novelraw Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Even if it was said that Un Jongak had done it, there would be no one willing to believe it anyway.
Come to think of it, that was true.
Everyone had believed Un Jongak’s words and trampled on Jang Ilmun’s honor together, so there was no way they would now believe Seo Mugyeom’s words.
At such times, silencing the mouth of someone who knew the truth would be much simpler.
When Seo Mugyeom slowly turned his head to look at him, Pyo Inhaeng felt a bad premonition.
"Seo Mugyeom, just don’t say anything."
He didn’t know why, but he felt like something very troublesome would happen if he heard what Seo Mugyeom had to say now.
"Division Leader, I have something to tell you."
"No. Didn’t I just say not to? Don’t say it."
"Please listen."
"No. I told you not to do that."
But Pyo Inhaeng realized he no longer had any way to stop Seo Mugyeom.
"It’s about the vice-Division Leader of the Sixth Division."
"You mean Vice-Division Leader Un?"
Curiosity was such a dangerous thing.
Even though he had made up his mind not to listen, when the words 'vice-Division Leader of the Sixth Division' came up, he found himself intrigued without realizing it.
"No. It’s about Vice-Division Leader Jang Ilmun. But it’s also about Vice-Division Leader Un Jongak. I know the true culprit who killed Vice-Division Leader Jang."
"Seo Mugyeom, do you really have to say that?"
Placing his hand on Seo Mugyeom’s shoulder as if telling him to think carefully, Seo Mugyeom nodded.
"I think you should know. If this isn’t corrected now, Vice-Division Leader Un will rise through the ranks and might even become the vice-Division Leader of the First Division."
Pyo Inhaeng let out a resigned sigh.
"Fine. I’ll listen to what you have to say, but in return, your training load will double from now on."
"I’m doing this for your sake, Division Leader. Why are you doing this to me?"
Seo Mugyeom protested, but Pyo Inhaeng didn’t budge.
"I’m doing this for your sake too. If you die while trying to awaken your inner strength, it’ll all be for nothing, right? So be grateful and just work hard. Do you think I’m making you train for someone else’s benefit?"
It was directed at Seo Mugyeom, yet somehow it felt like it was meant for himself too.
"Understood, Division Leader. Sparring with you has helped me a lot. I hope you’ll continue to teach me."
Pyo Inhaeng paused and looked at Seo Mugyeom.
If they were to spar, wouldn’t he also have to participate?
He looked at Seo Mugyeom wondering if this was deliberate, but Seo Mugyeom seemed to be speaking sincerely, so he had no retort.
"Alright. Let’s try it, then."
If Seo Mugyeom hadn’t suddenly changed, Pyo Inhaeng wouldn’t have tried to change himself either.
He would have thought, ‘What’s the point of training him if he won’t even acknowledge the favor and just transfers to another division to mock the Tenth Division?’
He wouldn’t have taught anyone, wouldn’t have changed himself, and would’ve continued that stagnant life of only falling behind.
But this time, his heart was moved.
With someone like this, even if he got betrayed again, he wanted to teach him with his own hands at least once.
"Then can I speak now?"
Seo Mugyeom’s words snapped him back to reality.
He’d had a strange feeling of discomfort—no wonder, there was still a story he didn’t want to hear.
Pyo Inhaeng was suddenly overwhelmed by a huge dilemma.
He had resolved to take on even the most dangerous missions within the Tenth Division for Seo Mugyeom’s sake, but he never expected things to unfold like this.
Un Jongak, of all people.
Pyo Inhaeng had always been ignored in the Guardian Ten Division’s top-level meetings just because he was the Division Leader of the Tenth Division, but he didn’t feel wronged—he ignored them as well.
It wasn’t just pretending not to be hurt; he really wasn’t affected.
But Un Jongak was especially difficult.
Even when he didn’t say anything, Un Jongak made him feel bad.
Even just looking at him or seeing him smile made him feel uncomfortable.
He couldn’t understand why Un Jongak’s behavior was so hard to endure.
And now, Seo Mugyeom had dropped a bombshell about Un Jongak.
If it had been someone else, he would’ve scolded them for making baseless accusations.
But from the moment he heard the story, Pyo Inhaeng was already convinced.
"I knew it. I just knew it. Look at his face. He looks like the type to do something like that."
Seo Mugyeom was even more flustered because of that.
"You… believe what I’m saying, Division Leader?"
"Why? Was it a lie?"
"No. How could I dare lie to you, Division Leader? This is nothing but the truth."
"Yeah. I thought so. I never liked Un Jongak from the start. But he’s truly shameless and despicable. How could he deceive everyone so completely?"
Seo Mugyeom found it strange that the Division Leader didn’t ask him to prove what he said was true.
He had prepared excuses and even some lies in case he was questioned, but he didn’t get the chance to use them.
"That man’s definitely smart. He completely prevented others from even discussing the issue. He made sure the deceased wasn’t mourned at all, and exposed all his shame to the public before he died. But was it false that Vice-Division Leader Jang had frequented the brothel?"
"No. I heard that part was true. But the part about the courtesan getting pregnant because of him was not."
"I see. So Un Jongak must have found that out when he went to the brothel himself."
Then, as if a thought suddenly struck him, Pyo Inhaeng narrowed his eyes and looked at Seo Mugyeom.
"Seo Mugyeom, did you also see those people there? You shouldn’t be visiting places like that at your age."
Seo Mugyeom was dumbfounded and at a loss for words.
"Division Leader, I’m definitely not that kind of person. I’ll meet the one I love and share a pure heart with her."
At that, Pyo Inhaeng burst into laughter as if he’d caught a weakness.
Then, as if realizing this wasn’t the time to be acting like that, he quickly straightened up and asked.
"Seo Mugyeom, is there a chance that Vice-Division Leader Un knows you’re aware of this?"
"No, there isn’t."
Since he was certain of it, Seo Mugyeom answered confidently without a second thought.
"Why not? If you heard it from someone, that person could have told Un Jongak. They could even say that they told you. Even if they didn’t want to say anything, Un Jongak could scare it out of them."
"I overheard it secretly, so no one knows I heard it. So you don’t need to worry about that."
He thought he would be nervous and tense telling a lie in front of the Division Leader, but the words came out surprisingly calmly.
Pyo Inhaeng nodded as if he believed it.
"Alright. If a new mission suddenly comes down, this matter will be pushed back again and again, and if Un Jongak grows his influence in the meantime, we could be powerless even with evidence."
That was exactly what Seo Mugyeom was thinking.
"For now, let’s focus on digging into this matter. It seems difficult with just the two of us, so we may need to tell a few others. Are you alright with that?"
"Of course."
"Good. You seem to get along well with Ho Jo-yeong. Let’s bring in Ho Jo-yeong and the Vice-Division Leader."
"Sounds good."
Seo Mugyeom didn’t know much about Vice-Division Leader Won Jirim either.
But since the Division Leader had recommended him, he didn’t feel the need to be too cautious.
Pyo Inhaeng clasped his hands behind his back and paced in place, pondering their next steps.
"Should we start by going to the brothel and meeting people?"
"How about approaching someone trustworthy in the Sixth Division to find out more about Vice-Division Leader Un?"
"That’s a good idea too."
Then Pyo Inhaeng looked at Seo Mugyeom and grinned.
"Are you too embarrassed to go to the brothel?"
"There’s nothing to be embarrassed about if it’s for work. I don’t think anyone would suspect my conduct just because I visit that place. I haven’t lived in a way that would make people talk badly about me."
He spoke confidently, but he found himself wondering whether that was really true and reflected on it for a moment.
However, Pyo Inhaeng already seemed to be thinking about something else.
"Do you know anyone in the Sixth Division?"
"No, I don’t. Everyone I know is in the Tenth Division."
"Really? Most people would have tried to make connections elsewhere early on. Didn’t you meet people while at the Martial Arts Academy? Didn’t you make friends there? Do people avoid you? Is your personality that bad?"
Seo Mugyeom was dumbfounded.
"I did make a few friends at the Academy. But we were all young back then, and now everyone has their own positions, so it’s hard to bring up things like this. Wouldn’t it cause big problems if they told Vice-Division Leader Un that I asked about him?"
"True. So you can think that far ahead. I was asking to see if you’d think that way. You didn’t disappoint me."
Seo Mugyeom nodded, though he wasn’t sure if that was true or not.
"Right. I’m definitely not much of a strategist. That’s something our Vice-Division Leader is good at. I should call him."
"I’ll go get him."
When Seo Mugyeom stepped up, Pyo Inhaeng nodded in satisfaction.
When Seo Mugyeom went to find Won Jirim, he came out of his quarters looking like he had just woken up.
He looked at Seo Mugyeom, seemingly unaware that he had come looking for him.
Won Jirim, in his late thirties, had an expressionless face and an overall sharp impression.
There was no emotion in his face, and his eyes were cold, glancing at Seo Mugyeom briefly before looking elsewhere.
Then, realizing Seo Mugyeom was walking toward him, he belatedly turned his head.
His gaze seemed to ask if Seo Mugyeom had come for him.
"The Division Leader is looking for you, Vice-Division Leader. He’s waiting at the Small Training Hall."
"The Division Leader wants to see me? Did he say he’d see me now?"
"Yes, Vice-Division Leader."
"Lead the way."
"Yes, Vice-Division Leader."
They needed to bring Ho Jo-yeong along as well, and it didn’t take long to find him, so things moved quickly.
When the three of them arrived at the training hall, Pyo Inhaeng was waiting and nodded at them.
"You came quickly."
Then he led them deep into the inner part of the training hall.
At that moment, even Won Jirim must have felt something was odd.
If it were just a talk, they could have met in the office—calling them to the training hall was unusual.
"From this point on, you must never speak of what I’m about to say to anyone. Even if the two of you leave the Tenth Division in the future, this secret must be kept. If you go somewhere else and reveal what happened today, I assure you your bodies will become headless corpses that very day."
Seo Mugyeom hadn’t expected Pyo Inhaeng to say something like that and was quite startled.