5
# Chapter 5
The private reception room located on the floor beneath the Oracle Consulting penthouse.
This was Oracle's sanctuary, a place where even the powerful figures of South Korea's political and business circles and the masters of major guilds had to wait for months just to secure an appointment.
As the Persian rug covering the floor swallowed the sound of high heels, a woman sitting on a luxurious sofa crossed her legs and snorted.
"Going this far with the extravagance. He certainly went overboard."
Yoo Jooyeon, the youngest-ever director of the Mana Management Bureau.
She was five years older than Taekyung and had once been the family's first great source of pride, carrying the full weight of their expectations on her shoulders.
She was dressed from head to toe in an impeccable designer suit. The primordial arrogance in her sharp eyes was just as obvious as her inflated sense of self-importance.
Even though the overwhelming luxury of the reception room had secretly intimidated her, Jooyeon deliberately pretended to be relaxed as she toyed with her teacup.
Clunk-
The heavy mahogany door opened, and Yoo Taekyung entered in a suit.
Jooyeon's eyes trembled ever so slightly.
The easygoing younger brother she remembered from the rooftop room, who used to smell musty while taking out her trash, was nowhere to be seen.
A perfectly controlled stride from head to toe.
Blue eyes that had become so cold they seemed almost capable of freezing someone.
The enormous pressure of mana surrounding Taekyung was enough to make even Jooyeon, the director of the Mana Management Bureau, instinctively shrink back.
But Jooyeon, steeped in sociopathic control issues, quickly shook off that intimidation and put on the familiar mask of an older sister.
"It's been a while, Yoo Taekyung."
Jooyeon uncrossed her legs and leaned against the back of the sofa with a smirk.
"Now that you've dressed yourself up properly, you're actually not bad to look at. You never had to suffer taking care of me and Taejin when you were young, so I guess you managed to grow up just fine out there."
Her tone was not that of someone addressing the CEO of Oracle Consulting, one of the most powerful figures in the industry.
It was the same horribly arrogant and rude attitude she had once used toward the younger brother she had ordered around in the rooftop room.
Taekyung sat on the sofa opposite her without answering.
His gaze, completely stripped of emotion, swept across Jooyeon's face.
A blue light appeared in Taekyung's eyes as the vision of the Absolute Observer quietly opened.
The countless threads of causality wrapped around Jooyeon's body appeared in midair.
A red thread representing stolen accomplishments.
A black thread representing bribes she had accepted.
And even grotesque blood-red threads representing her rise through the exploitation of the weak's mana.
The countless ugly corrupt acts she had committed to seize the title of youngest-ever director were as clear to Taekyung as a swarm of flies gathering around a garbage dump.
"But you've gone a little too far by completely cutting off contact with your family just because you've made some money, haven't you?"
When Taekyung remained silent, Jooyeon gradually began revealing her true colors.
She brought out the weapon of gaslighting she had loved using in the past.
The justification of family and guilt.
"Do you know Mom collapses crying every day because of you? Taejin was kicked out of his guild and is being hounded by loan sharks. Our own flesh and blood is about to end up on the streets, and you think it's acceptable for his brother to live in a penthouse like this in luxury? Pay off some of Taejin's debts and give him a position at Oracle."
She made the demand for him to share his wealth as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
In Jooyeon's logic, Taekyung was still nothing more than a sacrificial lamb who was supposed to give everything he had for his family.
She was the embodiment of selfishness, firmly believing that even the labor she had exploited from Taekyung in the past had been a reasonable choice made for the sake of the family.
Taekyung let out a short, dry laugh.
"Heh."
"...Are you laughing at me right now?"
"Director Yoo."
The dry, cold title coming from Taekyung's lips made Jooyeon's eyebrow twitch.
Not "big sister."
Director Yoo.
It was language designed to draw a perfect line between them, turning her into nothing more than a complete stranger.
"If you've come because you're concerned about the family's well-being, you've come to the wrong address. I already burned down the entire garbage can of causality connecting me to you people five years ago."
"What? Garbage can? Hey, Yoo Taekyung! Are you finished?!"
"Let's get to the point."
Taekyung slowly lifted the teacup sitting on the table.
"The point that brought you here because, now that you've become the director of the Mana Management Bureau, you've found something you can squeeze out of your younger brother."
Jooyeon's face flushed red in an instant after being hit directly in the heart of her intentions.
She was consumed by the humiliation of having her true motives exposed and the fury of having her younger brother dare to look down on her.
But Jooyeon soon took a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face.
"Fine. All right. You want to do business, don't you? You know I'm the youngest director of the Mana Management Bureau, right? No matter how successful Oracle is, you're still on the weaker side when it comes to government tax investigations and mana regulations."
Jooyeon leaned forward and lowered her voice.
"Pass some of the S-rank dungeon information Oracle possesses, or data on unexplored gates, to me from time to time. In return, I'll use my authority as director to keep every government regulation and tax issue that comes Oracle's way under control. How about it? It's good for both you and me. We're family, so we can trust each other enough to conduct this kind of secret deal. It's a win-win, little brother."
Greed glimmered in Jooyeon's eyes.
Her intentions were obvious.
She wanted to take Oracle's highest-grade information for free, turn it into achievements for her own department, and use it as a stepping stone toward even greater power.
In the end, she was simply a shameless parasite hiding behind the justification of family.
Taekyung, who had built Oracle through his own strength, had no need for a mere government bureau director's shield.
If he wanted to, he could expose the evidence of her corruption to the media right now and destroy her position as director.
Instead of getting angry or hitting her with the facts, he calmly set down his teacup.
'Twisting her neck right now would be far too merciful.'
Within Taekyung's vision, the chessboard of causality was being rearranged.
He began designing a perfect hell in which he would raise Jooyeon to the highest possible position before making her fall without even a pair of wings to save her.
"The government Mana Management Bureau as a shield..."
Taekyung's voice remained calm.
"Certainly, from Oracle's perspective, it could be a useful card to have."
At Taekyung's words, an irrepressible look of delight spread across Jooyeon's lips.
'See? No matter how successful he pretends to be, he's still my little brother. Once you've been crushed and dominated by me, you'll stay beneath my feet forever.'
Drunk on her sense of victory, Jooyeon crossed her legs again and arrogantly raised her chin.
But in the next moment, Taekyung leaned forward and interlocked his fingers on the table.
"All right. I'll provide the information. But there's one condition."
"A condition? What is it? Tell me."
The blue light in Taekyung's eyes shone coldly, seeming to pierce straight through Jooyeon's pupils.
The overwhelming killing intent and presence made Jooyeon suddenly feel as though her breath had been caught in her throat.
A chill ran down her spine.
"From now on, any information I give you may only be accessed by you, Director Yoo, and may only be used for your own achievements."
Taekyung's low, weighty voice pressed heavily against the air of the reception room.
"If you use my information to pay off Mom's or Taejin's debts, or if I catch you pulling any other foolish tricks behind my back..."
An unnaturally cold and flawless smile spread across Taekyung's lips.
"Then it won't end with you losing your position as director. Your entire remaining life will be disposed of without a trace."
"...!"
"Consider it a special warning because we're family."
Jooyeon sat there with her mouth open, unable to say a word.
Her heart pounded as though it would burst, and her breathing became rapid.
The arrogant certainty that had made her believe she completely controlled her younger brother only moments ago shattered into pieces.
"I'll take your answer as a yes. I'll have my secretary send the first piece of information to your office tomorrow. You can look forward to it."
Taekyung rose from his seat and buttoned his jacket.
Leaving the frozen Jooyeon behind in the reception room, he turned around and walked away without hesitation.
The mahogany door closed.
In the now-empty reception room, Yoo Jooyeon realized that the teacup in her hand was trembling slightly.
She bit down hard on her pale lips.
What Taekyung had handed her was not a lifeline to success.
It was a poisoned chalice designed to burn her greed as spectacularly as possible.
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