Chapter 270: Clear the Hands

One day before returning to Seoul, the market vendors came to our home.

They were loaded with goods and food they’d bought at the market.

The merchants visiting Grandma’s house had bright smiles on their faces, a stark contrast to before.

“Mu-hyeok, thank you!”

The president of the merchants’ union, Jang Beom-seok, who hadn’t properly greeted me before, bowed on behalf of the vendors.

“It’s nothing. I’m just returning the kindness the market folks showed me.”

Grandma took the food brought by the vendors to the kitchen, smiling as she prepared fruits and drinks.

After watching Grandma for a while, I turned to Jang Beom-seok and asked.

“Did Min-woo come to apologize to the market folks?”

Jang Beom-seok’s expression looked as relieved as someone who had just extracted a painful tooth.

“Yeah, he kneeled and begged for forgiveness. He asked for just one chance. So, they forgave him. After all, he’s also a child from the market. Phew… Thank goodness Seok-hyun understood and let it go.”

“Seok-hyun? I guess the youth president is Seok-hyun?”

“You didn’t know? Seok-hyun took over as youth president and struggled a lot. That Min-woo kid thought he could change, so he got a good thrashing.”

Jang Beom-seok let out a light sigh. Aunt Song, who had been quietly listening, had caught onto his mood.

A parent with a troublesome child is always guilty. Especially if that child caused trouble.

“Is Seok-hyun’s leg okay?”

“Who knows? They said they did surgery, but we should wait and see. For now, I told Min-woo to temporarily take the youth president position. He needs to struggle a bit to understand Seok-hyun’s feelings, right?”

“He’ll do fine. And if he causes any trouble, please call Grandma right away. I’ll make sure he gets a proper reality check. That’s fine, right, Auntie?”

I deliberately engaged Aunt Song, giving her a chance to ease her guilt.

After all, I couldn’t keep bowing my head to the market vendors forever.

“Mu-hyeok… thank you…”

Aunt Song, who had her head lowered, finally showed her tears.

I was taken aback since I hadn’t expected tears, so I handed her a handkerchief and gently comforted her.

“Why are you crying? Everyone makes mistakes. Didn’t Seok-hyun also forgive Min-woo? Min-woo can spend his life making amends to Seok-hyun.”

“…Seok-hyun, I’ll take responsibility.”

“It’s not your job, Auntie. Min-woo needs to take responsibility. He’s an adult now. He can’t keep living under your shadow forever; he needs to stand on his own.”

After a while, Grandma came into the living room with fruits and drinks in hand.

As she placed the tray on the table, she turned to Aunt Song and said.

“Aunt Song, are you crying?”

“No, I’m not. It’s just…”

“You know Mu-hyeok may sound harsh, but he’s actually very soft-hearted. You know that, right, Aunt Song? Just filter what he says and listen carefully.”

“I know that already.”

To soothe Aunt Song, Grandma squeezed her hand and gently reassured her.

“But Mu-hyeok, how did you get Min-woo to wake up? He never listens to us at all. But after you took him out, he returned as a different person.”

Perhaps to lighten the mood, Jang Beom-seok joked and asked.

I just smiled instead of responding.

“Grandma’s gone mad. That troublemaker grandson of hers goes to Seoul and finds success; now he’s even buying her a nice house. All thanks to Grandma raising him well, right?”

When I didn’t respond, the conversation naturally turned towards Grandma.

Surprised to be praised, Grandma awkwardly waved her hands.

“Oh, what have I really done? He grew up just fine on his own. I really did nothing special.”

As the market vendors continued to praise me, Grandma’s face shone with happiness, her smile never fading.

After about an hour at our home, the vendors said their goodbyes and left.

The once noisy house instantly fell silent.

“Phew…”

Once everyone had left, a deep sigh escaped Grandma’s lips.

“Grandma, what is it?”

I turned my head to look at her. Despite her deep sigh, Grandma’s face was bright.

“Oh, I was just thinking about how I should repay the kindness I received from the market folks, but you took care of everything. That made me feel good.”

Seeing her in a good mood, I couldn’t help but smile. It felt like I had made the right decision coming down to Busan.

With my meeting over with the market folks, my entire schedule in Busan came to an end.

Even though I’d faced some troubling incidents during my relaxing trip down to Busan, I had also escaped from much more complicated issues, if only for a few days.

“Grandma, I’ll come again.”

“Hurry along now. Be careful on the road. Watch out for people.”

Though her words were blunt, I knew her warmth was in every syllable, making me feel cozy inside.

Grandma gave my back a light pat before bowing to Manager Ma beside her.

“Manager, please take care of Mu-hyeok.”

“Of course, ma’am. I’ll make sure he’s well looked after.”

Leaving Grandma’s send-off behind, I got into the car.

The moment the car pulled away from Grandma’s house, she waved until we disappeared from sight.

The brief respite was over. It was time to return to reality.

“Chairman Song is in critical condition?”

Manager Ma, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to reply.

“Yes. I received a call yesterday.”

“Hmm… did he ask for me?”

“Apparently, when he regained consciousness briefly, he asked for the Boss. I received this message from Chairman Song Young-ju’s secretary.”

Worry washed over me naturally, as I hadn’t liked the last time I saw Chairman Song Young-ju; he hadn’t looked well.

“Schedule a visit as soon as we get back to Seoul. Ever since Grandfather passed away, he seems to have been weaker…”

“Understood.”

The reason why Chairman Song Young-ju was seeking me was obvious. Perhaps it would be better for my peace of mind if I didn’t visit him.

Yet there were even more reasons to meet with Chairman Song Young-ju.

He was a close friend of Grandfather, and to me, he was a mentor and someone I respected.

Suddenly, memories flooded back of Chairman Song Young-ju saying he wanted my help for Chairman Song Chan-woo.

I had yet to decide on my course of action.

Chairman Song Chan-seong was remarkably capable in management. In the future I knew, he would lead his company well.

His excessive emotionality was a drawback, but he had enough strengths to outweigh it.

On the other hand, Chairman Song Chan-woo had more visible flaws than strengths. If someone wanted a puppet, choosing him would be correct, but I did not want a puppet.

Supporting Song Chan-seong placed Chairman Song Young-ju’s words in my mind. But choosing to support Song Chan-woo felt lacking knowing Song Chan-seong’s abilities.

Even until we arrive in Seoul, I remained unable to reach a decision as my worries only deepened.

As I continued to ponder, we arrived in Pyeongchang-dong. While I waited for the parking lot gate to open, I caught sight of a white woman approaching the car, pushing past the security team.

Seeing that the guards weren’t blocking her, she had to have solid credentials…

“Roll down the window, please.”

As Manager Ma pressed the button to lower the back seat window, the woman greeted me with a smile.

“So you’re Charlie Kim? It’s my first time seeing you in person after only seeing your photos. You’re much better looking in real life! By the way, did you enjoy your vacation in Busan? Oh, I guess you didn’t fully get the chance to enjoy it, hearing there were some quite interesting happenings?”

Her words had an undertone of truth hidden in a playful jest. However, the content was far from light.

Within the casually spoken words lay nuances that revealed her knowledge of my every action. That posed a significant threat to me.

Subconsciously, my face stiffened.

“Hey, Charlie, don’t be all tense now.”

“Who are you?”

“You speak English well, Charlie? That’s really cool! I might just fall in love with you.”

“…”

I could feel her playful gaze analyzing my face.

Contrary to her light-hearted words, the look in her eyes was far too serious.

“Let’s skip the jokes and get to the point. Who are you? If you don’t tell me, I’m going back inside now. Manager, raise the window and let’s go back in.”

At her command, Manager Ma pressed the button without hesitation to raise the window. Just as it was gradually closing, her hand shot up in panic.

“Wait, just a moment.”

Surprised, she rushed to speak, but Manager Ma wouldn’t budge.

The window that continued to shut left her no choice but to pull back her hand. The car rolled into the parking lot as the window completely closed.

Once I entered, the main gate to the Pyeongchang-dong residence slowly closed behind me. Checking the rearview mirror, she was just standing there with a dazed expression.

As soon as I stepped inside, I instructed Manager Ma.

“Find out everything about that woman. Her birthplace, where she grew up, her school, and her work experience too. One day should be enough, right?”

“Understood. I’ll contact the information team right away.”

“Sounds good. Just take it easy today, and report back to me tomorrow. I hope you rest well too, Manager. This is an order.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Even if I told him to take it easy, he likely wouldn’t, but at least with the word ‘order,’ Manager Ma would restrain himself somewhat.

Walking straight to my study, I glanced at Grandfather’s portrait and offered a moment of silent reflection before sinking into my chair.

‘Grandfather, what should I do about Chairman Song Young-ju? Even if he’s lacking, due to our connection, should I help the person he supports?’

There was no answer. But I wanted to ask.

What would Grandfather have done? Though my worry only grew deeper, finding a conclusion wasn’t easy.

The next day, I received word that Chairman Song Young-ju had regained consciousness, and early in the morning, I left for the hospital with Manager Ma.

“Boss, I have something to report. It’s about the order you gave yesterday.”

“You’ve already gathered the information? The information team might be quite capable after all.”

Lost in thought as I gazed out at the rapidly changing scenery, I couldn’t help but smile slightly at Manager Ma’s words.

The Black Bear information team operated professionally, recruiting personnel from intelligence agencies not only in the U.S., where they are based but also in various locations worldwide.

Thanks to that, they had reached a level comparable to that of most countries’ agencies, with the ultimate goal to establish a team that could stand toe-to-toe with the CIA, FSB, and Mossad.

Seeing they had gathered all the information within a day proved that the resources employed weren’t wasted.

“Her name is Jessica. She currently works at the U.S. Embassy, but her exact position is unknown. However, it seems that even the U.S. Ambassador won’t treat her carelessly. She’s assumed to be a high-ranking officer at the CIA’s Asian branch in Hong Kong. It’s estimated that the head of the CIA’s Korea branch takes orders from her. She hails from Texas, graduated from Yale University, and reportedly joined the CIA thereafter. She rapidly ascended through the ranks with the Bush administration and was assigned to Korea thereafter.”

Just as I expected, she was indeed a CIA agent.

Despite our unfortunate first meeting yesterday, she hadn’t stopped watching me.

Though it was a playful contact initially, her gaze sparkled like that of an information agent.

“Moreover, the U.S. Embassy has officially requested a meeting with you. What should we do?”

“Seeing their quick response, it seems the U.S. Ambassador may be someone they truly respect. For now, decline the offer. They acted too rudely yesterday. Let’s see them sweat a bit.”

“Understood.”

They say the power of intelligence organizations like the CIA and NSA grew stronger after the Bush administration took power. It seems that’s indeed the case.

Even the U.S. Ambassador is responding to their orders. They must have settled in more quickly than expected.

“Boss, we have arrived.”

Lost in thought, we arrived at the hospital where Chairman Song was staying.

Ascending to the VIP ward where Chairman Song Young-ju was hospitalized, I found only the waiting secretary outside. Nurse and doctors seemed to have all left their posts.

“Chairman Wang requested you both speak quietly, so he asked everyone to leave. You may enter now.”

Nodding, I opened the door to the sickroom. Chairman Song Young-ju sat in bed, looking distinctly unwell.