Goblin Library - Chapter 110

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

Chapter 110.

“Me? Why me?”
Choi Tae-sik spoke in bewilderment, and Lee Hye-eun replied.
[Because you’re the person I trust most. And what you’re doing isn’t any less safe than a secure house, is it?]
“You trust me most?”
As Choi Tae-sik squinted in confusion, Jang Ma-ru spoke up.
[Being with our hyung is definitely the safest option.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Choi Tae-sik narrowed his eyes and looked at him.
“I can’t take you along on jobs.”
[Why not? I’m good at work. Maybe I could even do things that a man like Choi can’t do, being a woman.]
Just as Choi Tae-sik was about to retort with furrowed brows, Lim Sung-un raised his hand and covered his mouth.
Then, after a moment, he asked.
“So you want to work with us?”
[….]
Lee Hye-eun, who had been silent for a moment, laughed and answered.
[If you recruit me, things will run much more smoothly.]
“Smoothly?”
[Looking at it, it seems like hyung oversees the entire operation planning, Jang handles information gathering and computer work, and Choi does the physical labor… Having someone like me would be a huge help when planning operations. I could be more advantageous than Choi with the bad impression when it comes to gathering information or executing plans.]
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Lim Sung-un asked again.
“So you want to work with us?”
At the repeated question, Jang Ma-ru and Choi Tae-sik looked at him. Receiving their gazes, Lim Sung-un stared quietly into empty space.
Though staring into empty space, I was picturing Lee Hye-eun’s face before my eyes. As if I were conversing with her standing right in front of me.
After a moment of silence, Lee Hye-eun’s voice came through.
[I want to.]
“If you work with us, you can’t take separate jobs like before, and targets will be limited to only those we choose.”
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Choi Tae-sik looked at him and his lips twitched as if he wanted to say something.
‘Is hyung trying to bring Lee Hye-eun in?’
But he couldn’t speak those words. Lim Sung-un raised his hand again and covered his mouth.
“Will that be alright?”
[Fine. But I need money.]
As Choi Tae-sik squinted at the blunt mention of money, Jang Ma-ru whispered softly.
“We need a lot of money too.”
“Still, we have a reason….”
“Hyung’s motorcycle… you didn’t buy that with your own money anyway.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Choi Tae-sik frowned.
“That’s necessary for operations….”
“If you only need it for transportation, a 200-dollar one runs fine. But hyung’s is an old motorcycle that’s expensive despite poor performance.”
『Well….』
Choi Tae-sik smacked his lips and closed his mouth. In truth, he was no different from Lee Hye-eun—he spent money rather than earned it.
And if money weren’t an issue, it wouldn’t matter, but Jang Ma-ru earned well. He invested shrewdly in stocks and cryptocurrency, generating income comparable to a mid-sized company, so Choi Tae-sik had no trouble spending freely either.
『How much would it take?』
[I need at least 500 million won a year.]
『500 million?』
Lim Sung-un glanced at Jang Ma-ru. As Jang Ma-ru’s fingers danced across the keyboard, the donation records under Lee Hye-eun’s pseudonym appeared on screen.
『It’s about 300 million.』
Jang Ma-ru mouthed the words silently, and Lim Sung-un’s eyes narrowed. That meant 200 million was still needed.
『That’s a substantial amount.』
[If you investigated me, you’d know I donate to the Orphanage, right?]
『I do.』
[Beyond that, there are children I look after.]
『Children?』
[Do you think all the kids who grow up in the Orphanage just leave and live well?]
Lee Hye-eun’s voice resumed after a brief pause.
[When they come of age, the Orphanage gives them a settlement—a few million won—and sends them out. Then the kids use that money to rent a room in a gosiwon or a monthly apartment, or they go find older siblings who left before and depend on them for a while. And then they work part-time jobs or whatever to scrape together money for independence.]
『Is that so?』
[Yeah. In a way, life after leaving is harder than being in the Orphanage. At least the kids interested in making money rather than studying start working right away and manage to establish themselves, however tough. But the ones who want to study struggle to get through university without scholarships. The settlement money is gone after one tuition payment.]
『So you’ve been looking after those children? Separately from the Orphanage donations?』
[Exactly. That’s why I need 500 million. I have to support them until they graduate.]
Lim Sung-un nodded after a moment of thought.
『I’ll make sure you get 500 million a year.』
[Really?]
『But if you do any side jobs like part-time work outside of our operations, I’m sending you straight to Prison.』
[Come on! Do you think I want to do this?]
Lee Hye-eun spoke with a laugh.
[And you’re obviously covering my living expenses too, right?]
『We’ll cover your living expenses and any costs necessary for the work.』
[Great! So do we need to draw up a contract or something?]
『Before that… are you sure you won’t regret this?』
[Regret what?]
『Working with us.』
[Why wouldn’t I regret it? If the work gets annoying and exhausting, I’ll obviously regret it.]
『Then don’t do it now. Sir, you heard what she said? I suspect we’ll have reason to regret this.』
Lee Hye-eun laughed at Choi Tae-sik’s words.
[Isn’t it better to say upfront that I’ll regret it later, rather than lie and say I won’t regret it while actually regretting it? And haven’t you ever regretted anything, Choi?]
『I haven’t.』
[You must have felt pain when you took that blade for me, right? Didn’t you regret it then?]
『I saved a person.』
In response to Choi Tae-sik’s answer, Jang Ma-ru laughed and gave him a thumbs up.
It meant he was impressive.
Lim Sung-un, who had been watching Choi Tae-sik quietly, spoke.
『I’ll ask just one thing. Why do you want to work with us?』
[….]
Lee Hye-eun, who had been silent for a moment, let out a soft laugh.
[Huh!]
Lim Sung-un showed no reaction to Lee Hye-eun’s laughter. He simply waited for her to continue speaking.
Soon, Lee Hye-eun’s voice came through.
[I have… quite a few twists and turns in my life. Of course, I was sent to the Orphanage from birth, so there were twists from the beginning. Still, when I was at the Orphanage, the Orphanage Director and the staff were truly good people. Of course, I was too young to understand that back then, so I rebelled and acted out… but when I think about it later, even though I didn’t have parents, I had many people like uncles, aunts, and older relatives who looked after me.]
『It sounds like the people at the Orphanage were good people.』
Lee Hye-eun answered Jang Ma-ru’s words.
[They were good people. I didn’t know it back then….]
Lee Hye-eun spoke in a bitter tone and sighed.
[I was really pretty when I left the Orphanage.]
Just as Choi Tae-sik seemed about to say something, Jang Ma-ru lightly tapped his hand, signaling him to just listen since this was a serious story.
[Ugh!]
Suddenly, Lee Hye-eun cried out. At that, Jang Ma-ru was startled and looked at the speaker.
『Sister, what’s wrong?』
[Suddenly, some sordid old memories came back to me. Ugh!]
Lee Hye-eun clicked her tongue softly and spoke firmly.
[Until just now, I had no intention of working with you guys at all.]
『Then why don’t you just keep that thought going forward.』
[I’m done with your thoughts. The reason I decided to work with you guys is… I was hooked by the word “protect.”』
『What?』
[I’ve seen plenty of people who wanted to use me, but I’ve never seen anyone who said they’d protect me. And they meant it sincerely.]
Lee Hye-eun paused briefly, then continued with a laugh in her voice.
[You said you’d protect me. So from now on, protect me. Then I’ll also do my best to avoid doing what you tell me not to do, and I’ll do what you tell me to do.]
After Lee Hye-eun’s request, Lim Sung-un spoke after a moment.
『Your words are wrong.』
[What, you won’t protect me?]
『It’s not just you who receives protection. We don’t protect one another—we protect each other mutually.』
[So, am I working with you guys or not?]
When Lee Hye-eun asked, Lim Sung-un turned to Jang Ma-ru and spoke.
『Go and bring her.』
『Me?』
『You wanted to meet her, didn’t you.』
『Understood.』
Jang Ma-ru spoke with a smile.
『Sister. I’ll go pick you up.』
[Oh! So you’re going shopping now?]
『Yes!』
Lee Hye-eun chuckled at Jang Ma-ru’s response and turned to Lim Sung-un with a question.
[But… why did you decide to work with me?]
Jang Ma-ru and Choi Tae-sik also looked at Lim Sung-un. They too were curious about why he’d suddenly agreed to work with Lee Hye-eun.
『Protecting you won’t be easy otherwise.』
[Protecting?]
『To protect you, you need to stay within our sight and within reach at all times. But that would be difficult.』
[So you’re deciding to work with me because you’re worried I might be in danger?]
『We have to prevent people from dying.』
[Hmm… then let me ask one more thing. Do you trust me?]
『At least you’re someone with something to protect.』
[Something to protect? Are you saying you’ll do something to the Orphanage if I betray you?]
『No. We are people who uphold the line, not people who cross it.』
[Then?]
『Later, we might become people you need to protect.』
[If that’s not the case?]
『You’re free to leave anytime. But you’ll need to keep our secrets.』
[What if I don’t?]
『Aren’t you the one with just as many secrets as we have?』
At Lim Sung-un’s slightly threatening response, Lee Hye-eun, who had been silent for a moment, let out a soft laugh.
[Women naturally have plenty of secrets. Okay! When are you coming to pick me up?]
『Just a moment.』
As Jang Ma-ru tapped on the keyboard, her location and arrival time appeared on the monitor.
『Fifteen minutes.』
[How do you know where I am…]
Lee Hye-eun trailed off with a small sigh. She’d never told him where she was, yet Jang Ma-ru knew.
[I’ll just assume you’re keeping tabs on me to protect me.]
『That’s right.』
[Okay! I’ll be ready, so come get me.]
After hanging up, Choi Tae-sik sighed and stood from his seat.
『Let’s go.』
『Are you going too, hyung?』
『I don’t trust your driving skills. Let’s go.』
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Jang Ma-ru grabbed a tablet and stood up. Watching the two of them, Lim Sung-un spoke.
『So you’re not going to object anymore?』
Choi Tae-sik then replied.
『If it were before the decision, I would have objected, but since the decision has already been made and we’re moving forward, I’ll follow your lead.』
At that, Lim Sung-un shifted his gaze to Jang Ma-ru as if asking his opinion. Jang Ma-ru smiled and spoke.
『I like her. And she’s in danger, so we should protect her.』
Lim Sung-un nodded.
“Yes, bring her.”
Jang Ma-ru chuckled as he gathered his bag, then suddenly laughed.
“By the way, noona, my hyung will be shocked when he sees you.”
“He will be.”
Lim Sung-un let out a small laugh at Jang Ma-ru’s words. One of Lee Hye-eun’s criminal records had been given to her by Lim Sung-un himself.
In other words, Lim Sung-un was the prosecutor who had indicted Lee Hye-eun and sent her to prison. So she would certainly be startled.

Choi Tae-sik rested his arm on the driver’s side window and glanced back. Jang Ma-ru and Lee Hye-eun were sitting in the back, laughing and chatting away.
“Wow, I really missed you, noona.”
“I missed you too, Jang.”
“Ah! Jang? It’s Maru. Jang Ma-ru.”
“It just stuck on my tongue. Anyway, Maru has a nice ring to it. I like Choco Maru ice cream.”
“I like Walnut Maru.”
Choi Tae-sik sighed as he listened to the two of them talking about ice cream in the back.
“I’m not a chauffeur. Why are you both sitting in the back?”
“Because I want to hang out with Maru.”
“And I want to hang out with noona.”
As the two of them spoke in perfect sync, Lee Hye-eun reached forward and poked Choi Tae-sik’s shoulder repeatedly.
“What… what is it?”
“Stop by the Convenience Store up ahead for a moment.”
“The Convenience Store?”
“Since our Maru likes Walnut Maru, let’s each grab one on the way and eat it.”
“Your hyung is waiting.”
“How long does it take to buy an ice cream? If there’s a flavor you like, just tell me. I’ll buy you one too.”
Choi Tae-sik sighed but couldn’t argue further, pulling the car up in front of the Convenience Store.
As Jang Ma-ru opened the door and got out, Lee Hye-eun followed him and looked at Choi Tae-sik.
“What do you want?”
“An iced coffee… my stomach’s burning.”
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lee Hye-eun laughed and linked her arm with Jang Ma-ru’s as they headed into the Convenience Store.

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