Chapter 16
Unexpected Winds (3)
Only then did Team Leader Gu realize he had been deceived. No Hyung-jin had expected they’d pull something like this and had prepared every contingency. He’d set the meeting place at a tacky, blingy café that high school girls like, and had pre-bought the local girls’ school uniform nearby. As expected, they had followed the lawyer, and he paid five ten-thousand-won bills to some high school girls in the café and asked them to change Kang So-young into the girls’ uniform and escort her to the subway station.
The girls, delighted by the unexpected pocket money, of course agreed. While they were distracted, Kang So-young quickly changed into the uniform and wiped off her makeup; her face already looked youthful, and once she put on the uniform she could pass for a high school girl at a glance. After confirming Kang So-young had escaped safely, No Hyung-jin threw on the clothes she’d left and ran.
It would have been risky to have someone else do it, and since No was a scrawny second-year middle schooler, from a distance the difference wouldn’t stand out much when he ran. Of course they could only follow the clothes.
“Damn them.”
“What do we do?”
“First, grab that bastard!”
They didn’t know who that man — no, that boy — was, but since someone had disguised himself for Kang So-young, it was likely he had a close relationship with her. If so, they might be able to use him to lure Kang So-young out.
“You’ll regret this.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! A bastard like you can just charm her and then kill her—problem solved!”
“You’ll regret it.”
No Hyung-jin smiled and held his phone out in front of him.
“Do you know about the emergency call function? These days, one button connects directly to the 112 police line. It even tells them the phone’s location.”
Their faces drained at that.
Wailing sirens approached from afar. They turned to run, but already the only entrance was blocked by a police car pulling in.
“Hands up! Don’t move!”
The cops who got out of the car pointed guns at them, and seeing the number of officers approaching, they had no choice but to raise their hands.
“You idiots!”
Yoo Sang-ho was furious and didn’t know what to do. Those he’d sent to capture Kang So-young had fallen into a trap and been arrested by the police instead. No — being arrested wasn’t even the worst part. Those idiots had shouted all sorts of things into the recorded 112 call — ‘we’ll kidnap them,’ ‘we’ll beat them to death,’ and so on — so they’d been apprehended on the spot for attempted abduction. They even had their IDs on them and, in a stupid error, had driven the corporate car of the Daeryong Group. He’d never imagined such a trap could exist.
“Mom, what do we do now?”
“For now, act like we know nothing. Deny it outright. No Team Leader Gu isn’t going to admit this easily.”
“But what if he talks?”
“We’ve sent a lawyer; they’ll interpret it as they see fit.”
Unless they were fools, people would begin to suspect the Daeryong Group’s involvement. They would lobby and try to block it as much as possible, but an investigation into the Daeryong Group by the police was only a matter of time, and once that happened they couldn’t stop the media from getting wind of it.
“Give up on finding that woman for now. There are too many eyes on this.”
Killing her now, with the police already having real suspicions, would be reckless.
“But…”
“For now we must contain it. Pour money into it. Do whatever it takes to make sure this never gets out.”
Kim Hwa-ja answered, trying to calm her racing heart.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t expect me to ignore it later just because you apologize.”
No Hyung-jin grumbled as he met Kang So-young and the lawyers hiding in a hotel in Incheon.
“It’s not a fun feeling to be mocked as a cross-dressing lunatic in the middle of a police station, you know?”
A 112 call had been made and was being recorded — they’d openly talked about kidnapping and killing, and even said they’d use a third party as bait. The ones who had followed him could not escape arrest. But even so, nobody was going to look kindly on a man running around on the roadside wearing women’s clothes.
“Still… it suited you, though.”
“Sis!”
“Hohoho.”
“Ugh.”
In any case, Daeryong — no, Yoo Sang-ho — would no longer be able to lay hands on Kang So-young. They’d reported what was happening at the police station, and the investigation had already revealed that the trackers came from Daeryong. Even if they couldn’t immediately take Yoo Sang-ho into custody, suspicion that Daeryong had been involved in the abduction could not be avoided.
“So now we just wait, right?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What did you say?”
“They’ll drag this out for time.”
“But the court summons will come, won’t it?”
“That can be hidden.”
“You mean not show up?”
“They’re rich. They’ll hide him, and later submit a fake power of attorney so the lawyer can appear in his place.”
“Hmm…”
From No Hyung-jin’s perspective, Yoo Min-taek probably still didn’t know about the situation. Yoo Sang-ho was trying desperately to conceal the facts. But something still felt off.
‘This doesn’t seem to be just about money.’
If it were him, instead of trying to eliminate her he’d negotiate for her to disappear in exchange for money. Around two billion would be enough for a negotiation, and given Kang So-young’s personality she’d likely accept and step away. Yoo Sang-ho was not the type who didn’t know that. So it was strange that he wanted only to eliminate her without any personal contact or negotiation.
‘There’s something else.’
No Hyung-jin felt there had to be a reason Yoo Sang-ho was thrashing about like this. That reason probably had something to do with rumors.
“How do we reach Yoo Min-taek then?”
If they intercepted all court documents en route, Yoo Min-taek might end this affair without ever knowing about it.
“That’s not hard.”
“It’s not?”
“There’s something called special service of process.”
“Oh!”
‘Seriously, you people are lawyers!’
Special service of process is when the court sends someone directly to deliver documents to the party themselves. Usually documents are delivered via registered mail, but in special cases where only the party should receive them, special service is used. It’s rarely used, partly because registered mail usually reaches family or the person directly, and special service costs extra. But it was usable in a situation like this.
“With special service they confirm identity and hand it over in person, so you can’t intercept it.”
“Right.”
Special service literally means only the person themself can receive it. A secretary, family member, or even a lawyer cannot accept it on their behalf.
“If we use special service, the case will be over.”
The lawyers breathed easier, but No Hyung-jin still felt uneasy.
“By the way… can we find that accident car?”
“Accident car?”
“The car in which Yoo Sang-min died.”
“We can try, but why?”
“No, you know that rumor?”
The lawyers’ expressions shifted oddly at No Hyung-jin’s words.
Rumor — that Yoo Sang-ho had killed his brothers for the money. Of course, there was no evidence, and when an investigation started in the future Yoo Min-taek suddenly died, the matter had fizzled out as Yoo Sang-ho became head of the group.
“Could there be evidence?”
“We’ll check.”
“But the National Forensic Service would have checked, right?”
If it had been brake-cutting or some other sabotage, the forensic team would surely have found it. After all, this wasn’t just any ordinary person — it was a conglomerate succession case.
“I just want to check out of curiosity. Can you find it?”
“Okay, we’ll look.”
No Hyung-jin wanted to get to the bottom of the present trouble.
“This one?”
“Yes.”
Fortunately, the car had been taken from the police evidence room and moved to a scrapyard. Because the scrapyard had a long waiting list, it hadn’t yet been crushed — the lawyers had located it.
“You sure about this?”
The lawyers’ eyes were expectant; they were impressed by No Hyung-jin’s demonstrated ability. If he were older they’d want to recruit him however they could. But being a second-year middle schooler was the problem.
“Let’s see.”
No Hyung-jin walked slowly to the car and put his hand on it. He concentrated.
‘This isn’t useful…’
A few hours appeared, and then finally he succeeded in reading memories related to the incident.
‘Oh?’
No Hyung-jin couldn’t help but be impressed. He hadn’t expected someone to use such a method.
‘So even in the bad side he’s smart, huh?’
He had thought the man completely incompetent, yet he used such an ingenious trick.
“What’s wrong?”
To the others, his act of reading memories probably looked like merely examining the car. But after standing still for some time, they tilted their heads in confusion.
“This is interesting.”
“What are you talking about?”
No Hyung-jin brought his hand down hard on the dented roof of the car so it made a thump.
“This wasn’t an accident. It was murder.”
“What?”
“Murder?”
“Yes. I’ve never seen this kind of trick before. Incredible.”
No Hyung-jin smiled in triumph. Now it was time for the final cleanup.
“Seok Gong-seok!”
A man entered a shabby warehouse. Yoo Sang-ho.
“Do you think you can stay unscathed after what you did?”
A short while ago, Yoo Sang-ho had received a single email.
It was a one-line sentence, but reading it made him tremble like a leaf.
“I had no choice, Young Master. I needed money too.”
“Profit.”
Seok Gong-seok appeared from the darkness, and Yoo ground his teeth.
“Did you think you could blackmail me and get away with it?”
“I thought so. After all, you brought the money, didn’t you?”
“…”
At that, Yoo Sang-ho ground his teeth.
“This is the last time. I’ll forgive you this once.”
“Whether it’s once or twice, who can say?”
“What did you say?”
“I didn’t sabotage the car for you once — I did it twice. So at least two chances should be given.”
“Are you trying to bargain with me now?”
“This isn’t bargaining. I needed the money too. I did as you asked and took out your brothers. The wealth and companies you swallowed weren’t small—over a trillion won, weren’t they?”
“Shut up! Even if that’s true, there’s nothing I’ll give you!”
“You’re being too greedy.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Do you think I killed my two brothers, shouting that I was their brother, just to give scum like you something? And back then I gave two hundred million at a time, that was enough — what more could you possibly want?”
“But…”
“I don’t care about your gambling addiction. Take the money and get lost!”
“I’m sorry. I can’t—”
“You prefer punishment over drink, huh?”
Click.
Yoo drew a pistol from his waist. Seok Gong-seok involuntarily took a step back, then sank to his knees.
“If I go to Busan and pay a little, I could get a Russian-made pistol.”
“Y-Young master…”
“Shut up. I’m no longer a young master — I’m the chairman.”
“Ch-chairman, even so, I eliminated your brothers at your request; shouldn’t that—”
“Fine. I liked your trick. It even fooled the police. That’s exactly the problem. You’re the only one who knows that trick. If you open your mouth, we’re in trouble. Better to stop you now.”
“Ch-chairman…”
“Convey my regards to the two brothers who’ve already kicked the bucket.”
Yoo advanced with the gun. Then an unexpected voice spoke.
“There’s a problem with that plan — he’s not the only one who knows that trick anymore.”
“Who are you!”
As he turned his head, someone emerged from the darkness. It was No Hyung-jin.
“Clever idea—freezing ice in an empty soda can shape and hanging it right under the steering wheel. When the mount breaks, it falls down under the brake pedal and wedges against it so the brakes fail. The car just keeps accelerating until it crashes. By the time the police arrive, the ice has melted and all that’s left is water. A really elaborate trick. The mount? If you use thin wire it’ll mix with the wreckage.”
“W-who are you? How do you know that?”
