After the Divorce, a Treasure Map Made Me a 1,000-Trillionaire Chapter 21
On the road from Cheongyang toward Yesan, we kept driving until the hill began to slope upward.
Far ahead, a faint light glimmered in the darkness.
Ji-hwan, pulling a self-defense weapon out of the car trunk, nodded.
We carefully climbed the hill until a house came into view—still open for business.
“This has to be the place, right?”
Ji-hwan agreed with a firm nod.
“In a countryside like this, there can’t be that many gambling dens. I’m sure it’s here.”
Just then, a man in a suit—clearly a local thug—started walking toward us.
“Hey! Who the hell are you guys?”
Ji-hwan glanced at me. “Want me to take him out?”
“Let’s try talking first. No need to cause a scene.”
As the man got closer, I realized he was pretty young—probably just past his teenage years—but he carried himself with that cocky, swaggering attitude.
“This is private property! What are you doing here?”
I looked toward the house. “We’re looking for someone. Is there a guy named Young-sik inside?”
The young thug froze for a moment, then asked cautiously,
“What, are you cops…?”
It was a misunderstanding, but one I saw no reason to correct.
“That’s right. We’re from Cheongyang Police Station. Now, is Young-sik in there or not?”
I leaned in, putting on my best detective act, trying to intimidate him.
Instead, he suddenly burst out laughing.
“What? Cheongyang Police? Don’t feed me crap! I know every single detective in that station, and I’ve never seen your faces! Who the hell are you really?”
Guess it’s not going to be that easy…
I sighed. “Forget it. Just step aside. We’ll check for ourselves.”
The punk spat on my shoe.
“Hey, you little bastard.”
He lifted his hand and patted my cheek twice, his tone dropping.
“Leave while I’m asking nicely.”
Ji-hwan’s fist buried itself into the punk’s stomach.
The kid collapsed to his knees, groaning in agony.
“How dare you lay hands on my boss’s face…”
I shrugged. “Come on, did you really have to go that far with a kid?”
“What kid? You seen many ‘kids’ this grown?”
Leaving the writhing thug behind, we headed straight into the house.
Inside, I was surprised.
“Wow… so many people gathered for gambling, even in the countryside?”
There were easily over a hundred people.
The place was so crowded that the other gangsters didn’t pay us much attention, probably thinking we were just customers who had stepped out for a smoke or a bathroom break.
Ji-hwan whispered, “Chan… how do we even find this Young-sik guy here?”
“Hmm… yeah, too many people…”
I was still thinking it over when I suddenly heard a familiar name from a nearby table.
“Hahaha! Young-sik, you lost again!”
“Well, I guess I’ll be taking all this money. Thanks, Young-sik.”
I looked toward the sound. Four people were sitting around a table, gambling. One man in a wrinkled collared T-shirt sighed heavily as he lost yet another hand.
Face looks exactly like the village chief’s. That’s him.
I pointed discreetly for Ji-hwan. “There—see the guy in the wrinkled shirt?”
Ji-hwan spotted him and nodded. “Yeah. Looks just like the chief. What now?”
“Let’s watch for a bit.”
We sat at a nearby low-stakes table, losing a little money here and there while keeping an eye on him.
From across the table, a man grinned after sweeping up all the chips.
“Ah, I won again! I almost feel bad.”
I gave a fake frustrated laugh. “Ah, guess today’s not my day.”
“Hahaha! Nah, it’s all skill. Anyway, I’ll be right back, just need the bathroom.”
One of the players left, and during that short break, Young-sik suddenly stood up swearing.
“Damn it! I’m bringing more money, so don’t move!”
“Come on, Young-sik, you’ve lost enough. Why not quit while you’re ahead?”
“Quit?! I’m just getting started! You move, and I’ll make you regret it!”
His tablemates just laughed mockingly.
Fuming, Young-sik stormed out.
I leaned toward Ji-hwan. “Let’s follow him.”
He didn’t go far—just to a small tent next to the gambling house.
The tent was thin, so we could hear everything inside.
“Just lend me 50 million won more!”
“You bastard, do you even know how much you’ve borrowed so far? A hundred million!”
“I’ll pay it back, I swear! Just one more time!”
“Fine… but this is the last. If you can’t pay by morning, you’re on your own.”
Moments later, Young-sik stepped out clutching an envelope.
Ji-hwan looked at me, incredulous. “No way… did he just borrow more money to gamble?”
“He’s insane. That kind of loan comes with interest you can’t even imagine. He’s blinded by greed.”
“Guess there’s no cure for gambling addiction.”
“Still, this works for us. By morning, things will resolve themselves.”
We went back inside, sat at the same table, and kept losing small amounts to blend in.
Then I heard him again—only this time, shouting.
“You bastards! You’ve been cheating me!”
Young-sik grabbed the collar of the man who had been winning earlier.
“Think I don’t know? Show me proof! PROOF!”
The commotion drew a crowd of thugs, but Young-sik, in his rage, even yelled at them.
“Oh, I get it now! You’re all in on it! No way someone wins this much in a row!”
I clicked my tongue. “Idiot…”
Even if they had cheated him, making enemies of the house’s thugs was a death wish.
“Get him out of here!”
They dragged him outside.
Behind the building, the boss confronted him.
“Alright, Young-sik. You now owe us 300 million. What’s your plan?”
“I-I only borrowed 150 million… how is it 300 already?”
His earlier arrogance was gone. After being beaten for over thirty minutes, his face was a bloody mess.
“You really don’t know how our interest works here?!”
“Twice the amount… isn’t that too much?”
The boss looked him over, then said to his men, “Forget it. Call Old Man Park. Tell him we’ve got another ghost helicopter job.”
Ghost helicopter—slang for organ harvesting.
Young-sik’s face turned pale. “W-wait! Just one day! Give me one day and I’ll get the money!”
“You think we don’t know you’ve got no way to pay? That loan was already on your kidney’s tab.”
“No! I’ll find a way!”
“Drag him out. Make the call.”
“My father… he has ancestral land! If we sell it, we can get some money!”
The boss scoffed. “What, that worthless mountain in the sticks? Who’s going to buy that?”
“I’ll make it work! Just let me call him!”
With a sigh, the boss tossed him a phone. “Last chance.”
We figured it was the right time.
I stood, pretending to be disappointed in my losses. “Guess it’s not my night.”
The man who’d been winning all night handed me a 50,000-won bill.
“Here, for the road. Buy yourself a hot meal.”
Ji-hwan also stood. “Yeah, time for me to go too.”
Outside, dawn was breaking.
As expected, behind the house, we saw the scene unfolding.
The village chief—Young-sik’s father—was on his knees, begging the boss to let his son go.
“Please, sir… forgive him just this once.”
“Forgive him? He owes us 300 million!”
“I’ll… find a way to repay it. I beg you.”
But the boss was unmoved.
“You’ve wasted my time. Call Old Man Park again. Take him away.”
The chief clung to them, but it was hopeless.
Ji-hwan glanced at me. “Time to step in?”
“Yeah. Perfect timing.”
He strode toward the thugs holding Young-sik.
“Who the hell are you?” one of them barked.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Ji-hwan said, twisting the man’s arm. “Let’s talk after I break you a little.”
From behind, I couldn’t help but smile.
I really did hire the perfect first employee.