Even if Chairman On Suhyeong was a refined man one could reason with, On Jurim was a man who lived as though he were the only person in the world. A frightening man whose reaction was impossible to predict.
Hunter Association President An Seonyeong bit her lip as she thought of Jurim.
She remembered how, not long ago, she had burst out laughing upon hearing the rumor that Gu Sinhoo—who shamelessly acted up only after checking who was watching—had misspoken in front of Jurim’s adopted daughter and been humiliated by the father and son of the On family.
A rumor was only a rumor, but…
‘On Jurim is quiet, too…’
Contrary to her worries, he was not there. Could it be that he did not actually care much about the daughter he had adopted?
Truthfully, An Seonyeong could not imagine On Jurim doting on a child. Perhaps that was why On Suhyeong had stepped in personally.
Thinking of it that way made her feel a little more at ease. If she had to deal with either a frightening man or a madman, she had to choose the frightening man.
“Chairman On, I truly apologize, but if you would only agree to a settlement, we are prepared to show ample sincerity.”
The lawyer An Seonyeong had hired wrote an amount on a sheet of paper. She nodded.
The lawyer then pushed the paper toward Gru’s lawyer.
After checking the amount, the lawyer handed it to On Suhyeong, who returned the paper without even looking at it.
“I don’t know how many more times I have to say this, but my granddaughter does not want a settlement.”
Everyone on the other side of the table turned their eyes toward Gru.
On Suhyeong patted Gru’s shoulder with emphasis. Gru raised her eyebrows and bravely said,
“Gru won’t settle.”
They had told her that if they reached a settlement, that bad swindler would not have to be punished.
If that was the case, then she would not settle no matter how much money they offered. From the moment that swindler had said that a mere twenty million won was nothing but pocket change as soon as he met Gru, she had steeled herself.
Money was money, but Gru wanted a sincere apology.
‘Gru worked so hard to earn it…’
When they asked how much she could pay for the commission, she had emptied all the onion coins she had carefully saved. That was how she had come up with twenty million won.
It was not the two billion won she had earned as free money at the auction house.
Gru remembered everything she had done to save that money.
The feel of the tricycle pedals she had sensed through the monitor, the temperature inside the dungeon, the humidity inside the teddy bear…
She had run away from unreasonable customers throwing fits as they demanded a discount, and had been grabbed by the scruff of her neck and shaken dry while they asked whether the thing was really a doll.
Trading with frightening adults who lowered their voices inside dark, gloomy dungeons had not been easy.
Even so, she could not give up.
Gru had always worked hard so that one day she could tell Mommy and Daddy to live with her.
Stealing it so casually and then saying it was mere pocket change, or asking whether they could not simply pay her more, was wrong.
They ought to be bowing their heads and apologizing!
‘Bad villain!’
As her anger continued to mount, the opposing lawyer, who looked smooth and easygoing, smiled slyly.
“Miss Gru, if you look at this, it’s more money than what you were swindled out of. The president took your hurt feelings into consideration and put in a generous amount. Even so, you still can’t let go of your anger?”
When he tried to hand the paper bearing the amount to Gru, On Suhyeong blocked his hand.
“You would do well not to speak directly to my granddaughter while offering her such pocket change.”
“Ah, my apologies, Chairman On.”
Pocket change, was it? This wasn’t going to be easy.
The lawyer dipped his head and signaled to Ham Honggi.
Ham Honggi then took a card from his wallet and handed it over.
What was this? Gru’s eyes grew round as she stared at the somehow familiar card.
The lawyer took the Hunter License card, placed it on the desk, and slid it forward.
“As you can see, Mr. Ham Honggi is a B-rank Awakened and a member of the Beurom Guild.”
The lawyer from Hangang whispered to On Suhyeong and Gru.
“Mr. Ham Honggi’s sister-in-law is Cheon Gyuri.”
Cheon Gyuri, number two in the Hunter rankings. She was the guild master of Beurom, one of the Big Three guilds, as well as the daughter-in-law of the Hunter Association president.
The opposing lawyer continued.
“Because Mr. Ham Honggi is Awakened, this falls under the Special Act on Awakened Persons. If he posts the settlement money with the court and completes his community service hours, a minor offense like this won’t even result in a fine. We have more than enough means at our disposal, but we are offering this as our utmost show of sincerity.”
On Suhyeong looked at their lawyer. He was asking whether that was really true.
She checked the Hunter License card and whispered,
“The Special Act on Awakened Persons was enacted to be extremely favorable toward Awakened people. Awakened individuals have more grounds for mitigation than ordinary people as well…”
Only Awakened people could enter dungeons.
The Special Act had been the result of painstaking efforts to take their special status into account—to give them what they had to give while securing what they could get.
There was clearly a reason for their defiant attitude.
And that was not the only reason behind their insolence.
“And Mr. Ham Honggi’s father is Assemblyman Ham Jinpyeong. His family is also deeply connected to the legal world. Assemblyman Ham Jinpyeong himself is a former judge.”
In other words, their connections were so extensive that taking this all the way would only cause trouble. There was a high chance Ham Jinpyeong’s friends would make sure everything ended quietly.
The lawyer, who had just voiced such a pessimistic outlook, hurriedly continued when he saw the two of them stiffen.
“Even so, if you leave it to us, we can secure a larger settlement. Since the other party is a Doan, and they have their family’s reputation to consider, they won’t want this hanging over them for long.”
That was presumably why they had used every possible channel to beg for a meeting to negotiate a settlement.
That family did not want to make its relationship with the On family completely hostile, either.
Under ordinary circumstances, they might have accepted an unreasonable demand simply to resolve things without anyone losing face.
“Then what about an apology?”
At Gru’s question, the lawyer merely shifted his eyes toward Ham Honggi.
Well, it was doubtful whether they could get an apology out of a man like that. Still, saying they might as well try, she straightened her back.
“Thirty percent more than the amount you proposed. And I want an apology from Mr. Ham Honggi as well.”
An Seonyeong jabbed Ham Honggi in the side.
“Ham Honggi, I’ll unlock your card, so apologize.”
“Really? You mean it? You promised. You heard her too, right, Lawyer? She said she’d unlock my card? Mom, the lawyer heard it too. You can’t take it back now. You know that, right?”
His lawyer bit his lip with a dizzy expression. An Seonyeong felt just as dazed.
Regardless, Ham Honggi grinned broadly and said,
“Hey, kid. Sorry about that~ Just count it as part of your social experience.”
“……?!”
Everyone in the room turned stunned eyes toward Ham Honggi.
Gru felt as though someone were tapping her head with a spoon, making it ring.
But even under those horrified gazes, Ham Honggi’s chattering mouth did not close.
“Who just hands over twenty million because they believed something like that so easily? You’re partly to blame, too. You shouldn’t trust people so easily, you know?”
Gru stood there with her mouth hanging open, her shoulders trembling. Even a kindergartener would have offered a better apology than that.
Hiss. Her breathing grew rough. Her tiny fists trembled.
Gru narrowed her large eyes into crescent moons and glared fiercely at Ham Honggi.
“Apologize again. That was fake.”
“No, I said I was sorry. Once my card’s unlocked, big brother might even throw in some extra money. You’d like that better too, wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t like it at all!”
“You’ll understand when you’ve lived a little longer. When someone says they’ll give you money, you take it, okay? My apology? I’ll convert it into cash and give it to you. In a capitalist society, everything is expressed through money. That’s why we have settlements, isn’t it? Right, Lawyer? You agree?”
Why was he suddenly turning the gun on him? His lawyer felt his mind go blank.
“Gru won’t settle!”
Everything that man said was another bomb. An Seonyeong hurriedly opened her mouth.
“Was it Gru? Miss Gru, he may look like this, but deep down he feels terribly sorry. He just has a rough way of speaking.”
He felt sorry? Even if the guild master who had skipped kindergarten apologized, she would show more sincerity than that.
She could not stand it anymore.
Gru opened the zipper of the bag she had been carrying.