Chapter 8

While Lee-jin was wondering what else she had to say to satisfy Kwon Ki-joo, fortunately, Manager Kang’s voice came from behind him. Still not hiding the displeased look with which he regarded Lee-jin, Manager Kang spoke to Kwon Ki-joo.

“They are guests who should not be kept waiting long.”

“As if they’ve been waiting that long.”

“You have already arrived 20 minutes late, Boss.”

As if telling him that was enough and they should go in, Manager Kang glanced at the hand of Lee-jin that Kwon Ki-joo was holding as he spoke. Letting out an “Ah,” as though only just remembering, Kwon Ki-joo finally released Lee-jin’s hand.

Even though he had only held it for a moment, perhaps because a man’s strength was different, a faint ache remained at her wrist.

Along with a slight warmth.

“I should get going too, Boss.”

Before Kwon Ki-joo could once again tell Manager Kang to take her home, Lee-jin hurriedly cut in first. She disliked Kwon Ki-joo, but going with Manager Kang was even worse.

“You’ll really be okay going alone?”

“Yes.”

“I want to take you.”

As if he were in a good mood, Kwon Ki-joo kept pressing his persistent kindness. If she stayed with him even a little longer like this, she felt she might grow slightly irritated, so Lee-jin busily stepped back.

“It’s fine. Please go in, Boss.”

Watching Lee-jin keep retreating, Kwon Ki-joo smiled with a strange expression.

But soon, after lifting his wrist once more to check the time, he nodded as if he had no choice.

“All right. See you again, Song Lee-jin.”

Doesn’t he get tired of that “see you again” nonsense? Why does he keep wanting to see me again and again.

Before she disappeared completely from Kwon Ki-joo’s sight, Lee-jin deliberately averted her gaze and looked once more at the woman still standing beside the black car.

The woman was watching Lee-jin, whom Kwon Ki-joo had purposely crossed the street to meet, with interested eyes. It was a look as if she were weighing the value of a commodity, but somehow there was a sharpness at the end of it too.

The moment Kwon Ki-joo, having noticed that gaze, turned to look back at the woman once more with quite pleased eyes, Lee-jin quickly left the spot.

All in all, she seemed to have done pretty well today. Judging by how satisfied Kwon Ki-joo had looked.

* * *

“By the way, Boss Kwon, did something good happen?”

One of the old men who had been raising his voice over ownership shares just moments ago asked Ki-joo, who had been doing nothing but listening quietly. Sitting casually at the end of the table and looking only at the whiskey glass filled with amber liquor, Ki-joo finally lifted his gaze and looked around.

Under the warm lighting of the luxurious room, wrinkled faces crusted over with greed were staring at him.

“Nothing in particular happened, but I suppose my face must have looked that way.”

“Ever since you walked into the room earlier, you looked like someone who’d heard good news. A man already blessed with such fine looks seemed to be glowing, I tell you.”

“Could it be that there’s some good business opportunity? If that’s the case, why not tip us off too, Boss Kwon?”

“That’s right. Aren’t we all in the same boat, after all?”

At the flood of flattery, Ki-joo’s lips tilted crookedly for a moment. Same boat, my *ss. I only pulled them in because I needed them, yet here they were acting arrogant like they were somebody.

“I would have thought your appetites would be satisfied after I’ve fed you this much, but it seems you’re still lacking?”

“Ha ha, now, now, the more money, the better, and as for business, isn’t it more profitable when we do it together? It’s not as though this is a relationship of one or two years, is it?”

At the words of old Director Noh, the one most dissatisfied with his share, Ki-joo shifted his gaze and looked each of them in the eye one by one.

Between the wrinkles of those old men crazed for money, greed gleamed blackly. They had not even finished swallowing what was already in their hands, yet still they acted like ravenous fish. Some things never changed.

“Why don’t you finish eating what’s already in front of you first, and then we can talk.”

“H-hm?”

“If you overeat like that and your stomach bursts, I’d have to perform the surgery myself. Could you really trust me to do that? What if the rest of your insides get scooped out too while you’re on the operating table?”

As though he were speaking out of genuine concern, Ki-joo calmly smiled with narrowed eyes. But the people gathered there could not possibly laugh along at his voice, cold enough to freeze the blood.

Though inwardly they looked down on him as some gangster bastard, these fine and honorable men only had one life too, so with all the tact they had honed over the years, they knew this was when to keep their mouths shut.

Quietly watching the sight of that, Ki-joo soon let the coldness leave his gaze as if it had all only been a joke.

For now, they were still useful old men. There was no need to deliberately make enemies of them. After a warning like this today, they would watch his mood for a while too.

“Of course, there are still plenty of places worth investing in. If you’re interested, I’ll select some good opportunities and contact you soon.”

At Ki-joo’s voice, polite once again, the men who had been exchanging uneasy glances forced awkward smiles.

Ki-joo watched all of it with a smile, as though it were all laid out in the palm of his hand.

“Ahahaha, yes. Boss Kwon, you have always been such a generous man.”

“Mm, mm. Quite right. By the way, Assemblyman Jang must feel truly secure having a backer like Boss Kwon.”

As soon as one flatterer hurriedly changed the subject, Assemblyman Jang, seated in the place of honor, cast a sidelong glance at Ki-joo. Only after confirming that Ki-joo was still smiling did the seasoned politician move the thick skin of his face.

“That is indeed so. Perhaps this insignificant old man has somehow caught his favor, because our Boss Kwon has been putting in quite a bit of care one way or another.”

“At this point, shouldn’t Boss Kwon be the one taking the position of Chairman of Assemblyman Jang’s support association?”

“Why, of course he should. I’ve asked him several times, but Boss Kwon kept declining, so the chairmanship remains unchanged even now. He said that since he’s still young, he wanted to yield the turn.”

“Though if we speak in terms of donation amount, Boss Kwon contributes by far the most…….”

Ki-joo sat at the table where the talk centered around him and merely smiled as though he were a respectable man.

They hid it because it would do them no good if it became known that they were doing politics with money taken from some gangster bastard, yet their words flowed as smoothly as a stream.

“How is the atmosphere in the central party regarding nominations at the moment?”

“Since both the party leader and the chairman of the nomination committee belong to the same faction as Assemblyman Jang, unless some special issue arises, the nomination should proceed without much trouble, shouldn’t it?”

Once the talk of money ended, as if following a fixed order, attention shifted to Yeouido. Looking at the old men playing atop the board he had laid out, Ki-joo, as always, showed only the proper amount of interest and kept his words few.

He did not care how the state of the country turned out. As long as Assemblyman Jang, the one Ki-joo was backing, won the mayoral election so that he could secure the development rights for the tourist complex to be built on the outskirts of the city.

In truth, the easiest people in the world to handle were those who held power.

They welcomed chances to wield the power they possessed, and Ki-joo gladly created such opportunities for them. After that, they simply had to become people who repaid the favor by cooperating in every possible way, materially and otherwise.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Seoran, seated beside Ki-joo, asked as she refilled the empty liquor glass before him. It was when the old men, having just traded stories of nominations and secret Yeouido news, were now buried in the laughter of women pretty as flowers.

After confirming that the tedious talk was over, Ki-joo emptied the refilled glass again.

“What thoughts.”

“If you’re tired, shall we get up now? At this point, it seems like it would be fine to leave our seats.”

“Stay a little longer.”

At Ki-joo’s indifferent reply, Seoran pressed her body a little closer to his.

Once enough alcohol had gone around, the old men were too busy rambling on about stale tales of glory and praising themselves. Since the hostesses, having already received Ki-joo’s signal, were busy charming them out of their senses, no one was paying attention to the conversation between the two of them.

“By the way, who was that young lady earlier?”

“Young lady?”

“The one standing in front of the club. That pretty girl you went so far as to cross the street on purpose to meet.”

Ki-joo’s eyes turned toward Seoran, whose curiosity was shining through. In that instant, he remembered the look in Lee-jin’s eyes as she had stared closely at Seoran. Without realizing it, the corners of Ki-joo’s mouth curved playfully.