Chapter 98: Charity Event (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 98: Charity Event (3)
"Red."
"It’s black."
"Red."
"Black."
Lee Yu-na and Kwon Ye-jin stood before the casino's roulette table, placing their chips.
Kwon Ye-jin stared intently at the spinning wheel. As the silver ball rattled across the surface and finally settled into a black slot, she let out a cheer.
"Yes! Black Unicorn! Did you see that? You little traitor."
Seeing the ball land on black for the third time in a row, Lee Yu-na gave a bitter smile.
As Kwon Ye-jin danced with joy and Lee Yu-na insisted the next one would definitely be red, a man approached them.
"Hello. You are Hero Kwon Ye-jin and Hero Lee Yu-na from Black Unicorn, correct? My name is Hans."
"Hello. I’m sorry, but we’re a bit busy. Could you speak with us later?"
The handsome, blue-eyed foreigner smiled and looked at Lee Yu-na for a moment as she essentially told him to get lost. Intimidated by the intensity in her eyes, he apologized and backed away.
Since the two had spoken in English, Kwon Ye-jin tilted her head, unable to understand.
"What’d he say?"
"He said the next one is red."
"Don't lie. You guys talked for a while. Didn't he say he was a fan? You shouldn't treat fans like that just because you're popular."
"There are no fans here. Only scammers looking to rip us off."
Yu-na whispered the last part, mindful of the people around them, but Ye-jin didn't hear her as she was busy watching the man walk away.
As Ye-jin stared regretfully at his well-built back, Yu-na leaned in and whispered.
"Yeon-woo would really love to see you like this."
"Hey! This is just a woman's instinct! What did I even do? I just looked!"
"Sure, sure. Tell Yeon-woo that yourself."
"Ugh! Are you really going to be that petty? Fine, let's go with red for the next one. Red."
Shrugging at Ye-jin’s childishness, Lee Yu-na placed her chips on red.
The next ball landed on red, and the two of them grabbed each other in excitement.
"Hey, maybe we have a talent for this? Should we try numbers? Numbers?"
"Don't get too ahead of yourself. Straight betting is just for fun."
Though she tried to act calm, Lee Yu-na also seemed to be enjoying herself at the casino with Ye-jin.
As they continued to play, Yu-na felt the need to use the restroom.
"Do you want to go to the bathroom with me?"
"Hah? Two girls together? What, you want me to watch you pee?"
"When will you ever fix that foul mouth of yours? Just stay right here. If anyone talks to you, say you don't know English. If they speak Korean, say you don't know Korean. And don't follow any strangers."
"Am I a kid? Just go. By the time you're back, I'll have doubled these chips."
After staring blankly at Ye-jin’s confident expression for a moment, Yu-na nodded and headed for the restroom.
She felt uneasy, but surely nothing would happen in the short time it took to use the bathroom.
After finishing her business, Yu-na was washing her hands at the sink when someone spoke.
"It’s been a while, Hero Lee Yu-na."
"Hello. I see Division Head Kim Seon-mi has come from GRE Corporation this time."
GRE Corporation was a company that produced tactical equipment for heroes.
Based in the United States, it was a world-renowned company whose equipment was widely used; even Square Garden utilized a lot of GRE gear.
As the head of the Korean branch, Kim Seon-mi maintained close ties with many clans and had met Yu-na several times.
"I'm here regarding the testing of some newly released equipment..."
She engaged in small talk for a moment before getting straight to the point.
"I'm sorry, but I think you should discuss that with my sister. I'm not involved in clan affairs."
"No, I was planning to request testing from a few specific parties. I'll pass the word to Clan Leader Lee Ru-da as well, but I wanted to hear the heroes' opinions first."
Yu-na knew she would eventually just tell her to ask Lee Ru-da or Jeong Yeon-woo anyway, but Kim Seon-mi was in a position that was difficult to refuse outright.
Yu-na glanced at her watch and agreed to listen for a moment.
As soon as she gave her consent, Kim Seon-mi began explaining the equipment GRE was developing.
As she listened to the woman talk like a salesperson about the effects and innovations of the gear, Yu-na’s eyes turned cold.
"Division Head. Are you really asking for my opinion?"
"Yes, of course."
Kim Seon-mi offered a guileless smile.
However, she was explaining everything verbally without showing a single piece of documentation.
Recalling how Kim Seon-mi usually presented well-organized materials without unnecessary flowery language whenever she visited Square Garden, Yu-na frowned.
Yu-na glanced at her watch again and glared at Kim Seon-mi with terrifying eyes.
"You've stalled for enough time, haven't you? I'm leaving."
Kim Seon-mi gave a bitter smile as she watched Yu-na turn and walk away without even a goodbye.
"Damn. I was hoping to avoid friction with Square Garden."
*
Yu-na walked quickly through the casino.
Seeing that Ye-jin was no longer at the table where she should have been, she questioned the dealer.
"Where did the woman with purple hair go?"
"You mean Hero Kwon Ye-jin. She left with another guest who offered to buy her a drink."
At the dealer's words, Yu-na searched the nearby bars.
Kim Seon-mi had stalled her at someone's request.
It was obvious that someone had approached Kwon Ye-jin to pull something dirty.
The casino was vast, and after two failed attempts, Yu-na finally spotted Ye-jin talking to a man at a bar in a corner on her third try.
Seeing Yu-na approach with a frozen, cold expression, the man bid Ye-jin farewell and hurriedly made his escape.
"Yo~ Was it a big one instead of a small one?"
"What did you talk about?"
"Huh? It's a secret. But I heard a great proposal. I'll tell everyone when Master is here."
"What proposal? Tell me now."
"What's with you? You're scaring me."
Kwon Ye-jin frowned at Yu-na’s stiffened posture.
Letting out a deep sigh, Yu-na grabbed her arm and led her to a deserted hallway.
"That hurts, let go."
When Ye-jin shook her hand off, Yu-na glared at her with a look of pure fury.
"Tell me everything you discussed with that man, from start to finish."
Seeing Yu-na’s serious expression for the first time, Ye-jin stared at her for a moment before speaking.
"It wasn't anything weird. He asked for help with equipment testing. From what he said, it's to help heroes who are suffering from mana pollution. It's a good cause. My relative also suffered because of mana pollution..."
"Was it equipment, or was it medicine? No, never mind. What company was he from?"
"Cheon-un? Cheon-ung? I think it was a Chinese company."
"Cheongung Pharmaceutical..."
Yu-na muttered in despair.
A pharmaceutical company had no business making equipment.
Even if they called it equipment, it was likely just a device used to inject something.
She was amazed by the sheer gall of the man who described clinical drug trials as "equipment testing."
Realizing from Yu-na's expression that something was wrong, Ye-jin faltered.
"No... I mean, he just said he'd help... I didn't sign a contract or anything."
"I gave you a list of things to watch out for before we boarded the ship, didn't I? Did you not read it?"
"I read it! It said not to make promises recklessly. I didn't make a promise. I just gave an ambiguous answer, saying I'd help if I could."
"Yes, that's more than enough."
Ye-jin went blank at Yu-na’s words.
"No, how is that enough? I just said I'd do it if I could."
"Do you know how to drive up the price of your own Hero Card at today's auction?"
As Ye-jin stared as if asking what she was talking about, Yu-na spoke bitterly.
"You make a verbal contract in advance. 'I'll do this much for you, so please buy my card.'"
"No, I didn't ask him to buy it..."
"Yes, it's like an implicit rule. 'I'll help if I can.' To them, that sounds like, 'I'll help you if you buy my card,' doesn't it?"
"..."
It was a sordid practice that had started with heroes desperate for support.
Jeong Yeon-woo had dismissed the cards as mere scraps of paper, but in an auction event that only happened once in a lifetime, a high selling price for a card meant a hero's perceived value skyrocketed.
Since it signified public interest regardless of actual performance or skill, even sponsor advertising fees were determined by the card's final bid.
Because heroes and clans chasing money and fame engaged in such backroom deals, it had eventually become an unspoken rule of the charity event.
"It's my fault... I tried to hide the ugly side of things..."
Yu-na blamed herself, thinking it would be fine as long as she stayed by Ye-jin's side.
She had spoken in circles, hoping the impulsive but naive Ye-jin wouldn't have to know about such dirty dealings.
She had even written a manual for the ship party herself, but that hadn't been enough.
"But... if I say I won't do it..."
"Their network will pressure us. GRE seems to be close with Cheongung as well, so it's safe to assume most major corporations are on their side."
"Because of me... Black Unicorn will... suffer...?"
Yu-na nodded at the dazed Ye-jin.
Then, she took out her smartphone and called Jeong Yeon-woo.
"Yeon-woo, do you have a moment to talk?"
I was holding the out-of-it Park Su-jin and fondling her breasts when the phone rang.
Lee Yu-na? Is she calling to say they're done at the casino?
When I answered, I heard her weak voice.
"Yeon-woo, do you have a moment to talk?"
She didn't need to say much.
Her voice alone told me something had happened.
I got out of bed, changed my clothes while listening to the whole story, and headed to Kwon Ye-jin’s room.
When I arrived, the entire party had already gathered after being contacted.
Among the somber faces, Kwon Ye-jin looked at me with an expression like she was about to cry, then looked down in fear.
She looked like a child terrified of being abandoned.
"Explain what happened one more time."
I sat on the bed and listened to Yu-na’s explanation.
I wanted to hear from Ye-jin too, but looking at her current state, I didn't think she could explain properly.
Anyway, I wondered why those scraps of paper were so expensive, and so that was the reason?
I thought there might be some connection, but the system is more established than I expected.
"Why didn't you tell us this beforehand?"
"I'm sorry... I didn't want you... or Ye-jin... or the others to know about such an ugly side of things..."
Yu-na lowered her head and answered gloomily.
Since her sister was a clan leader, she probably knew quite a bit about the filth hidden under the name of 'Hero.'
Seeing that Yoon A-young also looked a bit surprised, it must be kept very well hidden.
"We got played by a bunch of pigs. Cheongung? You said it's a pharmaceutical company? Even the name sounds like trash. So they're saying they'll use us as lab rats."
"Ma-Master. I'm the one who said it. I'll just do it myself. You don't have to, Master."
Ye-jin spoke urgently, looking at me.
"What are you talking about? You shouldn't do it either, Ye-jin. You expect me to just watch my comrade become a lab rat?"
When I spoke with a smile, Ye-jin looked at me with tearful eyes.
"But... it's because I messed up..."
"The person who got scammed isn't the one at fault. The bastards who did the scamming are the problem."
"Masteeer..."
"But when others tell you to be careful, you should be at least a little bit on guard. Got it?"
Overwhelmed with emotion, Ye-jin hugged me and promised she would.
As I patted her back while she sobbed, Yu-na quietly asked me.
"I'll try contacting my sister."
"No, why bother the Clan Leader with something like this? She's probably busy enough as it is."
"But this isn't a situation we can resolve..."
"We don't need to resolve it."
At my words, the party members stared at me silently.
Kwon Ye-jin, who had been sobbing with her face buried in my chest, also lifted her head and looked up at me.
"There are plenty of pigs here. And a pig knows a pig's business best."