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Manager Ma wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and glared at the people while placing Yang Woo-guk's leg down.

He then dropped the sashimi knife he held and stood up.

"Since we're all gathered here, let's hold a general meeting right now and decide on the chairman. Anyone object?"

Manager Ma's voice was flat and even. If anyone opposed him, he intended to take care of them all today.

"If no one objects then tell everyone to stop fighting. Only those at the manager level and above are to remain in the banquet hall and send everyone else out."

At that moment, an old man in a wheelchair came forward.

"Hey now."

Manager Ma simply stared at him instead of answering.

The old man felt a cold sweat break out from that emotionless gaze but he kept his composure and said with a smile.

"It's a day for my juniors to gather and celebrate my eightieth birthday. Did we really need to see blood on such a day? Why don't we all go home for today…"

The old man trailed off as he looked at Yang Woo-guk writhing like an earthworm on the floor, then continued.

"How about we send that one to the hospital for treatment? If there's this much commotion the police will come out. I'll take care of it all. I'm like brothers with the Busan Police Chief, I can definitely take care of it."

Even in this situation the old man flaunted his power.

He seemed not to understand the strength that Kim Mu-hyeok and Manager Ma possessed.

After quietly staring at the old man for a moment Manager Ma asked.

"You're close with the Busan Police Chief?"

"Yes I am. I will put today's matter to rest, so be satisfied with this much…"

Manager Ma cut the old man off.

"Old man, if you've already picked your date to die then stop talking nonsense and just watch."

At Manager Ma's harsh words, the old man's face which had been smiling immediately hardened.

"Hey, young man, you have no manners. Do you not know who I am?"

Manager Ma smirked, raising only one corner of his mouth.

How could he not know? This was the person that Park Dong-su had said was a respected senior during his life.

But when people grow old disgracefully they often live in the glory of the past.

He was once revered as a legendary figure among gangsters but now he was just an old man who had wasted his life.

"Does it matter? People who aren't related to the Heavenly Group have no right to speak. Before you're dragged out just watch the show and eat your rice cake quietly."

The old man's face flushed red with shame from the continuous insults.

"You impudent brat!"

He finally slammed his fist on the armrest of his wheelchair and shouted.

"A punk who's not even my grandson is acting so high and mighty. One call from me and you'll be behind bars!"

"Then call them. Tell them to come here right now and arrest me."

Regardless of the old man's tantrum, Manager Ma just left those words behind and nodded to Im Hwa-soo standing behind the old man.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to sort out the situation? If the fighting continues it's the Heavenly Group's people who will get hurt."

"Yes? Ah, I understand!"

Im Hwa-soo who finally snapped back to his senses turned around.

He took his faction leaders out of the banquet hall and shouted.

"Stop! Stop the fighting! It's all over!"

The old man was even more furious at Im Hwa-soo's actions which made it seem like he was following Manager Ma's orders.

"That ungrateful bastard! What are you doing?! Capture Im Hwa-soo right now!"

But even with the old man's words no one moved.

Even the directors who supported Yang Woo-guk did not move.

"You scum! How dare you ignore my words?"

The old man pointed his finger and shouted at the people gathered in the banquet hall.

Manager Ma slowly walked towards the old man.

Noticing Manager Ma getting closer, the old man's voice gradually faded.

"W-what?! Don't come closer!"

The old man shouted but Manager Ma didn't stop.

At that moment, the large man who had been pulling the old man's wheelchair stepped forward and stood in front of him.

"Please stop. Speak from there. If you come any closer…"

Before the man could even finish speaking, Manager Ma punched him in the face.

"Ugh."

There was a pretty loud thud but the large man did not fall, as if Manager Ma hadn't used his full strength.

Manager Ma glared at the staggering man and said.

"I went easy on you because you need to pull the wheelchair of the person you're serving. Don't interfere. There won't be a next time."

Having already tasted Manager Ma's power, the large man did not resist further, grabbing his nose and stepping aside.

"Hey! Hyung-seok! Get over here! These bastards…!"

Like a defeated dog barking louder, the old man shouted loudly.

But as even his attendant stepped aside, fear slowly appeared on his face.

There was no one left to stop Manager Ma.

"D-do you know who I am! If you touch me…"

"I'm not such a ruffian as to touch a man who's about to die, so stop barking. Now, if there's anything you want to do go ahead."

As the fight had come to an end, Manager Ma's subordinates who had been fighting in the lobby rushed into the banquet hall.

The sturdy men carrying batons were enough to instill fear even in the large gangsters.

"I'll give you a choice. Will you leave now? Or will you stay to watch the new chairman of the Heavenly Group get decided and then continue your eightieth birthday party?"

"…I will leave."

The old man said quietly, looking around.

It was pointless to remain here when no one would help him.

"I will never forget what happened today."

Even as he was running away, the old man pretended to be strong to the end.

Then he called for the man pulling his wheelchair and turned the wheelchair around.

The gangsters bowed their heads towards the old man as he turned around, but he did not acknowledge their greetings.

The old man waited for his car outside the hotel.

There were new recruits of the organization lined up outside the hotel, but none dared approach the old man.

After getting into the car, the old man put the wheelchair in the trunk and yelled at the man sitting in the driver's seat.

"You bastard! You're supposed to protect me! Why did you step back? You're not doing your job with the money I'm paying you!"

"I'm sorry."

"Hah… Never mind. Give me the phone."

The man took out the old man's phone and handed it to him.

The old man snatched it roughly and made a call.

"It's me."

—Elder, what brings you to call? Ah, and before that, happy eightieth birthday.

The Busan Police Chief conveyed his congratulations but the old man replied curtly.

"Congratulations my foot. My party's a mess! Where are all the police?"

—Orders came from above. To withdraw everyone. So we withdrew.

"What? From above?"

—Yes. We received orders from above to withdraw everyone. Is there an issue with that?

"Is that what you're saying right now…"

The old man was about to say something angrily, but the chief cut him off.

—Elder. I don't know what happened inside, but you should watch what you say.

"What? What are you saying right now?!"

—With your influence, you can't go up against that man. Today's events won't get even a single line in the news. Now, you should forget about complicated matters and spend your remaining years peacefully. I'm giving you this advice as an old acquaintance. I'll hang up now.

The call was unilaterally ended. This was a first for him.

"Hah. This bastard."

The old man muttered as he stared blankly at the phone which was only making an end call tone.

"Why did something like this have to happen today!"

But no one was there to answer the old man's words.

Manager Ma grabbed Yang Woo-guk by the hair, who was bleeding on the floor and dragged him towards the stage.

Just in time, Im Hwa-soo who had finished organizing things outside returned.

"Everything's been taken care of. I told all the staff to stand by for now."

Manager Ma nodded and said.

"Did anyone resist?"

"Yang Director's people showed signs of resisting but I had Yang Director's people who came with me persuade them. Besides, things were already somewhat settled by the time we went down."

As expected, Im Hwa-soo was definitely good at his job.

To think he had the presence of mind to take Yang Woo-guk's director with him in that chaotic situation.

The thugs stood no chance against well-trained mercenaries. And if they seemed to be pushed back, they could've used guns as a last resort.

Thanks to Im Hwa-soo's quick thinking, a bigger problem was avoided.

"Are all the managers and above gathered in the banquet hall? Confirm it."

"Yes. They are all gathered. The rest are waiting in the lobby and outside the hotel."

"Don't make a fuss and send the rest away."

Manager Ma raised an eyebrow when Im Hwa-soo hesitated.

"Even if we try to stop them, there's a limit. So send everyone back. The people gathered here are the decision-makers anyway."

"I understand. But…"

Im Hwa-soo looked at Yang Woo-guk who was lying on the floor like trash and asked.

"Shouldn't we at least treat him? He looks like he's about to die."

Manager Ma looked at Yang Woo-guk as if he was a bug and opened his mouth.

"Why? Do you want to save him? You're a good person."

"It's not that. I think it would be better to save him for later even if we are going to kill him eventually."

"I won't let him die until the Boss returns so don't worry. A doctor will arrive soon."

Manager Ma had already put a doctor on standby.

He had even instructed his subordinate to bring a doctor as soon as the situation was somewhat under control.

"Once Vice Chairman Chu Dong-bin and Chairman Lee Sang-geun arrive, we'll start the general meeting immediately."

He had summoned Chu Dong-bin and Lee Sang-geun to Busan, planning to finish everything today and report back.

"Are you saying we're having the general meeting here?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Ah, no."

Im Hwa-soo was quite taken aback by the unexpected general meeting.

"There's no point in dragging this out. The longer it goes the more blood will be spilled. I'll cleanly handle things and hand over the chairmanship so you should know that."

"…I understand."

Im Hwa-soo bit his lip and lowered his head.

He had no other choice.

Not only was the man's will firm, but the banquet hall was already under the control of Manager Ma and his subordinates.

"Then I'll go send the staff back and come back."

When Manager Ma nodded, Im Hwa-soo left the banquet hall with a few people.

A subordinate of Manager Ma came with a doctor just as he passed by him.

"Just treat him enough so he doesn't die."

At Manager Ma's words, the doctor immediately began treatment without saying anything.

He seemed quite accustomed to this.

"What about the dead?"

The subordinate who had brought the doctor answered Manager Ma's question.

"There are quite a few injured, but no one died."

Manager Ma frowned at the words that there were quite a few injured.

No matter how different their skills were, if they were charging in with sashimi knives, they would inevitably get hurt.

"Send anyone who's injured badly enough to the hospital, and treat the rest here."

"I already said that and came up here."

Manager Ma nodded in satisfaction at his subordinate who did even the things he hadn't ordered.

"Then, before we hold the general meeting, shall we organize the rest of the trash?"

He gave instructions to separate the directors and elders who had been following Yang Woo-guk from the others.

"Let go! Let go you bastard!"

"What? What's this crazy person doing?"

They resisted desperately as they were dragged away by Manager Ma's subordinates, but they soon quieted down after being hit a few times in the face or stomach.

Thanks to this, everyone else who wasn't dragged away also showed clear signs of tension.

A little later, the door of the banquet hall opened. Chu Dong-bin, Lee Sang-geun, and Im Hwa-soo came in together.

They had all seen the mess with their own eyes on the way here.

Lee Sang-geun who knew Manager Ma's ruthlessness better than anyone else seemed to have expected this as he looked down at the receiving treatment Yang Woo-guk nonchalantly, but Chu Dong-bin could not do the same.

"…Did Manager Ma take action himself?"

Chu Dong-bin asked with disgust at Yang Woo-guk's ruined appearance.

"Yes. I did it myself."

"Hah… I heard the story but you are truly merciless."

"Because he was a fool who dared to oppose the Boss. I wanted to kill him right away but it's not my decision so I left him alone."

Manager Ma who said that calmly was frighteningly composed.

Chu Dong-bin looked around the banquet hall to calm his startled heart.

He noticed the two clearly divided factions and asked.

"Are you going to organize them all?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"The Heavenly Group's power will weaken if you organize them all."

There was worry in Chu Dong-bin's voice. Seeing him like that, Manager Ma said firmly.

"As long as the Boss is still present, the Heavenly Group will not weaken. So, don't worry needlessly. If we don't cut away the rotten parts, it will continue to rot. Until now, we left it to the Heavenly Group to handle on their own but not anymore. I'm going to cut out all the rotten parts."

They gave all authority to the chairmen, from Park Dong-soo to Lee Sang-geun, and then Yoo Sung-jin.

But as a result of their indulgence, there were those who forgot who the master was and began to bare their fangs.

Manager Ma planned to uproot the problem to prevent this from ever happening again, and then to instill fear.

"…I understand. Then let's start the general meeting slowly."

Chu Dong-bin looked at Manager Ma's eyes for a long time before stepping forward and declaring that they would start the general meeting.