Operation 2.
"As per your request, we haven't handed over the criminal evidence on anyone except Kim Myeon-hyeong to the prosecutors. The info and dirt on Jin Sun-mi is all here on this USB."
I took the USB that Gu Kang-cheol handed me. My revenge on Kim Myeon-hyeong would start by stripping him of his wealth and reputation, leaving him penniless. Abandoned by his family, with nothing left... I'd make his life so utterly miserable he'd beg for death. And now... I had Jin Sun-mi's weakness in my grasp.
"Hunter Park Woojin... a personal question, if I may."
Gu Kang-cheol team leader whispered softly into my ear.
"Sure, go ahead."
"Is there no way to turn a hunter who's turned into a demon back into a human? I figured if anyone could do it, it would be you, Hunter Park Woojin..."
"If it's stopping a mana rampage, yeah, that's possible. But once the rampage is complete and they've become a full demon? No way to reverse it."
Gu Kang-cheol's face darkened for a moment, then suddenly brightened. Like he'd heard exactly what he wanted to hear... a look of relief washed over him.
"I see... Thank you."
There was a story behind that lonely figure shuffling away.
Jejeop's claim that Gu Kang-cheol was suspicious piqued my interest.
[......]
"Oh yeah?"
The darkness lurking behind Gu Kang-cheol, the man who preached justice louder than anyone. The contradictions in humanity are truly entertaining. Seo Ji-hye's inhuman greed for money, despite her prim demeanor. The masochistic demon possessing the body of a Catholic saint. Kwon Si-hyuk, called a tyrant yet groveling before the strong. Gu Kang-cheol, shouting justice while breaking laws for personal pleasure... Even U Mi-young, Han Areum, and Gu Mirae all have their hypocrisies. And me too.
Are humans born evil, as in the theory of innate evil? Or born good? What is our true nature... and what even defines good and evil?
The cold dawn air pierced my lungs. I killed the Bentley’s engine and gazed at the familiar Gangnam skyline. Unlike the red, silent skies of T-16, this was the vibrant yet seething-with-filthy-desires sky of T-12.
After joining the Nation-Loving Guild, my range of operations had expanded noticeably. I trusted Gu Kang-cheol's intel and abilities, using his sense of justice as a foothold to shake Baal's cartel. Our goals differed, but our shared aim of dismantling the drug cartel bound us tight. Of course, if he learned my true identity, this odd alliance would shatter.
"Until then... I'll milk it for all it's worth."
I parked in the company lot, right in Kim Myeon-hyeong's reserved spot. With his downfall looming and the moment to break Jin Sun-mi at hand, this was perfect.
Jin Sun-mi, Kim Myeon-hyeong's shadow power broker. Thanks to Seo Ji-hye's leaked docs, the prosecutor's search and summons on him were just a matter of time. The instant he returned from Japan, it was over. But first, I needed Jin Sun-mi in my pocket. She was the key to all his secrets—and the perfect pawn to make his fall all the more dramatic.
I took the elevator to the 8th floor, where the president's office was. Passing down the hall, I saw the tightly shut door to the president's room. With Kim Myeon-hyeong away, she was surely inside.
Knock knock.
A sharp voice came from within. "Who is it?"
"Park Woojin from Service Business. Got something quick to discuss."
Silence fell inside after my reply, like she was weighing an unwelcome visitor. Then the door cracked open.
There stood Jin Sun-mi in a form-fitting navy dress, her hair in a flawless updo, scanning me up and down with cold eyes. Nothing like the submissive version from T-16—this was an arrogant, haughty queen.
"Oh, Assistant Manager Park. What’s the matter? What's up? I'm very busy right now, so if you've got something, make it as soon as possible, okay?"
She spoke in her signature condescending mix of English. Her arrogance just made me chuckle. I strode right into the office.
"With the president away, looks like this is your kingdom now."
My jab made her eyebrow twitch faintly. She sat gracefully on the sofa, crossing her legs as if unbothered. The tight dress rode up precariously on her thigh.
"What are you talking about? I'm just doing my job. You've been awfully active since coming back from leave, Assistant Manager Park. Heard you hit B-rank hunter? Congratulations."
Pure disdain and wariness. I sank deep into the opposite sofa.
"Thanks for the praise. But I'm here about your business, not mine."
"My work?"
Jin Sun-mi looked puzzled. I nodded at the papers on the table from my seat.
"Those must be a pain to sort. Kim Myeon-hyeong's slush fund ledgers and the Japan paper company docs."
"......!"
Her face went blank in an instant, eyes shaking like an earthquake. A crack split her perfect poker face.
"Wh-what... nonsense is this..."
I stood and approached her, waving a stack of printed docs from the USB Gu Kang-cheol gave me right in her face.
"What if I said your future's in here—believe me?"
Her gaze locked onto the papers. I leaned into her ear, whispering the cold, sweet truth like a serpent.
"The reason I'm here... is to tell you the truth behind Kim Myeon-hyeong's 'president offer' to you."
I turned, locked the door I'd entered through, then slowly walked back. Shock widened her eyes.
"How did you know? How can?"
"Drop the shitty English, you bitch. I'm holding your lifeline. Still don't get why Kim Myeon-hyeong's offering you the president's seat? You're the bullet catcher. Most of the company's funds went to Japan, leaving this shell. He's setting you up as president to take the heat from investors on breach of trust and embezzlement."
"What nonsense—"
"Company shares: 30%. And a backroom deal with him, right? Probably promised you 5%... too bad. He put some woman named Shin Serin as Japan rep, and she's the one he really favors—not you."
At Shin Serin's name, Jin Sun-mi's face paled. She knew. About Shin Serin taking the Japan post. That she was Kim Myeon-hyeong's favorite. Shin Serin was the thorn in her throat.
I twisted it. "Shin Serin's my ex-wife, so I know all about her. She handled Oni Blood distribution too, and she's the link to the Oni Guild. Between her and you, who do you think matters to Kim Myeon-hyeong? She's Japan branch president. You know it."
"......"
She clutched her pounding chest, staring at me as her mind pieced it together.
"You don't get it yet, but all Kim Myeon-hyeong's dirty docs are with the prosecutors. Raids coming soon. Saw the news? Hunter Association's toilet-paper chief arrested?"
Startled, she gripped the papers tight, knuckles white like she might shred them.
"Gonna smash the PC and destroy evidence? That safe over there... remember the precious info Kim Myeon-hyeong keeps in it? Someone already swiped it for the prosecutors. Right now."
She stumbled from her chair to the safe in a panic, fumbling the code several times before it finally beeped open. Then she collapsed on her ass.
"Gone... who... stole it... really stolen... what do I do... me."
Her eyes quaked, vision drifting into space. Those docs going public meant Kim Myeon-hyeong—and her—fully exposed.
I approached from behind, placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, trembling as she looked up at me.
"Jin Sun-mi. I'll open a path to survival in this mess."
"Wh-what..."
I handed her the pre-printed docs. Her misdeeds from the safe—jobs she'd done for Kim Myeon-hyeong's dirty work.
"This is a copy. Pulled it before handing to prosecutors. Condensed all your deeds."
Her shaking hands flipped through page by page. With each turn of her long fingers, tremors spread from her shoulders through her body.
"Didn't wanna see our pretty Jin Sun-mi rot in prison with him. Such a waste for that face. So I snuck it out. Grateful?"
"H-how..."
"Your choice: rot forever with the guy who set you up as bait, or betray him and serve a new master."
I whispered in her ear. Her pupils shook violently. She sighed deeply, looking up at me.
"Fuck... never seen a bastard like you... Think I'd fold to this blackmail?"
I grinned wide. The type who fights to the end, even with a knife at her throat. Sticking to her principles, however wrong. That was Jin Sun-mi.
"Fuck off. Now. Before I call the cops. You think that crap paper will take down the president and me? Bullshit. Prosecutors won't even indict."
Her sneer dripped with confidence—in the Oni Guild's grip on prosecutors and Japan's power.
"Don't know where you got your intel, but you fucked with the wrong bitch. I'll call my oppa Daehan and have you killed for sure."
Fury made her jaw quiver, eyes bloodshot. She unlocked and yanked open the door I'd locked, storming out.
I said softly, "Don't open that door. You'll regret it."
"What bullshit. You, Assistant Manager Park... you're dead by my hand today. I'll make you pay for threatening me. Some B-rank hunter punk..."
She wrenched the handle down. The door swung open. With a gasp, she froze, staring at the figure blocking the doorway.
"No... impossible."
She crumpled to the floor. Terror-struck, she turned to me for help.
"Told you you'd regret opening the door."
"Impossible... why... why are you here again???"
"Say hi. This one's Jin Sun-mi too—but she listens to me. You're obsolete now."
At my icy tone, she foamed at the mouth, scrambling to escape. I grabbed her throat, slamming her down, whispering in her ear.
"Survive in the demons' world now. To keep your soul from getting harvested... don't utter a word, practice your Joker Smile. Oh, and never go out after midnight. Fog's crawling with terrifying ghosts and monsters..."
"Wh-what..."
"Remember my words. Come to work. Skip it, and demons disguised as cops come knocking."
"What crazy shit!!"
"Bon voyage."
I chopped her neck, knocking her out. She'd adapt just fine to T-16's new reality.