Chapter 57
When they arrived at the floor where the executive office was located, the secretaries came out to greet them. Additionally, the security personnel guarding that floor also approached Han Taekyung to greet him. Seeing all this, Igeon realized anew that Han Taekyung had indeed become an important person. Meanwhile, as he was wondering whether he should be here with the secretaries and other security guards, Han Taekyung opened the door to the executive office and looked at Seo Igeon, who was standing still.
‘Ah, he wants me to come in.’
Igeon, being more perceptive than expected, quickly entered the executive office before Han Taekyung could say anything. As the door closed, Han Taekyung took off his jacket, placed it on the chair, and tapped the keyboard at his desk.
“Why didn’t you come directly here today?”
Now he’s back to formal speech. It’s really hard to know which tone to match. If it had been the Han Taekyung he knew, he would have grabbed him by the collar and told him to stick to one way of speaking… but that wasn’t the case now, so he had to adapt.
“Ah… Instructor Kim was telling me about things I needed to know and precautions I should take.”
“At a cafe?”
“No. Since it was lunchtime, I had lunch with the instructor and then went to the cafe to buy coffee.”
“Hmm.”
It was unclear whether that meant he understood or not. The ambiguous response felt frustrating. Before, even when he didn’t want to know, he could roughly tell from facial expressions or the look in his eyes, but now those red eyes felt like a solid protective barrier hiding the real Han Taekyung. Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated. While he was hesitating whether to answer it or not, Han Taekyung, still looking at the monitor, flicked his finger. It seemed like a gesture indicating that he could answer, so he did.
[Hello? Seo Igeon.]
“Ah, yes, Instructor Kim.”
[Where are you? I’ve been waiting and called because you didn’t show up.]
Ah, lunch time had already passed.
“I’m sorry. I’m currently with Executive Director Han Taekyung—”
As he was trying to explain the situation, the phone was suddenly pulled away from his ear. Han Taekyung had approached without notice, taken the phone from Igeon’s hand, and put it to his own ear.
“Instructor. As of now, Seo Igeon-ssi needs to do what he’s supposed to do. Yes, I’ll teach him what he doesn’t know. I understand. Goodbye.”
He abruptly ended the call and handed the phone back to Igeon.
“I’ve received permission from the instructor. From now on, you can carry out your originally scheduled duties here.”
Originally scheduled duties. The task he had to do was to protect Han Taekyung.
“Don’t take your eyes off me for a moment. That’s what Seo Igeon-ssi should do.”
Igeon nodded at this kind reminder, in case he had forgotten.
In truth, he felt a bit regretful because there were many things he wanted to ask and learn from Instructor Kim, but if that’s what his employer wanted, he had to do it. When Igeon nodded, Han Taekyung sat back down in front of the computer and began typing in earnest. I guess I’m supposed to stay in this room. There were no other instructions. Igeon stood with his hands behind his back a little distance from the desk and quietly looked around the room, including Han Taekyung.
According to what Instructor Kim had taught him, all the materials in this room were made of non-flammable materials. And there was nothing that could be used as a weapon. That’s why the room was excessively simple. Instead, there were two guns prepared inside the desk where Han Taekyung sat, and if you pressed the hidden switch in the black shelf on the left, an additional emergency exit would be revealed. After scanning everything he had learned with his eyes, he glanced at the view of the building visible behind Han Taekyung. Though he wondered if any madman would try to infiltrate through the glass at this height, it wasn’t actually impossible. They could approach by helicopter and shoot, which is why all the glass was bulletproof. Apparently they had even simulated someone using a parachute and shooting at this glass, which honestly made it seem like the security company had gone beyond doing their job to making a movie.
On the other hand, it hurt his heart to know that Han Taekyung was facing such threats.
“Is there something on my face?”
Han Taekyung, who had been typing on the keyboard, spoke up. Ah, he must have been staring unconsciously.
“No, sir.”
“Then why are you staring like that?”
“You said not to take my eyes off you for a moment.”
At Seo Igeon’s blunt response, Han Taekyung’s fingers stopped moving. He pressed his lips together, and as Igeon watched his long fingers return to typing, he thought he had won this round. About an hour passed like this. Just as he was thinking that standing still wasn’t as difficult as expected, there was a knock, and after Han Taekyung gave permission, Instructor Kim and someone else entered.
“I’ve brought Professor Park.”
“Yes.”
Han Taekyung stood up from his chair, greeted Instructor Kim, bowed to the person called Professor Park, and then guided the two to the sofa. Once they were seated, Instructor Kim looked at Seo Igeon.
“Igeon.”
“Yes.”
He gestured for Igeon to come closer, and suddenly Instructor Kim stood up abruptly and tried to raise his hand toward Han Taekyung. Igeon quickly ran over, but it was difficult due to the distance. Fortunately, Instructor Kim stopped midway, and Han Taekyung sat there without even blinking, showing no sign of disturbance.
“Did you see? You never know who someone is when they come as a guest. Even if they’re a family member of Executive Director Han, you should always stick to him like a shadow.”
This was one of the basics. Igeon realized he had made a mistake.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think that far ahead.”
“No, I’m sure you’ll do well, but I just wanted to point it out. Now, sit here next to Executive Director Han.”
“Yes.”
As Igeon sat down, Instructor Kim handed him a phone.
“This only has Executive Director Han’s and the security team’s contacts. You can’t register any other contacts. And you won’t receive any spam calls either.”
“I see.”
“Try turning it on.”
When he turned on the phone, instead of the usual carrier logo, the NI logo appeared, followed by new software unlike any phone software he had known before. It seemed to be something NI had developed themselves.
“There should be an app there.”
“Yes, there is.”
“That app can track Executive Director Han’s location.”
“Ah…”
“Executive Director Han has a tracking chip implanted in his arm. So you can check his location in real-time using that app.”
“I understand.”
“And…”
Instructor Kim placed an aluminum case on the table and opened it. Inside were a harness and a gun.
“This is a government-approved gun. Each bullet has a unique serial number, so they can trace who used it, so use it carefully.”
Looking at the gun felt unreal. It seemed almost like a toy…
“Do you know how to shoot?”
“Yes, I do. I have a license.”
“When did you learn that?”
“…Before opening my office.”
“Good. You can also practice shooting at the NI security team building. I’ll let you know about that later.”
“Alright.”
The aluminum case didn’t just contain a gun and harness. There was also a knife that could be hidden inside clothes, a bulletproof vest, and a walkie-talkie that looked like Bluetooth earphones. If you kept the phone he just received turned on, you could communicate with security guards located within a 1km radius. He found himself impressed by today’s technology.
“And something important.”
Instructor Kim stepped back as if he had finished his explanation, and Professor Park, who had been sitting beside him, straightened his back.
“Seo Igeon-ssi, hello. I’m Park Joo-chul.”
“Yes, hello.”
“It’s an honor to meet you like this. Congratulations on your gold medal at the Russian Olympics. I was truly amazed watching your match that day.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Professor Park, please hurry.”
“Ah, yes!”
Professor Park’s face, which had momentarily relaxed with excitement, stiffened again at Han Taekyung’s words. He also opened a bag he had brought and placed it on the table. Inside was a syringe slightly larger than a regular one. It was like an acupuncture needle… a syringe that felt like a thermometer.
“Seo Igeon-ssi, could you extend your arm?”
“Ah, yes.”
Suddenly why the arm… Igeon hesitantly extended his right arm, and Professor Park rolled up his sleeve. He then placed the syringe-like device from the bag on Igeon’s arm and pressed a button. With a beep sound, he felt something prick his arm slightly. It was a really brief moment. Feeling like he’d been caught off guard, Igeon blinked and looked at Professor Park. When the device-shaped like a syringe was removed, a tiny black dot appeared where the needle had entered.
“Uh, this is…”
“It’s a tracking device. It’s a one-year model, so it will dissolve and be expelled from your body after a year.”
This is a tracking device?
“Do I, as a bodyguard, need a tracking device too?”
Igeon asked out of genuine curiosity, but Professor Park and Instructor Kim looked at Han Taekyung with surprised faces. Following their gazes, Igeon also looked at Han Taekyung, who was tapping his phone screen, looking at something, and then shrugged.
“It shows your location well, Seo Igeon-ssi.”
It was the app Igeon had seen earlier.
“Ah… Um, Executive Director Han, did you not tell Seo Igeon-ssi about this beforehand?”
“It’s all included in the contract terms anyway. Didn’t Seo Igeon-ssi check? The bodyguard’s location is always monitored. That’s how I can feel at ease, isn’t it?”
Ah… I didn’t read the employment contract. I just stamped it.
Igeon regretted it belatedly as he looked at the black dot on his arm. Somehow, it felt like a small shackle had been placed on him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
