‘Dusney Land is still in the land purchase stage.’
‘Business with Hugo Evans is going well. Lithium mines are being mined stably, and Angola’s oil industry has also started construction… Then, where should I go next?’
I thought I should check what Hugo Evans is doing now. He was a lobbyist, so he was well versed in politics, so he might be able to get some advice.
It’s the end of the year, so I’m busy, but I thought it would be nice to say hello, so I called.
‘Are you busy? He doesn’t answer the phone.’
It wasn’t even a 24-hour stand-by, so it was clear that they would call me if I waited. After focusing on other things for a while, I got a call from Hugo Evans.
I cleared my voice and answered the phone.
“(hello.)”
{(Mr. Kim. This is Hugo. I contacted you because you called.)}
“(Long time no see. How are you?)”
{(I’m crazy busy. I’m going to take a break and go back to work, so there are so many people I need to meet.)}
As it was the end of the year, he seemed to be working hard to manage his personal connections.
“(Are there any new resource development cases?)”
{(I’m working on that too. Even now, while having a drink with my Angola friends, I said I was going to the bathroom and got out.)}
“(Looks like I interrupted your work.)”
{(Not at all. Isn’t everything possible only with investors?)}
“(Thank you for your words.)”
{(Did you call for year-end greetings?)}
he asked back.
“(Yes. And if time permits, I’m contacting you because I want to see your face sooner or later.)”
It was better to talk face-to-face rather than dealing with big business by wire.
‘Check whether the reliability has changed.’
People change, so it was important to check in with your aides from time to time. he laughed out loud
{(I will be in Angola until the end of the year, but I plan to go to the US soon. Do you have time next Saturday?)}
Since I had nothing to do regularly and made appointments spontaneously, my schedule was empty. But on the first weekend of the new year, I thought it would be nice to spend time with family and friends.
‘Meet Elisa.’
I thought that giving meaning to such trivial things enriches life.
“(I’m not sure about Saturday. Do you have any time on Sunday?)”
{(It’s okay if you only avoid the morning.)}
“(Then let’s have lunch together on Sunday.)”
{(Meals will be served by me. I will contact you again when I set up a restaurant.)}
“(Okay. Then Mr. Evans. I wish you a happy end of the year.)”
{(I hope Mr. Kim ends the year in good health too.)}
I heard a voice over the receiver looking for Hugo Evans. he whispered softly
{(Your friend is looking for you. We will contact you later.)}
***
To celebrate the end of the year, we held a year-end party in Korea.
Participants included Benjamin Chung, Seo Kang-jae, Han Sung-min, Choi Ji-hoon, and Jeffrey. The rest of the bodyguards decided to hold a separate year-end party for Seo Kang-jae and Benjamin Jung.
“President Kim comes in the middle and encourages me, and then I go.”
“I will make it in two parts.”
“Don’t worry about the cost of dinner, spend it to your heart’s content.”
“As expected, I am the boss.”
Seo Kang-jae raised his thumb.
‘It’s a long-awaited year-end party, so I hope everyone enjoys it.’
We should have a New Year’s party too, but I don’t know when we’ll be able to do it. As most of them are members of Titanium Security, it would have been nice to invite Ricardo Gibson to proceed, but he had a busy schedule, so it was difficult to visit.
The atmosphere of the year-end party with delicious food and delicious alcohol was heated up.
“Benjamin Chung says his hobby is paragliding. Doesn’t it match his image?”
Seo Kang-jae, who had emptied half a bottle of liquor, chatted about other people with his characteristic arrogance. He memorized the characteristics, hobbies, and families of the 3 bodyguards like an encyclopedia.
‘He’s good at managing people.’
He was just a manager. Appointing him as Korea’s security officer was the right choice.
“Are you running for the National Assembly soon, Han Seong-min?”
“Ah. What kind of member of the National Assembly am I?”
At Benjamin Jung’s question, Han Seong-min waved his hands.
“You should do well. You shouldn’t let the boss’s face be cut.”
“ah···.”
“Let’s go. It’s a long-awaited year-end party. Let’s stop talking about work and get another drink, Mr. Benjamin.”
The atmosphere seemed to be getting awkward, so I poured a drink into Benjamin Chung’s glass. The problem with Benjamin Chung was that he was a bit rigid.
‘I’m good at everything else.’
He was good at intimidation, but he seemed to have no talent for coaxing people. However, because he always worked with all his heart, he was praised by his subordinates as a hard but respectable person.
“Thank you, Boss.”
“Let’s go together for a workshop and paragliding later. Did you find a good place in Korea?”
“I haven’t found it yet.”
“Ah. There must be a good place in Korea.”
he smiled lightly.
“There’s no time to rest. We’ll look for it sooner or later.”
“If there’s too much work, I’ll assign more people, so feel free to tell me. You can bring a recommendation.”
“Thank you for your words.”
Choi Ji-hoon took a sip of his drink. He came over and took a seat next to him.
“Is it worth studying?”
“It’s hard.”
He cut off HR-related classes and ordered him to take them. I was thinking of sending him to university if the opportunity arose, but this year was impossible.
“It’s fun to learn though.”
he smiled shyly. He was still a shy boy. When I first saw Han Kyung-ah, I remembered the reddened face and smiled.
‘I thought Kyung-ah would do well with someone else.’
I heard that I was invited by Owen Hawkins to attend his year-end party.
There is not a single woman in the world, Han Kyung-ah, and if you work hard, you will be able to meet a good person.
“Yes. If you work hard, there will be good results.”
“Thank you. Brother.”
Maybe it was because he followed me well without a younger brother, so I felt like a younger brother and wanted to help him succeed.
“Boss. You should say a toast.”
Seo Kang-jae, who had become a Korean patch before he knew it, handed him a drink and poured him a drink.
“What’s a toast? You can just drink while enjoying yourself.”
“Ah. Still, you have to encourage me.”
“I am…”
Han Sung-min raised his drinking glass.
“Attention! The boss is saying something.”
From nob le mt l dot com
Jaffrey also took a drink.
I wasn’t in a rushing mood, so I decided to finish it quickly.
“Everyone did a great job this year. Thanks to you, we’ve had a good time, and we look forward to seeing you in the future! Let’s toast one more time in English, and we’ll do it.”
I recited it in English for Jaffrey.
“(Cheers!)”
The sound of clinking glasses echoed through the kitchen. As each of them was diligently emptying their glasses, the phone in their pocket started to ring.
It was Im Hanul’s phone call.
‘What’s going on?’
I took advantage of the chatter and slipped out.
“Uh. Hanul.”
{This is Nam Il-seung, an aide to Representative Lee Yu-san.}
‘Why did this person call Hanul’s number?’
An anxious feeling passed through my mind.
I decided to speak as little as possible today.
Kim Jae-gu told him to contact him through an acquaintance, but no matter how much he searched, there was no acquaintance who could connect him. I called several times from different numbers, but each time I was just stopped at the door.
{When will that bastard named Jaegu Kim come to see me?}
To make matters worse, Lee Yu-san, who became uncomfortable with a series of incidents, started looking for him. Nam Il-seung, an aide to Yu-san, had no place to back down.
‘As expected, he’s the only one.’
The person Kim Jae-gu interacted with the most in Seoul was Lim Han-ul. Other than that, all the people working in the house were either from abroad or had little contact with him.
People from abroad were living in the hostel, and most of them belonged to Titanium Security, a famous American security company.
‘What kind of fool would ask his subordinates to introduce him to the boss?’
There was no way that the lowest-level employees could introduce the president. Those who looked like executives rarely went out of the house, so there was only one left to catch.
The following year-end party overflowed with people in the streets and bars. Even if we bumped into each other on the way back and forth, it wouldn’t be strange, so we took advantage of the situation.
Coincidentally, Hanul Lim was also drinking with his alumni because the year-end party with startup founders had been continuously scheduled. It was not difficult to find the place thanks to the fact that he had already been followed.
A little after the year-end party started, I naturally joined Lim Hanul’s table. It was not difficult for him to catch the subject of conversation and intervene moderately.
Especially, it was easier because there were people who went to the same university as me.
‘Although it reminded me of my days as a new employee.’
In order to rise to the position of aide, it was necessary to notice. I came up to that position by paying attention to others, but recently I lost my original intention and became arrogant.
‘Even if I hadn’t been arrogant back then, he wouldn’t have kicked me out…’
I remembered that I was kicked out for stiffening my neck in front of Kim Jae-gu. Maybe it was the problem that I thought I deserved to be treated because I went as Yoosan’s substitute.
However, the past is the past, and in order not to be reprimanded by Lee Yu-san, he had to somehow arrange a meeting with Kim Jae-goo.
“They’re all great people. It’s not easy to run your own business. I’m living as an office worker now, but I wish you all the best in the future.”
“Senior Ai. What are you talking about? These days, middle-aged entrepreneurs are increasing.”
“That’s right. If you don’t lose hope and keep trying, you’ll see the light someday. This guy here was also a loss-making company until recently.”
A colleague tapped Im Hanul on the shoulder. I was proud of Meta Molds because they were doing very well with their recent collaboration with Daehan Market.
“Come on.”
“Do you know how good it is now?”
“How well are you doing?”
“Do you know Daehan Mart?”
“Is there anyone who doesn’t know Daehan Mart these days?”
“Is it because this friend made it?”
“I didn’t make it myself…”
“You should have more confidence.”
Im Hanul was embarrassed. He believed that Kim Jae-goo’s role was 80% of his success, so it was still awkward for people around him to lift him up.
“I can’t give you a drink of this. Have a drink.”
“thank you.”
Giving and receiving, around the time when the seat deepened.
He pretended to look for his cell phone and borrowed it from Im Hanul.
“I’m sorry.
“Yes. Please come.”
That’s how I called Kim Jae-gu. As he expected, when he contacted Lim Han-ul on his cell phone, Kim Jae-gu did not hang up the phone right away.
{Where is Hanul?}
“We’re having a drink together.”
***
The fact that they were drinking together sounded like a threat.
‘If Hanul was introducing me, he would have called me personally, but he would not have lent me his cell phone.’
That meant Nam Il-seung had obtained Im Han-ul’s cell phone. I didn’t want strange people hanging around Im Han-ul because of me.
‘Anyway, he’s someone I should meet at least once.’
I don’t know why Yusan Lee is showing interest in me, but the current Yusan Yu didn’t have a friendly relationship with Dokgojin.
That meant they might try to scout me.
‘Is it kimchi soup?’
However, if it was really kimchi soup, there was no reason for Nam Il-seung to do such a thing to get closer to me.
‘The opponents are people who could commit a crime.’
There was a saying that it was Yuyusangjong. A person who could ride the same boat as Dokgo-jin and cut him off in the end couldn’t be a clean person.
‘I don’t know what will happen if I take too much time, so I’d better organize it at this point and go.’
The work in the United States was also relieved, and the alliance with Seol Gyeong-taek was about to be concluded. I didn’t know what Yu-san would say, but I thought I’d just turn it around and say no.
{The senator wants to see you. If I refuse this time, I don’t know what to do next.}
As expected, it was intimidating.
“Okay. I’ll see you. I’ll fix the place for you.”
{You meet people only in Dorim.}
“I don’t like Dorim.”
It was the place where the Union met regularly. He had no intention of breaking into a membership club by himself.
The other party also had to make an offer as a place to compromise.
“It would be nice if it was a public place. How about meeting at ‘Yeonmong’, a Korean restaurant in Eunseong Hotel? I know there is a room.”
{It’s difficult if it’s not Dorim.}
“If it’s Dorim, it’s difficult. Don’t decide on your own, ask Congressman Yoosan Lee directly. If it’s not Yeonmong, I won’t meet you.”
{Are you really going to come out like this?}
The sound of Nam Il-seung grinding his teeth seemed to be heard from here. But when I had to go strong, I had to go strong. Even if it was necessary to attach a bodyguard to Im Han-ul.
“Who do you think you are talking to?”
{Isn’t that the CEO Kim Jae-goo?}
“Think about why you are talking to me in a gentlemanly way.”