New Beginnings (13)
While I was pondering what kind of avant-garde factory my siblings and I could build together, I received a call from Mai. I hadn’t realized how little work he had at the moment. The very next day, he contacted me again.
"Boss, this is a workshop, right?" —Dragonmay(36.9)
It was a broader concept than a simple workshop, but he wasn’t entirely wrong.
"And this one~" —Dragonmay(36.9)
He launched into a full redesign. I hadn’t known Mai had such deep expertise in line layout. He started over from A to Z, rebuilding the entire production line. Then he quoted a price higher than the building itself. I paid without hesitation—because it would cut labor costs by that much. Finding skilled workers in this industry was like plucking stars from the sky. When I first planned the Haman Factory, I had even considered doing everything myself. I was confident in my stamina and hadn’t worried about transport. But after seeing my design, he told me I’d be killing myself with that setup. He also warned that gram-scale production might be manageable, but scaling to kilograms would be brutal. When I asked him straight out how much the quote was, he said five. Five hundred million won. I gave the go-ahead without blinking. The schedule was two weeks out. He said conveyors, transfer carts, and the like could be bought off-the-shelf, so I paid for those immediately. I even offered to pay on delivery this time, but he said business was slow and asked for cash upfront. I settled it through the Sky app.
Meanwhile, I had been wondering when and how to use our Eun-seong, never expecting I’d need him so soon. I had planned to handle most things myself, delegate the annoying tasks, and call him in as a substitute mercenary only when the Sky Bank app requested it. Then the message came.
"Boss, I got an urgent call. How should I handle it?" —Hamo-hamo(36.8)
Deputy Director Ha had been cramming a month’s worth of contact into the last two days.
"What’s the matter?" —GB(37.6)
"Uirinam says he’s been detained by a client over a deal." —Hamo-hamo(36.8)
"They want to meet you, Boss." —Hamo-hamo(36.8)
The next words made me see this hyung in a whole new light.
"Should we cut him loose?" —Hamo-hamo(36.8)
Cold. Cut him loose? What was he, trash?
"Where is he? Why all of a sudden?" —GB(37.6)
A bulk client. One kilogram. The Russian-bound client had started a fight over payment. From what I heard, they were making absurd claims about quality and weight, threatening to demand a full refund. Uirinam obviously didn’t have the money—Deputy Director Ha and I were holding all of it. We had made that clear when we set up the logistics division: goods could be distributed, but all money had to flow through me or Deputy Director Ha. That was the organization’s rule. So even if the Russians demanded cash from Uirinam, he truly had none. They wouldn’t believe him, and because they didn’t believe him, they were now holding him hostage. The deadline was one day. If we missed it, they would sail from Busan and dump him in the East Sea. Feeling the gravity of the situation, I decided I couldn’t go alone. I called Eun-seong. The trio brothers would have been ideal, but I had been missing Cancun lately. That evening I headed from Suwon to Busan while Eun-seong came from Changwon. Like always, I said nothing and met him wearing sunglasses, a mask, loose clothes, and even combat boots—anything to minimize exposure. I hated revealing my identity, but there was no choice.
We met in the evening, exchanged quick hand signals and code words, then headed for Busan Port. Whether he learned it in the military or not, he picked up the signals and codes instantly. Busan Port had developed a lot—there was the new port toward Gimhae, and several berthing points for ocean-going vessels a little farther out. One of them was Port 77. When we arrived, several ships were docked, all much larger than the boats I had used in Mexico. Out of habit I scanned the area around the ships, the escape routes, and the surrounding terrain when a message arrived from Uirinam’s ID.
"Where" —Busanman(36.6)
Suspecting he might be watching from inside the ship, I replied while checking my surroundings.
"Nearby. Where should I go?" —GB(37.6)
"Come to the ship" —Busanman(36.6)
Not happening. Idiot. If I showed myself first, who knew what they would try? A quick recon showed I could approach within a certain distance via blind spots, but boarding would be difficult. Time to use what I learned in Cancun. I told Eun-seong to walk slowly toward the ship and draw their attention without saying anything. If they replied, he was to stall for time while trying to secure Uirinam’s release. If things went south, he was to declare negotiations over and bluff hard. I could have done it myself, but I doubted Eun-seong had received special infiltration training, so I took the penetration role.
Go, pocket—no, Eun-seong. Eun-seong walked slowly along the dock under the streetlights toward the ship. Using the blind spot of the neighboring berth, I approached the target vessel. At two hundred meters, Eun-seong stopped and looked at his phone. He stayed still for about three minutes. Something felt off, so I halted and watched. He was struggling to type with one hand. Damn it—his arm was still injured. Once the message was sent, he started walking again. I matched his pace and kept closing in. Then a reaction came from the ship—someone shouting in a clumsy dialect. It sounded like “Stop right there,” but Eun-seong didn’t stop. When he was about a hundred meters away, three men appeared on deck: one Korean who looked like Uirinam and two Russians. I didn’t actually know Uirinam’s face—my style, extreme secrecy. He looked unsteady on his feet, and his face was covered in blood and bruises. He must have been beaten. Damn it. Getting mixed up with me had taken a heavy toll on him too. I was sorry as hell. The Russians were threatening him with a knife. If they stabbed him like that, they’d get hurt too. Amateurs.
While assessing their combat capability, I waited for the moment their eyes shifted to Eun-seong. The instant they looked away, I sprinted and climbed onto the adjacent ship, then used the height difference to board the Russian vessel. Moving quickly but quietly, I headed for the wheelhouse—the ship’s center and control tower. I was walking along the port side when the door suddenly flew open and someone burst out. I locked him in a headlock and choked him out, then dragged the unconscious body behind the door. These bastards were carrying guns? Following shipboard combat protocol, I searched the body and found two magazines and a Makarov with a suppressor. What the hell were these guys? Tension shot through me. This was real. Not the rubber bullets we trained with in Cancun. This wasn’t some simple grab-and-go job. I had let my guard down because we were in Korea. Damn it—I had forgotten that carelessness was fatal in this line of work. Fully alert now, and no gentleman, I decided to use the equipment I had acquired. I gave the dummy behind the door a confirmation shot, then entered the wheelhouse. If you prepare to kill others, you should be prepared to die yourself. I approached the wheelhouse, observed the middle-aged man and his two subordinates through the monitor, and eliminated them. Then I circled to the opposite side and struck the three men holding Uirinam from behind. They started it, after all.
"Last night, a horrific incident occurred at Busan’s outer harbor pier. Six Russian sailors aboard the vessel were shot and killed. The suspect is still at large."
"For more details, we’ll hear from Chief Inspector Choi Yun-seo of the Busanjin Police Station."
"On the tenth, the cod-fishing vessel Nikolai docked at Busan Port. The purpose was routine—exporting and supplying cod—and the port authorities approved the berthing request."
"Based on the on-site investigation, firearms were used and violence was clearly involved, leading us to suspect an inter-organizational conflict. We are still determining the exact circumstances."
"The incident took place at dawn. We believe it began with a surprise attack by the suspect, but difficulties in securing nearby CCTV footage mean the investigation will take considerable time."
"The Busanjin Police Station will respond firmly to such violent crimes and protect the daily lives of our citizens. That is all."