Free Web Novel“Shut the fuck up! Shut your damn mouths!”
The president’s outburst startled the two men, who turned their heads toward him in surprise.
Ignoring them, the president stood up and bowed deeply to Manager Ha.
“Good day, Manager Ha.”
“You know who I am?”
“Who in Myeongdong doesn’t? We even met once before. But... why are you here...?”
The president glanced at me and Manager Ha with a growing look of disbelief.
Manager Ha ignored him and approached me, handing over a heavy document case.
“Young Master, I’ve brought it.”
Young Master.
At that word from Manager Ha’s mouth, all color drained from the president’s face.
Unable to even form an excuse, he anxiously darted his eyes around, gauging my reaction.
“By the way, I noticed something strange on my way in. Did something happen?”
Manager Ha asked in a flat voice, sounding almost concerned. The president looked pitiful now.
“Oh, nothing much. Just came to repay a debt, and the guy decided to act all formal.”
“Hm...”
Still avoiding our eyes, the president cautiously asked Manager Ha,
“C-Could it be... is this gentleman the grandson of Chairman Cheon...?”
He looked like he was praying for a different answer, but Manager Ha silently nodded.
The president began silently pulling out his own hair.
But Manager Ha didn’t care at all.
“Who’s your investor? I didn’t even know a place like this existed.”
“...We’re under Chairman Seok.”
“Chairman Seok?”
Manager Ha tilted his head, prompting the president to ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) quickly clarify.
“Chairman Seok Kangho, sir.”
“Seok Kangho... Seok Kangho... Ah, that Seok Kangho.”
“Yes!”
“When did Seok become a ‘Chairman’?”
“......”
The president’s face visibly died in real time—it was amusing to watch.
“You know him?” I asked.
Manager Ha explained nonchalantly.
“Yes. He started out as a street lender and eventually opened a legit loan office.”
“I see.”
“He’s not someone you need to concern yourself with. Now, what’s the 15 million won about?”
“Oh, I’ve got business with a Mr. Han Kyungyeong. Apparently he owed money to these guys, so I came to pay it off and take over the bond.”
At the mention of his name, Han Kyungyeong—who’d been nervously glued to the wall—flinched in surprise.
Looks like he was scared of Manager Ha too.
I chuckled and sat back down.
“The money’s here, right? Bring the paperwork, hurry.”
The president looked toward Manager Ha for permission.
But when Manager Ha simply stood silently behind me, the president reluctantly walked over to a cabinet and pulled out Han Kyungyeong’s loan documents.
Without even reading them, I tore them up right there on the table.
“Han Kyungyeong’s debt is cleared now, right?”
The president, who had been staring at the shredded documents, quickly responded.
“Huh? Ah, yes, yes. Of course.”
Manager Ha opened the document case.
Inside were neat stacks of cash, each bundle worth 1 million won.
I pulled out three bundles and placed them on the table.
“This is the principal.”
Then I pulled out the remaining twelve bundles and laid them beside them.
“This is the interest.”
“Yes, that’s 15 million won. Thank you.”
Just as the president reached toward the money, I stopped him.
He looked at me in confusion.
“Wait a second, we still have some things to settle, don’t we?”
“Sorry?”
I smiled and picked up the cash bundles.
“Let’s start by deducting 3 million won for every insult you threw at me. ‘Crazy bastard,’ ‘fuckin’ punk,’ ‘you son of a bitch.’ That’s 900,000 won total, right?”
I put nine bundles back into the case.
Ignoring the president’s shaking eyes following the money, I continued.
“Manager Ha’s travel expenses: 5 million won.”
I put another five bundles back in.
“100,000 won left?”
He looked between me, Manager Ha, and the cash in a daze.
“That’s the cost of tracking down Han Kyungyeong. Perfect fit.”
I put the last bundle into the case.
“We’re all settled now, right?”
“W-What are you saying?”
He stuttered, trying to protest.
How could he still not understand the situation?
I mocked him as I closed the case.
“Don’t you speak Korean?”
“W-What kind of law allows this?!”
“You doing business legally?”
“That’s not the point... If you tore up the documents, you should still pay! Even if you're the Chairman’s grandson—this is too much.”
“I did pay. 15 million won.”
“N-No, I mean...”
“So you’re saying my math is off? Go ahead, explain.”
“That’s...”
He glanced toward Manager Ha, then shut his mouth.
Yeah, don’t start shit you can’t finish.
“Mr. No-Name President. Your problem isn’t the money—you should be worrying about keeping your life. Aren’t you scared things have gone this far?”
I asked like I genuinely wanted to know, and the president stayed silent.
He’d been putting up a front, but now that the money was gone, he was starting to realize reality.
“If I see you around Myeongdong again, it won’t end with words. I told you, around here, money is king. You’ve been warned.”
I handed the document case back to Manager Ha.
He smiled slightly, apparently pleased with my performance.
Stretching my arms, I stood.
“If you show up again, you know what’ll happen. You’d better lay low.”
Just as I was about to turn, the president fell to his knees.
“P-Please forgive me, just this once.”
“Forgive you? For what? What did you even do wrong?”
“I was wrong about everything. Please, forgive me.”
So he doesn’t want to retire, huh?
“No thanks. We’re not close, so what’s there to forgive? Let’s go, Manager Ha. Mr. Han, don’t just stand there. Let’s move.”
Han Kyungyeong slowly peeled himself off the wall and walked over to me.
He glanced back and forth between me and the kneeling loan shark, then quickly ran outside.
“Oh, right.”
I stopped mid-step, and the president—still crumpled on the floor—looked up in confusion.
I pulled out 30,000 won from my wallet and tossed it to the ground.
The crisp bills fluttered down before his empty stare.
“Always finish the bill. What kind of loan shark waives interest out of kindness?”
Outside, Manager Ha was waiting by the building.
“Sorry for dragging you into this, Manager Ha.”
He chuckled and shook his head.
“Haha, no need. That was quite the show.”
“I’m going to talk with Mr. Han for a bit, then head home. Go on ahead.”
“Very well. I’ll see you later.” freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Han Kyungyeong looked at me blankly.
“Let’s grab a drink.”
“Huh? O-Okay.”
He seemed scared of me too.
I glanced sideways at him following me like a puppy and sighed.
* * *
Manager Ha returned to the loan office after parting ways with Muhyuk.
As he entered, the president—who had been smoking—quickly stubbed out his cigarette and stood up.
Surprisingly, he was the one to speak first.
“Manager Ha. Isn’t this a bit much?”
“Hey.”
Manager Ha’s cold voice cut through the air.
The president, who had just spoken confidently, flinched and shut up.
“Pack up and leave Myeongdong immediately. Otherwise, whether you’re a chairman or not, Seok Kangho will disappear from Myeongdong first. Got it?”
“......”
“Answer me.”
“...Yes, I understand.”
“If my people come by tomorrow morning and see you still here, things will get interesting.”
With that, Manager Ha turned and walked out.
The office remained silent for a while.
The president, still dazed, stared at the shredded documents on the floor before picking up the phone and calling someone.
Manager Ha returned straight to Chairman Cheon’s residence.
“Hohoho. He really did that?”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Chairman Cheon chuckled with pride as he listened to the story.
“That brat. He’s just like me, isn’t he, Myeonghun?”
“Yes, sir. He’s a lot like you.”
“Tsk. My sons... Misook left me quite a gift, she really did.”
He clicked his tongue at the thought of Cheon Sooman and Cheon Suhan.
“So, what did you do with those bastards?”
“I told them to leave Myeongdong today. I also told them if they didn’t, Seok Kangho would be the first to disappear.”
“That punk Seok Kangho’s being called a chairman now?”
“Yes.”
“Huh~ Time really has passed.”
“They even call each other ‘Chairman’ now.”
“What? Hahaha.”
But then Chairman Cheon’s laughter faded and his expression turned icy.
“Tell Seok Kangho to leave Myeongdong too. It doesn’t matter if he knew or not. People who defy or screw up against me don’t get to live in Myeongdong. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Manager Ha bowed and left.
Alone in the room, a smile spread across Chairman Cheon’s wrinkled face.
At a nearby pojangmacha, Han Kyungyeong and I ordered some snacks and a bottle of soju.
“...What exactly do you do?”
He was the first to break the silence.
“Well... for now, I help my grandfather with work. But I’m mainly a student at Korea National University.”
“Don’t joke with me.”
“What would I get out of joking with you? I’m really a student.”
I showed him my student ID.
He examined it front and back before sighing deeply.
“Ha~ You’re serious. What the hell...”
The vendor brought us our food and soju.
I opened the bottle and poured him a drink.
“I don’t lie. I genuinely want to work with you, which is why I paid off your debt. Just have a drink.”
Looking like his insides were burning, he downed the shot immediately and slammed his glass on the table.
“What kind of work?”
“You’ll do stocks.”
“Hah... you’re telling a guy who got chased by loan sharks for losing everything in stocks to do it again? You expect me to believe that?”
“Hm... Haven’t you ever thought this?”
“Thought what?”
‘If only I had the money. If only I had the capital, I could wipe out every manipulator and operator in the market...’
His flinch said it all.
“I’ll give you the capital. You show me what you can do. Just one condition—if I say buy or sell, you do it without question. Trust my decisions above your own. Just that one thing.”
“......”
He looked conflicted, so I poured him another shot.
I filled my own glass and lifted it.
“If you drink this, it means we’re working together.”
“Shit, whatever.”
He shut his eyes tight and clinked his glass with mine.
After downing his shot again, he asked:
“Let me ask one thing. Why the hell do you trust me enough to fund me? You don’t even know me.”
I didn’t answer. I just smiled.
In your autobiography, you once said—
‘If Korea had given me a chance, I never would’ve returned as a hunting dog for foreign capital.’
I’m giving you that chance.
But I’m not a good person.
You’ll have to become my hunting dog.
That night, we talked a lot.
Eventually, we dropped the formalities.
The next day.
I handed him a securities account with 100 million won.
“Do whatever you’ve always dreamed of. Even if you lose it all, it’s fine. Just believe in yourself and try.”
“......”
“This is real. Go wreak havoc in the stock market.”
I showed him trust.
Now it was Han Kyungyeong’s turn.
* * *
Time passed quickly.
May, 1993.
Voices echoed in Chairman Cheon’s study.
“What? Suhan did what now?!”
“...He was arrested by the prosecution.”
“He didn’t tell me a damn thing—what the hell...”
“Looks like he was caught up in Assemblyman Kim’s case.”
“You mean the slot machine scandal? With the gangsters?”
“Yes.”
Chairman Cheon rubbed his forehead and frowned.
“Where? The Blue House? The President?”
“Unlikely. They tried pressuring the Chief Secretary, the Prosecutor General, and even lawmakers, but it got leaked to the press and public opinion turned.”
“Ha... The Supreme Prosecutor’s Office?”
“It’s a prosecutor from Seoul Central’s Serious Crimes Division. He was tracking the gangsters tied to the slot machines, and it exploded from there. He’s ignoring all orders from above.”
The slot machine scandal involving Cheon Suhan had erupted—entangling politicians, gangsters, prosecutors, and private lenders.
Just as Kim Muhyuk had planned.
< Shall We Work Together? > End.
