I came to the All Day Guard Training Center set up in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.
I’ll be receiving intensive bodyguard training here for four weeks.
In the end, out of all the options, I chose All Day Guard.
There were a few reasons why I chose All Day Guard.
First of all, this place needed me badly.
After that, we spoke on the phone several more times,
and each time, they desperately wanted me to join the company.
I figured it would be better to go somewhere that needed me, if possible.
Second, they provide lodging, so I don’t have much else to worry about.
Given the nature of bodyguard work, your place of residence can become very unstable depending on the client’s situation.
That’s why All Day Guard provides lodging during operations.
Even when there isn’t an operation, they provide dormitories for those who want them.
The same goes for this training center.
I’d been worrying a lot about where I should find a place to live,
but for now, that took one weight off my shoulders.
The All Day Guard Training Center had one training building that looked like a warehouse.
One dormitory building for room and board.
And an outdoor exercise field.
There, I received bodyguard training together with the other newly hired kids.
I called them kids, but in truth, I was the youngest.
Bodyguard training, if you could call it that, was similar to the training I’d received in the military.
We had to constantly grasp our surroundings and be aware of the situation.
We had to observe people carefully and react sensitively to smells, sight, and sound.
At the same time, we had to maintain a fixed distance so the client wouldn’t feel bothered,
and we had to be aware of escape routes at all times.
And that wasn’t all.
We practiced a lot of bodyguard work using vehicles.
In modern protection work, vehicle-based security was absolutely essential.
We protected the client with vehicles, and practiced evasion and pursuit driving using vehicles.
We also had to handle the latest equipment I’d never seen in the military.
Computers were basic, along with CCTV operation, metal detectors, communication equipment, and control of machine rooms or security rooms.
Even drones, thermal imaging cameras, and RF detectors.
It was unfamiliar, but it was fun.
The difference from the military, though,
was that if our goal was to find the enemy and kill or annihilate them,
then in bodyguard work, the client’s safety and escape took priority over annihilation.
Even if I could defeat every enemy there,
if the client got hurt in the meantime, that bodyguard job was a failure.
The whole process was more fun than I’d expected, and I learned quickly.
.
.
“Nice to meet you. I’m the Alpha Team leader. My name is Bae Hyeonseok.”
“Hello, sir. I’m Gong Inbae, newly assigned to Alpha Team.”
“Welcome to our team. Let’s get along.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then shall we go?”
Today was the day Alpha Team gathered.
It was the day they regrouped after finishing their previous project—a bodyguard job—and taking three days of rest.
The team leader and I met in the team leader’s office, exchanged brief greetings, and entered the meeting room together.
The meeting room looked like one of the meeting rooms in a study café.
One long table, eight chairs.
One beam projector.
And four men were already sitting in those chairs.
Team Leader Bae Hyeonseok looked at them and spoke naturally.
“Did you get some good rest?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Three days off is too short.”
“You never know when you’ll get to rest, so you should rest well. You haven’t seen him before, right?”
“No.”
“This is Deputy Team Leader Gong Inbae, assigned as our team’s deputy leader this time. Applause.”
Clap, clap, clap.
The halfhearted applause couldn’t even fill the small meeting room.
When he introduced me as the deputy team leader, the looks they gave me were anything but ordinary.
“Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Gong Inbae.”
“We can do introductions slowly later. Let’s look over the new project first.”
At the team leader’s words, the meeting room lights went out and the beam projector turned on.
“Han Minsu. Third generation of KL Group. You know who he is, right?”
“We’re fucked.”
“I knew I had a bad dream last night.”
“What rotten luck.”
“To think we got Lollipop.”
It was a face I’d never seen before, but they seemed familiar with him.
“Deputy Team Leader, this is your first time hearing of him?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve never seen him on TV?”
“I hardly watch TV.”
“He’s a face that shows up on the society news from time to time. Han Minsu, third generation of LK Group. Just think of him as a guy who does every bad thing a group heir can do. Drunk driving is basically the bare minimum, and then there’s violence, sexual harassment, drugs, and who knows how much more we don’t know about. What he’s best at is abusing his power.”
With the team leader’s short but impactful introduction, I felt like I immediately understood who Han Minsu was.
So he’s just a rich piece of trash, isn’t he?
Not even his own money, just some bastard who was lucky enough to be born into a family where someone else had already made a lot of it.
“But, Team Leader, doesn’t Han Minsu already have a dedicated security team?”
“He does. He did, but apparently they were all replaced because of that assault incident last time. So they hurriedly put together a new one, but Han Minsu doesn’t like the newly formed team. Says he can’t trust them or something.”
“So we’re guarding him?”
“That’s right.”
“It can’t be long-term, can it? Where’s the destination?”
“Macao.”
“Team Leader, can’t our team take another project? I’d rather it be dangerous. I really hate that bastard.”
“Since when did we get to pick and choose clients?”
“At least if we’re Alpha Team, shouldn’t they show us that much consideration? We handle all the hard jobs, so if we’re doing the hard stuff, couldn’t they at least spare us the filthy ones?”
“There are no available teams right now. If it’s not us, there’s no team to take Han Minsu. So what, we reject the request?”
“.....”
“I know how you feel. The last incident must still weigh on you. We’ve conveyed our concerns to Han Minsu’s side, so it should be a little better, shouldn’t it? And it’s a short schedule, three nights and four days. Once we get there, he’ll be holed up in the casino anyway. We can rotate the guard detail. It’s not bad. Just in terms of the mission, it’s a fairly easy one. And honestly, Han Minsu isn’t an important figure either. We’re being attached to him because he says he can’t move without bodyguards, not because anyone is targeting him. Think of it lightly.”
“That doesn’t mean we can do the bodyguard work half-assed, does it?”
“That’s true, isn’t it?”
Everyone seemed to have a lot of complaints about Han Minsu being the next project.
And the team leader skillfully soothed those team members.
“Anyway, the next project has been set as Han Minsu, so keep that in mind and get ready. Departure is in one week.”
“Yes, sir.”
As soon as the meeting ended, the team members all filed out at once. Seeing that, the team leader shook his head as if dumbfounded, but he too left the meeting room quietly without saying anything else.
I was the only one left alone in the meeting room.
Is this really how it should be on my first day?
Aren’t we on the same team?
A bitter smile came out.
I hadn’t done anything.
All I’d done was attend today’s meeting, but I already felt like the team hated me.
Still, I couldn’t just keep sitting in an empty meeting room.
I gathered up the materials and went out, and Alpha Team was gathered in front of the vending machine.
The four of them, excluding the team leader.
“Hyung, are you really just going to let this happen?”
“And if I don’t?”
“We have to do something. Because you keep staying still, those bastards think it’s natural and treat you however they want, don’t they?”
“Donghyeon, watch your mouth.”
“Did I say anything I shouldn’t? How long have you been grinding away in Alpha Team, hyung? If the deputy team leader spot opened up, of course you should’ve gotten it. Why bring someone in from outside? And he’s twenty-four? Does it make sense to shove a bastard like that into the deputy team leader position?”
“I told you to stop.”
The person they called hyung did stop him with words, but his actions didn’t look that way.
“Donghyeon hyung is right. We need to protest strongly about this. Honestly, I was a little disappointed in the team leader this time too. Even if they forced someone in from outside, the team leader should have refused. How could he just accept it?”
“That’s right. This is the team leader’s fault.”
“If he’s twenty-four, he’s younger than me. But he’s the deputy team leader? Honestly, it’s hard to accept.”
“Anyway, we can’t just let this incident slide.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll do something. Either drive that bastard out, or I leave.”
Listening to their conversation, it seemed they had some misunderstanding about me.
They seemed to think I was a parachute hire.
I only came here to learn for five months.
After five months, I’m going to form a team and leave.
I briefly wondered whether I should explain.
But was there really any need to explain it to those bastards?
They misunderstood on their own,
and I’m supposed to clear it up for them?
Why should I?
Whether they misunderstood or not.
It wasn’t my concern.
.
.
.
Starting the next day, we trained according to the situation.
Airport security, casino security, vehicle movement security.
Maybe because Alpha Team had years of experience,
they moved together perfectly,
and I was the only one who couldn’t fit in and kept getting left out.
“Let’s try again.”
The team leader said.
But problems kept happening again and again.
It wasn’t a matter of skill, but of movement routes.
Someone kept blocking my path.
.
.
Departure day.
I put on a suit from the morning and went to the company.
The work attire was a suit,
but the only suit I owned was a luxury suit I’d bought years ago when I came out on leave.
So I wore that.
I couldn’t exactly go naked.
When I got to the gathering place, the team members were there.
They all seemed surprised when they saw me.
The team leader also seemed a little surprised when he saw me.
As expected, people should wear luxury brands.
While we waited for the car that would take us,
the team leader quietly came up beside me and whispered in my ear.
“Deputy Team Leader, I can see the clothes suit you, but if possible, please wear ordinary clothes for work, not luxury brands.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. These are the only clothes I have.”
“We’ll let it go this time. Just do well from next time.”
The team leader patted my shoulder,
and just then the car arrived, so we moved to the vehicle.
Usually, when we conduct operations domestically, we drive ourselves,
but when going overseas, they sometimes drive us as far as the airport.
Hannam-dong.
One SUV and one luxury sedan entered the apartment complex.
In the distance, someone waved.
“There’s Secretary Choi. We can stop up ahead.”
The car stopped in front of Secretary Choi, and we all got out to wait for the client.
When we got out, Secretary Choi ran over to the team leader.
“Team Leader Bae, thank you for your hard work.”
“Not at all. You’re the one who always works hard, Secretary Choi.”
“Please take good care of our director.”
“Pardon?”
“I’d really love to go with you, but there’s something I absolutely have to handle at the company. This isn’t much, but please have a meal with it when you get there.”
Secretary Choi took an envelope from his chest and discreetly slipped it into Team Leader Bae’s pocket.
The flustered team leader looked at Secretary Choi with an incredulous expression.
Avoiding that look, Secretary Choi picked up his phone and made a call.
“Yes, Director. You’ve come down? Yes, yes, yes, I’m out front.”
“The director is coming out.”
At Secretary Choi’s words, we immediately entered work mode.
We opened the door of the waiting car and kept watch for any possible threats in the area.
A moment later, the apartment’s communal entrance opened, and Director Han Minsu came out.
A pure-white face, brimming with wealth.
A bright expression that looked like he’d never known hardship in his life.
Neatly styled hair, a smile lingering on his face.
He had stylishly matched cotton pants with a cardigan.
As soon as he came out, he greeted us in a friendly manner.
“Nice to meet you~”
“We’ll escort you.”
The team leader was escorting him when our eyes met.
“Oh~~ Dior!!”
“Hey~~ There are even guys wearing Dior while doing bodyguard work.”
“This is fun. You, ride here.”
Originally, the arrangement was for only the team leader to ride in the sedan, while the rest of us would all ride in the SUV,
but I ended up riding in the sedan too.
As soon as we got into the car, Han Minsu spoke.
“Let’s stop by Sangam-dong on the way. When I said I was going to Macao, someone said she wanted to come with me. Gang Yeeun, you guys know her too, right? The girl in that weekend drama. I’ve gotten kind of close to her lately. She said she wanted to come with me.”
He said something utterly shitty with a bright, innocent smile.
As if it weren’t enough that he’d set the schedule tight because he hated waiting at the airport,
now he was telling us to stop by Sangam-dong too.
There were two hours left until the flight’s departure.
But if we had to stop by Sangam-dong, it would be tight.
Even so, saying it was possible or impossible here
was not something we could do.
The team leader quickly radioed the lead car.
“A stop has been added. Additional stop. We’ll be stopping by Sangam-dong before going to the airport. Departure time is tight, so move quickly.”
Before the team leader even finished his radio call, the car began moving.
The team leader’s face was already full of worry.
Ah—so this is what they mean by abusing power.
Abusing power with such an utterly bright expression on his face.
He spoke with an expression that said, *Why would this be a problem?*
Abuse of power without a shred of malice in the world.
In Han Minsu’s world, it was only natural.
He lived in a world where all he had to do was speak.
How? Why should Han Minsu care about that?
That was something for the people who got paid to worry about and handle.
However it was done, it was none of Han Minsu’s concern.
All he had to do was stop by Sangam-dong on the way and pick someone up.
And then board the plane.
“Is there a problem? It’s on the way anyway, so it doesn’t matter, right?”
“No, sir. We’ll move as quickly as possible.”
Just because we were headed west didn’t mean everything was on the way.
“But Mr. Dior, you’re a face I haven’t seen before.”
“I was assigned today.”
“Your family must be well-off, to be wearing something like this. And your face still looks so young.”
“Not at all, sir.”
“What do you mean, not at all? That your family isn’t well-off? Or that you’re not young?”
“....”
“Why won’t you answer? Did I ask how much money your family has? I’m not even curious. It’s just small talk.”
“......”
“Why are you being so stiff? I’m trying to get close to you. It’s because I like you. Why are you putting up walls? You never know—you might become my dedicated guard.”
This bastard was spewing things I’d rather not imagine.
“Chief, traffic is a bit heavy up ahead, so we’ll take a detour. The car may shake quite a bit.”
“Ah~ I don’t really like it when the car shakes.”
Only then did he grab the handle and close his eyes.
It was a Maybach, yet we were driving so fast and rough that the car shook.
I, too, clenched my glutes, doing my part to help the car shake even harder.
We arrived at Gang Yeeun’s house after running several red lights.
“Honey, I’m here. Hurry out.”
“Okay.”
But five minutes passed, then ten, and she showed no sign of coming out.
The team leader subtly urged him.
“Chief. I think we need to leave now. The flight time is too tight.”
“Why isn’t she coming out?”
“Hello? Huh? Why are you so late? What? The puppy won’t let go? Put it down and come quickly. We’ll miss the plane.”
He hung up with a click and spoke loud enough for us to hear.
“The kid’s too soft-hearted. What a mess.”
A moment later, Gang Yeeun came out grunting, carrying a suitcase that looked bigger than her.
I guess a celebrity is a celebrity.
She was definitely pretty.
We immediately took the suitcase and put it in the trunk,
and after confirming the two were aboard, we departed right away.
We attached emergency lights on top of the security vehicle.
It was illegal, but it couldn’t be helped.
We figured that if we got fined, the company would take care of it.
“Floor it.”
We arrived at the airport.
We went straight to the check-in counter and barely made it in time.
While everyone was catching their breath,
only Han Minsu and Gang Yeeun were relaxed.
They were giggling and laughing without a care.
Do those bastards actually enjoy this?
We were absolutely shitting ourselves.
If we missed the plane, it would’ve been a huge problem.
That’s why we drove like crazy to make this flight.
Then from now on, those bastards will think this is the baseline, right?
They’ll think two hours is enough time to stop by Sangam-dong and still get to Incheon, right?
They’ll set the time thinking we can cut it down even more, won’t they?
A headache was already coming on.
But there was something even more bothersome.
Inside the plane heading to Macau.
We gathered briefly for an emergency meeting about the security formation.
Solo protection and dual protection are completely different beasts.
Until now, we had trained only for solo protection—guarding only Han Minsu—
but the people we actually had to protect were two.
Just because we got paid by Han Minsu didn’t mean we could ignore Gang Yeeun.
We hastily revised the movement routes and schedule inside the plane.
Arrival at Macau Airport.
A car was waiting from the hotel.
Before getting in, we briefly inspected the car and headed to the hotel.
Unlike us, who were exhausted, the energetic Han Minsu and Gang Yeeun went straight to the casino.
Was it because chaebols ate so well? Their stamina was no joke.
We split into pairs and quietly guarded the perimeter around Han Minsu and Gang Yeeun.
Checking if there were any suspicious people nearby.
If there were any objects that could pose a threat.
We remained vigilant and assessed without pause.
Jeong Donghyeon, who was paired with me, didn’t utter a single word to me; he didn’t seem to like me.
He simply kept silent watch over Han Minsu and the people around him.
I, too, had nothing to say, so I remained silent as well.
Whether they knew of our efforts or not,
Han Minsu, who kept losing money, was very irritated.
“Fuck, what is this. I keep getting it wrong.”
“At this point, shouldn’t luck let me win at least once?”
“Fuck, it won’t fucking hit. Fuck, I’m done, I’m done.”
Despite his words, his hand kept tapping the table, asking for more cards.
“Hey~ Dior, go exchange this for chips.”
“Fuck, exchange this too.”
“Is it because I’m running out of money?”
We rotated every two hours, rested, and repeated our duties.
It wasn’t physical labor, but it was more tiring than I expected.
I had to constantly observe and assess the surroundings.
In my case, perhaps because it was my first shift,
not having learned what required more attention
and what could be overlooked made it even harder.
As our shift was ending and we were preparing to rotate again.
“Fuck, it just won’t fucking hit.”
Han Minsu crumpled the cards.
“Oppa, I’m tired.”
“Should we stop for today?”
“Yeah, let’s rest a bit today.”
“We’re done for today. We’re going up.”
“Principal is moving.”
“No issues with the route. Proceed directly to the room.”
“Copy. Out.”
We radioed that Han Minsu was moving,
and the standby team receiving the transmission said there were no issues with the route and told us to come straight up to the room.
As Han Minsu was leaving the casino, he held out a business-card-sized piece of paper to me.
It was a paper coated in a sparkling purple.
When I looked at him, wondering what it was.
“Go to the place written here and they’ll give you an envelope. Just go get it.”
I glanced at Jeong Donghyeon beside me.
Jeong Donghyeon nodded slightly.
I took the note and headed to the written address.
It was a club not far from the hotel.
As I tried to enter, guards blocked me.
I said I had come to pick something up and showed them the note Han Minsu had given me, and they let me through.
No—they actually gave me a full escort.
Passing through the area where people were gathered and dancing,
going downstairs, there were several private rooms,
and past a corridor at the end so narrow only one person could barely squeeze through,
another bar appeared.
Countless liquor bottles were on display,
and in front of them sat a woman wearing a qipao.
She checked the note in my hand and held out a paper envelope.
Then she immediately averted her gaze from me.
Meaning she had no more business with me.
But I was not done.
“Can I buy more, by any chance?”
“If you have the money.”
“Is bartering acceptable?”