Ch.586Chapter 22. The Price of Labor (18)

Yeosoo, a certain unmanned motel.

“Damn it, it’s the Goblin again!!”

Choi Jung-nam, the president of Haeguneul Motors, threw the remote control at the TV.

Clang!

One shouldn’t mistreat motel property, but there are people who use motel items as if they own them.

To prepare for such people, the wall-mounted TV was sturdy enough not to break when something was thrown at it, but scratches were unavoidable.

“Huff, huff, huff.”

If he had to pay compensation, it would probably cost several million won.

But for this man, Choi Jung-nam, that wasn’t important.

“Damn it, damn it…! I told him to attract attention, but he couldn’t even destroy a few cars…!”

Choi Jung-nam gritted his teeth as he watched a young man being arrested by heroes.

-Today at 3 PM, the villain ‘Sea Crusher’ who attacked Haman Rest Area damaged 18 vehicles due to his strong resentment toward Haeguneul….

“Damn it, he should have destroyed 100 cars. That’s how people would learn not to mess with Haeguneul cars!”

Choi Jung-nam pulled at his hair.

“Ugh. At this rate, there will really be lunatics who terrorize cars….”

-This is footage from before the Goblin disappeared, before he became Zenros. According to Sea Crusher, his destruction of Haeguneul cars was all done under Haeguneul’s direction….

“What an idiot!”

Logically, it makes no sense.

But the one who instigated this illogical action was Choi Jung-nam, the president of Haeguneul Motors.

“He should have said it was because of the National Roe Deer Association, not Haeguneul!”

Choi Jung-nam took out an old feature phone.

Using this antique phone that belonged in a museum, he skillfully operated it with one thumb to open the message inbox.

“I couldn’t stand people criticizing Haeguneul while driving Haeguneul cars! Disgusted by people’s hypocrisy, I attacked Haeguneul cars! If you’re going to boycott Haeguneul, scrap the cars you’re driving first!! I did this to make a point!! I gave you the whole script!!”

Bang!

How much anger was building up?

Now throwing even his feature phone at the wall, he gritted his teeth.

“I, for once, even, created, all the lines!!”

Sacrificing the small for the greater good.

Using one radical extremist to make people’s anger subside.

The principle was simple.

Sending people the message of “Ah, this is too much.”

Even those boycotting Haeguneul would think, “Isn’t this kind of boycott going too far?” By damaging dozens of cars people drive, he would pour cold water on the boycott movement.

-I mean, does this make any sense? Haeguneul destroying Haeguneul cars. Why?

-It’s illogical, but understandable. People who urgently need cars will have to rent Haeguneul cars even if Haeguneul cars get damaged, and if they don’t have villain insurance, property damage claims won’t be covered.

-Isn’t that insurance only 130,000 won per month?

“Then they should have gotten it earlier!!”

But the plan he had always relied on had come to nothing.

-Could Sea Crusher Jo Yo-han’s statement before becoming Zenros be true?

-It’s hard to believe words spoken as he was about to lose everything to Zenros, but if this is true, there could be even greater backlash against Haeguneul….

“Argghhh!!”

Choi Jung-nam clenched his fist and began pounding the bed furiously.

The drama scenes where wealthy family members destroy everything around them when angry might have been modeled after the Choi family of the Haeguneul Group.

“That damn Goblin…! Since that bastard came to Korea, nothing has gone right!”

Choi Jung-nam trembled as he watched the footage on TV.

-I understand. Then what do you think about this ‘White Goblin’? Looking at how he uses his ability, it seems like he’s using Snow White’s power….

-There are several hypotheses. The resurrected Goblin stole Snow White’s ability. Or, he learned ice-based powers. Or he’s a clone or artificial human created by inserting Snow White’s ability into the Goblin base.

-This sounds increasingly like a movie plot, but it’s scary that it could actually be possible. A fake, not even the real one, Zenrosing A-class villains like the Goblin did….

The hired villain—Haeguneul’s A-class ability user—was “executed” by the Goblin.

His cradle was shattered, his head turned white, and he lost all his magical power, becoming just a young man in monk’s robes.

-He even disappeared like the Goblin, didn’t he?

-Yes. Unlike his usual disappearances, he vanished as if ice was shattering.

-Yes, let’s watch the footage again.

The footage plays.

As heroes arrive at the scene and control traffic, surrounding the Goblin in a circle, the Goblin spreads his arms and just nods his head.

-Adios, amigo!

“What nonsense, that lunatic.”

Choi Jung-nam grabbed the back of his neck as he watched the Goblin melt away like a snowman in sunshine and disappear with those words.

“He’s not even Spanish, what’s with the ‘adios,’ that weirdo. …No, did they capture an ice-based ability user from Spain and indoctrinate him to be the Goblin?”

Choi Jung-nam’s mind began racing furiously.

“Assuming the original Goblin died in the explosion in Osaka, did they then capture people similar to the Goblin and dress them up like him? After all, they just need to match the height for appearance, and use a mask for the face…. Ugh.”

Crunch.

“Ah.”

Unconsciously pulling at his hair, Choi Jung-nam’s mouth fell open as he saw the black strands filling his hand.

“Ah, aah….”

No matter how much this is the age of abilities, no matter how many superpowers have emerged in the world, there’s one problem that cannot be overcome.

There are rumors that some organization in America has developed a drug that revitalizes hair follicles with mana power, but that’s just nonsense to boost their pharmaceutical company’s stock price.

Even Haeguneul hasn’t overcome this problem, and no place in Korea has solved it despite employing all kinds of abilities.

So.

The strands that had just been pulled out scattered on the motel floor, becoming trash.

“Aaaagh!!”

Bang bang bang!

Someone was knocking loudly on the door from outside.

His anger surged at experiencing something unimaginable in the hotel suite room where he usually stayed.

“Damn it, damn it…!”

Just as Choi Jung-nam was about to pick up the motel phone, he froze at the footage playing on TV.

“Huh?”

-This is driving me crazy. I still have 3 years of installments left, and when I filed a claim with Haeguneul insurance, they said it’s not property damage. The representative said, according to their manual, ‘Why didn’t you sign up for villain insurance earlier?’ I mean, really.

Behind the interview with a victim of Sea Crusher, a familiar white mid-size sedan was leaving the rest area.

“That, that…?”

It was unmistakable.

The one-of-a-kind car that Haeguneul had put its heart and soul into creating.

The car he had personally participated in developing appeared in the footage.

“Why is Baek Seol-hee at the rest area…? W-wait. Could it be. The ice Goblin…? Did Baek Seol-hee use a doppelgänger ability to act like the Goblin…?”

Click.

Suddenly, the sound of the doorknob.

Choi Jung-nam froze momentarily, then hurriedly picked up the feature phone from the floor.

“Uh, ugh-“

Creeeeak.

As the door opened, a cold chill entered the motel room.

[The motel owner asked me to deliver a message.]

“Y-you….”

[He’s going to sue you for property damage.]

“Hello, President Choi Jung-nam?”

“!!”

At the door.

A familiar black-haired young man and the well-known white-haired woman entered the room arm in arm and closed the door.

“We’re about to check into the next room, but we need to be able to enjoy ourselves without noise.”

“Y-you…! Th-that’s it! Baek Seol-hee, you traitor! You betrayed the country by siding with Do Ji-hwan, no, the Goblin!!”

“The betrayal wasn’t done by me.”

[It was done by me.]

The moment the black-haired young man’s eyes flashed gold.

[How dare you casually call a Korean a traitor?]

Thwack!

The last thing Choi Jung-nam saw was the remote control rolling on the floor.

* * *

Clunk.

We lock up Choi Jung-nam, the president of Haeguneul Motors, in the basement of the motel—The Syndicate’s Yeosoo Branch #2.

“He’s out cold.”

All Choi Jung-nam has is a broken old feature phone.

No Taegeuk Watch.

Just bundles of cash and his body.

“Good job. But why did this guy check into a Syndicate front motel of all places?”

Baek Seol-hee, who followed me in, pointed upward.

“This place has really bad ratings.”

“Haeguneul used their leeches to launch a review bombing campaign.”

“Really?”

“You’ll see if you try staying here.”

“Ah.”

Baek Seol-hee poked my side with expectant eyes.

“What? You were totally planning on it.”

“It’s not exactly a jackpot, but we did get results.”

I picked up Choi Jung-nam’s feature phone.

“We found evidence that Haeguneul hired Sea Crusher to disrupt the boycott movement. This will soon be organized and spread across the internet.”

“That’s going to cause an uproar. But won’t this make the employees at Haeguneul suffer again?”

“Probably.”

Just like the rest area cafe employee who worried about not being able to pay rent, everyone working at Haeguneul will be facing a bleak future.

“If employees who did nothing wrong suffer because the owner family made mistakes, who obviously needs to change?”

“…The head?”

“Correct. And that’s what The Syndicate does best.”

Replacing CEOs.

Hiring professional managers.

And.

“Starting with Haeguneul Motors, we’re going to change the names of all makers with the Haeguneul brand.”

“…The Syndicate will benefit, right?”

“No.”

The Syndicate will only occupy one seat among the shareholders.

Just enough of a position to keep the majority shareholder in check, monitoring and observing but not controlling.

“I’m planning to hand over management to someone who has worked the hardest at Haeguneul Motors and can lead this company best.”

“…Huh?”

“Labor deserves compensation. If Do Ji-hwan suddenly became the president of Haeguneul Motors and changed the company name to something like ‘Dozla,’ would the employees trust and follow?”

“Hmm… I think that might be fine too.”

“I’m not interested. Not in that direction.”

Companies whose stock prices ride a roller coaster due to owner risk are on the decline.

“Okay. Then who are you going to entrust the car company to?”

“The expert who knows best is right here.”

I picked up the Goblin’s club (ice).

“Mr. Choi Jung-nam.”

Pointing the Goblin’s club at the unconscious Choi Jung-nam on the floor.

“As soon as you wake up, you’ll need to make a list of people you thought were the easiest to exploit, people you could use and discard like rags, people you were planning to make ‘commit suicide’ if they became troublesome. And.”

I covered Choi Jung-nam with a blanket.

“Your stocks will be gifted to them. Every single share, without exception. Oh, and before we crack the stocks….”

Thwack!

“Let’s crack the egg first.”