Chapter 45
Chapter 45: Chicken and Beer (2)
Vroooom-.
I drove the car to the address Kang Hae-san had given me.
1 AM.
The person I was looking for was 'Bae Da-in'.
A feminine-sounding name, but he was male. Occupation: delivery worker. Riding a motorcycle, delivering food from restaurants. He was ranked 4th in the group of bully perpetrators.
Kang Hae-san, Bae Da-in, and three others. The first two were essentially lackeys to the latter three. And these two lower-ranking guys had served me up as prey to the perpetrators above them.
I waited in front of the coffee shop where Kang Hae-san said Bae Da-in usually hung around. 2 AM.
Vroom, vroom-.
A motorcycle arrived.
"4885. The plate matches."
Was it really Bae Da-in? He took off his helmet.
Thud-! Thud!
The moment I saw his face, my heart pounded and my head throbbed.
[Memory synchronization in progress. 80%…… 83%]
It was Bae Da-in. Memories of him tormenting Kim Tae-yang flooded back.
***
"Hey, Samcheolli is running away. Hehehe."
"Does it hurt?"
"I'm doing it so it hurts."
Creak!
Right. As the memories resurfaced, I also remembered the high school Kim Tae-yang had dropped out of.
It was a prestigious high school attended by children of generals, chaebols, and politicians. Not the kind of school only the top 0.1% could attend.
Rather, it was a school that appeared prestigious on the outside—a place to collect the troublesome children of influential families who couldn't just be sent anywhere.
It still had a decent university placement rate, so it was popular enough.
Thanks to my family's poverty, I'd entered through the social integration admissions track. Kang Hae-san and Bae Da-in weren't much different from me in that regard.
Since it was primarily a school for wealthy kids, someone like me became easy prey.
The difference was that Kang Hae-san and Bae Da-in had voluntarily placed themselves beneath the bully clique.
And these two lower-ranking guys had served me up as prey to the perpetrators above them.
***
"Aah, today was brutal."
Apparently done with his deliveries for the night, Bae Da-in walked over to his friends who were smoking and drinking coffee in front of the coffee shop. The bunch chattered loudly for a while. The coffee shop employee came out and said something.
"Excuse me. You really can't keep doing this here."
"What do you mean can't?! Damn it, we're customers too!"
At that, the guys shouted back.
"You've been making noise until this late, spitting on the ground, dropping cigarette butts. We keep getting complaint calls, you know."
"You treat your customers like crap! I'm giving this place a zero-star review!"
"Please don't do that!"
"Screw off."
The guys cackled. One of them rolled up his trouser leg to show off his tattoo, and the others hack- spat phlegm on the ground.
"……"
The flustered employee let out a sigh, gave up, and went back inside.
Then Bae Da-in suddenly stood up from his seat.
"Alright! There's one more call that just came in on my way home."
He was planning to squeeze in one more delivery before heading back.
Vroom-.
He started the motorcycle.
"I'm off. See you tomorrow."
"Alright."
Bae Da-in departed. I started my engine and followed him. The call he'd taken was from a chicken place. I could see him receive the food in a plastic bag and load it into the motorcycle's glove box.
3 AM. There were no cars on the road. Nothing but streetlights along the roadside.
……Should I just ram into him now.
Just as I was weighing that for a moment, he suddenly stopped along the roadside while riding.
"I was hungry—this works out."
He opened the box and held a lighter to the sealed sticker. The adhesive melted and the sticker peeled off cleanly. It was clear this wasn't his first time doing this. He picked up a piece and popped it into his mouth.
Suddenly my head throbbed.
Thud- thud! Thud!
Kim Tae-yang was screaming inside. Grab him and kill him. He couldn't hold back any longer.
Kim Tae-yang. The best place and timing is right before Bae Da-in goes home. We'll grab him and drag him to the herb field. Just wait a little longer.
I tried to reason with him, but the headache just kept getting worse, like my skull was about to crack.
[Kim Tae-yang requests that Bae Da-in be dealt with the same way as Kang Hae-san. +1 Happiness]
[Kim Tae-yang says to tear his limbs apart. +1 Happiness]
Messages flashed in a dizzying stream, and my temples throbbed just as violently.
Damn it all. Can't help it.
No security cameras were visible either, so here would do fine. I pulled the Porsche up alongside Bae Da-in's motorcycle.
Whirr-.
The passenger window rolled down.
"Bae Da-in."
"……?"
He looked at me.
"It's me. Kim Tae-yang."
"Who?"
"Samcheolli."
"……Oh! Samcheolli? Wow, damn. What's up? A Porsche. Damn, looks like you really made it?"
Bae Da-in marveled at my car. Not a trace of remorse anywhere to be found.
"But damn, how did you find me?"
"I happened to be passing by. Thought it might be you. Want to talk for a bit?"
"Talk?"
Bae Da-in's eyes shifted in a subtle way.
Click. I opened the driver's door and stepped out toward him. He backed away slightly, watching me. My build, so much more imposing than in the past.
The confidence and intensity in my eyes made his expression shift in a complicated way.
"What's there to talk about? Do we have anything to say to each other?"
"Let's have a chat."
"Samcheolli. You've been following me this whole time, haven't you?"
"……"
A sharp one. Bae Da-in's gaze traveled through the passenger window toward the inside of the car. And then he flinched!
"Damn it. That's a sword?!"
He'd spotted the White Tiger Sword left on the back seat.
"What?! You're here for revenge? This is such a pain. Damn it!"
Smack! He threw the chicken he'd been eating at me, then climbed back onto the motorcycle.
Vroom-!
Bae Da-in took off immediately.
Damn! If only Kim Tae-yang hadn't been rushing me!
I vaulted over the Porsche's hood and quickly yanked the driver's door open.
"Try following me, damn it!"
Bae Da-in turned his head and shouted at me.
"Go through the alley and a Porsche or whatever else is completely use—"
Screeeeech-!
CRASH!
Tearing through the still night air, a dump truck's headlights descended on Bae Da-in like a bolt of lightning! The sound of brakes screamed like a shriek being torn apart, and with a thunderous boom, the front of the motorcycle was crushed dead-on into the truck's bumper.
Bae Da-in's body was flung into the air, spinning as it flew. It traced an arc through the sky—whoosh! thud! tumble tumble tumble tumble-.
His body crashed down onto the asphalt and rolled several times before smacking hard into the curb of the sidewalk. One wheel of the motorcycle spun aimlessly across the road, turning with limp, powerless circles like a broken toy.
[Kim Tae-yang is overwhelmingly happy. +10,000,000 Happiness]
"Oh my, what have I done!"
The dump truck driver got out. Bae Da-in, twitching like an insect. A stubborn will to live it seemed—there was still a faint breath left in him. But with every limb bent at wrong angles, he looked like a discarded rag doll.
……He'd be dead soon. Even if someone called 119, it was already too late.
"Oh dear, oh dear……! I'm finished……!"
The dump truck driver clutched his head with both hands, stomping his feet frantically. He looked around to check his surroundings, then his eyes met mine.
"……!"
I quietly. ……Covered my eyes with both hands. Meaning I hadn't seen anything.
The driver gave a nod.
Vroooom-.
And immediately fled.
Bae Da-in twitched for a short while before going still.
Sigh, for it to end like this. I'd been considering keeping him alive to make him suffer more.
[Kim Tae-yang is so happy he rolls around on the ground. +1,000,000 Happiness]
The throbbing headache vanished as if washed away.
***
[Early this morning, a 25-year-old man making deliveries died in a traffic accident. Police are estimating that the accident occurred when he collided with a large truck based on the skid marks left on the road, but say tracking down the suspect will be difficult as there are no CCTVs in the area-.]
I cleaned up the living room table while listening to the morning news. Food left over from eating last night. Chicken and beer in a plastic bag. Relics left behind by Bae Da-in. I couldn't just leave the plastic bag he'd thrown at me at the scene, so I'd taken it with me.
Swish. I reached out, picked up a drumstick, and tore into it. Along with a can of beer.
Hmm. ……So this is what makes it taste good.
[Kim Tae-yang says he'll be looking forward to the next chicken-and-beer. +100,000 Happiness]
Kang Hae-san. Hurry up and get discharged.
***
A call came in.
"Senior! It's Choi Jae-hwa."
"How did it go?"
"We succeeded in clearing 28th floor! With Scarlet!"
A voice brimming with energy.
"Congratulations. And Jae-jun?"
"He cleared it too! It's all thanks to you, Senior."
"That's because both of you worked hard."
"Oh, come on. I'd like to come see you. Are you home?"
"I am, but let's not meet for a while."
"Why?"
"It seems I've had a tail on me lately. The number of cars following the two of you has grown."
"Huh? That's strange, our Baekgyeong security team hasn't said anything."
"They're capable ones. It looks like an elite team from Gukmubon has been assigned."
Choi Jae-hwa's voice went quiet.
"Yes, understood."
"Be careful. Don't neglect your training."
"Yes sir!"
The Gukmubon Climber Elite Team. A team led by Chief Han, known even within Gukmubon as the most elite unit.
The Poison Spider, Chief Han. I'd seen her once when I visited Gukmubon. Sharp first impression.
A master who had reached the peak of transcendence. Considering the climbers of this era, someone of her caliber would be counted among the finest in all of Korea. Her right arm appeared to be injured, yet even so her fierce presence hadn't dimmed.
I'd heard the news of the elite team being formed through the Black Market. They hadn't even made meaningful progress on 37th floor, yet instead of climbing, the elite team was tailing the Choi brothers. Naturally I was the target.
The Nameless Hero. Being pursued as an enemy—I'd gone through that countless times in the martial world of my past life.
I was confident I could evade them, but the nuisance was the problem. Not meeting the Choi brothers for a while was fine, but having to stay on my guard was quietly exhausting.
I'd have to redirect their attention.
"Let me try a misdirection operation first."
***
[Gukmubon]
Chief Han, the Poison Spider, was in an uproar. The reason being that a letter of accusation had come flying into Gukmubon. Placed at Gukmubon's reception desk without anyone noticing, the letter had these words written on it:
'The Red Dragon Gate is hiding the Nameless Hero.'
'Could that really be?'
Chief Han read the letter and tilted her head. The Nameless Hero had clearly emerged from information tied to the Goryeo Sword Sect's Choi brothers. And yet, suddenly the Red Dragon Gate?
"Odd. Could the Choi brothers—Choi Jae-jun and Choi Jae-hwa—be trying to throw us off?"
But the elite team's response was contrary.
"We never took our eyes off the Choi brothers for a single moment."
"That shouldn't be possible."
"Same with the Goryeo Sword Sect. The Choi brothers in particular had recently been focused on clearing 28th floor of the Tower."
All the CCTVs around Gukmubon were reviewed in full. But nothing of note was found.
An additional report came in from the elite team.
"Information on how to clear 21st floor of the Tower is being circulated on the Black Market, they say!"
"What? There's still time left on that!"
"We investigated the Goryeo Sword Sect, and they seemed to have no knowledge of it."
"Damn it!"
Information on clearing 21st floor. The fact that there was a bypass route on the cliff at Demon Wind Manor—information of tremendous value. The Goryeo Sword Sect might monopolize that information, but they would never release it onto the Black Market.
She gave the order immediately.
"Find out who released that information! They would have received payment, so search the Black Market QR codes!"
Four hours later. Another report from the elite team followed. Breathless, as though a fight had broken out in the Black Market.
"We found the person who released the information."
"Who?"
"It's Park Jeok-sa."
Park Jeok-sa! The head of Jeoksapa. Jeoksapa was a branch sect under the Red Dragon Gate! He had recently gone missing, and it was common knowledge that Red Dragon Gate's Sect Leader Lee Won-ryong was looking for him.
Park Jeok-sa of all people…… It felt like puzzle pieces clicking into place.
Park Jeok-sa—whom Red Dragon Gate's Lee Won-ryong was hunting down to kill. With his life in danger, Park Jeok-sa would have sought someone to protect him.
"And that someone was the Goryeo Sword Sect's Choi brothers."
To ask the Choi brothers for protection, an appropriate price would have been needed. But there was almost nothing Park Jeok-sa could offer as payment for that. Money, power, reputation—the Choi brothers would be a step above him in all of it.
'Then it must be information.'
The kind of information they could obtain…… Demon Wind Manor. In that case, the Nameless Hero!
'From the very beginning, it was the Red Dragon Gate hiding the Nameless Hero.'
Chief Han slapped her knee. To gain the advantage of monopolizing the information, the Red Dragon Gate had kept the Hero with them, and Jeoksapa's Park Jeok-sa had smuggled the Hero out.
The Red Dragon Gate had pursued Park Jeok-sa, and Park Jeok-sa had connected the smuggled-out Hero to the Choi brothers in an attempt to seek refuge with the Goryeo Sword Sect.
The Choi brothers had needed the strength to protect Park Jeok-sa and the Hero, which was why they'd demanded elder positions within the Goryeo Sword Sect!
Though they had risen to elder rank, the brothers couldn't recklessly hand over something as tremendously valuable as the Nameless Hero to the Goryeo Sword Sect.
"So that's also why there was friction between the Goryeo Sword Sect and the Choi brothers recently."
With things not going their way, Park Jeok-sa and the Hero must have attempted to flee. And to raise the funds for that, they'd released the information onto the Black Market. Every single thing was explained by this one thread!
"The Choi brothers were the wrong target from the start!"
She'd been looking in the wrong direction, which was why she hadn't found even a trace of the Hero.
How dare they try to deceive me. Lee Won-ryong! She'd already been thinking she needed to deal with him at some point.
"Haah……. It's complicated, but now I understand."
A woman renowned as a genius—it was only because of her that this puzzle could be solved. Anyone else would have floundered for a long time.
She satisfied herself with her own exceptional intellect, without realizing she was being played by the Poison Demon.
"Elite team!"
"Yes!"
She reached for her spear.
"We're going to the Red Dragon Gate."
***
Crunch, crunch-.
I watched the four vans of Gukmubon's Elite Team depart, sunglasses on, munching on honey chips.
Ho ho ho. No matter how far they leap, they're still in the palm of Lord Poison Demon's hands.
Stretchhh-.
I stretched out languidly.
"Well then, shall I mosey on over to take the head of Demon Wind Manor Master."