TOIGC 87

Chapter 87 …

Daring to Use Me? (2)

“Manager Ma, Superintendent Seo is here.”

“Send him right in.”

It was 8:00 AM. Superintendent Seo showed up so quickly that it made you wonder if he even bothered clocking in at the precinct.

“President Ryu, I’ve got everything!”

“That was fast. Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely. If even a shred of the information I dug up is wrong, I’ll strip off my police uniform right on the spot.”

“With that kind of confidence, it must be reliable. Let’s see it.”

“Right here, sir.”

As Seo handed over a brown manila envelope, Geun-tae pulled out the documents inside and began to read.

*Just as I thought…*

True to Geun-tae’s hypothesis, Kim Gi-deok and the other operative were linked back to the exact same organization. Sure, they used different front offices and separate contact numbers. But the bank account used to cover the lease expenses for both properties turned out to be one and the same—proving beyond a doubt that they answered to the same master.

*It was those bastards at Seth.*

By the 2010s, the Seth Group would comfortably rank among the top ten mega-conglomerates in the business world, but back in the 1980s, they hadn’t even cracked the top thirty. Still, compared to Samwoo—which was still wheezing away down in the nineties as of 1982—Seth held an astronomical advantage.

*Seth’s core pillars are food distribution and department stores. If anyone has a motive to sabotage us, it’s them.*

Granted, the department stores run by Seth catered primarily to ordinary working folks, featuring grocery markets and food halls in the basements alongside budget-friendly apparel upstairs. But seeing Yaikai Department Store achieve such massive brand success, Seth—the long-standing pioneer of the retail sector—couldn’t just sit idly by and watch. Especially since Seth already operated a duty-free shop out of their corporate hotel, watching Yaikai thrive must have left a bitter taste in their mouths.

*One of the Chairman’s current milestones is dominating the distribution market. From their perspective, we’re a massive thorn in their side.*

Geun-tae concluded that Seth was aggressively hoarding Jamsil land solely to disrupt Yaikai’s second branch rollout.

*Since they don’t know where exactly we’re putting the second branch, they’re buying up plots all over the district simultaneously. Or maybe, once they corner the land, they plan to build their own department store right on top of the best plots.*

Geun-tae let out a silent sneer.

*Morons. They have no idea that the absolute driving force behind Yaikai’s success is the Chairman himself. Without him, we couldn’t have secured those exclusive brand licenses in the first place.*

It felt laughable that anyone would try to rush and hijack a grand blueprint that even a mastermind like Yoongi had taken nearly five years of meticulous groundwork to assemble.

*Wait a second…*

A sudden wave of suspicion flashed through Geun-tae’s mind.

*How on earth did Seth even find out about the Jamsil second branch in the first place?*

Yoongi had first mentioned the second branch roughly three weeks ago. Seth’s front offices had popped up shortly after that—practically right on the heels of the announcement.

*If those offices had already existed beforehand, it might be a coincidence, but they all opened up after the fact. That means the intel leaked into Seth’s hands sometime after the Chairman made his statement.*

Running through the possible scenarios, Geun-tae felt a chill run down his spine.

*Damn it…*

As Yaikai Department Store expanded, the sheer volume of work required to run Yoongi’s secretariat grew right along with it. Naturally, there were times when Geun-tae had to delegate tasks to subordinates to keep things moving smoothly, which meant he had let slip a few hints to a small circle of trusted men. And that circle naturally included his uncle, Kim Jeong-seon.

*This is a disaster. We’ve got a spy on the inside.*

Of course, Choi Chul-gyu had also been filled in by Yoongi previously, so he technically possessed the knowledge too. But based on everything Geun-tae knew, Chul-gyu was fiercely and unequivocally loyal to Yoongi—not the kind of man to leak internal info to outsiders.

*If anything, the leak is far less likely to have come from Chief Choi’s end. This mess is almost certainly… my fault.*

A heavy, suffocating weight settled in Geun-tae’s chest as he lowered the paperwork.

Noticing the tense silence, Superintendent Seo, who had been watching him anxiously, cautiously broke the ice.

“How is it, sir? Are the findings satisfactory…?”

Refusing to let his inner turmoil show on his face, Geun-tae smoothly masked his distress with a composed smile.

“I’m very pleased. Your hard work really shows, Superintendent.”

A bright grin spread across Seo’s face before instantly shifting back into a deferential expression.

“Please drop the formal honorifics, President Ryu. You don’t need to speak to me so formally.”

“Old habits die hard, I suppose.”

“Nonsense! People change, circumstances change. To be honest, I much prefer it when you treat me like an old friend.”

“Fair enough.”

Nodding slowly, Geun-tae leaned forward.

“Just between us, Superintendent—not a single word about these documents leaves this room. To anyone.”

Seo instantly snapped to attention.

“Understood. I’ll make sure to strictly muzzle everyone involved in this investigation as well.”

“Good.”

On the surface, it sounded like a simple request for discretion, but the subtext of the conversation carried immense weight.

*Are you going to throw your lot in with Seth, or with Yaikai?*

By accepting the terms, Seo was effectively pledging his loyalty to Yaikai. And since loyalty had been established, Geun-tae was expected to deliver the appropriate rewards.

“You’ll be hearing some good news regarding your career before long.”

“Thank you very much, sir!”

As Seo beamed with delight, Geun-tae pulled a thick brown envelope from his desk drawer and slid it across the table.

Upon seeing the heavy package, Seo instantly guessed its contents.

“N-no, that’s really not necessary! You’ve already made me a promise…”

“Take it. It’s not for you to pocket—you need operating funds for your men, don’t you?”

“I really shouldn’t…”

“Don’t sweat it. If I’m going to call on you again down the road, we scratch each other’s backs.”

“I guarantee zero complications moving forward.”

Carefully receiving the envelope with both hands, Seo beamed and quietly made his way out of the office. He closed the door behind him with such practiced care that it didn’t make a single sound.

Staring blankly at the closed door, Geun-tae let out a long sigh and stood up.

“Well, time for my turn.”

With that, Geun-tae headed straight for Yoongi’s residence.

—

“You suspect there’s a spy among our staff?”

Sitting in his study while enjoying a perfectly ripe plum, Yoongi let out a thoughtful *hmm* as he chewed. The crisp, echoing *crunch* sent a burst of sweet, tangy fruit aroma drifting through the room, making Geun-tae’s mouth water involuntarily.

The exact same thing happened to Chul-gyu. Both men nearly reached out to grab a plum from the porcelain bowl resting beside Yoongi before catching themselves.

“Ah, forgive me. I’ve been eating all by myself.”

Yoongi pushed the bowl toward the center of the table, but neither Geun-tae nor Chul-gyu dared to reach in.

“Not hungry?”

“Well… isn’t the matter at hand a bit too serious for fruit?”

To Chul-gyu’s cautious remark, Yoongi gave a surprisingly nonchalant response.

“Really? I don’t think it’s worth getting worked up over. As a company grows larger, it’s only natural for internal information to start leaking out, isn’t it?”

Seeing that Yoongi wasn’t flying into a rage, Geun-tae let out an internal sigh of relief—right before a sudden sound made him tense up all over again.

“Of course, we can write it off as business as usual, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying.”

With a sharp, resounding crunch, Yoongi bit down hard on a plum, sending a burst of juice spraying in all directions and unintentionally acting as an impromptu room freshener for both Geun-tae and Chul-gyu’s lapels.

“Ah, my apologies.”

As Yoongi pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, Geun-tae and Chul-gyu both smiled awkwardly and rushed to pull out their own handkerchiefs to wipe down their clothes.

“My sincerest apologies, Chairman.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not upset with Secretary Ryu. What’s irritating me is the rat.”

“Even so, the spy is nine times out of ten hiding among my subordinates. It’s clearly my failure in personnel management, so this mess falls squarely on my shoulders.”

“As long as you recognize that much, we’re fine. Anyway.”

Another crisp crunch echoed through the room, though this time Yoongi kept his mouth firmly shut while chewing, successfully preventing any further citrus shrapnel from flying about.

“I plan on utilizing industrial espionage myself down the line, but getting caught in someone else’s crosshairs is an entirely different matter.”

At Yoongi’s remark, Choi Deok-bae chimed in from the sidelines:

> *Such a selfish bastard.*

Of course, that wasn’t the end of his internal monologue.

*But damn, that makes him so cool.*

Both Geun-tae and Chul-gyu secretly shared that sentiment. A self-centered master was infinitely more worthy of serving than a weak-willed one. At least, that was how both men saw it.

“Secretary Ryu.”

“Yes, Chairman?”

“Is the leak the only thing you discovered?”

“No, sir.”

Geun-tae hurriedly laid the investigative dossier he had compiled neatly on the table in front of Yoongi. After reading through Superintendent Seo’s report with careful concentration, Yoongi looked back up at Geun-tae.

“If it’s Seth, they certainly have enough motive.”

“Seth? Bigwigs like Seth have started paying attention to us?”

Chul-gyu let out an admiring whistle, a mixture of surprise and respect on his face. Though they sat outside the top thirty conglomerates, back during Chul-gyu’s days at Samwoo, Seth was a towering monolith that folks like him wouldn’t even dare look at sideways.

“Seth jumped into the retail game a few years ahead of us. Their business model might lean a bit more traditional, but regardless of differences in style, Yaikai Department Store must look like a massive eyesore to them. Can you imagine? Getting shown up by a newcomer in broad daylight.”

Chul-gyu nodded in agreement at Yoongi’s assessment.

“Still, given our political backing and connections, they wouldn’t dare strike us directly.”

Finishing his thought, Chul-gyu took the file from Yoongi, scanned the pages, and winced, one eye squinting shut.

“What’s this? Since they can’t hit us head-on, they’re resorting to sabotaging our second branch?”

Reaching the exact same conclusion as Geun-tae, Chul-gyu instinctively reached for the most straightforward countermeasure.

“No matter how fast Yaikai is growing, getting into a raw power struggle with them right now isn’t ideal. Our best first option would be to ask JSD to step in and mediate.”

“There is zero chance I’m picking a humiliating route like that.”

Requesting mediation was essentially admitting defeat—conceding that they couldn’t beat Seth on their own. Unless winning was genuinely impossible, Yoongi saying this meant he was entirely confident he could crush Seth at their own game.

*Our opponents rank well within the top fifty corporations in the country—does the Chairman actually have a counterplay ready?*

The second option running through Chul-gyu’s mind was setting up the second branch somewhere entirely outside of Jamsil. After all, as far as he knew, Yoongi owned plenty of alternative real estate plots scattered all over Seoul. But judging by Yoongi’s current demeanor, that option was off the table too.

*Not mediation, and not evasion. Does that mean a head-on collision?*

As if to pre-empt Chul-gyu’s internal debate, Yoongi turned his gaze straight toward Geun-tae and asked:

“Do you have anyone specific in mind regarding the leak?”