His Mafia Queen - BTS Mafia AU

Chapter 23 : Take the Lead

Namjoon's office door opened on the view of a couple of his men sitting around and two unidentified people, kneeling on the floor. The two kneeling people had bloodied faces and looked quite roughed up.

''What's going on here?'' Namjoon asked before going to sit behind his office on his large red chair, a stern expression on his face.

''A whole neighbourhood in the south district has been refusing to pay their protection fees. This morning when one of our men came to perceive their payment a fight broke out, nobody was killed but it was a close call... They said they wouldn't pay until they got to talk to you personally; they're amongst those who have kept on calling you these past days... We didn't want to waste your time, but we figured they could serve as examples and we brought them over...'' Hoseok explained.

''This is one of the most peaceful part of the city, they have been paying their protection fees to the Kuromiya clan for decades without an issue. We don't charge them anything more than what they have always been paying... why would they suddenly refuse to pay? '' Namjoon said, with an annoyed look.

Mirai let out a sarcastic chuckle.

''Of course they would refuse to pay!''

''Excuse me?'' Namjoon asked, not a bit amused by Mirai's tone.

Mirai said a couple of words in Japanese to the two people kneeling and one of them started a long tirade as Mirai nodded.

''The same man has been perceiving the protection rackets of this territory for the last thirty years. He is a very well-liked figure. The yakuza treats the people who pay protection rackets to them as customers, so the man in charge of perceiving the rackets of this neighbourhood always treated the locals with outmost respect and listened to their complaints. You shouldn't have replaced him...

'You sent one of your own man to do the job and he treated the residents poorly, going so far as threatening one of our most respectful client, an elderly woman with a traditional tea shop... I'm surprised they just stopped paying their protection fees, this could have turned into a huge uprising and gotten violent...'' Mirai explained in a matter of fact tone.

Namjoon looked at his fiancé, his expression darkening with shame as she spoke. He was used to knowing everything and always making smart decisions, but he really had no idea that simply replacing Mirai's men on the ground could cause such big issues.

''Find the guy who was perceiving the rackets before and assign him back to his previous role.'' Namjoon told Hoseok. ''Things should quickly go back to normal but we still have to punish the people who refused to pay, they lacked respect in our organisation and they were still in the wrong...''

''A protection racket might be a simple means of extortion for you, but in the yakuza mindset, it doesn't work that way. We are not extorting people out of fear, if we fail to offer the peace of mind they pay for, we are failing our duty. Your men came in acting like big shots and the locals didn't feel safe on their own streets anymore. They were not getting what they paid for, therefore they didn't have to pay...'' Mirai argued calmly, looking at Namjoon dead in the eyes.

Mirai sounded so confident when she spoke that it took Namjoon aback.

She did use to be a leader and a respected one at that. Maybe she had a point.

Namjoon had always assumed he could manage to deal with the yakuza the same way he dealt with his gang, but the more he saw Mirai's way of thinking, the more he realised he was wrong. Maybe she was a better leader than him when it came to the yakuza's ways...

''And what do you thing a correct course of action would be in my situation?'' Namjoon asked Mirai, genuinely curious to see how she would act in his place.