Chapter 2. The Mysterious Bad Guy

“Sharon. Are you okay?”

The girl slowly opened her eyes. She frowned at the pain in the back of her neck. Jimmy was right in front of her with a worried expression.

“How can I be home?” Sharon asked. She tried to remember what she had experienced.

Jimmy is her older brother. Twenty-five. Lim Superior Corporation successor.

Sharon tried to remember for a second until she finally woke up spontaneously. Jimmy caught her body so she would not fall off the bed.

Sharon grabbed his hands tightly, “Where is that man?!”

Jimmy didn’t understand what Sharon was saying. “What do you mean?”

“That man! An undercover person with the group that kidnapped me! He was the one who hit me on the head!”

Hearing what Sharon said, Jimmy smiled warmly. He guided her body to lie down again carefully as if he were holding a fragile thing.

“Dad already told me. The man you mean is probably one of his subordinates,” said Jimmy calmly.

Sharon still could not understand it. She was sure that his father did not have subordinates like that.

The mysterious person was too cruel. The way he killed someone so quickly. None of her dad’s subordinates can do that so calmly. What convinced Sharon the most was that he hit the back of her head.

Her dad’s subordinates would not harm her in any circumstances.

“Now you better calm yourself,” continued Jimmy as he put a warm chamomile tea on the table nearby. “Drink it when you can wake up. I’ll call Dad.”

Sharon nodded. Jimmy came closer and kissed her forehead gently. After stroking her head, he walked out of the room.

The girl got up. She tried to stand up, but the back of her head still hurt.

“I’ve never been hit this hard before, not even by my dad.”

Her father, Jaden Lim, is the person Sharon fears most in the universe. Since childhood, she and his older brother grew up without a mother figure. Their mother died while giving birth to her.

Sharon understood that her father wanted to educate his children to become successful people in the future. But, the older Sharon grew, the more abusive her father became towards her.

“Okay, I’ll think about him later,” she said hopelessly. “I’ll just get this tea before it gets cold.”

She would not be surprised if her father would punish her with running naked in the front yard if he found out she had sneaked out of the house to do a modeling audition secretly.

Sharon was always the target of her dad’s anger because, compared to Jimmy, who had many achievements, she was absolutely nothing.

Sharon fell silent again. She could not stop thinking about the mysterious man who saved her. “His voice doesn’t sound like an old man. His eyes are also beautiful.”

As if she realized something, Sharon shook her head. The girl slapped her cheeks, “Get yourself together, Sharon! You can’t possibly fall in love with someone who can kill other people so easily. He is definitely a bad guy ... a mysterious one at its finest.”

Sharon buried her face in the pillow after drinking her tea. She turned and looked at the ceiling and tried to remember the face but failed. He wore a black ski mask, so she could not see his face.

She could only remember his eyes.

The girl let out a long breath, “At least he was the one who saved me. I hope I can meet him again to thank him someday.”

***

“Have you taken care of it?” asked Jaden, sitting in the back seat of his limousine. He was holding a tablet and video-calling a man.

The man was very handsome even though his clothes were covered in bloodstains. It was the blood of the people who kidnapped Sharon.

Yup. He was the one who saved Sharon, the so-called mysterious Bad Guy.

“I checked their phones. They receive orders from unknown numbers, but it is easy to trace who was behind them.”

“So, who is it?”

A pop-up message appeared on Jaden’s tablet screen. He touched the message, and it displayed complete information from someone he already knew. That person was one of the top officials of his own company.

Jaden could not hold back his expression. He smiled broadly.

“Even though I already know your abilities, I’m still surprised to see how you work.” Jaden laughed loudly. He was completely satisfied. “In terms of fighting ability and information gathering, I’ve only seen someone like you in action movies.”

The man did not respond to the compliment Jaden gave him.

“It seems I have a new assignment for you.”

It was sudden, but Jaden decided on this matter a long ago. He looked so serious yet still calm at the same time.

“What is that?” asked the man.

“From now on, you will protect Sharon.”

The man frowned, “Isn’t that what I’ve been doing all this time?”

Jaden nodded in agreement. Since Jaden recruited him, the man has protected his family from all threats.

“You are only two years older than Sharon. I don’t want to let you become an assassin and be in the shadows for the rest of your life.” Jaden said this with all his sincerity.

“I was born for this.”

Jaden understood why the man he was talking to said that. The man he was talking to was an orphan victim of the Iraq war. Since childhood, he was kidnapped and raised by the most feared mercenary group in the world, Obelisk.

“This is not a request. It’s an order.” Jaden said it firmly, and the man didn’t deny it. “I already consider you as my child. At least, you should have a normal life.”

“But I don’t have any identity.”

Jaden smiled. He sent an e-mail to the man.

“That is your new identity. I have prepared a house for you. Of course, I will make you like a normal student.”

The man opened the e-mail sent by Jaden. Inside is Jaden’s complete identity and life history that Jaden made. There is a small, simple apartment and also a credit card.

“Even though your house is simple, it is quite comfortable. I also gave you a company credit card with no limit.”

The man was silent for a moment. It was the first time in his life that he had an identity.

“Next month, you will be in the same class as Sharon. It is fine if you two can be friends, but she can’t know your true identity at all costs.” Jaden explained quickly and firmly.

“Until then, I suggest you learn how to behave for boys your age. I won’t limit your social interactions or anything you want to do on campus. You can even join any club you’re interested in.”

Jaden stared intently into the man’s eyes, “You only have one main task, Greyson Haryouli. You have to protect Sharon even though your life is at stake. But you don’t need to worry. You will always remain as my secret weapon.”

Greyson Haryouli. That was the name Jaden gave him. Apart from making him Sharon’s bodyguard, Jaden will continue to make Greyson his assassin.

Greyson looked back into Jaden’s eyes with a strange look, “You asked me to do that as if you realized that your end was near.”

Hearing what Greyson said made Jaden unable to stop laughing. Jaden laughed out loud as if he had no burden at all for a minute.

Jaden smiled broadly, “That’s a funny one. I ... Jaden Lim ... will live forever, you know?”

Greyson cut off their connection while Jaden was still laughing out loud. It made Jaden stop even though his lips were still smiling broadly.

“Greyson,” Jaden muttered as he exhaled a long breath. “You are my most valuable card. If you were my son, I wouldn’t think twice about giving you the Lim Superior Corporation when I die someday.”