Chapter 557: Rebellion (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 557: Rebellion (5)
The more you know, the more you see.
“I’m quite fond of that saying.”
Inside the limousine heading to Gangnam.
Of all the available seats, her eldest brother had chosen to sit right next to her, his words clouding her ears.
“Even when looking at the same thing, everyone’s impression is different.”
He was right.
For nearly twenty years, until she was finally allowed to live on her own, she had known nothing about the family she had grown up in.
What kind of darkness lurked in that house.
What kind of people the ones who had cared for her with smiling, respectful faces truly were.
And what the value of a woman named Im Na-eun was in this household.
“In that sense, that friend Kim Do-jin is quite remarkable. To have become so successful in his early twenties, don’t you think? And all on his own, without a family or anything to back him up.”
Im Ji-hoon acknowledged it.
The power and ability that Kim Do-jin possessed as an individual.
But that was all it amounted to.
Before the Mirae Group—a corporation that had expanded beyond the narrow confines of South Korea and into the world—he was utterly insignificant.
“I wonder if he could beat our Driver Jung.”
He posed the question to his driver, who was currently focused on the road.
“What do you think, Driver Jung? Do you think you could win in a fight against Kim Do-jin?”
The driver replied.
“I am confident that I would not lose, at the very least.”
“Come on, he’s the hottest Hunter in the world right now. Aren’t you being a little overconfident?”
“Fame and skill are not always directly proportional.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Anyone else who heard them would have scoffed.
Asking a mere driver if he could take on an S-rank Hunter, and the driver replying that he at least wouldn’t lose.
Wasn’t that an exchange only a madman could have?
But she knew.
She knew there wasn’t a single lie in the two men’s insane conversation.
I had no idea.
She knew he had been a successful A-rank Hunter in his prime.
And that since he hadn’t retired due to injury, his skills were still sharp.
Yes.
That was all she thought she knew, but she was wrong.
I never imagined he was that strong…
Was it as they say? The more you know, the more you see.
When she, now an A-rank Hunter herself, visited her family home, she felt an insurmountable wall the moment she faced Driver Jung.
A towering wall, similar to the one she’d felt when facing Kim Do-jin, that seemed utterly impossible to overcome.
Which meant one thing.
I’m sure of it. Driver Jung is an S-rank Hunter.
There was no other way to explain the sensation she was feeling.
And that shocked her.
Why on earth was an S-rank Hunter serving as her eldest brother’s chauffeur?
But that wasn’t all.
During her first visit home in a long time, she had seen at least three others she suspected were S-rank Hunters.
And they were among the very people who had doted on her and cared for her all this time.
The moment she belatedly realized this, her family home began to look like something other than a simple house.
The Dragon’s Pond and Tiger’s Den.
A great fortress that no one could dare challenge.
“I’m telling you again just in case, little sister.”
It was from that moment on.
“I know. I won’t… say anything foolish.”
That she gave up her rebellion and meekly accepted her fate.
“Hmph, good. You understand.”
Im Ji-hoon quietly watched his sister beside him.
Her resigned attitude and expression.
He was quite pleased by the sight of her, which reminded him of a sick chicken or a withered flower.
Because he had once been the same.
After witnessing the true power of his family, he had been so shocked that he had even fallen ill.
So he felt a sense of relief.
It wasn’t that he was weak; it seemed this was the natural reaction.
This is how it should be.
His mood improved slightly.
* * *
Na-eun came to see me.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah…”
A simple greeting was exchanged.
At the same time, I studied her face.
She was gaunt.
Already thin, she looked as if she had refused all food and drink for some time.
But surely a rich family wouldn’t have starved her.
Perhaps she refused to eat even when they brought her food.
There was so much I wanted to say.
But the words couldn’t come out easily.
“Well, Hunter Kim Do-jin, as you requested, I have come directly with the person in question.”
Im Ji-hoon, the vice president of Mirae Corporation.
He was positioned right next to Na-eun, his eyes wide as he watched her.
So, setting aside everything else, I asked her.
“Your brother requested to terminate your contract.”
“……”
“Is that what you want, too?”
After a long silence, she managed a difficult nod.
“…It is. I’m sorry to everyone, but… I don’t want to be a Hunter anymore.”
The worst of all my fears had come to pass.
Her eyes, which had always been full of life, were now clouded.
For whatever reason, it meant she had accepted her situation and resigned herself to it.
“Are you serious?”
“…Yes.”
I am ready.
I can fight not just the Mirae Group, but something even greater.
I’d rather die fighting fiercely than have what’s mine taken from me.
Of course, I didn’t think I would lose even if I fought the entire Mirae Group.
But this was only possible if Na-eun’s will was behind it.
I could only truly intervene if she herself asked for my help, if she wanted to escape.
That’s why I tried to persuade her again.
“Tell me what you really want. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.”
At that, Im Ji-hoon’s expression hardened slightly.
He seemed worried his sister might be swayed by my words and blurt something out.
A flicker of conflict crossed her clouded eyes.
Should I say it, or not?
She was torn between the two choices.
But it was only for a moment.
The light that had appeared for a fleeting second vanished without a trace.
“Please… terminate the contract.”
“……”
At this point, I had to wonder.
Was Im Na-eun’s trust in me really so shallow?
Or…
“There. The person herself has spoken, so let’s not drag this out any longer and terminate the contract. We will pay any penalty fee you desire.”
Was what she had seen so overwhelming that it had shaken even her firm trust in me?
A sense of defiance began to well up inside me.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
I had no choice.
As long as she was acting this way, it was impossible to hold onto her using the contract as a pretext.
For now, I had to do as they wished.
I wrapped up the conversation and tore up her contract, which I had prepared just in case.
“Ah…”
Sorrow filled her face as she watched blankly.
Her eyes grew moist, as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment.
But though they welled up, the tears did not fall.
She was struggling with all her might.
Trying desperately not to let the tears spill.
Meanwhile, Im Ji-hoon asked.
“Are you sure you don’t need a penalty fee? I’d rather we not have to discuss this same matter again in the future.”
“It’s fine. And my mind won’t change, either.”
That’s right.
Not now, not ever. My mind won’t change.
At least, my conviction to never let go of what I have in my hands.
“If you say so… I understand.”
Im Ji-hoon rose from his seat.
Im Na-eun, who had been sitting in a daze, slowly got up as well.
Her movements were so precarious she looked as if she might collapse at any moment.
He paid her no mind.
Im Ji-hoon gave me a slight bow as a final farewell.
“My schedule is tight, so I must be on my way.”
“Ah, yes.”
Then he took Im Na-eun’s arm and immediately left the guild leader’s office.
Until they had left the building.
Im Na-eun never once looked back.
It was as if she were desperately trying to sever any lingering attachment she had left for this place.
* * *
All preparations were complete.
By amicably terminating her contract with the guild, all the strings connecting her to the world had been cut.
A few individuals might wonder about her, but that didn’t matter.
People’s interest was bound to fade with time and eventually disappear.
Yes.
All preparations were complete.
Preparations so that even if she were to suddenly vanish from this world one day, no one would suspect a thing.
“Miss, please excuse us for a moment.”
Servants approached and began to adorn her.
They applied beautiful makeup and dressed her in a gown that was simple yet naturally eye-catching.
The reflection that stared back at her from the mirror was incredibly beautiful.
Kim Do-jin.
Beautiful enough that she wanted to show herself to him, her one and only master in this world.
But that would never happen.
Because she would never again have a reason to step outside this house.
After her preparations were finished.
“Are you ready?”
Her eldest brother, Im Ji-hoon, opened the door and came in to check on her.
“Haha, you look lovely.”
Despite the compliment, her mood soured rather than improved.
She knew there was no meaning behind his words.
“Let’s head down now.”
Following behind Im Ji-hoon, she stepped lightly down the stairs.
The fourth floor.
The third floor.
The second floor.
The first floor.
And then, another staircase greeted her.
A path that was normally hidden, known only to the key figures within the family.
Her brother, who had gone down ahead, gestured for her to come.
“Hurry down.”
She forced her timid feet forward.
Basement floor one.
Basement floor two.
Basement floor three.
She descended countless steps, going down, and down, and down.
Just as she was beginning to lose track of how many floors she had descended.
At the very end, she saw a black sphere that seemed to absorb all light.
The guards who had come down with them reached out to the sphere first.
Swoosh!
They were sucked into the sphere.
Im Ji-hoon followed.
And then it was her turn.
After a moment’s hesitation, she slowly extended her hand.
She knew that having come this far, hesitation would change nothing.
Swoosh-!
Her consciousness faded, and her body, floating in the air, soon arrived at a new location.
She slowly opened her eyes and faced the message window floating before her.
[You have entered the dungeon ‘Swamp of Knowledge’.]
Within the deepest darkness her family had been hiding.
-“Heeheehee… come closer.”
A voice that sent shivers down her spine urged her forward.