Chapter 34. It’s You (2)
“Do you like festivals?”
Shin-woo asked casually.
“No. I’ve never been to one.”
At Hyeon-yul’s answer, Shin-woo couldn't stop his eyes from wavering.
‘Then, what about that book?’
Shin-woo was confused.
Why on earth was he reading a book related to festivals so diligently?
‘…Ah.’
Shin-woo quickly realized.
‘He read it because he plans to go to the festival.’
He knew it was only a few days away.
His mouth itched to ask, but Shin-woo focused on the mission.
“From now on, I’m Lee Si-ha.”
At Shin-woo’s words, Hyeon-yul nodded.
An alias was indeed good for reducing risk.
“Then I’ll go by ‘Kim Han-soo’.”
Hyeon-yul just chose a name that came to mind randomly.
“Mr. Lee Si-ha……”
“Let’s act like hyung and dongsaeng. That’s more natural, isn’t it?”
Shin-woo grinned.
“What’s different from now?”
“It means you should speak casually.”
“Then I’ll do it when I can, and try to speak as little as possible.”
He would have to act, but Hyeon-yul considered the possibility of becoming awkward.
Silence was better than ruining the mission with awkward acting.
“Alright, let’s just say you’re nervous then. That much should be fine, right?”
“It’s fine. However, I don’t know many celebrities.”
“It’s okay. That’s why I decided to come along too. I’ll make the situation natural for you. So you can speak comfortably too.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Plan? Ah, ah, I was briefly a child actor when I was young. I’m confident in my acting, that’s what.”
‘Child actor?’
Hyeon-yul questioned those words.
“It wasn’t anything grand, just for a short while. At that time, with my younger sibling……”
Shin-woo stopped talking mid-sentence and closed his mouth.
His voice trembled very slightly.
Why bring this up all of a sudden?
It was unnecessary talk.
“Anyway, that’s what I meant.”
Shin-woo soon smiled as if nothing had happened.
He pointed at himself with his thumb.
“Pretty reliable, right?”
“I don’t really know.”
Hyeon-yul shook his head.
“Well then, watch this.”
Shin-woo showed confidence as he took out his phone.
“Ah, hello.”
<…Hello?>
A woman’s voice was heard.
“Last night, the business card from the street……”
<Ah! Ahh! Just a moment. Are you perhaps in front of the building?>
Her tone and atmosphere changed drastically.
She seemed quite urgent.
“…Yes. We’re in front of the building right now.”
<Stay right there! Just stay right there!>
“Al…right. I’ll wait here.”
Shin-woo feigned embarrassment and then hung up the phone.
Shin-woo looked at the S.T.D Enter building.
This place was now no different from a battlefield.
Most of the people working there might be ordinary civilians.
If things went wrong, what would the villains do?
They could blow up the building to destroy evidence, dragging everyone to their deaths.
“Now, want to tell me what the plan is?”
Shin-woo looked at Hyeon-yul.
“The plan is always simple.”
Hyeon-yul looked at Shin-woo with cool eyes.
“If you just buy enough time, I’ll take care of it myself.”
He was overwhelmingly confident.
Wow.
Shin-woo’s mouth fell slightly open.
“……That’s the plan?”
“Yes.”
“You… absolutely, absolutely do not say that in front of the Team Leader. She’ll freak out.”
Would she only freak out?
She might even beat the ground and regret it.
“What’s wrong with it?”
Hyeon-yul tilted his head.
“It’s wrong. Very wrong.”
“Really?”
As Hyeon-yul’s contemplation deepened, Shin-woo fiddled with the bridge of his nose.
How should he put this?
Ultimately, how could ‘I’ll handle it myself by throwing my body into it’ be a plan?
It was what Hae-ryeon hated the most.
“I’ll… take care of this too, so later when you see the Team Leader, just nod your head. Got it?”
“Understood.”
Hyeon-yul bowed his head slightly.
Shin-woo was his senior.
Since an order was given, it was right to follow.
“Don’t do that. No need to bow your head. If anyone bows, it’ll be me.”
Shin-woo patted Hyeon-yul’s shoulder and walked forward.
‘…What does he mean?’
Hyeon-yul followed Shin-woo without understanding.
***
“…Wow.”
The woman let out an exclamation of admiration as she looked at Shin-woo and Hyeon-yul.
“My eye wasn’t wrong.”
Seeing them in the daytime, they looked much better.
To think she’d catch not just one, but two big fish.
‘No, no. Not yet.’
The woman calmed herself.
For now, she was halfway successful.
There was a target quota that absolutely had to be met.
If she failed to meet this quota, she would die.
In such a situation, these two people who came were salvation itself to her.
“First, um, shall we have a light chat?”
The woman suppressed her surging emotions and guided them to a room.
It was a room decorated in clean white tones.
Perhaps because it was originally made to greet guests, the props felt simple yet luxurious.
“You must have had a hard time coming here. Was it difficult to find? Did you perhaps sleep well?”
The woman waited until Shin-woo and Hyeon-yul were seated before speaking.
“Actually… This is our first time, so we didn’t know what to do. This friend seems to have pulled an all-nighter and is completely out of it right now.”
As Shin-woo spoke nonchalantly, the woman looked at Hyeon-yul.
His stiff expression looked exactly like the aftermath of pulling an all-nighter.
“Right? Usually, people suspect it’s a scam and refuse. We also worry every day about how best to approach people. But as soon as we saw you two, we just couldn’t let you go.”
Perfect itself.
Living sculptures.
As she seemed to be saying this with her eyes, Shin-woo laughed awkwardly.
Honestly, it was disgusting.
Acting so casually in business after ruining the homes of ordinary people.
“Ah, what is the relationship between you two?”
The woman asked.
“We’re like brothers.”
Shin-woo said, and Hyeon-yul nodded.
“You must usually hear people telling you to become singers or actors, right? Just seeing you two walk like this makes the surroundings seem to open up.”
The woman spread her hands out to both sides.
‘If I had really come here knowing nothing, I would’ve been charmed.’
Shin-woo swallowed the words rising within him and made an awkward expression, fiddling with his hair.
“That kind of talk… um, I’ve never heard it before.”
“Really? That’s quite surprising. Even though there were so many people at the movie theater, my eyes were drawn to you several times. Like fate, you know.”
The woman replied and naturally looked at Hyeon-yul.
He hadn't spoken for a while.
She wanted to hear his voice at least.
Shin-woo read the woman’s gaze and spoke up with a laugh.
“This friend is very shy. But I dragged him here forcibly.”
“…It’s a bit unfamiliar.”
As Hyeon-yul opened his mouth, the woman immediately slapped her own thigh.
His voice was so excellent it made her ears perk up.
“That can happen. Oh dear, look at me. What would you like to drink? Coffee? Tea? Or we also have lemon or citron tea.”
“I’ll have tea, please.”
Shin-woo fiddled with the corner of his mouth as if thirsty.
Shin-woo’s gaze naturally turned towards Hyeon-yul.
“Should I say this for you too?”
Shin-woo chuckled, as if whispering.
“…Citron tea, please.”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
As the woman stood up, Hyeon-yul let out a long sigh.
It was a short time, but it felt like something had swept over him.
He already felt drained of energy.
He didn't mesh well with things like this.
He thought it would be nice to just slash them with a dagger.
“What do you think?”
Shin-woo asked after the woman left the room.
He had snooped around on the way, but there was nothing special here.
“I haven’t found anything special either. But the target will be here.”
“Because this place is new?”
At Shin-woo’s question, Hyeon-yul nodded.
That was the reason he thought the target had to be here.
“Yes. He’s definitely showing different moves than before.”
What villains liked was hiding their identities and digging into the deepest parts of the Empire.
This was the first time he saw one revealing himself so boldly outside.
“To invest this much despite the risk of being exposed as a villain proves how much the target has bet on this business.”
“That sounds like most of the employees here are villains… is that right?”
When Shin-woo asked, Hyeon-yul nodded again.
“Yes. To keep mouths shut, most of the employees must be villains.”
Subordinates and villains were beings that could be worked like dogs in the early stages of business, were the easiest to handle, and simultaneously could be replaced at any time.
‘Since they are easy to use, strong control will be necessary, so the target has no choice but to be here.’
Hyeon-yul’s thoughts returned to the beginning again.
However, the problem was that one couldn't judge by appearance, just as the person who picked up a wallet dropped by chance could be a high-ranking villain.
Hyeon-yul leaned back against the sofa and covered his eyes with both hands to assess the situation.
“…You weren’t really so nervous you couldn’t sleep, were you?”
Shin-woo asked hesitantly.
“I’ll just stay like this for a moment.”
Hyeon-yul let his eyes, trapped within his hands, delve into the darkness.
Noticing he was doing something, Shin-woo identified the locations of the CCTVs one by one.
“After you lower your head, ignore what I do, and do your thing.”
Shin-woo punched Hyeon-yul’s shoulder with his fist, then started talking about various things with a smile.
Because this was natural.
Hyeon-yul lowered his head and quickly scanned the interior of the building.
Since he didn't know when the woman would return, he had to find something special within a short time.
Numerous places passed by.
People were working, someone was secretly smoking a cigarette.
Someone else was guarding the front of the company park.
Their behavior strangely resembled gangsters.
‘Suspicious?’
Looking inside, several people were surrounding one person.
Looking at that one person’s employee ID, they were a newbie.
Outwardly, it looked like they were picking on the newbie, but the newbie confidently offered a cigarette among people with ranks.
Seeing the action of shaking the cigarette while smiling leisurely, as if asking for a light, Hyeon-yul was convinced.
‘There he is.’
Unless the newbie was parachuted in, could they ask a senior for a cigarette light?
No, even if they were parachuted in, it remained questionable if that was possible.
‘Absolutely impossible.’
Above all, that face looked very familiar.
After finding the target, Hyeon-yul lowered his hands.
Knock, knock.
Along with the knock, the woman entered, followed by a man.
Judging by the spreading scent, it seemed he brought tea.
Hyeon-yul looked at the tea placed on the table.
“…I feel rather nervous.”
Opening his mouth hesitantly, Hyeon-yul looked at her.
“You can feel nervous. You’ll feel much better once something warm goes down.”
“I suppose so.”
Hyeon-yul took the cup containing the citron tea in his hand.
Steam rose from it.
At the smell of medicine mixed in the scent, Hyeon-yul smiled inwardly.
Just as expected.
What kind of medicine it was didn't matter.
Hyeon-yul pretended to drink the citron tea but intentionally spilled it on his clothes.
The citron tea stained his clothes yellow.
“Are you okay?”
Shin-woo was startled.
Steam was clearly boiling from it.
Ah.
At Shin-woo's surprised expression, Hyeon-yul belatedly reacted as if it were hot.
It was extremely awkward, but the surrounding reactions weren't bad.
“W-Wet wipes!”
The woman jumped up from her seat in surprise.
This was a precious body that would become her agency's artist.
‘What do I do!’
To damage the product.
‘I’ll kill you…!’
Thinking of strangling the tea attendant, she hurriedly offered wet wipes.
“Do you know where the restroom is?”
When Hyeon-yul asked, the woman spoke to the man who came with her.
“Quickly guide him to the restroom and hand him some clothes!”
“Yes. Follow me.”
Hyeon-yul was guided by the man and hurriedly entered the restroom.
“I’ll bring clothes and medicine right away.”
“Thank you.”
Hyeon-yul watched the restroom door close and the corners of his mouth lifted.
A dagger was held in his hand.
The place happened to be perfect.
He briefly manipulated his Smartwatch to remove his disguise.
***
Hyeon-yul first destroyed the CCTV installed in the company park.
Along with his appearance, a black trajectory swept past the necks of the targets.
Like falling rain, necks and blood soaked the ground.
Hyeon-yul looked at the guy who was about to put a cigarette to his mouth.
The flame went out due to the blood splattering from all directions.
With a blood-soaked face, the guy looked at him with a blank gaze.
He had met that guy before, and at that time, he had clearly said this.
“Doggy.”
Along with Hyeon-yul’s voice, the guy stiffened.
The cigarette in his hand fell.
No matter how he heard it, it was the word the mad dog had used towards him.
That skill.
That mockery.
And that face.
The black-dyed hair and the gray eyes, merciless as knives, felt like they would pierce his heart.
“……Hy, Hyung-nim.”
The guy knelt down just like that.
He couldn't win against that.
He knew because he had experienced it physically.
How severe was the blow when one of his businesses was annihilated because of that guy?
He had begged to be spared, and after making a promise at the end of his wretched begging, he was able to survive.
Hadn't he even vowed never to associate with that guy?
“……Here.”
The guy swallowed the dry saliva that automatically rose.
“Wh-What brings you here?”
Why did he come?
He had kept the promise well.
“Back then, didn’t I clearly warn you?”
“I-I didn’t follow Hyung-nim’s back. I never passed on information! Even if there was any, I deleted it all! Really!”
The guy still vividly remembered that voice from back then.
―If you want to live that badly, just do one thing for me. Please block any guys trying to dig up information related to me on your own. This blocking includes deleting any information others have dug up about me. If you agree, I will let you live.
“The Poison King did something interesting.”
Hyeon-yul smiled.
Numerous scars moved along with his face.
“He came to my house.”
“……Yes?”
“Night Rat. No, Kim Yu-jong.”
Hyeon-yul called out the real name of the information broker, Night Rat.
He didn't know when, but Shin Dae-ho had told him to take care of him, so he found the guy and annihilated his business once.
He thought about killing him or letting him live, but kept him alive because he was useful.
In a way, it was also thanks to this guy that only that much information leaked despite his own rampages.
But eventually, it leaked out.
“You failed to do properly what you were supposed to do.”
“……Pl-Please forgive me!”
Yu-jong crawled on his knees and begged Hyeon-yul.
He had blocked everything, how could it have leaked?
He had to beg.
Begging unconditionally was the right thing to do.
“I’ve been very interested in the Black Eagle lately.”
“……”
All of Yu-jong’s actions stopped.
It felt like all his blood was draining away.
What that guy hated most was someone touching his livelihood.
Looking like he was about to cry any moment, he raised his head and met Hyeon-yul’s upturned lips.
“Isn’t it interesting?”
Hyeon-yul quietly asked, grabbing Yu-jong’s hair.
“Did you not know? Or did you do it knowing?”
“……I didn’t know. Really! Planting a mole in the Black Eagle was because I n-needed money! Because I wanted to grow this place!”
‘…Villain B who planted the mole was him?’
He also learned the fact that the one who led the mole assassination incident did it as a preemptive silencing measure, fearing his own information would leak.
He learned something he didn't know, but Hyeon-yul didn't show it.
“Did you mess with them knowing what I could do to this business you created?”
“I really, really didn’t know you were interested in the Black Eagle! I won’t do it again!”
“Isn’t it that you can’t do it? Because you got caught.”
“……”
Yu-jong shut his mouth.
How could that mad dog know that fact?
“Did you leak internal information outside?”
“No! I didn’t! I haven’t sold it yet!”
“But it was already leaked. What do you think?”
At the unknown information, Yu-jong’s eyes widened.
Anger briefly flickered in his eyes.
“I’ll find out everything! I promise you.”
Yu-jong said, almost begging.
Right now, if that guy even moved a finger, he would surely die.
No, it wouldn't just be him dying.
“Ah, please wait a moment.”
Hyeon-yul noticed that the employee was returning to bring the clothes.
“I trust you know you need to stay quiet.”
Hyeon-yul warned and disappeared.
Only after he disappeared did Yu-jong finally catch his breath.
‘……Crazy, crazy!’
To think that guy was interested in the Black Eagle.
Yu-jong’s eyes trembled.
What whim was this?
What scheme was this?
‘…I can’t die. I can’t die! I can’t die!’
Whatever it was, the result didn't change.
Yu-jong shed tears and pulled at his hair as if trying to rip it out.
Why was Shin Dae-ho able to expand his influence so much?
It was all because of that son of a bitch.
Without even being loyal, he followed Shin Dae-ho’s orders, went to the businesses run by nearby villains, and killed them.
He was a madman whose thoughts were impossible to grasp.
‘……He’s going to destroy everything I have! He’s going to kill me!’
Yu-jong bit his lip.
He gasped for breath due to the overwhelming fear.
What he knew was that he was from an experimental subject background.
The only successful experimental subject.
Just looking at that guy made it clear why other villains risked their lives on experimental subjects.
He was simply a living weapon.
“You stayed quiet?”
At Hyeon-yul’s voice sounding again, Yu-jong trembled violently.
Only that guy himself didn't know how famous he was in this underworld.
“……I will g-give you information.”
“You are the one who broke the promise. I can’t work with someone who touches my livelihood.”
“I really won’t touch it again. I will take responsibility and destroy information related to the Black Eagle.”
“Is that all?”
“Ah, villains! Don’t you need information on villains? I specialize in that area. I’ll g-give you everything!”
Yu-jong looked at Hyeon-yul, ready to offer even his soul.
“How can I trust you?”
But Hyeon-yul laughed as if asking what nonsense he was spouting.