Ch 83
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 83
It's already been over 10 minutes since I started following Do-hyun's mother.
She hasn't looked back once and has been hurrying along almost at a run, so I haven't been caught, but wouldn't it be faster to take a car at this distance?
What urgent matter is making her hurry like that...
The path gradually narrowed and the slope became steeper.
Since hardly anyone walks here, I kept a bit more distance, but before long, shabby shacks started appearing one by one.
It feels like the hillside slums I've only seen in movies and dramas.
The concrete stone walls that look like they'd collapse with a light kick are covered with grimy murals and graffiti, and there are quite a few houses marked with red circles for some unknown reason.
Even today's countryside probably isn't like this.
About 3 minutes passed? Mother stopped walking and went into a shack right next to her.
The other houses aren't in great condition either, but this house is completely on the verge of being abandoned.
In my previous life, I wasn't well-off either, but it wasn't to this extent.
No matter how I think about it, living on 2 million won would be difficult.
But now what should I do?
I followed because I had a strong feeling, but if she finds out I tailed her, she'll think it's strange, so I can't enter the house...
I found out the address at least, so I should go back now and contact her again tomorrow to visit, I thought, when the door opened.
Mother came out again, and next to her I can see a girl who appears to be about 6-7 years old.
Is she Kim Do-hyun's younger sister?
I quickly hid myself and watched in case she might come this way, but she entered the house directly across, not this direction.
Watching a bit more, a black sedan that doesn't match this neighborhood came from the opposite side and stopped in front of her house.
Two men got out - one who looks quite bulky and another with some strange hairstyle with his hair slicked back with mousse or wax.
They look around briefly, then go straight into Kim Do-hyun mother's house.
They don't seem like thieves... Huh? She came out again.
She paused for a moment seeing the foreign car, then went into her house.
***
I hurried home and called Yeon-ji, but she didn't answer.
Worried that those guys might have done something to harm her, I came home with my heart racing, but fortunately Yeon-ji was taking a nap.
I immediately woke Yeon-ji and left her with the grandmother next door, then returned to find a black car parked in front of the house.
I could sense people inside the house, so when I went in, one guy was snooping around while the other was lying on the wooden floor like it was his own bedroom.
"Customer, you were out... I was just about to call you, but you came at perfect timing."
"What are you doing right now! Without permission, in someone else's house like this..."
"The door was open, wasn't it? We told you we were coming."
"I... I'll send the money, so get out right now."
"Just 100? No wait, was it 150? The overdue interest alone is almost 200, so that won't do."
"Wh-what do you mean? Even adding up to last month, it should be around 150."
"If you had paid last month, 150 would have been fine as you said, but the month has changed. Don't you know that if you don't pay interest, penalty interest gets added?"
"No, even so, how can it be 50 more in just one month..."
"Then you should have paid on time."
These devil-like bastards...
"I'll send 200... So please leave."
"Wow, you said that earlier and now it went up by 50 again."
"She always says she has no money. Boss, it seems certain she's got money stashed away somewhere without us knowing."
"Th-that's not it."
"What do you mean that's not it? Then did you hook some sucker? Well... Our customer is pretty decent for her age, so did you meet some rich widower?"
They giggled among themselves while looking me up and down, making my whole body crawl with goosebumps.
"I'll send the money, so please leave..."
"Since we came all the way here, we should at least get gas money. Let's also get some principal repayment while we're at it."
"I really have nothing more. 200 is everything."
"I'm not feeling any trust... Then where did you get that 200? We know your situation well. It's not payday yet, is it?"
"Boss, maybe this lady started night work?"
"What ridiculous nonsense...! I'll send the money, so get out of the house right now! If not, I'll call the police."
"Has this lady gone crazy? Who is she yelling at right now..."
"Pyeon-su, stop. Customer, if you want to call the police, go ahead. I won't stop you."
"Don't you know that what you're doing now is all illegal?"
"Illegal? Pyeon-su, did we hit anyone, did we break anything? There's nothing except coming to ask for the money we lent."
"That's right, Boss."
"Entering a house without permission is a crime!"
"The door was open, I told you? It's not like we didn't call to say we were coming. Even if police come, it'll end with a warning, so can you handle calling them?"
"..."
"Now you seem to understand the situation a bit. Right, let's skip the source of the 200 for now, and have you thought about what we proposed last time?"
"I said I won't do that kind of work."
"Oh my, you haven't thought about it at all. Then how are you going to pay back our money?"
"By working..."
"With that measly cleaning company salary, when will that be?"
"I'll pay it back somehow..."
"Customer, I told you to think carefully. Why do you keep trying to take the long way when there's an easy and comfortable path? I heard this place will be redeveloped soon too, do you have somewhere to go? Our customer is a tenant, so you won't get allocation rights either."
"That's none of your business."
"How frustrating. If you just go to work at the place we introduce, we won't take interest for three months and we'll even reduce the principal by 20%. Yeah, I'm being generous! On top of that, I'll even get you a monthly motel room. Deal?"
"I won't do work that would shame me in front of my children."
"This lady is really..."
"Don't. Customer, think before you speak. If you just keep your mouth shut, how would the kids know? Just close your eyes and endure for a few years. Do you want to pass debt on to your children too?"
"The children have nothing to do with this."
"How do they have nothing to do with it? If the parent can't pay, the child has to pay. Come to think of it, didn't you say your eldest son goes to Hunter School? It's true that Hunters make good money, but by the time he grows up and makes money, the debt will have grown tremendously too, I wonder if he can handle it."
"..."
"200 is fine, I'll give you exactly 3 days to think it over. Pyeon-su, let's go."
"Y-yes, Boss."
***
I'm glad I came close to eavesdrop.
I thought they looked unsavory, but I never imagined they were loan sharks.
While listening to the conversation, I wanted to rush in immediately but barely held back.
Why didn't Kim Do-hyun’s mother tell me about this earlier...
Did she find me that unreliable?
I'm a bit disappointed, but I don't completely not understand.
No matter how much I said to speak comfortably, it's not easy to talk about such things to someone you're meeting for the first time.
"Boss, if you had pushed just a little more, she would have agreed. Why did you give her 3 more days? You didn't even take the 200."
"Pyeon-su, that's why you're no good. What's 200? 200 is bait. We have to show such goodwill for her guard to come down. It's not about forcing her to do it by pushing blindly, but making her say she'll do it with her own mouth. That way there won't be trouble later."
"I see. Then we're sending her to Yong-cheol's place?"
"Hey, Yong-cheol's place is where complete old ladies go. The boss and I already talked about it. Yoon Mi-jeong has decent looks and as for age, we can just shave off a few years, so we decided to send her to Deok-bae's place."
Now is not the time to blame Kim Do-hyun’s mother, dealing with those pieces of trash is the priority.
Conveniently, there were no CCTVs either, so I approached the guys who were giggling comfortably as they tried to get in their car.
"What?"
He approaches with a frown, but I didn't even want to exchange words and immediately subdued him with pressure point techniques.
THUD!
"Py... Pyeon-su?"
When one guy collapsed, the other immediately got in the driver's seat.
These guys have no loyalty at all.
Well, it would be stranger if trash had loyalty.
I quickly approached, smashed the window, dragged him out, and similarly subdued him by pressing his pressure points.
I loaded the two pieces of trash who couldn't move and were just rolling their eyes into the back seat, roughly brushed off the glass in the driver's seat and sat down.
The broken window lets cold air blow in, but since the door isn't torn off, it shouldn't interfere with driving.
I handled it as quietly as possible, but Kim Do-hyun’s mother or other people might come out, so I need to move locations...
Come to think of it, since this neighborhood is a redevelopment area, I probably don't need to go far.
While spreading my internal energy and circling the neighborhood, I quickly found a good spot.
There were no CCTVs and all the surrounding houses seemed empty since everyone moved out, so it's perfect for interrogation.
I moved the two pieces of trash into the abandoned house, completely knocked out the subordinate-looking one by pressing his sleep pressure point, and only released the speech pressure point on the other guy.
"You know what will happen if you scream, right? I don't need to explain. There's one more mouth to answer even without you."
I gestured cutting my throat to scare him a bit, and his face turned pale.
"Wh-who are you to do this to us... Why are you doing this?"
"Only I ask questions."
"I-I'll tell you anything! Please spare my life."
The threat worked well. He spilled everything as soon as I asked questions.
These bastards work under an unlicensed lending company, aka loan sharks, and they charge annual interest rates from a basic 200% up to 4,000%.
They even introduce women who can't pay interest on time to entertainment establishments, take the advance money from the business owners, and skim off part of the money earned from working.
It seems they were trying to work Kim Do-hyun's mother the same way. I had roughly guessed from eavesdropping on the conversation earlier, but these bastards are too much trash even to call trash.
"Th-there, I told you everything, so can't you let me go now? If you just spare my life, I'll really wash my hands clean and live properly."
He's spouting nonsense, so I kicked him and he flew into the wall.
What?
I kicked quite hard but it's strange that he doesn't make a single groan... Oh, he can't feel pain in the pressure point state, so I kicked for nothing.
"I never said I'd spare you if you told me everything."
I found out the office location and even the boss's number, so these guys are no longer needed.
"You bastard... UWAAAAH!"
He screamed and cursed, but when I approached and placed my hand on his head and injected internal energy, he soon foamed at the mouth and his pupils lost focus.
At first I thought about killing him, but I didn't want to dirty my hands, so like I did with the drug dealer before, I blew internal energy into his Brain Lake pressure point to make him an idiot.
Since he became an idiot anyway, he'll die here unless someone discovers him.
I made the guy I knocked unconscious with the sleep pressure point into an idiot the same way, then came outside.
I roughly erased traces while making them idiots, but the car is a problem.
After thinking briefly, I ignited the Threefold True Fire.
Worried about an explosion, I carefully melted the car cleanly and returned to my car parked in the cafe parking lot.
I cleanly dealt with the trash that was tormenting Kim Do-hyun’s mother, but that doesn't make the debt disappear, so I immediately made a phone call.
—Yes, Angel Finance.
A young woman answered, and as I heard from those guys earlier, the name is really too unbalanced.
Bloodsucking leeches who charge murderous interest of 4,000% annually calling themselves Angel Finance.
I said that an acquaintance has debt there and I want to repay the loan on their behalf, asking for the office location.
I already know the location, but if I suddenly show up, it might arouse suspicion.
It's quite far in the outskirts of Seoul, so I drove for almost an hour to arrive at their office.
It's a pretty shabby building, but the building really has many loan shark offices.
Smile Finance, Happy Finance, etc. Angel Finance is on the 2nd floor.
When I opened the door, I saw one woman who appeared to be in her mid-20s, probably the employee who answered the phone earlier.
There are 2 other seats but no people - probably the seats of the guys I dealt with earlier.
Oh, I see a door leading inside - the boss must be there.
"How did you come... Wow, totally my style. Which host bar? Haven't seen your face before."
Her expression changed so I thought she might have recognized me, but asking which host bar, this is really absurd.
"I don't do that kind of work. I'm the person who called earlier. My acquaintance has debt here so I'll pay it back for them."
"Ah, sorry. All the handsome men who come here are from that side. Go inside there. Boss, a customer is here!"