Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Surprise Party Scare
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A single black van sped toward the heart of the city.
It glided along like a living beast.
Olivia, behind the wheel, adjusted the steering wheel while glancing back at the woman seated in the rear.
"Hey, you feeling good back there with your popcorn?"
"Yeah. It's delicious."
"Ha, turning Wall Street's Olivia into a mere chauffeur—those old fogeys would keel over if they saw this."
All her scheduled meetings were done.
Now, the only thing left was heading home to cozy comfort.
She'd spent days crammed with back-to-back meetings, no time to breathe.
Selig's entry into Korea had gone smoothly.
The public's wariness toward foreign capital had long faded; they were eager for the factory to be built and revitalize the local economy.
It was only natural for areas near factories to develop.
Jobs would be created, foot traffic would increase.
It was like breathing life back into a dead local economy.
"I've already got the ruling and opposition parties locked down tight. You can see it in their eyes how money-crazy those senile old coots get."
"That's human nature. Especially in politics."
Jin Seol-hwa popped some popcorn into her mouth and happened to glance at her watch.
Her birthday, which came only once a year.
In over thirty years, she'd never once celebrated it. To survive with her ailing little sister, she'd used any means necessary.
She'd killed to stay alive.
She'd crushed others to protect.
Memories of trampling dreams to survive flashed before her like a montage.
Romance doesn't exist in this world, Jin Seol-hwa was thinking.
Then she spotted something odd.
She immediately ordered the car to stop.
"Stop."
"?"
"The mansion's dark."
"...What?"
Arriving near home, Jin Seol-hwa saw an unusual sight.
Late at night.
The mansion, which should have been brightly lit, was shrouded in silence.
"Wait here."
"What? Where are you going?"
"To check things out. If something's happened..."
Killing intent poured from Jin Seol-hwa's eyes.
"I'll kill them all."
The vehicle they were in was a gift from Jack Ryan—or more precisely, smuggled in via the U.S. forces in Korea. It was armored as standard, with hidden weapons for neutralizing enemies everywhere.
Clunk!
The trunk popped open, revealing a guitar-case-sized bag.
"Seol-hwa, are you... insane?"
Out came a beanbag shotgun, the non-lethal weapon used by American police.
Though called non-lethal because it fired rubber rounds, a hit in the wrong spot could still be fatal.
In this country where guns were illegal, Jin Seol-hwa had brought a weapon.
An American-made firearm, no less.
"Can't tell when the blackmailer might show up."
"S-Still..."
"This guy's evaded even the FBI. Can't take him lightly."
"......"
"Olivia."
"Yeah?"
Click!
Jin Seol-hwa loaded the rounds with practiced ease, then made a phone shape with her fingers.
"If no word in ten minutes, assemble every security team stationed in Korea. Especially Yun-ah."
"You're really going? Could be nothing."
"Maybe."
Olivia could be right.
But you couldn't lower your guard anywhere, anytime. As the saying goes, a tiny lapse can bring disaster.
Especially in busy times like now—it handed opportunities to enemies.
"Start the stopwatch."
"...Got it."
Olivia wanted to help, but she was a civilian.
Precisely, no military background.
Jin Seol-hwa, on the other hand, had served in the U.S. military, seen combat in the Middle East, and rubbed shoulders with the roughest mercenaries in a PMC.
Their experience levels were worlds apart.
"I'm off."
"Be careful."
"Yeah."
With that, Jin Seol-hwa vanished from sight in an instant.
Olivia shook her head at the sight.
"Whoever it is, better start praying."
Wall Street gathered intel from everywhere. Even news of some woman mercilessly carving through foes in Africa reached there.
"Of all people, they had to mess with Seol-hwa..."
And now, that very figure began to move.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Moonlight filtered through hazy clouds.
A black shadow slipped silently into the mansion.
There were CCTV cameras here and there.
But the unidentified shadow breached the interior effortlessly.
'......'
The shadow was Jin Seol-hwa herself.
To her, this level of security was child's play.
She'd escaped encirclement by hundreds during her PMC days.
No signs of life around the mansion.
She worried for her sister and master inside. Korea's public safety was famously impeccable, unmatched worldwide.
However.
The American blackmailer had shaken off thousands of cops and battle-hardened agents. U.S. media still called it a mystery, unable to track him.
Could such a guy not reach this country?
Decision made, Jin Seol-hwa moved faster.
Without gear, she scaled the wall and pried open a third-floor window.
Enemies wouldn't expect that.
She advanced cautiously, shotgun ready. As she exited the third-floor room and descended the stairs, the barrel swept every direction.
"!"
Multiple figures on the first floor.
This many people undetected?
And most were prone.
Click!
Creeping close, Jin Seol-hwa pressed the beanbag shotgun to the presumed intruder's head.
"Drop your weapon unless you want a hole in your skull."
"!"
She felt the other's startled breath.
Her hunch was right.
Somehow the U.S. blackmailer had found this place.
"Seol-hwa-ssi?"
"...?"
He even knew her name.
A meticulously planned crew?
America had it wrong.
There wasn't just one; there were multiples.
No wonder they shook the FBI.
"Drop the weapon."
"W-What are you talking about?"
"?"
The voice sounded familiar.
Moments later, her pupils dilated.
She'd identified him.
"...Seong-ho-ssi?"
"O-Oh, long time no see. Haha!"
The mansion's occupants were baffled by the protagonist's appearance in such an unexpected spot. Why from there, of all places?
"Huh? Why's Seol-hwa coming from upstairs? Didn't she go out for work today?"
"I... dunno either."
"Whoa! Seol-hwa unnie, Spider-Man?"
"Seol-young, calling your sister Spider-Man..."
"Why was Seol-hwa-ssi upstairs?"
Only then did Jin Seol-hwa lower her weapon with a dumbfounded expression.
She grasped the situation instantly.
Everyone in the mansion wore party hats on their heads and held sparklers in hand. The living room wall read 'Happy Birthday To You.'
The reason for the dark mansion?
It was a surprise event for the birthday girl.
"Haa..."
Tension drained, Jin Seol-hwa let out a hollow laugh and slumped weakly to the floor.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Jin Seol-hwa's birthday party.
Everyone gathered at the mansion right at midnight.
Solely to wish her a happy birthday.
Now, that party lay in ruins.
Everyone in the mansion, me included, had our hands raised high.
"Haa..."
Only sighs filled the air.
The atmosphere grew heavier by the second.
Olivia looked especially indignant.
"Why do I have to... raise my hands?"
"Shut up!"
"......"
As much as I hate to say it, Olivia was our accomplice.
Her acting was top-notch.
She'd even fooled Jin Seol-hwa right beside her.
She could head to Hollywood tomorrow.
"How was my acting?"
Thwack!
The beanbag shotgun's stock cracked against Olivia's skull.
"Kyaaak!"
"I'm pissed, so shut it. Get hit wrong and you'll turn into an idiot."
"......"
Too harsh?
No, for a surprise party, turning off the lights is standard.
That's how you multiply the emotion.
My eyes fixed on one spot.
Jin Seol-hwa held a firearm that had no business being in Korea.
From what I heard, it was a beanbag shotgun.
I vaguely remembered seeing it on YouTube.
In America, accidental shootings were so common they were a headache for law enforcement.
Delay response, and it's the cops who die, not the perp.
Hence, non-lethal beanbag rounds.
"Seol-hwa-ssi, where on earth did you...?"
I'm a full-term army discharge vet myself.
No way I'd miss what that was.
"Oh, this? I brought a few just in case the blackmailer showed."
"Isn't that illegal?"
"It is."
"Th-Then..."
"If you don't get caught, it's legal."
"......"
Sophistry.
But logically sound.
Commit a crime without getting caught, and it's as good as legal.
Of course, getting caught means you're screwed.
The birthday bash followed.
Titled 'Jin Seol-hwa Birthday Party.'
"Happy birthday to you, dear Seol-hwa~, happy birthday to you."
A five-tier birthday cake.
I'd splurged big time on it.
Reserved it at a pro bakery a week ago. It was so backed up, I had to slip them extra cash to get it done.
Fwooo!
Candles snuffed out, followed by pops and bangs as sparklers burst.
Colored confetti scattered everywhere.
"Waaaaah!"
Park Seong-ho, Im Yun-ah, Olivia, Jin Seol-young, Selig's security chiefs.
Everyone here clapped wildly.
I clapped till my hands burned too.
My eyes caught the gift wrappers around the cake. As Jin Seol-hwa opened them one by one, tears of emotion welled up.
"Thank you, everyone."
"Hehe~"
"But never pull this again. You have no idea how worried I was..."
Ah, they weren’t tears of emotion, but tears of relief that everyone was safe.
Jin Seol-young hugged her sister tight.
"Happy birthday, unnie!"
"Thanks. I heard Seol-young planned it all?"
"Hehe, yeah!"
A moment of bliss.
Then we all dug into mine and Jin Seol-young's collaborative dishes.
"Urk!"
Thwack!
The shotgun stock smashed Park Seong-ho's occiput.
"Gurk!"
That had to hurt.
Well, self-inflicted.
Japchae, braised short ribs, donggeurangddeng, seaweed soup, deodeok salad, assorted namul.
Every dish brimmed with care.
Especially the donggeurangddeng—Seol-young's specialty, super popular.
"Mmm..."
A bit charred, but practice paid off.
Sis's cooking really is the best.