「Authorized personnel only - Whitewater-」

I passed a wire fence with the sign, and the training camp was over three hundred million square feet, spread out over a vast forest and fields. The truck driver noticed I was a cash cow and began listing all the high-ranking officials from police departments and the Pentagon who had sat in my seat. One of the big sources of revenue for this private security company was training law enforcement and military officers.

“People other than special forces also sign the contract as long as they have a strong will regardless of ethnicity, age, gender and sexual orientation.” 

He stopped the car, and a few men in military uniform with pistols holstered on their right thigh showed up. 

“Feel free to ask questions if you want,” the man said confidently.

I could put them into action right away as they looked more capable than men from the national armies even though they had no military experience. This was a private company that copied and pasted the military training center. Their training reminded me of the actual battle. A group of special forces were having security drills for anti-terrorist operations.

“The agents are leaving for Saudi Arabia next week.”

The man named a prince there and started explaining a way to safely retreat with him protected and a tactic to counterattack. He was building up to ask for money as the private security sector was like Wall Street regarding money. The only purpose for these people gathering at the training center and others sending them to the battlefield was money, and that was the core of this business. When they wore uniforms with corporate logos, they protected important figures like Saudi Arabia princes, oil fields, military-strategic bases and diamond mines. However, when they were in anonymous and unmarked clothes, they were there to overthrow a country and bring down its head. 

From now on, their sole mission would be to kill the First Evil. I cast a dull eye on him as he jabbered on constantly.

“Just quote me a number. A reasonable price,” I stopped him.

***

I had nothing else to do in New York after setting up a trust fund and a private investigative firm for my new army. The last task was handing over the login information from GOL to the private investigation company. Thenk, I boarded a flight to Seoul. I was going to relax and take a nap, but the financial magazines and daily newspapers caught my attention. Airlines usually had them ready for first class passengers, and there was no reason to ignore them. Just as a sparrow could not just pass by a mill without looking for food, I also couldn’t help but read them.

<Seon-Hu: I’m heading back today. Get ready.>

I pulled out a magazine while talking on my cell phone.

<Woo Yeon-Hee: What time do you arrive?>

<Seon-Hu: Seven o’clock. Write down what I need.>

Jonathan was on the cover page of Forbes magazine again. He had become a superstar in the financial world, and everyone admired him as he organized investment financial groups after the Russian financial war. 

***

I could read about my current work in any financial magazine, and I saw Jonathan and Gillian’s names in Forbes magazine. 

「1998 World’s Property Management Corporation Ranking 

Total at the end of December ($)

First. Jonathan Investment Finance Group: 509 billion

Second. AAGA: 490 billion

Third. Advance Guard Group: 453 billion

Fourth. AP Morgan: 408.7 billion

Fifth. Deutsche Asset: 403.6 billion

Sixth. Silverman: 392 billion

Seventh. Gillian Investment Finance Group: 335 billion

Eighth. South Investment: 290 billion

Ninth. Partnership Man: 195 billion

Tenth. Bluestone Group: 181 billion」

Of note, AP Morgan, Deutsche Asset and Silverman were world-class banks with their total assets exceeding trillions of dollars. The ranking above was only based on the amount of assets they managed. If it was ranked according to their total property amount, the list would’ve been filled with the names of megabanks. Therefore, it was a notable record that Jonathan Investment got first place. 

Now, billionaires around the world would consider the New York firm when making investments. Furthermore, getting ranked first even before adding up future private accounts meant we had become one of the ‘shadow banks’ that controlled global finances in secret.

All I had to do now was wait for the dotcom boom and bubble to make the real killing. I was about to take a nap, but a guy began yelling, “How dare you scold me! Shut up and bring more!”

His obnoxious voice woke the other first-class passengers, and apparently he had been behaving like this to the flight attendants multiple times. He had been ordering drinks since I had started reading the financial magazines, so his tantrum was expected. He was a Korean man who looked like he was in his late twenties, and the peace in the flight broke because of him. Several foreign passengers complained to the crew, but they couldn't control him.

Some of the Korean passengers knew him, and they even advised others to stay quiet and not mess with him. I realized he was from the Han-sil Group, the corporation that ranked first in aviation, machinery, food and distribution. 

Anyway, I didn’t want to pick fights with an immature kid as he seemed to be eager to fight anyone. The obedient flight attendants didn’t satisfy his needs, so his eyes glistened with a bravado given by copious amounts of alcohol. He glared at his fellow passengers to look for a victim and swore at me. 

“Keep your eyes down, you piece of shit!”

Tsk, how pathetic. All the chaos in Korea was due to people like him. I blocked his gaze by opening another magazine and found a familiar name. Korea had started noticing Kim Cheong-Soo’s achievements in New York when they were struggling with the IMF crisis.

「The best output from Korea in the twenty-first century, Kim Cheong-Soo.

Kim Cheong-Soo, CIO[1] of ‘Jonathan Investment Finance Group’ - was promoted to the highest-ranking position within six months. 

Kim Cheong-Soo, a pure-blood Korean, was designated as the leader of Jonathan Investment Finance Group which operates the world’s largest assets (approximately five hundred billion). They made a massive profit in the Russian financial war and established its current group system after having aggressive mergers and acquisitions until last month. Kim Cheong-Soo, the chief executive officer during the Russian war, majored in economics and applied mathematics at one of the nation’s leading universities and greatly contributed to business expansion when he worked at Daemin Bank for over seven years. Jonathan, the CEO of the group, called him a genius and explained the reason for recruiting Kim Cheong-Soo through the Wall Street Journal interview.」

***

Since Woo Yeon-Hee had never seen me in a suit, it took her a while to recognize me, but she started waving her hands frantically when she did. 

“You need to get your luggage, right?” she asked.

I didn’t have anything as having lots of money meant I could travel light. The most important items were necklaces, rings and badges that were wearable. 

Meanwhile, the annoying guy who fell asleep after messing with the crew came into my sight. He was acting like a prince to his bodyguards and a woman who looked like his girlfriend. Then, he began approaching Woo Yeon-Hee, and she seemed to know him.

“Hello, I didn’t expect to see you here, Director. Did you also hear about my arrival? Haha.”

He pretended to be a gentleman and acted completely opposite from the way he was on the plane.

“Hi,” Woo Yeon-Hee replied casually, then his gaze turned to me. Despite his fuss a few hours ago, he didn’t recognize me. His eyes lit up like he was looking at a competitor, and he seemed to have an interest in Woo Yeon-Hee.

“Is he your boyfriend?” he asked.

“Yes.” There was an obvious reason why Woo Yeon-Hee lied, but the man smiled as if he was aware that she was lying.

“Let’s have a proper conversation next time. When would you like to visit?” he questioned.

“I’ll check my schedule and let you know,” she replied.

“Okay, then.”

“Get home safe,” she said.

He and the woman left with the escort, and Woo Yeon-Hee said as if she had been waiting for a chance, “He’s the sponsor I told you about last time.”

“Han-sil Group?” I asked.

“Do you know the department head Jo Chang-Ho?”

The New Hope Medical Corporation had begun to operate as mostly non-profit and created socially heartwarming stories. Since it was during the grim IMF period, trivial stories were picked out by the government to be lauded over and broadcasted in the media. Han-sil was the one that approached them faster than anyone else to revamp their image, but apparently there was one more reason after seeing how the idiot treated Woo Yeon-Hee today.

“He made a fuss on the flight. Don’t let him get close to you,” I said.

“Ah, I thought so. He smelled like liquor.” She took it calmly as if it was expected. 

I wondered what the idiot saw in her. She was small and cute but didn’t fit the current society’s beauty standards. Also, she wouldn’t have sex appeal to a guy like him. He might have been curious about her for another reason, such as her eyes were full of confidence and power. 

“You are going straight to Gim-je, right?” she asked with those same eyes looking directly at me.

1. Chief Information Officer ☜