Perfect Mission Chapter 38 - The Man Who Dies But Lives (2)

Chapter 38. The Man Who Dies But Lives (2)

 

From Sangil Construction, Sangil Group had grown into a conglomerate with several affiliates in machinery, transportation, and savings banking. Of course, in terms of chaebol rankings, it wasn’t even close to the top 30, and whether it made the top 50 depended on the stock market.

But how many people in Korea were that rich? That kind of wealth was more than enough to live like a king. And with thousands of employees in its affiliates, the group wielded an unimaginable amount of power. They could make the impossible possible and the possible impossible with a single word. After a while, making the impossible possible became the norm, and anything that stood in their way was met with rage.

Chairman Jeong Hyungi of Sangil Group was no different. Even though he was an illegitimate son and not on the family register, he was still his flesh and blood. And that flesh and blood had been stabbed at school. Should he just sit back and do nothing?

“Am I supposed to just take this?”

Chairman Jeong Hyungi glanced at the woman next to him, who had cried herself into a semi-conscious state, her eyes swollen. Even in his late fifties, he was handsome enough to attract women without his money, and he had a soft spot for them.

The man standing respectfully before him was Chief Secretary Jo Hanseok, a veteran who had served him for over fifteen years. Even a servant becomes a semi-noble after fifteen years.

Chief Secretary Jo Hanseok, in complete empathy with the chairman, was also seething with anger.

“Absolutely not. We can’t just let this go. You can tell a lot about a person from one action. What will she become when she grows up? A hostess at a hostess bar, at best?”

“I don’t care what she becomes.”

“Ah, of course. I will press the law firm Gangnam to be more aggressive.”

“Do you think they’ll listen to you? I’ll handle that.”

Chairman Jeong Hyungi had kept Chief Secretary Jo Hanseok by his side for over fifteen years not because he was exceptionally competent, but because he was exceptionally empathetic.

“Ah, yes. Well…”

“Just schedule a meeting with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Commissioner.”

“Understood! I’ll schedule it right away.”

“And tell the head of the law firm Gangnam to come here.”

“I’ve already called him. He should be here soon.”

Pleased with his chief secretary’s initiative, Chairman Jeong Hyungi nodded with a satisfied smile.

“Good. And that girl… there’s something we don’t know about her. Look into it.”

“Understood.”

As the chief secretary left, the chairman turned to Hyeonuk’s mother, who was still dabbing at her smudged makeup with a tissue.

“That’s enough. I told you I’d handle it.”

“This is all because you look down on me. If I were your legal wife! If our son was on your family register! Who would dare to look down on us!”

“What’s gotten into you?”

“Am I wrong?”

“Not wrong, but…”

A timely arrival saved him from the awkward conversation.

“Chairman, the head of the law firm Gangnam is here.”

“Send him in. I’ll talk to him. You can leave.”

The man who entered the chairman’s office had a very neat appearance and wore glasses, making him look very benevolent. After Hyeonuk’s mother left with a distrustful expression, the chairman’s face relaxed.

“Ah, our busy lawyer is here.”

“Please don’t say that, Chairman.”

 “I know you’re busy. You wouldn’t have come if I hadn’t called you, would you?”

The head lawyer, Lee Juhyun, adjusted his glasses and laughed awkwardly at the pointed remark.

“Haha, I’m so sorry, Chairman.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. Just do well from now on. But let me ask you something. Who is that man?”

“Everything I’m about to say is off the record.”

“Ah, I understand. From now on, I haven’t heard a thing.”

Chairman Jeong Hyungi pretended to cover his ears and smiled. His eyes urged the lawyer to speak.

“You know that our Lawyer Oh was a prosecutor before he joined our firm, right?”

“Of course. I heard he was quite competent.”

“Yes. And before he joined our firm, he was dispatched to another agency.”

“Where was that?”

“The NIS.”

The smile vanished from Chairman Jeong Hyungi’s face, replaced by a look of bewilderment.

“The NIS?”

“Yes. Of course, I haven’t been told the identity of the man your wife met. I can’t ask about his previous workplace; it could cause problems for Lawyer Oh.”

“Well, that’s… then what about the girl?”

“This is a first for me too… Lawyer Oh said it didn’t seem like ‘that person’ was helping her on a personal level. There were several other people protecting the girl at the school, which suggests that she’s under the protection of the NIS.”

“Why would the NIS be protecting that girl?”

“I don’t know. As Lawyer Oh told your wife at the school, it would be difficult for a businessman to resolve this. Even for you, Chairman, it would be difficult to make that girl pay for what she did.”

“Difficult, no matter what I do?”

“They have a recording, so legally, we’re not in a strong position. And even if we overcome all the obstacles and send her to prison, they’ll just get her out. If the NIS wants to, they can easily get a prisoner out and put them to work.”

“Well… we’re cursed.”

“I apologize. I’ve never dealt with this kind of organization before…”

“So, legally, there’s nothing we can do?”

“Legally or otherwise, in Korea, only the president or a minister can stop them from protecting someone. Unless you’re a gangster.”

Chairman Jeong Hyungi’s eyes glinted.

“A gangster?”

“They live outside the law. Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

He had essentially come to tell him that this was his only option.

“Right, I didn’t hear anything. Let’s have dinner sometime.”

“Yes, I’ll be going now.”

The lawyer left, and they had come to an agreement. To not talk about it and pretend they hadn’t heard anything.

“Can justice be dead in this world…”

Chairman Jeong Hyungi muttered with a hardened expression, and a thought came to his mind.

***

The man with the three mantis tattoos on the back of his hand left the banquet before it ended.

He had met all the political and business figures he needed to, and after hearing the news, he couldn’t just sit there.

He arrived in Sadang-dong in a Maybach with a driver and approached an old, four-story building. There were no signs outside, and there was an old diner on the first floor. The man walked past the diner entrance, went up to the second floor, and rang the bell at the metal gate blocking the stairs.

A moment later, with a buzz, the gate opened. He casually kicked aside the junk scattered on the stairs and went up.

“Hello.”

He opened the door to the third floor, which was guarded by a burly man, and entered a different world. Dozens of people were gathered around a dozen tables, engrossed in gambling, from Hwatu to cards.

The man with the mantis tattoo on his hand, without waiting for an escort, opened the black door at the far end of the room. Inside, under a single yellow light, four figures were engrossed in a game. As he entered, three of them turned their attention to one man. He was large and had a thick beard, with various rings on his fingers. And crucially, a two-headed turtle tattoo was visible on his neck.

Codenamed Black Turtle. It was him.

Both the man with the mantis tattoo and Black Turtle were large, but the killing intent radiating from Black Turtle’s face was indescribably intense.

“Why do you keep coming to my place?”

“I have something to say.”

As the man with the mantis tattoo looked at the other players, they quickly got up and left. They knew that anyone who could act so boldly in front of Black Turtle was not someone to be trifled with.

After the others left, he sat across from Black Turtle and picked up an unopened bottle of water.

“You should upgrade this place.”

“…”

“Clean it up a bit, get rid of the musty smell. Every time I come here, I feel like I’ve been rolling around with a corpse.”

Black Turtle fiddled with his cards and said, “I’d like that. It would be even better if you pitched in.”

“Heh! You’ve gotten funnier.”

“Did it sound like a joke?”

He dealt two cards to each of them and continued.

“A good building in Gangnam just came up for auction. 20 billion, was it?”

“And?”

“If I win, I get 20 billion.”

“And if you lose?”

“How about my left eye?”

He pulled out a small military knife and placed it on the table. It was a SOG (Studies and Observations Group) steel knife that had been with him for over ten years.

The man with the mantis tattoo on his hand, unfazed, tilted his head.

“You’re crazy. I’ve never lost. Do you really want to lose an eye?”

“It’s not a bad idea.”

The man thought it sounded like he was asking to be killed. He flipped his cards over. The queen of spades and the queen of diamonds.

“Let’s call it a draw.”

“Why?”

“I’m going easy on you. Show me your cards.”

Black Turtle flipped his cards over. The ten of diamonds and the king of hearts. Black Turtle, surprised, tilted his head.

“Looks like I lost.”

“I don’t play games I can’t win.”

“Then why didn’t you just play?”

The man with the mantis tattoo on his hand smirked with his gentle face.

“It would be a bad look. Gouging your eye out here. Blood would get everywhere… and more importantly, I might end up killing you.”

“Hehehe… Kekeke… You really make me want to rip your mouth apart. Hmm?”

The atmosphere in the room changed as Black Turtle’s hand went to his knife. It felt like blood was about to be shed, but the man with the mantis tattoo on his hand calmly drank his water.

“Put it down. I don’t want to kill you right now.”

“Really? Because I really want to kill you.”

“Gorilla is alive.”

Black Turtle’s eyes, which had been glinting with killing intent, widened.

“Alive? Gorilla?”

“Yes. I just came from meeting Michael Hwang. He said he almost got killed by Gorilla.”

“Bullshit… don’t give me that. I saw that bastard die in the truck with my own two eyes. I saw his face, smashed in the car!”

“Really? But he sent an email to ASA, saying he was alive. He said they betrayed him and sent the leaked Daewon Chemicals data to the NIS. And he put a bullet in the heads of Michael Hwang’s men as revenge. What do you think?”

Black Turtle looked at him in disbelief.

“No way… you mean that Jo Gyeongcheol’s identity was fake?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, find him and deal with it. This time, yourself. Isn’t it time to end this bad blood?”

“…”

“If you can’t, I will. And I’ll take that eye too.”

Black Turtle gripped his knife and pointed it at him.

“I’ll end it. And you’re next.”

“If you can.”

The man with the mantis tattoo on his hand left Black Turtle and quietly exited the room.