Chapter 38: Trap
He thought Muyeong would simply answer yes if there was nothing wrong, or no if there wasn’t, but Muyeong gave no answer.
“I’m not sure if you’re curious because it was your job, or because personal feelings are involved.”
After a long pause, Muyeong sighed deeply and answered. Yeon didn’t bother to deny that it wasn’t about personal feelings. Not only was he naturally bad at lying, but Muyeong was also a perceptive man. Rather than making things complicated with clumsy lies, it was better to just stay silent.
“I had a bad feeling from the moment we received the request. From the moment you read Kang Dohyuk’s name.”
Back then, he hadn’t even seen the threads. He had only felt a slight tug on the thread wrapped around his finger when he saw that name on the paper with the client’s information. Yet Muyeong had noticed his subtle change.
“I suddenly wonder if I shouldn’t have sent you to him.”
“Even if you hadn’t, we would have met eventually.”
At Yeon’s answer, Muyeong closed his mouth and stared at him for a moment.
“So he’s someone connected to your fate. Quite strongly at that.”
In all the assignments Yeon had been sent on, the clients unanimously said he wasn’t like a human. They said he was like a doll without emotions or expressions, and although they acknowledged his skills, they felt uncomfortable being with someone so lacking in humanity. Yeon, who had never shown even a hint of emotion outwardly to that extent, had taken a bullet in place of that man after sensing his danger. As the leader of Muryeong, Muyeong couldn’t help but understand what that meant.
“What do you plan to do now?”
At Muyeong’s question, Yeon shook his head. He hadn’t thought about anything yet.
“I thought you had changed, but perhaps not yet.”
Muyeong stood up as if he had finished his business. As he was about to leave the room, he noticed a bag placed next to the door and brought it closer to Yeon.
“These are your belongings from that place. Check if anything is missing.”
Yeon sluggishly sat up. He hadn’t noticed while lying down, but when he tried to move, his left shoulder throbbed. As he gritted his teeth against the pain, Muyeong clicked his tongue.
He checked the bag’s contents with only his right hand. He took out the items inside one by one and placed them beside him. They were just a few pieces of clothing anyway.
“Ah…”
A groan escaped as his fingertips touched a hard object. This drew Muyeong’s attention toward the bag. Yeon bit his lower lip, then released it and pulled out the object in his hand.
It was the mobile phone Kang Dohyuk had given him to carry around. He had put it in the inner pocket of his suit jacket on the day of the shooting, and he couldn’t understand why it was now in the bag.
Muyeong’s face hardened at the sight of the phone. He snatched it from Yeon’s hand and pressed the side button. However, it seemed broken as it wouldn’t turn on.
“I only carried it because I needed it while I was there.”
Yeon offered an excuse that wasn’t really an excuse. Though there had never been an official mention of prohibiting mobile phones, judging by Muyeong’s reaction now, it seemed like something he shouldn’t have had.
“It’s broken, so dispose of it.”
Muyeong handed the phone back to Yeon. Was it just his imagination that Muyeong’s expression had softened somewhat compared to a moment ago when he said it was broken?
After Muyeong left, Yeon fiddled with the phone. He pressed various buttons, but it really seemed broken as it wouldn’t turn on. Could it have been damaged when he was shot? Or since he said he had woken up after four days, perhaps the battery had simply drained. Even so, there was no way to charge it. Since no one in Muryeong had mobile phones, there naturally were no chargers either.
He felt it was a waste to throw it away since it looked fine on the outside. He laughed wryly as he placed it in a drawer. What was there to feel wasteful about a phone that wouldn’t even turn on? Wasn’t it just attachment? The idea that if he kept it, he might someday be able to contact Kang Dohyuk…
He shook his head, taking a deep breath so intense his chest heaved. No. He would never contact him first. His feeling that it wouldn’t be bad if they could drift apart like this remained unchanged. That was the best path for both of them.
***
A tripartite meeting between the government, Kangsan Construction, and Dragon Holdings was held at the Dragon Holdings headquarters.
“I’m sorry for making you come all the way here.”
When Dohyuk greeted the Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, the man waved his hand saying it was fine. Normally, such meetings would be held at a government department. However, Dohyuk had mentioned the recent presentation incident and expressed concern that having the meeting at a government facility could be dangerous if such a risk existed again, and that if a shooting incident occurred within a government facility, it would make news both domestically and internationally. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, not wanting to deal with such troublesome issues, had accepted Dohyuk’s proposal.
Kangsan Construction felt the same way. Judging that if any unfortunate incident were to occur, it would be fastest for Dragon Holdings to handle it, they had agreed to set the meeting location at the Dragon Holdings headquarters.
“The view is so open… it’s nice.”
The Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport made a strange expression—neither smiling nor frowning—upon seeing that the entire front of the conference room was made of glass. He thought it was unexpected, since one could understand if they had chosen a completely enclosed conference room after being targeted once, but this was the exact opposite.
“Are all Dragon Holdings conference rooms structured like this?”
Baek Hyeri also wondered.
“Not all of them.”
Though he could guess what they were thinking, Dohyuk briefly answered as if he didn’t know and sat down right in front of the window.
“Managing Director Kang, wouldn’t it be better to change seats?”
Baek Hyeri suggested an inner seat, saying that seat didn’t seem right. The Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, perhaps worried that he would be asked to sit in front of the window, quickly took a seat on the side against the inner wall.
“I know what you’re concerned about, but it’s fine.”
Dohyuk reassured Baek Hyeri and turned on his laptop, suggesting they start the meeting. Dohyuk’s laptop screen appeared on the monitors installed at each of their seats.
“Are you really going to be okay?”
Baek Hyeri asked again, unable to focus on the meeting. She couldn’t understand how he could be so composed only a few days after almost dying.
“Director Baek Hyeri.”
He sighed softly and called to her.
“Why are you here?”
“Well, I’m here for the meeting.”
“Then I’d appreciate it if you could focus on the meeting.”
“But Managing Director Kang, that seat is a bit…”
“I told you it’s fine.”
As he coldly cut off her concern, the Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, caught between them, rolled his eyes back and forth, reading the atmosphere. He had heard they were to be married, but the atmosphere was too stiff. It was too bleak even to say they strictly separated public and private matters.
Baek Hyeri, who had been quietly staring at Dohyuk, said she understood and turned her gaze toward the monitor.
“Let’s proceed with the meeting.”
As her attitude returned to being professional, Dohyuk also focused on his laptop monitor.
“As you can see, these are the construction companies and investors that have expressed interest in the Yeouido project. For now, we’ve included all companies that have sent preliminary inquiries. As we initially agreed, we will prioritize Kangsan Construction’s opinions for construction companies and our opinions for investment companies when making decisions.”
As Dohyuk conducted the meeting without changing his expression, both Baek Hyeri and the Vice Minister gradually focused on the meeting. While the three exchanged opinions with serious expressions, a white light briefly flashed from the building across from the conference room’s front window.
***
A man dressed in all black—black clothes, black hat, and a black full-face mask that covered his entire face except for his eyes—entered the building’s rooftop. In his hand was a large rectangular hard case.
He placed the hard case in front of the rooftop railing and checked his watch. It was almost time for the target to appear. When he opened the hard case, a well-organized sniper rifle was revealed. Glaring at the gun, he vowed not to fail this time.
Last time, his aim had been precise. If not for the guy who suddenly jumped out and blocked the target, it would have been finished in one shot… Just thinking about it again made his teeth grind. How on earth did he know to block him? Coincidence? There was no such thing as coincidence in this world. He hadn’t leaked any information either. He hadn’t worked with anyone to prepare for possible betrayal.
Once you miss a target, the probability of success drops by half. That’s because targets become cautious and go into hiding. Fortunately, this target was different. He still exposed himself in open spaces, making it easy to replan.
Stupid bastard.
Muttering softly, he took the gun out of the case and assembled it. He attached a silencer to the muzzle and set the gun on a stand. He put his eye to the scope and moved the muzzle to find his target.
The barrel was pointed at a building across the way with a large DH logo at the top. Dragon Holdings, one of the most prominent buildings in Yeouido.
He slowly lowered the barrel from the top floor, one by one. According to what he had obtained in advance, it should be around here… Found it! A smile appeared on his lips the moment the target came into view through the scope.
The entire front was made of glass, clearly showing the movements of people inside. Thankfully, the target sat right in front of the front window. It seemed heaven was helping to make this job easier. There were fewer people in that space, which appeared to be a conference room, than last time. This meant fewer factors that could interfere with sniping the target. Thinking that he was lucky in many ways, he adjusted his posture.
He waited until the target’s movements lessened. He had to be extremely careful this time, as he could not afford to fail again. The meeting seemed to have started, and the target was focusing on the laptop screen. There was almost no change in his straight sitting posture.
Now. He placed his finger on the trigger and applied pressure to pull it.
Click.
Click? A sound that shouldn’t have been there—he hadn’t moved his finger yet, and he had attached a silencer—rang out from behind his head.
“Raise your hands and stand up.”
At the chilling warning, he swallowed hard. Slowly turning his head, he saw several burly men standing with guns aimed at him.
When had they approached right behind him? He hadn’t been able to sense their presence at all.
There wasn’t even time to think. With a thud, a blow to his head made him collapse unconscious.
Director Choi had one of the men who had been aiming their guns carry the unconscious hitman over his shoulder, while he instructed another to clean up the sniper rifle that the hitman had brought. After cleaning up the rooftop as if nothing had happened, he sent a message to Kang Dohyuk as they went down.
– We caught him.
The reply that came just seconds after sending the message consisted of only four characters: “Bring him here.”
