Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Translation: Godtl
"President, it's almost time to depart. The car is waiting outside."
"Ah, right. Let's head out together."
President Hwang Dae-un had been feeling uneasy since this morning, a nagging discomfort lingering in the corner of his mind.
Why did Jin-ho say something like that back then?
They had been having a perfectly normal conversation in the president's office when suddenly, Jin-ho grabbed Hwang's arm and told him not to go to the Middle East.
His reason was absurd.
Something about a new DLC coming out for the game they both played.
His main reason was that he wanted to gather the guild members—including "hyungnim"—and go on a raid together for old times' sake, just like they used to.
It was hardly a convincing excuse.
But it felt like there was something more to it...
He couldn't figure out what, though.
Still, canceling a business trip to Saudi Arabia over a game?
That would be insane.
The purpose of this Saudi trip was clear.
Saudi Arabia had confirmed the opening of its securities market this year.
They had also announced plans for aggressive investments through their Sovereign Wealth Fund.
That was why Hwang wanted to get there faster than anyone else—to assess the situation firsthand.
There were already rumors that other conglomerate chairmen were preparing to fly to Saudi Arabia themselves.
Hwang also wanted to secure even a small foothold before they could take their positions.
"Are you ready, President?"
"Yeah. Executive Director Tak, are you all set?"
"Yes. Once we arrive in Riyadh, I plan to meet with the Sovereign Wealth Fund officials first. I've already scheduled the meetings."
"Good. But that's not what I meant. You're ridiculously picky about food, aren't you?"
"Ah, I actually packed a ton of cup noodles for that very reason."
Riyadh was the capital of Saudi Arabia.
Once they arrived, there would be no time for rest or sightseeing.
They had to move quickly.
Every second counted if they wanted to squeeze out even a single extra won.
"But is Riyadh safe?"
"Oh, it's more than just 'safe.' It's the capital of Saudi Arabia, after all. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is practically the top dog—they've got security locked down tight. Are you worried because of Yemen?"
Saudi Arabia had recently joined the Yemen Civil War, launching airstrikes under the name Operation Storm.
Saudi Arabia and Iran had never been on good terms, and this was essentially a proxy war between the two.
As a result, multiple military warehouses had been destroyed in Saudi airstrikes, further escalating tensions in the Middle East.
"But I guess oil-rich nations are built different. Normally, war would send oil prices skyrocketing, but here? Nothing like that."
War usually sent oil prices through the roof.
But this conflict was relatively small-scale, and more importantly, Saudi Arabia was a global oil powerhouse—so prices had actually dropped.
"So you're saying security isn't an issue?"
"Yes. Even if there's fighting, it's happening in Yemen, not Saudi Arabia. Honestly, Yemen is just the ring where Saudi Arabia and Iran are throwing jabs at each other."
The Yemen Civil War was little more than an excuse for Saudi Arabia and Iran to flex their muscles.
Their own territories remained safe, while Yemen was being reduced to ruins.
"So there's no need to worry about security. If Iran were crazy enough to attack the Saudi capital, they'd just be handing the U.S. a justification to step in. They'd never do that."
The biggest reason Iran couldn't touch Saudi Arabia was the U.S. backing them.
No country would dare provoke Saudi Arabia unless they wanted to declare war on America.
"Right. That makes sense."
The conclusion was simple: Saudi Arabia was safe.
And yet, Jin-ho's words still gnawed at him.
He knew how important this business trip was—so why would Jin-ho suggest postponing the Middle East trip just to play games?
"That meeting... there's no way to reschedule it, is there?"
"Huh? It was hard enough to secure those meetings in the first place. If we try to postpone, they might refuse altogether. We only got this far because we're moving faster than everyone else."
"Hmm... Right."
"Is something wrong? You've been looking uneasy since earlier."
"Huh? It's nothing."
Hwang shook his head.
Right. What could possibly happen?
Maybe Jin-ho just genuinely wanted to play games after all the nonstop work lately.
Once this trip was over, they could play together then.
That would be fine.
"Did you arrive safely?"
It was a 12-hour direct flight, after all.
That day, I felt something for the first time.
How should I describe it?
It was a feeling close to terror—goosebumps rising, cold sweat dripping.
Before I knew it, I had grabbed my brother's arm and blurted out, "Don't go to the Middle East."
Even making the ridiculous excuse that we should play games together instead.
Of course, my brother just laughed it off, saying I was talking nonsense.
"I have a lot of important meetings scheduled."
When I held onto him a few more times, he patiently explained why this trip was crucial.
That Saudi Arabia could be a land of opportunity.
I know that.
I also know that Gwangun Securities, still smaller than other firms, needs to sprint ahead to secure its position.
But I don't fully understand why my intuition suddenly sounded the alarm.
Maybe it was signaling to invest in something related to Saudi Arabia, or maybe it was something else entirely.
That's why I didn't hold him back in the end.
If I said something unnecessary and made him miss a crucial opportunity, it would hurt the company too.
"Should I have held onto him one more time?"
But why this uneasiness?
Because of it, I couldn't focus on work all day.
Not that there was much to do anyway, since I'd already dumped everything into the franc.
Maybe that's why it bothered me more.
Ah. I should've steeled myself and held onto him one more time.
Just in case, I looked into Saudi Arabia, but it wasn't a place with major security or safety issues.
Maybe I was just worrying over nothing...
As I sat slumped in my chair, blankly staring at the ceiling—
Knock-knock-knock-knock!
A frantic knocking sounded.
"Yes?"
"D-Deputy Director! Have you seen the breaking international news just now?"
Assistant Manager Lee Hye-rin's expression told me something big had happened.
I checked immediately.
[Bombing terror attack in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.]
"!?"
Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia!?
Soon, others rushed into my office in a flurry.
"Deputy Director, you saw the breaking news, right? The quiet markets are reacting. This is a pretty big incident."
"With this news, the FX market is about to take a major hit. Saudi Arabia, the safest place in the Middle East, was attacked. If this is Iran's doing, the U.S. might even get involved..."
But their reports didn't register.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
That's exactly where my brother was headed.
"No way..."
Was this why my intuition had gone off?
My hands trembled violently.
"Deputy Director?"
"I-I need to make a call..."
"Ah. Understood. We'll step out."
Sensing the gravity, the employees quickly left the office.
Meanwhile, with shaking fingers, I searched for my brother's number and dialed.
I nearly dropped my phone.
"I should've stopped him no matter what."
Regret surged.
I should've clung to his sleeve and not let him go.
No. Don't think negatively.
Even if he was in Riyadh, he might've avoided the bombing.
"..."
Praying desperately, I waited for the call to connect.
Those few seconds felt like years.
How much time passed like that?
[Hey. Jin-ho.]
"Brother!!"
[Whoa, you scared me. My ears are ringing.]
"No, are—are you okay? Nothing happened, right?"
[Of course I'm fine, Jin-seok.]
I let out a sigh of relief.
The tension that had surged in that brief moment dissolved all at once, and I nearly collapsed.
"There was just a huge bombing terror attack in Riyadh. Thank goodness. It must've been nowhere near where you were."
[Actually... I didn't go to Saudi.]
"Huh?"
[I was almost at the airport, but I just turned the car around and canceled everything. Something felt off. Your words kept ringing in my ears too.]
"Wait, you really canceled because of what I said?"
[Yeah. Why would I ignore the guy who makes the most money for our company when he begs me to play games? Didn't want to risk running into trouble. So I turned back. Heh.]
The older brother playfully continued the conversation before suddenly turning serious with his question.
[By the way, Jin-ho.]
"Yes, hyungnim."
[You... didn't happen to know about this, did you? The bomb attack.]
"Good heavens—how could I possibly have known about that?"
[Right? Yeah. That's good then. Anyway, I'm safe, so don't worry. Oh, right. Get the guild members ready too. Time for a raid.]
"Understood. I'll have everything prepped in advance."
[Alright. Get to work then.]
What a relief.
For that brief moment, all sorts of wild thoughts had flashed through my mind, thinking something terrible might have happened.
If something truly disastrous had occurred, I would have regretted not stopping hyungnim for the rest of my life.
Speaking of which—a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia?
It was shocking that such a large-scale attack could happen in a place known for its safety.
Especially with America backing Saudi Arabia.
"Now's not the time for this."
The Saudi attack was clearly a major incident that could impact global markets.
Though all our funds were tied up in the safe-haven Swiss franc, we needed to keep a close eye on market movements.
Time to get back to work.
＊＊＊
"..."
After hanging up, Hwang Dae-un sank into brief contemplation.
The shocking Saudi terrorist attack.
If he hadn't turned the car around at the airport that day, if he'd ignored Jin-ho's words—he might have been among the casualties there.
"Chairman!!"
"Chairmaaaan!!"
But he didn't even have a moment to dwell on it.
Because the executives came bursting into his office in a clamor.
"Good grief. You're all giving me a collective heart attack here."
"But—Chairman! Wh-what on earth just happened?"
Executive Director Tak looked the most pale-faced of them all.
After all, he'd been the only executive scheduled to accompany Hwang Dae-un to Saudi Arabia.
"It's an absolute miracle. We were all baffled when you suddenly canceled the Saudi trip, but to think something like this would happen..."
"Divine intervention, truly."
Divine intervention.
That wasn't wrong.
Perhaps the heavens above had sent a warning through Jin-ho.
"But why did you cancel the trip so suddenly? Even Executive Director Tak didn't know the reason."
Chairman Hwang hesitated briefly.
Should he tell them?
No. A moment's thought made it clear—this was something he absolutely couldn't reveal.
Even if Jin-ho genuinely hadn't known, what if word got out that the kid had given him advance warning?
What if someone twisted it to make it seem like Jin-ho had prior knowledge of the attack? However unlikely, it wasn't worth creating that risk in the first place.
"Just had a bad dream that night."
So he kept his mouth shut.
The executives looked utterly flabbergasted.
"Seriously? Because of a dream?"
"Yeah. Got lucky, I guess. Like you said—the heavens helped me out. But who the hell did this? Iran, really?"
"From the initial reports we've checked, Iran quickly issued a statement denying involvement. ISIS has already claimed responsibility."
"Tch. It's fine to have religion or ideology, but must they express it like this? What crime did those killed in the attack commit?"
At the very least, it was fortunate that the perpetrators were ISIS rather than Iran.
Had it been Iran, it might have sparked an all-out war.
ISIS.
An extremist Sunni Islamist militant group.
After suddenly declaring their own state years ago and wreaking havoc, they'd finally crossed this line.
"Anyway, I'm fine. Everyone, get back to work. News this big could send the markets into turmoil."
"Yes. Regardless, we're relieved you're safe, Chairman."
"Right. Ah—Executive Director Tak, stay behind for a moment."
"...Understood."
After the others left, Hwang Dae-un addressed Tak, who still seemed shell-shocked.
"Executive Director Tak."
"Yes, Chairman."
"If we'd gone to Saudi Arabia... would we have been caught in that?"
"...The probability was high. Our first meeting was scheduled at the building where the bombing occurred today."
"!?"
So that's how it was.
Then Jin-ho really did save my life...
"But Chairman... how did you know? If you hadn't turned the car around that day..."
Executive Director Tak trembled violently at the mere thought.
"Executive Director Tak. Be good to Jin-ho from now on."
"Huh? Why suddenly bring up Deputy Manager Jeong Jin-ho...?"
"Just because. Anyway, treat him well."
"...?"
Executive Director Tak looked utterly bewildered.
'How am I ever going to repay this debt?'
Jeong Jin-ho.
First he builds up the company, now he saves my life too.
It seems I'll owe that kid for the rest of my life.