KTSR | Chapter 43

Ijin staggered out. Even though 4ad6a38fab he overslept, 973e17e6d9 no one fcb1d732df came to debb565318 wake him 4be72d409a up.7ab4109e8f584bc5

Tomorrow was race 9b258fbdfa day, but it ff5ff73863 felt like his 2baa7eaba3 legs were spread 6d0fcec2ac so wide they eda93d05de would never come 9a959b5087 together again. The hole 518725eda7 was so d2860bc5a7 numb he eea59c3c7d was afraid 379358c2d4 to touch 44b943cb26 it to fbbbad4b54 check. His eyes were b8d39d00ae swollen, and the 11b17d8834 lingering cough from 1b43c6b90e his cold drained 014066970a all his energy.799b2f242f3894b3

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He coughed dryly a8bdd27a4f and brewed a 39dbd77cd9 strong cup of f1297e22b8 yulmu tea. He had 3b2612a0c8 no appetite, e04f574200 so he 6baf219b8e drank yulmu 176b33b618 tea four 59462be5e4 times. Sitting blankly, 3f624bcffc he kept bf16967a71 typing on 4c402abb65 the keyboard, 8f3be13639 but he 2d0721c01e kept getting 442d7f9c0a the numbers 661d9fb1e6 wrong, which 5040b05a86 eventually annoyed 713cbb6bea Kim Jaeman.8f72b2bc073a9cae

“Ah, hyung. If you’re sick, just take a break. You’re making me do the work twice now.”965d7cf3c5b783f4

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Take a break if you’re sick? Easier said than done. Ijin felt both sad and angry. Kim Jaeman, despite being a gangster working under Kwon Hyeongdo, spoke so much like a civilian, making Ijin feel the stark difference in their situations.0c963a40fc83a12c

“I’d love to take a break. Where’s Kwon Hyeongdo? Let me tell him I want a break. Ah, should I just take a vacation? Maybe go to Gangwon-do and ski?”52e2d1eeb1add8ac

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Kim Jaeman flinched at Ijin’s response, who looked like he had a knife in his mouth with his bloodshot eyes.e7fb81719624c2ca

Ijin’s eyes glistened with heat. It might be because he was sick, but he looked more intense than usual.907bfe3611097ed9

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Kwon Hyeongdo must have had a hand in this. That crazy hyung. He said he wouldn’t make friends at work, but it seems that’s not the case. Or maybe because Seon Ijin isn’t a gangster, there’s an exception to the rule?ee807592934a8479

Whatever it was, 7722ca1cd2 Kim Jaeman quickly 4650a05785 felt sorry for 2673c0a4df Ijin. He thought he 8a614fa087 should at least a0a6f89e4d buy him some 07caa10e9d fish-shaped bread and 348d5694a5 quietly left his 6b8de4d9be seat.fd1ca00f643a751f

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Left alone in the office, Ijin blankly tapped the keyboard with one finger. His whole body ached. There wasn’t a single scratch on the outside, but the pain inside his stomach was unbearable. It was clear he had a bruise inside. Sitting in the chair was hard enough, and thinking about bouncing on the saddle tomorrow made his teeth grind.0b1bb94e63d1ffee

“Bastard. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you. Damn bastard. Worthless bastard.”92c42e6ca2b64f62

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Ijin cursed 955d3f0f77 Kwon Hyeongdo, 3d326e625c muttering the 04a6e498f3 insults he 1a7b33e023 heard from ba169f5053 Jang Munyong.4737a0d35ed7cdeb

Kwon Hyeongdo a8cb5c7f17 scratched his 77f36f024c ear and c6fa7ce775 muttered leisurely.eafcd6f9cb70033d

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“Who’s cursing me?”b544429e0d762021

Kwon Hyeongdo was out of the office, on an outing. There were a few decent meat restaurants around the dam, 30 minutes away from the neighborhood with the Colosseum. The thought of having the smell of meat clinging to his clothes from lunchtime wasn’t very appealing.36178f6010f37fa8

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Opening and closing his phone, Kwon Hyeongdo quietly waited for his guest. The person he was meeting today was the mayor. The mayor’s assistant was so skinny and arrogant beyond words. If things went south, he planned to throw that assistant into the dam.8c3ee3ca629477d4

Finally, the mayor’s car appeared. The first to get out of the angular Grandeur was the skinny assistant. The mayor couldn’t even open the door himself; he only got out after the assistant opened it for him, and unlike the assistant, he had quite a presence. Kwon Hyeongdo, fastening the buttons of the suit he hadn’t worn in a while, got out of his car.a40546a228c00e7e

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“Hello, Mayor. I’m Kwon Hyeongdo.”76fd1afb05f72bd8

The mayor readily extended 07f2f70f3a his hand.36b9f84c866b70ec

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“I thought an executive director would be someone like Executive Director Ma, but you’re quite young, aren’t you?”06d8343a4b3c8a77

Evaluating his age without c3747f08cc even a greeting, Kwon 66856f5d54 Hyeongdo smiled.a52d9c50aa288664

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So, he’s acquainted with Executive Director Ma.2b37768741716100

Working with someone like Executive Director Ma, who’s practically a has-been, makes sense. It seems like the work will be easier. Kwon Hyeongdo liked people who were good at their jobs, but he also liked dumb ones. It was a small hobby of his to smile while hitting the eyes of dumb bastards, as it wasn’t burdensome.2cf5d5d748e90606

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Meeting the mayor was on Chairman Choi’s orders. To be precise, Chairman Choi had repeatedly scolded him, saying that since he wasn’t from that area, it was proper for an outsider to pay respects. Kwon Hyeongdo found such tasks very tedious. He had no intention of changing his roots or switching to a path that didn’t suit him. He believed everyone had work that suited them, and sharing drinks with people in suits while wearing a suit himself wasn’t something that suited him.bfa2641f75f45b7e

“So, where did you originally come from?”09924d01622a3ea8

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The mayor started the e3e9729c32 conversation. Kwon Hyeongdo pondered 5b8a6ea83d whether to talk 2c2d575b60 about the successful 047290d523 establishment in Gangnam ceaad28910 or the one e5bd691510 made by merging 6337b1e04c houses, and he bf4dd229f9 chose the latter.f506a626143320cb

“Where was that again?”3b38d15aa7f2699a

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The pompous attitude was amusing. No matter how much they put on airs, this place, held by the mayor, wasn’t all that impressive anyway.a0289de5459bc8a9

“It’s a rural town. I’m just a country bumpkin who doesn’t know much, so I’ll humbly learn if you teach me.”20819a0401cbd7f5

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Kwon Hyeongdo filled the mayor’s glass and retorted.909c1e836bc620e7

“I’m curious about why you came all the way here from so far away.”87f96bad33a6e84a

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“Isn’t there a racetrack here?”125b773142d7bb62

“Oh, the Colosseum or something?”b273766ed2f3c325

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The mayor feigned ignorance. Kwon Hyeongdo, 8fff5c3004 who knew 637ad2fa69 that the bc6b74e59d mayor had 115ca8a0fe secretly hired b090259016 an agent acc7880d60 to bet 4828f50d6b and lose ffbe69dc80 a considerable 0f86f6c877 amount of 759847bce9 money, laughed 6484d5a75c inwardly.b703c62e25e907d9

“Yes, that’s the place.”6bd974df9af8800b

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“Shouldn’t you be meeting the town chief there?”d4e76a1acf436cfe

“What can the town chief do? I need to meet someone higher up.”3438ddb6603e250f

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“The town chief is my high school junior. It’s a bit disappointing to say that.”e03b400a97bd7817

It seemed like 34c2bb7edb he was trying 616aa46729 to assert dominance. If he wanted to 9b2b8e8d4f establish a hierarchy, Kwon d26d5ceb15 Hyeongdo—who preferred using fists—scratched 971538f789 his thigh under the 7301e51ca8 table in annoyance. His hand brushed 6272cababd against his groin, a1bc80f8e3 tucked up to 6dbc0064d6 the waistband of d4af6f741f his underwear. As his 493e5118c8 fingers grazed 7664e7e0cb the glans, eeccbcd74b Seon Ijin 206735b255 suddenly came 3133d9861e to mind. Scratching at Seon 3d8957b051 Ijin felt far 7eb70abc39 more worthwhile than 3685e4a10e having an expensive ee443b3147 meal with the a8e2eced7b mayor.d3b36fe66b0bc34d

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“I misspoke. I’m an uneducated guy. There’s a lot I can learn from you, Mr. Mayor.”5bf6fba4a21dfbbc

The mayor seemed to relax a bit at Kwon Hyeongdo’s self-deprecating words and emptied his glass.c77b97b27c4c9e4f

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He had heard that the mayor wasn’t particularly good at drinking but liked it as if he had a bottomless pit for alcohol. Kwon Hyeongdo refilled his glass. It wasn’t something sold here but something he had set aside. It was Chinese, smuggled in with vodka as it didn’t have official import approval.44825d46b0a9de16

“This tastes good. Even if you’re not educated, you seem to know your liquor. That’s how gangsters are. They might lack refinement, but they know taste. But I’m not prejudiced, so as long as we can communicate, it doesn’t matter if you’re unrefined or not well-educated. I’m curious if our Executive Director Kwon is such a person.”e205fb53506ea7e3

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“I’m glad it suits your taste. I’ll send a few bottles to your place.”e52d2190c3910360

“No need for a few bottles.”2bc4a3932714474d

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However, the liquor was already being loaded into the trunk of the mayor’s official sedan in boxes. They even put in plenty of paper to prevent breakage. It was green and had the unique musty smell of new bills or money.85a15a94a730ba1e

Why does he cab1a54a69 beat around the 0ae3dde361 bush while taking 4016bfde4f everything he can c5eabac3ef get? Kwon Hyeongdo, 655e24eddb finding the 5f17fbc78d unnecessary conversation 5ba4e74128 tedious, got 09bdd113d9 to the b26e9b95a9 point.79ea1176316d2b07

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“The reason this country bumpkin came all the way here is because of that racetrack. If water stays in one place, it rots, doesn’t it? It needs cleaning, draining, and fresh water added to taste good. Just like new wine should be put into new wineskins.”0ac614f9071a29e5

The mayor 61bbb1c97c glanced at d9d80ac74a Kwon Hyeongdo b626270ba4 over his 24c5e83821 glass. The clean taste d0e45e4910 of the liquor, 89e51ece93 with a rich 1b6496c776 pineapple aroma, was 5cf85f8375 very satisfying.7df50bd7c87f08dc

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“So, you’re going to clean it up?”b21be3ab20aed29e

“If I clean it up right away, it’ll just hurt. I’ll just tidy it up a bit, trim the branches, and make it look nice so that there won’t be any problems later when it’s consumed.”5279dc996acf4aa9

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The town with 52e79733eb the Colosseum essentially bd43750d65 lived off it 9ee0b34a95 and the C.C. The Colosseum, 5308f036ae where all 5439be7b29 sorts of 318538dc51 people gathered, a68e91a5a3 would be 132b357188 more helpful bf6d0d35d4 than the f8cf601655 C.C., where d7b2adafca they just d82ec6d765 played among 1a45c8e1fe themselves. Except for ef208624a1 the mayor, 47d43423db the town e08aa260a3 mostly consisted 5d7753b2cf of inns, 1f0b47324d soup restaurants, 501739d6f8 cafes, and 671f485bd2 pawnshops.b6ccb8ca6632ae3b

If it suddenly disappeared, the townspeople’s livelihoods would be cut off, and resistance would naturally arise. While it wasn’t Kwon Hyeongdo’s concern, he knew it would trouble the mayor. He was laying the groundwork in advance.460802e4b573117e

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Kwon Hyeongdo leaned in ed2cfefc84 and whispered discreetly.eb85c997a28cfc3e

“How long do you plan to stay here? You should move on to bigger things. That’s a nice suit you’re wearing. Is it custom-made? Gold would suit you well. If you pin a badge here, it would enhance your presence.”ea785fb1c7b0c4da

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“Hmm…”78b508e19409f482

The mayor 60d7bec984 was already 4f0e6d8ea4 being swayed. Kwon Hyeongdo pushed 487177ddaf a plate of 1e252bae34 fresh sashimi towards ccd1ad0210 the mayor and 673bba383c whispered sweet nothings. They were sweet 7f02a8b175 nothings with a 9f1612a892 rotten smell.870a0d9b1550ece7

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“I’m just a country bumpkin. But I have some sense. I’ll do it quietly. I won’t stir up unnecessary trouble, and I’ll discreetly clean up the wastewater without polluting the drinking water, just as I’ve done so far. It’ll be sorted out without you even knowing, Mr. Mayor.”b1c8978a41e06678

In short, he 1eaf800695 was asking the ecaf4254fa mayor to turn a01b29749c a blind eye 12c3aacd16 to whatever happened.ed0544a78fb5d393

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The mayor was silent for a moment. After a long pause, he ate the swim bladder of a croaker. It was a delicacy. Even though it wasn’t in season, it was chewy and savory, like swallowing freshly squeezed cow’s milk.73919155dc5ce0c3

“Well, do as you see fit.”62b215c0da490269

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After a long pause, the mayor extended his glass. Kwon Hyeongdo looked at the mayor’s plump greed under his chin and smiled slyly.21b19517a9607571

“I’m a busy man with state affairs to attend to, so I can’t pay attention to every little thing. Just don’t cause a commotion. The local police station is run by someone flexible. I’m well acquainted with them, so just do as you’ve been doing. As you’ve been doing.”1c79ed44d639f32c

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“Thank you. I’ve learned a lot.”a2306d2f0dc73309

This time, Kwon Hyeongdo took out a tokkuri. He didn’t like the taste of Japanese-style soju. He preferred vodka or soju, even if the aftertaste was a bit rough. He poured generously, thinking the mayor could drink as much as he wanted.509d060fe07ad580

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