IRLPLBIO Chapter 44 Part 1

Chapter 44 #10. Open Your Mouth, The Scam Begins (1)

Jae-gu took out the white thing that was in his mouth. He was sure it was a cigarette, but at the end of the stick was a pink, strawberry milk-flavored lollipop.

The lollipop swung left and right in front of Jeong Seung-dae, who was momentarily speechless, doubting his eyes. Jeong Seung-dae’s eyes twitched, following it.

“Loan sharking? Hey, do you even know how much interest this has? Let’s see, even at the current legal maximum interest rate, was it 50 percent, or 60 percent? But with loan sharks, they don’t even care about that, am I right?”

“…”

“In a world where debt collection has no limits, wow, look at this fearless bastard. They call him ‘Leo Jeong,’ acting like he’s some Westerner.”

“Ha!” Jae-gu exhaled a visible sigh and jabbed Jeong Seung-dae’s chest with his finger.

“Hey, are you a goose? Who told you they’d give you money if you fattened your liver? Who are you helping by hiding here and letting the interest pile up? You’re playing a money game you can’t pay back even if you sold your kidneys, just to see how big the stakes get?”

Each time a question mark followed Jae-gu’s words, Jeong Seung-dae visibly shrunk. When Jae-gu’s gaze landed on his stomach, Jeong Seung-dae instinctively covered his abdomen. It was where his kidneys were presumed to be.

He knew best that Jae-gu’s words were not a lie. If one couldn’t repay a debt, repaying it with organs was the rule of that era.

Jae-gu approached, kicking the ground with his toes, step by step, and stopped in front of the cowering Jeong Seung-dae.

“Don’t think of pathetically preying on women; if you’re going to do something, make it big.”

“How…?”

Jeong Seung-dae unconsciously spoke more politely. The intimidating aura he felt from Jae-gu was superior to that of the loan shark who lent him money.

Jae-gu showed his white teeth, grinned, and said clearly,

“We should at least fleece a corporation, shouldn’t we?”

Isn’t this guy crazy?

Jeong Seung-dae thought that for a moment. But the hierarchy once etched into his mind wouldn’t easily change, so he couldn’t voice it.

Jeong Seung-dae calmed himself and carefully asked,

“Is there… a way?”

“That’s for you to figure out from now on.”

“…Isn’t this guy crazy?”

Jeong Seung-dae’s thoughts finally slipped out. As a result, he received a powerful smack to the back of his head that felt like his eyeballs would pop out. With a “Pak!” sound, shooting stars rained down before his eyes.

“Think carefully. I hold your debt collection rights. If things go well, you’ll be able to pay off all your debts and even build a building.”

Jae-gu boasted loudly. He had nothing to lose. Because last time, it had really happened.

Han Seong-cheol’s stock manipulation, with the con artist Jeong Seung-dae as the brains and Jongno’s private finance as capital, was very successful. Even if the timing was moved up by a few years, the outline of the plan would still be in Jeong Seung-dae’s head.

Jae-gu didn’t know the complex and difficult details, but he knew how to extract the plan from Jeong Seung-dae’s mind. Jae-gu threw an arm around Jeong Seung-dae’s neck and cheerfully shook his fist.

“But if it doesn’t work out… you know, right?”

“…”

Jeong Seung-dae’s eyes darted around in confusion. Although he was still a rookie con artist with no decent career, Jeong Seung-dae had lived by his wits. But in the face of direct violence and overt threats, he was helpless.

It was the moment a high-priced con artist, who would be worth 500 million won per job in the future, was sold for a mere 5 million won.

Suddenly, Kwang-cheol opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a while without blinking. A few memories surfaced, then quickly blurred as he regained his senses.

However, even as the memories faded, the emotions remained. His tightly clenched fist trembled.

As he gradually regained consciousness, his senses also returned. He realized that the plain white ceiling was different from his last memory, and he smelled the faint scent of disinfectant.

This was a hospital.

Kwang-cheol, barely able to relax his body, raised his hand. It was still young, without clear knuckles or calluses. It was clearly his own hand, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of incongruity.

“Oh? You’re awake?”

“…Hyung-nim.”

Kwang-cheol sprang up. His hands and feet moved together, wanting to hug Jae-gu immediately, but at the same time, he saw Jae-gu freeze solid as if instantly petrified.

This isn’t right.

He didn’t know what wasn’t right, but he was sure something wasn’t. Kwang-cheol quickly changed his words.

“Where have you been? I was so worried without you.”

“Uh-uh…”

“You didn’t even treat your injuries, Hyung… Ugh.”

When Jae-gu’s expression didn’t quickly soften, Kwang-cheol tried another tactic. He clutched his head and grimaced, and Jae-gu gasped in surprise and quickly rushed over. He moved first, not knowing if Kwang-cheol was pretending or truly in pain.

Jae-gu supported Kwang-cheol by placing his shoulder under Kwang-cheol’s armpit and asked, trying hard to act normal,

“So, now that you’re conscious, are you feeling all emotional and affectionate?”

As he spoke, he subtly glanced at Kwang-cheol, trying to gauge his reaction.

Jae-gu wasn’t particularly good at lying. In fact, even if he had been, Kwang-cheol would have seen right through him.

Kwang-cheol, swallowing a dumbfounded laugh, deliberately stumbled once. “Oh!” Jae-gu cried out in surprise and quickly wrapped his arms around Kwang-cheol’s waist, steadying him.

“What are you doing moving around as you please? Of course you’re dizzy! They gave you two shots of tranquilizers earlier!”

“…Really?”

“It’s not that I didn’t understand what they said properly… Anyway, are you still dizzy? Should I call a doctor?”

“…You didn’t understand that?”

He was even more dumbfounded. Feeling like his chest would tighten again, he let out a long sigh, “Hooo—”, which Jae-gu misinterpreted and shouted,

“Lean on me! I’ll quickly lay you back down and call someone.”

“It’s fine.”

“Do you think I don’t have the strength to support you? I’m Jae-gu!”

“Oh, for real.”

In the end, Kwang-cheol unintentionally let out a little laugh.

Jae-gu always said things that were different from his intentions, but Kwang-cheol rather liked that. Because in the past, he hadn’t been able to properly express such emotions.

…The past?

Kwang-cheol’s brow furrowed.