abcnovels
Chapter 65:
Chapter 65:
Chapter 65:
Chapter 65
The man who approached Baek Seo-ryeon pretending to know her was a salaryman who looked like he was in his mid-30s.
He wore glasses on his face, but he gave off an impression of being sly despite his smiling expression.
“Wow. I didn’t expect to meet an old acquaintance here. Huh? I’m so glad to see you.”
“Huh? Oh, hello.”
Unlike the smiling man, Seo-ryeon’s reaction was not very positive.
She seemed nervous and uncomfortable, avoiding eye contact and barely answering him.
But the man persisted in talking to her.
“I missed you a lot after you left our clan. How are you doing these days? I heard you set up your own management agency?”
“Yes, yes. Something like that.”
“Tsk. How can you make a living with that little money? Huh? Why did you leave the clan? You should have just endured it even if it was hard.”
“It was because of family matters.”
It looked like he was trying to be friendly, or rather pretending to be friendly.
I didn’t like his behavior of bothering her, so I intervened between them.
“Seo-ryeon. Who is this person?”
“Oh, he was… someone I knew from my previous job.”
“Hey. Seo-ryeon, that’s too harsh. Just someone you knew? Weren’t we more than that?”
He ignored me completely and continued to talk to her.
“Wow. Seo-ryeon, you have good skills?”
“What?”
“I mean, the collector. Well, I don’t know who he is or what he does, but you managed to get him. These days, there’s a huge shortage of manpower, and most private managers go bankrupt in a few weeks. But I guess you’re lucky?”
I glanced at the man’s colleagues.
They were hovering around nearby, but they didn’t interfere or say anything.
They seemed to enjoy watching the scene. In the end, they were all the same.
“Uh, sorry. Mr. Jeon Kwang-seok. I’m in a meeting right now. Can we talk later?”
Seo-ryeon tried to say that politely, but Jeon Kwang-seok didn’t back off.
“Hey. What’s wrong with you? Are you taking care of your partner right now? Wow, that’s so unfair. We weren’t just strangers, you know.”
“…”
“Is it about the contract? Do you think you can handle the collectors at your manager level, Seoryeon? You seem to have managed to get the contract somehow. I’m curious how you did it. Huh?”
I couldn’t help but stiffen my expression at the man’s words, spoken in a malicious tone.
[Wow, this guy really crossed the line…]
Baekryeon also muttered in a voice that expressed disbelief at such a jerk.
I couldn’t stand to watch him babble like a weasel any longer, so I got up from my seat.
Naturally, Jeong wangseok’s gaze turned to me.
“Right. You said your name was Jeongwangseok?”
“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Yes, yes. I’m Jeong wangseok from Hanul Clan. You’ve heard of our clan name, right?”
Hanul Clan was one of the top clans in South Korea.
It had a large scale and many subcontractors, and it also had collectors above grade 3.
“So what?”
“Oh, you don’t know? What’s your name?”
“I’m Kang Yu-hyun.”
“Kang Yu-hyun? Hmm. I’ve never heard of that name. Are you a new collector?”
Jeongwangseok’s eyes looked down on me.
He was a bit nervous at first when he found out I was a collector, but he soon changed his attitude when he realized I was nothing special.
Still, for an ordinary person to talk to a collector like this, he must have some confidence.
Or more precisely, he must trust his colleagues who were watching from behind.
“It seems like you don’t know much about this side, but we’re acquaintances here, and I just wanted to say hello. Well, while I was at it, I also gave you some advice on how to survive in this world. So don’t glare at me like that. Geez. Your eyes are so fierce.”
“…”
“So what’s your collector grade? You only have a weapon and no other equipment. Are you barely grade 9? You didn’t just graduate from the graduation ceremony, did you? Do you see those people behind me? They’re all collectors who signed contracts with me. They’re all grade 7 or above.”
As he spoke in a tone that clearly mocked me, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Hahaha.”
“Did I hit the nail on the head? Why are you laughing…”
“Hey.”
As soon as I raised my voice and spoke, Jeong wangseok flinched.
But he soon realized that I was using informal speech and glared at me with anger.
“Hey? Hey what? Who are you to say hey to me when we just met…”
“What do you mean who am I, kid? It’s just a word for a jerk who’s trying to act tough with some nonsense.”
“What, what?”
“That’s enough. I’m not in a good mood right now, so just back off.”
I said with a smile.
Jeong wangseok’s lips trembled in disbelief.
He quickly remembered that he had collectors behind him and became more arrogant as he spoke to me.
“Hey, you. Who do you think you are to tell me to get lost? Huh? You look so young, you’re probably…”
“So what?”
“What?”
“So what if I look young? What do you want me to do?”
“You, you…! Have you said enough?!”
“No. I haven’t said enough. To be honest, I would love to beat you up right here and make you eat dust. But I was trying to be patient for the sake of Seoryeon over there. But you just can’t keep your mouth shut, can you? Hey, Jeong wangseok. What will you do if I say everything? What will you do if I say it all.”
“Uh, uh…”
He seemed quite flustered by my strong reaction.
He must have been used to intimidating others with his words and getting them to bow their heads.
That’s why he acted the same way with me.
But, too bad for him.
You picked the wrong person to mess with today.
“What, do you not know what clan I belong to? Huh? Hanul, it’s Hanul! How dare you, a collector with no name, huh? How dare you try to threaten me, who is affiliated with the Hanul clan?”
“Threaten? What threaten? Is it threatening to speak a bit harshly? Or are you scared? Was it nothing when you tried to subtly take advantage of me?”
“Yu, Yu-hyun…!”
Seoryeon tried to stop me, but I couldn’t let this go.
“It’s the same as insulting me when Seoryeon gets insulted. And you want me to stay quiet?”
“Huh, huhu. What, what is this? You two were like that? Wow. Seoryeon, you’re amazing. I thought you caught him with your skills. But did you catch him like this? If I knew you could do this, I would have asked you to help me when you were at our company.”
His words were clearly insulting us.
Seoryeon’s expression hardened.
So did mine.
I was going to let him go with some harsh words, but it seemed impossible.
“That’s what happens when you barge into this field without anything…”
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Eat this.”
My fist slammed into Jeong wangseok’s jaw.
“Ugh!”
He gasped and bent forward.
But I wasn’t going to let him off with one punch.
I grabbed his hair and jerked his head back, then threw another punch at his arrogant face.
“I told you, to back off, and get lost.”
Bam! Bang! Boom!
His glasses flew off and a chilling sound echoed in the cafe.
Jeong wangseok tried to resist with his hands, but my fist didn’t stop.
I relentlessly jabbed at his exposed torso.
When his lips burst and his face was covered in blood, I tripped him by his ankle and made him fall to the ground.
Thud!
Thwack!
I kicked the exposed belly of the guy who collapsed on the floor with all my strength.
The sound of leather being pounded was very satisfying.
“Hey, hey! What are you doing?”
“This bastard!”
The collectors from the Hanul Clan came over to stop me, but I had already smashed the lightning stone and slipped away.
“Mr. Jeon, are you okay?”
“No, is he crazy now…?”
I didn’t flinch at the collectors who were glaring at me.
Instead, I snapped my fingers and taunted them.
But I didn’t draw my sword first.
They knew that as soon as they pulled out their weapons, they would be breaking the law.
“Mr. Jeon, calm down.”
“Here’s your glasses. Look at your face.”
Jeon Gwangseok picked up his glasses from the floor and got up with some help.
He immediately swung his cane at me.
“Are, are you insane? Do you think you can get away with this?”
“What did I do?”
I shrugged my shoulders as if I didn’t know what was wrong, and Jeon Gwangseok shouted with a vein popping in his neck.
“Do you know what happens when a collector uses violence against a civilian? You bastard! You’re in big trouble! You deserve to rot in jail! Do you have any idea how serious the assault charge is? It’s too late to beg for forgiveness now! I’m going to sue you! I’m going to sue you!”
“Go ahead and try.”
“What?! You think I can’t?! Hyunseok, call the special unit, quickly!”
“Ah, yes!”
“That won’t do you any good.”
I spoke with a mocking tone to the guys who were trying to make a phone call.
“I didn’t break any law in the first place.”
“This crazy bastard, what are you talking about…”
“Because I’m not a collector.”
“What?”
I opened my system window and showed it to them.
There was my employee ID that said I belonged to the Celestial Corporation.
“How are you going to punish me legally, when I’m a teller?”
“A, a teller?”
“What is this…”
The Hanul Clan collectors widened their eyes in disbelief as they confirmed my identity.
The same was true for Jeon Gwangseok, who was battered and bruised by me.
“Ho, how can a teller…”
“Is that what matters now? No matter how much I beat you up, you can’t do anything to me legally. That’s what matters.”
“…”
“What? Why don’t you continue what you were saying? What? A ninth-rank collector? You’re going to sue me? Go ahead. Try it if you can. So how are you going to punish me, a teller, with what law?”
I smiled brightly and spoke, and some of the collectors turned pale.
“Even if you’re a teller, you should know your limits…”
“Limits what.”
I cut off the unknown collector’s words.
“Did you have any limits? Acting like you know everything, saying whatever you want, did you ever listen to me when I told you to leave? No, right? Even when I told you to get lost, you kept nagging me instead.”
“That’s…”
“Even though I was kind enough to tell you to go away, you didn’t listen and stuck to me. Shouldn’t you be grateful that it ended like this?”
The collectors couldn’t argue back.
[Wow. Look at their faces, Yu-Hyun. They can’t do anything to you.]
Baek Ryeon laughed and chuckled as if she was relieved.
As she said, no matter how big the clan they belonged to, the collectors had to bow their heads and leave in front of me, a teller.
Because at this moment, the existence of a teller was very big for the collectors and the ordinary citizens.
It was easier to think of them as messengers of the gods.
“Can you get lost? And don’t show up in front of me ever again.”
“Don’t you think you’re being too harsh, even if you’re a teller?”
“The harsh one is your conscience, isn’t it?”
“…Be reasonable. If you don’t, we won’t stay still either.”
“You won’t stay still?”
They showed their weapons on purpose as they spoke, and I snorted.
So what if they were a large clan, they couldn’t even make me choke?
“Draw your weapons. You know what? The moment you do… you’ll die by my hand.”
As I spoke with a tremendous force, the collectors who were trying to protest with violence turned pale.
“Th-that…”
“What? You think I can’t do it? Or do you want me to show you here?”
As I shook my white lotus, they all shut their mouths.
They were all overwhelmed by my force.
It was commonly called [Intimidation], one of the skills that could be naturally performed without buying it as a skill, as long as you had a decent level.
Jeon Gwang-seok, who was most exposed to this intimidation, was shaking like a pine tree.
“I’ll say it one last time. Get out. Before I kill you all.”
They left their seats as fast as they could, as if they were running away.
Especially, Jeon Gwang-seok, who was beaten up by me and limping away, looked quite funny.
Hmm.
It’s a pity.
If I had shown this scene to the spirits as a story, I would have earned some points.
But I didn’t regret what I did, and rather felt satisfied, so I smiled at Seo-ryeon, who was staring at me blankly.
“How is it? Do you trust me now?”
She looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and soon burst into a chuckle and nodded her head.