Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: The Price of an Attack
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"Are you alright, Chairman!"
CEO Kim Young-gi and Secretary Kim, along with other group executives, rushed to the hospital after hearing the news.
Fortunately, aside from some minor scrapes, I was mostly unharmed.
However, there were still about ten tests left to run, and on the doctor's advice, I was confined to my bed.
"I asked a nurse on the way in. It seems Representative Ahn and Secretary Yang are fine, too."
CEO Kim Young-gi shared the news, likely thinking I'd be curious.
Of course, I already knew they were fine. My real concern was for the security agents, so I casually asked about their condition.
"What about the security agents?"
CEO Kim Young-gi hesitated for a moment.
A bad feeling washed over me.
As I watched him in silence, he continued with a troubled expression.
"Out of the eight, six are in relatively stable condition. One suffered serious injuries, including six broken ribs. And one has yet to regain consciousness."
"Hmm."
I bit my lip in frustration.
At the same time, I was filled with the resolve to catch the man responsible, no matter what.
I immediately questioned CEO Kim Young-gi, who exchanged a quick glance with Secretary Kim.
"What is it? Did you lose him? It shouldn't have been easy for him to escape if he entered a congested area like the Olympic Expressway."
"Well, he was caught, eventually, but…"
CEO Kim answered vaguely as he walked over to the TV.
He turned it on and flipped through the channels before stopping on a news program.
[A ten-car pile-up occurred on the Olympic Expressway this morning.]
The reporter's voiceover accompanied footage of the Olympic Expressway.
The scene was chaotic, reminiscent of a warzone.
I shot a look at CEO Kim Young-gi, and he finally continued where he had left off.
"Those are the accidents he caused while fleeing from the police. Fortunately, no one died, but I heard twelve people were injured. For your information, we've blocked any news about your accident from being released at the corporate level. If it got out, you'd only be hounded by reporters."
That was what I wanted, anyway.
This was clearly a terrorist-like attack. If the press got a whiff of it, things would get very noisy.
"Setting that aside, what happened to the culprit?"
"He was found dead in his vehicle."
"Dead? Why? Did the police shoot him?"
"No, that's not it. When they reached his car after he crashed into the last vehicle, he was already dead."
"He was already dead?"
"What's suspicious is that he had vomited profusely, and his entire body was rigid, like dried pollack."
"What does that mean?"
"It means he likely ingested poison."
The answer to my last question came not from CEO Kim Young-gi, but from the doorway.
Glancing over, I saw Representative Ahn standing there, dressed in a patient gown like me.
"Vomiting and paralysis are classic symptoms of tetrodotoxin. So, we have to suspect suicide by poisoning."
If that was true, this was a serious problem.
First, a deliberate attack on me, and now a suicide by poison.
No matter how you looked at it, this wasn't the work of an ordinary person.
"Could this be the work of North Korea?"
"We'll have to investigate to find the answer to that."
"..."
"But considering no one in South Korea would have a grudge strong enough to harm you like this, and thinking back to Natasha's recent warning, the possibility is certainly high."
"Well, this is..."
My thoughts grew more and more tangled.
Setting everything else aside, the very idea that North Korea would try to harm me like this was shocking.
No matter how reckless they were, and even with North-South relations at their worst, wouldn't an act like this be a burden for them too?
[A short while ago, the police announced they have identified the man who caused the accident. His name is Kim Jae-wook, a 36-year-old man residing in Sillim-dong. A large number of suicide notes lamenting his personal circumstances were reportedly found at his home.]
Just then, a breaking news report came on the TV.
It completely shattered the theory we had just been discussing.
"A South Korean?"
Secretary Kim and CEO Kim Young-gi, looking equally stunned, blurted out at the same time. I immediately held up a hand to silence them.
"Well, look at this."
They looked at me with puzzled expressions as the words escaped my clenched teeth.
Perhaps sharing my thoughts, Representative Ahn added a comment.
"These bastards never change."
*********
"Just as we predicted."
The next day, Representative Ahn returned to my hospital room, holding several dozen sheets of paper.
Between the rustling papers, I caught a glimpse of the National Intelligence Service logo.
I looked at him, surprised, and he gave me a grin.
"Yes, I got a little help from the NIS."
"Did they cooperate willingly?"
"It's information that will be released to the media through the police soon anyway, so it didn't matter. In any case, to get straight to the point, our suspicions were correct. The man was one of North Korea's assets."
As he spoke, he handed me a few photographs.
They showed Kim Jae-wook, a man I could never forget, exchanging something with someone.
"Who is this?"
I immediately looked to Representative Ahn, demanding an explanation, and he promptly continued.
"Lee Ik-hwan, the CEO of Hanjoong Commerce. The NIS was convinced he was a sleeper agent. They took this photo about a month ago while tailing him after noticing his suspicious activities."
"So Kim Jae-wook was recruited by this guy?"
"It's highly likely. The investigation revealed he was drowning in hundreds of millions of won in debt. At that point, a person would be willing to make a deal with the devil."
"Hmm."
His words made me recall the incident.
The man's clumsy actions, showing his face so openly while committing an act of terror.
It was certainly far from the work of a professional.
But a question still remained.
Being willing to do something like this to pay off a debt implies a strong desire to live.
Does it make sense for such a person to choose suicide?
"By the way, the NIS asked me to tell you they're too ashamed to face you."
As I was lost in thought, Representative Ahn came out with an unexpected remark.
I tilted my head in confusion, and he gestured to the hospital room, to me, and to himself as he spoke again.
"If the NIS had paid a little more attention to Kim Jae-wook, this incident could have been prevented. They claim they let their guard down because he didn't do anything suspicious for nearly a month after meeting with CEO Lee Ik-hwan, but in the end, it's tantamount to negligence."
No wonder they were so cooperative with sharing information. That must have been the reason.
Even if it was going to be announced to the media soon, given this administration's tendencies, leaking information to a civilian wouldn't be easy.
In the end, it was because they had their own guilt to deal with...
'Wait, now that I think about it, why are they revealing Kim Jae-wook's identity to the media?'
Announcing it would only cause more social unrest.
"Why are they going public with Kim Jae-wook's identity?"
I asked immediately, puzzled.
He smirked, as if amused that I was only now questioning it.
"This administration has been emphasizing transparency, hasn't it? Besides, they probably figured it would be more troublesome if they tried to hide it and reporters caught wind of it and started digging for the truth."
Hearing that, it made sense.
In a society where the public's voice grows louder by the day.
There was no guarantee that a clumsy attempt to avoid immediate chaos wouldn't lead to a much bigger problem down the line.
'The problem is, the reporters will definitely dig into the root cause of why Kim Jae-wook did it.'
In that case, things would likely get tiresome for me again.
"Hmm."
"By the way, have you heard about Agent Jung Tae-woo?"
Jung Tae-woo was the name of the security agent who hadn't regained consciousness.
I had just been wondering about him, so I looked over sharply. He wore a difficult expression.
"Fortunately, he has regained consciousness."
"He has?"
"But... the doctor's opinion is that he will likely have a permanent disability."
The brief moment of joy I felt subsided.
What could be more devastating than a healthy man being left with a disability?
The anger that had somewhat subsided began to boil again.
"First, provide ample compensation to the injured security agents. Make sure the amount is high enough that there can be no complaints of it being insufficient. And for the one with the disability, arrange a suitable position for him at the head office."
"Understood."
Representative Ahn turned as if to carry out my orders immediately.
At that moment, another thought occurred to me.
I called out to him urgently.
"Oh, and contact Jaewoo Thales and Ssangwoong Motors. Tell them to produce about five more armored vehicles."
"What... what will you use them all for?"
"From now on, the security team will also use armored vehicles. We don't know when something like this might happen again, and I can't have them protecting me while living in fear."
"..."
"And one more thing. We'll start the unmanned aerial vehicle project as soon as I'm discharged, so set up the business division in advance. For your reference, we'll be developing high-altitude reconnaissance drones and attack drones simultaneously."
"Attack drones?"
"Yes. So-called suicide drones."
Representative Ahn looked quite taken aback.
Ignoring his reaction, I continued.
"There's no way for me to get immediate revenge on North Korea, is there? So, at the very least, I have to make them more anxious than they are now. So anxious they'll be afraid to even step outside."
"..."
******
[The government has officially classified the recent incident on the Olympic Expressway as an act of terror perpetrated by North Korea. It plans to file a protest through the United Nations and prepare sanctions...]
It was already my third day in the hospital.
My body, which felt fine on the first day, now ached all over.
It seems the saying that the effects of a car accident only show up after a few days isn't just an old wive's tale.
"Ugh!"
Even going to the bathroom was a struggle, and a groan escaped my lips.
Secretary Kim, who was working beside me, immediately stood up and quickly took my arm.
"Let me help you."
"No, it's alright. Secretary Kim, please continue with your work."
She looked at me with pity as I refused her help.
But I wasn't some critically ill patient.
I didn't want to rely on others for something as minor as the aftereffects of an accident.
"Vice Chairman Jin Hyun-cheol called to say he would be visiting this afternoon."
"No, please tell everyone not to come if possible."
That was how I truly felt.
Being alone in the quiet hospital room, I found I didn't want to lose that peace and quiet.
I'd even been turning away Representative Ahn since yesterday.
*Knock, knock!*
But my wishes were always cruelly dashed.
Visitors came a dozen times a day.
Wondering who it was this time, I looked toward the door as it swung open. The President's Chief of Staff was standing there, smiling at me.
"Chief of Staff, what brings you here...?"