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Chapter 279
Ryu Hyerin was a little flustered to hear that Choi Lee-kyung was gay, but she soon shook her head and said, “Honestly, what are you saying right now?”
“What?”
“Do you really think they’re just sleeping together?”
“I’m just putting forth this hypothesis because Choi Lee-kyung has no ability or talent for the other option.” It wasn’t that Bae Jaemin didn’t suspect the Necromancer, but the power gap was just too convincing.
Rather than coming up with a new hypothesis and substituting Choi Lee-kyung as the missing link, it was more reasonable to dismiss the low-level User as someone personally connected to Koo Hui-seo. The suspect was probably someone else Koo Hui-seo met with stealthily.
However, Ryu Hyerin didn’t back down. “Then you should check who else Choi Lee-kyung is meeting.”
Bae Jaemin, who sighed as if he were resigned to continue this conversation, said bluntly, “I’ve already investigated everything.”
“So? What are your conclusions?”
“Besides Koo Hui-seo…He also knows Moon Issak. But…”
“What?!” Ryu Hyerin stared at Bae Jaemin as if she were looking at a madman.
Before she could talk more, he dissuaded her, “Please calm down. It seems like he was under Moon Issak for a short while before he transferred to Koo Hui-seo.”
“What…? You crazy–Is Moon Issak gay too?” Ryu Hyerin looked at Bae Jaemin as if he was out of his mind.
His neck flushed, “No! That’s not what I’m saying… Moon Issak sometimes extorts evil-attribute users and have them make sales for him.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But that’s… Frankly, that man can’t make these sorts of sales under his name. He’s a public official–on the surface–after all.”
Ryu Hyerin tilted her head as she thought about Moon Issak who persistently wore DAA’s new product line every time the equipment was released. “Is he that lacking for money even though he’s ripped you off for millions by now?”
Moon Issak never hesitated to receive money. The guild masters who had to deal with him every year ground their teeth and wondered who was truly the ‘evil’ one.
Bae Jaemin smiled bitterly. “Well… I can’t really use the items that evil-attribute Users use anyway, so there’s little loss on our side. But, think about it. Who would buy items sold by Moon Issak? Even if it were something the man couldn’t use, no one would buy it. They’d think it was bait.”
Ryu Hyerin nodded, convinced by that explanation. “So, Choi Lee-kyung sold the objects instead? Then, how did he and Moon Issak form that sort of partnership?”
“I don’t think Moon Issak and Choi Lee-Kyung met directly. Kim Sangyoon connects those two.”
“Kim Sangyoon?” As she groped through her memories, searching for the familiar name, Ryu Hyerin remembered a man with vividly red hair. Isn’t he that large warrior who once wanted to join [HaHae] guild? “Ah, Kim Sangyoon… Then, what’s the relationship between Kim Sangyoon and Choi Lee-kyung?”
Bae Jaemin replied with a smirk. “This is truly mind-boggling. Choi Lee-kyung became his acquaintance by asking the Warrior to carry him through the [Tower of Command] in order to obtain one ingredient.”
“……”
“Now do you understand why Choi Lee-kyung isn’t the culprit? That’s the level he’s at.”
“……” Ryu Hyerin felt uncomfortable with something, but she had nothing more to say since she had seen Users be carried in other parties as well. All those who were carried had poor skills and were quite sloppy; they had to show a servile attitude and bow to their clients.
While she was relieved to hear that Choi Lee-kyung was only at that level, she was still uncomfortable with something…though she didn’t yet know how to express herself. However, Ryu Hyerin decided to follow Bae Jaemin’s judgment for now. Then, a plan fluttered through her brain; she asked him, “Then, why didn’t you kidnap or coax Choi Lee-kyung to use him against Koo Hui-seo?”
“…Ah, that’s right. I was going to do that, but I forgot about it for a while due to Moon Issak’s tantrums.”
“Are you an idiot?” Though she fired back her retort immediately, she agreed inwardly that the Priest had no time to worry about Choi Lee-kyung while Moon Issak was digging into the origins of [Beatrice].
Moon Issak had the genius ability to, when he had hooked onto someone or something, dig deep into his target without being dissuaded and turning the entire situation into a mess. He became the youngest secretary of the User’s Association because he persistently dug into a murder case that was committed by a User sponsored by the association.
Furthermore, not much was known about Moon Issak’s abilities. Most of the people who confronted him died.
A mysterious force and the ability to act without hesitation… In addition, he had no weaknesses to restrain him as he had no family, relatives, lover, or guild.
That’s why even the best guild executives couldn’t afford to touch Moon Issak. When one runs an organization, they are bound to commit shady acts–whether big or small. If they were to mess with Moon Issak and he were to discover such morally ambiguous activies…the damage would be out of control.
A long time ago, large-scale guilds tried to dig into the association’s loophsoles and make profit as the [Red Lotus] guild did, but the situation had changed significantly from that era. That’s because the snake-like chairman [Note: I can’t fix this footnote, so have the awkward image of the specific snake Ryu Hyerin is referencing (the red-banded snake) here. ] of the Korean User’s Association used Moon Issak like a sword.
The chairman was incredibly wary of the possibility of large guilds joining forces to enact their desires. Perhaps because of his military background, he was a conservative who believed that Users should follow the government’s instructions. Therefore, Moon Issak was protected politically by the Association’s chairman.
Because of that background, Bae Jaemin of course sent millions of ‘donations’ to Moon Issak as a formality. On the surface, the donations were provided to the pseudo-religion that Moon Issak believed in; honestly, Ryu Hyerin felt like that was such a waste of money. She’d rather throw the money in the trash rather than use it for some futile, useless bribe.
Moreover, Ryu Hyerin didn’t like how he looked at her every time she encountered him. His tenacious gaze–his eyes focused on her–until she turned away…Though the feeling was quite different from Koo Kyungman, she still felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t like he was sexually harassing her. But, as someone who had a lot to hide, being observed was a source of great stress for her.
‘That man honestly has a horrible aura… Plus, there’s a rumor going around that he’s [immortal].’
There were many rumors she had heard in passing. Ryu Hyerin frowned while reflecting on those thoughts.
‘A man that doesn’t die… As expected, I feel bad about this.’ Among the abilities that defy worldly logic, [immortality] was truly the worst. How could something like that be attached to something of the ‘holy’ attribute? Rather, that seemed more like a trait for the undead.
‘The undead…’
Ryu Hyerin smiled quietly to herself; she was pleased with her wit.
Holy attribute Users would feel as if an unpleasant smell was wafting around after seeing the undead–something clearly aligned with ‘evil.’ They would want to remove its presence immediately.
Therefore, that word suited Moon Issak very well; she felt utterly bad whenever he appeared. Though, if that man knew that she thought of him as an undead, that man would run wild. The resulting mental image naturally made the smile on her face wider.
No matter how formally Moon Issak speaks, how gentle he pretends to be, or how he may wear glasses…the man’s temperate image was merely an illusion that his high-handed eyes would break. Shouldn’t he be more careful about looking at others with those eyes? Ryu Hyerin intended to fully cooperate if there was an opportunity to deal with him someday. There was no way she was the only one who felt this way.
‘I want to bury his eyeballs.’
Then, as she thought that, Choi Lee-kyung was brought to the forefront of her mind again.
‘Undead and Necromancer? Well… I suppose they suit each other.’
Birds of a feather flock together, after all.
Ryu Hyerin recalled the latest thing she had heard before she arrived here and said, “About Choi Lee-kyung. If he’s that close to Koo Hui-seo, then that person must know something about him, right?”
“Probably.”
“Then, how about dragging Koo Hui-seo to the negotiating table using Choi Lee-kyung?”
“It’s a little too much to mess with him recklessly. We have no idea what Koo Hui-seo has prepared.”
“I’m just asking you to invite Choi Lee-kyung somewhere and observe the situation. And, I have some pretty high-class information.”
“What is it?”
“Koo Hui-seo was hospitalized yesterday–he’s unconscious.”
“What?” Bae Jaemin’s eyes opened wide.
Satisfied with his response, Ryu Hyerin smiled, “Right? It’s solid information too. The rear boat 1 protecting Choi Lee-kyung has been temporarily rendered incapable.”
“……”
“It’s nothing life-threatening, but still, he probably wouldn’t be able to leave the hospital for a few days?”
At her continued explanation, Bae Jaemin’s expression became contemplative. Ryu Hyerin leaned on Bae Jaemin’s shoulder. Then, instead of grabbing his hand, she picked up the phone and brought the receiver up to his face. “If not now, there might not be any more opportunities to call out Choi Lee-kyung.”