The Main Characters That Only I Know

Chapter 24:

Chapter 24

I checked the book floating above the man’s head who was leading the way.

‘The cover and the light flowing out of it are all bright silver.’

It would be a relief that it wasn’t gold, but considering that only the chosen ones could get the golden light so far, that middle-aged man was not an easy opponent.

He had controlled the situation a little while ago and talked to us arrogantly. 

But as soon as the situation turned bad, he changed his attitude.

‘Is it a level of achievement that he has attained not by innate talent, but by accumulated experience over a long time?’

That’s why I had to be more careful. 

He was someone who had completed himself by accumulating experience like me.

And although he showed his performance by suppressing Ko Jun-ho, who had just picked a fight with us, our original purpose was to get the reward for clearing the world of thought.

To achieve efficiency, I had to deal with that man.

‘Choi Jung-mo. The area manager who manages and oversees the headquarters of this association. He is not an executive, but he has some clout and is a retired collector.’

I analyzed Choi Jung-mo lightly with the information I got from his book.

A great strategist. 

He has a good head, a sense of situation, and is good at hiding his emotions. 

He is also a former collector, so he knows the reality of the field well.

He was a man who deserved to be called an old raccoon.

“Come this way.”

The place where Choi Jung-mo guided us was a guest room. 

Kang Hye-rim and I sat on the sofa, and Choi Jung-mo sat opposite us.

He adjusted his glasses and spoke with a smile on his face as usual.

“My name is Choi Jung-mo. I’m in charge of some important matters here, although they are not much.”

“My name is Kang Yu-hyun. This is Kang Hye-rim.”

“I see. I heard that you two helped clear the world of thought.”

“Oh, not both of us. To be precise, our lady cleared it by herself.”

“Oh my. Is that so? She cleared it by herself, I still can’t believe it.”

He said it lightly, but there was a bone in it. 

He was asking if Kang Hye-rim really did it by herself.

But Kang Hye-rim didn’t say anything back. 

She just ignored him as if she wasn’t interested in this topic at all. 

Instead, I stepped in to defend her.

“Everyone thought so until they saw her skills.”

That is, you doubted her, so she proved it with her skills. 

And Choi Jung-mo confirmed that from afar. 

Many people saw it, so he couldn’t pretend not to know.

“Hmm. That’s true. So what do you want from us?”

“What do we want? You’re talking weird. We’re just asking for our ‘legitimate’ right to clear the world of thought.”

“Hmm. But where did you solve it…”

“The Anbar Mountains’ cobalt mine and the Labyrinth where the minotaurs dwell. You’ll know as soon as you check it out, right?”

I deliberately raised my voice and stroked my chin.

“Or… did you not even know that fact at the association?”

“…”

The smile on Choi Jung-mo’s face cracked for the first time. 

Of course, it returned to normal soon, but I didn’t miss that look.

Yeah. 

He must have been careless looking at our appearance. 

We looked young and seemed like we could be easily pushed around with words.

How naive. 

I may look young on the outside, but I know the knowledge of the future and have survived in that terrible world for over 10 years.

He and I had different densities of life.

“Hmm. Now that you mention it, I think I heard such a report. It felt like such a nonsense story that I postponed judging it and put it on hold.”

Choi Jung-mo didn’t answer that he didn’t know.

Other collectors already knew that two worlds of thought had been cleared. 

If he said he didn’t know here, he would raise doubts about the association’s ability. 

It was a great move.

‘I was going to tear him apart if he pretended not to know, but he got away with it well.’

I secretly clicked my tongue while saying exaggeratedly.

“Haha! Is that so? Well, at least you know now. That’s good, isn’t it? So we want to get the reward for clearing the world of thought. Isn’t that our legitimate right given by the state?”

I deliberately emphasized our legitimate right.

“Hmm.”

Choi Jung-mo seemed to be in trouble for a moment. 

He probably wanted to refuse our request somehow by being careful and choosing his words wisely.

But it wouldn’t be easy. 

First of all, ‘in terms of justice’, my claim was so valid that there was no flaw.

Kang Hye-rim showed enough ability to clear it, and on top of that, we asked for the reward according to the law set by the state.

He might be able to delay giving us the reward somehow, but it would be hard to completely refuse it.

‘After all, we have the initiative.’

I had the knife. 

And the other side was holding a shield and defending it. 

We were not in an equal position from the beginning.

How much time had passed?

Choi Jung-mo opened his mouth after thinking.

“Hmm. I think this matter is a bit too much for me to decide on my own.”

The choice he made was that he couldn’t judge it by himself.

Did he want to pass the responsibility and authority to someone else?

I immediately countered.

“That’s weird. You brought us here, which means you’re the person in charge. Or are you saying you called us without knowing your role? Is this how the association handles things?”

“I’m sorry about that. It seems that there is no choice but to do so, as the matter is what it is. I’m really sorry.”

“Is it over with an apology?”

Choi Jung-mo bowed his head and apologized sincerely. 

I looked at him and clicked my tongue inside. 

I didn’t expect him to throw away his pride and apologize like this. 

He wasn’t here for nothing.

Well, I know that the association won’t give us a proper reward.”

“No, how can you say that…”

“Let’s not pretend with each other. Are you worried about a recorder or something? There’s nothing like that, so don’t worry. The important thing is, you don’t want to give us the reward in the first place, right? Let’s stop beating around the bush and talk seriously.”

You might think it’s an unwritten rule that the collectors have set the ‘boundary line’, but the association doesn’t have no stake in it. 

No, to be precise, it’s fair to say that the state itself is involved.

The world of thought does not occur again unless it is cleared. 

That’s why the government chose to maintain the phenomenon, and the association and collectors accepted it.

The government and the association did so to avoid increasing the hassle.

The collectors did so for their stable farming.

But they couldn’t tell the public that honestly, so they announced that they would reward the collectors who cleared the world of thought.

But here Kang Hye-rim and I blatantly cleared the world of thought.

It was a bit embarrassing for the association.

‘You can’t give it, but you can’t refuse it either.’

But in the end, they had to make a choice. 

We wouldn’t allow them to delay it indefinitely.

Choi Jung-mo took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes with both hands, then soon sent me a fierce look. 

He just took off his glasses, but the atmosphere changed completely.

He came out honestly, so he wanted me to do the same.

“You’re poking at our sore spot, Mr. Yu-hyun.”

“Well, do you think we cleared the world of thought without knowing the situation?”

“…You’re shameless. You’re pouring cold water on a situation that everyone agreed to keep quiet. Do you know that?”

“I’m not shameless. I’m confident. Why does the world of thought exist? To show stories to the spirits, to prove the value of collectors, and to help them reach higher realms, right? But look at what people are doing now. They are all against that intention.”

“This is rational. If a new world of thought is created, it will naturally consume a lot of manpower and money to analyze it. Maybe people will die in the process. We deliberately leave the world of thought alone to prevent any possible casualties.”

“So you want to tie up the stories that should be free? What a lame excuse. Nothing changes by maintaining the phenomenon.”

“It doesn’t change because we do this. Then I’ll ask you back. If people die as you do, will you take responsibility?”

“Why should we take responsibility?”

I asked with a tone that I didn’t understand. 

As soon as I said that, Choi Jung-mo was flustered.

“Huh?”

“We just did our role as collectors. We should get rewarded for it, not be held responsible. It’s weird.”

“What are you…”

“Are you playing with words? I’m serious. And you might die while exploring a new world of thought, but isn’t that what collectors always risk? If you’re afraid of that, why are you a collector? What is this trial for, what is this story for?”

I shook my head.

“Whether they die or not. In the end, it’s my business and my ability. I can mourn their death, but I don’t have to take responsibility for it. Above all, we just did what collectors do and were faithful to our given role. Instead of getting applause, you’re trying to oppress us instead. Is this your way?”

“Watch your mouth.”

As I scratched his insides hard, Choi Jung-mo became more and more emotional.

He glared at me as if he wanted to kill me with his eyes. 

I threw him a sneer.

“Why should I watch my mouth? Is there anything wrong with what I said?”

“People’s lives are at stake here. You can’t talk so lightly when it’s not your business!”

Ha, people’s lives are at stake? 

Is this all for people?

I felt annoyed at Choi Jung-mo’s words.

What a joke.

People don’t die because of this, but how many people have died in the end?

If you had been a little more honest and decided to accept some losses.

This wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

“If people die while clearing the world of thought, it would be sad. But nothing will be solved by leaving the world of thought alone because you’re afraid of that. That’s why we moved. The collectors are rotten now. They have become cowards who don’t even dare to challenge for their own sake.”

“Are you different?”

“Yes. We are different. We work strictly for our given tasks. We don’t hide like others, we don’t stop, and we don’t hold others back either.”

“…Do you think you can get rewarded by doing that? You’re wrong right now. Is that your given task? Do you really think so?”

“Hmm. In the end, you’re saying that. Aren’t you afraid of the backlash, Mr. Choi Jung-mo?”

“Backlash? Ha, what can you two do?”

“Just two… Well, I guess you would see us as just two.”

“…”

I smiled slyly and opened my mouth at my meaningful words.

Choi Jung-mo narrowed his eyes.

“But, how will the others react?”

“Others? Where on earth are you…”

“Don’t you think? The spirits?”

I asked the air.

Choi Jung-mo rolled his eyes at my words. 

He was a very smart person, so he realized what I meant by saying this.

“What have you done!”

He jumped up from his seat.

At the same time.

[The leader of Shaldrala shows displeasure.]

[The drunkards in the tavern harshly criticize Choi Jung-mo.]

[Most spirits are furious and incredulous.]

…

…Like opening a dam, messages that came belatedly and crazily blocked his front.

“What, what is this…”

He had retired, but he was still connected to the [Genesis Network] as a former collector. 

He couldn’t miss this.

And he couldn’t not know what this meant.

‘How foolish.’

He must have thought that only the three of us were in this narrow space from the beginning. 

There were no witnesses, no one to testify. 

There was no way for the story here to leak out.

He must have aimed for that. 

That’s why he revealed his true intentions and threatened us, spitting out nonsense.

Choi Jung-mo looked at me with disbelief in his bulging eyes.

He realized the seriousness of the situation too late.

“Yo, you… Who are you?”

“This is strange. Come to think of it, I didn’t introduce myself.”

I sat on the sofa, crossing one leg over the other.

I opened my mouth, holding my chin with one hand.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Choi Jung-mo. My name is Kang Yu-hyun.”

As if to imprint my existence on him, I said it clearly.

“And I’m a teller affiliated with the Story Room of Celestial Corporation.”

I smiled wickedly at Choi Jung-mo, who still couldn’t grasp the situation.

“Welcome to my library, Mr. Choi Jung-mo.”

I told him that he had fallen into a trap that he could never escape from.