Chapter 138
Chapter 138
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Chapter 26: Grudges, and More Grudges (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Choi Sung-woo habitually fiddled with his shoulder.
It was the shoulder that the bastard who had suddenly shown up one day, shoved a knife in his face, and dumped stolen goods on him had broken.
After that abrupt first encounter, like a traffic accident, Choi Sung-woo spent a while on edge, wary of everything around him.
The guy had burst into his office unannounced and vanished just as suddenly after leaving the goods.
No telling when he might barge in the same way again.
For a full month, he lived with every nerve on end.
By the time his shoulder blade had healed, even the slightest noise or footstep made him jump in terror.
Trauma and neurosis piled on, kicking off a string of misfortunes.
His waist had shrunk three inches from the unwanted stress.
Eventually, amid all the suffering, he started feeling resentful.
The bastard who had stormed in and upended his life was out there, yet here he was, the one suffering.
‘I can’t be the only one taking this hit.’
Fueled by that single thought, Choi Sung-woo burned with vengeance.
Instead of moving his office to avoid the guy, he installed thermal cameras.
He set up CCTVs from multiple angles and added automatic locks to trap intruders.
Buying electric shock devices and pepper spray was a given.
He even stationed armed subordinates around the office for any potential attacks.
Day by day, his preparations to confront the guy grew more meticulous.
Of course, he wouldn’t have bothered if he’d known the bastard wouldn’t show his face for over five months.
Choi Sung-woo wanted to smack his past self, the one who’d impulsively installed all those surveillance gadgets out of revenge.
The maintenance fees weren’t cheap.
“Ugh.”
He groaned as he checked this month’s bills.
His broken shoulder ached in sympathy every time.
That’s why he’d been rubbing it nonstop.
‘Should I tear it all out……?’
The same dilemma from last month resurfaced.
If things stayed like this, dismantling the gear made sense.
They’d all seemed essential back when revenge burned hot.
Now they were nothing but headaches.
‘But…….’
What if the guy showed up again?
He’d end up cornered like last time, regretting whatever got broken next.
It’d be a waste to ditch all the preparations he’d made one by one.
He hadn’t even canceled the phone the guy had taken for the same reason.
He’d invested so much effort; he kept telling himself just this month, just one more.
“Ugh.”
Choi Sung-woo groaned again, rubbing his shoulder.
After agonizing with a grave expression for a while, he made up his mind.
‘Time to clean house.’
Waiting indefinitely for who-knows-when contact while bleeding cash on fees was like throwing good money in the trash.
Today, he’d cancel the phone and scrap all the surrounding gear.
No more taking hits from that damned foreigner.
He’d just summoned his secretary, Ha Kwon-chan, when—
Ding, ring ring.
The phone’s default ringtone blared.
Choi Sung-woo’s head creaked sideways.
The sound came from the document bag hanging on the rack by his desk.
The only thing in there that could ring was Ha Kwon-chan’s old phone.
‘Plenty of people know that number.’
At first, calls poured in from folks who didn’t know Ha Kwon-chan had changed it.
Thanks to Ha Kwon-chan spreading the word for months, they’d mostly stopped……
It could just be another wrong number today.
With a this-is-the-last-one mindset, Choi Sung-woo pulled the phone from the bag.
Then he saw the name plastered on the screen.
「Bastard」
His eyes gleamed, though he’d been set to cancel the line moments ago.
‘I’ve been waiting for today.’
No clue what tricks he’d pulled, but this time, Choi Sung-woo wouldn’t go down easy.
He steadied his breathing, switched to reception mode, and answered.
“Hello?”
『Oh, you picked up. Thought you might not.』
They’d only spoken once face-to-face, but the voice from the phone felt overly familiar.
Of course it did—he’d been haunted by it even in his dreams.
Choi Sung-woo bit his teeth once, then forced a friendly tone.
“Hahaha, why wouldn’t I take a customer’s call? I’ve been waiting for you to ring anytime.”
『Waiting for my call? Ha, sounds like you’ve been prepping to stab me in the back.』
It hit too close to home; he froze for a second.
Before the silence could confirm it, he rushed to explain.
“N-No way. Why would I…….”
『You think I wouldn’t dig into you before coming over?』
But the other side cut in before he finished.
『Smuggling, loan sharking, ties to Joseon-jok and overseas Chinese—I know it all. Got them lined up around your office?』
Bullseye again.
『Honestly, whatever you’ve prepped doesn’t matter much. It won’t work anyway. Clear some time today. Got goods to offload.』
Veins bulged on Choi Sung-woo’s forehead.
‘This cocky little shit…….’
Hold it together—lure him in first.
Just as the guy said, he’d planted overseas Chinese guys around the office.
Planning to give him a painful lesson the moment he arrived.
Grinding his teeth, Choi Sung-woo mustered a polite voice.
“If it’s for a customer, I’ll make time even if I don’t have it. How much are you thinking?”
『About 20 kilos?』
“……Pardon?”
He’d meant to teach this rude punk a harsh life lesson.
『Gold, diamonds, odds and ends—all told, around 20 kilos. Can you handle it today?』
The words from the phone made his posture instinctively polite.
Cradling the phone reverently in both hands, Choi Sung-woo replied.
“O-Of course.”
『Office still in the same spot?』
“Y-Yes, the place you came last time.”
『See you there, then. On my way.』
On his way? Right now? Here?
It was what he’d wished for moments ago, but now his mind reeled.
The next line only weighed it down further.
『Curious what you’ve prepared.』
The call ended with a low, chilling laugh.
The ensuing silence felt heavier.
In that quiet, Choi Sung-woo’s mind raced.
‘20 kilos?’
That much, fenced and laundered, meant profits of……
Gulp.
His lips twitched at the big numbers after so long.
‘Bringing in stolen goods isn’t a bad gig, honestly.’
Setting aside his grudge, the situation itself was a boon.
Opportunities to import without hassle weren’t common.
‘He seems dangerous, sure.’
But the guy needed a broker to fence his stuff, so he’d come to him.
Did he really need to poke the bear?
The math was quick.
“Kwon-chan!”
Decision made, Choi Sung-woo bellowed.
The office door opened promptly, and Ha Kwon-chan entered.
“You called…….”
“Pull everyone out.”
Before Ha Kwon-chan could finish, Choi Sung-woo barked urgently.
“Huh?”
“Clear out the guys! Customer’s coming—don’t screw up!”
20kg of goods—what did half a year’s grudge matter?
He could endure a bit more trauma and neurosis.
Might as well slim his waist further; call it a diet.
Mind set, Choi Sung-woo climbed onto his desk.
“These need to go too.”
Thermal cameras, CCTVs, auto-locks, and more.
His hands swiftly stripped the office of its crammed surveillance.
The guy who’d laughed about being curious wouldn’t take kindly to these.
Better clean up before he arrived.
By the time the office was spotless.
“Oh shoot!”
Choi Sung-woo snatched his phone and tapped the touchscreen.
Preempting any mishaps.
The contact name changed.
「Customer」
Capitalism was great, as always.
* * *
This time, payment for the goods fenced through Choi Sung-woo came in two forms.
40% clean laundered cash, the rest in gold bars circulating legitimately on the market.
Jewelry shops in Seoul confirmed the bars were real.
In case I died, they’d inherit under the twins’ names via a lawyer unlinked to Jong-hoon.
‘He might ask where they came from if I go through Uncle.’
Better they surface after no one’s left to answer.
‘Need to launder through another channel first to cut the trail.’
Easy compared to what I’d done so far.
‘Can wrap it up quick.’
I smiled, patting the heavy bag.
Excluding cash, the gold alone topped 10 billion won.
In a worst-case where the twins suddenly lost their guardian like me, it’d help.
‘Bring more next time.’
I’d tipped Choi Sung-woo on the way back—next deal would be bigger.
Prep the payout in advance.
Stack it steadily, and I could minimize the fallout for the twins.
Pretty satisfied, I shouldered my backpack straighter.
Storage near full from gear; couldn’t fit it.
‘Expand storage?’
20kg was fine with gear, water, rations, and sundries.
No issue stashing trophies while equipped.
Expanding felt like wasteful mana, so I’d skipped it.
But lugging gold bars in a bag nagged at me.
‘10k mana’s nothing with what I have now.’
Waiting at an eight-lane intersection, I pondered briefly.
‘Nah.’
I shook my head.
‘Living expenses scare more with the drip-drip utilities than big lumps.’
Slack off just because mana’s up, and awakening delays that much.
‘Need fourth awakening to survive vendetta or legionnaire ranks.’
No mana unless absolutely vital.
‘Magic and tech on my own power; weapon repairs at the forge myself.’
Restrain use beyond essential potions.
‘Gold card next, then platinum.’
Thrifty saving was my path to survival.
I readjusted the bag, fiddling with my phone.
‘Cut the tail via serials first, meet that lawyer from earlier…….’
Plenty to do before heading to the Seos’.
But then, a voice pierced my ear.
『Breaking news.』
Glancing sideways, a shorter middle-aged guy watched a phone video.
No earbuds, so the speaker sound reached me clear.
『At around 2 p.m. today, a family was brutally murdered in Haeundae-gu, Busan. Neighbors who heard the victims’ screams reported it, and police who arrived cordoned the scene.』
Shaky footage, hastily shot, played on.
The announcer’s flat voice overlaid it.
『But the perp scaled the building like a movie scene and fled. Suspected he kidnapped one family member, an aunt’s son, in the process.』
My cheek twitched seeing someone slung over the escapee’s shoulder atop the high building.
Almost simultaneously.
「Chat message from Codename Im Nam-gyu received.」
- Im Nam-gyu: Uncle, you busy? Director Yang Jo-cheol has a favor to ask.
Big improvement in dictation from months ago.
Looked like no lazy vacation after all.
Damn system