Hunter Supporter Kang Hae-bin (3)
Kang Hae-bin entered the president's office as if it were the most natural thing in the world and took the seat at the head of the table. The spot next to me, where the company president should have been sitting, was empty; instead, he stood there, waiting for my words. Is this the taste of power? Fun.
"There's a guy named Kim Jung-jin here, right?"
Kwon Yong-jin was none other than the husband of supporter Kang Hae-bin. The president bowed his head at my question.
"Yes, there is."
"I want to bury that man in debt. Can you make it happen?"
"It's more than possible."
He answered without a second's hesitation. I liked that.
"Good. So, when can you pull it off?"
"Right now, if you want. Kim Jung-jin works in the department handling the company's capital operations, so it's easy to arrange."
"Perfect. Then I'm counting on you."
As I stood, he bowed at a perfect ninety degrees and slipped out. I began preparing to drag Kim Jung-jin down to rock bottom.
It wasn't long before word came that Kim Jung-jin had been fired. On top of that, he owed the company money—three hundred million won, no less. An impossible sum for an ordinary salaryman like him. And he was still the passive, insecure type who'd married the pure Kang Hae-bin. He wouldn't want to tell her. It'd be too embarrassing, too shameful. He'd want to handle it alone. How could he admit to her that he'd racked up three hundred million in debt, putting them both at risk? He'd definitely try to fix it by himself.
Just like that. I'd laid the trap before he even got fired—bribed one of his friends to keep feeding him lines about raking in cash from Bitcoin. And to post boasts about it on SNS. At first, he'd just think his buddy had gotten lucky. But when he desperately needed big money, he'd consult that friend. How to do it. Honest folks don't touch that stuff, but in desperate times, they'll grasp at anything.
Another ding. Alert: Kim Jung-jin had downloaded the illegal fake app we'd cooked up—a bogus Bitcoin one styled like an illegal toto site. Sure, Sang-min hyung handled ninety-nine percent of it. On my phone, I could now watch Kim Jung-jin trading Bitcoin in real time. At first, he was just observing, figuring it out. Since it was our app, we'd let him taste small wins to hook him. He'd be thrilled. Is making money this easy for real? He'd suspect it, sure—too good to be true—but Sang-min hyung would fine-tune the intervals to keep him doubting just enough.
We cleared a gate that popped up with Na-hyun and Chae-yeon, then headed to lunch together.
"Hey? Yong-jin, Na-hyun. Mind if Chae-yeon joins us for lunch too?"
"I'm fine with it. You okay, Na-hyun?"
"Yeah, me too!"
"Got it. I'll send you the spot."
We arrived at the barbecue joint we'd agreed on. The staff showed us to a private room, and we ordered right away.
"Whew, today's monster felt seriously tough."
Na-hyun sighed and took a sip of water. Chae-yeon nodded beside her, agreeing.
"Monsters have been getting way stronger lately. Feels like something big's brewing."
They'd just been weak up till now. The fact that casualties from monsters and monster humans were near zero meant the power gap was huge. To maintain balance, they were ramping up monster strength bit by bit. Gates would keep spawning tougher ones. Not that human losses or whatever mattered to me.
"Your safety comes first, always. Keep that in mind—you're mine now."
"Hehe, of course."
"Y-Yong-jiiiin."
Scraaaape!
"Me toooooo!!!"
"Whoa!"
Everyone in the room jumped as Chae-rim burst in, flinging the door open and yelling—clearly eavesdropping from outside.
"Come in quietly for once."
"Hehe, am I yours too, Yong-jin?"
Before sitting in the empty spot, Chae-rim sidled up and hooked her arm through mine.
"Haa. Obviously."
Mwah.
"Thanks~"
She pecked my cheek lightly and went back to her seat. Then suddenly, two hands wrapped around my neck from behind. Even with the girls right there. I turned my head—Woo-rim glared at me with sizzling eyes. When did she sneak up? Goosebumps. Gabriela, why didn't you warn me?
—Because it poses no harm to Yong-jin.—
Right.
"Eek! When'd you get here, Woo-rim?"
"Oh, so you're Woo-rim?"
"Hi~ Woo-rim!"
The girls up front startled at Woo-rim's sudden appearance. No surprise—I was too. Somehow, all the magical girls and hunters I'd "eaten" had gathered by accident.
"Perfect timing—looks like the whole Yong-jin family’s here. How about introductions?!"
Chae-rim shot to her feet, hand raised, swiftly changing the subject.
"Ahem, I'll start! I'm Kim Chae-rim, Hunter Academy student, twenty years old. And..."
Big alert sound.
Chae-rim's words cut off as a loud notification blared, drawing all eyes to me.
"Sorry, one sec."
I checked my phone, and a grin spread across my face. Finally, Kim Jung-jin was upping the stakes. He'd started with ten million borrowed from his friend, turning small change into profit. Now he was throwing around tens of millions like it was nothing. Connection logs showed his phone glued to his hand all day—probably called in sick, holed up in some cafe or room, glued to Bitcoin. Just a bit more effort and the debt's gone, he'd think. I chuckled at his futile struggle.
"Ah, sorry—killed the vibe."
"Things going your way?"
Woo-rim, who knew exactly what I was up to, picked up on my smile.
"Yeah, smooth sailing."
"Whoa, plotting something again?!"
Na-hyun leaned in close. I gave her a light butterfly kiss on those approaching lips.
"Yeah, you all know supporter Kang Hae-bin?"
Na-hyun blushed, sat back down, and ducked her head. When they all said no, Woo-rim snapped her fingers with an ah!
"Forgot because of earlier. I actually followed you to pass on some info."
"Huh? What info?"
"Kang Hae-bin was a first-gen magical girl."
"Ehhh?! First-gen?!"
"First-gen?"
"Whoa, first-gen?!"
I stayed nonchalant, but Na-hyun shot up, pressing me.
"Yong-jin! First-gen! First-gen! Not shocked?!"
"Oh? Was that the part to freak out over?"
Chae-yeon jumped in seriously.
"First-gen magical girls are living legends. From what I know, there were ten in total."
"Right, right!"
"Three are still active, saving the world. The other seven retired and vanished."
Na-hyun and Chae-rim listened to Chae-yeon's explanation with wide, sparkling eyes. I already knew it all. The ten who appeared and saved a world on the brink from monsters. First-gen magical girls brought stability with powers beyond hunters. Time passed, but three still fought: probably the Magical Girl Association president, the blacksmith making gear for magical girls, and one active slayer of monsters and monster humans. The other seven quit for various reasons—unknown to me.
"...That's why it's such a shock."
"Ah, gotcha."
"You breezed right past it, huh?"
Woo-rim's sharp as ever.
"So why'd Kang Hae-bin retire? Marriage?"
"Probably. Super romantic."
"Yeah, totally!"
Romantic? Whatever. I'd just ask her myself.
Kim Jung-jin's hands trembled uncontrollably. His phone screen glowed with the Bitcoin app. His shaking fingers dropped it to the floor. The chart showed a massive red bar plunging down. He'd thought today he'd pay off the three hundred million. Fired from the company, saddled with an unfair debt of three hundred million. Bitcoin, started with a friend's help, had boosted his confidence daily. In under a week, he'd made more than his old salary. Today, he'd turned ten million borrowed from his friend into a hundred million. Then use that to hit three hundred million. When he first bet the hundred million, it seemed possible. But snapping back to reality, it had vanished into ten million in hours. Kim Jung-jin collapsed. This is just a one-day fluke. It'll rebound—that's what he told himself. Sensing the timing, he started loans from every bank. His gut, which had netted him a hundred million, screamed buy now. He hit up every lender, piling on debt. And dumped it all into Bitcoin. Now he stared at his phone with trembling hands.