Chapter 174
Chapter 174
174.
Unpleasant Contact (2)
Lee Sang-guk was momentarily stunned by Shinwoo’s words.
Shinwoo met his reaction with a calm gaze.
“What is the situation?”
“Are you… really the CEO here?”
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask MH Group headquarters directly. And will you not tell me the situation?”
“Ah, well…”
After hearing his explanation, Shinwoo’s expression grew even more serious.
He then turned his head, made eye contact with the woman sitting behind him, and looked back at Lee Sang-guk.
“So, to summarize… a molestation incident occurred on the subway, and our employee intervened to stop it, breaking the perpetrator’s arm.”
“Assault is confirmed for now, and the molestation is under investigation.”
“What more is there to investigate when there’s a victim of sexual harassment?”
“Well… that is to say…”
Shinwoo frowned at Lee Sang-guk’s trailing words.
“Is it because the victim is a Chief Prosecutor from the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office?”
“What? No, how could you…?”
This was because only Lee Sang-guk, his direct superior, the team leader, and the station chief knew the victim’s identity.
At the same time, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office was also the supervisory prosecutor’s office for Songpa Police Station. Given the direct connection, Songpa Police Station could not ignore the fact that the suspect in the sexual harassment case was a chief prosecutor from that office.
“It’s not important how I found out, but rather that the police are trying to steer the case in the wrong direction because of the suspect’s status.”
“No, that’s…”
“And the broken arm wasn’t directly inflicted by our employee; the chief prosecutor fell over while flailing, wasn’t that it?”
Shinwoo’s detailed explanation was met with Lee Sang-guk’s hasty retort.
“That’s something that still needs to be investigated! The victim is still undergoing treatment, so it will take time.”
Of course, Shinwoo had anticipated such an answer and took out his phone, holding it out to him.
“Is this video not enough?”
A video was displayed on the phone screen. Someone had filmed the situation inside the subway and uploaded it to social media.
【Seoul Subway Line 2 Molester VS Giant】
The title was as if a martial arts fight had occurred. And inside the screen, a middle-aged man was grabbing Rick by the collar and shaking him, then tripped and fell.
The middle-aged man then hit a subway pole handle as he fell, clutching his arm and crying out.
“As you can see from the video, our employee didn’t even retaliate. And yet, this is not enough?”
“……”
“If it’s still difficult to prove, I’ll have to call MH Group’s headquarters legal team. Of course, it will make things quite noisy. We won’t stand idly by either.”
Shinwoo’s sharpened gaze fixed on Lee Sang-guk. Of course, he didn’t actually intend to call them, but it might become necessary if things got complicated.
Just then, the door to the detective division office opened, and a man wearing a police uniform with the rank of Senior Superintendent rushed in.
“The CEO of MH Future Security is here in person? Where is he?!”
It was Kim Byung-ju, the chief of Songpa Police Station.
Kim Byung-ju looked around and then spotted Shinwoo, who was standing opposite Lee Sang-guk.
“Are you the Station Chief?”
“Ah, hello. I am Kim Byung-ju, Chief of Songpa Police Station.”
“Introductions aside, how are you going to resolve this situation?”
Lee Sang-guk approached Kim Byung-ju and whispered an explanation of what had just transpired.
After watching the video, Kim Byung-ju’s complexion turned grim.
“This… I apologize.”
“Such words are unnecessary. If there are no issues, I’d like to take him with me.”
“That…”
The Station Chief also found it difficult to let the chief prosecutor from the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office become a sexual harasser.
Whirr— Whirr—
At that moment, the phone in Shinwoo’s hand rang.
“The articles are already out.”
“Articles?”
【Is the suspect who sexually harassed a woman on Seoul Subway Line 2 today a prosecutor?】
【A prosecutor from the Seoul District Office suffered an injury after sexually harassing a woman on the subway…】
.
.
The articles began flooding the main pages of internet sites.
Upon seeing this, Kim Byung-ju turned pale.
“How could this…”
What had happened less than an hour ago had already exploded.
“If the video is circulating on social media, reporters would have caught wind of it quickly. Do I still have to wait like this?”
The situation was effectively over.
Kim Byung-ju gnawed on his lip and had no choice but to bow his head.
“You may leave. However, there may be follow-up interviews as a witness…”
“I’m not sure if that will be possible. Ah, and is that woman the victim of sexual harassment?”
The female victim, unaware of how the situation was unfolding, looked bewildered.
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
“If you need any assistance with filing a complaint against the perpetrator, please contact our company. If necessary, we will fully assist you, from hiring a lawyer to criminal proceedings and ensuring proper punishment.”
Jang Jin-ho handed her a business card.
“Really?”
“Those who commit crimes must be punished, no matter who they are.”
In fact, the female victim had been worried about facing disadvantages herself upon hearing that the perpetrator was a chief prosecutor.
As the situation concluded, Shinwoo approached Rick and patted his shoulder.
“Let’s go now.”
“…Captain…”
Rick’s broad shoulders slumped.
“It’s all sorted out now, so you can come out. All of you.”
At Shinwoo’s words, the three quietly followed him out of the police station.
Then, Wei approached Shinwoo and said,
“…I’m sorry, Captain. I should have paid more attention.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, so it’s fine.”
“Still…”
Meanwhile, Rick remained in a sullen mood.
Whack—
Shinwoo delivered a full-force slap to Rick’s back.
“Aargh—!”
“Why are you acting like this? It doesn’t suit you.”
“It hurts!”
“Exactly. I hit you because it hurts.”
As they were moving to the car, Hector, who had been quiet, asked with a question.
“What happened back there? The situation seemed to unfold faster than expected.”
“Why do you think? Mansu pulled some strings.”
“Mansu?”
“In Korea, whenever something happens, people immediately pull out their cameras. Especially on the subway, everyone has one in their hand.”
Hector easily understood the explanation.
“So, you gathered information quickly and released it.”
“That’s his specialty. Especially here, where he can best utilize that skill.”
Information’s influence varies depending on how widely it spreads.
“I see. In any case, I apologize for the inconvenience caused by us.”
“It’s fine as long as no one died.”
“If that person hadn’t fallen on his own, Rick might have killed him.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Now that it’s all resolved, let’s head back to the company.”
As they were getting into the car, Shinwoo’s phone rang.
It was a call from Jang Mansu, who had just spread the articles.
“The kids’ issue is resolved, and we’re on our way back.”
[Good. More importantly, about that thing I asked you earlier. BF International.]
He had already finished his investigation.
“What did you find?”
[It seems they’re requesting meetings not only from us but also from other investment firms and banks.]
“What kind of business is it?”
[It seems their rare earth element import business with Brazil recently fell through spectacularly. In simple terms, they were almost scammed.]
“…Scammed?”
[The company that was supposed to sell them rare earth elements was a paper company. After the contract was finalized and the advance payment was made, they disappeared during the process of transferring the rare earth elements to the processing company.]
There were no domestic companies with rare earth element processing technology in the first place. Therefore, the materials were transferred to a partner company with the technology for processing.
“What’s the loss amount?”
[They were supposed to receive about 500 tons. The current market price for rare earth elements is $22,000 per ton. That’s about 15 billion Korean won. BF International’s total market capitalization is 420 billion won. Considering their annual profit and not-so-high liquid assets, they must have taken out considerable bank loans… the impact cannot be small.]
Shinwoo nodded as he understood the explanation.
“It certainly must be a crisis.”
[If commercial paper also comes due in the current situation, it would be a fatal blow. Judging by their inquiries everywhere, it seems difficult to get bank loans as well.]
Shinwoo, his thoughts deepening, quietly looked out the window.
“…Understood for now.”
Jang Mansu asked nothing further.
[I’ll let you know if any additional information comes up.]
“Please do.”
Shinwoo ended the call and let out a shallow sigh.
.
.
.
At the same time.
A luxurious vehicle entered the TSF Investment building. Stepping out of the car were Ahn Deok-chil and TSF France Branch Manager Bastian Marchion.
Around them were their secretaries and security personnel from the 666 Unit.
Kwak Chi-young, who had been waiting in the lobby, immediately walked forward and spoke in English.
“It’s been a while, Bastian.”
“…Indeed. Director Kwak.”
“Shall we go up?”
They immediately entered the elevator and proceeded to the branch manager’s office.
Bastian naturally took the seat of honor.
A subtle look of discomfort flickered across Kwak Chi-young’s face at the sight.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“No, just sit. Have everyone else leave.”
After Kwak Chi-young sat down and the office door was closed, Bastian spoke again.
“You know why I came all the way to Korea, don’t you?”
A while ago in Paris, Bastian’s subordinates, Jonathan Moore and Shiobe Hisajiro, were severely injured. In addition, four other WHITE class 666 Unit members were lost, resulting in a significant blow.
“…We were preparing compensation ourselves.”
“What kind of compensation?”
“First, financially…”
His actual loss was the 666 Unit members.
However, it was difficult for Kwak Chi-young to compensate for them, as the TSF Korean branch was also short on personnel.
“I’ll ask just one thing. Your subordinates found at the scene. Na Seon-hwi and Ahn Deok-chil are fine, but the rest, upon checking their identities, were not officially registered individuals.”
Kwak Chi-young’s expression stiffened upon hearing this.
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Surely you don’t think I came here without investigating anything and am bluffing?”
This mission included 666 Unit members that Kwak Chi-young had personally recruited from his own Bigeokdo camp.
Of course, he hadn’t completely ruled out the possibility of Bastian finding out.
However, he hadn’t expected it to be this fast. If his information network was this efficient, it meant Bastian had a close relationship with Cella and the main camp of the 666 Unit, Cerberus.
“If possible, please look the other way.”
“Hah—! How long do you think you can deceive your superiors?”
“Bastian, you wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for this incident, would you?”
That was true.
Frankly, which TSF branch manager would independently train 666 Unit members who were supposed to be managed by the organization as a whole? Only Kwak Chi-young, who had once held management positions in Cella and the 666 Unit, could do something like this.
“In exchange for my silence, give me a few useful individuals.”
“The ones I trained haven’t been at it for long, so many are incomplete. Because of that, it’s possible the mission went awry from the start.”
He still couldn’t figure out where the information had leaked from.
Setting that aside, even if the initial situation was a trap, only one person survived without being able to fight back. It was inevitable that he would consider many things to be problematic.
“Does that include the person I brought?”
He was referring to Ahn Deok-chil.
“He’s a unit member I caught and trained by chance.”
“Before bringing him here, I had him spar briefly with our guys. His skills weren’t bad. And I quite liked his gaze.”
“…You want Ahn Deok-chil?”
“If there’s at least one weapon as formidable as him, that would be acceptable.”
Kwak Chi-young was now on a leash held by Bastian.
“How long do you plan to stay in Korea?”
“I’ll have to leave once my business is concluded. Of course, the duration depends on how you handle things.”
The very fact that Bastian had left his usual territory in France and come to Korea was problematic. The longer he stayed, the more questions superiors would have, and more unwanted issues might arise.
“We’ll escort you to our camp in the near future.”
“Oh? If you’re willing to do that, I’d be happy to. Ah, and also. Arrange a meeting with Baek Shin-woo of MH Future Security.”
Bastian then wore a sly smile, intent on getting what he wanted.
At the same time, Kwak Chi-young couldn’t help but be filled with questions.