For a Bastard Like This
The collapse of RSK, which had dominated the defense sector through military uniform supply contracts, unfolded with startling speed. As evidence of slush fund accounts, embezzlement routes, and military officials who had accepted bribes poured out, no one could slip away easily.
In the meantime, a draft memorandum targeting problematic individuals within the Taeshin Group had been drawn up.
Taeshin Mulsan Executive Director XXX → Partner Company Rebates / Disciplinary Dismissal
Taeshin Mulsan Division Head XXX → Embezzlement and Bribery / Disciplinary Termination
Taeshin Electronics Executive Director Hwang Won-jun → Partner Company Rebates / Disciplinary Dismissal
Taeshin Construction Division Head XXX → Embezzlement / Disciplinary Termination
Taeshin Spin Tech President Lee Chang-hwan → Embezzlement and Breach of Trust / Disciplinary Dismissal
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Tae Seok-ho, the second son of the Taeshin Group, let out a long sigh after reviewing the document on his tablet. Just as he had feared, Kang In-hyuk was preparing to make an overwhelmingly bold move.
"He's sharpened his blade properly. And the timing is impeccable."
Thanks to the massive defense industry corruption scandal surrounding RSK, any issues inside the Taeshin Group were bound to be overshadowed.
With that murmur, Tae Seok-ho turned his gaze outward.
It was a little past noon. He was not at the company but inside a car.
They had left Seoul far behind and had already been driving for over an hour toward the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
"How much farther?"
"We'll arrive in about fifteen minutes."
The road had already turned into a quiet country lane. From there they pushed even deeper, eventually reaching an area that looked like a construction site abandoned midway through.
"We've arrived. You'll need to walk a short distance from here."
"What a nuisance."
The two men who stepped out of the car headed toward the desolate concrete skeleton, accompanied by TSS bodyguards.
Soon a foreign man emerged from one of the abandoned buildings. Without a word, he guided Tae Seok-ho and Lee Jae-jun inside with nothing but a glance.
Thud. Thud.
When they reached the third floor, a wide open space appeared. Five foreign men were lounging on worn sofas and wooden crates.
"Are you Wade?"
The English question was directed at the middle-aged man seated on the sofa.
"That's correct. But why bring so many people?"
He spoke while surveying the six bodyguards including Lee Jae-jun. They all radiated a threatening aura, encircling Tae Seok-ho as though squaring off against the Warbon mercenaries.
"...That's none of your concern. Did we really have to meet like this? Frankly, it's uncomfortable."
"Are you worried we'll name our client if we're caught? Or that we'll betray you instead?"
Since he had commissioned the elimination of a target, denying it was difficult.
Of course Tae Seok-ho had debated whether to come at all. But the draft personnel reshuffle document from the TF headquarters he had reviewed earlier refused to let him sit still.
"Enough of that. Why hasn't it been carried out yet? I believe I gave you plenty of time."
Wade stared directly at Tae Seok-ho.
"You do know mercenaries are attached to the target, yes?"
Tae Seok-ho immediately thought of Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester.
"I promised to pay you handsomely. Is that the problem?"
"There may be a force comparable in size to ours. You're trying to settle this with a mere million francs?"
"Force? What are you talking about?"
Something felt off in the conversation.
"...You truly didn't know a mercenary unit was protecting the target? Their scale is larger than ours. The amount originally proposed is obviously insufficient."
"Who the hell is backing him?"
The explanation remained hard to grasp.
"Whew! You really had no idea. They're Redfall. It's difficult to explain in detail... but we don't get along with them. If they've accepted the contract, they would have known their opponent was us."
It meant Kang In-hyuk had noticed Tae Seok-ho's scheme and hired them.
"Isn't this because you people acted too clumsily? You've dragged things out far too long."
"It was to ensure a thorough job. If you'd told us from the start to handle it aggressively, we wouldn't have taken this approach."
As the discussion spun in circles, Tae Seok-ho grew even more frustrated.
"Then how much will make it possible?"
After a brief pause, Wade held up three fingers.
"We need at least this much."
Understanding the meaning, Tae Seok-ho could only frown.
"Surely you don't mean three million francs?"
"That is the minimum."
"How does it triple from one million francs? Is Warbon the kind of outfit that goes back on its word?"
His pride apparently stung, Wade's face twisted this time.
"We may earn our living through contracts, but we're no different from merchants. We can't afford to run a losing business."
"So you're saying you won't move unless it's the amount you just mentioned?"
"We need to secure danger pay as well."
Tae Seok-ho found himself in a bind. Had this been only a short while ago, raising that sum would have been trivial.
But now, with Noah Gardner of the H&T Fund missing, other capital had become tied up as well.
"I can't assemble those funds immediately. However, if the request succeeds, I'll pay four million francs total, including the down payment."
For a moment, the eyes of Wade and the surrounding mercenaries glittered.
"In that case, we'll take an extra five hundred thousand francs as down payment. We'll need proper preparation if we're going to handle opponents like these."
"Can you finish it cleanly? Absolutely no loose ends."
"We'll handle it without fail. However, we remain unaware of the relationship between the target and yourself. Therefore, even if violent execution draws suspicion, please remember we cannot take responsibility beyond that point."
Tae Seok-ho nodded.
"That's for me to deal with..."
Rat-tat— Ratatat—
Suddenly something flew in from outside, and several men collapsed to the floor.
"Ambush! Everyone take cover!"
It was coming from the opposite building.
At Wade's shout, the men ducked their heads and moved frantically.
Meanwhile the startled Tae Seok-ho clutched his pounding chest while Lee Jae-jun shoved him down.
"Wh-what's happening?"
"It looks like they've caught our tail. Protect the Executive Director!"
Several bodyguards had already been shot and fallen.
The rest formed a protective ring around Tae Seok-ho according to Lee Jae-jun's orders.
"What? So the people you mentioned earlier are the ones attacking?"
"We must get out of here as quickly as possible."
Ta-ta-tang— Ta-tang—
The gunfight erupted, sending concrete fragments flying in every direction.
"How do we get out of here?"
"Follow me!"
Lee Jae-jun and the bodyguards snatched up the pistols that had fallen nearby—those belonging to the first Warbon mercenaries who had been hit.
Afterward, Tae Seok-ho and the others kept as low as possible and circled around to the rear.
"Returning to the car right now is too dangerous. We'll head into the forest and call for pickup. It will take at least twenty minutes on foot."
"How the hell did they find this place? Were we followed?"
"It appears so."
"But why go so far out?"
The distance was roughly four kilometers.
"We've had no cell signal for some time. It seems the attackers deployed jamming equipment the moment the assault began."
The preparation had clearly been meticulous.
"Damn it..."
"Let's move."
Four bodyguards remained, including Lee Jae-jun. The other two had been struck in the leg and torso by the first volley and could not be retrieved.
The five men hurried into the forest, desperate to escape the area where gunshots continued to echo loudly.
Rustle—
A sound of movement came from one side.
Lee Jae-jun and the other bodyguards tensed, shifting their gazes toward it.
Thud. Thud—
Yet the three bodyguards standing in the opposite direction staggered and collapsed.
"Urgh—!"
"Keuk!"
Along with the groans, stones the size of half a palm rolled across the ground. They had struck the bodyguards and fallen.
Moreover, the blows had hit vital points so precisely that the men could not easily recover.
Startled, Lee Jae-jun swiftly raised his loaded pistol toward the suspected direction of the attack.
Swoosh— Thud!
But a stone flew faster, striking the pistol from his hand and sending it flying.
"Ugh..."
Lee Jae-jun moved to retrieve the weapon, but a black figure dropped from above, tackling him to the ground.
Thud— Slash—
Of course Lee Jae-jun did not simply take the beating. He moved rapidly, aiming for the figure's torso vital point or attempting to twist the arm.
Yet the opponent seemed to anticipate every move, dodging at point-blank range or simply withdrawing the arm and retreating.
Once distance opened between them, the enemy's appearance became clear.
"...Skull mask?"
At the murmur, a mechanically distorted, hoarse voice emerged from inside the black skull mask.
"So you were a Red Rain as well?"
The true identity of the skull mask was Kang In-hyuk. Naturally, this included his mobilization of the Redfall mercenary unit.
The reason he had uttered the name "Red Rain" was that Lee Jae-jun, with whom he had just traded close-quarters blows, had used TMT, the UID's combat technique, exactly like Pyo Jun-woo.
At the same time, Lee Jae-jun's face hardened further.
"You're not from Redfall?"
"You knew the moment you saw me, so why ask?"
In-hyuk noted the man's gaze shifting toward the other men's pistols.
A brief silence fell. Then Lee Jae-jun suddenly moved—not toward a pistol, but straight at In-hyuk.
He's choosing close combat?
Before anyone realized, a knife drawn from inside his coat was in Lee Jae-jun's hand. The distance between them closed in an instant.
In-hyuk noticed the knife aimed at his left lung. He twisted his body slightly to evade, then seized the elbow.
Crack— Thud, crunch!
He reversed the elbow joint while simultaneously driving his right knee into the solar plexus.
"Keugh—!"
"With nothing more than that, your ribs shattered and pierced the lung?"
Lee Jae-jun, sprawled on the ground, could only gasp out pained groans, as if even breathing was difficult.
In-hyuk cast a cold gaze from behind the skull mask and checked the left hands of both the fallen man and the other bodyguards. Only Lee Jae-jun bore the strange tattoo.
At that moment his eyes met those of Tae Seok-ho, who sat disheveled with his back against a tree.
The mask's eye sections were painted black like sunglasses. Even so, because the head had turned, Tae Seok-ho could not fail to realize he was being watched.
...Should I kill him?
He pondered briefly.
Honestly, today's events had been unexpected. He had never imagined Tae Seok-ho would personally come to meet the Warbon mercenaries he had hired to commit murder.
"How much are they paying you? I'll give you twice—no, five times as much! So how about joining hands with me?"
It was only natural he did not recognize In-hyuk behind the mask. Instead, believing he could recruit the man with money, he continued shouting ever-higher sums.
At the same time, bitterness filled In-hyuk.
Did I really work for a bastard like this?
Of course he had realized the man's pettiness even after exacting revenge for the betrayal in his previous life. He had seen the depths of his character clearly while the Taeshin Group was being dismantled.
In-hyuk picked up the pistol Lee Jae-jun had dropped earlier.
Click. Click—
After checking the chamber and magazine, the condition was acceptable.
Tae Seok-ho swallowed hard and tried to scoot backward while still pressed against the tree.
"Think it over! It's a relationship that moves on money anyway! No matter how much Kang In-hyuk offered, I can add more on top!"
In-hyuk regarded the man's servility—sinking through the floor and into the earth below—with cold eyes. Then he slowly leveled the pistol at him.
Bang—