Free Web NovelJeong Hancheol glared at me like he wanted to kill me and threw off the coat he was wearing.
“You still don’t remember even like this?”
He had on short sleeves despite the middle of winter.
From his neck down to his left arm, a cheap tattoo of a snake stretched across his skin, and a chuckle slipped out of me without me realizing it.
Seeing me laugh, Jeong Hancheol raised his voice even more.
“What’s so funny? Think you’re something?”
I shrugged at him as he kept shouting and answered calmly.
“I don’t even know who you are, your pathetic tattoo’s a joke, and everything about you screams cheap. So what the hell are you supposed to be?”
“W-what? What the hell did you just say?”
Ignoring him, I turned to Jeong Jinseok, who was looking this way with uneasy eyes.
“Jinseok. Send your mother away first.”
“Huh? Ah, yes! I will.”
Snapping back to his senses, Jeong Jinseok tried to lead his mother out of the shop.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going! No one leaves without my permission. Stop them!”
Jeong Hancheol shouted as he glared at Jinseok.
The men who came with him blocked the entrance with their bodies, staring Jinseok down.
“Didn’t you hear what boss said? Stay put.”
“Ah, bosss, please. Let me send my mother out first and then we’ll talk among ourselves. Her heart’s not good.”
“Not our problem. Until boss says so, not even a single ant gets out. Stay still if you don’t want to get beaten.”
Birds of a feather flock together. The way Jinseok’s “older brothers” acted and spoke—no matter how I looked at it, they were nothing more than low-level street punks.
“Manager Ma. Let’s clean this up first.”
I decided to settle the situation before having a proper conversation.
At my order, Manager Ma and the bodyguards moved. As the well-dressed, large-built men stood up, I saw Jeong Hancheol flinch.
“What the hell! Have you lost your mind!”
Jeong Hancheol threw a punch at Manager Ma as he approached.
But Manager Ma simply tilted his head slightly to dodge it, then grabbed him straight by the throat.
“K–kgh!”
With his airway cut off, Jeong Hancheol struggled wildly.
Seeing that, the men guarding the entrance rushed over all at once.
“What the hell! Who the hell are you! Put our boss down right now!”
They barked, but Manager Ma didn’t even react. He lifted the large Jeong Hancheol with one hand.
As Jeong Hancheol hung in the air by his throat, the color began draining from his face.
“Don’t kill him. I’ve got a lot to ask.”
Soon, even the bodyguards who had been waiting outside arrived after being called.
It didn’t take even a few minutes to subdue Jeong Hancheol and his group.
With the situation resolved in an instant, both Jeong Jinseok and his mother just stood there blankly, as if they couldn’t process what had happened.
I called out to Jinseok.
“Jinseok. Send your mother home first.”
Only then did he come to his senses and lead her outside.
Even as she left, still worried, she glanced back into the shop and muttered,
“...What are we gonna do? Isn’t this gonna turn into something big?”
“Boss Muhyuk's here. He’ll handle it. So go inside first. If something happens to you too, I’ll really lose it.”
“...Don’t get hurt.”
“Alright. Just go inside.”
After seeing her off, Jeong Jinseok closed the door.
Even then, Jeong Hancheol kept clawing at Manager Ma’s arm, trying to break free, but it was useless.
Eventually, he lost consciousness.
Manager Ma tossed him roughly onto the floor.
“Myungsoo and Hyunseong, you two go in as well.”
“What?”
They both looked at me at the same time.
“Myungsoo doesn’t need to get tangled up in this for no reason, and Hyunseong—your kid’s waiting at home, isn’t he?”
“Kim Muhyuk!”
Myungsoo’s face flushed red, clearly angry.
But I was serious. I wasn’t about to drag the two of them into trouble over some worthless thug.
“Just go. I’ll explain everything tomorrow morning.”
Reading the sincerity in my eyes, Park Hyunseong nodded and grabbed Myungsoo’s arm.
“Lee Myungsoo. Let’s go first.”
Myungsoo looked up at him with a frustrated expression, but Hyunseong simply shook his head without saying anything.
In the end, Myungsoo gave in, looking back and forth between me and Jeong Hancheol with worried eyes.
“...Ha. Fine. Don’t go too far. And don’t kill him.”
“I wish he were worth that much. Go on. See you tomorrow.”
Hyunseong forcibly dragged the reluctant Myungsoo out of the shop.
Outside, a crowd had already gathered, peeking inside.
I saw Myungsoo and Hyunseong, their faces partially covered, push through the crowd and disappear.
“Manager Ma. Let’s take them outside first.”
As I stood up, Jeong Jinseok hurried over.
“Is it okay if we go out this way?”
I asked, looking toward the path leading to the seaside instead of the main entrance.
“Yes, boss .”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
We went out through the small staircase beside the terrace.
Crossing the road, we walked toward the pebble-covered shore.
Manager Ma dragged the unconscious Jeong Hancheol along, while the bodyguards followed with the rest of the men.
“Jinseok. What does that bastard do?”
“Boss Hancheol?”
Jinseok glanced back nervously at Jeong Hancheol and his group.
“...Well...”
He hesitated, unable to answer properly, so I lightly patted his back.
“Stop worrying about them and just tell me.”
He swallowed hard before finally speaking.
“Boss Hancheol came back to Yeongdo, and... things have gotten pretty bad.”
“Bad how?”
“He’s running daily loans on the market vendors here. But even if they don’t want it, he forces them to take the money. And if they refuse, he causes all kinds of trouble in front of their shops so they can’t even do business.”
“Wasn’t there someone already handling the people here?”
Jinseok nodded and continued.
“Yes. But after he fought with boss Hancheol and lost, he just disappeared one day. No one knows where he went. Then boss Hancheol started collecting the loans from here.”
Running daily loans on small vendors wasn’t unusual.
Every traditional market had moneylenders.
They lent quick cash and collected high interest.
But they weren’t stupid enough to slaughter the goose that laid the golden eggs.
They cooperated with the vendors, sometimes even cutting them slack.
That way, money kept flowing, and they could keep collecting interest.
That’s why, most of the time, locals who knew the area and could throw a decent punch handled that work.
“The one who used to do it—someone I know?”
Jinseok nodded again.
“Yes. You’d know him too. About four years older than you... there was a guy called Jongbu boss.”
At that, I had a vague idea who he meant.
“He was the one running the loans?”
“Yes. He was handling the loans around here.”
“You guys use those loans too?”
Jinseok smirked and nodded.
“You know how it is, boss. Even if business is good, sometimes cash suddenly gets tight. Anyway, we used to borrow from boss Jongbu and paid both principal and interest every single day. But then suddenly boss Hancheol said we should pay him instead. And he raised the interest too.”
“He just raised the interest however he wanted? Didn’t you sign any loan papers?”
At my question, Jinseok laughed again.
“No way. We don’t use stuff like that here. We just trust each other—borrow and pay back. It’s not like we’re quitting business and running away.”
“So it’s all informal.”
“Well... yeah. Everyone knows each other’s faces. We just jot it down in a notebook and pay every day.”
As we talked, we reached the pebble-covered shore.
I gestured to Manager Ma to wake Jeong Hancheol.
He tapped Hancheol’s cheek a couple of times.
“G–ghk! Hah...!” free𝑤ebnovel.com
Jeong Hancheol, having come to his senses, gasped for breath as he looked around.
“Y-you bastard! You wanna die?!”
He jumped to his feet and pointed at me, shouting.
But it didn’t last long. Manager Ma kicked the back of his knee from behind.
“Ugh!”
He collapsed onto his knees on the gravel, unable to hold back a scream from the pain.
I slowly walked toward him.
Then I stood in front of Jeong Hancheol, who was looking up at me, and stepped down hard on the hand he had braced against the ground.
“You keep acting like you know me, but I seriously don’t remember who you are. Why show up on a good day like today just to ruin my mood?”
Jeong Hancheol cursed and screamed.
“Ack! Aaaagh!! It hurts, it hurts! You son of a bitch...! D-do you even know who I am? Keep this up and you’re really gonna die!”
Ha. The same thing over and over again. After hearing it so many times, it was starting to irritate me, and a hollow laugh slipped out.
“I’m asking you—who are you?”
“I’m Jeong Hancheol, Jeong Hancheol! I’m about to officially join Chunha Group!”
“Chunha Group?”
“Yeah! You know Chunha Group, right? You’re seriously screwed now! I ain’t the same Jeong Hancheol I used to be!”
Rubbing his crushed hand with the other, Jeong Hancheol continued proudly,
“Once I get into Chunha Group, it’s all over! I won’t have to stay in a shitty place like this anymore!”
“You said Chunha Group?”
“Yeah! Starting to realize you messed with the wrong person? You should be nervous. Even a member of the National Assembly can’t touch Chunha Group, you bastard!”
Which idiot filled his head with that nonsense? I let out a faint laugh as I looked down at him.
“You’re laughing? You still don’t get the situation? Hey! You’re dead now, you bastard!”
“Who’s the one taking you in?”
“You think you’d even know if I told you? Why the hell are you running your mouth!”
He didn’t even know it himself, yet he looked so smug—it was almost pitiful.
“Call them here. That Chunha Group or whatever. Otherwise, you die here. If you want to live, call them.”
“Are you crazy? Do you even know what kind of people they are?! Y-you’re really gonna die!”
For the first time, panic showed on Jeong Hancheol’s face.
Whoever it was, he was clearly afraid of the people connected to Chunha Group.
“What, scared? Weren’t you waiting all day to kill me? Whether I die or not isn’t your concern. Let me see the face of the person you trust so much. Let’s see if the rope you grabbed is gold or just another piece of trash.”
It had been a long time since I’d had a peaceful day like this. Drinking, talking about old memories with Myungsoo and Hyunseong.
But now it had ended like this, and halfway through speaking, anger surged up from deep inside.
I ground my teeth and glared at Jeong Hancheol.
“Who the hell do you think you are, wasting my time like this...”
“Boss. I’ll handle it.”
Manager Ma quickly stepped in front of me, blocking my view.
Looking at his usual calm face, I slowly took a deep breath.
Then I suppressed my anger and nodded.
“...Bring him to me within today. Otherwise, I’m not moving an inch from here.”
“Yes, boss.”
Manager Ma bowed his head, then turned and kicked Jeong Hancheol straight in the face with his shoe.
At first, Jeong Hancheol tried to shout something, but as the merciless beating continued, he soon curled up, unable to say a word, just taking the blows.
“B-boss...”
Jeong Jinseok called out to me from the side, his voice filled with fear.
“What is it, Jinseok? You want to head back first too?”
“N-no, boss. I’ll stay. But... is this really okay? What if real gangsters show up?”
At his naive question, I just smiled and ruffled his hair like I used to when he was younger, despite his large build.
“No matter who comes, I won’t even need to step in. Don’t worry. Don’t you trust me?”
“N-no, I do trust you, boss.”
His answer came out instantly, making me laugh again.
He was all grown up, yet he still seemed to think I was some kind of Superman. I had no idea what exactly he [N O V E L I G H T] was trusting.
“Boss! Your legs must be tired, right?”
Jeong Jinseok ran back to the shop, then returned carrying a few square plastic chairs.
He placed one behind me.
“Sit and wait.”
I nodded and sat down.
After a while, Jeong Hancheol—his face so battered it was hard to recognize—handed his phone to Manager Ma, begging desperately.
“Manager Ma. Give it to me.”
At my call, Manager Ma approached and handed me the phone.
“It’s this person.”
He had already set it so the call would connect immediately with a single press.
As soon as I hit the call button, the ringing went on for quite a while.
—What the hell? What is it at this hour? Hey, are you out of your mind?
The moment he picked up, the other side was already annoyed.
I checked the name on the screen and spoke.
“Are you the bastard?”
—What? Did you eat something wrong, you bastard! Jeong Hancheol! Where the hell are you?!
“It was saved like that in the phone, so I thought it was your nickname. Jeong Hancheol’s been throwing your name around, saying you’d kill me.”
—What the hell are you? Who are you? Where’s Hancheol?!
Looking down at Jeong Hancheol writhing on the gravel, I answered,
“He’s squirming on the gravel like a worm.”
—You bastard, do you even know who I am?! Where are you, you bastard!
“Jagal Madang. If you’re coming, don’t come alone—bring everyone.”
—What kind of crazy bastard are you! Do you even know who I am?! Just wait there!
Quite a loud voice. With that, the call ended.
“He says to wait.”
I handed the phone back to Manager Ma.
“Should we call more people?”
“No. Let’s not make this bigger than it needs to be.”
“Yes, boss.”
We pushed Jeong Hancheol and his group into one corner and waited.
After quite some time, two vans came speeding in and stopped by the roadside.
The vans had the name Chunha Services written on them.
Men poured out of the vans.
And then, lastly, a sedan arrived.
One of the men from the van opened the back door, and a man stepped out.
“Boss! You’ve arrived!”
The men bowed their heads toward him.
The man looked in our direction and spoke.
“Which bastard made the call?”
