Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED: 

Sighing deeply…

“That will be my downfall someday.”

Leeha looked straight into Ram Long’s eyes. The gaze seemed so bizarre, almost otherworldly.

He appeared to be in his late thirties to early forties.

But what was the meaning behind those eyes, filled with such enigmatic depth?

Leeha thought that even if Lotzak was brought into the real world, he wouldn’t be able to produce such a gaze.

“I mean, I haven’t actually been on a real battlefield, but if I had been deployed and made such a mistake… I would truly lose my life, right? Ha ha. So, let’s cultivate good habits in advance—something like that.”

After hearing Leeha’s somewhat foolish addition, Ram Long reverted back to having a childlike expression.

Leeha was certain the man before him was a significant figure.

“Interesting. But in the casino, the first ones to lose money are exactly those types. Always calculating odds. They’re the easiest opponents for me.”

“Um, that’s why I’ve been saying… ‘Sniping is not gambling.’ It’s a category that defies such logic.”

Ram Long’s face changed as if he had been hit.

Sniping is not gambling.

“Is that so? Was it like that? Ha! Right. You said from the beginning that sniping is not gambling. So it’s not about probabilities!” That doesn’t mean sniping is based on probability theory!

It’s something beyond a simple dichotomy! While Leeha’s wordplay might have been lacking, Ram Long was more than capable of understanding and even going beyond the meaning of those words.

“Huh? What?”

Ram Long approached the bewildered Leeha and patted his shoulder. Ram Hwayeon, sitting beside them, wore an expression of disbelief.

“Hey!”

Ram Long called the waiters back in a cheerful voice.

They brought another bottle of wine with extremely cautious movements and filled the glasses of the three.

“Now that I think about it, I called you here and didn’t even show you the view. Come here.”

After checking the glasses were filled, Ram Long pulled Leeha up by the nape, almost dragging him.

Despite his near-elderly age, Ram Long’s strength was so formidable that Leeha was practically hauled to the window.

The view of Hong Kong from the 118th floor was breathtakingly beautiful, transcending any feeling of vertigo.

“Wow…”

“I don’t like people. But I do like wine.”

“What?”

Ram Long finished speaking and brought the glass to his lips. Leeha took it as a cue to drink and slowly sipped.

‘Insane, what is this?’

The flavor and aroma of this wine were on a completely different level from any they had drunk so far.

Even someone who knew nothing about wine, someone who couldn’t distinguish complex flavors, could say this was the best!

“Wow, this is really amazing.”

“Right? Wine becomes more exquisite over time, unlike humans. It’s often the opposite with people. If only I could be as refined as this wine, my life would be a success.”

Captivated by the intoxicating aroma, Leeha sobered up at Ram Long’s remark.

Considering the pattern of the wines served so far, and what Ram Long’s words implied, this wine was…?

‘Ram Long – wine of the same age as Chairman Ram Long?’

How many years old was it? Or rather, how much did it cost? Leeha found himself amused by his own materialistic thoughts.

“That was an interesting thing to say.”

“What?”

“A person like wine. Just a few more years, and Peng wouldn’t even stand a chance against you.”

Ram Long was still just looking out the window, not giving Leeha a single glance, but Leeha had a rough idea of what he meant.

“But, um, I mean, it’s a bit hard to say this… but I think I should stay in Korea. My mother is there, and soon I’ll be opening a store – ah, I don’t mean I dislike Hong Kong. I also find it enjoyable and nice here-“

“What?”

However, it was a pity that he stumbled at the end of his explanation.

Seeing Ram Long’s face, Leeha realized he might have misspoken.

‘I got too carried away! Watching too many dramas while hospitalized – what am I even saying! Just because I said something with the nuance of being better than Peng, doesn’t mean this person will hand over the management rights to me!’

Where could he find a mouse hole to crawl into? Leeha hastily gestured with his hands.

“Ah! No, no, no, I’m sorry. That was nonsense-“

“Phahaha!”

Ram Long laughed uproariously, bending over and chuckling so hard that he spilled a little wine on his suit.

Leeha’s entire outfit combined might cost as much as that suit, but Ram Long didn’t care about such trivialities.

“Hwayeon-ah.”

“Yes, Father.”

“It’s been a fun night.”

“Thank you.”

Leeha didn’t quite understand the conversation between father and daughter, but he knew what Hwayeon standing up meant.

‘She’s signaling to leave?’

‘Come quickly!’

Leeha and Ram Hwayeon communicated as if through ventriloquism and slowly moved away. Leeha turned to Ram Long to say goodbye.

“Then, I shall take my leave now. I hope to see you again.”

“Next time? Pfft, heh, sure. Next time. We’ll see each other again, young sniper.”

Would there be another crossing point between a global-level business tycoon and Leeha? Each word Leeha spoke was new and strange to Ram Long.

The unique stimulation that Leeha provided was a source of joy to the elderly chairman, a kind beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

After Leeha and Ram Hwayeon left in the elevator, an aide appeared from the shadows.

The chairman stopped his aide from trying to wipe the wine off his suit.

“We, um…”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“How much stake can we put in Goople?”

“Sir? What do you mean by that…”

The aide’s mind raced with thousands of thoughts.

Was this about a simple investment? A strategic partnership? Influence through share acquisition? Or something more, like a merger or acquisition?

Even as Ram Long’s aide, he couldn’t casually answer such a question. Ram Long wasn’t expecting a reply in the first place.

“Hehe, it was fun to understand that, but to refuse…? Indeed, you only know a person when you meet them. That part was missing in the report. No wonder Hwayeon fell for him.”

Looking down at Hong Kong’s nightscape, the emperor of resorts, the king of casinos, smiled.

Two more days had passed since Leeha saved(?) Ram Hwajung and met Ram Long.

While his days were usually filled with mundane rehabilitation, today Leeha’s expression was notably different.

“So it starts today?”

“A minimum of three weeks of absolute rest, then a month of rehabilitation. Only after that, it was supposed to be possible.”

“But my body is exceptionally strong, so it’s okay, is that what you’re saying?”

Leeha asked, trying to calm his pounding heart. Ram Hwayeon shook her head.

“Sigh, I’m not sure. Dr. Heinrich approved it, so it should be fine. Change your clothes. Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?”

“Do you think there’s a Middle Earth connection device in the hospital? I had one set up in the hotel, so we need to transfer it-“

“Okay, I’ll change right away, Ram Hwayeon-ssi.”

“Oh~ You should change when I leave!”

Ram Hwayeon turned her head away in a huff, her face flushing. Whether it was from anger or from seeing Leeha quickly taking off his shirt, she couldn’t tell.

‘Sigh, really. Just when I think I understand him!’

Was this the same man who had saved her sister in a life-or-death situation and then boldly conversed with her father, a man akin to a ruler in Hong Kong’s business world?

She remembered that day clearly.

Very clearly.

She remembered everything from that night: what Ram Long Chairman said at each breath, the tempo at which he cut his steak, and how he drank his wine.

‘Certainly… it was a side of him I hadn’t seen. I knew that Father treasures the wine from the year the was born… So, it wouldn’t have upset him. But what was that reaction about?’

There are a few principles to remember and abide by when dealing with the Chairman of the Ram Long Group, and her father.

One of them is how he treats people with wine.

To this day, Hwayeon had never tasted the wine of the same vintage as her father’s age. The last time she heard about it being brought out was so long ago she couldn’t even remember.

‘But during Leeha’s meeting…? Hmm, did he like him that much? Not really Father’s type, though. If it were me, I’d know- No, not that! Sigh, I asked Jachung about Father’s mood, but he just nodded and smiled… He’s been so uncooperative with me lately.’

Her excitement towards Leeha was quickly turning into curiosity about her father and irritation towards Jachung.

“Let’s go!”

By this time, Leeha had finished changing.

Leeha’s recovery was nothing short of miraculous. Was it due to his own efforts and mindset? Now, he could stand and walk for an hour without any assistance, his lower body regaining vitality.

As soon as Hwayeon led Leeha out of the room, Hwajung eagerly followed.

“Hwa, Hwajung-ah?”

“I’m coming too.”

“We only set up one Middle Earth connection device-“

“I added another.”

“-..Good job.”

For them, the price tag of several million won per unit was no issue. When Hwayeon simply nodded, Leeha stepped back, gave Hwajung a thumbs-up, and said,

“Heh, as expected of Ram Hwajung-ssi. We can’t live without Middle Earth, right? Right?”

“Hehe, yeah.”

Watching her younger sister shyly nodding, Hwayeon wondered if maybe she was the strange one and everyone else was normal.

“Uaaaah!”

Leeha, more startled than usual, connected to Middle Earth. The sensation of falling reminded him of his last encounter with Hwajung.

‘I shouldn’t have to experience jumping out of a second-story window with someone in my arms ever again in my life.’

Shaking his head, the first thing Leeha did upon logging in was to take a deep breath. No matter how big the hospital and how intense the rehab, being confined was always suffocating.

“Um, now that I think about it… I can really tell, now that my lower body is moving.”

Then Leeha bent and straightened his knees, rotating his ankles.

If it had been before, he would have been thrilled to feel sensations he thought he’d never regain. But not anymore.

‘So this is it. The 50% synchronization rate difference feels like this.’

Compared to the movements in reality, the sensations were somewhat lacking.

Until now, with no sensation in his lower body, the feeling in Middle Earth was enough to feel real.

But not anymore.

Leeha had to adapt anew to the physicality of Middle Earth, walking left and right, even running.

It felt quite uncomfortable, disconnected from his recent lack of connection.

“…I need to ask Kijung how to increase the synchronization rate. Don’t I have to send some kind of agreement to Goople?”

With no immediate way to cure himself, Leeha had no choice but to quickly check his quest log.

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