Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 87 (Part 2): An Ordinary Day (3)

| Labyrinth Exploration NaN S.H.W. Military Harassment Accusation |

*S.H.W. was a notorious lunatic in the military. Many trainees gave up on completing training because of S.H.W., and plenty of juniors quit UDT altogether…*

*…Don’t trust S.H.W. He plays up his military background, but he’s the trash even UDT shunned. Guys like him are what ruin the world.*

“…Guys like him ruin the world?”

Kim Jun-seok, once a soldier but now a respectable butcher shop owner, let out a hollow laugh at the military harassment exposé.

“They just wrote whatever the hell they wanted.”

The military harassment claim was a lie. Of course, violence exists in the military. Especially in special mission units like UDT, you get hit. It’s a given. It’d be weird if you didn’t get hit.

Sure, excessive violence isn’t okay, but Seol Ha-woon wasn’t that kind of person.

Seol Ha-woon only hit those who deserved it.

So, Kim Jun-seok knew exactly who this guy was. It came to him naturally.

‘I did my job. Who the hell are you?’ That kind of pompous jerk. The kind who botched missions, endangered teammates, extorted locals, and got caught trying to steal loot.

A psychopath whose sole reason for enlisting was to build a UDT career, break into the exploration or entertainment industry, and chase women.

“You? Yoon Yi-jun.”

A notorious failure. Got beaten by Seol Ha-woon a few times, tried to sue, then hurriedly discharged when he realized he’d face a court-martial for his own crimes.

“…Sergeant Seol. I’m not doing this because I like you.”

It’s just that *that guy* is a piece of trash.

Seol Ha-woon wasn’t exactly beloved by his juniors. But he was reliable.

The kind of person you’re glad is on your side. The kind you’d wet yourself over if he were an enemy.

To his juniors, he was a figure of fear. Even superiors hesitated to deal with him.

Yet Seol Ha-woon himself never said much. No violent outbursts either. Still, everyone feared him.

He was just… a terrifying presence.

Looking back, he was a superior who upheld principles, tolerated minor infractions, and would sacrifice himself for his subordinates.

A brotherly figure, despite being younger. An exemplary commander.

“Yoon Yi-jun, you bastard. I still have nightmares about that day. You almost got us all killed…”

Kim Jun-seok placed his hands on the keyboard.

| I’m Seol Ha-woon’s Junior |

*Hello. I’m Kim Jun-seok, UDT Class 68, Seol Ha-woon’s junior. I’m three years older than him, but I enlisted late, so I went through a lot…*

*Sergeant Seol Ha-woon.*

*I don’t exactly like you, but I support you for fulfilling your duty to your subordinates.*

*So I was glad to see you on TV. Your same old self made me laugh. Sometimes it brought back memories.*

*Sergeant Seol Ha-woon wasn’t someone who harassed juniors for no reason. It wasn’t harassment—it was discipline, punishment. To begin with, Sergeant Seol wasn’t the type you could mess with. He didn’t need to throw punches. His mere presence straightened out the unit.*

*So I think I know who got beaten by Seol Ha-woon. In my memory, there’s only one guy who got hit bad enough to hold a grudge…*

He wrote hundreds of words, deleted them out of embarrassment, wrote hundreds more, got annoyed and thought about quitting.

*Someone who harmed civilians during operations and endangered teammates. I still shudder thinking about it…*

He carefully suppressed his rising emotions. The stream of consciousness was messy, but people would get the gist.

“Phew. This should do.”

He scanned it one last time and hit enter.

“…Done.”

The post was uploaded. Comments poured in quickly. Views and upvotes skyrocketed, probably because he’d revealed his military ID and real name.

That’s the difference between him and that coward hiding behind anonymity.

“Hmm.”

Kim Jun-seok refreshed the page.

| Is the post below legit? |
| So what’s the deal with Seol Ha-woon? |
| TL;DR: Just a guy who beat up someone who deserved it. |
| LOL Always-Right re-evaluation? |
| Burger tier list incoming. |
| Morons swaying like reeds again lololol. |
| Where’s the neutral gang that was trashing Always-Right? Dead? |
| Still no explanation for the school violence, huh? lol |

Related threads popped up like mushrooms.

“…Ugh, embarrassing.”

Suddenly, another post caught Kim Jun-seok’s eye.

| Hello. I’m Seol Ha-woon’s orphanage brother. |

Orphanage brother?

“What’s this now?”

*Click.* He opened the post. As Kim Jun-seok read, a smile soon spread across his face.

“Sergeant Seol. Looks like you’ve lived a pretty good life.”

* * *

…My first impression of Seol Ha-woon was a big, scary guy. A strong, dependable brother.

But I don’t have many memories of talking with him.

As a kid, I was more afraid of him than the orphanage teachers.

Still, the memories he left behind are fresh and warm.

A brother who’d buy chicken and eat it alone, but when younger kids came running at the smell, he’d pretend he was full and leave a few pieces for them.

Back then, I couldn’t understand why he’d buy three whole chickens and only eat four pieces.

| Hello. I’m Seol Ha-woon’s orphanage brother. |

*Hello. I grew up in the same orphanage as Ha-woon hyung. I’ll attach a framed photo first.*

*I don’t actually have that many memories of Ha-woon hyung. He was a man of few words.*

*But one thing’s for sure—he didn’t do anything like school violence. The ones committing school violence were the ones Ha-woon hyung beat up. Those thugs bullied us orphanage kids…*

Seol Ha-woon regularly beat up exactly four guys. Shameless punks without a shred of conscience.

That day’s memory still feels like last night.

…At first, hyung only warned them. Told them to stop. But they ignored him.

Then one day, one of the kids from our orphanage came back after being beaten up. He was crying, saying they had even taken the necklace given to him by a person whose name and face he didn’t know, didn’t even know if they were his mother or father. It was a necklace that had been on his ankle when he was a baby.

That was me.

It was the first time I saw Ha-woon hyung angry. He came to me, asked where that guy was, and we went looking together.

Maybe it’s because a man grows up watching another man’s back. The broad back of Seol Ha-woon, leading the way, is still etched in my mind, even as an adult.

From that day on, Ha-woon hyung protected us. Those guys he beat up sued him, right? But who got forcibly transferred? They claim Ha-woon hyung dropped out, so he’s not in the high school yearbook, but those guys were expelled for in-school bullying *before* Ha-woon hyung dropped out. They aren’t in our high school graduation album either….

* * *

| About Seol Ha-woon |

*Hello. I grew up in the same orphanage as Ha-woon hyung. I’ll attach a framed photo first…*

*…He was crying, saying they had even taken the necklace given to him by a person whose name and face he didn’t know, didn’t even know if they were his mother or father. It was a necklace that had been on his ankle when he was a baby.*

*That was me…*

Kate scrolled down.

– Always-Right, what the hell are you…
– Kinda like a tough but kind neighborhood hyung, huh?
– Not a delinquent, but the top dog, lol.
– Feeling kinda bad for Always-Right…
– Thought he was just UDT, but he had no family at all.
– Guess there’s a reason he’s got a crap personality.
– If this is true, what’s the deal with the guy who exposed him? lol What was he banking on?
– Guess he was super jealous and had a massive inferiority complex seeing Seol Ha-woon succeed while his own life was in the shitter.
– No one’s staying neutral on this post? Damn, these people switch gears whenever they damn well please.

Kate read through all the comments.

It seemed her plan was heading toward failure.

Truthfully, she hadn’t been all that invested. The motives and identity of the accuser were dubious from the start, and deep down, she might’ve wanted him to come out on top.

As a rival whose talent could match hers.

*Ding!*

Another message came through the group chat.

[Lee Jong-su: Yo wtf, now Kim Doo-gyeom’s got a school violence exposé;;]
[Lee Jong-su: Why’s this week so damn dramatic lololol]
[Ji Hye-in: No way, really? Link!!]
[Lee Jong-su: Here.]

[#Exposing Kim Doo-gyeom’s Hypocrisy…]

Kate clicked the link. She read the post exposing Kim Doo-gyeom’s lies.

Slowly, she sank into her chair.

“…The way people’s lives unfold is truly something.”

Life.

Your life, our lives.

Sometimes it feels like it’s just fleeting moments, so we get fixated on what’s right in front of us. But in the end, it’s those small things that make up a life.

The pasts we’ve lived, the wrongs we’ve committed, or the hands we’ve thoughtlessly extended—they shape the present.

They either lift us up, or bring us down.

“It seems things always come back around, one way or another.”

Kate closed her laptop. She gazed out the window at the setting sun. The slowly spreading scarlet light stained the room like balsam flowers.

* * *

“I’m fine. You guys?”

Meanwhile, Kim Doo-gyeom was on a call with Ryu Yeon-hwa.

— “Just a mess that fizzled out. Nothing major.”

Fresh from a shower, Kim Doo-gyeom sat on the sofa, sipping a cola.

— “…But. Is Seol Ha-woon-ssi really that kind of person?”

Kim Doo-gyeom’s brow furrowed.

What’s with this guy? Even after seeing Seol Ha-woon’s behavior, he says stuff like this? Total flower garden in his head.

“Well…”

He answered vaguely when—

*Vrr.*

A message came from his manager. A link was attached.

“What’s this?”

Kim Doo-gyeom clicked the link.

He froze.

His heart seemed to stop. He just stared blankly, swallowing hard.

“Sh*t.”

His lips barely moved.

— “Huh? What did you say?”

“This… sh*t!!”

Without realizing it, Kim Doo-gyeom slammed his smartphone down. *Crash!* The shattered screen displayed a post already seen by countless people.

| Exposing Kim Doo-gyeom’s Hypocrisy. His Entire Persona Is a Mask. |

*I’m a high school classmate of Kim Doo-gyeom from ■■■ High School. As you know, exploration high schools are built far from city centers for training purposes. In that quiet suburb, ■■ Doo-gyeom was a demon. He flaunted his talent, bullied others, belittled them, extorted them, and ruled like a king…*

*He even committed sexual assault, and ■■ settled out of court, so the victim transferred schools. The only reason? Kim Doo-gyeom’s talent was exceptional. After that day, Kim Doo-gyeom went wild. He believed he could get away with anything…*

Dangun

I'm currently Translating the following novels: "Labyrinth Exploration 101" & "The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring " If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

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