Rust - Chapter 45



Only Krnovel

RUST -45

Ms. Kim, who went up to the room, was as happy as her hands were full of weight.

Ah- Is this a heavy happiness? I didn’t know it when I was working, but when I think about it, the company was a bad company. I rolled around for 8 years, bought a few guns, and even though I saved everything, I didn’t even have 200 million won.

The result of eight years of traveling from the provinces to China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, getting hit by snow and rain, rolling through mud and shit, is 200 million won, rounded up to the next digit.

Did you paint yourself with luxury goods, travel, get plastic surgery, use expensive cosmetics, or even enjoy YOLO by staying at a luxury hotel during your vacation?

I only remember rolling and rolling. I had no pleasure other than occasionally going to a good restaurant to eat and doing small fan activities. To be exact, I had no time to create pleasure. I earned 200 million won over 8 years, risking my life. It was difficult to even rent a jeonse (a deposit) in Seoul, let alone an officetel.

But how much has it been since you got involved with Baekjeong Maru? Last time, you received a plastic bag full of 150 million won, and you even received another plastic bag full of money to buy a boat, but that was just ‘Thank you.’ So you received another 150 million won, a total of 300 million won.

I had gone through hardships and dangerous situations, but in just two days, not a month or a week, I had 300 million won, and now in an instant, it was going to be 600 million or 700 million won. In just two or three days, I had the kind of money that would take 24 years of working at a company to barely save up.

Ms. Kim stroked the bag made of luxurious leather. She liked the feel of it.

As expected, the Charlotte Hotel owner has great taste, and not a single bag was left unattended. Is this really a luxury item?

How much is inside? Is it 300 million? Could it really be 400 million? The symbol of wealth, the gold bar, is all mine. It’s not even a silver bar, it’s a gold bar. My heart feels like it’s going to burst, and I feel like I’ll be happy if I just sort out my status. I feel like I have to look into their eyes.

Kim Yang opened her briefcase with a pounding heart. Slowly, the briefcase opened and a solid wad of cash and a dazzling gold bar greeted her. Her heart was pounding. For some reason, she felt like crying. My Pre…

Thump thump thump thump

Fine fine fine fine fine fine

Beep—?

Beep√ Beep-beep-beep-

Huh? Huh?! Aaaah!

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Hotel breakfast,

Ki-sun and Yang Kim, who were just standing there blankly, had expressions that seemed to burn white.

Somehow, both of them seemed to have slightly bleached their hair. There are stories of people who have been through extreme stress or have been on the brink of death losing their hair to white overnight, but Ki-soon and Kim-yang were just blankly staring at each other as if they had forgotten that they had broken up on bad terms yesterday at lunch.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you eating?”

Maru, as if he had never done anything in the morning, put bacon on the meat and munched on it. Ki-sun watched Maru eat with blank eyes and then chewed on her cereal with a tired expression. Kim Yang had a relieved expression, but she was full even without eating. Somewhere, she smiled with eyes like My Pre…

“Who did you have dinner plans with yesterday?”

When Maru asked Miss Kim nonchalantly, Miss Kim made an expression like she was being robbed of her “My Pre…”, but then in an instant, she changed her expression to “Teacher, you’ve misunderstood.” and moistened her mouth with orange juice and answered.

“Uh-uh, the hotel manager here?”

“What’s with that accent? Are you saying that you’re not sure if he’s the president or not? Or is the president here also connected to the organization? No way?”

Maru was sensitive. It was today. Even if it was night, even if it meant sleeping in the sea, they had decided to set sail, so they hated getting tangled up.

Kim Yang reacted startled by Maru’s sharp reaction.

“No! That’s definitely not the case. If we really have to be specific, I would say he’s the president who is at odds with the company.”

“Hostile with the organization? If you really want to be specific? Are you joking? Don’t try to gloss over it, tell me everything that happened with the hotel manager yesterday. Everything.”

Can I tell you about the heavy things in my bag? I promised to help you until I checked out. If I didn’t tell you, if something happened, the hotel staff would be cut to pieces. With tears in her eyes, Ms. Kim ended up telling you everything.

Maru closed his eyes and received Kim Yang’s confession. Those two gold bars were meaningless. How much gold had been transferred to the yacht at dawn? The same was true of money. The problem was the situation here at the Charlotte Hotel.

Even without that, Kim Yang was already drawing aggro, and now there was another aggro in the form of a blood feud over the Charlotte Hotel successor. The head office in Seoul and the branch office in Busan were about to have a showdown, but this wasn’t going to be a fight over money or a cause, it was going to be a real bloody fight.

“Gisun and I will be packing and organizing what needs to be packed on the yacht. You can do whatever you want and come running right away when I send you a text. If you’re late, I’ll leave you behind.”

Kim Yang simply nodded. Last time, he had set the mood by throwing heavy cash at the wall, but this time, Baekjeong was showing off his coolness as if he was okay with something like a heavy bag.

When I thought about it, that’s right. It would have been better for Baekjeong to be outside the hotel. Rather than dancing with a sword without being able to tell the difference between enemies, wouldn’t it be better for his physical and mental health to just be out of sight? This time, too, I thought I’d wake up from a dream when I saw him just slicing things apart. To be honest, I was scared.

At the end of Maru and Kim Yang’s conversation, Ki-sun sat up straight, as if she had come to her senses.

“Hey- Now tell me. You saw everything there was to see this morning. Surely there’s nothing else you need to see? Or you’ve seen everything. First of all, what does this woman do? How did you find out?”

Maru tossed Gi-sun’s question to Kim Yang. When Maru signaled with his deep eyes for her to speak directly, Kim Yang answered quickly.

“At work, they called me a hitman. Some people called me a hit-girl. Oh, and I was a bodyguard too.”

“yes?”

Ki-sun’s mouth fell open.

So that… killer?

Ki-soon looked at Maru with shaking pupils. Maru nodded.

really?

Nod.

How on earth did I end up getting involved with this killer?

Ki-sun looked at him desperately. He was also Maru who was tossing to Kim Yang.

“I got to know Mr. Maru when I shot him to kill him, but he got stabbed in the back and almost died. Oh, I almost died then. Even thinking back now, it was really dangerous. Mr. Maru here is so good with a knife, if you just cut it, it’s slash-, if you just cut it, it’s slash-, he can separate flesh and bones···.”

Kim Yang’s seal was released when some trigger was pulled.

Okay – as expected. I wish it had been released on the sea, but it wasn’t so bad even now. I used my knife on my friend. I caught a person. Rather than saying it directly, wouldn’t it be less shocking to have someone tell you indirectly?

Maru got up from his seat to avoid the two people’s excessive fighting. He wanted to eat some more meat so that he could see the angles to some extent.

Although it seemed like Ki-sun and Kim Yang disliked each other, they continued their conversation as if there was a strong bond between them.

How long had it been? It must have been somewhat settled, Ki-soon called out to Maru, who was quietly mumbling to herself.

“Why? Has everyone eaten?”

“Hah- Are you fucking eating?”

“We’re all doing this to survive, so we have to eat. It’s breakfast.”

He said he would eat it regardless since the hotel fee included breakfast.

“Ah- right- if it’s not enough, eat some more later. So Maru, do you really go around stabbing people with a knife?”

Maru was taken aback by the sudden words.

“No, that’s not it. I absolutely… absolutely had to stab him. I didn’t go around thinking that way, so yes, it was self-defense. Yes, that was self-defense. I’ve never killed an unarmed, non-resisting person first. Really.”

Ki-sun immediately accepted Maru’s words.

“Shut the fuck up. Where can I get my drugs?”

“No, I’m telling you the truth? Really. Real!”

Ha- Ki-soon let out a sigh that was neither a laugh nor a regret and asked calmly.

“You. Was that guy named Manager Hong armed?”

“······.”

Maru couldn’t answer for a moment. He just answered in a squeezing manner.

“Chief Hong kidnapped Naru! There were 20 armed members there!”

“Yeah… I heard that from Ms. Kim. So you hit her first?”

“······.”

Ki-soon asked, looking straight at Maru. His straight eyes were directed at Maru. Yes. This guy has always been like this, this guy has been like this since childhood. The things he had done with Ki-soon flashed by like faded photographs. I see – That was how it was back then, yes, he was like that too.

What is this guy trying to say?

The pretext of saving his family, the pretext of escaping the life of a Baekjeong, the pretext that Chief Hong had kidnapped Naru to implicate him, the pretext that Director Choi and Director Baek had come to capture him.

At the point when he used that excuse to solve the problem with a knife rather than the law, Maru realized through Ki-sun’s eyes that he was no longer an ordinary citizen, that he was no longer the young man who had worked hard to start a family.

Ki-soon said in disbelief what Maru thought of her silence.

“Wake up, you idiot. I’m not blaming you. I’m not giving a shit about you killing someone.”

“······.”

“I just heard from Miss Kim that you’re going to get hurt if you keep riding it.”

“······.”

What are you talking about?

“Think back to when you were Manager Hong. Were you confused? You weren’t. Was Manager Hong holding a gun? Was he holding a knife? He acted boldly even though he wasn’t. Did he hesitate? No. But why are you so shocked? I don’t know what Manager Hong said or did, but if you get caught up in what someone like that says, you’ll be screwed.”

“······.”

“What the hell am I going to do? My only friend is a bastard······. Whether he’s a bastard or not, I shouldn’t let him get killed.”

“······.”

Maru’s expression wavered.

“What the fuck is that expression? Do you think I’d tell you to cut ties if you called me a butcher? If I were a butcher, would you cut ties with me? No, I wouldn’t. Why the fuck are you freaking out so much? Where the hell did that little hippopotamus starve to death? You shameless little shit, don’t do something you’ve never done before. Just be cool with it. Don’t give in.”

“······.”

Kim Yang, who was watching from the side, nodded. It was a nod that contained encouragement, “Then”, “That’s right”, “That’s right”. A smile appeared on Maru’s lips as he watched the two people who didn’t really match.

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Abandoned factory warehouse

The sound of crying disappeared somewhere, and a dark silence filled the warehouse.

This boss was disgusting. Fucking shit.

Kaaaaak- Thud!

The director, who had been spitting phlegm as if to spit out all his dirty feelings, shook his hands.

“Everyone. Get your mouths in order and gather together after finishing the vehicle and equipment inspections within an hour so that we can leave for Busan.”

“That manager.”

Team Leader Ahn, who had been talking on the phone in the inner room, cautiously called Director Lee.

“Uh- Team Leader Ahn, what’s going on?”

“Are you going to Busan like Executive Director Choi said?”

“Fuck. If I don’t go? Where am I going to get compensation for all the hit-and-runs I’ve done so far?”

“It’s dangerous. Based on what Director Choi has done so far, he is not the type of person to keep his promises.”

This director wanted to explode. Even so, he couldn’t escape once he was stuck in the line of Executive Director Choi.

The lines need to be different so that we can apply our strength to both lines later?

But what is this? While Director Kim received full support from Director Yoo, he himself was not only not providing support, but was also digging around like a caretaker for Executive Director Choi. Today, this mountain, tomorrow, that mountain.

The director thought of Director Yoo, who had scouted him. He told him to go to Executive Director Choi’s line and grow big. He said it would be difficult to grow under him.

“Huh- So?”

“Sir. No, hyung. The kids’ mood is really bad right now.”

“Would you like that? I’m digging a hole and taking a dump.”

“That’s not it. Our children haven’t received their paychecks for two months.”

The manager was confused. What kind of crazy talk is this? He was definitely getting his salary on time.

“Hey- Really? You too? The other team leaders too?”

“The team leaders and above received their salaries, but the subordinates and new employees did not receive their salaries. Some of them thought that they were not receiving salaries because they were on probation.”

This boss was really pissed. What the fuck, this is what I’m talking about, food.

“Training period? What kind of training period is this? The company said that if I wash my hands and join the company, they’ll pay me a salary. Huh? Wasn’t that the case? That’s what we agreed to do when we brought the kids. When did you find out? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“No matter what happens, my brother is patient and persevering, but when I tell him stories like this, everything···”

The manager couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted.

“Hey- what the fuck. Are you fucking me? Why are you judging that? Huh? I brought the kids here, why are you judging that?”

The director’s hand went up and down repeatedly. The director, who was trembling, let out a deep sigh and spoke.

“If you’re going to keep quiet, then keep quiet until the end. Why are you telling me now? There must be a reason, right?”

“If we tell them to go down to Busan and fight Charlotte or the Yakuza, they’ll just die in a fight that’s not worth fighting. It’s better to die fighting. Don’t you know that we’re all kids who came into the company to make a living? If we make them do it as training without a salary and tell them to go out and die, they’ll grab a gun or a knife and turn it around.”

“so?”

“The company is trying to use our children as a shield. They don’t even want to raise you, hyung. Do you think they’re just going to pass the buck to the people who are supposed to raise you? They’re saying they’re going to train the children, but they’re not even paying them? Who would have paid the children? It wasn’t my hyung or our team leaders, right? Then who would have cut them off in the middle?”

The director’s voice dropped to a low tone.

“so?”

“older brother.”

Team Leader Ahn knelt down in front of Director Lee. Director Lee quietly looked down at Team Leader Ahn’s head as he knelt down.

“I lived because of my brother. He was a loser and a neighborhood punk who just did trash, and now he’s a team leader. It was all thanks to my brother that I was able to send my mother off comfortably in her final years. In this fucking world, my brother is the only person around me who kept his word and kept his word.”

“so.”

The manager opened his golf bag and took out a machete. Team leader Ahn nodded his head and continued speaking.

“The kids who followed me don’t know anything. I haven’t given a definite answer yet. If receiving a business card is a problem, just end it with me.”

“······”

“Don’t you know that if you just go down like this, you and the kids will all die? Don’t you know that you’ll just be a meat shield for Director Kim?”

“······”

“Before you go to Busan and work as Executive Director Choi said, I would like you to meet me first with this business card.”

“······”

Team Leader Ahn took out a fancy business card from his pocket and carefully put it down. It was a business card made of a material other than paper, whether plastic or metal. It was a business card with the name of Hotel Charlotte President Sim Eun-young written on it.

The director put down the machete he was holding and leaned against the wall as if he had lost all strength.

I desperately needed to quit smoking to build my body.