Goblin Library - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 103

Choi Tae-sik stared blankly at Lee Hye-eun for a moment, but when she turned to leave, he quickly grabbed her wrist.
“Wait!”
“Oh my! This man must be insane. Where are you touching? Where, where, where!”
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Lee Hye-eun cried out in alarm, striking his hand repeatedly, and Choi Tae-sik hastily released her. With his other hand, he gingerly cradled his already stinging palm.
“That hurts!”
“Someone who’s been stabbed with a blade complains about these delicate hands?”
“It hurts more than a blade.”
Choi Tae-sik winced as he replied, continuing his thought.
“Just stay a moment longer.”
“What? You were the one telling me to leave quickly.”
“My brother probably has something he wants to ask. Just a moment.”
Then Choi Tae-sik spoke toward Jang Ma-ru.
“Send my brother the conversation we just had.”
[I’ve already converted it to text and sent it.]
“Converted to text?”
[I transformed the conversation we just had into written form. I thought it would be faster to read it as text rather than explain it verbally.]
Using a speech-to-text program, he had sent the entire conversation exactly as it occurred.
A moment later, Lim Sung-un’s voice reached Choi Tae-sik’s ear.
[You said you couldn’t talk about that organization?]
Choi Tae-sik turned to look at Lee Hye-eun. Having heard Lim Sung-un’s question as well, Lee Hye-eun nodded.
“This is my first time making contact with them, but they’re dangerous people, so I don’t want to get involved by carelessly mentioning them.”
[So “dangerous” is just hearsay?]
“That’s right.”
Lee Hye-eun nodded and continued.
“If you’re trying to gather rumors in this underworld, you’d better not.”
[Why?]
“People who investigated those people have disappeared—not just one or two.”
[Is that also just rumor?]
“It is.”
[Then how did you find out?]
“That’s a secret.”
[A secret?]
“Information is valuable. And the source of the information I obtained is a secret. The reason is… you don’t need me to explain, do you?”]
After a moment of silence, Lim Sung-un spoke.
[Protecting your source?]
“There’s a protective purpose, but my interests are tangled up in it too.”
[If only you and I knew about it?]
“What are you talking about? Choi is right here in front of us, and so is the kid.”
[So that’s why you won’t say anything.]
“I’ve already upheld my loyalty by reporting it. Fighting for justice in Korea!”
Lee Hye-eun clenched her fist and struck a fighting pose as Lim Sung-un’s voice reached her ears.
[But doesn’t it become a problem that you just told us that information?]
“That was me speaking out of loyalty.”
[You’re taking risks out of loyalty? If you tell me the truth, I’ll move according to what you actually want.]
“What do I actually want?”
[To screw over the people who made you that proposal?]
Lee Hye-eun, who had been silent for a moment, nodded.
“Exactly. I want them to get screwed. And I mean royally screwed.”
[Why?]
“I work alone. Well, not completely alone—just like you have Manager Jang and Choi, I have someone named Alfred who helps me.”
[Alfred?]
[Isn’t that like the name of that elderly butler character who helps the hero in hero movies?]
Lee Hye-eun nodded at Lim Sung-un and Jang Ma-ru’s words.
“Exactly. And Alfred is a really good person.”
[So?]
Lim Sung-un pressed her. Lee Hye-eun, who had been lost in thought, soon nodded.
“Well, I don’t think it’ll be a problem to say this much… fine, I’ll tell you.”
Keeping everything hidden would make conversation impossible, so she decided to open up some information. Besides, Alfred was just a name she’d made up herself, so there was no risk of her source being exposed.
“I need to gather information, and sometimes I need to get burner phones. I also need to forge identities… so I owe Alfred a lot. Of course, it’s not free—it costs money—but I definitely owe him.”
Lee Hye-eun smacked her lips and continued.
“But not long ago, all five of Alfred’s fingers were broken.”
[All five fingers?]
“When it comes to skilled technicians, I’m top-tier in our country. So they wanted to meet with me, but had no way to contact me… so they went to Alfred. And well, since Old Master wouldn’t talk, they broke all five of his fingers.”
[But he did talk eventually, it seems.]
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Lee Hye-eun squinted her eyes.
“Look at this heartless bastard. Five fingers—five! If it were me, I would’ve spilled everything just from the threat of breaking one finger, but Old Master didn’t say a word until all five were broken.”
Lee Hye-eun paused for a moment and sighed.
“That’s more than enough loyalty to me—no, it’s overflowing. Stubborn old fool… he should’ve just told them when the first one broke.”
Choi Tae-sik’s eyes widened as he looked at her, noticing her voice had grown wet with emotion. It was unexpected to see Lee Hye-eun, who seemed emotionally drained, grieve over someone else’s suffering.
[So you’re going to take revenge for Old Master’s fingers?]
“I’m not sure about revenge… I just want their plans to fall apart as much as Old Master’s fingers were broken.”
[Okay. But one question comes to mind… You’re someone they found after breaking five fingers. I doubt you just said ‘Yes, understood’ and quietly left?]
“Of course not. They tried to threaten me and all that… but what could they do? All they knew about me was the burner phone number I used to contact Old Master. How would they find me? The fact that you guys found me is really impressive. Normally, nobody can.”
[You didn’t tell them where you live?]
“I don’t settle down anywhere. And since I don’t work in any visible place, it’s better for Old Master that they don’t know.”
Lee Hye-eun continued with a smile.
“Still, it felt off, so I recommended a few capable people instead of myself.”
[You recommended people to them?]
“If I refused too firmly, I worried they’d keep bothering Old Master. So I introduced them to a few technicians and how to contact them. That counts as showing good faith, doesn’t it? And just as I expected, they haven’t bothered me since.”
[But the technicians you introduced could be put in danger or get hurt. That’s why you refused the offer in the first place, isn’t it?]
“Exactly! I recommended people I don’t get along with. They’re not too bright, so they’ll jump at the chance if someone offers them money.”
Choi Tae-sik stared at Lee Hye-eun with a dumbfounded expression as she grinned.
She had recommended people to do the dangerous work she herself refused to do.
No matter how poorly she got along with them, such an action was beyond Choi Tae-sik’s comprehension.
As Choi Tae-sik muttered curses under his breath, Lee Hye-eun spoke.
“Anything else you want to know?”
[No.]
“I thought you’d ask more about the Organization?”
[Will you answer if I do?]
“I’m leaving.”
Lee Hye-eun turned with a laugh and began walking away.
Watching her go, Choi Tae-sik asked Lim Sung-un.
“What should we do?”
[Let her go. And…]
After a brief pause, Lim Sung-un continued.
[Get the earpiece back.]
“Ah!”
Only then did Choi Tae-sik exclaim, remembering the earpiece he’d given to Lee Hye-eun. Lee Hye-eun, still walking, snapped her fingers regretfully and glanced back at Choi Tae-sik.
Then she pulled out the earpiece and tossed it with a flick.
“Whoa!”
Choi Tae-sik scrambled to his feet and caught the earpiece. It was a delicate device that broke easily, and once damaged, it was difficult to replace.
Lee Hye-eun laughed loudly, watching Choi Tae-sik’s flustered face.
“I’m going!”
And Lee Hye-eun started walking again.

As Lee Hye-eun walked out of the park, her phone vibrated with a text message notification. She checked her phone.

“Save this number. If anything really dangerous happens or you need help, call here and I’ll send someone. Your brother, Jang.”

Lee Hye-eun saved the number and sent a reply.

“Thanks. But how did you get my phone number?”
“That’s a secret. And be careful. Even if that Organization doesn’t know where you are, from what I hear, they sound like dangerous people.”

Lee Hye-eun smiled as she read Jang Ma-ru’s message.
It had been so long since someone had worried about her like this.

***

Yu Tae-poong, reading Lim Sung-un’s book, caught sight of the Dung Carrier Goblin.
“We’ll clash sooner than expected.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin nodded and spoke.
“But why are they gathering so many technicians?”
“That’s simple enough.”
“What is?”
“It’s not uncommon for those with money and power to be drawn to women.”
“Even in the past when men monopolized power, kingdoms themselves were often swayed by women’s hands.”
“Just like kingdoms were manipulated, they’re probably attaching women to high-ranking officials in politics or the judiciary to extract information or get them to do things.”
“Would a woman really be the one giving orders? Those high-ranking people wouldn’t easily comply with requests from women they favor, would they?”
As the Dung Carrier Goblin expressed doubt, Yu Tae-poong laughed and spoke.
“Requests alone wouldn’t work. But combined with blackmail? That would work, wouldn’t it?”
“Blackmail?”
“For example, photographing them together and using it as blackmail. Most of those people would have families.”
“Ah….”
The Dung Carrier Goblin nodded and spoke.
“But those people have power too, so they could attack directly, couldn’t they?”
“Along with blackmail, they’d offer incentives too.”
“Incentives? Money?”
“That’s right. If there’s a problem with women, there could be other problems too. There’s no one with just one flaw—if someone’s guilty of one thing, they’re guilty of others.”
Then Yu Tae-poong looked at the Dung Carrier Goblin.
“And romance, money, gambling—those are the three things that ruin people, whether women or men. If someone has a problem with one, the other two or at least one more gets caught up in it.”
“Is that so?”
“Not everyone, but people who cause trouble always seem to have at least one or two of those problems.”
Then Yu Tae-poong looked at the book and spoke.
“If the technicians use both the whip and the carrot together, they’ll eventually follow.”
“But how do you know things like that?”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s question, Yu Tae-poong laughed.
“I saw it in dramas.”
“Dramas?”
“Dramas have these kinds of stories all the time. Politicians and judicial officials who get swayed by women and take money to process things… sometimes people who get swayed by money too.”
“True, even in the Joseon Dynasty Era, bureaucrats liked women and money. It seems like that never really changes.”
“Right. Good things change so easily, but bad things seem to stay the same.”
“That’s the truth.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin shook his head.
“Good culture fades away, but bad culture persists through generations. Ugh!”
Watching the Dung Carrier Goblin click his tongue softly, Yu Tae-poong opened Lim Sung-un’s book and spoke.
“Ah! Shall we have a cup of coffee?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, the Dung Carrier Goblin pulled a cloth from his waist and swung it.
Whoosh!
The refrigerator door behind the counter swung open, and two cans of coffee flew through the air.
“I could make some for you.”
“Sometimes this isn’t bad either. It has a refreshing taste.”
“That’s true enough.”
My own coffee certainly had a richer aroma, but occasionally a canned coffee like this tasted quite pleasant with its crisp, refreshing flavor.
Yu Tae-poong caught the flying can, popped open the tab, and was reading when he suddenly turned his head.
“I wonder if the Shoe Goblin had a good trip abroad?”
“He must have. Probably flew first class or something like that.”
“Wouldn’t that be expensive?”
“His shoe shop does quite well. Ah! You haven’t gotten fitted for shoes yet?”
“Not yet.”
“They say the shoes there are comfortable and excellent.”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong looked down at his own shoes. They were luxury brand shoes of the highest quality, the kind that appeared in luxury magazines.
The Dung Carrier Goblin, noticing Yu Tae-poong’s gaze, spoke.
“After all, those are things we created, but the shoes made at the shop are crafted to fit your feet perfectly… naturally those would be more comfortable.”
“That makes sense.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded, thinking he should visit the shop after work today to get fitted for shoes, and returned to reading his book.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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