Chapter 14
“How do we handle this?”
After completing the retainer contract with Attorney Kang Mu-song, I finally headed home after a long time.
“Boss, we’ve arrived.”
“Good work. Let’s meet tomorrow morning.”
“No problem, sir. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
From St. Petersburg to Singapore, I had been traveling non-stop.
It had been over a month since I’d last been home.
I got out of the car and walked into the house.
Then, the security personnel who had accompanied me spoke to Director Im Kang-min.
“Director, is this really the client’s house?”
“I have No idea.”
The security personnel asked this because it was hard to believe that someone like Lee Seon-su, who had Paid a security Retainer of 500 million won, lived in such a rundown villa.
“We just need to focus on protecting the boss. Don’t think about anything else.”
“Understood. I and Team 1 will take charge of the security tonight, so Director, you can rest for now.”
Im Kang-min shook his head.
“No, tonight I’ll handle Alpha security with Team 1. Team Leader Lee, check on Beta security at the secondary house with Team 2, and come back tomorrow morning with Team 3.”
Super Guard deployed all its available personnel for Lee Seon-su’s security detail.
This was because he demanded the highest level of service.
The call signs among the security team designated Lee Seon-su as “Alpha” and Lee Jeong-seok as “Beta.”
“Director, you don’t have to handle it yourself.”
“No, I plan to do it myself.”
“But Director, you have a lot of things to handle.”
“Do I?”
Im Kang-min smirked.
“If we had been just one week late, the company would have gone bankrupt. You know I’ve already wrapped up everything I could. There’s nothing left to handle.”
He had pulled money from every possible source to keep the company afloat.
And yet, salaries still went unpaid.
Just when he was on the verge of giving up, he received a call offering a contract.
At first, he couldn’t believe it.
Who would offer 500 million won for a security contract without even meeting face-to-face?
But miraculously, the 500 million won was deposited.
“Now that the hard part is over, you should consider bringing back our former employees.”
Team Leader 1 was referring to the former staff who had no choice but to leave.
“I suddenly feel like smoking.”
He had even quit smoking as the company’s struggles worsened.
“Should I get you one?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to. But I don’t know what will happen once this contract ends. The remaining funds should at least go to your severance pay.”
At Im Kang-min’s words, Team Leader 1 raised his voice.
“If you give it all away, what about you, Director?”
“Me? I’m thinking about becoming the boss’s personal bodyguard.”
“What?”
It was half a joke, but half-serious.
The confidence he showed at Song Law Firm, his quick judgment, understanding what Attorney Kang needed and making the right offer.
Above all, his dedication to protecting his own people and willingness to spend money when necessary—it all appealed to him.
“It’s surprising that someone like him would live in such a shabby villa.”
While spending 1 billion won without a second thought.
“Anyway, Team Leader 1, go check on Beta security and take the rest of the night off.”
“Understood, Director.”
Team Leader 1 nodded and moved.
Im Kang-min headed to another car.
He planned to take turns resting and keeping watch at the villa entrance.
***
“The smell is awful.”
Maybe it was because the villa was old, but the air felt stale.
I immediately opened the windows for ventilation.
It seemed to help a little.
But an empty house felt like an empty heart.
I couldn’t help but wish someone would welcome me back.
“Is it because I’m tired?”
If I said I wasn’t tired, that would be a lie.
I had been on edge the entire time I was in St. Petersburg.
I felt like even the smallest mistake could ruin everything.
Just as I tried to relax a little in Singapore, Samdo General Trading sued Senior Lee Jeong-seok.
I had to deal with that too.
“Ahh.”
I stretched my arms.
Then, I sat on the sofa.
“Ugh.”
Dust puffed up everywhere.
Even though the windows were closed, a lot of dust had accumulated over the month-long absence.
“Looks like I can’t even rest.”
I needed to clean up first.
But before that, I needed to call Senior Lee Jeong-seok.
I picked up the cordless phone and dialed.
The signal only rang a few times before it was picked up.
“Senior, it’s me. Yes, don’t worry about anything. It’s late now, so I’ll come by your house tomorrow morning. I’ll explain everything in detail then. Yes, really, don’t worry. Please get some rest.”
I ended the call briefly.
I planned to tell him everything when I saw him tomorrow.
“For now, I should just clean up.”
As if to clear away fear and anxiety, I began cleaning.
After over an hour of cleaning, I sat back down on the sofa.
“I’ve lived here for a long time.”
I had grown up in this villa since I was a child.
After joining Samdo General Construction as an adult, my mother moved to my great-aunt’s house in Chungcheong Province.
She said she wanted to live with my great-aunt in the countryside and farm.
My younger sister moved out as soon as she turned 20, saying she hated this shabby villa.
“But I still like this place.”
The emptiness in my heart disappeared, replaced by a sense of comfort.
Maybe it was due to familiarity.
But it felt good just knowing there was a place to return to and rest.
“Hmm.”
Leaning back on the sofa, I started reviewing my plans again on how to get through this situation.
“It’s not a dream that I had for no reason.”
I had a brief dream on the plane from Singapore to Korea.
It felt like I was dreaming the same dream I’d had before.
There wasn’t much to it.
I watched the news.
It was about how Korea had lent money to the Soviet Union, and Russia had taken over that debt.
As a result, instead of receiving the money back, the Korean government received military equipment.
But the deal didn’t go as planned, and people criticized it as just wasting money.
Especially with the decommissioned aircraft carrier, the original contract stated that it would be handed over in its entirety, but in reality, the core facilities were destroyed before delivery.
“We haven’t even properly started yet.”
Back in 1993, negotiations were still underway with Russia.
By 1995, Korea began receiving the military equipment.
“The Russian Bear Project.”
They sometimes called Russians “Bears.”
If I utilized this well, I thought I could prevent the Samdo Group from meddling behind the scenes.
***
In the morning, I went to Senior Lee Jeong-seok’s house.
It seemed like Senior Lee had been waiting since early morning.
“You’re here?”
“You look like you didn’t sleep.”
“How could I?”
“Sister-in-law, I’m sorry.”
“Why should you be sorry, Seon-su? They pulled this nonsense to force him out, and now they’re jealous because things are going well.”
She grasped the situation perfectly.
“You haven’t had breakfast yet, right?”
“I haven’t, but…”
“Let’s eat together. He said he’d wait until you arrived before eating.”
“What about you, sister-in-law?”
“I already ate with Mother for the baby’s sake.”
“Let’s eat.”
Senior Lee Jeong-seok pulled me toward the dining table.
The table was already set.
All that was left was to bring over the warm rice and soup.
Sister-in-law brought the rice and soup to the table.
“Let’s eat.”
“If there’s anything lacking, please let me know.”
“No, this is more than enough.”
With beef radish soup and rolled omelette, the meal was perfect.
We began eating.
“Eat slowly. You’ll get indigestion.”
“I want to finish quickly so we can talk.”
“Is that so?”
Senior Lee also began eating quickly.
We finished in less than five minutes.
“Is this the military?”
Sister-in-law shook her head.
“No, the food was so delicious that I couldn’t help but eat quickly.”
“Seon-su, you have such a way with words.”
“Thank you. But sister-in-law…”
“Yes?”
“I think you should listen to this together with Senior.”
“Listen to what?”
“Please, have a seat.”
Sister-in-law glanced at Senior Lee and then sat down at the table.
“What are you trying to talk about, asking Su-jeong to sit with us?”
“It’s something important.”
“What is it?”
“Sister-in-law, how would you feel about living in Singapore?”
“What?”
Han Su-jeong was taken aback by the unexpected question.
“Since we’re dealing with a conglomerate, this might take a long time.”
“I suppose so.”
“It seems safer to be in Singapore than to stay in Korea.”
“But what about my husband?”
Senior looked at me.
“Of course, he should go too.”
“I should go too? Isn’t that not allowed?”
“That’s why we hired a lawyer.”
“But if there’s an investigation, they could ban us from leaving the country.”
“They won’t be able to.”
“Why not?”
“The police need concrete evidence first. Until then, they can’t do anything. This is something I’ve confirmed with our lawyer.”
Senior Lee nodded.
“That’s true.”
“If you’re okay with it, I’d like you to go to Singapore with Senior and Mother. All expenses will be covered by the company.”
“It’s not just about the money. Can we really go to Singapore right away?”
Han Su-jeong was willing to stay in Singapore for her husband’s sake.
“Yes, we have a visa exemption agreement with Singapore since 1982, so you can stay for 30 days without a visa.”
In 1993, the stay was limited to 30 days.
It was not until the FTA agreement took effect in 2006 that the stay period was extended to 90 days.
“30 days? Isn’t that too short?”
“After going to Singapore, we’ll apply for a work visa. That way, the whole family can stay together.”
It was a bit of a loophole, but it was feasible—with enough money.
I planned to use well-known lawyers and lobbyists.
And the Singaporean government wouldn’t easily refuse either.
They wouldn’t want a company that does billion-dollar gas deals to relocate to another country.
That was the leverage I planned to use.
“If that’s the case.”
“It seems like Sister-in-law is fine with it.”
I looked at Senior Lee Jeong-seok.
“If Su-jeong is going, of course, I’ll go too.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what else is there?”
“You need to handle the 3% stake first.”
“We can do that later.”
“No, I think it’s the perfect opportunity.”
“Perfect?”
“Yes, go to Singapore, finalize the shares, and take on the CEO position.”
“What?”
Senior Lee didn’t understand.
“We needed someone to fully manage the company in Singapore anyway. You can’t keep going back and forth between Korea and Singapore.”
“That’s true.”
“You’ll become the official representative of the company, Senior. It’s kind of like being a figurehead.”
“If I’m told to do it, I have to, right?”
He seemed to be taking my joke a little too seriously.
“The ‘figurehead’ part was a joke. I was trying to lighten the mood.”
“I know. But where in the world would you find a figurehead who owns shares?”
“When you arrive in Singapore, I’ll get in touch with the lawyer we hired when we established the company. You can finalize the shares with him and then take on the CEO role.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?”
“No, I’ll stay back and monitor the situation for a while.”
“I see. Then when should we leave?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow morning?”
Senior Lee and Sister-in-law were both shocked.
“Just pack some simple items and leave. You can buy whatever else you need once you get there. You can stay at a hotel until you find a place to live. Everything will be taken care of.”
“Is that really okay?”
“Yes, don’t worry about anything here.”
“But Su-jeong and I have passports… What about Mother and Yeong-jun? They don’t have passports.”
I hadn’t considered that.
“Then, Senior, why don’t you go first and get things ready? I’ll prepare the passports for the baby and Mother as soon as possible.”
“Alright.”
I saw Senior Lee smiling.
“Why are you smiling?”
“It’s funny to see that someone as thorough as you can still overlook small details like this.”
“Senior, I’m only human.”
“Yeah, that’s what makes you endearing. Who said it was a problem?”
“You kind of did.”
“No, I didn’t.”
Watching me and Senior Lee act like children, Han Su-jeong stood up, smiling.
“I’ll get some coffee. You two keep bickering.”
There was no way we could continue arguing.
***
Three days after Senior Lee left for Singapore, the prosecutor’s office sent a summons.
Han Su-jeong informed me, and I took the summons to Attorney Kang Mu-song.
After looking over the summons, Attorney Kang prepared and headed to the prosecutor’s office.
“I’m here to see Prosecutor Park Hoon.”
Prosecutor Park Hoon felt like he had seen him somewhere before.
“I’m Park Hoon. Who might you be?”
“I’m Attorney Kang Mu-song.”
Prosecutor Park frowned.
He remembered who Kang Mu-song was.
The crazy lawyer who fought against the Samdo Group.
There was a saying that getting involved with him meant trouble.
He never gave up and tenaciously pestered the opposing side.
Negotiations didn’t work on him. Nor did threats.
“Ah, yes. But why are you here?”
Park couldn’t think of any reason why Kang Mu-song would come, until something occurred to him.
Kang Mu-song, the Samdo Group’s dedicated attorney.
And there was only one current issue involving the Samdo Group.
Lee Jeong-seok.
“I’m here as the representative for Mr. Lee Jeong-seok.”
Park Hoon’s face twisted.
“Who?”
“I’m representing Mr. Lee Jeong-seok. You sent a summons, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did. But Mr. Lee Jeong-seok….”
“He’s unable to make it due to business commitments, so we’d like to proceed with a written statement instead.”
He wasn’t accused of a major crime, nor was there concrete evidence.
A written statement would suffice.
“He still needs to come in at least once.”
“If there’s clear evidence, then yes, he’ll come in.”
As expected, he wasn’t easy to deal with.
Park Hoon sighed, realizing that negotiations and threats wouldn’t work.
“Let’s proceed like that then.”
The plan to pressure Lee Jeong-seok by summoning him to the prosecutor’s office fell through.
“But he must come in for an in-person interrogation.”
“Interrogation? Don’t you mean investigation? Are you already labelling him a criminal?”
“Sigh. Yes, investigation.”
“That might be difficult.”
“Difficult? If we’re allowing for a written statement, shouldn’t he at least attend an in-person investigation?”
Normally, that would be true.
“I’d like to agree, but he’s currently in Singapore for business.”
“What?”
“We don’t know when he’ll be back.”
Park Hoon realized he’d been outmanoeuvred.
He should’ve enforced a travel ban, even if forcibly.
“Then how will you handle the written statement….”
“You can handle it by phone or fax.”
“No, the in-person investigation….”
“When he returns, you can do it then. Here’s a reason statement.”
If Kang Mu-song submitted an official statement, there was nothing more they could do.
Lee Jeong-seok wasn’t accused of a serious crime, so they couldn’t just issue an Interpol notice.
But more than that, the bigger issue was the money he had received from Executive Director Lee Min-sik.
There was no way Executive Director Lee would stay quiet.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
Kang Mu-song left with a smile.
Watching him leave, Park Hoon trembled with rage.
But soon, he let out a sigh, holding back his anger.
“Sigh. How am I supposed to explain this?”
He needed to report this situation to Executive Director Lee Min-sik.
Park Hoon spent 30 minutes gathering his thoughts before calling Executive Director Lee.
—
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