Perfect Mission Chapter 25 - Wolf and Gorilla (3)

Chapter 25 – Wolf and Gorilla (3)

The next evening, on a roadside near Yeouido. Yoon Gyeongsik, sitting in the driver’s seat, his hands trembling.

“You want me to exchange this?”

Junho, who had come from school and changed into his middle-aged man disguise at the officetel, handed him a gold bar.

“Exchange it for cash. You keep 20%.”

“Is…is that okay?”

Junho nodded.

“Bring the rest in 50,000 won bills. If you’re thinking of giving that money to your family, just give it all to me. I’ll make sure 20 million won gets to them.”

“You’d do that?”

Gyeongsik, though wary of this mysterious man, trusted him. He killed without hesitation, buried bodies in the mountains, but he always kept his promises. This man was the reason he was no longer homeless but living in a small, deposit-free apartment. So he didn’t doubt the promise to deliver the 20 million won.

“Let me know when you’re ready.”

“Understood.”

Junho wasn’t entirely comfortable with this arrangement. If Nikolai were still in Busan, he would have sold everything to him at a discounted price. But Nikolai was probably on his way to the Bering Sea by now. He’d considered other contacts, but decided this was enough for now, knowing he’d have more to deal with later. He needed the cash to buy some equipment.
Junho got out of the car and took a taxi to Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam. It was after rush hour, but the traffic was still heavy. He checked his coin wallet and saw that he had received 1 billion won.

Jo Gyeongcheol rarely used cryptocurrency. He operated mostly overseas, and for large transactions, the volatility of crypto was a liability, especially when he was saving for retirement. It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to use it. Junho, too, would have preferred a different method if he could travel freely. He could have just transferred a certain amount from the Panama account to a domestic one. But he couldn’t travel freely, and he had no idea when he’d be able to after graduation. So, he’d opted for crypto. Even if the value dropped by half, 1 billion won was still a huge amount for him.

‘It won’t drop further, will it? I can tolerate a 50% drop, but anything more would be too much…’ 

But what could he do? He had to accept it. And this wasn’t the only money he’d ever make, so he wasn’t too worried. He had a job to do.

He arrived in Cheongdam-dong around 10 p.m., pulled his hat low, and walked towards a large, clean building with a sign that read “Wonkwang Building”. The eight-lane road in front of the building was a testament to the owner’s wealth, and Junho couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.

“Sigh, this is going to be expensive to fix.”

Junho silently apologized to the building owner, who would soon be facing a hefty repair bill. But the owner was probably rich enough to handle it.

A building like this, with so many offices, would have countless CCTV cameras. If it housed a large corporation, it would have a dedicated security team. But with a mix of smaller businesses and various clinics, the security wasn’t as tight.

Junho went down the emergency staircase and scouted the area. He spotted the electrical room. There were CCTV cameras around, but he moved at an angle that concealed his face and entered the room.

“Hmm… found it!”

He located the main circuit breaker and flipped the switch for the fourth floor, where Hanil Technology was located. He then casually left the room and went up the emergency stairs.

“What’s going on?”

“Did you find out what happened?”

“Who cares? Let’s just go home.”

He passed by a few office workers on their way down, pretended not to notice, and opened the door to the fourth floor. Among several companies, he spotted Hanil Technology’s logo on the door. It seemed no one was inside even before he cut the power.

After confirming that the fourth floor was empty, he charged at the door.

Crash!

The glass door shattered, sending shards flying. Junho turned on his flashlight, went straight to the CEO’s office, and opened the door. The fourth-floor CCTV would be down, so he wasn’t worried about being seen.

“Let’s see how long your tail is.”

He rummaged through the desk, looking for anything useful. He didn’t expect the bald man to be there. Even if he had been, he would have bolted as soon as the power went out.

“What kind of work does this guy even do?”

There was nothing work-related on the desk. It was a shell company, but it seemed he hadn’t even bothered to put up a convincing front. The desk was littered with car and luxury brand catalogs and pornographic magazines.

There was a safe, but he didn’t want to waste time trying to open it. He looked around and spotted something on the floor. A business card. He picked it up and saw that it was for a man named Li Fang from a company called Hualong Electric Power Co., Ltd., written in Chinese.

He shoved the card into his pocket and checked the employees’ desks.

“Important. Arriving at Incheon Airport in three days, 4:20?”

A Post-it note on an employee’s monitor caught his eye. He took a picture of it and left the office.

He went down the stairs and saw building maintenance staff in the lobby.

“It’s fixed!”

“It was nothing. The power’s back on.”

They must have gone to the electrical room and restored the power. Junho smirked and left the building. He wondered how the bald man would react when he found his office door shattered.

“You should have been nicer.”

This was to put pressure on him. It was a tactic Jo Gyeongcheol often used against hidden enemies, creating psychological pressure to force them into making a mistake. And he’d even found some unexpected intel, so it couldn’t have gone better. Junho grinned and walked away.

 

***

 

It was a grueling journey back home. He’d gone to his officetel, quickly removed his makeup, and changed back into his uniform. He hadn’t rested all day, and after the workout and the stunt in Gangnam, he was completely drained, feeling like a beached piece of seaweed. The past few days, dealing with the people who killed Jo Gyeongcheol and the security guard, had been exhausting. He was nearing the end, but he could feel his stamina waning.

He was constantly getting reprimanded by his friends and teachers for sleeping in class. Two days ago, his homeroom teacher had pulled him aside and asked if he was sick, even suggesting he might have diabetes. With his rapid weight loss and constant drowsiness, anyone would have thought the same. He denied it, but the teacher didn’t seem convinced.

He was seriously considering skipping school tomorrow as he trudged home, when he heard a commotion. A familiar, irritating voice. He walked towards the sound.

“I said, no.”

“Come on, just hear me out.”

“Youngjun, I’m sorry, but I really thought of you as a friend. If you keep this up, you’re making me uncomfortable.”

It was Suyeon’s voice. She was rejecting a confession.

‘Heh! A confession…’

Junho smirked and was about to walk past them. He was sure he had walked past them.

“Hey! Kang Junho!”

How did she spot him so quickly? Maybe she had a talent for espionage. A Bond girl, perhaps? But then he thought of Hyesun and realized Suyeon’s talent was nothing special. Like Núñez showing off his skills in front of Messi.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. Come out.”

“I wasn’t hiding.”

Junho peeked his head out.

“Come out.”

Junho emerged, looking like a grumpy Tibetan fox.

“Why are you eavesdropping on people’s conversations?”

“I wasn’t eavesdropping.”

“You were eavesdropping and then tried to sneak away, pretending you didn’t hear anything.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

As Suyeon raised her eyebrow, the man standing in front of her said,

“Who are you?”

Junho’s gaze shifted to the man. He was tall and handsome. Standing under the streetlight, he looked like a painting. Junho felt a surge of irrational dislike and looked away, snorting. Nerds never liked handsome guys.

“Hmph!”

It was a clear sneer, and the man’s face turned red.

“What the fuck…”

“Hey! Stop it.”

Suyeon, surprised by the sudden escalation, stepped between them.

“Did you see that?”

“Just let it go.”

“Why should I?”

“He’s a good fighter.”

Ah— Ahn Suyeon, had I misjudged you? Did you have a natural talent for being a double agent, pitting two forces against each other?

The man, provoked by Suyeon’s “blood skill,” pushed her aside and charged at Junho. Junho glared at the bewildered Suyeon and muttered,

“Scary bitch…”