Geon-woo and Woo-jin entered the room while carrying a bucket of salt water. Joe and Hyeon-ju followed closely behind them.
Yang-jung waved at the group from the center of the room. "Bring it here."
Geon-woo set the bucket down beside Yang-jung. "Uh, yes."
The group turned to leave the room but Yang-jung called them back. "Sit down and watch."
Hyeon-ju frowned at him. "Why?"
"Mr. Choi's orders," Yang-jung answered.
Hyeon-ju groaned but she moved to the back of the room to stand. Joe, Geon-woo, and Woo-jin stayed at the front to observe.
Yang-jung turned toward the bound Jang-do whose eyes and mouth were still taped shut. He began pulling on a pair of rubber gloves.
"My pet peeve is people not talking when they say they are going to. That means you will nod your head only when you have something to say to us. Because if you nod and do not talk, I promise I will cut your lips off. Got it?"
Jang-do remained completely unmoved in the chair.
Yang-jung let out a long sigh.
"You do not want to talk?"
Yang-jung gave a sharp nod to Du-yeong. Du-yeong looked at the boys one last time before he clicked a switch on the angle grinder in his hand.
The tool began to hum with a high pitched whine. Du-yeong pressed the spinning disk against Jang-do's leg and began grinding away the skin.
Jang-do roared through the tape and thrashed in his seat. Blood and bits of skin sprayed onto the floor as the friction burned into his muscle.
The prisoner cried out in agony but he still did not nod his head. Yang-jung signaled for Du-yeong to stop the machine.
Yang-jung soaked his gloved hands in the bucket of salt water. He reached down and started rubbing the liquid directly into the raw spot where the skin had been ground off.
Jang-do's body convulsed with a sudden jerk. A long night of torture began in the small room.
Midway through the session Hyeon-ju could not control her stomach anymore. She rushed out of the room and started vomiting in the hallway.
Geon-woo tried to follow her but Joe was a step faster. Joe stood behind her and waited until she finished.
President Choi approached them in his wheelchair. "Hyeon-ju."
Hyeon-ju wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and turned around. "Why did you make me watch that?"
President Choi let out a tired sigh. "Myeong-gil has probably started looking for Im Jang-do by now. We do not have much time. You watched because I wanted you guys to know something."
Hyeon-ju looked at him with a disturbed expression. "What are you talking about?"
President Choi continued in a heavy voice. "This is not going to end until someone dies. And there is no guarantee that someone will not be me."
Hyeon-ju's face twisted with worry. "Why would you say something so horrible?"
President Choi tried to calm her down. "Hyeon-ju."
"That is enough," Hyeon-ju snapped.
She turned and walked away before he could say more. President Choi called out after her but she did not stop.
"Hyeon-ju!"
He watched her disappear around the corner and sighed. "Oh, goddammit, that kid."
He turned his wheelchair toward Joe. "Joe."
Joe gave a slow nod. "Yes, President Choi."
The old man looked at Joe with a deep gaze. "Joe, I can tell that you have seen your fair share of the world. I know you can act as the situation needs."
Joe remained silent and listened.
"The kids are still growing up. Their hearts are still soft. I hope you can correct them when needed and show them the way."
Joe nodded his head. "I will do my best within my capacity."
President Choi looked at Joe one last time before he turned his chair around. He felt a strange sense of trust in the man.
Joe followed President Choi back into the storage room. The air was heavy with the smell of sweat and salt water.
President Choi spoke in a low voice as they moved forward. "We do not have much time. Let me teach you one thing. In order to take down an organization, all you need is dispersion and division."
Joe listened as the old man continued. "People trust those who empathize with them. If you cannot gain that trust, your organization will divide."
They entered the room and the others stood up. President Choi steered his wheelchair directly in front of Jang-do. He pointed at the prisoner's face.
"Take that off."
Du-yeong stepped forward and ripped the tape from Jang-do's eyes and mouth. The man gasped and blinked rapidly in the harsh light.
President Choi began to speak. "Im Jang-do. I believe you understand Myeong-gil the best of all his men."
Jang-do stayed silent but his eyes darted around the room.
"Myeong-gil is a violent man. But he can read people like a book. His men take him at his word. But you are smarter. You know he never empathizes with anyone. He is cold and calculating."
President Choi leaned in closer. "You knew this and you still worked for him. At first, it was just greed. He paid you more in one year than a corporate job pays in five."
Jang-do's breathing became heavy.
"It was about your pride. You were confident you could keep your agency. You thought if he tried to kill you, you could just run off with the money. I like that plan."
President Choi pulled out a phone. "If I took your photo and sent it to him right now and said you gave me the names of his victims, he would believe me over you."
Jang-do's face went pale.
"He would unleash a pack of bloodhounds. You would not even get a chance to plead your case. Myeong-gil does not care about the truth. The math tells him to bury you."
Im Jang-do finally broke. He thrashed against his ropes and screamed at the ceiling.
"Fuck! Wait! Damn it! Why should I die?! Fuck me!"
President Choi shouted over him. "Im Jang-do! Shut up and listen! If you do not pull yourself together, you will die."
The room went quiet.
"Tell me everything. I will send you to a safe country with enough money to live. This is a promise. I am giving you the chance you were already looking for."
Jang-do calmed down and looked at the floor. "If I talk, how much money?"
Yang-jung moved like a blur. He dropped his glove and wrapped his hand around Jang-do's throat.
"I would answer quickly if I were you."
Jang-do's face turned deep red as he struggled for air. Yang-jung released him and stepped back.
President Choi continued. "Smile Capital is going down. After that, you are in Guam. I know people there. You will have enough to start over."
He saw the tears in Jang-do's eyes and looked at the others. "Get him some clothes."
Du-yeong grabbed a tracksuit from a nearby chair and draped it over the man's shoulders.
"How long have you worked for him?" President Choi asked.
"Five years."
"And what is it you do exactly?"
"I make sure his illegal dealings fly under the radar. I handle things if the police sniff around."
"What small stuff did you handle?"
"Me and In-beom handled filming things to use against people. We used Kim's service company for bigger things."
President Choi narrowed his eyes. "You threatened Iil Group, right? Tell me."
"Mr. Kim made me do it!"
Yang-jung snapped from the side. "He did not ask who made you do it. He asked what you did."
Jang-do spoke quickly. "I gathered footage of the Iil Group heir. We stripped him."
"Why? Tell me everything from the start."
Jang-do took a shaky breath. "A hotel was being built in Gangnam but went bankrupt. Mr. Kim heard the Iil Group heir was going to take over the project."
"From whom?"
"An assemblyman recommended Mr. Kim to the mayor. They want the hotel to be a casino. The Iil Group heir tried to back out, so I forced him to cooperate."
President Choi sighed. "How many people have you filmed?"
"Fifty."
"And Myeong-gil still has the videos?"
"Yeah. He sees weakness as income. He never gets rid of anything of value."
"Where does he keep them?"
"In an encrypted hard drive in his bedroom safe. It is a German smart safe with a biometric lock. He can press a button on his phone and burn everything inside if there is trouble."
"The service company. Is it a gang?"
"Yeah. Around thirty men, but they can get more."
"Who runs it?"
"Mr. Jung. He is a guard dog. He was an MMA fighter banned for killing a man in the ring."
"Who handles the bodies?"
"Mr. Jung. Three years ago, Mr. Kim killed a man with his bare hands. I handled the scene until Mr. Jung arrived with a three-ton fish truck. He carried the body away in an aquarium."
President Choi looked at Joe then back to the prisoner. "I know a hospital in Incheon. I will call an ambulance and you will get some rest."
He leaned forward one last time. "Do not contact anyone. I am keeping your phone. Now tell me, where does he keep his gold?"
"Only In-beom knows."
"Why is that?"
"In-beom is the only person he trusts. They met in prison. In-beom would die for him. He is like a brother to Mr. Kim."
President Choi looked at the man chained to the bed. In-beom was still straining against the iron.
"I guess he is the key then."