around myself, thanking them for coming and giving them at least some fuel money.
I hadn’t expected them to come one by one like this.
It was convenient, but unexpectedly, it turned into something like a formal audience with the boss of a new organization.
We had clearly called ourselves friends, partners, and a symbiotic relationship,
but it felt like the relationship between a major corporation and its subcontractors.
A hierarchy had formed.
That seat had turned into a place for pledges of loyalty.
Dozens of organizations came to greet us, and at the very end was the Yeongdo faction.
“Thank you for showing us mercy.”
“It’s best not to fight pointless battles.”
“Thank you. I will never forget this grace and will repay it for the rest of my life.”
“Grace? Not at all. I hope you continue to manage things well from now on.”
The new boss of the Yeongdo faction bowed at a ninety-degree angle before leaving.
At last, the greetings were over.
Daehoon and I had been so busy receiving greetings that we hadn’t been able to eat properly.
Just as I was finally about to eat, Geunsu quietly spoke from beside us.
“Daehoon hyungnim. A guest has come.”
“Who is it?”
“The head of intelligence from the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency.”
“The head of intelligence? Why is the head of intelligence here?”
The head of intelligence at the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency was in charge of gathering and analyzing information related to intelligence, security, and counterespionage.
In terms of rank, he was among the top ten at the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, but since he handled information, he played a far more important role.
Someone like that had come alone to this place full of gangsters?
There had to be some reason.
“Good grief. Now they won’t even let me eat.”
Daehoon grumbled as he got up.
Feeling sorry for him, I said a word.
“Want me to come with you?”
“No. For this, it’s enough for only me to go. You shouldn’t meet the police.”
Daehoon was guided not to the banquet hall, but to a separate room prepared in the back.
There, a man in a suit was sitting, and behind him stood someone who looked like a secretary.
As soon as Daehoon saw the man, he greeted him.
“Good evening. My name is Seo Dae-hun.”
“Nam Jun-hyeong, Chief of Intelligence at the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. But what brings you here...?”
“I came to thank you, first of all. According to our intelligence, something serious nearly happened in Busan today, and Chairman Seo Dae-hun prevented it. Thank you for wrapping things up cleanly with the Dae-hun Faction.”
“Was there any need to start a pointless fight? If anything, I should be thanking the Busan police for handling the traffic signals so well. We were almost looking at a complete traffic disaster.”
“That much, at least, we ought to do. Then, do you intend to move into Busan from now on?”
“I have no ambitions in Busan. We’ll be focusing only on Seoul.”
“I want peace in Busan. I can turn a blind eye to gangsters fighting one another for territory, but the moment that spills over to civilians, I will crack down hard.”
“I understand exactly what you mean. I’ll make sure it’s discussed.”
“I wanted to say thank you in person, at least. I apologize for interrupting your meal.”
“Not at all. Since you’re here, why don’t you join us for a meal?”
“If I eat here, I think every person over there is going to get indigestion.”
“Haha. I suppose that’s true.”
“Thank you for keeping the meal so civilized as well.”
The man took out a business card and handed it to Dae-hun.
“Contact me if anything comes up. I’d heard things about you from people around me, but meeting you in person, you seem even better than I expected. Let’s get along well from now on.”
“Thank you.”
With that, the Chief of Intelligence left.
******
Yang Jeong-won was sitting beside Gong In-bae, trembling.
Yang Jeong-won had watched everything that happened today from beginning to end, right beside him.
Even seeing it with his own eyes from so close, he couldn’t believe it.
After Choi Mu-yeong, the boss of the Yeongdo Faction, was dragged away, Gong In-bae said one thing.
“Jeong-won, from now on, I’m going to turn you into a real gangster. So just follow me around. I promise.”
He was scared.
Seeing those hollow eyes gave him chills.
Only then did he remember.
How much Gong In-bae had beaten him before graduation.
How furious he had been.
And how terrified he had been.
Only then did he remember.
If he had remembered just a little sooner, this mess wouldn’t have happened.
He regretted it.
Because Yang Jeong-won had believed that his father being arrested and his family being ruined was all Gong In-bae’s fault.
The moment he saw Gong In-bae, he had been able to pick a fight and lose his temper.
Because he had used him as his errand boy for so long, he had still thought of him as that same shuttle and acted without restraint.
But the result was disastrous.
Now he was trembling beside Gong In-bae.
This Dae-hun Faction was very different from the Yeongdo Faction.
First of all, the scale was different.
Even if the Yeongdo Faction gathered everyone, it didn’t seem like they would reach a hundred people.
But with one word from the Dae-hun Faction, hundreds gathered.
What was even more frightening than that was that the Dae-hun Faction had no hesitation in their actions.
They moved like fanatics of some cult.
It was terrifying.
Their financial power was no joke either.
This hotel they had rented just to have a meal.
It was an insanely expensive hotel.
And in a place like this, they were ordering alcohol and food like mad.
And then there were the envelopes handed to each boss.
He knew how much was inside those envelopes.
Because Yang Jeong-won had done that work himself.
“Jeong-won, take this bankbook to the bank and withdraw seven billion won in checks.”
“Huh?”
When Yang Jeong-won asked back in surprise, Scott glared at him.
He was forcibly made humble.
“I told the bank in advance. Withdraw the money, put three hundred million won in each envelope, and make twenty of them. Two with five hundred million each. Okay?”
“...”
“My friend, we don’t have time. Hurry up and go.”
“... O-okay.”
He answered and was heading out when Scott and Jeong Geun-su followed him.
Then, without warning, they began beating Yang Jeong-won.
They didn’t tell him the reason. They didn’t ask anything.
They simply started hitting him mercilessly.
When Yang Jeong-won had been beaten half out of his mind, Jeong Geun-su spoke in an extremely low voice.
“When Hyungnim is speaking from now on, if you use casual speech, question him, talk back, any of that, you’re really dead. If your face twists up, you’re dead. If your movements are slow, you’re dead. If you don’t give Hyungnim the answer he wants, you’re dead. Got it?”
“Ah... I got—”
When Yang Jeong-won mumbled his answer, Jeong Geun-su looked at Scott and said,
“Scott. Again.”
“Okay.”
Scott answered with a smile, and once again, merciless violence began.
He was beaten all over his body except his face.
His body was a complete wreck, but his mind became clearer.
“You understand what I’m saying, right?”
“Yes. I understand.”
The answer came out automatically.
It was strange.
“Then hurry up and go, you bastard. What are you standing around for?”
“Yes, sir.”
Yang Jeong-won went straight to the bank inside the hotel, withdrew seven billion won, and put it into envelopes.
To be honest, he thought dozens of times that maybe he could just run away like this.
If he ran away with this money, wouldn’t it be enough to live on?
But his hesitation was brief.
First of all, they were checks. Not cash.
The moment they were reported lost,
and payment was stopped, they would become nothing but scraps of paper.
No, they would become evidence proving he was a criminal. He didn’t need that.
The money would lose any ability to protect Yang Jeong-won.
Second.
Could he run around Busan while avoiding the eyes of this many organizations?
Impossible.
Then what if he ran away to another region?
Was he confident he wouldn’t be caught?
No.
There was no chance whatsoever.
He would probably be caught before he even left this hotel.
Then he would be fed a bellyful of cement mix, stuffed into a drum, and sunk off the coast of Busan.
Even if he didn’t like it, for now, he had to do as he was told.
He folded the envelopes neatly and brought them to In-bae.
“Why were you so late? I was worried.”
“No. I had to hurry to the restroom... so I was late.”
Yang Jeong-won saw it.
Jeong Geun-su glaring at him as if he would devour him.
Behind Yang Jeong-won stood Scott.
“What’s this? Why are you speaking so politely? It’s uncomfortable.”
“Ah... no. This is more comfortable for me.”
“I don’t think so. You’ve never used polite speech, have you? You even spoke casually to teachers.”
“After learning about social life, I thought it seemed good, so I’d like to keep using it.”
“Sure. Do whatever’s comfortable. Then what should we do now? We’ve got plenty of time.”
Gong In-bae was looking at Yang Jeong-won and smiling brightly.
As if he were truly suggesting they play a board game together.
He was searching for something to do.
Yang Jeong-won thought that perhaps the sea off Busan might be more comfortable after all.