Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 258

258. Infinitely Light (1)

Gunshots echoed through the Blue House.

Min Soha rose with a bewildered expression. However, she didn’t believe Hyun-woo would be killed by the gunfire.

Soon, another gunshot rang out. Min Soha squeezed her eyes shut.

As a soldier, ignoring this situation was agonizing.

But she believed that what was happening inside the Blue House right now was necessary.

Even as she constantly questioned herself.

‘Was it really necessary?’

If a citizen revolution had broken out and they were dragging the president down, she would have calmly ignored the situation.

But this was different.

A single individual, using the force they possessed, was resolving the situation.

The military didn’t directly intervene in politics, which was good, but she couldn’t help but think that this was worse.

“Min Soha, Captain.”

Just then, she heard someone calling from behind.

It was Oh Daeseong.

“Don’t overthink it.”

“How can I not think about it?”

The two were already acquainted.

Min Soha had even been a member of the Jeonneungryeon [a fictional organization, likely a union or association of ability users] before enlisting.

She had been recognized for her performance in operations with the military and entered as a non-commissioned officer at the military’s request, while Oh Daeseong continued his hunter activities.

Afterward, Min Soha had worked with Oh Daeseong on many operations.

Oh Daeseong’s character was trustworthy.

One of the main reasons she accepted Hyun-woo was that Oh Daeseong trusted and followed him.

“Even a few days ago, if someone had told me that I would stand by while this chaos happened in the Blue House, I would have punched them in the face. But to think that I have no choice but to passively stand by…….”

Min Soha said with a sigh.

But in this situation, the only person who could willingly step onto the stage of this absurd drama was Kang Hyun-woo.

“Honestly, I don’t think Kang Hyun-woo is as good a person as I thought.”

Oh Daeseong opened his mouth as if to defend Hyun-woo.

“But I don’t think he’s a bad person either. No, he might even be a very good person if he’s on our side. If Kang Hyun-woo were to take responsibility for our country, I don’t think there would be anything more reliable.”

Min Soha stared intently at Oh Daeseong.

“Is Kang Hyun-woo someone who can take responsibility?”

“Probably.”

“Don’t say things you can’t take responsibility for.”

“…….”

He wasn’t wrong.

Min Soha agreed that, in this situation, she could only hope that Hyun-woo wasn’t such a bad person.

Min Soha looked up at the silent upper part of the Blue House and then continued.

“I don’t know what will happen in the future.”

Once Park Gyu was purged, the president would have real power.

And the subsequent purges were also an opportunity to eliminate the internal problems of Korea.

But the president was also included in the list of traitors. The president himself was a deep-rooted evil that had to disappear.

She was worried that the president’s attachment to Hyun-woo in this situation was an attempt to avoid responsibility by using his power.

“Commander Min Soha.”

Just then, the door opened and Hyun-woo’s voice was heard.

Min Soha and Oh Daeseong stood up and turned around, then froze.

Kang Hyun-woo was unharmed.

But the appearance of President Kim Si-hoo next to him was covered in blood and flesh.

His blank expression showed no intelligence, and his suit was soaked in blood.

Especially, his fist was bloody and bones were visible, as if he had done something with it.

It looked like he had been pounding on a wall with his fist.

Hyun-woo tapped President Kim Si-hoo on the back with a cheerful smile.

“Please tell the President that he seems to be a bit shocked, so he should go home, wash up, and get some rest.”

“……Park Gyu?”

“Former Chief of Staff Park Gyu, unfortunately, died by accident while the President was urgently arresting him with his own hands.”

“Died?”

“Yes. Would you like to see?”

Hyun-woo took out his phone and played a recorded video.

Min Soha, who had been watching silently, was speechless from the very beginning of the video.

[Go, President! Body slam!]

[Mr. Presi-dent! Mr. Presi-dent!]

And the video showed the President unilaterally beating Park Gyu to death.

It was clear to anyone that it was not an ‘accident’ but a fist with murderous intent.

Park Gyu resisted and pushed back, but it was useless.

Not a single scream escaped from the completely soundproofed Blue House.

The President continued to strike with his messed-up hands until Park Gyu became something like gruel, not a person.

“……This is.”

Min Soha stared blankly at Hyun-woo. Hyun-woo smiled and said.

“He’ll probably have some severe muscle pain tomorrow. Please put some patches on him.”

“……Patches?”

“Yes.”

Hyun-woo shrugged.

“From now on, I’ll listen to Commander Min Soha, so you need to take care of my health. You must have had a plan for how to take responsibility from the moment you turned around, right?”

Min Soha couldn’t understand what Hyun-woo was saying.

Listen to me?

Future plans?

“What are you talking about, Kang Hyun-woo? What am I responsible for?”

“You said you can’t live with insecticide on your head [a Korean idiom meaning to be associated with something scandalous or corrupt].”

Hyun-woo pushed the blood-soaked president to Min Soha.

“You got what you wanted. No one in Korea will be above Commander Min Soha. So you have to do what’s necessary. Take responsibility.”

Min Soha realized what Hyun-woo was saying. And she felt a chill at the meaning.

The responsibility she had tried to pass on to Hyun-woo had returned to her.

It was only natural.

She thought that soldiers should not get involved in politics, but she was ultimately passing on responsibility by neglecting Kang Hyun-woo.

And Hyun-woo was returning the favor with the political participation that Min Soha was trying to avoid.

He was burying Min Soha’s honor and beliefs in the gutter.

“I never asked for that. Stop talking nonsense!”

“Commander Min Soha, you still don’t understand something.”

Hyun-woo said with a smile.

“That’s not something Commander Min Soha can decide.”

Hyun-woo was telling Min Soha to either become the new Park Gyu or live with insecticide on her head.

Nowhere was Min Soha’s own will reflected.

What that meant was that in Korea, she could no longer decide who to carry on her head.

Because now there was someone who would decide who would give orders and who would obey.

***

[……Former Chief of Staff Park Gyu attempted to stage a coup by detaining President Kim Si-hoo and mobilizing the martial law forces, but was suppressed by Commander Min Soha’s refusal to obey orders after assessing the situation. In the process, Chief of Security Han Myeong-oh was shot and killed, and President Kim Si-hoo is resting at home due to shock…….]

[……Former Chief of Staff Park Gyu was found dead at his home, and it was announced that the cause of death was presumed to be suicide. Meanwhile, luxury goods worth 20 billion won, suspected of being illegally stockpiled in the basement of his home, were discovered…….]

[……The opposition party in the National Assembly unanimously criticized the coup attempt and made it clear that the painful history of Korea must never be repeated. Meanwhile, President Kim Si-hoo, who had been rumored to be in poor health, appeared in public in good health…….]

“Ah, damn it. All I see are boring news stories.”

The Ghost Mansion.

The mansion, now returned to Hyun-woo’s hands from the state’s ownership, was restored in just two days.

Hyun-woo pressed the remote control to change the channel. Every channel was only talking about the recent emergency martial law and coup attempt.

Some of the media pointed out the unnatural aspects of the events as they unfolded, but they quickly fell silent due to external pressure.

Min Soha skillfully used the martial law situation to handle the things she needed to do.

Of course, she was very displeased, but it was also an opportunity to resolve the grievances that had arisen while living as a soldier and ability user in Korea.

Min Soha arrested or deported brokers, and Hyun-woo ‘disappeared’ some of them.

“Boring news? Who do you think made that news?”

“Ah, Dr. Dowonkyung.”

Dowonkyung came in with a briefcase full of documents.

Dowonkyung was helping Min Soha with state affairs.

Min Soha was a good soldier, but not a good politician.

But Dowonkyung knew about many talented people and was reorganizing the martial law cabinet with those human resources.

“What about the approval rating?”

“It’s still skyrocketing because of the anger towards Park Gyu. It might hit 80% soon.”

In most cases, politics is more about who you hate than who you like.

The fact that Park Gyu tried to carry out an absurd ‘military coup’ stimulated the long-standing trauma of Koreans.

Furthermore, as all the corruption and sins he had committed up to this point were revealed, public opinion decided that all the bad things that had happened in Korea were all because of Park Gyu.

The opposition party’s active support of the government also played a role.

Dowonkyung poured the documents onto the bed where Hyun-woo was sitting.

“No, what era is it that you’re still carrying around documents like that?”

“These are documents that are forbidden from being digitized outside the National Intelligence Service. If you scan or copy them, they’ll turn black. I brought them for you to see.”

Hyun-woo sighed and accepted the documents.

After roughly skimming through the documents, Hyun-woo confirmed that his goals were progressing properly, separate from what Min Soha was doing.

“Hmm, these are the ability users and organizations that are rebelling against the recent policies.”

The very first thing Kang Hyun-woo did was issue an order banning all ability users from leaving the country.

He also ordered all ability users abroad to return home.

Naturally, there was strong opposition. Because it violated basic rights.

But Hyun-woo had little interest in the rights and interests of ability users from the beginning.

“But were you such a patriot? I didn’t know.”

“Yes? A patriot? You mean those stupid people who believe that the place they were born in is great and amazing just because they were born there? Do I look like such a hopeless person to you?”

“……Then why are you pushing forward with such fascist policies?”

“Well, who would be the most disappointed and upset if important assets like ability users left the country?”

“Hmm, that would be the higher-ups.”

“That’s right, Dr. Dowonkyung.”

Hyun-woo said with a wink.

“Now we’re the higher-ups. So we have to pay attention.”

“Tsk.”

Dowonkyung clicked her tongue as if she was dumbfounded.

“Anyone would think you were born into royalty. You’re very skilled at being bossy.”

“Thank you.”

“That’s not a compliment.”

Hyun-woo moved on to the next document. It was the most important part of Hyun-woo’s ongoing plan.

The nationalization plan of Jeonneungryeon.

“I don’t understand this the most. You’re going to hand over Jeonneungryeon to the country as it is?”

“If you say ‘hand over,’ people will think negatively, but if you say ‘nationalization,’ will it look a little better? To be exact, we’re giving Jeonneungryeon the authority and power of a national institution. A budget like the military, manpower like the police, authority like the prosecutors, and decision-making power like the judges. How about that?”

“Hmm, isn’t that a very historic group?”

“Oh, really? Has there already been a great person in history who operated such a wonderful organization?”

“Yes. The Gestapo, operated by Hitler.”

Dowonkyung sighed and tapped Hyun-woo’s head with the documents.

“Of course, I don’t think anything will go wrong as long as you and Yumin are in charge of organizing it, but it would be good to know that it’s a path where big things can happen if you take even one wrong step. You know that suppressing like that doesn’t last long, right?”

“Of course. First of all, we will definitely improve the treatment of ability users. The reason they were whining about leaving the country in the first place was because of dissatisfaction with the treatment of ability users. We have to promise to double their promised salary and promise support.”

What Hyun-woo was thinking about was lending equipment according to performance.

What hunters go crazy for is not salary or treatment, but items.

Currently, only 4-star hunters receive legendary equipment, but Hyun-woo was planning to lower that standard significantly.

Difficulty: It was possible because he had countless equipment obtained from hell.

In particular, valuable materials were obtained while preventing the invasion of the apostles.

“What about the budget?”

“We can cover it with the national budget for now.”

Compared to the money other countries invest in ability users, Korea spends much less.

Just normalizing that would be a great treatment.

But Hyun-woo didn’t really want to spend that money.

It’s not because he was stingy with the people’s taxes.

“Because there’s someone else who should be billed for the real cost.”