49 – Now, it’s time for the adults to handle the problem. (3)
1.
When we arrived at the address on the GPS, what we saw was a massive 10-story building, Gold Daily Trading, which was incomparable to our 5-story Bareungil Entertainment.
Before I went to jail, I hadn’t heard of Gold Daily, a relatively new organization, so the building was also a recently constructed one.
“Wow, the building is quite impressive. Not as good as Seoul, but the land value here is pretty high. Do they use a whole building just for Gold Daily? There must be a reason for all the hype.”
“How would I know, dude? Anyway… Is your plan really possible? It seems a bit… ridiculous.”
As I marveled at how much money one could make from gangster activities to build such a building, an uneasy voice came from Mr. Hahyuksoo, who was sitting in the driver’s seat.
“No, you still can’t shake off your suspicions. Can’t you trust me, Mr. Hahyuksoo?”
“Trust you, kid! Of course, I trust you! But the plan you came up with is too unreliable!”
“How’s my plan? It’s simple and good. Don’t you know the saying ‘Simple is best’?”
“It should be simple enough! Is saying ‘Just trust me, Mr. Hahyuksoo, and do your job.’ a plan?”
“That’s all there is to it. Mr. Hahyuksoo knows what he has to do, so I have nothing to say about that. Besides, even I find it trustworthy in this regard. Isn’t it done? After all, Mr. Hahyuksoo agreed from the beginning, and that’s why we’re here.”
“Ck······.”
As I spoke, Mr. Hahyuksoo seemed to flinch slightly, leaning back as he turned his head to gaze at the Gold Day Building.
“The building is so big. With a building this large, imagine how many people there must be. Have you ever experienced a business with no profit back in the old days? That’s why we should find a different way now, even at this moment.”
“Mr. Hahyuksoo, are you not confident then?”
“No, kid! I’m confident, of course! But what I mean is······.”
“If you’re confident, that’s enough. Just come with me. We don’t have time for idle chatter like this.”
“Well, wait a moment!”
Clank.
Ignoring Mr. Hahyuksoo, whom I still couldn’t shake my suspicion of, I opened the Taekwondo studio door and stepped outside.
It was as obvious as water that Mr. Hahyuksoo, with his personality, would follow me if I went out alone like this.
“Huh, standing in front of the building like this brings back memories.”
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
The person next to me, who was a reliable senior before but had become a disbelieving Mr. Hahyuksoo, wasn’t really a problem.
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“What are you going to do if you just boldly go out like that?! That’s not even a parking area; you’ll get a fine!”
I didn’t even spare a glance for Mr. Hahyuksoo, who had chased after me in a hurry, and looked up at the 10-story building.
As it is with anywhere, the head office is likely at the very top, being the 10th floor.
“We can use the elevator, right?”
“Elevator? Well, is there an elevator inside that building?”
“Yes, for me, it’s fine. But for the not-so-old and not-so-sick Mr. Hahyuksoo, he won’t be able to climb up to the CEO’s office on the 10th floor using the stairs.”
“I’m not old, and I’m not sick either! And I can climb up, you know!”
“Instead, you’ll be completely out of strength and gasping for breath. And then, you’ll have to take the elevator…”
After a brief moment of contemplation, I realized that this problem wasn’t as difficult as it seemed.
“Oh, then that should work.”
“Huh? What? What do you mean it should work?”
“Just follow me for now.”
I knew that trying to explain the definite solution that popped into my head to the skeptical Mr. Hahyuksoo would be futile.
So, after telling him to follow me, I casually opened the main entrance of the Golden Day Trading building.
Click.
“This is insane!”
If I just rushed out alone like this, Mr. Hahyuksoo would have no choice but to follow me.
Leading Mr. Hahyuksoo, I opened the door and walked into Golden Day Trading, naturally drawing the attention of everyone inside.
They were all dressed in suits, carrying briefcases, presenting a corporate appearance typical of office workers. However, despite their office-worker-like attire, they all seemed far from ordinary office workers.
They probably knew that everyone from this area would recognize this as the Golden Day Gang’s territory, and they were aware that using suits and briefcases wouldn’t be enough to conceal the fact that they were gangsters. Well, openly advertising as gangsters might be more appealing than trying to hide it with suits and briefcases.
After a brief observation, I approached the information desk and looked at the only woman inside – the receptionist.
“Hello, guest. May I ask for the reason behind your visit to our Golden Day Trading?”
Surprisingly, a plausible statement flowed out like water, and after hearing it, I realized that these gangsters were surviving in a world where just being gangsters wasn’t enough.
Do they really do legitimate business? Is that briefcase filled with real documents, not weapons? Is this a genuine company? Well, it’s been seven years since everything changed, so the ecosystem here must have transformed significantly.
Wild Boar Capital, which used to pressure Hwanee for debt repayment, seemed like an ordinary conglomerate when you looked at it superficially and muddled its business. Maybe Golden Day Trading also does legitimate business as real corporate executives.
But, in the end, these guys are still gangsters. That hasn’t changed.
The one carrying out the work was a gangster, and as they worked like gangsters, their true nature eventually revealed itself as gangsters.
“Guest? Could you please tell me the purpose of your visit to our store today so that I can assist you?”
“Oh, I found an item from your store today. I came to return it.”
That’s why I can act without any hesitation.
“Our… item?”
In response to my statement about finding lost property, the guide looked puzzled and asked.
Instead of answering verbally, I pulled out the item from the Golden Day Trading Company that I had tied to my leg, which I had picked up on the mountain earlier.
Srrrk.
As the reflective blade sparkled, the guide’s complexion turned pale, and I forcefully thrust the lost property into the desk so that everyone in the room could see.
Thud!!!
“H-He, hee-hee-heeek!?”
Suddenly, with the guide’s scream, the sound of the splitting wood centered around the dagger that was now completely embedded, with only the handle visible, quietly spread through the first-floor lobby.
Jjeok, jjeojeok. Jjeo-eo-eok!
“What, what’s going on? What’s happening!”
“That bastard just… pulled out a knife?”
“What the hell, is it an attack?!”
The growing murmurs, the sound of the cracking desk getting louder as I applied more force to the handle of the dagger.
Kwajik! Kwadangtang!
In the end, the desk, made of wood despite its painted exterior, couldn’t withstand the force from the dagger and shattered into several pieces, scattering fragments in the air.
And simultaneously, due to the force applied, the pitiful dagger, which had lost its teeth, once again revealed its form.
“Hey, he’s got a f*cking knife! It’s an attack! We’re under attack!”
“Call the guys upstairs! It’s an attack!”
“Wait, just two guys? Only two? And they’re claiming they attacked our company? Does that even make sense?”
As the familiar sound of emergency alarms echoed through the lobby, revealing the well-known appearance of the troublemakers with their menacing knives, chaos erupted in the lobby.
The hefty individuals in the lobby quickly grabbed their radios, earpieces, phones, and started making frantic calls.
Oh, did this guy go crazy wanting to get himself killed? Are they really not going to fight back? Certainly, it’s quite an organization to establish such a large building by the main road and thrive. Judging by the organized communication, they seem to have a command structure…
“This guy must be out of his mind, wanting to get killed. What the hell are you, man?”
“Well, typical gangster antics are so predictable.”
“What?”
Approaching me confidently, a burly figure in a suit, carrying a briefcase that couldn’t hide his gangster default mode, stared at me with an expression that seemed to say, ‘I’m a dangerous guy, don’t mess with me.’
For some reason, even amidst the obvious gangster appearance with a neat suit and a square document bag, a sense of relief washed over me.
“I would’ve been disappointed if someone like you didn’t show up. I was hoping for it but worried I’d be let down.”
“Why the hell have you been spouting nonsense that no one can understand since earlier? Hey, lost your mind? A damn gangster wannabe comes in with just a single knife, challenging our Gold Day faction…”
Bang! Clang! Bang! Bang!
It was undoubtedly delightful to have such a gangster-like character make an entrance, but those clichéd lines were already getting tiresome after more than 10 seconds.
Anyway, we all know what they’re going to say, so listening to all of it is just a waste of time.
Transforming the guy who was shouting a moment ago into a heavy fracture patient, thrown into the air in a single blow, I raised an eyebrow at the dumbfounded gangsters and asked, “What’s up? A damn gangster wannabe came in with just an old man to challenge your Gold Day faction. Aren’t you going to fight back?”
Upon uttering those words, the guys who were momentarily speechless regained their strength and anger as they started pulling out their knives from their respective document bags.
Well, gangster wannabes are all the same in the end.
I threw down the clumsy fish knife I was holding, feeling the nostalgia of the past once again.
“Alright, let’s all go at once. We don’t have time to waste.”