– Boom!
Palbong came in, loudly shutting the door to the president’s office.
“Choi Kang-min, it must be an important reason.”
Palbong warned Kangmin and took out a glasses cleaner from his pocket and cleaned his glasses. This was Palbong’s habit of doing when he was in a really bad mood.
Normally, Kangmin would be so intimidated that he couldn’t even say a word, but today was different.
“If you listen to me, you will thank me.”
“That will have to do. Speak quickly. “Within one minute.”
Kangmin said.
“Привет. “Hello, how much is this?”
Palbong’s hand that was cleaning his glasses stopped. This was because Kang Min was fluent in Russian.
“Do you speak Russian?”
“Я узнал, потому что мне было скучно. “It means I learned it because I was bored.”
Palbong wore glasses.
Even if they knew English or Japanese, there were very few people who learned Russian out of boredom. This meant that I learned it for a reason.
‘Why would someone whose major is philosophy need to learn Russian?’
After thinking about it for a while, Palbong couldn’t figure out the reason. At first glance, he thought of studying abroad, but he usually went to the United States or England to study abroad, but rarely went to Russia.
Kangmin said as he sat down on the sofa.
“I don’t have time, so I’ll be brief. “That Asian guy named Andre, I’m just kidding.”
“joke?”
“Yes, that Russian guy with the belly. “Is your name Mikhail?”
“Yes, Vice President of the Russian Troika Trading Company.”
“He’s the vice president… The rank is higher than I thought. Anyway, the price he wanted was between $30 and $45. But a guy named Andrei changed his words and said 10 dollars.”
Palbong’s eyes shone sharply.
“10 dollars… As before, when they said we couldn’t sign a contract with that money, Mikhail came forward and tried to sign a contract for $30. Something is strange. “Why did an interpreter who wasn’t even an employee do that?”
All that was needed was translation. But for some reason, the price was dropped.
The knife mark above Palbong’s right eye twitched. I smelled something.
“Who brought that interpreter? “Is it Russia?”
“We introduced an interpretation company. “When we said we would prepare an interpretation, the Russians said they would prepare it since they were the guests.”
Kangmin tilted his head. At first glance, there seemed to be no problem.
“What are you going to do now? Are you going to go out and negotiate again?”
Palbong nodded. This deal had to continue.
‘But even if negotiations continue like this, there will be no proper negotiations. ‘It’s not the price that’s the problem, it’s frustrating.’
Maybe it was English, but I couldn’t understand a single word of Russian. Even if the interpreter changed what he said in the middle, there was nothing he could do.
Palbong looked ahead. I saw Kangmin smiling brightly.
“you… “Please help me.”
“Are you going to include me in the negotiations?”
“I can’t help it.”
Hearing Palbong’s words, Kangmin placed his hand on the table.
“It’s okay, but it’s expensive.”
“How much do you want?”
Kangmin finally said what he wanted. Kangmin would work hard for this moment.
“I don’t need money.”
Palbong raised his eyebrows at Kangmin’s answer.
In Palbong’s opinion, what Kangmin needed most was money.
‘what? Did something happen to Kangmin in the meantime that I don’t know about?’
Palbong felt like he was missing something about Kangmin, including the money he brought a few days ago and the Russian language.
“You don’t need money? “Then what do you want?”
“What I want is… … .”
It was when Kangmin was about to speak.
– smart.
A knock was heard and the secretary entered the president’s office.
“Boss, the Russians want to end the negotiations quickly.”
I looked at the clock and saw that 5 minutes had already passed.
In response to the secretary’s words, Kang Min spoke to Pal Bong.
“I’ll tell you that after the negotiations are over.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you in advance, nothing to do with the house.”
“i know. Instead, boss, please don’t ask me why I want what I want.”
Palbong glared at Kangmin for a moment before answering.
“good night.”
So the negotiations were concluded.
* * *
Kang Min sat Pal Bong down next to him and said he would participate in the negotiations.
The people at Troika Trading Company, who thought the contract was over, couldn’t have been happy.
In particular, Vice President Mikhail blushed and said.
“President Park, what is going on? “You brought your nephew in to renegotiate just before signing the contract!”
Andrei, the interpreter next to him, translated Mikhail’s words.
When Palbong tried to answer right away, Kangmin stretched out his hand and stopped Palbong.
“I will do it, uncle.”
At this event, Palbong introduced Kangmin as his nephew. So Kang Min called Pal Bong uncle again.
Kangmin glared at Andrei once and then asked Mikhail.
“Извините за внезапное прерывание. It’s time to start. (Sorry for suddenly interrupting. But circumstances have forced me to do so.)”
Mikhail’s eyes widened. It was because Kang Min’s Russian was so fluent.
At the same time, the eyes of Andrei, who was sitting next to Mikhail, twitched.
Mikhail asked.
“What’s going on? I want to leave right now, but I’ll just listen to President Park once. However, if there is nothing special, I will pretend that this contract never existed.”
Kangmin nodded and answered.
“Of course, Vice President Mikhail. I unintentionally overheard the negotiations in the president’s office. “The vice president told the interpreter next to me to contract for between $30 and $45.”
Mikhail’s face turned red. Of course, he told the interpreter the terms of the contract, saying that no one could speak Russian, but there was someone who was listening.
Mikhail looked at Palbong. He seemed like an experienced fox who had planned this whole thing.
“Hmm, that’s right.”
“But do you know how much that interpreter called us? Because of that, we were about to give up on these negotiations.”
Andrei urgently intervened in Kangmin’s words.
“that… “We did it to get more benefits for our customers.”
Kangmin chuckled.
“Why is an interpreter doing that? “It doesn’t bring any benefit to you?”
Only then did I ask Kangmin if Mikhail also felt something strange.
“How much did you say?”
“It’s ten dollars.”
Mikhail’s face distorted. There was also a degree of beating on the price. This was a price that made him feel insulted.
‘That’s why it was like that at that time.’
During the negotiations, there was a time when Palbong’s opposition was so strong that the negotiations almost broke down.
In the end, he intervened and tried to reach a dramatic settlement by spending $30 on paper, but this was the situation.
The corners of Mikhail’s mouth rose.
‘Look at this.’
Mikhail was vice president. Also the vice president of a Russian smuggling company. He didn’t become vice president for no reason.
No matter how you look at it, this was intended to invalidate the negotiation itself.
Andrei’s face became urgent.
“wealth… Vice President! I am… I am… … .”
“You’ll hear the answer later.”
Mikhail gestured to the people standing behind him.
Two well-built men caught Andrei. There was no way the Russians smuggling were ordinary people.
“Vice President! Vice President! “Just me!”
Andrei shouted, but they dragged him away.
“Phew, sorry. It looks like we made a big mistake on our part. As an apology, let’s make this transaction for $50 as originally suggested.”
Kang Min relayed Mikhail’s words to Palbong.
Palbong shook his head and said.
“This is our first transaction. If anyone loses money, we won’t be able to continue this transaction. Let’s do it like this. $45. “At this level, I think we will be able to maintain a good relationship with Troika Trading Company in the future.”
Mikhail smiled brightly at Palbong’s words.
“It looks like our Troika has found a good business partner in Korea.”
Palbong and Mikhail shook hands and signed the contract.
Originally, a drinking party was scheduled after the signing, but it was canceled due to the ‘Andrei’ incident.
Mikhail left the office, saying that he urgently needed to find out something about Andrei’s case, and the only people left in the office were the ‘Happiness Loan’ employees and Kang Min.
“Have you had dinner?”
“no.”
“Then let’s go out.”
* * *
Palbong took Kangmin to a 24-hour sundae soup restaurant near his office.
Two pieces of sundae soup were served, but Palbong was silent. Palbong sprinkled perilla powder, added rice, seasoned with salted shrimp, and started eating alone.
Kangmin looked at that and then turned his eyes to the TV.
[This is breaking news. Amid reports that Pink Dream’s Han Min-ju committed suicide because of bullying within the group, the police announced that drugs were detected in the autopsy.]
[The police believe that Ms. Han Min-ju is involved in drugs and are expanding the investigation.]
Kangmin watched TV blankly at the unexpected news. Perhaps it was the same for Palbong, so he turned around and watched TV for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Everyone has difficult times. There are times when I think it would be better to die. But there is something you should never forget.”
Palbong continued speaking while looking at Kangmin.
“It means valuing yourself.”
“Uncle, I am the most precious person in the world.”
Palbong put down his spoon and asked.
“Then you’re not doing something dangerous, are you?”
“… … .”
Kangmin did not answer. No, he couldn’t answer.
Kangmin quietly ate the sundae soup, and Palbong also ate with a spoon again.
Both of them ate all of the sundae soup. It was Kangmin who spoke first.
“Uncle, let me tell you what I wanted, which I stopped saying earlier.”
Palbong said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
“say.”
Palbong’s voice was cold.
Kangmin sighed heavily and said.
“I have a friend, and he said he might be in a bit of a dangerous situation.”
“friend? Besides, it doesn’t exist and could exist?”
It was a story that made no sense in common sense.
“yes.”
Palbong glared at Kangmin. Kangmin slightly looked away from those eyes.
“… “Go ahead.”
“It looks like that friend is surrounded by bad people. It’s a room, so there’s nowhere to escape. “I want to help this friend, but is there any way?”
“How many enemies are there?”
“There are four people in total.”
“What about weapons?”
“One with a sword like a Japanese sword, one with an iron pipe, one with an axe, and one with a sashimi or similar-sized kitchen knife?”
Palbong, who heard Kangmin’s story, closed his eyes and thought of something.
“By the way, uncle, that friend is exercising wrong…” … .”
“I know, I probably only studied and didn’t exercise my whole life. “I work part-time a lot and don’t eat well, so I’m not feeling well right now.”
Kangmin’s face turned bright red. It soon became clear that it was his own story.
“Are our enemies enemies of each other?”
“No, it’s my first time seeing you.”
Palbong opened his eyes and asked Kangmin.
“Is this related to 30 million won?”
“… “Uncle, you promised not to ask why.”
“Grunt.”
Palbong stood up with his lips tightly closed.
“Follow me.”
“yes?”
“You say you want to live? “I will tell you how.”
* * *
Palbong brought Kangmin back to the office.
Palbong searched the desk and handed a box to Kangmin.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
When I opened the box, I saw a pistol inside.
“candle… “A gun?”
“It’s not a real gun. “It’s a gas gun.”
“A gas gun?”
“Yeah, you’re not good at fighting and you’re not trained. “The only way to deal with four people with weapons is to use better weapons.”
Kangmin’s eyes widened.
‘This is it!’
It seemed like a gas gun would definitely be able to suppress the enemy.
“Thank you, uncle. “It’s exactly what I need!”
“Don’t like it. And that alone can be dangerous. “Take this too.”
Palbong handed over a stick slightly larger than his palm.
“What is this?”
“It’s an electric shock machine. Shoot gas from a distance and use this when close to the enemy.”
The experts were definitely different. It was systematic and realistic.
‘This is enough to survive!’
Kang Min, who received two weapons, felt confident.
But Palbong thought differently.
“Looking at his expression, he seems to think he can live with that.”
Palbong said that and got up from the chair.
And Palbong suddenly rushed at Kangmin. Before he knew it, he had a sashimi knife in his hand.
In the blink of an eye, the knife was at Kang Min’s throat.
Kangmin said, widening his eyes.
“three… uncle. this… “What are you doing?”
Palbong lowered his sword and said.
“This is you. No, most ordinary people are like this. Ordinary people freeze when someone with a real knife tries to kill them. If this small knife is okay, what about a Japanese sword? I’m going to add that. Not to mention axes and iron pipes.”
Only then did Kangmin realize what he was missing.
“Then uncle, what should I do with this?”
Kangmin spoke earnestly.
“The best thing is for me to go. “I will help you.”
Kangmin shook his head.
“I can’t do that.”
Looking at Kangmin, Palbong sighed and said.
“Then there’s nothing we can do. “How much time do we have?”
“buy… “Three days.”
“Three days.”
Palbong, who was thinking deeply, his eyes lit up.
“Then there is only one way. “I need to make sure my body doesn’t stiffen even when I see these things.”
“how?”
“You just have to get used to it. “To the point where it’s imprinted on my body.”
Kangmin’s whole body trembled at Palbong’s words.
* * *
It’s Saturday.
Kangmin wore a military uniform and even prepared ramen and food in his backpack.
I also prepared a gas mask to prepare for the gas gun.
By the time everything was ready, it was 11:20. The flame tattoo on his left hand had turned red except for the top part.
‘Is everything ready now?’
Kangmin thought about the past few days.
‘There was no separate hell.’
Palbong, along with three of his men, took Kangmin to the basement of the building. It was an empty basement, and it was Kang Min’s first time there.
There, Kang Min learned ‘how to get used to weapons’ until this morning.
Learning was simple. Three large men, including Palbong, each grabbed a weapon and attacked Kangmin as if they were going to kill him.
It wasn’t a joke. I was actually cut with a knife, and I was hit on the thigh with an iron pipe and couldn’t move for a while.
– Wake up, people don’t die like this!
Palbong pushed Kangmin hard.
They didn’t even send me home. Thanks to that training, after three days, my body definitely didn’t stiffen up in front of the weapon.
– If you need help, be sure to contact us.
Before leaving this morning, Palbong spoke to Kangmin as if he were asking him a favor. All Kangmin could do was answer that he understood and leave.
At 11:30, the tattoo on the back of my left hand started to glow.
‘We’re finally going there again!’
Kangmin held the large backpack tightly on his back.
A message appeared and Kangmin disappeared.
* * *
Unlike before, I saw a message pop up in front of me.
I felt dizzy and felt like I was going to collapse, but thanks to the training I received at Palbong, I was able to avoid falling.
– Kang Min-ah, you can survive as long as you come to your senses. Always keep your cool and stay calm.
Kangmin, remembering Palbong’s words, widened his eyes. Although it was blurry, he could see that it was the master bedroom.
‘I really came to that place and time! then!’
I looked ahead. I vaguely saw the door open. A person wearing a helmet came through the door.
His hand was holding a Japanese sword that was over 1m long.
In the past, I would have stiffened as soon as I saw that, but not now.
The door to the master bedroom was wide open and the previously blurred view became clear.
Kang Min calmly held the gas gun forward and shouted.
