Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 139

139. Unfair Negotiation (2)

Park Hwi-so silenced the last of the men sitting on the sofa in the hotel suite.

They were security guards who blindly followed Ryu Sua.

Originally, they were ordinary security company employees, but after meeting Ryu Sua, they were moved by her persuasion and became like dogs, guarding her house day and night.

‘Has Ryu Sua already escaped?’

Park Hwi-so looked around, feeling doubtful. Ryu Sua’s hotel room was being watched meticulously.

Her house was swarming with reporters trying to cover her and supporters cheering her on. But Ryu Sua wasn’t staying at home.

She had already moved her residence from the moment she was threatened by Hyun-mu.

Therefore, Park Hwi-so had assigned at least one Goblin to watch her, so he could confirm whenever Ryu Sua escaped. There had been no reports yet that Ryu Sua had left.

‘Could it be…….’

Park Hwi-so slowly opened the bedroom door.

As soon as he heard the sound of wind cutting through the air, Park Hwi-so quickly turned his body.

A sharp hand blade grazed past where his neck had been. At the same time as he took out his cane, a hard, sharp noise echoed.

The opponent’s hand, wearing black gloves, was holding the cane. Park Hwi-so growled lowly and glared at him.

The man grabbed the cane and tried to attack Park Hwi-so by pulling it sharply. But Park Hwi-so drew a sword from the cane and aimed for the unguarded man’s neck.

A short skirmish ensued, and the man pushed Park Hwi-so back.

Park Hwi-so felt a strange sense of déjà vu. The man used a unique martial art.

‘It’s just like fighting Kang Hyun-mu.’

However, it only felt that way because all kinds of practical martial arts were combined, but in reality, Chinese martial arts were the mainstream.

Park Hwi-so felt that the opponent’s skills and equipment were not ordinary.

‘I’m being pushed back.’

The opponent was stronger than Park Hwi-so, even without using any proper skills. Park Hwi-so couldn’t help but be surprised.

He had become a subordinate of Hyun-mu and had surgery performed by monsters, making him significantly stronger both physically and magically. In terms of stats alone, he seemed to be approaching level 50.

‘Then that means he’s at least a 4-Star.’

The opponent didn’t resemble any of the domestic 4-Stars Park Hwi-so knew.

The answer was one of two things: someone who came to demand debt settlement from Ryu Sua, or an ally.

If it was the former, there was a high probability that Ryu Sua was already dead. Park Hwi-so hoped for the latter.

“Are you an ally?”

The man, who was adjusting his gloves, looked surprised.

“What, are you an ally too?”

The man was still wary, but he seemed relieved just by mentioning the alliance.

Park Hwi-so carefully sheathed his sword first, and the other man also removed his hand. He carefully looked around the room.

The smell of blood wafted through the air. There were bloodstains scattered around, but it didn’t seem to be Ryu Sua’s blood.

Park Hwi-so belatedly discovered the Goblin whose neck was broken.

Park Hwi-so clicked his tongue. It seemed the Goblin who was monitoring Ryu Sua had been caught.

Ryu Sua was nowhere to be seen.

“I killed a monster that was here. And when you opened the door, your presence was like a monster, so I think I mistook you without realizing it. I apologize.”

The man politely made a fist and apologized. His accent was unique, but his Korean was fluent.

He seemed to be an ally of a different kind than Ryu Sua, more like himself.

Park Hwi-so confirmed that the Goblin was dead and felt complicated. To him, Goblins were just tools. It was probably the same for Hyun-mu.

But when he saw it being killed, he didn’t know what to say.

“But are you really human? I’ve been feeling it since earlier, but your aura is…….”

“Where is Ryu Sua?”

Park Hwi-so cut off the man’s words and jumped right in. The man narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

“I don’t know. She said it was a problem she had to solve herself and refused my help. I guess you came to help too, but do you know anything about the situation?”

It seems she didn’t tell this man everything. She’s probably trying to prevent the alliance from getting involved any further, to prevent further damage.

Either way, Ryu Sua is no longer valuable to the alliance since she lost the election.

She wouldn’t want the alliance to use its power for someone like herself who has no value.

“I think it’s because of the election. I don’t know much else.”

“Hmm.”

The man smiled faintly and tilted his head.

“It seems like you know something, Mr. Park Hwi-so.”

Before the man could finish speaking, Park Hwi-so swung his sword. The man blocked it with his gloved hand, but the force of the blow was transmitted once more to the blocked area, and the leather of the glove tore apart.

As blood flowed down, the smile disappeared from the man’s face.

It was Park Hwi-so’s skill, ‘Double Slash.’ But Park Hwi-so was also in a difficult situation.

He even used the ‘Stealth’ skill for this attack, to hide the signs of attack from the man.

He tried to at least incapacitate him, but the man saw it and blocked it with his eyes. His attack only created a wound on the palm of his hand.

“You knew my name.”

“How could I not know the name of the man Sua is close to?”

Park Hwi-so frowned at the way he called Ryu Sua so affectionately.

“Don’t tell me you two are lovers?”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous. Haha.”

Shi Bin laughed as if he had heard a mischievous joke, but he didn’t seem too upset.

“My name is Shi Bin.”

“What?”

“It’s not fair if I’m the only one who knows your name. Could it be that this was a fight between allies? Maybe that’s why she tried to handle it alone. I’d be ashamed to face the teacher.”

Shi Bin muttered while licking the blood flowing from his palm.

“But I can’t let Sua die.”

Park Hwi-so still couldn’t get used to the way he called Ryu Sua so affectionately.

Shi Bin quickly threw a punch. Park Hwi-so barely managed to deflect it, but the force alone tore off the sleeve and bandage of his coat’s right arm all at once.

Inside, a thick black fur was revealed. Park Hwi-so tried to cover the fur, but Shi Bin whistled.

“I guess there was a monster smell for a reason.”

As Shi Bin spoke mockingly, Park Hwi-so grabbed the tattered bandage and sleeve of his right arm and tore them off all at once.

Under the torn coat, an arm full of fur like a beast and five fingernails that gleamed like daggers were revealed.

Shi Bin could no longer laugh.

***

Ghost Mansion.

Originally, it was a nickname given to the house where Hyun-mu lived in Taesung.

However, through the information obtained from Taesung by the government, stakeholders who heard it from the government, and even Ryu Sua, it had now become an almost fixed nickname.

The only way to go up is a single path, and if you go along any other mountain path, you will come back down without even knowing when you returned.

There are rumors of seeing monsters or ghosts. There are also stories of roe deer carcasses being found, suggesting there are carnivorous beasts.

‘There are only rumors, and this is my first time going directly.’

Ryu Sua was driving up to the Ghost Mansion. The front gate was locked, but when Ryu Sua got out of the car and showed her face to the surveillance camera, they opened the gate for her.

So far, it was as Ryu Sua had expected.

‘He tested me.’

Ryu Sua bit her lip tightly. She had heard that Kang Hyun-mu had put in considerable effort to acquire Park Hwi-so.

Ryu Sua still believed in her own value.

She had suffered a great blow like this now, but if she was no longer attacked by Kang Hyun-mu, she had a chance to recover.

Even though she lost the election, she was still a young and promising politician. She had a wealth of connections, so it would be easy to rebuild her support base.

It was no exaggeration to say that she was much more valuable than the dead Park Hwi-so.

What would he have to do to bring someone like her in?

Only to lower her value by dropping her to the bottom.

‘You won, Kang Hyun-mu.’

Ryu Sua thought that she had no choice but to join hands with Kang Hyun-mu like Park Hwi-so. If it was her, she was confident that she could fill Park Hwi-so’s vacancy.

She was worried that the alliance might get involved, but Ryu Sua decided to think positively.

Park Hwi-so said that it was as important to bring Kang Hyun-mu into the alliance as it was to bring Lee Ji-tae.

That the alliance siding with Kang Hyun-mu might also be one way to bring Kang Hyun-mu into the alliance.

As the road came to an end, a stone mansion half-buried on the hillside appeared.

If she had seen it during the day, she would have felt a sense of mystery in the appearance of the old mansion in the mountains, but the mansion she saw in the middle of the night was only eerie.

Moreover, Ryu Sua had come here half-risking her life, so it was even more so. From the moment Ryu Sua got out of the car, she felt a gaze that seemed to be digging into her from the mountains.

‘I mustn’t show a frightened appearance.’

From now on, it’s a negotiation. If she’s going to surrender, she has to get as much as possible.

Ryu Sua rang the doorbell.

[Yes~.]

She was expecting Kang Hyun-mu’s voice or no answer at all, but the voice she heard was that of a young woman.

Ryu Sua was briefly taken aback by the cheerful voice, as if she was receiving a delivery, but she cleared her throat and answered.

“This is Ryu Sua.”

[Yes. Just a moment.]

With a click, the door opened. Inside, a young woman in casual clothes was greeting Ryu Sua.

“Oppa [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend] is out for a while right now, what brings you here?”

Kang Hyun-mu was away?

Ryu Sua quickly assessed the situation. To be away in this situation?

‘Could it be that we crossed paths?’

Come to think of it, Kang Hyun-mu would have been likely to head to her house or hotel to finish her off or negotiate.

Ryu Sua had been thinking of fleeing abroad until just now, so there was no way Kang Hyun-mu couldn’t have anticipated that.

“Would you like to come in and wait while having a cup of tea?”

Ryu Sua followed the woman as if she were possessed.

And then she sat at the table in the reception room like a truly invited guest. The woman said she would bring tea and headed to the kitchen.

Bright lights, friendly reception, and above all, a reception without Kang Hyun-mu.

Everything was surreal. Ryu Sua tried to understand the situation.

‘That woman…… is she the woman who lives with Kang Hyun-mu? Yu Min?’

Kang Hyun-mu’s girlfriend.

It felt strange that even that monstrous man had a lover, but it was true that she was incomparably friendly.

‘Then does that mean there’s only Kang Hyun-mu’s girlfriend in this mansion?’

At that moment, what came to Ryu Sua’s mind was ‘hostage’.

Of course, this could be digging her own grave.

But what about now? The fact that Kang Hyun-mu committed all these acts to recruit her was only Ryu Sua’s expectation.

She tried to kill Kang Hyun-mu, killed his right-hand man Park Hwi-so, and now has no power. It was as if her life was mortgaged.

‘Yu Min, if she’s there, I might be able to gain a slight advantage in the negotiations.’

Ryu Sua felt a bit of conscience, but nothing was more precious than her own life. She was about to get up from her seat with a firm expression.

“Oh my, you can just sit and wait.”

At that moment, Ryu Sua froze and stopped.

The most surreal sight since entering this mansion was unfolding before her eyes.

Yu Min, who was pointing a Korean-made K2 assault rifle at her, was smiling kindly.

“Sit down while I’m being nice.”

The gun looked too big compared to Yu Min’s small body, but she didn’t look unskilled in pointing the gun.

Nowhere in her hands was the teapot she had been boiling.

Ryu Sua slumped down in her chair.

Yu Min sat across the table from Ryu Sua. Then, still pointing the gun, she smiled and opened her mouth.

“Then, Assemblywoman Ryu Sua, shall we begin the negotiations?”