Chapter 136: Haragusa Festival (5)

The surface was a complete mess.

“Transport them! Transport!”

“A-Are you alright, Director?!”

“Kuhhh…“

Debris was piled up everywhere. That was why the helicopters and aerial vehicles from each megacorp’s personnel couldn’t land easily.

The silver lining amid the misfortune was that the megacorp executives had quickly regained their composure. Supported by their security teams, they were escaping the rifts one by one.

Even for the executives, this kind of bolt-from-the-blue disturbance was a first. But they had lived lives filled with all sorts of stimulating elements. Their brains were so fried from anxiety and ecstasy that it was hard to tell them apart. People you could hardly lump into the “human” category. Monsters.

The middle-aged woman Seong Hayun had luckily found was one of them.

“Haa… haa… I’ve been looking for you, Madam.”

Seong Hayun panted, bracing her hands on her knees. The woman in front of her brushed off her body nonchalantly and stood up.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Unlike her words, the woman—Jeong Sunja—swept her gaze over Seong Hayun with cold, flinty eyes. She had quickly identified her using cybernetic prosthetic eyes.

However, Seong Hayun’s face was smeared with dust and sweat, making it hard to see the details. Jeong Sunja took off her mask and accepted Seong Hayun’s support.

“You’re one of ours, right? I think I’ve seen your face in passing. Sorry I don’t remember. I have so many fleeting connections.”

“I’m Team Leader Seong Hayun of Daesung Group’s Security Team 1. It’s an honor to meet you like this, Madam.”

“The honor is mine. To think Daesung Group has a security team that rushes in so quickly during chaos like this.”

As she spoke, Jeong Sunja surveyed the pandemonium. Security personnel were scurrying around frantically to “excavate” their VIPs from the ground. Unable to remove masks carelessly, they were breaking out in beads of anxious sweat.

“Compared to them, our security team is truly competent. Finding me right away even with the mask on. And we don’t even know each other formally. It almost feels like you’ve been keeping a close eye on me all along.”

“……”

Seong Hayun felt a cold sweat trickle down her spine in that instant. She thought to herself how fortunate it was that her upper body was cybernetic.

She happened to have Jeong Sunja’s arm around her neck as they moved. Pressed so close, if she had flesh and blood, those emotional signals would have been detected in a heartbeat.

Gripping her sinking heart, Seong Hayun bit her lip.

“We merely did our utmost to protect the group’s VVIPs.”

“Don’t take it to heart. I meant it as thanks. You saved my life today.”

“I’ll escort you to the safe zone.”

“Please do.”

The ground kept tearing open like non-woven fabric. Other security teams were hurriedly evacuating their VVIPs as well.

It was around the time Seong Hayun reached near the safe zone, feeling like she was walking a thorny path.

Shhh.

In the wave of evacuees, a hand burst through the earth.

Then, someone pushed aside the debris, propping an arm on the ground to climb out. It was the man in the golden mask who had declared the Haragusa Festival opening ceremony.

An unexpected heavyweight had appeared. Seong Hayun quickly erased the bewilderment from her expression.

“What should we do, Madam?”

Seong Hayun subtly flicked her eyes to gauge her intent. Jeong Sunja glanced at the golden mask and sighed, nodding toward him.

“Can’t just ignore him. Head that way for now.”

“Yes.”

The two changed direction and approached the golden-masked man. It was about fifty paces away.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tang!

Subsonic gunfire pierced through the gaps in the steel beams draped from the collapsed stage. Unbelievable. Exchanging shots in the middle of a terrorist attack. Megacorp executives weren’t right in the head.

“They think it’s their chance.”

“…What do you mean…?”

Seong Hayun feigned ignorance despite knowing. Whether sensing her intent or not, Jeong Sunja continued flatly.

“Team Leader Seong might think it’s other megacorps fighting each other, but no. It’s not unreasonable since the ones wielding guns belong to rival megacorps.”

“…Are you saying, Madam, that a rival megacorp’s security team or private unit was commissioned to assassinate someone from your own group?”

“Assassination commission. Quite an elegant way to put it.”

Jeong Sunja smiled faintly.

“After all, internal enemies are more threatening than external ones. You know that, right, Team Leader Seong?”

“I’ll listen carefully…”

“The masses hurt more when siblings divide land than when strangers buy it. Because they’re ‘acquaintances.'”

Behind them, rifts layered open like lips. The gaping crevices tickled their heels.

“People can’t tolerate someone starting from the same line overtaking them. Humans are funny like that.”

“……”

But the psychological pressure from Jeong Sunja’s voice was far heavier. Seong Hayun quickened her pace, staring straight ahead.

A little further, and the golden-masked man was there.

‘Just a few more steps.’

A few more steps, and she’d be free from this short but endlessly uncomfortable companionship…

Then.

Flash!

A helicopter fired a flashbang at the two women. Before Seong Hayun could squint, a shadow loomed overhead.

Kwaaang!

Seong Hayun barely steadied her staggering body.

“Damn it.”

She glared fiercely at the source of the roar.

Clack.

A heel click that would normally be drowned in the chaos rang out clearly. Even the high heel was vividly perceptible.

Clack.

A jewel-encrusted shoe tip emerged through the dust. A neat foot, snow-white ankle bone, breathtaking shin—all entered her view in sequence. The sole dangled teasingly below the heel.

“What the hell. I was a few minutes late because of my schedule, and it’s total chaos. Shit, I should’ve skipped rehearsal if I knew it’d be like this.”

Seong Hayun blinked slowly. Why was that person suddenly…?

The Ten Wings were divided into seven and three. The reason for that division was that those three could overwhelm the Seven Dignitaries with power to spare.

Those three were commonly called the Three Calamities. Of course, there was hierarchy even among them.

One thing was certain: the Three Calamities were unconditionally stronger than the Seven Dignitaries. Even the Seven could easily erase a small city from the map.

The monsters who dominated such beings. Beasts in a different sense from the megacorp executives. That was the Three Calamities. And this woman was one.

“Still, this rough stage setup is trendy these days. It has a nice atmosphere, kinda decadent.”

Art Master.

Disasters strike without warning, but this midnight appearance short-circuited Seong Hayun’s brain.

“Stop with the glib talk and do your job. The stage is wrecked, but you still have your mission.”

The golden-masked man adjusted his mask and addressed the Art Master.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Seong Hayun suffered cognitive dissonance. The phenomenon and cause didn’t align.

So she looked to the side.

Jeong Sunja was calm. She removed the arm she’d had around Seong Hayun’s neck. Her nape suddenly felt chilly without the warmth.

“You’ve worked hard, Team Leader Seong.”

Seong Hayun swiveled her creaking eyes.

The exact same line as when they met. The difference was the title tacked on at the end.

“Madam…”

“But if Daesung has many talents like you, Team Leader Seong, it might not be great for my personal security.”

-It almost feels like you’ve been keeping a close eye on me all along.

-They think it’s their chance.

-Assassination commission. Quite an elegant way to put it.

Jeong Sunja stared at Seong Hayun with her face half-turned. Then she tossed out a remark.

“My cybernetic eyes aren’t for checking employee rosters. Why would I bother memorizing every staff member? Just need to tell if they’re my people, the Chairman’s, or the bastard son’s.”

“You, how can you solve internal issues by borrowing outside power! Succession is Daesung’s affair!”

“I said it earlier.”

Jeong Sunja shook her head pityingly.

“Because they’re ‘family.'”

“…What?”

“Family sharing one rice pot. If I’m hungry, I reduce mouths one by one.”

Thud.

Seong Hayun collapsed to her knees. A hollow laugh escaped her shadowed face.

‘…Her thought process is completely different from a salaryman like me…’

She looks after family. But this vixen feels no bond there. No, closer to not knowing it. She’d eliminate family first for her own gain.

“Don’t worry, Team Leader Seong. You’ll meet your team soon enough. If you lived virtuously, in heaven. If your hands are dirty, down these rifts together.”

“……”

“Thanks for the support. That much is sincere. As a fellow Korean, I’m weak to such personal sentiments. Well then.”

She left Seong Hayun’s side with a chill wind. Jeong Sunja tried to pass the Art Master.

Grab.

Jeong Sunja jolted.

Her dazed gaze went to the hand gripping her shoulder, then to its owner.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“On the way, I saw this, Madam.”

The Art Master tilted the device sideways nicely and showed it to Jeong Sunja.

“Doesn’t this change things? Hiding talent like this in Daesung and asking Haragusa to do the dishes?”

“What are you—.”

“Don’t know, don’t care. Just look.”

Leisure vanished from Jeong Sunja’s face. She peered at the device, eyes widening.

“What’s this?!”

She snatched it reflexively, bringing her face close like she was sucked in.

“That’s what I want to say, Madam. Daesung only has Sword Master Muyachi, so it’s easy pickings. You’ll handle cleanup yourselves.”

“What nonsense.”

The golden mask’s voice cut in. The Art Master replied irritably but obligingly.

“While Young Master was playing in the dirt, things went haywire below?”

“Who doesn’t know that? That’s why our group’s festival ended up like this.”

“No, see. The problem isn’t the ‘small fry’ gathering. It’s the loach mixed in. That’s the issue.”

“Loach?”

“Check with your cybernetic eyes. You’ll know what I mean.”

The man tapped his temple over the golden mask with his index finger. He let out a stifled sigh moments later.

“…Why is the Bow Master in that state?”

“Don’t ask me.”

The Art Master nodded toward the side with her lips.

“Ask this Madam over here, Young Master? How can we trust someone with so many secrets.”

“I-I don’t know anything!”

Jeong Sunja dropped the device.

“I don’t even know who that is—!”

“Not knowing is the problem. Sticking hands everywhere without knowing internals. Fine if it’s your home with Siesta, but this makes it hard for us to work together.”

Slide.

The wobbling device slid across the uneven ground and bumped Seong Hayun’s knee.

A large crack filled the screen with a face. His gas mask half-torn made the fractures eerily perfect.

The camera pulled back gradually, revealing his full body.

At his feet, a grim-faced middle-aged man frothed on the ground, and a young man caught his breath with one foot on the man’s back.

“T-Taebaek.”

Terribly familiar to Seong Hayun.

“Oh, you know him?”

Seong Hayun muttered unwittingly, and the Art Master reacted.

“I-I—!”

She tried to argue after snapping to, but her nape was suddenly gripped tight.

“Guhk! Guhk!“

“Mind introducing that friend?”

“Krrrk!“

“Wanna go down together? Sure!”

The Art Master slammed down her raised foot. When the surging smoke cleared, the two figures had vanished cleanly.

“……”

“Explanations are in order.”

Jeong Sunja’s eyes dimmed at the golden mask’s sunken tone.