Chapter 57

Chapter 57: A Very Angry Rift Management Bureau Director

Seeing Yu Seon-yeong reminded me of what she had said when she came to my countryside house.

'She said she would get her revenge.'

Could it be that the one who had been having me surveilled was not the Hunter Association, but Yu Seon-yeong using an errand service?

If so, how and when had the Hunter Association and Yu Seon-yeong become entangled?

There was insufficient information at the moment.

I looked at Yu Seon-yeong and said coldly.

"Yu Seon-yeong, what exactly are you trying to pull?"

"I told you. You would regret it."

"This is the revenge you mentioned? You really have sunk to the bottom."

"......You are the one who made me this way, Oppa."

My fault again.

"Enough. So what crime am I supposed to have committed?"

"......You assaulted the Executive Chef, Oppa. The CCTV in the break room connected to the changing room captured you coming out with blood on your hands, and the chef coming out of the break room bleeding from a broken nose. There is also footage from the kitchen camera of you wiping blood off your hands. I have copies of all of it."

The CCTV in the kitchen had been installed by the Executive Chef, who was frequently out of the office, to monitor the kitchen staff.

"......Is that all?"

I had been worried there might be some crime I was not aware of.

Or that Yu Seon-yeong might have fabricated a crime and pinned it on me.

But it was just that incident.

"Why are you the one making a fuss about this instead of the Executive Chef himself? Did the chef say he wants to press charges against me?"

"......"

Of course not.

If the Executive Chef did that, he would lose everything himself.

When Yu Seon-yeong was at a loss for words, Team Leader Shin stepped in.

"There are ways to make Chef Ha Yu-sik step forward. Would you like to see this video?"

Ha Yu-sik was the Executive Chef's real name.

He played a video on his phone and held it up toward me.

The video showed the Executive Chef abusing a kitchen staff member.

Scenes of him slapping an employee across the face and kicking them.

Followed by footage of him in a car, drunk, spewing obscenities too vulgar to repeat.

If this video were leaked, the Executive Chef would lose his title as Korea's representative star chef.

These videos were likely filmed by Yu Seon-yeong herself.

Team Leader Shin's intent in showing me this was obvious.

"You plan to blackmail the Executive Chef with this and make him press charges against me?"

"Correct. You catch on quickly, as expected. I hear Chef Ha Yu-sik plagiarized your recipes and you assaulted him in a fit of rage. The bad blood between you two must run quite deep. How about it — would the two of you like to have a mudslinging match and roll around in the dirt together?"

I scoffed.

The Executive Chef could never press charges against me.

Because I held a bigger bomb than anything in that video.

Namely, the bomb of the affair.

The people the Executive Chef feared most were his own wife and his father-in-law, who was the hotel owner.

'It seems Yu Seon-yeong did not tell Team Leader Shin about the affair she and the Executive Chef had.'

That was why they were making such a flimsy threat.

Yu Seon-yeong had concealed her own affair to create an escape route for herself.

'People really do not change, do they?'

Yu Seon-yeong then stared at me.

The look in her eyes did not seem to belong to a person in their right mind.

"Oppa, if you ally with the Hunter Association and start over with me, I will make all of this go away."

"You are insane."

The profanity came out on its own.

I could not even remember how long it had been since I had cursed out loud.

"I would never start over with you even if I died and came back to life. Stop getting involved with me. I am sick of it."

Yu Seon-yeong then pointed toward the passenger seat of the car behind me.

"Is it because of that woman? What does she have that I do not?"

Everything.

I looked behind me. Ria was sitting in the passenger seat with her arms crossed.

Even with her mask and sunglasses on, I could tell she was furious.

Team Leader Shin tried to restrain Yu Seon-yeong.

"Your voice is carrying all the way to the sidewalk. Please lower it."

Yu Seon-yeong stared at the passenger seat, fuming and unable to contain her anger.

She had been played by a middle-aged Executive Chef and was now completely ruined.

Watching her reaction, I felt a sense of suspicion.

"Yu Seon-yeong, was it you who had someone surveil me?"

"Wh-what are you talking about? I do not know anything about that......"

Judging by her reaction, it seemed like a yes.

The fact that she immediately said "Is it because of that woman?" upon seeing Ria in the car also carried the nuance of someone who already knew Ria was my lover.

Since I could not be sure yet, I pressed further.

"Why did you have someone tail me? To find out who I was meeting?"

"No, it really was not me. Why would I do something like that? Haha......!"

"If it was not you, how did you know the woman in the car is my lover?"

"That......, I found out from rumors circulating online......"

"It was you."

When Yu Seon-yeong lied, she had a habit of forcing a laugh while being unable to make eye contact, and the corners of her mouth would tremble.

At that moment, Ria, who had been listening through a slightly opened car window, opened the door and came to stand beside me.

"Seon-u, is it true that woman had you surveilled?"

"Most likely."

Ria removed her sunglasses and glared at Yu Seon-yeong.

Yu Seon-yeong could not move under the intensity of those fierce yet beautiful eyes and stumbled backward.

Ria then activated the Sigil of Wisdom and spoke.

"If you ever have someone surveil or threaten Seon-u again, I will not let it slide."

"......"

Yu Seon-yeong, crushed by the Murderous Intent Ria released, stumbled backward and fell on her rear.

Her face went pale white and her entire body began to tremble.

I turned my gaze from Yu Seon-yeong and asked Team Leader Shin.

"Is the Association truly uninvolved with the surveillance on me?"

"Yes, I swear we had nothing to do with it."

"In any case, no amount of threats will work on me, so stop wasting your time and leave. Before it is too late."

"How frustrating. If you joined hands with us, we could offer you far more than the Rift Management Bureau."

"I am not interested."

At that moment, a person opened the rear door of a black sedan parked beside one of the vans and stepped out.

The person was someone I recognized.

The Hunter Association's strongest combatant and Vice President, S-Rank Hunter Choi Cheol-ho.

A man who had risen to the Vice Presidency purely through force.

As I thought, Team Leader Shin had not orchestrated this alone.

"Director Shin, I told you we should have just taken him by force from the start instead of wasting time."

"Well, since we are in the middle of the city, there are too many eyes......"

"Tch! The Association can smooth everything over. Are you still so timid that I cannot entrust you with anything major? If problems arise, we just say we subdued a rampaging Hunter and brought him in for investigation."

"My apologies. I had heard from one of the Follow-Up Expedition members that they personally witnessed this woman defeat the Sword Saint in a sparring match, so......"

So there had been an informant from Team Leader Shin planted in the Follow-Up Expedition after all.

Vice President Choi Cheol-ho scoffed.

"You actually believe that? That the Sword Saint lost to a fragile-looking woman like her? Tch tch! How naive. The Sword Saint obviously lost on purpose because she was a lady."

No, it was actually Ria who had gone easy.

When Vice President Choi Cheol-ho gestured, the Hunter Association employees surrounded us.

It seemed they really intended to take us by force.

On the sidewalk, some onlookers were gawking at the commotion on the road, and others were trying to film it on their phones.

Several Hunter Association employees moved to stop them from recording.

Despite the volatile situation, Ria and I remained calm.

"Seon-u, it has come to this after all."

"I know. They have crossed the line by far. We cannot let this continue."

I then spoke toward the phone in the inner pocket of my jacket.

My phone currently had a small smartphone microphone plugged in and was on an active call with someone.

"You heard everything, right? They say they are going to take us by force."

Then, the yellow academy van that had been parked at a distance approached.

That van had been following my car from a distance since the area near the countryside house.

After hearing from the Sword Saint and Director Jeong Jae-yong that I was being watched, they had assigned a security detail to ride in the vehicle as a precaution.

"No way......"

When the people who poured out of the van were revealed, the Vice President, Team Leader Shin, and all the Hunter Association employees were stunned.

Because they were that famous.

They were none other than the three S-Rank members.

The Sword Saint, Eriksson, and Santos.

And they were not alone — high-ranking officials from the Rift Management Bureau were there as well.

The Sword Saint approached the Vice President and said.

"You intend to use force? In the middle of the city? You have some nerve, Vice President."

"......"

"To think you would dare attempt to use force against my benefactors — shall I take this as hostility toward me?"

"......"

The Vice President broke into a cold sweat and could not answer.

Then a middle-aged man walked up beside the Sword Saint.

"As expected of someone with an organized crime background — you still have not shed your thug mentality, resorting to brute force. Vice President Choi Cheol-ho."

"Deputy Director Kim Cheol-su......!"

The Vice President ground his teeth upon seeing him.

"I told you the world has changed. If you do not change the way you do things, you will not keep your position. How many more charges are you trying to add to your record?"

"Shut up!"

The Sword Saint then took one more step forward.

The Vice President could snap at Deputy Director Kim Cheol-su, but he could not make a peep in front of the Sword Saint.

"How about it — care to have a physical confrontation with us?"

"......"

Behind the Sword Saint, Eriksson and Santos gripped their weapon and shield menacingly.

The Vice President ground his teeth but could not step forward.

If S-Rank Hunters clashed in the middle of the city, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe.

And the power gap was so extreme that it would not even be a contest.

He turned his back and gestured to the Association employees.

"We are leaving."

Behind his retreating back, Deputy Director Kim Cheol-su called out as if to needle him.

"Violation of traffic law by road occupation, intimidation, attempted kidnapping, and more. I will absolutely not let this slide. Please do not leave the country and wait quietly for the Rift Management Bureau's summons. Not that you will be able to leave — you will be banned from travel."

A travel ban.

If that actually happened, it would be immensely satisfying.

Team Leader Shin glared at me once, then turned around, helped the still-trembling Yu Seon-yeong to her feet, and boarded the van with her.

'Team Leader Shin cannot have been bureau chief for long, and now he is about to be disciplined and demoted back to team leader.'

No, demotion was the least of his worries — he would be lucky not to be fired from the Association altogether.

'I heard the Hunter Association is split between the President's faction and the Vice President's faction. If this incident becomes public, the balance will tip toward the President's faction.'

Team Leader Shin appeared to have been in the Vice President's faction.

It seemed the Vice President and his cronies had gone to these extremes to prevent Ria and me from allying with the Rift Management Bureau and to recruit us to their side to expand their influence.

That had backfired spectacularly, and this incident would now likely tilt the balance of power even further toward the Rift Management Bureau over the Hunter Association.

I then spoke to the three S-Rank members and the Rift Management Bureau officials who had helped us.

"Thanks to all of you, we got through this safely. Otherwise, we could have been put in a very difficult position. Thank you for your help."

In the worst case, Ria and I might have come into physical conflict with the Vice President's group.

That would have caused the situation to spiral out of control and put us in a truly difficult spot.

"On the contrary, we saved the Vice President's people."

"That is true. If we had not stepped in, they would have been obliterated by Captain Ria."

"......True."

Eriksson and Santos still called Ria "Captain."

A few days ago, upon hearing that I was being surveilled, the Director had offered to assign a security detail for when I came to the Rift Management Bureau, as a precaution.

The Sword Saint had volunteered for the security detail along with Eriksson and Santos, which was why they were here now.

The Sword Saint then said.

"It seems it was the right call to follow from a distance rather than escort you up close, as you requested, Seon-u. Thanks to that, we caught the big fish — the Vice President. He has been a cancer within the Hunter Association. I hope this incident leads to his complete expulsion from the Association."

"Indeed. I had also heard rumors that he has an extensive criminal record. But it appears that the ones who were surveilling me were not the Association after all."

"Indeed. Ahem!"

The Sword Saint glanced cautiously at Ria.

I could not help but look at Ria nervously too.

It was very likely that the person who had been surveilling me for over two weeks was my ex-girlfriend, Yu Seon-yeong.

"I am not bothered by it. The past is the past. All I can think about right now is doing well on the naturalization examination."

Was it my imagination that she looked slightly sulky?

"Right. Then let us get moving again before we are late for the appointment."

"Okay."

***

We got back in the car and headed for the Rift Management Bureau.

The van carrying the Sword Saint's group, the Deputy Director, and the Bureau staff followed behind us.

We arrived safely at the Rift Management Bureau.

We went to the examination venue — Conference Room 2 on the second floor — sat down, and waited. Then Director Jeong Jae-yong entered with several Bureau staff members.

After exchanging greetings, the Director spoke.

"I was briefed that you encountered a serious incident on your way here. I stake my reputation that I will not let this pass. I will conduct a thorough investigation and make those scoundrels pay for what they have done. I will even track down the errand service that surveilled Hunter An Seon-u and take them all down. Please trust me and the Rift Management Bureau and leave this in our hands."

He was extremely angry.

The "scoundrels" he mentioned undoubtedly included Yu Seon-yeong.

The Rift Management Bureau had the authority to independently investigate crimes related to Hunters and Awakened individuals.

The Awakened Criminal Investigation Team, composed of former police and prosecutors.

Unlike the civilian Hunter Association, the Rift Management Bureau was a genuine law enforcement agency.

"I will put my trust entirely in you, Director."

The immigration and Ministry of Justice officials then entered for the examination.

The Minister of Justice himself was even present.

As I understood it, the final naturalization approval was given by the Minister of Justice.

'Could they be planning to approve it right here on the spot......?'

Surely not.

The interview then began.