The Hidden Circumstances

China—a country renowned as a major power, if only for its vast landmass.

It was one of the few nations on Earth that occupied such an immense area of the continent.

Its population corresponded to that overwhelming territory, reaching into the billions, and the range of activities among its citizens was as diverse as the population itself.

Culture, politics, business expansion, and the educational system.

While these are basic elements found in any country, there are few nations that wield as much influence simply by pushing forward with sheer numbers, as China does.

If something becomes popular among the masses there, it’s virtually guaranteed to become a moneymaker—that alone says it all.

‘Thanks to that, there are countless organizations that bowed to the population and wealth of China.’

However, China, for all its overwhelming numbers, had a fatal flaw.

Ironically, this flaw was a side effect of their size.

If countless people banded together for good, the world might become a better place, but it’s a mistake to expect that with such a massive population.

The more people there are, the darker the shadows cast at the bottom.

─Over a billion, in fact.

Compared to Korea—where we live—it was like a giant, population-wise.

Would the waste produced by an ordinary person be greater, or that produced by a giant?

Clearly, the giant’s waste would be far larger and filthier.

If so, then just how many people in that enormous Chinese population would correspond to the “waste”—the filth?

Considering the giant’s waste is larger than a human’s, it’s not hard to imagine it at a national scale.

Those reared with poor education, or raised in the shadows of society.

Their numbers, having grown up in the stench of the sewers, are beyond imagination.

Of course, among such numbers, the reach of Chinese criminal organizations was extremely broad.

The underground organization ‘Heaven and Earth Society’ of China.

Though they operated in the shadows, they boasted unbelievable numbers as well.

Even if you destroyed several branches, new ones would emerge, and even if the boss disappeared, a new boss would take over and rule the underworld.

The darkness of the underworld, which never truly vanishes, eventually encroached upon the daylight as well.

Law, police, business—

There was hardly anywhere their influence had not reached.

Heaven and Earth Society, determined to create their own version of China, never shied away from brainwashing and violence.

Now, in an age when gates had arrived, their outward appearance had changed greatly.

.

.

“This was the story of Heaven and Earth Society, what the Sura guild was originally.”

“So they started as a criminal organization, then came above ground to adapt to the new era?”

“I believe so as well.”

A criminal organization ruling China from behind the scenes.

They had become such an entrenched part of the system, they were inseparable from the country’s darkness.

Such organizations exist in every country, so it didn’t strike me as anything particularly novel.

Even the Demon King’s army I led in Mewzealand had about the same feel.

“But aren’t you curious?”

“Hm?”

“How exactly Heaven and Earth Society, which had no connection to Mewzealand, ended up evolving into the present-day Sura guild that is so entwined with it?”

Given their power in manipulating the country from behind, it isn’t surprising that they became China’s top guild.

Their origin was merely an organized crime syndicate in China.

Why did these gangsters, with no relation to Mewzealand, suddenly profess strange faiths like killing the Demon King and so on?

“It was several decades ago, before any gates opened on Earth. At that time, the boss of Heaven and Earth Society died. Of course, a new boss emerged to fill his place.”

The darkness of society doesn’t vanish just because the boss died.

It was a very ordinary, expected story.

People in that shadow don’t attach the significance of the organization’s existence to “just” the boss.

“But the problem was that boss. During the investigation, several oddities came up.”

If you rise to a high position, plenty of suspicious things can surface.

But what Vern was describing were oddities from “our” perspective, not that of ordinary people.

“At that time, there weren’t even any gates on Earth, but rumors spread that the boss wielded some sort of psychic power.”

“Psychic power?”

“Things like psychokinesis, or rumors claiming he simply couldn’t die.”

“Was it magic power?”

“I can’t say for sure, but it’s definitely something extraordinary for an Earth without gates.”

Normally, for a psychic to appear without gates is unthinkable.

But it’s impossible to know at what point someone transferred here from Mewzealand.

If someone appeared in the past, took over Heaven and Earth Society, and ruled ever since, it would explain the Sura guild’s Mewzealand connections.

“And about Kang Ah-rin. I looked into her as well. Her family is closely related to the Sura guild.”

“Ah-rin?”

Since she’d already been chosen as Sura, it wasn’t necessary to dwell excessively in their relationship.

But what Vern spoke of was from Heaven and Earth Society’s days, not the Sura guild’s.

“The boss before the psychic was named Wang Haolin, and he had two secretaries: Zhu Yuchun and Kang Hwaryong. They were known as the boss’s right and left hands.”

Apparently, Kang Hwaryong in particular had exceptional abilities and was much favored by the boss.

But so what? What did that have to do with Ah-rin?

I wanted to ask, but since this was my most trusted subordinate, I kept listening.

“The truth is, the two of them were undercover public security agents infiltrating Heaven and Earth Society. Their teamwork was so perfect that they immediately caught the boss’s eye.”

But with the sudden death of the boss, their identities came close to being exposed.

With the boss gone, their influence disappeared as well.

“To escape, they had to flee China. Zhu Yuchun went to Europe, Kang Hwaryong to Korea—they parted ways.”

It was dangerous to remain in a China still dominated by Heaven and Earth Society.

Their only option was to flee abroad.

“Kang Hwaryong, upon arriving in Korea, later married, had an awakened son, and that son had a daughter with fox ears and tail.”

“Fox ears?”

Which meant…

“Yes, Kang Hwaryong’s granddaughter is Kang Ah-rin.”

I’d seen that grandfather before, a long time ago.

He was the one who thanked me before moving back to his hometown.

“I wonder what that grandpa is up to now.”

I should pay my respects if we meet again…

“He died.”

“What?”

I was shocked speechless at Vern’s words.

I wondered if I’d heard wrong.

“Come again?”

“His name was Kang Hwaryong. His wife, Lee Young-ok. Both were found dead in China seven years ago.”

That would’ve been when I was in 1st grade.

It was also the same year Ah-rin’s family returned to their hometown in China.

“What was the reason?”

Eunseol’s grandfather had agreed to return to China only at the behest of a trusted friend.

Enough time had passed that Heaven and Earth Society would have forgotten him.

He should have been able to live peacefully back home.

So what went wrong?

“Betrayal by a trusted friend.”

Kang Hwaryong’s one and only partner, Zhu Yuchun.

They’d been friends since childhood and joined the police together.

Their teamwork was so renowned that no one could match them at the police academy or within Heaven and Earth Society.

Even after parting ways abroad, they occasionally kept in touch.

When Kang Hwaryong’s son died in a gate, Zhu Yuchun called to console him.

“They were truly inseparable friends. No one would have expected their bond to be broken.”

Especially for Kang Hwaryong, who had lost his son and daughter-in-law and was left with only his granddaughter, Zhu Yuchun was a new ray of hope.

And when Kang Hwaryong regained his lost fortune, friends including Zhu Yuchun contacted him.

They said they had finally secured a place for him to settle in China.

Just when he’d grown tired of Korea after what happened to his granddaughter, it seemed friends like Zhu Yuchun would offer Ah-rin a better environment to grow up in.

“Thus, Kang Hwaryong returned home with his wife and granddaughter. With his good reputation, it seemed a bright future awaited. But…”

Zhu Yuchun had been his irreplaceable friend since childhood.

No one could have expected that, upon their reunion, he’d be stabbed in the back.

In truth, Zhu Yuchun had already colluded with the Sura guild, and his group of friends betrayed Kang Hwaryong as well.

“What happened after that?”

“I don’t know, due to information limitations. But eyewitnesses say Kang Hwaryong’s entire family was present at the scene of the betrayal.”

“His whole family…?”

That meant Ah-rin was there.

She witnessed her grandfather’s trusted friend betray them before her eyes.

‘I always thought something was off….’

That strange feeling behind Ah-rin’s smile.

How, as a guild mate, she suddenly issued suicide orders.

Now that I’d heard the story, everything fit together.

How could someone ever like a guild responsible for killing her grandparents?

“Why did Zhu Yuchun betray him?”

“I’m not certain, but it’s likely because he awakened. It’s common for an awakened person’s true nature to emerge with their abilities.”

“True nature…?”

It meant that, from the start, Kang Hwaryong—Ah-rin’s grandfather—never truly was his friend.

To illustrate, Vern added extra information.

“Moreover, Zhu Yuchun even sent a lackey to Korea to monitor Kang Hwaryong. This lackey helped kill Kang Hwaryong’s son and daughter-in-law.”

“He killed Ah-rin’s parents?”

Only one person could fit that description.

The man I crippled at the playground when I was in 1st grade.

“Choi Suyong, by any chance?”

“You knew, Demon King?”

“I didn’t know he was a lackey, but I half-killed the guy myself and sent him to prison.”

“Ah….”

Vern let out a gasp of surprise, but I figured we could save that explanation for later.

Right now, I wanted answers.

“So Choi Suyong really was a lackey sent by Zhu Yuchun?”

“As evidence, the day Choi Suyong was arrested, Kang Hwaryong received a call from Zhu Yuchun and his circle of friends. Amazing, isn’t it?”

The timing was too perfect.

It felt like they’d been watching and called the moment the coast was clear.

“No matter what anyone says, Kang Ah-rin is Sura. I thoroughly investigated her past for that very reason…but now I hate myself for ever doubting her.”

Vern sighed deeply as he spoke.

There was no way I could deny his words.

Ah-rin was not an enemy to be defeated; she was simply a victim caught in a whirlwind of scum.

****

The next morning, I sat in the classroom, lost in thought.

After what I’d heard from Vern, my mind was in chaos.

Ah-rin’s betrayed grandfather, the friend who betrayed him.

His name was Zhu Yuchun, wasn’t it? If that man is still part of the Sura guild, a contradiction arises.

‘Ah-rin became Sura—so what happened to that man?’

Given the circumstances, the only conclusion was that he was executed immediately on the Sura’s orders.

After all that, I wondered what was going through Ah-rin’s mind now.

If only I had told her not to move back to her hometown, maybe none of this would’ve happened.

“Seongjin!”

“…!!”

Ah-rin suddenly leaned in, surprising me.

I reflexively flinched, and she giggled as she saw my reaction.

“Hahaha! You’re weak to stuff like this, huh, Seongjin.”

“That’s not your seat.”

I pointed out as Ah-rin sat beside me.

Ever since Karen became our homeroom teacher, boys were assigned to boys, girls to girls as seat partners.

‘Oh, right!’

I’d forgotten to ask Vern what happened with Karen.

Well, whatever. I could always ask later.

“The seat’s owner isn’t here yet. I’ll only stay for a bit.”

Ah-rin was still beaming as she looked at me.

It was hard to believe this was the face of a girl who’d lost both parents and grandparents.

“But, Ah-rin.”

“Hm? What is it?”

So I cautiously asked one thing.

“How are your grandparents? I would like to greet them someday.”

Ah-rin’s mouth, which had been open wide with a smile, closed.

A clear sign her expression was darkening.

But then…

“Haha! Of course they’re doing well.”

For a moment, Ah-rin smiled brightly again as before.

Her demeanor seemed forced, as if she was determined not to let anyone see her vulnerable.

“But, it might be hard to visit them. Both aren’t in good health right now.”

“… I see.”

I decided not to ask further.

She seemed desperate not to reveal the truth, at least not in front of me.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

Wtf, I was just having a good time from the previous chapter…

Author-nim, playing with my emotions…

【(⩌‸⩌ )】

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