TOIGC 86

Something’s off.

Even though he held the title of president at Yaikai Department Store, Geun-tae never forgot his true position. He was, first and foremost, Yoongi’s secretary. Because of that, he had been personally handling most of the legwork regarding the launch of the second branch, which was how he stumbled onto something peculiar.

Land prices around Jamsil are climbing way too fast.

It had only been three weeks since Yoongi announced plans to prep for the second branch. Yet, barely three weeks in, a good chunk of the Jamsil land listings Geun-tae had previously scouted had vanished, and the going transaction rates had spiked considerably.

Is this even normal?

Sure, Jamsil was slated to become an affluent district, but real estate prices don’t rocket upward without a clear catalyst. That meant someone—or some entity—was aggressively scooping up plots. If Geun-tae were an ordinary guy, he might have panicked, thinking, “Oh no, my share is shrinking!” and rushed out to snap up whatever scraps were left. But Geun-tae was a man worthy of being Yoongi’s right-hand secretary.

“President, seems like a lot of folks are buying up land around here lately,” Geun-tae probed casually.

The real estate agency owner nodded vigorously.

“You’re telling me! Who knows what kind of rumor is floating around, but people are swarming in trying to buy property. They’re not just snapping up existing listings—they’re even asking me to pass messages along to property owners offering to pay premiums above asking price.”

“Any chance you know who these buyers are?”

“Now why do you ask that?” The owner narrowed his eyes with a suspicious look, prompting Geun-tae to flash an awkward, sheepish smile.

“Ah, well, I actually happen to own a plot of land myself. I was debating what price to list it at, but if market values are running that high right now, I figured it might be the right time to cash out.”

The mention of a potential listing immediately wiped the suspicion from the owner’s face.

“Oh! Why didn’t you just say so sooner?”

Even though Geun-tae was the president of Yaikai Department Store, back in an era without widespread internet or digital media, recognizing a corporate bigwig purely from a quick glance was nearly impossible. Besides, this wasn’t the agency Geun-tae had used previously when acquiring their original Jamsil holdings, so the owner had no clue who he was.

That anonymity gave Geun-tae the perfect cover to keep his identity hidden while positioning himself to meet the mysterious land-grabbers.

“So, what do you say? Want me to set up a meeting right now?”

“Would that be possible?”

“Of course! They left strict instructions to contact them the moment a new seller walked through the door.”

It was Thursday morning. Most ordinary people should have been stuck at his day job, but hearing that a meeting was on the table actually made Geun-tae tense up with anticipation.

“Please do, then.”

“Hang tight. Those folks usually show up in under an hour anyway.”

True to the owner’s word, the prospective buyers arrived at the agency a mere twenty minutes later.

There were two of them: a man in his mid-forties wearing a short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt and matching shorts, trailed by a man in his early thirties in a full suit looking like a bodyguard. The guy in his mid-forties was even sporting dark sunglasses indoors, practically broadcasting, “Look at me, I’m newly rich.”

“Well, well, I hear you’re looking to part with some land! The name’s Kim Gi-deok,” the tanned man in sunglasses said, extending a hand to Geun-tae, who smiled and shook it.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Jeon Gyeong-ju.”

Geun-tae gave a fake name, and neither man bothered to exchange business cards.

I guess I can see why he wore sunglasses inside.

Suppressing any outward reaction, Geun-tae carefully observed Gi-deok’s demeanor. Unfortunately, dark skin paired with dark shades was the ultimate cheating tool for hiding expressions, leaving Geun-tae unable to glean much from the man’s face.

“Now, now, let’s talk business over a nice cup of coffee,” the agency owner chimed in with a beaming smile, setting down two mugs on the table. She was a slightly plump woman in her early fifties. Geun-tae switched his gaze to her face instead, but it was clear she was just as clueless about these men’s true identities.

Why on earth is this guy suddenly trying to buy up Jamsil land?

Taking a sip of his coffee, Geun-tae decided to throw out a few feelers.

“I heard you’re offering generous prices—can I really expect a good deal? To be honest, I told my relative I’d sell it off with confidence, but I’m sweating bullets hoping I don’t let them down.”

“Oh, you bet we pay top dollar! Heck, I told the owner here we always treat sellers right, so she should contact us the minute a listing pops up. By the way, based on what you just said, I take it you’re selling on behalf of a relative?”

Geun-tae had decided to use his uncle, Kim Jeong-seon’s, land as bait. Since he had no idea how deep the opponent’s intelligence network went, using his own real name was out of the question.

“Yes. They’re trusting me with this, so I can’t afford to mess it up.”

Maintaining a deliberately clumsy, amateurish demeanor, Geun-tae made sure not to sound overly sharp or calculating.

“Well, don’t you worry, I’ll make sure you don’t look bad! Whereabouts is this plot located?”

At that, the real estate owner slid a map across the table and pointed to a spot. “This is the land he wants to sell. I grabbed an updated cadastral map while we were waiting.”

“Oho, a plot right here is definitely worth acquiring.”

Because Jeong-seon’s land had been bought after Yoongi and Geun-tae had already locked down the prime parcels, it wasn’t quite a tier-one location. But it was a solid tier-two spot.

Geun-tae’s gamble that a tier-two plot would still trigger interest paid off immediately as Gi-deok nodded in approval.

“Checking the owner’s name… looks like it belongs to someone on your mother’s side of the family?”

“That’s right.”

Geun-tae intentionally avoided using the word “uncle,” and Gi-deok didn’t press the issue either.

“Let’s see… how about we offer a 20% premium over current market value? How does that sound?”

“A 20% premium?”

“What, is that not to your liking? Twenty percent above market is a fantastic deal, let me tell you.”

The agency owner jumped right in to seal the deal. “Our President Kim here always treats people right! A 20% markup is an absolute jackpot. Total jackpot!”

“Hmm, in that case… would you mind giving me just a single day? I need to go back and convince my relative that they can squeeze out another 20% on top, and then I’ll come right back.”

“Hmm… if you’re in a rush for cash—”

“No, no, not at all! It’s just not my personal land, so I have to tread carefully…”

Playing the naive novice to perfection, Geun-tae earned a disappointed click of the tongue from Gi-deok, who finally nodded. “Ah, well, if that’s how it is, we can’t help it. Let’s talk again tomorrow.”

“Before I go, could I get a business card?”

“A business card?”

“Yes.”

Stealthily glancing toward the agency owner to make sure she wasn’t paying close attention, Geun-tae shot a quick look at Gi-deok before returning his gaze.

Can’t we just deal directly without the real estate agency? That way, we can both save on commissions.

Reading the clear intent behind the glance, Gi-deok let out a hearty laugh, motioned to his subordinate, and handed a card over to Geun-tae. “Here you go. Looking forward to your call.”

Gi-deok walked out first, and Geun-tae followed shortly after, bidding a polite farewell to the owner. Once outside, he hopped into a taxi, made a few deliberate detours around Seoul to ensure no one was tailing him, and finally stepped out to call his uncle, Kim Jeong-seon.

“Is that so? Thank you.”

What Geun-tae had asked Jeong-seon to do was list another plot of land through a completely different real estate agency in Jamsil. Jeong-seon had instructed Yu Jin-hee, the head of the design department under his wing, to put a separate plot registered under his wife’s name on the market. Just like Geun-tae, Jin-hee managed to meet two mysterious men at that agency.

[They were a completely different pair of guys down at that office too—different faces, different office affiliation, different names.]

In short, they were a totally separate team from the ones Geun-tae had encountered.

Yet, after hanging up with Jeong-seon, Geun-tae was certain something fishy was going on.

Those two plots aren’t even close to each other. They’re both in Jamsil, sure, but practically on opposite sides of the district. And yet, both buyers are rushing to snap them up with the exact same 20% premium? Handled by completely different operatives? That can only mean one thing: there’s a single, organized syndicate operating behind the scenes.

Geun-tae hadn’t bothered asking, “What are you even planning to do with all this land?” because the answer was already obvious through basic deduction.

The moment word of our second branch leaked out, these vultures started sweeping up Jamsil real estate. I need to find out who’s pulling the strings.

He could have simply reported it straight up to Yoongi, but figuring out the identity of their opponent beforehand would make his report that much more solid. Determined to spare Yoongi the headache, Geun-tae decided to handle it himself.

And when you need quiet investigative work done, Superintendent Seo is always the right man for the job.

Superintendent Seo In-pyo, the head detective of the Jongno Police Station, answered Geun-tae’s summons faster than you could blink, rushing straight to the main executive office at Yaikai Headquarters.

“President Ryu, you called for me!”

Superintendent Seo’s attitude was noticeably—almost staggeringly—more deferential than their previous meetings. It made sense; Geun-tae’s political and financial weight in the corporate world had skyrocketed far beyond what it used to be. A single good word from Geun-tae to JSD could practically guarantee Seo a special promotion.

“Ah, come on in.”

Adopting an effortlessly commanding posture, Geun-tae treated Seo with the clear air of a superior. Sitting comfortably in the master seat while Seo took a polite seat to the right, the two men took a sip from the cups of coffee already waiting for them before Geun-tae dove straight into the point.

“Been keeping busy lately?”

“Oh, don’t even ask, sir. Even with us cramming all those thugs into the Samcheong re-education camps, new punks keep popping up to fill the void. We’re still run off our feet.”

“My, my, that sounds exhausting… what a shame.”

Realizing he might have overplayed his complaint, Seo frantically shook his head.

“Well, when I say busy, I just mean standard police work. If President Ryu has any personal matters you need handled outside of official hours, I’m at your beck and call. Depending on what it is…”

Seo trailed off, leaving the implication hanging in the air that he would gladly crawl through fire if ordered. Geun-tae let out a calculated, high-pressure smile and slid two business cards across the desk.

“What might these be?”

Picking up the two cards, Seo examined the details and tilted his head in confusion.

“Well, the names, office locations, and phone numbers are all different… did these two characters manage to get on your bad side, sir?”

“It’s a bit too early to go into the full backstory. What I want to find out is whether these two individuals are connected in any way. And ideally, I’d like to do it without tipping them off.”

For a police investigator working in the 1980s—an era where police could practically count the armpit hairs of opposition lawmakers if they really wanted to—an errand like this was child’s play. Seo’s face broke into a knowing grin.

“How much time can you give me?”

“I’ve got a lunch meeting scheduled with the Jamsil Police Chief three days from now, alongside JSD’s Chief of Security.”

It sounded like a completely irrelevant answer, but Seo instantly grasped the underlying message. He scrambled out of his chair and bowed at a rigid ninety-degree angle toward Geun-tae.

“By tomorrow, I’ll have dug up everything on these bastards—short of counting their armpit hairs.”

“Good. Reach out to me anytime, whether it’s here at the office or at my private residence. I’ll be waiting.”

“Understood. I’ll get right on it. Have a good day, sir!”

Bowing once more, Seo sprinted out of the office. Watching him leave, Geun-tae smiled and rose from his desk. He walked over to a small liquor cabinet in the corner of the room, pulled out a bottle of whiskey, poured a glass, and savored the aroma.

Mmm~ I honestly don’t miss being a regular secretary at all.

A deeply satisfied smile lingered softly in the quiet office.

Follow-up Question: Who do you think is behind the mysterious land-buying syndicate operating in Jamsil?