Chapter 710: Driven Mad but Firmly Insane

Han Hyun-soo, the current leader of Heaven Church, arrived at Osaka Airport.

However, there was no one from the Japanese sect there to greet him.

“Heh… look at these guys.”

Han Hyun-soo clicked his tongue and frowned. He recalled what the Japanese leadership had conveyed to him.

‘If you want to talk to us, you need to come to the Japanese sect. We have no reason to go to the Korean sect.’

The Japanese leadership refused to refer to the main branch of Heaven Church in Korea as the main branch.

Instead, they called it the Korean sect. Han Hyun-soo clicked his tongue again, guessing what that implied.

He was quite angry about their attitude, insisting they wouldn’t negotiate unless he came to them.

Moreover, they had the audacity to issue orders to their current leader.

Frustrated, he decided to visit the Japanese sect to initiate a dialogue.

However, not wanting to alert his followers about the visit, he discreetly entered Japan with just his secretary and a driver.

“Hey, where’s the car?”

“It’s waiting outside.”

“Then let’s get moving. I want to see those hard-to-find faces and have a word with them.”

As Han Hyun-soo took the lead, his secretary and the driver followed closely behind.

Once outside the airport, he scanned the surroundings. The car that was supposed to be waiting was nowhere in sight.

“What’s going on? Where’s the car?”

“Ah, please wait a moment.”

The flustered driver dashed off somewhere. With just the two of them left, Han Hyun-soo turned to his secretary.

“What do you think is going on with these guys?”

“Even when you were around, many insisted the Japanese sect was different from the Korean sect. But your presence kept those opinions in check…”

His secretary trailed off, watching Han Hyun-soo’s expression.

“Hey! Just say it.”

“I’m sorry. Since you’ve ascended to the leader’s position, the voices from the factions wanting to separate from the Japanese sect have gained strength.”

“Why is that? I’m also someone who carries my father’s blood—what’s the problem?”

“…It’s not about legitimacy. They seem to know that Kim Mu-hyeok supported you as the leader.”

“Hah…”

Han Hyun-soo pinched the bridge of his nose. Gritting his teeth, he vented his frustration on the unfortunate secretary.

“Did I have a choice? They were intent on completely erasing Heaven Church in Korea! I merely chose to ally with that person—was that such a terrible mistake?”

“No, most people would think like you do, Leader. But it seems the Japanese sect is ready to pounce on that fact.”

“Hold on. Most regular followers don’t know about Kim Mu-hyeok. So, are the leaders causing a ruckus with their own theories?”

“It appears so.”

As vague answers continued, Han Hyun-soo shouted in frustration.

“‘It appears so’! What kind of half-baked response is that? Are you saying you haven’t grasped anything accurately?!”

“…I apologize.”

“Ugh! Just—”

Han Hyun-soo raised his hand high. Just as his secretary squeezed his eyes shut in fear, the driver finally pulled up with the car.

He lowered his hand and cleared his throat.

“Let’s do this properly. You’re the only one I can trust, so if you’re acting like this, how am I supposed to believe in you? Don’t you agree?”

“I’m sorry, Leader.”

“I’ve sought out the Japanese sect at your suggestion, so there had better be some change. If not, I won’t let this go. You’ve made me come here for nothing!”

“Good results are sure to follow.”

“Alright. Open the door.”

The secretary opened the door, and Han Hyun-soo got into the car.

The secretary gently closed the door to avoid any noise and turned away.

Her eyes glimmered ominously as she quietly took the passenger’s seat.

* * *

To prepare for unforeseen events, a Black Bear mercenary team and a combat unit from the Heavenly Group flew into Japan.

They dispersed to various accommodations in Kyoto, awaiting my orders.

When I checked all plans and prepared most things, I received contact from Yamamoto.

― Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok.

I had explicitly told them not to contact me until I reached out.

“What’s going on? I said I’d reach out when needed. Is Takayama trying to run away or something?”

― No. Hiroyuki has contacted Takayama.

“Hiroyuki, you say?”

It seems Hiroyuki is in quite a hurry. The chief cabinet secretary is making contact with some petty underling.

“What did he want? Did he ask me to go see him?”

― No. He asked for a favor.

A favor? If it’s something to ask of the Yakuza, it can’t be good.

I narrowed my eyes and questioned Yamamoto.

“Did anyone leak our plans? Is that why Hiroyuki is moving?”

― Absolutely not. I’ve not informed anyone. I planned to contact you once everything was prepared, and then arrange a meeting with Takayama regarding Hiroyuki.

Fortunately, it seems our plans haven’t leaked out.

My plan was to have the Japanese chief cabinet secretary involved in the Yakuza’s conflicts and meet his demise.

The Yakuza barges into a covert meeting between Takayama and Hiroyuki and starts shooting.

In a misfire intended for Takayama, they end up killing Hiroyuki as well.

Yamamoto was going to handle it all, including the perpetrators and the responsibilities of the subordinate organization.

This was the best way to minimize the shock.

Yamamoto would inevitably incur some damage, but there wasn’t a better way.

But I didn’t expect variables like this to pop up. Hiroyuki’s unexpected move had caught me off guard too.

“What exactly did Hiroyuki instruct?”

― Well… He requested to abduct and eliminate Han Hyun-soo, the leader of Heaven Church.

“What? He asked to kidnap Han Hyun-soo?”

― I’ve heard Han Hyun-soo entered Japan today with only a secretary and a single bodyguard.

The leader of Heaven Church, who should have had guards, just waltzed into Japan. A sigh escaped my lips without me realizing.

“A man of the chief cabinet secretary’s caliber must have quickly discovered that Han Hyun-soo entered without escort… Are you sure it was a direct command to kill him?”

― There were no direct orders to kill. It seems he simply asked for it to be handled appropriately.

That’s outrageous. Saying to handle it without specifying just means to kill him without anybody noticing.

“The Japanese sect—or rather, Hiroyuki has completely lost his mind. He’s driven mad but firmly insane.”

The issue wasn’t just the Japanese sect; Han Hyun-soo was the biggest problem.

What kind of thought process did that fool have entering Japan without any security?

A cult leader inevitably faces many enemies.

A cult is built to lead individuals, households, and nations toward ruin.

Han Seong-jin certainly didn’t carry a massive security detail for no reason.

Even going so far as to make his security detail die for the leader if necessary… That was the norm.

Pinching my throbbing forehead, I asked Yamamoto again.

“How did they manage to get Han Hyun-soo to come to Japan, anyway?”

― Takayama claims he doesn’t know either.

Well, Hiroyuki is unlikely to trust Takayama completely, so there’s no way he’d share details.

But no matter how foolish Han Hyun-soo is, he wouldn’t just come in without a second thought.

The Japanese sect must have used some trickery.

“Where did he say to perform the abduction?”

― He said to abduct him after he leaves the Japanese sect and moves to his accommodation. It appears Han Hyun-soo’s secretary has been bought by the Japanese sect; she said she would help.

“What? Is that true?”

― Since Hiroyuki mentioned it directly, it’s likely true that the secretary has been bribed. If internal support is there, it would be easy to abduct him discreetly.

Finally, Han Hyun-soo’s actions started making sense.

Entering Japan with the barest minimum meant he trusted both his secretary and driver.

If either betrayed him, he couldn’t guarantee his own safety.

This was Japan, not Korea.

If he wasn’t extraordinarily trusting, he was far from intelligent—so much so that he couldn’t even suspect anyone close to him might betray him.

― Sir, what should we do? If we refuse this request, meeting Hiroyuki later might be difficult.

Yamamoto was right. I drummed my fingers on the table, contemplating what to do.

If I saved Han Hyun-soo, I might jeopardize my plan, but leaving him to die also troubled me.

If a greedy and easily manipulated lunatic were to take his place as leader of Heaven Church, what would happen?

If I couldn’t completely eliminate Heaven Church, it would be better to have a manipulative leader rather than one with genuine piety.

At that moment, Kim Sun-kyung pushed a warm cup of steaming tea toward me.

As I stared at her, she softly spoke while lowering her gaze.

“You look troubled, so I prepared this. It’s a tea that calms the mind, Boss.”

I chuckled softly and hit the mute button on my phone. Setting it down for a moment, I turned to Kim Sun-kyung.

“Thanks, Seon-kyung. If you were in my shoes, what would you do? If you had to give up one thing to gain another, I mean.”

“Boss, do you really need to give up one?”

Instead of answering, I nodded. After a moment’s thought, Kim Sun-kyung tilted her head and replied.

“But if it’s you, wouldn’t you be able to have both?”

“Normally, yes. But if I must choose one, what do you think I should do? Share your thoughts.”

When I asked again, Kim Sun-kyung spoke boldly, without hesitation.

“If I had to choose, I’d take the irreplaceable option.”

“The irreplaceable option?”

I couldn’t help but smirk. She was smart, no doubt.

Kim Sun-kyung was on the same wavelength as me.

“Yes. Whether a person or an object, they all have different values. However, those values can’t be the same. If one is even slightly more valuable, I would choose the higher one.”

Listening to her, I solidified my thoughts.

I would save Han Hyun-soo. His potential value was higher.

I had merely asked her opinion out of curiosity, but the outcome was quite satisfying.

Regardless of what she said, I wouldn’t have changed my mind, but the fact that our thoughts aligned was quite impressive.

It was certainly worth nurturing her.

“Thanks for sharing your thoughts.”

“You’re welcome. I figured you’d think that way, Boss.”

After taking a sip of the tea Kim Sun-kyung gave me, I lifted the receiver and unmuted my phone.

“Mr. Yamamoto.”

― Yes, sir. I’m listening.

“Let’s grant Hiroyuki’s request. Instead of killing him, we’ll capture him and detain him. We can just tell Hiroyuki that we killed him.”

― But Hiroyuki could verify the body.

“That would be even better. Hiroyuki wouldn’t dare ask to see the body or question whether he was killed or not.”

A seasoned politician knew the weight of his words.

So he chose vague terms like ‘handle him’ instead of directly asking for a kill.

Should this incident come to light later, he would have room to maneuver, claiming he never commanded death.

Thus, he wouldn’t question the presence of a body. Seeing it would be akin to admitting complicity.

“Oh, and have you recorded all the communications between Takayama and Hiroyuki?”

― Yes. That’s been ongoing. Trusting a politician is one of the dumbest things you can do, isn’t it?

If both of them were to die, various underground dealings between Hiroyuki and Takayama would be exposed to the media.

“So you recorded this as well?”

― Yes. I did.

“Well done. Do we have a quiet warehouse? A place to capture and detain Han Hyun-soo?”

― You don’t have to worry about that. We have several warehouses at Kobe Port.

“Great. Then capture him there and contact me. I’ll come to see him.”

― Yes, understood.

After wrapping up my call with Yamamoto, I put down my phone.

Suddenly feeling weary, I stretched my neck side to side.

“It’s always like this. Working in Japan, nothing ever goes as planned.”

Japan and I seemed to be fundamentally incompatible.

I turned to Kim Sun-kyung, who was kneeling beside me.

“So, did you check the list I gave you?”

I passed the list of the Hussein collection to Kim Sun-kyung and asked for her thoughts.

“Yes, I checked. It’s hard to believe all of these were collected by you, Boss. Even the painting reported gone…”

Listening to Kim Sun-kyung, I tilted my teacup.

* * *

After exiting the Japanese sect, Han Hyun-soo kicked the front passenger seat and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Hey, you! What were those people saying? They think they can become the main branch of Heaven Church? Did I come all the way to Japan just to hear that kind of nonsense?!”

The chair shook violently, transmitting the impact to the secretary.

“S-sorry! They assured me it would be a good conversation when I contacted them. If you visited the Japanese sect, they said they wouldn’t push back anymore…”

“What the hell! Hey, didn’t you see that look? Those guys who always looked at my father with respect were now treating me with contempt! Get rid of all of them. I want to go back to Korea! I can’t stand being in Japan any longer!”

Just then, as Han Hyun-soo was yelling, a sudden jolt hit the car.

“Aaaahh!!”

Without a seatbelt, Han Hyun-soo rolled around in the back seat, bumping his head.

“W-what’s going on, you idiot! Drive properly!”

As the impact subsided and the car came to a halt, Han Hyun-soo began to lose his temper again.

His forehead had likely split, and blood was trickling down the back of his head.

At that moment, another loud noise erupted from the back seat where Han Hyun-soo was sitting.

Through the shattered window, men in black suits wielding various weapons stood threateningly.

The man at the front spoke coldly.

“You’re Han Hyun-soo, right? Get out.”

Feeling a sense of danger in the tense atmosphere, Han Hyun-soo hesitated.

“N-no, you must be mistaken.”

One of the men checked a photo and burst into boisterous laughter.

“It is him! No mistake about it! Get out, you punk. You don’t want to end up broken, do you?”

The Yakuza members yanked Han Hyun-soo out of the car with little care.

The driver rushed towards Han Hyun-soo in desperation, but he was met with a flurry of blows from the Yakuza.

Seeing this, the secretary hurriedly lowered her body. A smile was hanging at the corner of her lips.