Chairman Choi Tae-jin

“Whoa, Brother. What happened? You’re all dressed up.”

“Brother, you could be a model! You look so stylish!”

Expensive clothes must really be different. As soon as he entered the office, everyone, without exception, clung to him, admiring Doha’s attire.

Even Park Jaemin, who was sitting in the back of the office, glanced at Doha. His lips curled slightly, as if he was pleased.

“You look presentable.”

Park Jaemin stood up and approached Doha. Doha took out his card and offered it.

“Thank you, I’ll wear it well.”

He had bought clothes, so he naturally intended to return the card, but Park Jaemin waved his hand.

“Keep it for now. You probably only bought one outfit, right? You might need more, so hold onto it and use it when necessary.”

At Park Jaemin’s words, the other guys made ‘oohh’ sounds, expressing envy and praising Big Brother’s generosity with thumbs up. Doha put the card back into his jacket pocket without saying much, but he didn’t feel entirely at ease.

‘There’s no benevolence without ulterior motives.’

At this point, was it an overreaction to recall the words he had said to Sana last night? Of course, his ulterior motives towards Sana and what Park Jaemin wanted from him were different in nature, but it was clear that he had an agenda for buying his clothes.

The greater the gift, the greater the repayment. He couldn’t shake off the uneasiness because he hadn’t forgotten that fact.

“Let’s go.”

Park Jaemin patted Doha’s shoulder and left the office first. Doha watched his retreating figure, then slowly walked to follow him after he had gone about five or six steps. When they came out of the building, Park Jaemin was standing with a cigarette in his mouth.

“Where are you going?”

Doha approached him, took out a lighter, lit his cigarette, and asked.

“To the old man.”

At the word ‘old man,’ Doha frowned, as if he didn’t understand.

“He exists. Our cunning chairman.”

Park Jaemin chuckled and took a long drag from his cigarette. White cigarette smoke escaped from between his lips, scattering into the air.

“Prepare yourself and follow me. Even a single glance from you might reveal all your thoughts.”

Soon, a black car, perhaps pre-arranged by Park Jaemin, pulled up in front of them. One of the burly men who got out of the car quickly went around the hood and opened the back door.

Park Jaemin, who got into the car first, gestured for Doha to sit next to him. After Doha sat down beside him, the car door closed.

“To Yongin.”

After that single word, Park Jaemin closed his eyes.

“It’s a bit of a drive, so get some rest.”

He told Doha to get some sleep too, but sleep wouldn’t come. He already guessed who the ‘old man’ Park Jaemin was referring to. He was the actual boss of the Gangnam Alliance, but now he was superficially known as the chairman of KN Capital, keeping his distance from the organization.

Choi Taejin.

That name, which he hadn’t even heard from Park Jaemin yet, lingered in Doha’s mouth.

‘It’s impossible. Why is the child who went to school… Someone explain it to me! Explain why he’s lying here!’

Sympathetic glances gathered around Doha, who was screaming, but no one stepped forward to explain the situation. It was a day when rain poured down so heavily that the raindrops felt painful on his skin. In that rain, the coldly stiff body gave Doha no answers.

A business card was tucked between the pale fingers.

KN Capital Chairman Choi Taejin.

The words written on the business card were etched into Doha’s mind, unerasable.

The garden, about 100 pyeong in size, was well-landscaped. The lawn was neatly maintained, as if regularly cared for. In front of the building inside the garden, two bodyguards in black suits and black sunglasses stood guard.

“Tell him I’ve arrived.”

Even when Park Jaemin spoke casually, the bodyguards, familiar with his face, didn’t ask who he was. One of the bodyguards announced his arrival through the earpiece he was wearing, and soon opened the door. Park Jaemin entered through the open front door and gestured for Doha to follow. As Doha took a step to follow him, the bodyguard extended an arm, blocking his way.

“Only he has permission.”

He spoke stiffly, looking at Park Jaemin.

“Check again. I told you beforehand that I’d be bringing him today.”

Park Jaemin chuckled and replied. The bodyguard who had blocked the way checked again through his earpiece, then stepped aside, as if to say it was okay to enter.

“Anyway, that old man is unnecessarily strict, you know. Guarding it like an impregnable fortress.”

Park Jaemin grumbled as he entered the living room. Doha silently followed him. The mansion also wasn’t excessively large.

“Oh, you saw it when you came in, right? The old man is a bit nervously sensitive about security, you could say. He says if it’s too big, it’s hard to guard, so this size is perfect.”

As if noticing Doha’s thoughts, Park Jaemin explained that it wasn’t due to a lack of money, but the optimal size for security. As he listened to him add that if he had that much money, he would build a palace-like house, Doha roughly guessed the financial power of the ‘Chairman.’

“Make a good impression. Depending on how much money comes out of the old man’s, no, our Chairman’s pocket, your life will also change.”

Perhaps having noticed an employee passing by, Park Jaemin quickly corrected the term he used, ‘old man.’ The fact that someone who had acted fearlessly in the office was now careful with his speech was surprising.

“Please sit and wait for a moment.”

The employee said, placing two servings of tea on the living room table. Unlike Park Jaemin, who sat down without hesitation and drank his tea, Doha remained standing. Park Jaemin also didn’t bother to tell Doha to relax and sit.

A moment later, he felt a presence on the second-floor stairs. Doha turned around and swallowed a short groan, seeing the man descending the stairs. He had clearly heard he was in his 60s, but he looked only to be in his 50s.

He had imagined a fierce impression, thinking he was the actual boss of the Gangnam Alliance, but that too was wrong. On the surface, he looked only like a dignified gentleman. He was wearing chinos and a knit sweater, but even the crease in his pants was perfectly neat, without a single wrinkle.

“How have you been?”

Park Jaemin stood up and bowed, greeting him. Not seeming to like Park Jaemin’s casual tone, he clicked his tongue and sat on the main sofa in the living room.

“Greet him. Our Chairman.”

Park Jaemin told Doha. Doha silently bowed. Chairman, boss of the Gangnam Alliance, Choi Taejin. He didn’t say it aloud, but he slowly repeated the name in his mouth.

“Is this the guy you said you’d bring?”

Choi Taejin asked Park Jaemin, then slowly scanned Doha from head to toe.

“Your atmosphere is a bit different from the other guys you keep around. Better than that snake bastard.”

The sharp atmosphere, like a sword being forged, seemed to soften just a little. The ‘snake bastard’ he referred to was Kim Sinhak, known as Viper.

Just as Choi Taejin’s gaze fell from Doha, the employee placed a warm cup of tea in front of him. The fact that he hadn’t brought his serving beforehand seemed to indicate he had considered it getting cold.

‘Was his personality as fastidious as his neat and sharp appearance?’ From the security of the house to his attire, expression, and manner of speech, Doha inferred Choi Taejin’s personality.

“Even if he looks like this, he’s a university graduate. A four-year university in Seoul, at that.”

Park Jaemin boasted about Doha as if a university degree were some kind of medal.

“There are plenty of university graduates at headquarters too.”

Choi Taejin replied indifferently.

“Those guys can’t be used in this line of work.”

Park Jaemin smiled slyly. Choi Taejin didn’t object to his words.

“He’s smart, but also tight-lipped and good with his fists. You don’t find guys like him often.”

Gangster bastards who only knew how to fight couldn’t strategize, and the ostensibly respectable employees at headquarters didn’t know how to fight. In the end, at the mention of a guy who could do both, Choi Taejin looked at Doha again.

“I’ve gotten familiar with your face, so you can leave today. I’ll call you to headquarters separately later.”

Choi Taejin put down his teacup, which he hadn’t even half-finished, and stood up. Doha wondered if they had come all the way to Yongin just to see his face, but Park Jaemin obediently replied, “Understood.”

Only after Choi Taejin went upstairs to the second floor did Park Jaemin and Doha also leave the mansion.

“Earn that old man’s trust.”

Park Jaemin said in a low voice after their car left the mansion’s parking lot. His face wasn’t smiling faintly like it had been in front of Choi Taejin. His eyes gleamed sharply, as if deep in thought.

“You can’t just be doing the old man’s dirty work forever, can you? I’m in my forties now.”

Park Jaemin’s eyes sank deeply as he spoke strangely. But soon, as if nothing had happened, he curved his lips and turned his head to look at Doha beside him.

“Even though we’re not blood relatives, I consider you like my own son. To the point where I’m considering adopting you. You know that, right?”

Park Jaemin was wearing a seemingly friendly smile. Doha neither affirmed nor denied it. He remained silent, but Park Jaemin didn’t seem to care much. Rather, he seemed pleased with Doha’s taciturnity, laughing heartily and inviting him to go eat something delicious.

Sana stood with the closet door wide open, tilting his head. Inside the closet hung Doha’s clothes. Most were comfortable jackets, with a few suits sparingly mixed in between. Even the suits weren’t classic styles, but closer to semi-formal jackets.

“Strange.”

He mumbled, running his fingers along the clothes. He couldn’t find the outfit he had seen in his dream. Had he mistaken something? No, that couldn’t be, as he had seen the dream repeatedly several times.

Unfortunately, all he saw in the dream was Doha. The face of the person who stabbed Doha was not visible. That person was always seen from behind, so he couldn’t tell who it was.

Doha in the dream was wearing a suit.

Not a semi-formal jacket, but a proper, full suit. However, as if there had been a violent struggle, the shirt under the jacket was torn, with buttons ripped off, a mess. Because of that, the large, jet-black wolf tattooed on his left chest was clearly visible.

That suit was nowhere to be seen. The clothes he wore out today were also jeans and a leather jacket, not a suit.