The Unimagined Move (2)

"The countermeasures were already in progress...?"

At Ryu Geun-tae’s words, which showed he hadn't grasped the situation at all, Yoon-gi smiled and nodded. "Yes. This was something you weren't supposed to know about, Secretary Ryu."

"I am truly sorry, but I don't understand at all. Could you explain it to me in detail?"

"Of course." Yoon-gi opened his mouth again with a smile. "When you first called me, and when you contacted me again after the meeting with JSD ended—you remember all of that, right?"

"Of course. It is something I must naturally remember."

"After hearing your second report, one thought occurred to me."

Ryu Geun-tae chose to listen intently rather than interjecting.

"Even if business figures are putting pressure on YK, there must be a mastermind behind it."

"Ah...! That is certainly true. It would be difficult for everyone to suddenly come up with the same opinion at the same time."

"And in fact, it’s possible that not all of those business figures are putting on the pressure. Even though we have a tight relationship with JSD, if the other side also has a tight relationship with them, they could have lumped a 'specific individual' into the term 'business figures' to obscure the truth."

"That is certainly a possibility."

"Of course, JSD wouldn't have made up a lie. The profits that JSD and his associates gain through YK Department Store are simply massive."

"That is correct."

"Then, we can paint a picture. I started thinking, 'Is the guy who planned this a pushover?'"

"Then..."

Finally, Ryu Geun-tae seemed to catch the tail of the inference and began to vaguely recall what Yoon-gi had done.

"You're thinking correctly. It’s highly likely that the opponent was monitoring your actions."

"Ugh..." Ryu Geun-tae let out a groan and gripped the knees of his suit pants with his palms.

"Since they shook YK Department Store through JSD, they naturally would have monitored you, the head of YK. To see how you would react."

As Yoon-gi reached this point, Ryu Geun-tae let out a sharp gasp and instinctively began to look around.

"That is why I didn't tell you, Secretary Ryu."

"Chairman, I don't think now is the time for that. If the fact that I am meeting with you right now is exposed to the other side..."

"That is exactly why I said I didn't tell you."

Watching Yoon-gi smiling gently, Ryu Geun-tae let out a sigh of relief. The fact that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yoon-gi was this calm meant that he had already prepared some kind of countermeasure.

"I apologize. This is truly my first time experiencing something like this..."

"It would be strange if you experienced it twice. Anyway, I gave instructions to Section Chief Im Si-chan through my uncle. I told him to monitor the guys who were monitoring you."

"Oh...!" Ryu Geun-tae looked at Yoon-gi with eyes that said, 'As expected of the Chairman.'

"They said they monitored you for about three weeks. But, what is your daily routine? Home, office, home, office, home, office, and occasionally meeting with influential military figures. That’s all."

Naturally, Ryu Geun-tae’s face filled with embarrassment.

"That is correct. Since I don't really have anything else to do..."

"I think you really need a family. I felt it this time, too—shouldn't you get married soon, Secretary Ryu? I feel like I’ve been neglecting the promise I made to look into it for you."

"I still believe I must serve the Chairman... so, I am fine."

Ryu Geun-tae’s words, filled with regret, clearly showed that he didn't mean it at all.

"You don't need to refuse like that. Secretary Ryu, you want to get married, right?"

"Uh... well... yes, I do."

"Then one more thing. Do you have a cutoff for age or race?"

"At my age, I shouldn't be picky about such things. I think it would be fine as long as they aren't more than three years older than me."

"Good. I actually have some candidates in mind, but it's not good to count your chickens before they hatch, so let’s talk about that later."

"Understood."

Yoon-gi, who had thought of Eleano, a designer at the Hermès headquarters, Leanna from Harvard, and Jung Ha-na, the daughter of Jung Dong-yoon, decided that it wasn't an urgent matter and returned the conversation to the main topic.

"Anyway, from the opponent's perspective, they must have thought you would take action immediately, so they monitored you consistently. But since you didn't take any action no matter how long they waited, it seems they stopped the surveillance for a while. This is Section Chief Im’s report, so you can consider it certain. There is no surveillance right now."

"Whew, that is a huge relief."

Of course, it was partly thanks to Choi Deok-bae, who was floating right next to him, but at least it was a fact that there were no prying eyes.

"So, sending you on vacation actually turned into a blessing in disguise. It must have been frustrating ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for the opponent, thinking, 'Wait, when are they going to start moving?'"

"That would certainly be the case. Then, what do you intend to do from now on?"

"Once you start your full-scale activities, the prying eyes will likely return to your surroundings. In that case, we must not meet in person for a while. All contact must be made through Mr. Guster’s secret line."

"Hmm..."

"Well, I’ll find a way to make sure it doesn't last too long."

"I will do my best as you instruct."

"Good. Then I will give you your first instruction right here."

At Yoon-gi’s words, Ryu Geun-tae even held his breath, waiting for the command.

"Secretary Ryu. Go to Japan."

* * *

"That President guy finally moved?"

In the Managing Director's private office, a man who looked to be in his mid-20s jumped up from his seat and shouted.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Yes. Our informant planted at the airport reported that they confirmed President Ryu’s departure record."

"He hadn't made a move until now, and finally...!"

The man clenched his fists, calmed himself down, and sat back in his chair. Naturally, his gaze turned to the nameplate on his desk.

Jung Tae-ryong, the eldest grandson of the Daehan Group—currently ranked 27th in the country—and the Managing Director of Daehan Chemical, was the very person who had attacked YK. Of course, it was never the case that Jung Tae-ryong went directly to JSD to take issue with YK’s capital flight. The only young person who could face JSD directly was someone on Yoon-gi’s level. Even then, Yoon-gi could only meet him due to his unique circumstances; for anyone else to meet JSD for a favor, at the very least, the Chairman of the Daehan Group, Jung Tae-ryong’s grandfather, would have had to step forward.

However, the control tower was always Jung Tae-ryong. Having shown excellence in management since he was a high school student and contributing to the growth of the Daehan Group for about eight years, his grandfather, Chairman Jung Gang-pil, had a habit of listening to Jung Tae-ryong’s opinions. It was somewhat similar to the relationship between Yoon-gi and Choi Ki-hyun. While one couldn't say all the credit belonged to Jung Tae-ryong, there was no doubt he played a part in the Daehan Group’s leap from 45th to 27th place in the country over the last eight years.

A prodigy who graduated from Gyeonggi High School with excellent grades and graduated early from Seoul National University. This ensured there was no noise when Jung Tae-ryong was appointed as a Managing Director of Daehan Chemical at the age of 25. In fact, his work performance was so consistently excellent that when local newspapers covered him, parents in the area would tell their children, "Why can't you be like Jung Tae-ryong?" Of course, the Daehan Group didn't want the story of a 20-something Managing Director to spread nationwide, so the articles stopped there, but at least Jung Tae-ryong was far from an incompetent nepotism hire.

"Secretary Han."

"Yes, Director."

Han Sang-yoon, Jung Tae-ryong’s aide and secretary, stood respectfully before him.

"Reactivate the surveillance starting today."

"What level should ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I set it to?"

"A-grade, obviously. Don't worry about the cost; tell them to find out exactly what that President is doing."

"Understood."

Although it wasn't the secret organization on the level of the one Park Ki-ho had led, Jung Tae-ryong also operated his own organization. The members of this very organization were the ones who had monitored Ryu Geun-tae a while ago. The surveillance posture, which had been in a rest period, was activated once again.

"And, Secretary Han. One more thing."

"Yes."

"I am going to Japan as well. In the meantime, you will act as my proxy and coordinate between me and the surveillance team."

"Understood. Would that be better than me going to Japan?"

"Of course. No matter how much full authority I give you, you would struggle if you had to make the decisions yourself. YK is a group that must be crushed by any means necessary."

"Understood. Then, I will first revive the surveillance posture and prepare your flight tickets."

"How long will it take?"

"I will finish everything within two hours."

"Good."

As Secretary Han quietly bowed and left, Jung Tae-ryong muttered a monologue to himself.

"Choi Yoon-gi, I will never let you succeed..."

* * *

Ryu Geun-tae did not leave his hotel for about five days after arriving in Japan. Only after five days had passed did he show any real movement. It was visits to Japanese companies. Mid-sized companies including Nintendo, Enix, and Hudson. The characteristic of these companies was that they were firms that made, or had the capacity to make, game consoles and games.

As per Yoon-gi’s instructions, Ryu Geun-tae tried to make his actions appear as natural as possible while visiting the companies one after another. Since the companies Yoon-gi mentioned were merely examples, Ryu Geun-tae increased the number of visits by looking for similar companies, and these actions were fully exposed to Jung Tae-ryong’s surveillance team, who were tracking him.

* * *

Choi Deok-bae’s questions had become frequent lately. Because of that, Yoon-gi fiddled with a jujube in his pocket for the first time in a while.

'Honestly, aren't you asking too often these days? Please restrain yourself a little.'

At Yoon-gi’s polite request, Choi Deok-bae whined.

'Are you jealous?'

Yoon-gi, who had been watching Ryu Geun-tae from inside the car, turned his head toward Choi Deok-bae.

'But you’ve done it before, haven't you?'

'But there’s no way now.'

Choi Deok-bae, who had been sighing while smacking his lips, went quiet. He went quiet. He went *too* quiet. Yoon-gi, thinking it was definitely the time for him to say something, felt something was strange when the timing was delayed too long, so he turned his head, which had been facing the window, back toward Choi Deok-bae. He could see Choi Deok-bae staring at the opposite window with a blank expression, and at that moment, Choi Deok-bae was muttering a monologue to himself without even realizing it.