Eight Hundred Million for Nothing
We received eight hundred million. We had done nothing.
With an expression thick with regret, Bolshoi looked around at us and spoke in a voice laced with bitterness.
"The chairman's orders have come down. With all the artworks destroyed, there's no longer any reason for us to remain here. Therefore, those of us assigned to security are to return home immediately and disband."
"Kh..."
It was an obvious and clear statement... and precisely because of that, it left me feeling utterly empty. My face automatically twisted into a frown.
We had been hired amid all that chaos. Yet after coming all this way, all we had done was escort this so-called chairman from the airport to here and back. We hadn't even laid a finger on the main objective before the situation ended.
But separate from that fact, there was nothing more we could do here. Recognizing that, I looked at Bolshoi and carefully asked about the part that concerned me most at that moment.
"Then... about the money we were supposed to receive this time... what happens to that?"
"Ah, no need to worry about that. Even though things turned out this way, it's not exactly your fault. The chairman has ordered that the contract fee be paid in full, so you can rest easy."
"Whew..."
"Thank goodness..."
At my question, not just us but everyone present began to show signs of relief. Even Glass, who had been expressing fury just moments before, visibly relaxed at those words.
Though the matter of the victims was regrettable, and those who committed this crime deserved divine punishment, that was ultimately between them and the French authorities. From our perspective as mere security personnel who had come here, receiving the money intact while having our workload drastically reduced was, in some ways, a slightly positive development.
Setting aside the horrific incident that had occurred, I felt relief that the situation had ended without any direct problems for us. I returned to the room with the hunters and immediately began preparing to leave—leaving only one thing: the confirmation of something that still bothered me.
Less than ten hours after arriving in Paris, our return to Korea had been decided. As a result, the members of Dreamouth and the others began hurriedly preparing to leave, carrying a slight sense of emptiness.
The departure time was tomorrow at noon. Since we had come on the chairman's private jet, there was no need to worry about booking new tickets; we could just leave right away.
"Well, it ended rather anticlimactically, but good night, everyone."
"Yes, you too, Jinhyun... good night."
However, in this room were two people who, in that short time, had felt their relationship grow much closer... and there was someone who now had a place she absolutely had to visit.
...By now, everyone should be asleep, right?
About an hour after lying in bed, Gwon-sun listened to Are's soft snoring beside her, then rose from her spot and immediately slipped out of the hotel.
The night streets of Paris, shrouded in darkness. Crossing them, Gwon-sun relied on her smartphone map and began moving with all her might toward the address that remained in her memory.
Though she struggled a bit along the way, she somehow managed to reach her destination using awkward English. It was a small church located on the outskirts of Paris.
"..."
A place that seemed empty, with all the lights completely off. But at that moment, Gwon-sun knew. If her memory was accurate, then surely here—those people would be.
So she slowly approached the church and carefully pushed the door.
-Creeeak...
Then, just as she expected, the church door began to open slowly. Gwon-sun entered the church and carefully closed the door behind her.
And right after that—
-Ching!
A cold blue blade pressed against her nape. It immediately began to dig slowly into her skin, drawing blood from her neck. Regarding that, Gwon-sun spoke in a calm voice.
"...Don't do this... Ro... It's me. Yu Gwon-sun."
"!..."
At those words, the blade stopped cold. Then it hurriedly pulled away from her neck, and Gwon-sun slowly turned to look beside her.
Standing there was the terrorist who, just earlier at Hamilton Plaza, had killed countless people without a shred of hesitation. Ro Dae-seung. But at this moment, her face held an emotion completely different from when she had taken the lives of innocent people—only pure, deep surprise.
"You... you... how did you get here..."
"Somehow... I came for work. Because of the mess you made, we're heading back tomorrow..."
"...Is that so?... That's... regrettable."
At Gwon-sun's words, Ro turned her head slightly and spoke in a small voice. But right after, looking at her, Gwon-sun opened her mouth in a voice filled with chill.
"Just... just... what... what were you thinking doing something like that? How could you commit such a horrific act—something no different from a devil—so freely!"
"The reason, Yu Gwon-sun... you already know it, don't you?"
"!..."
Ro spoke in a voice laced with hollow laughter. At that, Gwon-sun's face momentarily filled with unconcealable bewilderment, but then she suppressed it as much as possible and continued.
"Even so... the people there were unrelated to that matter. If you're going to take revenge, go to that person directly. Why... why take out your emotions on innocent people?"
Gwon-sun spoke with a trembling voice full of anger. But looking at her, Ro replied in a voice without a single tremor.
"No? They're not unrelated at all! Yu Gwon-sun, you know too, don't you? How disgusting the things those people there are doing! Putting on that ridiculous show of an art exhibition commemorating peace or whatever and pouring money into it!"
"...Ro..."
"For those bastards to be able to do that kind of crap, we had to go through that dogshit treatment! And you're telling me to just watch and let it go? Don't make me laugh. Those guys need to realize! That this world is hell! That the peace they enjoy is the bottom of hell where we die like dogs in places they can't see!"
"..."
Her appearance as she ranted with a terrifying expression swirling with madness. Looking at that, Gwon-sun couldn't say anything for a while. Then Ro slightly suppressed her blazing emotions, turned her back, and asked.
"So... what are you going to do now, Yu Gwon-sun? Planning to report me to the police like this?"
".... I have no intention of increasing the victims any further..."
"Wise. Then just go. Go enjoy that peace play more, or spend the rest of your life playing hunting dog in that proud homeland of yours. I'll keep living by punishing those bastards who throw us into hell and laugh it up. And... when the chance comes, for sure. Those dog bastards with my own hands..."
"...Kh..."
Ro spoke in a voice filled with sarcasm and deep resolve. At her words, Gwon-sun bit her lip until it bled, then slowly left the place.
A short conversation of less than ten minutes. But through it, Gwon-sun could clearly know. That the Ro she had thought of no longer existed in this world. That there—unlike herself, unredeemed, ultimately completely broken—only a single monster remained.
"...Goodbye... Ro."
"..."
After her final greeting, Gwon-sun left the place as is. Listening to the final greeting of an old friend she hadn't seen in a long time, Ro clenched her fist tightly and began to suppress her emotions as much as possible.
...It's too late to go back... And... this path... isn't a place for someone like you to enter...
"...Sniff..."
"...Cheer up. You can come again next time."
"...Sob... Yes..."
In the end, less than twenty-four hours after arriving in France, the Dreamouth members were boarding a plane to return once more. Glass was shedding tears of regret at the thought of having to return to Korea without having done anything in her long-awaited homeland, and Are gently comforted her.
As for Are herself, though the time had been truly short, in that short time she had gained an unexpected harvest, so it had been a truly meaningful time.
Now that the bridge is fully laid, if I can just create the atmosphere once more, right? If that happens, this time for sure with Jinhyun-nim...
Meanwhile, leaving those who were soothing their regrets behind, Jinhyun slowly—just like when they first came to Paris—sat next to Gwon-sun.
"Do you have something to say, Adjutant?"
"...Yes. I do."
"Straight to the point... You must have noticed something again in the meantime?"
"...Unintentionally so."
With those words, Jinhyun leaned back in his seat. Then he looked at Gwon-sun and asked in a calm voice.
"If it's not too much of an imposition... I was wondering if I could hear the story. About you and... that person named Ro Dae-seung."
"...Haa. Seriously... You're uselessly competent, you know. Makes me want to see the faces of those idiots who kicked you out as Adjutant."
Gwon-sun spoke in a grumbling tone at Jinhyun's words. But at the same time, she knew. That clumsy lies had no meaning here. Moreover, for some reason, she wanted to speak. To this man—the stories she had experienced.
Then she slowly looked at the sky where only clouds had begun to appear and began to open her mouth in a quiet tone.
"It was two years ago..."