ReLife Player

Unlocked chapter (5/13)

[When the Fox Rain Stops (12)]

A state of emergency has fallen on Dangun Construction.

It had been a tense couple of days.

Today was no different.

After leaving the subsidiary in the dead of night, Yeom Jun-woo sighed as soon as he stepped into the waiting vehicle.

«Where do you want to go?»

«…Where do you mean, why are you asking me that? You’ve been here for months, eh? Don’t you think I’m going home?»

Just a little while ago, he received a call from Hong Jun-il, the chairman of Dangun Group.

It was a message suggesting that someone should be placed before the prosecutor’s office before the damage spread any further.

What he was referring to was obvious.

He wanted someone in the Yeom family to take the fall.

Himself, his wife, his brother, anyone related to him.

He couldn’t help but feel irritated just thinking about it.

Yeom Jun-woo kicked the driver’s seat with frustration and threw a container of mints on the seat.

The driver endured his outburst in silence, then finally pressed the gas pedal.

«Fucking assholes…. If they’re going to fight, let them fight like kids. Isn’t management a joke? They create the problems, and we’re supposed to pay for them?»

Swearing involuntarily, Yeom Jun-woo leaned back in his seat and felt his heart pound just thinking about the pile of problems that had accumulated.

Attacks were coming from all directions.

From one side, it seemed like Sirius Group was deliberately delaying the project that had been scheduled, and on the other side, they were picking apart any discrepancies between construction materials and budgets that had been implicitly agreed upon.

It was truly the high-handedness of a conglomerate.

If they did something wrong, they should take responsibility themselves.

On the other side, the heirs of Eternal Group, who were fighting a succession war among themselves, used the corruption of Dangun Construction to bring down their competition.

The ties between Eternal Group and Dangun Construction had become public knowledge.

Dangun Construction had to apologize and claim that they had no knowledge of the issue.

The problem was that Eternal Group had revealed the dual ledger, something that Yeom Jun-woo had been confident would never happen.

He was going crazy.

He urgently asked Clan Dangun to look into the situation.

The Clan responded with a report that the difficulty of the Dungeon Market, which had been a red zone, had increased dramatically, and that someone had stolen everything in the vault.

They’re still trying to figure out who did it.

And there was no intention to find that person.

The damage had been done, and Dangun Construction was to blame.

Clan Dangun will remain untouched.

«And who the hell are these organized criminals? Who sent thugs to my company?»

It was chaotic.

On one side, they had to reconcile with the Sirius Group, and on the other side, they had to negotiate with the Eternal Group on where to draw the line.

But now, gangsters had gone to the construction site where Dangun Construction was working and caused a scene.

Because of their interference, some of the construction projects were not going to be completed on time.

They suspected that KK E&C orDonghae E&C were responsible, but they couldn’t catch a tail, so they were left with nothing.

«By the way, is your son okay? I heard that he had a meltdown at school today….»

«…Ha…, Jae-jin must be having a hard time too.»

Yeom Jun-woo shrugged his shoulders in response to the driver’s words.

His son, Yeom Jae-jin, was eager and proud to become Hong Jin-woo’s closest confidant, who would one day become the chairman of the Dangun Group.

With everything that had gone wrong, he could tell he was stressed.

Even if he wasn’t, he’d gotten a call from his wife today that Jae-jin was having a mental breakdown and causing trouble.

«─How do you know that?»

Yeom Jun-woo lifted himself off the backrest.

After casually flipping through the pages, he came to his senses and spoke to the driver.

The driver didn’t answer, but kept his hands on the wheel.

«Hey! How do you know that? Your job is to drive like you’re told!

What, are you going to sell that information to someone? Where the fuck do you think you’re coming from? Who the fuck told you!»

Halfway out of his seat, he slapped the driver on the back of the head.

The driver didn’t even move.

«This asshole is disrespecting me? Who told you?»

«Is that so important?»

«…Uh…?»

Suddenly, the car crossed the centerline and encroached into the opposite lane.

Thrown sideways, Yeom Jun woo’s head hit the window frame.

«Ugh…, this bastard wants to die…!»

«Do you want to know who told me?»

«…What? Yes, tell me, asshole! I’ll call them right now and cut off the guy who told you!»

Yeom Jun woo grabbed the back of the driver’s neck, his face turning red as he yelled.

Nevertheless, the driver continued to ask in an unchanged tone.

«Do you want to know who told me?»

«Curious?»

«Who told me?»

«Who?»

«Told me?»

«…….»

Like a puppet repeating recorded words.

The driver repeated.

«You…, who the hell are you!»

Something was wrong.

Only now did Yeon Jun woo realize that the car was veering off the usual path he took.

A desolate road.

The winding road, relying only on the headlights, was revealed before him.

«Are you curious?»

A chill ran down his spine.

The driver was looking at him, craning his neck in a bizarre direction.

His pupils focused on one spot, as if he had lost his mind.

«Hey, look ahead, look ahead, look ahead!»

Then Yeom Jun woo saw a wall appear right in front of him and screamed.

I’m going to die.

He quickly grabbed the steering wheel from the driver’s grasp and twisted it.

The car made a screeching noise as it turned sharply on the narrow road.

A thud was heard, and an impact hit them from the side.

«Ugh…!»

He was lucky to be alive.

He shook the unconscious driver, his eyes wide with shock.

It was then that he heard a voice.

«─It’s no use, his mind has already collapsed.»

He gasped.

An unknown force made him feel like his throat was being tightened.

Breathing heavily, he turned his head toward the direction from which the voice came.

There, a young child was sitting in the passenger seat.

When did this happen?

He hadn’t noticed at all.

Yeom Jun woo felt like what he was seeing might be a dream.

He desperately hoped it was a dream.

Because having a child in front of him who evoked a fear akin to meeting the devil was not supposed to be real.

«I really wanted to see you suffer.»

The devil said.

Grimacing.

Yeom Jun woo remained lying down, his eyes wide open.

His body couldn’t move.

He was paralyzed with fear.

His brain gave up trying to think.

His mouth opened on instinct.

«Let me…let me….live»

«Let me live? When did I say I was going to kill you? There are still so many uses for you….»

The devil shook its head, as if it couldn’t understand.

Its eyes, stained with a dark color, left a lingering impression as they moved.

«Since we’ve started, we should finish it properly, shouldn’t we? You can’t back out now.»

«…Ah… Aah….»

«You know you’re doomed to your master anyway.»

«Uh…uh…uh…!»

«So go ahead and bite your master until the day you die.»

«…….»

The demon chuckled.

Its gaze, filled with a menacing aura, crushed what remained of reason.

☆

[─Min Jun-sik…, no, Chairman Alice. Let’s stop here. I will handle JIn-woo well.]»

«Chairman of Dangun Group, what are you talking about… I haven’t done anything.»

Chairman Min Jun-sik of Alice Group stifled a laugh as he heard Chairman Hong Jun-il of Dangun Group groan.

The situation had calmed down.

It could be considered settled.

The fact that Dangun Group had bowed down was evidence enough.

[Haah…, do you really want to mock me that much?]

«Nonsense. I was just proud of my grandchild.»

[Sure, I admit it. Is that enough for you?]

He asks, suppressing his anger over the phone.

Min Jun-sik decided to end the conversation at this point.

If he got it wrong, the kids’ fight could turn into a real group fight.

He ended the conversation with a tone that implied, ‘Let’s consider this a non-issue.’

Hong Jun-il agreed.

With this, there would be no discord between Alice Group and Dangun Group.

Although there were some emotional tensions with Dangun Group, they wouldn’t use this incident as an excuse to start a feud.

«…It was all done by the kids. I didn’t do anything… But isn’t it impressive?»

«…Yes.»

Sitting in his rocking chair, Min Jun-sik spoke to Im Dohon, who had entered the study.

Im Dohon answered briefly.

Min Jun-sik was right.

Neither he nor Min Jun-sik could have done anything about this incident.

It was all done by the kids.

«What great kids. When did they get so big….»

Min Jun-sik muttered to himself as he looked up at the setting sun.

He hadn’t realized that the children, who seemed so young when he first met them, could accomplish things he couldn’t do.

In particular, his granddaughter, Hayang, who had come into Sirius’ immediate family, had expanded the game and shaken up the game itself.

She even went so far as to propose an alliance between Alice and Sirius.

It’s still just a deal between children.

But he had a responsibility to steer their output in a meaningful direction.

He made an appointment to meet and talk with Mr. Han Doyoung, the second chairman of Sirius Group, soon.

So that they can join hands and move forward to a better future.

To no longer be controlled by Dangun Group.

«…But there’s something I can’t see.»

Min Junsik was lost in thought, forgetting about Im Dohon standing nearby.

One thing was obvious.

The flow where Eternal Group attacked Dangun Group.

It was too coincidental to be random.

The revelation of Dangun Construction’s dual books at this time was not a coincidence.

An intuition honed over decades of managing a group was saying that.

Someone exploded it not to instigate Eternal Group’s succession war but to attack Dangun Group.

«Who on earth… Oh, sorry. I called you here and just made you stand there.»

«It’s okay.»

Min Junsik belatedly realized Im Dohon’s presence.

He stood up and handed the envelope that had been placed on the table to Im Dohon.

«What’s this…?»

«It’s a decision made by the board of directors.

You’ll receive a salary reduction until the end of this semester. There were reports from parents. They said the punishment given to the students in your class was too severe.»

«…I understand.»

Im Dohon accepted the decision made by the board of directors in silence.

Compared to the powerlessness he felt, this was nothing.

«Don’t be too disheartened. I’ll take care of you in my own way.»

«No. It’s not that.»

«If it’s not that, then what?»

«Chairman.»

«Speak.»

«I will resign as a teacher once your granddaughter graduates.»

Im Dohon uttered the words he had kept inside.

Through this incident, he had realized that teaching was not his calling.

«…I see. Work hard until next year. It would be good if you could escort the kids until they graduate.»

«Yes, I understand.»

«How about the school? Has it calmed down now?»

Min Jun-sik brought up a new topic.

He had allowed Hayang to disturb the atmosphere of Doan Elementary School as a sponsor.

Simultaneously, he started efforts to persuade the parents who had been advocating for Seona’s expulsion.

It was quite simple to placate them after they lost their justification due to Sirius Group’s report.

«Yes. I have warned the parents who were influenced by Dangun Group.

I have made it clear that if they want an environment where their children can receive education safely, they will not cause such incidents in the future.

We have also identified the staff members who were under Dangun Group’s influence and handled the situation.»

«As for the staff, take your time… Cut off their relations with this incident as if it had nothing to do with them… I will talk to Reporter Kim about this.»

«Yes, understood.»

«How about Minji’s mother?»

«That… well…»

Im Dohon blurred his words.

Minji’s mother was also one of the parents who had joined Dangun Group.

As soon as the situation took a turn, she had readily accepted Alice’s support.

«…I see.»

«Yes.»

Min Jun-sik fell silent upon hearing the story.

Minji’s mother hadn’t liked Ain’s presence from the beginning.

It was her personal values.

Something that couldn’t be changed even with the group’s power.

«Perhaps… this is not the end.»

Min Jun-sik had a premonition.

This was probably not the end.

It was only the beginning.

There would be challenges ahead for those kids, more difficult than this.

So, they had to become stronger.

Not just in strength.

They needed that much power.

«So, I entrust the kids to you.»

He was old now.

An age where it wouldn’t be strange if he died at any moment.

The children he would left behind weighed heavily on his mind.

The heads of other groups likely had similar thoughts.

They needed to gather more power until their last breath and establish a system to seamlessly transfer that power to their successors.

«─Understood.»

Understanding his intentions, Im Dohon respectfully nodded.

☆

Eunha dropped the consciousness of Yeom Jun woo, the president of Dangun Construction, like a puppet.

The term ‘marionette’ was fitting.

It was a magic that required a fair amount of adaptability.

The driver’s mind had completely collapsed.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t restore his mind back to what it was after it had collapsed once.

He couldn’t tell if it was impossible or possible.

«Hehehehe….»

Yeom Jun woo’s mind was also far from normal.

It was slowly breaking down.

For now, this was the limit.

«…Okay?»

«Hehehehehe….»

Ordering him to do whatever he could to attack the Dangun Group, Eunha covered himself with his cloak.

The road was filled with darkness.

Still, he couldn’t let his guard down.

He imbued his cloak with mana and moved out of the way of the vehicle that had crashed into a telephone pole.

«‘Sir, it’s your head….’»

His forehead felt numb.

Although the barrier was deployed when the car collided with the utility pole, it hadn’t absorbed all the shock.

Frowning, he ran in the opposite direction of the sirens.

Part of him wanted to do something about that bastard Hong Jin-woo, but….

Reducing Yeom Jun-woo to a puppet was quite a feat in itself.

It was too much to expect to deal with Hong Jin-woo, who was probably being guarded by skilled players.

Furthermore, the Stygian Eye would not work on him.

His gift is Resistance, which makes him resistant to magic.

Short of torture, it will be impossible to break him.

And then there’s the matter of the Dangun Group….

The presence of Dangun Group couldn’t be ignored either.

Touching Dangun, who had significant influence in the player industry, could backfire, and he might face retaliation.

It didn’t matter for him.

But he couldn’t ignore the retaliation that might be inflicted on others.

«But I don’t want to leave Hong Jin-woo alone like this….»

Hong Jin-woo, who would become the future chairman of Dangun Group, indulged in reckless behavior.

At the time when she entered the <Abyss Dungeon>, he had made remarks like telling Baek-ryeon to follow along and drink.

He wanted to kill him if he had the chance.

«There’s a chance…, there is.»

There was a chance.

A time when he could disguise Hong Jin-woo’s death without raising anyone’s suspicion.

Since he was a student of the Player Academy right now.

So─.

«─….»

Eunha shut his mouth and plunged into the darkness.