Goblin Library - Chapter 71

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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 71

Choi Tae-sik secured a multi-level officetel near the Convenience Store. After furnishing it with pieces that Jang Ma-ru recommended, he sent the address to Lee Hye-eun.
He inserted a capsule into the coffee machine as he spoke.
『But isn’t this coffee machine a bit much for a studio apartment? It’s quite an expensive model.』
Jang Ma-ru’s voice came through the earbuds in his ear.
[I saw this product in the female leads’ rooms or their friends’ rooms in dramas. But… is it overkill?]
『I’m not sure. If you don’t like it, I’ll tell her to change it….』
Beep beep beep!
As Choi Tae-sik was answering while brewing the coffee, he turned toward the entrance at the sound of the password being entered.
Click!
The door opened and a woman walked in. At the sight of this unfamiliar-looking woman, Choi Tae-sik wondered if someone had entered by mistake and tilted his head in confusion.
Looking again, though she appeared much younger than the last time he’d seen her, it was definitely Lee Hye-eun’s face.
『Lee Hye-eun?』
Lee Hye-eun, whose bewilderment was evident, glanced at him, removed her shoes, and stepped inside.
『Let me see….』
Lee Hye-eun looked around the room without greeting him and nodded.
『It looks really nice… but this is definitely a studio apartment that suits the character.』
『Character?』
Choi Tae-sik murmured, seemingly not understanding the meaning.
Lee Hye-eun approached him, then her gaze shifted to the coffee machine beside her.
『You even brought a coffee machine?』
『I saw them a lot in dramas. Is it strange?』
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lee Hye-eun let out a soft laugh.
『That’s just product placement in dramas. What money does a studio dweller have to use such an expensive coffee machine? It doesn’t make sense.』
『Should I remove it?』
『Never mind. Since it’s already here, I might as well use it.』
Lee Hye-eun took the finished coffee and took a sip.
『That was mine….』
Choi Tae-sik started to speak, then shook his head and placed another cup in front of the machine, inserting a capsule.
『But what do you mean by character?』
Lee Hye-eun, sipping her coffee, smiled and spoke.
『When I’m running a con, I disappear.』
『You disappear?』
『Yes. The person named Lee Hye-eun vanishes, and I exist as a character I’ve created.』
Lee Hye-eun spread both arms wide as she spoke.
『How about it—do I look twenty-four?』
『You look like… a college student, at least.』
That was the reason for my surprise when I opened the door and stepped inside. It wasn’t just that she looked a couple of years younger—she genuinely looked like a university student.
『If I set my mind to it, I can pull off anywhere from twenty to forty years old.』
Lee Hye-eun smiled and walked toward the window, gazing out at the street below.
『By the way, you found a nice place. How much is the rent?』
『Five hundred and sixty.』
『That’s good.』
Lee Hye-eun nodded and spoke.
『There’s a new part-timer at the Convenience Store.』
『You went to the Convenience Store?』
『I need to do preliminary reconnaissance.』
Lee Hye-eun took a sip of coffee and said.
『Make him quit his job.』
『Understood.』
At Choi Tae-sik’s immediate response, Lee Hye-eun glanced at him sideways.
『You’re not going to ask why?』
『I don’t know much about fraud schemes. If that’s the case, it’s better to follow your judgment.』
Lee Hye-eun nodded.
『I need to get familiar with the target. For that to happen, the owner needs to be there.』
『Right.』
『And we need to make sure no new part-timers get hired. That way he’ll stay in position.』
[Don’t worry about that. I can make sure any job postings on Alba Monster and Alba Home get taken down before people see them.]
Choi Tae-sik relayed Jang Ma-ru’s words to Lee Hye-eun.
『We can prevent new part-timers from being hired.』
[Oh! And I have a way to make the current part-timer leave too, so you don’t need to worry about that either.]
『The part-timer will be leaving soon.』
As Choi Tae-sik added to his explanation, Lee Hye-eun glanced at his ear.
『Give me an earpiece too.』
『Why?』
『Because you’re relaying what he’s saying over there. It’s something we could discuss directly.』
『….』
Lee Hye-eun spoke to Choi Tae-sik, who was watching her silently.
『It’s strange to keep passing messages back and forth through you when we could just talk directly.』
[That’s right. I’d like to talk to you directly too.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Choi Tae-sik squinted and turned away.
『Isn’t your older brother nearby?』
[He went to work. And I don’t need to see you in person anyway, so it’s fine. Oh! Instead, let me give you a number, and you can give that number to her.]
『A number?』
[If something urgent comes up or information is needed, it’s easier to handle if you contact me directly rather than going through the relay.]
『If you misspeak….』
[Don’t worry. I can add about a five-second delay before my words get transmitted.]
『What’s the point of that?』
[There is. During those five seconds, I can filter out any names or words that shouldn’t be included in what I say.]
『You can do that?』
[Phew! I’m Jang Ma-ru.]
Choi Tae-sik paused at Jang Ma-ru’s confident declaration, then asked again as if to confirm.
『The number is safe?』
[Why worry about that? Here’s the number.]
Jang Ma-ru provided a security-encrypted number, and Choi Tae-sik glanced at Lee Hye-eun.
Lee Hye-eun, who had been listening to Choi Tae-sik turn around and whisper softly, smiled and spoke.
『Sounds like the conversation went well?』
『He asked me to share the number.』
Choi Tae-sik gave her the number, and Lee Hye-eun began entering it into her phone before speaking.
『The person who just called—that’s not the same person you spoke with a few days ago, right?』
『How did you know?』
『If it had been him, the conversation wouldn’t have lasted this long. He would’ve just said yes and hung up, wouldn’t he?』
『….』
Choi Tae-sik fell silent at Lee Hye-eun’s assessment. She was right. If it had been Lim Sung-un, it would have ended with just “Yes, yes. I understand.”
『But what’s his style?』
『Style?』
『The person you just called. It seems like you handle the fists and physical work, while this person takes care of the brains and technical side? And the person from a few days ago is the leader?』
As Lee Hye-eun pressed the call button on her phone, Jang Ma-ru laughed.
[You’ve got good taste, noona.]
With Jang Ma-ru’s words, the sound of a ringing phone came through the earpiece. Lee Hye-eun’s call had connected.
[Hello.]
Jang Ma-ru answered the phone, and Lee Hye-eun spoke.
『This is Lee Hye-eun.』
[You can just call me Jang. Oh, could you put it on speakerphone? Since we’re already connected like this, I think it’d be better if we all talked together.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun switched to speakerphone mode and asked.
『So you’re the one who handles the brains?』
[You’re quite perceptive. If you need any information or require anything in the future, just let me know.]
Choi Tae-sik looked at the phone at the voice coming through the speakerphone.
It wasn’t the voice of Jang Ma-ru that he knew.
Lee Hye-eun, noticing his gaze, let out a quiet laugh.
『Looks like you’ve altered your voice.』
[Huh? Is it strange?]
『No, the voice sounds natural. It’s just that Choi’s expression looked odd.』
[You seem to have a naive side, hyung.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun asked.
『But your speech is a bit slow, isn’t it?』
[It seems you’re quite sharp, noona. I was worried I might misspeak, so I’ve added a delay of a few seconds to my words. Please bear with me if it’s a bit slow.]
『Delay? Hoo! So you’re some kind of hacker, aren’t you?』
[….]
Jang Ma-ru, who had been silent for a moment, laughed.
[I’ll need to be extra careful when talking with this sister.]
『There are so many hackers in Korea. You won’t be able to identify me from that, so don’t worry. But am I really your sister?』
[You’re definitely my sister.]
『Hmm… Okay! For now, let’s say you’re my younger sibling. If we get a chance to talk face-to-face next time, I’ll treat you to something delicious.』
[I’d like that, but my older brothers said if I get involved with this sister, I’ll have to mine coins for the rest of my life.]
『Coins? You can mine coins too?』
Choi Tae-sik quickly interjected when he saw Lee Hye-eun’s eyes sparkling with interest.
『Enough chitchat. Let’s talk about the plan.』
Lee Hye-eun nodded and spoke.
『How are we going to get the part-timer to quit?』
[That’s simple. We introduce them to a better part-time job.]
『Looks like you’ve already done your research.』
[That’s my role—information gathering. Oh, and sister, about the forged identity. Brother.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Choi Tae-sik handed over a document envelope from beside the coffee machine.
『Let me see. Twenty-four years old, Lee Seul-gi. Fine Arts major at Kyunghwa University. Parents run a business.』
Lee Hye-eun looked over the contents written on the documents, then shifted her gaze to the ID card and credit card.
『This all works?』
『Of course.』
『Wow… you’re quite capable. Making credit cards and all… Actually, I have a thing for younger men.』
When Choi Tae-sik squinted at Lee Hye-eun’s words, Jang Ma-ru laughed and spoke.
[I can see your eyes are drawn to the credit card… but we’re not credit card fraudsters. We’ll deposit every penny we use.』
『Credit card companies make so much money. Writing off one card like this is no big deal.』
[Sister, that’s not how we operate.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun looked at her phone with a regretful expression and spoke.
『Fine. Setting that aside… if I’m going to work with you guys, I’ll need to shut down my previous business. How are you going to handle that? I’ve invested a lot of money in my flower shop.』
[Your target was Cha Jang-woo, the owner of Cheongwha Building, right?]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun squinted her eyes.
『How did you know that?』
[I scanned the area around your flower shop and noticed you kept looking up at Cheongwha Building. So I searched and found your type of prey there.]
『What’s my type of prey?』
『Men who live well while stepping on others.』
At Jang Ma-ru’s answer, Lee Hye-eun paused for a moment, then nodded.
『Got it. So you’ll compensate me for my losses?』
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Jang Ma-ru spoke.
[Don’t write it off as a loss—just put it on hold.]
『Why?』
[Because he’s a bad guy too. I’ll help you with that.]
『Jang Ma… hmph!』
Choi Tae-sik caught himself about to blurt out Jang Ma-ru’s name and quickly covered it with a cough before speaking.
『This isn’t a decision you should make alone.』
[No, it’s not. From what I can see, that bastard Cha Jang-woo is trash too. He sets up a company and hires a female secretary, and…]
Jang Ma-ru shuddered as if the very words left a bad taste, then continued.
[He’s just trash, plain and simple.]
『You investigated that far?』
At Lee Hye-eun’s question, Jang Ma-ru answered with a hint of amusement in his voice.
[I wanted to know what kind of person you are.]
『Me?』
[My brother told me—we do the work of making sure bad people pay for their crimes. But when you think about it, you’re a con artist too… so in a way, you could be a target for us.]
『Wow! That’s scary. You’re saying I could’ve been arrested by you guys if I’d done something wrong?』
[That’s right.]
And truthfully, when Choi Tae-sik was stabbed while saving Lee Hye-eun, Lim Sung-un had actually tried to apprehend her.
But that was when Jang Ma-ru wasn’t around, so Lee Hye-eun managed to escape. Now, with Jang Ma-ru present, capturing her wherever she hid was only a matter of time.
『Hmm…』
Lee Hye-eun, who had been silent for a moment, sat down on the bed nearby.
『I’m curious about something. Can I ask?』
『What is it?』
『Is catching bad people really what you guys do?』
『I told you. That’s what we do.』
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lee Hye-eun looked at him for a moment before speaking.
『Alright. I understand.』
Choi Tae-sik read the distrust in her tone and spoke.
『You don’t believe me.』
『People in our line of work don’t trust each other. Criminals trusting one another is a joke, isn’t it? And I haven’t known you long enough to build that kind of trust. This is exactly the kind of situation where I’d get stabbed in the back.』
Choi Tae-sik nodded. Now that he thought about it, Lee Hye-eun was right.
『Then why did you agree to work with us?』
At Choi Tae-sik’s question, Lee Hye-eun’s gaze dropped to his abdomen.
『Like your leader said… he took a blade for me. A debt is a debt… so even if I risk getting backstabbed, I’ll work with you this once.』
Lee Hye-eun continued with a smile.
『I’m the type who can’t live with unpaid debts. Whether it’s gratitude or resentment.』
Lee Hye-eun brought her empty coffee cup to the sink and spoke in a bright voice.
『Now, would you mind leaving this young lady’s room?』
Choi Tae-sik nodded and left the home.

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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
—————