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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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As with any place where people live, there was light and darkness.
If the spaces where people carried out their daily lives were light, the spaces that existed for pleasure were darkness.
Under the dazzling neon signs.
Where the sticky air mingled with the scent of women’s perfume, the smell of alcohol, and the aroma of snacks.
Where the deafening music drowned out the sounds of touts and the shouts of arguments.
That was the red-light district.
Now that the land devastated by monsters emerging from gates had been reclaimed and urban development had rapidly progressed, leading to stability, people’s pursuit of pleasure created a new red-light district.
He didn’t know what it was called in the past, but now it was called Rainbow Street.
It was named after the neon signs that shone in rainbow colors under the night sky.
In a room of a shop on Rainbow Street.
A young man took a swig of whiskey with a smug look on his face.
“Ugh! Whiskey should always be a straight shot!”
“Sang-ok Oppa, eat something! Ah~!”
“Alright, alright.”
His name was Koo Sang-ok.
He was the former deliveryman of Yang Chun Gak.
As usual, he was squandering the money in his pocket on entertainment.
“It’s a shame. I won’t be able to see my pretty girl for a while.”
“Oh? Why? What happened?”
Koo Sang-ok sighed deeply at the pitiful look in the woman sitting next to him.
“Ah, because of business.”
“Really? Then there’s nothing we can do…”
“I’m going to sign a supply contract with a famous hunter guild. So I’ll be a bit busy.”
Of course, it was all a lie.
‘That damn owner! If he had just given me a 300,000 won raise, it would have been good for both of us!’
Even after his unreasonable wage negotiation with Yoo Soon-tae was rejected, he continued to frequent Rainbow Street.
Because the salary he had received from Yoo Soon-tae was quite substantial.
But now he had to take a break for a while.
Because his bank account was running low.
Even though the salary he had been receiving was almost double that of a regular deliveryman.
‘A man has his pride, how can I say that I can’t come because I’m broke? Damn it…’
That’s why he said he couldn’t come because of business.
Since he had already told her that he wasn’t a deliveryman but the owner of a company supplying armor and weapons to hunters, the lie came out smoothly.
Just then, the woman said,
“Ah, that’s right! Oppa, do you know a place called Yang Chun Gak?”
“Yang Chun Gak…?”
Koo Sang-ok, feeling a prick of conscience, quickly denied it.
“N-No, I don’t. Why?”
“It’s a Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood where the new guy lives. I heard their jajangmyeon is amazing!”
“R-Really?”
‘Honestly, it is a good place for jajangmyeon.’
The woman continued.
“But their deliveryman is super fast! They say he always delivers within ten minutes of ordering! Amazing, right?”
At those words, Koo Sang-ok tilted his head.
“What are you talking about? Didn’t the deliveryman there quit?”
“How do you know? You said you didn’t know where Yang Chun Gak is.”
“Uh? Oh, n-no, I just… I think I heard something about it.”
The flustered Koo Sang-ok quickly made an excuse.
“Hahaha. But aren’t we out of drinks? Should we order more?”
“Oh! Shall we?”
He successfully changed the subject while sweating bullets and muttered inwardly,
‘They hired a deliveryman? No way… Did those guys not do their job properly?’
It wouldn’t be Koo Sang-ok if he didn’t hold a grudge against Yoo Soon-tae.
He was narrow-minded and mean.
In fact, the reason Yang Chun Gak had been unable to find another deliveryman was because of Koo Sang-ok’s doing.
He had ordered the underlings he considered his younger brothers to threaten other people not to apply as deliverymen at Yang Chun Gak.
It was possible due to the solidarity among deliverymen.
So Yoo Soon-tae had no choice but to continue hiring Koo Sang-ok, and he should still be desperately trying to find a deliveryman.
But thanks to Gang-so, the restaurant was busy taking delivery orders.
Koo Sang-ok gripped his glass tightly.
The meanness in his heart was burning.
‘Damn it! This is messing up my plans!’
His plan was to have Yoo Soon-tae beg him to come back to work because he couldn’t find another deliveryman and then get triple the salary.
He had already calculated how much Yoo Soon-tae could afford to pay him at most.
That would drastically reduce Yoo Soon-tae’s living expenses, but that wasn’t Koo Sang-ok’s concern.
‘As long as I can eat and play well, what do I care about the owner’s finances?’
But, with the arrival of some new delivery guy, his plans were ruined.
Yoo Soon-tae, with his soft and gentle heart, was an easy target.
‘He said he used to be a porter, but I bet he just ran away and opened a Chinese restaurant because he got scared. How could he work as a porter for ten years with that personality?’
Yoo Soon-tae had to continue being his cash cow.
‘I’d like to collect protection money, but if I get caught by a high-ranking awakened individual, there’s no telling what’ll happen. Damn it! Guess I have no choice but to do deliveries again!’
Koo Sang-ok, stumbling out of the bar, took out his cell phone and made a call.
The phone rang, and someone answered.
– Ah, hyungnim!
“Hey! Are you not doing your job?!”
At his yell, the person on the phone quickly replied,
– I-I’m sorry, hyungnim! But what made you so upset…?
“You know Yang Chun Gak, right?”
– Of course, I do! Isn’t that the place you told me to prevent from hiring other deliverymen?
“You know well. But they hired a deliveryman, you hear?”
– …What?
“They have a deliveryman! Did I give you pocket money so you could slack off?”
– I’m sorry! I’ll make sure that deliveryman quits!
“Do it right this time!”
– Alright, hyungnim!
* * *
“Damn it! I’m better than this!”
A young bald man spat on the ground in an alley.
“I’ll get my hands on some money, stab Koo Sang-ok in the back, and leave this place!”
He had just been reprimanded by Koo Sang-ok, whom he considered his older brother, so he couldn’t be in a good mood.
The reason was that Yang Chun Gak had hired a deliveryman.
But he felt wronged, too.
He had made his guys put the pressure on people by threatening them to not work as a deliveryman at Yang Chun Gak.
This was made possible by the unique camaraderie among deliverymen.
“Argh! This is crazy! Which bastard ignored me?”
Choi Dong-man, Koo Sang-ok’s favorite, didn’t hate being his underling that much.
As long as he didn’t get on his bad side, he always had a steady income.
Of course, if he did get on his bad side…
‘Gulp-!’
He gulped nervously without realizing it.
He feared Koo Sang-ok because he knew his personality well.
Honestly, he wasn’t so much scared by Koo Sang-ok’s violence, as much as he was by his eccentric personality.
“Ugh-! What am I supposed to do?”
Choi Dong-man, pondering how to make Yang Chun Gak’s deliveryman quit, had a brilliant idea.
It involved the deliveryman’s essential item!
Tampering with the motorcycle.
‘I’ll just slightly mess with the motorcycle’s brakes. Hehehe.’
Whether the deliveryman got injured or died in an accident because of the faulty brakes didn’t matter.
The only important result was that the deliveryman position became vacant.
Therefore, there was no hesitation in his hand as he tampered with the motorcycle.
After tampering with the motorcycle’s brakes, Choi Dong-man nonchalantly left the place and called Koo Sang-ok.
“Sang-ok hyungnim, it’s me! I messed with the brakes on Yang Chun Gak’s delivery motorcycle. Yes, yes, if he gets hurt or dies because he went against hyungnim’s will, it’s his own fault. Hahaha!”
Choi Dong-man laughed heartily.
Completely unaware that someone was watching him from behind.
After hanging up, a chill suddenly ran down his spine.
Cold sweat was running down his back.
The feeling he was feeling was undoubtedly fear.
The fear of a predator right behind him that could tear him apart.
At that moment.
Whoosh-!
As someone moved so fast that not even a shadow was cast, Choi Dong-man disappeared without a trace.
Meow-.
A stray cat casually walked by, as if nothing had happened.
* * *
It was morning.
As usual, Yang Chun Gak’s day started early.
“Good morning!”
Yoo Soon-tae came down to the restaurant on the first floor, yawning.
Gang-so, who had already finished his morning circulation and exercises, was polishing the tables to a shine using his internal energy.
“Did you sleep well?”
Yoo Soon-tae nodded at Gang-so’s greeting.
“As long as my head touches the ground, I sleep.”
“That’s a blessing.”
“Is it? Hahaha.”
“Soon-tae, I have a question.”
At Gang-so’s sudden serious tone, Yoo Soon-tae tensed up.
“Why? Wh-What is it?”
“Who is Koo Sang-ok?”
“Huh?”
At that name, Yoo Soon-tae frowned.
“Why are you asking about that bastard?”
“Do you know him?”
“He’s the guy who used to deliver for our shop.”
“Does he hold a grudge against you?”
“Grudge?”
Yoo Soon-tae scoffed.
“He was slacking off while getting paid double, complained it was hard, demanded a raise, and when I told him to quit, he kicked the delivery box and left, saying ‘just you wait’. Grudge my ass! Anyway, why are you asking?”
“Well, you see… Last night, I saw someone tampering with the motorcycle, and he said he was hired by Koo Sang-ok.”
“What?”
Yoo Soon-tae asked in surprise.
“Hired? Who tampered with the motorcycle…?”
“He said his name was Choi Dong-man.”
At that, Yoo Soon-tae tilted his head.
“But how did you know that Choi Dong-man was hired by Koo Sang-ok?”
“Ah, yesterday, I had a deep and heartfelt conversation with Choi Dong-man.”
“Conversation?”
When Yoo Soon-tae asked again, Gang-so, feeling a prick of conscience, said hurriedly,
“I just… lectured him. I told him, you shouldn’t live like this, you should value your one and only life.”
At those words, Yoo Soon-tae sighed.
“Why did you do that! Why didn’t you just leave him alone!”
“Huh? Why?”
“These days, thugs are scary! Don’t mess with those guys. You’ll get hurt. Never do that again!”
Gang-so felt his heart warm at Yoo Soon-tae’s words of concern.
He understood Yoo Soon-tae’s worries.
Even where Gang-so lived, fists often spoke louder than laws.
‘There’s no way those guys are a match for me, but I should answer him for Soon-tae’s sake.’
Gang-so nodded.
“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind. Still, Choi Dong-man was a good guy.”
“Huh? A good guy?”
“Considering how he repented after my sincere advice and told me everything he knew.”
Although there was some slight pain and… persuasion involved.
‘It’s better not to tell him about that.’
If he told Choi Dong-man about it, he would probably complain, ‘How is that slight pain!’
‘Well, I didn’t use pressure point techniques.’
Yoo Soon-tae said,
“I guess we need to take the motorcycle to the repair shop. First, let’s peel some onions!”
Wearing his swimming goggles, Yoo Soon-tae diligently peeled the onions he had piled in the sink when he suddenly felt like he was forgetting something.
‘What is it? What am I forgetting…’
Gang-so was peeling onions at an incredible speed next to him.
‘He’s really fast… as expected of a Zero-rank… Gasp!’
Yoo Soon-tae remembered what he had forgotten.
That’s right.
He shouldn’t have been worried about Gang-so, but about Choi Dong-man, who said he had a deep and heartfelt conversation with Gang-so, who was suspected to be a Zero-rank awakened individual.
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