KIDNAPPING (II)

"Only missed a day of high school and look what happens" Robert sat in the back seat of a car, staring out the window at the city. His face looked somewhat bored, as if the situation they were in wasn't too serious. "And that damn Ijin took the only motorcycle there was."

Well, truth be told, the situation wasn't very serious from his point of view, as it apparently didn't affect him at all. However, he had willingly gotten himself into this mess.

"I don't think you should complain like this... I still don't even know why Ijin called you," Suk-joo, who was driving the car from the pilot's seat, responded with a slightly annoyed tone of voice. Our protagonist's carefree attitude was starting to exasperate him.

"Well, let's just say Ijin and I have a little history, one that involves a few dangerous things, maybe that's why he called me," Robert replied indifferently as he continued to watch the street lights.

Suk-joo briefly and silently glanced at our protagonist's reflection in the rear-view mirror, then continued driving at high speed.

They were currently heading to Incheon Port guided by the not-so-reliable information provided by Cha Dusik about the possible whereabouts of Shin Yuna. That's why they were traveling so fast.

Shin Yuna, the youngest granddaughter of the president of the powerful SW Group, one of the country's largest conglomerates with various investment sectors such as military contracts with the Korean government, was a very valuable target for any group looking to make money by demanding ransom.

That's why Suk-joo had been trained since childhood to protect Yuna, as that was the mission entrusted to him. For years, Suk-joo had fulfilled his role as protector and guardian, thwarting several kidnapping attempts both in South Korea and abroad, the last attempt being in the USA a year ago.

However, now he had failed.

Therefore, for Suk-joo, it was vital to find out the whereabouts of the kidnappers. However, there was a topic that kept spinning in his mind.

Who were Yu Ijin and Robert Lee?

When they returned from the USA and re-enrolled at Shinan High School, they encountered many surprises.

The first was that the school's number one bully, Cheo Gunner, had been defeated by one of the newly enrolled foreign students, while Ki-soo's gang had been defeated by the other new transfer student.

Both he and Shin Yuna were surprised to learn that one of these foreign students was actually Dayun's older brother, Yu Dayun, a young girl Yuna had taken a liking to two years before they traveled abroad.

And it was even more surprising to know that the reason for the fights these foreign students had at school was due to the actions of Kim Hee-jin, the daughter of a corrupt politician who had been bullying Dayun for two years.

However, Suk-joo began to think that all this was very strange.

Wasn't Dayun's older brother supposed to have died ten years ago?

How is it that he suddenly appears just when the granddaughter of the president of the SW Group arrives in Korea and they enroll in the same school?

Moreover, from the few videos they managed to collect from one of the two fights, it was clear that at least one of them was not an amateur fighter.

Everything was very strange.

That's why Shin Yuna talked to Dayun to gather information, but all she could get was a positive opinion about her brother and her brother's friend, who helped her at a time when her life was going through hell.

In addition, Yuna was able to extract important information from Dayun, such as Ijin having undergone a DNA test to determine blood compatibility, or how her own grandfather had immediately recognized Ijin.

Did that mean that the man called Yu Ijin was indeed Dayun's older brother?

If this were true, there would be nothing wrong with it... the problem was that some things didn't add up.

When Suk-joo conducted a more thorough investigation into Ijin's past, they found many inconsistencies.

When Suk-joo contacted the foreign school where Ijin supposedly attended and sent them the record, they were told they had never had a student by that name or appearance.

Was Ijin lying on his resume to enroll in the high school where Shin Yuna was? Why would he do that? What was he hiding?

This made Yuna doubt Ijin and try to warn Dayun about the potential danger, which is why she visited her today and went out for a walk to chat about it.

Suk-joo wasn't entirely in agreement with this, but he still kept an eye on Yuna and Dayun from a distance while watching over them.

However, Ijin's sudden presence distracted him for a moment, as he thought Ijin had come to prevent Yuna from talking to Dayun, so Suk-joo went and stopped him.

It was the moment when Yuna and Dayun were kidnapped after a car ran over the two boys who were arguing!

By the time they recovered from the accident, they almost came to blows because they both suspected each other of causing the kidnapping, but after a moment, Ijin put the fight aside and contacted two people to help him with this issue.

While everything was suspicious, seeing Ijin's determined face and the attitude he was taking to handle his sister's situation made Suk-joo lower his level of doubt and cooperate to recover Yuna and Dayun.

However, the man in the back of the car was an entirely different matter.

Robert Lee, a mixed-race who had lived almost his entire life in Russia and had a brief relationship with Ijin, was the only information that could be obtained when trying to access his state documents!

Not even the certificate or the name of his school in Russia could be obtained because everything was blank!

How the hell were they accepted into the high school then? Don't they verify the information a student should have anymore?

Not even Shin Yuna, who was the granddaughter of the president of the SW Group, had that level of information restriction!

It was as if they had taken care to hide everything related to his identity!

But who was determined to hide this boy's information?

The only ones with the power to do this are... South Korea's own government, but that would be illogical, right?

If Suk-joo had slight doubts with Ijin, he had a marked distrust with Robert. He only allowed him to travel in the car due to Ijin's request, who seemed to trust the man.

What kind of relationship could these two have?

...........................

Brrr, Brrr, Brrr

Suddenly, a constant vibrating sound snapped our protagonist out of his thoughts. He was lost in counting the streetlights passing by the side of the highway. He pulled out his smartphone from his pocket and saw an incoming call from someone he hadn't spoken to in several weeks.

"Hey grandpa, long time no hear," Robert answered.

[I've told you not to call me that, kid. I'd never have a guy like you as my grandson.] On the other end of the line came the voice of Kim Geun-joom, the Commander General of the Republic of Korea's Armed Forces.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Robert smirked. "Tell me old man, what's the reason for your call?"

[I see you managed, once again, to evade your escort.]

"If you're referring to last night's getaway and this morning's, guilty as charged. You know I don't like being watched," our protagonist replied casually. "But if you're talking about right now, it's not my fault, it's Ijin's... or rather, the granddaughter of the SW Group's president."

While these words seemed simple, they held great meaning hidden between the lines.

When our protagonist had decided to teach Seon-joo, the gym owner, and later take her to his apartment, he had already thought about how he would do it without the people watching him knowing about it.

Robert wasn't stupid; he knew he wasn't currently capable of standing up against the entire governmental apparatus and other economic groups. If he started openly forming relationships with different women, he would be opening them up to be targeted to attack him.

That's why yesterday, before going to the gym, he left his apartment heading in an unknown direction, attracting all the curious eyes following him.

He took a random tour, losing them in the north of the city. He did this with the aim of shaking off all those annoying watchers so they wouldn't intervene when he took an unconscious Seon-joo out of the gym.

After leaving Seon-joo at her apartment, Robert returned to his own home via the same route where he had lost his watchers, making them think he was up to something in that northern area of the city.

This would sow doubts in them, wanting to know the reason why our protagonist was disappearing in that area, and with a bit of luck, they would concentrate their eyes there.

By this morning, when our protagonist left his apartment heading to school, he took a different path again and headed north, losing all his spies once more.

After that, he went to Seon-joo's house to prepare lunch.

With these actions, everyone keeping an eye on the young man started sending more spies to that part of the city to try to figure out what Robert was up to.

For his return on foot, he did it again from the north, so all his watchers were now almost certain that Robert was up to something in that area.

With this, our protagonist had managed to divert some attention away from everyone towards another place!

He generated false expectations and made everyone who had an eye on him concentrate their attention on a random place, letting him do his thing until he could gain more power.

[I heard something like that, that the old man Shin's granddaughter was kidnapped... and that Ijin's sister was involved.] The General Kim responded on the other end of the call.

"At least the guys you put to watch over Ijin informed you quickly," our protagonist spoke calmly. "Changing the subject, what's the reason for this unexpected call? I know it's not because I disappeared since you wouldn't wait until today."

[Hahaha, insolent kid, as always you've got some brains.] The General Kim laughed on the other end of the call.

This confidence they both had in talking had been built over the months that Robert spent in the military, a time in which he gradually built a relationship with General Kim.

Obviously, our protagonist wasn't so innocent; he thought he was gaining the trust of the old military man, simply trying to lessen the formality in their interactions and speak more openly, without protocol getting in the way.

Similarly, General Kim knew that Robert wasn't a naive young man he could deceive with a show of confidence, and he wouldn't be impressed by simple things. For now, their good communication relied on each benefiting from the other, nothing more.

["I know there will be some commotion at Incheon Port, I just hope you'll keep it moderate and not do anything stupid."]

"Well, that's not so easy to promise, old man. It depends on how the other party behaves," Robert replied. "I'm not speaking for Ijin, but if things get ugly, I'll have to take action to put an end to it. Understand? If I can take out the trash, it wouldn't be a bad thing."

Suk-joo, despite driving the car, was very attentive to Robert's conversation at the moment and couldn't understand what the hell those words meant. "Put an end to it?" "Take out the trash?" Was he referring to the kidnapping case or something else?

["Just don't overdo it, kid,"] was General Kim's only response.

"Well, I'll be discreet," Robert smiled faintly. "Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor. Could you tell the president of the SW Group to rein in his men and not be so suspicious of us? We're on the good side."

Robert said this somewhat sarcastically as he looked ahead, meeting Suk-joo's eyes in the rearview mirror.

["Heh, maybe I will, maybe I won't, depending on how you behave. I'll talk to you another time, don't misbehave, kid."]

The General Kim let out a playful sigh, almost mocking, before ending the call.

"You know I always behave," our protagonist also smiled ironically and put away his smartphone once the call was over.

Again, the inside of the car fell silent. Robert just relaxed in his seat and looked out the window at the surroundings. Suk-joo remained pensive as he tried to guess who the hell the person was that our protagonist had spoken with.

But whoever it was, they weren't just anyone.

From Robert's words, the person he was talking to knew exactly what had happened with Shin Yuna and Yu Dayun, as they apparently kept an eye on Ijin.

And not only that, but they were also watching Robert himself!

Who could do that? Someone influential in the government perhaps? Only someone in a significant position could manage that.

Yet, you'd have to hold a really important position to ask to speak directly with the president of the SW Group!

This raised more questions than answers.

The familiarity with which Robert spoke to this person was evident.

What the hell was going on with this guy and Ijin? Who was the mysterious person Robert was talking to?

Suk-joo stopped trying to find answers for now and parked the car as they had reached their destination. Right now, he needed to focus on what his next course of action would be.