South Korea's Strongest, Kang Sung-gi (16)
Of course, not everything was full of hope.
I remembered the look on Baek Seonghun's face as I left the conference room. And the three S-rank hunters who had followed him out...
"What do you think they'll do?"
Kim Seol-bi voiced the same concern.
"What can those guys even do? They'd just get wrecked by us anyway."
Kim Eun-bi scowled. It was her first time at the meeting, and she'd clearly gotten a bad impression from Baek Seonghun and his crew. They hadn't welcomed the newbie—in fact, they'd tried to exclude her from the vote.
Kim Eun-bi wasn't wrong. If it came to a fight, we wouldn't lose. With me included, our side had more S-rank hunters and superior skills. And it wasn't just us—Kang A-jin, Valentina, Luiza, Chichi and Titi, and even Seo Na-yeon if push came to shove.
They'll have to tread carefully.
They knew damn well we weren't pushovers.
The question was, what move would they make?
After sending Kim Seol-bi and the others off, I returned to my hotel room. I was thinking of resting a bit since fatigue had built up from everything, when a call came from the front desk.
"A guest has come to see you, Hunter."
The hotel staff already knew I was an S-rank hunter.
"Who is it?"
"Hunter Kang Dong-gwon has arrived. He said to let you know he's waiting at the bar."
Kang Dong-gwon... Of course I knew him. He was the hunter who'd openly sided with Baek Seonghun at today's meeting.
I couldn't help but frown, wondering why he'd come to see me. It wasn't likely he'd come for a fight. Curiosity got the better of me—what did he want to say?—so I decided to meet him.
"Got it. Thank you."
I left my room and headed up to the bar on the top floor. I hadn't chosen this place for the bar, but it was quite luxurious. The floor-to-ceiling windows offered a stunning night view, and it was clear a lot of effort had gone into the place.
"Hello."
As the elevator doors opened, a nearby staff member greeted me. Upon recognizing my face, their posture shifted to one of deeper respect.
"Your guest is waiting in the inner room."
My identity wasn't public knowledge, but in a hotel of this caliber, details on VIP guests like S-rank hunters would circulate among the staff. A quick attitude adjustment upon seeing my face was no big deal.
I followed the staff member's lead into a large private room, where Kang Dong-gwon—the one I'd seen earlier that day—was already waiting, the table laden with fancy drinks and snacks.
As I entered, he rose with a broad smile plastered on his face.
"Well, well, you've arrived!"
Kang Dong-gwon was a big guy who looked like he could throw his weight around, but aside from that, he lacked the aura of a true S-rank hunter. He came off more like a shady businessman making his fortune in illicit dealings.
I sat across from him.
"What brings you here to see me?"
"What's the rush? Truth be told, I wanted to set this up much sooner, but given the circumstances, I couldn't. Forgive me."
"No need for apologies. I'm just surprised, that's all."
And he had good reason to be surprised. The guy had so blatantly backed Baek Seonghun at the meeting—what nerve did he have showing up here?
I downed the drink he'd poured me. I could suspect foul play, but my body was immune to poison anyway. In terms of resistance, I surpassed even Chichi. If he'd tried anything, my body would react, and I'd know. No poison in this world could touch me. Well, something custom-made like the drug that hooked Park Hye-na might be another story, but during her treatment, I'd gained immunity to that stuff too. Nothing similar could harm me.
"Politics is like that, isn't it? Sometimes you have to act against your true feelings. You probably don't get it yet, Sung-gi."
Now I was intrigued. Kang Dong-gwon was someone I had zero fondness for, but why approach me at this timing? Objectively, he was a key player in Baek Seonghun's camp. Him plus three other S-rank hunters centered around Baek—they must have sunk deep roots into Korea's vested interests.
I was curious about all that. He was a different breed from Kim Seol-bi, Park Hye-na, Park Hyun-jun, Kim Hyun-cheol, or Seo Na-yeon. The other two in his group were probably cut from the same cloth. To reach the top of the hunter world, I needed to know everything—including this. Whether to smash it or claim it for myself.
"If you don't mind, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
Kang Dong-gwon eyed me slyly and asked,
"How'd you do it? Kim Seol-bi, Seo Na-yeon, and today I saw even Park Hye-na. How'd you win over those women?"
He looked like he was dying of curiosity. Unlike the other hunters I'd dealt with, he didn't seem driven by overwhelming lust. It was genuine intrigue. These weren't just any women—they were all of Korea's S-rank female hunters, and he was close to them. Plus the two newbie females. From his perspective, maybe he figured I'd beaten Baek Seonghun in the vote by stealing women's hearts. And he wouldn't be entirely wrong.
"Beats me."
I just smiled and left it at that. No obligation to spill the truth.
Kang Dong-gwon laughed it off, as if he hadn't expected more.
"Anyway, impressive skill. Half the world is women—that ability alone will make you filthy rich. Which brings me to my point."
Finally, he started showing his hand.
"Truth is, I don't like Baek Seonghun. Guy's got tattoos of scorpions and snakes on his bald head—full of ulterior motives."
If we're talking ulterior motives, Kang Dong-gwon seemed worse. At least Baek wore his ambitions openly; this guy looked like he had a nest of vipers coiled in his gut.
Anyway, he lowered his voice and continued.
"But what can you do? Those bastards are sharp when it comes to lining their pockets."
"Pockets? What do you mean?"
"No point keeping it secret now, so I'll be straight. Real estate."
I recalled Seo Na-yeon pointing accusingly at him during the meeting, ranting about real estate. Yeah, that must be why he'd stuck with Baek Seonghun. But what real estate? I might not grasp all the economic perks of being S-rank, but real estate didn't seem like a big deal. Gear and weapons alone could net tens or hundreds of billions. And S-rank dungeon clears brought in that much too. High-end info would flow to S-rank hunters through any broker. Easy money if you wanted it.
But what Kang Dong-gwon was after seemed different—something only accessible through Baek Seonghun.
"Real estate?"
I played dumb, and he burst out laughing.
"You're still so innocent, Hunter. I get it—new to S-rank, so you're out of the loop. You think I'd be talking about crappy land or buildings?"
His eyes gleamed.
"Dungeons."
"Dungeons?"
"There's a global push to privatize dungeons. Back in the day, they were cursed land. Who'd want to go near monster-infested death traps? Owners went bankrupt overnight. Governments swooped in, buying them up for pennies. Partly to bail out owners, but mostly because the state had to manage them for public safety."
I'd had no idea. My interest spiked way beyond expectations; I listened intently.
"But the world's changed. What's more valuable than a dungeon now? Privatize one, own it—that makes you richer than rich. The future belongs to dungeon owners. Fame, power? Worthless against money. Don't you think?"
He refilled our glasses and raised his. I wasn't agreeing, but I clinked anyway and downed it.
"To pull this off, you need capital, strategy. The government's against privatization, obviously. Why hand over profit machines to individuals?"
"Then..."
"That's where being S-rank comes in. There's a strategy only we can pull."
Kang Dong-gwon grinned.