Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: An Unofficial Rescue
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Leila shifted her gaze to Kanghyeok.
He was looking her way, as if he’d noticed the call.
But he was still dealing with Yohan, and the call might not be important, so Leila answered it.
“This is Leila, HR Manager.”
(Where's Kanghyeok?)
“He's right here.”
Leila’s expression hardened.
She sensed something was wrong from William’s voice, which was stiffer and lower than usual.
*Whoosh!*
Just then, Yohan, now confident he could attack more aggressively, spun his body.
He channeled the momentum into his elbow, aiming to strike Kanghyeok’s temple.
*Thud.*
While looking at Leila, Kanghyeok caught Yohan’s elbow and wrist at the same time.
He added a bit of his own strength to Yohan’s spin and hooked his ankle.
*Thump!*
Yohan, who had fallen flat on his back, looked as if he didn’t know what had just happened.
“Good work. Go take a break. Check your firearms, too.”
Kanghyeok helped Yohan up, dusted off his back, and gave him a gentle push toward where the guns were propped.
As Yohan headed over, Kanghyeok walked up to Leila.
“What's going on?”
Just as Leila was about to answer,
(I sent you an email. Check it immediately and call me back.)
*Click.*
The abrupt end of the call left a strong premonition that something urgent and serious had happened.
Kanghyeok stood beside Leila and put a cigarette between his lips, while Leila pursed hers and opened the email on her phone.
Damn loading screen.
The few seconds it took for the email to open were infuriatingly irritating.
“It's a video.”
Having confirmed the attachment from William was a video, Leila met Kanghyeok’s gaze.
Her eyes asked if they should watch it now.
Kanghyeok nodded and took out his Zippo lighter.
But as the video began to play, he couldn’t even light his cigarette, forced into silence.
Three people appeared in the video.
All of them had their faces covered with hoods, so their features were hidden.
Still, the outfits of the men on the left and right, and the cloth with an emblem hanging behind them, gave a clue to their identity.
‘A militant group.’
Those operating in the Middle East always use some impressive-looking emblem as their symbol.
The men on either side chattered rapidly in a harsh accent, but the recording quality was poor, so only bits and pieces were intelligible.
“They're demanding a ransom.”
At Leila's words, Kanghyeok’s lips twisted.
All the while, he stared intently at the person bound to a chair between the men.
He didn't know who it was.
The face was covered.
But he had a feeling.
It was because of the material of the suit and the man's build.
*Fwoosh!*
When the man on the left ripped the hood off the man in the chair, Leila gritted her teeth and muttered.
“Jeff Black.”
The video ended with him staring at the camera, his face a mess.
A button asking to replay the video appeared, but neither of them moved or spoke.
They had touched someone from the company.
A mix of immense humiliation, anger, and concern for Jeff churned into a powerful emotion.
“Call William.”
“Yes.”
Leila dismissed the video from the screen and called William.
(Did you see the video?)
“Yes, I watched it with Kanghyeok.”
Kanghyeok held out his hand to Leila, his eyes asking for the phone.
“I'll put him on now.”
Leila handed the phone to Kanghyeok, who, with the cigarette still in his mouth, began to speak.
“When did the video arrive?”
(Just now.)
“What was the delivery route?”
(Not through the U.S. government. It was sent to the email on Jeff's business card.)
Mili-Weapon.
That was the company name on the email Jeff used to hide his identity.
*Click, fwoosh!*
Kanghyeok lit his cigarette, the bridge of his nose twitching.
Bastards. They're not your average thugs.
If they were just trying to extort money, they would have contacted the U.S. government, not the company.
One might think they were a minor group trying to get money from a company instead of the government.
But Jeff would have hired local mercenaries, and they wouldn't have been incompetent.
These guys got past those mercenaries and kidnapped Jeff.
“It's one of two things. Either they're smart…”
(Or they have a motive other than money.)
Kanghyeok nodded gravely at William's words.
What if they'd caught wind of the company's existence and were playing games?
Jeff had to be rescued as soon as possible.
The information Jeff possessed couldn't be allowed to fall into the hands of people like them.
If the company's advanced technologies, including the bulletproof suits, fell into the hands of terrorists, the entire world would be thrown into chaos.
“When does the rescue begin?”
(No, there won't be a rescue.)
“…Why not?”
(It's a decision from the higher-ups.)
Kanghyeok was intentionally holding the phone slightly away from his ear.
It was so Leila could also hear the conversation.
Thus, Leila heard William’s words, and just like Kanghyeok, her gaze turned cold.
“The reason?”
(As of this moment, Jeff is no longer an employee of the company.)
Jeff had said he was about to retire.
Still.
He couldn't understand abandoning a man who had worked for the company his entire life, a man who had contributed so much, for such a flimsy reason.
“Are you serious right now…?”
(You're the only one who knows about this, Kanghyeok.)
Kanghyeok pressed his lips together.
He had a feeling.
A feeling that William was about to ask for something implicitly.
(Save Jeff.)
“…”
(There's no one else. No one who can act without worrying about the company's opinion. No one with your skills.)
Kanghyeok met Leila’s eyes.
Leila didn't speak, but her expression showed she wanted Kanghyeok to help Jeff.
It wasn't just Leila; anyone working for the company would feel the same.
They worked for the company with trust. All of them.
So how would they feel if they found out the company had abandoned a rescue simply because he was no longer an employee?
‘So that's why.’
The same thing must have happened in the past.
But Kanghyeok hadn't known Jeff was kidnapped; he had just vaguely assumed Jeff had retired due to his old age.
Like everyone else.
(Jeff and I will take care of the payment. Jeff has a sizable nest egg, so it should be more than enough…)
“No. I don't want something as trivial as money.”
(Hmm?)
“I have enough money that I don't need any more.”
(Then?)
“I will decide Jeff's future.”
There are more things in this world that money can't solve than one might think.
Jeff's value was one of them.
His vast knowledge and exceptional skills would be of great help to Kanghyeok someday.
The reason for this decision?
(Are you doubting the company?)
“I don't understand the company's actions. It's as if it's not the company I knew.”
(I agree.)
Letting go of a talent like Jeff just because he was old, and refusing to rescue him because he was no longer an employee.
And the company's helpless defeat in the future at the hands of those who destroyed the world.
Sadly, it felt like he could no longer trust the company that had once been the most reliable thing in the world.
(It won't be easy. Since this is being done without the company's involvement, I can't promise active support, and unexpected situations might arise.)
“I don't care.”
(If you get kidnapped, even I won't be able to help you this time.)
Kanghyeok answered firmly.
“It doesn't matter what happens to me.”
A brief silence.
But it wasn't a bad atmosphere at all.
It was a moment where trust and faith in Kanghyeok spread, like the green hue seeping from tea leaves steeped in hot water.
(Understood. I'll make preparations on my end.)
William said in a voice relieved of worry, and Kanghyeok replied, "Alright," before hanging up.
From a distance, Yohan peeked at Kanghyeok, his face showing he sensed something was up.
But Kanghyeok said nothing, silently smoking his cigarette.
Yohan's training ended just like that.
Kanghyeok suggested Yohan take a rest, saying there should be days like this, but he couldn't be sure if Yohan would listen.
“Are you going somewhere?”
The question came through the crack of the door just before he closed it at Yohan's house.
“I might be.”
“Be safe. I'll be fine.”
Yohan said this with the face of a child who had suddenly grown up. Kanghyeok watched him for a moment before letting out a soft laugh.
He'd bought plenty of bullets, and there were many firearms Yohan could use for training.
He'd made a full pot of rice and a large pot of soup, so he didn't feel burdened about leaving.
“I'll call you when I get back.”
“Okay.”
Still, whether he could leave with a clear conscience was another matter.
Kanghyeok told Yohan not to overdo it and returned to his apartment.
*Click.*
“I'll let you know as soon as I hear from William.”
Leila, who had taken up temporary residence in the apartment next to Kanghyeok's, said this as she opened her door. Kanghyeok acknowledged her and went into his own place.
*Click.*
As the door closed, a sense of silence washed over him.
Living alone was the same now as it was before.
But perhaps because he'd been around so many people since returning to the company, the quietness of his home felt more profound than it ever had before.
*Rattle.*
Kanghyeok opened the window and sat on the edge of his bed, putting a cigarette to his lips.
*Click, fwoosh.*
Lighting it with his Zippo, he smoked, feeling the cool air from the window on his back.
His mind was a bit cluttered.
The image of Jeff, who must be hoping for help and rescue even now, flickered in his mind, and he wondered about the terrorists' intentions.
What bothered him most was the company's course of action.
“Huuuh.”
Kanghyeok exhaled, his expression as heavy as his mood, letting the smoke drift away.
He had changed many things.
Since his return.
From saving this city, which would have been destroyed by Nobody, to preventing the mass murder that would have been carried out by Iron Mask.
But Jeff?
Kanghyeok only remembered Jeff as someone who had retired at some point and disappeared without a trace.
He hadn't experienced anything like this.
‘Why has it changed like this?’
Could it be because of me? Or is there something I still don't know?
If there was anyone who could give him an answer, he wanted to ask.
But there was no one to answer, so Kanghyeok just took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled the smoke.
The cool breeze coming through the window soothed his mood a little.
He also liked the faint, quiet, and dry scent of winter in the air.
It helped clear his head.
He let out a puff of smoke.
Resting the hand holding the cigarette on his knee, he stared out the window and took a deep breath.
‘The company.’
This was what weighed on his mind the most.
What if Jeff's release was planned?
What if he hadn't known back then because his rank was low and he wasn't close to William?
What if there was something Kanghyeok didn't know, something that was trying to force Jeff out of the company by any means necessary?
“Damn it, no.”
The conclusion that came to mind was so terrible that Kanghyeok muttered to himself without realizing it.
But considering the company's current actions, only one conclusion came to mind.
The company is trying to eliminate Jeff.
This incident, Jeff's kidnapping, which hadn't happened before, had brought it to the surface, and it had reached Kanghyeok's ears.
If that was truly the case, what Kanghyeok had to do was clear.
‘Rescue Jeff, and protect him from the company.’
Just then.
*Knock, knock.*
Following the knock, Leila’s voice could be heard.
“It's me.”
“It's not locked. Come in.”
Kanghyeok stubbed out the cigarette, now burned down to the filter, in the ashtray and watched Leila as she opened the door and entered.
She was in a suit.
Leila looked ready for business.
It wasn't just because of her attire.
It was because she wore an expression similar to Kanghyeok's.
“A message came from William. May I show you now?”
Leila spoke in a tone more like a support agent than a secretary, and Kanghyeok readily accepted her offer.