Chapter 101
Chapter 101
101.
Be It Temple or Monk
Lee Doo-heon of Special Security Team 6 originally had no reason to care about the new KITE security recruits.
But now, as soon as the announcement of the new security recruits' assignments was posted, he knocked on Baek Shin-woo's office door as soon as he arrived at work.
"Director. I have something to say about the assignment of new security recruits to Team 6."
Shin-woo, who was looking at the computer because of work, looked at him standing next to him.
"Go ahead."
"There are new security recruits assigned to our Special Security Team 6. I didn't receive any prior notice, and I'd like to know what's going on."
Unlike the general security and guard teams within KITE, the Special Security Team was in charge of the owner's family.
Of course, the composition of each team member was entirely up to the primary protectee, but Lee Doo-heon was originally assigned to Special Security Team 1, which was in charge of Chairman Myung Joong-hwan, so it was difficult for him to purely accept Shin-woo's decision.
"It's as stated in the announcement."
"I am the head of Special Security Team 6, dedicated to the Director's safety. I think you should have at least discussed it with me."
He wasn't wrong.
But Shin-woo also had his own thoughts.
"You were only temporarily in charge anyway."
Lee Doo-heon and all of Team 6 were hastily assigned because there were no security personnel for Shin-woo at the time. Lee Doo-heon knew this fact well, but it was difficult to easily accept.
"So, are you saying that you will be newly forming Special Security Team 6 starting with this new recruit?"
"Not right now. But it depends on how Team Leader Lee Doo-heon does."
"What do you mean?"
"I understand that Special Security Teams are not only for safety but also act as the hands and feet of the protectee. But Team Leader Lee Doo-heon is still Chairman's man, isn't he?"
Even now, Shin-woo's officially revealed movements were being reported to Myung Joong-hwan through Lee Doo-heon. It was no different from living with a tracker that was being monitored and bugged, so he couldn't help but be sensitive.
"The top of the Special Security Team is the Chairman."
"Are the other teams like that too?"
They all acted independently. From the beginning, they were only affiliated with KITE, but they were practically independent organizations divided among the owner's family members.
Lee Doo-heon couldn't deny that fact, so it was difficult to continue speaking.
"That's..."
"I don't need someone who moves on someone else's orders. So, what should I do?"
Shin-woo's sharpened gaze momentarily intimidated Lee Doo-heon, who had come to raise an objection.
"If that's what the Director thinks... what can I do?"
"If you can't move according to my thoughts, you can go back to Team 1 right now."
"That's not something I can decide."
It meant that self-initiated transfers were impossible unless it was an order from Myung Joong-hwan, the owner of Special Security Team 1.
"I understand. I'll build my own security team, so let's end it here."
"I think the Chairman will take issue with it."
"It's my safety anyway, so I'll take responsibility for it myself. Thank you for your hard work."
He had thought about trying to appease Lee Doo-heon, but he would never be able to leave Special Security Team 1.
At Shin-woo's decision, Lee Doo-heon sighed once and bowed his head.
"I will return to Team 1."
With that answer, Lee Doo-heon went outside.
As the door closed, Lillian, who was sitting diagonally from Shin-woo, pulled her chair closer in the quiet atmosphere.
"Isn't Grandpa Director really going to say something?"
"I can't keep using him like this. It's uncomfortable."
He would have more contact with TSF in the future. Each time, not to mention Myung Joong-hwan, there was no guarantee that the information leak would end at that level, so he had no choice but to take special measures.
"What are you going to do about security from now on?"
"For now, Meian will be enough, and I'm going to use people from overseas for the rest."
"Where?"
"FEROX."
At that name, Lillian was startled.
"The mercenary unit where the Director used to be?"
Originally, in the future, Shin-woo had joined FEROX, a French foreign legion, after being discharged from UAD in Korea, and had been active for a little over three years.
Now, by staying in Korea, he had only applied for the enlistment test and hadn't gone, so that future was gone.
"If it's there, they'll do their part as much as they receive. They won't be pushed back by the 666 Unit either."
"It's a reliable place enough."
"Secrecy is also certain. There won't be any problems, so I can prepare for when Man-soo is left alone. I have trustworthy people in my head."
He was referring to the colleagues he could trust and fight with before creating Triad Eye.
"If the Director says so, it wouldn't be bad."
"I've already contacted them. The FEROX agency is scheduled to visit today. But why hasn't that guy Man-soo been seen since earlier? Don't tell me he went out on his own?"
He hadn't seen Jang Man-soo since he clocked in on time just now. At first, he thought he had gone to the bathroom, but he hadn't appeared even while talking to Lee Doo-heon, so he was curious.
"That's fast... and Man-soo went to the 33rd floor conference room for a meeting with MH Tech."
"They've been coming here often these days."
"The prototype of R2ED, the radar device, is just around the corner. I heard they're also discussing other military supplies."
"He must have gone excitedly."
"It's a relief if they're not horrified by Jang Man-soo's fashion there."
Beep beep beep—
While talking to Lillian, the intercom rang. It was from Im Hee-yeon, the Managing Director of the headquarters and his biological mother.
[Director Baek Shin-woo. Please come up to my office right now.]
It was a request that came in a cold voice.
Shin-woo guessed what it was about and put on his jacket as he got up.
"Are you being called now?"
"So it seems. It's probably because of Special Security Team 6."
Lee Doo-heon would have reported to Gu Sang-ho immediately. However, he didn't expect it to be delivered to Im Hee-yeon so quickly.
With that, Shin-woo left the office and went up to the floor where the executive offices were located.
As he went inside, Im Hee-yeon, with an expression as cold as her voice, was waiting. As soon as Shin-woo sat on the sofa, her mouth opened.
"I heard you sent Team Leader Lee Doo-heon and the entire security team back to Team 1. Why did you do that?"
At the obvious question, Shin-woo sighed first.
"Are you really asking because you don't know?"
"It's probably because they're Chairman's people. But it won't be easy to find that much security personnel."
It meant that at least Special Security Team 1, like Im Hee-yeon's Team 5, could be trusted compared to other people.
Of course, Shin-woo knew that too. Frankly, even within KITE right now, he couldn't guarantee how many people the brothers of the Myung family had recruited, like MH Future Security.
"So, I'm going to bring people from outside and form my own security team."
"Outside? Are there better people than the current security team in Korea?"
Shin-woo chuckled at the wrongly caught point.
"Not in Korea, but overseas."
"...Overseas?"
"There are trustworthy people. They'll be better than the Special Security Team in many ways, so you don't have to worry."
"Could it be someone related to the work you used to do?"
She was referring to UAD, the military special forces. Of course, she didn't know the name of UAD, but she guessed and asked.
Of course, Shin-woo had thought of his former UAD team members and superiors. However, they were all still active, and due to the nature of the unit, there were only two people besides Shin-woo, so it was far from enough.
'If I take those people out, the Minister of National Defense might make a fuss... and he might not just say something.'
It was also a matter involving national secrets. There were several other things involved, so it was better to give up.
At this, Shin-woo sighed and shrugged slightly.
"Well, it's similar."
"Are they really trustworthy people?"
"For now."
Im Hee-yeon's expression became complicated. She had called Shin-woo as soon as she heard from Myung Joong-hwan that Lee Doo-heon had returned to Team 1.
There was nothing to worry about since she had taken some measures, but she was still worried.
"...Can you tell me how things are going with TSF?"
Im Hee-yeon was always curious.
But after almost dying twice, or three times including the cafe incident, and realizing that a completely different world existed from the one she knew, it was difficult to reach out easily.
"There are no problems."
"I heard that you brokered the acquisition of Baeseong Corporation by TSF to another company."
It had happened just recently.
"The rumors really spread fast."
"That's how it is in this industry. But what's the intention? If you want to damage TSF, you can just leave it as it is, right?"
If Baeseong Corporation went bankrupt in its current state, it would cause enormous damage to TSF, which had invested a large amount of acquisition funds.
Of course, Im Hee-yeon didn't think Shin-woo wouldn't know that fact, but she didn't understand what he was planning.
"I can't explain the reason right now."
"Are you worried about it leaking out?"
"There are many listening ears even within the headquarters, so I can't say no. Just like the Managing Director knew about the acquisition brokerage issue earlier."
The fact that a company on the verge of bankruptcy was about to be acquired with huge capital was good news for those who had been inherited shares.
Therefore, the TSF Korea branch may have deliberately leaked it to raise the stock price of Baeseong Corporation even a little.
"It's something to be careful about."
"If you have nothing more to say, I'll get up. An important guest is coming soon."
"Ah... okay."
Shin-woo said that and came out. As always, the conversation with his biological mother, Im Hee-yeon, didn't feel familiar.
Leaving behind the awkward feeling, he went down to the first floor lobby.
There, the woman in charge of the FEROX agency, who had arrived on time, was standing with a security guard.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Baek Shin-woo."
"I'm Amber Montgomery, the agency representative."
After greeting each other in English, he led her to the conference room on the 32nd floor.
As soon as Amber sat down, she immediately got down to business.
"You requested a commission from our FEROX, right? I confirmed it as a security request, but I don't know if you need FEROX-level protection in Korea."
Unlike the United States or other foreign countries, Korea was a country where firearms regulations were not allowed.
Naturally, from the perspective of FEROX, a mercenary unit that mainly took on missions in harsh places, Shin-woo's request was bound to be excessive.
"It is better to be a thousand times more careful than to die once."
At that moment, Amber's eyes widened.
"You knew our motto."
FEROX was a place where retired soldiers and agents came to work. As experienced as they were, their age was quite high, and at the same time, there were people with families, so the words Shin-woo had just said became the motto.
"I didn't know. I just said it because it came to mind."
"Ah..."
Amber had misunderstood because Shin-woo had said it too seriously.
"Of course, nowhere can be safe forever. Besides, there have been many bad things happening lately in connection with MH Group."
At that explanation, Amber nodded.
"I heard the news. Your mother went through a bad experience. Even a famous killer from China was involved..."
"You hear the sound quite far."
"It's my job to understand the customer's needs to some extent before the deal."
Shin-woo listened to those words and went into the real topic.
"The commission is for my security. The annual salary will be 1 million euros per person. The contract fee is 200 million won each. If there are additional missions other than basic security, incentives will be calculated separately."
At that moment, Amber looked up with a surprised expression.
1 million euros was about 1.4 billion won in Korean currency. On top of that, he added 200 million won. In mercenary agencies, it was difficult to exceed 600 million won unless it was a special-class mercenary or agent.
But Shin-woo's offer added a total of 1 billion won more.