Chapter 171
Chapter 171
171.
The Reunion We Waited For
A few days later.
Joo Ho-yeon and Baek Juseon entered the MH Future Security lobby cafe on the first floor.
“We have a pantry in the office, so why do you want to drink here?”
“The coffee here is good.”
Baek Juseon had ultimately passed the hiring process for a senior position in MH Future Security’s Chief Financial Officer department. She had started working a few days prior and began working alongside Joo Ho-yeon.
Considering Baek Juseon’s experience and the synergy they had built working together, she was a talent too valuable to let go.
As the coffee they ordered arrived, they each took theirs and sat down.
“How’s work? Is it manageable?”
“It’s okay. I was a bit surprised by the substantial funds being managed. This company is also impressive for being able to handle such capital so freely.”
Baek Juseon was assigned to the vacant Finance Director position, which had become available after Deputy Manager Oh Daeyeong was fired for embezzlement from the OZ Office. She meticulously reinforced the already thorough financial approval lines, solidifying the process from the very origin of the funds.
“Director Baek has a good grasp of things.”
“Do you think I’m better than Director Joo? But where does Operations Room Zero get that kind of information? It’s all from… the CEO, right?”
“That’s what I understand for now. Thanks to that, MH Future Security has been able to grow this much.”
Joo Ho-yeon had also been surprised whenever he saw the other investment approval details along with the documents Jang Man-soo had submitted previously.
“It’s truly amazing… Huh? Who are those people?”
Taking a sip of her coffee, Baek Juseon noticed four people entering the first-floor lobby.
She recognized Wen Wei, the head of KITE, and Meian, one of Shinwoo’s bodyguards, at the front. However, she grew curious upon seeing the two men following them.
“Yeah… Who could they be? New bodyguards?”
One man was slightly over 170cm tall with a moderate build and a handsome, Korean-like appearance. The other was a Hispanic man who seemed to be well over 2 meters tall, with a build reminiscent of a bear.
Their presence was also striking, making it impossible not to look.
“That man is handsome.”
“The Korean-looking one?”
“Yeah. Isn’t he handsome?”
“That’s your type? But he looks too young.”
The Korean-looking man appeared to be no older than a high school graduate, at most.
“What? Can’t I date someone younger? Besides, I look quite young too. People think I’m in my early twenties.”
For reference, Baek Juseon was 34 years old this year.
At this, Joo Ho-yeon frowned and shook his head.
“Nah, that’s a bit much.”
Baek Juseon’s eyes widened as if they would split open, and she glared at Joo Ho-yeon.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, the four people who had passed through the lobby arrived at the floor where the CEO’s office was located.
At the door, Wei said to Meian,
“You wait outside for a moment.”
“Whyyy!”
“It’s important.”
Seeing Wei’s serious expression, Meian didn’t argue further.
“…Alright.”
Hearing her reply, Wei knocked on the door and entered with the two men standing beside him.
Shinwoo, who had been sitting at his desk, immediately stood up and approached them.
“Hector, Rick……”
“Captain. Have you been….”
“Caaaaptaaaain!”
As he spoke, Rick pushed Hector and Wei aside and rushed forward, lifting Shinwoo into a hug.
Shinwoo didn’t resist and was spun around and around. If he were let go, he would have been slammed into the wall at that speed.
“Whoa—!”
As Rick spun Shinwoo around for a while, Hector, who had moved closer, patted his shoulder to calm him down.
“Ah, sorry. Sorry.”
“You haven’t changed. Neither have you, Hector.”
Shinwoo, smoothing his crumpled shirt, shook hands with Hector, who had approached him, with a smile. At the same time, he pulled him in for a hug, exuding a heartwarming atmosphere.
Then, they broke the embrace and stared intently at each other.
“I’m sorry I took so long to find you, Hector.”
“We’re sorry we couldn’t find you first, Captain.”
“You must have had your reasons too.”
One of the doors opened, and Jang Man-soo and Lillian, who had returned from her business trip the day before, poked their heads in.
“Hector! Rick!”
“You guys! Wow—!”
The two also hugged Hector and Rick, making a fuss.
After spinning around in the middle of the office for a long time, they finally managed to stop.
“Whoa— Whoa! Let’s all calm down and sit.”
Finally, all the members of Triad Eye had gathered.
As everyone sat on the sofa, a loud noise erupted from the end seat.
SCREEECH—
The sofa shrieked under Rick’s heavy weight.
“What’s wrong with this?”
Startled, Rick flailed on the sofa.
Everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the sight.
“Hahahaha—!”
“You really haven’t changed!”
“How can a sofa be this weak?”
“We’ll have to order a sturdier chair for you to sit on.”
Shinwoo also let out a refreshing laugh after a long time.
Then, Hector asked Shinwoo,
“I heard the situation from Wei. You planned this because of Brilliant Group and 666 Unit, right? And you created this company for the same reason?”
“That’s right. The actual operational core is Deputy Manager Jang Man-soo here.”
“Ahem—!”
Jang Man-soo puffed out his chest, looking at his colleagues with pride.
Hector looked slightly puzzled at the introduction.
“Wei said he’s the head of KITE, a security company. Lillian also said she’s a department head here at MH Future… Security? And the Captain is the CEO, the youngest grandson of the MH Group chairman?”
“That’s all correct too. We couldn’t just sit around doing nothing, and we needed positions to operate outwardly.”
Hector nodded, then asked again.
“How far along is the plan?”
“For now, we’ve challenged the TSF Korean branch, which is one of Brilliant Group’s foundations. We’ve also shaken things up in China. But how have you guys been?”
He hadn’t asked when he contacted them to hear the situation in person.
Hector let out a slight chuckle at this.
“Perhaps because Rick and I had similar operational areas, we met on the battlefield about a month after returning here.”
“So that’s why you started operating as mercenaries called Hounds.”
“We had no way to find the Captain immediately. We thought Mansu would establish a contact network if we waited. Then we encountered those 666 Unit guys on the battlefield.”
This was something Shinwoo hadn’t heard before.
“Did you fight?”
“We ran into them a few times, so we had no choice but to fight. We killed a little over 40 of them.”
At that moment, Rick, from the end seat, stated the exact number.
“Exactly 41.”
“You killed quite a few. At that rate, 666 Unit must be looking for you two with their eyes blazing.”
“We were actually sought out by someone named Kwak Chi-young in Yemen.”
Shinwoo’s face hardened at the words.
Of course, he knew Kwak Chi-young had gone to Eritrea to find Hounds, but he hadn’t expected him to visit war-torn Yemen in person.
“That guy? Did he make an offer there?”
If the purpose was retaliation, Kwak Chi-young wouldn’t have gone himself.
“He offered quite a large sum. Two million US dollars per person annually, plus fifty thousand dollars for each special mission they completed.”
Jang Man-soo and Lillian exclaimed in admiration at the explanation.
“Whoa! He really went all out.”
“I know, right? Kwak Chi-young must be desperate due to a lack of personnel.”
Hector nodded at their reactions.
“It seemed so. He brought two guys who weren’t even skilled and acted arrogant, so I just kicked them out immediately.”
“Oh Han-sung was left here, so it must be Na Seon-hwi and Ahn Deok-chil. They seem to have kept them close lately.”
“I don’t know their names, though.”
This answer suddenly reminded Shinwoo of something.
“Na Seon-hwi is one thing, but you and Rick know Ahn Deok-chil too, right? Guillotine, I mean.”
“…Guillotine? Are you talking about that battlefield killer, Guillotine?”
“Yes.”
Hector recalled the 666 Unit members he had seen with Kwak Chi-young at the time.
“…Now that I think about it, the guy at the back looked familiar. That was Guillotine.”
“That guy was Guillotine?!”
Rick, who also knew Guillotine, Ahn Deok-chil, was shocked.
“He looks very different from how we knew him. He’s younger than back then too.”
The reason the two hadn’t recognized Ahn Deok-chil was because he looked neater and was dressed more sharply than in the future.
Hector then asked with a question,
“Why is Guillotine in 666 Unit? He used to operate alone. He even killed 666 Unit members for work.”
“My future changed because of me. I fought him over something important, and that seemed to catch Kwak Chi-young’s eye. Many other things have changed too.”
The fact that his colleagues, whom he was supposed to meet at least three to five years later, were now in front of him was a prime example.
Then, Wei took out a pouch from the bag he had placed in front and said,
“Speaking of which, I took this from the 666 Unit members belonging to the Korean branch.”
Inside the pouch were five folder-type phones and one smartphone.
Jang Man-soo naturally took them and walked over to Shinwoo’s desk, sitting down.
“I’ll analyze them right away.”
“Can my computer do that?”
“I’ve set it up so everything can be connected during the renovation.”
“…Please do.”
The sound of typing echoed in the office.
“Anyway, to ultimately bring down Brilliant Group, we can’t fall behind in funds and influence, so we’re operating this company on the surface.”
Hector’s expression became worried at Shinwoo’s explanation.
“Don’t tell me… Rick and I have to work for this company too?”
“I don’t know about Rick, but don’t you have to? You have experience working with SVR and KDB.”
This referred to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and the Belarusian State Security Committee (KDB). With his experience as a veteran intelligence agent there, his professional capabilities were sufficient.
“That was a long time ago. Even though I’ve returned from the future, with my current memory, my time at KDB was a full 8 years ago.”
Hector, seemingly quite flustered, rambled on, abandoning his usual quiet demeanor.
However, Shinwoo shook his head, implying that such reasons were irrelevant.
“Wei is doing well too. By the way, do you know Wei’s educational background?”
“Th-that is……”
Wei’s actual education was only elementary school, so Hector couldn’t continue.
“It’s not difficult. You can be in charge of FRT (Firearms Response Training) and SRT (Sniper Response Tactics) at KITE.”
“Training instructor? You want me to teach people?”
“We’ve already prepared MAT (Multiple Attack Training), WSD (Weapon Strike Training), and FRT (Firearms Response Training). You have the minimum basics, so it won’t be difficult.”
“Even so……”
“Besides training, you can move with Rick as part of my security team.”
Hector looked even more puzzled.
“…Security team? Whose security?”
“I said my security team.”
“The Captain’s? Why?”
He looked genuinely unable to comprehend.
“Believe it or not, I’m the CEO of three companies. There were dangerous situations before you guys arrived.”
“They probably let us go because they could have killed us right then.”
“Pfft—!”
“Hahaha!”
“Correct!”
“You hit the nail on the head.”
Everyone burst into laughter at Hector’s words.
“It’s true they let us go. This is South Korea, so there are too many eyes to kill openly. If it’s not a situation that can be handled cleanly, it becomes troublesome.”
“As expected.”
“Anyway, so do as I say….”
Shinwoo continued speaking but then saw sharp eyes through a gap in the office door’s glass.
“…What is that?”
Wei, seeing it from across, remembered something he had forgotten.
“It’s Meian. I told her to wait for a moment.”
“Ah……”
It had been quite some time since then, considering how long they had been talking.