“From now on, I intend to infringe upon everything regarding Cha Yoonseok—his character, his rights, his work. Deeply and persistently. To the point where you’ll be shaking with dread.”
Cha Yoonseok’s mouth hung open vacantly. He blinked his heavy eyelids, struggling to process the words spilling from Seongheon’s lips.
“What is that supposed to mean, Hyung-nim?”
A beast instinctively senses an opponent stronger than itself. Even without meaning to, the drained tone of his voice and Cha Yoonseok’s uncharacteristic, forced politeness spoke volumes.
“Uh, uh… I don’t quite understand what you’re saying.”
“…….”
“I apologize, Hyung-nim—no, Managing Director. I’m a man of little education, so I struggle with complex talk. And I’ve had a few drinks. I don’t know what’s what anymore….”
Cha Yoonseok’s voice trailed off. Seongheon’s gaze, void of any discernible emotion, loomed over him; it was like a lion pinning its prey into a corner, closing the distance one step at a time.
He swallowed hard. His throat felt as if it were parched and boiling.
After watching Cha Yoonseok for a long silence, Seongheon picked up the liquor bottle again and filled Cha Yoonseok’s glass. His movements were languid and deliberate.
“I told you. The things you’ve been doing stem from cheap, small-minded abuse of power.”
The glass filled to the brim, then overflowed.
“As it happens, I’m quite good at that myself.”
“…….”
“Trampling on someone who’s thrashing about. Crushing someone who’s struggling to survive.”
“No, what on earth are you talking about….”
“I’m not finished.”
“…….”
“Shut up and listen.”
Cha Yoonseok stared at the liquor spilling across the table, his eyes wide. The alcohol flowed off the edge to soak his pants—cold and stinging—but he couldn’t move a muscle.
Seongheon set the bottle down and wiped his hands. It was a refined, sterile gesture.
“I looked into the recent track record of Namsong Industrial Development. It was a spectacle. Thanks to that, the Seoryang lawyer, whom we went to great lengths of time and money to secure, is really flexing his muscles these days.”
Cha Yoonseok’s lips twitched. It was all he could do to register the words Seongheon poured into his ears; he had no capacity left to gauge the atmosphere.
Yet, Seongheon’s clinical, resolute tone struck him like a sledgehammer.
“I was curious as I dug deeper, so I looked into a few other things personally. You and your father have had some fun with stocks and real estate. You managed to play the part of the nouveau riche through anomalous gifting.”
“…….”
“Your father seems to have made quite a name for himself in the shadows through manipulating cryptocurrency rates.”
“……Ah!”
“I didn’t even have to dig deep. It was almost baffling that such things were even possible. Perhaps you’ve been avoiding the tax authorities’ eyes with help from those around you all this time.”
Seongheon tilted his head.
“Or maybe it’s such small change that even the authorities aren’t interested.”
His voice was low, quiet, yet terrifyingly certain. Just as Cha Yoonseok, too shocked to speak, choked on his own breath, his phone rang.
He moved only his eyes to look at the device on the table. It was a call from his father.
“Answer it.”
“Ah, no.”
“You are going to answer it.”
Seongheon straightened his back, a silent command. Cha Yoonseok picked up the phone, his hand trembling. Before he could even bring it to his ear, his father’s voice erupted, loud enough to sear his eardrums.
—You little bastard! Where are you!
For the first time, genuine fear surfaced in Cha Yoonseok’s eyes.
—I asked where you are, you little shit! Where on earth are you, and what kind of garbage are you out doing?!
Seongheon chuckled, filling his own glass. The irony was palpable. Even if he tried not to listen, the vitriol came through clearly.
“Why, why are you doing this….”
Cha Yoonseok feared his father—the source of his money, the shield that kept his illegal acts from surfacing.
—Why? Hey. Seoryang Construction just sent a notice of contract termination. Do you know nothing about it? Are you that ignorant?
“I don’t know. I, I don’t know anything.”
His voice thinned, pathetic as a child’s.
—This is driving me crazy. Those Seoryang sons of bitches, what are they doing!
Seongheon chuckled again.
“Ah, Father. I’m currently….”
—Forget it, get your ass to Seoul right now! If you don’t come immediately, you’d better know I’ll kill you with my own hands!
His father hung up without waiting for an answer. Cha Yoonseok let the phone fall from his limp grip.
Seongheon checked the time and slowly emptied his glass, savoring the liquor as if it were a fine vintage.
“Our lawyer is working hard until this hour. I shall have to provide him with a generous success bonus.”
“Managing Director, I—Managing Director.”
Cha Yoonseok, unable to grasp the shifting reality, scrambled to his knees. Seongheon looked down at him, rotating the empty glass.
“Don’t be surprised. Contract termination is nothing special. It’s common for people to go their separate ways when their interests no longer align.”
“…….”
“But it seems your father doesn’t know yet. The termination of the contract isn’t the real issue. Surely the company won’t collapse just by turning your back on Seoryang Group, will it?”
He smiled, but the expression held a serrated edge. Cha Yoonseok couldn’t return it; he only blinked. He wasn’t being physically assaulted, nor was he being cursed at, yet the man before him was fear incarnate.
“Go and tell your father. This time, no matter what he does, he won’t be getting out of it.”
“…….”
“Everything you have. Everything you’ve hidden. Everything you’ve siphoned off. I’m going to strip it all down and slam it into the ground.”
“Why on earth would you do this to me….”
Cha Yoonseok muttered in an aggrieved, broken voice. At that, Seongheon turned his head as if surveying the room.
“For a long time, this space has been where influential figures have come to dine. From the days when Seoul was Hanyang, up until now.”
“Yes, yes. Managing Director. It’s an honor. It truly is an honor.”
“Because there have been many instances of lobbying and solicitation in intimate settings, this is also a place where real-time recording works quite well. It’s like the sterile room of Domyeongjae.”
Recording.
Cha Yoonseok’s mind reeled. He had a faint memory of being told, upon entering, that some areas were equipped with CCTV. He hadn’t thought much of it, assuming it was for the exterior—but to think it was installed in the very room where he had spoken so freely.
He wanted to scramble to recall what kind of nonsense he had spewed, but his mind had already frozen.
“Even for the same crime, the level of punishment and the social impact differ depending on who explains it and how. The limitations of the law, they say.”
“…….”
“It’s absurd, but what can you do? That’s what they call the limitations of the law. So, this time, our Domyeongjae intends to explain it ourselves. The damages suffered by Ji Yeonwoo.”
“……Ah!”
“Your family will be ruined as the price for your dirty money games, but that won’t be enough. I intend to have you completely buried from society.”
Only then did Cha Yoonseok tremble, clasping his hands and begging.
“Managing Director, Managing Director! No! It’s a misunderstanding! Uh, no! Absolutely not! I was wrong! It’s my fault!”
Denials and admissions spilled out in a chaotic mess. Cha Yoonseok’s face turned deathly pale as he bowed his head and wrung his hands. Watching him repeat the same words like a madman, Seongheon called for Manager Moon.
As she entered, Seongheon poured himself another glass.
“Since our guest says he is leaving, call Manager Hwang to see him out.”
“Yes, Managing Director.”
“Managing Director! Managing Director! Please listen to me!”
Cha Yoonseok shouted until his throat felt like it was tearing. Meanwhile, the burly Manager Hwang approached with staff members and forcibly hauled him up.
“Managing Director! I’ll explain everything! It’s a misunderstanding! I’m the victim here!”
Cha Yoonseok resisted stubbornly, refusing to be dragged out. Seongheon, watching calmly, stood up and walked over to him.
He stood close, scanning the thrashing form before leaning in to whisper in his ear.
His tone was impossibly gentle.
“Yes. That’s very good. Keep struggling like that, so you don’t lose your energy.”
“…….”
“I need that much entertainment myself.”
Cha Yoonseok bit his lip hard, his strength failing him.
*
“Managing Director! Managing Director!”
Even while being dragged out, Cha Yoonseok wailed. Unable to even put on his shoes properly, he was shoved toward the main gate. The waiting driver opened the back door in alarm.
The staff threw Cha Yoonseok inside, but he clung to the door frame, refusing to leave.
“Ji Yeonwoo! Please call Ji Yeonwoo. Please? Please!”
They loaded the items he had brought back into the trunk. A struggle ensued between Cha Yoonseok, trying to claw his way out of the car, and the staff blocking him.
“Ji Yeonwoo! I said call her! Or I’ll go see her myself!”
Cha Yoonseok pushed the door with all his might.
“Hey! You don’t know who I am! Get out of the way! Won’t you move? I said call Ji Yeonwoo! Bring her out here right now!”
The staff rushed to block his path.
“Move! Move, you sons of bitches! Ji Yeonwoo! Hey! Where are you! Come out!”
“My, you’ve got quite the strength. You’ll sleep well on your way back to Seoul after exhausting yourself.”
Cha Yoonseok suddenly stopped. Manager Moon was scattering white powder from a small basket onto the car.
He stared at the woman with whom he had recently exchanged pleasantries, his eyes wide with confusion and rising panic.
“You there! Grandma! Call Ji Yeonwoo. Huh? She’s inside, isn’t she!”
“If I called everyone a guest asked for, would they be a Domyeongjae employee? They’d be a guest’s servant.”
“What? Call her! I’ll give you money, just bring her out!”
Sticking his hand into the door gap to hold it open, Cha Yoonseok kicked at the staff. Manager Moon looked straight into his face and scattered the powder over his head—a parting gesture.
“Heh. You’re late. Anyway, you’re late for everything.”
“What?”
Manager Moon finally emptied the basket and stepped closer, her shadow falling over him.
“I said to call Ji Yeonwoo.”
Cha Yoonseok held his ground, his eyes flashing, but Manager Moon simply raised her eyebrows.
“Heh. Can’t call her for you.”
“What? Has this old hag lost her mind? Call her. Bring her in front of me. She’s my employee.”
“Heh. No. Yeonwoo is a Domyeongjae employee now, and my family.”
“…….”
“She’s not someone you can just call here and there, telling her to come and go as you please. Hurting her is the same as provoking us, Domyeongjae, so take note.”
“You crazy old hag! Do you think I’m a joke!”
“Maybe she was alone in Seoul, and maybe that’s why you bullied her so easily, but not here. The things the law and the police can’t protect, our Domyeongjae will protect no matter what.”
“…….”
“Don’t go looking for Yeonwoo until the day you die. I’ve said it clearly. If you look for her one more time, know that before you’re destroyed by the Managing Director’s hands, you’ll meet your end by mine first.”
She straightened her back, her composure chilling.
“My, thank you ever so much for visiting. It’s a long way home, so it’s a pity you must be so weary.”
A vibration came from Cha Yoonseok’s pocket. His father’s call again.
As if his spirit had finally snapped, Cha Yoonseok exhaled a ragged breath and brushed the powder off his head. He looked down at the white granules on his palms with a look of dazed horror.
“Safe travels to our guest. And be careful on the night road.”
Ah. What a shuddering Domyeongjae this was.
“I’m closing the door now. It’s better that I, a woman in a skirt, close it. I’ll close it nicely, so go safely.”
What Manager Moon had scattered wasn’t mere dust. It was salt.