Chapter 28
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Fraternal Rivalry
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Oh Young-gyu was waiting leisurely for the report from Jin Seong-jun.
He didn't entertain the slightest thought that he might fail.
He had given a stern warning before departure, and considering the consequences of failure, Jin Seong-jun would grit his teeth and ensure success no matter what.
Above all, Jin Seong-jun and his team were professionals.
Even with a recent slip-up, Jin Seong-jun was the one Oh Young-gyu trusted most.
"It should be about time for the report."
Oh Young-gyu glanced at the time and muttered to himself.
He was puzzled that there was still no contact, even though enough time had passed for the job to be finished.
"Are they slacking off or something?"
Oh Young-gyu frowned slightly.
As he said, he couldn't imagine failure, let alone any mishaps.
It was partly his faith in Jin Seong-jun and largely his overflowing confidence.
As the scion of a chaebol family akin to modern nobility, Oh Young-gyu had never experienced failure.
To him, it was inconceivable that mere C-Rank hunter riffraff could pose any variables.
How long did they plan to take?
As irritation began to build, his phone rang.
It was the familiar number of Jin Seong-jun.
Smoothing his furrowed brow, Oh Young-gyu answered.
"Manager Jin. What the hell are you doing? Do you know what time it is...?"
- Is that President Oh Young-gyu?
The low voice that responded was not Jin Seong-jun's.
Oh Young-gyu's expression froze at the unfamiliar male voice.
"...Who is this? Where's Manager Jin...?"
- This is our first time speaking like this. Nice to meet you. It's Yeon Sung-hun.
"...Yeon Sung-hun? That alchemist? How did you...?"
- The hunting dogs you sent are with me. Don't worry, I'll take good care of them and send them back. Oh, you'll probably meet at the police station.
Oh Young-gyu's face crumpled at the calm voice.
More than concern for his subordinates, memories of all the dirty, illegal jobs they had handled for him flooded his mind.
Jin Seong-jun and his team had been his hands and feet, cleaning up countless messes.
They hadn't left concrete evidence, of course, but they knew enough to cause him serious damage.
After a brief moment of judgment, Oh Young-gyu spoke calmly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
- Trying to deny it? Not a wise choice. You should've negotiated with me instead. Not that I ever planned to negotiate with you.
"......"
Oh Young-gyu clenched his fist tightly at Yeon Sung-hun's steady voice.
He found the situation utterly humiliating.
A lowly hunter he wouldn't even bother with daring to spout such nonsense at him?
Suppressing his rising disgust, Oh Young-gyu spoke.
"Did you think about the fallout before starting this? Do you even know who you're talking to?"
- Oh Jeong-nam, chairman of the Oh Group, third son—the president of Oh Chemicals. Right?
"...You're not clueless about the world. Can you handle it? Surrender now while you still can..."
- You still don't grasp your position. If anything, I should ask you: can you handle what's coming?
Oh Young-gyu ground his teeth.
An unbearable sense of humiliation washed over him.
"You arrogant fool who doesn't know his place. I'll make you regret this."
- We'll see who regrets it.
"......"
Oh Young-gyu hung up without another word.
Any more conversation, and his anger would explode.
No, he was already at his limit.
"Damn it! What the hell did that bastard Jin Seong-jun do?!"
Oh Young-gyu yelled, hurling whatever he could grab.
Expensive ornaments and office items shattered everywhere.
Even after venting, his rage didn't subside.
Panting heavily, he picked up the phone again.
He had to deal with that insolent punk somehow.
He didn't even consider the value of the potions he'd commissioned.
He just wanted to make the guy taste bitter defeat.
"Damn it! Why don't I have a single reliable subordinate?!"
He had plenty of executives and underlings, but none as trustworthy as Jin Seong-jun for important tasks.
As frustration boiled over and he nearly threw the phone, a bell sound made him pause.
Was that punk calling back?
His face twisted, but the name on the screen shocked him.
With trembling hands, he answered.
"F-Father..."
- It's the chairman.
"Y-Yes...! Chairman. What brings you to call...?"
Oh Young-gyu, who had been raging like a wild colt moments ago, instantly became meek.
The indifferent voice echoed in his ear as he answered deferentially.
- I've heard about this incident.
"Th-This incident?"
- No need to deny it. I already know everything. You failed to manage your subordinates again.
Tsk— The short tongue-click turned Oh Young-gyu's face pale.
"Father! No, Chairman! I can turn this around! It's not over yet...!"
- Young-taek came to see me. He said he's handling the Seong A-reum and dawn matters well.
"I-Is that so?"
- People make mistakes. But repeating the same one twice? That's just advertising your own incompetence.
Oh Young-gyu clamped his mouth shut at the cold voice.
- Young-taek said he met that alchemist you've been obsessed with lately.
"Brother...?"
Grinding his teeth at the fact that his brother had met his target, he heard a short tsk from the chairman over the line.
- Pathetic. Not even an idiot, yet you can't handle your own business and let it get snatched away?
"That's because Brother played dirty...!"
- There's no 'dirty' in business. Just results.
Tsk tsk— Oh Jeong-nam clicked his tongue in disapproval and continued flatly.
- Step back from this one.
"What? What do you...?!"
- From now on, leave that alchemist to Young-taek. The potions he brought were as effective as rumored. Health booster, was it? Anyway, back off.
"B-But...!"
- I intervened to stop him from taking your entire division. Be grateful for that.
"...Urgh!"
Oh Young-gyu groaned in frustration.
The chairman's voice rang once more as his body shook with rage.
- That's how we'll handle this. I'll deal with your screw-up later. For now, focus on internal cleanup, not outside matters.
"...Yes. Understood, Chairman."
- Tsk— Pathetic.
Oh Jeong-nam ended with that parting shot to the reluctant Oh Young-gyu.
"Aaaargh!!!"
Unable to contain his emotions, Oh Young-gyu rampaged for a while, smashing furniture and objects.
His office ended up in total ruins, as expected.
The next day, Yeon Sung-hun met again with Oh Young-taek, president of their factory.
Despite the previous night's events, Yeon Sung-hun's expression wasn't particularly bad.
Oh Young-taek, aware of what had happened, didn't bring it up either.
Both acted as if nothing had occurred, chatting amiably.
"Father was very pleased with the potions you provided. I had no idea such things existed."
"I'm glad he liked them. I'll give you a few more as a gift when you leave."
"Haha! Thank you so much! Thanks to you, Guild Master, I'm the one reaping the benefits."
Yeon Sung-hun smiled quietly at Oh Young-taek's beaming face.
Though tied to the Oh Group by bad blood due to Oh Young-gyu at Oh Chemicals, he had no intention of antagonizing them all.
Faust might have followed his rigid principles regardless, but Yeon Sung-hun couldn't bring himself to do that.
Beyond his feelings, he simply lacked the power to take them on yet.
Even practically, making enemies of them all was inefficient.
'Right now, what I need is time.'
It was now an undisputed fact that his guild would grow massively in the future.
For that, they needed time above all.
To avoid repeats of this fiasco, Yeon Sung-hun had even more reason to accelerate his growth.
Todays meeting and future actions were all for that purpose.
"So, about that..."
Amid their pleasant conversation, Oh Young-taek suddenly lowered his voice.
He spoke cautiously.
"I'd appreciate it if we could let this matter rest here."
"Hm. Meaning?"
"We won't pursue Jin Seong-jun, his secretary chief at Oh Chemicals, or his underlings. But please drop the issue with President Oh Young-gyu as well."
Yeon Sung-hun frowned slightly at Oh Young-taek's words.
He had just begun extracting useful info from Jin Seong-jun and his men using special hallucinogenic potions.
Not everything yet, but plenty damning for Oh Young-gyu.
He planned to use it to truly corner him, but now they wanted him to stop?
It was a sort of decision victory, but far from satisfying.
Yeon Sung-hun tapped the table.
"That's unreasonable. You're telling the victim to stay silent?"
"Father doesn't want this to escalate. He said good things should end well, with ample compensation."
"...And if I refuse?"
"You'll see the full might of our group. It's incomparable to dealing with just Young-gyu."
"......"
Yeon Sung-hun pressed his lips together.
This was why he needed power.
To not bow to such injustices, he needed the qualifications and strength.
"......"
Yeon Sung-hun clenched his fist under the table.
The atmosphere grew heavy, though he didn't show it much.
Instead of a clear answer, his silence prompted Oh Young-taek.
"That's Father's message."
"...Sounds like you think differently, President."
Meeting his gaze, Oh Young-taek grinned.
"You've probably learned plenty from them. Shady guys like that must have juicy stories."
Yeon Sung-hun nodded calmly in agreement.
Oh Young-taek continued.
"Hand that information over to me."
Yeon Sung-hun instantly grasped his intent from the calm words.
He smiled quietly.
"Planning to take from your brother?"
"Ultimately, yes. But even just hitting him hard would satisfy me for now."
"Such brotherly love."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Yeon Sung-hun chuckled softly at Oh Young-taek's grin.
"But is that okay? Your father seemed set on closing this quietly."
"He just doesn't want external attacks shaking the group. Internal squabbles are fine."
"Pride, huh."
"He has strong attachment to the group he's built his life around."
Yeon Sung-hun eyed Oh Young-taek's nonchalant demeanor for a moment.
Then Oh Young-taek asked.
"So, will you hand it over?"
"I'll give you all the good stuff."
"Thank you."
"No, thank you."
The two exchanged smiles and glances briefly.
"Well, looks like we'll make pretty good allies."
Yeon Sung-hun smirked at Oh Young-taek's jest.
"I think so too. Hm. Do you have a wife?"
"Yes, and a son and daughter."
"In that case..."
Yeon Sung-hun pulled something from his pocket.
It was the same health booster potion he'd gifted before.
"Give these to your wife and kids."
"Haha! This is... thank you. My family will love them."
"It's a special item we use for our family only. This time, make sure it goes to your family, not the chairman. It's great for skin beauty, by the way."
Oh Young-taek brightened at Yeon Sung-hun's words.
'Special' was always music to his ears.
Even if the effects weren't unique, it didn't matter.
The value lay in it being 'special'.
People like Oh Young-taek, the wealthy elite, went crazy for exclusivity.
And this was a custom-made by the proven master, Yeon Sung-hun.
Irresistible just hearing about it.
Oh Young-taek cherished the potion Yeon Sung-hun handed him.
He had no intention of missing a free chance to score points with his wife.
"Really... I want to stay on great terms with you for a long time, Guild Master."
Yeon Sung-hun smiled faintly at his earnest words.
"I feel the same about you, President."
Thus, Yeon Sung-hun and Oh Young-taek forged a solid friendship that day.