Perfect Timing
The person on the other end of Baek Si-hwan’s call was Baek Ji-woong, chairman of the W&W Group.
“I apologize for calling so early in the morning. I’ve just completed the first round of due diligence and returned to my lodging.”
It was just past 4 p.m. in San Jose.
In South Korea, however, it was around 8 a.m., right before Baek Ji-woong would head into the office.
“You’re right. Both the group headquarters and the asset management side have been contacting me nonstop, but Kang In-hyuk instructed me to ignore all calls.”
Disgust dripped from his voice.
Baek Ji-woong sounded puzzled.
His tone was thick with curiosity.
“I checked before leaving the country, and the place has all sorts of problems. Even during today’s first round of due diligence, they were hiding chronic issues just to secure the investment.”
“To put it bluntly, yes.”
A low groan came from the other side of the line.
“Are you suggesting there must be something more? But considering the company’s condition and the value of its technology…”
He continued to speak highly of that point.
Of course, Baek Si-hwan had his own doubts. From before departure until now, he couldn’t figure out what Kang In-hyuk had seen that made him willing to throw a hundred million dollars at this place…
“Then should we leave Kang In-hyuk alone for now and simply observe?”
In truth, with the Cheolsan Capital incident and the disposal of the Daemyung Detective Agency, Kang In-hyuk’s presence had become far too noticeable.
Then the domestic UID safe house had been raided, and orders had come down from the organization’s superior, Hannya, to investigate the situation and report back.
Kang In-hyuk was directly involved in the immediate matter. That was why, upon hearing that he was taking an overseas business trip, Baek Ji-woong had decided to put the elimination plan into motion.
Naturally, Baek Si-hwan had already prepared several operations with the related team.
“Excluding myself, five in total.”
Baek Si-hwan brought up the detail he hadn’t reported yet.
“On Kang In-hyuk’s orders, the bodyguards split off at the layover in LA. I don’t know when they’ll return, but until then it’s just the two of us. We’re scheduled to stay here for at least three more days.”
“Here, yes.”
Baek Ji-woong fell silent for a moment, as if thinking more deeply, then spoke again.
“I tried to follow their travel route, but they didn’t use the airport afterward and disappeared into a CCTV blind spot.”
“…I’m sorry. With so many restrictions on my movement beside him, it was unavoidable.”
He had never expected that, along with the sudden business trip, Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester would suddenly split off and move separately.
Having encountered nothing but unpredictable situations, even Baek Si-hwan was mentally exhausted.
“Are you saying Kang In-hyuk might have intentionally set this up so someone would target him?”
“Even if he deliberately sent the bodyguards away and had them waiting nearby, there are only two of them. Who could they possibly take on?”
The questions kept piling up.
“But… would Kang In-hyuk have that kind of money?”
Active or former mercenary bodyguards commanded fees proportional to their skill. Naturally, the better the skill, the higher the cost, making it difficult to keep many of them on long-term payroll.
No immediate conclusion was reached. Baek Si-hwan carefully offered his opinion.
“Shall we test the waters?”
As Baek Ji-woong said, the table felt far too perfectly arranged.
But Baek Si-hwan wanted to make good use of this opportunity.
“I think we could use it as a stage to earn Kang In-hyuk’s trust.”
“I’ve come up with something decent.”
A brief silence followed.
Then came Baek Ji-woong’s answer after he had finished thinking.
Two days had passed in the blink of an eye.
In-hyuk sat inside Greenbyte Labs’ conference room with Baek Si-hwan. The two of them had spent nearly ten hours each day reviewing the prepared documents.
As evening approached, Baek Si-hwan asked cautiously.
“Will you continue reviewing today?”
“Since tomorrow is the final day, I think we should go over as much as we can today.”
Greenbyte Labs’ three-year records were no small amount. Nevertheless, In-hyuk maintained an astonishing pace and had already reviewed over seventy percent of the documents.
Watching the scene from the side, Baek Si-hwan couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
“Did you really check every single one?”
“Why? Does it look like I’m skimming?”
“You’re flipping through them so quickly.”
His eyes barely lingered on each page for five seconds.
“I only check the necessary parts. Still, the situation isn’t as bad as I expected.”
“Looking at the financial statements, the debt ratio is 186.32%. Most of the debt was incurred to cover research losses, and under the current circumstances, it’s difficult to properly prove the research results. Consequently, their repayment ability can’t be judged as high either.”
It was a rather negative assessment.
Objectively speaking, In-hyuk would have agreed with that opinion.
“Your main job is security, yet it seems you’ve studied quite a bit in this area as well.”
“While I was in the military, I graduated with a business degree from a cyber university.”
“I saw that in your resume. But you seem to have a lot of practical experience.”
His sharp eye for detail didn’t seem to come from someone who had only worked as a bodyguard.
“My military assignment was in the logistics and supply division. That’s probably why.”
“…I see.”
Rustle—rustle—
In-hyuk quickly flipped through the documents again. After turning the last page, he didn’t reach for another stack.
“Let’s stop here for today.”
“Understood.”
Baek Si-hwan, now accustomed to the routine, asked no further questions and stood up.
When they stepped outside, Mark Campbell from the CEO’s office approached them with quick steps, as if he had been waiting.
“How did the review go?”
“Not bad. Though I believe I told you there was no need to come out every single time.”
“Since you’re here for an investment, I have to show proper attention. By the way… are you free this evening? The director has been working so hard, and I feel bad that we haven’t treated you to a single meal.”
On the first day, things had been too hectic for Mark Campbell to even bring it up. From the day before yesterday until yesterday, he had suggested it, but In-hyuk had declined.
“Since tomorrow is the final due diligence, let’s have dinner together tonight.”
“Are you sure? Then please ride with me. It’s about fifteen minutes by car from here.”
“We’ll take our own car.”
Baek Si-hwan naturally stepped forward first. Several vehicles moved out, following Mark Campbell’s lead car.
In-hyuk, seated in the back, glanced at the back of Baek Si-hwan’s head as he drove. To anyone watching, he appeared to be driving completely normally.
But to In-hyuk, certain differences stood out.
He’s watching the front while frequently scanning left and right more than usual. He’s maintaining a good distance from the car ahead, yet he’s deliberately slowing the tempo to hit the lights.
He hadn’t looked behind, but there were surely cars tailing them by now.
And right about now… this should be the perfect timing to strike.
Once again, the traffic light at the intersection turned red just in time, stopping the car right before the crosswalk.
At that moment, two motorcycles that had been passing on the right side of the intersection came to a stop. Men dressed entirely in black helmets and clothing pulled Uzi submachine guns from inside their jackets.
“Director! Get down!”
Right before the bullets flew, Baek Si-hwan shouted and In-hyuk lowered his head.
In the meantime, bullets rained toward the car carrying In-hyuk.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tang— Rat-tat-tat-tat-tang—
Light yet sharp gunfire filled the street.
“Do not raise your head under any circumstances.”
Still crouched in the passenger seat, Baek Si-hwan opened the glove box and pulled out a handgun.
When In-hyuk’s eyes widened at the sight, Baek Si-hwan smiled faintly and said,
“Since we’re in America, I prepared one separately on the first day we arrived.”
“Do you have a firearms license?”
“I obtained one while at TSS. Still, just in case there’s any trouble, I’ll be counting on you.”
Tae Shin Security had acquired firearms licenses in preparation for dangerous situations during overseas trips.
Soon after, Baek Si-hwan thrust the gun barrel through the completely shattered windshield and fired.
Tat-tang— Ta-tang—
The suppressive fire caused the gunfire from the front to falter, and the sound of motorcycles revving could be heard. Then engine noise came from behind as well, and shooting began toward In-hyuk’s side too.
It was the moment it became clear their target was In-hyuk.
Baek Si-hwan’s gun barrel hurriedly swung toward them and the trigger was pulled again.
Ta-tang— Rat-tat-tat— Ta-tang—
The men on the motorcycles quickly twisted their handlebars and weaved between other cars. They seemed to be trying to change direction at the intersection to escape the area.
“Fortunately, they didn’t seem to know we had a gun too. They’re running away in surprise. But we haven’t secured safety yet, so please keep your head down.”
Despite Baek Si-hwan’s words, In-hyuk lifted his head and said,
“You’re not going after them?”
“Didn’t you just see? They’re armed with submachine guns. We should call the police first…”
“Sorry, but I can’t let it end like this.”
Boom. Boom— Scraaaape—
At that moment, a strange explosive sound came from the road, followed by something scraping against the ground.
Startled, Baek Si-hwan immediately raised his head. Someone on the side of the road had fired something with an M79 grenade launcher, striking the men on the motorcycles and knocking them down.
“Those people…”
“They were scheduled to return today. They showed up at the most perfect timing.”
Standing at the diagonal corners of the intersection were Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester. The men on the motorcycles had been focused solely on In-hyuk’s car and their escape route; they couldn’t react to the sudden attack from the pair.
Soon they were struck in the head, torso, and legs by heavy rubber bullets, collapsing and struggling beneath their fallen motorcycles.
“How did these people get here…”
“I told them to come to the restaurant since they had just arrived. I didn’t expect to get attacked on the way, though.”
In-hyuk brushed the glass fragments from his hair and shoulders and stood up fully. He opened the rear door, stepped out, and walked toward one of the men sprawled on the ground.