Royal Road
Chapter 50 - Since When Have You Been Watching?
Chapter 50: Since When Have You Been Watching?
TL: Aniea
“Thank you, Eun-ha ssi.”
As soon as I left the hospital room, I expressed my gratitude to Kim Eun-ha, who was next to me. She tilted her head playfully, smiling.
“For what?”
“You know exactly why.”
“Hey, you shouldn’t assume that the other person knows everything without saying it. No matter how smart I am, I’m still human. I can’t see into your heart.”
“But you know what’s in my heart today, don’t you?”
Wink-
I gave a light, playful wink, which made Kim Eun-ha take a startled step back, warningly raising her index finger.
“Don’t. Do. That.”
“Why? What’s wrong with it?”
“…Just don’t do it if I ask you not to.”
“Hmm.”
Win…! Ouch-!
Before my eyelid was even halfway closed, I got a proper hit from Kim Eun-ha, who had anticipated my action.
As we spent more days together, Kim Eun-ha’s skills in dealing with me were improving steadily.
If I don’t work harder, I might soon end up completely at her mercy.
“…Violence is never the answer.”
“Then don’t do things that deserve a hit.”
“I think resorting to fists immediately is a wrong approach. We can solve things peacefully.”
“Woo-ju ssi.”
Suddenly, Kim Eun-ha turned to me with a serious expression. The atmosphere was noticeably different, and I paused for a moment.
“When dealing with others, especially people like me who have money or power, there’s one thing you must always remember.”
“What is it?”
“The easiest way to solve problems throughout history has ultimately been ‘force’. Always keep that in mind.”
“…”
Listening to Kim Eun-ha’s words, I fell into thought, trying to grasp the true meaning and intent behind her words.
As always, she waited patiently for me to think it through, allowing me to come up with a somewhat acceptable response.
“Well, if I were Genghis Khan at his peak, there wouldn’t be a need to bow down to a weak country. If things didn’t go my way, I could just crush them.”
Genghis Khan, who created the largest empire in human history, massacred a quarter of the world’s population at the time from Asia to Europe.
As a result, the number of people using coal also significantly decreased, leading to the joke that Genghis Khan delayed global warming by 200 years.
“…I’m not sure if that’s the right example, but it’s somewhat close.”
Kim Eun-ha made a slightly discontented expression but didn’t entirely disagree.
After contemplating for a moment, she added more explanation.
“Nowadays, with the development of SNS and such, it’s harder to wield power openly. But that doesn’t mean using force is impossible. On the contrary.”
Kim Eun-ha continued her serious explanation.
She mentioned things from the ‘MKUltra Project’ where the CIA conducted mind control, brainwashing, and hypnosis experiments on civilians from the 1950s to the 70s.
To the assassination weapon that could fire a special 3mm bullet filled with poison extracted from a shellfish, leaving no trace and mimicking a heart attack.
And the ‘Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment’ that makes Black people distrust vaccines even today.
She said there were many cases where things thought to be mere conspiracy theories turned out to be true.
“These are just the publicly known examples.”
Most of these were from over half a century ago. Considering how technology has advanced dozens of times since then, it’s a bit scary to think how much more sophisticated and discreet things must have become.
“I gave some grand examples, but I think you understand what I mean.”
“Eliminating one person isn’t a big deal, really.”
“Exactly.”
In an instant, the faces of Director Baek Do-young and the other staff members of the secretarial office flashed through my mind. I wondered what kind of work they typically did.
It was a moment that reaffirmed just how dangerous a situation I was involved in.
“Because of this, their mindset often deviates from common sense. There’s hardly anyone who can stop them.”
“Hmm. Indeed…”
Some say that laws are made to protect the weak, but if you analyze it closely, that’s only half true.
After all, the people who create laws belong to the power hierarchy. How many laws would be against their interests? Even if such laws exist, they are the ones who decide guilt or innocence.
Therefore, the law is just nicely packaged as [for the weak]. In reality, it often sides with those in power.
‘…Eun-ha ssi is no exception.’
If Kim Eun-ha decided to, she could easily eliminate my family and me, both physically and socially.
This applies to Park Ji-hoon, who must be grinding his teeth watching us closely right now, as well as other potential suitors like Director Baek Do-young.
The reason they hesitate to take action is, paradoxically, because I have ‘Kim Eun-ha’ as a shield.
“Si vis pacem, para bellum.”
“…If you want peace, prepare for war.”
“Hoo hoo. Woo-ju, you are already doing exceptionally well, beyond my expectations. But there are still many more hurdles ahead of us. I’m telling you this to remind you not to let your guard down and stay cautious.”
“Hmm… Since we’re on the topic, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
Kim Eun-ha tilted her head curiously as I hesitated. After a moment of contemplation, I carefully spoke.
“That’s fine for me, but are you really okay without having security personnel around you, Eun-ha? You never know what might happen.”
“Oh my, are you worried about me?”
“To be precise, it’s ‘my’ concern. If something happens to you, I won’t be safe either. I’d like you to pay more attention to your safety.”
Hmmph-
Kim Eun-ha’s lips twitched as if she was trying hard to suppress her laughter.
“Honestly. You’ve been watching too many dramas.”
“Reality is several times more brutal.”
“That’s true. But don’t worry too much. I’m not walking around without any safety measures.”
Swish-
Suddenly, Kim Eun-ha turned her head to look out the window, raised her right hand, and made an incomprehensible signal.
Dada-da-dash-!
Out of nowhere, people began to run towards us.
Startled by the sudden situation, I instinctively moved Kim Eun-ha behind me, pressing my back against the wall to narrow the angle as much as possible.
“Gotcha~”
Just as I was fully tensed, Kim Eun-ha grabbed my shoulders from behind and whispered softly in my ear.
Startled, I turned around to see Kim Eun-ha smiling, no longer trying to hold back her laughter.
“Were you very surprised?”
“…”
In response to her laughter-filled question, I answered with silence and subtly turned my head forward.
There stood people of various genders and ages, dressed in completely different attire, looking like ordinary people you wouldn’t think were bodyguards.
They were staring at me with expressionless faces devoid of any warmth, as if they were ready to tear me apart at their master’s command without hesitation.
“Are you alright, Miss?”
The oldest-looking man among them, a middle-aged man, spoke up. He looked like he was in his early to mid-40s, and despite the t-shirt he wore, it couldn’t hide his well-toned muscles.
Even as he spoke, he never took his eyes off me, as if warning me not to move a hair.
As I continued to meet his gaze without flinching, a subtle tension built up between us.
“Alright, that’s enough!”
At that moment, Kim Eun-ha stepped forward, inserting herself between us. The veil of silence that had covered the area vanished instantly.
“I’m sorry, Team Leader Kang. Woo-ju here worries about me a lot. I thought it was time to introduce you.”
“…Miss, there were better ways to go about this. This could expose our identities. In a similar situation, if Alpha were to have a change of heart, our response might be delayed.”
Alpha.
It was clear who that term referred to. The man called Team Leader Kang was still glaring at me.
“It’s okay. I’d win if we fought anyway.”
Kim Eun-ha half-jokingly, half-seriously tried to lighten the mood, but Team Leader Kang didn’t relax his expression.
“That won’t be the case.”
“What?”
“Your reaction just now, and what I’ve observed from before, show that you fight quite well. No matter how skilled you are, if ambushed, there’s a high chance you’ll lose.”
“…”
He was sizing me up seriously, examining me from head to toe. His intense gaze felt like that of a human combat power gauge.
“Even now. Knowing there’s no imminent danger, you’re still tense, ready to pull Miss back at any moment.”
“…”
“According to your profile, you haven’t had formal training in combat. Achieving this level from just an action school is truly remarkable.”
“Team Leader Kang, giving compliments? That’s unusual.”
“I’m just stating what I see.”
With a snap of his fingers, all the bodyguards, except for him, dispersed instantly, vanishing from sight. It was more dramatic than a drama scene.
“…Since when have you been watching?”
“Woo-ju, I’ll explain that.”
In the continued subtle standoff, Kim Eun-ha stepped forward with an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry if it seems like I deceived you. This is Team Leader Kang Dae-ho, who has been watching over me since I was a child.”
Kang Dae-ho.
The name suited him well. Baek Do-young’s stare was intense, but compared to Kang Dae-ho, it was like that of a puppy.
“…Did you teach Eun-ha how to fight?”
“That’s right. Team Leader Kang taught me personally. He also taught me many other things in place of my parents who passed away early. He’s practically like my second parent.”
“Please, don’t say that. I’m just an employee.”
“Oh, come on, why are you being so distant?”
“…”
Twitch-
Kim Eun-ha made an uncharacteristically disappointed sound, causing Kang Dae-ho’s brow to twitch, a man who seemed unflappable even if a bomb exploded right in front of him.
It seemed he didn’t dislike being thought of as a parent by Kim Eun-ha. It gave the impression that he truly cared for her sincerely.
‘He seems to know about our relationship as well.’
From the moment Kang Dae-ho called me [Alpha], it was pretty much confirmed. Judging by how things were unfolding, it appeared he had been watching over us all along.
‘…Wait, does that mean even when we went to Seongbuk-dong?’
Suddenly, the moments I spent with Kim Eun-ha flashed through my mind.
The most vivid memory was when we went for a walk up the hill after having dinner together.
I had carried Kim Eun-ha on my back up the mountain because her heels were sore. Although there wasn’t any particular physical intimacy beyond that.
‘…Didn’t she say he’s like a parent to her?’
Imagining Kang Dae-ho, with his eyes wide open, watching every scene from somewhere, made cold sweat trickle down my back.
The faint sense of menace in Kang Dae-ho’s glare wasn’t just my imagination, it seemed.
‘Danger.’
The danger sensor that had always rescued me in crisis situations began to ring wildly.
At the same time, my brain, now on high alert, worked at full speed, making a swift decision for survival, and I followed that decision without further thought.
“Team Leader, nice to meet you! I’m Kang Woo-ju, who is with Kim Eun-ha! Please take care of me!”
“Huh?”
“What?”
As I suddenly bowed my head, the bewildered voices of the two people hit the back of my head.
For a moment, I wondered if breaking character was the right thing to do, but I didn’t lift my head.
I wasn’t entirely sure why, but I instinctively felt that this was a very critical juncture.
“Haha…”
How much time had passed? The one who broke the silence heavier than a mountain was none other than Kang Dae-ho with a hollow laugh.
*****
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