novelraw Chapter 96
Chapter 96
Chapter 96
Han Sang-ah cut into the conversation in the meantime.
“I’ve heard of Wonder Club too. Geumyang Group supports it. According to my grandfather, the money they put in never comes back.”
“Money that never comes back?”
Han Sang-ah answered me.
“There is only one reason companies invest in Hunters.”
The world needed Hunters for companies to pursue profit in a normal way.
“But most Hunters in Wonder Club barely take on any jobs.”
“Then why do companies support them?”
Han Sang-ah answered.
“They do not support it because it benefits them. They support because not supporting them would cost them a lot. Those Hunters do not work directly, but their clout in the industry is enormous.”
That made sense, since the club was founded by Hunters who sat near the top of the rankings. Their influence would be strong. So they used that to apply pressure behind the scenes.
I felt like I understood what kind of people they were. I also could not shake the thought that they would not get along with me.
They said they had something to tell me, but it would basically be, “Hey, stop making a fuss and come eat and play with us.”
They were even rankers, fine, I could call them that. Other than Lee Se-eun, my impression of the current ranked Hunters was not good.
“People who play around without working and still collect money are the worst punks.”
Worse, they even threw their weight around. That went beyond the word punks and pushed into the kind of people who made your skin crawl.
“We should go and see them first.”
This was not something to decide based on personal likes or dislikes. If the Hunters ranked two through four were throwing their weight around, then I had to take a look.
I wanted to know whether their real ability surpassed Lee Se-eun’s by far, or whether they were tattered showoffs drunk on fame and power while their skills had already declined.
Maybe there would be a Hunter who wanted to gather like minds and work together, contrary to my expectations.
“By the way, any word from your grandfather?”
Han Sang-ah shook her phone at my question.
“He called. He said since Wonder Club reached out, we should stop there first.”
“They are really all that?”
No matter how high Geumyang Group soared, it could not run its business properly without the help of Hunters.
It must have been a big burden to ignore a summons from Wonder Club, which was said to gather only the best Hunters, and tell them to come see me first.
“So, where is this so-called Wonder Club?”
Jung Oh-hoon answered this question.
“In Jangchung-dong. The club grounds cover twenty five hundred pyeong of land, and it is known for three restaurants, a pool, a sauna, and more.”
Hunters did not pay separate dues, and outside funds covered all facilities.
The state gave support, and companies offered sponsorships.
Thanks to that, every facility in the club building was free for affiliated Hunters, as Jung Oh-hoon added.
“...”
I got more annoyed the more I listened. Hunters who were ranked at that level should have had enough strength to steamroll a low officer in the Undying Legion that I had faced.
Yet they stayed stuck in Seoul, eating and sleeping on other people’s money and killing time.
— We will arrive in Seoul shortly. Where should I take you?
At the helicopter pilot’s words, Han Sang-ah spoke.
“Jangchung-dong, to the Wonder Club clubhouse please. I already contacted them and asked for cooperation. They will allow us to land.”
— Understood.
Jung Oh-hoon snickered as he looked at me.
“Hey, at least reporters and media will not shove mics and cameras in your face.”
“I guess I should take comfort in that.”
Han Sang-ah rested her chin on her hand and looked out the helicopter, then spoke.
“Once we come out of the Wonder Club clubhouse, the media and reporters you two mentioned will be camped outside.”
“Do you have to jinx it like that?”
Jung Oh-hoon shot back.
The helicopter reached the airspace above the Wonder Club clubhouse in Jangchung-dong and began to descend toward the landing pad on the ground.
“A few people already came out to wait.”
“Seventy seventh place, sixty seventh place, ninety first place.”
Jung Oh-hoon studied their faces and answered. Then he looked a little longer and wore an odd expression.
“This feels strange.”
“What now?”
He scratched his head and answered me.
“At that level, I feel like if I use all my gear and all my skills, I will not lose. Though that is only my opinion.”
After hearing him, I checked them through the window and answered.
“I agree. It’s not that you’ll lose, you’ll win.”
We could win easily. They were less than I expected. There was no objective standard for measurement in the first place, so there was no way the rankings were accurate.
It was not as if there were status screens. It would not be surprising if some people occupied a seat and idled away for ages. Those types always said, “If you break it, you take responsibility,” which summed up their extreme self preservation.
You could see it often at work. Military officers were a classic example too.
We touched down, opened the door, and stepped out, and the three looked at us.
“You are Yoo Chan-seok, Han Sang-ah, and Jung Oh-hoon, right?”
“Yes. Pleased to meet you.”
One of them scrunched his face a little at my words.
“At least greet properly. Every Hunter here is a senior who has been a Hunter far longer than you.”
Greet them properly? I had no idea what he wanted. Did he expect me to strip and kneel and bow to the floor? While I looked them up and down, one of them went on.
“From now on, when you greet, you say, I am so and so, Hunter class of such and such year. That is the baseline.”
He kept laying out rules after that, and not a single one had even a hint of charm.
What on earth did they want? Did I come to a Hunters’ social club, or did I enroll in some college full of idiots who bullied freshmen. I sighed softly and opened my mouth.
“If you came to guide us, then guide us. Uh, what did I have to call you again, seniors?”
Their faces changed at my tone, which held not a drop of the respect they wanted for seniors.
I also decided how to deal with this club or whatever it was.
“What are you doing? Let us go.”
I said that and started walking. At that moment, a blade swept in from behind. I turned my head and saw a clear sword swing toward me. It looked like ice. I caught the wrist of the one who swung it.
“What the…?!”
He tried to say more, but he could not finish the words. I planted my foot on his instep, grabbed his head, and shoved sideways as if I pushed a lever.
With a crack, his ankle broke and he screamed. It happened all in a blink.
“Man, I am not the type who likes this kind of thing.”
I muttered that and looked at the other two. They looked a little flustered.
I was the one who should have been down screaming, but someone else was on the ground clutching a ruined ankle.
“You were sent to guide them, so what are you doing?”
A woman with a red ponytail in riding clothes leaned on the clubhouse balcony, looking down at us with a disappointed face.
She held a mouthpiece used for smoking shisha, and white smoke trailed from her lips. A hookah stood beside her chair.
“Choi Yeoreum.”
Jung Oh-hoon seemed to know her. I glanced at him for an explanation, and he answered at once.
“She’s rank three.”
“Yeah, I figured she’s around there.”
She was scary strong. Choi Yeoreum, was it? The red haired woman looked us over, waved lazily, and lifted the mouthpiece to her lips.
“Hurry up and come in, kids.”
She finished, put the mouthpiece in her mouth, and the water in the hookah bubbled. She blew out a thick cloud, yawned once, puffed another breath with her chin propped on her hand, then slipped back inside.
We looked at each other for a moment, then walked in.
“The atmosphere is something.”
It was a flood of red and gold. Scarlet silk wallpaper was embroidered, and the lit chandeliers and statues were mostly gilded.
The clocks were not digital. They looked like massive grandfathers. Two huge spiral staircases curled around a marble fountain.
A heavy, rich fragrance filled my nose. You could call the overall mood antique.
If you judged by atmosphere alone, it felt like we had stepped back into the Middle Ages. It felt aristocratic.
“Woah, this makes me a bit nervous.”
“Not me.”
Han Sang-ah answered Jung Oh-hoon.
“You are a chaebol heiress. Chanseok, what about you.”
Me? Well, I had seen plenty of this in the other world. I scanned the clubhouse and answered simply.
“It is so overdone that it actually lowers the class.”
The decorations were too flashy and too lavish. It felt less like true old world charm and more like a loud attempt to pretend to be one.
If I were kind, I would say it felt like a kid ruined a look trying to copy an adult’s makeup. If I were blunt, I would say it felt like a nouveau riche trying to imitate wealth, throwing money around without a clue.
I had seen places furnished like this. It was common in the mansions of merchants who made money and bought noble titles.
“A tiger skin is not a tasteful accent in this setting.”
While we talked, someone approached.
“They are waiting. Follow me.”
So the guide shifted because the other one broke his ankle huh. We followed without fuss.
We arrived at a meeting room named Amber.
“...”
Inside, we saw a breathtaking sight. The room was decked out in yellow amber from wall to wall. Were they trying to copy the Amber Room in Catherine Palace?
In the center, decorated with amber and gold, sat plush red sofas and a table, and Choi Yeoreum already sat on one of the sofas.
“Come sit over here.”
She tilted the mouthpiece in her hand. Her voice held a strong person’s ease and a trace of arrogance.
She clapped once, and people came to set drinks before us.
They brought Turkish coffee and Lokum. Turkish sweets and coffee in Korea. As we took it in, she gave a faint smile and pointed to the hookah by her side.
“Since I am already smoking shisha, we might as well set the mood.”
Yet she wore riding clothes? Anyway, I drank the coffee and ate the jelly they set out. The coffee was very bitter, and the jelly was very sweet.
“Join Wonder Club. I will be your patron. And from now on, stop.”
“Stop what exactly. School bullying?”
She snorted at my words and looked at me.
“You know exactly what I am telling you to stop, don’t you?”
I knew well enough. Unlike those idiotic slogans about stopping school violence, her order to stop carried real power in the world.
What would happen if I said no here?
I did not want to do what she wanted, and I had no plan to.
It was time to think of a good way out.