Chapter 61
“I apologize.”
Instructor Kim bowed to Han Taekyung in apology. Seo Igeon did the same beside him. Since Igeon reported to Instructor Kim about what had happened during the day before leaving work, today too he was reporting when he noticed Instructor Kim’s face gradually turning pale, and Igeon realized something had gone wrong.
Instructor Kim took Igeon to the executive office and bowed in apology. Seeing Instructor Kim apologize, Igeon knew he had made a serious mistake. What had been the problem among the things he’d reported to Instructor Kim?
“It’s my fault for not teaching him properly. I will make sure this doesn’t happen again by providing proper training.”
Instructor Kim straightened up, and Igeon also straightened and looked at him. He let out a deep sigh.
“Seo Igeon, why are you here?”
“I’m Executive Director Han’s security guard.”
“Yes. And you’re his close protection officer at that. Don’t you think it was wrong to leave the person you’re supposed to protect alone, even for 5 minutes? Moreover, when you went to eat lunch, you should have called in a substitute.”
Now Igeon understood what he had done wrong. How stupid. Why hadn’t he thought of something so simple?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it.”
“I told him to go eat lunch.”
Han Taekyung said, standing up from his seat and addressing Instructor Kim. Instructor Kim sighed deeply and looked at Han Taekyung.
“Yes, since you brought it up, Executive Director, you’re partly to blame for Igeon’s failure to perform properly. Although he has experience as a security guard, NI has its own methods. These methods are what we’ve learned while protecting you, and we continue to develop them. Igeon needed to quickly learn the knowledge we’ve accumulated over several years. But you took him away and placed him by your side without giving him time to learn. How is he supposed to protect you when he doesn’t know anything? So, starting tomorrow, I’ll train Igeon again. I’ll arrange for a substitute from 2 to 4 PM after lunch for training.”
At Instructor Kim’s firm words, Han Taekyung tapped his fingers on the desk and then nodded. Permission granted.
“It won’t take long. About a week should be enough, so don’t worry too much.”
Instructor Kim bowed to Han Taekyung once more and left the executive office. Igeon quickly asked Taekyung for permission.
“Please allow me one minute to apologize to Instructor Kim. I’ll just go to the door and come right back.”
“You should have done that earlier.”
That meant, ‘You should have asked for permission like this earlier too.’ Knowing his mistake, Igeon apologized to Han Taekyung and quickly ran to Instructor Kim.
“Instructor Kim, I’m really sorry.”
“Consider yourself lucky that this is something that can end with just an apology. What if something had happened in that time? How would you have taken responsibility? As you know, the news is all out today. Articles about a Taekwondo gold medalist protecting NI Executive Director Han Taekyung, who was also a fellow athlete during college, have been published, and our company has been talking about it all day. What if something had happened when all eyes are on us?”
“I’m sorry.”
As Igeon kept apologizing, Instructor Kim said it was okay and patted Igeon’s shoulder.
“I should be the one apologizing. I suddenly gave you a huge burden without teaching you anything and expected more from you.”
“No. I should have known the basics. I think I was just being too casual about it. I’ll get my act together. Starting tomorrow, I’ll learn well from your teachings and protect Executive Director Han properly.”
“Yes. I know your personality well. I know you’re the type who gets things done when you set your mind to it. So I’m not worried. Go back in now.”
“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After watching Instructor Kim get into the elevator, Igeon quickly went back to the executive office. Han Taekyung had finished preparing to leave work and was just about to walk out.
“I’m really sorry about today.”
“It’s fine. I’ve received enough apologies. Just don’t make the same mistake again. However, from now on, it would be better if you eat lunch with me. They always prepare lunch in the lounge inside the executive office, so I’ll ask them to prepare yours as well.”
“Yes, I understand.”
This seemed like a good outcome. Since going to the cafeteria every time would be bothersome, and even though a substitute would come during that time, it would still be concerning, so Igeon nodded, thinking it would be better to eat together. After dropping Han Taekyung off, checking the house once, greeting the security guards inside the building, and on his way back home, he saw a text message on his phone. It was from Kang Yuhan.
– It was nice seeing you today.
Igeon thought for a long time about how to respond but didn’t send anything. He didn’t want to do anything that might cause Han Taekyung to misunderstand. After all, he truly had no feelings for Kang Yuhan.
“Sigh…”
Today had been a really tiring day. Igeon hung his head low and leaned against the taxi.
â—†
– 10
– 10
– 10
Bang, bang, bang, with the sound of gunshots, the machine announced the score. Everyone in the shooting range looked at the man currently shooting with amazement.
“Whew…”
As the last shot also perfectly penetrated the center and the end signal sounded, Igeon put down the gun and removed the headphones he was wearing.
“Igeon, where did you learn to shoot?”
“I didn’t really learn, I just practiced on my own and got a gun possession qualification.”
“You’re a natural. You could have won a gold medal in shooting too.”
“It’s not that great. Thank you for the compliment.”
Even though he said he shot casually, his forehead was damp with sweat due to the high concentration required. Igeon checked the time while wiping away his sweat. It was almost time to return.
“Executive Director Han is going to the family home today, right?”
“Yes.”
“Since the NI owner’s family is moving, we’ll be moving a lot too. Don’t worry about the front, just focus on protecting Executive Director Han.”
“Yes, understood. Then I’ll head up now.”
“Alright.”
Watching Igeon who bowed and entered the changing room, Instructor Kim smiled with satisfaction. Although he had heard from Instructor Jin that Igeon had been talented since childhood, in truth, Instructor Kim had thought that Seo Igeon wouldn’t be as good as Han Taekyung. But after training and teaching him about security duties for the past few days, he understood why Han Taekyung and Instructor Jin had praised Seo Igeon so much. Of course, his Taekwondo skills were still superior to active competitors—which honestly made him want to shout, “Forget security, go back to being a senior national representative right now!”—and he was constantly amazed at Seo Igeon’s perfect performance not only in shooting but also in judo and swimming. The only problem was that the other security guards training with him were losing their spirit because of it.
“Wow, Athlete Seo Igeon is really amazing.”
“Earlier during the sparring, even though it was 2:1, he really didn’t budge at all.”
“Look at this. The spot where I grabbed his arm during the sparring is bruised.”
One of the guards who had sparred with Seo Igeon earlier groaned, showing his arm that wasn’t quite bruised but had turned red. Seeing that his learning ability was fast and his skills were improving day by day, Instructor Kim felt proud but also thought that he might kill the spirits of the other chicks at this rate, so he decided to move on to practical training next week as he encouraged the discouraged chicks.
â—†
Today was the day of the NI owner family’s gathering.
Of course, though they were called the owner family, only six people would be attending: the current CEO Han Taeseok and his partner Park Jaekyung, their three children, and Han Taekyung’s fiancé, Kang Yuhan. Of course, nearly 50 security guards were deployed to surround and protect the family home for these six people. The number of close protection officers was 10, and the rest were responsible for the front of the NI family home, defending against any suspicious person approaching.
[Seo Igeon, in case of any incident, don’t try to handle it alone, but call us unconditionally. If it’s difficult to make a call, press the button on your chest.]
Igeon checked the button near his chest pocket. He was constantly communicating with other security guards, listening to communications, and keeping track of what was happening around him, how things were progressing, and what the contingency plans were. In a way, he was nervous about his first real operation. Of course, Instructor Kim had said that no one would be stupid enough to target the NI owner family, but they still had to be prepared because you never knew where such idiots might come from.
“We’ve arrived.”
The car smoothly pulled into the parking lot. There was a parking lot inside the basement of the family home, and there was a door connected to the main house, which seemed somewhat safe, but still, the security guard in the passenger seat got out first, followed by Igeon. After confirming it was safe, Han Taekyung got out of the car last. Like the villa where Han Taekyung lived, they went through a somewhat simple but complex authentication procedure to enter the family home. From inside the family home, only Seo Igeon could accompany Han Taekyung. The driver and the security guard who came with them would now guard the parking lot. The atmosphere was really heavy and serious. It was just a family meal, yet they had to go to such lengths.
“Taekyung.”
As soon as the door to the first floor, which they reached via the internal elevator, opened, two people who cherished and loved Han Taekyung were standing with their arms open.
Han Taekyung also immediately opened his arms when he saw his beloved parents, embraced them warmly, and patted their backs.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
