Chapter 38 (1/2)

Chapter 38 –  Day 11, Use

It was the morning of the 11th day when the letters popped up. I had just woken up after a comfortable night's sleep.

[Today at midnight. The dungeon will open.]

Those letters popped up. Well, I felt like this had been coming.

“Now.” I lightly hit each cheek. I would live diligently today. The exams were all over. Even so, I was waiting for the final exams of the second semester.

I turned on the computer. There was a message from Ha Jae-hak in my messenger. Even though it happened three days ago, he had contacted me first and we frequently kept in touch.

Yesterday, I was introduced to some developers and the president of a start-up. All of them were in their late 20's and were well known people in the current industry. I shared a few words with them and there was some outsourcing for a fairly high price.

Apart from the profit, it was a chance to work deeply with developers and learn from them! This was probably my sunbae's gift. No, it was a bribe. He wanted to show me the full taste of his contacts.

Well, even so, I wouldn't be moved. I would just gratefully accept the things he gave me.

[Good morning. Hee-chul.]

”Yep.” There was a video call meeting about the system and then I started to work on it. Their expectations towards me weren't high, so it felt more like they were using me as an a.s.sistant but…

[Ohu. Hee-chul is brighter than I thought. This isn't the image from yesterday.]

“Is that so?”

[You can just jump into the industry without needing to go to school. You will quickly adapt. Originally, bright people don't finish school.]

“It's because I'm afraid.”

[Huhu. If I don't know anything, then I will contact you immediately. Anyway, I am bored because I am working at home.]

It was approximately 3 p.m. when I received a phone call in the middle of working. I checked the caller and immediately exited my apartment. Lee Sang-yoon was standing in front of my building.

“I asked for information, not for you to come here.”

”…” There was frustration and desperation on his rotten face.

I reached out. “If you don't have anything to give me then get lost.”

A car was parked behind Lee Sang-yoon. I didn't know much about cars, but I knew that it was a very expensive car that wasn't commonly seen on these streets. It wasn't a car that Lee Sang-yoon would come in.

”Don't worry. I'll end this quickly.”

I heard a voice as the car door opened.

”Sang-yoon isn't good, but he did do a lot for us.” The first one who stepped down was a person dressed like a wannabe hip-hop singer. He approached Lee Sang-yoon and placed an arm around his shoulder.

Lee Sang-yoon s.h.i.+vered.

”Isn't that right, Sang-yoon? It doesn't matter how scared you are. You won't try to sell information on your colleagues.”

”…” Two more people emerged from the backseat. One male had a hairstyle using pomade and wore horn-rimmed gla.s.ses. The other person had a big physique, like a western male, and wore a t-s.h.i.+rt with the name of a foreign university.

It was the first time I had seen them, but it wasn't hard to guess who they were. They were the trio that Lee Sang-yoon tried to use only to fail.

“This time I met him directly, but his spirit wasn't in a proper state. I could tell that something was wrong. So we investigated the truth. You asked him to give you information about us?”

“I did.”

“You did? Hah, truly. You're a scary one.”

As the hip-hop person looked surprised, the macho man opened his mouth. His eyes were examining my building. “You live simply. Do you go to the same university as Lee Sang-yoon?”

”Yes.”

The man with horn-rimmed gla.s.ses spoke in response to the macho man's question. ”Kim Hee-chul. 23 years old. Lives at 42-3, Hyunan-dong, Seongtan-si, Gyeongi-do. Rents a room in an 18 pyeong house. His father is self-employed. His mother is a housewife.”

“Kya. We're not stalkers. Isn't that right?” Hip-hop finished with an exclamation. When looking at the group of three, I felt like I was seeing cogs turning together.

Then Gla.s.ses opened his mouth again. “Lee Sang-yoon will be 'out' right at midnight today. This is a self-inflicted result. It is for trying to leak information.”

Hip-hop giggled and put strength into his arm, which was wrapped around Lee Sang-yoon's neck. Lee Sang-yoon frowned like he was in pain. “I feel this is enough, but we came to warn you.”

”Is there still more to the warning?”

”Of course.” Gla.s.ses nodded. ”On the 8th floor, there is a high probability that we will encounter each other.”

What did that mean?

”I did a simple survey on the sixth and seventh floors. The area of the fifth floor you stayed in is V9? It's a place where all the explorers of your neighbourhood gathered. We were in V11.” Gla.s.ses said.

They had reached a guess after dealing with the people on the sixth and seventh floors. On the sixth and seventh floors, there were people from V9, V10 and V11.

“It seems like people were mixed up on the sixth floor, but in fact, it is just the people from those three areas that were mixed up. It was the same on the seventh floor. In the end, we are in close proximity and will likely encounter each other.”

There was a possibility that the number of people were reduced after the sixth and seventh floors. Thus, chances were high that the people from the three areas, who cleared the seventh floor, would meet up on the same eighth floor.

”You have until then to give an answer.” This time, it was Macho who spoke in a heavy voice.

These sc.u.m, had they come up with the script in advance?

“You will replace the position of Lee Sang-yoon, or you'll end up like him. We know who you are. We can intervene in your reality. Remember this.”

”…” I scratched my head. Were they finished?

“He is completely stiff.”

Hip-hop laughed as he used his grip on Lee Sang-yoon's neck to turn him around. At that moment, I said to his back.

”Kim Su-han. 24 years old. On a leave of absence from G University. Your father is the president of a confectionery company and your mother is the famous daughter of a rich family in the Gyeonggi-do area. You have two older sisters. One is married, then divorced, and the other is single. Currently living apart from your family in XX-dong.”

”… What?”

This time, I turned towards Gla.s.ses. ”Hw.a.n.g Jong-gyu. 25 years old. Graduated from S University. Your father is a lawyer and you are currently enrolled at the same law school. Your mother is a soldier. You are the only son. Due to your stingy father, the house you live in is a common apartment.”

Finally, Macho was last. ”Kwak Cheol-jin. You didn't want to do anything annoying and became a famous football player in Pasadena. You're currently working at your father's company.”

My mouth dried up from talking too much. Hip-hop turned back towards me with wide eyes.

“What, do you think you were the only ones who could find out information?” I asked. Surprisingly, Yoon Ji-hee worked quite well. Her mother had ties with some companies. I didn't know how a chaebol got their information, but she accomplished a remarkable achievement only three days after I met Lee Sang-yoon.

“I haven't memorized all of it, but I have a bunch of papers with things written on them. I can show them to you if you want.” I took a step forward.

”…!” Hip-hop removed his arm from Lee Sang-yoon and had a serious expression on his face. It didn't matter if they believed me or not. I was done with that part. I approached the front of the car that Hip-hop drove.