I headed to a traditional Korean restaurant in Myeongdong.
When I arrived, Captain Kang was already waiting for me.
"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 someone'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 me 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 something sharp and metallic 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 moment I opened the door, Kang Su-gi dropped to his knees.
"I'm sorry. I overstepped, not knowing my place. Please forgive me just this once. I'll never do
something like this again. No—if you'll allow it, I'll become 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 me?"
It was essentially a confession that I was behind it all.
I'd just mentioned the two words tormenting 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 me one more chance. If you told me 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 me. 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 me 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 conglomerate 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 Entertainment."
"I hesitate to say this, but… honestly, it was something of an industry practice."
"Why bring up 'practice' all of a sudden?"
"There's an unspoken rule—an old habit of stomping on new entertainment companies early on."
So, it was something like kicking away the ladder after climbing up?
It seemed that the established entertainment firms had a tradition of crushing newcomers before they could rise.
"So, because Taewoo Entertainment 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 attachment 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 me 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 Entertainment—a classic gangster
mentality.
I'd heard that gangsters would sometimes attack higher-ranking bosses for no reason at all, just to make a name for themselves nationwide.
To think a CEO of an entertainment company would imitate that kind of stunt.
Taewoo Entertainment 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 came in such a rush, I didn't have time to prepare a gift. But if there's anything you want, I'll have it delivered immediately—as a token of my apology, Vice Chairman."
"So you really are the type who needs someone to spoon-feed you. Oh, and one more thing—why are you only now calling me Vice Chairman? You used to always refer to me as the 'Taewoo Group Crown Prince.' I didn't mind hearing that. Keep calling me that."
The Crown Prince of Taewoo Group.
I didn't mind if people called me that behind my back. But saying it to my face? That was clearly meant to mock me.
CEO Kang Su-gi knew that too—which is why he immediately 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 me to fly to China in person."
"I committed a crime deserving of death. I know how shameless 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 me live."
The man who once exuded arrogance was now utterly debased.
Yet, his eyes still hadn't lost their fire.
They held the same 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 me? Don't you have nothing now?"
"I'll resolve the issues with the artists from Taewoo Entertainment. 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 Entertainment artists you've been eyeing. No transfer fees—just send them all to Taewoo Entertainment."
SG Entertainment 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 me be honest. SG Entertainment is finished. Its image has plummeted 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 name."
"That'll just slow down the fall. Nothing more. You'd be better off transferring all of SG
Entertainment's artists to Taewoo Entertainment. 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 Entertainment artist to Taewoo Entertainment. Just… please spare me."
Taewoo Entertainment'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 come 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 involvement with SG Entertainment."
"I know it's shameless of me to ask, but… couldn't you also lend me 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 immediately 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 Entertainment immediately. 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 me in front of others.
"Captain Kang, you were in the military. I assume you've seen torture."
"One of the reasons I left was because I couldn't stomach it. I witnessed all kinds of torture
methods."
"Then you'd know which ones hurt the most."
"If I had to name 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 someone like him—a venomous snake just
waiting to sink his fangs into me the moment 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 Entertainment artists would not only be well-established at Taewoo
Entertainment—they might even have retired.
All the entertainment 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 comeback, was the most effective form of torture.
"By the time ten years pass, Kang Su-gi will finally realize he's been played."
"Thanks to him messing with Taewoo Entertainment, we've reaped a huge reward. We got our original artists back, and even acquired SG Entertainment'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 time.
So much so that even his insults and outrageous behavior toward me now felt almost amusing in hindsight.
Of course, that didn't mean his sentence was going to get any lighter.