Chapter 51: < Protect – Episode 50 – Comradery Association [1] >

Along with Hosoo Entertainment’s Japanese evacuation, the return of the employees via private jet was all over the internet news. Even though it wasn’t intentional, that led to a flood of contract requests for the company’s celebrities. It wasn’t just the celebrities who were touched. Following Hosoo Entertainment’s remark about showing what true wealth was, their organizational system changed completely.

The ranks, pay, welfare, and services of the company as well as their direction and motto took a 180-degree turn. This Mansour-like attack made their competitors made more of an effort to keep their top talents.

“I heard they’re paying their road managers and new recruits a salary of 25 million a year.”

“Are you serious? I’m switching to that company!”

“You shouldn’t go just because of their money.”

“I heard they also bought a fitness center and pool just for their artists!”

“I’m switching to that company!”

Ahn Soo Ho’s flaunting of money didn’t end there. Some might have thought of him as a pushover, but the money he spent was nothing to him. He bought an entire building and rented it out to his employees for cheap, and he provided more benefits regarding family, education, and car insurance.

Let alone providing scholarships that only big companies could provide, they made a big impact with their announcement of providing a 5-day work week. As a result of Hosoo Entertainment’s crazy announcements, their competitors continued to get annoyed and made criticisms. However, it just ended with sarcastic remarks about tradition being demolished and one loach dirtying the waters.

The problem was that it wasn’t illegal, so there was no way to do anything about it. They could use the media to taint their reputation, but the reporters responded in a suspicious manner. Ahn Soo Ho didn’t work on the media first for no reason.

“We were told not to put them down.”

“Same here.”

“Is something going on?”

It was normal for big media companies to mind Daesan, but it was unexpected for the smaller tabloid agencies to be so calm. The pseudo reporters and paparazzi had gathered the courage to speak up, but the legal team of Hosoo Entertainment was very large for an entertainment company.

“They could be called a law firm.”

“Why does an entertainment company need a legal team?”

The entertainment reporters thought it was absurd and felt very angry.

Entertainment agencies used to be like feed what they could chomp down on. It didn’t matter if they defamed their reputation, because they were on top. However, they still didn’t mess with huge celebrities and large agencies.

Hosoo Entertainment stirred up a lot of news. The producers and casting managers who always asserted their dominance by threatening to buy broadcasting companies and agencies had no choice but to be careful. For unknown reasons, the government departments and committees in charge of broadcasting regulations clearly didn’t want anything to do with Hosoo Entertainment.

“You’re doing well. Please keep it up.”

Ahn Soo Ho, who returned from Japan and attended a weekly meeting, received a briefing and ended the meeting quickly. Even though he was free from the Yakuzas pursuit, Navarros couldn’t leave the Korean peninsula and ended up being employed as the CFO of Hosoo Entertainment Group. There were only two people who remained in their seats after the meeting.

Oh Joo Kyung and Daniel Navarros.

Daniel Navarros looked as if he was a dog who needs to poop.

“Don’t worry, Danny. They’ll be here via an afternoon plane tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Soo Ho.”

Daniel Navarros decided to hide in Ahn Soo Ho’s shadow. Even though the Yakuzas backed off, his record as a quadruple spy made all intelligence agencies and criminal organizations salivate. No matter how much Ahn Soo Ho assured him, his label wasn’t going anywhere. That was why he called his family who was in hiding to Korea.

“Oh, did you introduce yourselves?”

“Yes, we did.”

“That’s good. You’ll be leading the company from now on. So I hope you get along.”

Daniel was a capable CFO who led Empire Konzern. Career-wise, he was a successful businessman who was no match for Oh Joo Kyung. However, Daniel went through all sorts of troubles that got him down, but it was still hard to look down on her.

“Any other schedules?”

“The chairman would like to see you at his house.”

“I’ll…take care of that. Anything else?”

“No, Sir.”

Ahn Soo Ho nodded and exited the meeting room. He stopped Oh Joo Kyung from following him out with a hand gesture. When he got back home, Lee So Hye was rolling around on the living room sofa.

“Shouldn’t you be at school?”

“Today’s my Saturday off.”

“Saturday off?”

“It’s every other week.”

Since when did that exist in high school?

“Shouldn’t you be with friends?”

“I’m meeting them later.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“I don’t want to raise one.”

“Are they pets or something?”

“At least pets are cute. Boyfriends are just bothersome.”

Ahn Soo Ho clicked his tongue in his head in response to Lee So Hye’s serious face. She had a habit of subconsciously avoiding men. It wasn’t favorable for a human being to live alone for the rest of their lives.

‘Lee Hyo Geun, that son of a bitch.’

Her father ruined her.

“Where did Madam Park go?”

“She went to a real estate agency.”

“Why?”

“How would I know?”

Ahn Soo Ho changed into a black suit with the door open. Lee So Hye, who was watching TV in the living room, naturally looked over at her big brother.

“Are you going to a funeral?”

“Yeah.”

“Whose?”

“A friend of mine.”

A friend of his? He laughed bitterly at what he just said. All he knew about him was that his father passed away early and he had a mother and a sister who got married.

“Are you going to be late?”

“Don’t wait up.”

“If you’re going to stay out, call Mom. She’ll wait all night.”

Ahn Soo Ho answered by waving his hand from the entrance. Ever since she bought her a makeup set as a Japanese business trip gift, she became interested in makeup. She might not had a boyfriend, but it was instinctual to want to look good in front of men. As soon as he took off to his destination, his phone vibrated. He put it on speaker and answered it.

“Dae Chan?”

“If you came back to Korea, you should have told me, Punk.”

Kim Dae Chan’s criticism made Ahn Soo Ho smirk.

“I’ll drop by for dinner. I’ll see you with the old man. What about the negotiation?”

“It’s in its final stages. But it sounded as if you and the president exchanged a few words.”

“He wants to be freed from Korea National Association.”

“Does he want to be on our side?”

“For the time being.”

“Do you trust the president?”

“No. You never know when politicians will go back on their word.”

No matter how sincerely Lee Joong Hyun wants to be freed from the Korea National Association, the situation wouldn’t pan out the way he wants. The support groups that helped him became president would want to squeeze a lot more out of him.

“But don’t put him down too explicitly.”

“I know.”

“How’s your wife?”

“Sigh. I think Jinsung’s going to go down.”

Jinsung Group, who became the first target to shake down Daesan Group, couldn’t recover from the fall. The investigations were put to a halt, but due to the share prices and family feuds, the shares had to be split up.

“What’s your wife’s share?”

“The department store and apparel.”

“Oh! Not bad.”

A department store and apparel was a good combination. After talking about this and that, 30 minutes went by.

“I have to get going. See you tonight, Soo Ho.”

At that moment, Ahn Soo Ho stopped his car.

There weren’t many people who were at Seo Jung Wook’s mortuary at the hospital funeral home. He, who was labeled as a traitor after reporting a superior for corruption while working as a naval officer, wandered abroad after being discharged. The founder of the mercenary group, Deep Breath was Royal Guard’s Hans Cruger, but the one who made it famous was Ahn Soo Ho.

It took a long time for Seo Jung Wook’s family to check his body after he died during a mission. There were many reasons, but the biggest one was the States’ involvement. Those who tried to conceal Aragon’s mistake had to be on the same page.

Ahn Soo Ho stood from afar and scanned the mortuary.

He didn’t know Seo Jung Wook or 608 very well. He didn’t know what Seo Jung Wook thought of him, but Ahn Soo Ho just felt bad that another lacking and pitiful Korean died. This thought crossed his mind at times. Why did he insist on being somewhere that was tactically disadvantageous to him? If he immediately left, not even a top agent would have been able to find him easily.

‘In order to save Jina Davis?’

There was no way. If he was like that, he wouldn’t have kidnapped her in the first place.

‘Maybe he just wanted to end it all.’

That was the life of a mercenary. If someone else didn’t end them, they were highly likely to end themselves sooner or later.

“Seo Jung Wook was a good person. But…he was a good person and nothing else.”

Who was he talking to? Someone showed up beside Ahn Soo Ho.

“I’m sorry about Seo Jung Wook, Soo Ho.”

“Sorry…? You probably want to say you’re not responsible. But I know better than anyone that that’s not true, Kyung Joon. You pushed a good person off a cliff.”

The superior whom Seo Jung Wook reported was an officer who was receiving support from the Korea National Association, and connections were used to make the internal audit vague. And Seo Jung Wook, who was labeled as a traitor wasn’t able to get any job in the military.

“You should be ashamed of yourself.”

They forced their justice on other people, and if they refused it, they stepped on them however they could. There was no real justice there.

“Even though we’re at the final stages of negotiating with Daesan Group, I’ll review the methods of compensating Seo Jung Wook too.”

“Haha.”

Ahn Soo Ho laughed as if what he said was absurd.

“Do you think this is about money?”

“How much would be satisfactory…”

“Shut up.”

Lee Kyung Joon immediately became quiet in response to the wild beast’s growl.

“You bastards sicken me.”

“Then what are we supposed to do? Beg on our knees?”

He let it all out as if he couldn’t hold in his anger anymore. Ahn Soo Ho smiled. Well, he thought he smiled, but anyone else would have thought he looked evil.

“You don’t have to beg on your knees. Just…”

“Just?”

“Die.”

As soon as a crack was heard, Lee Kyung Joon’s neck twisted like that of a broken doll. Logan appeared in no time and caught the body. This sight would have reminded anyone of what was commonly seen among sad families at funerals. Logan, who passed the body to his subordinate, stood in front of Ahn Soo Ho with a trifling expression.

“We have the guards under control and we also secured the CCTV footages around the building, Soo Ho.”

Lee Kyung Joon died.

He ended way too quickly for a resentment that lasted for over ten years. He thought it would feel great, but he didn’t feel that inspired. If he really wanted to, he could have killed him a long time ago. He only let him be because of a promise he made with the queen grandmother.

‘Don’t get into trouble in your homeland, you punk.’

He feels as though he could hear the queen grandmother’s voice.

“Where’s Cranky?”

“Among those being watched in South Korea, there are only six, no five people who know about Deep Breath’s double contract.”

“In South Korea? Are there more outside of Korea?’

“There are twenty-five people around the world.”

Since Lee Kyung Joon died, there were only five Koreans remaining who were involved in Deep Breath’s double contract. The contract used terror and kidnapping and caused a stir in the economy, and was secretly carried out among Korea, the States, and Japan, but it failed before it could be passed.

When he looked through the black box, he saw that Lee Kyung Joon’s father was Korean and his mother was Japanese. He was a lobbyist who either lived as a Korean or a Japanese while hiding the truth behind his birth, as well as a symbol that was applauded by the Korea National Association and Cherry Blossom Association.

The superior who took the body brought over Lee Kyung Joon’s ringing phone. He checked the caller and answered the phone.

“Why haven’t I heard anything?”

The person on the phone scolded him.

Half of the senior executives of the Korea National Association were either locked up or being investigated due to the sex tourism scandal that was spreading on the internet. They were standing on shaky ground since their government connections were on the verge of collapsing.

“Kyung Joon?”

“Kyung Joon’s not here, old man.”

“Who is this?”

“Did you forget me? That makes me sad, Lee Geun Taek.”

Lee Geun Taek, who was the chairman of the board of Korea National Association and the chairman of a leading construction company, was Lee Kyung Joon’s cousin as well as a love child who was born to a Japanese mistress.

“Ahn Soo Ho?”

“That’s right.”

“Why do you have Kyung Joon’s phone? You didn’t…”

“You’re next.”

“You son of a bitch!”

The thought of Lee Geun Taek dying in front of him made him laugh.

“I warned you. Why did you have to rebel and cause this mess?”

He always stayed true to his words. No matter how long it took.

‘Don’t make me mad.’

He clearly warned him.

What happened to them today was something they brought upon themselves. He didn’t want to continue talking with screaming Lee Geun Taek, so he gave the phone to Logan. The GPS and the call recordings would all be erased later.

“Alexa and the Kosino team have arrived.”

“Put them in.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Ahn Soo Ho left Seo Jung Wook’s mortuary.

‘That was all I could do for you, 608. It’ll probably be hard to rest well in Hell, but what can you do? That’s your fate. Anyway, you worked hard. See you.’

For mercenaries, pride and honor were luxuries. Prostitutes were just slaves that strip or kill if they were told to do so. But just like how they couldn’t offer their assh*les, there were limits that shouldn’t be crossed. Those who fooled around with contracts wouldn’t be kept alive regardless of their race, gender, age, nationality, or rank.

That was the unwritten law in the world of mercenaries.

“Contracts with mercenaries connected to Korea National Association shall be canceled within 48 hours. Anyone who doesn’t will be our enemy.”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Report what I just said on all dark sites and black market communities.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Ahn Soo Ho’s promise to bring a war wasn’t just empty words. The twenty-six, no, twenty-five people associated with the double contract would have prices put to their necks.

“Hunt them down.”

Starting with the closest ones in Korea.

< Protect – Episode 50 – Comradery Association [1] > The end.

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