Chapter 87: The Bill Comes Due

Kudangtang!

Kim Gap-yong, struck by Bulkwang-dong Gasoline's foot, rolled across the hospital lobby.

Kim Gap-yong’s wife screamed, and his coworkers’ faces hardened.

“Why are you hitting someone who did nothing wrong?”

“Who the hell are you?”

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline shouted loudly.

“I’m here to collect my money! Why!”

He swaggered forward with one hand stuffed deep into his pocket.

He was coming to kick the fallen Kim Gap-yong again.

“Hey, Kim Gap-yong. Are you really not going to pay me back? Huh?”

“It’s only been a month and a half since I borrowed the money, why…!”

“The interest has already doubled the principal.”

“What? This is just too much!”

“That’s just how private loan interest works. If you think it’s filthy and rotten, you shouldn’t have used a loan shark in the first place.”

Wait a second. Isn’t this a scene I’ve seen before?

When I shook hands with Kim Gap-yong at the Taeseong Chemical factory.

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline had said something like this to Kim Gap-yong, who was desperately pleading with the doctor because of his daughter’s hospital bills.

“You’ve gotten pretty good at hiding like a rat these days, huh? Damn it, if you don’t show up for work, when are you going to pay me back?”

There’s no way Chief Kim isn’t coming to work.

Just now, his coworkers had testified at length about how he was working hard from early morning through night shifts.

I suddenly remembered what Bulkwang-dong Gasoline had said when spying on Kim Gap-yong.

–Where was his workplace again? Ah, right. Taeseong Chemical! Okay, got it. Tell him to wait.

He definitely didn’t know that Kim Gap-yong had moved from Taeseong Chemical to Taeseong Construction.

“Pay me back soon, unless you want to see something real dirty. If I decide to cause a ruckus, your daughter will be kicked out of the hospital and left out on the street immediately—are you fine with that? Kukuku.”

“N-no, please! Sir, please don’t do this…!”

“Don’t do what? You still don’t get why I’m here?”

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline kicked Kim Gap-yong in the chest with his shoe.

“Ugh!”

“So you have money to pay for your daughter’s hospital bills, but not to repay your loan? Wouldn’t that piss anyone off? Wouldn’t it drive anyone mad?”

“Chief Kim!”

Kim Gap-yong’s coworkers rushed out and stood in front of him.

They all looked furious to the core.

“So what, borrowing money is a crime worthy of a beating?”

“Call the police! That bastard needs to go to jail for assault!”

“Borrowing money isn’t a crime, but hitting someone sure is!”

No matter how much they tried to reason, none of it would work on a loan shark.

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline flicked out some earwax.

“You keep provoking me, nothing good will come of it. Guess you don’t care about your daughter. Hey, looks like we’ll have to throw a little exorcism here today!”

At his shout, two more loan sharks in flashy clothes joined in.

‘What a mess. Even acting like textbook loan shark thugs.’

One had permed hair and was chewing gum with a loud snap; the other had shaved not only his head but his eyebrows, and wore a thick gold chain.

“Wow, big hospitals are something else. How much money did you make to host such charity events?”

“If you got some unearned money, the first thing you should’ve done was set aside our share. Aren’t you being cold, leaving us out?”

The loan sharks rushed in, yanking down the banner hanging on the wall.

They tore up posters, ripped down the colored ribbons and balloons, and stomped on the letters of  with their shoes.

Director Song’s face hardened.

“Wh-what do you think you’re doing!”

Not only were they wrecking the hospital lobby, but now they were trying to ruin the event Director Song and Taeseong Hospital had prepared.

For Director Song, this couldn’t be tolerated.

“Who do you think you are, causing trouble at Taeseong Hospital!”

“And who are you? Here’s some advice: third parties should stay out of this. Don’t get yourself involved and get hurt. Got it?”

“I’m the director of this hospital! Satisfied?”

The loan sharks flinched.

Their underlings glanced over at Bulkwang-dong Gasoline.

“Boss, he says he’s the hospital director.”

“What if he refuses to treat us when we get stabbed somewhere else?”

“Shut up, you idiots!”

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline roared.

“As long as we don’t cause trouble inside the hospital, it’s fine, right? Let’s drag that bastard out!”

“Security!”

Director Song called out desperately.

‘If he means security, they’re outside. They’re busy keeping an eye on the Woo-gwang people outside, who are waiting with all sorts of things to throw around.’

Sure enough, Bulkwang-dong Gasoline smiled slyly and raised both hands.

“Let’s talk.”

He hadn’t tried using talk with Kim Gap-yong, but with Director Song, he was suddenly all about conversation.

“I have nothing to say to you! Security!”

“I told you, the security guard isn’t here! Why are you yelling so much? All we need is to drag this bastard out, right? Don’t you agree?”

But then—what’s this?

A group of men in black suits, faces set grim, were striding this way.

‘Why are Yoo Jong-tae and Taeseong Group’s 5th Security Team here? And dressed even sharper than usual?’

Yoo Jong-tae was holding the instant camera his father had brought.

Taeseong Group’s security guards were holding bouquets.

They must have come to congratulate me on hosting the event.

“This is Taeseong Group Security. Who’s causing trouble in our hospital?”

“What the hell! Why are Taeseong Group’s security guards here!”

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline couldn’t hide his shock.

His lackeys hesitated and stepped back.

“B-boss. There are too many of them.”

“Let go of our Taeseong family member’s collar. I’ll count to three. One, two—”

“We let go! We let go! Hey, Kim Gap-yong, consider yourself lucky today!”

Tak!

“Happy now? We’re done here, right?”

“Call the police! Throw those bastards out now!”

“Damn it, just you wait!”

Kwadangtang!

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline kicked the Taeseong logo podium in frustration.

“Damn it, today’s luck is the worst… kuh!”

Bbaak.

Uncle Cheolgu smacked the back of Bulkwang-dong Gasoline’s head.

With the full swing of a man built like a bear, Bulkwang-dong Gasoline’s head snapped to the side.

Kudangtang!

Unable to withstand Uncle Cheolgu’s strength, Bulkwang-dong Gasoline tumbled noisily to the floor.

Bbaak! Bbaak!

His lackeys weren’t spared either.

“And who are you!”

“Damn it! You wanna go for real?”

“Shall we?”

Bbaak! Bbak! Bbaak!

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline and his thugs collapsed, foaming at the mouth after taking Uncle Cheolgu’s punches.

From the way they were gasping and choking, it looked like they could barely breathe after being hit in the solar plexus.

‘No wonder he was famous for taking down armed infiltrators and North Korean spies.’

This was top-tier street fighting, even among back-alley gangsters.

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Damn it, who the hell are you, just barging in like—!”

“I’m from the KCIA.”

Uncle Cheolgu flashed his ID.

The KCIA—infamous in the 70s for its power to investigate and prosecute, even police and prosecutors bowed to them.

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline sucked in a breath.

It looked like an earthquake struck his pupils.

“Whose orders are you following, causing trouble here? Are you a commie?”

Back then, being accused of being a spy or communist meant disappearing without a trace.

For underworld types, the arrival of police or prosecutors was like an apocalypse.

When that happened, even the boldest gangsters turned tail and ran—what hope did Bulkwang-dong Gasoline and his crew have?

“N-no, sir!”

“We’re just here to collect a debt!”

“Doesn’t look like it. If that were true, you wouldn’t have trashed Taeseong’s event. Right?”

“T-that’s…”

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline’s face turned pale.

Only now did he seem to realize the chaos they’d caused—kicking and toppling things, tearing down banners and posters.

The Taeseong logo podium was lying on its side, the banner with the Taeseong Chairman’s name was ripped, and posters were torn down.

Uncle Cheolgu grinned, showing his gums.

“Right? Spies who take the money and wire it to the North.”

“No! S-sending money? We’re innocent!”

“Yeah. We’ll find out everything once you’re interrogated.”

Rumor had it that if you were dragged to the KCIA, you’d confess to every crime, even ones you hadn’t committed.

The thugs crawled over and grabbed Uncle Cheolgu’s leg.

“Sir, please have mercy!”

“We’re sorry!”

“We had no idea! Who would intentionally ruin Taeseong’s event, right?”

Uncle Cheolgu squatted in front of Bulkwang-dong Gasoline and smiled.

“We can continue this chat in the KCIA basement interrogation room.”

“Run! Run for it!”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Uncle Cheolgu grabbed Bulkwang-dong Gasoline by the scruff of his neck.

Bbaak!

After a smack to the back of the head, Bulkwang-dong Gasoline passed out, frothing at the mouth.

Dragging the limp Bulkwang-dong Gasoline, Uncle Cheolgu smiled innocently.

“Yoo Jong-tae, drag the underlings along.”

“Yes, Colonel Bbak!”

Taeseong Group’s security guards had already subdued the loan shark thugs.

They tried desperately to escape, but the security guards were far from amateurs.

“If you run, you’re dead for real.”

“……!”

“If you think you can, go ahead. I’ll count to three.”

“N-no, sir!”

“We’re innocent! Please trust us!”

The underlings stopped resisting and let themselves be caught by the Taeseong Group security guards.

Only then did Uncle Cheolgu grin wide, showing his gums.

“So, you’re the hospital director? You’re holding a good event for good reasons—don’t let bastards like these ruin it. Carry on. Yoo Jong-tae.”

“We’re cleaning up right now! Who do you think you’re talking to? Cut the nagging!”

Quick-witted Yoo Jong-tae had already righted the podium and was reattaching the fallen balloons and letters to the wall.

Kim Gap-yong hurried to help, and the people from Taeseong Chemical quickly tidied up the scene.

Director Song wiped his cold sweat with a handkerchief.

“Sir, I am so terribly sorry about this. We’ll begin the charity event at once… eh?”

By the time Director Song was looking for me, I was already gone.

* * *

Uncle Cheolgu furrowed his brow and sniffed the air.

“The gasoline stench really clings to these bastards. What the hell do they really do?”

Bulkwang-dong Gasoline, still foaming at the mouth and unconscious, didn’t answer.

“Loan sharks running around collecting debts, but stinking enough to be arsonists? There’s something fishy here.”

Uncle Cheolgu rifled through Bulkwang-dong Gasoline’s clothes.

“Ha, a guy who doesn’t even carry cigarettes, but walks around with a torch? This is really suspicious.”

Still squatting, Uncle Cheolgu slapped Bulkwang-dong Gasoline on the cheek.

“Hey, wake up.”

“Mmm! Just five more minutes…”

“Is this really the time to be sleeping?”

Slap!

All he did was smack the other cheek, but just as Bulkwang-dong Gasoline was coming to, he passed out again, foaming at the mouth.

Twin streams of nosebleed trickled down from Bulkwang-dong Gasoline.

A broken tooth rolled out, too.

“Damn, did I fail to control my strength again? Or is it just that this bastard is too flimsy?”

“Uncle Cheolgu!”

“Hey, kid, get inside. You shouldn’t see this kind of thing. Shoo, shoo.”

Uncle Cheolgu, dragging the limp Bulkwang-dong Gasoline, hurried toward the back entrance of Taeseong Hospital.

“Uncle, wait!”

There was still a matter with Bulkwang-dong Gasoline to resolve.

Earlier, Uncle Cheolgu had threatened them with accusations of espionage, but he wasn’t the type of man to drag loan sharks to the KCIA on false charges.

‘I need to settle things with Kim Gap-yong. Even if they back down this time, they’ll come back to hassle him again and again.’

Kim Gap-yong was a righteous man who’d risked his life to save his coworker.

I didn’t want him to be endlessly hounded by Bulkwang-dong Gasoline over a paltry loan.

Uncle Cheolgu, why is he so fast even when dragging a person?

Even sprinting at full speed left me breathless, unable to catch up!

“Uncle, just a moment…!”

The moment I touched Bulkwang-dong Gasoline’s body, a blue light shimmered before my eyes.

It was the same phenomenon as when I’d glimpsed the future of Uncle Cheolgu and Kim Gap-yong.

* * *

Chwak!

It was the Seobinggo water torture chamber.

Before, Uncle Cheolgu had been the one tied up and tortured there, but now, Bulkwang-dong Gasoline and his thugs were lined up and soaked to the skin.

One of the shivering thugs couldn’t hold back and screamed out like a confession.

“We never meant to kill anyone with that fire! It’s the truth!”