Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game - Chapter 112



112 – The Auction House and Thieves (2)

111.

Some say.

The outcome is decided before the fight even begins.

As they say in Sun Tzu’s Art of War, “The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.”

If the allies have more superior factors than the enemy, they win, and if the superior factors are lacking, they lose. It’s the natural order of things.

In that sense, I ask.

How am I right now?

Do I have any outstanding qualities compared to the members of Rebellion?

Strength, ability, talent, experience, and so on. Honestly speaking, most of these things are lacking compared to the members of Rebellion.

But there is one thing.

Just one thing that I can proudly say I excel in.

That is future information and knowledge based on the memories of the original work. It is my unique advantage that no one can match.

The imbalance of information is, in fact, the most powerful weapon I currently possess and simultaneously a form of asymmetrical power.

Therefore, I can confidently say that I am in a much more advantageous position than Alex right now.

I know my opponent, but my opponent doesn’t know me.

This difference will undoubtedly become an unbridgeable gap.

And, furthermore, they’ve given me too much time.

What if they don’t have time to prepare traps? What if, unaware of Rebellion members’ personalities, abilities, habits, equipment, strengths, weaknesses, and so on, they give me this much preparation time?

To me, who has money, connections, and information about the future?

This is it, Yuan.

It’s an incredibly favorable condition.

Well, that doesn’t mean I’ll let my guard down.

I should always be prepared for the worst-case scenario. I don’t want to be caught off guard like a fool.

“Oh, what about you guys?”

“Huh?”

Just then.

I met familiar red hair in the market.

A slightly sharp impression. Handsome appearance. Formidable. Behind them, individuals presumed to be Black Shadow Clan members were briefly visible. Bodyguards, perhaps. They all looked strong.

“What brings you guys here again?”

Formidable.

Meeting here of all places.

Of course, I had some expectation that he would also come to the auction.

Because he had participated in the auction in the original work. Well, after being completely exposed to Yudahee, he might have entered hellish training, so I thought he might not come.

“It’s finally vacation. I just wanted to watch the auction.”

“Hmm? The two of you?”

Gang Daehan looked back and forth between me and Soyeon.

Even though we were childhood friends, it was a bit strange that the two people who had separated came to Busan together.

“It’s not just the two of us.”

Lately, Soyeon has been showing various signs of favor towards me at the academy, so I was a little concerned.

If that guy has eyes and ears, he would have noticed that Soyeon’s attitude towards me has changed quite a lot lately.

I couldn’t be sure how much Gang Daehan thought of Soyeon, but it seemed like he was somewhat interested in her.

“hehehehe. Am I invisible?”

“What? Yoo Seol-hyun, were you here too?”

“Ah~ Daehan, come with me… Huh? You guys are Yoo Seol-hyun and Jin Soyeon?”

Ju Ji-yeon, who had been slightly apart and looking at the items, finally noticed us and furrowed her eyebrows.

Meeting Soyeon and Yoo Seol-hyun in a place like this was not a particularly pleasant thing.

For Ju Ji-yeon, those two were people who had brought her not just embarrassment, but utter humiliation.

“Oh my, Ji-yeon, hello?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Yoo Seol-hyun greeted her with a bright smile, but Ju Ji-yeon only showed a distant expression.

I realized that there was a hidden agenda behind her elegant smile.

Ju Ji-yeon hesitated for a moment, then approached Gang Dae-han with determination.

She discreetly glanced at Yoo Seol-hyun, as if unable to escape a certain anxiety.

“But what about those two? Did they come to play together?”

“What?”

Soyeon casually threw a question with a face that suggested no particular meaning. In response, Gang Dae-han slightly furrowed his brows and offered an explanation that sounded more like an excuse than anything else.

“It’s not like the two of us came to play together… Come on, think what you want, Ah, whatever.”

Gang Dae-han scratched the back of his neck and then abruptly stopped speaking.

It was amusing in itself that he felt the need to justify this. It was almost as if he was watching out not to be misunderstood by Soyeon.

Considering his usual self, he would have cynically responded with something like, “What do you care?” or “Know whatever you want to know.”

“Uh, okay, why?”

“Heh.”

Ju Ji-yeon smirked, tilting her head with a brazen expression. Gang Dae-han frowned a bit but didn’t bother to object. It would just make the situation more awkward. Besides, Ju Ji-yeon acting like this wasn’t something unusual, happening once in a while.

“I see.”

Unexpectedly, Soyeon clapped her hands as if everything was going well.

She knew very well that the clumsy lady had a crush on Gang Dae-han.

Of course, the relationship between Soyeon and Ju Ji-yeon couldn’t be described as friendly, but Soyeon didn’t seem to harbor ill feelings towards Ju Ji-yeon.

If anything, it was Ju Ji-yeon who kept talking about repaying the favor or whatever.

It seems the defeat in the ranking match was quite shocking.

Since then, Soyeon seemed to subtly perceive herself as a rival to Ju Ji-yeon.

But the difference in talent between Soyeon and Ju Ji-yeon was like heaven and earth.

The day Jiyeon would repay her debt would never come. Poor thing.

“Are you okay?”

Soyeon smiled brightly, like a girl cheering for love, and Jiyeon momentarily hesitated, her clear smile hiding her true feelings.

She realized that it was a sincere word from the heart.

Perhaps Jiyeon’s feelings were a bit complicated?

After all, she was receiving support from the girl that the guy she had a crush on liked.

“Hey, calm down, don’t get worked up!”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Why are you suddenly telling me to calm down?”

Jiyeon blushed slightly, raised her index finger with determination, and shouted, but Soyeon tilted her head as if she didn’t understand a word.

“Enough! Jin Soyeon, let’s face each other again in the second semester ranking match! I won’t lose next time!”

“Sure, I’m looking forward to it.”

Soyeon nodded her head and accepted Jiyeon’s bold challenge.

“Dae Han? It’s fun to hang out with friends, but we should start going soon.”

“Yes… Uncle.”

One of the women in black clothes who had been watching with interest quietly approached and urged Kang Daehan.

She was Ju Hwayoon, a member of the Heukyeong Clan’s Hwadong faction.

Ah, calling a woman “uncle” instead of “aunt” is a peculiar trait of their family. It’s a bit strange to say this, but the motif of the Heukyeong Clan in the game was a gangster.

“You guys… enjoy the auction.”

After scanning Jiyeon and Soyeon’s faces, Kang Daehan and the Heukyeong Clan members walked away together.

Jiyeon and the bodyguards also followed after Kang Daehan.

“…Those guys came here too.”

“Yeah.”

At Soyeon’s words, I nodded.

Originally, this auction episode was one of the events related to Gang Dae-han.

Gang Dae-han, working with Ju Ji-yeon, could be considered a storyline where he would experience jealousy from Ju Ji-yeon and confront the Rebellion members with Gang Dae-han.

But now, things were different.

There was no need to join Gang Dae-han, and I didn’t want to either.

Oh, of course, it’s good that Gang Dae-han’s group appeared at the auction. Because I might ask for help in case of need. No, to be more blunt, I might be able to use them if I play my cards right.

“I heard that Instructor Hong Dae-ye is here to watch the auction… It’s nice that so many helpful people have gathered.”

“Jin-hyuk, you too. What’s so good about it? We shouldn’t have any reason to ask for help from the instructor in the first place.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Is it because it’s a famous event?

Rich and capable people were naturally gathering here in Busan.

– Ring, ring.

“Huh? A call… Ah, not my ringtone. Is it from Jin-hyuk?”

“Just a moment.”

I took out my cell phone.

Then, I checked the caller’s number.

I could tell it was a call from the hotel.

Ah, of course, it’s not the hotel I’m staying in.

Then, who is staying at that hotel?

Well?

I’ll have to check that for sure.

Though I can make an educated guess about who might be staying, there’s always the possibility that they may cancel the reservation if they have no intention of coming to Busan, right?

“Hello?”

“Oh, yes, um….”

The voice of a female hotel front desk staff echoed in my ears.

“The guests you mentioned have come to check in. Two foreigners, Charlie Robinson and two other men, and an Asian woman.”

Upon hearing the staff’s words, I scratched my chin.

Charlie Robbins.

One of Alex Kim’s undercover identities.

I was a bit worried whether he would stay in this hotel as in the original work, but thankfully, he acted as expected, just like in the original.

“So, he didn’t cancel the reservation and came all the way to Busan. Alex, you’re keeping up with the original story after all.”

I thought he might reconsider the auction heist due to Roxanne, but Alex, as usual, didn’t pay any attention to such threats.

If it were me, I would have been cautious for a while due to Roxanne’s movements.

“Well, then. Please send me the footage captured by the CCTV.”

It was easy to predict which hotel Alex and his group would stay in.

After all, it was already mentioned in the original content.

Oh, of course, considering the butterfly effect of my actions so far, there’s still a possibility of booking a different hotel than the original work.

However, hotel reservations during the peak season had to be made quite early.

For one of Busan’s biggest events, the Life and Auction period, reserving a room in a luxury hotel required booking several months in advance.

In other words,

It meant that Roxanne had made a reservation at the hotel even before the Rebellion members were attacked.

Therefore, the likelihood of Roxanne and I booking another hotel due to our actions was extremely low.

“Yes, but… about the money…”

From Noble mtl dot com

“I’ll transfer it to your account.”

Money was good.

Thanks to utilizing hotel staff, we could easily gather information on the guests and the hotel’s dynamics.

Thanks to that, Alex could confirm more clearly that he would be staying at this hotel.

In any case, selling customer information for a few bucks.

Well, it made the job easier, though.

‘Ah, here comes the CCTV footage. Let’s take a look at those guys’ faces on the upper floors.’

I closely observed the faces of those filmed in the hotel through my phone.

‘Alex Kim, John Kader, So Yoo-young… Phew, good. Just like in the game, these three showed up.’

They were all formidable villains, but no problem.

Knowing who is coming allows us to prepare for anything.

‘I was a bit worried if other members would come, but luckily, someone like Isabelle didn’t show up. Dealing with his observational skills would have been a hassle.’

However, Isabelle was busy monitoring Roxanne and the church members based on the situation.

It could be said that it was thanks to Roxanne stirring up a lot of aggro for a while.

“Well, it’s not like we haven’t prepared a response in case Isabelle shows up.”

I turned my head unexpectedly and looked at them.

“Hey, girls.”

“Yeah?”

“Why?”

They reacted to my words.

The gazes of Soyeon and Yooseolhyun were fixed on my face.

Facing them, I slowly licked my lips.

“They just arrived. They’ll show us the CCTV footage from the hotel, so remember their faces. Well, they might have disguised themselves.”

“Oh, have they already arrived? Got it. …Phew. I’m getting nervous for no reason, right?”

“Alright, tell everyone to be prepared. Jinhyuk, are you ready too?”

“Sure.”

I took out my phone and nodded.

“I’m ready.”

The preparations were made a long time ago.

Preparations to fight against the members of Rebellion.

“Oh, but I really envy those with extraordinary abilities….”

If Soyeon had a powerful ability like that, she wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble to prepare for everything.

Even if Soyeon didn’t have one, it would be nice if she had at least one useful ability.

Or maybe, well, would I have to die and wake up for her to awaken?

“…. Do you really plan to go, Yoo Da-hee?”

“Well, yeah, it turned out that way, sir.”

Upon hearing Ryan’s words, Yoo Da-hee nodded her head.

“It’s probably because I have a bad feeling about it.”

“Is that so?”

“I guess.”

“As the largest auction in Korea, there must be some formidable people gathered there.”

“Yeah, you might be in danger too.”

“hahahaha, true.”

Yoo Da-hee nodded her head as if acknowledging it.

From what she heard, even the heroes of large and medium-sized clans were present, so even the renowned Yoo Da-hee would easily be subdued if she caused a scene.

“So, I wanted to prepare for that.”

“… If that’s the case, I hope you won’t have to use it.”

“Well, it would be best if I never have to use it, but who knows what might happen there?”

“… I hope there won’t be a need for it.”

“Hey, don’t think too negatively, sir. If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll just enjoy some delicious food and sightseeing in Busan and come back.”

However, Yoo Da-hee secretly hoped for something unexpected to happen in Busan.