The Crazy Reporter
A lot had happened yesterday. Escaping that madhouse at the Bohemia Church wasn't some miracle—it was all thanks to Christine. I'd forgotten about linking up with Duk-cheol, and now here I was in Lee Jung-woo's office.
"You ain't hurt nowhere, are ya?"
The moment I stepped into the office, Lee Jung-woo rushed over and gave me a once-over.
"I'm fine. Let's sit down and talk first."
I really was okay, so I gestured for her to take a seat. We sat facing each other, and I held out the pendant right in front of her.
"You actually brought the real thing."
Lee Jung-woo wore a complicated expression as she picked up the pendant and lost herself in thought for a moment. Then she looked at me.
"Truly thankful to ya."
"No big deal. It's just a trade."
"Even if it's a trade, gratitude's gratitude."
Lee Jung-woo expressed her sincere thanks. Watching her, I said,
"So, you gonna hit TL Group right away?"
She stared at me steadily in response to my question, then shook her head.
"Ain't the time yet, kid. TL Group ain't some corner store."
She had a point. No matter how evil Lee Beom-cheol's scheme was encoded in that pendant, TL Group was still a massive corporation at this point. Not just any corp either—it ranked in the top 10 of Korea's business world, even if it fell short of H Group. You couldn't just take down the head of something like that on flimsy evidence.
"I see."
"But now we got this, we can start plannin' for real, kid."
At least she had a solid card to play now, a foundation for her plans.
"I'll lend ya the money like we agreed. Honestly, I could just give it to ya, but I got my own position to think of."
"That's fine. I wasn't plannin' to take it for free anyway."
Deals need to be ironclad. I'd learned that the hard way from past experience.
"Still, no interest, and I'll make the repayment term as long as possible."
"Appreciate the consideration."
"Aw, cut it out. Consideration my ass... Anyway, Ae-ri, what're ya gonna do now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Deal's done, money's yours—what's next? If ya got nowhere to go, wanna work at our company?"
Lee Jung-woo was scouting me. But even ignoring the lack of appeal, it gave me the creeps.
I didn't have a bad view of loan sharks. Sure, predatory ones were scum, but Lee Jung-woo wasn't that type.
Still, my body was rejecting the idea outright.
"Thanks for the offer, but I got my own stuff to do."
It wasn't a lie. I had a mountain of tasks ahead. My ultimate goal was tracking down that bastard Lee Moo-hyuk who'd screwed me over, after all.
"That so? Then where ya livin'? Ya can keep crashin' at the officetel."
"Nah, can't keep freeloading forever. Now that I've borrowed money, I should find my own place."
Objectively, turning down free lodging made no sense, but it didn't sit right with me. Felt like a burden.
"Got it. Sent ya my contact via comms. If ya ever need the Prince of Myeongdong's muscle, hit me up anytime."
Contact from Lee Jung-woo confirmed. Saving it now.
H.E.R.A saved Lee Jung-woo's contact. But usually, doesn't she ask, "Save this contact?" Lately, HERA's been handling more on her own.
"And swing by anytime to hang. Prince Financial don't turn away friends, kid."
"Sure, I'll drop in if I get bored."
I chatted with Lee Jung-woo for another hour before leaving the office.
As I headed down to the first floor to exit the building, Duk-cheol approached and bowed deeply.
"Mr. Duk-cheol?"
"Thank you for helping our boss!"
I couldn't hide my awkwardness. A huge guy bowing to me in the crowded lobby? Bound to draw eyes.
"No need to bow. It was all part of the deal."
"Deal or not, the fact that you risked your life for her don't change."
Duk-cheol straightened up and continued.
"I'm Duk-cheol. Call me, Miss Ae-ri, and I'll come runnin' anytime."
"Th-thanks?"
And just like that, I'd gained a blade named Duk-cheol(?). After getting his contact too, I finally left the building.
"This new villa's nice and clean."
I was here to sign a lease. With no place to live, I'd looked for something move-in ready. The agent started off half-assed but perked up when I mentioned double commission, hustling everywhere. That's how we found this spot in Seongsu.
"Can we sign right away?"
"Yep, the previous owner says no one's living here anyway, so once payment clears, ownership transfers immediately."
Previous owner? Not yet, but she sounded confident it'd go through.
"Perfect. Let's do it."
"Then let's head to the office and draw up the contract."
We went to the office, signed, and I paid the deposit plus balance on the spot. Could move in today, but cleaning finishes tomorrow, so sauna tonight it is.
"Phew~ That should do it."
The next day, after hearing cleaning was done—and with no stuff to move—I checked out the villa. Inspecting every corner, I freaked at the massive dust bunnies.
"Future or past, move-in cleans are always half-assed national rule?"
I ordered cleaning supplies via drone market and scrubbed everywhere, just finishing up.
"Not my money, but still pisses me off."
They boasted "Human touch more thorough than robots!" But that mess? Thorough my ass.
Wasn't my hire, but damn, tempted to drop bad reviews.
After that, I customized to my taste, not wrapping up till late night.
"Feels like a nice breather after ages."
Yesterday, I'd decked out the place to my pride and crashed out the fatigue. Now strolling Mapo uni street.
Not a total homebody, so cabin fever hit—had to get out somewhere.
"Ptooey! What the hell's this taste?"
Grabbed a "Dubai Chewy Latte" from a cafe, sipped on the street—taste was weird. Like chewing a glob of slime?
Everyone's bitten toy slime as a kid. That texture. Not chewy, more squelchy, and the "choco" flavor? Like melted crayon left out a month.
"Argh! Wasted money! HERA, bad reviews on this, right?"
Search results: More reviews saying it's surprisingly tasty than not.
"What? Their heads must be screwed up."
Crazy people? Tasty? I grumbled about the wasted cash, walking on.
"Oh!"
"Huh?"
Walking the street, a petite glasses-wearing woman suddenly approached, eyes wide, scanning me up and down.
"Wh-what is it?"
Flustered, I asked. She said,
"It's you, right?"
"Me? What about?"
Outta nowhere with "it's you"—what the hell?
"That live stream on the Gold Sun Hero channel a few days ago, right?"
"G-Gold Sun Hero channel?"
Channel name I picked arbitrarily.
Namin' sense... trash.
"Nah, not me."
I denied it, dodging her intense stare.
"No, it is you. My reporter instincts never fail."
She made a camera shape with her fingers, framing me, moving it around, then spoke again.
"Build. Skin tone. Hair color. And above all, voice waveform. Everything matches."
"I said no."
"Yes."
"No!"
"Yes!"
She wasn't budging an inch. What the hell was this woman?
Who does that—barges up like this outta nowhere!
"Who are you to act so rudely?"
Wanted to say "pull this shit," but Confucian manners barely softened it to "act."
"Oh, sorry, late intro."
She rummaged in her pocket, pulled out an old-school business card—like nobody uses those anymore—and dangled the one around her neck, saying,
"Masugomi Rin, reporter for Cyber National Korea branch."
Hearing her name, I checked the card, then looked back at her.
Masugomi Rin—ring a bell? I racked my brain and remembered.
Reporter Masugomi Rin: the psycho who'd stalk, trespass, commit crimes for a story. Quintessential trash reporter scum.
That crazy reporter trash was standing right in front of me.