Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Chairman's Request
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Hae-jin was surprised.
It couldn't be helped. He had come to meet the chairman of the Chocolate Group, and there was 'Manager Kim' at the meeting.
He had been wondering where to track him down, and here he was right on time. It felt like quite the coincidence.
In any case, as soon as Hae-jin entered the Chocolate Group's chairman's office and glanced at Manager Kim, the chairman of the Chocolate Group called out to him.
“Park Hae-jin?”
“Yes, I'm Park Hae-jin.”
“Nice to meet you. I'm ‘Park Sang-yong.’”
The chairman of the Chocolate Group, Park Sang-yong.
He approached and extended his hand in greeting.
Hae-jin shook it firmly.
“This is ‘Manager Kim.’”
“I see. He looks familiar.”
He was 'Manager Kim,' who had ranked in the first Trials' Arena.
That's why Hae-jin said the name rang a bell.
When Hae-jin mentioned he'd seen the name before, Manager Kim looked at him with a surprised expression.
“Me?”
“I remember seeing the name ‘Manager Kim’ in the rankings from the first Trials' Arena. You're not that Manager Kim, are you?”
In truth, Hae-jin already knew about him because he'd seen the man in person before.
But he couldn't reveal his regression here.
So Hae-jin claimed he'd seen the name in the first Trials' Arena rankings.
At Hae-jin's words, Manager Kim looked genuinely shocked.
“That's right. For the famous ‘Massacre’ to remember me—it's an honor.”
“So you know about me.”
“If Chairman Park calls someone named ‘Park Hae-jin’ to a meeting with me, it has to be the ‘Massacre,’ doesn't it?”
“I see.”
Hae-jin exchanged a few brief words with Manager Kim, then turned to Chairman Park Sang-yong.
“But why did you call both me and Manager Kim here?”
This was the first time Hae-jin had met Park Sang-yong in person, but he already knew why he'd been summoned.
‘He has a favor to ask.’
That's what Joo-hyuk had said.
And sure enough.
Chairman Park Sang-yong spoke up.
“I have a favor to ask.”
Just as expected—a request.
Hae-jin knew exactly what that request was.
But there was no point in pretending to know.
He just had to sit back and let Park Sang-yong explain it all.
Hae-jin asked the chairman what the favor was.
“A favor?”
“Yes. I figured it would take someone of your caliber—both of you.”
“What kind?”
“I had one daughter.”
“A daughter?”
“Yes.”
Chairman Park Sang-yong said he had a daughter.
But the phrasing felt off.
“‘Had’?”
“Exactly. Not anymore.”
Chairman Park Sang-yong said his daughter was gone now.
When Hae-jin asked about it...
“Gone...”
...Park Sang-yong nodded gravely at Hae-jin's reaction.
“Yes. She's dead. Killed by a Player.”
“Killed by a Player...? Do you know who did it?”
“I don't know who. But I know it was an American Player.”
“An American Player?”
“Yes.”
Chairman Park Sang-yong said an American Player had killed his daughter.
Hae-jin asked him.
“Was it in the Trials' Arena, by any chance?”
Since it was an American Player, he asked if it happened there.
As he asked, Hae-jin thought to himself.
‘He'll say no.’
Hae-jin had already heard the full story from Joo-hyuk.
But there was no benefit to acting like he knew everything, so he played dumb.
In response, Chairman Park Sang-yong answered.
“The Trials' Arena... that Survival Game place. No, it wasn't there. If she'd died there, I wouldn't be seeking revenge like this. Death in that place is a calamity—something no human can control, right?”
A calamity.
He was right.
The Trials' Arena.
That wasn't something humans could handle.
If it were, then all the countless people in their twenties and thirties who'd died so far—what would that make them?
Just as Chairman Park Sang-yong said, the Trials' Arena was a ‘calamity.’
But if it wasn't there...
“Then your daughter was murdered in the real world, not the Trials' Arena.”
“Correct. And... hah, it's too vile for me to even say it with my own mouth.”
Park Sang-yong's expression was composed.
But his emotions were palpable.
The rage toward the one who killed his daughter.
Hae-jin knew all too well.
Why Park Sang-yong was so furious.
What that American Player had done to his daughter.
Instead of stating it outright—since the man himself seemed reluctant—Hae-jin phrased it indirectly.
“I get the gist. The bastard deserves to die.”
“Yes, exactly. That's why I wanted to meet the two of you.”
Park Sang-yong nodded, confirming Hae-jin's guess.
That's why he'd sought out Hae-jin and Manager Kim.
Hae-jin knew the reason for that too.
Originally, Park Sang-yong had sought out Joo-hyuk and Manager Kim because...
“Because we killed the most Players in the first Trials' Arena?”
“Precisely. I actually wanted to meet the ‘Massacre,’ Park Hae-jin, but I couldn't reach you. So I went to Manager Kim first. Then I heard through CEO Kim that you'd become the majority shareholder in one of our entertainment subsidiaries.”
“So that's why you wanted to see me.”
“Exactly.”
Hae-jin now understood why he'd been summoned, so he got to the point.
“Then let's cut to the chase. Do you know who this American Player is who killed your daughter?”
“No.”
If he knew the culprit's identity, Hae-jin could just cut off his head right away. But Chairman Park Sang-yong said he didn't know who it was.
So Hae-jin asked the man who didn't know the culprit's identity.
“That's tricky. You want us to catch someone whose identity is unknown?”
“We're investigating as best we can to track him down, but I believe Manager Kim here will find him.”
Manager Kim would find him.
Given that Manager Kim was ex-special forces and ran an investigative firm, tracking someone down was child's play for him.
Hearing Chairman Park Sang-yong's words, Hae-jin recalled what Joo-hyuk had said.
『Sometimes, in regressions, when Chocolate Group's Chairman Park Sang-yong asks to kill the man who murdered his daughter, there's no need to mention you already know who it is. It's best to let Manager Kim find him—that leads to the optimal outcome. Want me to spill the details?』
Joo-hyuk had often shared that story.
He'd said that over many regressions, he'd helped with this several times. Since he knew the culprit from prior loops, he'd once just brought back the head.
But after resolving it that way, there was no proof linking the American Player Joo-hyuk killed to the chairman's daughter, which had put him in an awkward spot...
‘That's why, if this comes up, you wait until Manager Kim finds the culprit.’
Unlike Joo-hyuk, Hae-jin couldn't loop endlessly, so he only remembered the big events.
But now that the situation had arisen, it came back to him.
The incident involving Joo-hyuk, Manager Kim, and Chairman Park Sang-yong.
Joo-hyuk had told the group so many stories that it surfaced late.
Anyway, Chairman Park Sang-yong said Manager Kim would track down the culprit, and Manager Kim responded confidently, as if asking to be trusted.
“As a father with a daughter of my own, I'll definitely find the culprit and fulfill your request, Chairman.”
That was right.
Manager Kim had a daughter too.
Hearing that reminded Hae-jin of another thing Joo-hyuk had said.
『One time, I caught the culprit a bit late, and the bastard realized Manager Kim was onto him and killed his daughter. That loop, Uncle Kim was terrifying. He tore Jung Nam-gil and Park Hwi-soon to shreds. Killed every murderer out there.』
Manager Kim, trembling with rage at any murderer after his daughter's death, had wiped them all out.
Because of that, Hae-jin thought.
‘Yeah, as soon as the culprit's identity is revealed, I need to take him out immediately.’
Based on Joo-hyuk's info, the stable path was for Manager Kim to find the culprit, and for Hae-jin to eliminate him the moment he was located.
That was the right way.
Anyway, as Manager Kim pledged full effort into finding the culprit, Chairman Park Sang-yong offered his thanks.
“Thank you.”
Hae-jin spoke to the grateful chairman.
“No need to thank us. There'll be a reward, of course.”
As he said that, Hae-jin recalled the reward Joo-hyuk had mentioned for this request.
‘He hands over one of his subsidiaries, right?’
It seemed like too generous a reward to be true.
And soon, Chairman Park Sang-yong confirmed it.
“Ah, yes! Of course, there has to be compensation. If you find and kill that bastard, I'll give you one of my subsidiaries.”
“Pardon?”
Hae-jin put on a look of genuine surprise.
He'd heard about the reward already, but it was still shocking to hear it confirmed.
Seeing Hae-jin's reaction, Chairman Park Sang-yong gave a bitter smile.
“My only daughter is dead. I was in so much pain I couldn't find meaning in life anymore. To me, a single subsidiary is nothing. If it means catching the damned bastard who killed her.”
Hae-jin addressed Chairman Park Sang-yong, who offered one of the Chocolate Group's subsidiaries as payment.
“Then the reward is more than sufficient. I'll accept your request, Chairman.”
“Excellent. Then please go to America together and avenge my daughter. When can you depart?”
“I've already started, so I can go anytime.”
“And you, Hae-jin?”
“I'm good to go right now too.”
“I see. Then I'll arrange everything for both of you to head to America. I'll cover all your expenses while you're there hunting that bastard. Catch him—no, kill him. That's why we enacted the Player Special Law.”
The Player Special Law had been established.
Park Sang-yong's influence was central to it.
All to allow Players to kill the Player who murdered his daughter.
The law stipulated that killing a criminal Player wasn't illegal.
Afterward, Hae-jin and Manager Kim boarded the private jet provided by Chairman Park Sang-yong and flew to America.
He could have used Shadow Blink to go straight there, but...
There was a reason Hae-jin chose to travel with Manager Kim on the Chocolate Group's private jet.
‘I have to stick with Manager Kim to follow the best path Joo-hyuk told me about.’