Sooho

Chapter 95: < Protect – Episode 94 – FIFA [4] >

What Ahn Soo Ho was failing to notice was that even the anti-Americans thought the American mass media could be trusted. They believe that what the American media was talking about was a world-wide issue. So as soon as Ahn Soo Ho’s name was mentioned on the American news, Koreans were in awe. It didn’t matter what they were saying about him. They just liked that Korea was being mentioned from the lips of the Americans.

Jang Seol Hyun and Lila were close on a personal level.

Jang Seol Hyun also had a lot of Hollywood connections. That was because when she spent time with Ahn Soo Ho in Hollywood, everyone they met was powerful people in the American entertainment industry. Jang Seol Hyun got along with Lila who had a refreshing personality. That was why it was more worrisome. People with similar personalities also had similar taste.

The producer just blinked his eyes to Jang Seol Hyun’s appearance.

She didn’t care and just ran into Ahn Soo Ho’s arms. He hugged her back with an expression that looked like he was either smiling or crying. Fans knew her as a cool and elegant woman, but to Ahn Soo Ho, she was just an anxious little girl.

Once the producer was sent out, everyone else left them alone.

“What about your schedule?”

“I finished them all. Why? Were you worried I just ran away? It’s been 17 years since I debuted, you know.”

17 years since her debut when she was only in her 20s? She definitely started her career very young. Since Lila had only debuted 7 years ago, she didn’t stand a chance. Her anxiousness melted away as soon as Ahn Soo Ho was in front of her. The way her eyes shook hadn’t changed since she confessed her feelings to him years earlier. At the time, her heart ached because he rejected her, but that was why she trusted him even more.

‘Yeah. Mister’s different from other men.’

Since she started working in the entertainment industry at a young age, she also saw a lot of things she shouldn’t have. The actors started dating someone else every time they started a new show or movie, and there were countless affairs taking place. It was hard not to develop feelings when one spent so much time with a good looking person.

Jang Seol Hyun saw that and realized something.

Dating a celebrity was bound to end up in betrayal. People said breaking up was a natural part of the process, but after seeing so many ridiculous situations, Jang Seol Hyun no longer believed in people or love. Both people and love had expiry dates.

The reason why Jang Seol Hyun fell for Ahn Soo Ho wasn’t because of his capabilities, and definitely not his looks. She fell for the same attitude he had in front of even the most beautiful women in LA. As soon as she realized he would never betray her, he suddenly started looking handsome to her. And when he saved her from trouble, he looked pretty cool then, too.

“Come here!”

“Why?”

Once Jang Seol Hyun’s emotions stabilized, she dragged Lila to the next room. Lila resisted, but Jang Seol Hyun was very strong. As soon as the two women disappeared, Han Kyung Il let out a sigh in the corner of the room.

“Phew, I thought I was going to die.”

“Why are you so nervous?”

“Seol Hyun’s personality’s no joke. She might hold control over you when you get married. But then again, anyone marrying Seol Hyun should serve her for the rest of his life.”

“She’s just a little girl.”

Celebrities seemed to live in a whole different world, but that was particularly true. Ahn Soo Ho and Han Kyung Il drank beer along a 2nd-floor railing looking down upon an outdoor swimming pool.

“I saw you going somewhere at the soccer game…Who did you meet?”

“The vice-chairman of FIFA.”

“Who?”

“You wouldn’t know him.”

Han Kyung Il was reminded once more of how vast Ahn Soo Ho’s connections were.

“Why did you meet him?”

“While dealing with the Italy issue, I also have a new business to worry about thanks to someone I know.”

“Sorry.”

He was talking about Han Kyung Il.

“No need to apologize…I’m just thankful for a good idea.”

“Are you thinking of investing in soccer?”

“I still haven’t decided if it’ll be soccer or baseball. I still have to consult an expert before I do anything.”

It was likely going to be soccer, but nothing had been decided yet.

“Take care of the filming crew with Seol Hyun tomorrow.”

“Are you going to make her do an interview, too?”

“Since she’s here already, it’s better to set the record straight. And there will be lots of paparazzi tomorrow so be careful.”

They were able to avoid them for the last few days thanks to Monaco. They were busy for a while, but they were bound to start coming back. The next day, Ahn Soo Ho convinced Jang Seol Hyun to join the filming crew and walked the streets by himself. The yachts along the pier were filled with women in bikinis, but this area was even more bustling in May or early June.

There weren’t that many people there in comparison.

Europe was crazy about F1 just like they were crazy about the World Cup. They liked competition that clearly differentiated the winners from the losers. Koreans weren’t very familiar with F1, but it was one of the top sports events in the world. For that reason, supercars were all over Monaco. They were all valued at crazy prices that would make anyone gasp.

Those who were even a little rich came to Monaco. There were great casino-like places as well as countless beauties all over the streets. If a person wanted to find a beautiful girl, Mocano was the place to be.

Ahn Soo Ho stopped at a sandy beach. The open-air cafes were bustling as expected. Once he sat at a nice table under a parasol, a server came with the menu. But he just ordered a fruit juice without looking at the menu. The price was really high because of the seating and the high prices of such a famous tourist destination.

Ahn Soo Ho took out his phone and checked his messages.

The texts Lee So Hye sent were just casual remarks and photos. There were many photos of her in her school uniform, photos of her making ugly faces, as well as threats that she wouldn’t open the door if he didn’t bring back souvenirs. What made Ahn Soo Ho laugh was a video of them playing leapfrog and using curse words.

The female high school students played in a pretty rough manner these days.

The chat room between the directors of Hosoo Entertainment was pretty serious, but Ahn Soo Ho sometimes shared emoticons to lighten up the mood. He thought it was cringy at first, but once he got used to it, it became more comfortable. In the chat room with Ahn Da Sol, Emily, and Rachael, it was mostly English. The group’s promotional team told Ahn Soo Ho to make a Facebook or Instagram account, but they changed their minds.

‘It’d be fun but also tiring.’

There was nothing for him to upload anyway since he didn’t like to take pictures.

Ding-

Jang Seol Hyun sent him a text. The attached photo looked like she was at a palace. He responded right away. They messaged each other for quite some time until Ahn Soo Ho noticed a person’s shadow.

“Oh no! Did I disrupt you?”

“Sit down.”

Stefano caused a fuss while sitting down. He wasn’t alone.

“This is Olivia.”

“DGSE?”

Olivia shook her head.

“Today…it’s the Green Peace.”

Ahn Soo Ho smirked. When considering the ill-fated relationship between DFSE and Green Peace, any agent was bound to be angry at the attitude that the French government had regarding NGOs. But what could they do? That was how France was. To government workers, some of the NGOs were just as chilling as terrorists.

In particular, the protests regarding protecting animals were especially similar to terrorist groups because they even killed people while using animal protection as an excuse. And of course, they didn’t admit to their faults.

Ahn Soo Ho took out a USB and put it on the table. The parts that needed to be deleted already were. Olivia and Stefano minded each other with their eyes. France and Italy agreed to cooperate, but it was hard to mediate due to their own interests. What was certain was that Italy was in a more advantageous position.

“Any results?”

“We stopped the terrorist attacks in Nice and Marseille.”

“They arrested small terrorist organizations in Geneva and Venice.”

In response to Ahn Soo Ho’s question, Olivia quickly answered and Stefano bragged about their results.

“This is even bigger information. It’s huge.”

“Huge?”

“I’m saying it’s expensive. Do you know how much I spent in Monaco?”

He didn’t know the exact numbers, but he knew a large sum of money went through the black market.

“I’m not going to ask for money. Don’t worry.”

The intelligence agency’s budget was tight, so they couldn’t even lend out that much money.

“I currently have 1 billion euros left in cash. I want to send this money to France and Italy. But there’s one big problem.”

“The origin is uncertain.”

“That’s right. The origin is uncertain.”

“Do you want it to be laundered?”

“No.”

He didn’t have to ask an intelligence agency to launder money. There were tons of people who would be willing to help Ahn Soo Ho with that. He just didn’t want to be bothered tuning the profits and losses.

“I’m going to donate 500 million euros to each country from an anonymous account. What you have to do is pick the recipients.”

If they still didn’t understand, they had no right as authorities. The States was just an exception because the intelligence agencies of every other country were tight on budget. Patriotism couldn’t be bought with money, but it was true that a bigger budget led to more trust from the people. That was why they managed camouflaged companies to obtain secret operation funds.

But they weren’t all in the form of a corporation.

They could be foundations or loan companies as well as clubs and restaurants. Since some operated real businesses in order to prevent being traced, the company ended up growing in unexpected ways. What they thought was necessary evil turned out to make them into a huge corporation.

“This isn’t something we can decide on, Soo Ho.”

“Then consult whoever’s in charge and tell me the results.”

“Sure.”

Stefano grabbed the USB on the table. Olivia smacked her lips. The one who could really make Ahn Soo Ho move was Italy. Stefano left, but Olivia stayed as if she had something to say. She was confident despite it being their first meeting like the French woman she was.

“If you naturalize to our country, we’ll give you a great bonus.”

“I’ve heard this offer way too many times before.”

“I’ve been ordered to ask you this, so I don’t have a choice. What’s your answer?”

“What I’ve told everyone else.”

Olivia looked like she expected that answer. The director announced that whoever could make him naturalize to their country would get a huge promotion.

“I’m sure you didn’t stay back just to babble nonsense. What is it that you really want?”

“After you retired, more assassination requests have been made.”

“There were many before I retired, too. So did someone accepted the request?”

“No…there’s no way a top-level assassin will take on the job, but some thug who doesn’t know you might.”

Not all assassins were professional. There were tons of people who would use guns and knives if it meant they would get paid.

“There are rumors that PPA got in on it.”

“Alleyas Frovesa?”

Ahn Soo Ho knitted his brows.

There were a lot of crazy bastards in this world, but Alleyas Frovesa was at a whole different level. Alleyas was a killing unit comprised of killing machines. The intelligence world was troubled due to retired returners while the mercenary world was troubled due to soldiers who came back more angry after losing their arms and legs.

Alleyas Frovesa started off as an association for mercenaries who got injured. No matter how much people tried, there was discrimination against the disabled. And it had been less than 10 years since this association formed for the disabled soldiers to help one another.

Women, children, and elders were once put in the spotlight as undercover assassins, but these days, the disabled took all the attention. No one would ever imagine a disabled person was an assassin. What was scary about Alleyas Frovesa was that they gathered mercenaries who didn’t want to live with their disabilities and made them into suicide terrorists. Since they could leave money to their family, it was a fairly easy decision for them.

“How much do you trust the rumors?”

“Maybe 40 percent?”

“That’s pretty high.”

“It’s not low, that’s for sure. Any suspicions?”

“Of course.”

There were too many.

But the first thing he thought of was the last message that was sent out before his retirement. There was prize money being offered for the heads of the employers after Deep Breath died a wrongful death. But expecting them to die easily would have been too much to ask. It was expected for those with money and power to do everything they could.

What was the most disgusting was Alleyas Frovesa’s behavior. The mercenary world had become a mess since Ahn Soo Ho stepped down from the throne.

“People are definitely animals of the oblivion.”

< Protect – Episode 94 – FIFA [4] > The end.