Chapter 163.1: The first steps (2)
As soon as Kang Chan arrived at Samseong-dong with Choi Jong-Il, he immediately headed to Kim Hyung-Jung’s office. When he got in, Seok Kang-Ho was already sitting in front of the table.
“Hey,” Seok Kang-Ho greeted.
“Mr. Kang Chan, do you want anything to drink?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked.
“I’d like coffee,” Kang Chan quickly answered just in case Seok Kang-Ho was planning to give him the beverage that he was drinking.
“Mr. Manager, I’d also like a cup of coffee,” Seok Kang-Ho said.
“Alright.”
Kim Hyung-Jung asked for a drink and coffee through the intercom, then sat down. If this was a commercial on energy drinks or vitamins, then Kim Hyung-Jung current look would be perfect for how a person looks before drinking that energy drink or taking the vitamin.
“Everything seemed to have turned into a battlefield,” Kim Hyung-Jung said. He looked extremely fatigued.
Click!
As they were talking, an employee brought over drinks and coffee, then left right after.
“Please help yourselves,” Kim Hyung-Jun offered, then asked Kang Chan, “Did Ambassador Lanok say anything else?”
“He did say a few things, but nothing conclusive. I heard that the Prime Minister has announced his resignation. Can you tell me more about that?”
Kim Hyung-Jung looked at the door behind him. Upon confirming that it had been tightly closed, he responded, “That was the only thing we could do to at least buy us some time. Chairperson Huh Ha-Soo is insisting that ultimately, he’s going to submit the impeachment motion if the Director of the National Intelligence Service isn’t replaced, and if you don’t apologize to him or the Chinese embassy.”
“Dickhead!” Seok Kang-Ho expressed Huh Ha-Soo in a single word.
“What are you going to do now?” Kang Chan asked.
“Hmm.” Pursing his lips, Kim Hyung-Jung stared at the glass in his hand. After a while, he gazed up at Kang Chan without moving his head. “The team that I’m in charge of is supposed to support you until we connect the Eurasian Rail anyway, so I’ll be honest. Telling you this probably isn’t against the rules.”
Seeing the fatigue in Kim Hyung-Jung’s eyes, Kang Chan felt the need to make Kim Hyung-Jung take a handful of vitamins.
“I’m starting to suspect that the National Intelligence Service’s internal affairs are being reported to Chairman Huh Ha-Soo in real-time. I’ve gotten to the point where I can’t help but wonder if a portion of the information we’re supposed to receive reaches him first before us,” Kim Hyung-Jung continued.
“You mean we have a traitor among us?”
“Yes, and taking all factors into consideration, we think the traitor is in a fairly high-ranking position. Even so, we can’t have all the employees report directly to the director. If the director gets replaced right now, then we will probably find ourselves in a very difficult situation.”
“What about the countermeasures?” Kang Chan asked.
“Due to the National Intelligence Service’s nature, we can’t even properly identify the other teams we have on the field, much less determine what they’re up to. That’s why we’re putting all our focus on figuring out how information is being leaked to Chairman Huh Ha-Soo.”
“Are we seriously thinking of replacing the Prime Minister in this situation?” Kang Chan asked.
“Honestly, I haven’t been told what the higher-ups are planning to do.” Kim Hyung-Jung had a bitter look on his face.
“There’s nothing we can do, then,” Kang Chan commented.
“I’m not sure about that.” Kim Hyung-Jung cocked his head, then continued, “The moment we started suspecting that intel is being leaked to Chairman Huh Ha-Soo, we immediately made efforts to restrict the flow of outgoing information as much as possible.”
The situation was becoming worse.
If this situation resulted in Russia’s plan or North Korea’s provocation being leaked to Huh Ha-Soo, then their own plan could have become their weakness.
Damn it! I can’t believe I’m starting to feel uncomfortable about the organization that I trust the most!
“Do you own stocks?” Seok Kang-Ho asked abruptly, making Kang Chan look up at him.
“The market is a mess right now. If you have stocks, then you should sell them quickly,” Seok Kang-Ho continued.
“I sold all of my stocks a while ago. I already told you that Cecile contacted me about the stocks, haven’t I?”
“Ah, right.”
Seok Kang-Ho seemed uninterested when Kang Chan told him about it back then, which was probably why he completely forgot about it.
Ah, right. Seok Kang-Ho also had some stocks.
Jeez! Now was not the time to worry about things like that.
“Manager Kim, is this room safe from wiretapping?” Kang Chan asked.
The question came out of the blue, but Kim Hyung-Jung looked around the room anyway.
“My office has all the basic facilities that would protect it from wiretapping, but I can’t say it’s perfectly safe,” he then responded.
“Then we should head out for a bit.”
Kim Hyung-Jung quickly looked at Seok Kang-Ho, then nodded.
Kang Chan called Kim Tae-Jin as they were leaving the building. Kim Tae-Jin would know what to do during times like this.
- Hello?
Kim Tae-Jin sounded quite frustrated about something.
“Mr. President, where are you right now?”
- I’m at my office. Do you need me to go somewhere?
I knew it. He is frustrated.
“I would like to borrow the employees who inspected us for wiretapping a while ago, and there’s something that I want to discuss with you.”
- Is that so? Where are you right now?
“I’m at manager Kim’s office in Samseong-dong. We just left, though, and we’re about to head over to the specialty coffee shop in front of Yoo Bi-Corp.”
- Hmm, okay. I’ll leave right away.
Kim Tae-Jin immediately deduced that Kang Chan wasn’t planning on going up to his office.
Kang Chan and Kim Hyung-Jung got in Seok Kang-Ho’s car. Choi Jong-Il’s party followed behind them.
As soon as they arrived and entered their destination, they immediately noticed two employees waiting for them. They inspected the trio from head to toe, starting from their shoes and phones.
“We didn’t find any signals,” one of the employees said.
“Thank you for your hard work. You can go home for today. I’ll make sure to inform Mr. Kim Tae-Jin about it,” Kang Chan said.
“Understood.”
After sending the two employees away, Kang Chan sat on the terrace and looked around his surroundings. Customers had occupied two other tables on the terrace.
“What’s wrong?” Kim Tae-Jin followed Kang Chan’s gaze and examined the table next to them. Afterward, he looked at Kang Chan.
“Let’s go somewhere else—I have something to tell the two of you,” Kang Chan said.
Kim Hyung-Jung and Kim Tae-Jin looked as if they perfectly understood what Kang Chan meant.
Leaving behind their drinks, which they barely touched, the four left the specialty coffee shop and got into Seok Kang-Ho’s car.
Kang Chan thought of going to the Namsan Hotel. No one asked Kang Chan what was happening, or why he was acting like this.
They simply trusted that there was a good reason behind Kang Chan’s current behavior, and that trust was clearly evident on all of their faces.
Kang Chan didn’t even reserve a room. From now on, he was going to act the same way he did when he was rescuing Lanok. However, he would also be extra careful.
As soon as they arrived at the hotel, Kang Chan was dropped off by the entrance. The others then took the car to the parking lot as he headed to the front desk.
As Kang Chan expected, Joo Chul-Bum quickly approached and greeted him.
“Welcome, hyung-nim,” Joo Chul-Bum greeted.
“Hey. Give me a large room—one that isn’t normally used. Don’t ask or say anything. I need it for something confidential.”
“Please wait for a moment, hyung-nim.”
About five minutes later, Joo Chul-Bum brought over a key card. By then, Seok Kang-Ho and the others were already in the hotel as well. Hence, Kang Chan’s group immediately headed to the elevator and went up to room 1804.
The entrance of the bedroom was blocked by a divider, making them feel as if they just entered a luxurious office or a living room.
“There are drinks in the fridge, Seok Kang-Ho,” Kang Chan commented.
“Alright.”
Seok Kang-Ho went over to open the fridge while Kim Hyung-Jung brought over cups.
the group took off their jackets, revealing the shirts they were wearing underneath, except for Seok Kang-Ho, who was only wearing a cotton t-shirt.
Seok Kang-Ho pushed over a sofa and the chairs from the table and then sat down.
“I apologize for my weird behavior. It’s related to what I have to tell you all,” Kang Chan began.
Chk.
While opening canned drinks, Seok Kang-Ho glanced at Kang Chan.
“I can only discuss this with people that I know I can trust.”
Meanwhile, Seok Kang-Ho prepared four cups of drinks.
“Please don’t mention what you hear in this room to anyone, no matter the reason. If by any chance you’re uncomfortable with that, then feel free to leave now,” Kang Chan added.
Seok Kang-Ho and Kim Tae-Jin looked at Kim Hyung-Jung as if they rehearsed it beforehand. However, it was only natural, considering Kim Hyung-Jung was working for the National Intelligence Service.
“Hmm.” Kim Hyung-Jung couldn’t immediately answer.
“It’s okay, Manager Kim, so don’t feel pressured. However, I will have to ask you to keep the fact that you came to the hotel to meet with us today a secret,” Kang Chan said. He didn’t want to force Kim Hyung-Jung.
“Alright. I won’t tell anyone,” Kim Hyung-Jung responded with a grim expression. He looked as if he had solidified his decision, but it was difficult to discern which matter he had decided on exactly.
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