novelraw Chapter 118 : If the Blade Is Too Sharp, You Just Put It Back in Its Sheath
Chapter 118 : If the Blade Is Too Sharp, You Just Put It Back in Its Sheath
Chapter 118: If the Blade Is Too Sharp, You Just Put It Back in Its Sheath
After finishing the long, drawn-out conversation with Yang Sobo, I left the office. As the taut tension finally eased, a wave of fatigue washed over me, and I pressed my temple firmly.
I was walking slowly down the corridor when a familiar silhouette came into view. It was Yang Yeong, who had been waiting for me.
“Are you done talking with Grandfather?”
She approached me with an awkward smile. The look of a young girl had faded, replaced by the air of a proper young lady.
Her change felt unfamiliar, yet at the same time, I felt proud of her.
“Yes. It’s been a while. You seem to be doing well—it’s good to see.”
“Could you spare me a little time?”
When I nodded, she led me to her room.
Unlike the cool, austere office, Yang Yeong’s room was filled with the warm scent of sunlight and a faint fragrance of orchids.
She set a teacup down in front of me, then pulled out a crumpled bundle of letters from her desk drawer. The handwriting was familiar.
“I received…… telegrams from Min-soo.”
Looking back and forth between the single sheet of telegram in my hand and the thick bundle of letters in front of Yang Yeong, a hollow laugh slipped out.
That brat. He was already taking better care of someone else than his own older brother.
“Looks like you got more pages than I did.”
At my half-joking remark, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Yang Yeong’s lips for the first time.
“It’s nice to see you two still so close.”
“Yeah. Min-soo is…… a good kid.”
Yang Yeong hugged the letters tightly to her chest. In her eyes, there was tenderness toward Min-soo, mixed with complicated emotions directed at me.
She was no longer the ‘Kamangi’ who used to tumble around with us beneath the Cheongnyangni bridge.
After steadying herself, Yang Yeong spoke in a low, subdued voice.
“I heard that I’ll be…… leaving soon as well.”
“Are you all prepared?”
“Not yet. Grandfather says there’s still a lot to sort out. I heard you’ve been helping him a lot, Oppa.”
Instead of answering, I took a sip of tea. Yang Yeong hesitated for a moment, then looked at me with resolute eyes.
“Oppa. I’m going to study abroad. Once Grandfather settles things in Singapore, I’m planning to go to the United States.”
“Study abroad?”
“Yes. To where Min-soo is. I already got Grandfather’s permission. He told me to obtain U.S. citizenship as well.”
Even for someone from the Hwagyo community, acquiring U.S. citizenship was possible—it just took time.
It seemed Yang Sobo had changed his mind after going through all this. He must have thought that living as an American citizen would be more beneficial for her than living as a Hwagyo.
“You made a good decision. If you’re by Min-soo’s side, I’ll feel more at ease too.”
“But the letters mentioned a kid named A-seong coming to study abroad with him as well. What kind of kid is he?”
Unlike my telegrams, which only asked briefly about how he was doing, Yang Yeong’s letters seemed to be filled with even the smallest details of daily life.
No matter how I thought about it, it felt a little bittersweet. Raising a younger brother really was pointless. Even so, the corners of my mouth lifted on their own.
“He’s kind. Sharp too. More than anything, he gets along well with Min-soo.”
“Really? I’m looking forward to it. A new land, new people…….”
Seeing my smile, Yang Yeong’s face finally bloomed into a bright, radiant grin.
For a while, we drank tea together and talked about the future that was fast approaching, and about the children who would soon be far away.
After the storm had passed, a new seed born from the bond between a boy and a girl was preparing to sprout across the sea.
While Baek Min-woo was moving busily, a bloody purge was sweeping through the headquarters of Daejin Trading Company.
The employees went about their work, pretending to remain calm, but anxious whispers and restless glances constantly passed through every corner of the office.
Above their heads, the owner of the fourth-floor president’s office had changed. All that remained was the fear of how that change would sweep down through the lower floors.
“Let’s start here first.”
Director Yoon Sang-hyeon of the Management Department muttered as he closed the documents laid out before him.
“Park Won-bae left behind a fine blade in the end.”
Driven out by the hand of the new president, the man had vomited out everything he knew—along with all the evidence—just to survive, and then disappeared.
Thanks to that, Yoon Sang-hyeon was able to cross-check it with the materials he had gathered and finalize the list of those to be purged.
“There are more than I expected.”
After organizing his thoughts while staring down at the thick file, Yoon Sang-hyeon used the internal phone to call his trusted subordinate, Assistant Manager Jung.
“Assistant Manager Jung. You’re on my side, right?”
“Of course. I’ve always been your man, Director.”
“Good. Then call everyone listed in that file to my office immediately. If they refuse, use the security guards and drag them here by force if necessary.”
Assistant Manager Jung flinched when he checked the file he had received. Most of the names written inside belonged to people of higher rank than himself.
But his hesitation lasted only a moment. Soon, with a look of resolve, he answered.
“Yes, understood.”
“Send messengers to summon those waiting at home, and have those already in the company come up immediately.”
Before long, those summoned by Yoon Sang-hyeon began gathering one by one outside his office.
They were remnants of an old era, led by Deputy Manager Bae Sang-cheol of the Sales Department and Manager Park Su-jin from the Secretariat. As they whispered uneasily among themselves, the door to Yoon Sang-hyeon’s office opened.
“Please, come in.”
The heavy silence flowed through the room. After confirming that everyone listed had entered, Yoon Sang-hyeon took out a ledger and placed it on the desk.
“Does anyone here know what this is?”
When everyone reacted as if they were seeing it for the first time, Yoon Sang-hyeon’s gaze locked onto Deputy Manager Bae.
“Last July, during the government-funded construction bid with Dongyang Construction, how much did you receive in exchange for handing the final bid price over to a competitor?”
“W-what are you talking about?!”
“You’re free to deny it. We already have more than enough evidence.”
At Yoon Sang-hyeon’s cold words, Bae Sang-cheol’s face turned deathly pale. Ignoring him, Yoon Sang-hyeon spoke to the others.
“Now then, for those of you who claim not to know what this is, let me explain. Former Director Park Won-bae left behind a final, generous gift before leaving the company. Every one of your names is written in here, in great detail.”
In an instant, everyone in the room turned ashen.
“Director Yoon……! Th-this wasn’t just us…….”
“It’s the president’s order.”
As if he had no intention of listening any further, Yoon Sang-hyeon cut him off coldly, then swept his icy gaze over them.
“Based on this ledger, I will be filing criminal complaints against all of you for occupational embezzlement and breach of trust. Effective immediately, you are all relieved of your positions.”
It was a death sentence.
“H-how can you do this to us…….”
“Isn’t there a saying that new wine should be put into new wineskins? You all prospered under Chairman Lee Jin-seong, so now it’s time to take responsibility.”
The moment Yoon Sang-hyeon finished speaking, screams erupted from offices all over the lower floors. The bloody purge had only just begun.
It had been a while since I last visited Daejin Trading Company. The moment I passed through the main gate, the first thing that caught my eye was people being dragged away.
The instant they spotted me, they crawled over and threw themselves at my feet as if clutching at their last lifeline.
“P-President! Please spare us. If we’re fired like this, our families will starve to death. Please, show us mercy…….”
“We only did what we were told from above. How could I go against orders from my superiors? Please, just forgive us this once.”
I merely looked down at them with a cold gaze, saying nothing. Cheon Sang-do’s subordinates hurried over and pushed them back.
“President, we’re sorry.”
“You’re working hard. Please bear with it a little longer.”
After patting the shoulder of the subordinate who bowed deeply, I ignored the pleading men and walked past them.
As I climbed the stairs toward the fourth-floor president’s office, the gazes of every employee in the building stabbed into my back.
The moment I opened the office door, thick cigarette smoke poured out like from a raccoon’s den.
“President Cheon. Please ventilate a bit. You’ll kill someone at this rate.”
“Well I’ll be damned, President Baek!”
Cheon Sang-do jumped up from his seat to greet me, then stared at my appearance in surprise.
“Good lord, what happened to you? President Baek, where have you been rolling around like that?”
“There was some business. Have you wrapped things up, more or less?”
“Of course. I’ve cleaned up every last bit. Did you see the chaos outside?”
With a satisfied grin, he crushed out his cigarette in the ashtray, then jerked his chin toward the window.
I turned my gaze that way and stood beside Cheon Sang-do, looking down at the final scene of the purge.
“That Director Yoon Sang-hyeon, he’s no ordinary fellow.”
Cheon Sang-do suddenly clicked his tongue.
“I’ve seen all kinds of ruthless bastards in the private lending world, but that man’s a whole different breed. He cuts off people’s heads clean without getting a single drop of blood on himself. A blade that’d suit President Baek just fine.”
“Do you like him?”
“Well, of course. He’s scary, sure, but he gets the job done right. He brought the ledger Park Won-bae coughed up, and the two of us matched accounts all night long. The stench of rot was overwhelming. That old geezer Lee Jin-seong really went all out stuffing his pockets. When the top rots, how can the bottom not rot too?”
Watching Cheon Sang-do exaggerate wildly as he waved his hands, I let out a small chuckle.
“Good. What about the factories and the mines?”
“Same story there. The audit team Director Yoon sent down is flipping everything upside down. That guy called Ma Dong-cheol or something got beaten half to death by the miners and hauled off to the police station.”
Cheon Sang-do laughed loudly as if he’d just seen something amusing. Watching him, I shifted my gaze to the piles of documents.
“Since things are mostly wrapped up here, you should head back to Myeong-dong. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Within a few days, the government will issue a declaration of surrender. From that point on, you’ll have a lot to do, President Cheon.”
Cheon Sang-do’s eyes lit up instantly. Vitality returned to his face, which had been hollow and worn from all the hard work.
“So it’s finally my turn to step in. Digging through account books was fun and all, but I’m the type who needs to handle money directly to feel alive.”
“Yes. I’ll bring you the big clients. How you carve them up will depend on your capabilities.”
“I’ve rubbed shoulders with quite a few businessmen while rolling around the loan shark market. I’ve also built ties through securities firms.”
“Even so, the more people looking to borrow money, the better.”
“But where are you planning to get all that money? A few coins won’t even come close.”
I answered with a grin instead of words.
“Don’t worry. There won’t be any shortage of funds.”
For So-ryong to establish himself, money was necessary. Even taking that into account, Yang Sobo couldn’t possibly siphon off all of his assets overseas.
I was just planning to borrow some of it for a while.
“Well, if President Baek says so. Still, that Yoon Sang-hyeon fellow—if you leave him alone, he’ll run wild like an executioner…….”
“If a blade is too sharp, you just put it back in its sheath.”
For now, it was simply time to let the blade dance. The mechanisms to keep Yoon Sang-hyeon in check were already in my head.
“When Ma Dong-jin returns, I plan to bring him in as chief secretary and put a leash on him.”
“I suppose President Baek will handle it. Then I should head back to Myeong-dong.”
“I’ll leave only Kang Cheol-min at your office, President Cheon. Please train him well.”
“What?! If you take all the high-grade manpower, what am I supposed to do?”
“They’re my people.”
At my firm words, Cheon Sang-do burst out laughing and stood up.
“Alright, alright. If they’re President Baek’s people, what can I say? Then I’ll really head back to Myeong-dong and set the stage.”
“Yes. I’ll contact you soon. Ah, on your way out, please send Director Yoon Sang-hyeon up.”
After Cheon Sang-do waved lightly and left, silence once again settled over the president’s office that had felt like a raccoon’s den.
A short while later, there was a knock, and Yoon Sang-hyeon entered.
His face showed clear signs of fatigue after leading the purge for several days, but his eyes alone gleamed fiercely with satisfaction and excitement.