Not Bad 2
One year ago.
Thailand time PM 11:50
[Lee Da-in, you need to take on one person.]
The caller on the call that suddenly came in was her superior, Yoon Tae-jung—the one she had been avoiding, in real life or in voice.
Even though the day was hotter than hell, his voice still rubbed her the wrong way.
She slipped between the red and yellow tuk-tuks into the crowd and stared quietly at the couple walking side by side, then answered.
“I’m traveling right now. How are you, Uncle?”
[One person in Korea is headed to Hawaii. The target is someone protected by South Korea’s NIS; they’re going to fake a death. The moment the NIS lets go, it becomes ours.]
Through the wireless earpiece, a voice full of barely hidden excitement came through.
“Uncle. Are you seriously planning to babysit that? I don’t really like it.”
Da-in scratched the side of her temple with an awkward expression.
She wore sleek black leggings and a cropped top beneath a loose shirt, while the tuk-tuk was packed with people in swimming costumes and cover-ups.
When she relaxed her gaze, the couple sitting across from her chuckled. They looked so obviously in love that anyone would think they were on their honeymoon—except they weren’t.
They weren’t even married yet.
The woman was the only daughter of the CEO of a massive franchise restaurant chain whose annual revenue topped one hundred billion won in Korea. The man was a regular salaryman at a large IT company.
They had promised to marry, but actually moving forward with it was proving difficult. That was due to the woman’s father’s fierce opposition; it seemed he simply didn’t think the man’s family was up to par.
Anyway, the woman’s father had hired protection for his daughter on that trip. The world was that dangerous, apparently?
But the place the woman’s father had hired was one that ruled over this dangerous world from on high.
That was all the information Da-in had on him so far.
[This is a C-class job you’re obsessed with. You don’t take anything above that. So you’re the right one for it.]
“Origin?”
[Sihyang. Chairman Baek Jun-gyu’s son…]
Just as the tuk-tuk slowed and the couple sitting across the aisle prepared to get off, Da-in jumped out right behind them and followed.
Her unusually thick, glossy hair swayed, drawing plenty of stares.
But what? Sihyang?
Her frown deepened as she replayed the word in her mind.
The distinctive scent of the night market hit her like a jolt of caffeine. This was the newly opened night market in Phuket, lined with trans shows and unusual street bars.
Neon signs in red and blue glowed between crowds, their shouts and flashing lights mixing into a dizzying swirl.
“Rejection from Sihyang. Call later. Target movement in progress now.”
[This isn’t a request—it’s a warning. Ah, I sent one partner. Finish as fast as you can and move.]
Finish as fast as you can? The only instruction she had received was to follow the woman until the trip ended.
Da-in’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance as she slowly scanned the couple amid the crowd of similarly dressed people. She caught that familiar hunter’s gaze.
It was the look of men who had come to hunt, the scent of crime.
“What the hell is this?”
Da-in kicked the ground with the toe of her sneaker, loosening her stiff neck in a circle, then twisted her long hair into a tight high ponytail and secured it.
[The couple you’re chasing. The client’s instinct was spot-on. The man is one of the romance scam gang?]
“What are you talking about?”
[I guess he was planning some kind of marriage scam, but it didn’t pan out. This “trip” is probably just a farewell, isn’t it?]
“Why are you only saying this now?”
[You would’ve figured it out anyway. Besides, I sent a partner, so I have to get paid somehow, right?]
Damn it!
The top of her head suddenly burned from the reckless warning. Da-in normally controlled her anger with a deep breath, but this time she just let it simmer.
Yeah, this was just one of those days.
[The company will handle the cleanup. Wrap it up fast. Lee Da-in.]
Yoon Tae-jung was a degenerate. A complete psycho freak.
Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to hide his excitement over sending an operative who was clearly ready to get into a real fight.
Da-in accepted the disaster she had summoned herself.
It was her own choice to fall for Valentine Corporation’s lure, and it was her own choice to survive in this world.
She set off without further thought toward the show hall the couple had entered. Now that she knew their true enemy, she couldn’t stall.
Da-in moved quickly, pulling her cap low over her shirt and stepping in front of the show hall’s entrance glowing with pink neon lights.
The emcee’s voice was already echoing from inside.
“No, no. Ticket.”
A local bodyguard blocking her way gave her a tired look and held out his hand.
Instead of a ticket she pressed several times the amount in dollar bills into his palm; the door opened easily.
It was dark and noisy, filled with the scent of spices and perfume, the chatter of every race blurring together until the hairs on her arms stood up.
She scanned quickly and reached her conclusion.
Moving here was too risky for bystanders. But soon, drinks laced with sedative would be served, or the drinks themselves would be drugged.
Most romance scam crimes relied on trust and deception, but this level was close to marriage fraud or even kidnapping and phishing.
The man seemed to think he would end it with one final blow. Da-in cut straight through the tables of people who had no interest in the show.
Since the protection mission had started and Valentine Corporation had promised to take care of everything, there was no reason to hesitate.
At every table lay food and brightly colored drinks. Da-in spotted the couple sitting side by side at a two-person table shifted toward the left side of the stage, then climbed the middle of the stairs where they could be seen clearly.
Act too soon and you fail. She watched from a safe distance, timing her moment.
Then she saw the woman’s body gradually collapse against the man’s shoulder. He looked around with a calm expression, completely unsurprised.
Bingo.
The sweet word melted from the tip of her tongue and vanished between her teeth.
Just as she had expected, about five people approached the couple with slow, careful steps.
Smiling kindly, they pretended to help the woman, supporting her as if offering comfort.
The man who had just been playing the loving boyfriend pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and laughed while pocketing his hand and high-fiving someone.
Da-in swallowed her curse and started down the stairs.
As she passed, the meat-cutting knife on the table vanished, and her shirt draped casually over the empty chair behind her.
The ones who left the hall brazenly through the front door slipped into the narrow alley right beside it.
Outside a shop with a lowered shutter. Five of the men stepped inside after checking the surroundings, and the unconscious woman went with them.
Da-in hid where they could still be seen and started timing them.
She had to think like them.
Actually trying a kidnapping was proof that their situation wasn’t great. The goal of romance scams was money. Sometimes it was information, but it was still tied to money.
So why kidnap a woman who was basically a guaranteed money pipeline?
These idiots were trying to cut open the goose that laid golden eggs.
Even if the kidnapping succeeded, they’d be hunted by the police. If it failed, they’d still be hunted. Maybe they thought no one would report it.
Da-in dug into criminals’ minds the way she always did. The habit from her old job hadn’t worn off yet.
Still… She had to do it.
She twisted her body, gripping the knife she had taken from the show hall, ready to move.
A fresh scent of orange jasmine cut through the stale air and brushed against her.
He was a tall man with blond hair that was almost white and skin that was smoothly tanned. He looked like the kind of guy who would pop out of a teen magazine.
Before she could even react, the whistle from his lips sent the men guarding the entrance rushing at him.
In just a few seconds.
It was fast, accurate, and without limits on cruelty. Da-in watched the men who had collapsed or died at his feet and frowned.
Such operatives were rare for handling contracts this way.
The company’s headache and money line—taking only S-class jobs.
She tossed the bodies of the perpetrators against the opposite wall; the blood slid down, leaving streaks.
The man stepped on the corpses that hadn’t even cried out, smiled faintly, and turned his head toward Da-in.
“Hello?”
She spat out vicious curses and closed in on him without loosening her grip on the knife.
A angelic smile spread across the man’s face as he looked at her approaching. He had sent her a partner, and she was silently cursing the insane psycho who had sent her—her boss, Yoon Tae-jung.
She should have known when she had a bad dream last night that it would end with Dan Sneyer instead of Sihyang.
“Can’t say it’s hello, but since I’m here, let’s wrap it up quick. There must be something for me.”
As she got closer, the man who had smiled pulled a gun from his back pocket.
“I’m glad. You seem less so.”
“This is more welcome than the other way around.”
The Walther using blowback 9mm rounds was her most familiar and longest-used weapon.
After quickly checking the gun, she stood in front of the closed door.
Seeing that his part was done, Dan sat down against a nearby object, took out a lollipop, unwrapped it, and laughed.
“I’ll finish this roughly and come out. I’ll wait quietly over here.”