Free Web NovelI poured Lee Sanggeun a drink and asked,
“Is the division work underway?”
“Yes. For now, I’m proceeding without informing the board.”
After downing the drink he received, Lee Sanggeun lifted the liquor pot before him and offered it to me.
As I swirled the glass, the liquor sloshing dangerously close to the rim, I asked,
“Are you worried about the board members’ opposition?”
“No. I’ve already filled most of the board with my own people. I just thought there was nothing good in letting too many people know.”
If too many knew, rumors would spread.
I nodded, took the drink, then picked up my chopsticks to grab a bit of food.
“Let’s talk while we eat.”
At my words, they all lifted their chopsticks.
The people I needed were all here. It was time to bring up the real subject.
“Chairman Lee, you’ll take charge of construction, and after Executive Director Yoo inherits the organization, he’ll take on the divided businesses.”
Both Lee Sanggeun and Yoo Seongjin turned their heads toward me. Yoo looked far more shocked than Lee.
Lee Sanggeun drained the drink before him and asked,
“Are you saying to hand the entire organization over?”
“That’s right. You’ll take construction, and all the remaining members will go to Executive Director Yoo. I intend to make Geukseong Construction one of the world’s top construction firms. But if a gangster owns the company, that doesn’t look good, does it?”
I raised my own glass, drank, and continued, turning the empty glass in my hand.
“I think it’s a waste of your talent. You’re too capable to leave as nothing more than a gang boss. That’s why I want you to follow my lead.”
“...Understood.”
After a long pause, Lee Sanggeun gave a small nod and poured himself another drink.
Of course, letting go of something he held wasn’t easy.
I could understand his feelings, but he wasn’t the type not to realize he’d be gaining something much bigger.
I called to Yoo Seongjin, who had been listening quietly.
“Executive Director Yoo, come here and have a drink.”
Glancing cautiously, he rose and stepped toward me. Pouring his glass, I spoke.
“You’re not dense. You understand roughly what this means, don’t you?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Drink.”
Yoo Seongjin wasn’t a fool. He knew exactly what I meant. He turned and drank in silence.
Then he offered me his glass with both hands and lifted the pot.
“Allow me to offer you a drink.”
As I received it, our eyes met. He wasn’t one to harbor stray thoughts, but I had to say it.
“Even after you inherit the organization, Chairman Lee is still above you. Don’t forget that. You understand my meaning?”
“Yes, boss. I understand. Sanggeun hyung will always be my elder brother. I’ll never forget it.”
I nodded and tossed back my drink. From the corner of my eye, I saw Yoo Seongjin return to his seat and pour Lee Sanggeun a drink.
“Leave the details to Chairman Lee. Don’t stir up the organization unnecessarily. Keep his closest men with construction to smooth things over.”
“Yes, boss.”
Lee Sanggeun would handle it well. Satisfied with his answer, I turned to Yoo Seongjin.
“As for you, Executive Director, don’t clumsily try to imitate Chairman Lee and play at being a businessman. Do what you’re good at. You can firmly take hold of the organization you’re inheriting, right?”
“Yes, I can.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Yoo Seongjin answered firmly.
Since he came from Park Dongsu’s faction, the members would more easily accept him. But that didn’t mean there’d be no noise.
“The organization will certainly fall into confusion. The leadership’s changed twice in only a few years. At times like this, it’s best to turn eyes outward. Let’s take this chance to clean up the Triads in Korea and the Southeast Asian syndicates.”
“You mean the Triads and Southeast Asia groups?”
To quell internal unrest, it was ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) best to create external enemies.
Since Geukseong had absorbed most of Korea’s underworld, gang wars had vanished. But foreign groups still operated, giving the police headaches.
We could use this to strike a deal with the police.
But Lee Sanggeun looked worried.
“Boss, if we go to war with the Triads and Southeast Asians, the press and police will focus on us. And the investigation into Geukseong isn’t fully closed yet—it’s dangerous.”
“The prosecution’s investigation into Geukseong will wrap up soon. The men arrested from your side will be back quickly.”
Lee shook his head.
“Their drugs and brothels are filth. Even if we wipe them out, other groups will come to take over. That’s how it always is.”
He wasn’t wrong.
In the shadows, drugs and prostitution always resurfaced because they made too much money.
“What do you think, Executive Director Yoo?”
“I don’t mind war. Like you said, having outside enemies makes internal bonds stronger. But a fight without profit can’t last. The members won’t accept it.”
He wasn’t wrong either. I had already told them before not to touch those businesses.
If we fought but didn’t take the drug trade, resentment would flare.
“Drugs, huh...”
The room fell silent as I sank into thought. After a long pause, I spoke.
“What about directly managing drugs? If they can’t be eradicated, isn’t it better for us to control them?”
“Drugs?”
Lee Sanggeun looked shocked. I nodded slightly.
Better under our control than left to someone else.
“What do you think, Chairman Lee?”
“Boss, you’ve always forbidden us from touching drugs. But, yes... nothing makes money like it.”
Even so, I hadn’t wanted to deal with it.
But Korea was already a key hub for Asian drug groups.
“If we were to do it, it should have been done earlier. Now foreign groups are entrenched and will fight to the death. It’s already too big.”
“So you oppose it?”
Cautiously, Lee Sanggeun nodded.
“We worked hard to launder the organization into legitimate businesses. We’d have to flip it all back at once, and the men skilled in that work are already gone.”
He had personally cleaned out drug operations, then negotiated under my orders to make them withdraw.
“I know. I gave that order myself.”
“Yes, and I carried it out. There was heavy resistance inside, but I cleaned it up.” freёwebnoѵel.com
It was true—retaking what had been purged would not be easy.
“What do you think, Executive Director Yoo?”
“...I think it’s good. It would bring far greater profits than anything we do now. That means more money to pass down to the younger brothers and subordinates. There’s nothing better for growing our strength.”
At his words, Lee Sanggeun’s brow furrowed. But Yoo Seongjin went on.
“It’s natural for hyungnim to oppose it. He and Dongsoo hyung lifted the organization from the shadows to the light. But gangsters should live like gangsters. And lately, plenty of small outfits have appeared.”
“Really?”
“They can’t compare to us, of course. But they’re quietly growing by taking the businesses we abandoned.”
This was news to me. I turned to Lee Sanggeun.
At my gaze, he quickly explained.
“Yes, there are some. At most, they collect protection money from shopkeepers or run brothels.”
We had withdrawn from many businesses to move the organization into legitimacy.
And there were men who had devoted their lives to those trades.
Park Dongsu had understood them and tried to carry them along.
But Lee Sanggeun was different. He turned his eyes completely away.
“As long as there are links to those businesses, someday we’d be held accountable. That’s why I left them alone.”
“I don’t think badly of what you did. Don’t misunderstand.”
Yoo Seongjin bowed his head toward him. Lee waved it off.
“Forget it. Don’t I know you?”
“Thank you, hyungnim.”
The sight of them brought a small smile to my lips. Yoo Seongjin’s loyalty, Lee Sanggeun’s trust—it was good to see.
I turned to Ha Myeonghun, who had listened quietly.
“What’s your opinion, Manager Ha?”
“Leave it to Executive Director Yoo, who’s inheriting the organization. If you truly want to use Chairman Lee’s talent, then pull him out of the shadows entirely.”
“Hmm...”
I sipped my drink as he continued. It wasn’t bad hearing the sharp view of a man like him.
“I know Chairman Lee’s skills. But honestly, he’s more a businessman than a gang leader.”
“That’s true.”
Unlike Park Dongsu, Lee Sanggeun lacked somewhat when it came to using fists.
“Executive Director Yoo grew up in the underworld alongside Park Dongsu. He knows how to handle those kinds of men.”
“You hear that. Executive Director, are you confident you can do it properly?”
“If it’s your order, I’ll carry it out no matter what.”
Yoo Seongjin bowed his head as he answered.
“Chairman Lee, hand the organization to him first, even if the business split is delayed. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, I’ll do it.”
“Don’t take it too hard. It’s just finding the right place for the right person. Think of it as valuing your abilities more.”
Lee Sanggeun nodded, his face calm.
“And Executive Director Yoo.”
Yoo turned his head. His eyes already gleamed with resolve.
“Once you inherit the organization, get to work immediately. Decide for yourself how. I’ll be watching.”
“I’ll succeed no matter what.”
I lifted my glass.
“Now, let’s put business aside for tonight and just drink.”
Following me, they all raised their glasses. The clinking rang on late into the night.
* * *
“You must be Vice Chairman Seo Jaehun?”
At a hotel bar, Seo Jaehun was drinking alone when someone approached.
He turned his head, his face indifferent.
“Good evening. I’m Nakata Hiroshi of Yamaguchi-gumi.”
“So?”
“May I join you?”
Even after hearing the introduction, Seo Jaehun simply lifted his glass again, uninterested.
Unfazed, Nakata Hiroshi sat beside him. freēwēbnovel.com
“What the hell. Who said you could sit?”
The negotiations with Nihon Electric hadn’t gone his way. His head was already pounding.
Now, with some punk hanging around, his irritation only grew.
“Vice Chairman, please hear me out.”
“Hear what?”
Nakata Hiroshi gave a thin smile.
“Your talks with Nihon Electric hit a wall, didn’t they? We might be able to help.”
“What the hell are you babbling about?”
Seo Jaehun’s voice rose.
But Nakata Hiroshi neither flinched nor faltered.
“We can act as a bridge even with the government. We have the means.”
“What kind of bullshit is this.”
He dismissed it as nonsense, yet his eyes carefully studied Nakata Hiroshi’s composed expression.
The truth was, Seo Jaehun had never dealt with Yakuza or Mafia in his life.
As the grandson of Ilseong’s founder, he had lived freely, with everything he wanted from birth.
Nakata Hiroshi smiled gently at the frowning man.
“We run many businesses in Japan.”
“You’re saying you can make this negotiation succeed?”
“Yes, we can.”
Seo Jaehun slammed his glass down on the table.
“Why go out of your way to help me?”
“Do we need a reason? We just want to be friends with you.”
In his mind flashed the face of Kim Muhyuk, whom he had met in North Korea.
His expression twisted.
“Cut the crap. You’re approaching me because you want something, aren’t you?”
The sharp retort cracked Nakata Hiroshi’s smile.
“Your words are harsh, Vice Chairman.”
“If you don’t like it, get lost. I can handle it alone without your help.”
Seo Jaehun raised a hand, calling over his bodyguards.
“Yes, Vice Chairman.”
“Get rid of this bastard.”
Then he snapped at the bartender with all his pent-up irritation.
“Hey! What’s with your water here?”
The bartender already knew who Nakata Hiroshi was. Terrified, he hesitated and couldn’t answer.
Meanwhile, the bodyguards spoke to Nakata Hiroshi.
“Please leave.”
Nakata Hiroshi’s face turned icy.
“Vice Chairman, you’ll regret this.”
“Hah...”
Killing intent flashed in Seo Jaehun’s eyes. He had never once let someone who dared say such a thing to him walk free.
“Regret? I’ve never regretted a thing in my life. Get out of my sight.”
More emotional than expected.
Nakata Hiroshi shook his head slowly and stood.
“I heard things aren’t good between Kim Muhyuk and Ilseong. We don’t get along with Kim Muhyuk either. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, isn’t it? If you change your mind, contact me.”
He placed a business card on the table before turning away.
Seo Jaehun, about to snatch his glass again, found his eyes drawn to that card.
