Chapter 46: What Kang Dohyuk Wants
Step by step, Dohyuk walked toward Muyeong. No one dared to block his way until he climbed onto the wooden veranda and stood right in front of Muyeong. They had already seen one of Muryeong’s security guards knocked down by Dohyuk’s single punch. Most were just shamans, not people who used their bodies for work. They were intimidated by Dohyuk’s aura and merely watched cautiously.
“There is nothing here that belongs to Kang Dohyuk-ssi.”
Muyeong answered, meeting Dohyuk’s gaze directly. Dohyuk slightly raised the corner of his mouth in a barely perceptible smile before returning it to normal.
“I thought you would understand without lengthy explanations, but perhaps I overestimated you.”
It was a mocking remark about Muyeong’s abilities. Yeon had clearly stated that he and Dohyuk were bound by red threads of fate. If Yeon knew this, how could Muyeong, the head of Muryeong, not know? It had to be one of two things: either Muyeong had special abilities and was pretending not to know, or he was just a fraud who was head in name only.
“That child is not your possession.”
It seemed Muyeong wasn’t completely unaware of what Dohyuk meant. However, he replied that Yeon wasn’t an “object.” Dohyuk knew Yeon wasn’t an object but a person. Regardless, what mattered was that Yeon was “his.”
“Would it help if I corrected my wording? I’ve come to find my person, so please return him.”
Muyeong exhaled briefly at Dohyuk’s resolute voice that showed not a hint of hesitation.
“Let’s go inside first. There are too many eyes watching.”
Muyeong turned and entered the room. Dohyuk looked around. People wearing white clothes similar to Yeon’s were looking at him with expressions as if they’d been struck by lightning. Apparently, not everyone who cut ties with the secular world became as insensitive as Yeon. Indeed, that guy was unusually cold for his age.
To think that a day would come when he would call someone else cold and insensitive.
Clicking his tongue, he followed Muyeong into the room. Muyeong, already seated at the place of honor inside the room, merely raised his eyes to look at Dohyuk.
“Please sit.”
He pointed to the cushion across from him.
“Even if you and that child are bound by a special connection, your behavior right now is extremely rude and shameless.”
Muyeong reprimanded Dohyuk in a low voice.
“I think it’s better than being a hypocrite.”
Muyeong frowned, perhaps thinking his words had become oddly brief at times.
“I don’t think I need to hear that from someone who makes money by trafficking people.”
Though Muyeong immediately understood which aspect Dohyuk was criticizing, his expression showed no change. He didn’t even offer the cliché excuse that he was supporting the people of Muryeong. Unlike Yeon, this person had a unique atmosphere too. It was enough to make Dohyuk wonder if all shamans were like this.
“No one has ever been kept here against their will.”
After a few seconds of silence, that was all Muyeong said in response.
“That’s fortunate. It sounds like you’d be willing to give Yeon to me if that’s what he wants.”
“I am not his owner either.”
“For someone who claims that, there’s a lot of hostility in your eyes toward me.”
At Dohyuk’s words, delivered with a smirk, Muyeong’s facial muscles twitched for the first time. But he quickly suppressed the agitation.
“I’m not sure what kind of welcome you expected, barging in at this late hour as an uninvited guest.”
“Uninvited guest…”
Echoing Muyeong’s words with a mutter, Dohyuk took out a document envelope from inside his jacket and placed it on the table. Muyeong looked at Dohyuk with an expression that asked what this was.
“I thought I should explain in a way that’s easy to understand.”
Dohyuk gestured toward the envelope with his eyes. Muyeong reluctantly picked up the envelope and took out its contents. Inside were about ten sheets of paper. As Muyeong read what was written on each page, his face grew increasingly rigid.
“What does this mean?”
The papers contained detailed information about Muryeong’s clients from the past six months, including their personal details and even the changes that occurred around them after shamans had been dispatched. There were even account details showing that Lee Seoyoung, the representative of Hovan Gallery who acted as Muryeong’s contact, had received a certain percentage of the request fees as an introduction fee.
“What do you think it means?”
Instead of answering, Dohyuk returned the question. Muryeong hadn’t done anything illegal, strictly speaking. They hadn’t killed or hurt anyone. In fact, most of their work involved protecting their clients’ safety.
However, the problem was that Muryeong’s clients were famous figures in politics and business whose names everyone would recognize, and Muryeong was a shamanistic organization. The fact that prominent figures were seeking the help of shamans in the 21st century could only deliver a serious blow to their image.
Moreover, Muryeong’s basic request fee was in the hundreds of millions of won. It was enough to create a huge scandal if the media found out. The reason Muryeong operated quietly in the shadows and kept everything about their clients strictly confidential was to protect both the clients and Muryeong itself.
“Is this blackmail?”
Dohyuk didn’t answer Muyeong’s question. He simply maintained eye contact with Muyeong, his black eyes completely inscrutable.
Haah. Muyeong sighed loudly enough for Dohyuk to hear.
“What do you want?”
For Muryeong, this was a matter of credibility. They couldn’t know what would happen if Kang Dohyuk leaked this information. It wasn’t just about Muryeong’s existence being revealed and causing a media frenzy. Among the clients, some would deny their association with Muryeong for their own safety, and such people might band together to eliminate Muryeong entirely. They would protect Muryeong when it benefited them, but the secretive Muryeong would be the easiest card to discard when deemed unnecessary.
“Yeon, and Muryeong.”
Wanting Yeon was within expectations, but the next part made Muyeong wonder if he had heard correctly. He glared at Dohyuk with furrowed brows.
“Continue operating as you have been. There’s no need to indicate anything to your clients. What I want is information on all the requests they make to Muryeong.”
“You think we’ll comply?”
“You’ll have to, if you want to protect everyone here.”
Though his face remained expressionless, Dohyuk’s words were clearly a threat. It went beyond just exposing Muryeong to the public. He was warning that he could directly harm everyone in Muryeong.
He’s not just a simple businessman. Director Lee Seoyoung hadn’t been exaggerating when she described him as a crouching dragon.
Especially compared to Kang Sunhyuk of Dragon Holdings who had visited earlier, this man’s aura was incomparably stronger. Not a single word he spoke could be taken lightly.
“If you think we don’t have forces to protect us, that’s a mistake…”
“You might, but I’m saying that my power is greater than theirs.”
Dohyuk cut off Muyeong’s words. Silence fell between them. Neither of them looked away as they maintained eye contact.
Muyeong couldn’t dismiss this as nonsense. Kang Dohyuk, who had already seen Muryeong’s entire client list, was stating without any hesitation that he was superior to them. That list included the floor leader of a political party and the chairman of one of the country’s top three conglomerates. Yet Kang Dohyuk feared none of them.
The black aura surrounding him seemed to suffocate Muyeong. It wasn’t a matter of wealth or power. This man had the killing intent to take lives. If someone got in his way, he was prepared to remove them, no matter who they were. And he would do it in a very shrewd way that wouldn’t harm himself.
And of all people, such a person… Muyeong sighed as he recalled Yeon’s pale face when he was unconscious for days after being shot.
“I’ll comply, so please leave quietly today.”
It was better to lie low for now until he found a definite way to escape this man’s grasp. Though it meant putting the lives of their clients and themselves in Kang Dohyuk’s hands, if they complied, he wouldn’t harm them immediately. As he said, Kang Dohyuk didn’t want to dismantle Muryeong. He only wanted to extract information from them.
The only person he didn’t want to be a shaman of Muryeong was Yeon. That was the extent of this man’s interest in people.
Despite Muyeong’s request, Dohyuk didn’t budge. Muyeong sighed again.
“That child is no longer here.”
One of Dohyuk’s eyebrows rose crookedly. He clearly didn’t believe Muyeong’s words.
“I cannot give you someone who isn’t here. If you really need someone, I can prepare another person…”
Muyeong couldn’t finish his sentence and his eyes widened. He hadn’t even noticed the movement, but a black dagger was now pressed against his neck.
“It seems my polite words were taken as a joke.”
Muyeong’s spine froze at the quiet voice that had almost no variation in tone. He had sensed the killing intent, but he hadn’t expected him to actually draw a blade.
“No matter how much you threaten me, I cannot produce someone who isn’t here.”
If it had been someone other than Muyeong, they might have trembled and begged for their life first. The blade was already cutting into Muyeong’s skin. It was different from a regular jackknife. Even though it seemed to have just grazed him, blood was seeping out.
Dohyuk slowly withdrew the knife from Muyeong’s neck. Before he could even take a small breath, there was a swishing sound as the knife cut through the air and stuck into the table, precisely between Muyeong’s fingers. If it had been just slightly off, his finger would have been cut off.
Muyeong swallowed and slowly closed and opened his eyes. No matter how savage the threat, it was impossible to produce someone who wasn’t there.
“Yesterday, he left here for another request.”
Ha! Dohyuk exhaled in disbelief. It had only been two weeks. He had given that time for Yeon to recover from the gunshot wound. But he had already gone out on another request? It was unbelievable. The cell phone he had given Yeon was still here. He had checked once more before leaving, so he was certain.
“See for yourself.”
Muyeong called someone waiting outside and instructed them to guide Dohyuk to Yeon’s room.
“If this is a lie, you’ll have to stake your life on it.”
Though he warned in a cold voice while glaring at Muyeong, Muyeong calmly met Dohyuk’s gaze.
