Episode 163
CEO Choi’s instigation triggered a war between the association and the traitor faction.
It wasn’t a full-blown gang war like in the movies, with hundreds of men clashing in the streets. Both sides knew the police wouldn’t tolerate that.
But there were constant skirmishes.
“Those traitorous bastards! How dare they show their faces here?” A loyalist spat, and a traitor sneered, “Oh, look who it is. The honorable members of the association. What’s your problem? Move, I’m trying to get to work.”
“You’re passing by our office on your way to work? That’s the problem.”
“This is the only hallway, and my office is right next door. Should I teleport?”
The problem was the frequency of these skirmishes.
Used car dealerships were usually clustered together in a large lot, with dozens or even hundreds of businesses operating in close proximity.
So the traitors and the loyalists had their offices right next to each other, an uncomfortable situation. Forced cohabitation with the enemy.
They were already at each other’s throats, and now they had to see each other every day, so fights were inevitable.
“Crawl through the window if you have to, just don’t let me see your face again.”
A traitor rolled up his sleeves at the loyalist’s provocation. “You want to go again? Stop talking and come at me, you bastard.”
“Bring it on. Let’s settle this.”
This endless cycle of retaliation, its origins unclear, disrupted used car lots across the country. And sales plummeted.
No customer wanted to buy a car from a place where fights were breaking out constantly.
Neither side could back down without losing face, but they weren’t fighting seriously enough to reach a decisive victory. It was a stalemate.
And the only one who could end it was Chunha Used Cars.
The traitors’ goal was to join Chunha and profit from its system. Once Chunha selected the new applicants, they would leave the used car lot, and the conflict would end naturally. But Chunha was in no hurry.
I watched the customers flocking to Chunha Used Cars with a satisfied smile. “We’re the only ones benefiting from the conflict between the association and the traitors. The other used car lots are too chaotic.”
“That’s right,” I said, nodding at Maru’s words. “How’s customer satisfaction?”
“It’s pretty good. We still don’t have a wide enough selection, but it’s a huge improvement compared to the early days.”
“Excellent. Let’s keep this up.”
“When are you going to kick out those dealers who joined us? They’re getting bolder every day. They’re not even trying to hide their scams anymore. I want to beat them up.”
I patted his back. “Just be patient. It won’t be long now.”
The announcement of the selected applicants, the event that both the association and the traitors were eagerly awaiting, was just a few days away.
“We’ll cancel the fourth round and kick them out, right?”
I shook my head. “Things are going well. Let’s postpone it again.”
“What?!” Maru exclaimed. “Postpone it again?”
“Yes. If we cancel it now, they’ll try to salvage the situation. We have to keep them dangling, give them hope. ‘Just wait until the announcement, it’s almost here.’ We’ll torture them with hope.”
“I think we’ve done enough…”
I smirked. “There’s no such thing as ‘enough.’ Not until they’re dead. You haven’t won until you’ve confirmed their demise.”
He sighed. “Fine, whatever you say.”
“And treat the current dealers well. It’s almost the end of the year. Give them bonuses, gifts… whatever. Make those outside want to join us so badly. Act like the biggest sucker.”
“…We’re already suckers. You don’t know how arrogant they are to our employees. They’re even starting to disrespect me.”
“We’ll crush them later. Kikik, isn’t it amusing? Those insignificant ants, acting like they’re so important.”
I looked at the dealers. “They have no idea what’s coming.”
“…I’ll be patient.”
“And…” I smiled. “Find a producer of an investigative journalism show. We’re a major advertiser, it shouldn’t be difficult to arrange a meeting.”
The day of the announcement arrived.
The association and the traitor faction were furious at Chunha Used Cars’ postponement, but they didn’t take any action.
The association couldn’t openly support the defectors, as it was supposed to be fighting against Chunha Used Cars, and the traitors were afraid of offending Chunha.
Another agonizing week passed, and the association and the traitor faction were becoming increasingly exhausted from their constant skirmishes.
And then Chunha Used Cars postponed the announcement again.
They endured another week, a week that felt like a year.
“Please, please, let this be it.”
They were exhausted. One of the directors in the traitor faction said anxiously, “They’re not going to postpone it again, are they?”
“No, they promised they wouldn’t last time.”
Almost half of their men were injured, and their businesses were suffering from plummeting sales. Their very survival was at stake.
“Is this some kind of trick by Chunha Used Cars?”
“I don’t think so. Those who joined them are doing well.”
“But still…”
As they were discussing anxiously, they received a text message simultaneously.
“It’s here!”
They checked the message and froze.
“…The selection is cancelled?”
“What does this mean? Are they not accepting any more applicants?”
They panicked and then erupted in fury.
“Those bastards!”
“We endured all this for nothing!”
“Park Sol, I’ll kill him!”
As they threw things around, a subordinate rushed in, his face pale. “B-boss! We have a problem!”
“What could be worse than this?!”
“The TV… there’s a preview for an investigative journalism show tonight, exposing the used car market!”
“This is perfect.” I watched the show with Park Jong-bum and Maru, enjoying our soju. “This is like a scene from a gangster movie.”
Park Jong-bum smiled. “We’ve been feeding them information for weeks.”
The chaotic situation, amplified by the ongoing conflict, had created a perfect narrative for the show.
It showed countless scenes of gang members fighting, their faces blurred.
[“Our investigation reveals that these skirmishes are occurring multiple times a day. The main players are the top-selling used car companies, and there’s evidence of organized crime involvement. So we…”]
“Great narration.” I raised my glass. “Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Used car dealers had always had a shady reputation, but this show exposed the violence and the involvement of organized crime.
Who would want to buy a car from such a place, when there was a safe and reliable alternative like Chunha Used Cars?
Maru, after taking a sip of soju, said with a gleam in his eye, “Can we crush them now?”
His patience had worn thin, having endured the dealers’ scams and their arrogance.
“Do we have enough evidence?”
“More than enough. They’re not even trying to hide it anymore.”
“Are you ready to crush them completely?”
He said with a venomous tone, “I’ll make them pay. I’ll report them to the prosecution, expose their embezzlement and fraud, and send them all to prison. Hehehe, I’ll crush them.”
His fierce expression was a bit unsettling.
“…He seems stressed,” Park Jong-bum remarked.
I smiled awkwardly. “Those dealers were acting like they owned the place.”
Anyway, everything was perfect now.
The association was in shambles, the gangs had been exposed, and we were about to kick out all the dealers who had joined Chunha Used Cars.
Chunha Used Cars would be the only player left. It was exactly what I had envisioned.
“It’s all thanks to CEO Choi.” He had been instrumental in instigating the conflict. It wouldn’t have escalated to this level without him.
“Maru.”
“Hehehe, how should I crush them to make it memorable…?”
“Maru!”
He snapped out of his vengeful fantasy. “Yes?”
“Do you have CEO Choi’s number?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Give him one last task.”
“What task?”
I smiled. “Tell him to stage a big fight with one of the weaker gangs in the traitor faction.”
I doubted it would happen, but the used car dealers might unite again against Chunha Used Cars if we stopped accepting new members and started kicking out the existing ones.
I needed one last chaotic event to completely destroy the association.
The attacked gang wouldn’t stay silent, and the association would be forced to intervene.
“But it’ll be dangerous for him too. Do you think he’ll do it?”
“He has to. Tell him he has no place in Chunha Group if he doesn’t.”
He had no other options now that he had betrayed the association.
“If I expose him, both the association and the traitor faction will target him. He’ll be finished. But…” I smirked. “…tell him we’ll protect him and compensate him generously.”
“Yes, sir.”
I stretched. “This is the end of the Korea Used Car Association.”
It wasn’t as thrilling as taking down a giant like Daehoo, but crushing these ants was also amusing.
“Maru, finish this. I’ll be away on a business trip.”
“Alright… Wait, where are you going?”
I smiled. “I have to meet with some used car buyers in the Middle East.”
And I was also planning to inspect Daehoo Energy’s Middle East branch.
It had been a money pit during Daehoo Group’s days, pouring money into energy development projects without any results. And it was still a problem, even after I had suspended all new ventures.
It had a large presence in the Middle East and Africa, so I hadn’t been able to manage it properly. I wanted to assess its viability.
“I’m counting on you, Maru.”
“Are you dumping another one of your messes on me and then leaving?!”
“That’s how the world works. The boss creates the mess, and the underlings clean it up. Become the chairman if you don’t like it.”