novel
| ← Ch.046 | Ch.048 → |
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
Walking down an empty street, Ho Sung stopped in his tracks and looked down at the plane ticket in his hand in a daze. Then, when he looked up, a bridge not too far from him came into view. Walking toward it as if under a spell, he stopped at the center of the bridge and weighed out his options.
'If I leave the country, what do I do about Min Sung Kang? If he finds out that I've gone off the grid, wouldn't he find me and kill me? Yes, he would. He definitely would. That heartless, cold-blooded bastard, ' Ho Sung thought, smoking his cigarette while looking down at the Han River. The height was slightly intimidating. After looking down at the dark, gaping water, he looked back at the ticket in his hand.
"Hah! Hong Kong? I thought it would've been somewhere like New York."
Then, he looked up at the moonlit sky as confusion took over him. 'I don't even know what's right or wrong anymore. '
At that moment, the loud screech of a car came out of nowhere, and Ho Sung, startled, turned toward where the sound had come from. A black imported sedan had come to a stop after leaving a pair of long tire trails on the road. Out of which, came four men dressed in high-end black suits. With his eyes wide, Ho Sung looked at them nervously. They had no names or titles. On top of that, one of them was carrying a long sword, which surged with dense aura. It wasn't long before their intimidating appearance seized Ho Sung with terror.
'Actually, maybe leaving Korea isn't such a bad idea, ' Ho Sung thought, backing away from the four men approaching him, only to be backed against the safety rail of the bridge. Breaking out into cold sweats, Ho Sung said in a stammer, "Who-who the hell are you?"
Each of the four men had a different response to Ho Sung's question. The man with the sword, Soo Hyun Kim, the miscellaneous type representing the Northern Branch, smiled casually while the Eastern Branch representative hung from the safety rail like a child playing on the playground. Unlike the Western Branch representative, who seemed disgruntled, the Southern Branch representative, the man sporting long, flowing hair, was staring at the road nonchalantly, smoking his cigarette.
"Did you have to bring us along for this small fry?" the Western Branch representative said grumpily. To which, Soo Hyun smiled and replied, "What? We're being productive here! We can even have a meeting while we're at it. Now, that's catching two birds with one stone."
"Why must you always complicate things..." the western representative grumbled, but Soo Hyun shrugged nonchalantly.
"Soo Hyun's the one who came up with the plan to take over the Central Institute. We shouldn't be complaining when we're just tagging along for the ride, " the eastern representative said, hanging from the safety rail while looking down at the water. At that moment, the western representative, with a subtle smile, narrowed his eyes and said, "You are absolutely right. Though, I can't help but question your choice of words."
Noticing the tension between the two representatives, Soo Hyun raised his hand and said, "Gentlemen! We have a big day ahead! Let's not waste our energy quarreling over personal grievances. I'd hate to see our group turn against each other. This is one of the reasons why I brought us out here in the first place: friendship."
Meanwhile, the southern representative paid no attention to the ones quarreling and smoked his cigarette with his eyes fixed on the road. As the eastern and western representatives wrapped up their bickering, the southern representative scoffed, looked toward Ho Sung, and said, "I see a plane ticket in his hand. Just as Soo Hyun said."
Watching the man with the sword approaching him, Ho Sung, soaked in sweat, swallowed nervously. Then, standing in front of Ho Sung, Soo Hyun snatched the ticket out of Ho Sung's hand. After checking all the information on it, Soo Hyun waved the ticket in front of Ho Sung and said, "Flying to Hong Kong, I see? A gift from the Central Institute, perhaps?"
Seized by fear, Ho Sung shook, unable to say a word. Unlike dogs, who tended to bite when cornered, Ho Sung couldn't do a thing. He was simply too afraid to take on a miscellaneous type. Staring intently at Ho Sung, Soo Hyun took his phone out, put it on speaker, and made a phone call. After a series of signal sounds, the call got through.
"Ah! Ji Yoo! Soo Hyun here. We're having a talk with Mr. Lee here, and it seems like somebody was kind enough to send him on a vacation... Does this have anything to do with you wanting more time?"
"Did you follow him?" Ji Yoo asked, and Soo Hyun, smiling, replied, "I had a hunch that you'd do something like this."
"You promised to give me more time!"
"I don't think you get the picture here. It's you who broke the promise."
Hearing that, Ji Yoo gritted her teeth and said, "I know exactly what you're up to. Leave Mr. Lee alone and fall back with your men now. If you don't..."
"Ohh! Is that a threat? If it's war you want, then we would be glad to give it to you. In fact, we have no reason to turn down a fight, " Soo Hyun said with a smile. When Ji Yoo remained silent, he let out a small sigh and said, "Things will not work in your favor, no matter what you try. We've already bought out the media and the Shadow Guild. Yet, I get the impression that you have no intention of giving up."
"..."
"Look, Ji Yoo. Organizations will always follow the trends. That's just how it is. So, don't waste your time, energy and resources trying to make something happen. That's just being greedy."
"We'll discuss more in person."
"Everything's in place. We're ready to make this happen. Though, there is one thing that I just couldn't figure out, " Soo Hyun said, tilting his head and leaning against the safety rail on his arm next to Ho Sung, and added, "I don't understand why you're so protective over this Ho Sung Lee."
"I just don't want to start a war. The only reason you're trying to bring down the Institute is for war. What makes you think that you have the right to do something like that!?"
"You see, that's what I thought at first: you losing control over the regional branches if we killed Ho Sung Lee. At which point, we would have to go on an all-out war. Or, the way you put it, a civil war."
"It seems like I've overestimated you. You're not as smart as I thought."
"Oh, please. Don't pretend to be stronger than you actually are. Besides, do you even have enough pride left to spare after everything you've done for this country? Anyway, I digress. So, going back to this burning question of mine, I just can't understand why you were so protective over this person. You made it seem like your life depended on him! Unless..." Soo Hyun said. Then, struck by a certain realization, his eyes gleamed dangerously."... there's something you're not telling me."
At that moment, another phone went off, and Soo Hyun looked toward Ho Sung, whose phone kept ringing in his pocket. Staring intently toward him, Soo Hyun said, "Anyway, Mr. Lee here will die tonight. Think of it as the price for breaking our promise. Well, then, see you soon."
Hanging up, Soo Hyun signaled to Ho Sung with his chin and said in a casual tone, "Go on. It's fine. Answer the phone. You gotta leave a will." At which point, Ho Sung took his phone out and checked the caller's name.
'My master. '
Seeing that, Ho Sung's heart skipped a beat. It was Min Sung Kang. With a shaky hand, Ho Sung answered the phone.
"Hello... ?"
"Where are you?" the champion asked.
"At the bridge over the river."
"Meet me at my house. We're going out to eat. I've been trying out different places, but I haven't had the luck to find a good restaurant."
"Sir, I-I don't think I can tonight."
"Why not?"
"I'm... about to die soon."
"What does that mean? Why are you about to die?"
"Someone's trying to kill me."
"Is this a jo..."
"No, it's not. I really am going to die this time, " Ho Sung said, sniffling, and adding, "I'm afraid you'll have to eat on your own from now on..."
"Let me talk to this person, " the champion said, interrupting Ho Sung mid-sentence.
"I'm sorry... ?"
"Let me talk to the person who wants to kill you."
Hearing that, Ho Sung, wiping his nose, looked toward Soo Hyun and said, "... He wants to talk to you."
Dumbfounded, Soo Hyun chuckled, took the phone from Ho Sung and answered the phone, "Yes?"
"I was told that you wanted to kill Ho Sung Lee."
"That is correct. Your point?"
"Let me talk to him."
Scoffing, Soo Hyun handed the phone over to Ho Sung once again. Looking at him nervously and cautiously, Ho Sung took the phone from Soo Hyun with shaky hands.
"H-hello?"
"Three minutes. Stall them."
'Beep! Beep! Beep!'
After the call ended abruptly, Ho Sung swallowed nervously and stared into his phone.
"Who was that? He sounds kinda rude, " Soo Hyun asked, pointing the enchanted sword at Ho Sung's neck. Breathing heavily, Ho Sung thought for a brief moment and came up with an answer.
"L-let's just say that a new miscellaneous type is in town."
Hearing that, the casual smile faded from Soo Hyun's face. Caught off guard by Ho Sung's response, he froze in place and asked, glaring fiercely at Ho Sung, "... What did you just say?"
"A new miscellaneous type."
At Ho Sung's answer, the four representatives responded with great interest all of a sudden.
"Did you say there is a new miscellaneous type, Mr. Lee?" Soo Hyun asked, and Ho Sung, sweating profusely, nodded affirmatively.
"If you're lying, we will skin you alive. Now, let me ask you again. About the new miscellaneous type, is this reliable information?"
Looking at the four representatives cautiously, Ho Sung nodded once again.
"And what makes you think that this person is a miscellaneous type?"
"B-because I was there when he soloed through the labyrinth."
"Why, this is incredible news! Please, do tell more. Everything you know, " Soo Hyun said, curling his lips into a smirk, his eyes sparkling with interest. Checking the time on his phone, Ho Sung looked up at him and said, "Oh... It's time."
Confused by Ho Sung's response, Soo Hyun gave him a puzzled look. At that moment, the concrete paving started to crack, and a thunderous roar could be heard from the distance. When the four representatives looked toward the source of the sound, they saw the champion, slowly rising to his feet after landing on the ground.
—
Looking around, Min Sung dusted himself off of the debris of concrete and dirt and called to Ho Sung, "Ho Sung Lee, " who was shaking helplessly. As Min Sung glared at Ho Sung with a furrowed brow, Soo Hyun walked toward the champion with a big grin on his face.
"Are you the new miscellaneous type?" Soo Hyun asked, calling the champion's number by using Ho Sung's phone. Ignoring his phone going off in his pocket, Min Sung stared intently into Soo Hyun's blue eyes.
"Move, before you get hurt."
Hearing that, Soo Hyun scoffed and said, "Seems like you don't know who you're dealing with. You see, my colleagues and I are from the Institu..."
Before Soo Hyun could finish his sentence, Min Sung punched him, launching Soo Hyun up in the air. Then, as he came back down, Min Sung kicked him, sending him flying toward the black sedan, which spun several times, damaged beyond repair. Soo Hyun squirmed on the ground, breathing laboriously.
| ← Ch. 046 | Ch. 048 → |