Who I've Been Searching For | Sungjoy

Chapter 11: Reaction

ROKA Close Protection Unit Headquarters - Seoul, Korea

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As the commander of the Close Protection Unit, Major Bae 'Irene' Joohyun liked to be well prepared for any scenario. At all times, she would be constantly informed of any new activity for her unit's active assignments. In return, she would take care of her subordinates to the best of her abilities.

So when the mission came down from the chain of command to send an undercover operative to protect a Yook Sungjae, she had thought nothing of it. She understood that it was going to be a long mission, so she would be losing that asset for an indeterminate amount of time. At the time, she thought that she could afford to send Lieutenant Lee Changsub. After all, it was only one person, and he had spent most of his Close Protection career at the academy.

A year and a half later, another request to protect the same person landed on her desk. If the client had a high profile, it wasn't unusual for them to need additional protection, although it was strange for both operatives to be so deeply undercover. Nevertheless, after conferring with Changsub, she had found an operative that matched what he recommended, Warrant Officer Son "Wendy" Seungwan. She would act as his secondary while also keeping an ear close to the ground to pick up any chatter regarding Yook Sungjae.

Almost three months after that request, a third request came, this time by proxy. This time, the request came with a specified operative in mind, Captain Park "Joy" Sooyoung. She was one of Irene's best and brightest; after being transferred to the Close Protection academy as an instructor, she had gone on to be a team commander. Due to the oddity of the request, Irene had decided to do a little investigative research.

She had found out the reason why Joy had been transferred to the Close Protection field, but she didn't understand why Yook Sungjae was so important to the military that he warranted three bodyguards. She had tried to dig further, but nothing had come up. She had asked Changsub once, only for him to flatly deny her.

There was nothing for her to do, except to be well-prepared for any scenario.

So that's why when Sergeant Major Lee Minhyuk came into her office and told her that Yook Sungjae had been involved in an accident, and nearly killed, Irene didn't panic. She issued clear and concise orders to the sergeant major, dialled a number on her phone, and immediately left her office.

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CUBE Division Company Building – Seoul, Korea

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Lee Changsub wasn't a man who enjoyed being in meetings.

He barely paid attention to one of the financial department's lackeys as they droned on and on about stocks and other financial related matters that had no relation to him.

He was twirling his pen in a distracting manner before one of the other directors glared at him.

Changsub sheepishly placed his pen back on the table and glanced at his watch.

CEO Lee had walked into their office earlier this morning and told Sungjae that he would need him to go on a sudden observation tour at another facility. When Changsub reminded him that they had a Directors meeting scheduled at the same time, CEO Lee had told him that he could substitute for Sungjae at the meeting. After all, he was an assistant director.

And speaking of assistants, Joy hadn't shown up for work in the morning. Changsub had asked Sungjae, but Sungjae had merely waved it off and told him that he gave Joy the day off for health-related issues.

Changsub had frowned at the time and made a mental note to check up on her. If Joy wasn't available to protect Sungjae, then it was up to him to accompany Sungjae. He had asked Dong Wook to allow him to go with Sungjae, but Dong Wook had been adamant about the meeting.