Episode 28
Chairman Yi was staring at the main house with bewildered eyes.
“What in the world is this at two in the morning?”
The place blood-soaked Jonghyeon had come to was Chairman Yi’s residence.
“I apologize for coming in this state. I brought some rather good news, but I’m too tired. Might I get some sleep?”
Chairman Yi had thought himself fairly thick-stomached, but the smell emanating from the blood-soaked Jonghyeon turned his stomach. The smell of blood was a bit too much for an ordinary person to bear.
“Yes, yes. I don’t know what this is about, but go wash up first. Goodness me.”
Chairman Yi clicked his tongue, left Jonghyeon with Butler Gim, and returned to his own room.
“What on earth is going on? Anyway, I need my sleep, so I suppose I’ll go back to bed.”
Chairman Yi was busy even for his age and status. Especially since the Red Rose Guild had been running rampant, he had been even busier keeping them in check.
The next day.
“Jonghyeon. Did you do this?”
Chairman Yi, who had had all his schedules regarding Red Rose countermeasures canceled.
And before him was Jonghyeon, drinking cold green tea.
“Yes. Well, that’s how it turned out. You know who destroyed my orphanage, right?”
Chairman Yi suddenly found himself first doubting whether the man before him was sane. Of course he was sane, but even so, the situation was unbelievable.
According to information he had obtained in secret, the Red Rose Guild included the Guild Master, two A-ranks, and all executives were B-rank or higher, with the average guild member being C-rank.
He destroyed such a guild alone?
Had the person before him not been the blood-soaked Jonghyeon, he would have dismissed it as a joke nine times out of ten.
“Did you really do such a thing just because of one orphanage? No, more than that, are you saying it was possible to destroy the Red Rose Guild alone?”
Chairman Yi steadied his breath and asked Jonghyeon.
“Well. To be exact, I was someone who couldn’t do anything when the orphanage was destroyed. I simply used that memory as motivation, and it just so happened to succeed.”
Seeing Jonghyeon speak while calmly sipping his cold green tea, Chairman Yi fell into thought. Soon, as if having finished his thoughts, Chairman Yi opened his mouth.
“So what will you do now? The state has declared an emergency saying they’ll catch you. But that’s obviously just for show. Rather, with a thorn in the nation’s side gone, they should be thanking you. Tell me your plan.”
Jonghyeon set down his cold green tea and scratched his head as he spoke.
“The thing is, I actually haven’t given it any thought. I’ve been running toward revenge all this time, and now that it’s over, I don’t really know what I should do? So I thought I’d do some thinking and lie low, and that’s why I came to your residence, Chairman.”
Our house is merely a hideout?
Of course, Chairman Yi’s house was a place where even if the police mustered great courage, they couldn’t conduct a house raid. There were few madmen in the Republic of Korea who would investigate the home of a giant recognized worldwide without certain cause.
And publicly, Jonghyeon and Chairman Yi had no relationship whatsoever.
‘Of course, the NIS would know.’
Chairman Yi brushed back his still plentiful white hair and looked at Jonghyeon.
Jonghyeon seemed to be waiting for Chairman Yi to say something.
“Yes, I understand. Don’t look at me like that. Well, it’s not just one or two things that surprise me about you. But I suppose I can provide what you need right now. I’ll help as far as my power reaches. But nothing is free.”
Only then did Jonghyeon smile in satisfaction and express his gratitude to Chairman Yi.
“Thank you. I’ll stay at the residence for a few days and think things over.”
Chairman Yi muttered a few complaints about him being a good-for-nothing and left the drawing room, and Jonghyeon also returned to his quarters with a smile.
Suddenly, Jonghyeon wanted to see articles about the collapse of the Red Rose Guild.
Had he truly become a criminal? How much was the world looking for him?
He had become curious about such things.
「Breaking News! Collapse of the Red Rose Guild.
The Red Rose Guild collapsed after being attacked at around midnight last night. Witnesses testified that the incident began with a sudden explosion…」
-Red Rose Guild serves them right. Trying to devour Korea.
-They say the culprit still hasn’t been identified. Is that true? Who on earth is it, seems like group terrorism.
-Nah, my uncle said he saw it on the road and it wasn’t terrorism. What did he say, there was one person in black clothes standing there. He said he ran away when he heard the sound of the collapse, so I don’t know what happened after either.
-Wow, but the country is treating this as a definite crime? Are they crazy? If he saved the country they should at least give him a Brave Citizen Award.
-Anyway, casualties are a crime. The higher-ups should be aware. Can you live a normal life?
-Then would the higher-ups have brushed it off as just casualties if someone precious to them was killed by that guild?
Jonghyeon spent the entire day reading public comments from morning until lunch. Public opinion was mostly on Jonghyeon’s side. Some even appeared praising him as the one who saved the country from nearly being devoured by a foreign guild.
“This is an unexpected reaction?”
Even thinking about it himself, such a reaction was surprising.
Jonghyeon had been thinking of hiding at Chairman Yi’s house until things quieted down a bit, then negotiating with the government at the right time. But if public opinion was this much on his side, things would resolve more easily than he thought.
At a time when the nation had lost its power, public opinion was not something to be ignored, and he felt that rather than definitively branding him a criminal, they would likely make unofficial contact.
Ring ring—
Jonghyeon’s cell phone rang.
Since he couldn’t use his previous phone, Chairman Yi had lent him one.
“Hello?”
“Morning. Have you had lunch?”
It was Chairman Yi.
“No. I haven’t eaten yet.”
“Then come see me for a moment. Come over to the drawing room.”
Shortly after.
Arriving at the drawing room, Jonghyeon met an unexpected guest.
It was none other than his handler.
And the person next to him—he didn’t know who it was, but even at a glance, the person was no ordinary individual.
“Now that Jonghyeon is here as well, let’s talk over a meal. Now, shall we get up?”
Under Chairman Yi’s lead, everyone moved to the dining room, and Jonghyeon was able to exchange a few words with his handler.
“What brings you here, Handler?”
The handler spoke to Jonghyeon with his usual cheerful expression.
“You really caused quite a stir, Jonghyeon. Well, thanks to you, the nation has breathed a sigh of relief. By the way, are you hurt?”
As expected, the handler was quite skilled at changing the subject. There had even been a time when Jonghyeon worked as a Troubleshooter and the handler gave him documents with wrong dungeon locations while feigning ignorance. The handler was no pushover either.
Jonghyeon had been about to say more, but since they had arrived at the dining room, further questions were impossible.
But Jonghyeon had already sensed the intent behind this sudden meal.
‘To think they’d make unofficial contact this quickly. As expected of Chairman Yi’s capabilities.’
The man who introduced himself as Bureau Director Gim Jeongtae of the National Secrets Bureau fixed Jonghyeon with a sharp gaze.
But Jonghyeon, not about to back down from such a gaze, stared right back.
A crackle—
A glaring contest as if a faint electric current were flowing between them, and then the meal came out. Bureau Director Gim Jeongtae was the first to turn his eyes to the food.
“First of all, let us offer praise where it is due and move on.”
Bureau Director Gim Jeongtae spoke in a very deep, weighty voice.
“What Ryu Jonghyeon has accomplished is nothing less than preventing an all-out war between the Republic of Korea and a guild. If the Red Rose Guild had pressured Korea further, we were prepared to risk war… but in truth, no one could have imagined such a thing would happen. On behalf of the state, I offer my gratitude.”
Bureau Director Gim Jeongtae said so and gave a slight bow, and Jonghyeon received the greeting with a bewildered expression.
“However. That is how we feel internally, but externally, we cannot let this pass favorably. If you step out into the world as you are now, Jonghyeon, you will become a criminal.”
The reason was thus: several guilds that had been allied with the Red Rose Guild, and in the eyes of the world, Jonghyeon was still a terrorist. Fortunately, things had somewhat resolved on a nation-to-nation level, so that was fine, but several allied guilds were said to be on edge.
“So what are you proposing? I’d like you to get to the point. We didn’t gather here to exchange empty formalities, did we?”
For the first time, Jonghyeon saw Chairman Yi addressing someone other than himself.
Struck by a sharp yet heavy remark, Bureau Director Gim Jeongtae also seemed tense; he took a sip of water and continued.
“Therefore, we would like to make you a proposal, Jonghyeon. How about becoming a Troubleshooter again?”
At Bureau Director Gim Jeongtae’s point-blank question, not only Jonghyeon but also Chairman Yi seemed flustered.
“By becoming a Troubleshooter, do you mean becoming subordinate to the state?”
At Jonghyeon’s question, Bureau Director Gim Jeongtae quietly nodded.
Suddenly, a slight anger welled up in Jonghyeon.
He had staked his life to destroy the Red Rose Guild. Fortunately, the result was good, but if his plan had gone even slightly awry, it would have been Jonghyeon who died. After striking down the Red Rose Guild like that, they were treating it as a crime and saying they’d let him off if he submitted to the state?
Thinking it such absurd words, Jonghyeon’s thoughts leaped out of his mouth.
“Listen here! My work as a Troubleshooter was ultimately a personal business! Yet what you’re saying now sounds completely like an order to submit to the state. Is that correct?”
Jonghyeon fired back with unexpected eloquence, and Gim Jeongtae also shot Jonghyeon a fierce glare as he spoke.
“The meaning is indeed to submit to the state. Then, Jonghyeon, do you intend to take on all the anger of those allied guilds alone? Even putting aside problems between nations, if you are targeted by those guilds, what can you possibly do going forward?”
Become a Troubleshooter who handles state affairs by submitting to the state. That was the condition. Bureau Director Gim Jeongtae’s opinion was that if he did not do so, he would suffer considerable hardship from neighboring countries or guilds.
The hot food in the dining room was growing cold; conversely, the conversation was burning hot.
Then the handler spoke.
“First, please both calm down. May I say a word?”
The handler, who had been grinning with his characteristic smile, continued speaking while receiving fierce glares from both Jonghyeon and Bureau Director Gim Jeongtae simultaneously.
“Now, now. Put away those scary eyes. I can’t stand such things. Haha. First, I know that Jonghyeon dislikes belonging to any place. But from the nation’s standpoint, if we continue this matter without any measures, we will certainly face pressure from other allied guilds.”
In truth, his words had merit. It was something Jonghyeon knew all too well from experience: that being targeted is twice as hard as targeting. Hadn’t he himself formulated operations based on that very point several times? Even the recent collapse of the Red Rose Guild was owed to that point. If those connected to the Red Rose Guild or others continued to target Jonghyeon, no matter how skilled he was, his life would undoubtedly become wretched.
The handler, having caught his breath for a moment, continued.
“That is why I’m saying this: our organization is not an exaggeration to say it is responsible for overseeing the nation’s dungeons and guild management. Therefore, we will have you act as our direct Troubleshooter, but we will place no restrictions on your actions. In exchange, we will make that fact widely known to the public. If we do that, neither the state nor the guilds within our nation will sit idly by while Jonghyeon is targeted. After all, right now Jonghyeon is a huge star on the internet.”
At the handler’s words, the remaining three fell silent and thought to themselves.
‘It’s not a bad condition. If we announce the truth to the people, this matter simultaneously becomes something that cannot be taken lightly. If they make me a target, by that much they’ll draw the attention of Korea’s other guilds and its citizens. Foreign guilds won’t be able to act recklessly either.’
Jonghyeon thought the handler’s proposal was quite reasonable. Feeling that there was indeed a reason the handler had watched over him for so long, Jonghyeon glanced at him.
He was still grinning broadly.
Then Chairman Yi opened his mouth.
“Jonghyeon. You should first express some joy at having become someone the state concerns itself with to this degree. Truthfully, I don’t particularly object to that opinion either. But ultimately, the one who decides is you, Jonghyeon. Do you have any other thoughts on this matter?”
Chairman Yi, considerate of Jonghyeon.
Jonghyeon felt grateful to Chairman Yi once again. Conversations necessarily have a dominant party, yet Chairman Yi had deliberately seized the initiative and handed it to Jonghyeon.
Jonghyeon took a sip of water and finally opened his mouth. Everyone’s gaze went to Jonghyeon, and accordingly, everyone was focused on him.
---------= Author's Afterword ---------=
I wrote and uploaded one more chapter so you wouldn’t be bored over the weekend. Haha..