Ryu Jin-soo's eyes shook violently.
A Runner?
"Impossible."
Countless question marks rose in his mind.
How in the world?
Had one of the hired men confessed?
No.
He'd already considered that.
These were men who moved for money and died for money.
He'd routed through thousands of paths and cut off tails thoroughly along the way.
"Looks like I came to the right place, judging by how surprised you are."
Jin-hyeok brushed glass fragments off himself and continued.
"No need to be too surprised. There's someone who eventually finds you with even the smallest clue. At the Player Hunter Bureau."
El Colmillo of Lossailor, who had sworn he'd never talk.
That resolve hadn't lasted five minutes under the mind-shattering interrogation.
El Colmillo had spilled everything — from his birthday to his name, squad composition, and even his securities account password.
In the process, we got one account number, which we handed to Yoon Mi-ri.
Not long after, Yoon Mi-ri returned the name: Jae-woong Construction.
"We've met before, haven't we?"
He looked at Ryu Seung-kwon, sprawled against the opposite wall.
Had he come in too suddenly? The man looked thoroughly shaken.
"Got new teeth, I see. Oh, all gold. Guess that's chaebol style for you."
Leaving the stammering Ryu Seung-kwon behind, he turned to the owner of Jae-woong Construction, Ryu Jin-soo.
Should he call him the chairman of a company, after all?
In that brief moment, the man had regained his composure.
"Can I ask you one thing? Honestly, I don't quite get it. Sure, your son getting his teeth knocked out is worth getting upset about, but is that really all there is to it?"
Fifteen missiles had fallen in the middle of the city.
For revenge on behalf of a son who'd been beaten up outside, this was way overkill.
Ryu Jin-soo let out a low breath.
"For someone who lives in South Korea, you have no sense at all."
"Sense?"
"Do you think all people are the same? Us and you?"
Ryu Jin-soo let out a snort and shook his head.
"You're delusional beyond belief. What you did wasn't just hitting one person. You dared to raise your hand against the order of South Korea. Jae-woong Construction is the company that built the foundation of this country when it was collapsing from war. Our bloodline is different from the start compared to scum like you. You should be thanking me. Originally, I should have killed your family first, but I showed mercy."
"Oh... I see."
He was a bit at a loss for words.
He'd thought chaebol families like this only existed in dramas or movies.
Guess there couldn't just be companies like Genex everywhere.
"Then let me ask another question. How did you know I was a Runner?"
"The reason Runners are hard to find is that you can't pinpoint a target. But once you know the name Yoo Jin-hyeok, it's instant."
He nodded.
This was something he'd expected to some extent.
A guy who lived in a semi-basement studio with no particular job.
But not long after, he bought a massive house in Seopangyo and was frequently seen hanging out with celebrities like Jin Seo-hee and Cheon Se-yeon.
Even if confirmation was impossible, inference was more than possible.
"I see. I don't need to ask the last question. Based on everything you've told me, I'm certain. You're the one who dropped missiles on my house."
"So? What changes now that you know?"
Ryu Jin-soo spread his arms wide.
"This isn't some war-torn country in the middle of nowhere. This is the heart of Seoul, governed by law. And I'm the chairman of Jae-woong Construction, someone even the broadcasters and political elites don't dare touch. So what can you do? To even touch a single hair on my head, you'd have to go through dozens of lawsuits and trials. That process would take over a decade."
"For someone who's a chairman, you have no sense at all."
Ryu Jin-soo's eyebrow twitched.
Jin-hyeok was throwing his own words right back at him.
This absurd arrogance made his blood boil.
Meanwhile, a smile spread across Jin-hyeok's face.
"Do I look like someone who cares about that kind of thing?"
A bitter sneer formed on Ryu Jin-soo's lips.
"If you want to bluff, go somewhere else."
Ryu Jin-soo spread his arms again.
"Go ahead! Hit me, torture me, do whatever the hell you want! But you'd better be ready to face the consequences!"
He'd been through every kind of hardship to get here.
Whatever this brat in front of him did, he was ready to accept it with composure... Huh?
Ryu Jin-soo drew a question mark.
The back of his neck was yanked.
By the time he came to his senses, he was being thrown out through the broken window.
Yoo Jin-hyeok looked down at him with a blank expression.
"You son of a—"
He wanted to curse, but it was impossible.
Because before he could, free fall under gravity had already begun.
"Ah, ah, Father!!!"
Ryu Seung-kwon shot up as Ryu Jin-soo disappeared from view.
"You son of a bitch!!!"
He wrapped himself in his awakened power and stomped off the ground.
But not even a second later.
*Clang!!*
He was slammed back into the wall.
"Guhack!"
Ryu Seung-kwon collapsed, spurting blood from his nose.
The shattered nose sent excruciating pain through him.
The power was incomparable to last time.
*Thud.*
While blood poured from his nose, Jin-hyeok walked over.
Ryu Seung-kwon barely moved his hand and pressed a button on his phone.
He had no idea where this signal would lead.
But since Ryu Jin-soo had told him to press it in an emergency, someone would show up soon.
A force that would turn this situation around.
---
* * *
---
*Bzzzt. Bzzzt.*
The phone's vibration created small ripples in the pool of blood.
Someone walked through those ripples and extended slender fingers.
The woman stared at the screen expressionlessly, then tossed the phone away.
"Kkh, kkeuh... Vali-kits... Why...!"
"Oh? You're still alive? Did I go too shallow?"
Roche tilted her head as she walked forward.
The man on the floor summoned his last strength and activated his ability.
A dozen or so needles formed and shot out in an instant.
Roche dodged them with grotesquely flexible movements.
"You monster...! *Cough!*"
The man from America frowned.
Vali-kits had come here on the same commission as him.
Without a doubt, they were on the same side.
But not long after receiving the personal information of the man known as the Runner—
*Click.*
The lights went out.
*Boom!!*
A dozen grenades scattered through the darkness.
Half were taken out by the completely unexpected ambush, and half were injured.
But the gathered men weren't pushovers either, so they somehow managed to get into combat formation.
*Shing!*
But fighting evenly against Vali-kits, who had already adapted her eyes to the darkness, was impossible.
The result was the bloodbath now before them.
Roche approached and looked down at the man.
"Those needles that spawn from random empty space... they were tricky."
Roche looked down at her pierced side.
Besides that, there were plenty of other wounds on her shoulder and around her neck.
Even with the ambush and the advantageous environment, it was this bad. If she'd been careless and faced him head-on, she'd be the one lying on the floor.
*Thwack!!*
After finishing the man, Roche turned around.
"Ow ow ow... That hurts."
She took a couple of deep breaths and continued walking.
Roche stared at Jin-hyeok's personal information in her hand.
"So he really was a Runner."
Roche had witnessed Jin-hyeok's incredible feats on the ship to Greenland.
But she hadn't been able to confirm he was the Runner.
First, because there were so many hidden masters in the world, and second, because his abilities were too far from the publicly known Runner's capabilities.
Especially the mysterious woman Elia who healed and protected him, and Momo the chubby one who suddenly appeared on the ship when she should have been at the hotel.
She couldn't even begin to grasp what abilities those were.
But today, she could be certain.
Yoo Jin-hyeok was the Runner.
"Hmm. What should I do?"
A smile full of interest spread across Roche's face.
With this, the debt was paid.
She had no more obligations, so she could do whatever she wanted.
Clutching her painful wounds, she hummed a tune.
Korea.
She thought it would be boring and uneventful.
But it was an interesting country.
---
* * *
---
*Squish! Squish! Squish!*
Jin-hyeok scratched his head as he stood in front of the other man.
"So when are they coming? Feels like you've pressed that thing about three hundred times already."
Confusion spread across Ryu Seung-kwon's once-confident face.
'What the fuck!! Why aren't they coming!!'
They should have been here by now, but there was still no response.
Something was definitely wrong.
*Grab.*
His hair was grabbed, and his face was lifted.
Ryu Seung-kwon's eyes shook violently.
This was different from the Runner the public knew.
The man in front of him was a psycho.
Otherwise, there was no way he'd casually throw someone out of a building.
"Your implants look good. Must have gone to a nice dentist."
As Jin-hyeok aimed his fist, Ryu Seung-kwon reached out a hand.
"W-wait..."
*Bang!!*
"Kuaaaagh!!"
His teeth scattered again.
It was such a familiar sight it felt like déjà vu.
*Slap!*
After knocking out the gasping Ryu Seung-kwon, Jin-hyeok walked to the window.
"Haah... haah... huff."
Ryu Jin-soo lay sprawled, drooling, his legs apparently having given out.
Before throwing him, Jin-hyeok had already requested Ranya to catch him again when the ground was right in front.
"Y-you son of a bitch... I won't... forgive you...!"
"Ugh."
Jin-hyeok stopped approaching as Ryu Jin-soo foamed at the mouth.
Whether it was because he'd completely lost control of his bladder or because he was furious beyond reason.
He'd wet himself, and he was blaming others!
Jin-hyeok crouched down, keeping some distance.
"From what I've heard, Jae-woong Construction is going to be dismantled soon."
"Hah, hah, bullshit."
"Dig up the crimes they have, and fabricate the ones they don't. No one will protect Jae-woong Construction. Because no one wants to make enemies of every institution in South Korea."
This was why he hadn't killed Ryu Jin-soo.
Carmella had said it over and over.
Death without pain was a blessing.
So he intended to make him watch.
Watch Jae-woong Construction — his pride, his everything — shatter and scatter into pieces.
And honestly, he was grateful.
He hadn't really done anything for the country, yet they were treating him so preciously.
"Let's end the useless small talk here."
He still had things to hear from Ryu Jin-soo.
Because there was no way Jae-woong Construction had pulled off something of this scale alone.
He'd manifest Carmella and make him confess everything.
*Creeeak.*
A grotesque sound made him draw a question mark.
For some reason, Ryu Jin-soo's features began to twist.
And not long after.
"Failure, then."
An unfamiliar mechanical voice rang out.
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T/N:
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