Vol 7 Ch 2

Side Story. Back Straight Flush

Joo Hawon had developed a habit he’d never had before.

It was almost like a fit of hysteria, the way he would tap at his chest—thump, thump—without thinking. While walking toward the mart, Joo Hawon once again stopped in his tracks and tapped his chest. He had always walked fast, so slowing his pace felt unnatural. After all, it wasn’t easy to change a habit built over nearly thirty years of life.

Quitting smoking was even harder than adjusting his pace. He still smoked occasionally, but no longer to the butt. By the time the cigarette burned halfway down, his lungs throbbed so viciously that he was forced to stub it out.

The pack of cigarettes he had bought a month ago was still not finished, so in a sense, he’d succeeded at quitting. In truth, it wasn’t so much about protecting his health as it was about saving money. Especially on cold days like these, his cough worsened. If he happened to catch a cold on top of it, people would probably mistake him for a tuberculosis patient. Pulling the crumpled mask from his pocket, he hooked the straps behind his ears, though it felt suffocating.

“Hawon, where are you going?”

It was Wagner, who had been waiting for him to catch his breath.

“The mart.”

“We have a car.”

“It’s just around the corner. With traffic, it’d take even longer by car.”

Passersby turned their heads one by one. In Seoul, it was impossible not to notice a white man with a shaved head. If he had just been another foreigner, people might have passed by with little more than a glance. But nearly two meters tall, dressed in a black suit, trailing behind an Asian—it was enough to draw stares.

“Hot dog.”

“What?”

“Hot dog. Ketchup. Delicious.”

“I’ll buy you one.”

Lately Wagner had developed a fixation on frozen hot dogs. The sweetness mixed with saltiness had him addicted, and he was already smacking his lips.

“When are we going to Germany?”

“They said next month, but I don’t really know.”

He pulled the mask higher up his nose and shoved his hands into his pockets. Ever since that incident, it was still an ongoing struggle for STA corporation to return to stability. Kwon Jaehee had become STA’s new CEO, and Aeil Kwon had inherited the position of Tex’s president from Felix Kwon. The fight of the fathers’ generation had ended, and now the second generation’s era had begun. The former generation had been warped, endlessly twisted.

He didn’t know what decisions the second generation would make, but he hoped they would choose better than their fathers had.

The mart was perched on a small hill. Wagner followed Hawon’s slowing pace without complaint, staying behind him even when Hawon stopped to catch his breath.

“You must be bored.”

Standing on the bridge over the stream below, Hawon leaned back against the railing.

“Bored?”

“Nothing much ever happens, and you just follow me around.”

“No, not bored. They pay me. A lot.”

“Well, of course you get a salary.”

“Life pay. No… danger pay.”

“What?”

Hawon pulled his mask down.

Did that mean there was still danger to his life?

“Korea. Truce country. North Korea exists. I’m German. Danger pay. Korea is good. More money.”

He burst into laughter, white breath scattering in the cold. Because Korea was a country under armistice, Wagner received hazard pay. Hawon asked if that meant he should stay here longer, and Wagner grinned, giving him a thumbs-up. No guns allowed, no Molotov-throwing neo-Nazis—compared to other places Wagner had been, Korea was the safest country he’d known, yet they paid him extra for it. He thought it was strange, but also good.

Before transferring to become bodyguard to STA’s successor, Wagner had belonged to the mercenary group Blackwater. Compared to being treated like a killing machine, his current position offered better treatment, even if the pay was slightly less. Back in his Blackwater days, he had earned a thousand dollars a day, and during the Iraq War, even thirty thousand a month. But after witnessing a comrade kill an Iraqi just for fun, Wagner had packed his bags that very day.

Blackwater didn’t force its men into unfair contracts like some other private firms did. Pay was purely based on skill and results. But they often turned a blind eye to inhumane acts. Wagner’s comrade, a man who had been the kindest friend, was not the same to Iraqis. While reflecting on the duality of human nature back home, Wagner received a scouting offer.

The salary was 100,000 dollars a year—about 100 million won—for protecting STA’s successor. For a mercenary to transition into private security was as natural as a teacher taking up a post after graduating from an education college. Blackwater also dispatched men to national security missions, but STA’s offer meant direct affiliation under CEO Kwon.

Most of the boss’s guards were familiar faces from Blackwater, and wherever he went, he was never without protection. After the kidnapping incident, they took even greater care to never leave an opening.

There had been real assassination attempts, and lunatics demanding money had rushed in. Each time, Wagner and the other guards had blocked the threat together. Yet Wagner knew the truth: his boss didn’t actually need protection.

Few VIPs kept fit or learned self-defense for their own safety, no matter how many guards they hired. But his boss did. Why need a bodyguard if you could defend yourself? Wagner often sparred one-on-one with him, and he was no ordinary opponent. The moment Wagner let his guard down, a sharp fist would cut across his cheek. Remembering those moments from a few months ago, Wagner rubbed his face.

Recently, the boss had brought in a large number of new recruits. Wagner guessed the reason was this.

He looked down at Kwon Taeha’s lover, mask pulled down to his chin.

Hawon stood on the frozen bridge, staring into the water below with his dark eyes. He thought the man strikingly beautiful, even reminiscent of a portrait painted with the delicate brushstrokes of a master. Beautiful, yes—but with a strangeness that kept others at a distance. Still, despite his looks, Hawon was surprisingly human, sometimes even spitting out coarse Korean slang.

“What are you staring at? Do I have something on my face?”

Hawon’s tone was flat. Wagner thought that half the stares from passersby were probably because of Kwon Taeha’s lover.

“No. Just cold.”

“Let’s go, I’m fine now.”

When Wagner pushed open the mart’s main door after climbing the hill, Hawon frowned.

“I told you not to act like a chauffeur.”

“Habit. I’ll try to stop.”

Inside the mart, Wagner, already used to things, slid a 100-won coin into a cart to unlock it. His gaze had already shifted to the frozen food section.

“When is the CEO coming?”

“I don’t know. You know, Hawon.”

Walking beside Wagner, who pushed the cart, Hawon felt a strange vibe. Shopping together in the mart, it almost felt like they were a married couple. Wagner shook his head quickly. Such absurd thoughts must be because he had broken up with his girlfriend not long ago. Still, even if the boss couldn’t read minds, sometimes it felt like he could. Those cold eyes certainly didn’t help.

“Verzeihen Sie.”(Forgive me)

Feeling guilty for no reason, Wagner muttered into the air.

“What are you sorry about?”

Having studied some German lately, Hawon understood the simple phrase and asked.

“My thoughts. Bad.”

Hawon tilted his head, puzzled.

“I’ll buy hot dogs.”

Leaving the cart behind, Wagner strode toward the hot dogs.

Hawon shook his head, wondering why Wagner’s Korean seemed harder and harder to understand, and took over pushing the cart himself.

***

“Are you heading in today?”

Martin Miller asked quietly. Barely five minutes had passed since the meeting ended.

“I should.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to bring him to Germany instead?”

“Not yet.”

Kwon Taeha checked the time. Even flying directly to Korea now would take at least fifteen hours. Germany and Korea were about as far apart as two countries could be. He had spent nearly a third of his life on planes, but if someone could build an aircraft that cut the Germany–Korea trip down to an hour or two, Taeha was willing to pour immense investment into the aviation industry. Especially these days.

“Already leaving?”

Kwon Jaehee followed after Taeha as he left the conference hall.

“Why is everyone so interested in me today?”

“Well, how can anyone not be curious about your love life? Word is you dove in yourself to save your lover.”

Jaehee clasped his hands together like a diver in mockery. This was hardly the first time he teased, by now it must have been dozens of times. If he hadn’t stopped counting, it might have already reached a hundred.

“To think that Taeha turned out to be the romantic of the century. There are even rumors that some Oriental man cast a spell to enchant you.”

Since Joo Hawon had survived, Taeha let the jokes roll off his back as he walked down the corridor.

There had been no hesitation. When the mire of Macau threatened to swallow Hawon whole, his body had moved faster than thought. He had sworn to protect him, and failed. As much as he hated to recall it, he couldn’t forget. He must never repeat that mistake again.

“…Excuse me, CEO.”

It was Martin Miller calling to Taeha. He was the eldest brother of Jade Miller, whose temper often flared.

“Don’t call me that. Jaehee-hyung here is the official CEO.”

The surface head of STA was indeed Jaehee, but everyone who mattered knew the company’s true brain and driving force was Kwon Taeha.

“When it’s just us, does it matter?”

“It does. From now on, get the titles right.”

Formally, Taeha’s position was CEO of STA Füssen in Macau, so the address wasn’t entirely wrong.

“In truth… I’ve decided to take on Jade’s defense.”

“Is that so?”

Taeha’s reply was casual. Jade Miller’s betrayal had been a shock even to him. He had treated Miller as a close friend, one of the few he truly trusted. But what he had overlooked was that Jade had never once stood as his equal. He had stayed by Taeha’s side with a heart mixed with respect, longing, admiration, and inferiority.

For decades, Miller had watched Taeha change up close. The cold, rational man who, despite everything, had bound himself to the son of the man who once kidnapped him. Inside Miller, a sense of unfairness had taken root.

In their world, a contract was god, a shackle, and a gun pressed to the temple. Breaking it meant ruinous penalties and consequences beyond money. And it had been Jade Miller himself, as lawyer, who notarized the contract between Taeha and Hawon. Yet when Hawon breached it, Taeha imposed no sanctions. That was when suspicion began to fester.

He thought Hawon’s presence would only harm the boss. Distrust toward Taeha’s business judgment grew, and siding with the new heir seemed the more profitable choice.

He must have thought of the reverse as well. If he had broken his contract with Taeha… would he have survived unscathed like Hawon? Likely not. That sense of injustice was what drove Jade.

“He’s someone who’s served you loyally for a long time. He admired you, followed you. If you could show a little leniency…”

“And now you want to play the role of elder brother?”

Taeha’s cold gaze was matched by an even colder voice. Jaehee’s expression wasn’t any warmer. Taeha could, to some degree, understand Jade’s feelings now—but mercy had no place here. Half-baked leniency only bred more disaster.

“You may defend him. On one condition.”

Martin had just opened his mouth to offer thanks.

“Resign your post as STA’s legal advisor before you do.”

Martin had risen to STA’s counsel thanks to Jade’s absence. Now, inside him, the conflict between loyalty to his brother and keeping his position would rage.

“…I’ll instruct that another attorney be appointed.”

Martin Miller gave the answer Taeha required.

***

“I did as you said. Acquired everything.”

“Well done.”

Inside the sedan bound for the airport, Jaehee and Taeha exchanged words.

“Good thing the mother wasn’t greedy. Father must have chosen her carefully, knowing she wouldn’t cause trouble, when he arranged for the artificial insemination. Taeha, that boy seemed sharp. You really have no thought of putting him to use?”

“None.”

“He seemed diligent too, maybe because he takes after his mother. No ambition.”

“Why bring this up all of a sudden?”

“Because it’s a shame to waste talent.”

“Smart people are a dime a dozen.”

“Honestly, I can’t help feeling sorry for him.”

“Do you feel guilt too, hyung?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“And I’m not saying that either. They were paid plenty. Let them live as they please. Let’s not plant any needless seeds of trouble.”

“What, are you worried Hawon will be in danger again? Aren’t you being overly cautious?”

He doesn’t know. Hawon is already in danger enough. If anyone in Korea discovered he was a WikiLeaks whistleblower, the political and business figures who’d been exposed would stop at nothing to retaliate.

Taeha didn’t speak his thoughts aloud.

Kwon Yijae’s will had already been notarized: all his inheritance was to go to his biological son, “Mailler Kwon.” Normally, wills were updated once an heir assumed executive position, and Kwon Yijae had been prepared.

Eva Kwon and her legal children could have contested it, but they chose instead to honor husband and father. Of course, it hadn’t been without calculation.

Taeha had bought up the shares transferred to Mailler Kwon at market price. Faced with the staggering sum, his mother had been unable to refuse. Had Yijae arranged a proxy, the fight might have been long and bitter—but he hadn’t expected death to come that way.

“I can even understand Jade, in a way. He devoted everything to you, gave his all. And then you entrusted power to Hawon without even telling him. Of course he felt jealous.”

One of Jaehee’s flaws as a businessman was his broad emotional spectrum. Misplaced sympathy clouded judgment.

“But he crossed the line.”

“I agree with that much.”

Jaehee let out a long sigh, sinking into the seat back. With a faint smile, he rolled his eyes toward his younger brother.

“Well~ Hawon really is beautiful. Beautiful enough for you to be utterly smitten.”

“He is beautiful.”

Jaehee stared at Taeha, startled.

“Only, he’s fierce.”

“Fierce?”

“He hates men like me most of all.”

“Don’t tell me you feel inferior?”

“That too. And truth is, it’s people like me who ruined his life.”

And with a bullet grazing his lung, he might carry that damage for life. Jaehee nodded, understanding.

“And you? Are you fine with it?”

“With what?”

“Joo Sangkyung. Hawon being his son doesn’t change.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t hate Mailler so much yourself?”

“…I did.”

“To me, Hawon is the same.”

It wouldn’t have been strange for them to hate each other. Being drawn together like magnets was just as natural. They had only chosen to strip the hatred from that mix of love and hate.

For some reason, Jaehee felt his own loneliness all the more keenly today.

“Maybe I should drop by my studio for once. Interfere with the lovebirds a bit.”

“Well. I wouldn’t be so sure we’re lovebirds.”

“What do you mean, not sure?”

Only once he arrived in Korea did Jaehee understand the bitter smile Taeha had given.