11:00 A.M. Cheon-Ho, Seoul.

“Such a boring day…” Do-Yun muttered. He lay down on the gym floor staring at the ceiling. It was a Sunday and he had nothing to do.

He already finished his workout. Even though normal weight training didn’t help him much at this point, he did it to pass the time. And he wasn’t in the mood to meditate either.

“Stop lying around and clean the mess you made,” Eun-Young commented walking by. She arrived an hour ago and finished her warm-up on the second floor. Yet, he still hadn’t stopped lazing around.

Not only did he scatter the weights and barbells on the floor, but he also moved the equipment around and left it as is. She wondered how Byung-Ho dealt with him daily.

“Where did Byung-Ho go?” Eun-Young thought they’d go on raids today from how he called her over. But with a member missing she doubted it, and she regretted coming over without asking more questions.

“He takes the day off on Sunday. I don’t know where he is.” Do-Yun yawned. He contemplated whether he should take a nap or go out for some food. The choice wasn’t an easy one.

“Are we going to raid some Gates tomorrow?” But Eun-Young gave him another option.

“Hmm? Eun-Young-Ah don’t tell me you blew through the cash in one day? Didn’t expect you to be so thoughtless.” Do-Yun chuckled watching her face change.

“I need more money for other reasons.” Eun-Young’s eyebrows twitched but she decided to be patient. Because even with that insufferable attitude, Do-Yun had the intention to help.

“If you need money I can lend you some. Being in debt at your age is scary.” He said turning the T.V. off.

“I am not in debt… Also, do you have too much of it lying around?” Curious, she asked.

“From the Gates and materials alone I made like 150 Million won till now. It’ll increase a few times after we sell the loot from yesterday.” This shocked her to the core. Here she got happy after what she scraped up yesterday.

But, that was still around fourteen times her monthly salary. And she made that in a day. If anything she needed to thank Cho Young-Jae for putting her on this track. This made things easier for her, but it still wasn’t enough.

“I want to buy a house, in a good area if possible.” That was the first step she decided to take to improve their living conditions.

Leaking ceiling, chill seeping through the thin walls in winter, little to no water, her current place lacked too many things for her to ignore it any longer. And with money at hand, she thought of renting a place first, or buying if she could after saving up more money.

“Houses around Cheon-Ho are the best options.” Interested, Do-Yun sat up.

“I didn’t think you believed in Feng shui and stuff?” Eun-Young found it amusing. He didn’t come off as a superstitious guy. Maybe she can use this to fire back at him from time to time?

“I don’t believe in that crap. I am talking from a convenience point of view.” Do-Yun’s serious tone drew her attention. It wasn't a thoughtless suggestion. So, she wanted to know his reasons as it would benefit her.

“First, we’ll be using this area as a base for our group, so it would be better if you stay close by. Second, I know someone who owns empty apartments so even if you don’t take money from us, you can pay her at your convenience while renting the place cause she is super nice. And third, you plan to move with your family, right? What better place to move than the area our group will be active in?” Eun-Young nodded in agreement.

With Gates, public safety and even housing prices have fallen in some areas of Seoul. But, if a group of Awakened took care of the Gates in the area. That provided normal civilians some peace of mind and increased the price of real estate. So, if she plans on buying a house, it would be better to buy it in an area she would be active in.

“Also you really plan on lending me money?” Eun-Young couldn’t understand him sometimes. The way he did things, one would assume that he wanted to make money.

“If you want I can give it to you. Pay me back whenever.” He didn’t think of it as something he needed.

“Don’t you need it? Like for buying things you want?” Even if she tried to probe more, the result stayed the same.

“I don’t need money for the thing I want.” For the end he sought, money became a by-product he acquired along the way. He didn’t need it, but it continued to accumulate.

“How were you able to live with that sort of attitude?” It was beyond her imagination.

“A cushy one. Got the house from my parents. Byung-Ho takes care of my Breakfast and Lunch. The granny next door gives me dinner. So, aside from the utility bills, I don’t have to take care of anything else.” Eun-Young wished he was joking, but he didn’t appear to.

“So, you basically loaf around at others expense?” To an extent, she saw that coming.

“No, people take care of me 'cause I am that good.” Eun-young almost rolled her eyes at that confidence. But, she had to give him props for believing it was true.

“Also, the granny next to me is the one who owns a few houses in the area. So, if things go right we can be neighbours. Take good care of me when the time comes.” Do-Yun winked.

“Yeah, no thanks.” Eun-Young started to plan about how to not end up as his neighbor.

“Come on, I am a good neighbor.” His protests fell on deaf ears. Eun-Young walked away to do her own thing. It had been a while since she stepped into a gym, so she wanted to use the opportunity to be in shape again.

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“Your loss,” He spread out on the floor again.

Byung-Ho didn’t come back till evenings on Sundays. So, there was no one to take care of his food today. A little hungry, Do-Yun wondered if he should have lunch at Granny Seol-Hwa’s house today.

But, thinking of the distance he’d have to walk, he decided to not do it. Today was one of the rare days he felt lazy. However, there was more to it.

The bait he has been throwing around for a while had not worked till now. Maybe he misjudged Beom and that guy turned out to be more upstanding? It didn’t matter though. Do-Yun decided to not wait on that front anyway. This became the second reason he didn’t want to leave this place unattended.

He had the materials of a Monster that was a few steps away from becoming an A-Rank. At the moment, there was no bigger bait than this. And he handed that right into the Associations hands.

All he had to do was wait for the fish to come. And the wait wasn’t long.

“Excuse me?” A somewhat aged and polite voice came from the entrance.

Do-Yun smirked and got to his feet. Eun-Young was faster than him. She saw a man with greying hair standing tall for his age, he wore what looked like an expensive suit. A leather bag in one hand and had square glasses on his high nose. Overall, he appeared to be a sophisticated man with a high post.

“Is Sir Lee Do-Yun here?” His words remained polite even if he was much older than them.

“Who are you?” However, this man was a troublesome fellow, she could tell from the first glance. To her, the air around him appeared dark and dull, almost like a swamp that dirtied everything around it.

But, before she could chase him away. Do-Yun reached the entrance.

“It is someone I know.” Watching his smile Eun-Young felt uneasy, but she decided to stand back. It wasn’t her business what went on in his life or what type of people he mingled with.

“I would expect nothing less from you, Sir.” The man continued with the same smile and extended his hand, “My name is Park Hyuk, It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Lee Do-Yun.”

“Yes Yes. It is very nice to meet you, Mr Park. In fact, it is so nice to meet you that I don’t want to talk with you at all.” The moment Do-Yun refused to take his hand, Eun-Young’s worries started to rise. This was the reason for her uneasiness.

“What?” Park Hyuk still seemed oblivious to it and stood there in the awkward silence.

“It is very simple Mr. Park. Get the fuck out of my face.” At that moment, the pretentious smiles dropped.

‘He is angry?’ Eun-Young has seen Do-Yun exhibit a multitude of emotions. From the moment she saw him at the convenience store that inability to hold a single emotion for long left her confused. In two days, she had noticed that his emotional state was always a mess.

However, even in those times, there was one emotion that he never showed. Anger, it seemed like he didn’t have it in him. She was mistaken. A heavy and suffocating air surrounded him, it couldn’t be mere acting or him playing around. Even his eyes which normally looked so dark and dull, lit up with hatred.

“I expected this would happen.” Said Park Hyuk, his voice devoid of any emotions.

“Then you should already know how you are wasting my time?” Said Do-Yun.

“Well, I expected that you’d at least be able to keep personal feelings and business separate.” Park Hyuk sighed. There didn’t seem to be a way out of this deadlock for now, “If you would spare a glance, I have brought you a lucrative deal from the Jade Pharm.”

“Not gonna do that. Get out. Don’t come back, ever. Period.” Do-Yun walked back towards the other end of the room.

The anger on his face had vanished in thin air, but Eun-Young could still feel it. It kept pulsating like a volcano ready to erupt at the slightest chance. Before he did anything more, she wanted to get this guy out of there.

“No worries, I’ll see myself out.” Park Hyuk gave her a well-mannered smile and walked away as swiftly as he came in.

‘What have I gotten myself into?’ Eun-young felt that the best move would be to not talk about it. This man seemed to be the person Do-Yun was looking for. Then he flipped out. But, why?

Wasn’t this something he planned for? If he was willing to throw it all out of the window just after seeing that man, then it must be a serious matter. However, now didn’t appear to be the proper time to ask about the reason.

From the street, Park Hyuk saw Eun-Young walk back inside heaving a string of sighs. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he opened the car door. Sitting down in the comfortable leather seat, he answered his ringing phone.

Did you get it? An impatient voice came from the other side.

“No Sir. Mr. Lee Do-Yun has refused to sell the materials to us.” Said Hyuk.

Did you make a mistake? Anger bled into the voice. After all, Hyuk promised he would get the job done.

“I did not. But it appears like his partnership with the Association is much stronger than we anticipated.” Hyuk drove the conversation away from the subject. It wouldn't end well if the truth came out.

I don’t care what that hypocrite promised him. Double it or triple it if needed. I want all the rare materials he has, price is not the issue. I promised Chae-Yeong and if I fail, you better prepare yourself. You will not survive for long in the Park Family without my support. Hyuk understood that he wouldn’t tolerate another failure.

“I’ll do my best to see this done, Sir Song.” The call ended on that note.

Hyuk drove the car away from the area to avoid any problems. But, he soon came to a stop in a local car park. He took out several documents from his bag and shuffled through them. And soon he found the one he searched for.

Rather than an orderly view of information one would expect from his appearance. The paper had an amalgamation of information forced into the confines of the limited white space. A name was etched in bold letters in the middle of this page, the name of the target he needed to approach. ‘Lee Do-Yun’.

Many lines spread out with his name as a center and led to other names that surrounded him, each accompanied by brief notes that included the person’s information. Among these tens of names, one name in particular was written in the corner in small letters.

Park Seol-Hwa

Nothing else accompanied the name, not even her age or relation with the target. That name did not bring any good memories for Hyuk. The only thing this name brought to his life was problems.

“How much longer will you get in the way of my success, mother?” The page crumpled in his hands. His sunken black eyes filled with anger. Just when he thought things would work out, a roadblock appeared once again. The same roadblock he thought he had left behind years ago.

‘I need to stay calm. Miss Chae-Yeong wouldn’t be back in Seoul for another week. I have to get this done before that.’ Hyuk’s face returned to a blank state. However, his phone rang again.

This time, the Main Secretary of the Chairman and his direct superior had called him. Even though annoyed, he answered.

Miss Chae-Yeong’s private jet will land at Incheon Airport at 22:47 tonight. Be sure to double-check the cars and security so that they are on time.

But, before he could say a word the other party ended the call with the order.

“…Desperate times call for desperate measures.” An exasperated sigh left Hyuk’s lips.

With a hollow laugh, Hyuk made his way to the Park Family’s main residence. He had many things to figure out before he could make a move again.

***