The Country Life Diary of a Gangster's Secretary-Chapter 125
[The message from Jung Sejin flashed before his eyes: "It's best if you stay at home until I contact you, as the news reports are saying that you were also injured." He had also advised him to handle any calls from other Taesung executives with caution.]
“Handle it with caution, my foot…!”
Choi Sungchan yelled in frustration, hurling his phone to the floor. He then gulped down the glass of water sitting on the table, trying to calm his nerves.
The world had become chaotic and loud very quickly. With society already on edge due to a series of violent incidents, it was only natural that people would latch onto this situation with fervor.
And now, Choi, who had been involved in the incident, found himself utterly bewildered. He hadn’t expected things to spiral out of control like this. Well, maybe he had. When Jung Sejin had promised to completely change Taesung, Choi had anticipated that he would do something drastic with Kwon Lee Hyuk.
But he never imagined it would go this far—never thought Lee Hyuk would be so severely injured, his life hanging by a thread. Sejin hadn’t mentioned anything about such extreme measures.
Sejin had orchestrated what was essentially an attempted murder with a disturbing level of nonchalance.
"All you have to do is call Director Kwon to the location I've chosen. When the server brings the drinks, make sure to give the glass on the right to Director Kwon. Then, at an appropriate moment, leave the scene and wait for my call. After that, just stay out of sight."
Choi should have seen the warning signs when Sejin first suggested something so suspicious. He should never have gotten involved with someone as unsettling as Jung Sejin.
It was clear now that Sejin had lost his mind, all because he couldn’t stand Lee Hyuk. If Lee Hyuk died, wouldn’t that make Choi an accomplice to murder?
At this point, Choi realized he had no choice but to follow Sejin’s instructions. If things went wrong, Sejin could easily frame him for everything. The fact that yesterday’s news claimed he had been injured while trying to stop the incident—despite not being at the scene—was a clear warning from Sejin not to act on his own.
Knock, knock.
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Choi’s wife entered the room.
“Honey, what was all that noise? What’s going on?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
“But… what’s going on with you? Shouldn’t you be at work? I saw the news and—”
At that moment, the doorbell rang loudly through the house. Choi’s wife sighed heavily and turned to leave the room. Left alone, Choi began pacing nervously.
“Honey, can you come out here for a moment?”
His wife returned, opening the study door once more.
“What is it?”
“There’s someone here from your company.”
Choi frowned deeply. No one from his company was supposed to visit him. Who could it be?
“Did you let them in?”
He asked urgently, and his wife nodded.
“They said they needed to discuss something important related to the company, so I let them in. Should I have left them outside?”
With a sigh, Choi got up to go meet the visitor. Although he didn’t want to see anyone right now, it would have been more suspicious not to. Who could it be? Director Kang? Or perhaps just his secretary?
“Hello, it’s been a while, Executive Director Choi.”
As Choi entered the living room, he couldn’t believe his eyes. It wasn’t Sungjin or the secretary he’d been bossing around like a dog. No, his wife would have recognized the secretary since she had occasionally asked him to do house chores.
“Chun… Secretary Chun?”
The visitor was Chun Hyesung, Lee Hyuk’s former secretary. Hyesung greeted him with a stiff nod.
“I came to check on you. But…”
Hyesung’s eyes slowly scanned Choi from head to toe, a gesture that made Choi’s skin crawl. Despite being younger and no longer associated with Taesung, Hyesung exuded a chilling presence that made Choi uneasy.
“You seem perfectly fine. The news said you were seriously injured, so I brought some fruit, but…”
Hyesung placed a fruit basket on the table with an air of leisure, and Choi’s wife thanked him before taking it to the kitchen.
“If you have time, could we have a chat?”
Despite his position of authority, Choi suddenly felt as though he was beneath this young man, who had nothing on him.
In hindsight, it had always been like this. Chun Hyesung, who had served as Lee Hyuk’s secretary from a young age, had risen to the position of head secretary. It was well-known that he had been working with Lee Hyuk for a long time. Other executives would sometimes confide in Hyesung things they wouldn’t dare say to Lee Hyuk directly, treating him with a certain level of respect. But to Choi, Hyesung had always been a thorn in his side.
"Executive Director Choi, I’m sorry, but there were some discrepancies in the corporate card usage report you submitted. I’d like to clarify them."
"Executive Director Choi, I don’t mean to be rude, but could you please refrain from using our team members for personal errands on weekends? I’d appreciate it."
With a face that looked like it wouldn’t bleed if you pricked it, Hyesung would bluntly say whatever he felt needed to be said. Choi had always thought the young man was overstepping, just because he had Lee Hyuk backing him.
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But even Choi knew that Hyesung only spoke that way because he had the skills and confidence to back it up. It always irritated him, feeling looked down on by someone so much younger. When Hyesung eventually resigned, Choi had felt a great sense of relief.
“Ahem, well, you know how the media likes to exaggerate things. I was injured, but I thought it would attract too much attention from reporters if I stayed in the hospital, so I decided to recuperate at home.”
But why would this former secretary suddenly visit him now?
“I see. I’m relieved to hear that your injuries weren’t serious. I was worried you might end up like Director Kwon, who’s unconscious in the hospital.”
Choi flinched at Hyesung’s words.
“So… why did you come to see me? You’re not with Taesung anymore…”
“I wanted to hear firsthand about what happened with Director Kwon yesterday.”
“Oh, that? Well, you’ve probably seen the news. It all happened just like they said. I was terrified, too—thought I was going to die. I’d never seen gangsters up close before…”
Hyesung nodded as he placed his teacup on the table.
“To be honest, I was a bit shocked to hear that Director Kwon was injured. No matter what, he was still my former boss, and I served him for a long time.”
“Of course, you would be concerned. You came to see me because you wanted to know what happened?”
“Yes.”
Choi was internally relieved. It seemed Hyesung wasn’t here because he knew something. If he just stuck to a fabricated story, he should be able to get through this.
“To be honest… I’m in a bit of a confused state myself. I’ve been trying to shake off the image of Taesung as a gangster company. But yesterday… seeing the Director fight those gangsters like it was nothing, it was like he was a different person…”
Choi put on an expression of deep concern. Hyesung, staring at him, finally spoke.
“I’ve been with Director Kwon since his days as a gangster. He must have made a lot of enemies back then. Director Kang also mentioned the group involved in this incident. I heard…”
Hyesung paused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“I heard they were a gang whose members had their pinky fingers dyed black?”
“What? Oh, yes, that’s right. Gangsters often show their affiliation in peculiar ways… I was surprised to see it myself.”
“I’m sure you were. But Executive Director…”
“Yes?”
“I’ll ask you again. Were you really at the scene when Director Kwon was attacked?”
Choi’s eyes widened in shock. The tone of the conversation had abruptly shifted. Hyesung’s demeanor had also changed; the cold, unflinching expression on his face was unsettling.
“What kind of question is that? Of course, I was there! That’s why the news said I got injured trying to stop it!”
Choi’s voice rose involuntarily.
“Didn’t you just say that the media likes to exaggerate things? I agree. The media often distorts the truth. So why don’t you stop with the lies? This is starting to get boring.”
The Hyesung that Choi knew was cold, rigid, and as emotionless as a machine. But he had never seen him like this—so disrespectful, so blatantly threatening. Sure, Hyesung had displayed a certain iciness when he was stressed at work, but he had never exuded the kind of murderous intent Choi was seeing now.
“Sec… Secretary Chun! What’s with your attitude?”
“Executive Director, I think you’re mistaken. I’m no longer part of Taesung, so I have no reason to be polite to you. You should be grateful I’m even calling you by your title.”
There’s a saying that a smart person who goes mad is even more terrifying.
The look in Hyesung’s eyes was something close to madness.
“You just confirmed that the gang members who fought with Director Kwon had black tattoos on their pinky fingers.”
“So what?”
“Their thumbs, not their pinkies, are dyed black. You wouldn’t know that because you didn’t see it.”
Choi almost dropped his teacup. The sensation of his heart plummeting was one he hadn’t felt in a long time.
There was no way he could have known that. Sejin hadn’t told him about that detail.
At that moment, Choi realized. The moment he showed shock at Hyesung’s words, he had already…
“I don’t know why you’re so desperately trying to hide whoever’s behind this, but I have plenty of ways to find out.”
…lost.
“Threatening people is what I’m best at.”
Hyesung pulled a USB drive out of his bag and placed it on the table.
“I have more than enough evidence to blackmail you, Executive Director.”
What was truly terrifying wasn’t Jung Sejin. It was the small but fierce predator standing right in front of him.
