"Here you go," Minji placed the cup of coffee on my table, setting it down on a brown wooden tray.
"This has some rich scent," I commented.
"Of course, you asked for the best and this is my favourite. We named it the twin expresso. How could I give you anything else except the best?" she replied with a playful smile. Minji wasn't shy; she was quite the flirt. Hana, on the other hand, was extremely extroverted and full of questions.
She asked about everything: what kinds of cases I fought, whether criminals threatened me, if I visited jails, and how clients could hire me. Minji seemed equally invested in our conversation.
"How long have you been doing this?" Hana asked.
"Four years," I replied.
"Four? And how many cases have you handled so far?" she inquired.
"Ninety-two," I answered.
"Ninety-two? That's a lot. How many did you win?" she asked, eyes wide.
"All of them," I replied.
"No way… Ninety-two cases and all wins? That must be some kind of record," she exclaimed.
"Maybe, you could say that," I replied with a smile. "If you search it up, you'll see that my name was on the Legal 500 criminal lawyers ranking list last year."
"Oh my god, do you have a card or something? I know who to contact if I face any problems," Hana asked.
I took out my wallet and fetched a card. Hana, who had been making a sandwich all along, placed it in front of me on a wooden plate and took the card in her hand.
"Mr. Ivor Snow," she read the name aloud just as the café door opened with a bell chime.
"I'll keep this," she whispered, turning her attention to the man who had entered the café.
He had a muscular and athletic build, the same height as mine, with a broad chest and strong arms. His sharp jawline, deep-set eyes with a piercing gaze, and a small scar running diagonally across his left eyebrow gave him a striking appearance. He had short, jet-black hair that was slightly greying at the temples.
He was not an ordinary civilian. The way he walked—parallel-footed, normal at first glance but always on guard—set him apart.
"Annyeonghaseyo," Hana greeted with a slight bow.
The man simply nodded and spoke in a low, hoarse tone, "I'm with him."
At that odd response, Hana turned her head to me, and I nodded. I didn't want any commotion on the spot. It was better to go along with him.
"Alright, one more sandwich? Or coffee?" Hana asked.
"Coffee. The one he's having," the man replied as he moved and sat on the chair opposite me.
He was wearing a black collared T-shirt, black joggers, rough terrain shoes, and a pair of wireless earphones.
Hana nodded and went back into the kitchen.
"And how might we be acquainted?" I asked in a low voice, just enough for him to hear me.
With the open kitchen, Hana and Minji could clearly hear us if we spoke a little louder. And since they were deeply invested in our conversation, they had turned down the volume of the background music. A sly move.
The man in front of me smirked, took out one earphone, and placed it on the table. He then signaled for me to pick it up.
I picked up the earphone and put it in my left ear. I heard a very familiar voice from it.
"How's the trip working for you, brother?" On the other side of the call was my very own elder brother.
"It was lovely, till now," I replied.
"I had no other option. You changed your number and made Ethan do the same. You threatened Tommy, and God knows what you're up to."
Lucian Snow. Master of the group 'The Snows'. Snow Industries stands as an unparalleled titan in the weapon manufacturing world. Hi-tech firearms, autonomous defense systems, supersonic strike drones, long-range ballistic missiles, and stealth bombers.
"I already cleared my name. I don't want to be a part of the succession. Just give me enough money monthly to live a free life of luxury and everything's cool," I answered back.
"What kind of brother are you? In other families, brothers fight for succession. They are passionate. And what about you?" he said as I heard the sound of liquid being poured, possibly wine. Wine is all he drinks.
"We had a deal, remember? You do all the work, keep everything, and just give me a tiny share of the money—"
"And I'm already regretting that," he interrupted.
"Before you get to the point, I have a question," I said.
"Hit me up."
"How's the progress?" I asked.
"With what?"
"The widow you fell in love with," I reminded him.
"Manners, brother. She's your sister-in-law," he replied.
"Future sister-in-law," I added.
"Nonetheless, she's fifteen years older than you," he said, his protectiveness evident.
"And ten years older than you," I replied. "How are things progressing?"
"Things are going pretty well," he admitted.
"Now listen," Lucian said, gulping his glass of wine and placing it on the table with a thud.
"I'm all ears."
"There's been a problem, and I might need your help," his tone was now serious.
"Here's your coffee, sir," Minji placed the coffee on the table and left as the man in front of me nodded.
"A shipment disappeared," Lucian said in a low voice.
"What do you mean 'disappeared'?" I asked.
"Just what I mean. Disappeared. Stolen. Eighteen billion dollars just... whoosh, disappeared," Lucian poured another glass of wine.
"No signal from the security boats escorting the ship, no alarm raised, it just went off the radar," he paused...
"The shipment was off the records, illegal. Following the trans-Pacific route, and the destination was Japan. It was stolen at the midpoint near Korea."
"Well, brother, and what was the value on board?" I asked.
"Eighteen fucking billion dollars," Lucian said, pouring another glass of wine.
"The issue is not the money. Money can be earned again, but the issue is that some motherfuckers stole from—" He paused and drank another glass.
"Stole from 'The Snows'," I completed the sentence.
"I've deployed men in various countries, brother, but active specialists are traceable, and I can't risk other governments thinking that The Snows are conducting an operation. The scale is not enormous," he said and added…
"The highest probability is that the ship was stolen in Korea. And you just so happen to be there, brother. It doesn't matter if the equipment cannot be recovered. Find those motherfuckers and burn them alive. I'm requesting you."
"Since childhood, has there ever been a request that either of us didn't accept? Fine then," I leaned back, took a sip of the coffee, and closed my eyes.
Lucian scoffed. "The man in front of you is not just anyone. His name is Jinsoo. Former captain of the covert special forces division, Black Lotus. High-risk counterterrorism, international espionage, and advanced tactical operations. He's accomplished all of them."
"That's a fascinating introduction," I replied.
"I take that as a compliment," Jinsoo said, raising the cup of coffee.
"He'll be working with you on this... And of course, if you need anything, name it, I'll get it," with that, the call was disconnected.
"So we're acquainted after all," I said, giving Jinsoo back the earphone.
"I told you," Jinsoo smirked and took the sandwich from my plate.