CH 118

Chapter 118

Kim Olim, who had just spoken, pointed to a few more recently uploaded pages of data.

Normally popular weapons–especially those of mythical class like [Gae Bolg]–are objects of envy for many Users. Of course, the better the weapon the more people would aim to take it for themselves, but no one would be crazy enough to come for Park Hoseok, who was currently building his career in one of the most popular ranker guilds.

Nevertheless, according to Kim Olim’s data, he focused on not exposing his information to the outside world. Also, the amount he spent annually on external security was astronomical. He spent more money on his and his family’s security than Bae Jaemin, a semi-celebrity. If that data was accurate, it meant that Park Hoseok was incredibly sensitive to matters of his own safety and had a cautious personality.

“He won’t be an easy person to raid and, based on his tendencies, he’s sure to run away if he’s at the slightest disadvantage.”

“Haah. I guess our Hoseok-ie hyung-nim doesn’t have the courage befitting his pecs?” 1 Jung Garam, who had been horribly beaten by Park Hoseok, surprisingly didn’t flare in temper and calmly lowered his eyes.

Of course he was being sarcastic, but he did not make unreasonable demands like requesting a one-on-one battle. Rather, Jung Garam glanced at me instead and asked, ‘What? Are you sick?” and maintained a relaxed and stoic attitude.

“N-No… It’s just…” I was actually going to ask if he were okay, but I ended up shaking my head to cover that up. After all, in my eyes, it was good if Jung Garam stayed calm.

Then, I made eye contact with Seo Dawon for a brief moment; he smiled, as if he knew what I was worried about. I looked at his red eyes, as if possessed, and felt a calm settle in, shoulders relaxing.

After staring at me tiresomely, Seo Dawon soon turned towards Kim Olim and asked her a question, “Is there anyone who Park Hoseok will let his guard down around?”

“His family. He’s especially famous for being a devoted husband.” Kim Olim turned to the back page of Park Hoseok’s profile. Following her gaze, there was a picture of a woman shopping with a child.

Below, there were pictures that looked like it were taken from the woman’s passport and another of her three children. There were several more pictures of Park Hoseok together with his family–impressively enough, they looked like they were taken during some family trip.

Though he normally looked quite grim with that scarred face and large body, in these photos he looked like a mild family man. I could immediately perceive his attachment to his family.

“Though his wife isn’t a User, she’s still living in the hub after marrying Park Hoseok. She lives in a mansion located 10 minutes away and is said to be a Florist.”

“This lady is from a good family?”

“That’s right. It would have normally been hard for Park  Hoseok if he hadn’t become a Red Dragon guild executive. In fact, it took quite a long time for him to get permission to marry her because of family line differences.”

While listening to the two’s conversation, I saw in Park Hoseok’s wife’s profile that her father was a three-term law-maker with a big stake in the political world. Her maternal grandfather was also a member of the National Assembly 2, so it seemed that her family was deeply involved in politics.

“Before becoming a User, Park Hoseok was the head of the security team guarding this family. He was an elite, straight from the special forces in France. There was no particular problems with security, but it was recorded that he was fired after six months for no given reason. Probably, he was caught with the family’s little lady. It looks like he became a User after that; he finished User registration two months after he got fired.”

At first glance, this was a romantic story. He fell in love while guarding the young lady of a political family and was unable to meet her because of her family’s opposition. However, he became a self-made man and eventually succeeded in marrying her…

However, Park Hoseok did not rise the ranks in Red Dragon in a normal way. After all, he didn’t stand out during his first 10 months at the Hub.

He even experienced some severe frustration in the middle of that town, selling all of his equipment and checking into the mental hospital for depressive events. He definitely tried to give up on the path of being a User. However, the next year, he joined the large [Red Dragon] guild out of nowhere.

“I think it was probably around then he’d been in contact with Hahae or Koo Kyungman. After Park Hoseok joined the Red Dragon, around 200 million won and 1 billion won were laundered through his account every few months. By 6 months, 30 percent of the Red Dragon Guild funds had been laundered in his name.”

And so, supported by Koo Kyungman, he was carried through the guild’s leveling system and received their aid. According to the records, Park Hoseok used the guild dungeon about 80 times a month in that year alone. I could not control my surprise reading about this.

If he visited 80 times a month, then that meant he must have gone to the dungeons almost three times a day…… It was almost impossible to do this because of fatigue and the chance for the person to get killed rises. In short, the Red Dragon invested heavily into Park Hoseok.

“Koo Hui-seo handed these records over to us. Since it’s one of Red Dragon’s internal documents, what’s recorded should be fairly accurate.” Kim Olim continued.

“And, according to our Hui-seo hyung, it’s usually impossible to get treated this well and enjoy a large amount of Koo Kyungman’s trust without something more. These aren’t benefits you can easily garner just because you’ve helped out with some money laundering.”

“Refrain from vulgar language, Jung Garam.”

“Oka~ay.”

Just as Jung Garam said, it was impossible to use the guild dungeon to level up so quickly just for helping with money laundering.

It was certain that Park Hoseok must have signed a private, unrevealed contract with Koo Kyungman, but I couldn’t hazard a guess as to its contents.

Fortunately, though, Seo Dawon spoke up, stopping us from wasting time on speculation, “Kyungman-ie is still alive. Koo Hui-seo asked him.”

I grew pale, remembering the sight of him tied to the bed. Anyways, more importantly, the former guildmaster must have opened up. When I didn’t say anything, Seo Dawon kindly began to explain, “Park Hoseok briefly worked with a small guild before joining the Red Dragon; The guildmaster there and he were high school classmates. Before leaving, that guildmaster recommended him as a bodyguard.”

“…….”

“But, this guildmaster had the same class as Park Hoseok, you know. The same warrior body-build. That guy was killed in an accident while raiding the [Aporea Temple] dungeon with Park Hoseok. The issue is that, the week before they entered the dungeon, that guildmaster had acquired the [Gae Bolg] and posted its certification on his own online forum. Of course, that’s been deleted now.”

“No way……”

“Since then, the only information that has ever surfaced about [Gae Bolg] was an article that stated that Koo Kyungman had won the spear in an Auction bid. Therefore, many people still believe that [Gae Bolg]’s owner is Koo Kyungman. Koo Kyungman said himself that he had received the spear as a bribe.”

Taking into account Seo Dawon’s words, Park Hoseok probably killed his friend in the dungeon, took [Gae Bolg] from him, and handed it over to Koo Kyungman to craft the perfect life as a User.

It wasn’t so surprising to hear such atrocities from a man who so cold-bloodedly murdered Jung Garam, nevertheless I couldn’t help but feel nauseous when I saw Park Hoseok’s happy family photos. Despite the fact that he gained this happiness from betraying his friend, his expression was spotlessly full of affection. It was beyond the limits of my moral comprehension…

“Since that’s how he earned it all, Park Hoseok, to this day, did whatever Koo Kyungman ordered. That’s why the two grew closer, day by day.”

“What kind of things did he do for Koo Kyungman?”

“Probably illegal things. His ‘loyal dog’ Hoseok took care of the dirty work that was too risky for Koo Kyungman to do himself,” Seo Dawon said as he took out something that looked like a small plastic chip and placed it on the table.

Then, Jung Garam grabbed it and connected it to the laptop between us. Seo Dawon had taken out an USB–there was a voice audio file inside. After hitting play, Koo Hui-seo’s smooth voice and Koo Kyungman’s inarticulate, slurred one flowed out of the speakers.

TL: Classes are mega draining me out >.

Footnotes 갑빠 is a vulgar way to refer to chest muscles. The nuance is something like….muscle daddy? Think Congress