As they walked, Min Jae quietly installed small hidden cameras wherever he could—every angle, every corner under watch.Mr. Han led him toward a side office— a discreet room behind the casino's VIP lounge. Inside, the décor was modern and luxurious—glass table, leather chairs, and dim lighting.
As soon as Mr. Han entered, he sat down directly on a chair and gestured for Min Jae to take the seat opposite him.Min Jae sat down, but under the table, he discreetly stuck another micro camera. The video wasn't clear, but the audio was perfectly recorded.
Mr. Han spoke with a confidential and controlling tone:"Look, Min Jae, I will definitely help you... but in return, I'll need a favor from you too."
Min Jae calmly asked,"What kind of favor?"
Leaning in a bit, Mr. Han said,"If I am going to introduce you to the person who can give you more power than Joon Hyunk... obviously, I'll want something from you as well."
"What do you want?"
"Just two small things," Mr. Han said casually."First — tomorrow morning, you'll have to drop off a box for me somewhere outside the city. I'll send you the location."
Min Jae looked at the box doubtfully, then asked,"What's inside the box?"
Mr. Han answered casually,"You can check it yourself..."
Min Jae opened the box. Inside, there was only one thing—pure illegal drugs.His face stiffened for a moment.
Inwardly, he thought:"So this was the real plan all along? Now drugs too... The one I considered my partner all these years was actually a snake growing between us."
Mr. Han then said:"Look, you're a big businessman, you know people—from police to military. If you do this job, no one will suspect you of anything. And delivering this box is very important. Before you, many of my men tried to do this job, but the police caught and arrested them.
If you do this job, then without any obstacles it will be done, and no one will suspect you.
"And secondly — you have to ensure that 'Beast' doesn't find out anything about this deal."
As soon as Mr. Han mentioned 'Beast,' Min Jae immediately understood that he was talking about Joon Hyunk. He also realized how deep Mr. Han had gone into the underworld and crime world.
Because in the business world, people only called him "Chief." But in the underworld, his name was — "Beast."
Mr. Han told Min Jae,"You are his most trusted partner. He will never suspect you. You can easily confuse and distract him. Just keep him away. I will handle everything else, and in return, his name, fame, properties, and all his assets will soon be under your control."
Mr. Han's true nature was now clear to Min Jae without any filter, but now he wanted to know where Ji Ho was, because none of the people working outside had seen Ji Ho. If they were all outside, then where was Ji Ho?
That's why Min Jae tried to find out in his own way.
"If I do this job for you, then what will I get in return?" Min Jae asked.
Mr. Han opened his drawer with a sinister smile and took out a folder. The folder contained some pictures — of the young boys and girls who had been kidnapped. In every picture, those people looked innocent, beautiful, and simple — like any normal student or artist.
Placing the pictures in front of Min Jae, Mr. Han said in a low, dirty tone,"Take whoever you like from these... for tonight... they are yours."
Min Jae only wished to tear this vile man into pieces right then, but his mission was stopping him.
In his mind, there was only one question now:"Where is Ji Ho?"
Min Jae started looking through the pictures one by one. Deep inside his heart, there was a fear — what if Ji Ho was in these photos? But what he feared happened. After only a few pictures, he finally saw Ji Ho's face under one photo.
He separated that photo and placed it on the table in front of him, and said with a mysterious tone,"This... this is what I want."
Mr. Han looked at Ji Ho's picture, then with a slight smile said,"Oh… sorry, this has come here by mistake. But I can't give you this. You can choose someone else from these."
Hearing this, Min Jae's heart beat loudly for a moment. "What has this man done with Ji Ho?" immediately came to his mind. But he controlled himself and asked in a calm tone,"Why? Why can't you give me this?"
Mr. Han said,"Because I have already sold him to a client. Ji Ho is still here with me. But his deal is fixed — and I have already received a very large amount for him."
For a moment, Min Jae's anger almost got out of control. He clenched his fist, his breath quickened, but still he kept his emotions in check. Now was not the time to show anger, it was time to save Ji Ho.
He kept his expression neutral, relaxed his body language, and leaned back in his chair.
Then he opened the zipper of his bag — and took out 5-6 bundles of large notes. He carefully placed the notes on the table, and with a slight smile said,"Isn't this amount more than what your client has given you?"
Seeing so much money, a gleam of greed lit up on Mr. Han's face. His eyes showed restlessness for the money clearly.
Then he smiled slowly — a greedy and vile smile — and said,"In front of a powerful man like you, what importance does anyone else have to bring your favorite choice? Of course… he is yours for tonight."
Hearing this, a thought immediately came to Min Jae's mind —"What if I leave, and after I'm gone, he does something wrong to Ji Ho?"
Thinking this, he picked up his bag full of money, placed it on Mr. Han's table, and said in a cold but serious tone,"For one week from today… no one will go near him except me."
Mr. Han opened the bag, counted the bundles inside, and the intoxication of money faded from his eyes. His ears and mind — both were closed under the weight of money.
Then he said,"Yes, why not… as you wish. For one week from today, he is yours. Do whatever you want with him."
"That's something! I didn't know Ji Ho was worth so much to you," he said in a sly tone.