Chapter 175: < Protect – Episode 174 – Korea National Association [5] >

Once Ahn Soo Ho came back from making the first pitch, he was met with Jang Seol Hyun’s peculiar facial expression.

“I heard you can throw it 100 miles.”

“I can.”

“Then why…”

But the speed that was recorded was 133 kilometers. Since he wasn’t a pro athlete, this was considered fast. The crowd even cheered loudly because of how fast he pitched it.

“Think about it. Since I’m not an athlete what do you think would happen if I throw it at 100 miles per hour?”

“People would go crazy.”

“Right?”

It normally would have been Jang Seol Hyun’s turn to pitch, but Ahn Soo Ho talked her out of it. She had to be careful in her first weeks of pregnancy. They both headed over to the VIP lounge. When they got there, they were met with the Daesan family. He saw Chairman Kim Dae San, his child, Vice President Kim Dae Gil’s child, Kim Na Hee, as well as a bunch of people with the last name, Kim.

Ahn Soo Ho naturally tried to sit next to Kim Dae San, but the old man greeted Jang Seol Hyun first.

“Welcome.”

“Hello, Chairman Kim.”

“People will mistake her for your wife.”

Kim Dae San ignored Ahn Soo Ho’s grumbling until the very end. Jang Seol Hyun pushed Ahn Soo Ho aside and sat next to Kim Dae San. They were so friendly that people probably did mistake them for a married couple. So he ended up next to Kim Dae Chan.

“It must be hard for you.”

“You’ll have a harder time than me from now on.”

If the national reformation committee was to form, Daesan Group was going to be their first target. Even their meeting today was vulnerable to attack, but Ahn Soo Ho didn’t care.

“Are the preparations going well?”

“Yeah. We’re going to disperse the construction or heavy industry first.”

“So you’re going to focus on electronics and finance?”

“Yeah. You’re going to take care of the defense industry once you’re done with the committee, aren’t you?”

“You know. So are you going to wrap up the heavy industry?”

“Yeah, I’m not seeing any growth potential. And the president mentioned that bloodshed was going to happen in the military soon.”

“Ha! That man.”

Lee Joong Hyun didn’t have very heavy lips.

“Anyway… are you Bridal Mask?”

Kim Dae Chan looked around and asked cautiously.

“I don’t know.”

“So you are.”

“Think about what you want.”

“Seeing Korea National Association suffer like that reminded me of you. But what are you going to do from now on? Once they’re cornered, they’re all going to pounce.”

He was worried about Kim Dae Chan, who didn’t know that all of the key members of the Korea National Association died. They might have been weak against Ahn Soo Ho individually, but it was a different story if they grouped together.

“That won’t happen.”

If Lee Ji Heon was truly wise, that wasn’t going to happen. It would have been nice if he could get the Korea National Association in his hands, but it was okay even if he didn’t. And if the offspring of the killed went past Lee Ji Heon’s control and tried to get revenge, he could just kill them, too. Ahn Soo Ho decided that his home country was no longer special to him. He stopped trying to prevent bloodshed in his homeland.

‘Let’s just take the quick and easy route.’

There was no need to consider second and third alternatives.

“What are you talking about?”

“You look good, Aunt.”

Kim Na Hee was welcomed with a smile from Kim Dae Chan.

“Don’t’ call me that! Call me Noona.”

“Then Father will scold me.”

They only had a 10-year age difference. He remembered calling her Noona when he was little. But the bigger a family got the more important ways of addressing was. Back in the day, he called Kim Na Hee Noona and got beat up by Kim Dae San. After that, he didn’t drop his formalities with her in formal settings. However, Ahn Soo Ho’s response was different.

“Yo! Did you wrap up your divorce?”

“Yeah. It’s all done.”

“It sounds like he didn’t try to mess with your stocks.”

“But they did take a lot of real estates and cash.”

In Korea, most divorces ended with splitting up the man’s wealth, but it was the opposite for Kim Na Hee. She gave his former husband lots of real estates and cash. The reason why they didn’t get into a lawsuit was because she gave way. Because if the situation got messy, Daesan Group wouldn’t have stood for it either.

Kim Dae San had always adored his little sister. Since their parents passed away early, he was like an older brother and parent to Kim Na Hee. She might have been a charismatic queen in the fashion world, but in front of Kim Dae San, she was just a cute little sister.

“Why haven’t you been stopping by after investing so much money?”

Kim Na Hee glanced over and scolded Ahn Soo Ho. In a world-class competition held by Rosette Group and Hosoo Group, the first competition was going to be a beauty pageant. Kim Na Hee was the most confident in this field, and she didn’t have much interest in minor fields like sports.

“It’s not like I have anything to say anyway. I’ll leave it to the experts.”

“The owner has to stop by from time to time to prevent any burglars.”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

The person who answered Ahn Soo Ho’s question was Kim Dae Chan, not Kim Na Hee.

“Miss Korea, Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International? Ha! There sure is a lot. Their associations are coming in with a tackle.”

“How do you know that, Dae Chan?”

“Because we support a lot of organizations ourselves.”

He made it sound underwhelming, but Daesan Group supported over 2000 associations and spent over 1 trillion won. It wasn’t easy to spend 1 trillion won a year even for Daesan Group. The reason why Ahn Soo Ho was still unable to surpass Kim Dae San was because of the history that he built over decades.

“They’re criticizing the fairness.”

“Fairness? What’s wrong with opening my own competition with my money?”

“It doesn’t make sense from a rational standpoint, but there’s no way logic would get through to them.”

“So in other words, they want money.”

“Yeah.”

In front of successful shops was a sign that said “no soliciting”, but solicitors loitered around Daesan Group from time to time as well. Their objective was a donation. They were so shameless that they were insisting they had to help them. So what was different about Hosoo Group? Nothing. Oh Joo Kyung was in the middle of a fight against them.

“The more you show your face on TV, the more they think it’s beneficial to them.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a public figure. That means we have no choice but to give in.”

“I’m not a public figure yet.”

“But you will be.”

If he really went forward with the reformation committee, Ahn Soo Ho was going to be a public figure. He had no choice but to worry about face.

“Korea National Association isn’t the only threat. The weak will fight in their own ways, and it’s tiring to deal with every single one of them.”

The prince and the pauper both had their own ways of living. Ahn Soo Ho got the feeling that Kim Dae Chan wanted to give him a warning but was hesitating.

“Dae Chan, if there’s something you want to say, just say it.”

“Okay. But don’t take it too seriously.”

“What is it that you want to say?”

Ahn Soo Ho smirked in response to Kim Dae Chan’s hesitation.

“The reform has to stop with Daesan.”

“Why?”

“The rest don’t have any immunity to you, so they’ll all topple over like dominos. And after that, they’ll just be doomed.”

“Do you really believe the rich keep this country up?”

“It’s not the corporations but the people who keep the country up. The country won’t be doomed if the rich go down. I know that. But the Korean economy will go back to the 20th century and many will be unemployed. And to them, you’ll be the one they want to kill.”

“It’s not like I can be loved by everyone.”

“But there’s no need to purposely make more enemies either.”

“Enemies?”

“I told you, didn’t I? The weak will fight in their own way.”

Kim Dae Chan also acknowledged Ahn Soo Ho’s abilities, but if he fought against average people, it was like believing he was better than the rest. It was best to not fight in the first place, but the rich and the poor were always going to be conflicted.

Wow!

Their conversation was interrupted by sudden cheering.

A baseball player had just hit a home run. The camera then turned to the VIP lounge, so they all stood up and applauded. It was ironic that a shot of the Daesan family was being broadcasted on a sports channel and not an economy channel. Ahn Soo Ho also got up and clapped before whispering in Kim Dae Chan’s ears.

“I’ll think about it. But…”

He suddenly got curious.

“How much does a baseball team cost?”

******

Jang Seol Hyun’s movie was in the wrap up stages.

Whether they used CG or stand-ins, he made sure they didn’t make her engage in any more hardcore action. He started rumors about an injury, but the director couldn’t be fooled. Director Jang Ik Hyun sincerely congratulated them. The problem was that they had to have their wedding before her belly grew too big. No matter how much times had changed, it wasn’t ladylike to proceed too quickly.

“Wow!”

Lee So Hye flashed a thumbs-up as soon as she heard the news.

“My brother is talented in that sense, too! Agh! Why are you hitting me?”

“Go to your room!”

Mrs. Park Ok Nam scolded Lee So Hye into her room on the 2nd floor.

“What about the others? Isn’t it their day off?”

“Emily and Rachel went to the department store, and Sol left with Soo Hee.”

Soo Hee was Alexa’s Korean name.

“I thought they were tired, but I guess shopping is a whole different matter.”

“That’s how it is for women.”

“Soo Ho! Let’s go out!”

He heard his little sister’s voice. Lee So Hye changed clothes and stomped down the stairs.

“Shall we?”

Ahn Soo Ho didn’t make it obvious, but he was looking for a way out of there, but his little sister allowed him to leave more naturally.

Mother-in-law,

That was a very hard relationship.

Mrs. Park offered mixed instant coffee. She preferred to drink coffee shop coffee more than using a coffee machine at home. It wasn’t easy changing a person’s taste. Jang Seol Hyun was more careful today than usual. Since she didn’t know how Mrs. Park would react to the pregnancy, she was instinctively being more careful.

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

“What for? For having a child?”

“We should have been more careful…”

“Don’t even think about things like that.”

Park Ok Nam held both of Jang Seol Hyun’s hands and rubbed them.

“I haven’t done anything for my son, my baby. I really haven’t.”

She had resented not being able to see her son grow up her whole life. The son that she parted with when she was just a teenager grew up well. That made Mrs. Park proud and embarrassed at the same time.

‘Is it okay for me to be happy?’

She hadn’t given him anything, but he gave her everything because she was his mother. It should have been the opposite, but despite living a difficult childhood because of his parents, he didn’t show a single sign of resentment.

“I’m happy as long as my son’s happy. And to you…”

Mrs. Park continued to rub Jang Seol Hyun’s hands.

“Thank you. Thank you for loving my son, and thank you for having his child. I’ll repay you for the rest of my life. Wait! You should have told your parents about it first!”

“Mother!”

Jang Seol Hyun burst into tears and hugged Mrs. Park Ok Nam.

Ahn Soo Ho was sitting in his car with Lee So Hye when he heard everything with his powers. He tried very hard not to smile. His little sister looked at her brother who wasn’t taking off after starting the car.

“Soo Ho?”

“Oh, sorry.”

He stepped on the pedal.

When Ahn Soo Ho’s phone started ringing, Lee So Hye answered it for him.

“Hello? Yes, this is So Hye. Oh, okay. Sure.”

She put the phone down and relayed the message.

“You have a guest at the main office.”

“Who?”

“She said you’d know if I said they were Hosakawa Seibu… Do you know?”

“I’d better stop by.”

“Okay. Then I’ll be in the waiting room.”

“Okay. I won’t be long.”

Ahn Soo Ho turned the car around.

‘Hosokawa Seibu.’

He hadn’t heard that name in a really long time.

Just like how Korea had Korea National Association and the Comradery Association, Japan had Fidelity Association. The name almost sounded like a political support association, but it was different. He had heard that trash disposal had come from Japan. The reason why Hosokawa Seibu was mentioned was probably to make a negotiation.

‘Maybe her tail grew.’

Kumiko, also known as Ahn Da Sol was confident in concealing her identity, but Japan was a strong nation. Ahn Soo Ho didn’t trust her. He only half trusted her. Just like General Ashford, that woman was hiding something.

‘Who’s the better liar?’

< Protect – Episode 174 – Korea National Association [5] > The end.

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