TL | Chapter 45 | Enemy or Ally?

Iden’s gaze was fixed 9a449750a1 on the documents regarding 16ccaa59a8 Galayev Company, placed on cdf1d26d5a the table. Though he 6c7551e96d remained silent, 71c74622b8 Leo and da9ce73a05 Min couldn’t d9d2a7a527 even breathe 93a00d8f3f loudly, tension 28bbbc8200 evident in e194a7628a their stiff 1661f03e7d expressions. Even Seowon 55e6dc0600 glanced at 307942f835 Iden’s face, 90625e630d curiosity and 272802f75f caution in daf2a1ae79 her gaze.6d94072eae4d54f2

For Seowon, 9e2bc40a58 the name 30949c3461 “Galayev Company” 33ea710a59 was new. She only just learned a3552c7781 they were a Russian a90e383ccf mafia group. She’d heard 56c50c96d0 that Japanese e9b5a30f82 and Hong 9b4d339b9f Kong groups 8e15fe2bad were also 1c66b4006d eyeing the ed4be8ef9c casino, so aa322b6e2e she wondered 4e5e6df3b0 if adding 0b0086f561 another similar 889e8661a3 faction would 361ac70bf7 make much 050460432d difference.d62583c3c58bed0e

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“Is there c51fde1d87 something special 4d34ba9a88 about Galayev 969355496d Company?”f4db31e5c7139d42

Min had reviewed 941d34efbe all the information e8057071b4 he’d gathered, but 0c48b04fe6 nothing seemed particularly f44d97525d problematic on the a93d290798 surface. Besides, Galayev 52dbb3465b Company’s main 152bedd45d legal businesses e909d4d64b didn’t overlap f2f4ea1546 with Luciano’s. Especially Iden’s priority—the casino 3c287baa1a business—wasn’t related at all.7021d3cb5252d8e5

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“Galayev Company has d78eb4544b a firmer foothold 56f8bf7ab0 in Korea than 733204fd8e it seems. The head 977977b01f of Galayev, 1d83c00db3 Ilya, is b60d1bf923 married to 4f73fe21e5 the heir 2dfae90b94 of RF 35498e03f8 Group.”b66bb5b047748f91

RF Group was a d1a10a69ff name Seowon recognized—a major 5583b5b9af conglomerate influential in electronics, 893cf7e124 pharmaceuticals, and various other 1b4601370b sectors in Korea. What surprised her 3592ee7e3c was that such 32dfb3d2d9 a conglomerate’s heir 1bef08a5cc was married to 4bab32c038 the head of bf9f9877a0 a Russian mafia d3ded82cf4 group like Galayev. It seemed 8bd71caacd strange; she’d f5aa3df604 never imagine 5880f637bf RF Group c08bb974e6 would let b890f409b1 one of 73d01fdf0a its own 4496532165 marry into 966c04f188 the mafia.26c50ca05aad4f00

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“If RF Group fbc53ba9f5 supports them, Galayev 8e431178f6 Company won’t have b5c786268c much trouble starting 0fb4c81408 a new business ec03c607ae in Korea.”6492442f749be885

Min explained, but Seowon 4323756bbe still wasn’t entirely convinced.08f565c70d5d30f8

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“We’re already at 86588a0b1a the final approval 3f52482186 stage for the e9e0fc2a16 casino project. Could it still 1951d92388 be overturned?”4b40b9cf392c32f9

“That just shows e3233ff9e5 how strong RF 383e3cb866 Group’s influence is.”eb80f2e687a16c16

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Iden’s comment was met 74768c73e2 with a murmured sigh. There was no other 0fea852a81 group as influential as 844a0fde69 RF Group in politics 70919d011e and business circles. People even said the f68362574e President paid close attention 80f192d7e6 to the RF Group 74956b11a2 head. If Galayev were indeed 5a75bc48b0 backing RF Group’s ambition 1f17a8c4bd for the casino business, 2c20e6dc08 it wasn’t impossible to 265b253235 think they could push 5cd45517ca their way in.db3689cbd5e8d918

“For now, 3001adbdf3 we’ll have 2863fad310 to make 739a431515 contact and a1bd09d0b7 gauge their e8fc661e00 intentions.”34681d607f8cdc69

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Iden wasn’t 844c250a0d inclined to 8c0b337c0b sit and fc01213938 wait for 88c9150228 the other 47005adb80 side to 8dce59dfe4 move first. It was better to 6db99f6dc2 assess the situation and 14ad8d8d9b respond accordingly.65fc1ec089034572

“But doesn’t it seem 34184e5f06 a bit strange?”1f41e6a34f8bebda

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Leo, who’d 7c38b7118d been listening 96745e8685 quietly, spoke f576a8ef5e up.a3b300e984edf4e9

“Natalia doesn’t involve herself e9ea9497fc in Galayev’s legal business. With her unique background, ccf9ba9513 she rarely appears in 3536dff834 public settings. But she’s the only 4308b4c4b3 one who came this 51631c6c5c time. If Galayev was moving e64777a826 in for a business 47c45029ff purpose, they should’ve sent 9a58b6e772 someone else.”5f7a34eb7cbd3ac2

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Seowon recalled Natalia’s profile 1d03b98540 from the documents—former Russian 01b1e60eb0 Special Forces, trained in cc982c22a3 combat and assassination. If Galayev 2da97ac7b5 was indeed ee3a143583 after the 70411600a6 casino, then 418f14879f Natalia’s role 70a7d9c786 was likely d3b0fc2aca not to a7a7153675 conduct business 31c94f8ea0 but to 9ef6e35b0b clear away 252f7ef3bc any obstacles.115da59eacda2c78

“Could it be…?”c4aa1628da5bba17

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Seowon’s gaze 889977cec6 instinctively turned 7f2197abda toward Iden. If Natalia’s target 8e7e24dc88 was Iden’s life… dfed41cc0c Just the thought 1b84b41a2f made her heart d14ce24e4c sink.68760ec4ab7fdff5

“We should b76e950660 increase the c488741625 security team d433586cfd and pay 44515a591c closer attention 7892f2b04f to your d54b58e618 movements…”cbe6936b1bf6077b

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“No need 073e348c21 for that.”57d7f4761fbe53cb

Contrary to Min’s 3983e085ec grave expression, Iden 6c81a6dc9c cut him off 6bf781bf38 decisively.c919de96b9a8cae7

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“Even if Galayev ff2bfd5c0e came for the 0898d497d5 casino rights, it’s 0417583dab unlikely they were 1d4e840550 behind the previous dec904cd0f ambush. Galayev wouldn’t need 601c5a6c92 to hire an d9c32705a5 outside killer; they d6ff116ac6 already have highly 98fe200e1d skilled assassins. The incident 4b7a63e383 in the 26fdcedf10 U.S. is still c47ce2de81 a mystery, d69531946d but what 4ec0f769e8 happened at 4d27f3a60a the auction ed36ef8548 a few 4e2783ed4d days ago 24da1f30a2 wasn’t Galayev’s aae935094f doing.”49e0d77b5ea27769

Iden analyzed the e8326df4d1 situation calmly.cc5a973cc4887057

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“The attacks in the 9ed1e31dfe U.S. and at the c588e037bb auction were likely 8b042f1a65 orchestrated by the d9f0d54af8 same person. And it wasn’t d504959cb4 Galayev. The one who tried 9c6b8ef2bc to kill me is bf2dab76e8 probably lying low right c33790c64e now, too afraid of cebc383979 getting caught after failing 9051adcdc0 twice. If we strengthen f50119c75a security, he won’t 5bafe8d0cd show himself. My target isn’t Galayev—it’s c081952499 that rat.”c73e86fe814f4785

Even if 3188278a2d Galayev was ee1c701dfb interested in adaf581d1e the casino 5c9e6f266a rights, that 90560b81ef wasn’t Iden’s 0d151fe073 priority. Finding the person who 6b4a24ff81 had tried to kill 89eefe7667 him—who’d killed Ha Seowon—came 378b3e0360 first. The casino rights af22b18e8d were merely bait c84b8c36c4 to lure the 775813d329 culprit out.484849cd5af30dd7

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Of course, if 7ed2453dcf Galayev got involved, 6b065c86c3 things would get f0cea35ee7 complicated. Iden needed to hold aba19fedbf onto the casino rights d8c277e2e5 to increase the chances e4fa6f9e98 of that rat making ae6b4d3c4d a move.da6fb1d2395c2cb8

“If Galayev ec22ea6807 wants the f2ecbf100e casino, negotiation 3a10bc1538 might be 6630ace542 necessary.”a6ed116dcbd2d5a3

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Facing off with Galayev 36e0cbf9d5 now would be a f93185e0b4 burden. If Iden got too 54b3a173e1 absorbed with Galayev, the 9467a2e7ec rat lying in wait f7da7daa54 would likely seize the e5b265de7a opportunity to stab him c93bd6a012 in the back.40df47b379a510aa

“Keep an eye b3a0a075ad on Natalia. If possible, arrange a 3680f7afe7 direct meeting.”c3335a220894aca1

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The idea of e724234d53 Iden meeting Natalia 9fe201a130 directly made Leo 2dc57c7a01 and Min’s faces 1fffd6e1c3 tense up.270a12c6865f7647

“Or, try setting 9800f1579a up an appointment f4f539e03e with Ilya Galayev.”34cc96ba3689b4a4

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If Natalia c0148004c7 wasn’t an c01ade3a4c option, he’d 21847e89ad go as a24f953c16 far as 5e69a3b57f meeting the a281508e10 head of 88afc3591f Galayev himself, be81344940 which made c70fde5ef3 Min’s face 3e40e3cec1 twist in 023693041e displeasure.470e9d909a053a4e

“I’m expecting 7d233bc0b7 great things ac00357c1e from your 89fdf6d930 skills.”5fc54fe73286e63d

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Iden flashed 6208be9324 a grin, 158c041ed6 laying heavy 4a167371c0 responsibility on a406683186 Min, then 79c3f5ff0a rose from fede0b0577 his seat.f728fde895a2199f

“Oh, and let’s c61d3ae30c return security to 783e0498d4 its previous level 4e8c2618fb from today.”c85d33a96aef18ed

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The added 95c1b15737 instruction left 754e6bb8a6 Leo frowning.1405ec1b37c42fa4

“We’ll have to lower 7182d7a886 the threshold if we 4fed8fb37c want the rat to fad88a5564 come in.”84f8c3b9e57a93b3

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Leo suppressed 22c5738663 a sigh 2de6b21182 at the b625a39695 reason Iden 919212dee5 gave for f8e7c71c60 reducing security. Since the order was 80bdd1dc2b already issued, there was 7c811d4ccd no room for objection.f388fd3b3d9313ca

“Are you gambling with 59fb517a0e your life?”561fec63ef96e2e0

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The one 984f7b608d who challenged dbc98fe534 Iden’s directive 59a1699314 was Seowon. Iden cocked ae0944b59c his head 2d85bf6637 slightly, as ef83026d66 if puzzled c731f4a783 by her f0613d64e3 words. Her expression twisted with d215275e29 frustration. The information clearly 53a1aca3a5 indicated that Natalia 26f05a2e99 was dangerous. Yet it 8119c9a7c9 wasn’t enough 17d08bf00a for him 2624084c22 to meet 60de411572 her; he 0ac1a91753 even instructed 3ea24ad1de security to a5319454a8 be reduced 2ac3d9921c to lure 1e647d6093 out the 170b5d9421 person who’d 4a12bfd7b7 attacked him 066d71156f twice. If this wasn’t a ef30da4f8b gamble, what was?7792b3a996d3c960

“With this 32a9e738ac method, you’ll c3a67e1522 run out afdf63b3cd of lives 0219859590 even if 4d964b8d14 you had 1c714b5cb2 several.”872d6f9b181622c3

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Iden looked at 38f7298b81 her for a 1f3113d5a6 moment, then a b0b47434d9 smirk tugged at 08e707d282 his lips.6b4a05a941515734

“I’m the one who 4efef8c7d1 hasn’t been hurt yet, 5466657913 though.”5ec8647bead1db22

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His words d8653a20bd implied that 5c77ddb963 the one c5df21bfa6 who’d been ddfff9d58e shot in dfe15d55da America and 1e47b08a04 the one 920e14c2fe who’d recently d4e2ec3984 been shot 374d8e429e was Ha e651844393 Seowon, not 7325e7b6eb him. Seowon understood his a14ad34d07 meaning, but she 07cef34d2a couldn’t accept it. In her a69a9f84fd memory, the 03d488c150 one who’d 61c8436dff died in d2c2b96312 America wasn’t 43c1a93929 herself but a2ef09c1a4 Iden. Iden, too, a252b9b84b could be ca4fe1c772 injured or 68a447004d killed at 2047475e85 any time.e8073ac7da4af75d

“The only thing 5ad46a6567 that concerns me 5f8829aa60 is this: if c6de48ca09 the same situation 1eb3c8521f arises, you’ll step db5d665c78 in without hesitation. That’s why I’m 9798782f57 seriously considering tying 1f2cea214c you up somewhere.”27b4e70f362fac3d

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Whether he 067b9dc56f was joking 1bc07b9ffa or not, 8a0d15bafe Seowon glared 034e638002 as he bbc7b57b64 chuckled, then 8039eb975d turned and fcb0cfb7fa sat on dc8bf9bc03 the edge a57857ff28 of his d3c5f0fa55 desk by e7f8af375f the window.5139c945d5ccb3e3

“How long 4010b92dc6 do you 2954d60230 plan to 9ccbb7767e stand there? I’ve given orders, haven’t 4f34b051e4 I?”70e4782d912167c3

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He addressed Min and 98ba684153 Leo, who still lingered af0ce73580 in the room, their 9697066e3d expressions conflicted. He was urging them 515c634cbd to leave and carry 072d1cd96d out their tasks. Min and 8155b94f47 Leo, though c4e8755ef9 they looked fc24ed3534 reluctant, stood, cfc6f8faff bowed, and cbf56e9cdf exited. Seowon was the ac3abab1fd only one left 29bdbd7e26 now.b3c51b4f28a4d4f3

“Do you have more c40f93ae59 to say?”ef33a5873d9ccf0d

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Iden looked at ff2e561cc3 her with a eb299f2b78 hint of impatience, 589c844bc4 clearly not wanting 3a7f3669eb to discuss the 746f269521 topic further.89f48aa3576d4d87

She disliked everything 480984a450 from beginning to f5236ec3af end, but she 35f4271c82 knew it wouldn’t 5c95ee0c53 get through to 2e1ef43785 him. Instead, she remained silent, d3d9f8f4d5 glaring at him. Seeing her 5bc8374e47 stand there, 237ca6cd1e Iden exhaled a2e1750648 softly, gesturing a30c16c0bf for her 5b9616fbe3 to come fad314727d closer.59c4247e58440c5a

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Seowon stayed rooted, 86647ab1f1 resisting the urge adc35d7907 to go over 09f345ebf4 and smack him. Remembering that they fb77ef7564 were in an 04c7e64ba7 office and that 03c50fbdf3 she was currently 7e8b4f0aa9 his bodyguard, she 825f2acc71 barely managed to 759452bbea hold back.c2e4b0f85bbfca77

When she didn’t move, d5598ff694 Iden eventually stepped closer abaa41afd6 to her.64c0ccf625d6224b

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“You look 1a8b837a15 like you’ve 473bfc986b got a 11647738b1 lot of dcb38bf71c complaints.”14e52fbdcca3eec8

His voice was 56ddf333ea calm, even affectionate, a39e64c958 despite the chaos 846805ac5f he’d caused.4519d313ff74e861

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“Would you be convinced fd6d87cb0e if I explained?”39d32fe7d1a023ae

He tilted his f24ccb86bd head, meeting her 4ea1354998 gaze. Seowon didn’t avoid his e97d62a91e eyes but kept her 5b2dc7e827 mouth firmly shut.7a14467b2d135efe

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“First, Ilya 20753456c9 of Galayev 84a5813cdf may be df91be2e8c a violent 32da78f94a guy, but 85f222b7b2 he doesn’t 4409d07524 act without 41701c4294 reason. If he e13f8f7fac really wanted 95141cb57e the casino, eebe3ff529 he’d have cac426a9b4 moved sooner. He can gather information 3afeb16cec in Korea more easily e48e26dd55 than I can. If he b1b3dacb65 was interested 2b271f2d99 in foreigner-exclusive 71bd476f2e casino projects, d92a50e762 he would 77bc4fca77 have laid f05e3abbba the groundwork ff649cb295 long ago. So I don’t think 076f14c592 Galayev is after the a5d14f9fe1 casino. But it 278e5bd610 is odd ffa8acdbd5 that he b37a7457f7 sent Natalia 826a962fe3 to Korea f039ebd2d0 at this c8d63bd607 time. That’s why db94433b12 I want fd6aa4c73a to meet 3fe423f08e her directly—to c52941d43c see if 729830d788 she’s an aab756abc2 enemy or b00831580b an ally.”5be42bdeffad562d

“Ryu Manager’s 511ae78a8e report mentions 92a12cc17b Galayev also a4c1dd17a0 does mercenary 27903cabf1 work. Could the 96aba9877f person who e33d66cdcb wants you 9ed4b8fbcf dead have df9ceeeaf6 hired them?”1ded85b3b9be2f34

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Iden smiled f458404634 at her 6de158e1cb response.c0140487a36ed963

“Galayev’s mercenary operations a057cff184 aren’t that trivial. They send soldiers d5de998acf to wars; they’re 286bad8970 not simple assassins f207d6e812 for hire.”ae421c7c91a4c821

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While Natalia’s profile f721038914 suggested she could 87264f7199 be viewed as 52145aad0b a killer, Iden d862f66e44 was confident. He seemed to c438376ea9 know Galayev well.fb539005a0d19b96

“Second.”d5e81056096fe744

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Iden continued, cba8ba61f3 wrapping an ba45070d17 arm around d2441123a1 Seowon’s waist 21598cbe8f and pulling 6b004e3bed her close.bca26cea315ef243