CH10 | MCT

IOU from a Loan Shark (3)

Han-soo approached, his face rigid with tension.

"Are you okay? What happened in there? What did— No, never mind. As long as you’re fine."

Still, he was worried—after all, he was his older brother.

Tae-soo patted his younger brother’s shoulder.

"Let’s go home. Curfew’s coming up."

"That information you sold…"

"Shh. Knowing will only get you hurt. Just hurry up, Ice Pick."

"…"

Without another word, Tae-soo strode toward the gate.

Han-soo turned to follow—

"Hey, lunatic."

Leaning against the stone wall, Song Jingu shot him a piercing glare.

"You really had the balls to use my name to get in here?"

"You’re right. Maybe I should’ve just dropped Jang Maldong’s name instead."

Grit.

"You’re lucky today. Next time, you’re dead."

"Didn’t the old man warn you not to touch me?"

A visible flinch from Song Jingu.

"You cocky little shit, better watch your back at night."

"You’ll be too busy to bother. Anyway, take care."

Without another glance, Tae-soo walked past him and left.

How long had they been walking?

Han-soo fell into deep thought.

Tae-soo supposedly sold information, yet he wasn’t carrying a briefcase of cash—not even a small envelope.

"So we still need another investor, right? Who should we go to?"

"Why are we looking for another investor? Isn’t 20 million won enough?"

"You didn’t borrow a single cent!"

"True. I didn’t borrow a single cent… ‘on purpose.’"

Tae-soo nodded firmly.

Han-soo was stunned.

"And you’re actually bragging about it…?"

"Alright, as promised, I took care of our money problem."

Flick.

A piece of paper fluttered in front of Han-soo’s eyes.

Amount: 20 million won.

Creditor: Kang Tae-soo.

Debtor: Jang Maldong.

Han-soo snatched the IOU from Tae-soo’s hand.

He read it. Then read it again. Then again.

With each read, his eyes widened further.

Even then, he still couldn’t believe it.

"You seriously got a loan shark to write you an IOU?"

"Just trust me, alright?"

"You're telling me you got 20 million won?!"

"So? That settles the mine issue, doesn’t it? Now all that’s left is making a fortune."

Han-soo couldn’t take his eyes off the IOU.

Twenty million won.

And the debtor? None other than Jang Maldong, a big shot in Korea’s loan shark business.

His name was stamped with a red seal, making it feel almost unreal.

Even after rubbing his eyes, it was hard to believe.

"This is insane. This doesn’t make sense."

"Han-soo, you don’t need to understand people. Just look at the results. That’s all that matters."

"Results? You mean this IOU?"

Han-soo let out a disbelieving chuckle.

"You actually got a loan shark to write you an IOU? I swear..."

"Doesn't your big brother seem kinda cool now?"

"Nah, you’re just a total lunatic."

"‘Lunatic’? Is that how you talk to your big brother? Remember our deal—respect, and honorifics."

"Urk…!"

Tae-soo grinned smugly.

"Han-soo, just wait. You’ll even get to see me shove this IOU in Jang Maldong’s face when I go to collect."

After all, Han-soo had already witnessed Tae-soo doing just that with Oh Chunsik, waving an IOU around to claim the mine deed.

Naturally, his mind conjured an image of his brother marching into Jang Maldong’s office to demand repayment.

He let out a small laugh—but his face soon grew serious.

"Be careful. Try collecting from a loan shark, and you might end up buried in the mountains without a trace."

"Ahem. Respect, honorifics, remember?"

"You don’t— I mean, you might not realize this, but loan sharks are way more ruthless than you think… sir."

"Pffft—! Wh-what’s with your tone?"

Tae-soo burst out laughing at Han-soo’s weirdly formal speech.

Han-soo’s face turned bright red.

Still, he whipped around, speaking in that haughty tone of his, making sure to get the last word.

"Kang Tae— No, big brother, you’re seriously going to get yourself killed—sir."

"Well, we’ll see about that soon enough."

In just ten days, the entire loan shark industry would be thrown into chaos.

"Ha— Big bro, could you at least take it easy—sir? Just watching you is making me nervous—sir."

"Puhaha! Can you please stop talking like that?"

"I-I’m trying—sir."

His pride? Shattered.

Han-soo’s expression crumpled just as badly.

"Forget it. Everything’s gonna work out, so just worry about fixing that weird speech of yours."

"Damn it."

Heh heh heh.

As Tae-soo chuckled, Han-soo hung his head.

‘He actually won the bet… Who in their right mind gets an IOU from a loan shark? And now he’s even planning to collect? Insane. I could never do that.’

Han-soo had met a lot of people in his time as a fixer, but Tae-soo was, without a doubt, the most unbelievable of them all.

‘Wait… unbelievable? Beyond imagination? The best I’ve ever seen? Am I seriously thinking that Kang Tae-soo is the most capable person I know?’

The thought hit Han-soo like a hammer.

Tae-soo, walking a few steps ahead, suddenly looked larger than life.

That confident smirk, squared shoulders, and unwavering gaze.

Not to mention his fearless drive and unmatched boldness in pulling off the impossible.

‘I've been watching him all this time and never truly seen him? No… I just never wanted to. What an idiot.’

For someone as prideful and capable as Han-soo, the realization was a shock.

‘Then why did he always act like such a reckless fool?’

If their roles were reversed—

Would he have let his younger brother act out like that?

‘No way… Was it because of me? Has he been holding onto that old grudge all this time?’

Han-soo’s eyes trembled.

"Big brother."

"Huh?"

Tae-soo turned around.

Han-soo stood there, clenching his fists and biting his lip.

"The day you abandoned me at the market… After that, you started acting like a complete delinquent. Like you were a different person."

It had happened when he was seven years old.

For nearly ten days, Han-soo had wandered the streets.

By the time he was found, he had shut everyone out, looking at his brother like an enemy.

It was the most painful memory for their entire family.

Tae-soo’s expression hardened.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose. I got distracted by the smell of money… I chased after it and didn’t even realize I’d let go of your hand."

"No, that doesn’t matter anymore. What I want to know is why you chose to act like a delinquent."

He had lost his brother because of money.

And when he finally returned, he was covered in blood.

For young Tae-soo, that day had been a wound that never healed.

‘Back then, I couldn’t resist the smell of money. It got me into trouble all the time. But no one ever believed me.’

Nobody else could smell money.

Everyone treated him like a liar.

In the end, Tae-soo convinced himself that he was crazy.

And at the root of everything—was that damn smell.

After that, he had forced himself to ignore his ability.

He threw his life away, living recklessly.

Using his gift only for petty things like gambling.

Until Han Cheong-ho recognized his potential—and taught him how to use it properly.

"Han-soo, I can smell money."

"Not this again. You used to say that all the time when we were kids. I thought you’d finally dropped it, but now—"

"I couldn’t control myself. The smell made me lose my mind. Of course, no one else could believe something like that. What, you can smell money? Even I thought it sounded ridiculous."

"······."

"I thought I was crazy. So I ignored it for years. Lived like a mess. Like I didn’t care."

Han-soo remembered it too.

As a kid, Tae-soo had insisted that he could smell money—but no one had believed him.

And one day, he just stopped talking about it altogether.

"What does it feel like? Smelling money?"

It was the first time—

That Han-soo had ever taken his brother’s words seriously.

Even in his past life, he had never believed in Tae-soo’s ability.

Not even until the day he died.

He had never truly acknowledged his brother.

Tae-soo felt a mix of disbelief and happiness.

"Hmm… It’s a special feeling. Kind of like how a shaman can foresee the future. I can smell money when there’s a chance to make it."

"That’s… quite an absurd ability."

Han-soo nodded.

"So this is the real you, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because I want our family to live happily."

Han-soo recalled what Tae-soo had said at the mine.

"Let’s not make Mom and Dad suffer anymore. Mom was crying."

"I never want to see something like this happen again over a measly 100,000 won."

"Just trust me."

It all made sense now.

Han-soo closed his eyes for a moment—then opened them.

‘I have to accept it. No… there’s no choice but to accept it.’

He nodded.

"You must’ve had a tough time all these years."

Then, without another word, Han-soo strode ahead.

His ears were bright red.

Tae-soo chuckled.

"I told him to use honorifics, but he really went all out with ‘-sumnida’ and ‘-danikka’? Ugh, it’s giving me chills. I can’t listen to this anymore."

He threw an arm around Han-soo’s shoulder.

"Let’s just stick to ‘hyung.’ Like normal brothers."

"But we made a bet. Are you sure about this?"

"Stop trying to act cool. The honorifics are canceled!"

Han-soo smirked.

"You won’t get many chances to hear me speak formally. If you regret it later, don’t blame me."

"Fine. Just don’t forget to call me ‘hyung’ at least."

"Got it, hyung. Now let’s hurry before we miss the bus."

Han-soo took off running.

This time, not just his ears, but even the back of his neck was red.

Tae-soo followed after him, shouting playfully—

"Wait for me, Han-soo!"

Han-soo, who always teased Tae-soo for being too slow, telling him to train his sprinting if he wanted to keep up—

That same Han-soo slowed his pace.

Just so he could walk beside his brother.

"What? You’re seriously going to break into a full sprint now?"

"It’s just your imagination."

It really didn’t seem like an imagination, though.

You’re practically running at Usain Bolt’s speed right now!

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pat!

A quick step back—just to launch himself even farther forward.

Meanwhile…

After Tae-soo and Han-soo had left, Jang Maldong declared a state of emergency.

"Spread out and collect every last loan!"

"Yes, sir!"

"You have ten days! No exceptions! I don’t care if it’s chaebols or politicians—take everything!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Move!"

"Yes, sir!"

With that, the entire Myeong-dong loan shark network was mobilized for an all-out debt collection operation.

It was about to turn the entire nation upside down.