Chapter 27

It was just as I lifted my hand from the crown of Yuja’s feverishly hot head.

“S-Secretary Officer.”

I nodded at Wi Jeong-rak, who was looking at me with a trembling face.

“She’s fully cured.”

The proof was in her once-sunken cheeks, now filled out, and her once-hollow eyes, now round and bright.

“Thank you, mister.”

As if she had been waiting, Yuja gave a deep, polite bow.

Her form was perfect, as if she’d learned it somewhere. But it felt a bit strange to be receiving a formal bow at my age.

I glanced at Wi Jeong-rak, hoping he’d stop the boy, but the mood wasn’t right. He was sniffling, looking at Yuja with pride instead.

Since it had come to this, I figured I should play along.

Watching Yuja slowly get back up, I rummaged through my bag.

“I received a bow, so I should give you something in return.”

It was candy. The same candy Yuja had given me.

A whole box of it, no less.

Yuja’s eyes immediately went wide.

“Mister! Is that?!”

“It was worth saving.”

I couldn’t believe how hard it was to find this damn candy.

I had to go to over ten different marts to finally find it.

Maybe that’s why Yuja cherished the candy as if it were a sacred relic. I laughed at the sight, ruffled her hair, and went outside.

Wi Jeong-rak, who had come out to see me off, still had tears welling in his eyes.

“Secretary Officer. Please just wait a little longer. I will definitely get you the Elixir…!”

“The ingredients, you haven’t gotten them yet, have you?”

“……!”

His face flinched as if I’d hit a nerve.

“P-please just wait a little longer. I’m trying to create the masterpiece of a lifetime, so…”

“Didn’t you say that devotion is more important than the blend, and the blend more important than the ingredients?”

At my mischievous joke, Wi Jeong-rak scratched the back of his head.

“That’s right. But if the ingredients are good, the fundamental quality can’t help but be higher.”

“I’ll get them for you. The Elixir ingredients. What do you need?”

Wi Jeong-rak shook his head, startled.

“No, Secretary Officer. I can’t let you do that. I’ll find a way to get them myself.”

“But you said you donated all your assets.”

“Th-that’s true. But I’ll still find a way. I will absolutely! Absolutely make sure you don’t have to spend your money, Secretary Officer.”

“No. I’m not saying I’ll use my money.”

I smiled and spoke to the puzzled Wi Jeong-rak.

“I’m on my way to meet Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan. Right now.”

“Ah!”

After letting out a sound of realization, he suddenly nodded with a bitter expression.

“The Chairman… he will surely yield to you, Secretary Officer. He loves his daughter as much as I love my daughter.”

I casually probed something I had been curious about for a while.

“Did a man like that give away an Elixir that might have cured the Mana Disease?”

“He considered me a brother. That’s why he yielded it to me.”

“And he’s trying to kill that brother?”

“……”

Wi Jeong-rak chewed on his lips as he looked at me.

The emotion that surfaced on his face was worry.

Not for me, but for Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan.

Now that was unexpected.

Why on earth would he worry about the man who tried to kill him?

“You must be the only person in the entire world who worries about an A-Rank Awakener, Mr. Wi Jeong-rak.”

“I feel like you’ll be able to handle it somehow, Secretary Officer.”

“You’ll hate me if Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan dies, won’t you?”

“O-of course not! As I told you before, the rest of my life belongs to you, Secretary Officer.”

I shook my head firmly.

“Your life is your own, Mr. Wi Jeong-rak. Not mine.”

Wi Jeong-rak lowered his head, his face full of emotion.

“And what you’re worried about won’t happen.”

No matter that I had taken an Elixir and become a B-Rank, I was no match for Lee Jeong-hwan. He was an A-Rank.

A whole truckload of guys like me could charge at him, and Lee Jeong-hwan could kill them all with a single wave of his hand.

If I didn’t have the name tag of the Association, I would have been dead long ago.

What I found strange was the very fact that Wi Jeong-rak was worried about Lee Jeong-hwan.

I shook my head.

Let’s not think too deeply about it. I’ll find out the reason if I see this through to the end.

When I arrived at the Association, one of the agents was there to greet me.

He asked with an affable smile.

“Do you happen to know who I am?”

“Aren’t you Squad Leader Hong Gyeong-pyo?”

I had memorized almost the entire list of Association employees.

From B-Rank Awakener and up, I had even identified their class.

Hong Gyeong-pyo, B-Rank, a close-range Dealer who uses his fists, and one of the Squad Leaders.

The information flashed through my mind.

Hong Gyeong-pyo nodded with a slick smile.

“I know you, too. It’s classified, so I couldn’t hear the details, but I heard things went well with Ilseong thanks to Mr. Choi Gi-woong.”

“I was lucky.”

“And you caught Wi Jeong-rak.”

“I was lucky with that, too.”

“I was curious about what that luck was. I even thought about what it would be like to have you on our squad.”

Somehow, he was speaking in the past tense. Sure enough, his expression hardened in an instant.

“But you shouldn’t have caused that kind of trouble.”

Hong Gyeong-pyo gestured for me to follow and walked ahead.

“Why did you mess with the JW General Manager? Did you want to play hero or something? By saving Wi Jeong-rak?”

I spoke as I followed him.

“I couldn’t just stand by and watch someone get killed. Not as an Association agent.”

“Ah, what the hell. Were you drunk on your own righteousness?”

Hong Gyeong-pyo let out a sigh thick with exasperation.

“Do you know that JW is the Association’s biggest sponsor?”

“I am aware.”

“You knew and you still did it? What are you going to do if they cut all their funding because of you? Are you going to take responsibility?”

“……”

“Why do you have to complicate things when they could have been handled smoothly? That’s what I’m saying.”

“…Smoothly, you say.”

“To put it bluntly, what does it matter to you whether Wi Jeong-rak lives or dies? If you didn’t know it would turn out like this, you shouldn’t have caught Wi Jeong-rak in the first place.”

Ordinarily, since I was the one who caused the trouble, I would have tried to be deferential.

But this man. It didn’t seem like he was doing this just because he found me disagreeable.

I clicked my tongue and said.

“Bringing in the General Manager was a matter approved by Head of department Kim Yoon-joong.”

Hong Gyeong-pyo stopped walking and stared at me.

“So what.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Are you trying to say, ‘It’s not my fault, so go talk to the Head of department yourself,’ or something like that?”

He gets the picture.

I gave a faint smile without answering. Hong Gyeong-pyo’s face grew even harder. Suddenly, he lowered his tone and said.

“Mr. Choi Gi-woong. What’s your real Rank? You’ve got your Status Window hidden away all secretively. I’ve been hearing some nonsense about you being a B-Rank.”

“I’m confused about it myself. Squad Leader, please check for yourself when you get the chance.”

“…What?”

“Thank you for escorting me. Excuse me.”

After saying that much, I pushed past him and opened the door to the interview room. I could feel a gaze on my back, sharp enough to pierce through it.

Damn it, I can hear the sound of me making another enemy from all the way over here.

I’ll just have to deal with it.

The first thing I saw upon entering the interview room was the General Manager, on his knees and trembling.

What is this situation?

Next to the General Manager sat Lee Tae-jin, the head of Ilseong’s headquarters.

His time in custody must not have been pleasant; the disheveled head of headquarters gave a disagreeable smile.

“You’re here.”

Just then, an unfamiliar face turned around to look at me.

A man who looked to be in his 40s, with a gentle impression.

This was Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan.

“What a coincidence. In a way.”

As if his prey had just walked in, Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan scanned me from top to bottom.

“But you don’t seem as impressive as I thought.”

Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan tilted his head and asked the head of headquarters.

“What’s the reason for going so far as to give up an S-Rank Item just to catch a guy like this?”

“I wanted to show him this is how you use a whip.”

His usual calm demeanor was nowhere to be seen; deep anger and shame were pooled in the head of headquarters’s pupils.

“And I feel like things will only start to work out once I catch this bastard first.”

“Well, whatever. I understand.”

“I’ll be going then.”

The handcuffed head of headquarters walked out on his own.

Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan watched him go, then spoke to Hong Gyeong-pyo, who was waiting by the door.

“I have something to discuss with this young man for a moment.”

“I’ll be quiet.”

I scoffed.

I couldn’t tell if he was an Association agent or a JW man.

Well, I had a rough idea of the situation.

I sat down in front of Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan.

The moment I was about to open my mouth, Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan spoke first.

To the kneeling General Manager.

“My good man. Why do you have to embarrass me like this? Do I really have to meet a kid who still smells of his mother’s milk?”

“I-I’m sorry, Chairman.”

“I hate the words ‘I’m sorry’ the most. They’re completely useless, aren’t they?”

The General Manager trembled like a herbivore before a predator.

By then, I was watching the situation unfold with my arms crossed.

Let’s see how far he’ll go.

“I told you to do your job properly. Was catching one person that difficult?”

“Chairman, please just spare my life! I will pledge my loyalty!”

“I don’t need your loyalty. If I spare you, what can you give me?”

“Anything! I’ll give you anything!”

“None of that pie-in-the-sky talk.”

Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan clicked his tongue and shook his head.

The General Manager’s eyes darted around as he thought, then he spoke as if rambling.

“As a s-sign of my loyalty, I’ll cut off my arm…!”

“What am I going to do with your arm?”

“Wi Jeong-rak. I will definitely catch him again.”

Lee Jeong-hwan let out a laugh that was like a sigh.

“You’ve already failed at that. How can I entrust a task you’ve already failed at to you again, my good man?”

“Please, if you’d just give me one more chance…!”

He paid no mind to the General Manager’s pleas.

Suddenly, my eyes met Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan’s.

I felt a sudden daze. With his eyes still locked on mine, Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan spoke.

“I like deals and games. I like deals because they’re win-win, and I like games because one of the two has to win.”

This was directed at me. I nodded.

“I see.”

“I played a game like that with Head of section Wi. Head of section Wi taking the Elixir in exchange for the copyright was a deal. Me saying I’d kill Wi Jeong-rak if I found him was a bet.”

It was a story I’d heard once before.

“If I hadn’t gone into business, I might have become a gambler. Someone once told me. That I was born with the disposition of a risk-taker.”

“I suppose that’s why you built such a corporation.”

Just 15 years after its establishment, JW had become one of the top five corporations in South Korea, in name and in reality.

Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan, a slight smile on his face, spoke as if tossing out a comment.

“What would you do if I were to kill the General Manager right here?”

“I’d have to arrest you, Chairman.”

“You? Arrest me?”

“You’re not the only one in the Association.”

The next moment, Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan shouted loudly.

“General Manager. Guess what I’m about to say. If you can’t, you die right here.”

The General Manager trembled violently.

“Ch-Chairman! Please! Spare m—!”

“Wrong.”

Splat!

The General Manager’s head exploded.

Spat, spat. Blood splattered all over the interview room.

As I unconsciously frowned at the surreal scene.

“Go on, try and arrest me.”

Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan said with a smile.

Even then, I remained calm, my arms crossed.

“What should I state as the charge?”

“Murder, of course. What, you can’t do it?”

“No, I have to arrest you. But the General Manager is still alive.”

“What do you mean by that?”

I said with a frown.

“You can stop now.”

Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan spoke with a surprised look on his face.

“When did you know?”

From the beginning.

When our eyes met earlier, Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan had cast a Mental Magic spell.

Therefore, everything I was seeing right now was an illusion.

Well, given enough time, I felt like I could even break it.

“How did you know?”

“Who knows.”

The face of Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan, who had been relaxed the whole time, hardened.

“You’re a disrespectful young punk.”

“If you hadn’t messed with my friends, Chairman, I would have been polite, too.”

“If you hadn’t messed with my subordinate, we would have never met.”

“And that’s why I’m at least speaking to you with some respect now.”

I didn’t know I could be this reckless either.

Normally, I would have bowed my head appropriately, folded, and managed my expression. I was confident I could have even laughed it off if he had threatened my life.

But the thought that Team leader Kim Jeong-su and the others could have been in danger… it still made my insides boil. To a point I just couldn’t bear.

So, I want to see this through to the end.

Swoosh-

I felt something peel away, like a layer being removed. The illusion had vanished, and I was back in reality.

In reality, the General Manager was lying on the floor with his eyes rolled back. Seeing that his Mana Wavelength was normal, it seemed he had just fainted from shock.

While I was catching my breath, Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan casually said.

“I’ll propose a deal.”

“Go ahead.”

“Bring me Wi Jeong-rak.”

“What do I get?”

“I’ll let you live.”

“I refuse.”

At my answer, Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan said while cleaning his nails.

“Then you’ll have to die.”

“Can you really kill an Association employee?”

“Shall we make a bet?”

Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan said, rubbing his chin.

“I’ll walk out of here with your head in my hands. You can see for yourself whether I live or die.”

“Then I’ll have to bet something too.”

“Exactly!”

Lee Jeong-hwan nodded with a boyish smile.

But I wonder if he can still smile after hearing this.

“Within one hour, I will make you kneel before me, Chairman. Along with the words, ‘I’m begging you, please.’”