Tours
Leaving Sanghae's shop behind, Won-goo went looking for Kim Seok-bong.
Lately, Kim Seok-bong had struck out on his own from Geosan and set up a small office of his own. Word had gotten around that he was a pathfinder who'd worked the Black Shelter job, so there was no longer any reason for him to stay under Geosan's thumb.
Won-goo entered the shelter's residential district.
Most of the shelter was given over to businesses, but that didn't mean there was nowhere to live. A small number of people made their permanent homes here, and Kim Seok-bong had recently planted his flag among them.
A trailer standing alone in an empty lot between the houses. That was Kim Seok-bong's office and his home, both at once.
Bang! Bang!
When Won-goo pounded on the door, Kim Seok-bong opened it looking like a complete wreck.
"Sun's straight overhead and you're still asleep?"
"……"
Kim Seok-bong's appearance had grown far more haggard than before. He hadn't shaved in so long that it would've been hard to pick his face out of a crowd at a glance.
What made him even harder to recognize, though, was that his most distinguishing feature was gone.
His arm.
Kim Seok-bong had sported a hook for a hand, but now he had a perfectly normal one in its place.
It wasn't some steel prosthetic, either. It was a genuine, flesh-and-blood hand.
The reason this kind of miracle was possible was, quite literally, magic. You found a suitable arm, then used a healing-maximizing spell to fuse it on.
Since Kim Seok-bong had lost his arm long ago, he'd had to endure the pain of having the old junction site carved away, but the transplant itself had gone beautifully. It hadn't even been that long since the Black Shelter job, yet he was already using it as naturally as if it had never left his body.
"Director."
"If you're going to use it as an office, you should at least keep it tidy."
"An office only matters if work comes in. And no work is coming. Then again, who'd hire me anyway?"
"That's exactly why I took better care of you than the standard cut. Got you a new arm. Gave you a trailer. Handed you a shelter residency permit on top of that — most of the businesses here don't even have one of those. And you're still whining?"
"I know I've received plenty. I'm just telling you there's no work."
"No work? Then think about why there's no work, and figure out how to smash through the problem. You're young — act like it. Tsk, tsk."
Kim Seok-bong listened quietly to the scolding.
Then a strange thought occurred to him.
Is he older than me?
Kim Seok-bong looked to be in his forties, and he actually was. But Gong Won-goo, no matter how generously you judged, didn't look a day over thirty.
Going by appearance alone, he could easily pass for even younger.
"You eaten? No, right?"
"Well…"
"Come on, kid. We're going to get food."
"This is an office, you know."
"I know. We're eating here."
Where Won-goo had dragged him was an office Kim Seok-bong used to frequent.
Geosan Tour.
The place Kim Seok-bong had worked at right up until the Black Shelter incident.
Won-goo barged in without so much as a heads-up. As he stepped inside, an employee came out to meet him.
"What brings you—"
"Not you. Get Geosan out here."
"The boss is sleeping right now…"
"Then wake him. Is that so hard?"
When Won-goo's face darkened, the employee scrambled. Geosan appeared in under a minute, wearing an expression of pure shock.
"Oh. Director Gong."
"What, is napping in the middle of the day the new trend at the shelter? Life must be treating you well."
"I was just closing my eyes for a second."
Geosan's eyes met Kim Seok-bong's, but he showed no particular reaction.
"What's this about, Director Gong?"
"Came for lunch."
"Lunch?"
"Go boil some ramyeon. About ten packs."
"Ramyeon? Why ramyeon?"
"You don't have any? Economy's picking up lately — you can spare that much."
"……"
"It hasn't picked up? The Black Shelter nearby is gone, the shelter's customer base has grown, and business still isn't good?"
"……"
Geosan went silent as a mute who'd swallowed honey. He'd figured out exactly why Won-goo had come.
"Trickle-down is an actual, established economic theory. The customers went up, so the businesses' income went up too. Didn't it?"
"……"
"Not going to answer? Answer me. ANSWER!"
"…It went up."
"Then why didn't you keep your word? You promised to get along with Seok-bong here, didn't you?"
"Well… Director Gong, a promise is one thing…"
"Goddammit! If you heard it, that means you agreed to it. So why didn't you say no back then, huh? You sat there with your mouth shut and then stuck a knife in his back after the fact? Seok-bong!"
"Sir! Yes, Director!"
Kim Seok-bong snapped to attention harder than he had all morning. He'd caught on to why Won-goo had dragged him along.
"You gotten any work since the Black Shelter job?"
"Almost none…"
"ALMOST none? So you HAVE gotten some!"
"None, sir…"
"Hey. Hey. I made the terms crystal clear to the pathfinder bosses before I let them work for me, and this is what I get? This is why I don't trust anything without a signed contract."
"Director Gong, it's not that we did it on purpose. It's just that some clients find him a bit… intimidating…"
"And smoothing that over and connecting them anyway is the whole JOB of a pathfinder agency boss. Is Seok-bong bad at the work? Lacking in skill? It's all been verified. The merit he earned cleaning out the Black Shelter alone leaves zero room for doubt. And he still can't get a job? In a world where you need a pathfinder just to go grab a drink down the street? Are you screwing with me…"
"Um, th-that is — Director Gong. How many packs of ramyeon did you say?"
"Before we eat, Geosan. Anything been hurting lately? I don't usually make house calls, but today I'll make an exception and give you a checkup."
With that, Won-goo drew the warhammer from his waist. Geosan nearly had a seizure.
"No! Nothing hurts. I'm fine. Perfectly fine!"
"Put that down."
"Director Gong, it was my mistake, all right? Just come inside. Let's talk over food, talk over food!"
"Been getting headaches lately? One good crack of that skull open and they'll vanish on the spot."
"I feel GREAT. Truly, absolutely fine."
And with that, Geosan ushered them toward his private room at the back of the office. Every kind of foodstuff imaginable was stocked in there, and stocked properly.
"You've really set yourself up nice, haven't you? Economy really must be booming. Seok-bong. Did you know your old boss lived like this?"
"This is my first time setting foot in the boss's room, sir."
"Is that so?"
"What kind should I make?"
"Any flavor fine by me?"
"For you, Director Gong? Of course."
Won-goo swept his gaze over the mountain of ramyeon stacked around the room.
Then his expression hardened.
"What's wrong, Director Gong?"
"This…"
"Ah, that one's my personal favorite. Are you partial to that one too, Director Gong?"
"Did you order this stuff into the market?"
"Course I did. Barely anyone buys it, so lately it's basically my stock."
"Ah. I see. Seok-bong."
"Yes?"
"Step outside for a minute. Lock the door behind you."
Sensing the killing intent, Kim Seok-bong darted out and shut the door behind him. Geosan watched him go, slack-jawed.
True to the name Geosan — literally "giant mountain" — he was a man who flaunted an enormous frame.
Won-goo was solidly built himself, but Geosan was robust to a degree that brooked no comparison.
And yet he was so tense right now that he'd forgotten how to swallow.
"Wh-what's this all of a sudden, Director Gong? Haha."
"'Haha'? Haha? I was wondering what son of a bitch had been requesting mint chocolate on the market boards, and here you are. I had a feeling about today. Felt like I was going to see blood."
Swoosh.
The warhammer made its entrance. Geosan's screams spilled out into the hall.
"KYAAAAAHK!"
"What the hell is that noise? Isn't that the boss? What's going on, Mr. Kim?"
The pathfinders stationed at the Geosan Tour office came pouring out. They were on the company payroll — they had no choice but to show themselves.
"Hello, everyone."
"Hey. Been a while. I heard the story and all, but… what exactly is happening right now? That really sounds like the boss."
The pathfinders came swarming in a pack. They weren't combat specialists, but they all had the baseline specs for it. At the very least, they had to be able to defend themselves in order to guide survivors through the wastes.
Which meant that gathered together like this, they could be a genuine threat.
In moments, a dozen-odd pathfinders had clustered in front of the boss's office.
"He's receiving treatment."
"Treatment, my ass. What IS this? Mr. Kim, is this retaliation for quitting the company?"
"It's not that—"
"If it's not that… then it sounds an awful lot like a man being murdered in there."
"I told you, it's treatment. The man inside is Director Gong."
"Who?"
"Director Gong."
Kim Seok-bong kept his voice low. One brash pathfinder started sauntering toward the door, and the man beside him grabbed him in a panic.
"The Physical Therapist. Back off, back off."
The warning came as a whisper. The brash one's eyes went wide. Then he played it cool.
"Looks like the boss is getting quality care. All right, everybody, scatter. SCATTER."
The pathfinders quietly urged each other to disperse, and one of them chimed in.
"Isn't it about time we ate lunch?"
"We JUST had lunch—"
Before the oblivious one could say something stupid, a hand clamped over his mouth from behind. And the pack of pathfinders, glancing nervously at one another, filed out of the office as inconspicuously as they could.
Geosan's screams went on for quite a while after that.
"It's conscienceless bastards like you that keep this place from moving forward. You get me? In a world where everything's in short supply, you fill the shelter's supplemental orders with the things people actually NEED first. Is mint chocolate what belongs on that list? Does it? You selfish piece of work. Never would've guessed that was you, Geosan."
Thoroughly "treated," Geosan was bowing so respectfully that his forehead hammered the floor.
"And it wasn't just me — the businesses all hashed it out together, you know that. First things first, we said. Fill the essentials. Was mint chocolate essential?"
"The essentials are more or less… stocked now, so we figured everyone could start requesting what they actually wanted…"
"Stocked? The shelter's still missing half the goods it should have. You got ssamjang? Got chunjang paste? What about basic vegetables? THAT'S what you request first, you fool. Anyway, I'll be watching from this month on. If a single mint-related item gets approved, then I'll turn you into a true gourmand — properly, thoroughly. How's that sound? Easy, fast, and simple. I'll swap out your tongue on the spot. Am I understood?"
After that, Won-goo made the rounds of a few more tour agencies. None of them required the theatrical threats Geosan had earned.
"News travels fast. How'd you know I'd just come from Geosan Tour?"
Saegaseum, owner of the Sunflower Tour, wore frizzy, poodle-curled hair and sunglasses with a violet tint. He was rail-thin, with a few grubby tattoos scattered here and there.
They weren't irezumi-style markings but the fashion-tattoo kind you'd spot around Hongdae. That had led a few people to mistake him for a Seal user at one point, though it had since been made clear he had no connection to Seals whatsoever.
"Fast, isn't it? Not much to do for fun in this world. People've got to gossip about something."
"Still, that's too fast, no? That's practically real time. Mr. Sunflower — you don't happen to have a spy planted in Geosan Tour, do you? Keeping tabs on the competition?"
"……"
Saegaseum's face froze stiff. Won-goo let out an airy chuckle and didn't press any further.
"Right. Well. I understand. So I can take it my request's been officially received this time? No need for a contract or anything."
"When Director Gong himself vouches for him like this, there's no reason for us to turn him down. He's got real skill, after all. I'll reach out for the higher-grade jobs, though — nothing trivial. That's the smarter arrangement, don't you think, Mr. Kim?"
Kim Seok-bong, standing behind them, gave a nod.
"I'm about to burst."
Won-goo said it with a mouthful of bread. The look in Kim Seok-bong's eyes had shifted to that of a man hopelessly in love.
"Director. Thank you, truly. From here on out, I swear I'll give you proper, absolute loyalty."
"Spare me the loyalty. Just don't stab me in the back. Got it?"
"I've got nowhere left to go back to, sir. Stab YOU? That will never, ever happen."
"Good. When the Black Shelter contact comes through, pass word along right away. And I've already had a word with Geosan, so get yourself ready and go run the search. You know the good pathfinders at Geosan Tour, don't you?"
"I do, but…"
"But what?"
"Their skill level…"
"I know you're the best of the bunch. So narrow it down to the ones who are at least usable and send them out. You can steer clear of danger anywhere as long as you avoid Cheonchu Mountain, right?"
Kim Seok-bong nodded.
"Shave that face, too. Clean start, clean work."
"Yes, sir. I'll get my head straight."
"I'll say it once more — you find them, that's it. Don't get ambitious and botch the job. Understood?"
"Of course, sir."