Chapter 2
A few days later, Hyeonu stopped by a department store to buy a birthday present for his mother . By the way . . .
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‘Arena . . . Arena . . . ’
His thoughts were complicated . He said he wouldn’t do it, but thoughts of Arena were constantly lingering in his mind . The time he had was naturally insufficient . Catching up with the players was never an easy thing to do . There was simply no time . His life was one where time was split up between working different part-time jobs . If he touched the game, he wouldn’t be able to make a living right away . Moreover, he didn’t have the money to buy the expensive Cube .
“Chanel . . . ”
He walked through the department store as he thought and happened to pass by a brand his mother used to wear .
“It is too expensive . . . I can’t afford it . ”
The price of the shoes he looked at was ridiculous . No, it wasn’t only the shoes . Everything was expensive . The shoes, bags, clothes, and so on that he had bought thoughtlessly during his rich period were now too far away for him to reach .
‘I took such expensive things for granted . . . My family is really ruined . . . ’
He felt the downfall of his family even more .
“Hah . . . ”
Eventually, Hyeonu had to pass through the store empty-handed . The 880,000 won on him was the only money he had . If he bought anything with this money, he wouldn’t be able to pay his father’s medical bills . At this moment, a voice entered Hyeonu’s ears, “Jihye, do you like this?”
The owner of the voice was a young man wearing luxurious clothes who was with a girl .
“Yes, Oppa . Thank you . Do you want a kiss?”
“No? Something better than that . ”
“What is it?”
“Later, a mo . . . eh? Are you perhaps?” The young man pretended to be friendly to Hyeonu . “Who is this? Aren’t you Gang Hyeonu?”
However, Hyeonu couldn’t remember this young man . “Who are you?”
“Hey, you don’t remember . Are you saying that I’m not worth remembering?”
“Who are you?”
“It's me . Jung Hanbaek . ”
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“Jung Hanbaek? Ah!” Hyeonu remembered the moment Jung Hanbaek said his name . Jung Hanbaek—he was a sheep-like boy Hyeonu’s father had introduced to Hyeonu in junior high school . Hyeonu had a bad first impression of the boy, so he had intentionally kept his distance . That’s why he didn’t remember this person .
“What? The son of the ex-president of Freshwater Construction can’t remember a person like me?” Jung Hanbaek blatantly wanted to start an argument .
“What are you saying all of a sudden?” Hyeonu wondered .
“What do I mean? Kuk!”
“It is nice to see the gold spoon son after a long time . Kuk, kukukukuk!” It was a bad laugh .
“Buy what you want to buy and go home . ” Hyeonu decided to ignore this Jung Hanbaek . It was no good to quarrel with such a person . In many ways, it would be less tiring to just ignore it .
“Ah, right? I am buying something . What about you?”
“Aren’t you buying something? No, you don’t have the money to buy it?”
“What does that . . . ”
“Or can you still buy it? If your family is bankrupt, you shouldn’t appear in a place like this . ”
“How do you know that . . . ” Hyeonu was startled . How did Jung Hanbaek know about the fall of his family? He had only just told his close friend Yeongchan .
Jung Hanbaek’s lips curved into a smile as he looked at Hyeonu . It put Jung Hanbaek in a good mood to meet Hyeonu, who ignored him previously, at the department store while buying a gift for his girlfriend .
‘I wanted to see his face become distorted just once . ’
The backstory that Hyeonu was unaware of started to flow from Jung Hanbaek’s mouth . It was a story that stabbed at Hyeonu’s heart .
“How do I know…? It was actually my father who ruined your family, so it is impossible for me not to know . ”
“What???” Hyeonu felt a heat rise in his body at Jung Hanbaek’s derisive words . He couldn’t figure out what this person was saying . It was Jung Hanbaek’s father who destroyed his family? “Don’t tell me . . . ”
There was a place that his mind went to .
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“The man who struck my father in the back of the head . . . It was your father?” He threw out the question he wanted to ask .
“Yes . ” Jung Hanbaek didn’t deny it . “My father . He suffered a lot in the rear . He has been bending over for decades, so isn’t it now time for him to get something? Isn’t that right? Hyeonu?”
“Brat, you were a gold spoon and strutted around arrogantly with your shoulders up . You should enjoy life as much as you can, enjoy it!”
“Enjoy . . . ? What the hell . . . ?”
“Isn’t it the pain of a dirt spoon? Become a beggar and live like a dog . Kuk!”
“Then, shall I see you next time?” Jung Hanbaek changed his expression and tone while talking like he was an actor in a play . He looked really happy and cheerful . “Let’s go, Jihye . ”
“Yes, Oppa . ”
Jung Hanbaek turned around . Then he talked to himself, “Stupid son of a bitch . . . He must’ve lost courage now that he has no money . . . His mouth is shut despite listening to those words . . . ”
He deliberately did it loudly so that Hyeonu could hear .
“Son . . . Son of a bitch . . . ” These words became the bomb that caused Hyeonu’s anger to explode .
Snap! Hyeonu grabbed Jung Hanbaek’s shoulder and pulled it . Then Jung Hanbaek’s body spun around . Next was a punch! Hyeonu’s first slammed into Jung Hanbaek’s face .
“Ack!!”
“O-Oppa!”
Jung Hanbaek screamed in pain .
“W-What?”
“Over there, come on!”
The department store staff saw the scene and hurried over to stop Hyeonu .
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“L-Let go, you bastards! Don’t stop me before I kill him!!”
However, Hyeonu had already lost the strings of reason and was a beast . Then . . .
“Stop it, that person is President Jung’s son!”
“Catch him!”
“You jerk! Stay still!”
The staff at the department store weren’t on Hyeonu’s side . Jung Hanbaek was a VVIP while Hyeonu was a man in his 20s dressed in shabby clothes .
Money . . .
His money . . .
‘Money’ was word that made him angry and it was also the thing grabbing at his ankle .
. . . What was that fellow’s money for?
“What are you doing? Aren’t you reporting it to the police? Quickly!” Jung Hanbaek finished speaking, wiped his nose, and shot a mean smile at Hyeonu .
A few hours passed . In front of a nearby police station, Hyeonu pulled out his phone the moment he exited the station . There was something he needed to check . It was an answer he needed to hear from one person, no one else .
-Hello?
“Mother, it’s me . Is Father okay?”
-Your father is still lying down sick . . . Are you okay?
“I’m doing well . I’ll go to the hospital on Mother’s birthday . By the way, regarding Father’s business—was it Uncle Jung who betrayed him?”
-T-that . . . ! His mother started to stutter like she was surprised by Hyeonu’s sudden question . -Y-Yes, how did you . . .
“Really?”
-That . . . Hyeonu . . .
His mother’s answer was a sigh . All types of frauds . . . The things that Jung Hanbaek’s father had done to Hyeonu’s father weren’t things a human could do . Hyeonu hurriedly hung up at his mother’s words . It was hard to hear anymore . The uncle who once seemed like family had betrayed them . Furthermore, based on how quickly the company moved, it couldn’t have been done by him alone . There were surely helpers .
‘Somehow… I’ll get revenge . . . no matter what method I use . . . ’
Hyeonu quietly swallowed his anger . He clenched his fists and shuddered with a burning rage . His fists were clenched so tightly that blood dripped from where his fingernails dug into his skin .
‘Son of a bitch . . . wait and see . . . It will never end like this . ’
The anger, that was like an active volcano, wouldn’t go out . Nevertheless, he had no way to do it . How could he get revenge?
‘How . . . How . . . . ’
There was no answer from working part-time day and night due to the tight costs of the hospital and living expenses . He hadn’t gone to university, so there was no way to find a job . Hyeonu somehow needed to make enough money to raise his family and get revenge .
What should he do? Hyeonu’s mind was focused on revenge as he headed home . It was at this moment that the sound coming from a nearby electronics store pierced Hyeonu’s ears .
-That player—he signed a contract for an annual salary of 500 million won!
-The streaming revenue is said to have already exceeded billions! It is really great .
Hyeonu’s footsteps paused .
‘Yes, this is the only answer . . . ’
There was still an ember of hope . Hyeonu immediately pulled out his phone . “Yeongchan? It’s me . ”
Then he stated, “I . . . Arena—let’s start it again . ”
Arena’s strongest player, the 1st place in the rankings, and the protagonist of Arena’s undefeated myth—he was considered as one of the best players in the game . Now, he wanted to return to Arena .