The Bodyguard Betrayal Event
I told Han Yugyeong that the bodyguard Shingang Group would assign her would betray her.
It was a sudden thing to say, especially since she didn't even have a bodyguard yet. As we moved together after first meeting, I spoke to her as if prophesying the future, laying out exactly what would happen.
I explained that as a reward for entering Hanguk (Korean) University’s business department as valedictorian, her grandfather, Chairman Han Mungang of Shingang Group, would give her a considerable sum of money. I told her she needed to use part of that money to hire a bodyguard.
At first, Han Yugyeong didn’t believe me. After all, I was a Japanese-Korean who didn’t know much about Korean affairs, and I knew even less about the inner workings of Shingang Group. But after I returned to Japan, she was summoned to the Shingang family home. What happened during that dinner made her witness my prophecy come true with her own eyes.
“Kyung-ah, you worked so hard studying, so this old man will give you some spending money. Try guessing how much it is.”
Han Mungang was an old man in his early eighties. He had a sharp, gaunt face. Unlike most of the major corporations that had been passed down through generations, he was famous for building Shingang Group from the ground up. Before the war, he and his older brother Han Munshin had run a small medium-sized company called Shingang Precision. During the war, they began producing military components, and the business grew rapidly. It became a mid-tier company during the conflict. Even after his brother died in the war, Han Mungang never wavered and continued running the company with stubborn determination.
When the war ended and Korea was reunified, his contributions during the conflict were recognized. He acquired factories and land in the North at practically giveaway prices. The business expanded dramatically, and before long, Shingang Group had risen into the ranks of Korea’s major conglomerates. Thanks to Han Mungang’s consistently correct decisions during critical moments, Shingang Group eventually became one of the top ten corporations in the country.
“I think around two hundred million won,” Han Yugyeong answered after touching the envelope Han Mungang had given her. She was only able to answer because I had told her it would probably be around that amount. In truth, she had no way of guessing how much he would give. Although he was her grandfather, her parents had been cast out after their marriage, so she had barely met him. As far as she could remember, this was only their third encounter.
“Why do you think that?” Han Mungang’s eyes sharpened.
Han Yugyeong instantly realized she had given the correct answer. Rather than feeling happy about getting it right, she was more amazed that my prophetic-sounding words had proven accurate.
“Just a feeling. If I were you, Grandfather, I thought I would give about that much.”
“Heh heh heh, correct. When doing business, thinking from the other party’s perspective is important. Yugyeong, you possess that rare virtue.”
Satisfied with her answer, Han Mungang didn’t press further. Han Yugyeong tucked the envelope into her clothes. The other relatives gathered there seemed to consider two hundred million won pocket change, as none of them showed any envious glances or reactions.
“Congratulations, Yugyeong.”
After the meal, Han Junyeong, the eldest grandson of Shingang Group, approached her. Han Yugyeong had always found him uncomfortable. His emotionless, almost reptilian gaze and the stiff, practiced smile made him seem less like a human and more like something else entirely.
“Thanks, Junyeong oppa.”
“Enjoy your four years of university life.”
Han Junyeong patted her shoulder twice before leaving. Han Yugyeong couldn’t leave yet. Her second uncle, Han Umin, had called for her.
Han Umin was in charge of Shingang Security, one of Shingang Group’s subsidiaries. He told her that, on Chairman Han Mungang’s orders, he would assign her a bodyguard. Han Yugyeong felt a strange sensation. Everything was unfolding exactly as I had said. That meant the bodyguard’s betrayal would surely happen too.
“Yugyeong, this is Lee Sangtae. He’ll be guarding you starting tomorrow.”
“Nice to meet you, miss. I look forward to working with you.”
Han Umin introduced a man with a sharp, thuggish face. The moment Han Yugyeong saw Lee Sangtae, she understood. This bodyguard could not be trusted. His narrow, predatory eyes were staring at her like she was prey.
“He’ll start guarding you tomorrow, so go straight home today. And don’t cause any trouble outside.”
“Understood. I’ll be going now, second uncle.”
Han Yugyeong politely bowed and left. She needed to find the bodyguard I had mentioned right away. She needed someone trustworthy, not someone like Lee Sangtae. Since Lee Sangtae would be stuck to her starting tomorrow, today was her only chance.
She called a taxi and headed to Seoul Station. Because only a little over eight years had passed since the war ended, Seoul Station was full of homeless people with nowhere to go. There, Han Yugyeong found the homeless man I had told her about. His name was Scott Dixon, and unusually, he was a white man.
Scott Dixon was a man in his early thirties. Near the end of the war, he had been framed, received a dishonorable discharge, and afterward couldn’t find work. Eventually, he had become homeless in Korea. Han Yugyeong spent about ten minutes searching for the white homeless man before finally spotting him lying in a corner with glazed eyes.
“Mr. Scott Dixon.”
“What…?”
Scott Dixon looked up at her words. Although he was white, his filthy skin and dust-covered brown hair made him look no different from the other homeless people around him.
“I want to hire you.”
“How do you even know me, and why would you hire me?”
Having lived in Korea for a long time, Dixon’s Korean was fluent. Han Yugyeong answered exactly as I had instructed her.
“That’s not important. What matters is whether you have the will to stand up again.”
“I do have the will. But what kind of job are you hiring me for?”
“Please protect me from my bodyguard.”
Guessing there was some story behind it, Dixon stayed silent for a moment, thinking. Then he nodded and stood up.
“Please pay me three thousand dollars a month. And I want one million won as a signing bonus. If you do that, I’ll protect you from the bodyguard you’re afraid of.”
“Alright. But I’ll give you five times the signing bonus. You’ll need to buy a suit and prepare many things.”
“Understood. Let’s go outside first.”
When Han Yugyeong and Dixon started talking about money, the homeless people who had been eavesdropping began to stir, so the two quickly left Seoul Station. As they walked, Dixon kept a protective eye on their surroundings, showing he was experienced in security work.
Han Yugyeong went to an ATM, withdrew cash, and handed it to Dixon along with a note containing her contact information.
“Starting tomorrow, please follow me and my bodyguard while keeping watch. All the contact details are on the note.”
“Understood. Thank you. You’ve saved my life.”
“It’s because you chose to stand up again.”
Han Yugyeong and Dixon parted ways in front of the ATM.
The next day, Han Yugyeong couldn’t help but be surprised when she saw Dixon. Cleaned up, with a fresh haircut and wearing glasses, he looked like a university English conversation instructor. At this level, no one inside the university would suspect him.
And so, after orientation ended and real university life began, Dixon faithfully watched over Han Yugyeong and Lee Sangtae without being noticed. It helped that Dixon did his job well, but more than anything, it was because Lee Sangtae was negligent in his bodyguard duties that Dixon was never caught.
Time passed, and the day came right before midterms. She got into the car Lee Sangtae was driving in front of her house and immediately noticed that his eyes looked different than usual.
‘It’s today!’
She was already in the car, so she couldn’t run. But Han Yugyeong calmly sent the prearranged text to Dixon. He would come chasing after them. She had installed a tracking device on her phone. Until then, she decided to act so that Lee Sangtae would let his guard down.
“Um, mister? This isn’t the right way, is it? Shouldn’t we have turned back there?”
“Shut up.”
Until yesterday he had been polite, but now Lee Sangtae spat out rough words as if he no longer cared about keeping up appearances.
“Shut up before I sell you to a brothel!”
The car kept heading toward more and more remote areas. After driving for several hours, they arrived at an abandoned school in Gyeonggi Province.
“Move and you die!”
Lee Sangtae threatened her with a knife and tied both her hands with a leather strap. At this point, Han Yugyeong started to feel a little afraid. What if Dixon didn’t come?
“Come here!”
It seemed Lee Sangtae had prepared the abandoned school in advance. A mattress was laid out in what looked like a gym storage room, and there was no other clutter. Han Yugyeong was thrown onto the mattress.
“I’ve been holding back because I’ve been so horny for you all this time. Who do you think you are? Even when I tried to look good for you, your stiff attitude ruined my mood more than once or twice.”
Because she had known he would betray her, it seemed some of that had shown in her attitude without her realizing. Lee Sangtae had wanted to get close to the beautiful Han Yugyeong, but her cold demeanor had apparently wounded him.
“After thinking about it for so long, I came up with a plan that would let me fuck you—the one I wanted to fuck so badly—and get money from your family at the same time. It’s simple. Ever heard of kidnapping?”
Lee Sangtae seemed to have already lost his mind. He muttered while taking off his clothes one by one. It was ridiculous that after all that thinking, the conclusion he reached was just kidnapping. As he drew closer, Han Yugyeong’s body began to tremble. If Dixon was even a little late, the body that she had only ever allowed me to touch would be forcibly violated by this man.
“Now I’ll take those clothes off for you myself…! Heh heh heh!”
The moment Lee Sangtae’s hand touched Han Yugyeong’s shoulder, she turned her head and bit his forearm hard.
“Aaaargh!! You bitch!?”
Lee Sangtae screamed, clutching his bleeding arm. Just as he raised his hand to hit her—
Pffft!
With the suppressed sound of a silencer, Lee Sangtae collapsed. Finally, the long-awaited Dixon had arrived. He had shot Lee Sangtae with perfect accuracy.
“Thank you for coming, Dixon.”
“It’s my job.”
Dixon said as he put the silenced pistol back into his coat. Han Yugyeong stared at the silenced pistol for a moment. That gun was the one I had gotten for her during our first meeting while we were walking around Seoul together.
“When you hire a bodyguard later, you can give him this.”
It felt like my voice from back then was ringing in her ears. Han Yugyeong made a firm resolution. No matter what I said, she would believe every word and never doubt me again.
During my second trip to Korea, I suddenly asked Han Yugyeong. She smiled and shook her head.