Became the Escort Knight That the Princesses Were Obsessed With - Chapter 335



335. Security Operation (3)

“Rupert, sunbaenim. Would you like some coffee?”

In the hallway in front of Strategic Team 3’s office.

I was face to face with a plump guy, vigorously stirring a packet of instant coffee with its own wrapper in the pantry.

He was definitely wearing a suit, but the tie was kind of sloppy, the shirt a bit rumpled.

Honestly, he looked more like a paunchy office worker than a bodyguard.

‘If he were under me, I’d make him work out until he dropped dead.’

“Oh, yeah. You’re the newbie.”

Rupert, seemingly excited about a subordinate lower in the hierarchy than his own replacement,

puffed out his rounded shoulders and stood facing me.

“What is it?”

“Ah, it’s nothing much, but while I was being briefed on my tasks, I had a question.”

I naturally stood next to the sunbae, who was a good head shorter than me.

Then, I showed him the site survey documents, which I’d already memorized.

“Here, in the security route planning, it says ‘site survey’, does that mean we have to actually go to the location beforehand?”

“Well, yeah. You just drive around to see if the route’s safe, if there’s anything dangerous.”

Rupert seemed uninterested, taking sips of his coffee.

Then, he suddenly caught the glint, a sparkling sheen in my eyes.

“oooh… does that mean… can I go too?”

“Wouldn’t that be… a problem? Aren’t new recruits supposed to have a two-week adjustment period?”

From noble mtl dot com

Was it because he’d coasted through his newbie days, a comfy parachute ride?

He wore a look that said he had no clue what a rookie bodyguard even *did.*

“Ah… that’s a shame.”

I let out a deep sigh watching him.

A face etched with world-weary disappointment.

“What’s a shame? This whole thing’s just a pain.”

“Still, I wanted to learn from the seniors by getting my hands dirty out in the field during my newbie period. I thought that was the fastest way to actually be useful.”

Rupert glanced up at me.

Usually, the type who half-asses everything hates the hardworking ones.

The more they shine, the more the slackers’ own inadequacy is highlighted.

But those who parachute in are different.

With their powerful backers, it’s easier to view a diligent subordinate as a convenient lackey.

“So, wanna give it a go? I’ll talk to the director.”

“Really? But it’s against the rules, right…”

I mumbled in a clumsy voice.

Then, Rupert threw an arm around my shoulder, beaming with pride.

“Hey, it’s fine. I’m a five-year assistant manager here.”

“Wow… you’re amazing. I’m terrified just seeing the director.”

I gave a soft, eye-smiling crescent moon of a look.

At the same time, as I gave him a thumbs-up of praise, Luper puffed up his chest, like a proud hamster, hands on his hips.

“I’ll tell you what, you just get ready to go with Miya tomorrow.”

“Understood-.”

Luper knocked on the manager’s office door with a confident stride.

I watched him, a pleased smile on my face, and clasped my hands behind my back.

‘An easy friend to handle.’

Clearly, his backing was something really big.

That day, on my way home.

I got a text from Assistant Manager Miya, saying not to come into the office tomorrow.

Instead, she asked me to give her my address so she could pick me up.

I told her that wasn’t necessary and if she gave me her address, I’d go there ahead of time.

Then, Miya replied like this.

「I’ve always been so annoyed going to Luper’s house, but you’re a real angel. An angel.」

A black cat emoji crying its eyes out.

This was before SNS was even a thing, so for her to send these paid images with it…

She must have been pretty moved.

「――――――」

And so, the next day arrived.

I put my suit in my bag, and came to her house in loose-fitting workout clothes.

The address was a villa near the company.

A compact car, a small square of metal, emerged from the tight parking lot.

Like a cardboard box, all angles and corners.

From within, a woman with a sharp bob haircut popped her head out.

“You’re early, get in. You must be freezing!”

I offered a quick greeting and slid into the passenger seat.

It was pulled way forward.

Leaving my own body squashed square, like the car itself.

“Sorry, it’s the first time a guy’s been in my car.”

Miya chuckled, reaching to pull the seat back herself.

As she drew close, a subtle, fresh body wash scent tickled my nose.

“You’re in civvies?”

“Yeah, drawing too much attention in a suit.”

My senior’s eyes went wide, like a cat surprised, as if she somehow knew that in advance.

She was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, herself.

“I’ve got some guard buddies who got jobs before me, they tipped me off.”

“A little pre-study, I like it.”

Miya praised me, like some heavenly superior.

Even though we were only two years apart, career-wise.

“You’re really so much better than, you know, *some* people.”

I had a pretty good idea who ‘some’ was, but chose to keep quiet.

It’s not a good look to start gossiping about your senior the second your replacement shows up.

Instead…

“Ah, sunbae. Just in case, before you leave, I brought this.”

I pulled a thermos out of my bulky bag.

“What’s that?”

“It’s coffee. I hand-dripped it myself. Would you like a cup before you go?”

Miya stared blankly at the fragrant coffee, steam rising from it.

Then, she smacked her smooth forehead and muttered.

“Haa… finally…”

“Do you perhaps dislike coffee?”

My senior waved her hand, saying that wasn’t it.

“No… it’s just… it feels like I’m finally being compensated for cleaning up after that looper all this time.”

I tilted my head with the most innocent expression I could muster, and she shook her head.

“Okay, just give me one cup.”

“Here, I’ll pour it for you.”

She narrowed her long eyes and watched me intently as I poured the coffee.

Then, she chuckled and casually tossed out a comment.

“Wearing that, you really do look like a college student.”

“I am a college student, age-wise.”

I handed her a warm cup of coffee.

Miya seemed to like the scent, closing her eyes comfortably as she took a sip.

“Delicious.”

Never thought that hand-dripping coffee as a hobby in the office back in my security chief days would be this helpful.

Our second-year sunbae would never know.

That the coffee I poured was the work of a tenth-year security chief.

“Drinking the coffee my hoobae made, really wakes me up.”

Miya took a light breath.

Then, she gripped the steering wheel with her small, fern-like hands.

“Okay, shall we get going? I’m a complete pro at driving.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

I looked straight ahead, a satisfied expression on my face.

And just like that, Miya’s small compact car powerfully set off toward the highway.

――――――.

Thirty minutes passed.

Our driving pro was diligently making her way down the road at a speed of a whopping 80km/h.

However, she was so tense that her already large eyes seemed about to pop out as she stared straight ahead.

“Huuuh… If that b*stard is going to change lanes, he should use his blinker…!!”

Miya’s sharp canine teeth snarled.

It feels like watching my little sister drive.

Flashes of the days I gave driving lessons to my younger siblings from the orphanage are coming back to me.

“Should we stop at a rest stop?”

“Sure, you look really tired, sunbae.”

“Yeah, it’s the late nights, I can’t get any sleep.”

The sky-blue compact car pulled into the Cheonan Samgeori rest stop.

Even though it was morning, the parking lot was already pretty packed.

“Haa…, I’m gonna go to the bathroom real quick.”

“Okay.”

Miya was hitting her thigh, like she had a cramp, and walked ahead of me.

Track pants that hugged her wide hips, and a baggy hoodie, the opposite of that.

Looking at her, she seemed way closer to a college student than I did.

“I’m kinda hungry, should we grab something while we wait?”

Anyway, this place is also part of our security route.

If you’re leaving Seoul, this rest stop is unavoidable.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that CEO Rosanna will stop here, but it can’t hurt to check it out beforehand.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and went up the rest stop stairs.

The savory smell of fish cakes and the violent sizzle of sausages.

I didn’t eat breakfast, so they really grabbed my attention.

‘Come to think of it, I had a huge appetite at twenty too.’

“One ‘sotteok-sotteok’, please.”

It was a dish from 10 years ago, so the price was 3,000 won.

But the size was much, much larger.

Munching on the appetizing highway rest stop food, I quietly scanned my surroundings.

Cheonan rest stop was large-scale, if I were so inclined, I could target anyone, easily.

Assassinations were unlikely in crime-free Korea, but the forces targeting Rozanna couldn’t be ignored.

Hostile M&As, and various stock manipulation schemes had ground down countless companies and people at her hands.

Her notoriety was so widespread, her nickname was Erzsébet Báthory.

Like how she bathed in the blood of virgins for her beauty.

Rozanna too, was owner of a youthful appearance that didn’t seem possible for someone in their forties.

“Still, nothing much for now.”

As I muttered to myself,

Seo Miya, the employee, had approached my side before I noticed.

Perhaps she hadn’t had breakfast either, her eyes were fixed on my *sotteok-sotteok* the entire drive here.

“So, you’re eating alone, huh?”

“Care for some?”

I held the skewer in my hand towards her red lips.

Then, Miya paused briefly, then pointed at a plump sausage with her finger.

“I want the sausage. The rice cake is fattening.”

“Understood.”

I took a satisfying bite of the rice cake myself.

And, immediately offered her the next sausage.

The process of pulling a rice cake to eat resulted in my lips subtly brushing against the sausage.

“You…”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just…maybe it’s because you’re barely twenty, but you’re definitely innocent.”

Miya seemed to have some strange thought cross her mind and cleared her throat as if trying to shake it off.

After that, she lightly picked up and ate a sausage.

“A big boss like him probably wouldn’t ever stop at a rest stop, would he?”

“Probably not. He’s a busy man.”

We stood in our matching tracksuits, quietly watching the parking lot.

“Then, shall we get going?”

“Yes, I’ll just go to the bathroom first.”

I headed to the restroom to wash my hand that had held the skewer.

I went straight to the sink and turned on the faucet.

――――――.

The cool sound of water filled the empty restroom.

I was enjoying the spacious solitude when…

the sound of a stall door being yanked open echoed.

“……”

Instinctively, my gaze shifted to that direction.

And then, a huge, pale-faced white man stepped out.

Shaved head, leather jacket.

Looks to be in his 30s.

Distinguishing feature: a scorpion tattoo on his neck.

The guy stops at the sink right next to me.

He roughly washes his hands, then runs his wet fingers through his hair.

The scorpion on his neck twitches.

My eyes bore into the sharp point of its tail.

“Nice tattoo,”

I say, in broken English.

Then, the blue-eyed guy glances at me.

“…….”

A veteran bodyguard would know.

An average person would start with the face, then slowly scan down the clothes.

But this guy, standing beside me, is different.

His gaze goes not to my face, but straight to my hands and pant pockets.

To quickly see if there’s a weapon in my hand.

If I’ve got a knife or gun tucked in my pockets…

This usually means one of two things.

Either he’s a former bodyguard, like me.

Or he’s a mercenary.

“Thanks.”

He answered in English, too.

But, his pronunciation wasn’t that of a native speaker.

“Would you mind if I asked what it means?”

The huge man stared at my face, like he was going to bore a hole through it.

Soon, he curled his thick lips into a smirk, and replied in a playful voice.

“It means, once I’ve sunk my teeth into a target, I never let go.”

“Target…? Oh, so you’re an athlete or something.”

After hearing him a few more times, I figured out he was from Russia.

“An athlete… well, something like that. We consider every day to be a ‘game’.”

He left with that profound remark, and pulled out a tissue.

After roughly wiping, he headed out of the bathroom first.

“…….”

It wasn’t until after he’d been gone a while that I left the bathroom.

A short-haired woman in an oversized hoodie was gesturing for me to come over.

She hadn’t gotten in yet, she was waiting for me.

“Senior.”

“Yeah?”

I said to her as we walked side-by-side towards the parking lot.

My voice was serious, unlike the first time I’d spoken to her.

“Is the strategy team joining this security detail?”

From noble mtl dot com

“Yeah, just me and Senior Roper?”

Miya answered with a disgusted expression, like she didn’t want to be stuck with him.

“I’d like to lead the escort.”

The starting point of AR Security’s downfall.

That was none other than Tar, Russia’s biggest mercenary organization.