Chapter 31: A Rift Between the Cheon Brothers?

“Let’s deal with Lee Sa-seong first.”

At my words the jovial drinking atmosphere froze over like the Han River in midwinter.

The playfulness vanished from Park Dong-su’s voice as his expression hardened.

“Watch what you say kid.”

“I don’t think I said anything wrong. When I first gave you the info on the war on crime didn’t I tell you to hide quietly without telling Lee Sa-seong? Why do you think that was? I believe these things will keep happening.”

Park Dong-su’s already stony face twisted in anger.

“Fuck do you think I don’t know that? You think I’m here because I don’t know? But how can I work on the son of the boss I served?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his words.

My laughter filled the quiet pojangmacha where we were the only customers.

But my laughter only made the atmosphere heavier.

Park Dong-su glared at me with cold eyes.

“You… are you laughing right now?”

“Uncle do you still think we’re in an era where gangsters talk about loyalty? Everyone knows that’s bullshit. Even high school kids passing by know that fact. Are you the only one living in the past?”

“Hey!”

Park Dong-su shouted.

Lee Sang-geun’s face beside him also hardened.

The smile disappeared from my lips too.

“Sigh… if you won’t do it I will.”

“Let’s be reasonable kid.”

“Reasonable?”

I looked at him with disbelief.

Park Dong-su spoke forcefully with indignation in his eyes.

“Yeah let’s be reasonable. We may be gangsters but! We may be thugs who beat people up! But we’re people with loyalty. No matter how much times have changed I don’t want to change!”

“Hah~ you’re really frustrating.”

There seemed to be no point in talking further.

I put down my glass and stood up.

I gave cold looks in turn to Park Dong-su and Lee Sang-geun who were looking up at me.

“Let’s pretend we never agreed to work together. I’ll help make sure there are no problems with this coup but that’s it.”

“Hey! Kim Mu-hyeok! Sit down!”

Park Dong-su yelled angrily.

But I was even angrier than him.

“Hah~ uncle do you still see me as that high school kid on the hospital rooftop? Should I completely dismantle your organization? I think I could do it with one phone call.”

Park Dong-su stared at me speechless.

An oppressive atmosphere settled between us.

“You still don’t get it after going through all this? Or are you looking down on me?”

I thought if we didn’t tie this up clearly now and just let it slide it would end up neither here nor there.

I came here intending to draw a clear line before meeting.

Park Dong-su was a good person but… he was too good and that was the problem.

“Everything up till now was out of my goodwill towards you uncle. What have I ever received from you? Or have I ever begged you for help? Why do you keep making me lose faith in you?”

“Hey…”

I cut off Park Dong-su’s attempt at an excuse firmly.

“I warned you clearly. Deal with Lee Sa-seong yourself by the end of this month. And prepare to move into Seoul by October at the latest and contact me. If it’s not sorted by the end of this month I’ll handle it myself.”

Park Dong-su just looked up at me without answering.

“From the moment he used Byeon Seong-ho to cut into my body he’s no longer someone who can live comfortably. Whether he ordered it or not that’s not the important part. You know that right?”

I could see Park Dong-su clenching his fist that was resting on the table.

“See what happens to Byeon Seong-ho tomorrow. I hope you make a good decision. I want to work with you uncle. October is the deadline. If you can’t finish cleaning up Busan by then we’re really done.”

“…Mu-hyeok.”

As the atmosphere turned hostile I also warned Lee Sang-geun who was reaching towards his ankle.

“You be careful too Attorney Lee. I’ll let it slide this time but don’t think about pulling a knife in front of me. Next time I’ll really make you watch as the things you hold most dear crumble.”

I turned around harshly.

Both Park Dong-su and Lee Sang-geun were silent.

I looked back at them as I lifted the curtain at the pojangmacha entrance.

“If you resolve everything by October I might even call you hyung then.”

With those final words I left.

“Damn it…”

There was a bitter taste in my mouth as I walked to my car parked nearby.

It was necessary to draw the line but…

Still I couldn’t help feeling bitter.

I should go drink with Myeong-su and Hyeon-seong.

I got in the car trying to shake off my irritation.

The sound of the car door slamming shut echoed.

* * *

After Kim Mu-hyeok left the two men drnk in silence for a while.

“Sigh…”

At Park Dong-su’s sigh Lee Sang-geun poured him some soju.

Park Dong-su downed the soju in one gulp and spoke with a complicated expression.

“Sang-geun.”

“Yes boss.”

“That kid’s really determined huh? Damn it’s frustrating but I can’t get mad. He’s right after all. What have I done for him that he’d help keep me out of jail?”

“Boss…”

Park Dong-su who had been sitting with a dark expression for a while after starting to speak finally put his glass down on the table with a thud.

“You go see Elder Sa-seong. You’ve never met him face-to-face so it’ll be easier to talk. Go and… tell him to leave on his own. Tell him I’ll take full responsibility for looking after his family okay? Tell him that’s the best I can do for Elder.”

“…”

Park Dong-su twisted his lips with an anguished expression.

“And… I know we can’t survive as gangsters with just brute force anymore. I understand what Mu-hyeok is saying but… damn it’s frustrating. I do this work because I have no money and no education but still…”

“…I think the same way.”

“Right we have to adapt to a world that moves according to money after all? Let’s finish cleaning up Busan cleanly after you meet Elder Sa-seong and then go to Seoul. We’ll live large there without envying anyone.”

“…Yes boss.”

Park Dong-su who had been wearing a vague expression shook his head as if to clear it.

“We’ll worry about the headaches from tomorrow. Tonight let’s drink! Drink till we die! That’s the only way we’ll be able to sleep.”

As Park Dong-su raised his glass Lee Sang-geun lifted his glass with both hands and gently clinked the bottom of Park Dong-su’s soju glass.

The Jagalchi Market in midsummer.

Outside was noisy with people’s singing and chatter but inside the pojangmacha where the two were it was quiet like a completely different world from outside.

The next day when Park Dong-su went to the office with a body wracked by a hangover he heard the news that Byeon Seong-ho had been found dead by suicide hanging himself in his detention cell.

* * *

Seoul Detention Center

Cheon Su-man was waiting for his younger brother in the lawyer visitation room.

A moment later

Cheon Su-han who entered the visitation room with a guard smiled at his brother in delight.

“Hyung!”

“Sigh…”

Cheon Su-man let out a sigh seeing him.

“Attorney Park can we talk privately?”

“Yes.”

The man called ‘Attorney Park’ exchanged a look with the guard who then removed Cheon Su-han’s handcuffs and left.

“Talk amongst yourselves. I’ll come back later.”

Attorney Park bowed and left.

The lawyer visitation room fell into silence for a moment after the door closed.

Cheon Su-man was the first to speak.

He pushed a lunchbox made at a hotel in front of Cheon Su-han.

“Eat first. Is the detention center food edible?”

“Hah~ it’s shit. Why is the solitary cell so damn narrow… The smell is awful too it’s killing me.”

Cheon Su-han who had been complaining quickly opened the lunchbox.

“But money talks even here. I can secretly buy cigarettes and the guards treat me well so it’s bearable.”

Cheon Su-han spoke with his mouth full of food. Cheon Su-man who had been watching him with a disapproving look opened his mouth.

“But Su-han.”

“Huh?”

Cheon Su-han who had been eating looked up.

Cheon Su-man was looking at him with an expressionless face.

“What were you thinking?”

“What?”

Cheon Su-man continued to stare at Cheon Su-han silently.

Cheon Su-han tilted his head at the ominous atmosphere.

“What? Why? Say something.”

“What’s with the pachinko without telling me? What were you scheming with Assemblyman Kim that got you caught? And your name is right there as the main culprit? What the hell are you doing?”

Cough cough

Cheon Su-han who started coughing as if choking looked for water and drank it.

“Hah~ I thought I was going to die. That’s… hyung.”

“Don’t beat around the bush and tell me clearly if I can still trust you if we can still work together.”

At Cheon Su-man’s firm words Cheon Su-han looked at him with blank eyes.

“…Did I commit some crime? When my in-laws said they had no one to trust and entrust it to but family how could I refuse? I couldn’t tell anyone because they told me not to tell anyone. How can you talk to me like this when I’m locked up in here? When have I ever disobeyed you?”

Cheon Su-han was venting his grievances as if feeling wronged.

But Cheon Su-man’s expression didn’t change at all.

“Is that all?”

“Then what? What else is there?”

“You just carried out Assemblyman Kim’s request without telling me? And it wasn’t just a transaction of a few thousand won but deals worth hundreds of millions?”

“What power do I have? I live watching my father-in-law’s face my father’s face and on top of that your face. Now I have to watch my nephew’s face too. What am I supposed to do?”

“Seems you were quite resentful.”

“How could I not be resentful? Father doesn’t think about saving me and just threw me in here and you come visit and treat me like a criminal. Am I some pushover? Am I the neighborhood punching bag? Why is everyone going crazy at me!”

Cheon Su-han finally raised his voice. But Cheon Su-man spoke dispassionately.

“Didn’t your hyung say he’d take care of you after the old man dies? But how can I trust and take care of someone who’s secretly filling his own pockets behind my back? Right Su-han?”

“What?”

“I’ll say one last thing. Just don’t do anything and only do what your hyung tells you to do while waiting. Then I’ll take care of you enough so that you won’t have any problems living. Don’t be greedy and know your place okay?”

“…”

“Think hard while you’re in prison. If something like this happens again I’ll have no choice but to think differently about you too right? Let’s not fight amongst brothers like those chaebol families.”

Cheon Su-han who had been silent for a while finally dropped his head weakly.

“…Alright I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. I shouldn’t be saying this after coming all the way here but I had to make things clear. How can brothers keep secrets from each other? If you have any resentments towards hyung you can tell me anytime. I’ll visit often.”

Cheon Su-man who had stood up patted Cheon Su-han’s shoulder a few times before leaving the visitation room.

Different thoughts were swirling in each of their minds.

‘He seems suspicious. I should put someone to watch him so he can’t think of anything else.’

‘At this rate I’ll just be used and thrown away. I need to find a way to survive somehow.’

What was just a small act of revenge against Kim Mu-hyeok by throwing him in etention left a small spark between the Cheon brothers.

* * *

I had planned to return to Seoul with my friends but suddenly received a call from grandfather.

I went up to Seoul alone a few days earlier.

Driving my car on the highway I fell into various thoughts.

‘In two weeks the real-name financial system will be implemented.’

All stocks will plummet to their daily limit repeatedly.

Thinking about what I needed to do to prepare for the coming chaos I arrived in Pyeongchang-dong before I knew it.

“I’m back grandfather.”

“You came early. Change your clothes and come out. We have somewhere to go together.”

“Huh? Somewhere to go?”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

A little later I was riding in grandfather’s car moving together.

“How was your in-law?”

“He seemed to be in good health.”

“That’s good. Did you enjoy seeing grandmother?”

“Yes!”

Grandfather looked at the deep smile that bloomed on my face with what seemed like a bitter expression.

“It would have been nice if your in-law came to Seoul too…”

“I think… even if he came to Seoul he probably wouldn’t be able to bear it and would go back down. That’s the kind of person he is. He’s never left Busan once so I think an unfamiliar environment might be even harder for him. So I didn’t push it strongly either.”

“Hoho your face has really brightened up after going to Busan. You look good.”

With those words grandfather fell silent.

Is it my imagination that I sense bitterness and disappointment in grandfather’s expression?

I couldn’t put into words this dissonance I felt between Old Man Cheon of the past and grandfather of the present.

Finally the car came to a stop.

The place we arrived at was the private residence of the honorary chairman of Daehyeon the history of Korean chaebols and Korea’s number one chaebol.