Chapter 67
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After the first field training ended, Igeon was called by Instructor Kim, who praised him along with detailed explanations of his shortcomings and what needed improvement. Originally, the training was supposed to end after three sessions, but Instructor Kim suggested increasing it to five sessions with a step-by-step approach, which Seo Igeon readily accepted.
And today.
“I surrender!”
The man being choked by Igeon dropped the knife and gun he was holding and shouted surrender. Igeon kicked the knife and gun toward Han Taekyung’s direction and released the man.
“Oh my, I thought I was going to die.”
The man who removed his mask was a senior security guard whom Igeon knew well.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, no. You were really good. Now I understand why Instructor Kim told us to face you seriously.”
Igeon nodded and expressed his gratitude. Then he looked at his two hands. He had thought such things would never happen again. He definitely felt stronger. No, he felt like he knew how to fight. The vague fear he had felt was completely gone, and the doubts he had harbored inside about “Can I really protect Han Taekyung?” had completely disappeared. Instead, confidence that “I can do it” had grown. He really felt grateful to Instructor Kim.
“Come on guys, get up already.”
The senior nudged the other fallen security guards with his foot. Those who had been knocked down by Igeon’s strikes got up with groans, massaging their arms, legs, and shoulders.
“How could you get knocked down by a junior with one hit?”
“No, seriously, his punch is uncommonly strong.”
“Did you see how he used his feet? As expected of a national taekwondo representative. If that had hit me right in the solar plexus, I would have died instantly.”
“I’m sorry.”
Seeing them complaining about their pain, Igeon quickly apologized, but they waved their hands.
“No, we’re not blaming you, Igeon.”
“That’s right. This happened because we were lacking, and honestly, we wouldn’t have had the chance to face off with Igeon otherwise. It was a good experience for us.”
“Let’s have a serious match at the training center sometime.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Encouraged by them, Igeon breathed a sigh of relief. Soon after, Instructor Kim, who had been watching from the control room, appeared, looked at each security guard who had been hit by Igeon, then handed them a corporate card and sent them off to get something good to eat. After watching them walk away, Instructor Kim stood in front of Igeon.
“Feeling more capable now?”
“Yes, thank you for teaching me various things.”
“You’re still lacking in many ways, and I have a lot to nitpick about, but I’ll hold back today. You handled the five attacks well. What’s remarkable is that you were never cornered even once, and their knives and guns never came close to Taekyung. That alone means you did your job. So, Han Taekyung, you should praise Igeon a lot today.”
Han Taekyung, who had been leaning against the car, shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ve paid good money to hire him, so of course he should do that much.”
“Aish, with that way of speaking, you’ll have to understand him.”
“Yes.”
By now, Igeon had become somewhat accustomed, not really caring whether Han Taekyung spoke like that or not. Rather, it would be strange if he didn’t blurt out such things. It wasn’t that he felt malice from it; he just thought Han Taekyung had become this way due to his head injury. Thinking about it… it was a bit better. A sudden loneliness settled in Igeon’s heart. Strangely, after hearing about that room on the second floor of Han Taekyung’s house, emotions he hadn’t felt before kept popping up. The absurd feeling of… wanting to see the Han Taekyung from that time. Why did he feel sadness at the fact that Han Taekyung had become someone he couldn’t see, like a dead person, when he was right in front of him?
“Good job with the training. This concludes the field training.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“And Executive Director Han. I have something to discuss, so shall we go up to the office?”
“Sure.”
They went back up to the office with Instructor Kim. Igeon stood behind Taekyung, while Han Taekyung sat on the sofa with Instructor Kim and drank tea.
“The day after tomorrow, you’re meeting Yuhan at a hotel, right?”
What? Igeon had never heard about this from Secretary Park either. Wondering if he had missed a scheduled appointment, cold sweat ran down his spine. He wanted to check right away, but he couldn’t take out his phone now.
“I don’t remember making such an appointment.”
Huh?
“What are you talking about? Yuhan directly asked us to arrange security guards, saying it was already discussed with you.”
“When did such a contact come?”
“It came this morning. Are you sure you didn’t talk about it?”
“You probably heard the conversation we had at home last time. He asked me to spend this heat cycle with him. It wasn’t something he discussed with me but with my parents, which put me in a difficult position.”
“Ah, I remember.”
Like Instructor Kim, Igeon also recalled what Kang Yuhan had said during dinner that time.
“But you’re saying there has been no discussion related to that since?”
“Yes, none. I thought it had been quietly dropped.”
“He seems to have prepared thoroughly. Merijiana—the hotel Park Jaekyung operates in Gangnam—it seems he’s rented the entire suite floor. Plus, he requested ten of our security guards. For the floor below. Which means he’s rented the entire floor below as well.”
Han Taekyung said nothing, just listening to Instructor Kim’s explanation while tapping the armrest with his fingers.
“Seeing how far he’s going, it looks like he’s determined to secure a place by your side this time… what do you plan to do?”
“I should comply.”
“What?”
Instructor Kim was surprised and looked at Han Taekyung.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. After he’s gone this far, I should make sure he’s completely dealt with.”
“Think carefully. Young people with vigorous energy will handle things on their own… but Taekyung, don’t forget that the person by your side is also important.”
“Don’t worry. The person I’ve chosen is someone too good for me.”
An unexpected answer. Igeon had thought Han Taekyung disliked Kang Yuhan. Just looking at his attitude so far, that seemed to be the case. He ignored whatever Yuhan said and didn’t engage with him. But saying this now meant he cared and was serious. Thinking of Senior Kang Yuhan, that was fortunate.
“The location is….”
“He’ll contact me soon. You don’t need to tell me. He always just informs me.”
Right then, Han Taekyung’s phone vibrated. Han Taekyung took his phone out of his pocket, chuckled, and waved it. There was a message from Kang Yuhan.
– Gangnam, Merijiana Hotel, 43rd floor, This Saturday night at 8 PM.
“An announcement. Right?”
Han Taekyung looked as pleased as someone who had won a bet. No, his voice sounded pleased, but his eyes weren’t smiling. He looked down at the message coolly, as if measuring something, and tapped the armrest with his fingers again.
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“Ugh, ahhh.”
“Are you okay?”
Instructor Jin asked as he applied a medicated patch to Igeon’s back.
“Yes, I’m fine. Just a bit of a strain.”
The field training had ended safely, leaving various honorable wounds. Nothing was broken or cracked, but there were bruises here and there, and some places had bled, so after field training, he always came to the gym to receive treatment from Instructor Jin.
“That bastard Kim, rolling someone else’s student like this because he’s not his own?”
“Haha, but it’s over now. I found it interesting.”
“It’s fine if you’re okay with it, but be sensible. You’re in your 30s now. You can’t play around like you did in your teens and 20s.”
“I know.”
“Though you can still date like you did in your teens and 20s. Aren’t there any decent omegas at your company?”
“There you go again. I’ll handle it myself, so don’t worry, Instructor Jin.”
“I’m just worried you’ll end up an old bachelor!”
“Then that’s fate, I guess.”
“Hey, you! A gold medalist ending up an old bachelor!!”
“That’s prejudice.”
Before Instructor Jin could nag further, Igeon got up and went to the rooftop. Unlike his own rooftop room, coming up to the gym building’s rooftop didn’t offer a broad view of the world. He could only watch passing cars and a few people enjoying their late hours. He should go home soon. The gym was conveniently close to the company, but still, he should go home occasionally. As he leaned back to look at the dark sky, thinking about various things, just as thoughts of Kang Yuhan and Han Taekyung came to mind, he received a timely call from Jaewoo.
“Hello?”
[Igeon Hyung. It’s Jaewoo.]
“Yeah, what’s up at this hour?”
[I was just thinking of you. I heard your field training ended well today?]
“Yeah, who told you?”
[Instructor Kim. I saw him briefly earlier.]
“Ah, I see.”
[He said your skills were really good and that he was proud. I felt proud too, you know? Since I’m the one who brought you in.]
“Haha, right. I’m really grateful to you.”
[Then buy me a meal sometime~ When you get paid!]
“Ah, shall I? You’ll have to make time for me.”
[Of course. Haha, I have to brag to Taekyung Hyung. Well, I’m going to sleep now. Igeon Hyung, sweet dreams!]
“Sure. Sleep well.”
Igeon hung up and smiled at Jaewoo’s name flashing with the end of the call.
“But… is it something to brag about?”
It would be good enough if Han Taekyung didn’t tell him to stop talking nonsense and get to work. Igeon shrugged his shoulders and went back down to the gym. Somehow feeling that tomorrow would be a long day, he thought he should get a good night’s sleep.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
