Stubbornness and Pride
“But can we really pull this off without their cooperation? Tadersen is one tough bastard.”
“Which is exactly why we build a solid team. Same goes for the Fishers — most of them are bait, and only a handful are the ones actually holding the rod.”
“Do we really have to go about it that way?”
“Don't make me repeat myself. An ally who won't listen is scarier than any enemy. Better to leave them out of the equation entirely and prepare as if they don't exist.”
“Who else are you calling in?”
“How far along is the setup?”
“Still setting it up, actually. You said no, so now I'm stuck running coordination I never wanted in the first place.”
“What about that Yanbian crew? Are they solid?”
“Solid enough. They came all the way out to the frontier for work — you think they'd be anything less? But…”
“But?”
“Their head is a sly one. The type to live a long time.”
“That's a compliment, you know.”
“His skills aren't quite polished yet, but he's got a good nose for things. You know how it is — the ones who live purely by their skills are the ones who absolutely will not listen.”
“Stubbornness and pride. The two things you see far more than usual in this line of work.”
“The Yanbian crowd has their fair share of both, naturally.”
“And yet they still listen when it counts.”
“True. But whether they'd listen to you, Director Gong, I couldn't say. Ugh, just thinking about it wears me out.”
“Sounds like they put you through the wringer.”
“What did you do about it, Director Gong?”
Pacific shook his head side to side — a gesture one hundred percent sincere.
“Nothing special. I gathered them all, cleaned the whole mess up in one sweep, and laid it out for them. That was it.”
“And that's exactly why I'm telling you — nobody can run things the way Director Gong does.”
“See? That's what I've been saying. They don't listen. And that's a bigger problem than you'd think.”
That was what he said, but Pacific knew the problem ran deeper than simple miscommunication.
The name Director Gong carried far more weight than most people realized.
Knock. Knock.
A cautious tapping sounded at the door, and Won-goo smirked at it.
“Why aren't you kicking the door in like you used to?”
“I nearly lost a leg last time. Hey, Pacific — good to see you.”
“When did you call this guy?”
“Called him the same time I called you.”
“Thorough as always.”
“There's more coming, too.”
“What — so you'd been planning all this before you even heard my answer?”
“I was going to bring in more people regardless.”
“Who? Did you call Ah-bal too?”
“I called. Whether she shows is up to her. Ah-bal has that tendency, doesn't she?”
“So with Fresh joining as well, you're aiming to do this properly. Can I head back up top, then?”
“Why? Worried?”
“Communication's a little lacking, so yeah. I'm a little uneasy.”
“Won't Ganjeol Point help you out?”
“They've got their own mess going on right now.”
“What mess? The Black Shelters got cleaned up, didn't they?”
“They never caught those tattooed bastards.”
“Hmm… so that's still a sore spot? Sounds like someone more important than I thought got hit.”
“Seems that way.”
At that, Won-goo fixed his gaze squarely on Pacific's face.
Pacific was a veteran who had been through hell and back, but he was no match for Won-goo. He averted his eyes for an instant — and Won-goo didn't miss it. He tracked the fleeing gaze, stared hard along its path, until their eyes locked perfectly.
“Pacific. I'm about to get my feelings hurt here.”
“About what?”
“About what? About whaaat?”
“……”
“Just come out and say it. You know Director Gong doesn't go blabbing. Why the sudden secrecy and bullshit?”
Fresh chimed in from the side.
“Bullshit?! You son of a—! First time we've seen each other in ages!”
“Enough. Shitting up the mood to dodge the question won't work on me. What happened at Ganjeol Point?”
“Shit…”
“You've got a rough idea by now, don't you?”
“I don't know everything.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
“First — you know Ganjeol, right?”
“Of course. I already know his kin got hit by those tattooed punks, so get to what comes after. What — something else got looted?”
“No, nothing like that. Those bastards haven't shown their faces anywhere around here since.”
“Then?”
“The Seal bastards pinpointed and butchered Ganjeol Point's officials who carried Seals — and there was a reason they picked those exact targets.”
“Didn't they already have an ability to track Seals?”
“That too, maybe. But word is, somebody tipped them off.”
“So it's a house-cleaning from within.”
“That's what it's looking like.”
“And right in the middle of all that, Tadersen just pops up and seals off Mt. Yuhyang?”
“Exactly.”
“Director Gong, at this point Ganjeol Point has to be hurting bad.”
Fresh added, and Won-goo nodded.
“Yeah. They must be.”
“You know the drill — lock on the lips. Don't go out there stirring up trouble for nothing.”
“Please. Like I wouldn't know that much. Anyway, Pacific — go smooth things over with your people. We'll be heading up soon ourselves.”
“Don't drag it out too long.”
“We'll be right there.”
Pacific left the office without further delay.
“Who else did you call, besides me?”
“Montage hyung.”
“Potion too?”
“No. I didn't call Potion.”
“Why not?”
“There's someone better than Potion. Why would I?”
“Kiss?”
“Right. Kiss.”
“Seeing this, you really do have a ruthless streak.”
“In this world, skill is the bare minimum you lay on the table. From where I stand, Potion? Not impressive. She only looks good because she keeps so many bodyguards around her.”
“I thought she was decent enough.”
“Then hire plenty of her and use her all you want. By the way — Yeongyeong? She's not with you?”
“She'll be along shortly.”
“Prepare hard for this one. It's Tadersen. You know that, right? Tadersen is what wiped out the Mandeok Gang in one stroke — back when they were riding high hunting trolls.”
The Mandeok Gang had been prosperous enough that a forest still bore their name. Even hunters skilled enough to take on trolls had charged recklessly into a Tadersen hunt — and been annihilated to the last man. Because of that incident, Tadersen remained a figure of genuine terror among the survivors of the region.
“Oh, right.”
“Right, what?”
“No, wait — Director Gong, you remember? The one who took down the Tadersen that wiped out the Mandeok Gang — that was Neoguri hyung.”
“Was it?”
“He caught it with his Gift. You seriously don't remember?”
“Well… I was busy with other things back then.”
A regressed Won-goo could hardly be ignorant of how dangerous Tadersen was. When news of its appearance had come, he hadn't gone anywhere near the area.
“Guess I'll have to pay Neoguri hyung a visit.”
『 Neoguri's Shop 』
The door was locked this time as well. Won-goo fished the key out of the flowerpot, let himself in, and stepped inside.
“Again?”
Spin and Neoguri were together again. The blessing this time was that the two of them had not yet gotten down to the main event — they were still busy setting the mood.
“Hey! A locked door means closed, damn it!”
“Who closes a shop? Get yourselves a room somewhere. What is this, in your own store?”
“It's my shop!”
Neoguri roared, but Spin was already on her way out the door. Watching her go, Neoguri scrunched up his face and stuck a cigarette between his lips.
“You dragged Fresh along today too. What is this, a class reunion?”
Fresh raised a hand in silent greeting.
“We've got something to ask you.”
“About what?”
“The Tadersen that showed up off Buri Island. You caught it, hyung — that's the story I heard.”
At that, Neoguri's eyes went round and he shook his head.
“Nope. Who's been feeding you that?”
“It wasn't you? That's what I'd been told.”
“No. I was the first to find the carcass, sure.”
Won-goo turned and stared hard at Fresh.
“I was told you caught it.”
“Nope. If I'd caught a Tadersen, would I be sitting around like this? The reward would've been no joke.”
“Then what actually happened?”
“The Mandeok Gang and Tadersen bled each other white. Everyone died. In the end, Mandeok brought the thing down — but his own wounds were fatal.”
“So the two of them killed each other off. A mutual deathblow.”
“Exactly. And Mandeok — that bastard was tenacious to the very end. He could've just died quietly, but no. He collected the reward before he dropped dead. Whew.”
Neoguri exhaled a long plume of smoke.
“So that's how the rumor got twisted.”
“Yeah. I was the first to find it — that part's true. But thinking about that Mandeok bastard still pisses me off.”
“Well, Neoguri hyung — in that situation, he made the right call.”
At Won-goo's words, Neoguri pulled a surprised expression.
“He's right, hyung. In that situation, Mandeok's judgment was sound. Nobody knew what the reward would be. If something recovery-related had dropped, he might have survived.”
“With a pizza-box-sized hole punched clean through his chest? What exactly was going to save him?”
“The odds weren't zero, that's all. Anyway, good to know. I only believed it because this bastard Fresh told me you'd caught it.”
“The rumor about me catching it with a Gift? That thing's still going around? Unbelievable…”
“By the way, hyung — your Gift's still dormant, right?”
“Yeah. What is it this time?”
“Oh, we'll always have work. You rest well. We'll be seeing you again before long.”
“Don't come for a while.”
“We'll stay away for a while. And maybe see someone other than Spin. Not her, I'm just saying?”
“There's more to a person than what shows. She's a good kid.”
“She treats you well, apparently. Then I've got nothing to say. Enjoy the rest of your evening, hyung.”
“You little shit… wrecked the whole mood.”
“Love you, hyung-nim! Live long and prosper!”
Laughing, Won-goo drew a giant heart with both arms.
『 Sanghae's Shop 』
“What's the unit rate looking like?”
Montage asked the question. Everyone had gathered at Sanghae's shop, listening to the briefing.
“Way below what we got for the Siamese Frog, I'm afraid. The coalition is brokering this one, so you have to expect a gap from a direct Shelter commission.”
“Then that don't sit right, does it? This one's a far worse offender than the Siamese Frog. Am I wrong?”
“Which is exactly why we're all gathered here. Honestly, Montage hyung-nim, you're always in such a hurry. You never know — you might learn something if you hear a man out to the very end.”
“There's more?”
“The Siamese Frog came with no reward, remember. That was a Shelter commission, so the payout was wired straight through. This time is different. Since it's not a public-institution commission, the reward is ours to keep.”
As a rule, field monsters carried no rewards. Clearing structures like towers or dungeons paid out, but field monsters had nothing of the sort. Large Species and certain special monsters, however, were classified differently — hunting them counted as a kind of meritorious deed, and rewards followed. Strictly speaking, the Siamese Frog should have paid out the moment it was killed as well; had it not been a Shelter commission, a reward would certainly have dropped.
“Rewards, hm…”
“Tadersen's classified between Grade 8 and Grade 9, so the reward should be substantial.”
“So you're proposing we split both the fee from Ganjeol Point and the reward?”
Yeongyeong raised her hand as she asked, and Sanghae nodded.
“That's the idea.”
“And how do we split the reward?”
“That's precisely why things have to be airtight — and why I called you all here.”
At that, everyone caught on: contracts were coming.
“First, I'll be the one to verify the reward. Then we disclose exactly what dropped, and we decide who takes it.”
“What if more than one of us wants it?”
“Then we bid on it, what else? Whoever takes the reward splits its value in coins with the rest.”
“But… a reward from Tadersen would be anything but ordinary. Do we all actually hold that many Gold Coins?”
At Yeongyeong's remark, blank expressions spread around the room.
“Who said a reward had to be paid in Gold Coins? Goods work too. So do favors.”
“Favors?”
“As in — help me with a job someday, no questions asked, no arguments. That sort of thing. And it's not the only option, anyway.”
“There's another way?”
“There is. Take the reward as an item, sell it, and split the proceeds. So think carefully, everyone. Raise your hand only if the reward that drops is something one of ours genuinely needs. Anything questionable, it's simpler and cleaner to just sell it off and be done.”
“Cleaner, yeah. I'll give you that.”
Fresh's words hung in the air, and Sanghae looked around the table.
“Then I'll take it that everyone agrees on compensation. Let's write up the contracts.”