novelraw Chapter 66 : “Would You Like To Make A Bet With Me?”
Chapter 66 : “Would You Like To Make A Bet With Me?”
Chapter 66: “Would You Like To Make A Bet With Me?”
Seo Man-chul walked into the interrogation room behind me like a man whose wits had left him. I stopped Kang Hyeok, who was about to follow, with my hand.
“Kang Hyeok. You wait outside.”
“Yes?”
“I said I’d handle it, so wait outside.”
“Bu-but….”
Kang Hyeok glanced at Seo Man-chul and then looked back at me. I didn’t say more; I sent him a firm look.
Hesitating, Kang Hyeok reluctantly halted the step he was about to take. I closed the door with Kang Hyeok left standing outside.
I sat down opposite Seo Man-chul and asked coldly.
“Is there another card left? Any other hand?”
“…….”
I left only one bundle of 100,000 hwan among the 2,000,000 hwan that had been on the table and put the rest back into the bag.
“Take this, and tear up Kang Hyeok’s IOU cleanly.”
“What did you say? You want me to take this and disappear? Are you crazy!”
He raised his voice, apparently dumbfounded by my actions.
I looked straight at him and said,
“Seo Man-chul. How much do you think it cost to send back those soldiers you called earlier?”
One thousand dollars. Even at the official exchange rate at the time, it was well over 1,000,000 hwan—a large sum. It was an amount excessive to hand to Kwon Do-hyung, whom I was meeting for the first time today.
But if Kang Hyeok had really been taken to the Military Investigation Command, extracting him would have cost much more. That was why I had handed over that much money.
“A far larger amount than what you paid Kwon Do-hyung every year just left my pocket. So you should take part of the responsibility.”
“Huh…. Why is that my responsibility?”
“Because you’re the one who made a simple thing so difficult.”
Originally, I had intended only to settle the debt cleanly and bring Kang Hyeok back. I expected he wouldn’t give him up easily, of course, but I hadn’t expected him to call the police and soldiers from the start.
“Or… would you like to make a bet with me?”
“A bet?”
I tapped the bag full of money with my hand. Seo Man-chul’s gaze went to the bag.
“Come face me. The winner takes this bag and Kang Hyeok. How about it? For Seo Man-chul, called Busan’s best fist, it should be a very favorable condition.”
I tapped the money bag again.
“If you add the dollars and cash inside, it’ll easily exceed tens of millions of hwan. A single fight could win you everything. Even you, Seo Man-chul, probably don’t handle this much money at once, do you?”
Greed flashed in Seo Man-chul’s eyes. But he would never accept this offer.
If he were the old demon Seo Man-chul who swung his fists like a mayfly, maybe. But now he had too much to lose.
Even if there were a one percent chance, if he lost to me, all the prestige and influence he’d built on Busan’s streets would evaporate that day.
“So? Will you do it?”
“…….”
I leaned forward, put my elbows on the desk, and laced my fingers.
He still didn’t answer. I looked him square in the eye and said with contempt,
“If you can’t do it, then take this and get lost.”
“You son of a—!”
“Why? If you feel wronged, shall we go outside and fight? There are plenty of people here who would testify to the outcome.”
Seo Man-chul could not respond to my provocation. He only bit his lip as if frustrated.
“Tch. When things don’t go your way, you always shut your mouth like that.”
Coward. Cowardly. Fraud. People who settle into comfortable places always end up the same in the end. Just like Seo Man-chul in front of me.
“I had no interest in Busan’s turf. I had no reason or need for you to watch me. The only reason I was sitting across from you was because I had to cut the dirty link between you and Kang Hyeok with my own hands.”
I pushed another bundle of 100,000 hwan across to him.
“You lent him 70,000 hwan; I added 30,000 hwan as consolation, so it shouldn’t be lacking. You probably extracted plenty of interest from him like a dog, so be satisfied with this. You must take responsibility for what you caused. Right?”
Our gazes clashed, taut in the air.
After a moment, he finally spoke. His voice held a stubbornness hidden beneath a plain tone.
“Fine. I’ll unshackle whatever chains I put on Kang Hyeok. But 100,000 hwan is not enough.”
“Huh….”
I couldn’t help but laugh—a hollow, incredulous laugh. He must have read the scorn in it, yet Seo Man-chul persisted stubbornly.
“Give me the 2,000,000 hwan you first offered. Then I’ll make you forget the name Kang Hyeok completely. If you don’t like that… I’ll ruin that bastard by any means necessary. Watch what I do.”
He spoke as if chewing the words. He still wanted to keep his last shred of pride.
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“Well. If I set my mind to ruining someone’s life, it might not be impossible.”
I didn’t answer and kept looking at him. His gaze was sincere.
If I pushed him further, he might actually harm Kang Hyeok.
I thought for a moment. Though he was a despicable man who traded over Kang Hyeok, he was also the head of an organization. I needed, to some degree, to let him save face.
“One million hwan. That covers the 70,000 hwan debt, the interest, and compensation for the humiliation you suffered today. I won’t give a single hwan more.”
Seo Man-chul stroked his chin as if pondering, looking at me.
Half of the 2,000,000 hwan he’d originally demanded. Perhaps he thought I wouldn’t accept a firmer stance; he slowly opened his mouth.
“…Alright. One million hwan, and I’ll clear all of Kang Hyeok’s debt.”
I nodded and took nine more bundles of 100,000 hwan from the bag, piling them on the table.
Since we had reached an agreement, I decided to respect him. I erased the mocking tone from my speech and asked politely.
“You won’t need me to come get the IOU, will you? Will you tear it up right away?”
“I’m not a punk who’d go back on a deal. I won’t stake my name on it.”
“Good. I trust you.”
I stood and zipped the bag closed.
“You’ll need a bag to carry that money, I think.”
There were too many eyes for him to walk out carrying the bundles as they were. He waved it off casually.
“I’ll take care of that.”
“Fine. Then I hope we never see each other again.”
I turned to leave the interrogation room first.
“Wait.”
His voice stopped me. I turned and looked at him.
“Did you really… plan to fight me? Were you confident you’d win?”
“Because it was a fight where I had nothing to lose.”
When I answered confidently, Seo Man-chul’s expression changed subtly. I snorted lightly at him.
“If I’d lost, I would have lost only this bag. But if you had lost, you would have lost your whole life.”
“…….”
“Saying you’d lose your whole life just because of one fight might be excessive… but imagine a nobody with no roots making Busan’s best fist kneel. Would you still be able to walk around holding your head up like before?”
At my words, Seo Man-chul glared at me for a moment before letting out a hollow laugh. Then, in an empty voice, he muttered,
“I see. Before I knew it, I’ve become someone with too much to lose. If it were the old me, I would’ve jumped in without thinking.”
“Well, having something to protect isn’t always a bad thing.”
“…Call in Inspector Kim.”
“Understood.”
I left the interrogation room without another word.
The detective division was still noisy.
On one side, the police chief, Inspector Kim, and a few detectives were murmuring together. On the other, Kang Hyeok stood silently with two KCIA agents.
I nodded toward Inspector Kim, who was fidgeting beside the chief.
“Mr. Seo Man-chul is asking for you, Inspector. You should go in.”
Inspector Kim was startled by my words and hurried into the interrogation room. I glanced briefly toward Kang Hyeok, then walked over to the police chief.
There was nothing to gain by making enemies with them—it was time to wrap things up.
“You’re the chief, right?”
The cheek that had been struck by the KCIA agent was still swollen. The chief looked at me with a sullen expression, unable to hide his irritation.
“That’s right.”
“I’m sorry for the disturbance today.”
“Ahem… Seems there’s been some sort of misunderstanding…”
“Misunderstanding or not, it was entirely my fault to summon KCIA agents here without your permission. I apologize once again.”
I bowed slightly, offering a polite apology.
When someone bows first—especially in front of KCIA agents—there isn’t much more the other side can say.
“Haha… Well, it’s a relief things worked out. I’ll be heading back now.”
The chief replied awkwardly and glanced toward Oh Chung-seong.
When Oh Chung-seong gave a small, silent nod of agreement, the chief left in a hurry, not even saying goodbye.
He must have chosen to flee since there was no way to avenge this humiliation. Failing to distinguish where to lie down and where to stand—it was clearly his defeat.
I turned to the detectives remaining beside him and pulled ten 1,000-hwan bills from my wallet.
“I’m sorry to you all as well. It’s not much, but please use this to have a nice dinner together.”
The most senior-looking detective, aside from Inspector Kim, hesitated for a moment before accepting the money.
Perhaps feeling guilty just taking it, he muttered the expected words.
“If anything, we were the rude ones. Please don’t take it personally. At the time, we believed we were following proper procedure.”
“I understand. That’s why I followed without resistance, wasn’t it?”
I glanced at Oh Chung-seong as I spoke.
“You were only doing what your superiors ordered. None of the other detectives deserve blame, right, Chief?”
Oh Chung-seong nodded.
“I have no intention of making this any bigger.”
Hearing that assurance, the detectives’ stiff faces finally relaxed. That alone proved how powerful the KCIA’s name was.
Leaving the detectives behind, I walked over to where Kang Hyeok and the two KCIA agents were standing.
“Kang Hyeok.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Drop the ‘hyungnim.’ Just call me hyung.”
I patted his shoulder.
“Your debt is gone as of today. That wretched debt that tied you and your grandmother down is no more.”
“……”
“From now on, live doing what you want. I’ll take care of all the costs until your grandmother recovers her health, so stop worrying.”
“My debt… all gone? Really?”
Kang Hyeok asked, his voice trembling with disbelief. I nodded silently.
At that moment, his eyes began to glisten with tears.
“My debt… my debt…”
Overwhelmed, he could only mutter the same words over and over.
No matter how strong or broad-shouldered he looked, he was still just an eighteen-year-old boy.
Despite working himself to the bone at the docks to pay off that unfairly inflated debt, it had only grown larger, and his only family—his grandmother—had grown weaker day by day.
I didn’t need to ask to know the suffering he had endured.
Then, at last, Kang Hyeok, who had been holding himself together, crumbled to the ground. He stared blankly at the ceiling, tears silently falling from his eyes.
I decided to wait quietly, letting him release all his emotions.
“Chief, thank you for everything today.”
Meanwhile, I turned to Oh Chung-seong beside me and expressed my gratitude.
“It was the Deputy Director’s order. I’m not the one to thank.”
“Even so, I’m grateful. Things turned out more serious than I expected.”
Oh Chung-seong nodded wearily. After all, we had clashed directly with the Military Garrison Command’s MPs—there was no way this wouldn’t be reported upward.
I took out a bundle of 100,000 hwan from my bag and handed it to him.
“Please use this as operational funds. You serve the country, after all.”
“Thank you. I’ll put it to good use.”
Strange—no one ever refused money in these times. Well, that was simply the way things worked.
After handing the money to his subordinate, Oh Chung-seong turned his eyes briefly toward the interrogation room. I followed his gaze before asking,
“There won’t be any problems afterward, right?”
“You’ve settled everything with Seo Man-chul?”
“Yes. We reached a peaceful agreement.”
“That man, Seo Man-chul, isn’t one to give in easily. Impressive that you managed it.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Chief.”
I chuckled lightly. His card had been more threatening than expected, but I was glad it ended here.
“Once he saw that all his cards were countered, he had no choice but to agree. I ended things smoothly, for the sake of his pride.”
“If you reached an agreement, there should be no issues afterward. And what about Major Kwon Do-hyung? Was that resolved as well?”
Oh Chung-seong asked, as if to confirm. Understandably, that side worried him more than Seo Man-chul.
“Yes. That’s why he left quietly.”
He glanced around, then stepped closer to me and lowered his voice.
“By the way… that address you mentioned earlier. The Cheonseong Building.”
That one phrase had crushed Kwon Do-hyung. He must have been curious about its secret.
“I can’t tell you that part. I’m sorry.”
I refused firmly, but he didn’t seem too disappointed—he likely hadn’t expected me to tell him. He simply nodded with a hint of regret and stepped back.
Then he took a small business card from his coat and handed it to me. It had only a single phone number printed on it—simple and direct.
“We’ll take our leave. If you ever run into trouble in Busan, contact this number.”
“Thank you. Though I hope I’ll never have to.”
I joked lightly. For the first time, a faint smile crossed his lips before he and the other agent left the detective division.
At that moment, Inspector Kim emerged from the interrogation room.
After glancing around and confirming that both the chief and KCIA agents were gone, he straightened his shoulders, puffing himself back up as if he had never shrunk.
“Hey! Detective! Go fetch me a bag, a small one!”
“A bag, sir? What for…”
“What do you mean what for! I said go get one, now!”
After barking the order, Inspector Kim shot me a brief glance, then went back into the interrogation room.
Moments later, a detective entered with a large bag, and soon three people came out together.
Seo Man-chul, carrying the bag of money, glanced regretfully at Kang Hyeok, who was still sitting on the floor, and then left the detective division.
Even after Seo Man-chul disappeared, Kang Hyeok sat blankly for a while before stumbling to his feet.
“Th-thank you… r-really…”
He couldn’t even speak properly—just kept bowing his head.
“It’s alright. Let’s go. You can visit your grandmother now.”
I patted his shoulder and walked out of the police station.