Chapter 332
Chapter 332
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Chapter 332 - 포섭
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter 332: Recruitment
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sabotage.
It literally meant secret destructive operations.
Here, the target of the operation was the Agency.
However, starting this sabotage operation right now was impossible.
To get any work done, I needed people to serve as my hands and feet, but the only manpower available to me was Squad Leader Oh.
‘It’s about time for some additional recruitment.’
I examined the list that Squad Leader Oh had given me.
There were plenty of names, but few that stood out.
‘Oh.’
Then, one name caught my eye: Colonel Park Heung-sik, commander of the 1st Unit.
Park Heung-sik was an Air Force officer who had joined the Agency.
Officially, he was on dispatch, but in reality, his term had been extended repeatedly, allowing him to keep working there.
Having eaten the Agency’s rice for three years, he could certainly be considered one of their own.
Why was someone like him on the list?
I carefully reviewed Park Heung-sik’s file and found the answer.
‘He’s been crushed by the medical bills for his daughter’s heart surgery.’
He had saved one daughter at the cost of his entire family living in a squalid hillside slum.
I couldn’t know how Park Heung-sik himself felt about it, but the situation around him was clear.
‘Park Heung-sik’s family is desperate to escape that hellish slum.’
What father could ignore his family’s wishes?
He seemed worth taking a gamble on.
I decided to win him over.
Recruiting him in the office felt too risky, so I chose a high-end traditional restaurant as the meeting spot.
Park Heung-sik seemed uncomfortable in such a place, looking a bit awkward.
“Sit there.”
We sat at the table, food between us, and exchanged some light conversation.
Only then did Park Heung-sik start to relax, his expression easing.
As we talked, the subject naturally shifted to family matters.
“I happened to hear that your family’s going through a rough patch, Commander Park.”
“Yes. It’s because of my daughter’s illness.”
“I can understand how you feel.”
Park Heung-sik gave a bitter smile and picked up his chopsticks.
“Is your daughter still not doing well?”
“Yes. Since she had surgery, her health hasn’t been good.”
“That’s all the more reason to feed her well and keep her in a good environment so she recovers faster.”
“You’re right, Director.”
As I watched Park Heung-sik grapple with self-loathing, I slid a bag toward him.
“Take it.”
“Pardon? What’s this?”
“You’ll see when you open it.”
Park Heung-sik hesitated before opening the bag.
The next moment, he let out a gasp and quickly closed it.
A look of shock spread across his face.
“Director, what is this?”
“Are you not going to accept it?”
“No, why would I take your money?”
“You need to get your daughter healthy.”
I didn’t bother with crass lines about working for me.
I simply handed over the money straightforwardly and mentioned only the justification for accepting it.
When I brought up his daughter’s health, Park Heung-sik’s hand froze.
While he hesitated, I helped myself to some food.
In the quiet room, the only sound was the crunch of me chewing on radish kimchi.
Park Heung-sik stared at the bag, then spoke up.
“Director. No matter how I think about it, I can’t accept this money.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I have no reason to take it.”
“Then make a reason. That should do it.”
“Pardon?”
“That money is yours now.”
I polished off a full bowl of rice in no time.
Thinking about adding another piece to my board made the meal taste like honey.
“Director.”
“If you’re done eating, let’s get up.”
I didn’t give Park Heung-sik a chance to return the money and simply stood from the table.
Would he take the money I’d given him or not?
Park Heung-sik hesitated for a long while before grabbing the bag and standing.
Good.
His circumstances were too dire to let go of money once it was in his hands.
At first, he held the bag awkwardly, but as he walked, his grip tightened.
Seeing that, I smiled.
As we said goodbye in front of the restaurant, Park Heung-sik suddenly bowed at a perfect right angle.
“I won’t forget the grace you’ve shown me today, Director.”
“Good. Keep it in your heart.”
Remembering a favor was as good as saying he’d become my man.
For the price of 100,000 won, I’d gained a useful pawn for emergencies.
Who should I go for next after Park Heung-sik?
I carefully scouted more candidates.
Ideally, I’d recruit them all, but the strength of a secret society lay in its small, elite secrecy.
I didn’t need that many people.
If I controlled just a few key members to move the department, the rest would turn like gears.
Next after Park Heung-sik was 4th Grade Administrative Officer Eom Ji-won.
His rank was squad leader.
The moment I confirmed Eom Ji-won’s pitiful situation of supporting his entire family, I knew I could recruit him too.
Eom Ji-won was a pitiful man crushed by the heavy burden of being the eldest son.
I called him to a pork soup restaurant near the office and tested the waters, just like with Park Heung-sik.
As the meal ended, I said to him,
“Do you know what loyalty is, Squad Leader Eom?”
“The strong bond of trust between men. Like in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”
Instead of answering, I showed him a 100,000-won check.
Now it was time for that classic line from old memories.
“This is loyalty.”
Eom Ji-won stared at the check for a long time.
I pushed it toward him and said,
“You’ll need it. Use it.”
Eom Ji-won looked up at me in surprise.
“Pardon?”
Instead of replying, I patted Squad Leader Eom’s shoulder and headed to the counter to pay.
Eom Ji-won was more emotional than Park Heung-sik.
On the way out of the pork soup place, he called out loudly.
“Director!”
I turned around in front of my car.
“Really, thank you so much. I’ll do my absolute best to serve you from now on.”
Instead of answering, I waved it off.
In this way, I brought four key talents from the Media Operations Room under my wing.
Including Squad Leader Oh, that made five pawns under me.
But did that mean I could fully trust these pawns?
No.
Excluding Squad Leader Oh, the rest were tied to me by simple favors.
It wasn’t that the favors were light, but it was hard to trust them as much as Squad Leader Oh, who moved toward the same goal as me.
To do proper work going forward, I needed to strengthen the bonds with my subordinates.
So how would I build that bond?
It was simple.
Just show them that I cared.
The more human the relationship, the closer people feel to each other.
From checking on family well-being to handling weddings and funerals, tending to these things makes them feel like family.
Why else would office workers bother with their boss’s or colleagues’ ceremonies?
I took it a step further, visiting my subordinates’ homes from time to time.
There, I’d sit with their families, eat meals together, and play with their kids.
“Please take good care of our Ji-won.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You have no idea how sharp and capable our Squad Leader Eom is at work.”
I aligned my words with theirs, exchanged gifts, and invested time like that to deepen my bonds with my subordinates.
Of course, I didn’t let them see me as soft.
Human bonds were one thing; superior-subordinate relations were another.
‘To make Jang Dong-yoon take a bullet to the chest on my orders in a pinch, I need them to obey mechanically.’
If I was going to start something big, I needed to command my subordinates like Kim Jae-gyu commanded his in the Central Bureau.
Two months passed like that.
With my subordinates turned into somewhat reliable pieces, the groundwork for starting work was roughly in place.
I sat down with Squad Leader Oh to discuss plans to sabotage the Agency.
“First, we need to pinpoint the target. Who do you think, Director?”
“The 4th Deputy Director.”
“The 4th? You mean start with a minister-level official like the 4th Deputy Director?”
It wasn’t surprising that Squad Leader Oh was shocked.
The 4th Deputy Director headed the Agency’s overseas division, which commanded the world.
“Wouldn’t the 2nd be better if we’re going to take someone down? The 4th is too formidable.”
To briefly review the Agency’s main frontline organizations:
The 1st handled domestic affairs.
The 2nd handled counterintelligence.
The 3rd handled the EA and the Republic of China.
The 4th handled overseas.
Among these, the 2nd was relatively the easiest mark.
Counterintelligence had holes you could exploit to create grounds for reprimand.
The 4th, on the other hand, had few openings.
The weight of the organization under him was different too.
“We need to topple that formidable foe to create an opening.”
The 4th Deputy Director was Planning and Coordination Director Kwon Young-hoon’s strongest backer.
Only by bringing him down could Kim Dae-gyu solidify his position as the frontrunner.
“Do you have something in mind?”
Squad Leader Oh asked cautiously.
“What’s so special about the overseas division? Just make their operations fail.”
“Pardon? But we don’t even know their structure, let alone how they operate.”
“I have an idea for that.”
I explained the plan to Squad Leader Oh.
At first, his face showed confusion, but soon it filled with shock.
“If—if we pull that off, the overseas division will take a massive hit.”
“Of course, to make this work properly, you’ll need to handle the middle part well, Squad Leader Oh.”
And so, we whispered our plot to stick it to the company right in the heart of the Agency.