48 – From now on, it’s a problem for the adults to solve. (2)
“······Yes.”
Whether I misheard or misunderstood, with those words that sounded somewhat shy or uncertain, Rira completely surrendered, falling into sleep in my arms as if fainting.
Even though she was halfway leaning against me, it was practically the same as standing, yet she fell asleep in this state. It seems she really exhausted all her strength.
Still, it wasn’t good to sleep standing up, so I turned Rira in my arms in the direction where I could sense the presence, as if holding a princess, making sure it felt comfortable.
“······Manager-nim.”
“Uh, u-uh, Haan-ah.”
As I did that, for some reason, I could meet Haan, who was glaring at me or rather, at Rira, with a fierce expression in both eyes.
Haan held a large stone in one hand, and the hand holding the stone was trembling as if she had exerted a lot of force.
No, how angry was she to hold a stone so firmly that the hand holding it trembles… No, a stone? Why is she holding a stone?
“······B-but Haan-ah, what is that stone?”
Surprised, I asked, and Haan looked down at the stone in her hand.
The stone, held up by her bent elbow, had the side that was facing down now lifted, and the edge that was not visible when it was facing down was stained with a dark red liquid.
It’s blood. That’s blood!
“W-why is there blood on the stone you’re holding?!”
It might be strange and threatening to hold a stone, but it’s not a big deal.
However, having blood on the stone is undoubtedly a big deal, and Haan holding the bloodstained stone is an even bigger problem.
Ignoring the seriousness of the situation, Haan casually began to answer my question.
“Oh, this? This is······.”
Pausing for a moment to explain, when Haan turned her head, at the end of her gaze, there was a ruffian lying on the ground with his mouth against the dirt, apparently knocked out.
I was taken aback by that sight, almost coming up with a way to eliminate all witnesses and destroy the evidence. But when I saw the item held in the hand of the fallen thug, I was relieved.
“I couldn’t stand seeing that trash, Lira, being harassed by those punks, so I ran at them with a stone. That’s why I woke up behind them.”
“Really? Well, that’s a relief. It was self-defense.”
Again, I thought hahahahan suddenly got angry and was about to smash the thug’s head with a stone or something.
After confirming that there was no problem, just as I was about to relax and put a smile on my face, hahahahan’s sharp voice brushed past the back of my mind.
“But Manager, are you going to keep holding onto Lira like that?”
“Well, um, she fainted, so there’s nothing else I can do, right?”
When I answered truthfully, hahahahan looked at me with a displeased expression, furrowing her eyebrows.
“Then you should do it when she faints again. Embrace the princess.”
After leaving a rather scary and yet very cute notice in a threatening tone, she huffed and puffed, blowing out a snort of air, and briskly went down the mountain path.
What’s this? She’s so adorable. If I were an idol, I would make people’s hearts pound.
hahahahan, who is known to be more precious than wild ginseng, disappeared from my sight like that.
There was no need to worry about hahahahan, unlike Lira, so I turned my gaze and faced the task that needed to be finished.
“Hmm…”
In my field of vision, there were the thugs who hadn’t taken a step out of the pit they were in, trembling in fear.
Earlier, when Geumdoksu brought the gangsters up here, there were some who cursed at me, but now it was incredibly quiet, not even a sound of breathing.
Since Lira saw Geumdoksu dealing with those thugs, it was only natural for them to be scared to death.
For the thugs who lived by the logic of strength, the strong ones were the law, and the strongest person in this place was Lira, who was in my arms.
But Lira couldn’t convey her intentions outwardly because she was asleep.
So, instead of Lira, who was perfectly fine, I had to convey her intentions.
“Hey, you little punks.”
“Yes, yes!”
A quick response, almost sounding like one person, came through the mouths of all the punks.
Well, technically, not all of them. One of them broke a pot, thanks to Haan.
With the quick responses from all but one, I could anticipate that this matter would be easily resolved.
Well, considering their leader, Geumdeoksoo, got beaten to a pulp, it was natural for them to react this way. I had wondered if injecting some fear into them might be necessary if they showed any weird intentions, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
I had little time to spare on these punks since I needed to move on to the next task immediately.
So, the fact that they were terrified to this extent was a stroke of luck for me, and I was in a situation where I just needed to put a spoon on the table prepared by Rira.
I looked at the punks, who couldn’t take their eyes off me with terror.
“You guys had all your personal information in your hideout. I don’t really understand why you need such details to join a gang of punks, but I kept it just in case. But now, seeing it, I think I know why you wrote such things.”
As soon as the words “personal information” were mentioned, and when I said I knew why they wrote such things, the faces of the punks staring at me turned pale.
Whether it was something Geumdeoksoo learned from the Kumilpa organization or it came from the brain of the second-in-command who looked like he had a bit of brains, the personal information of the crew members was a shackle to prevent them from rebelling against Geumdeoksoo.
It was already known that there was an organization called Kumilpa behind Geumdeoksoo, and having all their personal information meant Kumilpa could invade their safe haven anytime.
So, their personal information was literally a shackle and a leash, a tool for Geumdeoksoo to handle the crew members effectively.
“Even if you’re told not to talk about what happened today, I know you’re not the type to listen. So, unfortunately, I have no choice but to use this method.”
“T-That means…”
But at this moment, the personal information of these punk guys was not Geumdeoksoo’s tool but my own, a leash firmly held in my hands.
“Yes, if a word slips about what happened today, I’ll put everything on the line. I’ll thoroughly ruin everything in your personal information. Every relationship, every possession, every hope. Everything.”
Even if those guys in front of me had no choice but to obey Geumdeoksoo’s words, in the end, they were bastards who had lived by ruining other people’s lives.
If you’ve lived by ruining others’ lives, you should be prepared for the possibility of your own life being ruined.
Of course, they didn’t need that kind of determination, but it didn’t matter.
“The pit you guys played in today was just a trailer. If you want to see the main feature, if you want to be buried in the mountain of dirt, give it a try.”
After today, they would know that just like they manipulated someone else’s life, their own lives could be messed up by others.
“Do your best, to a depth you can’t find unless you do civil engineering. Because I’ll bury everything you have.”
Looking at the thugs who lost the light from their faces like death row inmates hearing a death sentence, I smiled and concluded, “So, let’s call it a day with this, okay?”
※※※
After coming down from the mountain, meeting with Haan and transferring Rira, I headed to the agreed meeting place where Hahyuksoo was waiting.
“Oh, why are you out here? Come in and have a seat.”
Arriving at the meeting place, I could see Hahyuksoo standing next to the yellow Taekwondo car.
Turning his gaze at my voice, Hahyuksoo didn’t answer my question but threw a question of his own.
“…Did you handle it well?”
A question filled with a lot of meaning and emotion. As Hahyuksoo, he could guess the results by looking at me, but he had to ask the question.
Well, who wouldn’t be anxious when their daughter is facing off against the sacred figure of the gangster world?
I playfully answered with a sly smile to ensure Hahyuksoo wouldn’t worry.
“Yes. Rira didn’t throw a single punch, actually. The fight practically ended in one round, and then I used my strength to beat up the thug who fell.”
“Really? Rira unilaterally took down that thug?”
“Yes. She learned really well, didn’t she? Seems like her stance is better than her dad’s.”
“Is that so?”
If it were the hot-tempered Hahyuksoo I know, he should have somehow gotten angry at being told that someone is better than him. But the current Hahyuksoo just smiled contentedly.
Her daughter fought and defeated a gangster’s son, and though it might seem strange to wear a satisfied smile in such a situation, well, Lira was incredibly cool. It’s fine.
Anyway, the kids’ business was done here, and now it was the adults’ turn.
I tapped my foot on the ground and then lightly patted the shoulder of Mr. Hahyuksoo, who was grinning broadly.
“So, shall we go pour out all the strength we’ve gathered without even climbing the mountain? Lira’s father.”
“Heh… Right. Since our daughter did it, I should show something too. Let’s go, Lira Manager (Jin).”
“Um… Shouldn’t Jin step aside in this situation?”
“What are you talking about? He’s the one who didn’t sign the contract. You and Lira are just bystanders! You can’t (Jin) until you sign the contract!”
With Mr. Hahyuksoo’s characteristic outburst, we concluded the conversation and climbed onto the Taekwondo chariot.