Chapter 18: You Might Regret It
The president of Daejin Trading, sitting across from Dohyuk, could barely raise his head. Looking to be in his mid-fifties, he hunched over, his eyes wandering here and there as he cautiously assessed the situation. In contrast, Dohyuk sat with his legs crossed, leaning back against the sofa, gazing contemplatively at the man before him.
“Please… j-just give me two more weeks, no, just one more week, and I’ll do whatever it takes…!”
“We’ve already extended the period by a whole month.”
At Dohyuk’s quiet voice, the president of Daejin Trading shut his mouth tight. Dohyuk didn’t add anything more and shifted his gaze to the file thrown on the table. The president followed his gaze and swallowed dryly.
It was the contract Daejin Trading had signed when first receiving investment from Dragon Holdings. The president’s eyes wavered with agitation.
“Do you remember the terms of the contract?”
The polite language sounded even colder. He didn’t press at length. He simply scanned the president and the contract alternately with a cool expression. The president reached out and picked up the contract. His hands trembled as he turned the pages.
The president’s eyes stopped at the clause regarding failure to recover the investment within the specified period.
“Daejin Trading will be completely sold or acquired by Dragon Holdings.”
The president repeatedly moistened his dry lips with his tongue. This was the company he had built up throughout his lifetime. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that his entire life was invested in it.
Daejin Trading, which had been a modest logistics business, was a fairly well-known mid-sized company in Daejeon. It had been managed soundly and was far from bankruptcy, but the situation had changed within a year.
A year ago, the president was told that it might be possible for their self-developed products to enter a department store. However, he was told that the quality of the goods was somewhat lacking for department store standards and was asked to address that issue. Research was needed to improve quality, and costs were expected to double as material prices increased. Still, with the hope that once they entered the department store, they would recover more than twice the investment, he had asked Dragon Holdings for help.
As the investment conditions were less strict than those of first-tier financial institutions, there were clauses that carried high risks. He was clearly aware of this when signing the contract. Still, he thought there wouldn’t be problems. Since discussions with the department store had already progressed significantly, he had boasted that failure was impossible.
But the accident happened unexpectedly. Just when they were about to move from quality improvement research to product production, the president’s son disappeared with the investment money from Dragon Holdings. He was about to graduate from college, was even receiving a scholarship, and was a diligent student, so nobody had anticipated this.
As the date for recovering Dragon Holdings’ investment approached, anxiety reached its peak. He searched for his son in every possible way but couldn’t find him. When the deadline promised to the department store also passed, the department store cited breach of trust and nullified the contract.
“Sale or acquisition?”
Dohyuk asked in a quiet voice. The president of Daejin Trading got down from the sofa and knelt on the floor.
“Please, I beg you. J-just give me one more week. I’ll do whatever it takes…”
“How do you plan to do that?”
Dohyuk asked, looking down at him with lowered eyes.
“First-tier financial institutions won’t lend you money, so are you thinking of loan sharks?”
He had considered loan sharks. Since it was better than giving up the entire company, he had contemplated holding on by taking out a loan from them, so the president tightened his lips and lowered his eyes.
“You have a son.”
Dohyuk placed a picture of the president’s son on the table. The president’s face froze in shock at the sight of his son, looking haggard, sitting in a gambling hall.
“H-how did you… Did you know where this kid was all along?”
He was also shocked by the fact that Dohyuk knew the whereabouts of his son, whom he couldn’t find no matter how hard he looked.
“Embezzlement of public funds and even gambling… In this situation, if you use loan sharks, your son will be in even more danger. There’s no guarantee he won’t use that money for gambling too.”
It was a warning that after using the loan shark’s money to repay Dragon Holdings, the loan shark would then go after the president’s son.
Dohyuk stared at the president intently. His eyes continued to waver. Even with such a warning, it was clear that he was still considering pulling in loans from loan sharks to put out the immediate fire and buy time somehow.
How foolish. Dragon Holdings was more fearsome than amateur loan sharks, but unfortunately, he didn’t seem to realize that yet.
“Mr. Ma Yunsik.”
He called the president of Daejin Trading by name, then clasped his hands together and leaned forward.
“Using loan sharks to repay Dragon Holdings’ money? Do you think there’s a loan shark who would agree to that? Or…”
Dohyuk’s gaze shifted to the picture of the president’s son.
“Would you understand the situation better if I made the same threats a loan shark would make?”
Though it was a question, there was no rise or fall in his intonation. Only then did the president understand Dohyuk’s meaning and desperately pleaded, turning pale, to leave his son alone. Despite the other’s pleas, Dohyuk looked at him with cold eyes.
“If Mr. Ma Yunsik follows the contract as agreed, there will be no problems for your son. If you wish, we can bring your son to you.”
At the strange nuance, the president’s blank expression suddenly contorted.
“Don’t tell me you were the one who pushed my child into the gambling den…!”
The president couldn’t finish his words, but Dohyuk continued to stare at him with cold eyes. Director Choi placed two more contracts in front of the president.
“Choose. Sale or acquisition.”
Either way, as the president, he would lose everything. If he chose to sell, the current employees would likely all lose their jobs.
“If… it’s acquired, what happens to our employees?”
There was no energy in his voice. His expression seemed to have given up everything in resignation.
“Unless there are special issues, we intend to maintain them as they are.”
As if it was at least some relief, the president exhaled deeply. It seemed better to have what he had built maintained rather than selling to clear debts and having the company dissolve into nothing.
“I’ll choose acquisition.”
He answered with his head hanging low. When Director Choi opened the acquisition contract, he got up from his seat with drooping shoulders and brought his seal.
“Have him affix both his seal and fingerprint.”
At Dohyuk’s command, Director Choi acknowledged and handed the president some red ink. As he dipped his thumb in the ink and pressed it firmly on the acquisition contract, tears fell from the president’s eyes.
Dohyuk, indifferent, just took the contract and stood up. As if he had no further business with him, he left the president’s office without even exchanging goodbyes.
“We’ll contact you later about the timing and method of the transition.”
Director Choi wrapped things up instead and followed Dohyuk. Yeon looked at the middle-aged man who was kneeling on the floor, sobbing. He swallowed dryly when he saw a thread of deep black resentment forming from him and flying toward Dohyuk.
So this was how grudges accumulated. No wonder new ill-fated connections kept forming even after cutting them off.
He didn’t understand much about business. He couldn’t understand what kind of contracts were exchanged between them. But he could tell that it wasn’t a normal contract typically exchanged. If it wasn’t unreasonable, there would be no reason for this president to feel so wronged.
Especially from the moment the son was mentioned, the thread of ill fate became clear. A son was the most precious existence to a man. Threatening such a person intensified the emotions.
“The Managing Director is waiting.”
When Yeon didn’t immediately follow, Director Choi came to get him. Yeon, after watching the man channeling his anger into sorrow, turned away. He couldn’t even approach to offer words of comfort. It wasn’t his business. Still, his heart was heavy. It was natural, having witnessed a man’s life crumble before his eyes.
“Contact the department store and tell them to proceed with the entry. The conditions remain as we set.”
Dohyuk, standing in front of the elevator, instructed Director Choi.
“If we proceed right away, President Ma Yunsik will realize that our side had anticipated everything and prepared the products in advance.”
“So?”
At the response that seemed to ask what the problem was, Director Choi silently bowed his head. From the conversation he had heard, Yeon also figured it out: that Kang Dohyuk had deliberately lured the president’s son and pushed him into gambling. Though he lived apart from the secular world, he always dealt with figures from politics and business. Yeon was familiar with their selfish aspects.
“Has Dragon Holdings always grown this way?”
It was something he shouldn’t have said. When receiving requests from others, he never interfered in their private domains. Whether the client was a good person or a bad person, he just quietly finished his job. To begin with, among clients who worried about safety enough to call a shaman, there were hardly any good people.
Only after Kang Dohyuk’s cold gaze touched his face did Yeon realize his mistake, but it was too late.
“It’s none of your business, is it?”
At the words “none of your business,” Yeon gritted his teeth.
None of my business, I wish I could let it slide like that.
“My job is to cut off Kang Dohyuk-ssi’s ill-fated connections. But if you keep increasing these connections, my work will never end.”
“Then you can just stay by my side continuously.”
At the words to stay by his side, his heart thumped.
‘Stay by my side. You can’t go anywhere else, to anyone else.’
The meaning was different from those words back then. Despite knowing they were different, his heart reacted habitually. Disgusted with himself, he bit his lip and turned away. Fortunately, Kang Dohyuk didn’t show any more interest in Yeon.
When they came down to the first floor, the burly men from earlier dominated the lobby, making everyone passing by cautious. Seeing this, Yeon swallowed a sigh. He had vaguely guessed, but today he seemed to have properly seen the true nature of Dragon Holdings. And what kind of person Kang Dohyuk was.
“At this rate, even several lives won’t be enough.”
When he made this comment as they got into the car, Dohyuk turned to look at him. But instead of rebelling or denying, he smirked as if it was ridiculous.
“Because of things like that?”
There was an underlying confidence that they couldn’t even lay a finger on him.
“Even a minor grudge, when strengthened, will bring another ill-fated connection.”
“Are you saying they’ll hire contract killers?”
That, I don’t know. But it wasn’t an impossible story. The new ill-fated connection formed with that president was at a level that could be eliminated by Yeon’s power, but if left alone, it would grow stronger and eventually harbor killing intent.
“Someday… you might regret it.”
For now, he would cut off minor ill-fated connections before they grew stronger, but he couldn’t block misfortune by his side forever. He wasn’t sure why Dohyuk was keeping him by his side now, but he was the kind of person who would dismiss him immediately if his mind changed.
“I don’t do regret.”
Dohyuk answered coldly and looked ahead. As the car started to move, Yeon also turned his gaze to the window.
That promise to not regret had never been kept even once. So he didn’t believe it this time either.
