One of them was none other than Cha Baeju — Assemblyman Cha. There was no shortage of people with dirty secrets among those who had borrowed money from him, but Cha Baeju was at the top of that list.
The man smiled a warm, personable smile in public — and behind closed doors, committed every vile act imaginable. From the moment he borrowed the money, his every move had been monitored, and anything that could be used against him funneled straight back to Kang Jihyeok’s ears. Naturally, the man himself had no idea.
It was as though he had completely forgotten what kind of person he was dealing with. Which would explain why he went around so openly dropping things that could be used against him. It made gathering information easy enough — but the fact that the man seemed to think he could treat Kang Jihyeok like a fool left a foul taste in his mouth.
“Shall we move forward?”
Kang Jihyeok tapped his foot idly, thinking through how best to squeeze the principal out of Cha Baeju. First, scrape together whatever real estate and assets he’d hidden away… though that would amount to pocket change. Despite having boldly borrowed an enormous sum, Cha Baeju had managed to sink every single business he touched. Most people said behind his back — “invest in whatever Cha Baeju turned down” — and they weren’t wrong. His children seemed to have inherited his gift for failure as well; the eldest, second, and third were all in the same boat. Which meant even stripping every visible and hidden asset bare, the odds of recovering the money were zero.
How do I bleed this man dry?
Not that he had any intention of letting it go. Squeeze everything possible out of him, then there were always the organs… Cha Baeju’s organs didn’t look particularly healthy, but they’d fetch a reasonable sum.
Fortunately for the family, it wasn’t Kang Jihyeok’s style to go after relatives just because the borrower couldn’t pay. He tapped a finger against his cheek. How long to wait? Until today? Or just another minute? Either way, Cha Baeju was already finished.
“For now—”
And then it happened. As if to shatter the heavy silence, a ringtone filled the room.
Manager Yang checked the phone, and his perpetually scowling face brightened slightly. He stepped toward Kang Jihyeok and bent at the waist.
“Sir, it’s Assemblyman Cha.”
Manager Yang extended the phone to Kang Jihyeok with the air of a man who had just been relieved of a burden. The screen read: Cha Baeju (National Assembly Member) — 5 billion.
Kang Jihyeok took the phone and propped his feet up on the desk. He pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips; Manager Yang immediately lit it. A pale haze of smoke began to fill the room.
Whether Cha Baeju called or not — the interest hadn’t been paid, and the principal had been left untouched for a long time now.
There was no harm in simply not answering.
“Should I take it?”
“Whatever you feel like, sir.”
Kang Jihyeok drummed his fingers on the phone. Take it or leave it.
He deliberated, then brought the phone to his ear. He didn’t know why — he simply felt like it.
“Yes, this is Kang Jihyeok.”
The voice on the other end was light and hurried — nerves bleeding through.
Ha ha, CEO Kang. I hope you’ve been well. This is Cha Baeju.
Kang Jihyeok shifted the phone to rest between his shoulder and ear, then rolled his wrist. The unsettling crack of bone carried through the receiver — or so it seemed, given how quickly the easy laughter on the other end vanished. For a man this easily spooked, he’d had a remarkable amount of nerve dodging payments and calls this long. Either bold, or simply brainless.
“I suppose you’re finally calling to settle your debt. I kept missing your calls and was starting to think our Assemblyman had no intention of paying me back.”
T-there’s no way! Why would I not pay CEO Kang back?
“Ha ha.”
The laugh that came out was clearly forced. Kang Jihyeok made no effort to hide the fact that he was displeased.
I have s-something to say.
The overly familiar voice was trembling pathetically. Push harder now, or let him ramble on? Life had felt tedious lately — boring enough that he decided to hear whatever nonsense was coming. If Cha Baeju said he was paying up, life would go on being dull. If he wasn’t — well, at least that would be something to keep things interesting.
So he’d listen. A thick, uncomfortable silence stretched out. Then a flurry of noise came through from the other end.
“Go ahead. I’m listening.”
Polite in wording — though it somehow came across as anything but.
I — I have prepared a gift for CEO Kang.
“A gift?”
…He had definitely lost his mind. That was the only explanation for why, instead of saying he would pay the money back, the man was babbling about a gift.
Kang Jihyeok dropped the courtesy. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair in irritation. God damn it. Should he have skipped the call entirely and just moved straight to collection? Being bored didn’t mean he wanted to sit here listening to garbage like this.
“Not money?”
…Something more valuable than money.
“There is nothing more valuable than money.”
Kang Jihyeok didn’t trust people. He had no reason to. He didn’t even trust Manager Yang or Yu Cheol, who had both worked beside him for years. He simply placed slightly more confidence in them than in others.
People lied. Money didn’t.
People betrayed. Money didn’t.
Therefore, nothing more valuable than money existed in this world. That was Kang Jihyeok’s creed.
And this man was offering him a gift in place of money? Something more valuable, no less? Impossible.
You’re aware — are you aware that I have a youngest son?
He was well aware. He knew the man had disguised a bastard child as an adopted son for reasons too dirty to say out loud. He also knew he’d been raising the boy carefully in order to sell him off to some pervert with a taste for young, pretty men. Because of that, the rumors surrounding the youngest son were equally bad above ground and below it — reaching even Kang Jihyeok’s ears without any effort on his part. And this was all information that required no digging — Cha Baeju had been openly telling anyone who’d listen. Word was that now, with his businesses all collapsed and money completely dried up, the man was desperate to sell the boy off immediately. Recently, at some gathering held under anonymity, he’d apparently made a spectacle of himself, essentially putting the youngest son up for auction. So why was he suddenly bringing this up to him?
Kang Jihyeok made no effort to conceal his distaste.
“Whether I know or not — what does that have to do with me?”
I intend to gift CEO Kang my youngest son. In-instead of repaying the money.
“Ha — for fuck’s sake.”
Of all the things. The profanity left his mouth audibly. Kang Jihyeok pressed his fingers against his eyelids. Did the man think he was some twisted, sick pervert? Offering a person in place of money — and expecting him to accept that?
Even setting everything else aside and assuming he took Cha Baeju’s youngest son in lieu of payment, that still wouldn’t come close to covering the principal, let alone the interest. Strip that barely-grown kid from head to toe and you’d be hard-pressed to scrape together even a hundred million won, let alone five billion.
Cha Baeju was sharp with money — he had to know that. And yet he was saying this to him anyway. Kang Jihyeok couldn’t make sense of it. He ground his teeth. If this had been said to his face rather than over the phone, a fist would have already flown. Genuinely frustrating.
“The amount you borrowed was five billion. You know that, right?”
Ah — yes. Of course I know.
“And you know the interest brings it even higher?”
N-naturally.
“And you’re telling me that barely-ripe little boy is worth more than five billion?”
Kang Jihyeok gestured to Manager Yang.
“I don’t think so. But apparently you do?”
…….
“Or maybe you just think I’m a fool.”
How could I ever think that!
A long silence followed. Someone must have told him — the rumor that Kang Jihyeok had a thing for men. Unfortunately for everyone involved, that rumor had been started by Kang Jihyeok himself.
It was because the bastards who borrowed his money had a maddening habit of not thinking about repayment at all, and instead constantly shoving women at him, begging him to take them in lieu of the debt.
