Chapter 105
[Show the spicy side by smashing Ban Seong-cheol, who should have rescued Oh Yoori and Seo Eunbyeol in a crisis! (No bouncing hammer.)]
[Reward – Buff reward confirmed choice]
Even without a quest, it was something I intended to do. But having a reward attached to it was not a bad thing at all.
In fact, it was very good. The reward on the line could easily be considered top-tier.
As I looked at the quest window that popped up, Ban Seong-cheol, who had been staring at me with a dazed expression, wondering ‘Why is that guy here?’ raised the corners of his mouth and spoke.
“Wow, Team Leader Seon, it’s nice to see you in a place like this. Given the location, it’s a bit embarrassing. But as a fellow man, I understand. A break from the boring life is necessary.”
What a load of crap.
“I apologize for causing a disturbance while you were enjoying yourself. I can offer as many apologies as you want, but it seems there’s a bit of misunderstanding. This isn’t the strange situation you think it is.”
Ban Seong-cheol looked at the groaning Oh Yoori with pity and it was pathetic.
“As you’ve probably seen in the news, our trainee from Flower, Oh Yoori, caused an unfounded controversy over Girl 100 without any discussion and ran away to here. This was part of an effort to correct that. Although there was a bit of excessive force used in the process, it’s not what you think….”
“Cut the crap, Seong-cheol. I already know everything.”
“…Ha, shit. This is messed up.”
Seong-cheol seemed to have given up pretending not to know and spoke provocatively.
“By the way, are you sure it’s okay for you to be here? Weren’t you supposed to be having a good time with Park Miso today?”
“A good time?”
Ugh, look at this jerk.
Ban Seong-cheol had a talent for making every word from his mouth disgusting.
Honestly, I didn’t want to talk to such a bastard.
I just wanted to ignore him, check if Oh Yoori was okay, and take her to the hospital.
But there was no way he would just let me do that. So, a bit of waiting was necessary.
I didn’t come here without a plan. Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, I shared information and promised help to Cheon Aram, Seo Soo-yeon, and Jin Yeoreum, who were allies as fellow returnees. Their support would arrive soon. However, there was not enough time until Cheon Aram and Jin Yeoreum’s backup arrived.
So I had to hold out until they brought people along. Therefore, dragging out the conversation with Ban Seong-cheol was certainly something I needed to attempt.
Anyway, killing time should work out.
Of course, I had no intention of getting down on my knees and begging politely.
I didn’t regress just to bow down to scum like him.
“Thanks to you, I canceled my plans and rushed over here. So why couldn’t you just keep it down if you had any consideration at all?”
Ban Seong-cheol shook his head and replied.
“No, that was actually my way of showing consideration. After all, this was a consideration for Team Leader Seon, who handed over a top-tier catch like Oh Jin-woo just to meet some dumb girl. I spun tales, making myself out to be an irresistibly charming man.”
…It turns out that Park Miso came out thinking our meeting was a blind date, and that’s totally that jerk’s fault.
“Disregarding my consideration like that is all on Team Leader Seon.”
“What consideration? You little brat. I went out to scout, you know.”
“Exactly, that’s consideration. You should know how important charm is when recruiting someone, Team Leader Seon. With your looks and eloquence, charming Park Miso shouldn’t have been that hard for you. I was just assisting with that.”
Ban Seong-cheol looked me up and down with interest.
“You even made Han Gyeoul, who you brought out to Girl 100, yours in that way, didn’t you? I really think highly of that. Getting the stamp of approval is important.”
What a disgusting mindset that was.
“Just to be clear, I thought I could have a good business relationship with you, Team Leader Seon. …Honestly, at first, I thought you were just one of those idiots abusing power with a fancy title in a run-of-the-mill new agency, but you’ve really changed my mind with how you’ve shown yourself.”
“Considering that, your speech is surprisingly rude, huh, Seong-cheol?”
Ban Seong-cheol shrugged and replied.
“I apologize for that. I tend to be a bit prideful. Meeting someone I think is worth my time made me not want to lose face. …But I did show you respect, didn’t I? Speaking to you respectfully now is partly because I lost the bet with Team Leader Seon, but it’s also my way of showing respect. I don’t do this with just anyone.”
Thinking back, that jerk had been mocking me even in public last episode.
What a truly dirty and twisted guy he was.
I sighed and said, “Well, thanks for showing respect. Now, how about showing that respect one more time?”
“How so?”
“Yuri and Eunbyeol seem to be in a bit of trouble right now; can you take them to the hospital?”
Ban Seong-cheol tilted his head and smirked.
“That’s impossible. You wouldn’t want to know why. …How do you see the current situation, Team Leader Seon?”
I calmly answered the question.
“You’re making a fuss trying to expand your business.”
His smile vanished with my words.
“…Please, continue.”
“You’ve been in the entertainment business for quite a while, right? Well, it started with your parents, so it’s almost like family business.”
A brothel that’s been passed down through generations—what a terrible joke.
The irony that this lousy joke was right before my eyes was even more amusing.
“You must have handled a lot of money in the process. But that’s not your biggest asset, is it?”
“Then, what is?”
“The real asset is the network of clients you’ve built up over decades.”
To be exact, that record is the true asset. Just the fact that they’ve frequented this place gives them a slight status as accomplices.
“It’s impossible for a place like yours to completely evade the public authority’s gaze. The state’s watch isn’t a joke. So, what does it mean that your family can operate normally like this amidst all that?”
“What does it mean that your family can operate so normally in the midst of all this?”
“…It means the relevant authorities are turning a blind eye.”
“If that’s true, then the national personnel in charge of this area won’t be investigating or digging into this place. The reasons could be that they have something on them or various other reasons, but the most reasonable assumption is that they’ve made these people their clients. Or it could be all of them.”
Ban Seong-cheol shook his head and said,
“…Well, go on.”
“The important thing is that the personnel assembled right now aren’t just related to the relevant institutions. For instance, the influential figures in society are likely involved too.”
“You’re throwing around dangerous words. Are you confident?”
“Why? Wanna play a guessing game about who’s connected to whom back there? I’m feeling pretty confident!”
“….”
The assumption I shared with Ban Seong-cheol was close to a guess based on the corrupt material I had gathered about Flower just before I regressed and the current situation. It wasn’t a certainty.
Still, I spoke with an air of confidence as if I knew everything. It would be difficult to present solid evidence, but I had enough knowledge to pretend I knew what I was talking about in this setting.
Before my regression, I’d already sent Ban Seong-cheol and Flower plummeting into despair. Even if I didn’t know that the roots of the sexual scandal related to Flower ten years later traced back to him, taking him down wasn’t an issue.
After a moment of silence, Ban Seong-cheol, trembling his lips, clapped his hands and said,
“…Haha, hahaha. Impressive. Really impressive. I just can’t understand why someone like Team Leader Seon would waste time in such a startup. I guess it’s lucky for me, in the sense that I get to meet Team Leader Seon who’s stuck at the bottom before climbing to a lofty position.”
Ban Seong-cheol, mocking and complimenting me at the same time, spoke more seriously than ever.
“Team Leader Seon, I’d like to make you a serious offer. How about working with me?”
What kind of nonsense is this?
“I’ve come to realize that there’s a demand for connecting people like me. To satisfy those with real power and wealth, you need the right kind of goods, you see… Yes, I mean those special goods that shine like stars in the entertainment industry!”
“…Stars?”
“Yes, stars! What am I hiding now? You seem to know everything already. Your guesses are right, Team Leader Seon. I see Flower as a sort of foothold for this business. Otherwise, there’d be no reason for me to waste my time in such a crummy place.”
Ban Seong-cheol couldn’t hide his excitement, spitting words as he spoke.
“I’ve already finished discussions with the higher-ups at Flower. Not just Flower, I’ve also negotiated with the big names that want this supply. This business will definitely succeed! I’m offering you the chance to take part in this venture and contribute to it. I need someone like you, Team Leader Seon, who has judgment, courage, and can think clearly.”
I looked at Ban Seong-cheol and said,
“Seong-cheol, can I ask you one thing?”
“Sure, go ahead. I’m confident if it’s a matter of treatment.”
“What do you plan to do about Oh Yoori and Seo Eunbyeol, who are listening to all this?”
“Why is Seo Eunbyeol spilling everything like that?”
At my words, Ban Seong-cheol flashed that peculiar uneasy smile of his.
“As Team Leader Seon said, the people in charge of this place are also our clients. … Well, unless the media shines their spotlight on this, they won’t move a finger. That means, if there’s no one to speak up, there’s no reason to be punished. And there are no loose lips around here. I didn’t set up shop out here on the outskirts of Seoul for nothing.”
“….”
“So, if I set my mind to it, it’s a piece of cake to silence these two women here. Threatening them is easy enough.”
Oh Yoori and Seo Eunbyeol were trembling as they looked at me. Despair and fear beyond their years filled their gentle eyes.
“Aha, so Team Leader Seon wanted to take part in that process as well? I’ll allow it as a gesture of goodwill. You’ll find it quite entertaining, I assure you!”
“Fuck off.”
“Excuse me?”
I knew that stalling was the smart thing to do, but I couldn’t take any more of that blabbering mouth. And I couldn’t just stand by and watch these kids get hurt anymore.
So I couldn’t hold back and conveyed my pure sincerity.
“Fuck off, you piece of shit.”
Ban Seong-cheol, who had been flustered by my words, chuckled and said,
“Ah, what a shame. I was genuinely proposing an invitation here… But it seems like Team Leader Seon is under some misunderstanding. The reason I’ve been waiting and rambling here isn’t just for recruitment. I’m stalling to block your escape route, which you might be crawling away on. A sturdy adult male like you running off would be quite a hassle, you know.”
Then Ban Seong-cheol gestured behind me.
“But it looks like that time is up.”
Suddenly, a group of tattooed individuals had gathered behind me.
I pointed at those bulky tattooed thugs and said to Ban Seong-cheol,
“Seong-cheol, the reason you’re able to yap like that is because of these guys, right?”
Ban Seong-cheol laughed as if he didn’t need to care about me anymore and spoke disrespectfully.
“Well, yeah. Why? You think I’m easy? Think you can take me? … Heh, looks like someone’s been hitting the gym or something?”
As Ban Seong-cheol burst into laughter, the thugs surrounding the narrow hallway laughed along. He quieted them down and said,
“Hey, don’t underestimate him. Team Leader Seon seems fit enough, so if you spar one-on-one, you might lose too. I’ll genuinely acknowledge that. … But listen, Team Leader Seon. Do you think numbers mean everything? You’ll be in for it.”
In response to Ban Seong-cheol’s pathetic provocation, I uncharacteristically opened my reward window and used the most cherished reward I had.
“Use.”
[‘Sense of the Swordmaster’ is activated.]
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