Chapter 32
The next day, at Goyang Han River Park.
It was on the outskirts, so there was a decent crowd of spring outing picnickers.
There's the guy.
Gija-ryeong spotted him amid the leisurely strollers.
Seo Wonseok stood by the water's edge, staring blankly at the river.
He turned around.
"Right on time."
"Of course I had to come!"
Gija-ryeong whipped out her phone, holding it up for Seo Wonseok to see clearly before she even had a chance to find a bench.
North Ocean Guild Stock Status
-31% (Market Open Plunge)
The screen displayed the North Ocean Guild's stock chart.
"How the hell did you crash it 31% right at market open?!"
"Because the investors are mostly hunters—a small pool. But I'd prefer it drops even more."
"Excuse me, a 31% plunge in a hunter guild's stock is unprecedented since its founding!"
"We'll keep breaking those records from now on."
"No..."
A sigh escaped Gija-ryeong despite herself.
She tried to calm her racing heart.
"Fine, I won't ask how you did it. But as a business partner, tell me this: how low do you see North Ocean bottoming out?"
"At least 60% down."
"...Pardon?"
Her efforts went to waste as Gija-ryeong let out a dumbfounded yelp.
How could one person smash a hunter guild's stock by more than half?
Sure, even 31% is insane, but...
It made sense if he'd taken the red pill.
"It won't hit 60%. It can't."
"Why do you think that?"
"You think North Ocean's idiots? It's a major corporation! Of course they'll defend the stock price somehow! Unless they're morons! This is beyond what our HTN can handle!!"
"They'll try to defend it, sure."
"And you know that..."
Seo Wonseok quietly picked up a stone from the riverbank.
He skipped it across the water.
Plunk.
The water's surface repelled it once.
"But they won't do it properly."
Plunk.
The stone skipped two steps across the surface.
"...How can you be so sure?"
"Guild stocks can only be bought with Credits. Only hunters can trade them."
Plunk.
Three steps.
"To defend it, North Ocean hunters would have to buy in first, but how many of them have the spare cash lately?"
"Ah."
The COEX Gate thugs.
Broadcasters might ignore it, but Gija-ryeong devoured every article.
"B-but even at most, that's fewer than ten..."
"Yeah, just shy of ten. But the insurance payouts those nine have coming aren't small."
"What does that mean?"
Bankers were as ruthless as North Ocean.
Seo Wonseok had seen it with his own eyes.
- If guild-affiliated hunters cause a public disturbance, the insurer may withhold payout.
- If the fallout reaches the bank, it may claim damages from the guild per contract terms.
"With Credits."
Such poison clauses might not even trigger.
But guilds and banks were mutual master-servant.
The power wasn't entirely one-sided; the servant wouldn't aid the master unconditionally.
"That poison clause is the bank's last insurance policy."
"The insurer's insurance..."
"Doesn't matter if it actually gets clawed back. North Ocean has plenty to clean up already—starting from when that ledger leaked."
"...No."
Gija-ryeong shook her head emphatically.
"I heard from my deputy bureau chief once. Some foreign investment bank dumped big money into North Ocean. If they see it as North Ocean's fault, they could claim damages too."
Oh, hadn't considered that.
"...Did you account for that too, Wonseok?"
...No?
What does she think I am, a monster?
"Who knows."
He took the bait.
"Haa..."
Gija-ryeong nearly buckled at the knees.
Her gaze drifted to the river.
The stone had skipped halfway across the Han.
"You're good at that..."
"My brother could've made it to the other side."
"How am I supposed to compete with Seo Boseok?"
Ripples spread in layers.
A paper boat drifted toward Seo Wonseok, jostled by the waves.
He crouched low and reached out.
Just then, a kid and his mom came rushing over.
"Here."
Seo Wonseok smiled and placed the boat in the child's hand.
"Say thank you!"
"Th-thank you!"
"It sails nicely."
"Th-thank you!"
The mother and son vanished amid repeated thanks.
Seo Wonseok watched them go with a warm smile.
In that moment, Gija-ryeong thought:
We're in the same boat.
But he's the one holding the rudder.
Try to take it, and you'll get thrown overboard.
"Wonseok..."
Gija-ryeong finally spoke.
"How do you read these massive organizations so well? They say you know the depths of ten fathoms but not the shallows of a man's heart... let alone a group's."
"Have you ever truly hated someone, Reporter?"
The question came from left field.
"Everyone's got at least one."
"I've got plenty."
"..."
"Hate 'em so much that one day, I knew them better than anyone. That's about it."
For a moment.
Gija-ryeong recalled her deputy chief's words.
Pick your enemies wisely if you want the long game.
She swallowed hard. Her dry throat scratched.
"How long are you and HTN teaming up?"
"I'd like forever, but probably until our interests align with HTN's."
"..."
Gija-ryeong got it instantly.
"When do we drop the Mudskipper Media bomb?"
"Night raid. After market close today."
"...Gonna be busy."
Seo Wonseok stared at the shattering water scales as he replied.
"The busy ones won't be us—it's over there."
Across the Han, the KBC building blazed with lights.
"They're plenty busy already."
"..."
To that Surprise Texture Mask-forged icy smile.
"Oh, and congrats on the promotion in advance."
Chills raced down Gija-ryeong's spine.
Inside the KBC headquarters.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
The department head gnawed his thumbnail, cursing inwardly.
He was heading to the top floor—chairman's office—guided by the bespectacled secretary.
His heart pounded faster with each ascending floor.
He'd lost the 'ledger' with North Ocean Guild Co..
Tried to pin it on my underlings somehow...
Purges and more purges, but the arrows kept pointing back at him.
Rumors swirled that resigned employees, victims of his bullying, had formed a whistleblower group to leak to rivals.
If I don't handle this right, I'm fucked.
The elevator rose.
Felt like heading to the slaughterhouse.
Ding...!
Arrival chime.
Secretary stepped out first, then the head.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
A gravelly voice pierced the knock.
The secretary all but shoved him into the chairman's office.
"Ch-Chairman! Spare me...!"
He slammed his forehead to the floor before the old man gazing at Seoul's nightscape through floor-to-ceiling glass.
"Hyunseong."
"S-sorry!"
The head continued.
"...I really messed up. M-me! I'll f-fix it somehow! N-no, I'll s-salvage it...!"
"How?"
"I-I've got a suspect for the thief...!"
The head racked his brain furiously.
The ledger was stolen.
So who stole it?
Didn't know how, but one face with plenty of grudges against him flashed: Goh Won—no, Seo Wonseok.
Pin it on him anyway. Falsify evidence if needed...
"Hyunseong, I."
The chairman turned.
The old man's wrinkles twitched. Boiling rage.
"Need someone to take responsibility. Not who stole it."
"Chairman! I really, really screwed up!"
"You truly think that?"
"Y-yes. Absolutely."
"Good. Your words ease my mind."
"...?"
"Secretary Cheon, come in."
The secretary entered at the call.
Not alone.
A man flanked by two burly enforcers followed.
The head paled in terror.
Korea Hunter Bank's collection agents!
Modern devils.
They squeezed until you were a dry husk—nicknamed juicers among insiders!
"Ch-Chairman! Please! Not this!"
The chairman nodded at the head, then to the agents.
"He'll take responsibility."
"Haha, Chairman! But our insurance calc isn't done yet!"
"...I'll handle it somehow."
"Aw, sure. But hit the deadline, yeah? Boys, take him!"
"Yes, sir."
The bruisers grabbed his armpits, yanking him up.
"Chairman...!"
"VIP cargo. Handle with care."
"Yes, sir."
"You fucking bastard aaaah!"
Incompetent lackeys get boiled alive.
"Our department head's got lungs on him."
The chairman massaged his furrowed brow, addressing the bank's branch manager.
"Don't get too rough."
"Didn't know you were so soft-hearted, Chairman."
"He's got dirt on too many people."
"He'll be slaving in Cheolwon's hellhole anyway. Month in, he'll forget his own name."
"Cheolwon? Selling him to the mines?"
Gwang-san Co.
Masters of metallurgy for weapons and gear, plus enchanting alchemy. World-class rep.
But like every Korean hunter guild, they had a ugly underbelly.
"No leaks from there."
"Bank business."
The slick manager narrowed his eyes.
"The insurance payout tied to that North Ocean ledger? Basically principal only, Chairman."
KBC and North Ocean's ledger was mutual bombs around necks.
Not built on trust, but aligned interests.
By agreement, both insured the 'deal' itself.
- If one leaks trade info, the other claims insurance.
Korea Hunter Bank brokered it.
They laundered the cash to smooth things.
"...Does North Ocean know we lost the ledger?"
"Matter of time."
"I see. I'll manage."
"No doubt. I'll take my leave."
The manager glided out.
The chairman drummed the desk with nails, then grabbed the intercom.
"Gather up."
Two rushed in soon after.
Executive director and secretary.
"You called, Chairman?"
"Pull out calculators. Plug in the numbers."
"Pardon? Uh... yes."
The head's ransom wasn't worth spit.
Tossing him was showmanship for the bank.
Proof of payout intent.
Now, scrape the cash.
That's what the calculators were for.
"How much?"
"Well..."
The director cautiously tapped keys.
The chairman's face cracked at the total.
"Damn it all."
Too massive for emergency muster.
Could squeeze it out, but...
Pure cash hemorrhage.
"Secretary Cheon."
"Yes."
"Call the bank. Tell 'em grab anyone tied to the head. Hundred mil each."
Coincidentally, all former participants in bullying Seo Wonseok.
"Yes, Chairman."
Cheon left.
The chairman sighed from his core.
"What about cashing my Swiss account for the payout?"
"Procedures miss the deadline."
"Any liquid cash?"
"Loans... owed to the bank, no go. Best bet's the Mudskipper Media investment..."
The director hesitated even saying it.
Pulling that was a declaration of war on North Ocean.
"North Ocean's internal mess lately?"
"Hunter guild chatter says it's messy. Sloppy handling..."
"Those thugs. Should've played nice."
The KBC chairman tsked in disgust.
"Worked out though. Our lobby target's jumping ship to another guild anyway."
Dried up KBC's rice bowl.
Then the head lost the ledger.
"Call it investment recovery."
"Pull our stake from Mudskipper Media, pitch to other guilds for bailout?"
"Do it."
Crash!
"Ch-Chairman!"
"What racket?"
"HTN...! HTN's airing a special on Mudskipper Media as a ghost company!"
The chairman's face went slack—first time the secretary had seen it.
"...Pull..."
"Chairman?"
"NOW! Yank every Credit we have in Mudskipper!"
Today's ally becomes tomorrow's enemy in a heartbeat.
I used Hemo as a pillow while watching Nutyube.
"Viewers keep climbing."
The chat was a volcano, erupting too fast to read.
If only my EXP rose this quick.
Quit daydreaming.