Chapter 141
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: A Dangerous Proposal
A discreet location.
A secret meeting in the dark of night.
And above all, the fact that an executive, Gary Chang, was meeting with a Deputy Team Leader created a palpable tension.
Gary Chang was smaller and physically inferior to the Deputy Team Leader, but there was a difference in rank that could never be ignored.
That was why the Deputy Team Leader feared Gary Chang's tongue.
A single word from him could make life at the company difficult, or even strip him of his position as Deputy Team Leader.
*Click.*
Gary Chang touched the power button on his phone, and the screen flooded the area with bright light.
Bathed in the bluish light, Gary Chang looked up from his phone, his thinly lidded eyes shifting to the Deputy Team Leader.
"You haven't been a Deputy Team Leader for long, have you?"
"Sir? Yes, sir."
"You were promoted during the review four months ago. That's quite fast, considering when you joined. Team Leader Santiago is training you now, but that ends next week."
"Yes, that's correct."
"How's company life treating you?"
"It's fine, sir."
The conversation was more ordinary than he had expected, and the tension eased from the Deputy Team Leader's face.
"I doubt that."
But the question, sharp as a blade suddenly piercing his gut, made the Deputy Team Leader's face harden.
"What do you mean by that...?"
"Are you satisfied with your current situation?"
The Deputy Team Leader couldn't say a word, only study Gary Chang's expression.
He couldn't discern his intentions.
"I'm not sure. Why are you asking me this?"
"The pay is probably satisfactory, but the treatment isn't as good as you thought. You want to become a Team Leader, but you're starting to doubt when that will ever happen. Am I wrong?"
The Deputy Team Leader's face stiffened.
Gary Chang had perfectly described the struggles faced by those who had just been promoted to Deputy Team Leader.
As interns or regular employees, they believe everything will change once they make Deputy Team Leader.
But the reality is they have to take on greater responsibilities and more dangerous missions. Many Deputy Team Leaders die or decide to resign without ever becoming a Team Leader.
But not just anyone can become a Team Leader.
It's a realm only reachable by the best of the best.
Or you have to survive long enough to build up seniority, and even that isn't easy.
"I understand you weren't financially well-off before joining the company..."
Gary Chang looked up at the Deputy Team Leader with his narrow eyes.
"Don't you want a better life?"
"..."
"Your eyes say it all. They're the eyes of someone who wants to reach a higher place."
The Deputy Team Leader neither confirmed nor denied it.
He was under Santiago, and more importantly, he had recently seen Kanghyeok.
He didn't know much about him.
But he knew that despite being a contractor, Kanghyeok received treatment on par with a Team Leader, and he was well aware that full-time employees had mobilized to support him.
*Is this the power of a Team Leader?* he had wondered.
Above all, he had heard rumors that the benefits Kanghyeok received were substantial, and his desire for promotion had been swelling like a balloon.
"Is there something you want from me, sir?"
*Snap!*
Gary Chang snapped his fingers and looked at the Deputy Team Leader with intensity in his eyes.
"Smart. Then you must know what a 'line' is, right?"
"A line?"
"In company life, lines are important. Whose side you're on determines whether you'll stay in a mediocre position for the rest of your life or climb the ladder like some people do."
The Deputy Team Leader glanced around before taking half a step closer to Gary Chang.
"Do you want me?"
"Why else would you be standing here? Isn't it because I judged you to be a useful asset?"
The Deputy Team Leader felt a chill run through his body, as if his blood had suddenly turned to ice.
But it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.
An executive, Gary Chang, had chosen him.
And he was here, under this deserted bridge, having a secret conversation with him.
That was all that mattered.
"Tell me what to do."
"I'm going to assign you a mission soon."
"Is it an important one?"
"It's a matter that has the attention of not just me, but other executives as well. I'd like you to handle it."
For a moment, the Deputy Team Leader's face hardened completely.
The tension mounted, and sweat beaded on his palms, making him keenly aware of the wind flowing between his fingers.
Having just Gary Chang as a backer would have been a huge asset.
But other executives too?
It was like a powerful beam of light piercing through the ambiguity of his company life.
"Are you interested? If not, I'll find someone else."
"I'll do it. I absolutely will."
Gary Chang's eyes, fixed on the Deputy Team Leader, narrowed like a snake's.
"Decide carefully. If you take this lightly..."
"I'm no fool."
The Deputy Team Leader placed a hand on his chest as if taking an oath.
He had already sensed that the task Gary Chang was about to ask of him was not normal and could be dangerous.
And yet, he couldn't refuse.
If he backed out now, he could be silenced.
He could be demoted to some far-off place, his chances of promotion vanishing forever, or in the worst-case scenario, he could be eliminated altogether.
That's why this was a good thing.
If he handled a job like this, Gary Chang and the other executives would surely protect him.
His chances of promotion would skyrocket, and he would climb higher than Kanghyeok in a single bound.
"If you trust me, I will never disappoint you."
Seeing the desperation and earnestness in the Deputy Team Leader's eyes, Gary Chang's lips curled into a smirk.
*Click.*
He took a stiff cigarette from a case in his pocket, put it to his lips, and flicked the flint of his lighter while looking at the Deputy Team Leader.
"Hah! Then let's get down to business."
"Yes, sir."
"A mission will be starting soon. There will be three people deployed, including you. Your job is to eliminate one of them."
Eliminate someone from the company?
And during a mission?
It was a chilling story that instantly explained why they had met secretly here instead of at the company.
But he was already in too deep to back out, and he had no desire to, so the Deputy Team Leader asked cautiously, his face serious.
"What should I do with the other one?"
"No, he's on your side."
"Is that so."
Feeling a mix of disappointment that he wouldn't be handling it alone and relief that he'd have help, the Deputy Team Leader felt his mouth go dry.
As he reached into his pocket for a cigarette, Gary Chang's voice continued.
"It won't be too difficult if you two work together. And even if you fail, the target might be eliminated during the mission anyway, so you don't need to be too nervous."
The mission and his teammate.
It meant both would be targeting one person simultaneously.
The mere thought of it made his neck stiffen, and the Deputy Team Leader loosened his tie with the hand holding his cigarette.
"May I know who the target is?"
"Hmm..."
Gary Chang smoked his cigarette, frowning as if debating whether to tell him now or not.
The atmosphere was so suffocating that the Deputy Team Leader no longer felt the cold, and sweat began to form on the hand clutching his lighter.
"It's Kanghyeok."
Gary Chang focused on the Deputy Team Leader.
His breathing and the look in his eyes.
The aura emanating from his body.
From these things, he could gauge the Deputy Team Leader's reaction.
Kanghyeok was a well-known figure, even among the agents.
*Will he be afraid, or will it be the opposite?*
As he watched the Deputy Team Leader, one corner of Gary Chang's mouth shot up towards his ear.
"Good."
The first emotion to appear on the Deputy Team Leader's face was bewilderment, but it quickly turned to elation.
*Squeeze!*
The Deputy Team Leader's fist, clenched so tightly it audibly creaked, trembled.
"I will absolutely do it."
It wasn't that the Deputy Team Leader was unaware of Kanghyeok's reputation.
The feelings that agents, especially Deputy Team Leaders, had for Kanghyeok were largely twofold.
Respect and jealousy.
Those who didn't know Kanghyeok well usually harbored the latter.
He was a man who had decided to resign, yet had crawled back to the company as a contractor. Despite that, he attracted more attention than the full-time employees and had been promoted at high speed.
When he was given the position of safe house manager, the envy and jealousy had grown uncontrollably.
So, Gary Chang's order to eliminate such a rival was not a burden, but rather a welcome opportunity.
"Good. Then get some training in until the time comes."
"Thank you, sir."
"You can go."
The Deputy Team Leader bowed his head and turned away.
When he had walked a fair distance away, his shoulders squared with emotion and ambition, Gary Chang spoke to his back as if he had just remembered something.
"Oh, by the way, what was your name?"
"It's Andrei."
Gary Chang nodded and waved his hand dismissively, gesturing for him to go on.
The Deputy Team Leader resumed walking.
His mind was so filled with excitement that he didn't even register the fact that Gary Chang, the man he was putting his faith in, didn't even know his name.
***
*Vrrrrm.*
Kanghyeok stopped the car in front of the airport and glanced at his wristwatch.
There was still some time before the flight took off.
Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, Kanghyeok turned off the engine and looked at Yohan, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
"You packed everything? Didn't forget anything?"
"Yes."
Whatever had happened overnight, Yohan seemed to have found his peace of mind.
He was tense, but his eyes showed no fear.
"Give me the bag."
Yohan handed the carry-on he was holding to Kanghyeok.
Seeing the worn-out suitcase, he felt a pang of regret.
*If he had told me, I would have bought him a better one...*
*Zzzzip.*
But the dizzying sight that greeted him the moment he unzipped it pushed all feelings of pity far away.
Towels and clothes, fine.
But he had no idea what to make of the pistol and magazine sitting right on top.
They were scheduled to fly to Italy.
But bringing a pistol openly in a carry-on would cause a huge scene.
Kanghyeok stared blankly at the pistol, blinked, and slowly raised his head to look at Yohan.
"What is it?"
*Is this bastard doing this on purpose?*
*Is this his way of protesting that he doesn't want to go?*
But one look at those innocent eyes made such thoughts vanish.
*Right, he probably didn't know. He must have packed it because he didn't know.*
If anyone was at fault, it was Kanghyeok, for not teaching the worldly-ignorant Yohan the common-sense rule that you can't bring a pistol on a plane.
Kanghyeok let out a long sigh and took the pistol and magazine out of the suitcase.
"Ah!"
"You can't take this."
As he spoke, shaking the pistol warningly, Yohan's gaze dropped.
"Yes..."
Seeing his face, which looked like he was being scolded without even knowing what he did wrong, Kanghyeok picked up a cigarette.
He then opened the window and smoked, only speaking after his head had cleared.
"You can't bring a pistol on a plane. If you have any other weapons, take them out now."
"Uh, I don't."
"A knife? Any other guns?"
"I really don't have any."
Kanghyeok checked that the pistol's safety was properly engaged and tucked it into his jacket.
"I'll send this to you later. You should be able to get it in a week."
"Huh? You can send it by mail?"
"The mail service I use allows it."
He warned him not to even dream of sending it via regular mail, as it was absolutely forbidden.
Despite that, Yohan seemed relieved.
It was the first pistol Kanghyeok had given him, the one he had used for practice all this time.
He had probably planned to use it for practice in Italy, too, so leaving behind a pistol that felt like a part of his own body would have made him anxious.
"You should get going. You'll miss your flight."
"Are you not coming with me?"
"If we're going to part ways, it's better to do it here."
"Okay. I'll get going then."
Yohan got out of the car with his suitcase.
He then stood in front of the passenger side, bowed deeply to Kanghyeok, and turned to walk toward the airport.
The kid never once looked back.
He knew why.
It was because he had resolved to return, no matter what.
Yohan's eyes had said as much.
*Thump.*
Kanghyeok got out of the car, taking only his cigarettes. He walked to a spot where he could see the planes taking off, checked his watch, and lit up.
A considerable amount of time passed.
Finally, watching a plane take off with a roar and steadily climb into the sky, Kanghyeok exhaled a long stream of smoke.