Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 126

126. Inferno (5)

With the explosion, flames erupted.

Hyun-woo clicked his tongue, watching the house engulfed in flames in an instant.

“It’s fortunate it wasn’t an apartment. If it were, we wouldn’t have tested the waters like this.”

Moon Young-hoo, and even his wife, were members of the Alliance and close aides to Ryu Soo-ah.

There was never any intention of keeping them alive.

If Moon Young-hoo hadn’t called Ryu Soo-ah, Hyun-woo would have. But Moon Young-hoo hastened his demise by calling too soon.

Hyun-woo got into his car and waited for the fire department to arrive.

People were startled by the explosion and came out to see what was happening.

Thanks to Park Hwi-so’s measures to prevent the explosion from harming civilians, only the house was burning cleanly.

“Ryu Soo-ah will know we’re onto her with this, right?”

“She probably thought it was only a matter of time anyway.”

Since Moon Young-hoo was the one who made and detonated the explosives, Hyun-woo had nothing to worry about.

The police would probably lean towards a suicide due to a love affair. That’s how the scene was manipulated.

But Ryu Soo-ah wouldn’t think that way.

It’s only natural, considering seven of her close aides were eliminated overnight.

“What did you say Ryu Soo-ah was like?”

Park Hwi-so scratched the bandage oozing with fluid and opened his mouth.

“She’s a three-term assemblywoman for Seocho-gap [a district in Seoul]. She entered politics at the age of thirty with Park Gyu’s support. Despite being relatively young, she resolves any issue coolly and has considerable influence. Her support base is also solid. Come to think of it, she’s running for Seoul mayor this time, so she must have resigned from her assembly seat.”

“Seoul mayor?”

“The local elections aren’t far off. She’s a young and charismatic candidate, so she’s being mentioned as a potential presidential candidate for the next or subsequent elections. She says she has no interest, but just being mentioned means she already has a lot of influence.”

“How could she achieve so much at such a young age? Is there a special background?”

“Park Gyu believes he brought Ryu Soo-ah into politics, but in reality, the Alliance made it happen.”

Hyun-woo was puzzled by Park Hwi-so’s words.

“She entered politics with the Alliance’s power? What was she before that?”

“I don’t know much about that. She joined the Alliance before I did. I only know that she was an ordinary political science student, but the Teacher must have seen something in her. I don’t think he was wrong. An ordinary person can’t become a three-term assemblywoman at such a young age.”

“Hmm, the Alliance seems sloppy yet strangely unsettling. They accept a college student with nothing as an Alliance member, but they didn’t accept someone as capable as Lee Ji-tae as a formal member, and only tried to manipulate him from behind.”

Park Hwi-so wondered how Hyun-woo knew that. But he soon remembered that Hyun-woo was present when he had a conversation with Ryu Soo-ah.

It wasn’t strange that he could deduce that much.

“The Alliance is a horizontal group. Only the Teacher knows the total number of members, and only those directly brought in by the Teacher can become Alliance members.”

“Doesn’t seem like a horizontal group at all. Even you, old man, don’t know who is and isn’t an Alliance member, except for Ryu Soo-ah. Information monopoly is the easiest way to control people.”

Hyun-woo sneered, but Park Hwi-so didn’t seem convinced.

When you’re inside the system, you may not know what its structure is like. Or maybe there are detailed aspects that Hyun-woo can’t understand yet.

Anyway, what’s important now isn’t the Teacher or whatever.

“Did you know Ryu Soo-ah was a *nyeokja* [ability user]?”

“I only suspected it from her aura, but I didn’t know about her abilities. She never showed it.”

Even among Alliance members, things seem quite opaque. Come to think of it, Park Hwi-so didn’t seem to expect an assassination attempt on Hyun-woo at all.

“Then, was Ryu Soo-ah acting alone when she tried to kill me?”

“That… I’m not sure. The Alliance is a loose group that acts under the direction set by the Teacher rather than clear instructions. Personally, I lean towards Ryu Soo-ah acting alone.”

“It better be.”

Hyun-woo muttered, twisting his lips.

“I’m not going to let any of the bastards involved in this live with my name or my body.”

Even if that includes the Teacher, whom Park Hwi-so respects.

Hyun-woo’s anger stemmed more from the fact that ‘his things’ were harmed than from the fact that he himself was targeted.

Park Hwi-so was his *gwonsok* [familiar/subordinate] and his possession. It’s only right to bite and kill stray dogs that invade his territory.

Park Hwi-so was silent for a while before opening his mouth.

“Ryu Soo-ah has decided to run for Seoul mayor in this local election. It’s not good to touch her right now.”

It’s different from when he threatened Park Gyu. Back then, he brought a gift that Park Gyu would be tempted by.

But killing someone who has served as a member of the National Assembly, and who is running for Seoul mayor, would be no ordinary matter. Considering the power that Ryu Soo-ah has as an Alliance member…

“I know.”

And Hyun-woo was considering all of that.

His smile deepened.

“The problem is that she’s a successful politician. Then it’s simple to make her not one. Why else did I go through all this trouble?”

Blowing up Moon Young-hoo was a warning and declaration of war to Ryu Soo-ah, as well as the first step to bringing her down.

“Let’s cut off all of Ryu Soo-ah’s limbs soon. Then, let’s make her die alone, lonely, miserable, and painfully in a remote place where no one will help her.”

***

The woman stretched out her hand and then clenched it again.

The hand that had grasped the empty space on the right moved as if drawing a line to the left. As it approached the end, the woman spread her hand wide again.

Numerous crowds in the lecture hall were staring intently at her hand.

Her fervent oratory pierced their ears and was engraved in their brains.

Sometimes there were words that didn’t match their common sense or understanding, but no one had any doubts.

They were just happy to be listening to her voice.

Her voice was intense and persuasive. They felt like they wanted to be persuaded by whatever she said.

As her gestures moved frantically, the pupils of the people also moved as if playing a duet.

“—This concludes the speech of Seoul mayoral candidate Ryu Soo-ah. Thank you for listening.”

At some point, the crowd came to their senses all at once.

What they thought of when they came to their senses was not the unnaturalness of the situation, but the overwhelming emotion that washed over them.

People stood up from their seats all at once and gave a standing ovation. Some even had tears in their eyes. The woman went down from the podium.

“You’ve worked hard, Assemblywoman Ryu Soo-ah.”

A secretary approached and handed Ryu Soo-ah a tumbler.

Ryu Soo-ah, who was about to receive the tumbler, paused for a moment when she saw the secretary’s face. But she soon lifted the glass as if she remembered.

“How’s the Moon Young-hoo case going?”

“When the police found Secretary Kim Soo-kyung tied to a chair, they seemed to be focusing on the possibility that Moon Young-hoo committed suicide with a bomb. Moon Young-hoo also embezzled the explosives and detonated them. There are only speculations that Moon Young-hoo recently received a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication, suggesting that their marital life was not smooth.”

It’s a common occurrence at that age. However, it’s not common to embezzle explosives and commit suicide at home.

But the side that Ryu Soo-ah was interested in was not the love affair between her secretary and his wife, but another side.

The secretary seemed to have noticed this fact and quickly said.

“It doesn’t seem like it will be a nuisance to you. For now, we’ve only sent wreaths to Secretary Kim Soo-kyung. But…”

“Don’t beat around the bush and speak quickly.”

“…There’s a record that Moon Young-hoo called you at the end. Your external cell phone is carried by Secretary Kim Soo-kyung, so it’s not strange that it was found at the scene, but the question remains why Moon Young-hoo called Ryu Soo-ah at the end…”

Ryu Soo-ah felt a headache coming on.

Moon Young-hoo was a good comrade to work with. But he was also someone who was entrusted with tasks that should never have any contact with her. That’s why she deliberately entrusted the work through her secretary.

She had avoided having him call her directly under any circumstances, but to think that this would happen at the end.

“He must have dialed the wrong number.”

“I see. Understood.”

The secretary nodded as if he had no doubt in Ryu Soo-ah’s words.

She would have to find a more appropriate excuse, but Ryu Soo-ah could handle the police anyway. She had strong supporters in the police as well.

The problem was the mastermind behind Moon Young-hoo’s death.

‘Who is it? Kang Hyun-woo, could it be that you’ve already found me?’

But Moon Young-hoo was not someone who would reveal anything about her. Ryu Soo-ah was confident in that much.

In case of emergency, he was prepared to cover everything up and leave. If Kang Hyun-woo killed Moon Young-hoo, the clue would have ended there.

Unless Park Hwi-so was still alive.

‘Everything went wrong when I killed Park Hwi-so.’

Killing a fellow Alliance member was also a troubling matter for her. Especially since she liked Park Hwi-so as a person.

Until he fell for Kang Hyun-woo.

‘That bastard will eventually kill us all.’

The scope of ‘us’ that Ryu Soo-ah was thinking of was quite broad. Narrowly, it ranged from the nation to broadly, humanity.

Park Hwi-so said that Kang Hyun-woo was like a deadly poison and would save humanity, but that only helped to solidify Ryu Soo-ah’s mind.

A being that can save something, in other words, can also kill that something at any time. Therefore, the savior must be chosen carefully and with extreme caution.

Even when she decided to deal with Kang Hyun-woo, she didn’t think things would become this difficult.

But now that things have come to this, she had no choice but to watch Hyun-woo for the time being.

The immediate priority was the upcoming local elections.

Even if Kang Hyun-woo found out about her, there was no evidence.

Even if there was evidence, it would have all been lost when Moon Young-hoo was killed.

‘Then what are you going to do, Kang Hyun-woo? Are you going to attack me?’

If he attacked or killed her, it would go beyond a grudge and become a political terror. Then the country would not stand still.

Funnily enough, this country doesn’t bat an eye even if a dozen people die, but if a high-ranking official is attacked, the whole country is shaken.

Recognition itself was Ryu Soo-ah’s shield.

‘Even with just the things you’ve done so far… Kang Hyun-woo, you’re already in danger.’

No matter how skilled Kang Hyun-woo is as a Hunter, he cannot wage war against the country.

Ryu Soo-ah decided to postpone Moon Young-hoo’s revenge until after the election. Once she became mayor, there would be many ways to pressure Kang Hyun-woo.

Ryu Soo-ah moved by car with her secretary.

“Well, that’s that. What’s the next schedule?”

“Yes. The next schedule is the Cheonggye Dungeon Development Promotion Committee.”

“What’s that again?”

“It’s a place that demands the lifting of regulations on the land tied to the Cheonggye Dungeon. Recently, a subway station was built, and the atmosphere is quite buoyant with rising house prices, but the land tied to the dungeon is quite large. Cheonggye Dungeon is a 1-star dungeon, and there are few monster outbreaks…”

“They’re talking nonsense.”

“That’s right. Even if the restrictions are lifted and development is allowed, who would want to live next to a dungeon? Even the people who used to live there are leaving. But it’s land that has been attracting attention since the past, so there are quite a few people with vested interests…”

“The landowners will think whatever they want to think. First, meet them and say that you will review it positively…”

Vroom!

It was then. Suddenly, a rough exhaust sound echoed, and an old car followed them.

Ryu Soo-ah frowned, thinking, ‘Are they trying to overtake us?’ At that moment, the window opened, and a man’s hand appeared.

“What is that…”

At that moment, the secretary swerved the steering wheel to the right.

The car spun dizzily and crashed into the guardrail.

Bang.

With the impact, her body floated into the air.

***

Splash.

Hyun-woo jumped into the stream.

He had to take care of things before too many people gathered.

First, he approached the wrecked Benz and checked the interior. The driver, who seemed to be a secretary, was unconscious but seemed to be alive.

But Ryu Soo-ah was nowhere to be seen.

Hyun-woo found the opposite door open. There was blood on the door.

An ordinary person would go to a bright and crowded place to ask for help.

But Hyun-woo looked into the dark drain where the stream water flowed out.

The drain through which the entire stream passed was wide and high enough for five adults to walk side by side.

Hyun-woo splashed and entered inside.

The smell of blood wafted from the inside. Before long, a flashing red light covered the inside of the drain.

“You’re crazy. Kang Hyun-woo.”

Ryu Soo-ah’s voice was heard. Hyun-woo could tell that Ryu Soo-ah was not alone in the darkness.

Another monster she had summoned was lurking.

She’s hiding that she is a *nyeokja* [ability user]. It would have been difficult to face Hyun-woo in a bright place.

“I’m a former member of the National Assembly and a candidate for Seoul mayor. And you’re attacking me in broad daylight? Do you want to be buried alive?”

Hyun-woo’s answer was simple.

“I’m a voter in your district.”

“…What?”

“In the name of a voter in the district, I’ve come to judge an evil politician. It’s time to taste the fear of a precious vote.”