The Gap in Conversation
“Do I really have to stop seeing the woman I want just because of that bastard?”
James had already decided that the entire TY Group was his enemy, and the retaliation plan he’d worked out after some brief thought wasn’t something that would be settled in a day or two.
How long is this supposed to drag on? How long do I have to keep hiding?
As he kept turning it over, James finally threw up his hands and conceded.
Fine. My weakness? Do whatever you want with it. I’ll do whatever I want, too.
Glaring into empty space, as if he could see someone there, James thought, The way this ends is no longer in my hands. It’s in yours.
The moment they moved beyond surveillance and started interfering, that would be the day the bastard’s nightmare began.
Once he had his thoughts in order, James said, “Suzy.”
“Yeah, Oppa.”
“Let’s just not worry about it. Like you said, it doesn’t seem easy for them to find me in Korea.”
“...You think so?”
“And if they try to use you and me to set something up, I may have been overreacting. That’s the sort of thing they could only pull off overseas anyway. In Korea, you can’t even buy a gun without jumping through a thousand hoops, so what exactly are they supposed to do?”
“I like that you’re always so positive, Oppa. Hehe.”
“Of course. Since we’re meeting today, should we go look at some property?”
“To buy a house?”
“Yeah. And I should also look into permanent residency...”
For James, who had significant assets and spoke Korean fluently, getting permanent residency would not be difficult.
“Eee! Yes!! I’ll handle the residency side. You just show up.”
“All right. I’ll head over there.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Even as James left the hotel, he could still feel eyes on him.
Black sedan at the front-left. Three inside.
There was also someone in the back seat with a camera. They were sure they wouldn’t be noticed, but to a magician who sensed the world through mana, they stood out as clearly as day.
How far are they planning to follow me?
James hailed a taxi and set off toward his destination.
“Hongik University Station, please.”
“Please fasten your seat belt, sir.”
Even while buckling in, James’s attention remained on the watchers.
Vroom. Vroom.
But aren’t they too close? At this rate, they’d be impossible to miss.
The black sedan was tailing the taxi right on its bumper.
Guess they’re not professionals after all...
But in crowded Seoul, staying far enough back to remain hidden meant risking losing the target, so for them this had probably been the only choice.
Vroom.
The taxi James had just taken went straight through the intersection even though the light had turned yellow, while the sedan behind it was blocked by cross traffic from the right and couldn’t make it through.
Skreeeeech.
They were stuck well before the intersection, unable to go forward or back. The horn blasts and curses from other cars were just a bonus.
Beep! Beep-beep!
“Hey, you idiot! Learn how to drive!”
“...Damn it.”
The light’s causing trouble.
James hadn’t even intended to shake them off, but the tail had fallen away on its own.
Or maybe they just weren’t professional enough?
If it had been him, he would’ve used three cars, one tucked ahead and one behind, with another held in reserve.
“What the hell is that bastard doing, hanging around in front of me like that...”
One black car had slowed down directly in front of the taxi. The driver tried to overtake it, but every time he did, the car ahead shifted lanes to block him.
“...”
James couldn’t help thinking there was truth to the saying that words could make things happen.
There’s another one.
They were keeping the taxi pinned in hopes that the car that had dropped out of the tail would catch up again. In the process, they’d managed to get under the taxi driver’s skin.
Beep!
“You little bastards are really asking for it... Sir, hold on tight. The car might jolt a little.”
“Ah... yes.”
Whoosh.
The taxi driver flipped on his left blinker and changed lanes, and the car ahead hurriedly veered left as well.
Then the taxi lurched and made a sharp move to the right.
Vroom.
Startled by the taxi’s sudden movement, the car ahead jerked right again.
These guys aren’t going to fall off that easily...
James’s hand began to brush against mana. He hadn’t meant to shake them off himself, but since the taxi driver had already started the dance, he might as well lend a little help.
But the taxi driver was a veteran among veterans.
“This right here’s the real feint, you bastard.”
With another sudden swing to the left, the taxi overtook the car ahead and shot out of the intersection to the left.
Whoosh.
The car that failed to take the left lane was forced straight through the intersection, and the driver, basking alone in his victory, shoved a middle finger out the window with theatrical flair.
“Heh. Idiot bastards. There’s always some moron on the road acting stupid.”
“...”
In an instant, the taxi driver had shaken off the tail. James was deeply impressed by Korean taxi drivers.
He’s a pro.
James looked around for any other following cars that might still be there, but there was definitely nothing left around the taxi.
So there were only two cars tailing me?
In fact, there had been three vehicles watching James, but one had stepped away for lunch, leaving only two to follow.
“Sir, we’ve arrived at Hongik University Station.”
James looked at the fare on the meter and pulled out fifty thousand won.
“Just a moment. Your change is...”
The meter showed fifteen thousand won, but James had no intention of taking back the change.
“Keep the rest as a tip. Best drive I’ve had all day. You are the Best Driver.”
James gave the taxi driver a thumbs-up.
“Hahaha. Thank you, sir.”
After sending the taxi on its way, James browsed the street vendors until one stall caught his eye.
“Welcome!”
There, he bought a black baseball cap and pulled it low over his head. The tail had been shaken off, but it was better to be prepared for anything.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Suzy was waiting for James at a cafe, and she recognized him instantly despite the low-slung cap.
“Oppa! Over here!”
“Hah. The hat didn’t work at all?”
“That was a disguise? You were worried people might recognize you?”
“Yeah.”
“With your face, Oppa, most disguises probably won’t do much.”
“Heh. Maybe it only looks that way to you, Suzy.”
“Hehe.”
“I bought one for you, too.”
James had bought two hats from the vendor.
“A couple’s hat? Nice! Are we secret agents now?”
“...If anything, fugitives would be more accurate.”
“Hahaha.”
While James was out on his date with Suzy, the men who’d lost him were stomping around in panic.
“Damn it! How did you lose all of them? At least one of you should’ve stayed on him!”
“Sorry. The taxi managed to shake us off, too...”
“Did you get the license plate?”
“Yes. We’re calling the taxi company right now to find out where it took him.”
They had lost the taxi, but finding its destination was not difficult.
“Hurry up and text it to me!”
“Yes, sir.”
It would be easy enough to get the driver’s number through the company and confirm it directly with him.
“The passenger you just dropped off?”
“Yes. We were trying to do him a favor, but he absolutely refused and left us in an awkward spot.”
At first glance, it sounded harmless enough, but the taxi driver’s instincts told him exactly what sort of people he was dealing with.
Some scumbags from a people-finder agency. Was that car earlier one of theirs, too?
On top of that, the tip James had given him was a serious blow to their plans.
“Ah! That gentleman got out in front of Hapjeong Station.”
“Thank you.”
At the clipped end of the call, the taxi driver snorted.
“Go ahead and search there all day, you bastards.”
They had no choice but to believe the false information that James had gotten off at Hapjeong Station. Even if the taxi driver had told them the truth, finding James among the crowds would not have been easy.
“How are we supposed to find one man here...”
It was hopeless, but since it was the job they’d been given, they still had to pretend to search.
“Spread out and look! If you can’t find him, assume you’re dead!”
““Yes, sir!””
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
By the time they were tearing through the area around Hapjeong Station, James and Suzy had already left the Hongdae cafe and moved on elsewhere.
“This is Gangnam Gangnam?”
“That’s right. The hot spot of Korea, Gangnam!”
The two of them had reached the area near Gangnam Station, a long way from Hapjeong.
“Any property from this agency should be able to meet Oppa’s conditions.”
“It looks too crowded...”
When he’d lived in Las Vegas, his surroundings had been nothing but residential streets, so things had been quiet enough. Gangnam, by contrast, was packed with towering buildings and a steady flow of people. Cars clogged the roads, and horns were going off everywhere.
“The traffic will be terrible every day, and it’s noisy all around...”
“Do you want a quiet country house?”
“Not really. But if it’s too far from Seoul, the capital, it’ll be a pain to get back and forth.”
“That’s a tough set of conditions. You’re a picky customer, so finding something that suits your taste won’t be easy.”
“Heh. Then I’ll be counting on you to find something good.”
“Yes, sir!”
The two of them went into the nearest real estate office.
“Welcome.”
A middle-aged woman wearing heavy makeup greeted them.
“A newlywed couple?”
She’d guessed from the matching hats.
“Hehe.”
At the question, Suzy couldn’t hide her laughter.
“Not yet.”
“Soon enough, I’m sure. First, have a seat. What would you like to drink?”
The broker’s practiced ease put James and Suzy at ease in return.
“So then, if you’ve come to look at houses in Gangnam, I’m guessing you’re already in a position to buy...”
“...”
Suzy sipped her tea and nodded silently.
Buying a house with twenty million dollars, of course we can afford it.
“Is the house for the man?”
“...”
This time James nodded.
“And have you thought about how much space you want?”
James tilted his head at the unit.
How many square yards is a pyeong again?
He understood Korean fine, but unit conversions were always a nuisance.
Colt’s two-story house was 150 square yards, so...
When no answer came from James, the broker turned to Suzy again.
“Oh dear, looks like the groom hasn’t thought that through yet. And you, bride? Do you have a preferred size?”
“Ah... I haven’t really thought about the size either. As long as the conditions are right, the size doesn’t matter much...”
“If it’s just the two of you, a little cramped is fine, right? You can always move later once you have kids. So how much should I look for?”
“Um...”
Suzy wasn’t sure whether she should say the number, so she looked at James. But he was still busy wrestling with pyeong and square yards. So Suzy gave the price instead.
“About... 200, maybe...”
“Then monthly rent?”
The broker, hearing 200, immediately thought of rent, but the unit Suzy meant was not in ten-thousands of won.
“Not rent. We’re thinking of buying.”
“...What can you get for 200? Maybe a condo or a fairly large villa on rent, but...”
“My brother wants a detached house with a yard. He said two or three floors would be nice, somewhere a little quiet.”
“...”
This time the broker tilted her head like James had. The gap in the conversation still wasn’t closing.
That was when James, after finishing the unit conversion with the help of his phone, finally spoke.
“Five hundred square yards would be about 126 pyeong, right? If we keep the built area to the minimum, something around that should do.”
“126 pyeong just for the building? And a detached house with a yard for 200? Come on...”
“200? Suzy, what’s 200? Two million dollars?”
Now the confusion was between dollars and won.
“I was speaking in won. Since I said twenty million dollars, that’s about twenty billion won.”
“Oh, I see? Then 200 makes sense. Right. 20 billion.”
“...”
At last, the gap in the conversation was starting to narrow.
What the hell...