The first rule of organized crime was simple.
Never start a war without knowing how you intend to end it.
Kang Minjun had learned that lesson at twenty-four, in his previous life, when an ambitious subordinate convinced him to attack a rival syndicate's headquarters.
They had won.
Three days later, the rival syndicate burned down two of his warehouses, murdered an accountant, and bribed a prosecutor into freezing several million dollars of his assets.
Victory had cost him considerably more than defeat would have.
He never made that mistake again.
Which was why, despite announcing his intention to expand into Gangnam, Minjun had no plans to send thirty teenagers marching into Workers' territory.
He had something more profitable in mind.
Rain struck the windows of the Black Dragon headquarters.
Around the conference table sat Minjun, Seongho, Taehwan, and Hajun.
Spread before them were photographs, financial records, and a map of southern Seoul.
Hajun leaned forward.
"So which building are we attacking?"
"None," Minjun replied.
Hajun frowned.
"Then why are we here?"
"Because I want to know how Workers makes its money."
Seongho tapped a photograph.
"Clubs, entertainment businesses, private security. We found connections to several companies, but most of the ownership records lead nowhere."
"Shell companies," Minjun said.
"Probably."
Taehwan studied the map.
"And the people running them?"
"That's the interesting part."
Minjun slid a photograph across the table.
It showed a nightclub called Eclipse, situated in a busy Gangnam entertainment district.
The club belonged to a company named Mirae Entertainment.
Its registered director was a forty-six-year-old businessman named Oh Seungpil.
But the money flowing through Eclipse told a different story.
"Over the past six months," Minjun explained, "the club has reported nearly twice the revenue its customer capacity should reasonably allow."
Seongho frowned.
"Money laundering?"
"Likely."
Hajun grinned.
"So we rob them?"
Minjun looked at him.
"No. We make them rob themselves."
Eclipse
Friday night.
Gangnam's streets glittered beneath neon advertisements and expensive storefronts.
Luxury cars lined the road outside Eclipse.
Music pulsed through the building.
Inside, wealthy students, young professionals, and businessmen crowded around illuminated tables.
Minjun entered wearing a tailored black shirt and dark trousers.
Seongho followed.
Neither looked particularly old, but the doorman had been instructed to expect them.
A woman in a fitted gray suit approached.
"Mr. Kang?"
Minjun nodded.
"Director Oh is waiting."
She led them upstairs.
The private lounge overlooked the dance floor.
Behind a glass table sat Oh Seungpil, a heavyset man with neatly combed hair and a gold watch.
He smiled as they entered.
"Kang Minjun. I've heard quite a lot about you."
Minjun sat without waiting for an invitation.
"Likewise."
Oh chuckled.
"Confident young man."
"Efficient, actually. I dislike wasting time."
The smile weakened.
Seongho remained standing behind Minjun.
Oh poured himself a drink.
"I understand you've been expanding your organization."
"Correct."
"Then perhaps you should understand something about Gangnam."
Minjun waited.
"This district operates differently from Mapo. There are established relationships. Agreements. People who have invested considerable resources into maintaining stability."
"Workers."
Oh's hand paused.
Then he smiled again.
"You're well informed."
"Enough."
Minjun placed a folder on the table.
Oh glanced at it.
"What is that?"
"Your financial records."
The businessman laughed.
"I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone who discusses confidential business information with teenagers."
Minjun opened the folder.
"Three months ago, your company transferred four hundred million won to a consulting firm that doesn't exist."
Oh stopped smiling.
"Two weeks later, that same firm transferred most of the money to an offshore account."
Minjun turned another page.
"Then there's your security company. Forty-three registered employees. Payroll for ninety-one."
The room became quiet.
Oh placed his glass down.
"Where did you get those documents?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes."
Minjun leaned back.
"Then you should have protected them better."
Oh stared.
"What do you want?"
"Your cooperation."
"With what?"
"I want to purchase a controlling interest in your security business."
Oh burst out laughing.
"You think you can blackmail me into selling my company?"
"No."
Minjun's expression remained pleasant.
"I think you'll sell it because your business is already failing."
He slid another document forward.
Oh examined it.
His face changed.
It was a debt agreement.
His debt agreement.
The one he'd signed with a private lender eight months earlier.
"How—"
"I purchased your debt yesterday."
Seongho watched the businessman's expression collapse.
Minjun continued.
"You owe seventy million won. The payment is overdue. Your collateral includes your shares in the security company."
Oh's fingers tightened around the paper.
"You planned this."
"Of course."
"You little bastard."
Minjun smiled.
"Careful."
Oh rose abruptly.
Two men standing near the entrance stepped forward.
Seongho shifted his stance.
Minjun remained seated.
Oh pointed toward the door.
"Get out."
Minjun looked at him.
"Sit down."
The businessman laughed bitterly.
"Or what?"
Minjun picked up the glass ashtray from the table.
He crushed it in his palm.
Glass fractured with a sharp crack.
Then he opened his hand.
Fragments fell onto the table.
Oh went pale.
Minjun's voice remained quiet.
"Sit."
Oh obeyed.
Minjun brushed the remaining glass from his fingers.
"Now, we're going to finish our conversation."
Twenty minutes later, Oh Seungpil signed the preliminary agreement.
It was not a complete acquisition.
Legal reviews and ownership transfers would take time.
But Minjun had secured a binding option to purchase the company's shares, contingent on verification of its finances and liabilities.
More importantly, he'd gained access to its operations.
A legitimate security business in Gangnam.
A foothold.
And a way to investigate Workers without openly declaring war.
As they left the club, Seongho glanced at him.
"You could've just beaten him up."
"Of course."
"Then why go through all that?"
Minjun looked toward the busy street.
"Because beating him would give me a frightened enemy."
"And this?"
"A frightened business partner who has a financial reason to cooperate."
Seongho considered that.
"That's cold."
Minjun smiled.
"I used to be much worse."
The First Warning
They were approaching their car when Minjun noticed three men standing near the entrance to an underground parking garage.
One wore a white jacket.
Another had a tattoo climbing his neck.
The third was enormous.
Nearly two meters tall.
Broad shoulders.
Thick arms.
And an expression devoid of emotion.
Seongho noticed them too.
"Trouble?"
"Probably."
The man in white stepped forward.
"Kang Minjun?"
Minjun stopped.
"That's becoming a popular question."
The man smiled.
"My employer would like to speak with you."
"Then he can call."
"He prefers meeting in person."
"Unfortunate."
The smile disappeared.
"You don't understand."
Minjun sighed.
"I usually do."
The enormous man stepped forward.
His shadow fell across the pavement.
"Come with us."
Minjun looked up at him.
Then smiled.
"No."
The giant reached for his shoulder.
Minjun caught his wrist.
The man's eyes widened.
He tried pulling away.
Nothing.
Minjun twisted.
A sharp crack echoed through the parking garage entrance.
The giant dropped to one knee.
Before he could scream, Minjun drove a short punch into his chest.
BOOM!
The man flew backward.
He struck a concrete support pillar hard enough to crack the surface.
Then collapsed.
The other two froze.
Minjun released a slow breath.
He hadn't even bothered using proper technique.
The man in white stumbled backward.
"What the hell are you?"
Minjun approached.
"Who sent you?"
The man swallowed.
"Workers."
"Which affiliate?"
"I—I don't know!"
Minjun caught his collar.
"Wrong answer."
He slammed the man against the wall.
Not hard enough to kill him.
Hard enough to make the next question meaningful.
"Which affiliate?"
"THE THIRD!"
Minjun released him.
The Third Affiliate.
Interesting.
"Who gave the order?"
"A manager! I don't know his name!"
Minjun studied him.
Then stepped aside.
"Leave."
The man stared.
"W-what?"
"Take your friends. Go back to whoever sent you."
He leaned closer.
"And tell them the next group they send should be considerably stronger."
The man fled.
Seongho watched the three disappear.
"Third Affiliate?"
Minjun nodded.
"We've attracted attention."
"Should we be worried?"
Minjun smiled.
"They should."
The Training Floor
Back in Mapo, Hajun was losing.
Badly.
His opponent was Taehwan, who had developed an infuriating habit of catching kicks and turning them into takedowns.
Hajun struck the mat for the fourth time.
"Again!"
Taehwan stepped backward.
"You've said that four times."
"Then make it five."
Minjun entered.
Both stopped.
He examined Hajun's bruised cheek.
"Still struggling with grapplers?"
Hajun scowled.
"I'm improving."
"You are."
Minjun removed his jacket.
"But you're still treating every fight like a kickboxing match."
Hajun rose.
"Then show me."
Minjun smiled.
"Gladly."
He stepped onto the mat.
"Taehwan. Attack."
The wrestler shot forward.
Minjun allowed him to establish a body lock.
Then he moved.
A subtle shift of his hips.
A change in balance.
Taehwan suddenly found himself flying.
He crashed onto the mat.
Before he could recover, Minjun pinned him with one hand.
"That's one."
Minjun released him.
"Again."
Taehwan attacked.
This time, Minjun used a short knee to interrupt the entry, followed by a perfectly timed shoulder throw.
Taehwan landed hard.
"Two."
Hajun watched closely.
Minjun turned toward him.
"Your problem isn't that you lack grappling skills. It's that you panic when someone gets inside your kicking range."
Hajun frowned.
"I don't panic."
"You rush. Same result."
Minjun demonstrated several defensive movements.
Frames.
Underhooks.
Hip positioning.
Simple counters that allowed a striker to escape dangerous positions.
Hajun practiced them repeatedly.
By the end of the session, he successfully stopped three consecutive takedown attempts from Taehwan.
The fourth still sent him crashing onto the mat.
But this time, he laughed.
"Getting closer."
Taehwan grinned.
"Not close enough."
Minjun watched them.
Three months of training had transformed his original companions.
Yet the gap between them and the strongest fighters in Lookism remained substantial.
Their improvement was extraordinary by normal standards.
But the First Generation Kings weren't normal.
And neither were the monsters standing above them.
Minjun intended to close that gap.
Not through empty promises.
Through training, experience, and battles that forced them to evolve.
A Familiar Face
Later that night, Minjun received an unfamiliar number.
He answered.
"Hello?"
A calm voice spoke.
"Kang Minjun."
Minjun smiled faintly.
"Speaking."
"I heard you were causing trouble in Gangnam."
"Depends who's asking."
A pause.
Then a low chuckle.
"Gun Park."
Minjun leaned back.
Finally.
"I was wondering when you'd call."
Gun sounded amused.
"You know who I am?"
"Of course."
"Then you understand that interfering with Workers isn't particularly wise."
Minjun glanced toward the window.
"Are you calling to warn me?"
"Consider it professional courtesy."
"How thoughtful."
Gun laughed.
"You're an interesting kid."
"And you're a busy man. Get to the point."
Silence.
Then Gun spoke.
"I want to meet you."
Minjun smiled.
"Good."
"Tomorrow evening. Seven o'clock."
"Where?"
"An underground parking garage in Gangnam."
Minjun chuckled.
"Very dramatic."
Gun ignored the remark.
"Come alone."
Minjun's smile sharpened.
"Fine."
The call ended.
Minjun placed the phone down.
For a moment, he sat in silence.
Then he laughed.
Gun Park.
The man who had helped establish the Four Major Crews.
A fighter capable of overwhelming nearly everyone in Seoul.
And one of the few people in this world whose reputation genuinely interested Minjun.
Not because he expected a difficult fight.
His three wishes had already placed him far beyond that level.
But because Gun represented something more valuable.
A connection to the people controlling Korea's underworld.
A doorway into the real power structure.
Minjun stood.
Tomorrow, he would meet Gun Park.
And if Gun believed he could intimidate Kang Minjun into submission, he was about to discover just how badly he'd misjudged him.