Chapter 103
Chapter 103
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: The First Snow
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“But there is someone I can trust.”
William rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
Then, his eyes narrowed and one corner of his mouth curled up.
“You might need money.”
“I’ll take care of that.”
“Hmph, how cocky.”
Despite his playful tone, William didn't doubt or deny Kanghyeok's financial prowess.
The cryptocurrency Kanghyeok held.
Out of curiosity, William occasionally checked on it himself.
It had risen exactly one hundred percent since he first met Kanghyeok in this humble room.
If Kanghyeok had invested all his savings and severance pay, “lucrative” would have been an understatement for the wealth he would have amassed.
“Wouldn’t it be better to pull out soon? From what I can see, it’s just a bubble with no real substance.”
“You don’t need to worry. I’ll handle it.”
At Kanghyeok’s polite yet confident voice, William chuckled heartily this time.
“Still, if you need help, just say the word. I’d be happy to invest.”
“I’ll be happy to ask.”
“My apologies for the late hour. I should be going.”
William unzipped the bag he had received from Olga.
He then took a bottle of scotch from inside and placed it on the table.
It was a scotch bottle with exactly one glass missing.
“This is…?”
“The drink we couldn't have together.”
*Was there such a drink?*
Kanghyeok’s eyes followed William, who was walking toward the door, with a look of confusion. William twisted the doorknob, opened the door, and waved without looking back.
*Click.*
And closed the door.
One month later.
*Vrooom.*
A single vehicle sped down a remote road flanked by fields. The gun shop owner, sitting on a chair in front of his store and basking in the sun, fiddled with a liquor bottle as he stared blankly at the car.
For some reason, the car seemed to be heading his way.
*Gulp, gulp.*
The gun shop owner tilted his bottle, let out a hearty belch, and rose from his chair.
A luxury van, a rare sight in this countryside.
He had assumed it was just an outsider passing through, but as it drew closer, he knew for sure.
That car was indeed coming here.
It was slowing down and turning toward him, a dead giveaway.
*Screech.*
The owner walked up to the driver's side of the car, which had stopped right in front of the shop, and knocked on the window.
*Tap, tap.*
“Hey, you must’ve come from far away, but we’re closed today. If you need a gun that badly, go somewhere else.”
*Click.*
The door suddenly opened, making the owner jump back. An elderly gentleman in a suit and a fedora stepped out of the car.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said we’re not open today!”
“I am the reason you’re closed today.”
Jeff Black offered a faint smile to the wide-eyed gun shop owner.
“I believe this was arranged with Kanghyeok. May I see the Master?”
Only then did a look of recognition dawn on the gun shop owner’s face.
“Please, come in. The Master is waiting for you.”
Jeff tipped his fedora to the owner who held the door open for him, expressing his thanks before stepping into the shop.
*Whirrr.*
A staircase appeared with the sound of a motor, and Jeff descended.
His age making his steps a bit unsteady, he went down the stairs and knocked. The door opened to reveal a white-haired gentleman who greeted Jeff with a smile.
“Welcome, Jeff Black. I hope your journey wasn’t too difficult.”
“Thank you for the welcome, Master.”
“Please, come in.”
Jeff lifted his hat and smiled, his face crinkling.
“I hope this will be mutually beneficial.”
“Haha, my skills are lacking, but I’ll do my best.”
“You’re too modest.”
The Master of firearms.
Jeff Black of the company’s technology development.
It was the moment two men who seemed destined never to cross paths finally met, all thanks to Kanghyeok.
A month is a long time.
Long enough for autumn to turn into early winter, for the air to carry a cool, solitary scent.
During that time, Kanghyeok completed two missions.
Official missions he undertook as a subcontractor, aiming to act as ordinarily and quietly as possible.
He handled both cleanly, earning a reputation within the company of ‘That’s Kanghyeok for you!’, but he wasn’t satisfied.
*Flick, flick.*
Swiping through the photos he’d taken on his phone during the missions, just in case, Kanghyeok swallowed his disappointment.
*‘Nothing related to the Iron Mask.’*
Since he couldn’t just barge into the company and hold a gun to the executives’ heads, the Iron Mask was his only lead for now.
But there was no trace of him anywhere.
He was so quiet it felt as if he might have vanished from the face of the earth.
*‘Is he preparing something?’*
*Or has he given up on chasing me?*
*Please, let it not be that.*
*If you disappear, I’ll have to go back to searching for the ones who destroyed the world, wandering in darkness once again.*
Confronting the Iron Mask’s well-equipped men wasn’t pleasant, but not encountering them at all was even less so.
*Thump.*
Kanghyeok shifted his gaze to William, who had clapped a hand on his shoulder.
As if he hated the cold, he was wearing a long coat and even leather gloves.
“Is something wrong?”
Kanghyeok put his phone in his pocket and replied.
“It’s nothing.”
William chuckled and looked up at the gray sky.
“It’s cold. Looks like it’s going to snow.”
“The forecast said it would snow this afternoon.”
William, still looking at the sky, frowned.
“It really shouldn’t snow on a day like today.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Well, anyway, let’s get moving.”
*Step, step.*
William and Kanghyeok began to walk, shoulder to shoulder. The construction noise that had been a constant presence for the past month was now gone.
To be precise, it had stopped this morning.
The safe house, built by one of the company’s subsidiary construction firms under a different name, was completed today.
It wasn’t an occasion for a grand celebration, but it also wasn’t something Kanghyeok, who would be in charge of it, could simply ignore.
“This is better than my own house. I’m jealous.”
They were in front of the safe house.
Kanghyeok simply responded to William’s joking tone with a smile.
“It’s not like it’s my house, though.”
At a glance, it looked like a single-story detached house.
It was a company safe house.
Despite its large yard and the high walls that sealed it off from the outside, the exterior was built to look ordinary.
It had to appear as a normal building on satellite images or street views from map applications.
That was why the core of the building was underground.
It had a training facility, showers, and an elevator in the garage on one side of the yard that led to an underground warehouse.
Ammunition and supplies would be restocked through here.
A closer look at the interior of the above-ground building also revealed it was far from an ordinary house.
Inefficiently long, narrow hallways.
An unusually high number of elevators and secret rooms that only opened with fingerprint recognition.
It was a safe house built by the company, truly a fortress in the city.
“Go on in.”
William said, looking Kanghyeok in the eye, and then stood beside the door.
The safe house’s front door, made of titanium plated with bronze.
Next to it was a fingerprint scanner, and Kanghyeok placed his index finger on it.
[Identity confirmed. Welcome, Kanghyeok.]
*Beep! Chirp.*
Kanghyeok glanced at William.
His gaze held a question about whether this greeting would play every time he opened the door and surprise at the seemingly flimsy lock. William chuckled heartily.
“Just this once.”
Kanghyeok nodded in understanding and twisted the doorknob to open the door.
And he stepped into the empty safe house.
*Step.*
It felt like leaving the first footprint on a thick blanket of freshly fallen snow at dawn.
Stepping onto the pristine marble floor, he checked one by one to see if the construction had been completed as he had requested, then sat down at the living room table.
Being in the living room, it felt like a dining table, but it was large enough to host a banquet, giving it the feel of a conference room.
“Do you like it here?”
Kanghyeok answered William, who sat across from him, as he put a cigarette to his lips.
“It’s not bad.”
“That’s a relief. This is where you’ll be living from now on.”
Kanghyeok, who was about to light his cigarette, lifted only his eyes to look at William. William placed a cigar box on the table and continued.
“It’s been bothering me for a while now, you living in that shabby place.”
“It doesn’t bother me.”
“It bothers me.”
William seemed to genuinely consider Kanghyeok the master of the house, holding up his cigar case.
Only after Kanghyeok answered his unspoken question—*May I smoke?*—with a small smile did William take a cigar from the case.
*Snip.*
William took a breath as he cut both ends of the cigar with a special cutter.
“A man of your rank, a Team Leader, should have a proper residence. Even if you’re a subcontractor, living in a place like your current one tarnishes the company’s image.”
“I need a place where I can be at ease, even if it’s small. This is a safe house, so other people will be coming and going.”
“Have you forgotten that it’s a safe house?”
Kanghyeok chuckled, almost a snort, and lit his cigarette.
*Click, fwoosh!*
A safe house is only used in special situations.
It’s rarely used otherwise.
As William said, there would be no inconvenience for Kanghyeok to use it as his home on a daily basis.
“Don’t tell me this is another one of your considerations?”
“I was the one who insisted on making you the person in charge here from the start. And you can live here without worry. I’ve already consulted with the external cooperation department and secured decision-making authority for you.”
“For this safe house, you mean.”
“For this entire city.”
William shifted his gaze to the window and put the cigar in his mouth.
Then he struck a match and, with a delicate touch, lit the end of his cigar.
“It’s snowing.”
“So it is.”
The first snow of the year.
For the first snow, it was coming down hard enough to obscure the view outside the window.
Like a camouflage net created by nature.
In the safe house, where the snow absorbed the city’s noise, creating a palpable silence, William spoke in a low voice.
“I trust you know what I’m trying to say.”
“I do.”
William’s expression looked somewhat dark.
He knew what William was worried about.
The fracturing company executives.
Fissures were forming, and factional struggles were breaking out.
If their base was the company headquarters, then there had to be a place for those who would stand against them, just to strike a balance.
William’s eyes showed his hope that this safe house would become that place, and his expression conveyed his desire for Kanghyeok to reside here as its manager.
“Today is a good day, so don’t say anything. Just enjoy the moment.”
Kanghyeok took a drag from his cigarette.
“I’ll move my things tomorrow.”
“Good.”
“I’ll have Leila live here as well.”
“I’m not the one in charge here. Do as you see fit.”
Kanghyeok looked away from William and gave a small nod.
He had actually been thinking of moving one more person in besides Leila, but since William had said that, there was no need to ask.
“I’ll do that.”
*How will Yohan react?*
It wasn’t that he particularly wanted to provide a nice sanctuary for the kid.
He knew, even though Yohan hadn’t said anything, that there were quite a few people bothering him, and training in an open lot was too conspicuous, so he had been hoping for a more suitable location.
“This snow is really going to pile up.”
William frowned at the snow that was already starting to accumulate and stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray.
“Aren’t you leaving too soon?”
“I have another appointment.”
William gathered his things and headed for the entrance.
Kanghyeok’s gaze naturally followed him. At the door, William exhaled a breath tinged with the rich scent of his cigar and raised the corner of his mouth.
Then, he gave Kanghyeok a faint, smiling glance.
“It finally feels like I’ve done something for you.”
He spoke with a light tone, like someone who had just unburdened himself of a long-held weight. Before Kanghyeok could speak, he twisted the doorknob and opened the door.
“Get some rest. I’ll be in touch if anything comes up.”
*Click. Beep-boop!*
When the door closed, a distinct silence descended, as if it had color and form.
A large house.
High ceilings.
A deep basement.
Inside the safe house—lavish, yet furnished with only the bare minimum, devoid of the scent of life—Kanghyeok just fiddled with his cigarette.
A strange sense of solitude seemed to ride the air and seep into his body.
The silently falling snow only amplified the feeling.