Sa Seung-hee put a small medicinal snack into her mouth and then continued speaking.
“Hunter Lee Se-eun and Hunter Yoo Chan-seok have different goals they are striving for.”
It was Sa Seung-hee's judgment that they might be fine in a cooperative relationship like the current one, but they would certainly clash if they were to truly get in the same boat.
“Even if the goal is the same, the two of you have very different temperaments. Clashing sounds will arise if you work in one organization, and that could even be a factor that shortens the life of the organization. Furthermore….”
Sa Seung-hee peeled an apple, handed a slice to Hunter Lee Se-eun, and continued speaking.
“Hunter Lee Se-eun's greatest weapon is your reputation. If you leave Jannabi, you are throwing that away.”
She ran a charity organization that was operated so healthily it was counted among the best, and she had no personal controversies. Most hunters respected her, and in most situations, they wouldn't even refuse her requests.
And, in addition to that, she was a partner hunter of Jannabi.
“If you leave Jannabi, Hunter Lee Se-eun will lose a significant portion of the merits you possess. The number of ways Headhunter can receive help will decrease.”
Sa Seung-hee had no intention of watching that happen. Sa Seung-hee was already helping Headhunter in quite many areas, and she planned to provide even more full scale support in the future.
“Is that so.”
While Lee Se-eun fell into thought for a moment, Sa Seung-hee smiled.
“Well, even so, it's just advice from a person who runs a tea house. There's no need to take it too deeply to heart, right?”
She spoke that way, but Lee Se-eun didn't think Sa Seung-hee's words were wrong either. Even during the time they worked together in Siberia, Yoo Chan-seok had made many choices that Lee Se-eun wouldn't have made.
Back then, it was an unavoidable situation, so things passed without any particular friction, but if they were to truly be together instead of just forming a common front like that, there would be many things to clash over just as Sa Seung-hee said.
“There's no need to force feed mint chocolate to someone who hates it, is there?”
“It's not quite such a simple problem, Owner Sa Seung-hee.”
Sa Seung-hee nodded at Lee Se-eun's simple rebuttal.
“Even on that point, your opinion already differs from Hunter Yoo Chan-seok.”
Yoo Chan-seok didn't consider it very important if some sacrifices occurred in the process of achieving a goal. At most, he regarded it as lightly as whether one likes or hates mint chocolate.
It was the same for Han Sang-ah or Jung Oh-hoon of Headhunter.
But Lee Se-eun was not that kind of person. She had no intention of judging which of the two was right or wrong, but it was a fact that their temperaments were different.
“If Hunter Lee Se-eun joins Headhunter, friction will arise from these trivial things one by one. So….”
“Remain as a supporter?”
“Yes, just like me. Of course, Hunter Lee Se-eun will be able to provide much greater help than someone like me.”
Lee Se-eun nodded slightly.
“That's a valid point. I will take it to heart.”
“Thank you. Now, then… that hunter equipment trafficking you mentioned earlier.”
After clapping her hands once, Sa Seung-hee narrowed her eyes and looked at Lee Se-eun.
“Blue Wrench is involved.”
“If it's Blue Wrench… the junk shop?”
It was a place that boasted the number one spot in the junk shop industry. Sa Seung-hee nodded.
“Lately, Miracle Junk Shop has been catching up to Blue Wrench fiercely. They must have had a lot of concerns. It's thanks to Hunter Yoo Chan-seok.”
As soon as the rumor spread that Yoo Chan-seok had signed a contract with Miracle Junk Shop, the attention of hunters turned toward Miracle Junk Shop. And Choi Seung-gi, the owner of Miracle Junk Shop, was not the type of person to miss such an opportunity.
After agonized thinking to shake off the fierce pursuit of Miracle Junk Shop, Blue Wrench Junk Shop eventually dived more actively into the realm of illegality.
“Collecting this kind of information is actually not difficult.”
A significant number of hunters used the Hut. They had meals or spent time at the Hut while sharing stories with other hunters.
And, there were no cases where hunters were not involved in the trafficking process. After all, trafficking was only possible if hunters secured the items in the first place.
“But they won't open their mouths easily, right?”
“At first, it starts with guesswork. The amount spent by each hunter visiting the Hut is recorded every week.”
By identifying hunters whose spending amount suddenly increased and observing them intensively, one eventually gets to hear various stories.
“Blue Wrench huh.”
Lee Se-eun's expression became somewhat complicated. That was the junk shop Lee Se-eun had contracted with. She hadn't imagined that they would be doing such a thing.
“Is it certain?”
“If you need credibility for the rumor, you should think about checking it with your own eyes.”
If you can't believe it, go look for yourself. At Sa Seung-hee's words, Lee Se-eun slowly stood up from her seat and spoke.
“Indeed, that would be the most certain way. Thank you for the help.”
With this, the meeting between Sa Seung-hee and Lee Se-eun ended for now.
While the two were sharing a conversation, Yoo Chan-seok, who had arranged this meeting, was resting in his room.
Han Sang-ah spent hours watching the marbles running on the tracks after completing her marble run.
And in the case of Jung Oh-hoon, he was meeting an old acquaintance.
It was a worn out hardware store. On a rusted sign hanging precariously on a crumbling building, the words 'Wara Hardware Store' were painted in faint paint.
A middle aged man sitting on a small bathhouse stool repeatedly turned the power of a grinder in his hand on and off.
The sound of the grinder's blade spinning echoed out.
“Ah, man. Why are you being so noisy?”
Jung Oh-hoon frowned and picked his ear.
“I heard you've become quite a big shot lately. Jung O-Hair.”
“I told you. I was originally a guy destined for greatness.”
After Jung Oh-hoon spoke, he opened a bag placed in a corner. Inside, it was full of peanuts.
It seemed quite old as it smelled stale. Jung Oh-hoon put his hand into the peanuts and pulled something out.
“Business seems to be doing okay.”
Jung Oh-hoon pulled out a small knife that had been inside the peanut bag. It was a dagger faintly imbued with mana.
“Hey, put it back in.”
“Seriously, with a heart the size of these peanuts, I don't know how you do business. Fine, fine.”
Jung Oh-hoon shoved the knife back into the peanuts and sat in a crouch across from the other person while holding a handful of stale peanuts.
“So, why did you call me?”
“If you have some time left over, do you have any intention of doing a side job?”
Jung Oh-hoon peeled a peanut and tossed it into his mouth while grinning.
“Side jobs are good. It's obvious if it's something you're asking. Is it trafficking?”
“It's items going to China.”
Jung Oh-hoon frowned.
“Weren't you originally a specialist in Korean distribution? To begin with, trafficking items to China doesn't even make much money.”
The quality of trafficked goods wasn't much to look at. There weren't many wealthy people in China either, so they didn't have the luxury to purchase good equipment.
At Jung Oh-hoon's words, the man nodded.
“If the volume sold becomes large, it makes money.”
“So you've changed your route from quality to quantity? That's funny.”
Another peanut went into Jung Oh-hoon's mouth.
“To be precise, I'm trying to take care of both quality and quantity.”
Jung Oh-hoon spoke while leaning his back against a wall made of roughly erected rusted plates.
“You know I don't work before seeing the goods first, right?”
At Jung Oh-hoon's words, the other person nodded and showed him something.
“One hundred and fifty of these are scheduled to head to China.”
Jung Oh-hoon shut his mouth for a moment after checking what the other person held out. It was a stone fragment with a dull black color and a glossy surface.
“Wow, where did you get something like this?”
Jung Oh-hoon asked while shining the stone fragment back and forth in the sunlight with an intrigued expression.
“Jung O-Hair may check the goods, but there were no cases where he checked the target of the request. Did I misjudge my man?”
“If you don't want to answer, you don't have to. Why are you catching my words and acting like a bitch, it's shitty.”
Jung Oh-hoon replied that way and then handed the stone fragment back to the other person.
“What a coincidence… I was actually thinking of going to China after resting for a bit.”
At Jung Oh-hoon's words, the other person let out an 'Oho?' sound.
“I was only thinking of asking for domestic transport.”
Jung Oh-hoon smiled while stroking the rusted iron plate with his hand.
“A hunter belonging to Headhunter who smashed two Grade 1 Erosion Cores can deliver this stone fragment all the way to China. A hunter of that level doesn't even get luggage searched.”
The back of Jung Oh-hoon's hand tapped the iron plate, making a thumping sound.
“How much will you give me?”
“Three hundred million.”
Jung Oh-hoon nodded and then hit the iron plate once more, making a loud sound.
“Very good, my friend. Let's talk about the details later at our leisure. You know my number, right?”
“Yeah, let's talk in detail later. Friend.”
After finishing his words, Jung Oh-hoon left the hardware store while whistling.
And, as soon as he entered the lodging in the Association building, he made a phone call.
“Hey, Chan-seok. Come to my room for a bit. It's quite urgent. Hurry up and fly over.”
* * *
After receiving Jung Oh-hoon's contact, I headed to the room where Jung Oh-hoon was staying with doubt.
I could feel mana that was very faint but had very impure intentions from Jung Oh-hoon's body. What is this.
I hardened my expression slightly and spoke toward Jung Oh-hoon.
“Hey.”
Before I could say anything, the bastard held something out. It was black powder.
“…Where did you get this?”
It was powder from which mana was faintly felt.
“I went to meet an old acquaintance because he suddenly said he had something to ask me. He's a bastard who specializes in hunter equipment trafficking.”
Jung Oh-hoon said that what he brought wasn't the item to be moved, but just a bit of that item he had torn off and turned into powder.
After looking at that powder for a moment, I cast my gaze at Jung Oh-hoon.
“Why, what.”
“I think you could have just kept your mouth shut and made some pocket money.”
At my words, Jung Oh-hoon shook his head vigorously.
“I have good intuition. I felt like I would get caught by you even if I didn't get caught by any other guys.”
It was true. Since he had already been caught before he even said anything. He had essentially proven his own claim that his intuition was good.
“You've saved on hospital bills too. Congratulations.”
“Hospital bills? What hospital bills.”
Jung Oh-hoon asked back at my words.
“Just a moment ago, one of your bones was about to get broken.”
If Jung Oh-hoon hadn't spoken first, or if I had felt that Jung Oh-hoon was dragging his feet in the process of my questioning, Jung Oh-hoon would have been in the care of a hospital.
“My, indeed, a momentary choice determines one's life.”
After finishing his words, Jung Oh-hoon moved the black powder he was holding in his hand into a bowl.
“But will selling this make money?”
“Are you really asking that.”
If consumed, even an ordinary person can possess mana at a level similar to a hunter in one go. Of course, the price for that is a blank contract, and they have to live a terminal life not knowing when they might die.
China has no hunters of its own. From the government's perspective, it was natural to think they should make hunters even by feeding them this.
“I think I should follow up on this.”
If it were scheduled to be sold elsewhere it might be different, but since it was scheduled to be sold to China, my back was itching too much.
Dealing with Gonsalok was already quite a burden, but if I thought that guys who consumed this behind my back could turn into monsters at any time, there was no headache like this.
“Still, there is some good news. Because I'm a good actor, I ended up receiving a significant portion of these stone blocks being smuggled into China.”
Then, I could consider it a success to have confiscated at least some of these stone blocks being smuggled into China. Yes, it was just some, after all.
After finishing his words, Jung Oh-hoon grinned while rubbing his thumb and index finger together.
“Of course, while taking the money for doing this job.”
“Will you be okay even so? If you do such a thing, usually bad older men come and knock on your door.”
Jung Oh-hoon tapped the pistol at his waist.
“Unless someone like you comes, I have confidence that I'll poke holes all over the foreheads of the rest of the trash.”
Well, even ordinary hunters would probably be beaten up and have to visit a doctor if they fought with Jung Oh-hoon now.
To get additional information on this case for now… I scratched my head. I didn't know I would have to contact Sa Seung-hee again this quickly.
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