Chapter 20 :The heart of a desperate person can be bought cheaply(5)

“So, I’m telling you to think realistically. How long do you plan to keep holding the reins so tightly on the kids like that?”

Seo-yeon sighed deeply as she looked at the man in front of her.

The world had gotten so much better. For trash like this to be able to confidently say such things in front of her.

“You shouldn’t have the right to interfere with the guild’s rules.”

“We also want to have some… manly! Fun with the Muksung guild members, but it’s difficult. They all complain that they can’t because of the guild rules… Haha.”

“Is the rule against hiring women to play such an important issue that CEO Kim has to meet with me directly to discuss it?”

“That’s a harsh thing to say…”

Seo-yeon bit her lip tightly.

At the reality that their decadent culture had to be euphemized with the softened phrase ‘hiring women to play.’

“We always want to maintain a good relationship with the hunters, but it’s difficult when we have to be mindful of everyone’s eyes. We want to do a lot for them, to be closer to them.”

“Women who were forcibly dragged…”

“What are you talking about? Are hunters not popular? They’re all here because they’re hoping to somehow seduce a hunter and spend at least one night with them.”

Seo-yeon was well aware that his words were false.

She knew that they would bind girls from underprivileged families with debt, or lure young women with the promise of ‘introducing them to hunters’ and then create violent contracts in an oppressive atmosphere.

Some were entangled with criminal organizations against their will and couldn’t receive help from the police, and many were forced to submit even when treated unfairly because of the ‘hunter’ title.

In extreme cases, they would even kidnap women by force and force them into prostitution. The man in front of her, ‘CEO Kim,’ was trying to bring that kind of entertainment to Muksung.

“Everyone does it. You know that, don’t you? You have to let loose sometimes, and it’s better to end it cleanly so there are no loose ends. That guild that recently did a good job of image-making by being clean-“

“Keep your mouth shut about that.”

They were slowly creating a cartel. Those who shared the same secrets and weaknesses became surprisingly cruel and covered for each other.

It was their forte to use the police and prosecution to nullify the sexual crimes they committed, and to paint guilds that weren’t part of their cartel as ‘hypocrites who do the same things behind the scenes but keep quiet about it.’

“Surely, you’re not defending them? Recently-“

“I told you to shut up.”

Seo-yeon knew. She knew that the recent sensationalized sexual assault case of a hunter in the media was clearly a false accusation.

However, the male hunter from that guild would inevitably stand before a judge, and the judge would also be under their influence.

“I make the decisions.”

They were strong. But Seo-yeon was not weak either.

She alone was a pillar of the Korean hunter world, and if you included the connections and recognition of the ‘previous generation’ hunters she knew, no cartel could easily defame her.

‘…Maybe the old days were better.’

There was a time when hunters were free. A time when they showed off their power and used it without reservation.

Seo-yeon very faintly remembered that time. When businessmen, police, prosecutors, judges, and politicians. When no one could touch a hunter.

But the hunters gave up that right themselves. Fundamentally, because it was not right.

Someone being strong does not prove that they are good. Evil hunters committed atrocities without fear of the law, the media, or politicians, and conscientious hunters suppressed such hunters and gave up the rights they had enjoyed.

“I have no intention of changing the rules.”

If it were just ordinary prostitution, she might have turned a blind eye while sighing heavily. However, she couldn’t let the man in front of her ‘entertain’ Muksung’s hunters.

If Muksung’s hunters started to have ‘weaknesses’ one by one, Muksung would not be able to trust Muksung.

If there are signs of corruption, it must be cut off from the bud.

“Sigh… Come on. Shouldn’t hunters have some fun too? What’s the problem if these strong and great people have some fun?”

“If that’s all you came to say, leave.”

“…We’re still good friends of Muksung. I have some information I wanted to share.”

“Information?”

“The magic stones from the joint raid gate, you know. In the next meeting… The distribution method will be adjusted a bit.”

“Huh?”

Normally, one guild takes full responsibility for raiding a gate and takes the byproducts from it.

However, large-scale national-level gates cannot be controlled by a single guild, and multiple guilds contribute personnel to conduct raids as a group. The byproducts from there are taken by each guild according to the rules.

“So?”

They’ll change the rules for various reasons, but in the end, the ones who change the rules are the ones with power. It was obvious that Muksung would suffer a loss.

“It seems that the guilds that bring a lot of hunters are complaining. They say Muksung brings only a few but takes a lot of the byproducts.”

“Instead, Muksung mobilized a large number of powerful hunters, and if you include indirect support such as buffs-“

“I don’t decide that, so telling me won’t change anything.”

CEO Kim wore a greedy smile.

“It seems that it will be a bit difficult to obtain low-grade magic stones… Will you be alright?”

Seo-yeon looked at her watch.

It was time for her appointment. She wanted to chase this man away as soon as possible.

“I’m sorry. I have an appointment.”

-Have you arrived?

She picked up her phone and texted Jeong Isu. It was a declaration that she didn’t want to talk to the person in front of her.

-Yes. I’m waiting in front of the door now.

-Come in. Hurry.

-I was waiting because it seemed like you were in a conversation.

-I told you to come in.

After a moment, the door opened. He came in.

“Excuse me.”

“Oh, nice to see you!”

CEO Kim acted friendly to Jeong Isu.

“Are you the… The man who’s been close with the Guild Master lately?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, everyone who needs to know knows. You’ve been in and out of Muksung a lot lately, and sometimes you even visit her house-“

Seo-yeon chuckled.

CEO Kim was pressuring Seo-yeon.

He was saying that since he knew Jeong Isu was Seo-yeon’s lover, if she didn’t want this fact to be maliciously exposed, she should obediently accept their demands.

Of course, it was a threat far from the truth.

“You’re young, so work hard and satisfy our Guild Master, I’m old so… Haha.”

Perhaps realizing the subtle sexual nuance in his words, Jeong Isu’s eyes began to turn cold.

“Please leave now.”

“Yes, I’ve been here too long without realizing it. Guild Master, have a good time, and please reconsider our proposal!”

CEO Kim left. Jeong Isu, holding his bag, looked at the place where he left with a dumbfounded look.

“…Is he always like that?”

“I don’t want to deal with him either.”

How happy and grateful it is to talk to a normal person.

Seo-yeon felt gratitude for the small things and looked at the man’s goods.

“Is it the same item this time?”

“Yes, it is.”

The yellowish magic stone he had prepared.

“…No matter how I think about it, I think I should give you more.”

“No. If you think you’re receiving this item too cheaply, just think of it as a debt.”

“I feel like I’m going to go bankrupt because of that ‘debt of the heart.’ Honestly. Where did our daughter find such a lucky charm?”

“You’re flattering me.”

“I’m serious.”

Of course, the quality of this magic stone itself is not very good. However, it can be supplied purely and stably, and the quantity is not small.

Even if miners rush into a dungeon and mine magic crystals, the magic stones they can mine are limited.

Their labor costs are not cheap, and it is difficult to find trustworthy miners who will not steal the collected magic stones.

If it weren’t for the magic stones he provided, she would have had to consider CEO Kim’s proposal more deeply. She might have run out of magic stones to make and repair equipment and to give to affiliated workshops.

In the end, Seo-yeon would have rejected the proposal, but she would have felt guilty, wondering, ‘Did this happen because of my choice?’ when the guild was shaken because of it.

“Someday… I’ll definitely repay you.”

In this weekly transaction, Seo-yeon could relax and let go.

He wasn’t Muksung, so he wasn’t someone she had to take responsibility for or set an example for.

She can’t help but smile when she sees the magic stones he provides. Once a week, she feels like a child receiving an allowance.

Speaking comfortably, smiling at him with a slightly disheveled posture like now, was part of that. Seo-yeon was much more comfortable with him than others thought, than she thought.

“I don’t know… how I can repay you, though.”

Suddenly, Seo-yeon’s expression darkened.

She was not someone like ‘CEO Kim’ who could use profit and desire to make people take her side.

The other hunters in Muksung were the same. Since they were basically hunters, they weren’t pushovers to non-hunters, but they enjoyed less compared to other hunters.

They didn’t receive nice gifts, appear on TV to gain fame, or fulfill their physical desires.

They were just pursuing Seo-yeon’s fame.

And the great challenges and successes she had previously achieved with other hunters.

Values that have become meaningless now.

“You look tired.”

“I have a lot of work these days. I have other plans, and the work I thought would decrease hasn’t decreased…”

“Do you want to take a short break?”

Seo-yeon felt contempt for herself.

It wasn’t that he wanted to rest. She just wanted to make an excuse.

Because if he was in front of her, she felt like she could rest too.

If that man who doesn’t know anything, who sells things at ridiculously low prices, who suddenly appeared and healed her daughter’s pain, and who helps Muksung even a little, is in front of her.

So easy to take advantage of, and harmless-

‘Ha’

She was becoming like him. Like the people she hated.

People who, when they receive someone’s goodwill and favour, don’t think about repaying it, but think, ‘Since I have this, I can hold on a bit longer?’

“If it’s alright, I’ll rest for a moment. The tea here has such a nice aroma, I wanted to drink it leisurely.”

Still, if the man who is ‘being unfairly exploited’ says something like that-

“It’s a herb from the gate. Tell me when you’re done. I can give you more.”

She thinks it might be okay after all, and her heart relaxes.

Two men and women drank tea.