Déjà Vu (3)
“This is Choi Yeon.”
Choi Yeon introduced himself.
From the other end of the line came the flustered voice of a middle-aged man. It was Yun Mingi, the one who had been caught smuggling monsters.
“Who did you say you were?”
“Choi Yeon.”
“...Ah, is that so? If you’re Choi Yeon, then I’m Choi... Yeon too?”
“......?”
Choi Yeon pulled the smartphone away from his ear and stared at the screen, wanting to check the other man’s face.
I’m Choi Yeon? The thought crossed his mind that the guy might be suffering a serious identity crisis.
Come to think of it, Haedrim Detective Agency knew how to manufacture sleeping powder. Had they crossed the line into dealing actual drugs now?
While suspicion sprouted and grew, the other end of the line grew noisy as well.
“Hey, hey, this is Choi Yeon, right? Yeah, that Choi Yeon! Boss! Take the call! What do you mean who should take it? You’re talking like Jo Seong-cheol! Hurry up and answer!”
After the brief uproar subsided, a low voice came through with a couple of throat-clearings.
“Ahem, ahem. Phone’s been passed over. This is Director Choi Dongpil.”
“Yes. Hello.”
“Right, you’re doing well too?”
“I’ll get straight to the point.”
“Ah, ah. Sure!”
Director Choi Dongpil of the detective agency stammered. The sound of him gulping was plain to hear.
Why’s he so scared? Anyone listening would think I was coming to arrest him... Ah, right. I did catch him before.
The incident under Hyeonam Bridge came back to him—the detective agency staff, the Trainer, and even that mysterious snake.
That had already been a month ago. Time really flew.
“Do you know of Red Fang?”
“If you mean the ones operating in Yuseong-gu, yeah. D-rank guild with Lee Gwangmu as guild master.”
“Yes. That’s them.”
“What about them?”
“Got any info you can share?”
“......”
No answer came to Choi Yeon’s request.
Only light breathing could be heard, the intervals so regular that it didn’t feel like discomfort or awkwardness.
What’s with him?
“Hello?”
“Uh...?”
“I asked if you had any information. Did you hear me?”
“I-I heard. Heard you loud and clear.”
Choi Dongpil answered with a silly little laugh. After spacing out and then suddenly laughing, the suspicion that had sprouted earlier made its presence known again.
Are the people at Haedrim Detective Agency really dealing drugs?
“Whew, time sure flies. Hearing the same words from you that I heard from that guy.”
“That guy...?”
“There is one. A bastard with filthy eyes.”
“......?”
“Still, you’re using polite speech now, so I guess you’ve improved a bit?”
“...I wouldn’t know?”
How would I know that?
Instead of arguing the point, Choi Yeon simply asked back quietly.
That alone was enough to bring things back on track.
Sure enough, Choi Dongpil cleared his throat the same way he had when taking the phone and continued.
“Ahem, ahem! You want information? Then what are you going to give us in return, Yeon?”
“What am I going to give you?”
“Yeah.”
“......”
“Our Haedrim Detective Agency doesn’t work for free!”
Well, nobody in the world does. Muttering that only to himself, Choi Yeon thought for a moment.
By asking what he would give, Choi Dongpil was making it clear he wanted something other than money.
As a detective agency director, what he wanted... the answer came easily.
Hadn’t they always said it?
“You’ll be able to maintain a close relationship with Seonhwa Dongdae, right? Just like now.”
Choi Yeon said quietly.
Strictly speaking, it was a promise to give them nothing at all, yet—
“Ahahaha!”
From the other end of the line came Choi Dongpil’s thoroughly satisfied laughter.
There was even a bang as something was slammed down.
“Right, that’ll do just fine! Shall I send the info by messenger?”
“No need to go to that trouble.”
“Got it. Then through Decrypt.”
“Yes.”
Choi Yeon settled on the delivery method and ended the call. Then he launched the Decrypt app.
They just needed to send the information they had already gathered, so a short wait would do. As expected, the mail arrived in less than a few minutes.
Tap.
When he pressed the view button, the information unfurled in a cascade. The volume was larger than expected.
“Figures...”
Choi Yeon let out a snort of a laugh.
Of course there was a reason Red Fang’s reputation had been absurdly good.
It was all lies.
“Hmm...”
Choi Yeon stamped his foot on the ground a few times.
He sat in a chair with a broken armrest, then rapped on the outer wall of the public parking garage building.
“Oh, sturdier than I thought?”
Lee Seongjun watched Choi Yeon carefully surveying the back alley with a strange look. Choi Yeon paid him no mind and continued his explanation.
Lee Seongjun lowered his gaze to the pad in his hand as well.
Forced Mandatory Volunteer Work for New Recruits
Loot Extortion and Distribution Manipulation
Quest Reward Money Omission
SNS Manipulation, Fake Reviews
Threats and Brainwashing of New Recruits
⋮
“Red Fang sent their guild members deep into remote dungeons. They dressed it up as volunteer work for social contribution, but that was complete bullshit—it was just to pocket kickbacks.”
“Then those internet articles...?”
“Yes. Articles Red Fang paid to have posted for the packaging.”
“All of them?”
“And the lively guild member activity on SNS was forced too.”
“No wonder it was nothing but praise...”
Tap. Lee Seongjun opened the SNS-related entry from the table of contents on the screen.
This section is a record of the investigation into Red Fang’s official SNS operating methods and issues related to guild member review writing.
Particular focus was placed on inappropriate promotional activities such as review manipulation.
• Forced writing of positive reviews
#FamilyLikeGuild #GrowTogether etc. — designated phrases forced
Note: When writing reviews, use of burner phones provided by the guild side
“What... is this...”
“Shocking, right?”
“Does this kind of thing even work?”
“It does. Red Fang’s current new recruits joined because they believed that SNS.”
“......”
Lee Seongjun was left speechless.
It was hard to believe, but since it was real, he couldn’t exactly argue that it couldn’t be true.
And would he himself have been any different? When he had searched yesterday, hadn’t he simply thought the reviews looked good?
“...Loot extortion is clearly illegal, isn’t it?”
“That’s why Red Fang created this amazing operating system called communal ownership.”
“Communal ownership...?”
“When a rare item is obtained, they take it saying let’s use it together.”
“And of course they can’t actually use it together?”
“Right. Only the executives use it day and night, or they sell it off claiming it was lost.”
“......”
Lee Seongjun squeezed his eyes shut.
If he had met the Red Fang people today without knowing these facts, what would have happened?
He might have been naively taken in—just like the new guild members who had joined Red Fang trusting the SNS.
“Asking to meet the very next day after the text was also to keep you from having time to dig up this kind of information.”
“Huk...”
Lee Seongjun was appalled by Red Fang’s thoroughly underhanded thinking.
He had never even imagined that suggesting a meeting the next day was already a scam.
“...That’s why if something only has good things said about it, you have to be suspicious.”
“Exactly!”
Lee Seongjun fervently agreed with Choi Yeon’s words. The image of himself writing fake reviews kept floating up in his mind.
If he hadn’t sought out Choi Yeon yesterday, that might really have been him in the near future.
“Whew...! Thank you so much for looking into this.”
“No need for thanks. It was nothing.”
“Honestly I don’t even want to meet them...”
“That’s not a great idea. Besides being bad manners, letting it end on a good note is better for you too, Seongjun-ssi.”
“You’re right. Then... Hunter-nim. I have a request.”
“Want me to go with you?”
“Would you?”
When Lee Seongjun looked at him with expectant eyes, Choi Yeon smiled faintly.
Why not?
“Of course. That’s part of a Dongdae Hunter’s job.”
A precious chance to keep the field work legal. I was planning on it from the start.
Unaware of Choi Yeon’s true thoughts, Lee Seongjun bowed deeply from the waist.
“Really, from start to finish, thank you for everything!”
“Not at all. I’m the one who’s grateful.”
“Huh? Why?”
“...No. Just a slip of the tongue.”
“......?”
“More importantly.”
Choi Yeon smoothly changed the subject.
He pointed at the chair he had sat in earlier and continued.
“I have a question. This chair. If someone had to wait about ten minutes... would they sit in it?”
“Hmm... I think they would? If it was too dirty they’d avoid it, but this much...”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Creak, creak...
Smiling as if satisfied, Choi Yeon began fiddling with the chair this way and that.
Lee Seongjun watched curiously, but all his eyes could see were two hands flailing at empty air.
Lee Seongjun’s question ultimately went unanswered.
“Mm. Done.”
...Done with what?
Lee Seongjun tilted his head and looked at the chair. For some reason, the chair sat there alone as if waiting.
Waiting for someone to sit in it. Silently.
The café about five minutes from Exit 1 of Jungangno Station was quiet.
Aside from the occasional person grabbing an Americano to go, the only ones occupying seats were Choi Yeon and Lee Seongjun.
“......”
Only after the minute hand had advanced seven more marks past the appointed time did the café door open and a muscular middle-aged man walk in.
It was Lee Gwangmu, master of Red Fang.
Dressed casually, he looked around the café before walking toward the only two customers.
“...Lee Seongjun?”
“Yes, hello.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Lee Gwangmu extended a thick hand with a broad grin. It was a refreshing-looking smile, yet Lee Seongjun only grew more tense.
He couldn’t help it. Didn’t that smiling face mean he was the type to smack someone in the back of the head?
Knowing the man’s ways, even the attitude of being late without apologizing grated on him.
Of course he tried not to show that he knew. Lee Seongjun’s goal was to refuse the scouting offer, not to rant about Red Fang’s behavior.
Lee Gwangmu turned to Choi Yeon.
“And you are?”
“An older brother I know. Since this is my first time with something like this, I asked him to come along.”
“...Aha. A junior, then. Nice to meet you.”
“Kim Howon.”
Choi Yeon gave a false name.
The other side had come intending to deceive them anyway, hadn’t they? A little prank like this shouldn’t be a problem.
Lee Gwangmu whipped his head back toward Lee Seongjun. He was still smiling, but that only made Lee Seongjun feel even more pressured.
“I don’t mind, but normally it’s better to mention something like this in advance.”
“...I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through.”
“Right. Be more careful next time.”
“Yes, yes...”
“By the way, Kim Howon, was it?”
Lee Gwangmu’s eyes returned to Choi Yeon. Busy going back and forth.
Choi Yeon returned the smile in kind. A smile meant to deceive, the smile of a good person.
“Hmm, first time hearing that name.”
“I’m only an E-rank hunter. There’s no way Lee Gwangmu-nim, guild master of Red Fang and a C-rank hunter, would know me.”
“Haha! You’ve got a way with words. But... mind if I ask one thing?”
“Please do.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way.”
Oh... now I really want to take it the wrong way.
Choi Yeon decided to go with his gut.
“I’m genuinely curious—your eyes... are they always like that?”
“Yes, they are.”
“Huh, I see. First time seeing sparrow eyes like that. Interesting. You understand, right?”
“Of course. A lot of people say that.”
“Good. Then let’s get to the main point.”
Clap. Lee Gwangmu rubbed his hands together.
That gesture looked petty precisely because Choi Yeon saw right through his greed.