GMC 170

Of course, he might not be the founder… Moon Gyeon-woo’s face contorted as he checked for more detailed information. There were traces that the internal structure had been completely overhauled at the same time the company name was changed several years ago. The catalyst for that change was a replacement of the management. The name of one of the board members who led the organizational restructuring at the time was as follows:

C. Yeom

Moon Gyeon-woo muttered a curse under his breath. Fuck, the initials are Yeom Cheon-ho.

Judging by the timing, it was clear that Yeom Cheon-ho had been subtly manipulating things behind the backs of Yeon-rok, Choi Hwan, and himself long before the four of them had even met. He must have pulled strings unnoticed, just as he had this time. Given his track record, this likely wasn’t the first time.

No wonder he had been able to take on desired projects with far less effort than others and had found it relatively easy to conduct research exactly as he wished. Regardless of the fact that he could pursue his research to his heart’s content, he felt unpleasant, as if he had been played by Yeom Cheon-ho.

A child-like person like Choi Hwan or the gentle, soft, and kind Yeon-rok might have just brushed it off, but for Moon Gyeon-woo, who had a tendency toward control, this kind of interference was extremely distasteful. The most frustrating part was that despite knowing this, it would be difficult to throw his resignation letter at the pharmaceutical company right now. The entire research foundation he had built up until now would vanish instantly.

It was while he was tidying up his private office in a foul mood. He heard a knock, and when he answered, a cleaner peeked through the slightly open door. The bodyguards accompanying Moon Gyeon-woo reacted immediately to the appearance of a stranger.

“Hello, Researcher. I heard you were clearing out your office, so I came by to see if there’s anything you’d like to throw away.”

“If you give us a bag, we’ll dispose of it ourselves,” a bodyguard replied, creating an iron wall that seemed not to let a single needle through before Moon Gyeon-woo could even answer.

“Um, for company security reasons, there’s a specific way to organize and discard things, so I have to do it,” the cleaner said awkwardly, rustling a plastic bag.

Moon Gyeon-woo, already irritated because his research had been halted, spoke to the bodyguards who were being bothersome.

“Unless you’re planning to take the trash home with you, just let them in. Can’t [visit [stolen content]our site]you just wait somewhere else in the meantime?”

The bodyguards reluctantly complied. After letting the cleaner in, Moon Gyeon-woo went to the company cafe and had some coffee. His stomach stung. It seemed that the stress had caused his stomach ulcer or gastritis to flare up again. After spending some time, he returned to his office to find it neatly cleaned.

As he was packing the last of the unimportant documents, Moon Gyeon-woo paused. He was the type of person who always kept track of all his belongings. In his sight, there was a strange folder he had never seen before. It was something that hadn’t been there before the cleaner entered. The right thing to do would be to tell the bodyguards immediately. However…

Glancing over, he saw the bodyguards staring solemnly at the door, oblivious to anything. After hesitating, he opened the folder, pretending to check the contents while organizing the files. Inside the folder, a single email address was written. He memorized it on the spot and then threw the folder away.

As soon as Moon Gyeon-woo returned home, he created a new email account. He then sent a single dot to the email address he had received. Then, as if waiting, a reply came back a few minutes later.

Don’t you want to get rid of the people who are in your way?

If there is anything else you desire, I will do my best to grant it.

I look forward to your prompt contact.

It was obvious which side had sent this message. It must be Yeom Cheon-ryul. He likely knew about the incident where Moon Gyeon-woo had attacked Choi Hwan and Yeom Cheon-ho to kidnap Yeon-rok.

Moon Gyeon-woo slowly tapped his finger on the desk. A way to get rid of the people in his way… Lost in thought, he finally sent a reply.

REPLY MESSAGE

I want the name manifestation research data that has not been disclosed to the academic community.

“Yeon-rok-ah, I’m sorry. I think you should leave the country first.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Why should I leave first?”

They were eating breakfast while worrying about whether an arrest warrant would be issued for Yeom Cheon-ho, who was currently in a holding cell. Yeon-rok’s eyes widened at Moon Gyeon-woo’s words. Drinking chamomile tea as if it were coffee, Moon Gyeon-woo spoke in a tender voice.

“There’s an experiment that was being recorded in real-time, so I think it’ll take more time to wrap things up. So, it would be best if you left the country first with Choi Hwan.”

“How long will it take? I can wait.”

“I’d love it if you waited. But the situation here in the country is dangerous right now.”

As he spoke, Moon Gyeon-woo gestured with his eyes toward the bodyguards who were eating with them. Now that Yeom Cheon-ho was gone, the bodyguards were in a state of total high alert, never taking their eyes off the three of them for a single second. It was at a level where there was almost no privacy. Even for Yeon-rok, who liked it when there were many people around, it was slightly suffocating.

“But…”

“It’s most important to me that you are safe. You’ll do this for me, right? Hmm?”

When Moon Gyeon-woo spoke like that, Yeon-rok had no choice but to nod. However, he didn’t feel quite right about leaving Moon Gyeon-woo behind. After seeing Moon Gyeon-woo off to work early in the morning, he told Choi Hwan, who had woken up around lunchtime, and unexpectedly, Choi Hwan wasn’t very happy.

“Something’s fishy.”

“What’s fishy?”

“That crazy bastard is specifically unauthorized copystolen contentEND: unauthorized copy -->sending just you and me out of the country? He’s putting research as a higher priority than you?”

Since Moon Gyeon-woo’s tone had implied that putting Yeon-rok as the first priority was natural, Yeon-rok replied feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Hyung just values his work very highly.”

“No. No matter how I think about it, it’s suspicious. Above all, it’s because I heard something strange yesterday.”

“Something strange?”

According to Choi Hwan, he had overheard Moon Gyeon-woo making an appointment with someone over the phone last night. Because he had spoken so confidently, Yeon-rok scolded him.

“You shouldn’t secretly listen to other people’s phone calls.”

“It’s not like I wanted to listen. I just happened to hear it. Isn’t it Moon Gyeon-woo’s fault for talking where everyone could hear?”

Excusing himself shamelessly and without any guilt, Choi Hwan said,

“A guy with no friends making an appointment is just too suspicious.”

“Are you saying that seriously?”

“Completely serious. Honestly, you think so too. That rude prick has friends?”

“…”

It was a mean thing to say about Moon Gyeon-woo, but honestly, even to Yeon-rok, it didn’t seem like he had any friends. Ever since he came to this house, the only people Moon Gyeon-woo met were those in the position of a lover. He had never once seen him contact or meet a friend.

“He might have acquaintances…”

“Would that misanthrope have the leisure to meet acquaintances? No matter how I think about it, it’s suspicious. I need to check it out.”

The ‘checking’ Choi Hwan spoke of was nothing special. He simply postponed the departure date, claiming that there was a schedule from his agency that needed to be handled urgently. That evening, Moon Gyeon-woo could not hide his irritation upon learning that the departure had been delayed.

“What schedule? I thought you were on a break.”

“For a freelancer like me, work appears and disappears randomly. If you’re so pressed, just send Yeon-rok first.”

Moon Gyeon-woo sighed, but he didn’t bring up the suggestion of sending Yeon-rok alone. It was an expression of his will to send him out bundled with Choi Hwan, at the very least. By this point, even Yeon-rok felt that something was a bit suspicious. After confirming Moon Gyeon-woo’s reaction, a convinced Choi Hwan put his head together with Yeon-rok and whispered so the bodyguards couldn’t hear.

“Want to try tailing him?”

“No, what would we even find by tailing him? He’s probably meeting someone because of his research.”

“Of course, it could be that. Then it’s all the better. But I have zero trust in Moon Gyeon-woo. Especially after that psycho committed a crime by kidnapping and confining you.”

Yeon-rok didn’t have much to say about that. Objectively, even he thought it was a crazy thing to do. Moon Gyeon-woo was a man who would use any means and methods to achieve his goal. And such a man had made an appointment to meet someone while delaying the departure date…

“I do feel like something is a bit strange, too.”

“Right? You see it’s suspicious too, don’t you?”

It wasn’t that he was suspicious because he made an appointment. In Yeon-rok’s eyes, Moon Gyeon-woo seemed, how should he put it, somewhat more excited than usual. He felt as if he were counting down the days in anticipation of something. But in a bad situation like this, what could he possibly be looking forward to? Especially while the research he valued so much had been forcibly halted.