TL | Chapter 29 | Security Team

e89eefa912956acfe88cIn the basement level 1 of the Luciano Building, there was a shooting range. It was an unusual and rather pointless facility for a typical office building, but I shrugged it off—after all, it was the Luciano Company. I didn’t know what the rest of the basement was used for, but today I found out it was entirely taken over by the security team.

561bf5790392f838c5ddThough they were called “security guards,” most of them were actually mobsters affiliated with Luciano’s organization in the United States. Not all of them were mafia members, but some of them had such fierce looks that it made sense to keep them separated from the regular office staff upstairs, hence giving them this entire basement floor.

8d74474d8583faee2b84Min had offered to come along and introduce me, but I declined. I didn’t want to give the impression that I was completely under Min’s—more accurately, Iden’s—protection. They were technically “security guards,” but in reality, they were a bunch of mafia who determined hierarchy through strength. I knew that if I gave them a weak first impression, they’d look down on me from that point on.

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c643dd25e1690b909d95Was this really going to be a first impression?

38b974631221dd69822dStanding in front of the door labeled “Security Team,” I took a deep breath. I might be seeing them for the first time, but it wouldn’t be the same for them. They probably knew everything about “Ha Seowon” by now.

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5802f98693617536130e“Don’t worry. These are the Director’s guards. They know better than anyone who you are, so they won’t act disrespectfully.”

c2fbc6e7cc62111c1e2fMin had added that, probably thinking I might feel intimidated, but his words only made me more uneasy. The thought of them treating me like they treated Iden was already a bit overwhelming. Unlike the late Ha Seowon, I’d never even spoken to mafia members, except for Min. I hadn’t even had a chance to figure out who was in Luciano before “Iden” was killed.

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a6ed0de32f14605690dcI swiped the card key Min had given me before coming down at the system beside the entrance. The display read “Authorized,” and the door automatically slid open.

4aa007e0117032e2c742As I entered, I felt a dozen pairs of eyes instantly shift towards me, making me swallow dryly. The space inside was much larger than I had expected, with open sections set up for different kinds of training exercises. Toward the back, I could see a glass-enclosed office area.

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a4f8f08fa4c1284667c1The group gave each other silent looks when they saw me. Then, one of the men stepped forward. He extended his hand without a word. I looked down at it, deciding I had no reason to avoid it, and shook his hand.

118f17da86945a2ea52dHe tightened his grip slightly. I didn’t resist or respond but simply looked at his face. After a moment, he let go with a smirk.

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820c360264ab6c6a730a“Mr. Ha.”

3c5d3e1d6f0e0b8be240He addressed me without introducing himself, instead scanning me up and down, as if evaluating me. It finally clicked what he was doing.

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ab967d3605149efc003bThey already knew Ha Seowon. I didn’t know how or what kind of relationship they had, but they felt no need to introduce themselves to him again. But that didn’t mean they weren’t suspicious. They were still assessing me.

0600bf83d81f8e41940b“Sorry, but could you start with an introduction?”

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8275aa83b2ccbea00cafEven if they knew me, I didn’t know them. I had no choice but to ask what to call them, despite knowing they’d find it strange.

aeb24de63c37a91bb2a7The man’s face stiffened slightly at my request for an introduction, and he exchanged looks with the others.

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d9561c84f8a03f2f0638“Mr. Ha?”

46b84ba4a2c6c2238e6bHe raised his tone at the end, almost as if questioning if I was indeed “Ha Seowon.”

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1db77d9ae554f3abe13b“You all seem to know who I am without me needing to say it,” I replied indirectly, acknowledging, “Yes, I am Ha Seowon.” But I could still see suspicion in their eyes. Naturally, it was suspicious—I had returned from the dead with no memory of them.

795fcc4eb17b0383338b“Looks like a trip to the afterlife gives you amnesia, huh? Did you drink some sort of forgetfulness tea?”

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307cee12c0fd33f8504aSomeone muttered sarcastically from the back, and a few people chuckled. The man I had shaken hands with turned around and told them to shut up. His firm tone made the chucklers clear their throats and look away.

b922f028c8819b4248c9“Leo.”

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3bf6bd746b8963b6c62aHe finally looked back at me and introduced himself as Leo. His Korean pronunciation was surprisingly perfect. With a mix of Eastern and Western features, I wondered if he was biracial.

efb585aafc728efbd16e“The other team members—you’ll get to know them over time.”

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14af5ffb56e68e9804adIn other words, he had no intention of introducing everyone right now. Since there were about a dozen people here, it was unlikely I’d remember all their names even if they were introduced, so I didn’t push it.

a467acb88cc843e6cc9f“What do I need to do?”

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e82f841dcd0f47893f88Though I understood the basic responsibilities of security, I’d never actually been part of a mafia’s security team. That was the fundamental difference between the late “Ha Seowon” and me. Upon my question, Leo and the others’ faces twisted, as if rotting. Even Leo couldn’t hide his surprise this time.

846e5010c0ce40dbaf9fAre you saying you want to do security work without even knowing what it entails?

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438c55dd9c262b69cf06That was the exact expression on his face.

3888658fd56bd8a10df9“I’m not asking because I don’t know how to guard the Director. I’m asking how to cooperate with you.”

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2986ad13310afa80106aI clarified, but their reactions didn’t change much. Some even scoffed in disbelief.

c6176c2609f3497e6df6“Captain, shouldn’t we test his skills first?” one of them asked Leo in English.

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65654c52db4959fe1bb5“Bringing in a half-baked guy could put us all in danger.”

07f9252b9fd89fd817f3“I don’t understand what they’re thinking. This one looks like a counterfeit no matter how you see it. The Director’s gone out of his mind, bringing in someone who only looks like him.”

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eedf68add5f1262b1315The others chimed in as well.

00f2056c49990e987d1a“Watch your mouth,” Leo warned them, then looked back at me. Unfortunately, I understood every word, though I kept my expression neutral and met his gaze calmly.

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9a863501cdf73aef8853I’d been learning lately that people try to find their own explanations when faced with things they can’t accept.

eb81d45ceaa4de21c263As for Ha Seowon, Iden seemed to mentally grasp that I was a different person, but on an emotional level, he still saw me as the same. Among everyone here, he was probably the most conflicted, though he never showed it. He might have seemed rational, but perhaps he was the most emotional when it came to “Ha Seowon.”

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a183fd54295ac8834ddcOn the other hand, Jian outright rejected Ha Seowon’s death. Though she attended his funeral, she hadn’t witnessed his death firsthand. To her, it was as if he’d never died—just pretended to for some unknown reason.

d97f2e349c8af997a9f5The security team here, however, had likely been with Iden all along, meaning they had witnessed Ha Seowon’s death. They didn’t deny his death itself but rather denied my existence. To them, it seemed Iden had found someone resembling Ha Seowon as a replacement.

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e9c664a65cec8ca18f14“If verification’s necessary, let’s do it. Where do I start?”

217248e2ac7ea209811eI responded in English on purpose. The ones who had spoken up earlier stiffened, seemingly worried I’d relay their words to Iden. And I realized again just how much they were underestimating me. They were visibly rattled by a few words in English. Surely the late Ha Seowon had been fluent in English too.

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7849ed7095d9d275bd40Leo gave me a long, scrutinizing look, as if asking if I was really up for it. Without adding anything else, I held his gaze, and he finally smirked slightly.

1937e301f922426f1ea1“Aiden.”

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aa2c40029c7a275701f7He called out to one of the men behind him.

99bca51b9897dad395c0“You take him on.”

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44c581e0e6e95b887f38The man called Aiden stepped forward, grinning at me before rushing in without warning. I turned my body slightly to dodge his fist and ducked down, moving toward his torso. Instead of landing a punch, I grabbed his waist and used his momentum to flip him over. With a heavy thud, Aiden hit the ground, and the others’ faces froze.

6e6b722f62aa38ff2984“Asher.”

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80e121105d2601363b52Leo called another name. This time, the man who stepped forward pulled out a jackknife just slightly longer than his palm, its sharp blade glinting under the light—clearly not a training knife.

cbc21ec1f610c508228fThe jackknife came hurtling toward my face at high speed. Before it could make contact, I grabbed his arm with both hands and stopped him, sweeping his knee with my leg. Asher, who’d been focusing all his strength on his knife hand, lost his balance and stumbled. But he didn’t give up, trying next to slash at my abdomen. I narrowly dodged, grabbed his arm, and twisted it behind his back. With a grunt, Asher dropped the jackknife to the floor.

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463a665aebcf0e62f38b“Need anything more?”

b12e7eb7f3746fb9a129I asked Leo, letting go of Asher’s arm. Leo grinned and shook his head.

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