The Country Life Diary of a Gangster's Secretary-Chapter 130

“Stop acting so scared every time I come by.”

The terrified secretary clamped her mouth shut. Watching her shoulders tremble, Park Yul entered the office.

“What’s the matter? I told you to lay low for a while.”

Jung Se-jin, who was seated at his desk working, threw a sharp glance in his direction.

“I have something to report.”

“You should have contacted me first, Yul.”

Although his voice was soft, Park Yul wasn’t oblivious to the underlying tone. Jung Se-jin’s gaze was always condescending. Having experienced much in life, Park Yul knew all too well the way people looked down on others while pretending to teach them a lesson.

“I apologize.”

But Park Yul bowed his head. After all, without this man, he wouldn’t have been able to gather his scattered gang members, nor live a decent life with a thick wad of cash in his pocket.

“Right. I know you’re uneducated, but at least try to have some manners. So, what do you have to report?”

Park Yul walked up to him and handed over the brown envelope. Se-jin wordlessly pulled out the contents.

“I felt uneasy after what you said last time, so I had the guys tail this Taesung Vice President Choi for a while.”

Inside the envelope were several photos, all taken in front of Vice President Choi’s residence.

“As you suspected, he’s been thoroughly spooked and hasn’t stepped out of his house.”

“And?”

Se-jin flipped through the photos indifferently. They showed various people visiting Choi’s house over several days. Friends of his wife, delivery men, and juice vendors—none of them seemed suspicious.

“We were about to wrap up the surveillance when someone odd showed up.”

Just as Park Yul finished speaking, the last photo caught Se-jin’s attention. His hand paused as he looked at the picture. There, as if just as Park Yul had said, was an unexpected figure—a man holding a fruit basket. His skin was strikingly pale, and he had soft but sharp eyes. Se-jin recognized him well.

“At first, I thought he was just a visiting acquaintance, but something felt off, so I looked into it. He’s from Taesung...”

“Isn’t he the former secretary?”

Se-jin interrupted before Park Yul could finish.

“...Yes. How did you know?”

Park Yul widened his eyes slightly, surprised that Se-jin recognized the man so quickly. Meanwhile, Se-jin pulled out another document from the envelope.

It was a brief file on Hye-seong. Whether it was thanks to his time as a gangster or his near-death experience, Park Yul sometimes had animal-like instincts. Se-jin had benefited from those instincts a few times, which was why he kept Park Yul close.

“I’ve seen him before. We’ve crossed paths at official events a few times. I used to try to maintain good relations with Taesung back then.”

Se-jin looked at the photo of Chun Hye-seong attached to the document. His large, dark brown eyes stood out beneath his thick black hair. Perhaps it was those eyes that made Se-jin remember him so well.

He had often encountered Kwon Yi-hyuk at official events or private parties. At the time, he had to maintain at least the appearance of a cordial relationship with Taesung, if only for the sake of public perception.

There had been a lot of media speculation at the time, suggesting that Taesung’s rise would threaten Daehyun’s position, and that the rivalry between the two companies would only intensify.

Back then, Se-jin hadn’t seen Taesung as a significant threat, so instead of being openly hostile, he had made a show of engaging Kwon Yi-hyuk in conversation.

But what had always caught his eye was Chun Hye-seong, the secretary who loyally stood by Kwon Yi-hyuk’s side, handling every rude comment from others with poise and assisting his boss with a dedication that was almost palpable. His eyes had a distinctive shine to them. It wasn’t just confidence; it was something deeper.

It was as if the man had been born with a large, formidable presence. Se-jin had even thought that Chun Hye-seong might have played a significant role in helping Kwon Yi-hyuk build Taesung into what it had become.

On the day he had gone to offer a formal apology to Kwon Yi-hyuk, Se-jin had noticed that the secretary wasn’t there and had looked into it personally. When he vaguely heard that Hye-seong had quit his job, he had briefly considered bringing him over to Daehyun.

Of course, he hadn’t followed through.

“Doesn’t it seem odd that Kwon Yi-hyuk’s former secretary would suddenly visit Vice President Choi after leaving Taesung?”

Park Yul added that the timing was too suspicious.

“...It certainly does.”

The reason Se-jin hadn’t pursued Hye-seong further was simple—he didn’t think Hye-seong would accept Daehyun’s offer. Chun Hye-seong and Kwon Yi-hyuk didn’t seem like just a CEO and his secretary.

There seemed to be a stronger bond between them. And now, at the very moment Kwon Yi-hyuk’s world was falling apart, Hye-seong had appeared and visited Vice President Choi?

“What a sneaky bastard.”

Se-jin chuckled coldly, showing an expression that Park Yul had rarely seen, which made him tense up slightly.

At that moment, the phone on Se-jin’s desk rang loudly. After confirming that the call was a request for connection from the secretary’s office, Se-jin pressed the button.

Director, Vice President Choi Seong-chan from Taesung is here to see you. I told him you wouldn’t meet without an appointment, but he insisted...

As the troubled voice came through the speaker, Park Yul and Se-jin exchanged glances.

“...Let him in.”

Park Yul left the room immediately. Shortly after, Vice President Choi Seong-chan entered Se-jin’s office, clutching the recorder he had received from Hye-seong.

A while later, after seizing the recorder from Choi Seong-chan, Park Yul inspected it and shook his head.

“It’s just an ordinary recorder you can easily find on the market. It doesn’t seem to have any special functions, and the contents have already been erased.”

Park Yul pocketed the pen, saying he would take care of it.

“Put more guys on Vice President Choi. And keep an eye on Taesung’s other executives too.”

“Yes.”

“If they try anything funny, don’t hesitate to scare them a bit.”

“What about that Chun Hye-seong guy?”

Se-jin rubbed his dry eyes. Alpha pheromones began to subtly seep out around him. Typically, people with secondary gender traits could control their pheromones skillfully, but sometimes, when emotions ran high or they were particularly agitated, they might lose control.

Jung Se-jin was a dominant alpha, and his pheromones were quite potent. Park Yul instinctively covered his mouth, feeling nauseous.

Pheromones from another person with the same trait were naturally repellent, and at that concentration, it was clear that Se-jin was very angry. The best course of action in such a situation was to wait quietly, something Park Yul knew well.

Before long, the pheromones began to disperse.

“What could someone who’s already left do? The public is already tearing Taesung apart on our behalf, and their people won’t just sit back and watch. The evidence is gone too.”

Se-jin glanced at the recorder Park Yul had retrieved. According to the information, Chun Hye-seong had left Taesung and was now living a secluded life in the countryside. To think that he had left such a desirable position for a life like that. While it was surprising that he had given the recorder to Vice President Choi, that was as far as it went.

It was neither a novel nor a brilliant move—just an easy-to-see-through trick. If it was meant to be a brilliant strategy, it was laughable at best.

“I was interested in him once, but maybe I was wrong.”

“Pardon?”

“Forget about Chun Hye-seong. Park Yul, leave some people to monitor the situation, and then wrap things up here and head down to Pohang for a while.”

“Yes, Director. I’m planning to clean up and sleep here tonight.”

Hye-seong crouched by the shoe rack, tightening the laces of his sneakers.

Good thinking. Take this time to rest up. Yi-hyuk will be looked after by me and Secretary Yoo.

“Yes, Director. Please don’t overexert yourself either.”

As soon as the call ended, the orange light in the shoe cabinet flickered off. Hye-seong had stood in one spot for so long that the motion sensor failed to detect him.

He pulled out his phone again, and the orange light turned back on, sensing the movement.

“...”

A message from an unknown number appeared on the screen.

[It’s Kim Sung-han. Here’s the address of Yushinpa’s hideout, as I mentioned before. Check it out.]

Hye-seong let out a short sigh before heading out. Moments after the door closed, the space where he had stood just a moment ago was enveloped in darkness.