I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 84

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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084-Growth
84.
He’s grown so well.
Seeing how splendidly he’d developed, I felt a surge of pride myself.
It felt wonderful to see him achieve the precious dream he’d nurtured since high school.
How much effort he’d poured into becoming a gangster.
He’d even paid me money to run errands for him,
cursed out classmates and intimidated them into submission.
Despite his shy nature, he’d gathered followers around him,
approached strangers and extorted money from them—it couldn’t have been easy.
Yet he’d accomplished it all.
Looking at that imposing, thuggish figure he’d become now,
I was overwhelmed with emotion thinking it was the result of enduring such a grueling process.
Yang Jung-won truly was someone who worked hard.
It must not have been easy, but he’d pulled it off in the end.
That consistency seemed to have shaped Yang Jung-won into who he is now.
I wanted to applaud him.
I’d been curious about what he was doing when he stopped coming to school around graduation, so seeing him like this was genuinely wonderful.
.
.
.
The bosses’ meeting had begun.
Dae-hoon asked me to come to the conference room with him, but I declined.
Yang Jung-won was more urgent.
He was probably lurking somewhere nearby, having nervously tagged along—a hidden boss.
I headed to the outdoor smoking area on the first floor to find Yang Jung-won.
That’s when our eyes met.
Yang Jung-won beckoned me with a flick of his finger.
Oh, of course.
Nothing had changed at all.
I responded to that gesture and rushed over quickly.
I hadn’t changed either.
“Hey! You bastard, I’m so damn happy to see you.”
Yang Jung-won greeted me with genuine warmth.
I was happy too.
But the joy was so overwhelming that words wouldn’t come out.
“So you’re the one? The guy who stabbed our father?”
“Huh?”
Stabbed? What stabbing?
People could get the wrong idea hearing that.
I simply made a request for help.
Your father just received punishment for the crimes he committed.
“Do you know how hard I looked for you? I searched everywhere for you.”
“Why did you search? You could have just called.”
“Hah~ Look at this bastard, now he’s even playing word games. Anyway, now that I’ve found you, consider yourself dead.”
Hearing Yang Jung-won’s threat-like words, my heart felt at ease.
Because he seemed unchanged.
It felt like returning to those high school days, as if he hadn’t grown an inch.
He seemed exactly as he was before—familiar yet disappointing.
He could have developed further.
That part was regrettable.
Yang Jung-won hadn’t grown at all.
In high school, he worked so hard to become a gangster,
but after becoming one, it seemed he stopped making any effort.
That’s not how you threaten someone.
It’s far too stale.
It’s not scary at all.
It’s like asking if someone’s eaten.
“Wouldn’t it be a waste to die? I even got a house now. I haven’t even stepped inside it yet.”
“Haha. You’ve gotten even more insufferable while I wasn’t looking? Don’t worry. I’ll fix that habit. I’ll make up for all the hits I couldn’t land and beat you to your heart’s content.”
Yang Jung-won raised his fist.
This bastard still hasn’t broken that habit of dropping his shoulder before throwing a punch.
It’s not me who needs to fix habits—it’s Yang Jung-won.
Yang Jung-won threw his fist at me with all his strength,
but that fist never reached me.
Scott, standing beside me, extended his arm and blocked the punch by catching Yang Jung-won’s arm.
Scott glared at Yang Jung-won and said one thing.
“Don’t do that.”
Oh~ Scott.
He actually looks quite charismatic.
I never expected Scott to step in here.
I thought he’d be whining from a hangover,
or ordering ramen on the airplane.
I didn’t think he’d pull his weight here, but it seems my teaching has borne fruit.
Of course, even if Scott hadn’t stepped in, I wouldn’t have taken that punch.
That sluggish fist is harder to get hit by.
Now that I think about it, Yang Jung-won must have forgotten all the beatings I gave him before graduating high school.
Should I refresh his memory?
That would be the right thing for Yang Jung-won’s sake too, wouldn’t it?
But before I could step in, Yang Jung-won suddenly lunged toward Scott.
“Hey! Who the hell are you? What gives you the right to butt in here, you foreign bastard? Huh? Get lost, you piece of shit.”
Yang Jung-won threw a punch at Scott.
Scott glanced at me once, then simply dodged the fist.
Yang Jung-won was someone I could have subdued easily enough,
but Scott seemed unwilling to cause trouble, so he merely evaded Yang Jung-won’s sluggish punches.
“If you’re just going to keep running away like that, why did you even butt in? Are you scared? Come on, fight!!”
Yang Jung-won shouted while gasping for breath.
But Scott showed no reaction whatsoever.
In the meantime, organization members who had been smoking and waiting for the meeting to end began gathering around.
As if they’d found entertainment, they watched Yang Jung-won throwing punches and Scott dodging them.
Someone was recording it on their smartphone.
Yang Jung-won was throwing punches with all his might, but Scott only evaded.
The reactions of those around him, clearly entertained by the spectacle, only made Yang Jung-won angrier.
And there, right in front of him, was the man who had been his errand boy his entire life.
The man who had destroyed his family—Gong In-bae.
Yet he couldn’t even lay a finger on him.
Just before graduating high school, when Father was arrested, I had fled Seoul like a coward.
The thought that I couldn’t take revenge on Gong In-bae, the very source of all this, even though he stood right before me, drove me mad.
I began hurling whatever objects I could see at Scott.
Chairs, trash cans, cans.
I threw everything within sight at him indiscriminately.
Clearly, I had learned well from my father, who came from a gangster background.
It was a far more effective attack than clumsy punches.
But Scott was not the type to fall for such amateurish tactics.
He hid behind a pillar and easily dodged the objects I threw at him.
Yang Jung-won seemed genuinely furious now—he started removing his clothes.
I’m not sure why anyone would undress during a fight, but he took off his shirt.
Once the shirt came off, elaborate tattoos appeared.
His upper body was so densely covered in tattoos that there was barely any bare skin visible.
He should have learned intimidation and fighting techniques to become a proper gangster, not gotten tattoos. He’d chosen the wrong path.
Having some tattoos doesn’t make you a gangster.
It was a shame.
I wanted to teach Yang Jung-won something.
I wanted to show him the proper way to be a gangster.
Could I learn intimidation by following Sandro around?
Could I learn fighting by following Scott around?
Would that make me a proper gangster?
I was curious.
Just then, the hotel’s security team burst in.
They took one look at the smoking area, which was now a complete mess, and spoke with an irritated expression.
“You can’t do this here. Leave.”
“Who the hell are you? Get lost. Unless you want to die.”
Yang Jung-won spoke with eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
But the security personnel seemed entirely unbothered.
“Please leave.”
Just as Yang Jung-won, consumed by irritation and rage, lost all reason and was about to throw a punch at the security team, a roar cut through the air.
“What the hell are you doing?”
I turned to see Choi Mu-young, the boss of the Yeongdo Faction that Yang Jung-won belonged to.
Choi Mu-young walked straight toward Yang Jung-won without hesitation.
Then he swung his hand and slapped him across the face.
Crack!
It was a powerful slap that made Yang Jung-won’s body sway.
But instead of staggering, Yang Jung-won straightened his posture and stood at attention.
“Do you know what kind of place this is? And you come here and pull this kind of stunt?”
“I apologize.”
“Get dressed and clean yourself up. And we’ll talk later.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yeongdo Faction boss Choi Mu-young glanced at me and Scott, then approached Seo Dae-hun to offer an apology.
“I’m sorry about this. I failed to educate my men properly. I’ll handle their discipline separately. Let’s call it a day here.”
But Seo Dae-hun said nothing.
He was just looking at me.
With eyes full of rage.
Why?
I didn’t even get hit.
I just ran into an old high school classmate after a long time and exchanged a few words. That’s all.
I’m serious.
“Brother. Does the Yeongdo Faction just hit people, say sorry once, and call it a day? Is that how it works?”
“What?”
“Do you even understand what situation we’re in right now?”
“Brother. Aren’t you being too harsh right now? Whatever the situation, we apologize to each other and wrap it up cleanly. Why are you trying to blow this out of proportion? I already apologized!”
Choi Mu-young of the Yeongdo Faction couldn’t back down here either.
This was a gathering where bosses from Seoul, the Seoul Metropolitan Area, Busan, and Gyeongsang Province had all come together for a peace accord.
A place where bosses and all their subordinates were assembled.
He couldn’t bow his head to a much younger man in a place where everyone in the industry had gathered.
No matter how much his organization controlled Seoul and Jeolla Province.
In a situation like this, there was only one way—to come in harder.
“Brother. Today’s a good day, isn’t it? Isn’t this the day we agreed not to fight each other? So how can you act so disrespectfully?”
“Disrespectfully? I called you brother, and now you think you actually are one? You bastard. Are you joking? Does this situation look like something that can be smoothed over with a few words?”
“What? What situation? It’s just some kids bickering a bit. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”
“Kids bickering?”
“Aren’t you the ones stirring up trouble under the guise of a peace agreement? You devoured Seoul, and now you’re scheming to take Busan too, aren’t you? Pathetic bastards.”
“If you’re really that stupid, at least watch your mouth. You think staying quiet gets you the middle ground? Haven’t you heard? Why are you making a scene and escalating things?”
“What did I do?”
“That person your organization’s idiot touched. Our organization’s top boss.”
“What?”
“I’ve always told you. I’m just a figurehead. Our boss is someone else—I told you that. Our boss came to visit for once, and somehow you recognized him and laid hands on him. And you’re saying it was just kids squabbling, so let’s move past it? Did our youngest touch you? And if I come here and say let’s move past it, you’d just accept that? One apology and that’s it? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
“You… you’re saying that person is the boss of the Dae-hoon Faction? You created the Dae-hoon Faction with your name. Seo Dae-hun!”
“Your name is Yeongdo, so you call it the Yeongdo Faction. What does a name matter? A boss is a boss.”
“Then you should have said something. How was I supposed to know?”
“What kind of ridiculous excuse is that? Are you saying it’s fine to touch anyone as long as they’re not the boss? You can’t touch the boss, but you can touch anyone else freely?”
“No. That’s not what I meant…”
“Go kneel down and apologize respectfully. As for the one who started this, hand him over to us. We’ll grind him to dust or chew him up however we see fit.”
For Choi Mu-young, these were unacceptable terms.
He could hand over Yang Jung-won a hundred times over,
but he couldn’t kneel before a stranger, not with organization members from across the nation watching.
“Seo Dae-hun. Ease up. There are limits to how much I can overlook.”
“This hyung really has no sense. Who’s being patient right now? Go kneel already.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Curious? Try it. See what happens.”
Choi Mu-young saw the cold glint in Seo Dae-hun’s eyes.
But he couldn’t kneel here.
That would be true humiliation.
It would haunt him forever.
Choi Mu-young couldn’t break here.
This was now a battle of pride.
“Don’t push your luck. If you cross the line, I won’t stay quiet either.”
“What will you do if you can’t stay quiet?”
“Curious? Try it. See what happens.”
“Hahaha. This is fun. But can you handle it?”
Choi Mu-young threw Seo Dae-hun’s own words back at him.
“Why are you scared? Everyone bows and scrapes before you, so you think you have nothing to fear? You’ve taken Seoul, so you think the whole world is yours? That’s just a moment.”
“You talk too damn much. If you want to lecture someone, do it to the punks causing trouble on your side. So, no apology?”
“Of course not. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll have to create a wrong for you.”
“What?”
“Geun-su!!!”
“Yes, hyung.”
Dae-hun called out loudly, and Geun-su stepped forward.
“Gather the men. Busan seems bored. Let’s go give them some entertainment.”
“Understood, hyung.”
At Dae-hun’s command, Geun-su responded immediately.
He didn’t ask why or how.
When an order came down, you followed it.
Geun-su picked up his phone and disappeared.
Choi Mu-young felt the atmosphere had turned genuinely ominous.
That Jung Geun-su was famous as a romantic gangster.
Whatever his boss commanded, he’d see through even if his skull cracked.
If this wasn’t stopped here, a real war could actually break out.
Dread wrapped around his entire body.
“B-brother. That’s not… we can settle this with just conversation···.”
“Do you know what you did wrong, hyung?”
“Huh? Wrong? Didn’t teach the kids properly?”
“No. Being weak. In this world, being weak is being wrong. That’s the greatest sin in this business.”
“What?”
“The reason doesn’t matter. What I did, what you did—irrelevant. If I’m strong, I’m right. If you’re weak, you’re wrong. So when that happens, you need to show the sense to back down gracefully. But you didn’t know shit, you resisted, you talked back—that’s what was wrong. You get it now?”
“No. But still. There’s a hierarchy in this organization···.”
“Bury that hierarchy along with yourself.”
“W-wait a second.”
“Though I am grateful for one thing.”
“Huh?”
“We just took over Seoul and expanded so fast that the guys weren’t unified—I was worried about that. But with this opportunity, we’ll come together as one. They say an external enemy is best for that, right? As we expand into Busan, the Dae-hoon Faction will become even more tightly knit.”
“You bastard, you’re doing this on purpose.”
“On purpose? Your guys started this mess.”
“But this is too much. Just some kids bickering, and now it’s a war?”
“You really have no sense. This isn’t a kids’ fight anymore. It’s become an adult fight. Now either hyung or I has to go down. That’s the situation. So if you’d just gone and knelt once, it would’ve been over. But you had to escalate it.”
“No···”
“That’s enough. When we take Busan, I’ll tell the Yeongdo Faction kids this: your boss fucked up his words, so you’re all dying because of it. Tell them to resent your boss.”
“···..”
“And how clueless is that bastard? He’s got a bodyguard following him around, and he picks a fight with that person? Can’t he see that’s obviously someone important? Why start shit? Is he an idiot?”
Seo Dae-hun pointed at Yang Jung-won as he spoke.
“That’s···”
“You’re talking too much. You guys.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Let’s take this hyung to somewhere quiet and secluded. Making this much noise here isn’t polite. Clean up this mess too.”
“Understood, hyung.”
The Dae-hoon Faction members dragged Choi Mu-young out ruthlessly.
The bosses from other organizations watched it happen.
Their expressions were aghast.
Over those expressions, Seo Dae-hun threw out a single remark.
“Anyone who wants to go to Busan with me.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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