novelraw Chapter 26 : Chapter 26
Chapter 26 : Chapter 26
Chapter 26
After sending Seo Ji-hye back, I, Lee Ju-seong gave a warning to Bang Su-hyeok as if I had been waiting.
“That person Seo Ji-hye. It is clear she does not trust us.”
Bang Su-hyeok accepted it coolly, unexpectedly.
“It’s a natural thing. It’s a bit much to demand trust just because we’re Yoon Ji-ho’s enemies.”
“It seems better to have no expectations of her.”
“Even so, there’s no profit to be gained by killing her right away. I got inspired watching you. Killing isn’t the only way to go…… isn’t that right?”
“It was a good judgment in the sense that we have nothing to lose. It’s a gain if Seo Ji-hye follows our operation, and even if she doesn’t and has other intentions, it’s maintaining the status quo.”
Bang Su-hyeok tried to say something to me.
“That’s…… no, it’s nothing.”
I could roughly guess what he was trying to say.
He must have wanted to say, ‘Isn’t it the same for us, not fully trusting each other?’.
But he realized before he put his thoughts into words.
‘He must have realized only now that he has no choice but to consider me a companion whether he likes it or not.’
Even if the information that Bang Su-hyeok’s ability and that Bang Su-hyeok and I joined hands entered Yoon Ji-ho’s side through Seo Ji-hye, there was nothing to lose.
Because if the person who escaped from the public office building was caught by Yoon Ji-ho, they would have already spilled the information.
Even if they weren't caught yet, they would be caught soon with that injured body, so it was just a difference in order; the result was all the same.
Yoon Ji-ho, who obtained the information, would tie me and Bang Su-hyeok into the same category, and Bang Su-hyeok was placed in a situation where he had to keep me by his side unconditionally since he couldn't handle Yoon Ji-ho alone.
Even if he realized it late, it was too late.
Since we were placed in a situation where we had no choice but to be in the same boat.
Bang Su-hyeok changed the subject to refresh the atmosphere.
“Anyway, it would be the most ideal result if Seo Ji-hye is actually on the capable side and raises achievements for us, and continues to remain as a companion after this.”
Even though I couldn't trust Seo Ji-hye right now, it was difficult for me to give a definite answer if asked whether she could become a companion in the future.
Because in the drama, she was the first companion who became a team with Bang Su-hyeok in the early stages.
It was something to see whether the flow in the drama would be maintained even in the twisted script.
I asked shamelessly.
“It seems you need many capable companions who won't escape soon?”
“Since I’ve already recognized your capability, I’ll confess honestly.”
As if his words were spinning in place now that he was trying to confess the truth, Bang Su-hyeok scratched the back of his head for no reason.
It was a few seconds later when he opened his mouth.
“I need 50 billion won.”
I knew it, but I acted as if I were hearing it for the first time and looked puzzled.
“How much debt did you incur that you need as much as 50 billion won?”
“The debt itself is around 200 million. Instead, I lost something worth more than 200 million while incurring the debt.”
“More than 200 million……”
“My family was destroyed. Because of that goddamn Jeonse fraud.”
Bang Su-hyeok in this script was a victim of Jeonse fraud.
Bang Su-hyeok had a wife two years older than him, who was in a situation where she was judged to have infertility due to an innate physical defect.
Because they married knowing this, the couple worked very hard, and externally received help from various institutions to have a child with difficulty.
The common opinion of Bang Su-hyeok’s couple was that they should move from a small monthly rental room to a proper house since they have a child now.
Since it’s hard to move during childcare, let’s look for it now.
Thinking that way, they overextended themselves to get a villa Jeonse with excited hearts.
But Bang Su-hyeok’s couple could not have imagined.
That the thing done for the future of the family would shatter the future of the family.
“I can manage the debt somehow if I work hard. But the child…… the child even if I work hard…….”
Bang Su-hyeok's words trailed off as he mumbled in a small voice.
They won't come back.
Currently, his wife has returned to her parents' home to take it easy, and it is said that the in-laws' house turns him away at the door every time under the pretext that they want Bang Su-hyeok to shoulder the responsibility of debt repayment alone.
There was a history of a major fight before marriage due to a difference in opinion with the father-in-law and mother-in-law, and the Cold War that continued since then had completely exploded through the trigger of the Jeonse fraud.
“After the 1st round ended, I asked the dealer who was guiding me to the shopping mall. I asked if I could buy the power of the organization with money. They said I could.”
It was clear what he intended to do with the power of the organization.
He wanted to bring down the hammer on the Jeonse fraud syndicate, and among them, the old friend who deceived him and his wife.
I said as if chiming in.
“You were inquiring if they could massacre the fraud syndicate with the power of the organization.”
“50 billion won. They said for a mere 50 billion won, they would miserably shatter the fraud syndicate. I’ll do anything as long as I can shatter those bastards. If I add a bit more greed, it would be even better if money that can pay off the debt remains in my possession even after paying the 50 billion won.”
He said 50 billion, but in reality, his goal was 50 billion + @.
Including the fee to exit the game, even considering that the fee will lower in the future, he had to gather 7 to 8 billion.
“Gathering money in the billions unit alone is not an easy thing. To achieve this goal, there must be many capable companions.”
“To achieve the target amount, I have no choice but to survive until the fee lowers. Still, I think it’s not an entirely impossible thing if there are three or four more people like you.”
“Aren't you overestimating me too much?”
At my sly smile, Bang Su-hyeok’s murderous expression softened a little.
“How about you? Since I told you my target amount, it’s only fair that you also tell me your target amount.”
I looked around.
Somewhere in the ruins placed distractingly, there will be a camera filming every single move of the players.
The camera will be collecting voices along with the images.
Many blind spots where images or voices cannot be collected would exist, but at least this place near where the ballot paper was hidden would be being filmed intensively.
It turned out better. It was the perfect timing to declare war on the organization.
I revealed my true intentions openly as if to let the organization members hear.
“Su-hyeok, do you know what the opposite of ‘to like’ is?”
“If I think simply, it’s ‘to hate’. Unless your question is a nonsense quiz.”
I gave an incorrect answer judgment to Bang Su-hyeok, who was acting proud for getting the right answer.
With a dry and chilly voice.
“Incorrect. It is ‘indifference’.”
“Ah, hearing that…… hating is also possible only when there is interest.”
“When a person is exposed to indifference for a long time, they end up suffering from all sorts of side effects. Even so, what state do you think one will become if they continue to work hard without caring?”
I had no way of knowing myself what kind of atmosphere I was exuding right now.
But through Bang Su-hyeok’s reaction, I could indirectly know how I was appearing to a ‘complete stranger’.
The man who had consistently shown such a poisonous appearance in the drama, that Bang Su-hyeok, did not dare to meet my eyes.
“Hey, it’s better to stop this talk here. Your target amount…… Well, let’s talk again when we get to know each other better.”
When Bang Su-hyeok's words ended, I paused for a moment.
As if counting numbers one by one in my head with my lips closed.
Slowly, and very quietly.
I finally opened my mouth.
“An amount exceeding 100 billion won.”
Bang Su-hyeok frowned.
“What?”
I did not avoid his gaze.
As if pointing a blade at the heart of the organization, I said calmly.
“That is the money I want.”
The air shimmered. The debris of the ruins rustled and squirmed.
Inside that, my words were abnormally clear and vivid.
“When a person is exposed to indifference for a long time; they go crazy. So eventually, as much as the world ignores me, I want to twist the world.”
A short silence. And the final word.
“What I want is exactly that price.”
Bang Su-hyeok’s face took on a stupid shape.
It was an expression that seemed to ask, ‘The total prize money is 100 billion, how are you going to earn more than that……?’.
Surprisingly, it was possible.
As long as this game flows according to the script I rewrote.
The high-ranking officials of the organization must be making the same expression as Bang Su-hyeok by now.
Try to stop me if you can. Although it will be impossible.
Small talk ends here.
I tapped Bang Su-hyeok’s shoulder as a form of encouragement and said.
“To achieve our respective target amounts, surviving this game will be first. And that in a state with a surplus left.”
“Hmm, there’s still 30 minutes left until the second vote. Whether Seo Ji-hye produced results can only be known after the second vote is over. Keeping low until then is nothing but a waste of time. Let’s set a goal, whatever it is, and move.”
“Let’s secure more ballot papers. Since it’s a core element of this game, the more ballot papers we have, the more we can stand on the advantageous high ground in the last vote.”
Thus, Bang Su-hyeok and I decided to act separately for a while to find ballot papers more efficiently.
From the 6 o'clock direction where we were currently staying, I moved toward the west in the 9 o'clock direction, and Bang Su-hyeok moved toward the east in the 3 o'clock direction.
I repeatedly gave precautions to the receding Bang Su-hyeok.
“If you encounter a person who has no reason to be in this place, attack immediately. You must never hesitate. Never.”
It was advice considering Seo Ji-hye’s ability.
In the drama, Seo Ji-hye was an ally so there was no case of using her ability on Bang Su-hyeok, but in the currently revised script, it was unknown when and what action she would take.
If by any chance Seo Ji-hye casts her ability on Bang Su-hyeok, who on earth would appear in Bang Su-hyeok’s eyes?
Since it was information that didn't exist in the advance information I possessed, I had no way of knowing either.
Who would appear, and whether Bang Su-hyeok would be able to attack regardless of who appeared.
The best thing was that the situation I assumed ended as a mere imagination.
Bang Su-hyeok’s answer came back from afar.
“I got it, so you have to be careful too! Let’s see each other in front of the ballot box later!”
We parted while turning our backs to each other, and before long, we became distant enough that we were no longer in each other's sight.
When 15 minutes had passed since separating from Bang Su-hyeok, the screen of the Money Watch lit up.
Beep-beep!
On the map that appeared with a mechanical sound, dots were marked in clusters.
There were as many as eleven dots on the map.
Moreover, all the dots were staying in a form as if they were surrounding me.
What the situation of concentrated ballot papers signified was self-evident.
I accidentally entered an area with many ballot papers?
There's no way.
The ballot papers had approached me.
To be precise, it was correct to see that the people with the ballot papers were surrounding me.
I immediately took out a blood bag, held it in my hand, and burst it.
Ability to turn one's own bodily fluids into blades.
The moment I grabbed the Hwando, players with various impressions protruding their upper bodies like a game of whack-a-mole from the ruins scattered in all directions.
The dust accumulated on the players' shoulders signified that they had been lying in ambush in this vicinity for quite a long time.
It was as if I had become a fish that entered a net.
In the middle of the ambush completed by tenacious patience, the man who ordered this ambush revealed himself.
It was Yoon Ji-ho.
Yoon Ji-ho was ironically staying on the rooftop of a police substation building.
“A wanted criminal who appeared in front of a police substation. This, this, isn't this a situation where I just can't help but catch you?”
I responded affably while letting the gripped Hwando hang obliquely.
“What’s with a stingy 500 million? If the opponent is me, you should bet 50 billion. Ah, is it impossible because your wallet is thin?”
Whether he thought he couldn't win with words, Yoon Ji-ho hid his embarrassment with a mad laugh.
Then, as if reflecting emotional instability, he suddenly turned serious and gave an order to the players.
“Kill him.”
***
Bang Su-hyeok, who was moving toward the 3 o'clock direction while scouting the outskirts from the 6 o'clock direction, stopped his steps abruptly.
It was something that happened in the area corresponding exactly to the 4 o'clock direction.
While walking in an empty field where there was nothing.
After witnessing a person walking from the opposite side, he ended up completely frozen.
Long straight hair and an oversized one-piece dress.
An appearance from which elegance exuded even without makeup.
Affectionate eyes containing love for Bang Su-hyeok.
And a belly that was minutely and roundly protruding.
Bang Su-hyeok relaxed his rigid facial muscles all at once and called out to the opponent with a trembling voice.
“Ho…… Honey!”