< Loyalty, loyalty! >
I handed over Secretary Kim’s business card.
“For exactly one week. I want Taesung to protect Uncle Cheolgu thoroughly without touching him even once.”
It was a demand from the winner of the bet.
‘Secretary Kim’s service solved the problem of getting Mr. Cheol-gu out of the prison, but protecting him is another matter.’
The Hwangcheon-gil counter was still shining above Mr. Cheol-gu’s head.
It was the work of the grim reaper.
[4 days]
Even though I took it out of the serving room, it’s still like this.
This means that the threat of death has not yet completely disappeared.
‘Because of the bribery ledger of Wookwang Construction, Mr. Cheolgu is expelled and can’t stand to die.’
I can’t ignore this guy!
At first, I was going to stop at giving advice that would save my mother’s life, as if I was paying off her debt, but now things are different.
Because I am negotiating using the uncle’s ledger.
‘The money at stake is big, and the problem at stake is big. In this case, Mr. Cheolgu’s active cooperation is absolutely necessary.’
It was a problem involving internal corruption within the Taesung Group worth a whopping 2 billion won.
That’s also the reason why I help the old man by writing him a business card.
I intend to make the most of this opportunity.
“Please put your business card away. It would be a waste to waste it like this.”
Secretary Kim didn’t return the business card.
“I said from the beginning that it was a bribe. So it’s not too late to use this after the negotiations break down.”
Instead, he put the business card back in my pocket.
“Chairman Cha’s patience is running out, so what if you tell him to bring Mr. Cheol-gu right away?”
“In order to prevent such an unfortunate incident, I must hurry and bring the bribe.”
“What if we capture Mr. Cheol-gu’s family and hold them hostage?”
“We need to block the source. I heard that Ms. Kang Ok-bun, the mother of Mr. Park Cheol-gu, is currently holding out in front of the central government office, saying she wants to meet her son. We will also take her to a safe place.”
I like it.
“Please bring her here politely so that she doesn’t get startled. Don’t drag her in roughly as if you were kidnapping her.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
At Secretary Kim’s wink, two of Taesung Group’s bodyguards immediately left.
Mr. Cheolgu looked very grateful.
“Mr. Park Cheol-gu will also need treatment. I will contact Taesung Hospital and arrange for him to come for a visit. Of course, this is also a service.”
“I didn’t even pay for the business card, but the service is too generous. Are you upset that this is a losing business?”
“You were the one who handed over the ledger first, right? Since we’ve already started this credit transaction, I’ll trust you this time.”
A sense of goodwill sprouting through credit transactions!
To this extent, Secretary Kim had done her duty to me, and it was enough to win my favor.
‘Actually, there’s a reason why Secretary Kim backs down so meekly.’
It’s not just because you want to look good to me.
Unlike Woo-kwang, who tried to silence Uncle Cheol-gu by killing him, Tae-seong is in a position where he must open Uncle Cheol-gu’s mouth.
Mr. Cheol-gu is a tough man who didn’t open his mouth even after being dragged to the court.
What if Mr. Cheolgu keeps his mouth shut until the end?
All the important information that wasn’t recorded in the ledger was lost.
“It is not too late for me to directly point my sword at Mr. Park Cheol-gu until after the negotiations with you have gone wrong.”
That’s why Mr. Cheol-gu’s countdown to the afterlife is still continuing.
Woo-kwang tries to kill, and Tae-seong opens his mouth.
This is the fate of the shrimp that got involved in the fight between the whales, Woo-kwang and Tae-seong.
“I promise you, you will never regret this choice you have made.”
I held out my hand.
Secretary Kim took my hand.
We shook hands.
“Mr. Park Cheol-gu, please understand this clearly.”
Secretary Kim’s voice was cold.
“Who do you think saved your life? Live your life in gratitude to our Master Jeonghyeok.”
It was a warning to pay the price of one’s life.
“You don’t have to worry about that. It’s not my style to rake in kids.”
But Mr. Cheol-gu just laughed heartily.
“I don’t know about anything else, but you shouldn’t try to steal someone’s life. I’m not that kind of a worthless person.”
“I hope so.”
Secretary Kim bowed politely to me.
“Your Majesty, I will come back to you as soon as the bribe is ready.”
Secretary Kim went back.
They were followed by Taesung Group security guards.
* * *
Mr. Cheol-gu groaned and collapsed on the living room floor.
“Oh my, I’m dying. I really thought I was going to die.”
Thanks to the oil boiler being turned on, his back must have been very hot.
“Thank you, kid. I’m serious about repaying your debt with my life.”
“Okay. I have paid off my mother’s life debt.”
You saved my mother first, didn’t you?
Without asking, without demanding, and without demanding anything in return.
“It’s nothing special. But I’m sure that I almost died thanks to you. I thought I was going to die.”
Mr. Cheolgu hit my chest hard.
“I don’t know how the man Park Cheol-gu came to owe his life to a seven-year-old kid, but I, Park Cheol-gu! I am a man who keeps my promise even if it means dying!”
Then he soon burst into hearty laughter.
“Wow, no matter how much I think about it, I really don’t get it. Kid, what the hell did you do? How did you get me out of the courtyard? What power does a kid like you have?”
“Have you forgotten? The courage of the powerless is nothing but an abuse of power, so if you are powerless, you should attract the power.”
“······.”
Mr. Cheolgu blinked.
“Where did you say I should aim to hit the bullseye?”
“Above the target?”
“Woo-kwang moved the upper line of the central court and dragged the old man away, so in order to get the old man out, we had no choice but to move Tae-seong.”
“······.”
Mr. Cheolgu laughed in vain.
“Easy to say. Can it be done?”
“Is it possible?
“······.”
“That’s why you’re here now, isn’t it?”
“her······.”
Mr. Cheolgu opened his mouth wide.
For a moment, he was trembling like a goldfish, pointing at me with his finger a few times.
“You really got me out like that?”
“yes.”
“Taesung, where do you trust me?”
“You wouldn’t have believed a seven-year-old kid. You believed the documents I had prepared.”
“······!”
Mr. Cheolgu opened his eyes wide.
“Sir, sir, no way······!”
“So you didn’t even know I was stealing it until now?”
Mr. Cheolgu hit my forehead.
“I’m going crazy. Why do you have that?”
“Just know that it’s thanks to me stealing this that you’re still alive today.”
“······.”
Mr. Cheolgu kept his mouth shut.
“When the old man was taken away, there was irrefutable evidence. Taesung also had a hard time getting the old man out.”
“Ahem!”
“I almost got into big trouble. Why is there such a thing as a murderer?”
I couldn’t help but sigh when I saw this sight.
“What on earth have you been doing all this time? You didn’t make copies, you didn’t go around threatening politicians, you didn’t ask the media for support, and you didn’t properly stab Woo-kwang.”
“Ahem!”
“I told you to prepare for when something happens to you. You’re not saying he didn’t move, are you? I heard that Woo-kwang set fire to the shantytown in Guro-dong while forcibly demolishing it.”
“Ahem! I did my best to block the light, but······.”
Mr. Cheolgu scratched the back of his head.
“Taesung is Wookwang’s rival company. That’s why I wanted to go to Taesung first!”
“But?”
“But I don’t have a connection with Taesung. I don’t think he’ll believe me easily, so I decided to be completely certain······.”
At that moment, the door to the small room where my mother and the fortune teller had entered opened wide.
‘Ah! That was the most important part!’
I couldn’t help but look at the intruder without realizing it.
“As expected, your wife has great taste! You’ve picked out only the best properties! What an excellent choice… gasp!”
The old man from Bokdeokbang came out with a very satisfied look on his face, but then flinched when he saw me and the old man.
I was glaring, and Mr. Cheol-gu, who was as big as a bear, had his eyes wide open with a bloodshot look on his face.
The old man at the fortune teller immediately said goodbye.
“We hope you will continue to frequent our best real estate agency in Myeongdong! Loyalty, loyalty!”
The old man from Bokdeokbang turned around and left without even looking back.
Mr. Cheolgu also saluted me and smiled playfully.
“I’m loyal too!”
“Why are you suddenly talking about loyalty…, Oh my, Mr. Cheolgu!”
My mother was startled as she came out of the room.
“How did you get hurt like this?”
“······.”
You can’t say that a Central Intelligence Agency agent was taken to the Central Intelligence Agency and tortured before being released.
There’s no way to explain it?
“Hey, he, he got hit by his senior at work.”
“Oh my god, workplace bullying!”
That wasn’t a wrong statement.
The senior rider in the middle of the court beat him savagely.
“By the way, how did you find my house and come here?”
“Invitation from a little kid······?”
That wasn’t a wrong statement.
Because I was the one who asked Secretary Kim to bring Mr. Cheol-gu out.
My mother looked back at me.
“An invitation? Suddenly? How? For what reason?”
“······housewarming?”
“······.”
Why? What? Why!
We moved and had guests over, so it’s a housewarming party!
When you’re at a loss for an answer, changing the subject is the best.
Gulp! Gulp!
Just then, a sound like a train slamming was heard.
It was a sound coming from Mr. Cheolgu’s stomach.
Perfect timing! What luck!
Mr. Cheolgu, with his bear-like build, smiled awkwardly and rubbed my stomach.
“Actually, I ended up skipping five meals in a row······.”
“Oh my god, you skipped five meals?”
Mother covered her mouth with both hands.
“Did the lady kick you out without even giving you food? Did you get caught talking about being a spy on a blind date again?”
“Ahem, that’s not it. I was caught up in work and have been up all night······.”
“Oh my god, even forced overtime!”
That wasn’t a wrong statement.
Because tormenting people by depriving them of food and sleep in order to extract confessions was Jung-Jeong’s specialty.
But it was enough of an answer to make my mother extremely angry.
“What kind of shitty workplace is that? Even at the end of the year! Even if you treat people like dogs, you have to feed them and make them work! Even salt farm slaves don’t treat you like that!”
That’s really strange.
Even though they make you work hard without paying your salary, vacation, weekends, or working overtime, people just think, ‘That’s just how work is.’
When it came to the part where they were made to work without being fed, everyone couldn’t help but be angry.
“Welcome, Mr. Cheolgu! Eat six bowls each, including the meals you missed!”
The mother, overcome with a sense of mission, pushed Uncle Cheol-gu’s back and went into the kitchen.
The Japanese food team at the Taesung Hotel restaurant looked back with a puzzled expression as they prepared dinner.
The mother spoke in a very angry voice.
“This guy has skipped five meals in a row because his workplace made him work all night without giving him food!”
“······!”
The chef corps all looked back at Mr. Cheolgu with shocked expressions.
A bear-like gentleman with bruises all over his body scratched the back of his head with an innocent smile.
“Anything is fine. Is there anything I can eat right now? Even just a lump of stale rice······.”
“······!”
The head chef of the Japanese cuisine team at the Taesung Hotel restaurant spoke solemnly with burning eyes.
“We don’t serve stale rice. But we do serve sushi!”
“Oh!”
“First, salmon sushi?”
“Ohhhhh!”
Mr. Cheolgu ran in with a scream and started eating the salmon sushi.
It looked exactly like a grizzly bear hunting in an Alaskan tributary.
A plate that empties incredibly quickly!
The mother looked at the sight with sad eyes.
“That senior at work is really too much. How can he treat people like this and exploit them?”
“······!”
The veteran Japanese food team, who were leisurely preparing the meal, gave off a solemn atmosphere.
The pieces of sashimi on top of sushi have become larger, and the fried food and udon toppings have become more abundant.
“The Taesung Hotel kitchen is always looking for a strong and physically fit kitchen assistant, so if you have any questions, please contact us at any time. We won’t starve you, we won’t beat you, and we’ll make sure you sleep well!”
I whispered softly in Mr. Cheolgu’s ear.
“Come see me later after you finish eating.”
I took out a neatly folded piece of paper from under the table and showed it to him.
It was a page cut out from the Wookwang Construction bribery ledger.
“Cough! Ugh! Ugh!”
Mr. Cheolgu knew what this was right away.
I whispered as I gently pushed the glass of water towards the old man.
“Let’s take care of this properly before the Taesung Group Chairman comes running at me with a knife, saying he’ll kill me.”
Mr. Cheolgu nodded his head repeatedly.
< Since Wookwang Construction's funds are severely insufficient, it is Taesung, not Wookwang, who is responsible for securing the necessary funds for lobbying······.>
The following part reads as follows:
< ······The question is who did it. Who could it be? I have a suspicion, but no evidence?>
< The following pages are left blank for now to record evidence as it becomes available.>
That’s why I cut out three pages on purpose and left them out.
‘But I already know what should go on this blank page!’
So is there a problem? Of course not!
< Loyalty, Loyalty!> End
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