The commotion that led Hyunseung to chase after Executive Director Park and Hyuna..
It all began with a single phone call.
Just a few hours ago, or rather, late last night.
— “Can you believe what I’m about to tell you.”
Contact had come from Wales.
Of course.
At first, he intended to ignore it.
He didn’t want to receive help from someone who had blackmailed him…
And Sarah Stewart.
And countless others.
All for the sake of money.
Above all.
He no longer needed to borrow the power of such an informant; he was soon to possess a power that no one could touch.
However.
The next words out of the man’s mouth made it impossible to ignore.
— “This is a story regarding your younger sister’s safety.”
Hyunseung, who had been about to hang up, snapped back fiercely.
“If you bring up my sister’s safety one more time, you’ll spend the rest of your life living side-by-side with Baddy behind bars.”
Wales continued calmly, his tone devoid of any inflection.
— “Baddy is targeting your sister.”
“What?”
—“He called me and asked for information about you and your sister.”
“So, are you threatening me that you’re going to sell that information to him?”
— “I’ve already leaked the information.”
The moment he heard that, Hyunseung felt his blood boil.
Right.
He shouldn’t have just let a blackmailer go so easily. He should have crushed him by any means necessary.
He should have properly imprinted the fact that he was an existence that could never be defied.
However, before Hyunseung’s rage could explode, Wales spoke first.
— “I heard there’s a saying in Korea: you have to listen to the language until the very end to know the whole story.”
“If you want to live, speak plainly.”
— “I didn’t just leak the information; I set a trap.”
Wales added in a voice laced with a hint of a smile, just as he had when they met in person.
— “Before I told Baddy where your sister was, I filed a report. I told them Baddy was going to find the person who sued him and try to harm them.”
“The fact remains that my sister is in danger.”
— “Judging by how slurred his speech was during the call, he was clearly under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and he was consumed by rage. He likely took some sort of lethal weapon with him. In that case, he won’t even be able to get close to your sister before he’s caught. The police should be lying in wait near your house by now.”
Wales sounded extremely confident. Like a man who knew everything that was about to unfold….
“By any chance… did you die and come back to life too?”
Hyunseung swallowed hard and asked cautiously.
Right.
It was possible that I wasn’t the only one who had regressed.
— “Pardon? What do you mean by that? Did you also feel your life was threatened by Baddy? That’s information I haven’t obtained yet….”
Judging by the reaction, however, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Hyunseung immediately dismissed it and added.
“That aside, there’s no guarantee Baddy will go there himself. Someone of Baddy’s status could easily send someone else.”
At those words, Wales let out a low “Hmm” for a moment.
— “If he were going to do that, wouldn’t he have sent someone else to take care of Jamal, too?”
He shot back with a somewhat obnoxious tone. For a split second, it felt as if the man was smirking right in front of him.
“You, how do you know that….”
Hyunseung asked back in surprise.
— “I told you, I’m not called the best informant for nothing.”
Wales boasted in a tone overflowing with confidence. At this point, perhaps he had to acknowledge the man’s skill.
Of course.
Even if he did, it didn’t change the fact that the man was a piece of work.
— “Since Baddy is likely one of the few people who knows my name, he will surely reveal that I gave him the information during the investigation.”
Wales suddenly dropped the smile and laid out his predictions for what would happen in a flat voice.
— “I calculated all of that and decided to take a gamble on you.”
“On me?”
— “Yes. If things go according to my predictions, you’ll be able to corner Baddy so he has no way out, and for me, if I say it was part of my job as an employee, I think I might get some leniency.”
For some reason, a hollow laugh escaped Hyunseung’s lips.
He wasn’t sure if the man was brilliant or just as reckless as himself.
“We’ll talk about that again once my sister’s safety is guaranteed,” Hyunseung replied flatly, hiding his amusement as much as possible.
Whether brilliant or brave.
It was certain he was a dangerous man either way.
— “Yes, then I wish you luck.”
He thought the call was over.
— “And I wasn’t going to say this because it sounds pathetic, but think about it carefully. Everyone in this industry is wary of you and wants to know about you.”
Wales added repeatedly, his voice now tinged with an urgency unlike before.
— “Then they’ll ask me, since I’m known as the best informant, right? In fact, I’ve received hundreds of calls and requests so far.”
“And?”
— “I’ll likely continue to receive them. Every time I do, I will share everything with you.”
“Are you saying you’ll act as a spy?”
— “Yes. Wouldn’t that at least allow you to block unexpected attacks like this one?”
Hyunseung nodded before he knew it.
It felt like a plausible deduction.
However, he didn’t show it. He couldn’t trust Wales yet. All of this could also be a trap.
“Aside from that, using you for something other than a spy seems quite decent.”
— “Something else? Like what…”
“We’ll meet and talk about that separately once the situation is settled.”
Hyunseung ended the call with Wales.
Then, he immediately headed toward his house with Director Park.
Sure enough.
Baddy, who had been loitering with a knife, had been caught red-handed.
“Are you the one who filed the report with us?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But how did you know Baddy would come to harm the person who sued him?”
The police officer conducting the investigation approached and asked.
“I am the guardian of the person who sued him, so it would be strange if I didn’t know.”
“Th-then, by any chance, are you Godchis….”
“I believe protecting the identity of the informant is an essential element.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“First, what do I need to do? I have no intention of settling this matter, and I want him to face all legal punishments by submitting additional evidence of other crimes.”
“Evidence of additional crimes? Did you also receive some kind of threat from Baddy, Mr. Godchis?”
Hyunseung pinched the bridge of his nose at the mention of ‘Godchis’.
“It’s not that. There was a recent hit-and-run accident involving the singer Bob… no, JS.”
“Does that mean…”
“Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking.”
As if he had been waiting, he pulled a USB drive from his pocket and added.
“I will submit evidence that Baddy is the culprit behind the hit-and-run, as well as circumstantial evidence regarding the illegal drug parties hosted by Baddy.”
“How on earth did you find out all of this…”
The young police officer asked back, his hand holding the notebook trembling. He felt the scale of his first assigned case expanding.
“Hmm.”
Instead of answering, Hyunseung let out a low groan.
“Now that Baddy has been caught red-handed, does the source really matter? For now, please just make sure this doesn’t leak to the press until the investigation is fully completed.”
Then, with a smirk, he simply pressed the USB firmly into the officer’s hand.
.
.
.
For that reason, Hyunseung had been patrolling the neighborhood with Executive Director Park until the sun came up.
Checking if there were any suspicious people on the street.
Checking if reporters had already swarmed the place.
During that time, he ran into his sister, who had come out to buy breakfast.
Seeing his crying sister, he made a vow once again.
That he would let her live a life where she didn’t have to tremble in fear.
A life that was, in a way, natural…
“For today, just stay home and wait quietly with Dad.”
Only after walking Hyuna to the front door did Hyunseung finally exhale the breath he had been holding.
“But shouldn’t you tell your sister?”
Executive Director Park asked, placing a hand on Hyunseung’s shoulder.
“No.”
Hyunseung shook his head firmly and added.
“If she knew, she might not even be able to go to the grocery store in front of the house.”
“I thought it might be better for her to be on guard like that.”
Silence followed for a moment. It was because he was lost in thought. However, the deliberation did not last long.
“I don’t want her to live like that.”
Executive Director Park flinched for a moment at those words.
It was because the expression on Hyunseung’s face as he said it was so resolute.
As if such a thing could never, ever be allowed to happen.
Since Executive Director Park knew how much Hyunseung cherished his sister even if he didn’t say it directly, he had no further comments to add.
“Right, well, we’ll be assigning bodyguards and vehicles anyway….”
Executive Director Park then spread his already broad chest wide, like a peacock spreading its wings, and added.
“Above all, if she receives training from me, taking down an average man will be child’s play.”
Hyunseung let out a small chuckle.
“Thank you for coming out with me.”
He bowed his head slightly in gratitude.
“You rascal.”
Executive Director Park ruffled Hyunseung’s hair.
“I was more reliable than that scrawny Director Kim, right? That’s why you asked me to patrol with you instead of him, wasn’t it?”
He asked with eyes full of expectation.
Somehow, I feel like I should say yes.
“Honestly, Director Kim isn’t exactly the scrawny type.”
But I can’t lie to save my life. How could anyone call Director Kim scrawny?
No one could call a man who was 181cm tall and weighed nearly 90kg ‘scrawny’.
“It’s just that you are overwhelmingly large, Executive Director Park.”
Except for Executive Director Park himself.
Exactly three days had passed since then.
“Hyunseung, there are three minutes left. Are you all ready?”
Kim Woohyun asked as he handed Hyunseung a helmet.
“With this, I’m all set.”
Hyunseung took the helmet and answered nonchalantly, but his expression wasn’t exactly bright.
It wasn’t dark, either.
It was solemn, and if one looked closely, it even looked brilliant.
“Whoa.”
Executive Director Park, who had entered the room, made a playful exclamation and rolled his shoulders, saying the atmosphere outside was incredibly hot.
“The scale is different from Korea. It looks like every major media outlet is here.”
“It’s not polite to keep guests who have traveled so far waiting, so shall we head out?”
Just as Hyunseung put on his helmet and stood up.
“Hyunseung.”
Executive Director Park stopped Hyunseung with a surprisingly serious tone.
“If it’s a bit much for you to take the lead, as the Executive Director of VINCIS and as ‘Villain Daddy’, I could instead…”
“You just want to brag to your kids that their dad was on the news, don’t you?”
“I said that for your sake, but it’s disappointing you think of it that way.”
“It seems like your ‘Villain Daddy’ syndrome has been acting up again lately. I wonder if you should go film a movie or something.”
“Executive Director Park, I don’t own a film company, but should I perhaps put in a request with a documentary production company?”
“You punks, making fun of an elder like this.”
Soon, the faint sounds of their laughter scattered throughout the room.
(T/N: I love this family)
“Let’s go, Hyunseung.”
Kim Woohyun checked his watch and hurried Hyunseung.
“Wait a moment.”
Hyunseung stopped in his tracks and pulled out his phone.
Tap, tap-tap, tap.
He sent a text message somewhere and let the corners of his mouth curl up into a smirk.
[ Release everything right now. ]
The recipient was Wales.
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