President Yang of Taeyang SNC (1)
An hour after cracking open that bottle of Imperial, the Sheriff’s title had shifted from plain “you” to “sweetie.”
“I’ll only share this special little secret with you, sweetie.”
The witch licked her lips, then leaned in close to the Sheriff’s ear and whispered.
“If you can’t make direct contact with my daddy, just ask President Yang. That man is on my side. Someone I can trust.”
“President Yang? You’re telling me that bastard is trustworthy?”
The Sheriff asked. It was a name he’d never heard before. Not that he knew any of the Taeyang Group executives’ names anyway.
“Yes, President Yang. He runs Taeyang SNC. A former judo Olympic gold medalist. This time I wanted to be the negotiator myself, but he talked me out of it.”
“Judo? You mean judo? A judo guy became a president at Taeyang Group?”
The Sheriff looked genuinely surprised. He’d always assumed Taeyang only hired the absolute elite from SKY universities, so this was completely unexpected.
“That’s right, sweetie. He used to be my daddy’s special bodyguard. Ten years ago Daddy helped him start a security company. Now he’s the SNC president for the South Area.”
“You’re fluttering your eyes and acting like you’re revealing some huge secret, but I don’t even know what SNC stands for.”
When the Sheriff shrugged with a sullen expression, the witch flashed another girlish smile.
“Hehe. That’s exactly your charming point, sweetie. A beast’s body and a boy’s brain. I love that kind of imbalance. SNC is an acronym for Security and National Defense Company. A military supplies manufacturer.”
As she explained, the witch lightly ran her fingertips across the Sheriff’s thick chest. He twisted away from her touch and asked.
“Anyway, if he’s a judo gold medalist I might know the name. What’s the guy called?”
“Yang Jaeyeol.”
The witch answered.
“But actually, just calling him President Yang is enough. Everyone in the South Area will know exactly who you mean.”
The black Equus pulled up behind one of Haeundae’s high-rise buildings right after seven in the evening.
“I’ll be a while. Stay out of sight and wait in the B3 parking lot.”
The man in the VIP seat gave the driver a clear order before stepping out.
“Welcome, President Yang, sir!”
The hulking men standing guard at the rear entrance in dark suits recognized him immediately and bowed at ninety degrees.
“Ah.”
Yang Jaeyeol offered only an arrogant, curt reply before stepping through the door they held open for him.
“This way, President Yang, sir.”
The manager rushed over and pressed the button for the private elevator leading to the basement.
“Ah.”
Once again Yang Jaeyeol gave a slight nod, clasped his hands behind his back, and stepped into the luxurious elevator.
The elevator had been specially calibrated to move very slowly out of consideration for the elderly and drunk guests. While it descended to the secret room salon on the first basement level, Yang Jaeyeol meticulously checked his reflection in the gleaming gold doors.
An unusually large head, broad shoulders, a full head of hair that belied his late forties, eyebrows so thick they looked overgrown, and prominent cheekbones. Without the expensive suit to package him, he would have looked exactly like a mountain bandit.
Yang Jaeyeol knew this perfectly well, which was why he always insisted on the highest-end suits and even wore gold-rimmed glasses with almost no prescription to add an intellectual air. He hated the whispers that he was just another dumb athlete.
Ding—!
When the elevator doors opened in the basement, Yang Jaeyeol glanced up at the CCTV camera in the corner of the ceiling. The manager, catching his look, smiled obsequiously and whispered.
“I turned it off well in advance. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Ah.”
Yang Jaeyeol let out a single syllable that clearly meant “Of course you did,” then stepped onto the carpeted floor of the secret room salon hallway.
“Oh ho ho ho, how can you say such things? My goodness, you’re so naughty! Not here… Oh ho ho!”
As he followed the manager to the door of the innermost VIP room, the coquettish laughter of the waitresses drifted out, followed by the deep voices of men.
“What’s the big deal? It’s just drunk flirting. I’ll tip you well, okay?”
“Haaa…”
Yang Jaeyeol frowned and let out a heavy sigh. He had repeatedly emphasized that today’s meeting was absolutely secret, that they should wait quietly without calling any hostesses. Yet these military bastards clearly had no intention of listening.
“Ah, no! I definitely suggested it would be better to call the ladies later. But Lieutenant Colonel Jeong insisted so strongly that I couldn’t push back any further… So I selected only the girls with the tightest lips. There won’t be any leaks, President Yang, sir.”
The manager, meeting his eyes, panicked and launched into a long-winded excuse. Yang Jaeyeol curled one corner of his mouth in a derisive smile.
“Women with tight lips? Spare me.”
“…I’m sorry.”
The manager wilted and bowed again in apology.
“Hmph!”
Yang Jaeyeol snorted, glaring at the man. He didn’t trust women. Especially not the ones who lived their lives drunk. That type always caused problems eventually. Still, since the soldiers’ fondness for women wasn’t exactly new, he refrained from further scolding and opened the VIP room door.
“Well, well! Look who it is! President Yang!”
The officer with his arm wrapped tightly around a waitress’s waist, already pulling down the zipper of her dress, raised a hand in delight.
“You’ve finally arrived.”
Right beside him, another officer lounging on the sofa turned to his own partner with an awkward expression.
“Hey, hey. Bring me my pants.”
The short-haired waitress picked up the military trousers that had been tossed carelessly on the table and handed them over. Yang Jaeyeol sat down, frowning deeply at the pathetic sight, and ordered.
“Ladies, why don’t you step into the next room for a moment?”
Whoosh—!
The two slender waitresses shot to their feet the instant the words left his mouth, clothes still disheveled. They knew all too well how terrifying and difficult a customer President Yang could be.
Click—!
After the manager led them out and closed the door, Yang Jaeyeol turned on the karaoke machine.
Boom-chick-chick—! Boom-chick-chick—!
Electronic trot music filled the room. It was already loud enough, but he cranked the volume up two more notches. At this level, no one could eavesdrop from the next room or plant a wire.
“You’re late, President Yang, sir?”
The officer who was still pulling on his pants spoke with clear sarcasm. Yang Jaeyeol lit a cigarette and stared straight into his eyes.
“I was checking on the factory to keep the delivery schedule on track, Lieutenant Colonel Jeong.”
Of course, that was mostly to build an alibi. To secure witnesses proving he had nothing to do with today’s events, he had toured the Kevlar suit factory from early morning until now and sat through endless pointless meetings with the research staff. These idiot soldiers would never understand why he had to go to such lengths.
“Still, you should keep your appointments. It’s not like any of us have time to waste.”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong sneered as he zipped up his pants.
“Ah.”
Yang Jaeyeol responded with another short grunt and a nod. He wanted to snap back and ask why they couldn’t keep their own promise to drink quietly, but it would be pointless. What was done was done. It was better to wrap things up amicably with these soldiers and come up with an appropriate cleanup plan on his own end.
“The job went well.”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong said as he poured whiskey into a glass filled with ice. Yang Jaeyeol touched his own glass and asked shortly.
“…Is that so?”
At least it was good news. The plan itself had been so simple that he hadn’t worried much about anything going wrong.
“Well… it went mostly well.”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong wore a brazen expression as he tilted his glass.
Mostly… what the hell does that mean?
The unexpected qualifier carved deep wrinkles into Yang Jaeyeol’s forehead. It sounded like something had gone wrong, but he didn’t particularly want the details. After all, he only cared about two things. He held out his hand toward the lieutenant colonel.
“We can talk slowly. First, hand it over.”
“Hand what over?”
“What do you think? The serum.”
“Ah, the serum! That’s…”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong let out an awkward chuckle.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t secure it. They say the team couldn’t retrieve the item and simply eliminated the target. That’s what I heard. Right, Major Oh?”
When Lieutenant Colonel Jeong turned to the other officer seated beside him, Major Oh nodded.
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“No, no… wait a minute. Just wait.”
Yang Jaeyeol raised his hand and quickly cut them off. He glared at Lieutenant Colonel Jeong and asked in a low voice.
“What exactly are you saying, Lieutenant Colonel Jeong? You couldn’t secure the serum? Did I hear that right?”
“Mm, that’s how it turned out. The other side apparently returned fire with extreme aggression, and their firepower was no joke. Yeah, General Kim’s men really are tough bastards. The only reason we managed to eliminate the primary target at all was because our men were competent…”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong continued offering flimsy excuses with that same brazen face. Yang Jaeyeol slammed his fist on the table with a loud bang to shut him up, then wagged his index finger.
“No! Stop trying to gloss over it and explain in detail, Lieutenant Colonel Jeong. What the hell are you talking about? Why was there return fire? Why are you talking about firepower? I have no idea what you’re saying.”
The original plan had been so simple it could not possibly fail. When Hwang Nayeon, who had gone in Park’s place, finished the deal and was about to board the helicopter, they were supposed to steal the serum and then shoot that damned woman and her bodyguards dead. He could not understand which part of such a straightforward, easy operation had gone so wrong that they failed to obtain the serum.
“Ah, well…”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong took a sip of whiskey before continuing slowly.
“It was off from the very beginning. The moment Hwang Nayeon sat down at the negotiation table, her identity was exposed and she was taken hostage. So everything went to hell… That’s the story. Anyway, what an idiot. She caused trouble for everyone right to the very end.”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong shook his head in disbelief and lit a cigarette.
“Haaa…!”
Having heard something so absurd, Yang Jaeyeol pressed a hand to his forehead and took a moment to breathe. From the lieutenant colonel’s tone and eyes, it seemed he was telling the truth… yet it sounded like a childish lie a kid would make up.
“All right… I understand the part about President Hwang being taken hostage by the other side. But why couldn’t you secure the serum after that? You went with five full helicopters… With that many men, how on earth did you fail? Hm?”
“It wasn’t five full helicopters, President Yang. One Black Hawk was carrying President Hwang Nayeon’s own bodyguards.”
“Fine, then four helicopters. Are you saying four helicopters weren’t enough? How many people were at General Kim’s negotiation table on the other side?”
“Well… they said it was close to a full platoon… I heard there were more than we expected… Ah, my memory these days, it’s just…”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong forced an empty laugh and tapped his forehead. It was obvious to anyone that he was making up nonsense on the spot, and at an extremely low level.
So they couldn’t even handle a single platoon properly and this is the mess they caused?
Yang Jaeyeol clenched his teeth to hold back his rage.
“Then… even if we accept what you’re saying, Lieutenant Colonel Jeong, are you telling me four helicopters lacked the firepower to suppress a single platoon?”
“No. It wasn’t that the firepower was lacking. That’s why total annihilation was possible. To summarize the situation… well, how should I put it. The enemy resisted with extreme ferocity and we kept taking casualties, so we had no choice but to switch to a full elimination order.”
“Whether you eliminated them or not, you should have secured the serum first!”
“Now, now, President Yang! You keep saying things you don’t understand! The field is different! It’s cold and urgent! We were taking casualties ourselves. We couldn’t just keep demanding surrender indefinitely while stuck in a standoff, could we?”
Having raised his voice with completely illogical reasoning, Lieutenant Colonel Jeong leaned deep into the sofa as if he no longer wanted to talk.
To think a blockhead like this is General Park’s closest staff officer…
Yang Jaeyeol swallowed his fury while glaring at the lieutenant colonel’s pudgy face. He had long known that there were no decent human beings among South Korea’s worthless generals and their circles, but this was beyond even that. How could anyone fail such a simple mission and still hold their head so shamelessly high?
“Don’t get so worked up, President Yang. There will be another chance. We can always get the serum next time.”
“When exactly is next time?”
When Yang Jaeyeol asked in a hollow voice, Lieutenant Colonel Jeong shrugged.
“Well… after the other generals take their turns…”
“His own subordinates who were sent to trade are all dead and he didn’t even receive payment for the goods. You think General Kim will try this again? Why? What does he gain from it?”
“Well… even so, their supplies have been cut off, so they must need something. Desperate men dig the well, don’t they?”
“It’s over. The other side won’t want to trade anymore. Who would do business when their safety isn’t guaranteed…”
Yang Jaeyeol rubbed at the wrinkles on his forehead, forcing the words out. How could these men be so stupid that they couldn’t even predict such an obvious outcome? Working with bastards like this was enough to make his stomach turn.
“Ugh… We’ll see who’s right in the end.”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong pouted as if he were the one who had been wronged and tilted his glass again.
See what, you blockhead! It’s finished! The serum is gone! There’s a limit to how shameless you can be after screwing up!
Insults toward the man kept rising in Yang Jaeyeol’s mind. But… showing emotion like that was something only amateurs did. Besides, since they had gone with full elimination, more than half the objective had already been achieved. He suppressed his anger and forced a smile.
“Well… I do hope things work out, Lieutenant Colonel Jeong. It’s just… I’m worried this might cause problems for General Park…”
“What problems for General Park? We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“No, from General Kim’s side they will naturally assume that the men sent to Seoul were killed by General Park’s forces, and they’ll complain about it.”
“Where’s the evidence? We removed all our unit markings. No matter what General Kim says, we’ll deny everything. So President Yang, please cooperate in that direction. We never met today.”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong shook his head firmly and snorted. The optimistic mindset that thought such a flimsy lie would suffice was, at least, admirable.
You want to move so secretly, yet you’re drinking with women in the room? Must be nice. Your head may be bad, but at least your conscience is light…
Yang Jaeyeol swallowed a sigh and nodded. In any case, what was done was done, and he had gained the major achievement of Hwang Nayeon’s assassination. All that remained was to erase any connection to himself and take one step back from the situation.
“Then let’s see the photos now.”
Yang Jaeyeol rubbed his face, then tapped the table with his fingertips. Once he saw the picture of Hwang Nayeon’s head blown open, this filthy mood would probably ease a little.
“Ah, well… about that…”
Lieutenant Colonel Jeong rubbed his hands together and let out an awkward laugh.
“After the kill there was no time to spare, so they couldn’t take any Polaroid photos. Hahaha…”