A photo of a sealed-off building located on the outskirts.
***
To be precise, it was a place once used as a research facility under Seonghwa Bio.
At one time, experiments related to new drug development were conducted there, but after profitability issues and internal restructuring, it was reportedly shut down years ago.
There was talk of selling it afterward, but due to security facility issues, it remained under Seonghwa Group’s name.
Moreover, given its remote location, it was hard to even spot a trace of a person nearby.
In other words, it was a perfect spot for hiding someone out in the open.
As if agreeing with my thoughts, my Intuition sent me a signal.
For me, that signal was the ultimate evidence, but from anyone else’s perspective, it could only seem utterly baffling.
Well…
“If we can rescue Miss Kim Seoa as you intend, Chairman, the situation will flow remarkably smoothly.”
At least Choi Yuna, riding in the seat beside me, didn’t fall into that category.
I asked her.
“Aren’t you trusting me a bit too much? It’s not like I’m acting on solid proof.”
“Even without solid proof, there is no one within Seonghwa Group who can stop what you wish to do, Chairman. Even if this moment turns out to be a futile step, there is likewise no one who could blame you.”
“Heh, that just makes it more of a burden.”
When I balked, Choi Yuna wore a faint smile.
“At the very least, you are operating with strong conviction, Chairman. The fact that you’re moving personally says as much. As does the fact that you personally selected the security team for this rescue operation.”
We were currently moving in secret with two vehicles, carrying only the security personnel I had handpicked.
The reason was simple.
Since we were operating under the assumption that Former Chief Secretary Yun Changseop was behind this incident, the possibility of his people being mixed in among our ranks couldn’t be ruled out.
If word leaked and Department Head Kim’s daughter got moved, there’d be no going back.
How long had we been driving?
The traces of the city gradually faded, and the scenery outside the window began to turn desolate.
Then the car slowly came to a stop near the sealed research facility.
I’d say it was a far more gloomy place than it looked in the photos…
Signs of years of neglect.
Walls overgrown with thick weeds.
As soon as the car door opened, the security personnel moved first.
They swept the surrounding sightlines in an instant and checked the entry routes.
But what I saw after getting out was the problem.
Click—
Suddenly, all the security personnel pulled pistols from their holsters and began chambering rounds as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Just like the first time I saw it, it was a sight I simply couldn’t get used to.
When I hesitated for a moment, Choi Yuna asked me with a puzzled expression.
“Chairman? Is something the matter?”
“It’s just… I’m wondering if this is right.”
Noticing my gaze fixed on the guards’ hands, Choi Yuna seemed to realize something and spoke again.
“You need not worry.”
“…Yes?”
“Most of Seonghwa Group’s security team personnel are former Special Forces. They have ample experience in counter-terrorism and VIP protection. Under the assumption that they are not Former Chief Secretary’s people, those muzzles will never point at the wrong target.”
…No.
That’s not what I’m worried about.
“Is it okay for corporate security personnel to be carrying guns?”
“…What do you mean?”
For once, Choi Yuna looked at me like she genuinely didn’t understand.
As if she truly had no idea what I was getting at.
“We’re not the Imperial Family. Don’t you think it’s a bit excessive for a businessman to be protected by gun-toting guards?”
“Well… Chairman, pardon my rudeness, but I’d argue it’s stranger for security to lack firearms.”
Choi Yuna continued in a calm voice.
“In the Korean Empire, security personnel for corporations above a certain size are ‘legally’ permitted to carry firearms. Especially at a scale like Seonghwa Group’s.”
“……”
“Besides, guns aren’t normally meant to be fired.”
“So it’s a sort of deterrent effect.”
Choi Yuna nodded.
Come to think of it, we’re right after the Poisoning of the Owner’s Family.
I’m the last survivor of that Owner Family.
“Which means the current level of armament is actually closer to the bare minimum.”
A hollow laugh naturally slipped out.
Maybe I’m the one who’s odd here.
This is a world where an Owner Family gets wiped out overnight and a high school Illegitimate Child takes the Chairman’s seat without raising any eyebrows.
In that context, bodyguards with pistols might actually fall on the sensible end of the spectrum.
Either way, them being armed was an advantage in the current situation.
“P-please spare me!!”
It hadn’t even been a few minutes since we entered.
In the corridor inside the research facility.
A man dropped to his knees in front of the security personnel’s gun muzzles.
“We only came because we were paid to keep watch! We really don’t know anything! We never touched the kid either!”
I slowly walked up in front of the man.
“Who hired you?”
“W-we don’t know that either!”
“You trying to mess with me right now?”
When the guard shifted his muzzle slightly, the man nearly sobbed and shouted frantically.
“It’s the truth! All contact came through burner phones! I never once saw the client’s face! They just said we’d get big money for watching a kid for a few days…!”
It didn’t seem like a lie.
These guys were just low-level pawns moving for money anyway.
Which meant they were nothing more than expendables.
“Chairman. How should we handle them?”
Looking down at the man, I spoke briefly.
“Doesn’t seem like he’s lying.”
“Th-then…!”
“But isn’t it a bit insufferable for someone who took part in kidnapping a child to beg for his life?”
The man’s face froze solid.
If you were going to grab a kid to make money, you should’ve been prepared for that much.
Just then, Choi Yuna approached me and reported the situation.
“Chairman, it appears all the men in the abandoned building have been subdued. Four in total.”
“What about the hostage?”
“We have secured Miss Kim Seoa’s safety. She’s a bit frightened, but thankfully, there are no signs of external injury.”
…That’s a genuine relief.
Honestly, even though my Intuition had sent me a signal of certainty, I couldn’t be completely sure.
What if I was a step too late?
What if she’d already been moved somewhere else?
What if I’d dragged everyone out here on nothing but blind confidence?
In that sense, I let out a truly heartfelt sigh of relief this time.
And then.
“Now we just need to threaten Department Head Kim into coming to find his daughter on his own.”
“…Yes?”
Preparing for the worst-case scenario, I intended to play the kidnapper myself.
I’m probably the kindest kidnapper in the world.
***
Kim Taejin collapsed onto the ground on the overpass.
Because the person who was currently the hottest topic had just sent him truly shocking photos and a text message.
…How in the world?
His daughter should have been firmly in the Former Chief Secretary’s grasp.
Given Yun Changseop’s goals, Kang Geon’s existence was a thorn in his side.
That was why he’d taken his daughter hostage and ordered Kim Taejin to kill Kang Geon directly.
Of course, it wasn’t particularly strange that Kang Geon knew about his daughter.
Since he’d tried to kill Kang Geon, the other side would have investigated him too.
Figuring out his family relations wouldn’t have been difficult.
The problem was that the other side was blatantly certain about it.
What if his daughter had been fleeing with him?
But the fact that he’d sent a message like that meant he was completely ruling out that possibility.
If not, there’d be no reason to bother setting a trap like this during such a busy time, which made it all the more puzzling.
Former Chief Secretary Yun Changseop wasn’t that sloppy.
If anything, he was more thorough than anyone, which was why Kim Taejin hadn’t even considered running from the start. Especially with his daughter’s life on the line.
But someone like that got tracked down? In just a single day?
And Kang Geon was supposed to be the busiest person in the Korean Empire right now.
In the middle of all that chaos, he’d rescued his daughter first…
“…That doesn’t make sense.”
Even as he said it, Kim Taejin could feel it instinctively.
That he needed to go find Kang Geon right now.
Kim Taejin had watched Kang Geon closely within Seonghwa Group for longer than anyone, but ironically, he still didn’t truly understand the boy named Kang Geon.
Sometimes he seemed like a sage seeing through the world, and other times he was utterly cold-blooded.
What was clear was that he was being told to come now regarding his daughter’s safety.
The problem was that he had clearly tried to harm Kang Geon.
If he hadn’t dodged that car back then…
Kim Taejin squeezed his eyes shut.
To Kang Geon, Kim Taejin was a sinner and an object of hatred.
Someone in that position having his daughter could only paint a grim picture.
Even so, for Kim Taejin right now, there was no option of not going.
Unlike Yun Changseop, he couldn’t begin to understand or grasp what Kang Geon was thinking.
Brrrng-
He eventually made the call to Choi Yuna’s phone first.
It was to ask where he should go.
And the answer that came back from Choi Yuna, who picked up immediately, was…
“…Yes? You want me to come to my house?”
***
Come to the house where you’ve always lived with your daughter.
What on earth was the other side’s intention in making such a demand?
Filled with deep confusion, Kim Taejin arrived at the entrance of the apartment.
It was a place painfully familiar to him, but today, it felt strangely foreign.
Because.
“You’re here, Department Head Kim.”
“Team Leader Choi…”
Choi Yuna had come out to receive him.
With a somewhat concerned expression, she asked Kim Taejin.
“…You look terrible. Shouldn’t you go to a hospital first?”
Kim Taejin let out a dry chuckle without realizing it.
“Don’t worry about it. You know very well what I did to Young Master Kang Geon yesterday, Team Leader Choi.”
“Let me correct just one thing, Department Head Kim. Not Young Master Kang Geon, but Chairman Kang Geon now.”
“…?”
“Please be sure to keep that in mind.”
Choi Yuna said it with a thoroughly serious face, as if it were absolutely not a joke.
Kim Taejin wore a dumbfounded expression for a moment.
She was often called by the nickname ‘machine’ in the secretarial team.
It fit perfectly—she did her work disgustingly well but rarely showed emotion. Her eyes always seemed dead somehow.
But that woman’s eyes were shining with life for the first time.
And the object of that light was none other than…
Anyone could see it was Kang Geon.
While Kim Taejin was feeling that puzzlement, Choi Yuna took the lead and walked ahead.
The place where her steps stopped was in front of a door marked with the number 606.
The number indicating Kim Taejin’s residence.
Choi Yuna naturally punched in the door lock password and spoke.
“The current password has been changed to 1106. For your reference, that’s the Chairman’s birthday.”
“?”
What did that have to do with anything right now?
Kim Taejin’s expression was colored with confusion, but it soon changed.
Because the moment he stepped into the house after a long time, he saw a small shadow running toward him.
“Daddy!”
A familiar voice.
A familiar face.
“Seoa…?”
The daughter he’d thought he might never see again ran into his arms, tears welling in her eyes.
Kim Taejin also pulled his daughter close with trembling hands.
The warmth he felt in his hands finally made him realize that all of this was real.
“A-are you okay?”
“Yeah! That oppa protected me!”
His daughter said in a bright voice, and at the word ‘oppa,’ Kim Taejin’s body stiffened for a moment.
On one of the sofas in the living room.
Kang Geon was sitting there comfortably, as if it were his own home.
And naturally meeting Kim Taejin’s eyes, Kang Geon took a sip from his teacup and spoke.
“Department Head Kim.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
“I haven’t had lunch yet, so let’s talk again in an hour.”
With that, Kang Geon immediately left with Choi Yuna.
And so, Kim Taejin was forced to (?) spend quality time alone with his daughter.
“…What is this?”
It was said that Kim Taejin could only wear a bewildered expression on his face.