Chapter 60. BaeSung (4)
The Baesung Trading headquarters security team was scrambling due to the emergency situation.
First, they attempted to recover the hacked security system while taking care of the injured person discovered on the 37th floor, but their efforts proved futile.
Eventually, they cut the external network lines to the server room and reset the entire system.
The CCTV screens began to return to normal.
Soon after, noticing a vehicle moving from the underground parking lot, they activated the shutters.
At the same time, the voice of the security team leader roared through the radio.
[Intruder detected! Intruder detected! Team A, head to the underground parking exit! Team B, go to basement parking level 1!]
The security personnel waiting in the first-floor lobby immediately began moving.
Arriving at the parking entrance, they nervously watched the shutters slowly descending.
As the gap between the shutter and the ground narrowed, the roar of an engine grew increasingly louder.
Whoosh―!
However, the Porsche 911 slid beneath the shutter at high speed, shooting out toward the surface.
Inside the car, Shin-woo spotted the security personnel standing guard at the entrance and pressed the accelerator even harder.
Vrooooom―!
The loud exhaust forced the security guards to dive aside.
Simultaneously, Shin-woo swiftly exited the parking lot, maneuvering expertly through the zig-zagged barricades.
[Nice―!]
[Did you escape safely?]
Lillian’s worried voice also came through clearly.
Glancing in the rear-view mirror, Shin-woo noticed cars emerging from the building’s external parking lot.
“It’s not over yet. They’re following me.”
[Well, that’s your specialty. You can lose them easily, right?]
“I’ll be fine. Just wait at the Plan D point.”
Three cars had begun their pursuit. They accelerated rapidly, closing the gap with Shin-woo.
But Shin-woo maintained a relaxed expression, skillfully utilizing the handbrake and accelerator to swiftly navigate each corner.
After entering a narrow alleyway, he executed a sharp 180-degree turn, pulled inward, and killed the engine.
During his mercenary days, chases like this had been commonplace.
Naturally, he was confident no one could surpass him in evasion techniques.
Swish― swoosh―
Moments later, the pursuing cars raced past his hiding spot.
Shin-woo removed the entire dashcam from the car, stepped outside, turned his jacket inside out, removed his mask, and casually began walking.
On a dark and quiet road in the early morning, a large van stood parked, marked with bold letters reading “Mansoo Laundry.”
“Your shop name, even on your car? Did you have to plaster your name everywhere?”
Opening the rear door and stepping inside, Shin-woo found Jang Man-soo seated in the driver’s seat.
“What’s wrong with that? Anyway, do you have the ledger?”
“I think it’s the real deal.”
Shin-woo pulled the red leather-covered notebook from his bag.
Taking it, Jang Man-soo flipped through the contents, letting out a deep sigh.
“There’s a ton of crazy bastards here… How much money have these people embezzled from Baesung Trading?”
“Same as the one you saw before?”
“I only ever saw the officially announced details last time. But seeing this now, I realize that previous version had been filtered.”
“The lists are different?”
“The big names are missing. Probably they thought they were acting for the sake of Korea’s government and economy. Anyway, with things blowing up inside, I don’t know how tomorrow’s shareholders’ meeting will go.”
Shin-woo nodded naturally, sighing lightly.
“Bae Sung-hwan will likely rush things so he can take over the chairman position as quickly as possible.”
“What about Kim Sang-hoon? Won’t he report the ledger’s disappearance to the owner family?”
“You think he will? Besides, the owner family’s fate is sealed once the shareholders’ meeting begins.”
Everything was proceeding according to the plan.
Of course, there had been some unexpected variables.
“Oh, what about Guillotine—Ahn Deok-chil? Did you kill him? I saw they called an ambulance earlier.”
“I figured the situation would escalate if someone died, so I stabbed him enough to ensure survival. If he’s lucky, he’ll make it.”
“How did you even encounter him here? From what I’d heard before, he fled Korea secretly after causing a major incident. Maybe it hasn’t happened yet?”
“Who knows.”
Shin-woo took the notebook back from Jang Man-soo. Meanwhile, the vehicle began heading toward home.
“If he’s still alive, he’ll probably come after you again. You two were enemies before—now here as well.”
“Before?”
“Huh? Later? Before? Argh—whatever!”
Their bitter rivalry was originally from the future.
After their relationship soured, Ahn Deok-chil had repeatedly interfered with Triad Eye operations.
While Shin-woo had always thwarted him, it was still highly irritating.
“I considered killing him. But I couldn’t let him ruin the carefully laid-out plan.”
If someone died, police involvement would inevitably occur, creating public attention that could postpone the shareholders’ meeting.
“Make sure you handle him next time!”
“I’ll try. Anyway, Lillian withdrew safely too, right?”
He spoke again into his earpiece, just in case.
[I safely withdrew. Captain, you aren’t hurt, right?]
“I’m fine. Let’s go home for today and meet at the company tomorrow.”
[Ok―!]
Communication through the earpiece ended.
Watching this scene through the rear-view mirror, Jang Man-soo had an odd expression.
“Been a while since you’ve seen real combat, huh?”
“Now that you mention it, yeah.”
Compared to the 666th Unit members or Ahn Seung-joo’s subordinates he had previously fought, those opponents barely qualified as real combat.
On the other hand, although Ahn Deok-chil lacked the experience and skills he previously had, his killing intent was genuinely dangerous.
If Shin-woo hadn’t retained the experience and advantages from his past, things might have become genuinely perilous.
“Do you ever regret it?”
“What do you mean, suddenly?”
“I mean, you went back twelve years into the past. You could’ve chosen a completely different life.”
It was a playful yet somewhat uneasy question.
“Why? Do you regret it?”
“Well, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.”
Jang Man-soo had been forcibly recruited into the NIS in his previous life, suffering greatly.
Ultimately, he experienced betrayal, barely escaped with his life, and had to live abroad, unable to return to Korea due to the NIS.
But his current life was different.
“If you ever want a fresh start, tell me. Lillian and the others would surely understand.”
They all dreamed of retirement. Now, they had the chance for a new life.
Shin-woo knew this better than anyone, but right now, the immediate goals were more important.
“I was just talking nonsense.”
“Feeling sentimental?”
“Maybe it’s the approaching autumn that makes me a little melancholic. Besides, what would you guys even do without me?”
Through the slightly open window, the scent of summer fading away seemed to drift inside.
“You’re right. Without you, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”
Smiling, Shin-woo patted Man-soo’s shoulder as he drove.
* * *
The next day arrived.
The extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of Baesung Trading began in the main auditorium on the second floor of the headquarters.
Although yesterday’s incident was reported to the owner’s family, an embargo was imposed on media and police coverage due to the shareholders’ meeting, despite the casualties.
Today was the day Baesung Trading’s new chairman would be decided.
In the tense atmosphere, many major shareholders wore serious expressions.
Among them, Bae Min-sook could hardly hide her anxiety.
Yoo Ji-young from S-One Finance, who had promised her a 3.1% stake, had betrayed her.
Having transferred her shares elsewhere, Min-sook didn’t even have the time to blame her.
The day of the shareholders’ meeting had inevitably arrived.
‘I must postpone this meeting somehow…’
To create such a situation, Min-sook had summoned professional disruptors using money she didn’t have.
They were tasked to cause disruptions when the issue of electing the next chairman arose.
Beside Min-sook sat Bae Sung-hwan.
Although siblings, they’d only occasionally met for family meals while Bae Young-chul was healthy.
Otherwise, they had rarely met outside of company meetings or business matters.
In the silence, as though a wall existed between them, Sung-hwan spoke first with a sly grin.
“Sister. Perhaps you should ease up a bit.”
Anyone could hear the mockery and layered meanings in his voice.
Min-sook clenched her fist tightly, trembling slightly, but calmly replied,
“The situation isn’t over until it’s truly finished. The tables might still turn.”
“Do you really believe that’s possible at this point?”
According to confirmed information, Sung-hwan held over 32% of the shares.
In contrast, Min-sook had only managed 26.2%, falling short by more than 5%.
Despite share prices dropping from 73,000 won to 42,000 won, even a 5% difference represented over 70 billion won.
Reversing this now, with the meeting already underway, was impossible.
Perhaps the only silver lining was that, due to Bae Young-chul’s vegetative state, the inheritance shares from his will were temporarily on hold, preventing Sung-hwan’s share from increasing further.
“You never know until it’s completely over.”
“Well, if that’s your final wish, then I genuinely hope it works out as you desire.”
“……”
Min-sook could only pray that the disruptors would successfully sabotage the meeting.
The shareholders’ meeting began.
Kim Sang-hoon, Chairman Bae Young-chul’s personal secretary, was managing the proceedings.
Kim Sang-hoon had looked pale since morning, having discovered the fire hydrant—where he routinely checked daily—was empty.
The ledger Chairman Bae had created and entrusted to him had disappeared.
Unable to inform anyone, he was deeply troubled but had no choice but to focus as he was leading the shareholders’ meeting.
“…Ahem. Thank you for attending this extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. Today’s meeting was convened due to Chairman Bae Young-chul being declared incapable of performing his duties, requiring us to elect a new chairman for the future of Baesung Trading.”
As the solemn greeting concluded, Min-sook shifted her gaze from Kim Sang-hoon’s back toward the seated shareholders.
The moment for the disruptors to create a disturbance was near.
At that instant, a dignified voice resonated from the shareholder seats.
“I have an objection.”
Myung Un-seok, despite being advised by Myung In-chul not to interfere with Baesung Trading’s matters, attended the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting out of curiosity.
Holding Baesung Trading stocks purchased long ago, attendance wasn’t difficult for him.
Hearing someone raise an objection, his head turned curiously.
‘What’s this…? Are they trying to disrupt the meeting?’
It was evident Bae Min-sook would lose.
Gaining time by causing disturbances was indeed likely.
In the meantime, the microphone was passed to the speaker.
“I am Oh Han-seong, representative of TSF Investment, holding 1,645,000 shares of Baesung Trading.”
Everyone murmured at his statement.
That represented approximately 4.7% of Baesung Trading’s total shares.
He was the largest shareholder following Vice President Bae Sung-hwan, who had gathered over 5%. Such influence couldn’t be ignored.
Kim Sang-hoon, moderating the meeting, found it difficult to dismiss his comments due to this.
“Please proceed.”
“Our TSF Investment has discovered a significant issue prior to this shareholders’ meeting.”
Kim Sang-hoon discreetly glanced back at the owner’s family, who occupied one side of the podium.
His eyes briefly met Vice President Bae Sung-hwan’s.
However, Sung-hwan confidently nodded, believing TSF Investment couldn’t have anything substantial against him.
“Please continue.”
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