Chapter 25
That was when Liam tilted his head.
“For something that’s supposed to be simple self-defense, those were really clean, survival-oriented movements. No wasted motion at all. It almost looked like Mossad knife skills… or maybe like the Brazilians.”
“Haha. You’re mistaken.”
“…….”
But did I really have any obligation to explain myself or make excuses? I was the employer. I brushed it off curtly.
Liam must have noticed that I didn’t want to answer, because he suddenly went quiet in a rather peculiar way.
Still, the fact that he recognized it at all was impressive. Those movements had been sloppy at best—hardly worth calling combat.
I couldn’t move as fast or as precisely as I could in my old body. The only way to survive was to subdue the opponent quickly, so that was all I did.
And yet he judged all that from such brief movements. There was no doubt—his skills were exceptional.
Just then, something vibrated briefly in my chest. It was a military-grade phone from Motorola.
“Yeah.”
—Wow, this is funny. First they ask me to restore the CCTV, and now they want the footage replaced.
“You swapped it?”
It was Lee Seok-hyung. I tilted my head with a faint smile.
—Yeah. It was the New York Plaza, right? Around two in the morning, when the monitors went down briefly for backups, I hijacked just the cameras on that floor and swapped the footage. If your guys only worked on that floor, you should be fine.
“Thanks.”
—Honestly, if you’re unlucky, you could still get caught.
“If I do, I’m the only one who’ll take the fall.”
—Exactly. That’s why I did it.
Lee Seok-hyung chuckled briefly.
—The CCTV restoration is done too. But there are a few strange things. I’ll call you again once everything’s fully recovered. Soon.
“Appreciate it.”
—Yeah. Pay me.
I hung up. Oliver’s and Liam’s gazes converged on me at once.
“Looks like the CCTV was handled properly. That’s a relief, right? You won’t get scolded by your mother now.”
I tried to joke, but no one laughed. Liam blinked a few times, then asked,
“Did you just say you ‘handled’ the CCTV?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“…That doesn’t sound like a game. That’s fairly professional.”
“It’s just a game. No one got hurt, right?”
I gave a rough explanation and smiled with only the corner of my mouth.
Both of them clearly wanted to ask more. But instead of indulging their curiosity, I just smiled once and asked what I actually wanted to know.
“The newspaper?”
“We just got word. It’s ready.”
“You sent it to the CFO as well?”
“Yes. We sent the data to Mr. Jacob Goldberg and received confirmation.”
“And the bodyguards?”
“We sent them to the hospital. We also sent NDAs along with the secretary. They’ll have to sign the confidentiality agreements to receive treatment. And later, if things go well… Mr. Keith might help out too, right?”
Oliver answered tensely, trailing off at the end. I raised one corner of my mouth again.
“Well. I’m curious, so let’s ask him directly.”
I slowly rolled my neck to stretch, then smiled at Liam.
“Wake them up.”
Liam and Oliver approached and carefully began to rouse them.
“Ugh… what…”
“Mmgh…”
The men who had been lying completely still soon began to grimace in pain.
“My head… my head…”
“My head… it hurts…”
“Wow, look at you—acting.”
I jeered mercilessly.
What a load of crap. That drug wasn’t chloroform. Technically, it contained some, but it was a cocktail made from multiple substances, so there wasn’t much risk of brain damage. I’d even used a decent formula out of consideration. I glared at him and continued.
“Stop exaggerating. There shouldn’t be any side effects that bad. It’s way gentler than the party drugs your friends pass around when you’re clubbing, Ian.”
At my sarcasm, Keith’s and Ian’s faces went pale in an instant.
“You—!”
Ian tried to spring up, only to collapse flat on the floor.
“You… it was you?!”
“Of course it was me. Who else would it be? And maybe you should try getting up after checking what condition you’re in. Your hands and feet are tied—if you thrash around like that, you’ll hurt yourself.”
I offered Ian some polite advice. I’d already tied up both of them—hands and ankles—with convenient, economical modern inventions: cable ties. Hearing that, Keith looked down at his own wrists. When he saw them bound, he looked up at me again, flustered.
“What… what is this?”
“What is this? It was you? With that helmet earlier… why did you capture us?”
“Why did I capture you? Isn’t that obvious?”
I frowned slightly and curved my lips upward.
“Because I needed to.”
I said it briefly, then laughed pleasantly. Ian’s and Keith’s mouths fell open at the same time.
“What?”
“You kidnapped us?”
“You?”
They looked at each other, then shouted together.
“Are you insane?!”
“Kyle Youngseo Yoon Alfail! How dare you do something this rude!”
Oh. The reactions were straight out of an American drama. Quite satisfying. I smiled faintly and spoke.
“Ah, ah. Quiet. Sorry, but as of this moment, the agreement with Aertus is over.”
“What?”
“It’s a crude method, but you won’t be signing the investment deal today. Send Aertus home.”
I folded my arms tightly as I looked at them. Ian’s and Keith’s faces twisted.
“Are you crazy?! You’re a complete lunatic!”
As expected, Ian—who worshipped Keith’s every word—shouted first. His face was completely contorted. For someone who seemed obsessed with wrinkles, he must have been truly furious.
“You’re doing this openly just because you’re afraid Keith might earn major credit?!”
Ian ranted.
“You come back to life holding a grudge or something? Just stop it already!”
“Who are you calling an idiot… stop what, exactly?”
“All of this! Right now! Even if you interfere like this, you can’t break the cooperation between Alfail Pharmaceuticals and Aertus!”
“Why not? If you don’t sign, it’s over.”
Why was it that all they knew how to do was accuse people? Not a single one of them thought to ask “why” or “what happened.” When I snapped back at them, Ian—who had briefly calmed down—lost it again.
“Kyle, this is pointless! That agreement is just for show! It means nothing! The supplemental contracts already went through! No matter how you react like this, it’s already over—!”
“The agreement isn’t just for show, idiot. It’s symbolic. Do you know how much difference a signed contract makes in a lawsuit? And your faces go in the paper. Want to be photographed together and be embarrassed for the rest of your life?”
“Kyle, who do you think you are?! What gives you the right—”
“Say one more word like that and see what happens. You’re tied up hand and foot—are you really that bad at reading the situation?”
The moment I growled, Ian clamped his mouth shut like it had been glued. He started blinking rapidly. Just like at the last dinner. He got scared and shut up after a single sentence—so why did he always act like that in the first place?
“……”
“And the supplemental agreement hasn’t gone through yet. The CFO is still holding it.”
“What?!”
Ian thrashed even more violently than before, this time clutching his head with both hands.
“You even went after Jacob?!”
“That’s right. I had to secure him before coming here. The investment funds were scheduled to be sent simultaneously today.”
As I answered, I recalled earlier events. It had been quite urgent. After confirming with Oliver that the media outlet preparing the exposé on Aertus was The Wall Street Journal, I booked a private jet to New York and coordinated the publication date with the paper. Fortunately, The Wall Street Journal belonged to a British tycoon who also invested in Alfail Pharmaceuticals, so a slot opened up quickly.
But there was a problem. Even if the article was finalized quickly, the first print run wouldn’t be out until five in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, their negotiations were scheduled to begin at three.
For roughly two hours, I needed to keep Keith and Ian restrained. In the end, the next morning, I brought Liam with me and contacted Lee Seok-hyung. Kidnapping was the only answer.
“You—! You really—!”
“What, you want to hit me? Go ahead. I’ll untie you—just take one swing. I swear, I’ll kill you today.”
“You think you’ll get away with this?! I’m calling Mother right now! Who do you think you are?! Do you even realize this is a crime?!”
“M-Mr. Ian, please. Just a moment.”
Oliver hurried over to calm Ian down. Honestly, he didn’t need to. It was entertaining.
In any case, the atmosphere grew far worse than before. Keith in particular had gone pale. The fact that I’d gone as far as the CFO, Jacob, seemed deeply shocking to him.
“Kyle… this is confusing. Why are you doing this to us?”
At last, Keith—who had remained silent—spoke. His brow was deeply furrowed.
“This is extremely rude. I don’t understand why you’re interfering like this.”
“Rude is everything Ian’s been saying to me all this time. And good job, Keith.”
“What?”
“You finally asked the right question. ‘Why.’ Honestly, I’m the one who feels wronged. I’m desperately holding back idiots who are about to walk straight into a fire pit, and they don’t even appreciate it. I don’t even know why I’m doing this.”
I spoke lightly, pretending to be cheerful—but I wasn’t cheerful at all. I took a deep breath and turned to look at the clock on the waiting room wall. Time flew. It was five p.m.
Just then—ding dong—the bell rang. Everyone turned their heads. Oliver jumped up and hurried to the door. It was one of the best rooms, so it took a while to reach it. A moment later—
“Kyle! They’re here!”
“Good. Then show them.”
“Yes!”
As Oliver took the contents out of the cardboard box he was holding, Liam approached Keith and Ian and cut the cable ties on their wrists and ankles with his jackknife.
“Kyle… you…!”
Ian tried to charge straight at me. At that moment—
“M-Mr. Ian! Please look at this first!”
Oliver blocked him nervously and shoved a newspaper into his hands. Honestly, I could tell—Oliver wasn’t stopping Ian for my safety. He was stopping him for Ian’s.
Anyway, thanks to Oliver’s tear-jerking sacrifice, Ian—who had narrowly saved his life—froze as his gaze landed on the newspaper.
“What is this… a newspaper?”
“The Wall Street Journal? …Tomorrow’s issue?”
I looked at the stunned Keith and Ian and gave a short command.
“Read from the front page. You’ve got ten minutes.”
