Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 214

214. Good Cop, Bad Cop (4)

Hyun-woo was reminded of Lee Ji-tae by Robert Lee’s words.

‘So, the one who appeared back then was Teacher [referring to Lee Ji-tae].’

He thought as much.

The Alliance spared no effort to keep Lee Ji-tae alive and tried to maintain contact with him.

He had thought that even that had failed since Park Do-ryeong was dead, but as expected, there was always someone higher up.

“Robert.”

Park Hwi-so carefully lowered his posture and spoke in a cautious voice.

“As someone who has also received grace [a significant favor or act of kindness], I would never betray Teacher. However, I have recently been feeling skeptical about Teacher’s methods. Why did you say you wouldn’t interfere with Kang Hyun-woo, but then had Park Do-ryeong attack him?”

“Park Do-ryeong? The head of Hwan-ma [likely a criminal organization]? Was he also an ally?”

[What a mess.]

“Kang Hyun-woo, please be quiet for a moment. Robert, didn’t you know Park Do-ryeong was an ally? Then his actions were independent?”

“It wasn’t an order from Teacher. He wouldn’t give such an order in the first place.”

Park Hwi-so’s eyebrows twitched at Robert Lee’s answer.

“Then?”

“If Park Do-ryeong was a member of the Alliance, he probably acted on his own. He was probably trying to protect Lee Ji-tae. Lee Ji-tae is as important as Kang Hyun-woo, after all.”

Robert Lee’s face changed to a nervous expression.

“Things are already a mess among the Alliance members I know because of that. I don’t know what’s going on. Some say we should actively recruit Kang Hyun-woo right now, while others say we should eliminate him immediately.”

Park Hwi-so’s face also hardened at Robert Lee’s words. It wasn’t just his surroundings that were a mess.

Just as his, Ryu Soo-ah’s, and Park Do-ryeong’s actions differed, similar internal strife and division of opinions were arising elsewhere in the Alliance.

“What happened? Didn’t Teacher say anything?”

“Instructions? Like I said, Teacher isn’t one to give those. He just wants us to do our jobs well in our respective places. Or maybe he thought there was nothing to worry about with Kang Hyun-woo.”

“…But you said Kang Hyun-woo was following the main thread well. More than expected. Then didn’t you make arrangements for this situation?”

“That’s right. If it seemed like things were going astray, he would have given some guidance. But as for this matter, there’s been almost no intervention. I even wonder if the chaos within the Alliance is part of Teacher’s plan.”

Park Hwi-so fell into silence. He looked at Hyun-woo with a confused expression. Hyun-woo was glaring at Robert Lee with his arms crossed.

Robert Lee didn’t seem to be lying. But why is this Teacher character neglecting the chaos in his own organization?

“Park Hwi-so, as an ally, you know that Teacher is the last person in the world you need to worry about. We just assume that Teacher will take care of things. Those who want to get rid of Kang Hyun-woo will get rid of him, and those who want to help him will help him. It doesn’t matter as long as we don’t kill each other.”

“That’s true, but…”

“This is what I think. Park Hwi-so, and Kang Hyun-woo.”

Robert Lee said, shifting his gaze between the two.

“Perhaps Teacher planted a kind of ‘seed’ by giving Kang Hyun-woo that stone. And originally, he was probably going to water and bask the tree that grew from it in the sun. Maybe.”

[This is a seed?]

“It’s just a metaphor. A metaphor. And if this assumption is true, then Teacher’s role is one thing: pruning. Cutting off branches, so that it doesn’t grow in an unwanted direction. But unexpectedly, the tree grew well on its own into the desired shape.”

Hyun-woo was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t speak.

“Shall I give you another example? I was trying to manipulate the dice to get as high a number as possible, but the dice rolled on its own and kept coming up with 6s. The manipulator would be embarrassed.”

[So you’re saying you gave me this to raise me. I guess that’s a good thing, but aren’t you worried about being bitten to death by a tiger cub?]

Then Robert Lee asked, as if he was wondering.

“Ah, the tree metaphor isn’t specifically about Kang Hyun-woo.”

[If not me?]

“I’m talking about a larger scope. Teacher thinks in terms of humanity. He is a gardener who will cultivate the tree of humanity in a beautiful form without dying. A gardener who will cut off all the branches of a bad future.”

***

Park Hwi-so left after entrusting Song Yeo-un and Seo Ji-hoo with monitoring Robert Lee again.

Park Hwi-so continued the conversation with Hyun-woo over the phone. Hyun-woo asked first.

[What do you think, old man?]

“It’s a strange story, but it’s credible. What I know about Teacher matches, and there seemed to be no reason to hide it. He seemed to completely trust me as an ally.”

[Then what would his reaction be if I asked about Teacher’s identity?]

Park Hwi-so was silent for a moment at Hyun-woo’s question before opening his mouth.

“There’s no need to ask.”

[No need to ask?]

“If you have any questions about Teacher, ask me. I’ll tell you what I know.”

Hyun-woo paused at Park Hwi-so’s words. Basically, Park Hwi-so agreed with Teacher’s philosophy, so he was loyal to Hyun-woo.

Of course, he had no choice now that he had become a subordinate, but Hyun-woo spared no effort to elicit sincere loyalty from him.

One of them was not to press Park Hwi-so until he confessed about Teacher’s identity himself.

And now Park Hwi-so was saying that if Hyun-woo asked about Teacher, he would answer anything.

[Are you okay? Last time I asked Ryu Soo-ah about that, she got pretty bad. Are you being mind-controlled or something?]

“As I said before, Teacher doesn’t use mind control or hypnosis. There are cases where they can’t betray him because of sincere loyalty and a desire to repay his grace.”

[Ryu Soo-ah didn’t seem like such a commendable character?]

“In her case, she couldn’t handle the aftermath. She probably believed that she would be completely destroyed if she betrayed Teacher. There are many among the allies who are loyal to Teacher for that reason. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have such thoughts.”

Park Hwi-so let out a deep sigh. His face was so solemn that it wasn’t just about revealing a secret. Hyun-woo felt something strange and pressed him.

[Does this Teacher come to take revenge if you reveal his identity?]

“No. He doesn’t question it or get angry.”

[Then what are you afraid of?]

“…I’m afraid that he will take away the ‘grace’ that Teacher bestowed.”

Grace.

It was a story that had been heard several times in the conversation with Robert Lee and Park Hwi-so.

Among them was a mention of Lee Ji-tae. Lee Ji-tae also received grace from Teacher.

[You keep talking about ‘grace’, what is it?]

Park Hwi-so took out a cigarette.

It was the first time Hyun-woo had seen him smoke. But seeing him take it out from the front of his coat and smoke it skillfully, it seemed like he had quit for a long time and was smoking again.

“Kang Hyun-woo, you must have had your darkest days. A time when hope was not visible, a time when you felt like you had become less than a beast, a time when your limbs seemed to be rotting in the mud.”

Hyun-woo flinched at those words. He was immediately reminded of himself as a scavenger.

The memory of crawling through the dirty mud and rummaging through the waste.

“I had a similar time. To be exact, it was when I was a hunter. I caught more people than monsters, though. At that time, I was less than human.”

[You still catch a lot of people now.]

“Now I’m moving with my own philosophy. Back then I… I’m sorry to say, Kang Hyun-woo wouldn’t even be able to compare. I committed countless unspeakable acts of garbage.”

Hyun-woo couldn’t dare to ask what those things were.

Park Hwi-so knew what he had done. But Park Hwi-so was talking about a sin that he couldn’t even confess to Hyun-woo.

“But then one day, the most regrettable thing happened in my life. I couldn’t even fix it. A person appeared to me, who was like a dog in the mud, and gave me ‘grace’. That person is Teacher.”

[Grace?]

“He saved my wife, who was dying from overdosing on the drugs I was selling, and suggested that I use my abilities for a more noble purpose. Thanks to him, I was able to be reborn. What I did was almost the same, but I became a tamed hunting dog instead of an unrestrained and dissolute beast.”

He appeared in the darkest moment and extended a hand of salvation.

It was a touching and graceful thing, but Hyun-woo’s twisted mind didn’t accept it as it was.

There were more than one or two suspicious things.

But if Hyun-woo was suspicious, Park Hwi-so would naturally know it too.

[Weren’t you suspicious that he appeared at a good timing?]

“Why wouldn’t I be.”

Park Hwi-so smiled bitterly.

“As I met other allies with Teacher, I learned that they had also received ‘grace’. Salvation given in the darkest and most desperate times. I don’t think this coincidence is a coincidence. This is why we are grateful and fearful of Teacher at the same time.”

Park Hwi-so was silent for a moment and said as if his throat was choked.

“If he can give grace at any time, he may be able to take it back at any time.”

***

Hyun-woo couldn’t speak for a while.

Then Park Hwi-so’s confession about Teacher now is not something that can be done with ordinary courage.

Hyun-woo thought about what would happen if he went back to his scavenger days.

A time when he had no abilities, no Yoo-min, no social status, and no money.

“Ryu Soo-ah had this fear especially strongly. Her darkness was especially deep. So much so that she would rather let go of her mind.”

[…Does Teacher threaten you with that kind of thing?]

“No. He never has. He never told me to repay his grace. But people originally feel gratitude and fear for the other person when they incur an unpayable debt. So they imagine and fear a punishment that has never been given and that Teacher has never even mentioned.”

[Are you okay, old man?]

“Of course not. I didn’t want to betray Teacher, and I was afraid that he might take away his grace. But my wife had already died of illness, and after talking to Robert Lee, I feel relieved.”

Park Hwi-so sucked the cigarette deeply to the filter and rubbed it out on the floor.

“When you suspect that humans are being controlled by something, there is only one thing you can do. It is to resist that control. If Teacher has designed all of this anyway, then what I’m saying now must be part of the design. If not, he would have designed to shut me up.”

Hyun-woo decided to stop Park Hwi-so.

It’s not information that I’m curious enough to hear even if I have to go this far.

If there isn’t a device that destroys your mind just by saying Teacher’s name, you can get information by interrogating other allies. I didn’t want to make Park Hwi-so suffer.

[Old man, it’s okay. Just…]

“The names Teacher uses are Bi-gwang, Lee, and Gwang-gun. Generally, he uses the name Bi-gwang more often, but I don’t know which one is his real name.”

Park Hwi-so cut off Hyun-woo’s words before he could finish.

Park Hwi-so was not revealing about Teacher in order to be loyal to Hyun-woo.

It was a kind of resistance.

“He is estimated to be around 60 years old, but I couldn’t dare to figure it out. More than 10 years had passed between when I first met Teacher and when I met him again, but he didn’t look old at all. He always wears a mask on his face, but he often takes it off.”

[……]

There has been no change in Park Hwi-so yet.

It seems that Teacher doesn’t appear and kill him right away, or go back to the past as soon as he speaks.

Or maybe Teacher really doesn’t care about revealing his identity.

“Teacher’s base of operations is not specifically determined. He always comes and goes without a sound, or Teacher will contact you first if he has business.”

[Old man. That’s enough. You don’t need to say any more…]

But Park Hwi-so ignored Hyun-woo’s words and brought up the story that he really wanted to tell, and that Hyun-woo had been avoiding.

“Finally, I suspect that Teacher may be Kang Hyun-woo’s father.”

After saying those words, Park Hwi-so waited for Hyun-woo’s reaction. But even after waiting, Hyun-woo’s answer was not heard.

When I checked my phone, the call had already been disconnected. I didn’t know when it had been disconnected.

Park Hwi-so was about to contact Hyun-woo again with a complicated feeling.

Then suddenly the phone rang again.