ACJY C1

D-3

An ashtray flew through the air. It wasn’t aimed to hit him, so Lee Seonjae deftly dodged it, careful not to provoke Seokdu Lee, his uncle and adoptive father. Though his wheezing suggested he was on his last legs, his uncle, at sixty, was as healthy as Seonjae, who was now thirty-one.

Beside his uncle stood Hyeonjun Lee, short and squat, arms crossed, looking down at Seonjae. He was so short that there wasn’t much difference in height between them, even with Seonjae sitting.

Hyeonjun was a concentration of all his parents’ bad genes. His mother’s short stature, his father’s unpleasant face, and as if that weren’t enough, he’d inherited the worst of their personalities. On the other hand, his cousin Seonjae had everything – except money and family.

“One month. Get that land contract signed within a month.” His uncle said in a gravelly voice.

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

Seonjae replied curtly, brushing cigarette ash off his jacket. At his uncle’s dismissive gesture, he stood, bowed, and turned to leave. “Want me to send someone with you?” his uncle asked.

“It’s fine.”

The men his uncle sent were all incompetent. They were supposedly four-year college graduates, but they acted as if their brains were in their rear ends, excreting instead of processing his instructions. Seonjae had fired more than he could count on two hands. Yet, his uncle insisted on assigning him helpers. He believed a man doing important work should have underlings.

“Trying to save face by doing it alone?”

“It’s easier this way. The old man doesn’t like crowds.”

“Tsk. If he’s so old, he should act his age.” His uncle clicked his tongue.

“He didn’t try to proposition you, did he?” Hyeonjun suddenly interjected.

His uncle frowned, displeased with his son’s question. Oblivious, Hyeonjun sneered. “Well, if he had, the contract would be signed by now, wouldn’t it?”

Seonjae responded with a smirk, causing Hyeonjun’s lips to twitch.

“Don’t talk nonsense and get out.” his uncle barked.

If his uncle wasn’t there, Seonjae would have teased him mercilessly – “With your face, you wouldn’t have a chance with men or women” – but it was a missed opportunity.

Seonjae opened the heavy steel door and stepped into the elevator. He pressed the button for the first floor and loosened his tie in the rattling elevator. Lately, his tie had become unbearably suffocating. Ding- The doors opened. He left the dilapidated building without a second glance.

He walked quickly past the fish market, taking a deep breath once he was clear of the fishy smell. He glanced back at the building he had just exited.

Ilgwang Financial. The name sounded impressive, but it was essentially a loan sharking operation. Of course, they didn’t just lend money. They dabbled in auctions, stocks, real estate – anything that generated cash. Recently, they had been focusing their efforts on construction and demolition services. Unlike other corporate gangsters, they never dealt in drugs, human trafficking, or the entertainment industry. Their attempt to mimic a legitimate business was their defining characteristic.

His uncle, who had risen from a common thug to the head of a company with nearly a hundred employees, was a multimillionaire. Yet, he rented a shabby, five-story building in the middle of a run-down market, a building that looked ready to collapse. While other corporate gangsters, who had profited immensely from interest around the IMF crisis, moved into Myeongdong, Jongno, or Gangnam, his uncle stubbornly clung to this building. Seonjae understood why. Cheap rent, convenient transportation. It was the perfect place for VIPs to come and go discreetly. Still, of all places, why next to a fish market?

Seonjae shuddered at the lingering fish smell and continued walking. He navigated the narrow market alleys and entered a small coffee shop. The owner, a woman in her mid-fifties, greeted him warmly.

“Oh, why haven’t you been around lately? Been busy?”

The shop, originally called “Jeong’s Tea Room,” had changed its name to “Ogo Ganeun Jeong Coffee Shop” last fall. Despite the new sign, the interior and the way it operated remained the same as the old tea room.

Madam Jeong, as the coffee shop owner was known, was a powerful figure in the market. It was said that anyone who hadn’t borrowed money from her was a spy. She was like a landlord, a source of funds for merchants for many years. His uncle wasn’t interested in small sums, so he ignored Jeong’s Tea Room. Small-time loan sharks, on the other hand, were mostly friendly with her, having known her for a long time.

Familiar old men, who had been there for who knows how long, were drinking herbal tea and groping the legs of the coffee shop waitresses.

“Want an iced coffee?”

“Beer, please, Noona.”

Seonjae cheekily called the older woman “Noona,” a term of endearment for an older sister.

Madam Jeong returned with a tray holding two bottles of beer, two glasses, and peanuts, and sat across from him. She poured beer into both his glass and her own.

“Ah, refreshing. By the way, Director Lee, you’re becoming quite the man. You should catch a nice girl and get married before you get any older. Such a waste of good looks.”

Madam Jeong brought up marriage every time she saw Seonjae, a topic even his mother avoided. She worried about him as if he were her own son, telling him not to waste his looks and to settle down and start a proper family.

“No one wastes good looks like you, Noona. How do you manage to avoid aging?”

He deflected the conversation and emptied his glass.

“Flattery will get you nowhere.” Madam Jeong shot him a playful glare, her face full of smiles.

“I haven’t seen the young boss lately. Is he very busy?”

“Really? He hasn’t been coming around at all?”

“No. It’s been about two weeks, I think. He used to wear out the doorstep trying to see Miss Choi, but now he’s completely stopped coming. He might not be the most charming fella, but he brought in good business.” She clicked her tongue, sounding disappointed.

His cell phone vibrated. Seonjae pulled out his black Motorola StarTAC. Madam Jeong tactfully excused herself.

“This is Lee Seonjae.”

―It’s Bae Yeong-do.

“Yes, what is it?”

―Oh, I’ve been well. You’ve been well too, right?

Bae Yeong-do, Seonjae’s informant, sarcastically greeted him, knowing Seonjae never bothered with pleasantries.

“Get to the point, don’t you know how?” Seonjae retorted with a chuckle.

―So full of yourself.

“Anything up?”

―Of course there is.

Bae Yeong-do drawled, sounding smug.

―Your young boss has been busy lately.

Everyone seemed to be talking about the young boss today. It seemed like that idiot was actually up to something.

“Tell me.”

―He orchestrated that Pangyo land scam. He didn’t get scammed; he was the scammer.

“Yes.”

Seonjae wasn’t surprised, having suspected as much. He was just a bit puzzled. He never imagined Hyeonjun would have the guts to scam his own father. He briefly considered whether Hyeonjun had that kind of audacity. No. Hyeonjun was too incompetent. That’s why, despite his suspicions, he had doubted it would actually happen.

―Why aren’t you reacting? Did you know?

“No. That’s impossible.”

―Oh, come on. At least pretend to be surprised.

Bae Yeong-do, with his gruff yet slightly coquettish voice, rambled on about what he had uncovered.

―He put up a fifty million won bounty on a fake scammer. Honestly, with a thousand gangsters in your company, running around to private investigators offering bounties? Do you think we’re idiots? Anyway, the bottom line is, that bastard pocketed thirty billion won, and your boss turned a blind eye. Blood is thicker than water, I guess. Even that stingy old man stays quiet after being scammed out of a fortune.

Seonjae listened silently.

As Bae Yeong-do said, his uncle remained silent even though he knew about his son’s shameful deeds. The uncle Seonjae knew would never do that. There was a reason why Hyeonjun hadn’t touched a penny of company money, even as vice president.

Yet, his uncle, who didn’t even trust his own son, had condoned a thirty billion won scam. Either he was on his deathbed or he was being blackmailed. At this point, Seonjae couldn’t help but wonder what card Hyeonjun had played to outsmart such a seasoned fox.

―Oh, and they put a tail on you too. You okay?

“Yes, I’m fine.”

―Well, you don’t have anything to hide.

“If you’re done, I’m hanging up.”

As Seonjae moved to end the call, Bae Yeong-do grumbled.

―You’re so heartless. I’ve been doing this for twenty years, and I’ve never met anyone like you.

“Goodbye.”

―Wait!!

Bae Yeong-do yelled, so loudly that Seonjae’s ear rang.

―I almost forgot something important.

“What is it?”

―You’ve been looking at burial plots for the old man, right?

“How did you know that?”

Seonjae straightened up.

―How did I know? Your young boss has been bragging about it. You know Octopus Head in Gwangjang-dong? He went to him and said, “I’m looking for a burial plot for Ilgwang’s boss, find out everything about the landowner.” What’s going on with your company? How is security so lax?

Seonjae laughed dryly. Bae Yeong-do was concerned about his company’s security.

One of Ilgwang Financial’s main businesses was private investigation. Hyeonjun, who knew this better than anyone, had not only sought out another agency but had also told the biggest gossip in the business about the burial plot. In other words, he wanted the rumor to spread, but Seonjae couldn’t understand why.

The burial plot was Seonjae’s responsibility. He had already investigated the landowner thoroughly, so there was nothing more to learn. Yet, Hyeonjun was poking his nose into Seonjae’s business. Both Hyeonjun’s unusually bothersome behavior and the sudden assignment of the burial plot task were suspicious.

It wasn’t the first time his uncle had looked for burial plots, but he was too busy lately to be looking at land. He was swamped with demolition services and construction site management, so busy he couldn’t even go home. Yet, a week ago, he had abruptly handed this task to Seonjae.

The timing wasn’t ideal, so Seonjae could have made excuses and delayed it. However, he always carried out his uncle’s personal orders. This, too, had to be resolved, or at least, he had to pretend to try.

Did they find out?

He shook his head vigorously.

No matter how distracted he had been lately, this was a matter of life and death. For the past month, he hadn’t taken a single sip of water carelessly. He had naturally left no trace or clue that they could possibly discover. It was just anxiety. Four more days. He told himself to be extra careful until then.

Seonjae finished his beer in one gulp and stood up.

“Leaving already?” Madam Jeong asked.

“I have to work. It’s not like money grows on trees.”

He left the coffee shop, the mixed smells of the market hitting him along with the hot air. Seonjae grimaced and hurried out of the narrow, crowded alleyways.