Chapter 15: < Protect – Episode 14 – Lee Hyo Geun [1] >

“You look busy.”

“That’s a good thing.”

Listening to Kim Dae Chan’s whining required his utmost attention. Jang Seol Hyun sat next to him without a complaint. It was past midnight, but the customers kept on coming. It seemed like there were plenty of them coming in now than earlier. Some who passed by to greet her looked at Ahn Soo Ho carefully.

“How was the interview?”

“They asked so many unnecessary questions… They were just asking random questions that the producers probably didn’t agree upon. I wanted to get up, but I endured it at the thought of Manager Kim’s frown.”

“He’s not the type to overlook things like that.”

“He made a big scene afterward.”

“That manager is a fighting dog.”

“Why? I like it.”

Rumor has it Kim Woo Jung’s hysteria got worse after coming back from Hollywood, but seeing how he’s not getting fired, he must have great abilities. One couldn’t count the number of stars he trained with all ten fingers. The most successful one was Seol Hyun, but the others also brought in a lot of profits, so the CEO and shareholders worried Seol Hyun would go off on her own.

The star’s manager gets just as much attention.

“Is he outside?”

“Yes. I told him to go back, but he wouldn’t listen.”

At Kim Woo Jung’s level, he was more of an overall manager than someone who trained celebrities. No one likes intensive situations, but the ones who knew how to enjoy it stood out whether it’s at the scene or at a desk.

“What a good manager. People like that don’t easily betray you.”

“I know. That’s why I will stay with him until I retire.”

“He’ll be over eighty by the time you retire.”

“Who knows? I could retire tomorrow.”

As soon as Jang Seol Hyun showed a subtle smile and leaned on him, Ahn Soo Ho gave her a bitter smile but didn’t push her away. Is he the bad one for not accepting her feelings? He had always thought about that ever since he matured.

“Is anyone capable of being passionately in love?”

This differs from loving your family.

“There are tons of guys who like you. Choose one.”

“Not this again. Do you hate me, Mister?”

“It’s not that… I feel like your fans would kill me.”

He didn’t hate women at all. He didn’t want love to give him a weakness. The reason he needs a troop is that he has many enemies. Do Kyung Ho wasn’t the only one whose past was catching up to him.

“I’m not any different.”

Jang Seol Hyun became talkative after drinking. No matter how high her tolerance is that doesn’t mean she can’t feel it.

“Jang Seol Hyun?”

She turned around toward them and looked delighted.

“Oh, my! Director Jang? Long time no see.”

“I didn’t expect to see you here, Seol Hyun.”

In contrast to a middle-aged man’s stiff expression and sharp face, his gaze and voice were soft. It wasn’t just his directing skills that got Jang Ik Hyun to where he was, but his acting skills too. They both had the surname, Jang, and she starred in both movies that surpassed ten million at the box office, so they were like lucky charms to each other.

“We should work together again. I’m willing to work on any movie or drama as long as it’s with you.”

“I’d be happy to, Director Jang.”

“Really? Oh no. I should have recorded that.”

Jang Ik Hyun expressed his regret with his exaggerated gestures before he gave Ahn Soo Ho a side glance.

“Who’s this?”

“My boyfriend.”

Jang Ik Hyun’s pupils dilated to Jang Seol Hyun’s bombshell.

“Re… really?”

“I’m just kidding.”

“Oh. Come on, Seol Hyun! You almost gave me a heart attack.”

She responded by naturally making a joke. No matter how famous she is, business is cold-hearted, and the advertisers who invested a lot of money into Jang Seol Hyun wouldn’t want romance rumors to get out.

“He’s the boss here.”

“Oh!”

Even though he’s not Jang Seol Hyun’s boyfriend, Bar Lafargue was a famous place for celebrities who enjoy drinking. That’s because no one knew the identity of the bar’s owner despite its popularity.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ahn Soo Ho.”

“I’m Jang Ik Hyun.”

If they were in business, they would have exchanged business cards, but neither of them was that kind of people. Jang Ik Hyun thought he was so famous that any Korean would be happy to see him. Wasn’t it true? All the Korean actresses and movie directors gathered around them like flies.

Ahn Soo Ho got out of his seat.

Jang Seol Hyun looked at him as if she was asking where he was going, but once people rounded up, she had to maintain her image. Manager Kim noticed and got rid of the swarming flies. She had one good manager. As soon as they escaped into the kitchen, the employees greeted them with smiles.

They were sincere smiles.

“This is the power of capital.”

The reason he’s managing a high-end bar in the middle of Seoul is to have a safe house. Even though the somewhat famous bar had a light image, as soon as it’s labeled as high-end, it became more complicated. The word ‘bar’ also contains the meaning, ‘hideout’. Even though it recently became a leisurely place where people gathered to have a drink and a meal, back in the day, it reminded people of spies.

The break room followed the kitchen, and at the end of the changing room was an office that only the manager used. There was someone inside.

“Hey, Soo Ho.”

“You look good.”

Ahn Soo Ho shook hands with his old friend.

Yoon Chul

He wasn’t the only one who dropped out of the Naval Academy at the time. A few others who sympathized with Ahn Soo Ho had to leave too.

“Did you end up getting involved with Kim Dae Chan?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Korean National Association is talking about dealing with Daesan.”

“Have the higher-ups of the police known about it too?”

“It’s weird if they haven’t.”

After Yoon Chul dropped out of the Naval Academy, he became a police officer, where was now working as a chief superintendent. People might wonder why his promotion only came twice since his inception, but being the chief superintendent in his 30s means he dedicated the entirety of his life to his job, and since Yoon Chul had wasted time in the Naval Academy, he focused even more on his work.

“Jinsung Group is just the beginning. They will go after all the companies related to Daesan.”

“Why are they going so far?”

“How would I know? But there are rumors going around about Chairman Kim getting on the Federation of Korean Industries’ bad side and secretly donated funds to a pro-Japanese biographical dictionary. People called him an anti-Japanese CEO.”

“No way.”

In 1965, the diplomatic trades with Japan resulted in losses for Korea. In the 60s and 70s when Korea was overcoming the wave of the economic boost, they had to rely on Japan for their materials and parts industry. They may now belong to China, but the Korean economy was still unstable.

Even Daesan Group had no special capabilities.

“Daesan orders a lot from Japan. If you combine the affiliated companies too, it’s a very large amount.”

“Hm. But no one should do business with emotions.”

“That’s what makes no sense about it.”

Kim Dae San had never said he hated Japan. The ones he hated were the Koreans that looked up to the Japanese.

“In other words, people can hate Koreans who look up to the Chinese or Koreans who look up to the Americans. But does that make them anti-Chinese or anti-American? It doesn’t. That’s not possible. It’s all an excuse.”

“Even if it is…”

Yoon Chul shrugged his shoulders.

“People don’t want to know, Soo Ho. What they want to know is how luxurious the Kim family’s lifestyle was, how much slash funds they hid in a Swiss bank, what the heads’ relationships are like, and if there are any extramarital children.”

“How cynical.”

“The world made me this way. What about you?”

This time, Ahn Soo Ho was the one shrugging his shoulders. Yoon Chul threw away his hopes and dreams just like how he couldn’t become a patriot.

“Lee Kyung Joon came to find me a few days ago.”

“Lee Kyung Joon? What for?”

“I wanted to make him into a cripple, but I stopped myself.”

“Ahn Soo Ho can’t fear a mere lieutenant colonel…”

“Making one mistake was enough.”

“Yeah. We were young back then. We didn’t know the ways. What do you think would have happened if we behaved more objectively? Would we have ended up differently? What do you think, Soo Ho?”

“That’s all useless.”

“You’re right. It is. I got too sentimental there.”

Yoon Chul smoothed his face.

“I became the chief superintendent, but no one could achieve this by working hard alone once you’re past senior superintendent.”

“Was it a screening instead of an examination?”

“Yeah. They call it a performance assessment, but it’s all about what cliques you’re in.”

The police were more political than the district office. They had way more numbers, and in terms of systematic organizational power, it could not follow them.

“Then I’d better help out.”

“Is that possible?”

“Sure, blood, connections, and education dominates the Korean society, but there’s something that has power over all of that. The rich.”

The rich families of Korean had to be overthrown for the Korea to develop, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

“You’re thinking of using Daesan Group.”

“Before I do that, I have to prolong Daesan’s length of life. So I need your help.”

“I can’t refuse that.”

Yoon Chul showed a bitter smile. It’s hard to refuse an offer that will lead to a promotion. The feeling of revenge he kept buried inside was too big to swallow down. What filled the void after his hopes and dreams disappeared was a feeling of rage and hatred.

Knock, knock-

They heard a knock.

“Come in.”

“Sir, you have to come out here.”

An employee peeked in with a troubled face.

“What’s the matter?”

“Wow, this son of a bitch… Tell that… Who I am…”

He caught on to what was happening after hearing the distorted yelling. The hall wasn’t in complete chaos, but it was a troublesome sight.

“You peasant bastards! Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is?”

The drunk man shook his finger all around him. Seeing how people were careful in trying to calm him down, they must be his subordinates, not his friends.

“Let go of me, you sons of b*tches! Jang Seol Hyun! Do you have gold rims around your vagina? Why are you playing hard to get all the time? Shit! I said I’d get you whatever you wanted!”

Jang Seol Hyun tried to step in with a frown, but Kim Woo Jung stopped her. It wasn’t advisable to go against a man of such stature. The bystanders watched the entertaining spectacle.

Clap, clap, clap-

A sudden clapping refreshed the room.

“Wow! Who knew this kind of stuff happened in real life?”

Ahn Soo Ho clapped like a seal. He had never seen a rich person power tripping like that outside of a movie or a drama. Reality is a fantasy after all.

“Who are you, you son of a bitch?”

“Me? I’m the boss here.”

“What? You’re the boss here?”

His tongue wasn’t that twisted. That meant he was half acting.

“Sir, you’re drunk. Please go home and sleep. I know you won’t agree, but if you don’t make it to work tomorrow, your dad might beat you.”

“Haha.”

The man could hear small laughter around Ahn Soo Ho, who talked to him as if he was in kindergarten. His face reddened in shame.

“You. Do you know who I am?”

“No.”

“I’m the second son of the vice-president of Sungil Electronics.”

The one who answered was Oh Joo Kyung.

“Isn’t Sungil Group run by an Oh family?”

“Yes. Vice-President Park Chan Young isn’t family.”

“What? Then you’re not even an heir. This is ridiculous.”

The comical talk made the laughter grew louder.

“You. You!”

“Chief Superintendent Yoon, can I report this as obstruction of business?”

“You can.”

“Isn’t this an exclusive? Does anyone work in media or broadcasting? Newspapers are fine too!”

As soon as Yoon Chul replied with a smirk, Ahn Soo Ho waved and out a job ad. The unnamed man and his group ran away.

Clap, clap-

He clapped once more at the messy bar.

“I guess anything can happen in life. All snacks are free tonight.”

“Boo!”

“Not enough? Ugh, seriously! You like free stuff with as people of high rank. Fine. Everyone’s on me tonight!”

“Woo!”

He normally wouldn’t have responded in such a gentle manner, but a combination of alcohol and mob psychology gave him a strange feeling. The quiet bar turned into a loud club. The boss of Bar Lafargue, who treated the famous people of influential families, will hopefully leave a strong impression.

“I’m off.”

“See you.”

Ahn Soo Ho saw Yoon Chul off. After staring at his back as he walked off, he took out his phone.

“It’s me. Release it.”

The headlines spreading all across the Korean peninsula the next day was all about Korea National Association, and no Korean has ever heard of them.

“Exclusive! What kind of organization is Bohemian Club–Korean National Association?”

“In-depth coverage! 70 percent of the rich in their 30s are descendants of anti-national agents!”

“Inside scoop! The vestiges of Joseon that surrendered to Tenno!”

< Protect – Episode 14 – Lee Hyo Geun [1] > The end.

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