Goo Hyunseok.
Now thirty-five years old, he had jumped into the loan shark business while still young, and for ten years, he’d been living by handling money—a true veteran.
If he had to pick one reason he’d survived in this line for ten years, it would probably be “timing and pacing.”
He understood his customers’ limits all too well.
He instinctively knew when and how to push them to their limits, and also when to leave an escape route open so people would repay their debts diligently.
By managing that balance, he had steadily lent money at high interest to others, growing his own wealth.
And now, he was—
Unlike usual, he sat in anxious silence, tapping the table with his fingers.
Naturally, Goo Hyunseok’s “Younger Siblings,” who had never seen him act this way before, approached him with worried faces.
“Hyung, are you alright?”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
The eldest of the Younger Siblings, that is, the First Brother, asked, and Goo Hyunseok snapped back to his senses and raised his head.
The First Brother asked again, as if to check on him.
“Ever since you came back from outside earlier, you’ve seemed… a little restless.”
“Restless? Nah, I’m just annoyed, that’s all.”
Restless?
Unconsciously, Goo Hyunseok lowered his hand from the table.
To be honest… yeah, he was restless.
Paul Linda.
How could he not be?
When he broke up with his ex-girlfriend, she borrowed money from him.
Given his line of work, he didn’t feel much resistance to lending it to her.
He’d heard stories about her husband too, so he figured that no matter how much she borrowed, she’d be able to pay it back.
Her husband was apparently some scumbag who had pulled off multi-billion-won scams.
She explained that she’d pay back as much as she could, but if she really couldn’t, she’d get the money from that guy.
That day, uncharacteristically, he lent her the money without much thought.
A whole fifty million won.
But that crazy woman blew through all fifty million in two years.
She hadn’t repaid a single won of the principal.
Sure, she paid some interest now and then… but over two years, she’d only paid ten million.
Not even enough to cover the interest—what was she thinking?
He’d let it slide several times, but he was starting to think that if this kept up, it’d end in a loss for him, so half a year ago, he finally made up his mind.
For several months, he sent his Younger Siblings and tried to get the money back, over and over.
She kept saying she was trying to contact her husband, but no money ever came.
So, in the end, what else could he do?
Whatever possessed him that day—be it a ghost or whatever—she had borrowed the money, and repayment was repayment.
People only pay back when they feel truly threatened.
True to his instincts, Goo Hyunseok decided that now was the time to push her to the limit.
He hadn’t brought his Younger Siblings along this time as a final courtesy to his ex-girlfriend.
“I should’ve just brought them.”
Then at least someone might’ve stopped him.
He went alone, got all riled up, and ended up not only hitting that woman but even laying hands on the kid.
The kid started bawling his eyes out, and with his irritation mounting, A-young Kim stoked the flames.
She started freaking out, saying she couldn’t pay, and when he yelled at the kid a few times, she came at him as if she was going to kill him.
He hit A-young Kim too, and smacked the kid in the scuffle.
He swore, he hadn’t known children were such fragile creatures.
When he wound up his fist for a final punch, Goo Hyunseok felt that something was wrong.
Another thud.
A strangely unpleasant sensation in his hand.
And then, the child who’d been crying like he was dying suddenly fell silent.
A-young Kim’s eyes rolled back as she charged at him.
Unable to handle A-young Kim’s punches, Goo Hyunseok fled.
“That brat… he didn’t really die, did he?”
No way, people don’t just die that easily, do they?
As he was thinking that, the Second Brother, standing next to the First Brother, spoke up.
“Annoyed? Who got on your nerves?”
“Ah, just the situation.”
With his head already a mess, Goo Hyunseok waved his hand at his Younger Siblings’ constant chatter.
They were always joking around and got along well with him, but right now, he just wanted some quiet.
“Nothing special going on, right?”
“What special…?”
“Well… then how about knocking off early today and heading to Manky’s? Hehe.”
He gave a short answer, and the Second Brother let out a sly laugh.
Goo Hyunseok frowned.
That punk—sometimes he wondered if his head was filled with something other than brains.
Fortunately, before he could say anything, the First Brother stepped in.
“Hey, you know Hyung doesn’t go to places like that, right?”
“No, I know, but honestly, I just don’t get it. I mean, what kind of sparrow doesn’t visit the mill?”
“Hey, come on, Hyung has his preferences, that’s all.”
At the Second Brother’s words, the First Brother glanced at Goo Hyunseok and replied.
At the mention of “preferences,” the Second Brother’s face grew even more mischievous.
He looked at Goo Hyunseok with a playful grin, then asked in a suggestive tone.
“Preferences?”
“You know, he never even glances at the mill, but he can’t pass by a sparrow’s nest with eggs in it, so to speak.”
“Ah!”
As the First Brother replied, the Second Brother acted as if he’d suddenly had some great revelation, reacting exaggeratedly.
In the end, Goo Hyunseok’s irritation exploded.
“Shut it, you punks! Just zip it, already!”
“Come on, Hyung, just say so. Then I could, you know…”
He began to curse, but the Second Brother just kept smirking as he spoke.
But before the Second Brother could finish, he was cut off.
Ring, ring, ring.
The phone started ringing.
For a moment, Goo Hyunseok jumped at the sound.
“Shit, did she report me?”
If that brat really was dead, maybe she called the cops.
If he wasn’t dead, given the husband and the unknown reactions of everyone, maybe she wouldn’t go so far as to report it.
Was that just wishful thinking?
Preparing himself for anything, he cautiously answered the phone.
“Uh, hello?”
—Ah, hello. Sir.
The moment he heard the voice on the other end, Goo Hyunseok felt his tension instantly melt away.
It was a voice he always heard.
A voice full of desperation from people driven into a corner, feeling like they were at the edge of a cliff, begging for money.
Just as he expected, the caller asked to borrow money, and Goo Hyunseok grinned.
Of course. That woman wouldn’t report him.
Though anxiety began to stir faintly in his chest, Goo Hyunseok forced himself to ignore it.
Regrettably, he was even pacing himself with his own emotions.
If A-young Kim had gone that crazy just over a little roughing up, if the kid really had died, she’d have lost her mind completely.
Before he was pushed to the limit, he chose to ignore those dangers.
And before Goo Hyunseok even realized that decision would be his downfall—
Clink.
The Office door opened.
***
As soon as I opened the Office door and stepped inside, the smell of cigarette smoke hit me like a wave.
Just a glance was enough to know they’d been smoking indoors.
“Hello…”
Lee Jaehyun lowered his head slightly as he entered, and the four men working outside glanced over, then got up from their seats.
“What brings you here?”
“I just called before coming…”
Before Lee Jaehyun could answer the question from one of the men, someone beside him cut in.
“Hey, welcome. You got here fast!”
Three men came out from the back, greeting Lee Jaehyun warmly.
Lee Jaehyun bowed politely and spoke up.
“I was right nearby…”
“The person with you?”
The man in the center glanced at Park Daehyung, who stood beside Lee Jaehyun, and asked.
He seemed to be paying a little more attention to Park Daehyung than to Lee Jaehyun.
“Can’t blame him, given his looks.”
To the loan sharks, his face probably seemed familiar.
After all, there were always people with similar faces among those in this line of work—mistaking him for a fellow loan shark was understandable.
Lee Jaehyun replied calmly.
“He’s someone I know. It’s my first time at a place like this… so I asked him to come with me.”
“Ah, someone you know? We’re not scary folks or anything, haha.”
The loan shark laughed, then pointed to his Room and spoke.
“Let’s talk in my Room.”
“Sure, sure.”
Lee Jaehyun didn’t show any sign of hesitation.
He just acted somewhat naïve, figuring they’d jump at him as soon as they thought he was easy prey.
Meanwhile, he didn’t forget to take in the details of the Office interior.
Seven people in total.
Excluding the loan shark who seemed to be the Owner, that left six, but the Owner didn’t look like someone who couldn’t handle himself in a fight either.
Seven against two—not impossible odds.
Of course, who knew what Park Daehyung was thinking.
Lee Jaehyun prepared himself to move at a moment’s notice as he walked into the small Room.
The first things to catch his eye were a long table and two sofas.
And on the table, an ashtray.
Though it was supposed to be non-smoking, a heavily-used ashtray sat on the table, making Lee Jaehyun frown for a moment before quickly smoothing his face and sitting down.
“So… why does our Owner need to borrow money?”
“My Younger Sibling is sick.”
When asked why he needed money, Lee Jaehyun answered immediately.
He thought hesitation might be suspicious, so he responded right away, and “my Younger Sibling is sick” naturally slipped out, since he’d thought of Serehen in that instant.
“So your Younger Sibling is sick, I see… Is that why you need the Operation Fee?”
“Yes, the Operation Fee is 8 million won, but Insurance doesn’t cover it… I’m at my wit’s end.”
“Oh man, you must’ve been through a lot. What kind of illness costs 8 million won for surgery?”
“There’s a heart issue. The kid was always healthy, but suddenly…”
Lee Jaehyun trailed off and bowed his head.
He’d meant to just say Hospital fees, not knowing what kind of Operation would cost 8 million won—how could Lee Jaehyun know?
Luckily, the loan shark didn’t seem to find his behavior too strange.
To a loan shark, the reason someone needs money isn’t as important as whether they can get it back.
“Owner, have you ever used Micro-payment services before?”
Micro-payment? No, I’ve only borrowed from the bank before, never tried anything else.”
At the mention of Micro-payment, Lee Jaehyun paused, then shook his head.
Most people had a Smartphone these days.
And with a Smartphone, you could pay off a set amount each month after the fact.
Basically, it served as a kind of low-limit Credit Card.
Anyone who played the money game knew this trick.
People in a rush, desperately searching for ways to get cash, would at least know something about it.
Lee Jaehyun’s response, as if he didn’t know anything about it, made the loan shark chuckle.
The more naïve a person, the higher the chances they’d repay what they borrowed on time.
Even if it wasn’t from the borrower himself, if you poked around acquaintances or other institutions, a gap would eventually appear—so someone who hadn’t tried anything else was a prime Customer.
“Customer, could you hand over your Badge? We’ll check what your maximum limit is and let you know.”
“Oh, sure.”
At the loan shark’s words, Lee Jaehyun nodded and started searching his pocket.
As he did, he looked at the loan shark before him and asked,
“By the way, what’s your name?”
At Lee Jaehyun’s question, the loan shark blinked, then soon chuckled.
“Ah, I’m Goo Hyunseok. Didn’t even introduce myself yet, haha.”
“Goo Hyunseok, you say.”
Lee Jaehyun smiled, took out his Badge, and placed it on the table.
Goo Hyunseok’s eyes shook as he stared at the Badge on the table.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
Lee Jaehyun said, staring into Goo Hyunseok’s trembling eyes.