Immaculate Spirit c1-242

by Newbiel

  Getting out of the car, Nathaniel could see that the sun was starting to set already and in front of the Hotel were four more guys like the two that drove them here. They were all wearing the same black cheap suits, a gun on their right hips and a talkie with earpiece. The heads of security were coming to talk to Na-Yung when Nathaniel suddenly turned his head to the left side, looking in the direction where they were coming from.

  "Nathaniel? What's going on?" Na-Yung asked curiously.

  "I don't know, I thought I saw someone following us but he seemed to disappear on the spot. That was weird." Nathaniel said in a dumbfounded tone.

  Hearing what he had just said Na-Yung was surprised for a second but quickly schooled her face into a smiling one, however Nathaniel obtained what he wanted to know. He had clearly seen coldness and fear in her eyes in that split second. Of course, he had not seen anything but he wanted to gather intel and put her security detail on high alert. Curious to what was going on, the head of security asked what happened to Na-Yung in Korean.

  "He said that he thought he saw someone following us but that person seemed to disappear." She answers back in Korean.

  Looking with rapt attention to the street in question, he did not find anything unusual.

  "Maybe it was nothing."

  "Maybe but it could also be significant. I want all teams on lookout tonight and radio checked every ten minutes." Na-Yung ordered coldly.

  "At your order, madam." He responded.

  "What is going on?" Nathaniel asked because the conversation was taking place in korean.

  "Oh nothing, he just said that it was probably nothing. Come on, we have work to do." She answered smiling, the coldness that was there a moment before vanishing as if it never appeared in the first place.

  Getting almost dragged into the building, Nathaniel could only smile inwardly. The previous few weeks he had started to learn Korean. As of now, even if it was not up to his standard, it was enough to understand what they had talked about. He was glad that his little stratageme proved to be effective and he hoped it would make a difference when the attack was going to take place. He was not 100% sure they would attack tonight but his instincts were telling him they would and he trusted his gut.

  Coming to the twelfth floor, he could see three more of these bodyguards in front of the door. He was starting to wonder how many of them were in the hotel. This time the presence of Na-Yung did not suffice to let him pass without being searched.

  "Sorry but our security is pretty strict." She said apologetically.

  "Don't worry about it, maybe next time you can be the one to frisk me out." He joked teasingly, making her blush a little. The security agents around them almost did a double take when seeing her blush like that. They always thought that she was made of ice based on her usual behavior so seeing her blush was surprising to say the least.

  "You wish!" She exclaimed laughing until she saw the look of the guards and calmed herself. "But enough with the teasing, if my parents hear you talk like that with me you will be thrown out of here so fast that your feet will not touch the ground."

  "Okay okay, I will behave." He said, raising his hands in a sign of surrender.

  Opening the door of the suite Nathaniel immediately noticed that the demeanor of Na-Yung changed dramatically. Her open and cheerful personality turned into a sophisticated and more icy one. Each of her steps was choreographed perfectly and her bearing changed completely. It was as though she became an entire different person the moment that she entered the suite.

  "Daughter." Said a cool voice in Korean.

  "Mother." She answered the same way but with an inclination of her head in addition.

  "I presume you are Nathaniel. My daughter can't stop talking about you, young men." She added in a pronounced accented english, scrutinizing him intently.

  She was a forty year old woman with a dignified aura around her. Nathaniel could see that Na-Yung had inherited her black hair and grey eyes from her mother. But where the eyes of his friend were kind, those of her mother were stern. She did not look like a cold person but she seemed to be a very traditional one, anchored in past traditions. He could already determine that the most important thing for her was filial piety, dignity and reputation.

  "Yes I am madam." He responded with a respectful voice, bowing his upper torso a fraction forward, his hands on his belly.

  He had read a little about the correct way to talk and behave with people in Korea while learning their language. Bowing his torso with hands on his belly was the proper way to salute a superior. Na-Yung's mother was not his superior but he thought that could earn him some brownie points. Seeing the surprised look on his friend and the stare that her mother was sending him going a little softer, it seemed to be worth it.

  Looking at Na-Yung, he could see that she wanted to argue about the declaration of her mother but she could not. In Korean culture, correcting their elders, especially in front of strangers was considered very ill mannered.

  "Glad to see that you were properly educated by your family. You can go work in Na-Yungs room if you keep the door open."

  "Thank you Madam." Nathaniel said, bowing again, following Na-Yung into her room.

  Chapter 63: :

  Entering the room in question, Nathaniel could see at first glance that it was pretty neat and ordered. There was a saying that the more a girl was hot the more she was messy but Na-Yung seemed to contradict that expression, or maybe it was just room service doing its job well. It was hard to tell at the moment. He could on the other hand confirm that the expression was very true when he had seen the room of Maddison. He had found more clothes than he owned on the ground of her room each time that he came there.

  He was going to sit on her bed when he reminded himself that they were being watched and opted to sit on the carpet instead using the bed to prop his back. Fishing his laptop from his bag, he turned it on. Albeit he was here on false pretenses to protect her and her family, he was always a practical kind of guy and was determined to work on their project.

  Seating beside him and firing up her own laptop, she finally decided to speak.

  "Where did you learn our etiquette rule?" She asked curiously.

  "I looked it up on the internet while we were coming here. I like to be prepared when meeting people." He said absentmindedly, busy looking through his computer.

  "It was good thinking on your part. I think my mom likes you, it's the first time that she allowed one of my male classmates to study with me in my room."

  "I think you must have told her already that I am helping you in our class so that's why she likes me. She wants to see you succeed and if I can help you achieve that, she will like me."

  Looking at him thoughtfully, she wanted to argue that it was not like that because he was not displaying her mother in the best of light but she could not. He was right. Every parent wanted to see their children succeed but in Korea that feeling was magnified. In their culture, if Na-Yung were to fail in her study, it would reflect poorly on her family and their status would drop as a result.

  She knew since the first time that she met Nathaniel that he was a smart and mature student but he was still continuously surprising her with his knowledge, or in that case his insight. Knowing the competitiveness of Columbia she knew she was bound to meet smart young people but she had seen how much of an oddity her friend really was, even compared to other young geniuses in their class.

  Even if he was naturally gifted, he was backing it up with a titanous amount of work. He had an eagerness to learn and to progress that could only be described by the word inspiring. He was giving no crap about rumors or people talking bad behind his back, he was true only to himself and if people didn't like it, it was their problem not his. They had fun while they were together but she could sometimes see him all alone and he seemed to be okay with that. He was cherishing friendship but did not need it to be happy with his life.

  "Na-Yung are you even listening to me? Stop daydreaming, w
e have work to do!"

  "Oh sorry, I am here! I was just thinking about something. What were you saying?" She apologized sheepishly.

  Getting to work, Na-Yung began giving her ideas right away. Even if she could not compare to Nathaniel just yet, she was catching up fast and could be considered a genius in her own right. That was fine by him who insisted on working only with her because he did not want to team up with somebody who would just benefit from their work without doing anything.

  They were working for almost one hour when he felt his secure phone vibrating in his pocket.

  "Do you have water Na-Yung? I'm a little thirsty." Nathaniel asked.

  "Of course! Sorry, I should have offered by now." She sounds sheepish.

  "Don't worry about it"

  Watching her leave, he hastily got his phone out to read the sms that he had received. As he expected, it was Amal with the information he requested. Looking through the files sent about Na-Yung, he could see that a lot of what he extrapolated turned out to be true. The part about her being third time champion in archery was not surprising as she had already told him about that.

  Nathaniel found out that she was indeed a fighter. She was a black belt in Hapkido. Hapkido was a martial art created after WW2 and was specialised in self-defense. That form of combat was about explosiveness with the use of powerful kicks and strikes and about control with the use of many chokeholds and use of pressure points to immobilize your opponent. Nathaniel never learned or even fought against someone using that particular form of combat but looking at the description, it sounded quite impressive. She also managed to graduate from high school with amazing grades which did not surprise him. Looking through the files on her, he could not understand why people wanted to kill her.

  Passing to the next files on her family it started to get interesting. Her grandfather was the creator of a huge multinational company who were fabricating pieces for smartphones and computers. The fortune of her family was estimated at around five billion dollars. He kept reading until he found something interesting. Her father was the one who was supposed to be replacing her grandfather at the head of the company despite the fact that he was the second born. Na-Yung's uncle would not inherit the company unless something happened to her father.

  You did not need to have a master degree to understand what was going on here. It seemed like the elder brother wanted to lead the company instead of his younger brother. He did not know enough about Korea to say if the fact that the younger son inheriting the company was common or not but nonetheless it did not come without hardship. Feeling someone coming to the room, he hastily put his secure phone away. He now had the information that he needed and some answers to his questions.

  "Nathaniel? Would you like to eat with us tonight?" The mother of Na-Yung asked, with her daughter behind her.

  "Of course, It would be my pleasure." He answered with a delighted smile.

  "Great, dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes. You will meet my husband, he is curious to get to know you."

  "I'm curious to know him as well." Nathaniel responded with a glint in his blue sparkling eyes

  Chapter 64: :

  Being given a menu by Na-Yung's mother, he was looking through it to know what he was going to order when something caught his eyes.

  "Pizza!" He exclaimed.

  Surprised by the sudden outburst, Na-Yung mother looked at him with wide eyes while his friend laughed out loud. She had noticed that Nathaniel had a curious love for pizza and could not resist to order one when there were some on the menu. They ate together between classes a few times and each time it was the same thing. They were in one of the best five star hotels in the city, he could order the best food and dishes yet the only thing that attracted his eyes was pizza. She could not help but shake her head in amusement.

  "Alright, I will make the order right away. It will not take long to have it prepared and brought up so get ready."

  "Thank you." Nathaniel answered almost sheepishly, giving back the menu.

  True to her word dinner came quickly and the father of Na-Yung came not long after that. Looking at him Nathaniel was curious to know what he was like. He was a forty something year old man around 5"7". He had surprisingly delicate features and Nathaniel could see that Na-Yung inherited her mouth from him. He had short brown hair and was wearing an Armani black suit.

  Seeing that he was being scrutinized, Na-Yungs father reciprocated the attention with a light smile. Nathaniel was surprised to see him showing amusement contrary to his wife who was stone faced.

  "Nathaniel? Glad to meet you. I'm In-Su Kim, the father of Na-Yung. You also met my sweet wife Eun-Mi, I presume." He said in fluent english, coming to shake his hand.

  Nathaniel could spy his wife who narrowed her eyes at that. She did not seem to like being called 'sweet' in front of a stranger but she did not say anything.

  "Yes I have, glad to meet you too. I'm Nathaniel Lyndon." Accepting the handshake.

  Nathaniel was kind of surprised by the father of Na-Yung. He was displaying his emotions openly and he had a kind demeanor. Curious, he started to look at his soul and found out that he had a sparkling blue soul. That made him relax a little.

  "Good, come eat with us. The dishes have all arrived."

  Taking place around the table, the mother and father pair both took the extremities of the table, leaving him and Na-Yung to sit on each side of the table. Looking at the delicate food they had chosen, anybody would have felt awkward with a vulgar pizza but not Nathaniel. It wasn't that he had thick skin, he just did not give a damn about people's view of him, he will enjoy his pizza without a care in the world.

  After a few civilities, Eun-Ni started to ask a few questions to Nathaniel, making her daughter frown.

  "So Nathaniel, what is it that your parents do?"

  "My mothers are respectively a prosecutor for the DA office here in NY and a director in my family company."

  "Excuse me but mothers?"

  "Yes, my mothers are lesbians." He said with a slight smile.

  Na-Yung already knew that he had two mothers and she was okay with that so he concentrated his attention on her parents. Her father did seem to be okay with that but the expression on Eun-Ni face gave him all the information he needed on her opinion on homosexuality. Even if she tried to hide it as it would not be proper to show disgust in front of her guest, the slight wrinkling of her nose and the contraction of her jaw was speaking volumes.

  "Your family company?" In-Su picked up.

  "Yes, my grandfather is the founder and CEO of Universal Lyndon Records."

  "I knew your name was familiar to me." He said, nodding.

  "What are you talking about?" His wife asked him.

  "The Universal Lyndon Records is one of the biggest music labels in the US."

  "Oh, I see." Eun-Ni said simply but he could see her attitude improving significantly toward him.

  Knowing what he knew now, since they were from a very wealthy family, she felt better about her daughter being friends with someone from the same background. Money and status were really important in their circle and now that she knew he was coming from a similar one, she would start to treat him more respectfully. Thinking about the fact that she did not even introduce herself when they met made her feel regretful. She hoped that he would not resent her about it.

  "You did not tell me that your family was wealthy." Na-Yung said feeling wronged.

  "You did not either." He said in a serene tone, looking at her evenly.

  Realizing that he was reproching her on the same exact thing that she did, she blushed guiltily, averting her eyes.

  "How do you know that we are?" Her father asked.

  Not responding, he simply made a show to look at him, his suit and then their surrounding. Understanding what Nathaniel was saying, he laughed a little.

  "Point taken. Why did you hide your family background to my daughter?"

  "My grandfather's accomplishments are not my own. Your fam
ily does not define you, you are defining yourself." He spoke truthfully.

  Looking around, he could see that the Kim family reacted very differently to his words. Eun-Ni frowned, clearly disagreeing. Na-Yung nodded a couple of times which did not surprise him. She was a strong woman who wanted to succeed with or without her family support. The expression on In-Su's face was contemplative, he seemed to be deep in thought.

  "I can relate to that, to a certain extent." He finally answered.

  After that, he steered the conversation on more light topics and dinner passed quite nicely. He was going back to the room with Na-Yung to keep working when he suddenly stopped. Looking around him, he could hear the sound of the tv in the living room, but beside that, the night was silent, too silent. There was a heaviness in the air around them that he could feel all the way through his bones. It was a sign that he learned to recognize after decades of war.

  Fishing out his secure phone, he sent a simple text to Amal.

  'They are here.'

  Chapter 65: :

  A couple of minutes earlier.

  In the faintly dim back alley of the hotel, a black sedan could be seen sandwiched between two dumpsters. The car seemed unoccupied but the reality was an entirely different thing. In that car were two very skilled and experienced bodyguards. They were positioned in that place to have a perfect view of the back entrance of the Hotel while being as hidden from it as possible.

  These two bodyguards were of course, Jean and Amal. They were looking with rapt attention at the two korean men who were manning the back door. Their attention was however not focused entirely on that door and was spread over the whole street, trying to find any signs of someone waiting there, but so far they had spotted no one.

  "I'm hungry." Jean whined again.

  Like the three other times before Amal just kept silent, his eyes moving everywhere with rapt attention. Although he was bitching non stop, the voice of Jean was never above a murmur. Despite his talkative nature he was a professional which showed through his every action. He was more of a soldier than a spy and bitching about was the sacred right of a soldier, more so for a French soldier.