Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 114

114. Taking Over JeonNeungryeon (1)

“Rabies, you say?”

“That’s the current report.”

Oh Dae-seong was speechless at the news that Kim Min-do, the sole survivor, had died of rabies while being transported by helicopter.

In the end, only Hyun-woo and his hunter team returned safely, but that wasn’t the core issue. The real problem was that the hunters, initially thought to be unaffiliated, were actually rogue human hunters wanted even by the Chinese Public Security Bureau.

With the revelation that rogues operating in China had smuggled weapons into the country, questions arose about their motives and objectives.

Guns and bombs are rarely used in dungeons, so their purpose was likely to hunt other hunters.

“He was the only witness who could testify to the circumstances of the incident, and he died of rabies… Does rabies develop that quickly?”

“It’s possible he was bitten by a monster and the disease was latent. Anyway, he was infected with all sorts of germs. Even if it wasn’t rabies, he probably would have died after a period of wasting away.”

“Bastard, dying so conveniently for himself.”

Oh Dae-seong muttered curses, venting his anger at Kim Min-do.

For JeonNeungryeon [All-Abilities Association], the biggest problem wasn’t the arrival of Chinese rogues.

A significant number of hunter team executives were found dead in the dungeons of North Korea.

The cause of death was clear: they were killed because they couldn’t stop the monsters due to the sudden surge.

The bodies were mangled, so there was no need for an autopsy.

If Hyun-woo hadn’t stopped the surge in time, the soldiers guarding the Military Demarcation Line could have been threatened. Oh Dae-seong felt like he owed Hyun-woo several times over.

“What are the media saying?”

“There was a lot of talk about the missing executives, but they seem to believe our announcement well enough.”

The incident in the wolf dungeon wasn’t initially reported in the media. JeonNeungryeon tried to keep it as quiet as possible.

However, the sudden disappearance of JeonNeungryeon’s executives inevitably became an issue.

Oh Dae-seong had no choice but to announce that JeonNeungryeon executives had illegally entered a dungeon in North Korea and died due to a sudden surge.

Kang Hyun-woo’s name wasn’t mentioned at first, but as rumors spread that he had entered the dungeon, it became an accepted fact.

In fact, it was obvious since Hyun-woo and Oh Dae-seong were the only ones in JeonNeungryeon skilled enough to suppress a 3-star dungeon’s surge early on.

But it was unknown why so many executives had flocked to the dungeon.

“So, you don’t know why Kim Min-do and the hunters were there?”

“Well, that’s… Maybe they were trying to cooperate with those Chinese rogues?”

“With the Chinese rogues? Who were they trying to kill? Who?”

“Well… Wouldn’t it be CEO Oh Dae-seong?”

The aide answered with difficulty.

It was well known that Oh Dae-seong would go to rescue hunters if they were trapped in a dungeon.

If Kang Hyun-woo hadn’t stepped up, Oh Dae-seong would have gone in and might have been caught.

It wasn’t a light statement.

It meant that it wasn’t just an internal fight, but an attempt to assassinate the organization’s leader.

But instead, they were killed by monsters.

“…I see.”

Oh Dae-seong muttered bitterly.

He could roughly guess the reason. There had been frequent conflicts with executives over Kang Hyun-woo’s position recently.

The more support Kang Hyun-woo’s team received, the wider the gap became with other teams, and naturally, friction arose.

Perhaps they were trying to replace the leader because of their dissatisfaction.

Oh Dae-seong couldn’t even imagine how much JeonNeungryeon’s reputation would fall if this fact became known. Oh Dae-seong clutched his head.

“I owe Branch Manager Kang Hyun-woo a debt because of me. How should I apologize?”

“He didn’t say anything special, but Hunter Kang Hyun-woo found all the evidence and bodies, so he probably already knows. But, well…”

Oh Dae-seong raised his head as the aide trailed off.

“Why?”

“Well, isn’t it possible that Branch Manager Kang Hyun-woo killed them on purpose? It’s a bit suspicious that only the assassins were attacked by monsters at just the right time…”

Oh Dae-seong stared at the aide with an absurd look.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Kang Hyun-woo conveniently drove the monsters to bite those guys, conveniently caused a monster surge, conveniently found survivors, and even gave them return scrolls to send them back alive?”

“Ah, no. I think I made a mistake.”

“Even if Kang Hyun-woo had killed them all with his own hands, who could blame him? He went in to rescue them, but he was almost assassinated instead! Good heavens…”

“I-I’ll be careful.”

Oh Dae-seong frowned and stared at the aide for a long time. The aide nodded repeatedly, apologizing.

“Be careful not to let any careless words reach Branch Manager Kang Hyun-woo! Branch Manager Kang Hyun-woo must be feeling bad right now too. The people he went to rescue might have been assassins. I don’t know how to apologize…”

***

“Oppa [term of endearment used by a younger woman to an older brother or male friend], what’s wrong? Have you had something good happen recently?”

“Huh? Ah, it’s nothing. There was something that seemed like it would take up a lot of time, but it was resolved cleanly.”

Hyun-woo turned his head. The night view of Seoul came into view beneath his feet.

This restaurant, created for top-floor VIP customers only, was fitted with the finest amenities for the guests, from the floor decorations to the tablecloths and even the candles.

The soft lighting appropriately concealed the faces of the visitors, and the subtly flowing classical music was not noisy, yet it was enough to drown out the voices of the guests at the next table.

At that moment, a butler in a suit approached, smiling gently and greeting them in turn.

“Thank you for visiting our restaurant, Le Tre Campane [The Three Bells].”

The butler took out a wine bottle from the chilled ice bucket and filled Hyun-woo and Yoo-min’s glasses.

“We have prepared the finest Montrachet [expensive white wine] to welcome our special guests. We hope you enjoy it.”

As the butler politely greeted and stepped back, Hyun-woo took a sip of the wine. Yoo-min was watching with a curious expression.

“How is it?”

“Um, bitter, tangy, and the aroma is sweet.”

“Hehe, vocabulary. Still, I’m glad you didn’t use metaphors like ‘an elegant queen with maturity burning her last desire and passion on the eve of the revolution’… I’ve actually heard people use such metaphors. It’s enough if you can distinguish the taste.”

“I can tell it’s different from other wines. I can see why people look for high-end wines.”

“It’s worth the money. Actually, if this is real Montrachet, this one glass could be more expensive than our meal. But they must have recognized you, Oppa. It’s good to be famous.”

“More expensive than our meal?”

“Well, they’re probably trying to create regulars. If we order just one bottle of this, they’ll profit.”

Hyun-woo was surprised, but he had seen insane prices for alcohol several times already. Yoo-min cheerfully swirled her wine glass once and took a sip. Hyun-woo stared at her intently before opening his mouth.

“Yoo-min, thank you.”

“Ugh, what are you suddenly trying to say?”

Hyun-woo looked around and said.

“Well, until recently, I couldn’t understand spending money in a place like this. Why spend three months’ worth of meals on one meal? What’s the cost of this one piece of meat, and why does it have such a price tag? Why do I have to wear such bothersome clothes to eat?”

“Do you know now?”

Hyun-woo cut the meat and put it in his mouth.

“I don’t think it’s particularly rational, but well, humans aren’t particularly rational creatures anyway. The important thing is that my range of experience and understanding has broadened. Why the upper class spends money like that, why such expensive price tags are attached. I think it can be summarized as buying three things in addition to just the food.”

“What are they?”

“Experience, comfort, and time.”

People who lack money live with a lack of all three. But if you have money, you can have all of that and live much more efficiently.

“People who lack experience have a monotonous life and thoughts. If you lack comfort, you easily get stressed and become impatient. Time is probably the most important thing. Especially for the wealthy who can calculate how much they can earn per second. If you have a lot of money, you can save effort and time no matter what you do.”

“That’s not true for everyone.”

“Of course, there are individual differences. Ah, of course, there are also people who don’t have money but have a lot of time. What I’m saying is just that a guy who used to roll around in the dirt is pretending to have learned something after having a ridiculous experience. You know what I mean? Like when someone who just learned something pretends to know everything.”

“Certainly, undergraduates are the most pretentious. Sometimes I even see college students trying to teach graduate students.”

Hyun-woo and Yoo-min burst into laughter. Hyun-woo sighed and continued.

“I’m just talking about my own experience. It was a time for me to realize how lacking I was and how ruined my personality was.”

At that moment, a text message arrived on Hyun-woo’s phone.

[Coming down.]

Hyun-woo sent a short reply.

[Start.]

***

Ding. The elevator arrived on the basement floor, and the bell rang.

Kang Seong-gyu and his lawyer continued to talk as they got out of the elevator.

“This situation is definitely tragic, but it’s fortunate that there are no survivors.”

Kang Seong-gyu nodded weakly at the lawyer’s words.

“Vice President Kang Seong-gyu, don’t worry too much. Even Kang Hyun-woo is a citizen of the Republic of Korea, and he knows what the law is. What happened in North Korea can’t be investigated, so it’ll be glossed over, but surely nothing will happen here in Korea?”

“You don’t know Kang Hyun-woo.”

“Even if he has complaints, he needs evidence. We have no choice but to deny everything. No, in fact, weren’t we forced to do it under duress? You still haven’t found that driver, have you?”

“We found the body. Near the mouth of the river.”

“See? Those rogue bastards were trying to take advantage and make a fortune. They were trying to use us as leverage to extort money after owing us a favor. We were just caught up in it, so what can they say?”

“…Do the other executives think so too?”

“They think it’s something that couldn’t be helped. But everyone thinks it was Vice President Kang Seong-gyu who proposed it… To reassure them, you, Vice President, must show a strong front first. You’ll have to lie low for now, but Kang Hyun-woo must have felt something. Ah, he must be thinking he’s going to have a hard time.”

Kang Seong-gyu could only force a smile.

It was then. Suddenly, the sound of a car door opening came from behind. The moment Kang Seong-gyu and the lawyer turned around, a dark shadow covered the lawyer.

A man immediately put a clear plastic bag over the lawyer’s head and sealed it tightly by tying a cable tie around his neck.

Then, he threw him to the ground and tied his wrists and ankles behind his back with cable ties.

It didn’t take even five seconds for the lawyer to be completely subdued. The lawyer tried to breathe, pressing his lips and nose against the plastic bag.

“Kang Seong-gyu.”

A strange voice was heard from behind.

It was an old gentleman with snow-white hair, leaning on a cane. Kang Seong-gyu’s teeth chattered as soon as he saw him.

Anyone who had half a foot in the illegal business world couldn’t not know this old gentleman.

He was Park Hwi-so, a businessman and retired hunter who once controlled the underworld of Seoul.

Park Hwi-so dragged the gagged man in front of Kang Seong-gyu.

“Kang Hyun-woo asked me to tell you that he appreciates your cooperation this time. He said that things would have been very difficult without your cooperation.”

The gagged man opened his eyes wide and looked up at Kang Seong-gyu. A look of dismay crossed Kang Seong-gyu’s face.

The man started shouting something at Kang Seong-gyu again. But the man standing next to Park Hwi-so put a plastic bag over his head as well, and he soon fell silent.

“You did a very good job contacting Kang Hyun-woo as soon as you received a call from Endo. We were already watching his movements. If the timing had been off by even a little, there might have been three people lying here right now.”

Kang Seong-gyu had informed Hyun-woo as soon as he was offered the assassination.

Kang Seong-gyu also had complaints about Hyun-woo, but the honey he received from him was sweeter.

In fact, it could be said that Endo’s thinking was naive. Or perhaps he thought that the driver’s wrist was enough blackmail.

In any case, Kang Seong-gyu had been sharing information from the beginning, and Kang Hyun-woo knew about the assassination.

But Hyun-woo didn’t tell Kang Seong-gyu not to accept the offer.

Rather, he encouraged him even more, telling him to bring in more people.

Specifically, the executives who were dissatisfied with Hyun-woo.

Kang Seong-gyu actively carried out Hyun-woo’s instructions, even though he didn’t know what Hyun-woo was up to.

Outwardly, it would have seemed like he was following Endo’s instructions. In reality, it was Hyun-woo’s instructions.

The result was the great massacre in the wolf dungeon.

“W-w-who is this person?”

Kang Seong-gyu said, pointing to the gagged man lying next to the lawyer, his teeth chattering.