BHB 108

He was about to escort the customer to sit nicely at the entrance of Room 3, but worried that if he got caught by the floor manager again, he would face subtle mistreatment, so he politely knocked on the door. Though it felt unfamiliar having to be respectful to someone, since he had agreed to do the job, it was right to complete his duties properly. Knowing how pathetically he had been living lately, he didn’t want to surrender to a job like this.

After knocking and entering, he saw people collapsed in a daze. Whether drunk on alcohol or intoxicated by debauchery, men and women were indiscriminately entangled with each other, oblivious to their surroundings. Yeowon pretended not to see such acts, roughly placed the intoxicated guest on the sofa, and left without looking back.

As he firmly closed the door behind him, he saw what appeared to be a group of several people coming up the stairs. Though their faces were unfamiliar, they seemed vaguely recognizable, drawing Yeowon’s gaze unconsciously.

“Have all the guys arrived?” one of the group asked the others. 

Wondering why he kept looking at them, Yeowon tried to trace his memory. What came to his mind were the faces he had coincidentally seen on the soft opening day of the club that Kim Myungjoo had newly taken over. It was definitely that group that had mentioned Taegang’s name. Clearly one of that group whose families were intertwined and held regular gatherings.

“Yeah. I heard some are already wasted.”

“Is Taegang here too?”

“Of course he should be. If he wants to help his father’s election, he’ll need all of us.”

“Is he the type to consider such things?”

“It’s been agreed upon among the adults. We’re gathering to celebrate in our own way, how could he miss it?”

Yeowon froze as soon as he heard the name exchanged among them. And what made him stiffen even more was:

“Anyway, please take good care of him. I hear you’re Taegang’s senior from school.”

“Ah, yes. Taegang and I were quite close.”

It was because he spotted the man who appeared at the end of the group. It was none other than Choi Youngdoo. Youngdoo bowed respectfully toward them, leading his subordinates.

“Who is that guy?”

The group whispered among themselves, with Youngdoo and his minions behind them.

“You know, those gangsters who watch our backs. We were going to hire guards just in case, but Taegang’s side attached those people to us first.”

“His side?”

“I heard he’s Taegang’s school senior. Maybe that’s why. The Congressman’s office arranged it directly.”

What is this about?

Yeowon’s mind went blank for a moment, as if he had been hit by Youngdoo’s sudden appearance. Moreover, he couldn’t understand the claim that Taegang’s side had hired Youngdoo. Taegang wouldn’t have such authority, so it had nothing to do with him, and if so, did Taegang’s family specifically hire Youngdoo? Why? Did they know what kind of guy Youngdoo was? Why would they hire someone who had been eyeing Taegang, looking for any opportunity to exploit him?

The group disappeared into the main room. Youngdoo, left to guard outside the door, patted his minions’ shoulders and gave instructions.

“Do well today. The people inside are very, very important people. Youngdoo gave a stern warning while swaggering.

“You’ve set everything up inside properly, right?” And he subtly asked his subordinate.

“Yes. These days, cameras come in good quality. Especially the mini ones.”

“Good job.”

“…But is this really okay?”

“Hey, we just do as we’re told.”

Youngdoo sneered as he patted the cheek of his slightly cowering subordinate. Excited about something, he checked his wristwatch while moving his body to the stage music. It was a luxury watch worth tens of millions, with gold plating. Yeowon wondered if Youngdoo had become capable enough to regularly use such a brand. Yeowon had heard he had become a gangster, but even among gangsters, there were different levels. He had thought of him as just a neighborhood thug, but it seemed he was playing in a bigger league.

Moreover, he couldn’t understand at all how he was connected to Taegang’s family elders. There’s no way Taegang would have made that connection…

Yeowon deliberated for a long time whether to confront Youngdoo. Given the talk about cameras, it seemed there was some scheme, and Youngdoo said he was doing it because he was ordered to. Who could be ordering such a thing? For what reason? Was someone above Youngdoo trying to exploit those scions inside?

But Youngdoo wasn’t of the caliber to mingle with scions of that level. The people connected to Taegang’s family were mostly famous in political and business circles, and they were of the royal tier among the upper class. What business would they have with such a low-level gangster?

“But who is it?” one of the minions subtly asked Youngdoo, who seemed to be in a good mood.

“What?”

“The person who gave us such a big job this time.”

When the relatively young-looking crew cut asked, Youngdoo smirked and roughly slapped his shaved head. “You don’t need to know, man.”

Soon, several more minions arrived. Nominally, their job seemed to be bodyguards for this gathering, but in reality, they were clearly plotting something else. 

Would Taegang know about this?

It was certain that Taegang was beyond that door. Yeowon urgently took out his phone. He wanted to call him immediately to explain the situation and warn him to be careful, but his hand automatically paused. Right now, even a single phone call between them was difficult. No, strictly speaking, they were as good as completely separated.

Taegang’s desperate calls had already stopped a week ago. Maybe he had given up by now. There was no way he would be unaffected after he had said such things and cut off all contact and connection.

After holding his phone for quite a long time, Yeowon finally couldn’t make the call and put the phone back in his pocket. There were too many of them for him to recklessly confront Youngdoo. While 3 to 1 would be manageable, attacking more than 8 people would be like hitting a rock with an egg.

Yeowon decided to position himself in Youngdoo’s blind spot as much as possible to observe the situation, but the floor manager’s calls kept coming through on the radio. Thinking this was quite an ordeal for his first day, he returned to his post, but there was no way he could properly focus on his job. As he was considering going back up, an arrogant voice flowed down the stairs.

“I’m working, you know. I told you I took on a big job.”

With his arrogant tone and gait, Youngdoo with his distinctive Hawaiian shirt was coming down the stairs while on a call. Instinctively hiding himself, Yeowon watched him intently as he went down toward the bathroom, then silently followed him.

“Remember I told you about that junior I’ve been grooming for a long time? His family is incredibly powerful.” Youngdoo chuckled excitedly as he stood in front of the urinal and undid his belt. “Originally, I was planning to use him to extort some money, but somehow things have worked out even better.”

Just as he was trying to listen more carefully to his conversation, Yeowon sensed someone behind him and hid deeper into the corner. Even before seeing who it was, he could immediately tell who the presence belonged to. Even when he changed his cologne, Taegang always had a faint heavy woody scent.

Yeowon turned around. The lighting was dim, so he couldn’t see every detail of his face, but their gazes met precisely in the empty space. He also noticed his presence, and his lifeless eyes gradually widened. Just as his tightly closed lips were about to open.

“You…”

At that moment, Youngdoo must have heard the presence too, as he suddenly stopped his call and turned to leave. Yeowon immediately realized this and without thinking, firmly grabbed Taegang’s arm. Then he opened a door leading to who knows where and pulled him in. As the door closed behind him, he could see Youngdoo’s shadow through the frosted glass window checking the corridor. Yeowon watched the situation while quietly catching his breath nervously. Soon after confirming no one was there, Youngdoo continued his call.

“Oh, no. I just heard a strange sound.”

With that sound in the background, Yeowon looked around the interior and realized they had entered an empty staff break room. There was a strong smell of stale cigarettes and mustiness, and above all, it was extremely cramped even with just two adults inside. Only then did Yeowon realize that he and Taegang were trapped in a space so small that their bodies were close enough to touch.

“This is really a secret. The person who gave me this job is Congressman Lee Seungkwon… You idiot. Don’t you even know that? The person who became the presidential candidate recently!”

While claiming it was a secret, Youngdoo shouted roughly. Yeowon’s eyes rapidly widened at the sound that carried across the door. At the same time, he couldn’t help but look at Taegang, who was standing opposite him, holding his breath. The situation where Taegang’s father had hired Youngdoo made no sense. The key question was whether Taegang knew about it. But unlike him, who was considerably surprised, he showed no reaction. Rather, as if it was completely irrelevant, he showed no interest in that matter and was solely focused on Yeowon, who was standing almost but not quite touching him.

“I don’t know. He seemed to know all about how I’ve been chasing his son. He gave the order knowing all that?” Youngdoo prowled around nearby, talking in a haughty voice. “Seems like he doesn’t get along with his son. He told me to document everything his son does as evidence or something.”

Yeowon met Taegang’s gaze with anxious eyes. What was certain was that Taegang was under surveillance, and his father had chosen Youngdoo as the surveillant. Despite knowing exactly how Youngdoo had been approaching Taegang all this time.