Chapter 106
Are You Really Out of Your Mind?
Im Deok-chang hurried back to his office.
This was because Jin Jong-man, the Director of the National Intelligence Service, had found out about what had happened in Vladivostok.
At that moment, an agent assisting Im Deok-chang entered.
"Is the situation that bad?"
"It's serious. Ah, for now, let's take care of the Russian section director first."
"Right now?"
"The Director already found out about the situation. Deputy General Manager Choo Jae-min will summon him right away. So, before he's called in, make it look like suicide and handle it."
Hearing this outrageous order, the agent asked calmly in response.
"Can't we just make it look like an accident?"
The methods for suicide were limited, and if he mismanaged it, the target might not actually die.
Of course, dropping him from a high-rise building would be certain, but the process of kidnapping and moving him was quite cumbersome.
"The mood's not great. It needs to be clear that he died from a guilty conscience, rather than having any suspicious circumstances."
"Understood."
The man was NIS Grade 6 Agent and simultaneously Grade 2 Agent Choi Dong-hoon from WID, the same organization as Im Deok-chang.
With that answer, Choi Dong-hoon kept the heavy atmosphere as he slowly walked out.
Left alone again, Im Deok-chang pulled out his phone.
[Yes, Hyottoko. ("예, 횻토코.")]
It was WID Grade 2 Agent Li Wei-cheng, in charge of the Vladivostok mission.
Hearing the response in English, Im Deok-chang also replied in the same language.
"The situation has changed. You must have confirmed that the NIS agents also withdrew from your side, right?"
[I was just about to contact you about that. Shall we continue with the mission?]
They had intended to handle things using the NIS to avoid exposing their own organization as much as possible.
But with the surveillance gone, the risk of exposure had sharply increased.
Yet, it was difficult for Im Deok-chang to reverse a decision already made.
"No. Continue. Even if it becomes a bit excessive, make sure you finish it thoroughly."
[In that case, our traces might be left behind.]
"That's still better than handling it ambiguously. Otherwise, use your best judgment to act accordingly. Ah, and you must not kill Kang In-hyuk under any circumstances."
[...... It won't be easy, but I'll do as you say.]
Once the call ended, Im Deok-chang slumped down into his desk chair.
It was time to sort things out. First and foremost, the main question was how Director Jin Jong-man had learned what happened in Vladivostok.
"There must have been someone who tipped him off......."
As he pondered, he recalled Deputy General Manager Shin Jin-hong, who had been sitting across from him in the Director's office earlier.
Of all the section chiefs summoned and reprimanded, only Choo Jae-min and Im Deok-chang were blamed.
Of course, it could have been to impart a sense of collective responsibility because the situation was serious.
"Shin Jin-hong, huh...... But did that guy even have the ability to do something like that?"
Division Two was in charge of domestic affairs, counterintelligence, and anti-communist investigations.
Shin Jin-hong had always operated under the radar, taking bribes, covering up incidents, leaking information, and such.
He was the embodiment of corruption. A figure like him had neither the capability nor the interest to be keeping tabs on Division One's Vladivostok team.
"Section Chief Choi, come back in for a moment."
He used the internal call to summon Choi Dong-hoon back, who had just left.
As Choi stood before him, Im Deok-chang hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Look into Deputy Director Shin for me. Not through the internal line, but through our own resources—check all his communication records, accounts, and everyone he's been in contact with recently."
By "our side," he meant the investigative methods of their own organization.
"You mean Deputy General Manager Shin Jin-hong from Division Two?"
"That's right."
"When do you need it by?"
"As soon as possible. Also, pull the CCTV footage from the hallway outside the Director's office and check Jin's phone and internal call records, too."
"I'll check right away."
With that, Choi Dong-hoon retreated.
* * *
The sun had risen over the sky in Vladivostok, Russia.
In-hyuk was standing in the hallway with Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester.
"What did the CEO do yesterday?"
"What?"
"I mean, how did the NIS guys withdraw? There's no way they'd leave that suddenly without some reason."
At Hong Yu-geon's question, In-hyuk simply shrugged.
"...... Nothing special."
"You really hide a lot, don't you."
As they were conversing in Spanish, the door to the next room opened, and Tae Ju-ha and Heo Yu-rim exited, carrying their luggage.
"Why are you all standing around here instead of waiting at the restaurant?"
"We're heading down now anyway. Did you sleep well?"
"As if I could sleep well!"
Apparently, it was because of being followed.
In-hyuk, hearing this, gave a puzzled look.
"I thought you slept fine in the car. You were so tired, you even snored......."
Startled, Tae Ju-ha quickly covered In-hyuk's mouth.
"I did not, okay?!"
"Anyway, let's head to the restaurant."
"I'm telling you, I really wasn't snoring!"
"If you say so."
With their bickering continuing, the group took the elevator down to the third-floor restaurant. They planned to leave after having lunch.
After ordering, Tae Ju-ha asked cautiously.
"Is anyone monitoring us here, too?"
"Not at the moment."
"How do you know?"
Ever since In-hyuk had detected their tail in Hong Kong, she had wondered how he always knew.
"I can just see it."
"That's not much of an explanation."
"Honestly, Yu-geon and Van told me. They're pros in this field."
Tae Ju-ha looked towards the two sitting at the next table, waiting for their food.
As their names were mentioned, they turned their heads, and their eyes met.
"Huh? Us?"
"You really are amazing."
"......."
Hong Yu-geon looked at In-hyuk as if to say, 'What are you trying to pull?' The truth was, it was In-hyuk— not the two—who'd first noticed they were being followed.
Soon after, the food arrived, and they began to eat.
"Are you really not going to tell me how many more places we have left to visit?"
When she pressed again, In-hyuk hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I'll tell you once we're done here."
"Really?"
"I think it should be okay now."
"Ah......."
She seemed to think it was because they were no longer being tailed.
It took about 30 minutes to finish eating.
Afterwards, they loaded their luggage into the car and headed to the company, their next destination.
It was just a five-minute drive away.
Once again, only In-hyuk and Tae Ju-ha went upstairs. After about three hours, Tae Ju-ha returned with an exhausted expression.
"I don't know how my grandfather thought to establish companies all over the world like this."
"He must have planned ahead as the company grew."
"I get having them in Hong Kong or Russia, since there's no inheritance tax regardless of blood relation. But why Switzerland and Monaco? There are even ones in places like Sweden, singapore, even the Czech Republic."
As she said, the first two countries they'd visited weren't much different from Korea in that respect.
"He must have planned for any possible situation."
"Was it because someone could eventually find out about those companies?"
"Exactly."
"Ah......."
While watching Tae Ju-ha sigh, In-hyuk checked their surroundings.
"We're done here, too, so let's head to the airport."
"Where are we going this time? You said you'd tell me after we finished here."
"This is it."
"This is it? Really?"
"We can head back to Korea now."
As In-hyuk was leading her to the car, he quietly spoke in Spanish to Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester.
"Even more dangerous guys have shown up. I don't think we'll get away without incident."
The two's eyes wavered—perhaps they hadn't found the threats yet.
But they didn't make any obvious moves, as that could tip off the enemy.
"Where?"
"Just below the roof of the building across from us."
Even after hearing that, the two didn't turn their heads.
"What should we do?"
"Let's just focus on moving first."
"But if they're only watching, then maybe their target is our route to the airport."
That was the most likely scenario.
In-hyuk couldn't disagree.
"Still, it's not feasible to deal with them right here."
He'd sensed three presences with his awareness, not only on the upper floor he'd told the others about, but also one hiding to the left and right.
If it was just those three, it wouldn't have been a problem, but considering they needed to get to the airport, clashing from the start wasn't the best choice.
"True...... But who do you think is the target? The CEO, maybe?"
"More likely Tae Ju-ha, the CEO."
The fact they'd been tailed meant the enemy had figured out why they were traveling around the world.
"Ah......"
"Let's split up immediately and put the safety of our passengers first. Take back roads, not the main road. And if we get chased, take a detour and use another route to head for the airport."
"What about you?"
"I'll leave my GPS on, so after you drop off Heo Yu-rim at the airport, one of you come back for me if you can. I'll hold out until then."
Hong Yu-geon sounded incredulous.
"What if things go south before that? You could get exposed fighting them."
"For now, let's just focus on escaping safely."
"Still, you should have brought more security......"
"That would only attract more attention."
Having a small group allowed them to move quickly through four locations.
Once the decision was made, they got back in their cars.
"What were you all talking about?"
"It was something important. You've put your seatbelt on, right?"
"Of course......"
Vrooom—
In-hyuk shifted the gear into drive and started off quickly.
Startled, Tae Ju-ha glared at In-hyuk.
"What's the rush? Are we being chased?"
He kept checking the rearview and side mirrors.
"We're about to be."
"By who? Don't tell me... We're being followed again?"
"Something like that. Either way, we need to get to the airport as fast as possible, so hang on."
The problem was that he had felt a faint killing intent from the gazes outside the building earlier.
This was definitely more than just surveillance.
Screeeech—
In-hyuk pressed harder on the accelerator.
Navigating around each car that appeared ahead, he alternated between the accelerator and brake, deftly cutting into open spaces.
"What if the police catch us driving like this?"
"If we get caught, there's nothing we can do. Though, I doubt they'll be able to catch us."
Bwaaang—
In-hyuk pushed the speed even higher.
Despite rapidly closing the distance with the cars ahead, he didn't hesitate, continuing to accelerate.
Then, a car finally appeared in the rearview mirror.
"Knew it, they're on us."
"Really? Kyaa—!"
Just before reaching an intersection, In-hyuk yanked the side brake and turned the wheel left, drifting the back of the car and immediately stepping on the accelerator.
"We need to shake them off, so it's going to be a madhouse."
"I get that, but still! This is just too much......!"
He changed direction at another intersection, squeezing through the cars, not forgetting to slip past quickly.
Startled by his driving, the other drivers honked their horns loudly.
Bzzz— bzzz—
At that moment, In-hyuk's phone buzzed in his pocket.
Taking one hand off the gearshift to reach for the phone, Tae Ju-ha gasped in surprise.
"In-hyuk! Watch out! Ahead!"
A car was approaching straight in front of them.
In-hyuk deftly dodged it, alternating quickly between the brake and accelerator, turning the steering wheel just enough to squeeze past.
At the same time, he pressed the call button on the phone and changed it to speaker mode.
"I'm busy. What is it?"
It was Hong Yu-geon on the other end.
[No one's following us, they all seem to be on your tail. Are you okay?]
"I'm working hard to lose them right now. It's chaos, so I can't stay on the line long. You guys just go to the airport. If there's an immediate flight to Korea, take it."
[Are you really out of your mind?]
Screeeech—
At the same time, In-hyuk turned the wheel again.