Chapter 4 – Get out of a deathtrap. 2
We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.
[Psalms 124:7]
- Sung-woo’s side
The hotel in Busan we arrived at yesterday with my son was truly excellent. It had been a long time since I stepped into a 5-star hotel. But even then, I had never stayed in a top-tier suite before. At first, my son was so excited, using the jacuzzi, running around, and peeking into everything, before eventually falling asleep. It was the ultimate luxury since returning to Korea. Watching my deeply sleeping son beside me, I couldn't fall asleep. Outside the window, dawn was already breaking.
Ding-dong.
Hmm? What time is it? There shouldn't be anyone visiting here...
"Who is it?"
I stood at the door and looked through the peephole, asking quietly so as not to wake my son. A woman stood there, flanked by two men behind her.
"Who is it?" I asked a little louder.
"I'm Jennifer Kim."
Huh? Jennifer Kim. Jennifer Kim from J.P. Morgan. Why is this woman here? I asked with a voice full of disbelief.
"Which Jennifer Kim are you?"
"Jennifer Kim, Private Banker at J.P. Morgan Family Office."
Hearing the voice, it seemed to be the same woman I had spoken to on the phone yesterday, so I cautiously opened the door. Through the crack, I slowly saw a woman in her early thirties with an elegant and beautiful face. At that moment, a groan escaped my lips.
"...Junghwa!"
Jennifer's face was exactly the same as the picture Junghwa had shown me last year, claiming it was her. The elegant and beautiful woman of my ideal type. The Junghwa from the digital world was standing right in front of me in the flesh. Seeing my dazed reaction in her office suit, Jennifer spoke first.
"You have some business to handle with the lottery purchasing agency in Seoul today, so I hurried over early this morning. Did you rest well last night?"
No, I didn't. Would you have slept well? I just hit the lottery. But who are you? Junghwa gave me her picture and said it was an image made from non-existent data in this world, but you look too identical. It was as if Junghwa had just popped out of the digital world.
2. Jennifer’s Side
"Who is it?"
The man's voice through the door was thick with vigilance.
"I'm Jennifer Kim."
The door opened, and a man in a worn-out t-shirt revealed himself. Lee Sung-woo. 59 years old.
A calculator spins rapidly in my head. The $350 million jackpot. After the lump-sum reduction and the 30% federal tax for foreigners, his actual take-home amount is roughly $120 million. He is now a walking pile of cash, and I'm the one who gets to roll it.
Putting on the most perfect and trustworthy smile I had practiced dozens of times in front of the mirror, I opened my mouth.
"You have some business to handle with the lottery purchasing agency in Seoul today, so I hurried over early this morning. Did you rest well last night?"
But his reaction was strange. The man's pupils dilated abnormally, and his lips trembled as he stared at me like he had just seen a ghost. Then, a low groan slipped from his mouth.
"...Junghwa!"
Junghwa? Who is that? An ex-wife? A creditor? Did he lose his mind the moment he got his hands on 120 million dollars? Calm down, Jennifer. That man is a walking $120 million. Just smile.
Despite his bewildered reaction, I didn't twitch a single facial muscle. Hiding my emotions was the very first skill I learned to survive on Wall Street. The man remained frozen, his soul seemingly sucked out, unable to take his eyes off my face.
This man couldn't possibly imagine what I had gone through over the past 18 hours to stand in front of this hotel room door.
1:00 AM, New York time. The moment I verified the photo of the winning ticket, I jumped with joy and called the company. I reported that we had just landed a $120 million client and requested the immediate deployment of police and a hotel in Busan for the client's safety, as well as a private jet and bodyguards to go to Korea.
It took me just one hour to board the company's Gulfstream G650ER. My first assignment after being transferred to the Family Office. And a mega-client worth $120 million at that. As soon as the plane took off, I hummed a tune and enjoyed a shower in the ultra-luxurious in-flight cabin. Wearing a bathrobe and sipping champagne, I was lost in the sweet fantasy of arriving leisurely in Korea tomorrow afternoon and securing his signature on the contract in style.
But that leisurely mood was shattered into pieces just 40 minutes after takeoff. It was because of an urgent satellite phone call from Richard at headquarters.
"Kim! Send the police to the hotel right now. The agency's servers got breached on the dark web. The winner's information has been leaked!"
"What? Information leaked? To where?"
"Intel says a multinational mafia syndicate from Southeast Asia is making a move. Their plan is to kidnap him and hijack the money before it goes into the trust. Other brokers are sniffing around too. Kim, lock that man down before the mafia does, by any means necessary. If you fail, you're fired!"
The moment the call disconnected, the champagne glass in my hand rolled onto the floor.
This is crazy! My first client! My 120 million dollars! Mafia? They say the smell of money is the smell of blood in this business, and it was actually true?!
Clutching the hem of my bathrobe, I dashed madly toward the cockpit.
"Captain! Go full speed right now! Ignore fuel efficiency, route costs, or whatever, and push the engines until they explode to get us there as fast as possible!!"
The plane frantically crossed the Pacific, taking on only the bare minimum of fuel in Anchorage and Tokyo Narita. Staying up all night on the plane, I meticulously formulated a strategy on how to operate in Korea.
I took a step inside, locking eyes with the dazed man in the worn-out t-shirt.
You, if it weren't for me, you and your son would be inside a mafia car trunk this afternoon. Cash Ahjussi, I'm going to risk my life to protect you, so just be a good boy and take my hand.
"Mr. Lee Sung-woo. Before we approach the agency, we need to finalize the paperwork first. Right here in this secure room."
Two former Navy SEAL bodyguards who had been standing behind me flanked my sides.
