Chen stared out the window of a speeding Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost, a personalized marvel in deep, lustrous black with striking rose-gold accents. Its polished surface gleamed under Seoul's sunlight, reflecting the multi-spoke wheels layered in pure, rich gold.
He was on his way to meet Kang Min Young, one of South Korea's wealthiest businesswomen. Kamman usually had three bodyguards who never left his side, regardless of the circumstances. Today, however, was one of those rare moments when one, Manu, stayed behind. Rei and Liang sat at the front.
At twenty-four, Kamman had shed his boyish features, taking on a more mature, sculpted form. This transformation intensified his handsomeness and maximized his calm, cold demeanor. Everyone he met immediately felt intimidated by him, without fail.
What others didn't know, however, was that he was a nervous person, and that unsettling feeling remained with him throughout the ride. Kang Min Young was not an easy person to deal with, and a single exposure of weakness could cause irreparable damage.
He replayed the upcoming confrontation in his head, just to ensure he wasn't jumping into the pits of hell. They arrived after a while, and Rei and Liang immediately stepped out to open the door for him. Kamman exited, straightened his suit, then walked into the building with Rei and Liang at his side.
A secretary welcomed them with a warm, pretty smile and ushered them towards the office once they reached the front desk.
"Mr. Chen, she's been expecting you."
She stood right in front of Kang Min Young's office door and yanked it open. In the very next moment, a hurled glass came flying across the room directly toward her face. Rei reacted instantly, blocking the glass with his arm. It shattered upon impact, scattering a thousand pieces onto the ground.
Chen looked up, a bit startled, and met the furious gaze of Ms. Kang at the other end of the room. She stared back at him, breathing heavily, and fired in anger:
"Chen Kamman! Who do you think you are, huh?! Just one win against me and you already think you're at the top now?! That you even dare to make me wait?!"
She shook her finger at Chen, approaching him with quick, determined steps.
Chen knew she was angry about him rescheduling the meeting; he didn't care. So, he offered an excuse that clearly showed a lack of effort.
"Ms. Kang, my apologies about the scheduling. My sister's birthday is approaching, so things could get really busy."
His voice had deepened to a rich baritone, sending vibrations when he spoke that almost every woman found undeniably sexy. Naturally, Ms. Kang's anger cooled by a fraction.
He signaled his men to stand down as he moved further into the office. Then he noticed Rei's bleeding hand and stopped by him, a flicker of concern hidden in his gaze.
"Are you okay?" he asked in a low tone, masking his worry.
"I'm fine, sir," Rei answered quickly, quietly.
Chen silently clicked his tongue at Ms. Kang's action, then continued approaching her as she was already halfway to him. Her office was quite large, located at the top of the building, its glass windows offering a stunning view of part of Seoul from above. He stopped in front of her, smiled, and bowed in a gesture of feigned respect.
"You seem to be in a bad mood, Ma'am," he said, the concern clearly simulated.
Ms. Kang took a deep breath to compose herself and went to sit on one of the couches by the glass walls. She then gestured for Chen to sit after her.
"You want to wage a war against me, little boy. Is Bronze Orchid going to be okay?"
Ms. Kang said, her eyes dark and piercing as she looked at Kamman. Chen didn't even flinch, staring right back, his gaze making her nerves fray. Ms. Kang had heard of the "Chen effect," but at that moment, she was experiencing it firsthand and was slightly taken aback.
As Kamman stared, he noticed the wrinkles on her face. She indeed had the right to call him a little boy since she was thirty years his senior. But even at fifty-four, she insisted she was a young lady and had once ordered his men to extract every tooth from a drunk man's mouth after he'd referred to her as an "old lady" at one of her clubs. From that day onward, everyone around her was meticulously conscious of how they addressed her.
"Why did you damage my cruise, Ma'am?"
Kamman asked directly, having no intention of beating around the bush or flattering her with sugar-coated words. Ms. Kang was visibly surprised this time, taking a moment to recover.
"How are you so sure I was the one who damaged your cruise?" she challenged.
Chen smiled, then leaned back into the couch, his rings sparkling under the light as he interlocked his fingers.
"I had my suspicions, so I asked my people to look into it. It led directly to you."
"So you even dared to investigate me. You bastard," she said, her voice devoid of emotion.
Ms. Kang was one of the biggest associates of the Bronze Orchid. She had dealt with the likes of his grandfather, and even his father was not qualified to address her, let alone in such a manner.
"You're the one petty enough to pick fights with kids half your age." Chen answered, his respectful tone undermined by the cutting words.
"Is that why you're after my businesses? I've heard of your great reputation over the years. You tend to take things too far," she said, looking out the window.
"Well, what a coincidence." He smirked, poking at her already struggling self-restraint.
As expected, the statement reignited her anger. She slammed a hand onto the glass table, nearly shattering it. Everyone in the room flinched, but Chen remained unfazed.
Ms. Kang took a deep breath, realizing how foolish she must have looked, letting her emotions run wild when she should be maintaining the upper hand. Kamman, on the other hand, was clearly enjoying her outburst.
"Why didn't you face me directly at that time? Instead, you used such a dirty trick to get back at me. You broke years of agreement and mutual respect, disregarded integrity! How do you expect others in the business circle to respect you as a leader?!" she retorted, furious that she, the most successful and respected cartel of their time, had been played by a mere boy.
"You are not in a position to speak about integrity, Ms. Kang," he answered, laughing softly. He continued,
"Additionally, I didn't play a trick; I just started a new business. Since you are capable, it will be easy for you to compete with me, unless you are scared of losing." He said, provoking her further.
The Bronze Orchid engaged in many ventures, but the tourism business was not traditionally one of them. Years before Kamman's birth, the Order of the Bronze Orchid had met with other world-class businessmen and women. Through that meeting, they agreed that the Bronze Orchid should never touch businesses ventured by their partner organizations within their territories. This was a mutual form of respect, designed to reduce competition and offer an escape route. It had been respected, until now.
Tourism was the main source of income for the Black Horn cartels, led by Kang Min Young, and it flourished incredibly well in South Korea. Her business had trampled over others, completely knocking them out of the field, simply because the Bronze Orchid enabled it.
They made threats, hijacked opposing companies, and destroyed anyone that stood in Black Horn's way, until Ms. Kang blew up one of Chen Kamman's luxury cruise ships over a simple disagreement between minor crews, men not even under any of the main families.
Chen Kamman was a different kind of cartel leader. People approached him with weapons, bloodshed, and chaos, expecting the same energy. But before they knew it, their empire would be crumbling from within. Life meant nothing to these money-centered criminals. Their money, however, was everything.
Against silent complaints and whispers from other Bronze Orchid families, Chen Kamman began a new business venture: tourism, right in her territory. It instantly caused stiff competition for the Black Horns for the first time in decades.
Ms. Kang had thought that dealing with Chen Kamman would be easy. After all, he still didn't have full control of the organization, and she was his elder. In such an environment, respect was paramount. She believed she only needed to scare him into surrendering, but Kamman lived up to his reputation. They called him a madman.
The Black Horn was notoriously hard to penetrate. They were criminals, but their loyalty was unquestionable. No information leaked from within, and all mouths were sealed when it came to outsiders. Yet, even Ms. Kang didn't realize that Kamman had already sent his people to investigate her, and not only that, he had uncovered far more than he should have.
She was furious at the thought, but she had lost this game, so she attempted to neutralize the outcome.
"When two big powers clash, it is our people who will get hurt. You know that. So, how about we come to a peaceful conclusion? I pay back the damages caused to your cruise, and you move your business out of my territory," she proposed after a tense silence.
"If my company were of the same value as my cruise business, then that would have been a fair deal, and I would not hesitate in granting your wish. But the tour company is of a much higher value, so I suggest you come up with a more suitable deal, and I will surely see it through."
Kamman answered, already preparing to leave. Ms. Kang was shocked once more. Chen straightened his pants and stood up. He bowed to her as Rei and Liang moved to open the door for him.
"Chen Kamman! How is that fair business?! So you insist on fighting me?!"
Ms. Kang's statement caused Chen to stop, and so did his men. He turned back to look at her, met by her fierce stare.
Kamman was right, though. The profits incurred by the new tourism business were almost ten times that of a single luxury cruise ship, and this was achieved in only three months. He would never make a bad business deal for the sake of mutual respect or maintaining friendships. They could all burn in hell for all he cared.
He replied, clearly disinterested in the conversation:
"Ma'am, I also want to solve our differences since we've been working together for a long time. But business is business. I won't take an unfavorable deal, and I'm pretty sure you also won't."
Ms. Kang sneered and turned her head away from him, displeasure evident on her face. Normally, other cartels who swooned over her and licked her feet would rush to comfort her, assuring her that things would be sorted out. Kamman hadn't received that memo, and even if he had, he still wouldn't engage in such nonsense.
Seeing that his message had landed, he turned to leave. When he reached the door, he stopped once more but did not look back this time. Then he added,
"We don't necessarily have to fight. But you should know that I am not afraid of fighting you."
His tone was low and dangerous, hard to take as a bluff. With that, he left, leaving Ms. Kang to deal with the weight of his last words.
As he walked out, his phone rang. He checked the caller ID. It was Gwen.
"What do you want?" he asked as soon as he answered.
"Where are you?" she asked instead.
"Why?" he countered, curious about her interest in his location.
"Did your crazy girlfriend manage to find you? She was here. Also, I am launching a new collection in a week. Bring over that handsome company of yours. The girls are gonna love it!"
Chen sighed then replied, "That's not my job. I won't be in Thailand by then, and you're equally as crazy. Is she still there?"
"You said you'd be back before then! And no, she left angry and all." she answered.
"What did you say to make her angry?" Chen asked, completely devoid of concern, as he entered the car.
"Nothing. I just told her that I don't know where you went, and she stomped off angrily." Gwen said in a cooing voice, making Chen roll his eyes.
Chen obviously knew that Gwen was the only reason Marsha would lose her temper, since she was constantly testing her patience, but he didn't really care; in fact, he was happy with that and smiled slightly.
"Awww. Good job," he said to her, mocking her baby voice.
"Of course. I got you. Now get me those men."
She said and hung up immediately, not giving him time to refuse. Chen lowered his phone from his ear and sneered. Then he turned to the two men before him and said,
"Send the invitations under my name."
"Yes, sir," they replied in unison. A silent ride proceeded for the remainder of the journey. They were heading back to the mansion, as he had no other plans for the day.