Urban Vagabond: Reload

Looting GREAT HEAVEN GATE’s businesses had only worked out because the results were good—otherwise, it was more than enough to weigh on anyone’s liver.

And now the Martial Alliance was coming out here?

“I-I’ll just... act like I didn’t hear anything....”

Hwang Suksu was an information broker recognized across the underworld, but at the same time, he knew his place very well.

If he got tangled any deeper from here, it would become impossible to pull his feet out.

So he tried to back away, but Kim Muhyuk had already come up beside him and thrown an arm around his shoulders.

‘Why the hell are you doing this to me?’

Pretending not to see Hwang Suksu glaring at him with an aggrieved expression, Kim Muhyuk asked Choi Geon,

“The Martial Alliance? I thought they’d watch a little longer before stepping in....”

“It looks like they’re getting shaken harder than we expected. The Alliance Leader doesn’t want to miss this chance.”

Normally, he would’ve said “Alliance Leader” with respectful wording, but maybe because he was aware of Hwang Suksu, Choi Geon used an ambiguous phrasing.

It was meant to give information while keeping it vague enough to throw the listener into confusion.

As expected, Hwang Suksu fell into shock and chaos.

‘Alliance Leader? You mean the Martial Alliance Leader? How deep is this tangled, exactly?’

When he glanced to the side, Red Rabbit looked like she wasn’t surprised at all, and the bandaged saber-wielder—maybe bored—was dragging his huge blade across the warehouse floor.

SCREEEECH.......

Why did that scraping sound feel so chilling—like an executioner sharpening his sword?

Gulp.

Staring at Kim Muhyuk’s side profile with his arm still locked around him, Hwang Suksu swallowed dryly. The guy was so strong he couldn’t even budge—he was stuck.

‘Don’t tell me they’re going to discard me here....’

Seeing Hwang Suksu fidgeting and rolling his eyes nonstop, Kim Muhyuk tightened the arm around his shoulders and spoke in a friendly tone.

“Why’s your face been like that since earlier? Like someone who was trying to secretly skim some stolen goods and stuff his pockets, then realized he got dragged into something way bigger than he expected and only now figured out he’s fucked?”

Flinch. Flinch.

Everyone saw Hwang Suksu tremble at each word.

When the three of them narrowed their eyes at him, Hwang Suksu started sweating coldly and rattled off excuses.

“Hahaha! This guy’s really good at jokes! Your sense of humor is like a full-on comedian—”

“.......”

At Kim Muhyuk’s icy reaction that said not a chance, Hwang Suksu quickly pivoted to confessing.

“I-I was just thinking of taking a little extra fee. Handling stolen goods isn’t as easy as people think, you know? So as a kind of effort pay, just a tiny bit—really just a little....”

Up to now, the Blue Wolves crew Hwang Suksu had seen was extremely small, and everyone in it was young.

‘Didn’t see the face under the goggles, but you can tell just from the voice and how he talks.”

Their skill was absurd—like someone gathered nothing but monsters—but it was also true he’d looked down on them a bit in other ways.

He’d even thought that if he wasn’t there, they wouldn’t have anyone to handle the stolen goods....

But that had been a judgment that underestimated Kim Muhyuk far too much.

“Did you think I left it to you because I couldn’t find some stolen-goods fence? I wanted to trust you because we’d built up some trust. But seeing you openly thinking about ripping us off... I’m disappointed.”

“N-No....”

From the start, it was impossible that Hwang Suksu could rip off Kim Muhyuk, who had more underworld experience than him.

“Hah! I knew this old guy would do that!”

“Tsk tsk. Not surprising. Among the types who dip their feet into the underworld, it’s hard to find one who doesn’t stab you in the back....”

THUD THUD THUD—!

That was, in order, Kim Bokja, Choi Geon, and Shin Kangheon—who couldn’t speak because of his “concept,” so he just slammed the floor with his sword.

Still, Hwang Suksu seemed to have something to say, and he protested with a somewhat wronged expression.

“Stabbing in the back? This is just an unspoken industry standard, okay? You came to me asking me to look into dirty business in the first place—aren’t you making me the only bad guy here?!”

“Looks like your industry standard applies even to the person who saved your life.”

“......Ahem. Yeah. That one’s on me.”

No matter how shameless he was, he couldn’t argue with that, so Hwang Suksu cleared his throat and apologized.

Then Kim Muhyuk, as if he’d been waiting, pulled Hwang Suksu closer by the body he had hooked in the shoulder-lock.

“Is saying sorry enough? You’ve gotta show it with actions.”

“......?”

The best picture Hwang Suksu had in mind was watching the ritual and eating the rice cake.

They’d looted GREAT HEAVEN GATE’s businesses plenty and had their fun, so once he handled the stolen goods, he planned to pull out of this whole thing.

But Kim Muhyuk had no intention of letting Hwang Suksu go so easily.

‘He’s way more capable than I expected.’

Kim Muhyuk had known for a long time that Hwang Suksu had solid connections and information power in the underworld.

But after working with him while looting GREAT HEAVEN GATE’s businesses, it turned out his ability to lay out movement routes while disrupting the other side, and to control the surroundings, was outstanding.

Thanks to that, the three of them could reduce unnecessary fights and secure safety.

‘He’s quick on the uptake, and his improvisation is sharp. It’s a skillset specialized for supporting the team from the outside.’

To be honest, Kim Muhyuk didn’t care whether Hwang Suksu skimmed a bit of the stolen goods or not.

It was nothing more than an excuse to plant even the tiniest shred of guilt in the other man’s conscience.

“You repaid恩 with malice, so let’s redo the calculation from the start.”

“...What do you want from me?”

“Join our crew.”

Hwang Suksu’s eyes, which had sunk dull, suddenly went wide like marbles.

Kim Bokja and Shin Kangheon also looked startled by the unexpected words, while Choi Geon—trusting his disciple—quietly watched the situation.

Kim Muhyuk released the shoulder-lock and faced Hwang Suksu. His tone still sounded like a joke, but his attitude was serious.

“You’ve heard everything we’ve been talking about up to now, right? You’re already on the same boat. So let’s go together to the end.”

“What the hell is this....”

Hwang Suksu’s expression turned awkward.

At first, he thought Kim Muhyuk was going to threaten him using the excuse that he’d tried to skim stolen goods.

But listening closely, it wasn’t a threat—it was a recruitment offer.

“Grrr....”

Hwang Suksu realized he’d gotten caught good.

But strangely, it didn’t feel bad.

The fact that someone still needed him—an old retiree who’d become useless—made his shoulders want to lift on their own.

“You crafty little bastard. You dragged me into this from the start because you wanted this, didn’t you?”

“Not from the start. Working with you made me greedy. You said you used to run around as a vagabond—looks like you didn’t lose your edge.”

“What? Pffft—hahaha!”

At the honest answer, Hwang Suksu burst out laughing.

No one feels bad hearing their ability acknowledged.

Of course, he wasn’t sloppy enough to accept the offer on the spot.

Hwang Suksu took a step back and grinned.

“If we’re going to ride the same boat, we should be honest with each other. At minimum, I need to know who’s inside those goggles before this conversation can move forward, don’t you think?”

“Nothing I can’t show.”

“...Really?”

Kim Muhyuk didn’t even hesitate. He immediately took off the goggles.

When the face of a young man was revealed, Hwang Suksu looked flustered.

“Why are you acting surprised? You’d already guessed to some extent.”

“Yeah, but seeing it with my eyes is different.”

Hwang Suksu didn’t deny it.

He was someone who gathered countless pieces of information without leaving his seat, and of course he’d investigated this crew called Blue Wolves that had suddenly appeared.

He also knew Red Rabbit’s real name was Kim Bokja, and he’d already watched a video on YouTube from a few months ago—where she fought an old demonic monster together with two boys.

“Hey, if we’re doing this, I’m taking mine off too.”

Maybe frustrated, Shin Kangheon also unraveled the bandages around his face. Kim Muhyuk didn’t stop him.

Kim Muhyuk. Kim Bokja. Shin Kangheon.

Looking at the Blue Wolves crew members lined up—so young they almost looked like kids—Hwang Suksu let out an exclamation.

“You’ve got a hell of a lineup. I heard you made a huge splash in the license exam too.... Ah, so that’s why the Martial Alliance is tied into this?”

His eyes shone as he already started combining bits of information like a real information broker.

When Hwang Suksu’s gaze flicked toward Choi Geon, the only one who hadn’t removed a mask, Choi Geon spoke coldly with his arms crossed.

“Only an extremely small number inside the Martial Alliance know who I am. There’s no way I’d reveal it to an information broker like you. If you...”

His voice was calm, but the threat that followed was chilling enough to rank among the worst Hwang Suksu had felt in his life.

“If you get any stray thoughts or go around talking about those kids, I will come find you myself. No matter where you are.”

Swish.

Choi Geon stepped closer and lightly brushed Hwang Suksu’s cheek with his hand.

Like it had been shaved off with a razor, his filthy stubble came off in a clean slice.

“Remember that.”

Gulp....

Hwang Suksu couldn’t even nod freely, afraid he’d get cut—he just swallowed.

Then Kim Muhyuk patted his shoulder as if telling him not to be so tense.

“You don’t need to be tense. As long as you keep the secret, there won’t be any problem.”

The way those two took turns coaxing and pressuring a person was no joke.

And then, at some point, Shin Kangheon and Kim Bokja had come close too and chimed in one by one.

“Nice to meet you, Mister Suksu. I’m Shin Kangheon, future Number One Saber Under the Heavens and the Dark Hero King. Now you’re the youngest.”

“The youngest...?”

Freed from being the youngest, Shin Kangheon grinned brightly, grabbed Hwang Suksu’s hand, and shook it up and down hard.

“I’m the Vice Crew Leader. I handle the crew’s big and small matters, so you’d better stay on my good side from now on, okay?”

Kim Bokja flashed a sharp look like she was trying to enforce discipline as the Vice Crew Leader.

“N-No, wait a second—”

Hwang Suksu couldn’t collect himself between them and finally snapped.

“I still didn’t say I’m joining Blue Wolves! Don’t just sign me up on your own!”

But Shin Kangheon and Kim Bokja shook their heads like it was already too late, and Kim Muhyuk shamelessly explained what Hwang Suksu would be doing going forward.

“Unless you want to, you won’t have to go out to the field. Just take the support role—information gathering, disruption, controlling the surroundings—like you’ve been doing.”

“I said I’m not joining!”

“Of course there’s no coercion. If you don’t join, there won’t be any disadvantage as long as you keep the secret. But if you’re with us...”

Kim Muhyuk paused, then grinned and tossed bait Hwang Suksu couldn’t refuse.

“There are going to be a whole lot of chances like this in the future—looting bad guys. That, I can promise for sure.”

“.......”

Hwang Suksu glanced sideways at the stolen goods stacked in the warehouse, then licked his lips without realizing it.

After a moment of silence, he asked with a serious expression.

“Why me, specifically? It’s not like I’m the only decent information broker out there.”

At the most important question for making a major decision, Kim Muhyuk answered extremely honestly.

“Because among the information brokers I know, you’re the least vicious.”

Even if he was addicted to betting on sparring matches and had no qualms about ripping people off, by Kim Muhyuk’s standards, Hwang Suksu was someone who at least tried to keep a minimum line.

“Heh heh.... That’s not much, but it still makes me feel good.”

Hwang Suksu finally seemed to loosen up, letting out small chuckles.

It felt like he was getting pushed around by a kid young enough to call a brat, but oddly, it wasn’t unpleasant.

If anything, the more they talked, the more a strange nostalgia from his vagabond days drifted up.

‘What a weird bastard. It feels like I’m dealing with some worn-out vagabond....’

It was like even he had returned to his youth from the days he’d run around as a vagabond.

After a short moment of thought, in the end, Hwang Suksu took the hand Kim Muhyuk held out.

“Fine. Let’s go loot a whole bunch together.”