Chapter 73: BLACKMAIL
FIT CHECK: Beige tweed jacket with a beige mini skirt, white silk tank, chunky Mary Janes, and mid-calf beige socks.
Wonhee turned around in front of the full-length mirror while checking out her fit.
[I guess this will do.]
She just put on a pearl headband and let her wavy hair fall freely. Then she opted for a natural makeup look. And that was it– she was done.
"Let me just go home for a moment."
Hmm?
Wonhee turned to Yejun who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.
Yejun just gave her a small wave before he completely vanished.
[He probably went back to his Inventory.]
Wonhee just shrugged it off, then she went to her walk-in closet.
To be precise, she went to the third floor of her penthouse.
[Yes– my penthouse is technically a triplex.]
The third floor of her house was exclusive to her huge collection of luxury bags and shoes.
She inherited more than half of it from her mother.
[My Eomma, the daughter of the former South Korean president, was often criticized by the public for her love for luxury bags. But that didn’t stop my mother from collecting her "babies" since she argued that she used her own money for her collection. And people couldn’t refute that because Eomma has a successful business of her own.]
Unfortunately, despite Wonhee’s desire to live frugally, she inherited her mother’s love for luxury bags. She probably had a bag or two from each luxury brand all over the world– and she was a VIP at those stores, too.
But since the Outbreak happened, she felt guilty for spending money on luxury brands. She also thought it would be insensitive of her to carry a bag worth a house whenever she was out in public. Hence, she would only use two or three bags that were expensive, but not expensive enough to break the bank.
[I even stopped wearing my rare pieces of watch, too.]
She was about to grab the usual black purse that she got used to carrying.
But she abruptly stopped.
[Why do I have to keep a low profile when meeting Seodam Oppa’s family?]
Wonhee changed her mind and grabbed the most expensive bag in her collection.
It was THE bag that most luxury bag enthusiasts and collectors coveted.
Aside from the fact that the bag was very expensive, it was also rare and limited. And even if you had the money to buy it, you wouldn’t get the bag unless you had a personal connection with the brand.
[And this brand is known for having snobbish sales associates. So, to build a rapport with the brand, you have to convince the sales associates first that you deserve a bag. And, of course, you have to spend a lot on other stuff the store offers.]
Fortunately, Wonhee didn’t have to go through that stage because both her biological and adoptive mothers were friends with the owner of the brand.
"You even have the snake’s bag?"
Wonhee wasn’t surprised when Yejun suddenly appeared by the door, but she was pretty surprised by his appearance.
[Well, he’s still the handsome devil that he is.]
But Yejun put a gray overcoat over his usual fit: a black turtleneck shirt, a pair of black jeans, and a pair of edgy black boots.
[He only layered his fit with an overcoat, and yet he suddenly became ten times cooler.]
Was it the hair?
Yejun also styled his hair.
His hair had always been unruly as if he didn’t care much about it.
But, this time, Yejun’s hair had a cool way style.
[His cool messy hairstyle suits his personality.]
"Yejun-ah, did you return to your Inventory to put on an overcoat and style your hair?"
"I don’t want to
That was ridiculous.
[Yejun is recognized as the second most handsome Hunter in South Korea after Song Moonho-ssi.]
Wonhee just smiled and shook her head. "Anyway, are you talking about my Soline?"
’Soline’ was the name of the French luxury brand of the bag in her hand.
Before the Outbreak, Soline was already the top luxury brand when it came to bags.
A few years after the Outbreak, the brand owner’s successor awakened as a Hunter.
"I met that brand’s successor when my team caught her team after they illegally entered our country a few years ago."
Wonhee gasped. "They did? This is the first time I’ve heard about it."
"They paid APA a hefty amount of money for their bail and to keep things hush-hush."
"So, they bought your guild’s silence, too?"
"Instead of money, I asked APA to give me the right to raid A or S-Grade Cracks on my own in return for my silence."
"Aigoo. You accept bribes?"
Yejun shrugged unapologetically. "The Soline Guild was only here to smuggle monster skins anyway. It wasn’t harmful to our people."
"Monster skins... for their products?"
"Yeah. As you know, after the Outbreak, the Soline Group began producing bags and other stuff made of monster skin," he explained. "But France and other European countries are rarely attacked by Cracks where monsters with skins similar to reptiles appear. On the other hand, South Korea used to be frequented by dungeons that contained monsters with skins that you could turn into leather. So, the Soline Guild tried to smuggle monster skins from our country into France."
She frowned. "APA allowed that to happen? Just because they were bribed?"
"Heh."
"Why are you grinning?"
"Semi Noona and Song Moonho also use monster skins for their businesses," Yejun said, smirking smugly. "So, I sent them an anonymous message letting them know that APA was allowing other countries to steal their resources."
She gulped nervously. "W-What did my unnie and Song Moonho-ssi do then?"
"Let’s just say that no other foreign guilds tried to enter our country again for the same purpose, and APA learned their lesson the very hard way."
Hmm.
Was that the reason South Korea became a country difficult to enter– legally or illegally?
[That’s the Big 4 for you.]
Wonhee couldn’t help but smile while shaking her head. "You accepted the bribe, but you didn’t keep your side of the bargain."
"I only promised them that I wouldn’t expose them to the public. When I said public, I meant the Civilians– it wasn’t my fault that we had a different understanding of what ’public’ meant," Yejun said, smiling until his eyes turned into little crescent moons that made him look like a villain. A sexy villain, at that. "Plus, they didn’t say I can’t share it with my fellow Big 4 members privately."
What a great way to find a loophole in the deal he made.
[I guess the Big 4 didn’t get to where they are today by being naïve.]
Wonhee’s thought process was interrupted when Yejun suddenly fell silent while staring blankly into the air.
[Oh, it must be his Status Window.]
"Tsk."
"Why?" Wonhee asked worriedly. "Is it the System again?"
"Nah– it’s a private message."
Right.
Some high-class Awakened People could use the System as if it were a phone.
"It’s from Pineapple."
Ah, she knew that name.
"The "eye" of the Watchdogs?" Wonhee asked worriedly. "Why is someone from a rebel group sending you a message, Yejun-ah?"
"It’s a blackmail," Yejun said bluntly, then he turned to her. "Pineapple was the one who spread the video of you guiding Graham, right?"
"Yes..."
"That bastard sent me the whole video," he added. "He also caught me breaking Graham’s arm and stabbing his hand with my ice dagger. Pineapple wants
Oh.
Yejun’s reputation as an X-Class Hunter was still at rock bottom.
[If people see that video, then they will pressure APA to lock up Yejun again.]
And she couldn’t let that happen.
"Yejun-ah, I know you have a slush fund, but it’s better to keep it a secret for now. APA will get suspicious if they somehow find out that you still have that huge amount of money to spend," Wonhee said carefully. "Should I pay for it in the meantime? You can just pay me back later once APA returns your assets."
To be honest, she didn’t mind even if Yejun didn’t pay her back.
[I mean, Yejun hurt Graham for me. So it’s my fault, too.]
But she didn’t want to offend him, so she said that.
"Thank you for the offer, but nah. I got this," Yejun said, waving his hand dismissively. "There are so many people out there who owe me money. I can just ask them to pay me back."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep."
"Alright."
"Wonhee-ya."
"Hmm?"
"Two billion won may just be a change to you, but it isn’t for most people," Yejun said in a scolding tone. "Don’t easily offer to pay for other people, especially if it’s a huge amount. That makes you look like a pushover."
Oh.
Wonhee blushed because she felt embarrassed, but she didn’t feel offended.
After all, even Yool and Ahyeon would often say that she was a little careless when it came to managing her finances.
"O-Okay. I’ll keep that in mind."
"Once I get back everything APA stole from me, I’ll spoil you to death," Yejun promised, gently patting her head. "I’ll spend all my money on you, Wonhee-ya."
"I’m high-maintenance, though..."
"Then go ahead and try to make me bankrupt if you can."
Pfft.
"You sound confident," Wonhee teased him. Well, she knew that Yejun could definitely fulfill his promise because he had a room full of gold. There was just one problem, though. "Yejun-ah, you should work on getting your name cleared first if you want to get back everything from APA."
"Right?" Yejun agreed with her. "Should I catch Pineapple and bring him to APA? Kwon Jiwoong would even hug me in joy if I brought that sneaky bastard to him."
Oh?
Wonhee thought that was a good plan.
[I wonder if Yool knows Pineapple’s real identity since he read that BL novel?]
***
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