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I said no

Boshirai, who arrived late, took me to the safe house.

"This place will be safe."

"Thank you for your concern."

Boshirai bowed his head deeply in response to the polite remark.

"No. I'm sorry that you had to go through something like this when I asked you to attend to ensure your safety. I will do my best to find out who is behind it."

"Can I believe it?"

Although Bo Xilai was ruled out as a suspect in this case, believing him was another matter.

I couldn't trust anyone now.

It was a sniping incident that occurred in the heart of Shanghai, of all places.

Even within China, Shanghai was a region with high security.

As the number of foreigners visiting Shanghai increases every year, the Shanghai local government is becoming more and more enthusiastic about security.

He broke through all the surveillance and shot at a luxury hotel suite where foreigners mostly stayed.

At least it wouldn't have been easy without the tacit approval of someone, whether it was the Shanghai Public Security Bureau or the armed police.

If this had become known, the criticism that would pour down on the Shanghai government would have been quite predictable.

Boshirai swallowed hard as he received my gaze and answered.

"Trust me. I will catch him and bring him to justice······."

I cut him off and said,

"There is no need for the judgment of the law. Just find out who it is. After that, I will take care of it. I will also find out through my own route."

It didn't happen when I was alone.

I was with Cheon Ji-young. If Cheon Ji-young had been injured by a grenade.

As I ground my teeth without realizing it, Boshirai took a deep breath.

"I will do my best to find it."

"I heard there are some survivors."

"Yes. They are being sent to the hospital right away for emergency surgery."

"You must save him no matter what. No, you must save him."

Fortunately, there were assassins who didn't die. If we could just keep them alive, it wouldn't be difficult to find out who was behind it.

"Judging by the weapons used and the sniping skills, he is not an amateur."

An amateur couldn't snipe from a distance of more than a few hundred meters. It was the skill of a professional.

"Please identify and share the identities of all the dead."

As he spoke coolly, Boshirai nodded slightly.

"Okay, then get some rest. I'll go back and take care of things."

After Boshirai left, I opened the door where Cheon Ji-yeong was resting.

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Cheon Ji-young covered herself with the blanket all the way to her head and sat still as if dead.

"ruler?"

At my voice, Cheon Ji-young threw back the blanket and peeked her head out.

His eyes and face were still filled with fear. Even so, he answered questions faithfully.

"······No, I can't sleep."

I thought about it for a moment and then went inside.

I lifted the chair in front of the desk and sat down next to the bed.

"Still, go to sleep. You can go back first on the plane tomorrow."

"What about you, oppa? Aren't you going?"

Even though he didn't say he wasn't going, he seemed worried about me.

He smiled and made the blanket for me.

"We have to catch the culprit."

"You can leave that to someone else. Come back with me, okay?"

He looked quite anxious. And that's understandable.

I said while patting Cheon Ji-young's head.

"Don't worry. When you get back, go see your teacher and get some advice. Okay?"

"······huh."

"Okay. This is a safe place, so don't worry too much. Don't think about anything. Just sleep."

I got up from my chair when I saw Cheon Ji-young nod.

"I need to get some rest too. I'll fly back tomorrow morning. You can take my private plane."

I left Cheon Ji-young, who was answering quietly, behind.

The safe house, with its lights completely turned off, was so dark that it was difficult to see even an inch ahead.

* * *

A shocking piece of news was delivered to Wei Zhengcheng, who was staying at the hideout of the organization that Yeshaotong had introduced to him.

"What? You failed?"

Wijeongseong asked in a ridiculous manner, and the man with a face full of wounds nodded.

"Ha. I left it to that woman Ye Xiaotong because she said I could trust her, but what is this!"

Although Wijeongseong was angry, the man showed no reaction.

At that sight, Wi Jeong-seong suddenly remembered the gaze of Director Ma.

I had a feeling that if he ever found out that I was involved, he would come looking for me.

In an instant, fear enveloped my whole body.

"You don't know that I'm involved, do you? Have you properly kept your subordinates' mouths shut? Can I trust you?"

The man nodded at Wijeongseong's stammering question.

"Answer me correctly! Don't you know how much money I gave you?!"

The amount of money that Wi Jeong-seong gave as a deposit for requesting this assassination was 1 million dollars.

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Success bonus was given to those who were given the task with the promise of receiving an equivalent amount of bonus.

And when I saw their faces, I trusted them and gladly paid the money, but the price I paid for my trust was a bitter failure.

"If I had received the money, I would have succeeded. Now I can't believe in anything. Are there any survivors?"

This time again, the man simply nodded instead of answering.

At that sight, Wijeongsung raised her voice.

"Did your tongue get cut off? Why can't you speak?"

"······No one knows that the Chairman is behind this. I am the only one who knows. Well, there are survivors, but even if they wake up, the Chairman's name will not be mentioned."

At that moment, the man's cell phone rang. The man ignored the ringtone and stood still.

"Take it. It's noisy."

Wi Jeong-seong spoke while picking up the glass in front of him, and the man turned around to answer the phone.

"······Yes. Yes, I understand."

The man quickly ended the call and turned around.

"What is this call?"

"It's nothing."

"Really? Then tell me what you're going to do now. You're not going to end it like this, are you?"

Instead of answering, the man stared blankly at the woman. Then he slowly approached her.

"I'll buy you a drink."

The man picked up the bottle of whiskey from the table and offered it to him.

"Hmm."

The officer held out a glass of ice with a satisfied look on his face. The man began to pour alcohol into his glass.

Soon the glasses filled with wine began to fill up.

Even though his glass was full, the man didn't stop.

The man who had been looking at him with cold eyes until he had finished drinking an entire bottle of whiskey smiled for the first time.

"What, what is it?"

Wijeongseong was startled by the cold gaze and bitter smile and dropped his glass.

"This will be the last drink I'll have while I'm alive, so what can I do if I feel bad about it?"

"······."

The embarrassed Wijeongseong just opened his mouth.

The man who had carelessly thrown down the bottle of whiskey took out a rope from his bosom.

"Take full responsibility and die now."

"Hey, you crazy! Do you know who I am?"

Wijeongseong quickly got up and started to back away.

But soon I came up against a wall. My back was to the wall, and a man was slowly approaching me from the front.

There was nowhere to run.

"Ha, don't do that!!"

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The man, who had easily subdued the man, whether he was struggling or not, put a rope around his neck and quickly crossed his hands.

"Ugh, ugh······."

Wijeongseong tried to scratch at the rope with her hands, but she couldn't overcome the man's strength.

How much time had passed? Wi Jeong-seong's hand, with his eyes wide open, fell limply.

The man who had been holding the rope until the tendons in his hands bulged did not let up even after confirming it.

The man who had been strangling her for a long time relaxed his grip and supported Wijeongseong's body.

After a while, the hideout door opened and men rushed in.

"Take him to the hotel and clean him up."

"yes."

The men who had been given the authority took him away.

The man left alone put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

Then he picked up a can of oil from the corner and started spraying it all over the hideout.

After emptying the entire can, he leisurely left the hideout and threw the cigarettes inside.

In an instant, the fire began to spread, and soon the hideout was engulfed in flames.

The man looked at the hideout covered in flames for a moment, then took out his cell phone and turned around.

"The hideout has been burned down. We will go into hiding for the time being."

After finishing his report, the man leisurely left the place in a prepared car.

* * *

I dropped Cheon Ji-young off at the airport and got into the car.

"Boss. They say Wijeongseong was found dead."

I was momentarily speechless at Director Ma's report.

"Is that true?"

"He was reportedly found hanging in the hotel."

"······He committed suicide? That guy?"

"We haven't gotten that far yet. That's all our sources have figured out."

I knew very well that it would be difficult to find information in China because it is such a closed country.

But, this is too unsettling.

"You said you were in Shanghai?"

"No. It was found in a hotel in Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province."

"That's strange."

Wei Zhengcheng's company and home were in Beijing. He had no reason to go all the way to Fujian Province.

"Find out who you met and who you were with."

"Yes, I will do that."

"It seems like this assassination attempt was related to legitimacy. It probably wasn't suicide. He was murdered."

The Wijeongseong I know was never a great person who would take his own life.

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Director Ma seemed to think so too, nodding quietly.

Just then my cell phone rang.

- Sir! Is this something you did?

As I was about to pick up the phone, Boshirai scolded me in an agitated voice.

"Are you asking if I killed the righteousness?"

―······It was you. This is an act that crossed the line. He is a member of the Crown Prince's Party! There is no way his death will be covered up quietly. Many people witnessed the fight between the president and Wi Jeong-seong.

Boshirai thought that I had killed the righteous.

But what good is it to drive people out without any evidence?

"You really need to stop this habit of blaming people, Boshirai. Do you have any evidence that I did it?"

―······.

"I just heard the news too. He was found hanging in a hotel?"

― Since you know about the hanged person, it seems clear that the boss was involved. There are only a handful of people who know about the hanged person······.

"Look at it."

He cut him off in a cold voice.

I thought you were a smart person. I hated having to repeat the same thing over and over again.

"I said no. If I had killed him, they wouldn't have even found his body."

- Is that true? Can I believe it?

"I hate making you repeat yourself. I'll give you one last warning."

I decided to give Boshirai a chance because I could understand his reaction.

Boshirai, who seemed to have read my mind, was silent for a moment, then coughed and said.

― Okay, I will trust you, sir. But Beijing may have a different opinion. There are too many people who have seen the boss and the Weizheng fight. How about leaving China for now?

Bo Xilai was telling people to leave China first.

I don't know if it was for my own safety or his own, but it wasn't a good decision at the time.

"No. If I go back to Korea now, I will be suspected even more. In this case, it is better to break through the situation with the right method."

― Okay. First, I will check whether his death was a suicide or a murder and contact you again once I find out.

Boshirai hung up the phone.

I said, smiling faintly as I put my phone in my pocket.

"Boshilai is suspicious of me. I feel like he's been tricked."

I could tell when I got a call from Boshirai.

They're going to assassinate me, and if that fails, they're going to kill Wijeongseong and make me take the blame.

Who set up this board?

There are not many forces in China that can do something like this.

First, the Crown Prince's Party had to be ruled out, and the Shanghai faction and the Communist Youth League had to be considered as strong suspects.

"Boss. How about we go back to Korea first? Can't we handle this in Korea too?"

Director Ma turned to me and gave me advice, seemingly worried.

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"If I go back like this, it'll be no different from admitting that I did it."

My private plane was already flying to Korea with Cheon Ji-young on board.

If they were to try to get out of China by force, it would give them an excuse.

Well, that doesn't mean I regret taking Cheon Ji-young out early.

"Let's decide after checking the progress."

"Then how about we get out of Shanghai for now? Black Bear's safe house is in Nanjing."

I nodded at the sight of her recommending it several times, unlike usual.

It's not something a boss should do to make his people worry for no reason.

"Okay. Let's move there first. Turn off your cell phone and watch the situation."

As I nodded readily, I saw Director Ma sigh in relief.

* * *

The death of the authoritarian government was an opportunity for some.

Jiang Zemin took advantage of this opportunity to move quickly to bring down Kim Moo-hyuk.

After hearing the news and meeting the elders, he immediately went to see Hu Jintao.

"Comment later. Do you know that Wi Jeong-seong is dead?"

"I know."

"Then you know that he fought with Kim Moo-hyuk during Bo Xilai's inauguration party?"

"······What are you trying to say?"

"First, we should arrest him and then investigate him. Not only I, but all the elders agree on this, so do so."

Hu Jintao also knew that Jiang Zemin had met with the elders before coming to him.

"We can't arrest President Kim Moo-hyuk without any evidence."

Hu Jintao resolutely opposed the arrest of Kim Moo-hyuk.

"If you investigate, the evidence will come out. Are you saying that you will ignore the opinions of the elders?

"······There is still no evidence that President Kim Moo-hyeok was involved in Wi Jeong-seong's death. I have no intention of arresting him."

Jiang Zemin said with a bitter smile.

"I don't know if you regret that decision. I definitely advised you. The order to ban Kim Moo-hyuk from leaving the country has already been issued. You know that."

Jiang Zemin was the first to issue an exit ban on Kim Moo-hyuk when he learned that he had not left China.

"I think he's the culprit. No, it doesn't matter if he's not. I'll make that guy the culprit."

Hu Jintao closed his eyes at Jiang Zemin's words.

< I said no > End

< I'm going back to Shanghai >