The old man stared at me like a starving wolf.
His gaze alone was enough to make my skin crawl, but I had weathered countless storms—I could withstand it.
"I understand the power Myeong-dong holds. But let's be honest, it's not what it used to be. The Financial Real-Name System two years ago dealt a heavy blow, and relying solely on loan sharking and real estate has its limits."
"So?"
"I'll carve out a new path for you."
"And you're saying that simply walking down this path with you will make me the master of Myeong-dong?"
"I swear it—on my grandfather's name."
It wasn't just conglomerates that would fall in the looming financial crisis.
Myeong-dong's loan market, which had lent huge sums to major corporations, would suffer devastating losses.
Once the crisis passed, the underground money market would never regain its former glory.
If he joined forces with me, I could show him how to survive.
Dodging the financial crisis alone would be enough to make him the true ruler of Myeong-dong.
Take my offer, or fade into history.
The choice was his.
"Chairman Kim has quite an interesting grandson. I'll be in touch soon. That's all for today.
Oh, and—I'll take care of that fool cousin of mine."
"Thank you. I'll wait for your call."
Gwanghwamun Bear had postponed his decision.
Still, securing Executive Lee's removal made this trip worth it.
"I'll take my leave now."
"Send my regards to Chairman Kim."
Choose wisely.
I offered my hand with great effort—if he dared to refuse, who knows what I might do?
Hiding my true thoughts, I ended my meeting with the old bear.
Once Kim Min-jae had left the grand old house of Gwanghwamun, the massive old man sat with his pipe in his mouth.
Beside him stood a man with a scar running down his face.
"Park, what do you think of the Taewoo Group heir?"
"He's definitely a tiger cub, sir. And I have something to report.
While you were meeting with him, twenty unidentified vehicles were stationed around the estate."
The old man's shoulders twitched slightly.
He twirled his pipe up and down, signaling him to continue.
"There were about sixty men, and all of them moved like trained professionals."
"How do they compare to your men?"
"They're about the same level.
They looked like military-trained personnel."
"He's even more interesting than I thought…
You know, I think I'll join forces with that tiger cub.
After all, bears and tigers have always been a perfect match in Korea, haven't they?"
"But sir, he's just a cub. He's not on your level."
"If he's offering to make me the ruler of Myeong-dong, does it matter?"
The man called Park stole a glance at the old man's expression.
Even when his land in Gangnam skyrocketed tenfold, he hadn't looked this pleased.
"You really like him, don't you?"
"If he were my grandson, I'd hand over Myeong-dong to him this very instant.
But since he's Chairman Kim's, he'll inherit far more."
"Rumors in Myeong-dong say Taewoo Group's situation isn't looking too good."
In the mid-90s, Myeong-dong was a hub of information.
Even financial institutions sought out the private money market for intel.
If stock manipulation was suspected, investigators checked with Myeong-dong first before launching an official probe.
And in this Myeong-dong, the rumors surrounding Taewoo Group weren't favorable.
Despite being the third-largest conglomerate, its debt ratio was dangerously high—a make-or-break situation.
"Yet no one knew that CT Bank was lending them 400 billion won.
Myeong-dong's intelligence may be impressive, but don't put blind faith in it."
"I'll keep that in mind.
Even I never expected CT Bank to step in.
They say the loan was granted because of Kim Min-jae's name alone."
"Even a major U.S. bank is betting on that tiger cub—why shouldn't I?"
"I simply follow your will, Chairman."
The old man grinned.
Park had always been his loyal hunting dog.
So steadfast that even after the hunt was over, he still kept him by his side.
"Bring me that Lee Jun-soo.
I sent him to the factory to learn the trade, but he's been messing around instead.
Make a man out of him."
"... My methods are quite rough. Are you sure?"
"Break a few bones if you must.
Just make sure he can at least feed himself."
"I'll send my men right away."
"No need. That bastard must have some sense left—he's already on his way here."
From the mansion's front gate, Executive Lee came storming in, fuming.
He marched straight toward the old man, about to shout—
THUD!
Park's fist crashed into his face, knocking him unconscious.
"I'll turn him into a man and bring him back."
"Do your best, then."
With that, the old man retreated to his room.
Park bowed deeply, then grabbed Lee by the feet and dragged him out of the mansion.
After my meeting with the old bear, I headed to Captain Kang's office.
Of course, not before getting an earful from Manager Kim.
Only after enduring his tirade was I finally free to come here.
I flopped onto the sofa, rubbing my ears, while Captain Kang casually took a seat beside me.
"Your ears must be ringing. But seriously, why mobilize so many men?
It's not like anyone would dare mess with a conglomerate heir out in the open."
"Just in case, I mobilized some personnel.
Ah! And I heard something odd from one of the remaining employees— Executive Lee was dragged unconscious out of the mansion."
He really kept his word.
I wouldn't have to see Lee in the Changwon factory anymore.
"Looks like the Gwanghwamun Bear is going to turn him into a man. Maybe he'll feed him mugwort and garlic?"
"Did you formally agree with Myeong-dong to get rid of Lee?"
"You could say that."
"Then what about the operation we've been carrying out?"
"It continues, of course. Lee wasn't the only tumor in Changwon. We need to wipe out his entire faction."
The fortress named Executive Lee had fallen.
Or more precisely, the fortress behind him—Gwanghwamun Bear—had stepped aside on its own.
Either way, with Myeong-dong out of the picture, it was time to clean house.
All those who had been lining their pockets—it was their turn to go.
"Will the audit team handle it?
Or are you considering legal action?"
"For minor cases, internal disciplinary measures will do. But for the real scumbags, they need to taste prison food. We have enough evidence, right?"
"We've already secured proof against most of Lee's faction."
"Then tell Deputy Director Yoon from the audit team to start issuing disciplinary actions.
If we hesitate, we'll lose momentum.
The flames we worked so hard to ignite will die out."
"We'll make sure to burn Lee's faction to ashes."
There was no need to drag this out.
While Lee's punishment had to go through the executive board,
the rest were lower-ranking staff—easily dealt with by the audit team alone.
***
The Next Day
A disciplinary notice was posted on the Changwon factory's bulletin board.
A total of 47 employees were listed.
Their punishments ranged from three-month salary cuts to outright termination.
Since these were influential figures within the factory, the shockwaves were immense.
And the impact didn't stop at Changwon.
It reached the presidents of various subsidiaries as well.
Despite the executive board meeting happening just the day before,
this sudden disciplinary action led to an emergency, unofficial gathering of 20 subsidiary presidents.
Even those who had supported Lee, as well as those concerned about the move, were in attendance.
"Director Kim is swinging his blade far too fiercely. I heard Lee won't be returning to Changwon anymore."
"To be fair, Lee was getting out of control.
There are limits, even to greed."
"Would it have mattered if he had been a little less greedy? Director Kim isn't just cleaning house—he's making sure we remember his name. After all, who doesn't have skeletons in their closet?"
Everyone flinched.
It was rare for a subsidiary president to have never taken under-the-table money—whether large or small.
Some had even embezzled far more than Executive Lee, making it impossible to simply ignore this crisis.
"At this point, stopping Director Kim is nearly impossible. If we had acted earlier, maybe—but how do you stop a train that's already at full speed? Worse yet, Lee himself gave him the perfect justification."
"We may not be able to stop the train,
but can't we change its tracks?"
At those words from Park Jin-hoon, the president of Taewoo Electronics, all eyes turned to him.
He was among the top five most influential figures in the entire group—surely, he had a plan.
"All we have to do is shift him from audits to management. Finding faults in others is easy, but running a business? That's a different story."
"But would Director Kim even consider moving into management? We don't have any justification to force a department transfer."
"Justification? We already have one—Executive Lee. He conducted an excellent audit at the Changwon factory, didn't he? That means he deserves a promotion. But there's no higher position within the audit team than Director,
so wouldn't he have to be transferred to a subsidiary?"
The room fell into deep thought.
It was a brilliant move.
By framing it as a promotion, they could push him into company management, where he would no longer be able to wield his knife.
And once he entered management, it would be only a matter of time before he got his own hands dirty.
Once that happened, he would become just as tainted as the rest— leaving him powerless to strike them down.
"Director Kim has worked hard on this.
Since he did such a good job, it's only right to reward him."
"Exactly. A promotion is in order—perhaps to Executive Director?"
"Why stop there? How about making him Vice President? The VP seat at Taewoo Industries happens to be vacant."
"Now, now! Why drag Taewoo Industries into this? Taewoo Tourism sounds like a better fit."
They all wanted Kim Min-jae out of the audit team.
But none of them wanted him in their own subsidiary.
"Hahaha, I know exactly what you're all thinking.
That's why I suggest Taewoo Electronics.
The Head of the Technology Research Lab position is currently open, and we've been struggling to find the right candidate.
This works out perfectly, doesn't it?"
"What a great idea!"
"Technology is the key to the future, after all."
"Even the chairman used to say that technology could be bought, but now he's changed his mind."
"The research lab is the perfect place for career growth!"
The subsidiary presidents all enthusiastically agreed.
Not only would Kim Min-jae be out of the audit team, but he'd also be placed in a completely unrelated field— far away from their business operations.
"The chairman will resume executive meetings as soon as he returns.
I'll make the suggestion then."
"But will Director Kim accept the move to a research lab?"
"In the end, the final decision lies with the chairman. If you all support the move, there won't be a problem."
"We'll back you fully!"
With that, the informal executive meeting came to an end.
The presidents all expressed their gratitude to Park Jin-hoon.
They foolishly believed that simply removing Kim Min-jae from audits would solve all their problems.