Show Us the Chairman's Face
The moment they touched down at Paris–Charles de Gaulle Airport, the convoy rolled straight out toward the hotel.
Five black limousines gliding in a single file was, even to my eyes, a deeply unsettling sight. It looked more destructive than any column of tanks and armored vehicles I had ever watched move during my military days.
Seated in the lead limousine, we began taking in the Parisian scenery sliding past the windows.
"So this is the capital of France… Oh. There's the Eiffel Tower. I've only ever seen it in pictures. First time seeing it for real."
"Same for me. The real thing really does feel different."
Kwon Soon, her mood clearly lighter after their conversation on the plane, was gazing out at the view with something almost pure in her expression. I felt much the same.
"It's strange. The whole city looks like a museum. Every building, every structure looks like some kind of castle."
"Indeed. This is the great Mon pays la France — my homeland, France. Once the heart of an empire that ruled Europe, and still a nation whose glory shines as brilliantly as the Soleil itself."
Glass spoke with a voice thick with national pride. Watching her, I couldn't help a faintly wry smile — though, honestly, if a country possessed culture and history this captivating just to look at, a little patriotism of that sort was more than understandable.
"For reference, that over there is the Louvre Museum, and the river flowing in front of it is the Seine, which cuts straight through Paris."
"Ohh… so that's the place…"
Kwon Soon and I both found ourselves briefly absorbed in the scenery, staring at locations we had only ever heard about.
Then—
"Are the three of you not getting a little too excited? I think it would be wise to calm down somewhat."
Are's voice reached our ears, carrying a note of concern and tension.
"I understand that this is your first time seeing these sights, and that one might wish to show them off. But as you know, we did not come here to sightsee. We are here on a security assignment. Would it not be better to maintain a degree of composure?"
"Well… you're not wrong…"
"She's right."
Kwon Soon agreed, her tone settling. Glass nodded as well and settled back into her seat with a more subdued air.
Watching Are keep such a firm grip on the situation, I found a small smile creeping onto my face without meaning to.
"Is something the matter?"
Are looked at me with mild curiosity, noticing the smile.
A little flustered, I answered her.
"…Hm? Oh—no, just… for a second, you reminded me of Suyoung noona."
"!… Th-that's… mm…"
At my words, the cool composure on her face cracked for an instant, and a faint flush rose to her cheeks. Feeling a little embarrassed myself, I turned my head away.
And then—
"As heated as ever, I see."
"…"
Glass watched us with her usual look of keen interest. Kwon Soon, though, seemed to carry something closer to mild discomfort than curiosity this time. I couldn't say exactly why.
In any case, the four of us let the earlier excitement settle and returned to calmly scanning our surroundings. Fortunately, nothing went wrong during the transfer, and there was no sign of an ambush — yet the convoy maintained its tight security the entire way, moving with a sense of deliberate speed.
A short while later, the vehicles came to a quiet stop outside the hotel. We stepped out first and checked the area; once Are finished her safety sweep, she made the call at once.
"All clear. You may come out."
With the situation confirmed, a crowd of people in black suits began filing out of the cars. Roughly thirty percent were men, seventy percent women, and a few among them wore the distinctive gear that marked them as hunters.
Alright then… will I finally get a look? At what this so-called Chairman actually looks like.
I had not caught so much as a glimpse of the Chairman the entire way here. Even when we left the plane, they had disembarked ahead of us and boarded first, so I never saw their face. The heavy tint on the limousine windows had made it impossible to see inside, too.
Out of pure curiosity alone, I badly wanted to know what kind of person they were — so I watched carefully as the group in black suits, Bones among them, gathered in front of one of the cars.
And then—
…Huh?
A moment later, a flicker of confusion and a deepening sense of doubt settled over me as I took in the scene. Four people were stepping out of the car, receiving greetings from those around them.
Two women and two men.
By all appearances, one of them had to be the Chairman — but the arrangement made it impossible to tell which one with any certainty.
One of those four has to be the real deal… but they're really keeping the secret all the way to the end, aren't they. Don't most billionaires these days just show their faces freely?
The world-class tycoons who had been potential clients — the Middle Eastern oil magnate Eoksure, the American mega-rich Melon Musket who had wanted a figure, and the rest — you could pull up their faces with a simple internet search. Laie, on the other hand, was easy enough to find as a company, along with its products, but information on the Chairman themselves turned up absolutely nothing.
The only scrap I had managed to dig up was that the previous Chairman had died young, and that after that, no one knew who the next one even was.
Feeling both puzzled and distinctly irritated by the situation, Jinhyun carefully filed the faces of his four protection targets away in his mind, then fell in behind them with the rest of the group.
"I'll go organize the vehicles and handle a few other matters for a moment. Please take good care of the Chairman's security."
"Yes, understood."
Bones offered a polite bow, climbed back into a limousine, and left. Watching her grow more and more deferential compared to when we first met, I felt a strange flicker of doubt as I stepped inside.
Once we had escorted the "Chairmen" to their rooms, we settled into the rotating security shifts we had planned.
"There are already a number of attendants and close-protection personnel inside. Our job is simply to guard the door. Only if we are summoned do we go in."
"Understood."
"Still, it's nice we don't have to stand face-to-face with people that important the whole time."
"In that case, since I am D'abord — first — I will take this post. Shift change is in eight hours, so the rest of you should go rest until then."
"Yes. We'll leave it to you."
With the three-shift rotation decided, I headed downstairs with Are and Kwon Soon toward our rooms to get some rest.
Bones returned to the limousine. A moment later, her eyes found not the "dummies" she had just sent ahead, but the only person in the world who could bring her to her knees.
"Everything handled?"
"Yes, of course. Just as expected, Jinhyun-ssi and even Are accepted it without any particular suspicion."
"I figured as much. Then… shall we take a different route ourselves? Staying outside too long is dangerous."
"Yes, Chairman."
With that, the limousine rolled slowly toward the parking garage. Inside, Bones slowly removed her sunglasses and began unbuttoning her shirt.