Chapter 138

Chapter 138. Grudges, and More Grudges (1)

Choi Seongwu habitually rubbed his shoulder.

It was the shoulder that had been broken by the guy who suddenly appeared one day, thrusting a knife at him and shoving stolen goods onto him.

After that sudden, car accident-like first encounter, Choi Seongwu was on edge, cautiously watching his surroundings in fear for some time.

The guy had suddenly appeared when storming into his office and vanished into thin air after dumping the stolen goods.

He could strike again in the same abrupt manner at any moment.

Living on high alert for everything continued for a month.

During that time, while his shoulder blade was healing, Choi Seongwu found himself startled and terrified by the slightest noise or sign of movement.

The combination of trauma and paranoia marked the beginning of misfortune.

His waistline shrank by 3 inches due to the unwanted mental stress.

After enduring such hardship, he became indignant at some point.

The one who barged in and disrupted his life was someone else.

Why should he be the one to suffer through mental anguish?

‘I can’t be the only one who suffers like this.’

Fueled by that single thought, Choi Seongwu burned with a desire for revenge.

Instead of relocating his office to escape the guy, he installed a thermal imaging camera.

He set up CCTV from multiple angles and equipped the office with locks to trap any intruder.

Purchasing a stun gun and pepper spray was a bonus.

He positioned armed henchmen around the office to prepare for a potential attack.

Day by day, he perfected the preparations to greet that guy when he returned.

Of course, had he known that the guy wouldn’t show up for over five months, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths.

Choi Seongwu wanted to hit his past self for impulsively setting up all these surveillance devices in a fit of revenge.

The maintenance costs for all this equipment were no joke.

“Ugh.”

Choi Seongwu groaned as he checked the bill that had arrived this month.

Moments like these always made his previously broken shoulder ache more.

That’s why he had been rubbing his shoulder continuously.

‘Should I dismantle them…?’

The dilemma he had considered last month resurfaced.

Continuing like this, dismantling the equipment seemed like the better option.

When his desire for revenge was burning brightly, everything seemed necessary.

Now, it had all become a burden.

‘But….’

What if that guy returned?

What if he was cornered again like before and ended up with something else broken? He’d surely regret it.

He also hesitated to cancel the stolen phone line due to similar reasons.

Reluctant to abandon everything he painstakingly prepared, he kept putting it off, hoping maybe this month, just this month.

“Ugh.”

Choi Seongwu let out another groan, massaging his shoulder.

Contemplating with a serious expression for quite some time, he finally made a decision.

‘Let’s end it.’

Continuing to wait for a call that might never come, while spending a fortune on maintenance, was like throwing perfectly good money into the trash.

Starting today, he planned to cancel the phone line and dismantle all the equipment around the office.

He would no longer allow that damned thug to cause him losses.

Just as he resolved this and was about to call his secretary, Ha Gwonchan.

“Ring, ring.”

The standard ringtone started playing from his cell phone.

Choi Seongwu tilted his head stiffly to the side.

The sound was coming from a document bag hung on a coat rack next to his desk.

The only thing that could be making noise from there was the phone Ha Gwonchan had been using.

‘There are plenty of people who know this number.’

Initially, calls regularly came from people unaware that Ha Gwonchan had changed his number.

Thanks to diligent efforts over the past few months to inform everyone of the number change, such calls had almost stopped.

Today’s call could just be another one of those misplaced ones.

With the thought that this might be the last time, Choi Seongwu took the phone out of the bag.

And then he saw the name displayed on the screen.

“Son of a b—-“

Choi Seongwu’s eyes gleamed with anticipation, having intended to cancel the phone line just moments before.

‘I’ve been waiting for this day.’

He didn’t know what tricks the guy was planning, but he wouldn’t be caught off guard like last time.

Steadying his breath calmly, Choi Seongwu adjusted his posture and answered the call.

“Hello?”

『Oh, you picked up. I thought you wouldn’t.』

Despite speaking directly only once, the voice through the phone felt overly familiar.

After being tormented by hearing it in his nightmares, it was no wonder.

Choi Seongwu ground his teeth once, forcing a polite tone into his voice.

“Haha, why wouldn’t I take your call, sir? I’ve been eagerly waiting for when you’d ring.”

『You’ve been waiting for my call? Haha, I suppose you’ve been busy setting up to stab me in the back?』

The comment struck such a bullseye that he was momentarily left speechless.

Before the brief silence could turn into an unspoken affirmation, he hurriedly tried to explain.

“N-no way. I would never…”

『Would you expect me to come see you without having done any background checks?』

But before he could finish his sentence, the voice interjected again.

『I know about your dealings with illicit trade, high-interest loans, and your connections with Korean-Chinese and Chinese nationals. Have you got them stationed all around the office?』

Again, he was spot-on.

『Honestly, I don’t really care what you’ve prepared. It won’t matter anyway. Can you spare some time today? I have some assets that need liquidating.』

A vein pulsed prominently on Choi Seongwu’s forehead.

‘This arrogant bastard….’

Patience, getting the guy to show up was the priority.

As per the guy’s guess, he had indeed stationed Korean-Chinese around the office.

Once he arrived, he planned to teach him a painful lesson.

Grinding his teeth hard, Choi Seongwu arranged a kindly voice.

“I’d make the time if it’s for you, sir. How much are you thinking?”

『About 20 kilos?』

“… What?”

He had planned to properly show this rude guy the bitter side of life.

『It’s about 20 kilos when you combine the gold, diamonds, and other assorted goods. Can you handle disposing of it all today?』

Hearing the words coming from the other side of the phone, he instinctively assumed a more respectful posture.

Holding the phone delicately with both hands, Choi Seongwu answered.

“Of course.”

『Is the office still at the old place?』

“Yes, yes, the same place you visited last time.”

『See you at the office then. I’m on my way.』

Coming? Right now? Here?

This was the message he had wanted to hear earlier, yet his mind suddenly became convoluted.

The one sentence that followed only compounded his confusion further.

『I’m curious to see what you’ve prepared.』

A cold, faint chuckle ended the call.

Once the call concluded, the surroundings felt eerily quiet in contrast.

Amidst that silence, Choi Seongwu was quickly weighing things up.

’20 kilos?’

If the haul was indeed pulled out and made liquid, the profits would be….

He gulped.

Faced with significant numbers for the first time in a long while, a reluctant smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

‘Honestly, bringing in stolen goods isn’t bad.’

Extricating his personal grudge and considering just the situation, it was rather favorable.

There aren’t many opportunities to bring in stolen goods this smoothly.

‘He seems dangerous.’

But the guy needed a broker to dispose of the stolen goods and that’s why he was coming to see him of all people.

Was there any need to provoke him first?

The calculations concluded swiftly.

“Gwonchan!”

Having finished his contemplation, Choi Seongwu shouted robustly.

The office door then opened, and Ha Gwonchan entered.

“You calle-…”

“Get rid of all the men.”

Before Ha Gwonchan could finish his sentence, Choi Seongwu urgently instructed.

“Pardon?”

“Remove them all! A client is coming, and I don’t want any mistakes!”

Considering the stolen goods weighed 20kg, what did half a year’s grudge even matter now?

Damn that trauma and paranoia, he’d simply endure them a bit longer.

Why not consider it as a chance to reduce his waistline further, maybe even make it part of a diet plan?

Having set his mind, Choi Seongwu stood on his desk and declared.

“We should remove all of this too.”

Dismantling the thermal cameras, CCTV, and automatic locks filled his office proceeded at a brisk pace.

The guy who taunted him about his preparations would bring no good if he saw these, surely.

Therefore, he planned to clear them all before the guy’s arrival.

After they had tidied the office up.

“Oops, almost forgot!”

Choi Seongwu hastily grabbed the phone and tapped at its touchpad.

This was to safeguard against anything going wrong.

As a result, the name changed in the phone directory.

“Client”

As always, capitalism was powerful.

* * *

This time, I split the proceeds from Choi Seongwu into two forms.

I received 40% cleanly laundered cash, the rest as gold bullion, which could be circulated legitimately in the market.

I confirmed that the gold bullion was genuine, having visited gold shops around Seoul.

The portion designated as inheritance for the twins, in case I died, will be separately stored through a lawyer unconnected with Jonghun.

‘Through uncle, he might inquire about the origin.’

In a scenario lacking anyone to answer, it would eventually surface in the world.

‘A round of laundering elsewhere to trim its trail might be needed first.’

Considering the processes thus far, it wasn’t challenging.

‘I can wrap this up quickly.’

I smiled, feeling the substantial weight of the bag.

Excluding the cash, the bullion alone was worth over a billion won.

If, by some tragic chance, the worst came to pass and the twins lost a social guardian like me in an instant, this would aid them.

‘Next time, I should bring more.’

I had hinted to Choi Seongwu that the scale of our next deal would be larger.

It was a sign for him to be ready to secure the payment upfront.

By steadily accumulating bit by bit, I could minimize any adverse effects on the twins.

I adjusted my backpack with considerable satisfaction.

Due to my equipment nearly filling the inventory, I couldn’t store it.

‘Should I expand the inventory?’

With 20kg, I had room to store equipment, water, food, and various miscellaneous items usually without issue.

Even when the gear was equipped, accommodating other loot posed no problem.

I hadn’t expanded further, as it seemed like an unnecessary mana expenditure.

But walking around with a bag full of bullion made me a little uneasy.

‘With the mana I currently have, 100,000 isn’t much.’

Briefly pondering as I waited for the signal to change at an 8-lane intersection.

‘No.’

I shook my head firmly.

‘Ongoing expenses like utility bills are scarier than significant one-off expenditures.’

Being complacent and reckless due to increased mana could just delay my next awakening.

‘To survive against foes at the same level as generals and corps commanders, I need a fourth awakening.’

Unless it was fundamentally necessary, I decided not to expend mana.

‘Magic and skills should be developed independently, and weapon repairs done directly at the forge.’

Only essential potions should justify mana usage.

‘After the gold badge comes the platinum badge.’

Managing things frugally, as I had been, was essentially my path to survival.

With this mindset, I adjusted my backpack again and fiddled with my phone.

‘First, cut off the trail by obstructing any tracking attempts, meet the lawyer I spoke with earlier…’

There were plenty of tasks to address before heading back to the Seo family’s home, so I intended to move promptly.

But it was then, a sound interrupted abruptly from the side.

『Breaking news.』

A slight glance to the side revealed a middle-aged man, shorter than me, watching a video on his phone.

Thanks to him not wearing headphones, the sound from his phone speaker reached me directly.

『This afternoon at around 2:00 PM, a family was brutally murdered in Haeundae District, Busan. Neighbors who heard their screams reported the incident, and the police, responding to the report, surrounded the scene.』

The hastily filmed video, shaking all about, played on.

The news anchor’s detached voice overlaid it.

『But the suspect scaled the building and escaped as if it were a scene from a movie. During this process, it is presumed a family member, Lee Mogun, was abducted.』

Watching the video of a person carrying someone as they leaped over a tall building made my cheek twitch.

Almost at the same moment.

“Chat messages have been received from code name Im Namkyu.”

-Im Namkyu: Sir, are you busy? Squad Leader Yang Jochul has a request for you.

Compared to a few months ago, Im Namkyu had shown remarkable improvement in the dictation aspects of his messages.

Seems like having a leisurely break during the vacation will be hard.

Damned System.

TL’s Corner:

First vacation in a while and there’s already an incident. Tsk.