Moon's Labyrinths

Sungyoon rested for a week . Shinhae had consoled him as he had cried his eyes out, and a lot of the guilt he felt about killing a human had waned . He enjoyed life with his daughter . When he was enjoying the peaceful and mundane parts of his life, it happened .

He received a call from Jimin .

Sungyoon went to her company .

“Most of it has been wrapped up . ”

Jimin abruptly spoke, giving no context to her words . But it wasn’t too hard for him to figure out what she was talking about .

“I see . That’s fortunate . ”

Sungyoon said as if he was talking about someone else’s business . Jimin looked a bit baffled at his response .

“Yes, it was fortunate . Also, the incident regarding Nicholas was also wrapped up . Let’s talk about the arrangement made in regard to Kim Soobin first . . . ”

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Sungyoon and Jimin heard knocks, and they looked towards the door at the same time . Jimin had an idea as to who the visitor was .

“It seems you’ll hear about the arrangement from the principal parties involved . ”

Jimin stood up and exited her office . Sungyoon followed her . The people who knocked on the front door of the company had entered the building .

They consisted of two people .

The first person was an old man . However, there was still a bounce to his step . He had dyed his white hair and done his best to mask the passage of time . However, his face was full of wrinkles, giving a glimpse into how long he had spent on this earth .

The second person to enter was a man who looked to be in his mid-20s . He was tall, and his eyes overflowed with strength . He was a striking man with prominent cheekbones .

“Huh?”

It seemed that even though Jimin was expecting guests, she had guessed wrong about the visitors . She looked flustered as she moved towards the two men . The older-looking man let out a bright smile when he saw Jimin .

“Jimin! How many years has it been!”

He acted as if he was meeting his granddaughter, whom he missed . He opened both arms as he approached her . However, as if he had realized something, he came to a stop and put down his arms .

“No . This isn’t it . You’re a grown woman now, and also the president of a company . I can’t continue to treat you like a child . ”

He put on a solemn face, and then, he slightly bowed as he extended his hand towards Jimin .

“President of Jungbum, Hahn Jimin, it is good to meet you . ”

The words had the effect of breaking her out of her flustered state . Jimin, who was always cold, laughed . Sungyoon looked a bit surprised as he looked at both of them . By their tone and actions, it seemed they were quite close .

“It is good to meet you too, Chairman . ”

Jimin didn’t turn down the offer . She lightly grabbed his hand, and shook it .

“Hey, Hyunwoo . Look at this . Jimin is all grown up . ”

He uproariously laughed as he spoke to the other man who had accompanied him . The man named Hyunwoo approached Jimin .

“It’s been a while, Jimin . ”

“It’s been a while, Hyunwoo ahjussi . ”

It seemed Hyunwoo also knew her, and they affectionately greeted each other .

“Huh? Why do you call Hyunwoo by ahjussi, but refer to me as chairman?”

Dongin acted like an immature grandfather . He grumbled . Hyunwoo sighed as he let go of Jimin’s hand .

“You decided to treat her as the president of a company in the first place . ”

“Well, Jimin is all grown up, and we are meeting each other as the representatives of our respective companies . ”

“Then you should continue to treat her like that . I understand you are happy to see Jimin, but it isn’t as if we are here to talk about good news . ”

Dongin’s face stiffened .

“Yes . You are right . ”

He let out a heavy sigh . Until a moment ago, a childish expression was on his face . But now, it was nowhere to be seen . He looked like an executive who ran one of the largest conglomerates in this country .

“Is he the one, President Jimin?”

Dongin turned to look at Sungyoon .

“Yes . ”

“Will you give us an introduction?”

Jimin nodded .

“He is a Connector affiliated with my company . His name is Woo Sungyoon . He is the victim in this matter . ”

“My name is Woo Sungyoon . ”

Sungyoon gave a bow .

Then, Jimin introduced the two men to Sungyoon .

“You probably already know this person, Mr . Sungyoon . He is chairman Lee Dongin . He is the leader of Korea’s greatest and world-renowned Connector company . ”

“I am Lee Dongin”

Unlike his designation as being the leader of a world-renowned conglomerate, Lee Dongin was very respectful towards Sungyoon . He even spoke in honorifics .

“I am in charge of running a company that is a rival to the company named Jungbum . ”

As he spoke, he gave a playful wink towards Jimin, who let out a bitter laugh . They were in the same industry, but Dongin’s company was beyond being just a Korean company . It was a global company in a different class than her company . If they didn’t have personal ties, Jimin’s company wouldn’t have even been in Dongin’s radar .

Jimin continued the introduction .

“This person here is Sung Hyunwoo ahjussi . He is one of the greatest Connectors in the world . He is a Connector that has the ability to enter the Great Labyrinth . ”

“I am Sung Hyunwoo . ”

Sungyoon gulped as he shook the offered hand . As he did so, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from Hyunwoo .

In the past, he had run his own company, so if it were still the old him, he would have been more interested in Dongin . Dongin had built his company from the bottom up, so every executive idolized him . However, right now, Sungyoon was more interested in Hyunwoo .

If one currently thought about a Korean Connector, the first person to come to mind was Sung Hyunwoo . He had enormous wealth and fame . He was basically the Connector that represented Korea, and he was standing right in front of Sungyoon .

‘I never expected her to know these people...’

Sungyoon glanced towards Jimin .

“Well, let’s stop catching up on old times . We should talk about why we are here . It isn’t about anything good, so let’s end this quickly . ”

“Let’s do that . ”

The amicable atmosphere cooled in an instant . The atmosphere between Dongin and Jimin turned serious . Sungyoon had run a company in his heyday, so he knew what this atmosphere meant . Even if they were friendly on a personal level, they were representing their companies now . This was a silent war where each party would refuse to back down .

Jimin guided the two of them inside, but she didn’t lead them into her office . Her office was too small to fit four people . She couldn’t treat these people like her brothers Woosang and Woosung . They had to be treated with respect .

But in her small company, she didn’t even have a secretary . So she made the coffee herself .

Jimin and Sungyoon sat next to each other, facing Dongin and Hyunwoo .

“I never expected the two of you to show up here . ”

They were huge figures in the industry, and they wouldn’t easily move . Jimin wondered if she should be happy that both of them were here . Dongin was as experienced as anyone in this industry, and Hyungwoo possessed indomitable power . The fact that both of them showed up to this meeting overwhelmed her . It was inevitable .

“I came partly on the desire to see your face, and partly on taking care of this business . Even if we do know each other, I have to do what is needed . ”

As he spoke those words, Dongin deeply bowed towards Sungyoon and Jimin .

“A Connector affiliated with our company caused both of you harm . I am very sorry . ”

The leader of one of the top Korean companies was bowing his head towards them . Sungyoon was taken aback . Jimin didn’t want to be pushed around, so she had hardened her heart for the meeting . However, even she was taken aback by the gesture .

“Y . . . you really do not need to do this . . . ”

Even the great Jimin couldn’t maintain her composure in this situation . She quickly leaned forward to stop Dongin .

“No . I have to do this in no uncertain terms . ”

As he spoke those words, Dongin raised his head and lowered it toward Sungyoon .

“I’m really sorry for causing you harm . ”

“It’s fine . I see it as an individual going rogue . ”

Sungyoon also had no choice but to say this .

The reason for Dongin’s apology was simple . The man who had ambushed and tried to kill Sungyoon, Kim Soobin, was a Connector contracted under Dongin’s company .

After giving a deep bow, Sungyoon raised his head . He ground his teeth as he spoke .

“I never expected that bastard to create such a mess . Our company’s image is in the muds right now . I should have cut him early on when he showed no signs of growth...”

The supply couldn’t meet the demand of moonstones . Even if their public image suffered, it wouldn’t affect their bottom line too much . Still, it was inevitable that they would hear gossip against their company .

“Please don’t worry about the recompense . This happened to you of all people . I’ll be sure to give you a lot . ”

It was his duty as the chairman of his company to minimize damage and costs to his company, yet he was speaking in such a way . Sungyoon wondered what was the relationship between Jimin and Dongin .

“It seems this fellow is curious about our relationship with Jimin . ”

Hyunwoo, who had kept silent until now, spoke out loud .

“I see . We only exchanged basic introductions . We didn’t tell him the details . ”

Dongin rubbed his chin once and turned his gaze towards Sungyoon .

“We were friends with Jimin’s father, Jungbum . To be precise, it happened when I was struggling at the bottom to create my company . We became friends during this period of struggle . Hyunwoo worked alongside Jungbum as Connectors for my company . ”

Dongin grabbed Hyunwoo’s shoulder .

Sungyoon knew Jungbum had been affiliated with Dongin’s company as a Connector, but he didn’t know their relationship had been close enough that Dongin would come here himself . It seemed he was also quite close to Jungbum’s daughter, Jimin . It seemed both of these men had been close friends with Jungbum when he was alive .

“When I look back at it, those were the good days . ”

His eyes became unfocused . It was the typical sight of an old man thinking about the past . Sungyoon and Jimin didn’t dare interrupt Dongin’s trip down memory lane . They waited for him to come back to reality .

“Oh my! This old man behaved shamefully in front of the young people . ”

He let out a bitter laugh .

“My brothers Woosang and Woosung are affiliated with his company . ”

Jimin gave additional information in order to lighten up the mood . Dongin vigorously nodded .

“They are Jungbum’s children . Of course, I have to take them under my wings . Both of them are amazing Connectors . They are contributing greatly to my company . Don’t worry about them . They are doing very well . ”

“Thank you very much . ”

Jimin gave a slight bow towards him .

For a moment, Dongin just stared at her .

“Do you hate me?”

His words came out of nowhere . Until now, they had been having a congenial conversation, so why did he ask if she hated him? However, it was true that there was a bit of hostility in Jimin’s tone of voice up until now . Jimin didn’t answer him .

Hyunwoo gave an explanation to Sungyoon .

“You probably know this because we sent a scout to you . It was the same with Kim Soobin . Our company tried to steal Connectors away from Jimin’s company . Of course, this created ill feelings between us . ”

Sungyoon thought about the scout who had come to his house in the past . His business card said that he was from Fabion, Dongin’s company . It seemed the scout hadn’t come solely based on Sungyoon’s skill .

“I stole your first Connector, and I tried to steal your new Connector too . Of course, you would hate me . However, you should know this Jimin . I truly believe Jungbum would have wanted you to forget about him . He would have wanted you to live a happy life . ”

Dongin let out a sigh .

“When he was lost in the labyrinth, I was devastated . Then I saw you set up a company in order to find your father . If you were running your company well, I wouldn’t have interfered . However, I received a report on how you were managing your company, and if I’m being honest, I had thought you had lost your mind . Moreover, I saw how much resources you were pouring into Kim Soobin . So, I snatched him away from you . You can resent me all you want . However, I saw my friend’s daughter leading such a life . I couldn’t stand by and do nothing . I had the means to do something about it . ”

“ . . . I know how ahjussi feels about all of this . ”

“No, you don’t . The young cannot understand the heart of the old . I used to be like you . I thought old people were stuffy and messy in how they conducted their business . I believed them to be rooted in the past and thought that they were only trying to get in my way . ”

Dongin looked at Jimin .

“Do you still plan on leading this life?”

Jimin couldn’t look straight into his eyes, so she looked down .

“ . . . this will be my last attempt . ”

Everyone’s eyes widened . Sungyoon was also surprised . This was the first time Jimin had said this in front of him .

“Everyone around me is trying to stop me from continuing with this work, and I am aware that what I am doing is abnormal . Mr . Sungyoon will be my last . ”

“ . . . I see . If that is true, it’s a good thing . ”

Dongin spoke .

“You probably thought hard on this . It must have been painful . However, I can’t help it . I welcome the idea that you’ll stop all of this . ”

Dongin stood up, and Jimin followed suit .

“You are going?”

“I came here to give my apology and to check on how you are doing . However, I am a busy man . ”

As he spoke those words, Dongin looked at Sungyoon .

“Please take care of Jimin . ”

“Understood . ”

He once again turned towards Jimin .

“Since I know your plans now, I’ll stop interfering in your business . This is your last attempt, so I want you to do your best . Oh yeah, I put all of Kim Soobin’s Gems and Devices under Mr . Woo Sungyoon’s name . When he goes back to the moon, please be sure that he picks it up from the storage facility . ”

The influence of Armstrong city didn’t reach the Personal Labyrinths . This was why there were a lot of problems in trying to control fights between Connectors that occurred outside of Armstrong . Hence, if it was found that Connectors had fought each other outside of Armstrong, the administrators of Armstrong enforced a pretty big penalty . When a Connector tried to kill another Connector, the punishment was quite severe . In some cases, the punishment was to hand over all the Devices and Gems of the assailant to the victim .

This was one of those cases .

“That bastard gathered pretty good Devices and Gems under our noses . If you can handle them, they’ll be of significant help to you . ”

After he spoke those words, he exited the company as he swung his arms .

“Please take care of yourself . ”

“You too, ahjussi . ”

Hyunwoo also said goodbye to Jimin . However, he didn’t immediately exit the company, and turned to look at Sungyoon .

“It is a small present, but I left one of my Gems amongst Soobin’s Devices and Gems . I’m pretty much the representative of Fabion’s Connectors, so think of it as an apology from me . ”

Hyunwoo didn’t wait for a reply . He opened the front door and departed . Was Sungyoon imagining things? But it felt as if Hyunwoo had given a meaningful glance towards Sungyoon .