Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Ambush at the Crossroads
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로열패밀리 15-3
Seo Ji-hyeok had just left Taesungwon and was heading toward the main road when he reached the three-way intersection.
This area was usually bustling with people once you passed it, but the intersection itself saw little traffic because of Taesungwon.
Just as he was about to cross it, a car suddenly darted out from the side, blocking his path.
"What the hell! Can't you drive properly?"
That was Park Eun-seok's outburst.
But Ji-hyeok threw open the door and stepped out the moment the car stopped.
"You stay in the car."
"Huh?"
The intent behind the other driver's maneuver was obvious.
At a three-way intersection, the other vehicle should have gone either right or left.
But the car that had pulled out from the left was facing straight ahead.
There was only one purpose in stopping like that.
To block the way.
And just as Ji-hyeok got out, five rough-looking men in masks and hats piled out of the other van, as expected.
Splat!
But the first one who jumped out didn't even have time to scream.
Tak... Ji-hyeok lightly leaped forward, flying up and smashing his knee into the man's face. The guy flipped backward and lost consciousness on the spot.
"What the—? Grab him!"
At that moment, the passenger door of the van swung open, and another man bellowed. But by then, Ji-hyeok had already struck the left guy's throat, grabbed his collar, and was yanking him to the right to throw him.
"Gah!"
When Ji-hyeok hurled the man, the guys standing behind him screamed and stumbled in a heap.
In truth, that was the end of it.
The men started screaming without even knowing what hit them.
"Arghhh!"
Why did pain explode in their sides like they'd burst open?
"Urk!"
What had smashed into their faces? They just screamed and passed out, clueless.
By the time the passenger-seat guy rushed at Ji-hyeok, all five of his buddies were already sprawled out.
"Wha...?"
That was when it happened.
"Raaah!"
The driver, who hadn't seen a thing while getting out, came around the front of the car yelling and bumped right into Ji-hyeok.
And from his mouth came the exact same sound as the passenger guy had made moments ago.
"Huh?"
Bam!
In that instant, Ji-hyeok's foot whipped out like a lash, slamming into the passenger guy's side.
The man briefly lifted off the ground, crashed into the car, then slid down it like slime and collapsed.
Now only the driver remained, who had leaped out yelling.
But the moment his eyes met Ji-hyeok's, he let out a weird noise and dropped to his knees.
"Uh-heh-heh..."
As Ji-hyeok stepped over the fallen passenger guy, the driver shot both hands up high.
"We're from Youngil Security! They just told us to scare you!"
"Scare me how?"
"Just... scare you..."
"Who?"
"Our boss..."
"Hand over your ID."
No sooner had Ji-hyeok spoken than the man yanked his wallet from his back pocket and handed over his resident registration card.
"Get up."
"No, sir! Ask me anything you're curious about!"
"Get all their IDs."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The man scrambled up, rifled through his downed comrades' pockets for their resident cards or driver's licenses, gathered them, and brought them to Ji-hyeok.
"Clear them out."
Ji-hyeok pocketed the IDs and jerked his thumb at the fallen men.
The guy hesitated before asking cautiously,
"Where... to?"
"Put them all in there."
Ji-hyeok pointed at the van they'd arrived in, naturally.
But the man hemmed and hawed before murmuring,
"By myself?"
"Who else?"
"If you could just help a little..."
Ah... another lunatic.
Every now and then, you run into these psychos.
Best to avoid them if you can.
"Not the car—the wall over there. Then move your vehicle."
"It'd be easier if we lifted together..."
"Wanna die?"
"N-No, got it."
Meeting Ji-hyeok's murderous glare, the man finally snapped to his senses. He grabbed one downed comrade by both arms and dragged him along.
The guy's shirt rode up, exposing his bare back to scrape the ground, but the man didn't care—he grunted and hauled away.
Ji-hyeok watched the ridiculous scene for a moment, shook his head in disbelief, and returned to his car.
He opened the door and slid in. Park Eun-seok, who had been gripping the wheel with his head pressed against the windshield, whipped around in surprise.
"What?"
"N-Nothing."
"Liar—it's all over your face. Think you'll get cocky with me and end up regretting it?"
"Yeah... you're right."
"Seeing it and experiencing it yourself are worlds apart, huh?"
"Totally... badass!"
Ji-hyeok smirked at Eun-seok thumbs-upping him.
Come to think of it, this kid wasn't exactly normal either.
Of course, he understood why he'd been locked up for a week,
and why he'd taken day-and-night beatings for that week.
But understanding didn't mean instant forgiveness.
Yet Park Eun-seok was shedding his resentment toward Ji-hyeok way too easily.
Ji-hyeok chalked it up to deprivation.
Kang Mi-young's marriage was a perfect business arrangement.
Her husband was a womanizer, far from family-oriented, and not particularly affectionate toward his kids.
Kang Wook hadn't exactly filled the grandfather role either, so Eun-seok had grown up without a proper adult male role model.
That's why Eun-seok was feeling all sorts of things watching Ji-hyeok now.
And those feelings were turning into admiration.
The kind where you want to be like him.
"Road's clear. Let's go."
"Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, the man had propped all six bodies against the wall and climbed into the van to back it out of the way.
Eun-seok checked the road ahead and hit the gas, looking a bit thrilled.
As the car pulled away, Ji-hyeok picked up his phone.
"It's me. You up?"
"........."
"Yeah. There's a company called Youngil Security among Taesung Construction's clients. Right. Grab their boss and find out why he pulled that stunt this morning."
"........."
"Yeah, they were trying to scare me. Got it."
Eun-seok's ears perked up like a rabbit's at the call, but he didn't ask.
He was starting to learn how to roll with Ji-hyeok.
Having survived that noisy morning, Ji-hyeok headed into the office.
ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ
Ji-hyeok arrived at work, greeted by employees' bows, and the moment he entered his office, he grabbed the phone.
"Hello? Team Leader Gong, where are you right now?"
- I came in to the Trading Division Strategy Office.
"What the hell does that mean?"
- Just take it that way.
"You know that's AWOL, right?"
- Do whatever you want.
Hmm...
Gong Sa-woo's voice had zero energy.
He said "do whatever," but it came out so feeble, without even a hint of hostility.
'No, this is too easy. Where's the fun in crumbling like this? You have a role to play. You've got to expose Big Aunt's true face completely. Right?'
Collecting his thoughts, Ji-hyeok raised his voice a notch.
"A grown-ass man of thirty-four hiding behind Mommy's skirt?"
- What?
"Didn't hear me? Want a repeat, you idiot? You're not dispatched from Trading—you were officially assigned here. And you just waltz back to Trading on your own? What a pussy. Not scared sleeping alone at night? Need me to buy you diapers?"
- You... you son of a bitch! Stay put—I'm coming right now!
"Whoa, you moron. You think I'm scared of some punk who ran crying to Mommy? Hurry up if you're coming. I've got a tight schedule. Got it?"
He hung up. Park Eun-seok, who had been eavesdropping from his desk, turned around.
"What? Spit it out if you've got something to say."
"You gonna..."
"Gonna what?"
"Beat him up?"
It wasn't worry about Ji-hyeok actually hitting Gong Sa-woo.
Eun-seok's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Ji-hyeok chuckled at the sight, then answered the intercom and started prepping for a meeting.
Gong Sa-woo burst into the Future Strategy Office, huffing and puffing, less than an hour after the call.
He stormed straight into Ji-hyeok's room, where the man had just finished a meeting and was taking a break.
"You son of a bitch!"
Ji-hyeok had just stood up to head to the break room.
Seeing Gong Sa-woo charge with curses flying, he casually sidestepped.
Not just a dodge, though.
He hooked a foot out and twisted aside.
The result...
Thud-crash...
Gong Sa-woo, flailing like he'd never exercised a day in his life, tripped over Ji-hyeok's foot and tumbled ignobly to the floor.
But he popped right back up and swung wildly again.
Thud-crash...
He hit the deck again, got up, and repeated the farce.
Thud-crash...
Gong Sa-woo's weebles-wobbles slowed with each attempt.
He finally stayed down after the seventh flop.
"Huff... huff... you... you bastard..."
Gong Sa-woo slumped on the floor, panting raggedly and glaring at Ji-hyeok.
Ji-hyeok gazed down calmly, then slowly crouched in front of him.
"Team Leader Gong Sa-woo of the Future Strategy Office Management Diagnosis Team, what's your stance on Trading's Myanmar gas field development?"
"You bastard..."
"Team Leader Gong Sa-woo, last chance. What's your opinion on the Myanmar gas field project?"
Ji-hyeok's voice was deep and commanding.
Maybe that's why.
Gong Sa-woo, wild with rage moments ago, gradually caught his breath and slowly spoke.
"Taesung Electronics, a core Taesung Group business, has annual sales of 28 trillion won, with 1 trillion in yearly ad and PR spending. In contrast, Trading's projected revenue from the Myanmar gas field tops out at 800 billion won—and that's fluid given the civil war. With the US, UK, and France pulling out over human rights issues, international opinion on Taesung Trading worsens daily, posing a major risk to Taesung Electronics. Thus, the Myanmar gas field project should be suspended or scaled back. Happy now, you bastard?"
Ji-hyeok smiled faintly at the final curse.
"Team Leader Gong Sa-woo, isn't your puberty lasting a bit long?"
"What bullshit is that?"
"Time to grow up. How long are you gonna cling to Mommy's hand?"
"Hoo... fuck..."
Gong Sa-woo bowed his head and muttered a curse under his breath.
Not aimed at Ji-hyeok.
At himself.
After a moment with his head down, he groaned, stood up.
"Fine. Let's go head-to-head on merit. You'll regret waking me."
Gong Sa-woo faced Ji-hyeok squarely.
The words sounded like a declaration of war, but his voice was clear.
So Ji-hyeok replied just as clearly.
"Regret it all you want. But it won't be easy. And this is your final warning: one more informal word in the office, and you're facing disciplinary action."
Gong Sa-woo snorted at that.
Then he left without another curse, malediction, or even a goodbye.
Park Eun-seok, plastered to the wall and catching every moment, let out a long whistle.
"Whew... who knew that guy had it in him."
Ji-hyeok smiled at Eun-seok's words.
But...
"I'm grabbing coffee. Clean up the room."
"Huh? Me?"
"Who else? Don't call anyone. I said you do it."
Ji-hyeok headed out, ignoring Eun-seok's pout.
He took the elevator down to the first floor, exited the building, and called Jang Woo.
By now, Jang Woo should have some answers.