I headed to a traditional Korean restaurant in Myeongdong.
When I arrived, Captain Kang was already waiting for .
"CEO Kang Su-gi arrived ahead of you and is waiting inside."
"He's already here? Looks like he's really feeling the heat."
"Just in case, I've stationed a hundred staff around the restaurant. Twenty more are posted on either side of the walls next to the room you'll be using."
"That's a bit excessive, isn't it? It's not like Kang Su-gi brought a bunch of gangsters with him."
"When soone's driven to the edge of a cliff, there's no telling what they might do. That's why I want you to wear this."
Captain Kang handed a vest.
It was black—and noticeably heavy.
"A stab-proof vest?"
"We searched Kang Su-gi, but we can't be too careful. He may not be able to sneak in a gun, but sothing sharp and tallic could still be possible. This vest should protect against that."
"It's a bit much, but there's nothing wrong with being overprepared."
Only after putting on the stab-proof vest did I step into the room where Kang Su-gi was waiting.
Slide—
The mont I opened the door, Kang Su-gi dropped to his knees.
"I'm sorry. I overstepped, not knowing my place. Please forgive just this once. I'll never do
sothing like this again. No—if you'll allow it, I'll beco your dog, wagging my tail with all
I've got."
"I'm not sure what you're talking about. I just went to China on business. What does the Triad attacking the Yangji faction or your records ending up with the prosecutors have to do with ?"
It was essentially a confession that I was behind it all.
I'd just ntioned the two words tornting Kang Su-gi the most: the Triad and the prosecution.
"I acted recklessly without knowing what I was up against. Please, I beg you—give one more chance. If you told to die, I wouldn't just pretend—I'd really jump into the Han River."
"You keep saying that, but I really don't know what this has to do with . Though… there is one thing I'm curious about. Was there any particular reason you had to target Taewoo Group? I've heard from the Triad that they never ordered such a thing."
That part had been bothering the most.
Even if the Triad was behind everything—why go after Taewoo Group?
There was no benefit in creating unnecessary enemies—especially not in turning the number-one conglorate in the country into one.
"I got drunk on the Triad's backing. I thought that once I broke into the Chinese market, I wouldn't have to worry about the Korean market anymore… so I lost control."
"Even so, I don't understand why you'd go so far as to antagonize Taewoo Entertainnt."
"I hesitate to say this, but… honestly, it was sothing of an industry practice."
"Why bring up 'practice' all of a sudden?"
"There's an unspoken rule—an old habit of stomping on new entertainnt companies early on."
So, it was sothing like kicking away the ladder after climbing up?
It seed that the established entertainnt firms had a tradition of crushing newcors before they could rise.
"So, because Taewoo Entertainnt was new, you thought you'd stomp it down just like the
others?"
"I figured that if I took the first step, the other companies—who were just watching—would
follow suit."
"And if things went south, what? You were just going to live out the rest of your life in China?"
"…That's right. I had no real attachnt to the Korean market, so I thought I could walk away. But now, I realize how foolish that thinking was. Please, I beg of you, give just one more chance."
CEO Kang Su-gi was rubbing his hands together so fervently, it looked like they'd catch fire.
And in a way, his logic made a kind of twisted sense.
Trying to raise his own stock by stepping on Taewoo Entertainnt—a classic gangster
ntality.
I'd heard that gangsters would sotis attack higher-ranking bosses for no reason at all, just to make a na for themselves nationwide.
To think a CEO of an entertainnt company would imitate that kind of stunt.
Taewoo Entertainnt may have been under the giant umbrella of Taewoo Group, but as a
company, it was still new.
To Kang Su-gi, it must've looked like the perfect target to elevate himself.
Even with that explanation, I still couldn't understand everything. But then again, when could anyone ever fully understand another person's mind?
"You keep asking for forgiveness, but what good would it do if I did? It's not like that'll change the fact that you're going to prison."
"If Taewoo Group doesn't press too hard, I could still get off with probation. I'm begging you, please…"
His logic wasn't entirely off.
If Taewoo Group chose not to push the prosecution, there was a slim chance he could reduce his sentence.
"But it's strange—you're such a fan of 'customs,' yet you seem to be ignoring a very common one right now. Isn't it customary to never show up empty-handed when apologizing? At the very least, a fruit basket or a box of drinks is standard."
"I ca in such a rush, I didn't have ti to prepare a gift. But if there's anything you want, I'll have it delivered imdiately—as a token of my apology, Vice Chairman."
"So you really are the type who needs soone to spoon-feed you. Oh, and one more thing—why are you only now calling Vice Chairman? You used to always refer to as the 'Taewoo Group Crown Prince.' I didn't mind hearing that. Keep calling that."
The Crown Prince of Taewoo Group.
I didn't mind if people called that behind my back. But saying it to my face? That was clearly ant to mock .
CEO Kang Su-gi knew that too—which is why he imdiately bowed his head against the table in apology.
"I'm sorry. I foolishly believed that provoking you further would make things go the way I
wanted."
"Well, your provocation worked. It got to fly to China in person."
"I committed a cri deserving of death. I know how shaless I must look to you, Vice
Chairman. But I don't want to rot away in prison for the rest of my life. Please, I'm begging you —let live."
The man who once exuded arrogance was now utterly debased.
Yet, his eyes still hadn't lost their fire.
They held the sa belief as ever—that as long as he stayed alive, he could claw his way back to the top.
"What do you even have left to offer ? Don't you have nothing now?"
"I'll resolve the issues with the artists from Taewoo Entertainnt. I'll discipline them and send them back so thoroughly, they won't even think of leaving again."
"You speak of them as if they're your property. Don't you think it's a bit much to call returning our own artists a gift?"
"I'll give you the SG Entertainnt artists you've been eyeing. No transfer fees—just send them all to Taewoo Entertainnt."
SG Entertainnt really was a trash heap.
But even in a dump, flowers could bloom.
There were a number of SG artists who'd topped the charts—bright spots amid the filth.
"Let be honest. SG Entertainnt is finished. Its image has plumted so far, there's no recovering from it."
"We still have active contracts with our artists. As long as those last, the company can survive— at least in na."
"That'll just slow down the fall. Nothing more. You'd be better off transferring all of SG
Entertainnt's artists to Taewoo Entertainnt. Do that, and maybe I'll find a way to throw you a lifeline."
"I—I'll do it. I'll transfer every single SG Entertainnt artist to Taewoo Entertainnt. Just… please spare ."
Taewoo Entertainnt's biggest problem had been its lack of talent.
If we could bring in a flood of SG artists, that issue would be solved overnight.
And since those artists had worked under Kang Su-gi, once they experienced Taewoo's superior welfare and support, they'd feel like they'd entered a whole new world.
That would open the door to long-term contracts.
"You keep begging for your life, but what are you even going to do with it in this state? Honestly, wouldn't it be better to die and co back to life than keep going like this?"
"If it's the Vice Chairman's command, I'll obey without question. If you say die, I'll die. If you say resurrect, I'll resurrect."
"Then start by cooperating fully with the prosecution's investigation. Taewoo Group will be stepping away from any involvent with SG Entertainnt."
"I know it's shaless of to ask, but… couldn't you also lend a hand? If Taewoo Group pulls a few strings, my sentence could be drastically reduced."
As expected—this was the kind of man he was.
Save his life, and he imdiately turns around and asks for your wallet.
"Even if we wanted to help, I doubt it would reduce your sentence. Most of the evidence has
already been handed over to the prosecution. There aren't many strings left for us to pull."
"That's more than enough. I'll send over the SG artists to Taewoo Entertainnt imdiately. Thank you so much."
"You'd better move quickly. You never know when the prosecution might switch to a pretrial
detention investigation."
"I'll take care of it right away. Thank you again."
CEO Kang Su-gi bowed over and over, then ran out of the restaurant in a hurry.
Once he was gone, Captain Kang stepped out from behind the wall where he'd been hiding.
"Sir, why are you giving that scumbag another chance?"
"When did I ever say I was giving him a chance?"
"But you told him you'd create a way out for him. After everything he did to humiliate you… I can't sleep at night thinking about it."
Captain Kang was angrier than I was.
That's how deeply Kang Su-gi's past actions had cut—humiliating in front of others.
"Captain Kang, you were in the military. I assu you've seen torture."
"One of the reasons I left was because I couldn't stomach it. I witnessed all kinds of torture
thods."
"Then you'd know which ones hurt the most."
"If I had to na one, I'd say waterboarding. That's usually the worst."
"There's one worse than that—ever heard of hope torture ?"
Right now, I was subjecting Kang Su-gi to the cruelest torture of all: hope torture .
How could I possibly extend a genuine hand to soone like him—a venomous snake just
waiting to sink his fangs into the mont I lower my guard?
"…If you call that hope torture, then you're planning to extract those artists from him, aren't
you?"
"That's not hope torture—that's just theft . I'll assign a top-tier law firm to him and take care of him well, even behind bars. So well, in fact, that he'll start to believe he's under Taewoo Group's protection."
"Why go through all that trouble?"
"When people are drowning in despair, they tend to thrash around. But when they think there's still hope, they endure—no matter what. After ten years in prison, the venom inside him will have all evaporated, and those fangs of his will be completely gone."
Ten years was long enough for mountains to change.
By then, the SG Entertainnt artists would not only be well-established at Taewoo
Entertainnt—they might even have retired.
All the entertainnt industry connections Kang Su-gi had built with such effort would have long been flushed out and replaced.
What could he possibly do in such a situation?
That's why injecting him with the poison called "hope," paralyzing his will with the illusion of a coback, was the most effective form of torture.
"By the ti ten years pass, Kang Su-gi will finally realize he's been played."
"Thanks to him ssing with Taewoo Entertainnt, we've reaped a huge reward. We got our original artists back, and even acquired SG Entertainnt's lineup."
"Kang Su-gi tried to gain one thing… and ended up losing everything he had."
"In school, we're taught that one plus one equals two. But in the real world, the math works a
little differently."
Thanks to Kang Su-gi, I'd had quite an entertaining ti.
So much so that even his insults and outrageous behavior toward now felt almost amusing in hindsight.
Of course, that didn't an his sentence was going to get any lighter.
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