Free Web Novel“Not bad. President Park was blessed with loyal men.”
That was Park Dongsu—unlike a typical gangster, he had a lot of warmth. Maybe that was why brothers like Yang Soohyeong and Yoo Seongjin had stayed by his side.
“Do you still think the same way now?”
“You mean about Brother Sanggeun?”
I nodded. Without a trace of hesitation, Yoo Seongjin answered immediately.
“Yes. I now understand why Brother Dongsu chose him. Brother Sanggeun has something that people like us, who live by our fists, never had.”
The times had changed, and gangsters who lived only by brute force had lost their place in the world.
Park Dongsu knew that too, which was why he had accepted my proposal to transform the organization into a corporate structure. And the man best suited to that work was Lee Sanggeun.
“I see.”
I turned to study Sanggeun’s expression. He simply listened without showing any reaction.
I spoke to Manager Ma, standing behind me.
“Give him what we prepared.”
Manager Ma handed me the envelope lying on the desk. I pushed it across the table to Yoo Seongjin.
“Open it.”
He opened the envelope and examined the personal details and photograph of Gong Seungyeon, CEO of Atlantic Law Firm.
“That man must be erased.”
After finishing the file, Yoo Seongjin spoke.
“How should I handle it?”
“Do it however you see fit. I want him to experience the maximum pain a human can feel. You’d know better than me how to make that happen.”
Yoo Seongjin set the papers down and simply nodded, as though this were routine work.
“Understood.”
He never asked why this man had to die, nor how to handle the aftermath.
“You don’t even ask why.”
“Is it something I need to know?”
I gave a small laugh. I had thought he was like Park Dongsu, but he was clearly a different man.
With a smile, I glanced at Lee Sanggeun.
“Chairman Lee, he can be trusted with this, right?”
“Yes, sir. I believe so as well.”
Unlike yesterday, when he’d hesitated, today he nodded firmly. His trust in Yoo Seongjin seemed deep.
“You take care of the division plan and report to me. Complicated as the shareholdings may be, you can handle it cleanly, can’t you?”
“Yes, understood.”
Meanwhile, Yoo Seongjin barely paid attention to our conversation, his eyes fixed only on the photo of Gong Seungyeon.
It was his own matter, yet he seemed uninterested.
“Executive Director Yoo, aren’t you curious what this is about?”
“I believe Brother Sanggeun will tell me when the time is right. For now, what you’ve entrusted me with is more important.”
“That’s true. Just do the job well.”
I had worried about whether anyone could replace Lee Sanggeun, but Yoo Seongjin looked more than capable of taking the reins of the organization if needed. I could redraw the board if I wished.
“For now, Chairman Lee will start the division work. Executive Director Yoo, finish the task I gave you cleanly. You may go.”
Lee Sanggeun and Yoo Seongjin rose, bowed, and left the office.
I liked Yoo Seongjin even more than I expected.
“Well?”
Manager Ma, who had been silent behind me, finally spoke.
“I see why President Park valued him.”
“So do I. Let’s watch how he handles the job and decide from there.”
“Yes, boss.”
Whether Yoo Seongjin met my expectations would be decided by this task.
I stared at the door they had left through, and Park Dongsu’s face—calling me a brat on the hospital rooftop—flashed across my mind.
After the inter-Korean summit and my grandfather’s funeral, I had been working through the backlog, and a week had already passed.
Manager Ma had flown to China with Jang Daeho, and in his absence, Ha Myeonghun would accompany me.
We left for the Blue House for my lunch meeting with Kim Hakgwon.
Looking at Ha Myeonghun in the passenger seat gave me a strange feeling. In my previous life, after Grandfather’s death, he had disappeared from sight.
“Next week is finally your inauguration as [N O V E L I G H T] chairman. Congratulations, sir.”
“It’s thanks to you, President.”
“Not at all. From the moment I envisioned Taesan Finance, that position was yours.”
From the time I decided to acquire a bank and build a financial holding company, no one else but Ha Myeonghun came to mind for chairman.
“By the way, it’s been ages since the two of us went around together like this. Feels nostalgic.”
“Yes, sir. I feel the same.”
Even on his normally stiff face, a faint smile flickered.
Talking with him along the way, before I knew it we had reached the Blue House entrance.
After a short wait, Chief of Staff Pyo Minguk greeted us and led us toward the dining hall.
“The President will arrive shortly.”
As Ha Myeonghun and I tried to enter together, Pyo blocked him.
“Mr. Ha, you’ll dine with me separately. The President wishes to meet President Kim alone.”
Ha gave me a look instead of replying. When I nodded, he followed Pyo.
The door closed. Alone, I waited a while until Kim Hakgwon entered.
I rose and bowed.
“It’s been a while, Mr. President.”
“Ha ha, come in, sit down.”
His face looked healthy. Well, after successfully crowning his long-cherished wish of hosting an inter-Korean summit at his inauguration, it made sense.
“Did you see Chairman Cheon off well?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I was able to be by my grandfather’s side in his final moments. I’m grateful.”
“I was surprised too. When Chairman Kim heard, he agreed without hesitation. How could I oppose him then?”
Indeed, it would’ve been ridiculous for Kim Hakgwon to object to something Kim Jongil had allowed.
“Thank you both for your consideration.”
At my sincere words, Kim Hakgwon laughed heartily, though his eyes still studied me.
“I knew you’d met with Vice Director Jang Songthaek, but even I didn’t expect Kim Jongil to accept so readily.”
We exchanged light small talk until the Blue House chef brought in two bowls of naengmyeon.
After setting them down and bowing to the President, he left, and once again we were alone.
“I was reminded of the naengmyeon we had in Pyongyang. It’s fine, right?”
“Yes, I sometimes think of it too.”
“Then let’s eat.”
Kim Hakgwon picked up his chopsticks first, and I followed.
The taste was close to what we’d had in Pyongyang.
After some idle conversation, we finished eating. Dessert was fragrant coffee.
“So then, why did you want to see me?”
He sipped the coffee and asked.
It was time. I lifted my cup, savoring the aroma, and spoke.
“I came to thank you for letting me be with my grandfather at the end.”
He set his cup down, his eyes suddenly sharp.
“Thanks like that could’ve been given by phone. You wouldn’t come all the way here for that. Tell me the real reason.”
Not even giving me time to drink. I set down the cup and cut to the point.
“I intend to bring down Chairman Seo of Ilseong.”
“...Hm. And why tell me? That’s your business, not mine.”
He had stepped back, shrewd as always.
“I don’t know what promises you made with Chairman Seo Yonggeon. But I know in return you received Ilseong’s support in the last election.”
His face betrayed nothing, just listening.
But I saw the way his lips tightened—he knew I had the facts.
“Whatever the promises, don’t stand in my way this time.”
He didn’t reply, only drummed his fingers on the table, studying me.
I raised my cup again, smiling as I drank.
At my composure, he shook his head.
“True, I joined hands with him. And yes, he supported me. But why should I need your permission for that?”
“You misunderstand. I’m offering you a choice. If you want to go down with Chairman Seo, then by all means, stop me.”
His brow furrowed, face twisting in displeasure.
“Go down? Kim, are you still leaning on the Americans to talk to me like this?”
“Hardly. I’m not foolish enough to play the same card twice. And you’ve already prepared for that possibility, haven’t you?”
Whether to avoid humiliation or for the country’s sake, he had done everything to escape the IMF’s grip. Thanks to that, he stabilized the economy faster than I’d expected.
“Once, I let you slide because I’d made a mistake. But not twice.”
“Let me slide?”
I lifted a brow. His condescending attitude was laughable.
“Yes. If I’d wanted, you’d have spent your life in prison.”
He framed it not as submitting to me, but as magnanimously sparing me. It was all I could do to keep from laughing.
“And you know very well what would’ve happened if you had tried.”
“You think America would have sacrificed Korea just to save you? All you could do was buy time.”
So he had consulted experts after being cornered by me. He was right—the best I could do then was stall.
“I let it go because you helped destroy Cheongpunghoe, the cancer of this nation, and played a part in making me President. And because I regretted trying to put a leash on you.”
This old fox, who had survived politics for decades, was no easy prey. But still, he barked at the wrong man.
“Don’t forget. Even now, if I decide to chain you, I can do it anytime.”
I dropped my smile. So he had chosen to cross the line after all.
“Are you threatening me right now?”
“That depends. How you act will decide whether it stays as a threat—or becomes reality. Don’t think you can pressure me so easily.”
So persuasion was impossible from the start. If he chose to back Seo Yonggeon, bringing Ilseong down would become difficult. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
I sighed. I hated having to take the long way around.
“You make me out to be the villain, Mr. President.”
I shook my head slightly.
I had no choice but to play the last card I had prepared. This would end any chance of reconciliation.
“Then I’ll take it as your choice to sink with Seo Yonggeon.”
His voice rose.
“Watch your words.”
“The moment I leave this building, I’ll report to the press that you interfered in the election. At the same time, I’ll move the Centrist Party to file an impeachment motion.”
“What?”
His face twisted in fury. Just seeing that eased my irritation somewhat.
“Your remarks during the campaign, right after the inter-Korean summit announcement, can easily be read as support for the Progressive Party.”
“There are things one shouldn’t say, Kim.”
His voice was filled with rage, but I continued unbothered.
“And your deals with Chairman Seo, the election funds you received from me, and more—I hold plenty of your dirt. And not only yours, either.”
To impeach a president, two-thirds of the Assembly must vote in favor.
But if the Centrist and Conservative Parties joined forces, no amount of opposition from the Progressives could stop it.
A political veteran like Kim Hakgwon knew that as well as I did.
For a man who treasured his honor above life itself, simply facing impeachment proceedings would be humiliation.
“With Chief Justice Oh Jeongseok’s influence, the Constitutional Court won’t dismiss the motion either.”
Resting my chin on my hand, I gave him a crooked smile across the table.
