Former Mastermind To Chaebol Son-in-Law

Chapter 59

Looks Like He's a Little Crazy

The intersection was thrown into chaos by people who suddenly appeared and began firing their guns wildly.

Soon after, the sound of sirens was heard in the distance.

Meanwhile, Kang In-hyuk crouched in front of the man collapsed on the ground and started by taking off his helmet.

He was a young Asian man with short hair.

"Who sent you?"

When Kang In-hyuk asked in Korean, the man's gaze, which had been groaning, suddenly changed.

At the same time, the knife in his left hand—produced out of nowhere—stabbed toward Kang In-hyuk's neck.

Paak—

But Kang In-hyuk was faster; he grabbed the man's wrist first.

"Do you understand English? (영어는 알아듣나?), 还是中文? (Or Chinese?), 日本語? (Japanese?)"

Despite being questioned in several languages, the man simply furrowed his brow and didn't say a word.

Instead, he desperately struggled to break free of Kang In-hyuk's grip.

'He doesn't seem properly trained....'

By then, Hong Yu-geon, with a grenade launcher slung over his shoulder, had come over.

"Is our division director alright?"

"I'm fine."

"So who are those guys who showed up out of nowhere?"

"I have no idea. Even when asked, they don't say... look out!"

Kang In-hyuk urgently shouted, pushing Hong Yu-geon aside as he fell with him.

Papak— papapak—

Bullets whizzed in from somewhere, striking the young Asian's body and head.

At the same time, Kang In-hyuk and Hong Yu-geon rolled behind a nearby car for cover.

Van Hester, who had been subduing other men, did the same.

The gunfire didn't stop, sweeping over the bodies of the remaining men.

"Was there another one hiding?"

The shots had come from the rooftop of the building to the east.

"You noticed quickly."

"I've always had a good sense for these things."

"Maybe I shouldn't have asked. But that guy over there was waving a pistol around—why's he staying put now?"

Hong Yu-geon pointed at Baek Si-hwan, who was still in the car.

Papak— papapak—

"He probably messed up trying to show off in front of me."

"But it looks like all those guys are dead? And the one upstairs must have run off too."

At some point, the gunfire stopped.

Kang In-hyuk scanned the sidelined mirrors of the surrounding cars, searching for one that showed that direction.

"Looks that way. I guess eliminating those guys was more urgent for him than us."

"It wasn't about us, but them."

At that moment, the sirens got closer and soon police cars entered the intersection.

Three hastily dispatched patrol cars surrounded the area, and the officers drew their pistols as they got out.

...

...

...

About four hours later, past midnight.

Kang In-hyuk came out of a nearby police station after being questioned, along with Baek Si-hwan, Hong Yu-geon, and Van Hester.

With them were Mark Campbell, CEO of Greenbyte Labs, and a lawyer.

It was proven by both witnesses and CCTV that one suspect had killed another, so it didn't become a major issue.

In addition, Mark Campbell brought along a lawyer, who vouched for why Kang In-hyuk was in San Jose and verified his identity, so the questioning wrapped up smoothly.

"Thank you for your trouble."

"No, it's my fault this happened, so I'm the one who should apologize."

"The situation has been explained, but you might be required to stay here a few days for further statements."

"I'll accept that."

"Let's have a meal next time, but for today, get some rest at the hotel. I'll take my leave."

Mark Campbell said goodbye and walked away with the lawyer to their car.

Meanwhile, Kang In-hyuk stared intently at Baek Si-hwan.

As for Baek Si-hwan's pistol, as well as the grenade launchers set up with rubber bullets for Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester—once their foreign firearm permits were checked and self-defense was confirmed, there was no further issue.

"What are you doing?"

"... Pardon?"

"If you want to get back to the hotel, you need to flag down a taxi."

"Oh, right."

Baek Si-hwan walked toward the street in front of the police station, waving at a passing taxi.

"I noticed earlier that you fired without even aiming at those guys. Isn't that a bit clumsy?"

"I figured we didn't know their plan."

Just like Hong Yu-geon said, Kang In-hyuk knew exactly what Baek Si-hwan had done.

It wasn't complicated.

Kang In-hyuk had observed Baek Si-hwan's movements and watched the prearranged hotel, making it look like Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester had left their post.

Because of it, he found out that someone had secretly entered Baek Si-hwan's room even before checking in.

He even located the hidden phone and installed a wiretap application ahead of time.

"That's impressive in its own way. Oh, and those guys had the same tattoo on their hands as before. But the design was a little different this time."

It was the tattoo they'd found during the UID safehouse raid: two crossed horizontal lines, like a cross lying on its side, and two overlapping circles—one big, one small—in the center.

Hong Yu-geon knew about it from Kang In-hyuk's explanation.

"How?"

"There were just two fallen crosses. No overlapping circles in the center."

"Maybe in Kooou, variations in the design mean different things?"

They called the unidentified group by the keyword they'd uncovered during the code cracking.

Kang In-hyuk remembered how the men's defenses had been sloppy when grabbed by the wrist or overwhelmed.

And Hong Yu-geon watched Baek Si-hwan's back as he caught a taxi.

"Looks like staging a show in the middle of the road wasn't enough—they went and cleaned up right after they failed. He must really be on someone's list."

"They probably want something from me."

"Oh, Jacob told me to pass this on."

Hong Yu-geon handed over a black USB, about the size of two fingertip segments.

"Sounds like their investigation wrapped up quick."

Kang In-hyuk pocketed it and split into two taxis with Baek Si-hwan.

Soon after, they arrived at their hotel and stood in the hallway where their rooms were.

"The due diligence will go ahead as scheduled, without delay."

"Are you sure you don't need to visit a hospital?"

Baek Si-hwan had kept asking with a concerned face ever since they got into the taxi.

"Thanks to you, I'm not really hurt. And for safety, the two guys who returned will take turns standing security."

Baek Si-hwan fell silent.

Kang In-hyuk, after exchanging goodbyes, entered his room with Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester.

"We're tired too—what else are you planning?"

"I have something important, so I need to head out for a bit."

"Then just go and come back."

"I have to do it without Baek Si-hwan finding out."

At that, Hong Yu-geon tilted his head, giving Kang In-hyuk a curious look.

Kang In-hyuk entered his room briefly and came out dressed head-to-toe in black.

He was holding a skull mask that Hong Yu-geon had seen before.

"Don't tell me, you're not leaving by the door? Boss... You do know what floor this is, right?"

"14th."

About 45 meters above ground.

"Who doesn't know that? It's just that climbing down the wall is dangerous, even for a pro."

Hong Yu-geon had carefully checked such details while coming into the hotel.

"It's fine at this time of night. I've never been caught."

"... Wait, this isn't your first time?"

Deureureuk—

Kang In-hyuk casually opened the window.

"It was tough at first, but once I'd done it a few times, it got easier."

"Are you trying to get out via the rooftop?"

"I'd have to mess with the CCTV for that, but that leaves traces. I'll just go down."

"How?"

"Like this. Oh, no matter who comes knocking, don't open the door for anyone."

After giving this advice, Kang In-hyuk immediately jumped out the open window.

At that moment, Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester, who had been silently watching, rushed to the window and looked down.

Kang In-hyuk grabbed the rails in his gloves, repeatedly letting go and catching himself as he rapidly descended.

"... He's not Spider-Man."

"Looks like he's a little crazy."

He took the descent by skipping not just one, but several floors at a time.

Before long, Kang In-hyuk had gone down all 14 floors and looked up.

He gestured to the two faces poking out of the window above.

"Whew—!"

Once they'd pulled their heads back inside, he quietly let out a sigh and slipped away into the deeper darkness.

* * *

Returning to his room, Baek Si-hwan was still reeling from the incident earlier in the street.

He sat on the sofa in the dark, but then he froze. Quietly, he reached between the sofa cushions for a hidden pistol.

At that moment, there was a presence in the darkness and a woman's voice spoke:

"教育の時、銃は発見しやすい場所に隠すなと教わらなかった? (Didn't they teach you in training not to hide a gun somewhere easy to find?)"

Cheolkak—

A cold metallic click accompanied her words...

Baek Si-hwan checked the sofa gap and realized his hand was empty.

"作戦が終わったらすぐに復帰するんじゃなかったっけ？ 黒木. (Weren't you supposed to report back right after the mission? Kuroki.)"

The back-and-forth was in Japanese.

The woman's silhouette was visible, and when her name was brought up, she furrowed her brow.

"I told you not to call me that, didn't I? The name Reina is so much friendlier and easier to say."

"That's a little too friendly for comfort. Or maybe I should call you Blackwood?"

Kuroki (黒木) was her surname in Japanese: literally meaning "black wood", which in English is "Blackwood".

The woman, who had called herself Reina, gave a brief laugh.

"Why so cold between old classmates? What's with you since earlier?"

"If there's any warmth, do you send throwaway rookies to a mission you told me was critical?"

"Oh my! You figured it out?"

She was referring to the four young men who'd died earlier on the street.

"I know it was a setup, but shouldn't you at least have brought guys who could properly make a getaway?"

Reina let out a slight snort.

"I figured that much would be enough. But Kang In-hyuk's security guards are pretty talented. I am a little disappointed I couldn't track when those guys would come back, though."

In effect, she was blaming Baek Si-hwan for the leak of internal information.

"Didn't you realize the whole thing was staged, factoring all that in?"

"Of course I did. Perfectly, in fact. That's why, using the Daemyung case as a precedent, we limited the reinforcements."

When the loss of manpower in Korea was cited as an unavoidable excuse, Baek Si-hwan fell briefly silent.

Reina went on, still smiling.

"If you want to earn the Organization's trust, you need results first. If all you do is run small setups to gain a tiny bit of trust, do you really think Head Office will like that?"

"That's none of your business, is it? And why did you bring those rejects with you? Camp rejects aren't even supposed to leave."

His face twisted with disgust, while Reina's smile just deepened.

She tossed the pistol she'd been holding onto Baek Si-hwan's bed.

"Why do you think? Because I've proven myself enough to get away with it."

"What? Wait... When did you get promoted?"

"Only a few days ago. Aren't you going to congratulate me?"

Baek Si-hwan's frown deepened.

"So, did you come here to warn me or something?"

"The warning was what happened earlier. The Organization wants a report on Kang In-hyuk. The order was given to Chairman Baek, but you're handling it, so they want you to submit it directly."

Her voice was casual, but Baek Si-hwan's mouth curled in a scowl.

"... That means they want to skip the chairman and get it straight from me."

"It's a direct order from the Organization, so does it matter? We just follow orders, like today. Of course, next time the one lying on the floor could be me—or you. Anyway, send it as soon as possible. Bye~!"

Tak—

At that moment, the lights in the room went out, turning everything pitch black.

At the same time, the window opened, and Reina leapt out and disappeared upward.