Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Loyalty Loyalty!

I held out Secretary Kim’s business card.

“For exactly one week. I hope Taeseong thoroughly protects Uncle Cheol-gu without touching a single fingertip.”

It was the demand of the winner of the bet.

‘Extracting Uncle Cheol-gu from the KCIA was solved as Secretary Kim’s service, but protection is another problem.’

There was still a Yellow Springs path counter sparkling above Uncle Cheol-gu’s head.

It was the underworld messenger’s work.

[4 days]

Even after extracting him from the Seobinggo torture room, it’s like that.

It means the threat of death hasn’t completely disappeared yet.

‘Uncle Cheol-gu won’t be able to die a natural death because of the U-gwang Construction bribe ledger.’

I can’t just ignore this gentleman either!

At first I was going to stop at giving advice to save his life under the pretext of repaying Mother’s life debt, but now the situation has changed.

Because I’m negotiating using the uncle’s ledger.

‘The money at stake is big, and the problem at stake is big. Uncle Cheol-gu’s active cooperation is absolutely necessary in this matter.’

It was a problem entangled with a full 2 billion won internal irregularity of Taeseong Group.

It’s also the reason I’m helping the uncle even using the business card.

I intend to properly establish merit this time.

“Please put the business card away. It’s a waste to use it so vainly like this.”

Secretary Kim didn’t take the business card back.

“I said it was a bribe from the beginning. So it’s not late even if you use this after the negotiation falls through.”

Instead, he put the business card back into my pocket.

“What if Chairman Cha’s patience wears out and he says to bring Uncle Cheol-gu immediately?”

“To prevent such an unfortunate incident, I’ll have to hurry more and come with the bribe.”

“What if you catch Uncle Cheol-gu’s family and stage a hostage situation?”

“I have to block it at the source. Currently, Ms. Kang Ok-bun, Mr. Park Cheol-gu’s mother, is holding out in front of the KCIA saying she must meet her son. I’ll also escort her to a safe place.”

I like it.

“Please escort Grandmother politely so she doesn’t get startled. Don’t drag her roughly like kidnapping.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

At Secretary Kim’s eye gesture, two of the Taeseong Group security guards immediately left.

Uncle Cheol-gu seemed quite grateful.

“Mr. Park Cheol-gu’s treatment will also be needed. I’ll contact Taeseong Hospital and arrange for a house call. Of course, this is also service.”

“Even though I haven’t paid the value of the business card, the service is too generous? Your insides aren’t aching saying it’s a losing business, right?”

“The young master also handed over the ledger first. Since we’ve opened the waterway of credit transaction anyway, this time I’ll trust the young master.”

Favor sprouting within the credit transaction going back and forth!

With this much, Secretary Kim has fulfilled his loyalty to me, and it was sufficient to buy my favor.

‘Actually, there’s a reason Secretary Kim backs down so obediently like that.’

It’s not just because he wants to look good to me.

Unlike U-gwang who tried to kill Uncle Cheol-gu to shut his mouth, Taeseong is in a position where they must open Uncle Cheol-gu’s mouth.

Uncle Cheol-gu is a vicious man who didn’t open his mouth even after being dragged to the KCIA.

What if Uncle Cheol-gu keeps his mouth shut until the end?

All the important information not recorded in the ledger will fly away.

“Directly putting a knife to Mr. Park Cheol-gu can be postponed until after the negotiation with the young master falls through, it’s not late.”

That’s why Uncle Cheol-gu’s Yellow Springs countdown is still continuing.

U-gwang is trying to kill, Taeseong is trying to open the mouth.

The fate of the shrimp caught in the whale fight between U-gwang and Taeseong is like this.

“I’ll promise. There will be no regret for this choice now.”

I held out my hand.

Secretary Kim held my hand in return.

We shook hands.

“Mr. Park Cheol-gu, understand properly.”

Secretary Kim’s voice was cold.

“Who do you think you owe your life to? Live while being grateful to our Young Master Jeong-hyeok for a lifetime.”

It was a warning to properly repay the value of the life.

“That’s not something you need to worry about. Extracting from a kid isn’t my style.”

But Uncle Cheol-gu snorted boldly.

“Even if nothing else, you shouldn’t try to freeload a life debt. I’m not a guy who has gone that bad.”

“Please do so.”

Secretary Kim politely bowed at the waist toward me.

“Young Master, then I’ll visit again as soon as possible once the bribe is prepared.”

Secretary Kim turned and left.

The Taeseong Group security guard people followed behind him.

* * *

Uncle Cheol-gu made a groaning sound and lay sprawled on the living room floor.

“Ouch ouch, my body. I really thought I was going to die.”

Thanks to turning the oil boiler on full blast, his back must be very warm.

“Thank you, little kid. The oath to repay the life debt is also sincere.”

“It’s fine. I also repaid our Mom’s life debt.”

Uncle saved our Mom first.

Without asking or questioning, and without demanding other compensation.

“What’s so special about that. But it’s certain that I really came back from the dead thanks to you. I thought I was really going to croak like this.”

Uncle Cheol-gu stamped his own chest.

“I don’t know how a man Park Cheol-gu ended up owing a life debt to a seven-year-old little kid, but I, Park Cheol-gu! Am a person who keeps an oath once made even if I die!”

Then he soon laughed heartily, “Hahaha.”

“Wow, no matter how much I think, I really don’t know. Little kid, what kind of trick did you pull? How did you extract me from the KCIA? What power does a little kid like you have?”

“Did you forget already? The courage of the powerless is only recklessness, so if you don’t have power, bring in someone who has power, I said.”

“······.”

Uncle Cheol-gu blinked his eyes.

“Where did I say you have to aim to hit the exact center of the target?”

“Above the target?”

“Since U-gwang moved the upper ranks of the KCIA and dragged Uncle away, to extract Uncle, this side had no choice but to move Taeseong.”

“······.”

Uncle Cheol-gu let out an empty laugh.

“Words are easy. Would that work?”

“It did?”

“······.”

“That’s the reason Uncle is here now. Isn’t it?”

“Ha······.”

Uncle Cheol-gu opened his mouth wide.

After opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish for a moment and trembling the finger pointing at me a few times,

“You really extracted me like that?”

“Yes.”

“Where did Taeseong trust you?”

“Surely they wouldn’t have trusted a seven-year-old little kid? They trusted the document Uncle prepared.”

“······!”

Uncle Cheol-gu opened his eyes wide.

“S, s, surely······!”

“Then you didn’t even know until now that I diverted that?”

Uncle Cheol-gu slapped his own forehead.

“This is driving me crazy. Why is that with you?”

“Just know that Uncle has survived until now thanks to me diverting this.”

“······.”

Uncle Cheol-gu closed his mouth.

“When Uncle was dragged away, irrefutable evidence came out. Taeseong also couldn’t extract Uncle easily.”

“Ahem!”

“It almost became a really big problem. Why is there the saying killing the person and destroying the mouth?”

Seeing this state, a sigh naturally came out.

“What on earth were you doing all this time? Not even making copies, not going around finding politicians and threatening them, not asking the media for backup, not properly stabbing U-gwang once.”

“Ahem!”

“I told you to prepare for when something happens to Uncle. Surely you didn’t even move? They say U-gwang even set fire while forcibly demolishing the Guro-dong shantytown.”

“Kheum! I also did my best to block U-gwang······.”

Uncle Cheol-gu scratched the back of his head.

“Taeseong is U-gwang’s rival company, right? So I also tried to go find Taeseong first!”

“And?”

“But I don’t have a connection with Taeseong, right? It didn’t seem like they would easily believe my words, so I resolved and made it completely certain······.”

Then the small room door that Mother and the real estate agency uncle had entered opened with a click.

‘Aoh! It was the most important part right now!’

I couldn’t help but glare at the interrupter without realizing.

“As expected, Madam’s eye is amazing! You picked only good properties! An excellent choice··· ugh!”

The real estate agency uncle came out with a very satisfied face and flinched seeing Uncle and me.

I was glaring, and the bear-like sized Uncle Cheol-gu was opening his eyes fiercely covered in blood.

The real estate agency uncle immediately gave a farewell greeting.

“Please continue to patronize our Myeongdong’s best real estate agency often in the future! Loyalty loyalty!”

The real estate agency uncle turned and left without looking back.

Uncle Cheol-gu also attached a salute to me and smiled playfully.

“I’ll also loyalty loyalty!”

“Suddenly what’s with the loyalty sound···, oh my, Mr. Cheol-gu!”

Mother was startled while coming out of the room.

“How did you get hurt like this?”

“······.”

I can’t say that a KCIA agent was dragged to the KCIA, tortured, and came out.

There’s no way to explain?

“Um, that, so I got beaten by a workplace senior.”

“My goodness, workplace bullying!”

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

The upper-ranking senior of the KCIA beat him fiercely.

“By the way, how did you know and come to our house?”

“The little kid’s invitation······?”

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

I was the one who asked Secretary Kim to extract and bring Uncle Cheol-gu.

Mother turned to look at me.

“Invitation? Suddenly? How? For what?”

“······Housewarming?”

“······.”

Why? What? Why!

We moved and a guest came, so it’s a housewarming, right!

When the answer is awkward, topic changing is still the best.

Growl! Gurgle!

Fortunately, a sound like a train funnel was heard.

It was the sound from Uncle Cheol-gu’s stomach.

Perfect timing! Luck is good!

Uncle Cheol-gu awkwardly smiled with his bear-like physique and stroked his stomach.

“Actually, because I skipped five meals in a row······.”

“My goodness, you skipped five meals?”

Mother covered her mouth with both hands.

“Did the auntie not even give rice and chase you out? You got rejected again at a blind date while talking about spies, right?”

“Ahem, it’s not that, I was caught at work and until now all night······.”

“My goodness, forced overtime too!”

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

Not letting people sleep and not feeding them to extract confessions was the KCIA’s specialty.

But it was a sufficient answer to make Mother extremely angry.

“What kind of X workplace is that? Even if it’s the end of the year! Even if you work people like dogs, you should feed them while making them work! Even salt field slaves aren’t worked that way!”

How strange.

Even if the salary is tight, no vacation, no weekends, no leaving on time and working hard, it passes as ‘workplace work is originally all like that.’

But at the part of not feeding and making them work, everyone uniformly couldn’t hold back their anger.

“You came well, Mr. Cheol-gu! Eat six bowls each including the meals you couldn’t eat!”

Mother swept up by a sense of mission pushed Uncle Cheol-gu’s back and entered the kitchen.

The Taeseong Hotel restaurant Japanese cuisine team who were preparing dinner turned around with puzzled expressions.

Mother said in a very angry voice.

“This person, because of being worked all night at the workplace without even being given rice, he skipped five meals in a row until now!”

“······!”

The chef corps all turned to look at Uncle Cheol-gu with shocked expressions.

The bear-like gentleman with various colored bruise marks all over his body scratched the back of his head while making an innocent smile.

“Anything is fine, is there anything edible right away? Even a lump of spoiled rice······.”

“······!”

The head chef of the Taeseong Hotel restaurant Japanese cuisine team said solemnly with burning eyes.

“We don’t handle spoiled rice or anything. But if it’s sushi, as much as you want!”

“Ooh!”

“First from salmon sushi?”

“Ooooh!”

Uncle Cheol-gu let out a roar and ran over to devour the salmon sushi.

It was exactly like a grizzly bear that came out hunting in the Alaska tributary.

Plates emptying at an enormous speed!

Mother looked at that sight with pitiful eyes.

“That workplace senior person is really too much. How can they beat a person while working them like this?”

“······!”

The veteran Japanese cuisine team who were leisurely preparing the meal emitted a solemn atmosphere.

The sashimi placed on the sushi also became bigger, and the tempura and udon toppings also became more abundant.

“The Taeseong Hotel kitchen is always recruiting strong and stamina-good kitchen assistants, so if you ever think about it, contact us anytime. We don’t starve, don’t hit, and let you sleep well!”

I whispered softly into Uncle Cheol-gu’s ear.

“After you finish eating later, come see me for a bit.”

I half-pulled out the neatly folded paper from under the dining table and showed it.

It was the page cut from the U-gwang Construction bribe ledger.

“Cough! Cough! Kek!”

Uncle Cheol-gu who recognized what this was at a glance.

I pushed the water glass slightly toward Uncle and whispered.

“Before the Taeseong Group chairman comes running with a knife saying he’ll kill Uncle, let’s properly handle this first.”

Uncle Cheol-gu nodded continuously.

U-gwang Construction’s holding funds are far insufficient, so the funding needed for lobbying is not U-gwang but Taeseong’s······.

The content continuing after that part is like this.

······The problem is who covered it. Who is it? There’s circumstantial evidence, but no physical evidence?

To record as soon as evidence is obtained, the later pages are left blank for now.

That was the reason I deliberately cut out and diverted three pages.

‘But I already know the content that should go into these blank pages!’

So is there a problem? Of course not!