novelraw Chapter 98 : Wouldn’t It Be Stranger Not to Be Interested
Chapter 98 : Wouldn’t It Be Stranger Not to Be Interested
Chapter 98: Wouldn’t It Be Stranger Not to Be Interested
Leaving the schedule in Busan behind, I arrived at Busan Station to head to Seoul.
From early morning, the station was packed with people leaving Busan in search of new opportunities.
On the platform, Ma Dong-jin stood silently, having come out to see me off. Behind him, Kang Hyeok and A-seong stood with regret written all over their faces.
“Are you leaving now, Captain?”
“Yes. Everything in Busan is finished. Now I need to sort things out in Seoul.”
“Once I finish what needs to be done in Busan, I’ll follow shortly.”
The reason I was leaving Ma Dong-jin behind in Busan was the money sleeping in the countless bank accounts we had collected from the Overseas Chinese.
Looking straight into his eyes, I gave my next order.
“One month. At most, within a month, the government’s account-freezing measures will be lifted. The moment the measures are lifted, retrieve the money from every single account we secured.”
In this era, before a nationwide computerized network was established, each bank branch was practically an independent vault.
All customer information and transaction records were kept in handwritten ledgers at each branch, so the Seoul headquarters wouldn’t even know whether a customer at the Busan branch existed.
Basic information checks might be possible over the phone, but withdrawal operations requiring seal verification were impossible.
In other words, the only place where we could retrieve the money sleeping in those accounts was Busan.
“There are quite a lot of accounts to retrieve. You won’t be able to handle it alone, so use Kang Hyeok and A-seong.”
“Understood.”
“And when you come up, bring A-seong with you as well. I’ve already spoken to Mr. Jin Tae-rim.”
Ma Dong-jin nodded with an extremely serious expression, as if carving every one of my instructions into his mind.
Still maintaining eye contact with him, I delivered the final, most important order.
“Take all the retrieved money to the Citizens Bank branch, then exchange it for cashier’s checks issued by the Citizens Bank headquarters. Make each check as large as possible, and leave the payee field blank. After that, bring all the checks to Seoul.”
In 1962, this was the safest and most reliable way to transport a large sum of money. Cashier’s checks issued on the credit of a bank were practically the same as cash itself.
At first, I had considered transporting it directly, but the risks of loss and robbery were far too great. Checks were the best option.
“I’ll contact the branch manager separately from Seoul. On the day you retrieve all the money and come up to Seoul, finish everything within a single day. If rumors spread, the Fly might latch on.”
“Yes. I’ll pay special attention to security.”
I nodded and patted Ma Dong-jin on the shoulder. Then I walked over to Kang Hyeok and A-seong, who were standing behind him, and gave them a few words.
“Kang Hyeok, take good care of Grandmother and come up carefully. A-seong, spend the remaining time talking a lot with your uncle. Let’s meet in Seoul.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Yes, hyung-nim.”
The train let out a long whistle once more. It was time to leave.
I gave Ma Dong-jin’s shoulder one firm pat and boarded the train without hesitation. Through the window, I could see the three of them waving their hands.
With a long, sharp metallic screech, the train began to slow down. The familiar, murky air of Seoul seeped into the carriage.
As soon as the train came to a complete stop, I stood up without hesitation.
For over six hours, I hadn’t closed my eyes even once. There hadn’t been enough time to organize the chaos in my head.
As the scenery flashing past the window gradually turned gray, my reason was honed sharper and colder.
Seoul Station’s platform was a different kind of pandemonium compared to Busan Station.
There was no place to step, packed with people who had gathered in search of hope, or to flee from despair. Their faces were tangled with their own stories and desires.
I pushed through the crowd and stepped down onto the platform. There, three men waiting for me stood, with another person standing behind them like a shadow.
The first to catch my eye was Kang Cheol-min, unable to hide his excited expression.
Beside him stood Yoon Ji-seong, his calm, sharp gaze shining behind his glasses. And then, the unexpected figure of Cheon Sang-do. When our eyes met, Cheon Sang-do flashed his trademark sly smile.
Kang Cheol-min and Cheon Sang-do opened their mouths almost simultaneously.
“Welcome, Captain.”
“Well now, has the young boss arrived?”
“It’s been a while, everyone. How’s the situation in Seoul?”
After brief greetings, I went straight to the point.
“Myeong-dong is literally a field of corpses.”
Kang Cheol-min swallowed dryly as he answered.
“There are countless securities firms and black-market dealers that have shut their doors, and the private lending market has dried up so badly there’s nothing left but dust. President Cheon here has been wailing every day as well.”
“When did I ever wail?”
Cheon Sang-do snapped back gruffly, but he couldn’t hide the shadow cast over his face. Then Yoon Ji-seong continued the report in a calm yet weighty voice.
“Dan Tae-geon, backed by Jeong Tae-soo, is rapidly taking control of Myeong-dong. At this rate, it looks like more than half will fall to Dan Tae-geon before President Cheon can even make a move.”
I nodded silently. It wasn’t much different from what I had expected.
Finally, I shifted my gaze to Zhang Wei, who had been standing quietly behind them. He hadn’t moved an inch until I looked at him.
“You three head back to the office first. I’ll follow shortly.”
Perhaps they had already guessed it from the moment Zhang Wei came to meet me, because the three of them turned around without a word.
Only after confirming their figures disappearing into the crowd did I approach Zhang Wei.
“It’s been a while.”
“The superior is waiting.”
Zhang Wei spoke only of the matter at hand.
There was no emotion carried on his blunt face, but the look in his eyes as he looked at me had softened noticeably compared to before.
Without exchanging a word, we left the station. A single car was waiting out front. Once we got in, Zhang Wei personally took the driver’s seat.
“Are you driving yourself?”
“Let’s go.”
Instead of answering my question, he responded through action.
Zhang Wei didn’t say a single word until we arrived at Yang Sobo’s residence. Thanks to that, I was given time to organize my thoughts.
‘In the end, Yang Sobo has no answer other than leaving Korea.’
Chairman Han had personally marked him. In the Republic of Korea as it was now, being marked by that man was no different from a death sentence.
Even if he wouldn’t be directly harmed out of consideration for the eyes of the Overseas Chinese scattered across the world, it was only natural that pressure would continue to be applied—something that would have been obvious even without memories of a previous life.
Before long, we arrived at Yang Sobo’s residence and headed straight to his office.
Yang Sobo’s office still carried the same oppressive atmosphere as before, but as he stood facing the garden, his back looked unusually small compared to usual.
“You’re here.”
He asked without turning around.
“Yes, sir.”
“I heard everything about what happened in Busan. That you clashed with those fellows called sea whales.”
“Things got a bit tangled.”
Yang Sobo slowly turned his body. The gaze of a tiger who once reigned as the king of the underground economy was nowhere to be found—his eyes were empty.
Swallowing my confusion, I began calmly explaining to him what had happened in Busan.
The death of Captain Noh, the first encounter with the sea whales, and the fact that their true leader was Han Do-gyeong.
Of course, I carefully concealed the fact that I had known his identity from the beginning.
As my story grew longer, a faint light gradually returned to Yang Sobo’s once-empty eyes.
He leaned his upper body forward, focusing intently on every single word I spoke.
In particular, he couldn’t hide his admiration when I explained how I had used Wang Hai’s greed to disguise him as the true body of the sea whales, then mobilized the KCIA and the Coast Guard to carry out a sweep.
His dry hand paused briefly atop the teacup.
“Heh heh……. To have drawn up such a board amid that chaos. Using Wang Hai as bait to cull the traitors among the sea whales, while at the same time indebting the KCIA and the Coast Guard? You’re truly a frightening man.”
That wasn’t simple admiration.
It was awe toward someone who had read moves he himself hadn’t even considered—someone who had played a hand more meticulous and bolder than his own.
“I merely struggled desperately to survive.”
“To survive? No. You were already controlling the board. You’re a far more meticulous and ruthless man than I thought.”
A sharp light flickered in his eyes. Only now had they returned to the gaze of Yang Sobo I knew. I didn’t miss that change.
“So, what do you plan to do now?”
“Before that, I’d like to hear about your future course first, sir.”
“That’s why I called you.”
Holding the teapot, he filled the two teacups placed in front of him. Handing one of them to me, he opened his mouth.
“I plan to leave the Republic of Korea.”
“Are you serious?”
I hadn’t expected Yang Sobo to make such a decision so easily. I thought he would at least try everything he could before leaving.
After a brief silence, Yang Sobo stared at the teacup and spoke.
“Because harm could reach Yang Yeong as well.”
In the end, Yang Sobo was still weak when it came to blood. More than his own safety, he feared Yang Yeong being harmed because of him.
“What about your assets? I heard you already offered two billion hwan.”
“The cost of merely meeting Chairman Han was two billion hwan. But there was no compensation in return. No—on the contrary, he threatened me, telling me to hand over half my assets and leave.”
“Please tell me the details. I heard about it over the phone, but by my common sense, I just can’t understand it…….”
Nodding, Yang Sobo took a sip of tea and began recounting the events of that day. By the time the tea in front of me had completely gone cold, his story had come to an end.
“So from the start, he had no intention of granting your request. Especially since he even brought up what he saw in Manchuria.”
“That’s right. That’s why I told you so back then.”
“Then what do you plan to do with your businesses?”
“So far, the only one who knows my decision is Zhang Wei. Now I need to gather everyone and speak to them. Those who wish to follow me will come along, and those who don’t will be sufficiently compensated and then set up independently.”
I looked at Yang Sobo without saying a word. I didn’t hide my ambition in the slightest. Noticing my gaze, he let out a small chuckle and said,
“Why? Are you interested in my businesses?”
“Wouldn’t it be stranger not to be interested?”
“Baek-gun. There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you for a while now.”
Yang Sobo met my gaze. For the eyes of a man announcing his own exit, they were shining far too clearly.
“Did you come to see me from the beginning having predicted all of this?”
I fell silent for a moment at his question. Then, with a faint smile, I shook my head.
“No.”
“…….”
“Of course, looking back now, everything did unfold as if it were all carefully fitted together, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable for you to think that way.”
I lifted the teacup and took a sip of the cold tea.
“The reason I came to see you, as I told you, was because I discovered the existence of Yang Yeong. That was purely by chance. And everything that happened after that was simply a matter of predicting the situation at each moment and making the best move possible.”
There wasn’t the slightest tremor in my voice. No, there couldn’t be.
“If I had predicted all of this, I would have first suggested ways to prevent the losses you suffered. I would have tried to dissuade you from meeting Chairman Han as well. But I couldn’t do that.”
I didn’t avert my eyes.
There was nothing but truth in my gaze. At least, that was how it had to appear to him.
“There was only one reason I first came to see you. It was to save my younger brother and survive myself on the filthy ground of Cheongnyangni. But by your side, I saw a much bigger board.”
Yang Sobo merely stared at me, offering no reaction to my answer.
“I only tried to read human desire and the flow of money. What those standing at the pinnacle of power want, and where their greed is headed. This currency reform and securities turmoil were no different. I didn’t see the future—I merely saw the nature of power and the mechanics of money.”