Jeju (2)
The next morning, the hotel manager came to Kang-hae’s room.
“Mr. Miki Ho asked me to pass along a message: he’d like to take a yacht out to Marado for lunch.”
“A yacht?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Where is Miki now?”
“He’s having lunch with Mr. Lee Seok-hun of the Oasis Group.”
“Then could you bring me Victor Lam, Miki’s head of security?”
“Of course. I’ll relay the message.”
The hotel manager had barely disappeared before Victor Lam came to Kang-hae’s room.
“What’s this about a yacht?”
“Well…”
Victor Lam trailed off, looking troubled.
Kang-hae frowned. If Victor Lam was a security man, he couldn’t possibly not know how dangerous the sea could be.
“Don’t tell me Miki doesn’t know.”
“No. We informed him yesterday.”
“And he still agreed to go out?”
“The thing is… it was Mr. Lee Seok-hun of the Oasis Group who suggested the yacht trip. Miki doesn’t want his business partners to know he’s under threat.”
“Even so, it’s dangerous out in the middle of the ocean.”
“I know that, but… he says he wants to see the whales.”
“Whales…?”
Victor Lam began to explain. Near Marado, southern right dolphins were often spotted, and in Korea whales symbolized luck and abundance. In China, they stood for power and authority; Chinese people prized them so highly they compared whales to dragons.
There were people in business who treated superstition like religion, and according to Victor Lam, Miki Ho and his business partner were exactly that sort.
“I understand.”
Kang-hae sent Victor Lam away. He had no desire to waste time arguing with him. Victor Lam was in no position to go against Miki Ho’s orders anyway.
Besides, Kang-hae hadn’t come all the way to Jeju for Miki Ho. He had come for Seong Ha-yeong.
Her safety came before Miki Ho’s.
Kang-hae pressed the doorbell to Seong Ha-yeong’s room.
After a moment, the door opened.
“What is it?” Seong Ha-yeong asked from the doorway.
She didn’t invite him in, and her voice was colder than it had been the day before.
“Ha-yeong, did Miki happen to mention taking the yacht together?”
“Yes.”
In truth, Kang-hae already knew that. The small wiretap he had planted was still hidden in Seong Ha-yeong’s clutch bag.
But he couldn’t say that outright.
“Then are you going?”
“Yes.”
“I think you should probably skip it.”
“Why?”
“The sea is dangerous.”
“What exactly is supposed to be dangerous?”
For a moment, Kang-hae was about to mention the warning he’d heard from Lin Xiaojing. But Seong Ha-yeong spoke first.
“You know, Kang-hae.”
“Yes?”
“Stop confusing people by pretending to care.”
“…”
Last night, over drinks with Kim Min-ji, Seong Ha-yeong had made up her mind.
She wasn’t going to keep letting Kang-hae string her along.
“Well then. Goodbye.”
Seong Ha-yeong shut the door.
Bang.
Kang-hae let out a long breath.
“Hoo…”
He raised a hand toward the doorbell again, then stopped.
He understood why she was acting like this, and if she found out he had come all the way here to protect her, it might only shake her heart all over again.
In the end, Kang-hae returned to his own room.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Off the coast of Seogwipo, Jeju Island, a three-story yacht worth over three billion won cut across the water.
It belonged to the Oasis Group, and Lee Seok-hun—Miki Ho’s business partner—was on board as well.
He was the second son of Lee Su-cheol, chairman of the Oasis Group, and looked to be in his mid-thirties, about Miki Ho’s age. From head to toe he was dressed in designer labels, giving off the air of a nouveau riche fool, but his manners were impeccable.
“I’ve heard so much about you from Miki. If the two of you ever find yourselves in Jeju again, don’t hesitate to contact me.”
After that, Miki Ho and Lee Seok-hun drank champagne and talked about this and that. From the impact of COVID on the hotel and casino industries to Michelin-starred restaurants in Hong Kong, the conversation wandered without much direction.
Seong Ha-yeong let their voices wash over her as she took in the wide-open blue sea of Jeju. Watching the waves glitter in the sunlight, she could feel the stress she’d built up begin to drift away, and the knots in her mind loosened into something a little calmer.
Kang-hae pacing nearby was mildly annoying, but once they got back to Seoul, she felt like she might really be able to forget all of this.
Meanwhile, Kang-hae kept his guard up without a second’s lapse. Whenever another fishing boat drifted near the yacht, he would naturally step in front of Seong Ha-yeong, shielding her in case some unknown sniper had the same idea.
“There it is.”
At that moment, Lee Seok-hun pointed toward something in the distance, and everyone turned to look where his finger was aimed.
Marado could be seen far off on the horizon.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Ten minutes later, Kang-hae noticed that the vibration he had been feeling through the deck had vanished.
At the same time, the yacht came to a stop.
“What’s going on?”
Lee Seok-hun called over an Oasis employee on board.
“I’ll check.”
The employee hurried to the wheelhouse, then came back a moment later.
“The helmsman says seaweed may have gotten tangled in the propeller.”
Lee Seok-hun’s expression hardened.
“Damn… I’m ashamed to be hosting such honored guests in a situation like this.”
“Haha. It’s fine.”
Miki Ho smiled as he spoke.
Most of the people on board looked as though this was no big deal, but Kang-hae was not one of them. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a fishing boat approaching from the distance.
But something about its course was wrong.
Kang-hae studied its direction carefully.
No way. A collision?
He realized that the fishing boat was aiming to smash into the yacht and sink it.
If the yacht went down, everyone would be thrown into the sea, and none of them would survive even an hour before freezing to death from hypothermia.
There was no time to dither.
He had to stop that boat.
Kang-hae sprinted toward the stern. Before boarding the yacht, he’d noticed that a jet ski had been stored there.
Victor Lam followed him.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to board that boat?”
Without waiting for an answer, Kang-hae nodded and opened the garage hatch. Then he activated the lift and lowered the jet ski onto the water.
“Wait. Here.”
As Kang-hae climbed aboard, Victor Lam handed him a pistol.
It was a Beretta M9A1.
Kang-hae tucked the pistol into his waistband and mounted the jet ski.
“Be careful.”
“See you in a bit.”
With that, Kang-hae gripped the handlebars.
A moment later, the jet ski tore across the water at full speed, heading straight for the fishing boat.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Liu Wei stood on the deck smoking a cigarette, watching the motionless yacht.
There was a deep scar carved into his right cheek and another beneath his left eye, and his face wore the unmistakable stamp of a petty, vicious nature.
He was the field leader of the Hong Kong 15K triad, and four days ago he had entered Jeju Island.
Two days earlier, he’d received a call ordering him to sink a yacht near Marado.
“Are you sure the yacht will show up at that time?”
Yeah. Don’t worry about that.
“But do we really have to sink it?”
Yeah.
“Wouldn’t it be cleaner to just shoot or stab everyone to death?”
He asked the question into the phone from Hong Kong.
Guns are illegal in Korea. It could blow up into something bigger.
“Damn it.”
You need to make it look like an accident.
“Got it.”
And that one has to be kept alive.
“Got it.”
After receiving those instructions, Liu Wei had hired a mackerel-fishing boat.
Then, this morning, he had reached the waters off Marado before the yacht did.
He had worried for a moment that the yacht might never show, but it had arrived right on schedule and now sat dead in the water.
All he had to do was ram it.
Then something came into view at the edge of Liu Wei’s vision.
He narrowed his eyes.
It was a jet ski.
“What the hell is that?”
One of the men beside him answered quickly.
“Looks like a jet ski.”
“I know what it is.”
“Sorry.”
“I’m asking why the hell it’s there.”
“The boat’s stopped, so maybe he’s just killing time by riding around?”
At that, Liu Wei scowled. What an idiotic answer.
“Maybe he’s coming to ask for help?” another man said.
Liu Wei decided that this one—the smartest of the three subordinates he’d brought—was probably the most useful.
The jet ski drew closer and closer.
Then a thought suddenly struck Liu Wei.
“Wait… did that jet ski just come out of the yacht?”
“Yes.”
Liu Wei climbed onto the rail. He peered hard at the person riding the jet ski, trying to confirm whether this was the person he had been told to keep alive.
If it wasn’t, he would have to kill them.
But the rider was wearing sunglasses, and Liu Wei couldn’t make out the face clearly.
By then, the jet ski had already drawn up beneath the deck.
Liu Wei leaned out over the side to get a better look at the rider’s face.
And then he saw it.
A man below, pointing a gun up at him.
What…?
The scene felt unreal.
Bang.
With the crack of the shot, Liu Wei took a bullet through the forehead and fell into the sea with a splash.
Kang-hae then swung the jet ski around toward the side of the fishing boat.
Fortunately, there was a ladder leading up to the deck.
He climbed it.
Clack.
Clack, clack.
Clack, clack, clack.
Kang-hae made his way onto the boat by the ladder and headed straight for the wheelhouse.
Stopping the vessel came first. Dealing with the other gang members could wait.
Inside the wheelhouse were a captain in his forties and a triad member with a shaved head and tattoos crawling up his neck.
The man had been holding a kitchen knife, but the instant he saw the pistol in Kang-hae’s hand, he dropped it to the floor.
Then he begged for his life over and over in Cantonese, voice shaking with panic.
“Shut off the engine.”
Kang-hae kept the gun trained on the triad member, and the terrified captain scrambled to kill the engine.
“How many are there?”
“F-four of us!”
The captain stammered the answer, white-faced with fear.
Kang-hae dragged the triad member out of the wheelhouse.
Then he stood behind him, gripping the back of his neck with one hand, and moved toward the bow.
Just then—
Clack, clack, clack.
Footsteps.
Kang-hae immediately turned toward the sound.
A moment later—
Bang, bang, bang.
Bang, bang, bang.
The other gang members opened fire wildly in his direction.
But the man in front of Kang-hae served as a shield, taking the bullets for him.
And in an instant, Kang-hae cut down the two triad members firing at him.
Bang, bang.
Bang, bang.
That made all four the captain had mentioned dead.
Even so, Kang-hae thoroughly searched every corner of the boat, and only after confirming that there was no one aboard besides the captain did he return to the yacht by jet ski.
Everyone on the yacht had heard the gunfire, and when they saw the blood staining Kang-hae’s clothes, their faces went pale with shock.
Miki Ho, in particular, was furious all over again that his sister had caused this mess.
His body trembled with anger.
He had been warned yesterday by Victor Lam about Kang-hae’s threat, but he had never imagined the situation would unfold right in front of his eyes.
“A-are you okay…?”
Seong Ha-yeong approached Kang-hae and asked.
Lee Seok-hun, standing beside Miki Ho, also came forward with a startled expression.
“A-are you all right? F-first, we should call the police….”
Without saying a word, Kang-hae grabbed Lee Seok-hun by the nape of the neck.
Then he threw him over the side of the yacht.
Splash.
Lee Seok-hun hit the sea.
“K-Kang-hae!”
“What the hell are you doing?”
Everyone shouted in disbelief at him.
“He’s part of it too.”
Looking at the stunned faces turned toward him, Kang-hae said, “He’s in on it too.”