The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 336

335. Side Story – Episode 13

Late at night, in Um Kyung-hoon’s small apartment.

A group of menacing gangsters and Task Force Chief Seo Min-cheol suddenly barged in.

Um Kyung-hoon was utterly bewildered by the scene unfolding before him, his mouth agape in shock.

And then, Chief Seo Min-cheol spoke.

“Kyung-hoon.”

Chief Seo Min-cheol crouched down to meet his gaze.

Um Kyung-hoon had never interacted with him directly since starting at the company.

Yet, Chief Seo Min-cheol addressed him by his first name in a seemingly friendly manner and continued, “Honestly, it wouldn’t be too difficult to figure out who you let into the storage room. If we thoroughly investigate everyone around you, we could catch them within three days. But… I’m in a bit of a hurry, so I’m trying to get your cooperation.”

“…….”

“So, please cooperate with me. I promise, if we resolve this here, it’ll be as if nothing ever happened.”

Um Kyung-hoon swallowed nervously.

Then, Chief Seo Min-cheol poked Um Kyung-hoon’s chest with his finger and added, “You guys stole a file that only I was supposed to know about. Because of that, I’m in danger too. Frankly… I’m in the the same boat as you right now.”

“Even if you say that, I really don’t know anything…….”

“Hey!”

Instantly, Chief Seo Min-cheol’s eyes hardened.

“Get a grip on the situation. Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

Chief Seo Min-cheol’s voice trembled, as if he was at the end of his rope.

“I’m telling you this for your own good. You better tell me now.”

“……Yes?”

“Later, when that person starts moving on their own… I won’t be able to help you then.”

Chief Seo Min-cheol sighed softly.

“If you don’t talk here, next time it won’t just be your fingers at risk. Your body might end up at the bottom of the Incheon sea, and your head in the East Sea.”

“…….”

“To be honest… I just need to find the file. I don’t want to hurt anyone, and I really don’t want to. But that person is different. They can’t let anyone who knows about the file, including the file itself, live.”

Chief Seo Min-cheol’s eyes also trembled slightly as he spoke.

“If that person finds out it’s in someone else’s hands, I don’t know what they’ll do. So… for your sake and your friend’s sake, we need to end this here.”

“…….”

Um Kyung-hoon lowered his head, contemplating his options.

‘What should I do? Can I really trust him?’

‘But if I make the wrong choice…’

Um Kyung-hoon couldn’t make a decision easily, and his back began to tremble with anxiety.

However, Chief Seo Min-cheol didn’t pressure him, patiently waiting for him to make a choice.

Finally, Um Kyung-hoon raised his head again.

“Really… can everyone be safe?”

“I promise.”

At his question, Chief Seo Min-cheol nodded in a serious tone, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor.

Then.

“Eun-hye…….”

“What?”

Um Kyung-hoon spoke softly, “It’s with Ha Eun-hye… from the committee investigation team.”

***

“…….”

A dark room, devoid of any light.

Ha Eun-hye displayed the file she had taken home on her computer monitor.

With a tense expression, she meticulously reviewed its contents.

It was the original file from three months prior, detailing the Blue-rated dungeon where the dungeon interference incident had occurred.

Ha Eun-hye carefully read all the information on the five pages, including the dungeon overview, characteristics, precautions, and special notes, leaving no detail unexamined.

And within those pages… there wasn’t a single line mentioning the possibility of dungeon interference.

‘I knew it…….’

She muttered to herself.

This confirmed her suspicions.

Someone had intentionally set a trap for Hunter Kim Jun-woo.

She couldn’t know their motive, but what mattered was that the committee was aware of it and was deliberately ignoring it.

‘This is definitely not something that one or two people could pull off…….’

This had to be the work of high-ranking officials, at least at the team leader level.

She had anticipated this to some extent, but she couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread as she confronted the reality of the situation.

Now that she had confirmed the facts, the crucial question was how to proceed. If she revealed this information carelessly, she could face severe repercussions.

‘Then, for now…….’

It was essential to secure the data.

With that thought, Ha Eun-hye created a copy of the file and saved it to her personal USB drive.

And immediately after.

‘…….’

Her gaze lingered on another file.

The real-time subjugation monitoring file of the Green-rated dungeon that commenced at 2:20 PM on September 12, 15 years ago.

If her memory served her correctly, it was the operation her father had participated in for the last time.

The incident where he was falsely accused of killing a colleague during the subjugation, dishonorably discharged, and subsequently prosecuted.

The file containing all the details of that time was right in front of Ha Eun-hye’s eyes.

Ha Eun-hye hesitated to click on it.

She wasn’t ready to confront the truth just yet.

To be honest, she had to admit that she had harbored doubts, even while her father was being arrested and held in detention.

‘Didn’t the association, the committee, and even the police conduct a thorough investigation?’

And if the result pointed to her dad, the truth was, it was already decided whom to believe.

Nevertheless, Ha Eun-hye had continued to reassure herself.

‘There’s no way Dad is the culprit.’

‘He must have been framed, just like Dad said.’

She had spent the last 15 years clinging to that belief.

But if she opened this file and her 15 years of faith were shattered… she didn’t know if she could bear it.

But the greater pain would be…….

If Dad really wasn’t the culprit, the moment she missed this opportunity, she would forever lose the chance to clear his name.

He was a person who hanged himself, proclaiming his innocence until the very end.

Even after 15 years, he might still be wandering in purgatory, unable to rest in peace.

And if she turned her back on the truth now… she wouldn’t have the face to meet Dad again later.

“…….”

Ha Eun-hye took a deep breath, steeling her resolve.

At the same time, her eyes were filled with determination.

And soon.

Click—.

She clicked on the file, and the events of that day began to unfold on the monitor.

The truth of that day was gradually revealed, and Ha Eun-hye’s body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Finally, the moment she faced the truth with her own eyes.

Thud—.

Her legs buckled beneath her, and she collapsed to the floor.

But she didn’t even think about getting up; she simply covered her mouth to stifle her sobs.

Her mind gradually went blank.

She couldn’t think of anything, and she couldn’t see anything.

She was just trembling, unable to focus her gaze, with a bewildered expression, when.

Ring—.

Her phone rang, breaking the silence.

It was a call from Um Kyung-hoon.

As soon as Ha Eun-hye saw his name, she seemed to snap back to reality and quickly answered the phone.

“Kyu, Kyung-hoon. I, I just checked the file at home, and, ah, I think I should go to the police…….”

“Eun-hye. Did you happen to take another file from the server…?”

“…Huh?”

Ha Eun-hye’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Bringing the 15-year-old file was a purely personal and impulsive decision. Of course, she hadn’t told him about it yet…….

How did he know?

“Chief Seo Min-cheol came to my house. And the situation is not good. Chief Seo Min-cheol is heading there now, so just hand over the file you have.”

“What…?”

Ha Eun-hye’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“You, you… you turned me in…?”

“It’s not like that! The situation is more serious than we thought! You shouldn’t have touched that file! If you don’t hand it over now, it’ll be even more dangerous!”

“You idiot! You believe that?”

“What am I supposed to do if I don’t believe it! He said we could really die!”

“…….”

‘We could really die.’

Ha Eun-hye hesitated to respond to those words.

Then, Um Kyung-hoon, sensing her hesitation, spoke again with urgency.

“Hey, Eun-hye. Say something! Hey!!”

“……Cut it off.”

But Ha Eun-hye didn’t want to hear any more.

She immediately hung up the phone and quickly copied the 15-year-old file to a USB as well.

Then, she packed her belongings haphazardly and fled the house.

It was well past midnight.

Ha Eun-hye ran out of the dark studio apartment complex and blindly headed towards the main road.

Soon, she spotted a line of taxis waiting in front of the station and jumped into the first one without a second thought.

“Plea, please take me to the nearest police station!”

“Yes…?”

“The police station! Quickly!!”

Ha Eun-hye shouted, raising her voice at the taxi driver’s bewildered question.

The taxi slowly pulled into traffic.

The dazzling lights of downtown Seoul flashed by outside the window.

Ha Eun-hye stared at the scenery with a mixture of emotions, clutching the USB drive tightly in her hand.

Soon, she closed her eyes.

Her face reflected a sense of grim determination.

She was breathing heavily, trying to calm her trembling body, when suddenly.

Bang—!!!

A car coming from the opposite direction swerved across the center line and crashed head-on into the taxi Ha Eun-hye was in.

Her body was thrown forward violently, and an enormous shock reverberated throughout her body.

Before she could even register the pain, her mind began to fade.

Bang, bang—!!

The taxi spun several times on the road before finally coming to a stop, crushed beyond recognition.

The vehicle was completely overturned.

Ha Eun-hye was trapped upside down inside, her vision blurring as her consciousness slipped away.

Through her fading vision, she saw… a man emerging from the car across the street and approaching her.

‘Move…….’

Ha Eun-hye tried to mutter, but she could only stare blankly at the man approaching her.

Finally, the man reached the taxi and yanked open the door.

“Aaaaaaah!”

Whether driven by instinct or a surge of adrenaline, she screamed and lunged out of the taxi, barely managing to regain her senses.

The man seemed caught off guard by her sudden action, and Ha Eun-hye seized the opportunity to run without looking back.

She found herself in the heart of Seoul.

A downtown area illuminated by neon lights and signs, even though it was past midnight.

And countless people were passing through the streets.

But the vibrant city offered her no protection.

Ha Eun-hye continued to run frantically, unnoticed by the indifferent crowd.

She didn’t know where she was going, or what she was doing.

She was simply running towards a place where she could survive, a place where she could find safety.

But.

“Hee, hee…….”

After running for what seemed like an eternity, she found herself at a dead end.

Ha Eun-hye cautiously looked back.

Fortunately, the man who had been chasing her was nowhere in sight.

But she couldn’t afford to relax just yet.

So, she pulled out her phone to call the police.

At the same time, she noticed a notification on her phone screen.

A missed call.

It was a call from Hunter Kim Jun-woo.

As soon as Ha Eun-hye saw his name, she was overcome by a sudden impulse and, with trembling hands, called him instead of the police.

“Ah, uh… are, are you resting? I was going to leave a message anyway. It’s not that, but…….”

“…….”

The voice she heard on the other end of the line.

Ha Eun-hye found herself unable to speak, as if the tension had been released all at once.

“Ah, were you sleeping? I’m sorry. I’ll leave it in a text message for now, so when you come to work tomorrow…….”

“Heo, Hunter.”

Ha Eun-hye managed to croak out, her voice barely audible.

“Help me.”

She finally uttered those desperate words.

After a moment of silence.

Kim Jun-woo’s voice filled with concern, firing off a barrage of questions, but she was unable to answer any of them.

“Hoo… you run really fast.”

Because the man who had been chasing her had finally caught up and appeared in front of her.

“No, why are you running like you’re going to die, knowing who I am? I might be someone who’s trying to help you.”

“…….”

The man joked, but Ha Eun-hye remained silent, paralyzed with fear.

From the moment she made eye contact with him, her survival instincts had kicked into overdrive.

“…You don’t believe me. Do you have a good sense?”

The man said with a chilling smile.

Suddenly, Ha Eun-hye collapsed to the ground, her already battered body finally giving out.

At the same time, the man began to approach Ha Eun-hye slowly.

The man was someone who everyone in Korea with something shady in their past, such as businessmen, entertainers, and politicians, would visit at least once.

The most famous fixer in the underworld.

At the same time, he was the current No. 1 ranked freelancer hunter in Korea.

His name was Yang Min-ho.

Also known as the Cleaner.