The Red Mafia's Tea Party
A short while later, inside a grand mansion on the outskirts of Moscow.
The parking lot near the mansion was filled with countless luxury cars, and people were steadily entering the building. Meanwhile, several Russians stationed in nearby structures kept their cameras trained on the mansion. These were agents from the Russian Federal Security Service, commonly known as the FSB, dispatched specifically to monitor the tea party hosted by the Red Mafia syndicate known as the Komarov Bratva.
"[Incredible. All these heavy hitters showing up just for a tea party?]"
"[A tea party, my ass. You think these bastards came all this way just to sip tea and nibble on cookies? It's called a tea party, but in reality it's a regular meeting where the syndicate's top executives gather to discuss the organization's future operations.]"
The agent continued scanning the guests entering the mansion through his camera lens. Every single one of them was a major player in the criminal underworld of Central Asia or Eastern Europe.
"[By the way, Vigo Komarov has ten children in total, right?]"
"[Yeah. Three from his first wife, three from his second, and four from his third. Every single one of them holds a key position in the organization.]"
"[The old man sure was prolific.]"
While the agents chatted and kept watch, Yozef Komarov wandered through the mansion, exchanging greetings with syndicate executives and snacking on hors d'oeuvres. His demeanor was far too calm for someone who had just witnessed over a dozen people die.
After sipping his red wine, he gestured for a waiter, placed his empty glass on the tray, and approached a syndicate member in a suit.
"[Where's Boris?]"
[Yozef Komarov. Vigo's second son]
[Second-in-command of the syndicate]
"[He's in the fifth room on the fourth floor.]"
Yozef headed toward the elevator inside the mansion. Three people followed him, including his secretary and half-sister, Liliya Komarova.
When Yozef stopped in front of the elevator doors, a muscular white man in his mid-thirties with black hair and standing well over two meters tall addressed him.
"[By the way, is the Honorary Chairman also attending this tea party?]"
[Mikhail Vasilov. 4th Captain of Hishniki]
"[Seems so. He still looks quite healthy.]"
Another white man in his late thirties, dressed in black combat fatigues and combat boots with black hair, asked Yozef a question.
"[But if the Honorary Chairman passes away, who do you think will receive the larger share of his inheritance?]"
[Sergey Vasilov. 3rd Captain of Hishniki]
[Mikhail's older brother]
Mikhail snorted at Sergey's question.
"[Obviously the Vice Chairman will get the most. The Chairman has done plenty for the organization, but if anyone has worked harder for its growth than the Vice Chairman, I'd like to see them.]"
"[Well, that's true enough.]"
Moments later, the elevator arrived. Once inside, Yozef pressed the button for the fourth floor and spoke to Liliya and the Vasilov brothers.
"[If I receive the inheritance, I'll use it to expand my own power base. And once that's strong enough…]"
He turned to them with a grin.
"[I'll push Boris aside and become the Pakhan myself.]"
Even after hearing Yozef's ambition to eliminate the current boss and take control, the Vasilov brothers smiled as if it were only natural. Liliya, however, maintained a blank expression, her gaze fixed on the elevator mirror, clearly displeased with her brother's aspirations.
When the elevator reached the fourth floor, they stepped out into a hallway packed with syndicate members armed with submachine guns and assault rifles. Several who had been lounging on the floor snapped to attention upon seeing Yozef. The group walked past them at a leisurely pace.
Mikhail cracked his neck with a loud pop while Sergey scanned the armed men lining the corridor. They stopped before a white door, where an enforcer carrying an MP7A2 blocked their path.
"[I'm sorry, but we'll need to conduct a body search.]"
Mikhail drew his compensator-equipped FNX45 from its holster and pressed the barrel to the man's forehead, growling in a low voice.
"[Hey. You blind? Does this man look like someone who needs to be searched?]"
Other enforcers raised their weapons in alarm, but Sergey merely sighed as if the situation were a minor inconvenience and scratched his head with his right hand.
"[Stand down, Mikhail. If we're going to see the Pakhan, we should at least submit to this level of inspection.]"
Though visibly annoyed, Mikhail lowered his gun and obeyed. Yozef spread his arms and allowed the guards to search him. One of them noticed the silver Colt Python revolver holstered at his side.
"[Vice Chairman? Bringing a firearm into the Pakhan's room is…]"
"[Hmm? A firearm? Do you see a gun?]"
Yozef met the man's eyes with a gentle smile, his gaze conveying a clear message: even if you found a weapon, you have no power to act against someone of my standing.
"[It's right there at your side…]"
"[I'll ask again. Do you see a firearm? I carry nothing that could threaten the Pakhan.]"
Yozef's expression hardened. Mikhail and Sergey glared at the guard as if ready to shoot him on the spot.
"[......My apologies. I must have been mistaken. You're clear to enter.]"
The guard stepped aside. Yozef turned to Mikhail and Sergey.
"[Wait here. There are some family matters I'd like to discuss.]"
"[Understood, Vice Chairman.]"
His tone carried the implication that he was graciously allowing the Pakhan to save face by leaving his bodyguards outside. Liliya, who had been about to follow, removed her own pistol and handed it to one of the guards before entering the room.
Inside, seven people greeted Yozef and Liliya.
"[It's been a while, Yozef.]"
[Boris Komarov. Vigo's eldest son]
[Current boss of the syndicate]
Boris, Yozef's full brother, sat alone on a wide sofa in a gray suit and black dress shoes, gently stroking the head of an Amur leopard sprawled across his lap. He appeared to be in his late fifties, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a mustache and goatee.
"[It seemed rather noisy outside today. I see you brought different bodyguards instead of Nikolai Baek?]"
[Oleg Komarov. Vigo's third son]
[Sovietnik of the syndicate]
"[You brought that thug Mikhail Vasilov instead of Nikolai Baek? The one who claims to be ex-Spetsnaz like Nikolai.]"
[Irina Komarova. Vigo's second daughter]
[Accountant of the syndicate]
"[That's his older brother, Sergey Vasilov. Mikhail's the former MMA pro.]"
[Alexander Komarov. Vigo's fourth son]
[One of the syndicate's senior executives]
"[They're both equally insufferable. If anything, the older brother is marginally better.]"
The three seated to Boris's right were children of Vigo's second wife, while the three to his left were children of his third wife.
"[I heard you took care of the Sobolev Bratva before coming here.]"
[Lev Komarov. Vigo's fifth son]
[Security Chief of the syndicate]
Yozef took an empty seat beside Boris and replied.
"[That's right. Thanks to Irina, we learned that bastard was skimming contract payments from weapons and drug deals with other organizations instead of handing everything over. So we dealt with him immediately.]"
Liliya, Vigo's youngest daughter, sat beside her full brother Denis Komarov, Vigo's youngest son.
"[Did you clean up the rest? His subordinates are still in Saint Petersburg.]"
[Natalia Komarova. Vigo's third daughter]
[One of the syndicate's senior executives]
"[Don't worry. I sent Sergey Vasilov to handle them all.]"
Denis Komarov, the syndicate's hitman, silently drank vodka straight from the bottle.
With all the siblings gathered except one, Boris addressed them.
"[Anyway, thank you all for coming such a long way despite your busy schedules.]"
"[How is Father's condition?]"
"[Fortunately, there's no need for concern, Yozef.]"
"[That's good to hear.]"
Despite his words, Yozef's tone carried no trace of relief. Oleg adjusted his glasses and asked Boris.
"[By the way, where is Father? Even if he's retired, he still holds considerable influence at this tea party…]"
"[Well, according to Secretary Makarov, he had someone to meet and would be about an hour late.]"
"[He didn't mention who?]"
"[No.]"
Boris continued stroking the leopard's head, thinking to himself.
'[I have a pretty good idea who he's meeting… but there's no reason for me to worry about those two getting together.]'
Not far from the tea party venue, inside a restaurant.
Vigo Komarov, the syndicate's Honorary Chairman and former boss, was dining on Russian beef stroganoff with someone.
"[Do you remember this place? After you got accepted into Moscow State University, the whole family came here for beef stroganoff. Since you liked it so much, we even brought Boris and Yozef along, though those two whined about not being hungry and ended up eating heartily anyway. Especially Boris—he must have had several bowls…]"
As he spoke, Vigo set down his utensils with a wistful expression.
"[Those are all just meaningless memories now.]"
Yelena Komarova, seated across from him, also set down her utensils and replied curtly.
With long, wavy blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a beige long coat and a Patek Philippe watch, she appeared to be around fifty but looked no older than her mid-thirties thanks to meticulous care. A gold ring set with a red diamond adorned her left ring finger.
"[I never expected you to return to Russia, Lena.]"
"[I only stopped by briefly because of my husband's business.]"
[Yelena Komarova. Vigo's eldest daughter]
[Mother of Alina Kim]
She glared at Vigo and continued.
"[I didn't come back to this dreadful place just to see you people.]"
After a brief silence, Vigo spoke.
"[Regarding what happened back then…]"
"[Don't think you can brush it off with some half-hearted apology. It's not like the dead will come back.]"
She cut him off and suddenly asked.
"[Didn't you mention having a tea party today?]"
"[What's so important about a tea party? It's been so long since you came back to Russia. I told them I'd be an hour late, and Boris can handle things in the meantime.]"
Vigo smiled warmly at his daughter, who had returned to her homeland after so long. His gentle expression made it hard to believe he was the former boss of the Komarov Bratva, which had once dominated the criminal underworld of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
"[How is Alina doing?]"
"[......She's doing well enough. She'd be doing much better if you people would just stop interfering.]"
"[I heard she's been visiting overseas businesses to prepare for taking over her father's company…]"
"[And?]"
Yelena's response was so cold it was hard to believe they were father and daughter, yet Vigo showed no sign of displeasure. Instead, he looked at her with a wistful expression tinged with guilt and sorrow.
"[I'll say it again honestly… I had no idea. I never imagined Yozef and Boris would go so far as to kidnap their own niece…]"
"[Don't make excuses.]"
At her single sentence, Vigo fell silent again. Yelena stood up as if she could no longer stand being there.
"[I'm leaving now.]"
"[Already? I ordered medovik for you…]"
"[......Give it to Denis. He always liked it more than I did.]"
She turned to Vigo and delivered her final words in a low voice.
"[Take care of your health. And quit smoking those cigars.]"
With that, Yelena turned and left the restaurant. Though Vigo couldn't see her face, her expression looked somewhat sorrowful.
Her attendants waiting outside opened the rear door of a parked Rolls-Royce Phantom. Once she was inside, they followed.
""
""
Looking out the window, Yelena saw her father Vigo being helped out of the restaurant by his attendants. He suddenly coughed violently, as if his chronic illness had flared up, and collapsed to the ground. His flustered attendants quickly loaded him into the back seat of a Mercedes, which then drove away and disappeared from view.
""
The female attendant in the passenger seat asked in English. Yelena remained silent for a moment before replying.
"<......I'm fine. Let's go to the airport.>"
The Rolls-Royce carrying Yelena and her attendants headed toward the airport.
Meanwhile, at Cheonseong Hotel in Korea.
After dinner, Jaehyuk and Alina sat together on the hotel bed under the covers, watching a movie. It was a superhero film, and Jaehyuk watched as the hero demolished the villains.
'I've already seen how the next installment turns out in my previous life… so it's not very interesting. Not unwatchable, but still.'
"Oppa? Are you bored?"
"No. It's interesting."
"Really? Your expression says otherwise…"
"Maybe I'm just too distracted by how pretty your face is to follow the plot."
Alina blushed and turned back to the screen, muttering.
"Smooth talker…"
Jaehyuk draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.
A little later, they finished the movie. Alina looked at Jaehyuk and asked.
"Oppa. You said… there are three left, right?"
"Huh? Three what? Ah… yeah, three left…"
Jaehyuk realized she meant condoms. She asked again.
"This is our last night… Should we use them all today?"
"Hmm…"
After a moment of thought, Jaehyuk replied.
"I think it's better to go out and buy more."
"Eh? But it's cold outside…"
"It's fine."
Jaehyuk got up, dressed, and kissed Alina on the lips. Smiling at her, he said.
"I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Okay. When you get back… let's shower together."
"Sure. Got it."
Jaehyuk left the room.
A short while later, after buying condoms at a nearby convenience store and returning to the room, he heard Alina's voice.
"Oppa. Come to the bedroom."
Jaehyuk entered the bedroom and turned on the light. His eyes fell on Alina sitting on the bed.
"How do I look…? Oppa…"
Wearing only white underwear, Alina sat in a seductive pose with her pale legs exposed, blushing yet smiling cutely at him. Her expression blended a sensual allure from her posture with an adorable shyness that made Jaehyuk's heart race.
Faced with her captivating presence, Jaehyuk blushed without realizing it and stared at her blankly before giving her a thumbs-up.
"You look incredibly sexy… and incredibly cute…"
"Then before we shower together… should we do it once? We have plenty of condoms now."