Chapter 3

- Present Day -

The S.M Entertainment located in Seoul was an impressive building, located in the midst of korea leading finance centre. Amber calmly made her way up to the top floor amongst a midst of fellow Syndicate members. The Finance office was one of Lee soo-man’s favourite meeting places for the Syndicate, for the whole building belonged to him. His other offices were shared with other companies, office space being very hard to find these days. Another reason he loved using the Finance office as the meeting place was that the board room in which the meetings were held sported a magnificent view of Seoul City Hall,  standing tall not far in the background.

Amber strolled into the board room, taking her usual seat behind the head of the table where Lee soo-man would be seated. The room was rather large, a long table bent in an oval arc spreading the length of the room facing a large screen which was used for video conferences. The walls of the room were all glass, frosted so that the occupants within were invisible. Several other members of the Syndicate were already seated within and it wasn’t long before all the seats were filled, save for the single spot at the head of the table.

They didn’t have long to wait before Lee soo-man came to join them all. The members all stood, returning to their seats as their leader sat down. He gave the members of the Syndicate a cool glance, noting the individual faces within the room. They were all high ranking members of the Syndicate, a group of select individuals with whom he trusted to handle the darker side of his business.

The meeting began with the members discussing the status of their various businesses, from the latest shipment of es to the smuggling of illegal drugs and weapons. Each member responsible for each part would stand as they gave their report, discussing any problems they were encountering. Amber recorded points of interest down on her file, which would appear to an outsider to be incomprehensible.

“I hear the leader of the Hans Group, recently passed away. I must express my sympathies. Any news on who the new leader is?” he asked no one in particular after a heated debate on whether they should change their suppliers.

One of the younger men, a tall man with his red hair tied back in a pony tail stood, bowing in respect at Lee soo-man. “The hans Group is being rather secretive about the new leader, instead referring to him as the ‘Black hoods’ as the person is always wearing a hoodies. From what little information we could gather, he is someone to keep an eye on.”

Lee soo-man was staring at his hands, the fingertips of which were resting together just in front his face as he lay back in his chair. “How do you suppose we keep an eye on him if we do not know who he is?” he asked; his voice calm and cool with a dangerous note to it.

The young man looked down at his feet, his Adams apple bobbing as he swallowed. “Er… we do know that he is a relative of the leader. I currently have my men out trying to glean more information from the streets.”

“A ‘relative’, you say?” Lee soo-man continued to stare at his hands as he seemed to drift off into thought. Suddenly, he sat up straight. “You’re lucky to have found out even that much if I think I know who this ‘Black hoods’ is.” He began to smile crookedly as he turned away. “That leaders likes to play his games.”

Amber sat quietly behind Lee soo-man as she continued to keep record of the meeting. She avoided looking at the other members, all of whom were men. She could feel their contempt at her presence in this room but they were powerless to say or do anything about it. Amber wondered who Lee soo-man thought the new leader of the hans Group was. No one had ever heard ofleader ever having any relatives and it was really strange that one should emerge so suddenly.

Lee soo-man turned back to the meeting. “How are the hans Group’s relations with the Gang? I presume they are still ‘close’ with one another?”

This time, an older man in a black suit and grey streaked hair stood, bowing. “There has been no formal announcement of their standing with one another and we believe the two are yet to meet. Kris and I believe that the relationship will still stand.”

Lee soo-man nodded slowly, taking the information in. Suddenly, another man with dyed brown hair cut short to ear level and flicking out, stood. He bowed before speaking. “May I speak, Master Lee?”

“You may, Kris,” replied Lee soo-man with a wave of his hand.

“My sources have told me that the ‘Black hoods’ has begun to make advances towards Hotaru Kenji, about a possible formal alliance. Word on the street is the Black hoods wants to challenge the Syndicate.”

Everyone in the room could feel the intensity of the suppressed rage Lee soo-man was keeping in check by sheer force of will. He suddenly smiled, making him look deadly. “If he wants a challenge, then we’ll be ready for him.” He spun around in his chair to address Amber. “Make an appointment for a visit to jeju island. Pick a nice tea house and invite the Gang leader out for tea.”

Amber nodded as she made the note. Lee soo-man turned back around to see that Kris had still not yet returned to his seat. “Is there anything else?”

“I have also been receiving some disturbing reports about fights erupting in gyeonggi -do. Apparently, our members are being attacked by unmarked men. So far we have had no casualties, but it is only a matter of time.”

“And who do you suspect are behind these attacks?” asked Lee soo-man, appearing to be casual yet the others knew that he was outraged. “Who would dare to attack us within our own territory?”

Kris bowed his head. “I suspect that it is once again the work of the Black hoods.”

Lee soo-man’s fist curled on the armrest of his chair. “This ‘Black hoods’ is starting to get to be somewhat of an annoying character. Perhaps I should act on my suspicions…” He didn’t continue with the rest of his sentence, instead changing the topic. “Amber; I believe ''Dawn'' completed her task as ordered?”

Amber stood, bowing her head towards Lee soo-man. “Yes, Master Lee. The traitor, park, was found dead at seven o’clock this morning, with the police arriving an hour later. The police already suspect that it is the work of Dawn.”

Lee soo-man nodded, satisfied. “That will make anyone think twice before they decide to betray the Syndicate. Betray the Syndicate and Dawn will be the last thing you see.”

The atmosphere in the room grew awkward, acknowledging the subtle threat in Lee soo-man’s declaration. Amber bowed deeply before returning to her seat. She felt their eyes on her, knowing full well that they knew she was Dawn. It troubled Amber somewhat that he had threatened his senior members like that, for it brought unwanted attention to her. Lee soo-man noticed the glances and smiled coldly.

“Kris; it is your assignment to capture those troublemakers in gyeonggi do. Chen and Suho; your assignment is to keep an eye on Tao and see whether he meets up with the ''black hoods''. The rest continue with your usual assignments.” Lee soo-man stood and the rest of the Syndicate followed suit, saluting their leader. He walked out of the board room, Amber following obediently out behind him.

Amber matched Lee soo-man’s brisk pace towards his office, which was located not far from the board room. They entered the spacious room, Amber still following him as her desk was located inside. Another secretary was posted out the front and she bowed to them as they passed. She was responsible for Lee soo-man’s general matters to do with the office. A large white leather sofa stood in a corner facing an LCD television fixed to the wall. Shelves of files and books adorned the other wall and towards the back right-hand corner of the room was Lee soo-man’s glass desk. Amber’s desk was located near the doorway.

Lee soo-man went to sit at his desk, pulling out one of the files he had to look at. Amber stood nearby, waiting for him to speak.

“I suppose you are wondering who I suspect this 'black hoods’ is.” He continued reading the document, turning the pages calmly. “the leader has never really liked me, and I too harbour similar feelings. Not many know this, but I happened to stumble across one of his secrets.

“You see, everyone knew leader could never have children as he was… how to say it, castrated in an unfortunate accident when he was young.” A small smirk emerged on Lee soo-man’s face. “You know the story, Amber. However, no one ever knew that he had a son.”

Amber’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “leader has a son?”

Lee soo-man looked up from his file, a proud smile on his face. “Yes. His name is Luhan, and he has a particularly good relationship with Oh Sehun, the son of one of the leading candidates for the coming presidential election. He is also the current CEO of seoul Distributors.”

The look of surprise on Amber’s face made Lee soo-man laugh. “It is not often that I get to see you express some emotion, Amber,” he said, somewhat affectionately.

Amber immediately returned to her usual stoic self. “May I ask how you came about this information, Master Lee?”

Again, Lee soo-man chuckled. “It was pretty much by accident. The young boy threw a stone at me one day, getting me right here.” He pointed to a faint scar on his left temple. “He had quite an arm, that boy. I was about to pull out my gun on him when Leader came to stop me. He was in quite a rage too, but nevertheless, he apologised profusely. The boy then slipped, calling Leader ‘Father’. I’ve never seen Leaders face more paler than that.”

He then leaned back in his chair, a look of nostalgia on his face. “Those were interesting times... Speaking of which,” he said as he looked back at Amber. His face suddenly turned soft. “How are the preparations for my son’s welcome home party next weekend? I trust they are coming along nicely?”

Amber nodded, smiling a mechanical smile. “The preparations are coming along fine. The booking for the Phoenix Ballroom at The Grand Hyatt Hotel has been confirmed and the guest list is sent out. A three course meal has been selected and the interior decorations are yet to be decided upon. I shall be meeting with the interior designer tomorrow afternoon.”

Lee soo-man nodded as he returned to his documents, seemingly in a lighter mood. “It must be close to eight years since I last saw my son. I wonder how he has changed.”

Amber remained silent, bowing her head. She turned to walk back to her desk when Lee soo-man suddenly spoke. “This morning’s incident with the mirror… I believe it was an accident?”

The tone he had used seemed to convey his displeasure at her actions. She turned around, bowing her head in apology. “It was intentional, Master Lee,” she replied, her voice devoid of any emotion.

“May I ask what could have caused it?” he asked, still in that same tone.

“I was upset at my lack of discipline.” Amber hoped he wouldn’t press for more details, but she knew that he would.

“‘Lack of discipline’?” He looked up at Amber, tapping the pen against his chin. “How is it that you lack discipline when I have had you trained to be a ruthless assassin? Have I failed somewhere?”

Amber closed her eyes. “Master Lee is not at fault; it is I. I still cannot control my emotions. I became frustrated and lost my temper.”

Lee soo-man nodded, as if he understood. “Perhaps you have been overworked this month.” He sat up straight in his chair. “I shall give you a week’s leave after the party. Use that time to improve your discipline.”

“Master Lee is too kind,” replied Amber with a bow. “But I believe that it is not appropriate.”

Lee soo-man waved off her refusal. “No need to be polite. You will not be going alone. Pick someone to go with you.”

Amber bowed once more. “Very well. As Master Lee wishes.”

tbc.