As soon as I thought of Seo Jaehun, I asked Manager Ma right away.
“Can you locate Seo Jaehun right now?”
“I’ll check.”
If Seo Jaehun was involved, there would be traces. If he’d kidnapped Patrick, things were about to get serious.
“Co on... No matter how crazy Vice President Seo is, kidnap Vice President Patrick? He wouldn’t go that far.”
“If he were normal, maybe not. But Seo Jaehun is unpredictable.”
Han Kyungyeong furrowed his brow, rubbing his chin for a mont before speaking in a low, serious tone.
“...This could get suspected.”
He was the last person seen with Patrick, after all.
And once they started tracing Han, it would inevitably lead to as well.
“Don’t worry about that. We have no reason to kill Patrick. And even if we did, we wouldn’t do it here in Korea.”
“Still...”
Unease flickered across Han’s face. To calm him down, I spoke firmly on purpose.
“Don’t worry. You won’t get dragged into this.”
Finally, Han’s tense expression softened a little, and he gave a small nod.
Just then, Manager Ma entered and bowed deeply.
“I’m sorry, Boss. His location can’t be confird.”
Suspicion hardened into certainty. A day before the shareholders’ eting, and Patrick’s whereabouts couldn’t be tracked?
Seo Jaehun was definitely behind sothing.
I knew he was insane, but to kidnap an Arican—an executive of a major investnt bank?
“Call him. He’ll know where that bastard went. Make the call from here.”
Following my order, Manager Ma imdiately dialed a number.
“This is Ma Seokdae.”
After a few seconds, the other end picked up, and Manager Ma spoke again.
“Please hand the phone over, Chief.”
He passed the phone.
“Chief Lee Seokmin, it’s Kim Muhyuk.”
— “Yes, sir.”
The man who knew everything about the Ilseong Group.
Seo Yonggeon’s hands and feet—the executor of his every command.
It was none other than Lee Seokmin.
I had tried to win him over several tis before, but while Seo Yonggeon was still alive, he wouldn’t budge.
After Seo Yonggeon’s collapse and Seo Jaehun’s takeover, however, Lee Seokmin was the one who reached out to us first.
I had promised to hand Ilseong Electronics over to him in exchange for information.
The data I had given to the Fair Trade Commission had co from Lee Seokmin.
The blade he’d handed was flawless, and it was currently tightening around Seo Jaehun’s neck.
“You should co over to our side now. It’s getting dangerous. We don’t know what Jaehun might do when he’s cornered.”
— “That’s quite sudden, sir.”
“Starting tomorrow, within a month, Ilseong Group’s managent rights will all be under our control.”
— “...Understood.”
His short reply carried a mix of emotions I could almost feel through the phone.
“I know Vice President Patrick recently visited Ilseong Group. Do you know what they talked about?”
— “No. The Vice President t with Seo Jaehun privately. We were told it was nothing to worry about and to stay out of it.”
So Seo Jaehun didn’t trust Lee Seokmin.
That ant if I left him alone, he’d be next in danger.
“Chief, Vice President Patrick has gone missing.”
— “What? What do you an?”
“I believe Seo Jaehun kidnapped him.”
Instead of replying, I heard a long, heavy sigh.
“You know what kind of man Seo Jaehun is, don’t you, Chief? You were the one cleaning up after him all this ti—you must know better than anyone.”
— “...”
“Where is he? Where would he be right now?”
Up until now, under Seo Yonggeon’s orders, Lee Seokmin had covered up all of Seo Jaehun’s cris.
So of course he would know.
— “I don’t know the details. The Vice President has his own n who handle those things.”
“You’re telling you don’t know what’s happening inside Ilseong Group? You expect to believe that?”
— “I know what’s been done. I’m the one who caused outside distractions to bury the incidents. But I wasn’t the one handling the details. The Chairman didn’t want holding any leverage over Jaehun when I stepped down.”
There was truth in that, but I still didn’t buy it completely.
Aside from the Seo family, Lee Seokmin had always been the real power in the group.
“Still, you must have so idea where he’d go, right?”
— “...”
“Chief. Make it clear. I need to know I can trust you. If you keep dodging like this, I can’t work with you.”
— “Haah... There’s a mountain lodge in Gyeonggi Province. It’s possible that—”
Suddenly, his voice cut off. Then I heard shouting.
— “What the hell! Who told you you could co in here without my permission?”
“Chief?”
I called his na, startled by the sudden outburst, but there was no response.
Instead, new voices ca through the receiver.
— “Chief, you’ll need to co with us. Orders from the Vice President.”
— “What? From the Vice President?”
— “Yes, sir. Resist, and you’ll get hurt.”
— “...Fine. Wait outside. I’ll co out.”
— “Just as I thought. Restrain him!”
Then ca the sound of a scuffle—furniture crashing, sothing falling.
Finally, a thud—the phone hitting the ground—and the line went dead.
The mont it disconnected, I turned to Manager Ma.
“Manager Ma. Sothing’s happened to Chief Lee Seokmin. Find out where they’re taking him. Patrick will probably be there.”
“Yes, right away.”
Manager Ma hurried out. Han, alard, asked urgently,
“What’s going on? What do you an sothing happened to Lee Seokmin?”
“I’m not sure, but it sounds like Jaehun’s n took him.”
“What? He can pull sothing like that inside headquarters?”
“This is Ilseong Group. Even if Seokmin has influence, he can’t defy Jaehun.”
“Yeah... that makes sense.”
My mind was racing.
Why was Seo Jaehun suddenly doing this? He’d kept his composure until now.
It was as if...
He was cleaning house—right before the shareholders’ eting.
* * *
A dark basent.
Only a single dim bulb cast light across the room.
Patrick, tied to a chair and motionless for so ti, slowly opened his eyes.
“Ugh...”
He groaned at the pain pulsing from the back of his head and blinked around the room.
“W–where am I...?”
When he tried to move, he realized his body was bound tight.
Kim Muhyuk flashed briefly in his mind, but he quickly shook the thought away.
“No. He has no reason to kidnap .”
Before they’d signed the share exchange, maybe—but not now, after the MOU.
He tried to recall what had happened. The last thing he rembered ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) was the underground parking lot.
“Right... I was walking toward the elevator...”
Then he rembered the sudden blow that knocked him out.
But who brought him here—he couldn’t guess.
Creak.
The thick steel door opened, flooding the basent with harsh fluorescent light.
Patrick squinted, wincing, when a rough voice spoke.
“Oh? You’re awake.”
“W–who are you?!”
“What the hell’s he babbling about? I don’t speak English. No matter how long you yap, I won’t understand, so shut it.”
“What are you saying?! Where am I?! Why—”
Korean and English clashed, creating a chaotic ss of noise.
Neither could understand the other, and the shouting went nowhere.
Finally, the man grew tired of it.
He stepped closer, grabbed Patrick’s chin, tilting his head left and right.
“Well, at least he’s not gonna die right away.”
After checking his wounds, the man turned away.
“Hey! Where is this?!”
“God, you’re annoying.”
Grumbling, the man pulled a large plastic sheet from a cabinet and spread it across the floor.
He moved with the ease of soone who had done this many tis before.
Inside the open cabinet, rows of sharp tools glead.
When Patrick saw them, he started thrashing in panic.
“L–let go! Do you think you’ll get away with this?!”
“Ah! I said shut up, didn’t I? Damn, noisy foreigner. Sit tight. He’ll be here soon.”
After covering the walls and floor with plastic, the man stretched his neck from side to side.
Just then, Han Jiho ca down the stairs and looked around.
“He’s awake now... and the setup’s done. Good work.”
Patrick flinched at the arrival of another stranger and shouted.
“W–who are you?!”
“Vice President Patrick. Nice to et you. My na’s Han Jiho.”
“You... know ?”
Han switched to fluent English. Patrick’s eyes widened.
“Of course. I’m the one who was told to bring you here.”
Patrick’s gaze wavered.
“So, why did you co to Korea?”
“What are you people? Do you even know who I am?! You’ll regret this—every one of you!”
“Ahh, still not getting it.”
Han sighed deeply and shook his head.
People dragged here were always the sa—loud, arrogant, and clueless.
“You shouldn’t have angered the one we serve. He’ll be here soon. Talk to him then.”
“Let go! I’ll pretend this never happened. You want money? I’ll pay you—anything! Just let go!”
At the ntion of money, Han’s lips curved up.
“Money, huh... sure, that’s nice. And I bet you could pay a lot.”
“Y–yes! Money! How much? A million dollars?”
“Your life’s only worth a million? Disappointing.”
Patrick shouted in desperation.
“Ten million dollars!”
Ten million dollars—over a billion won.
But Han only smiled, unimpressed.
“Wow. Ten million. I almost fell for it.”
Realizing the man was mocking him, Patrick yelled,
“You bastard!”
At that mont, another subordinate rushed down the stairs.
“Manager! He’s on the mountain road.”
Han grinned, nodding slowly.
“The man holding your life is almost here. A little advice before he arrives? Beg. Just beg for your life.”
With that, Han and his n left the basent.
The heavy steel door slamd shut.
“Hey! Hey!!”
Patrick’s desperate cries echoed through the empty room.
Outside, a car rolled into the mountain lodge.
The driver stepped out—Seo Jaehun.
He had co alone, without any aides.
Han Jiho, standing at the front, bowed his head.
“Welco, Vice President.”
“Vice President!”
The n behind him bowed in unison.
“It’s been a while, Manager Han. How have you been?”
“Thanks to you, Vice President, I’ve been well.”
“Good. If anything’s bothering you, tell anyti.”
Seo Jaehun patted Han’s shoulder lightly and looked toward the basent.
“Did you take good care of Vice President Patrick?”
“Yes, sir. He’s in the basent.”
“Good. Chief Lee Seokmin should be arriving soon too. Bring him down as well.”
“Understood.”
“Only you co with . The rest, stand by.”
Seo Jaehun headed for the basent. Han gestured to his n to stay behind and followed alone.
The heavy door creaked open. Inside, Patrick sat bound to a chair bolted to the floor.
Seo Jaehun’s lips twisted into a thin smile.
“W–what the... Vice President Seo Jaehun, it was you?!”
Patrick lifted his head at the sound of the door and froze when he saw who entered.
“Chair.”
At the command, Han dragged a chair from the wall and placed it in front of Patrick.
Seo Jaehun sat down, crossing his legs leisurely.
“Nice to see you again, Vice President Patrick.”
A cold smile lingered on Seo Jaehun’s face.
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