He was familiar with such work, extracting all the information involved with just a few small clues.
The hotel room where Jang Young-hee and he arrived was spacious and quiet, with large glass windows overlooking the runways of Pearson International Airport. Everything was already prepared there. Three monitors, state-of-the-art laptops, and expensive models of smartphones that had been released not long ago. When asked if there was anything else he needed, Lee Young-jin shook his head, as having those items alone meant he could do anything.
He accessed someone else’s server, borrowing it temporarily, and downloaded some software from a server space he had set up separately. With the sleek laptop, he finished all the preparations in less than an hour.
There were no limits on the type and depth of information he needed to obtain. Jang Young-hee provided some guidelines.
“Find out everything about their financial status.”
So, that’s what Lee Young-jin did.
Visa funds, hidden accounts in tax havens, gold or diamonds possibly buried underground, U.S. dollar bills, paper companies, new businesses, debts, stocks, bonds, real estate—24 hours, 1,440 minutes, and 86,400 seconds flew by rapidly.
259,200 seconds were not enough time to thoroughly investigate all thirteen individuals.
Outside the front window of the suite, separated into a bedroom and a living room, he saw an S599 aircraft gliding smoothly and flexibly towards the runway, leaving the apron. The Suran steady-seller Jumbo jet, which had kept the record of the shortest takeoff distance and the longest flight distance intact since its first introduction seventeen years ago, gracefully leaped into the sky from the far end of the runway.
At the same time, Jang Young-hee spoke to Lee Young-jin, ‘Let’s go.’”
Lee Young-jin, with dark circles under his eyes after the overnight work, nodded his head.
Seo Seung-hyun, whom they met again at the airport, had his usual cheerful face.
As they walked, escorted by first-class attendants, the tall man with a commanding presence drew people’s attention. Despite the long flight, he looked incredibly energetic and full of life. Not a single strand of his hair was out of place. His eyes, illuminated by the artificial lights of the airport, appeared as bright gray. He wore a conservative three-piece suit with a shirt fastened tightly with cufflinks and a vest over it. He had one coat and suit jacket draped over one arm, and his polished shoes echoed with each step.
His stride halted as Jang Young-hee deeply bowed in front of him.
Lee Young-jin hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, while Seo Seung-hyun gently closed his eyes and smiled faintly.
“You’ve been listening well to Young-hee, right?”
“Yeah.”
Lee Young-jin answered awkwardly.
The soft, gentle tone, inquiring about their well-being, made his cheeks flush for no reason. Adrenaline surged through his sleep-deprived body, and his brain went into a state of mild cognitive paralysis. He lowered his head, trying to hide the flush on his face.
“Is there anything special?”
“There’s nothing special. How was the flight, CEO?”
“It was just the same.”
Seo Seung-hyun, the alpha who casually used the first-class seats as if they were his own, replied nonchalantly.
He flicked his chin.
“No need to waste time, let’s talk on the way.”
To prepare for any potential tracking, Seo Seung-hyun had booked a separate flight from Toronto to Bogota instead of a direct transfer. The five-hour fifty-minute flight was neither long nor short. The first-class cabin with six seats was still occupied only by them.
Throughout the flight, Seo Seung-hyun and Jang Young-hee kept talking about something.
Lee Young-jin tried hard to focus on their conversation, but the fatigue from the past 2 nights and 3 days overwhelmed him.
He made every effort to listen to their hushed voices but eventually succumbed to a deep sleep, not waking up until the moment the plane landed.
It was night when they arrived in Bogota.
El Dorado International Airport was quiet.
The air was mildly warm and slightly humid.
A woman with short stature and a straight nose was waiting for them at the immigration area. She looked like a mixed race with exotic facial features, and her eyes had a distinct shade of green. She greeted them fluently in Korean.
“The car is over there. Let’s go, CEO Seo.”
A rigid, high-end sedan that looked almost like a rectangular box was standing in the parking lot. A few raindrops were falling from the damp clouds covering the dark sky.
She took out the car key and sat in the driver’s seat herself.
The interior of the car was spacious and dry.
“CEO Yang have prepared a place for CEO Seo in advance.”
As she grabbed the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator, she continued speaking.
“It should be more comfortable than a hotel.”
Her driving skills were top-notch. The sturdy sedan swiftly navigated through Avenida El Dorado, crowded with overflowing cars, at 10:30 PM. As they entered the Chapinero district, there were more cars, narrower roads, and a mix of people and vehicles without distinction. The streets were vibrant. Various music from at least twelve different sources mixed into a cacophony that vibrated in their eardrums and hearts. The road gently wound its way through the city, much like a tributary of the Orinoco River, between old buildings made of red or white bricks. When they joined the flow of cars on 72nd Street, the traffic congestion worsened.
Passing through the bustling financial district and another twenty minutes, the car approached a small mansion nestled in the foggy darkness of the mountains.
The unmanned security system recognized a small barcode attached to the car and opened the wrought iron gate.
The classical wrought iron gate, equipped with the latest system, silently opened.
She wordlessly drove the car inside the gate.
The garden was compact and serene, with lampposts flickering like guiding lights amidst the landscaped trees.
Between the garden paths, the car reached an underground parking lot. The entrance to the parking lot also opened automatically. The infrared eyes of surveillance cameras, tightly fitted to the ceiling, blinked.
“In normal circumstances, I should have dropped you off at the front entrance, but today, I need to guide you from the beginning, so I brought you to the parking lot,” said the woman with the unique nose.
Her voice was quite distinctive.
She skillfully parked the car and then got up to open the back seat door for them. However, Jang Young-hee, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was one step ahead. Swiftly and efficiently, he opened the door and went out to open the door on Seo Seung-hyun’s side. Of course, Seo Seung-hyun was faster than all of them.
Nonchalantly, he opened the door himself and gracefully slid his long legs out of the car, glancing back as he did so. With a firm grip on his slightly wrinkled vest, he watched as Lee Young-jin awkwardly struggled to climb out of the seat and then casually extended his hand.
Without thinking, Lee Young-jin took the offered hand and used it to support himself as he emerged from the sedan. Once outside, he let go of the hand.
The woman walked ahead of them.
The elevator’s flashing lights shone into the parking lot.
“In case of emergency, use that staircase,” she pointed in the opposite direction. A fluorescent sticker on the dark floor of the parking lot indicated the emergency staircase.
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