Passion Novel - Volume 4 - Chapter 96

As Kyle nodded and answered, Moro, who had been silently listening to their conversation, nodded heavily. Having worked briefly at Kyle’s company’s research institute before joining UNHRDO, he had some understanding of the company’s structure.

“Back then, there was a way to solve it.”

“That’s right, there was a way to solve it. …Back then.”

As Moro muttered heavily, Jenkins chimed in agreement. Kyle sighed deeply, his face dark.

“Hmm… would it be hard to use now?”

Moro asked subtly. Kyle fell into thought. Should he say it was an unusable method? At least, it couldn’t be used in the same way as before. But if he had more time, he would think of another way, but with hostages, there wasn’t much time to think.

“No choice. I’ll have to contact him first. He’s been in a bad mood lately.”

Kyle sighed and picked up the phone. Moro remained silent, just sipping his coffee.

Kyle made the call with great reluctance. A few years ago, when something like this happened, the solution was simple. Back then, there was an organization, much like a dedicated task force, that handled these kinds of issues. It was a private mobile unit operating separately from T&R Inc. It was even registered as a separate corporation, operating as a completely distinct company. Even if T&R requested their services, they had to pay according to regulations. However, public criticism arose — it couldn’t be said that competing companies had no influence — because a private mobile unit that operated for money was too closely associated with an arms dealing company, and it was eventually disbanded after only two years of establishment. And Kyle’s peculiar younger brother, who had thrived there as if he had found his element, venting his temper, then went into UNHRDO and was now there.

At the time, the mobile unit, which boasted of having only top-tier individuals in that field, scattered when it was disbanded, but Kyle’s brother was still in contact with them. Only his brother could gather them, as they all had strong personalities and were difficult to rally.

“I really don’t want to… but I have no choice.”

Kyle muttered that he didn’t want to, even as the phone began to ring, and sighed.

Lately, his brother had been in a very low mood. He was looking for someone, and it seemed to be proving difficult. He had even badgered Kyle to find them. But the person he was looking for was not easy to find either. Now that he thought about it, the person his brother was looking for was the younger brother of the developer Kyle had searched everywhere for. The thought made him sigh involuntarily. That family, both brothers were giving people a hard time.

‘…Why did you call?’

The phone, which seemed to ring for quite a while, suddenly disconnected, and his brother’s unpleasant voice came through. Come to think of it, it was probably the time he was sound asleep. The timing of the call wasn’t great, but there was nothing he could do now. Getting the hostages rescued with his brother’s help was the top priority.

“Something came up where I need your help.”

Kyle spoke bluntly. He could feel his brother’s mood turn cold through the phone.

‘What happened to what I told you before?’

“Ah. I’m looking into that. There’s no news yet, but wait a little longer.”

‘…What are you doing, you can’t even find one person properly?’

His brother’s voice turned harsh. Kyle’s expression also subtly hardened. At the same time, a question that had crossed his mind several times before resurfaced.

“…Speaking of which, why are you looking for that man? Knowing that would make it easier to find clues. If you just tell me to find him, are you telling me to dig up the entire Earth?”

There was no answer from the phone. It had been the same before. When asked why he was looking, he wouldn’t answer.

Kyle sighed, giving up on waiting for an answer, and asked again.

“If it’s because he’s Jeong Jae-yi’s brother, I told you before that you don’t need to worry about it. Even if he’s a ‘Gilsangcheon’ (auspicious heaven), that only applies to Jeong Jae-yi; that luck won’t come to you just by finding that man.”

‘If you’re just going to spout things you already know, hang up.’

Along with the word “hang up,” the phone really did disconnect. Kyle clicked his tongue, staring at the receiver emitting a dial tone. Next to him, the two friends, who could hear the general gist of the conversation due to the loud phone volume, also clicked their tongues. However, no one there was unaware that his brother’s personality was extremely peculiar. Kyle called again. No answer. He called again. No answer. When he called for the third time, he finally picked up.

“Ilay. I told you I need your help.”

‘I don’t feel like it. You handle your own business, Hyung.’

“This is company-related, so it’s your business too. A small armed group is carrying out a kidnapping.”

‘So what?’

The moment he heard his brother’s indifferent and short reply, Kyle instinctively realized that things wouldn’t go as he intended. His brother never changed his mind once he said no.

Kyle clicked his tongue.

“If you’re not going to step up, that’s fine. Just contact the former mobile unit members for me.”

‘You do it yourself.’

The phone disconnected again. This time, Kyle stared at the receiver, which was emitting a dial tone, for a little longer. Then he sighed and put the receiver down.

“Wrong. That method won’t work anymore.”

Kyle said weakly, shrugging. The former mobile unit members weren’t easily swayed by Kyle’s calls. Moreover, they weren’t easy to reach, and their contact information was uncertain.

And even if he tried to talk to his brother again, given his current state, it wouldn’t work.

“Lately, this guy has been like this. Even company matters are put aside, and he just goes wild trying to find that person.”

Kyle clicked his tongue and lamented to them. Then he added, as if venting his anger, ‘I don’t know why he’s looking for him, but let him jump around forever, that guy.’

However, come to think of it, it was a rare occurrence. No, in fact, Kyle had never seen a case like this before.

It was common for Ilay to refuse work if he wasn’t in the mood. He was always a guy who lived as he pleased, doing only what he wanted. Forcing him to do something was utterly impossible.

However, perhaps due to a sense of responsibility, he was the type to do what needed to be done. If he heard about the job and decided it was his responsibility, he would take it on. Even when he was sent to the Hong Kong branch recently, Ilay himself had overtly shown his reluctance, muttering that it was annoying during the planning stage. But perhaps because he recognized it as company business — meaning family business that he also had a hand in — he eventually agreed to go, even while grumbling about the annoyance.

Then, just before the Hong Kong branch was officially established and began operations, he went to Hong Kong for two weeks for UNHRDO joint training and, surprisingly, seemed to like Hong Kong, showing a very willing attitude to go.

Such a guy was now putting aside what he should be doing and looking for someone.

It was astonishing. Kyle had never seen his brother show such obsession with anything. Of course, he was the type to show no mercy to those who harmed him, but unless he was extremely angry, he wouldn’t go chasing after someone who had already escaped far away.

…No, to be precise, he usually caught them all before they could escape far away.

It seemed that our damn developer’s “Gilsangcheon” (auspicious heaven) had really screwed his brother over and managed to get away. Kyle even admired his unprecedented and outstanding ability.

But that wasn’t what was important now. There was a troublesome problem right in front of him.

“Borrowing Ilay’s hand would be the simplest and easiest solution, but that seems impossible… I need to think of another method, but what could it be?”

Kyle muttered to himself, lost in thought. A few methods came to mind, but none of them were particularly good. It was difficult. He couldn’t give the perpetrators the weapons they wanted, as they demanded. It would have been easier if they had approached through a reliable intermediary, but they had acted foolishly. Now, he couldn’t even sell them secretly. There was a knack to illicit trade, and they didn’t know it. But he couldn’t ignore his friends just because he couldn’t provide the weapons. Although the hostages were not people who could be carelessly killed or handled as the perpetrators threatened, he still couldn’t ignore them. Personally, he couldn’t ignore his friends as a human being, and professionally, he couldn’t cut off valuable business partners.

“What should I do…”

Kyle clicked his tongue. Throughout his life, running a company of this scale, there had been countless difficult problems. He had always overcome them. There had even been several times when more serious and fatal problems occurred. He had managed to solve those too, somehow.

So, with this current problem, Kyle wasn’t overly worried. In time, this problem would also become one of “some difficult things that happened in the past.” However, to receive that grace of time, he had to think of a solution now, somehow.

“Hmm…”

A low murmur was heard, and Kyle subtly raised his head. Across from Kyle, Moro was sitting with his chin resting on his clasped hands, eyes closed, deep in thought.

This friend, to put it simply, was an eccentric. Among the many people Kyle knew, there were a few who could be called eccentric, and this friend was one of them. Normally, he was a capable and intelligent young man, not much different from others. A few years ago, when he was at Kyle’s company, he was a friend with enough ability to distinguish himself. He quit the company, saying, “After all, weapons are meant to be handled directly and used in practice,” and then joined UNHRDO, but he was still an interesting friend whom Kyle kept in touch with.

Unfortunately, however, his extensive knowledge and brilliant mind were almost entirely used for weapon-related matters. He wasn’t particularly good at solving problems of this kind.

Nevertheless, now, he seemed to be engrossed in solving the problem for Kyle. What to do, what to do, he muttered to himself, pondering for a long time. Then, slowly, he seemed to come to a conclusion and closed his mouth. He had been pondering intensely, his eyes shining brightly, when at some point, he suddenly spoke.

“Kyle.”

“Yes, speak.”

“That, the prototype I saw a few days ago…”

Kyle subtly raised an eyebrow. He was momentarily speechless, as an entirely unexpected remark had come out.

He was originally a gun fanatic, so he probably only had guns on his mind. Moreover, the prototype in the development stage that Kyle had shown him the other day seemed to perfectly match his ideal, as he overtly showed his desire to have it, trembling all over.

Indeed, the other day, when someone jokingly asked, “Would you sell your soul to the devil for that 1890 .22 caliber single-shot pistol that you most desire, but was discontinued 100 years ago and can only be seen in museums through archival photos?” he had answered firmly and seriously without hesitation. “Yes.”

Since he was such a man, it wouldn’t be strange for him to bring up guns anytime, anywhere, but he wasn’t the type to suddenly bring up something out of context.

Kyle nodded, puzzled.

“Yes, what about that prototype?”

When Kyle asked again, Moro was silent for a moment. He twitched his hands as if thrilled just thinking about the gun, and his cheeks flushed red. Then, as if he had made up his mind, his eyes flashed, and he opened his mouth.

“If you give me that, I’ll help Riegrow get involved in this matter.”

“What…?”

Kyle’s eyes widened in bewilderment. Next to him, Jenkins also stared at Moro with a bewildered expression. Kyle looked at Jenkins with the same puzzled look, unable to understand how Moro could move Ilay. Jenkins also glanced at Kyle, looking confused.

Moro and Ilay weren’t close. Nor were they on bad terms. He knew they only knew of each other’s existence and hadn’t really had a proper conversation.

“How would you?”

When Kyle asked suspiciously, Moro just blinked confidently without speaking.

Kyle pondered for a moment. The prototype couldn’t be handed over to just anyone. It wouldn’t be good if the prototype went out before a small quantity was released for sale. It was even more so because it was still incomplete and thus dangerous.

But in this situation…

Kyle looked intently at Moro.

“You’re saying there’s a way. But what if it doesn’t work?”

“Then you don’t give it to me.”

Moro answered quickly. And grinned. If it works, great; if not, oh well, that was his expression.

Kyle pondered a little longer. Then he finally nodded at Moro’s words.

“Alright, if Ilay helps with this, I’ll give you that item. However, even if that happens, it’s strictly for your personal keeping; you must never use it or hand it over to others.”

“That goes without saying.”

Moro smiled. He was momentarily lost in ecstasy, staring blankly at the ceiling, until Kyle patted his shoulder, and he finally came back to his senses.

“Alright, what’s the method?”

Kyle asked. In fact, he had agreed to Moro’s terms, even offering the prototype, not only because it seemed like the best way to resolve the situation, but also because he was more curious about how Moro intended to move Ilay. Moro muttered, “Oh, that,” as if it were nothing, then said,

“Tell them Taei is among the hostages.”