Former Mastermind To Chaebol Son-in-Law

Chapter 16

Not Even Sorry

Puhk— Crack!

Momentarily relieved, Pyo Jun-woo did not sense the fleeting presence and was slammed to the ground by something.

"Kuh—!"

The thing that fell from above was In-hyuk.

At the same time, he twisted Pyo Jun-woo's left arm behind his back and restrained him.

"So you thought you could finally relax after running this far? Was it only this far?"

"Ugh... Was it Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu who sent you?"

In-hyuk tilted his head slightly.

"You don't need to know that. I have lots of questions for you as well, so let's move to another spot first."

Tear— Crack!

Muttering to himself, In-hyuk ripped a piece of Pyo Jun-woo's clothing, stuffed it into his mouth, and twisted his left elbow and right knee in a chilling motion.

"Mmmph—!"

He had taken into account that a scream would echo through the mountain.

In-hyuk made sure Pyo Jun-woo couldn't move, then dragged him to a warehouse at the bottom of the mountain.

There, the others who had been subdued earlier were sprawled helplessly on the floor, their arms and legs mangled.

"Now we need to have a little talk, just the few of us."

After pulling the cloth out of Pyo Jun-woo's mouth, he looked around at the others.

None of them could get up; instead, they glared at In-hyuk with faces full of killing intent.

The man who had given orders to Pyo Jun-woo spoke first.

"Were you a mercenary hired separately, not a member of the KQ Group's security team?"

"Does it matter who I am? What I'm more curious about is who you guys are and what's going to happen to you from now on."

Upon hearing the voice distorted by the mask, the man furrowed his brow.

"If you're a mercenary, we could hire you for ten times the fee we were paid."

They were also considering ways to escape, but nothing came to mind, so they took a chance by assuming In-hyuk was a mercenary.

"Only ten times?"

"No, as much as you want. Someone with your skills could get anything!"

At the supposed leader's cry, In-hyuk let out a snort.

"Did Section Chief Kim Seong-tae from the Taeshin Group's security team have that kind of authority?"

At that moment, the man's face hardened.

From the moment he saw him in the warehouse, In-hyuk immediately recognized who he was. He had previously worked with him as part of the Taeshin Group's security team, tSS, in a former life.

"That's just my official status. If you're on our side, you'll get to live in a world you never knew existed."

"Are you saying you belong to a secret organization like the National Intelligence Service?"

"... Something like that. How about it? You won't regret teaming up."

In-hyuk crouched in front of him and tapped his mask's chin with his finger.

"You're with the security teams of both Taeshin and KQ, and you're moving so covertly in the background—it's not normal."

"It's a much greater place than you can imagine."

"So did you learn TMT there, too?"

As the atmosphere momentarily relaxed, Kim Seong-tae's brow furrowed again.

He said nothing, staring hard at the masked In-hyuk.

"..."

"What? Are you scared because I know about TMT?"

Kim Seong-tae and the others' eyes darted about quickly.

Anyone could tell this reaction meant something was up.

"You're not UID alumni. Where did you learn it, and from whom?"

"..."

Their silent refusal continued.

In-hyuk lifted Kim Seong-tae's left hand, which had been broken and twisted.

"Does this symbol have anything to do with it?"

A long pattern ran along the border of the left palm and the ring finger.

【─┼◎┼─】

It looked like two circles of different sizes overlapping at the center of a cross.

If you didn't look closely, you could pass it off as a wrinkle at the knuckles.

He had first noticed this symbol in the hospital when he subdued Pyo Jun-woo.

Back then, he thought it was just a trendy tattoo, but he saw it again when dealing with the others just now.

Of course, if In-hyuk's senses hadn't sharpened since before, it would've been hard to spot.

"It's a symbol to distinguish your members. What does it mean?"

"I don't know what you're talking—!"

Slash—

Without hesitation, In-hyuk grabbed a knife rolling on the floor and slit the throat of the man next to Kim Seong-tae.

Instantly, a faint line appeared on the dirt-smeared neck, blood spurted out, and the man collapsed.

"This... this is..."

"Seemed like you thought I was just some nobody who's never killed before. So, what kind of organization are you? If possible, I'd like to know who your leader is, too."

As he spoke, In-hyuk glanced at the remaining people.

The black-tinted mask hid his eyes, but even a slight movement of his head made them flinch.

Meanwhile, Kim Seong-tae sensed that something had gone drastically wrong.

"You... you're not sent by KQ, are you?"

"I never said I was, did I? So could you answer my question first?"

"And if I tell you? Will you spare me?"

"I'm not even sorry, but I'm afraid that's difficult. Oh, and by the way, you guys were speaking Japanese earlier—why Korean now? Is it related to your organization?"

Kim Seong-tae now wore a look that suggested he wanted to deny it, but said nothing.

So, In-hyuk moved the knife in his hand again.

Just then, a cautious answer came forth.

"Don't tell me... are you sent by Aoshika (青鹿)?"

"Aoshika? Are you talking about a blue-green deer? What's that?"

"Then where the hell—!"

Slash—

In-hyuk's knife flashed again, slicing Kim Seong-tae's throat.

The two remaining men stared at In-hyuk in shock.

"What? Didn't believe I'd kill? There are still two of you left."

"We don't know anything! Honestly, we don't know a thing!"

"That's why I'm asking: what is it that you don't know?"

After two men had died while unable to move, the remaining two became distinctly more compliant.

"We only follow orders from above! We don't know where it is or who issues the orders!"

"Where did you learn TMT and from whom? You didn't learn that through an online lecture, did you?"

"I know their face but not their identity! As for the location, for me, they blindfolded us at the airport and transported us somewhere, so I have no idea! I just trained there for about two years!"

"R-right! They said the tattoo on the finger was a certificate of completion, so they engraved it!"

The other man and Pyo Jun-woo spilled the details in rapid succession.

In-hyuk recalled what the man just said.

"Naya, huh... Do you mean Naya Airport in Mongolia? Then the person who taught you TMT..."

The moment he tried to continue his question,

Rustle—

He heard a faint noise behind him.

Without hesitation, In-hyuk rolled to the side, and at the same time, a sharp gust of wind cut through as a bullet pierced through Pyo Jun-woo's head.

During that instant, In-hyuk threw his knife toward the source of the presence, hitting the shoulder of a shadowy figure.

But the shadow didn't stop there. He shot and killed another man with his pistol, then vanished.

"So there was backup support?"

Just to be sure, In-hyuk had checked for any security forces while circling back to the warehouse.

Aside from those in the warehouse, he hadn't seen anyone else, so it must have been a late arrival.

Therefore, instead of the main warehouse door, he dashed out through the window he'd broken in through at the start.

Vroooom—

A motorcycle with headlights on sped away from a spot some distance from the warehouse.

"Tch—!"

It was too late either to run to his own distant car or to pursue with the car the others came in.

With a deep sigh inside his mask, In-hyuk returned to the warehouse to check whether there was anything to retrieve.

* * *

A few days later.

In-hyuk was at work as usual.

About fifteen minutes left until lunch, his phone rang.

"... I figured they'd call soon. Did they wait longer than I expected?"

The number on the caller ID was not saved.

To prevent others from overhearing, In-hyuk stepped into a conference room and answered the call.

It was Lee Jae-jun, Tae Seok-ho's security guard.

[He says he'd like to see you today.]

It was a request that was more of a command, just like last time.

"Sorry, but I have another engagement today. And if it's about a report regarding Tae Ju-ha, you can say that there's been no unusual activity."

[But—!]

In-hyuk hung up before Lee Jae-jun could finish, then returned to his seat to grab his jacket.

"I have external business to attend to and won't be back until late afternoon. Please only contact me if it's something urgent."

"Where are you going?"

Deputy Department Head Jung Jong-hyun asked.

"KQ Group. I have a lunch appointment with the chairman."

"KQ Group... You mean Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu?"

"Yes. If anyone comes looking for me, please tell them that."

Having given his answer, In-hyuk left the building.

It was a fifteen-minute drive to KQ Distribution's headquarters.

Upon arrival, he met Noh Geun-cheol, the secretary who had been waiting in the lobby, and followed him upstairs.

"I never expected the chairman to invite me to the company like this."

Chairman Kang Cheon-gyu stood from his desk and went over to sit on the sofa.

"When you're thirsty, you dig a well, don't you think? Our side made a big mistake, after all. So, is your injury recovering all right?"

He gestured toward In-hyuk's forehead.

"It's almost fully healed."

"Good to hear."

"So, may I ask what this meeting is about today?"

He was asked to come without being told the reason.

However, In-hyuk had his guesses.

"Did you see the news today?"

"Was there something I should be interested in?"

At that disinterested reply, Kang Cheon-gyu thought for a moment, then spoke.

"The Pyo Jun-woo we'd let slip away has died."

"... He's dead?"

Noh Geun-cheol, the secretary standing behind, handed a tablet with the relevant article open.

【Yesterday at dawn, a body was found in a warehouse somewhere in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province... Cause of death presumed to be gunshot wound. The suspect is under investigation by the local police... The body was identified as a member of K Group's security team...】

【A firearms-related fatality inside South Korea? The victim, Mr. P, was part of the K Group's security team... The police only stated they are conducting an investigation...】

.

.

Of course, In-hyuk had seen the article that morning.

He purposely pretended not to know and managed his expression carefully.

"The body mentioned in the article... is that security guard Pyo Jun-woo?"

"That's right. For some reason, he was shot in the head and killed. The police even visited the security team earlier today."

"I thought he'd escaped, but to be shot and killed... Was Pyo Jun-woo involved in something dangerous?"

"I don't know the details, either. The police are investigating, so we'll have to wait and see."

Meanwhile, In-hyuk recalled the details from the article.

Four people, including Pyo Jun-woo, were killed at that location a few days ago.

But only Pyo Jun-woo's body was found.

That meant someone had returned to the site after In-hyuk left and cleaned up the scene.

'It couldn't have been easy to clean up all traces of blood and other evidence at that warehouse... Could the organization even be connected to the police?'

If something got manipulated in such a dusty place, there had to be traces left behind.

"KQ Distribution will be in serious trouble over this."

"We'll try to keep the company name out of the press as much as possible, but there's no preventing strange rumors at this point."

This was far from a normal death—it was a firearms-related homicide.

Reporters and media influencers were already busy spinning conspiracy theories.

Letting out a brief sigh, In-hyuk felt a vibration from inside his coat.

Checking his phone, he saw that it was a message from Go Mi-ah.