Chapter 50

Chapter 050: A Path Different from One's Intentions (9)

Chief Jang contacted Hee-soo again close to one in the morning.

"Assemblywoman Kim says she won't go to the safe house."

"Really?"

"Then it can't be helped."

"Tell the security team to guard her carefully."

"Understood."

After finishing his entire night shift, Hee-soo returned home in the morning and opened his email.

There was still nothing.

Looks like things aren't progressing smoothly yet.

Maybe I should start moving first.

The response came from somewhere else.

Manager Yoon came upstairs and urgently looked for Hee-soo.

"Hee-soo? Are you asleep?"

"Yes?"

"You're awake."

"The Chairman is looking for you."

Instead of answering, Hee-soo immediately opened his door and went into the living room.

It was noon, but Chairman Choi had not yet left for work.

He had a tablet open.

"What is all this?"

Clearly, the article had been released.

Hee-soo did not know where to begin explaining.

When he could not answer immediately, Chairman Choi asked,

"Why did you go to Mokpo?"

"I went because of an issue with the new company I'm establishing."

"What was there worth seeing?"

"I wanted to move things forward faster."

"There are more companies with good technology there than I expected."

"Are you planning to acquire them?"

"No."

"Then you're planning to take only the technology?"

"I'm planning mutual growth."

Chairman Choi frowned at Hee-soo's words.

"Mutual growth?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to quickly build production lines using their strong technologies so I can bring the products I envision to market faster."

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to look into Chinese companies?"

"I don't think I have time to go that far."

"Time?"

"Yes."

"To accelerate upgrades and mass production of the equipment I'm using now, I need skilled manufacturers."

"I also need to find a way to use Korean branding and marketing."

"I don't have time to explore every possible route."

"Why are you personally doing that?"

"Spend money."

"Tell people to bring the results to you."

"Father."

"When you were learning under Grandfather, didn't you personally run around handling things yourself?"

"That was because I had to at the time."

"Suseong is a top global company now."

"Why is the owner of a company like this wasting time on places like that?"

Hee-soo instinctively knew this was a moment when he could not back down.

But he also knew he could not directly clash with Chairman Choi.

He had to think carefully.

"I chose this trip to Mokpo partly as preparation for cooperation with Hyeonse."

"Cooperation with Hyeonse?"

"Yes."

"I thought it would be a good opportunity to combine Hyeonse's physical AI technology with our software AI technology, so I wanted to see the site myself."

"You're making it complicated."

"Explain it simply."

"You think I'll get confused just because you use difficult words?"

His words were harsh, but his tone had already softened considerably.

"The point is simple."

"We'll automate production using the robots Hyeonse is currently developing."

"Knowledge is important in that process, but some things depend on hand skills."

"I want the robots to absorb those skills directly."

Chairman Choi felt something click in his head.

"Hmm."

"So you're saying you'll take the actual craftsmanship of highly skilled small companies."

"Correct."

"There will be strong resistance."

"That's why we need mutual benefit."

"Was the mayor there okay with it?"

"The mayor of Mokpo will be happy as long as I give him the numbers he wants."

"That's true."

Chairman Choi was still defensive, but at least he was no longer attacking.

That was enough for Hee-soo to achieve his purpose.

Chairman Choi asked again,

"So did you accomplish what you went there for?"

Hee-soo froze for a moment.

In truth, he had not accomplished much.

Chairman Choi read his expression immediately and clicked his tongue.

"Tsk."

"Look at this impulsive brat."

"How can the steps of Suseong's successor be this light?"

He was right.

Hee-soo needed an avatar-like person who understood his intentions completely and could fight exactly the way he would.

Chairman Choi spoke disapprovingly.

"Can't Chief Jang even handle something like that?"

"Chief Jang helps me tremendously."

"I'm sure he does."

"But if he let you go all the way to Mokpo and come back empty-handed, does that make sense?"

It seemed the same thing had bothered Chief Jang.

Hee-soo desperately defended him.

"Chief Jang said he'd handle everything."

"I insisted on doing it myself because I wanted the experience."

Chairman Choi shook his head.

"Look at you defending your own loyal man."

"Should I send you more people?"

"No. I'm fine."

"I'll find them myself."

Even if it was his father, taking more of Chairman Choi's people would turn Hee-soo into Chairman Choi's avatar.

He did not want that.

At least because Chief Jang was who he was, not every movement Hee-soo made was reported back.

When Hee-soo returned to his room, he looked discouraged.

Am I still not ready to inherit Suseong?

News that Ga-eul had been attacked reached Hee-soo late at night while he was working in the apartment.

His phone rang.

It was Chief Jang.

"Why is he calling at this hour?"

He had a bad feeling.

"Yes, Chief Jang."

"Hee-soo. Assemblywoman Kim was attacked."

"They're taking her to Boramae Hospital right now."

Rage surged all the way to the top of Hee-soo's head.

"What did you say?"

The anger that rose inside him made his mind go cold instead.

Chief Jang was explaining the situation, but all Hee-soo heard was a buzzing noise.

His voice became even colder.

"First, maintain complete security."

"Understood."

"And there will be no record that she was treated at that hospital."

"Understood."

"Then I'll send a car."

"You're at the apartment, right?"

"Yes."

After hanging up, Hee-soo called Hyun-soo.

"Hyung?"

"Yeah. What is it at this hour?"

"I need one favor."

"What?"

"Assemblywoman Kim Ga-eul is going to Boramae Hospital right now."

"She needs treatment."

"But she was attacked."

"If her treatment records or route are revealed, her life could be in danger."

"So please tell them to make it look as though she was never treated at Boramae Hospital at all."

"Should I contact the hospital director?"

"Please do whatever you can."

"All right."

"This sounds important."

"Yeah."

"Thanks, Hyung."

After ending the call, Hee-soo heard knocking.

He opened the door.

Chief Jang was standing there.

"Let's go."

"How is she?"

"They moved her to Boramae and started hyperbaric oxygen treatment."

Hee-soo shook his head, his expression becoming even colder.

The car carrying the two of them raced toward Boramae Hospital.

Hee-soo did not return to the apartment until almost lunchtime.

His anger still had not faded.

So they're picking a fight with me.

I'm not exactly easy to deal with either.

His cold eyes looked strong enough to pierce through the wall.

Even while sitting inside the rescue office, the heat was intense enough that the air conditioner could barely hold it back.

The ambulance crews and rescue teams were constantly being dispatched.

Fortunately, none of the victims were in immediate danger of death.

Hee-soo alone had mixed feelings about that.

It's fortunate, but still...

Just as he started getting lost in useless thoughts, another dispatch order rang through Dobong Fire Station.

"Rescue dispatch! Rescue dispatch!"

It was a simple wasp nest removal call.

Requests for wasp nest removal became common as summer approached.

It was about as frequent as icicle removal calls during winter.

Normally, firefighters wore completely sealed protective suits.

But because they were made of vinyl, their entire bodies became soaked in sweat after wearing them.

However, the rescue team already had the protective suits donated by Hee-soo.

Their heat insulation was excellent, so the internal temperature did not rise explosively.

Even so, they were still hot.

Hee-soo put on his protective suit.

Captain Gu asked,

"Why? You're going to remove it yourself?"

"Of course."

"I have the least seniority here."

"So I should do it."

"Ah. Right."

Only around four months had passed since Hee-soo joined.

So much had happened during that time that everyone had nearly forgotten he was the youngest member of the team.

Once Hee-soo finished putting on the protective suit and turned on the system, a rescue target alert appeared in front of his eyes.

Hee-soo shouted,

"Stop!"

The rescue vehicle stopped immediately.

Without another word, Hee-soo opened the door and ran.

Still wearing the protective suit, he ran back the way they had come.

The deputy captain stared after him blankly, then looked at Captain Gu.

"What is it?"

Instead, Captain Gu scolded him.

"Didn't I tell you to move with him?"

"Run after him. You too."

By then, Hee-soo had already mounted one of the motorcycles unloaded from the equipment truck following them.

He disappeared from view like the wind.

The equipment vehicle following Hee-soo could not turn around immediately, so it continued following the rescue vehicle.

Instead, several motorcycles began chasing Hee-soo.

The deputy captain was left behind where he stood.

"Huh? Everyone..."

He searched his pockets.

His phone was still inside the rescue vehicle.

"Ah! I'm screwed!"

He knew exactly where the wasp nest removal call was.

But it was too far away to walk.

He had no idea where Hee-soo had gone.

"What am I supposed to do?!"

While the deputy captain was stranded, Hee-soo raced toward the location where the alert had appeared.

He had not missed the signal that had flashed for only a moment.

By the time Hee-soo shouted for them to stop, the target had already left his detection range.

But after he went back around one hundred meters, the signal appeared again.

Chief Jang contacted him.

"Why did you stop?"

"You have motorcycles, right?"

"Unload one."

"What about the vehicle?"

"Tell it to turn around and follow me."

"Understood."

"I'll attach a few people to you first."

"Yes."

The marker grew closer, but no building appeared.

Instead, a pear orchard stretched out in front of him.

Using cadastral maps he had prepared and layered into the system, Hee-soo identified the exact location of the victim.

It was in the middle of an orchard where motorcycles could not enter.

The moment he found it, Hee-soo contacted Chief Jang.

"Chief Jang. You can track my location, right?"

"Roughly."

"Send a helicopter here."

"Understood. Is there a patient?"

"Yes."

"Send a doctor helicopter with an emergency medicine physician."

"Understood."

When Hee-soo reached the victim, the man's condition was terrible.

"What the hell is this?"

Hee-soo had assumed the man had collapsed while working in the heat.

But his face was badly swollen.

His entire body was flushed red.

It clearly looked like anaphylactic shock.

At that moment, Hee-soo's phone rang.

It was the doctor from the medical helicopter.

"Are you Director Choi?"

"I heard there's a patient. What are the symptoms?"

"The most obvious symptom is anaphylactic shock."

"I don't have antihistamines or epinephrine with me, so you need to get here as fast as possible."

"Do you have those medications on board?"