Free Web NovelAt this rate, every member of China’s power elite was going to crawl out of the woodwork.
If someone told me Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping had resurrected, I might even believe it.
While I let out a dumbfounded laugh, Hao Xun looked completely stunned.
“Why would the Wanda Group...?”
“They’re apparently trying to enter the entertainment industry. I heard they want to cast top stars in their movies and dramas.”
Gao Jun answered in a crawling voice. Finally, Hao Xun raised his voice.
“Have some damn restraint! Without their fathers’ halos, they’re nothing... damn it.”
It was the first time I’d seen Hao Xun so agitated.
Well, the situation had escalated enough for him to be rattled.
Chairman Liu Han of Hanlong Group was connected to the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Shanghai Clique, and Chairman Wang Jianlin of the Wanda Group was a member of the Princelings.
He wasn’t a core member, but he was soaring upward as the right-hand man of Bo Xilai, one of the Princeling leadership.
“What will you do?”
Hao Xun asked with a sigh.
“For now, let’s hear more.”
I looked down at Gao Jun again and questioned him.
“Did Chairman Wang Jianlin give the order personally?”
“N-no, he didn’t.”
“Then who did?”
“...It was the Vice Chairman.”
I only knew the chairman of the Wanda Group—I didn’t know the people beneath him.
Looks like I’ll have to dig into that once I get back.
“So Wang Jianlin doesn’t know?”
“That, I’m not sure of. But... he probably does. Everything the Wanda Group does is under Chairman Wang Jianlin’s orders.”
Everything being done under the chairman’s orders—somehow that reminded me of Ilseong, and it irritated me.
I nodded.
“Anything else to say?”
“No. I’ve told you everything I know... Please, just kill me.”
It seemed I’d heard everything I needed from him. I turned to Hao Xun.
“Vice President, do you know who the Vice Chairman of the Wanda Group is?”
“Liu Lifeng.”
“Is he also Princeling faction?”
“No. I know him as a talented administrator who caught Chairman Wang Jianlin’s eye.”
“Let’s go.”
I gave instructions to Chief Ma, who was standing beside Gao Jun.
“Chief, wrap things up however you see fit.”
He was someone who attempted to kidnap Cheon Jiyoung.
It wasn’t a promise made with a person, but with a beast—no reason to keep it.
“W-wait. You said you would kill me quickly—!”
Whatever Gao Jun tried to say was cut off as Chief Ma struck him with the steel pipe.
A scream full of agony rang out, but I turned away without hesitation.
“Let’s go. I need some fresh air.”
I left the warehouse with Hao Xun.
Once outside the suffocating warehouse, a cool breeze from the sea brushed across my face.
“Vice President. Isn’t this amusing?”
“...What?”
“In a way, this is a small matter. To me, it was big—but to others, it’s probably just an attempted kidnapping.”
This was one of China’s common celebrity kidnapping incidents.
Objectively speaking, it wasn’t a major case. China was a country where even top stars were frequently kidnapped.
Big cases often fizzled out, so an attempt that didn’t even succeed was nothing.
“But in this small incident, three major factions of the Chinese Communist Party are all involved. Because you stepped in, the Youth League faction behind you—Hu Jintao’s faction—got involved, then Chairman Liu Han’s Shanghai Clique joined in, and now Chairman Wang Jianlin’s Princelings have appeared.”
Hao Xun’s face stiffened. He clearly hadn’t expected such a small incident to spiral this far.
At this point, even I was curious how far this snowball would roll.
“We can’t fight both factions.”
No matter who I was, I couldn’t take on both the Princelings and the Shanghai Clique simultaneously in China.
Realistically, it would be easier to handle the Princelings, who operated mainly in the business world, rather than the politically powerful Shanghai Clique.
“How about stepping out here, Vice President?”
Organizing my thoughts, I looked at Hao Xun. He let out a deep sigh and asked:
“May I smoke?”
He looked extremely troubled. I silently nodded.
Hao Xun checked his pockets, pulled out a cigarette, and put one in his mouth.
As he fumbled for a lighter, Chief Ma approached and lit it for him.
“Ah... thank you, Chief Ma.”
Hao Xun inhaled deeply, his cheeks hollowing. His eyes seemed distant, lost in thought.
I turned to Chief Ma.
“Is it done?”
“Yes. He’s dead.”
Chief Ma bowed slightly. I saw blood on his hand.
I lightly tapped his shoulder.
“This has gotten too big.”
“What will you do?”
“I can’t fight both the Shanghai Clique and the Princelings. And I can’t topple them entirely. But... I need to show what happens when they touch my family—my things.”
Chief Ma’s expression hardened. He was worried about me heading into another difficult battle.
After staring at me silently for a moment, he spoke.
“Then... who will you strike first?”
“The Princelings are easier than the Shanghai Clique, which holds central political power. Their sphere is much simpler for us to handle.”
“You mean you’re going to hit the Wanda Group? I’ll prepare.”
I organized my thoughts carefully and issued further instructions.
“First, kill Liu Lifeng, the one who gave the direct order. And Wang Jianlin—”
“You must never kill him.”
Both Chief Ma and I turned toward Hao Xun at the same time.
We had been speaking Korean so he wouldn’t understand.
How the hell did he understand that? When did he learn Korean?
Raising an eyebrow, I asked:
“You speak Korean?”
“I am learning. I am... still not good.”
He answered in Chinese—seemed he was practicing listening first.
“Well, it’s not important. Why can’t we kill him?”
“People in the Princeling faction are mostly the children of men who are symbols of the Communist Party. If you kill someone like that, not even President Hu Jintao can protect you, Mr. Kim.”
“I never asked President Hu Jintao to protect me. He and I are not in a protector–protected relationship—we are partners who offer each other help.”
When I answered sharply, Hao Xun fell silent.
“So what’s the alternative? Surely you’re not saying to leave him alone.”
After smoking the cigarette down to the filter, Hao Xun dropped the butt and crushed it underfoot.
When he opened his mouth again, his voice carried a trace of desperation.
“I will find a way. Just... give me time.”
I cut him off coldly.
“No. I’ll handle it myself. You just clean things up here. Whether you take over 14K’s business or not—that’s up to you.”
“...”
“Leave Zhou Weihua alive for now. You said he’s useful if we enter Macau? If he wasn’t involved in this, there’s no reason to kill him. Manage him yourself.”
This should be more than enough of a gift for Hu Jintao.
“And... arrange a meeting with Zhou Yongkang. Just that much. Don’t interfere any further. Inform President Hu Jintao of this as well. Handing over 14K’s business alone is more than enough goodwill on my part.”
“Yes, I’ll deliver that.”
With a heavy expression, Hao Xun extinguished the last ember of his cigarette.
“Clean everything up here, and handle the matter regarding the drama Cheon Jiyoung is filming.” fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
“I’ll finish that quickly and contact you.”
“When can you set up the meeting with Zhou Yongkang? I can’t stay in China too long.”
After a moment of thought, Hao Xun replied quickly.
“I’ll arrange it as soon as possible.”
“If it’s not possible, tell me. I’ll reach out myself.”
“No. I can manage that much.”
I patted his shoulder and turned away.
“Then I’ll trust you and wait.”
That said, I left the place without even looking back.
Cheon Jiyoung showed signs of anxiety for a few days, but once she learned that her manager was safe, she quickly calmed down.
“Oppa!”
Finishing her call with her manager, Cheon Jiyoung came straight to my room.
I lifted my head while sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper.
“What’s going on so early in the morning.”
“What are you doing today?”
“I don’t have anything scheduled yet.”
“Then let’s go to the department store together. I’ve been stuck in the hotel for days, and I want to look around a bit. We came all the way to Guangzhou, and what’s the point of staying in the hotel like this.”
“······Go by yourself. I’m busy.”
I lowered my head again and continued reading the newspaper.
But Cheon Jiyoung didn’t give up. She gently pushed the newspaper down with her hand and sat in front of me.
“Let’s go to the department store. Let’s look around downtown Guangzhou too, okay?”
“Was it Zhao Mi? Can’t you go with that woman?”
“Unni just left. Someone from the agency came and took her.”
I thought she would cling for a long time with how persistent she was being. Feeling a bit puzzled, I turned my head toward Manager Ma.
“That’s right. Someone from her agency came this morning. We asked Zhao Mi and then sent her.”
So they must have heard 14K collapsed. I let out a sigh.
“Do we really have to go? What about just calling the staff here instead?”
“I want to walk around myself. To clear my head a bit. Do you think I’m doing this because I want to buy something?”
Cheon Jiyoung pouted her lips. Well, there’s no helping it. I shook my head and stood up.
“Manager, please get things ready.”
“I’ll buy you a suit, Oppa.”
“I have plenty of suits.”
“Ah, seriously! Let me buy it. I’ve never bought you anything. Just let me!”
“Fine, fine. Do whatever you want.”
A little later.
We arrived at a premium department store in the center of Guangzhou.
Just looking up at the tall department store building made me feel short of breath.
“Let’s go in.”
She said we should go together, yet Cheon Jiyoung rushed ahead on her own. I slowly followed behind her.
The first place she went to was a luxury boutique.
The staff must have already known her face, because the moment Cheon Jiyoung stepped in, they showed her the new arrivals.
“Everything from here to here! Ah, and this too!”
With just one gesture from her, the luxury store employees moved quickly.
She said she didn’t want to buy anything, but she shouted that she would buy everything her eyes landed on.
We hadn’t even gone through a few luxury stores, and already four employees had to leave the building.
With their hands completely full of everything Cheon Jiyoung had bought······.
“Can’t you buy moderately? Why are you buying so much? Will you even wear all that?”
“It’s just for a change of mood. I can’t even do this in Korea. Because of people watching.”
“······So you’re living a tough life too.”
After that, Cheon Jiyoung continued wandering through various stores, buying whatever she wanted. I didn’t stop her anymore and simply followed behind.
Finally, we stopped by the Brioni store to buy my suit.
“Now let’s buy one suit for Oppa.”
“I told you, you don’t need to.”
“Come on! Just let me do it once, okay?”
“It’s not just once, is it? ······Fine. Don’t glare at me like that. Let’s go in.”
Once inside the Brioni store, Cheon Jiyoung didn’t pick things at random like earlier.
It was obvious she was seriously thinking things over while listening to the staff.
She kept glancing at me, lifting up suits, and having a fairly long conversation with the staff.
After a moment, the staff asked us to wait and went to the back of the store, then returned holding one suit.
“This is the only suit of its kind that arrived at our store. Not even ten of these came into China.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Yes. Honesty is our lifeline.”
That answer seemed to please her, and Cheon Jiyoung smiled brightly and beckoned me over.
“Oppa. Try this on.”
“It’s fine. If you like it, let’s go with that.”
When I spoke indifferently, Cheon Jiyoung glared at me with sharp eyes.
Why is she acting like this today? I let out a small laugh, but since I already decided to play along, I figured I might as well do it properly.
Manager Ma took the suit, and I went into the fitting room to change.
I checked myself in the full-length mirror. Well, it’s not bad.
When I stepped out in the suit, Cheon Jiyoung clapped her hands.
“It suits you. What do you think, not bad, right? It looks good to me.”
“Yeah, it’s nice. I’ll wear it well.”
Cheon Jiyoung smiled brightly. Seeing how her mood had lifted, I couldn’t help but smile back.
With the suit as the finale, the department store tour ended.
After finishing dinner, Cheon Jiyoung suggested we drink.
“Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I’m drinking with Oppa.”
“Is it? I don’t know.”
As the drinks went back and forth, we talked about various things.
After a few more glasses, Cheon Jiyoung began opening up about what was inside her.
“I······. I was really scared.”
I simply held my glass and listened quietly.
“My manager Oppa was lying there bleeding, unni was screaming······. I couldn’t see anything. I was so scared. And······ I’m still scared. I’m afraid something like that might happen again.”
“That won’t happen anymore. So you don’t need to be afraid. I’ll make sure of that.”
“But still······.” freēwēbnovel.com
Seeing Cheon Jiyoung’s trembling, teary expression made my mouth taste bitter. I silently emptied my glass and called Manager Ma.
“Manager, she seems really drunk. Please take her to her room.”
“Yes, understood. Miss, excuse me.”
“······Oppa. Thank you. For always being next to me whenever I need you.”
“Family doesn’t say things like that. Get some good rest.”
Manager Ma took Cheon Jiyoung out.
Left alone, I picked up my glass and moved toward the window.
Looking down at the night streets of Guangzhou, I muttered to myself.
“How should I deal with these bastards······.”
Those bastards should feel pain far greater than the fear Cheon Jiyoung went through.
