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Chapter 14: Collision Pt. 3

They were on the road to the Association. Lee Jun-Kyeong sat silently in the traveling car, whereas Kim Su-Yeong didn’t say any of the things on his mind. It was a complicated situation.

‘To think that grandpa…’

The elderly man who he had saved had changed his testimony. The perpetrators had become the victims, and he, who had been the savior, had become the perpetrator instead. Though nothing had been confirmed yet, it was to be expected. So he could infer why the elderly man, who had repeatedly thanked him earlier, had suddenly changed his testimony.

‘Feels like shit.’

Still, it wasn’t a good feeling. Even if he could understand the situation and knew what had happened, it was impossible not to feel bad. So while it wasn’t a situation he had intervened in while expecting anything, it was still irritating for the results to turn out this way. Still, several things kept him calm, and these things were enough to keep him from screaming out in anger.

‘This was to be expected.’

He had thought the situation might turn out this way when he had found out they were members of the Northern Army Guild. After all, this guild had been allowed to reserve twenty dungeons at once. But, as he had suspected, there definitely was a connection within the Association itself.

‘It just proves that the guild’s ability is great.’

Furthermore, Lee Jun-Kyeong already knew information about the Northern Army Guild itself. They were punks with significant backing. The Association, no, that man, was supporting the Northern Army Guild. But before they could spread their wings, they had found themselves in trouble.

‘It must have happened that way.’

There was no way that punk supporting the Northern Army Guild would have been able to stay still. It was a given that things would turn out this way. Still, there was no way Lee Jun-Kyeong wouldn’t feel angry and bitter.

"We’ll be arriving soon,” Kim Su-Yeong said softly into Lee Jun-Kyeong’s ear, who was sitting there with closed eyes. This wasn’t forceful detainment. Instead, the Association had taken as much courtesy with this procedure as possible. They had been traveling in Kim Su-Yeong’s car.

“Don’t worry too much. There’s no way for things to go wrong,” Kim Su-Yeong continued in an attempt to reassure Kim Jun-Kyeong.

“The Association hasn’t gotten that rotten… just yet,” he said, right before they had arrived.

To say the Association hadn’t rotted just yet simply meant that the information was still hidden.

‘Is that really the truth?’

While no one else knew, he knew the truth as he had come from the future.

‘The Association is an organization that started out rotten and has stayed that way.’

However, there was no reason for him to try to change how Kim Su-Yeong felt. The manager would understand it as time went on. If that didn’t happen, then Kim Su-Yeong could have already been a part of the rotten branch without Lee Jun-Kyeong even realizing it.

“We have arrived.”

Regardless, they had arrived at the Association.

***

"Your name is Lee Jun-Kyeong, and it\'s been less than a month since you became a Hunter, is that right?"

The investigator and Lee Jun-Kyeong were sitting at an iron table. The investigator acted as if he had already come to a conclusion. However, nothing had been used to restrain him.

‘They don’t need to.’

After all, not every Tom, Dick, and Harry could become an investigator for the Association. As their job was to deal with criminal Hunters, only Hunters who were mid-level or stronger could become investigators in the first place. As for the investigator in front of him, he seemed to be around the tutorial guide Bae Sang-Su’s level or stronger. There was no way for him to be sure, but that was the feeling Lee Jun-Kyeong had gotten. He still found it difficult to judge a Hunter stronger than himself.

“Hunter Lee?” asked the investigator, slightly relaxed.

“Yes, you’re correct.”

“It seems you were rescued from a gate… and there are no records of you prior to that.”

“Correct,” said Lee Jun-Kyeong, answering the investigator’s questions without lying.

“You’re here today to discuss the incident that had happened a few days ago. Hunter Lee, is it true that you were the first to report the incident, and that you had subdued the Northern Army Guild members at the same time?”

“Correct.”

The investigator had had a relaxed tone up until now.

“Furthermore, did you intimidate the elderly man, Lee Mun-Su, forcing him to falsely testify that the Northern Army Guild Hunters attacked you first?”

While his tone hadn’t changed much, something had shifted, turning the air chilly. Lee Jun-Kyeong shook his head.

“That is incorrect.”

“Are you saying that isn’t the truth?”

“Yes. That is an incorrect statement.”

“...”

The investigator shifted his papers, seemingly checking something.

“We will be shifting to a full-scale interrogation.”

At the investigator’s beckoning, the door opened.

“...”

An old man with his head bowed entered the interrogation room. It was the elderly man that Lee Jun-Kyeong had saved. The elderly man took his seat quietly.

“Are you the elderly man, Lee Mun-Su?”

“Y…Yes… that…” responded the elderly man in a trembling voice.

“During the incident a few days ago, is it true that the person you see in front of you, Hunter Lee, threatened you? We ask that you confirm if he forced you to testify that the Northern Army Guild members had attacked the both of you.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at the quietly conflicted elderly man. The elderly man’s gaze began to tremble violently the moment he had looked at him. It was obvious why he had started shaking.

‘He’s been threatened.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong pondered over Kim Su-Yeong’s previous assertion that the Association would monitor the situation. That had turned out to be complete dog shit. What was going on now had basically confirmed his previous speculation.

‘It’s already become a rotten tree.’

All he had to do was observe the elderly man. It was obvious that he wasn’t in a normal state.

“You can speak comfortably, sir,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said to the elderly man. Despite his gentle tone, the elderly man’s trembling didn’t stop, but rather, it only got worse.

“You are correct… That young man threatened me…”

In the end, the elderly man confirmed it.

“I understand that must have been difficult. Thank you.”

The elderly man left the room, watching Lee Jun-Kyeong the entire time before he exited. From those eyes, Lee Jun-Kyeong could almost see it.

‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.’

The old man’s eyes were brimming with tears, and his lips were trembling furiously.

“Ha…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong let out a short breath. It was a complex situation, and he felt many incredibly conflicting emotions.

“Do you have anything else to say?” the investigator asked coldly.

Thump.

Lee Jun-Kyeong took his cell phone from his pocket and played a video.

-Who the fuck do you think you are?

It was the voice Lee Jun-Kyeong had heard as soon as he had entered the alley. After he had contacted Kim Su-Yeong, he had recorded everything that had happened with his cell phone.

“This is what I have to say,” said Lee Jun-Kyeong, his voice becoming frostier by the second. The atmosphere abruptly changed, feeling as if the surroundings had suddenly frozen over.

***

The cell phone video had been accepted as evidence as it had been confirmed to be genuine after it had undergone various verifications. Everything had been clarified, and the truth had been revealed. Lee Jun-Kyeong was not the perpetrator, and rather, it was the guild members of the Northern Army Guild. As for the elderly man, he had been accused of giving false testimony. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong had argued with the investigator, pleading for leniency. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to know how the Association would decide on that matter. It was a given that the Association already knew why the elderly man, Lee Mun-Su, would have changed his testimony.

‘They most likely would turn a blind eye to it.’

There was nothing more he could do for the current situation.

He felt like shit once again.

‘My strength… it’s still not enough…’

He still wasn’t able to protect anyone properly. He had been unable to protect the elderly man to the very end. After all, the punks had been able to be released due to his lack of strength. He swore to himself that this would be the last time he would get angry because he didn’t have enough strength. In addition, he vowed that this would never happen again during this new life of his.

“When did you prepare something like that? Kim Su-Yeong asked.

“I did it just in case” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded simply without elaborating. However, his real reasoning was slightly different. It had become almost like a habit, and it was a habit that had formed naturally as he had been subjected to so many unfair and unreasonable situations. After all, it wasn’t uncommon to get stabbed in the back while helping someone in the era that he had lived in. Even while being oppressed by the Hunters, the regular people still doubted and hated each other.

‘Looks like that’s starting right now.’

The Northern Army Guild. It was clear that the incident they had just created would repeat over and over to make the world of the future.

Clench.

Lee Jun-Kyeong balled up his fists.

“Ah… and…”

Just as Kim Su-Yeong was about to say something, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s gaze had already been directed somewhere else.

“I heard a rumor that you were in trouble.”

It was the voice of the guild master of the League Guild, Yeo Seong-Gu, who was approaching them.

“I contacted him just in case… I didn’t have a line in the Association… So he was the most influential person I could reach,” said Kim Su-Yeong explaining that he had acted on Lee Jun-Kyeong’s behalf.

“It’s a relief. It looks like there isn’t anything else I can say but that.”

It was clear that although he had to have been busy, Yeo Seong-Gu had rushed to the scene.

“Thank you.”

The slightly unpleasant feeling Lee Jun-Kyeong had felt earlier had instantly disappeared. Whether it was in the past or now, Yeo Seong-Gu had always been someone he could depend on. Furthermore, even though it was a new relationship, for him, Kim Su-Yeong had also shown himself to be dependable. Still, this feeling of consolation only lasted for a while.

“...”

Someone was walking towards them in the silence. Lee Jun-Kyeong recognized him first.

“Grandpa.”

It was the elderly man whom he had saved, who had turned around and put the blame on him by committing perjury. The elderly man approached quickly, and after looking around at the group, he knelt done on his knees and bowed his head.

Thud.

“Why are you doing this?” asked the bewildered Lee Jun-Kyeong, pulling the elderly man up. However, Kim Su-Yeong and Yeo Seong-Gu were looking at the elderly man coldly.

“...”

\'Ah…\'

.

To them, the elderly man was not someone who deserved any pity or compassion. He had become a backstabber who simply threw away the favor he had been granted after being saved. That was all he had come.

"I… I\'m so sorry… I\'m so, so sorry..."

The elderly man stood up, continuing to weep and apologize.

“Those guys… Those punks… they said they would ruin my granddaughter’s future… I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to support you, not create so much trouble for you…”

They could feel the sincerity in the elderly man’s crying voice.

“Are you saying that the Northern Army guild had threatened you, grandfather?” Kim Su-Yeong asked in a bewildered tone. He quickly turned around and began to question the elderly man.

“They had… I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…”

“Why are you coming to tell us that now?” Yeo Seong-Gu’s still cold voice rang out.

“My granddaughter would have been harmed if I had told you beforehand… Seeing as how things had turned out… I had wanted to at least apologize to you. I’m so very sorry. I’m sorry…”

The three men’s faces hardened at the same time. In the end, they had found out the real reason why the elderly man had changed his testimony. He had been intimidated; moreover, it had been a threat to his family. Their faces began to glow with anger.

“Don’t worry too much,” said Kim Su-Yeong.

Yeo Seong-Gu added, “There is no way that will happen.”

"You can go home without worrying too much about those punks. They were just empty threats. In reality, there’s no way they would actually act upon them,” said Lee Jun-Kyeong.

The three men spoke reassuringly to the elderly man, attempting to console him. Meanwhile, their anger had risen to the boiling point, similar to a heated kettle before it exploded with steam. Lee Jun-Kyeong had said the truth. Since there was a lot of interest and attention on the current situation, there was no way for the perpetrators to touch the elderly man’s family. Still, all three men were infuriated, and all traces of the earlier good feeling had dissipated.

“Damn it,” said Kim Su-Yeong, feeling helpless.

Yeo Seong-Gu responded in kind, “Feels like shit.”

His frosty expression showed that he was slowly burning with anger. The three of them knew that the elderly man wasn’t lying.

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was looking somewhere else. A little further away, someone was watching them. It had started from the moment the elderly man had cried and had stayed on to the trio up until the present. They could feel a greasy touch, the feeling of magic power.

“Is it that guy?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded at Yeo Seong-Gu’s question. The man standing far away was someone that he definitely knew.

“Choi Yeong-Seong.”

The man imposingly approached while Lee Jun-Kyeong spoke his name. It was impossible to tell whether he had approached due to the end of the events, or if he had planned for this timing. Yeo Seong-Gu and Lee Jun-Kyeong stepped forward. Behind the man were three others, all Hunters. They all had the same pattern on their chest, the symbol of their guild: a blue shield with engraved stripes.

“It really is such a regretful situation,” said the approaching man to the three men without so much as a hello.

“Isn’t that right?” he continued with a self-satisfied smirk. He had a cruel and infuriating face, seemingly full of underhanded intent. It was, in fact, such an unsettling face that it was difficult to describe with words.

“...”

The man’s gaze shifted to the silent Yeo Seong-Gu.

“If only I had known that this was how I would meet the lauded League Guild Master… Guild Master Yeo…”

His eyes then shifted again towards Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“The rumors must be true then; you really are acquainted with the rumored Super Rookie?”

The man must have figured out that Lee Jun-Kyeong was the widely reported super rookie from the newspapers. While Lee Jun-Kyeong and Yeo Seong-Gu stayed silent, the man reached his hand out forward.

“I’m the Guild Master of the Northern Army Guild,” he said with a smiling face as his hand nonchalantly hung in the air.

“The name is Choi Yeong-Seong.”

It was a name that had later been recorded as a Hero who was renowned as a servant of the twelve heroes. However, to the common people, he was a mass murderer and a tyrant.

‘The War King, Gunther.’

That was Choi Yeong-Seong’s true identity.

After his self-introduction, something unexpected happened.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Yeo Seong-Gu shook the hand that Choi Yeong-Seong had held out, a cold smile appearing on his face.

“But I have to warn you. Unless you want to make an enemy out of the renowned League Guild and the Super Rookie, it would be good to settle down.”

It was a complete dismissal. Choi Yeong-Seong’s previously smug and relaxed face suddenly distorted. But Yeo Seong-Gu didn’t stop there.

“No, that’s not right. After all, you’re not even worth considering as an enemy… Watch how you f*cking speak and act. If you don’t want to get f*ked, I mean.”

Yeo Seong-Gu and Choi Yeong-Seong’s hands were still gripped together, but interestingly enough, Choi Yeong-Seong’s hands were turning a shade of blue.

1. While I’m hesitant to curse this badly, there are so many levels of disrespect and outright taunting here, both in the language itself and the manner of speech that I’m not confident getting the same impact without using curse words. He first starts completely dismissing him, saying let me correct what I’m saying. Then he’s like you don’t even qualify to be on the other side from me. Then, ??? is a colloquial way to say the word for mouth, but is generally used in a very very negative connotation. It’s normally used in the statement, ??? ?? which directly translates to shut your f*kn mouth. Finally, as you may have read in some of the Chinese novels, ?? means to turn or to roll, but it’s more commonly used as an expression of getting f*ckd or dying(in a very negative context.)