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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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As if the previous communication blackout had been a lie, a call immediately came through.
However, it wasn’t the Prosecutor General’s call he had been waiting for.
The number displayed on the screen was unsaved.
“Damn it, the call I want doesn’t come, and…”
Kim Dong-hyun irritably tapped his smartphone and rejected the call.
Just as he was quietly waiting for the Prosecutor General’s call again, another call came in.
-Ring.
The same number. It was strange for it to be a wrong number twice.
A strange feeling prompted him to answer this time.
“Who is this?”
-This is Shin Hyun-chul, the Prosecutor General’s personal secretary.
“What! Why are you calling now?!”
Irritation welled up, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on the past.
“Forget it. Just put the Prosecutor General on the line.”
-I’m sorry, but that’s why I’m calling.
“That’s why?”
-The Prosecutor General has instructed me to inform you that he will not be taking any calls from Kim Dong-hyun or Hwanseong, so please refrain from contacting him further.
Kim Dong-hyun’s brow furrowed at Shin Hyun-chul’s firm words.
“What?”
How much in bribes had the Prosecutor General accepted?
It must have been at least tens of billions of won.
He surely knew that if he were to be reported for all the past bribery charges, even the Prosecutor General would be affected, yet he was unilaterally refusing the call.
Come to think of it, the Prosecutor General had never refused a call like this before.
‘What’s going on?’
He couldn’t understand the exact reason.
But something was definitely wrong.
“What’s happening?”
-I’m sorry, I have to hang up now.
He asked a question to resolve the doubts forming in his mind, but unfortunately, all he heard was the dial tone.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
‘…Damn it.’
He had no clues. But he couldn’t just sit idly by.
The first thing he needed to do was clearly identify his enemy.
‘Think, I have to think.’
An entity that even the Prosecutor General couldn’t touch, a prominent figure among the top few in South Korea, had made a move.
He had someone in mind, but even to him, it seemed too absurd.
‘Why would that person be involved in something like this…?’
Recalling the current situation and thinking it over, he quickly understood.
The hint was actually close at hand.
‘The Enforcement Division!’
And the solicitation of murder from the Shadow Brothers!
‘Vice President Ko Tae-hyun is behind this.’
Then why would someone like Ko Tae-hyun push things this far?
In the current situation, there was only one person who was completely related to this.
‘Lee Seong-joon.’
He was the one who made Ko Tae-hyun move.
‘Damn it! I don’t understand. I know he’s a super rookie who appeared at the Association after a long time, but just for one individual Hunter? Why?’
Frustration surged, but now wasn’t the time to be swayed by emotions.
‘First… I need to find a way to escape this as quickly as possible.’
The problem was that no matter how much he thought about it, there were no easy answers.
Fortunately, the data related to the villains was stored separately in a secret hideout, not at the company headquarters, so the Enforcement Division wouldn’t be able to find it.
However, now that a warrant had been issued and the investigation had begun, he would have to accept some level of damage.
Moreover, covert activities would become difficult for a while.
This meant that his position within the family, which he had strengthened through underhanded methods, would become considerably weaker.
“Damn it. Just you wait. Taehyun ko, and… Lee Seong-joon.”
Kim Dong-hyun cursed, grinding his teeth as he etched their names into his memory.
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Hwanseong’s tax evasion and collusion with villains, as one of the Five Great Guilds, had a definite impact.
News reports poured out in real time, and it became the talk of the town.
Even Hwanseong wouldn’t be able to rest easy for a while due to the public criticism and scrutiny.
A smile naturally spread across Lee Seong-joon’s lips.
‘The Association performed better than I expected.’
He had thought that even with Kiyeol Kim as an excellent informant, since the opponent was Hwanseong, one of the Five Great Guilds, it would end with just a verbal warning at best.
But not only did they directly intervene and impose sanctions, they also made it a major news story, drawing a lot of attention.
They had landed a decisive blow, effectively tying Hwanseong’s hands and feet.
In this situation, they would be too busy dealing with internal issues to worry about external matters.
Of course, that didn’t mean he intended to completely let his guard down.
No, rather, he had to be even more vigilant at times like this.
‘They might try anything out of desperation.’
A cornered rat will bite the cat.
Therefore, Lee Seong-joon requested Vice President Ko Tae-hyun to increase the number of guards for his family and extend the protection period.
Naturally, he readily agreed, but he asked for two days to adjust the existing schedule.
It was understandable, considering the sudden request.
However, he couldn’t just sit idly by and wait, so he decided to personally stay by his family’s side for the two days Ko Tae-hyun had requested.
His family was overjoyed at this unexpected break.
“Son, you’ve been working so hard, going out to hunt in Gates every day, but you’re home all day today.”
For a brief moment, Lee Seong-joon felt conflicted.
‘Should I tell them the truth?’
He had been telling white lies to his family, not wanting to worry them about the fight with Hwanseong.
In a way, it could be considered selfish, so he hesitated for a moment.
But he quickly organized his thoughts.
‘It’s different if there were no safeguards…’
With safeguards in place, he didn’t want to cause unnecessary worry over something that hadn’t even happened.
In the end, Lee Seong-joon awkwardly and spoke.
“I’ve been working hard, haven’t I? I’m going to take a good rest for two days.”
“Really? Then it’s been a while since the whole family has rested together on the weekend.”
Come to think of it, the two days he had offered to protect his family coincided with the weekend.
“Then shall we go out together for the first time in a while?”
Lee Seong-joon readily nodded at Lee Soo-hyeok’s question, delivered with a bright smile.
“Sounds good to me.”
Since he would be personally guarding them, he was confident he could perfectly handle any potential villain attacks.
Naturally, it wasn’t baseless confidence.
Most of the high-ranking, well-known villains were being pursued by the Association’s Enforcement Teams thanks to the information provided by Kim Kiyeol.
The only villains who could move in this situation were small-fry, B-rank at best.
With his current skill, he could eliminate villains of B-rank or lower without a trace before they could even approach his family.
Rather, he wholeheartedly welcomed the opportunity to spend precious time with his family.
“So where should we go…? Should we go to the Han River again, like last time?”
“It was nice and breezy there.”
“I’m all for it!”
Opinions quickly converged, and the destination was decided.
Normally, he would have just nodded in agreement without a word.
But since there was a place he had always wanted to visit, Lee Seong-joon couldn’t concede this time.
“The Han River is nice, but… it hasn’t been that long since we went there, so how about the department store today?”
“The department store?”
“Suddenly?”
At his family’s questioning looks, Lee Seong-joon added,
“I wanted to buy you all presents, but I couldn’t choose anything because I didn’t know what you liked.”
His family looked atLee Seong-joon, who was scratching the back of his head as if embarrassed, their eyes filled with gratitude and a touch of guilt.
“This mother has already received enough.”
“That’s right, if you want more than this, you have no conscience.”
“Ahem… I’ll just accept your feelings.”
As the atmosphere grew heavy, Lee Seong-joon hurriedly waved his hands.
“That’s not the reaction I wanted. I really want to buy you these because I want to, so please just accept them.”
At the sight of Lee Seong-joon desperately waving his hands, a smile appeared on Lee Seo-yoon’s lips.
“I’m in favor. But let’s buy each other presents in return. How about it?”
“Sounds good.”
Seeing Lee Seong-joon’s bright smile, Lee Soo-hyeok and Kim Ji-young also nodded.
“Ahem… then it would be good for us to buy presents for each other.”
“Let’s also watch a movie and eat out while we’re at it.”
“Sounds perfect.”
It was a unanimous decision, the destination for the family outing was set.
“Then it’s decided, we’re going to the department store. Let’s all meet in the living room after we’re ready.”
With Kim Ji-young’s final words, the family began to bustle about.
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At the department store, Lee Seong-joon led his family to the high-end luxury brand corner, filled with expensive items ranging from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of won.
Naturally, his family initially objected, as the prices were a bit burdensome for gifts.
However, they couldn’t win against Lee Seong-joon’s stubbornness.
“This is the first time I’m buying you presents. Please just accept them for my sake.”
In the end, his family had no choice but to be led by Lee Seong-joon and browse the luxury corner.
“A wallet costs over a million won?”
Kim Ji-young’s eyes widened.
The design was undeniably excellent, and the texture of the leather on the surface of the wallet felt different from what she usually handled.
But ultimately, its function was nothing special.
It was an absurd price for a wallet.
Just as Kim Ji-young was about to put down the wallet she was holding,
“I’ll take this one. I’ll pay with this card.”
Lee Seong-joon, who had been quietly watching from behind, stepped forward and handed over his card.
“Son…!”
“You’ve been looking at this wallet repeatedly. Don’t you like it?”
He hadn’t just been idly watching from behind for no reason.
Since the price range was so high, his parents would definitely hesitate to choose a gift.
Therefore, he had been quietly observing their breaths, expressions, and even their fleeting glances, selecting items they seemed to like.
“…But this is too expensive.”
“You know I make a lot of money, so it’s really okay.”
Since this had been happening repeatedly since before they even entered the luxury corner, the winner of this battle was easy to predict.
Lee Seong-joon’s complete victory. From the moment he had chosen the department store as their destination, there was no way to stop him.
“Thank you, my son. I’ll treasure it.”
“It’s nothing. If there’s anything else you like, please tell me.”
“This is more than enough.”
“But you never know.”
Lee Seong-joon smiled and walked over to his father, Lee Soo-hyeok.
Immediately after, a similar situation unfolded as with Kim Ji-young.
Soon, Lee Seong-joon handed over his card and paid.
It was after he finished shopping with his parents.
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