Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Subordinates
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Jin-seong called Goni over and had him sit down.
"Gyu-tae, I know Jordan's your little brother,
but this time, it's really not right.
The moment shit hit the fan, you did jack squat while I cleaned up the whole mess.
Does that make any sense?"
"But Jordan's got a bigger operation..."
Jin-seong cut him off.
"A guy with a big operation who can't even manage his own members or take responsibility—why the hell should I hand over a sub-master code?
I'm the one paying the office rent and all the living expenses right now.
Whose side are you on? Mine or your brother's?"
Goni hesitated.
"No, that's not what I..."
"This Icos deal? I landed it purely on my own skills in those meetings.
Even so, out of consideration for Jordan, I offered to drop his office's full cut to 40%.
I told them he could eat whatever he wants from that, but I've gotta eat too.
At minimum, I'm taking 5%.
If he's got beef, tell him to go find Jordan a better site.
But if another incident blows up, Jordan takes full responsibility.
If he doesn't have the balls for that, don't ever bring up handing him a sub-master spot to me again."
Goni couldn't argue anymore.
"Got it. I'll do it your way."
Goni backed down with his tail between his legs.
Jin-seong contacted Jordan.
Jin-seong called Jordan right away.
"Jordan, you know the site blow-up was your fault, right?"
"Yeah, hyung, I know."
"But right after the accident, you didn't take any responsibility and just sat on your ass?
And now you're asking for a sub-master spot?"
"But hyung, wasn't I supposed to get in on the sub-master action too?"
"Hey, you fucked up, and I handled all the cleanup.
Hell, I even dipped into my own pocket to compensate your members.
Does it make sense for you to still demand a sub-master code?
If you've got the confidence to handle any future fuck-ups yourself,
I'll give you one.
But the terms will be different from mine.
We'll have to renegotiate with HQ, but that's fine with you?"
Jordan went quiet for a moment before speaking.
"Hyung, then let's just do 40% under you with personal settlements,
and get Naland point support."
Jin-seong replied with a look of disbelief.
"Yeah, sure. We'll go with those terms.
But don't get pissed about me taking responsibility for your members and moving them to my code this time.
If you send compensation money right now, I'll shift them back immediately."
Jordan responded as if it was no big deal.
"Yeah, hyung. Got it."
Jin-seong figured he'd resolved all the urgent issues and let out a sigh of relief.
The family room, thrown into chaos by the eat-and-run incident, had stabilized,
and the conflict with Bayern was settled.
The terms he'd personally negotiated on foot with the Icos site were perfect,
putting him in a sub-master position overseeing seven lower master agents.
With a 45% commission, Jin-seong was in a spot where he could skim from his subs' cuts,
but by his standards, it still wasn't big enough to truly call a sub-master operation.
To keep getting steady support from Icos HQ going forward,
he needed to bring in more members and show better results.
Thankfully, the current situation was pretty favorable.
Icos was a new site with zero eat-and-run records even on Google,
so members could sign up without suspicion.
His old Bayern-line sites had partial eat-and-runs on record,
so even when luring members from Naland, they'd dig up the history and hesitate to join.
He'd lost plenty of potential members that way,
making Icos the perfect setup for Jin-seong.
"The board's set up nicely. Now I just gotta hustle."
Jin-seong steeled himself, sitting in his chair and slowly scrolling through his phone contacts.
His existing lower master agents weren't enough.
He needed to recruit more subs to scale up,
earn more recognition from HQ,
and secure ongoing solid support.
'Who can I reel in...?'
Jin-seong's eyes grew serious.
Master agent work wasn't for just anyone.
Money mattered, but he needed reliable, responsible people.
Jin-seong started mentally reviewing his contacts one by one,
looking for acquaintances he could trust with a master agent role.
Scrolling through KakaoTalk and Facebook on his phone for potential recruits,
he came across Hyun-sik's post.
A short "Discharged" note with a pic in uniform.
Hyun-sik was a guy he'd met working at that old dive bar,
bright and witty, great at livening up drinking parties.
Not super close, but a positive memory.
"Hyun-sik's got a good personality and decent connections, as I recall...
Probably hasn't found a job yet?"
Jin-seong thought it over, then sent a KakaoTalk.
— Long time, Hyun-sik. Discharged, huh? Good work.
— Yeah, hyungnim! Thanks haha Saw your FB lately,
looks like you're killing it. Must be successful?
— Nah, just grinding hard.
You're out now, time to work. Job hunting?
— Hyungnim, hook me up with something good ㅠ
Blown through all my savings. I'm broke af.
— That so? Lemme buy you a drink, let's catch up.
When you free?
— Tomorrow works, hyung!
— Cool, tomorrow it is.
Jin-seong set the meetup, put down his phone,
and sat back at the computer.
Time to get back to work.
He started typing while mentally simulating how to pitch Hyun-sik tomorrow.
The next evening, Jin-seong handed office duties to Jeong-bae and headed out to meet Hyun-sik.
Curious how the freshly discharged guy was doing,
but mainly to gauge if he'd make a good master agent partner.
Hyun-sik was already waiting at the spot,
looking slimmer, his young face tense.
"Hyungnim, long time no see."
"Yeah, you worked hard. Let's go."
Jin-seong led him to a nearby upscale seafood joint.
The place had a quiet, luxurious vibe.
Seated, Jin-seong casually ordered a seafood platter and grilled meats.
Hyun-sik glanced at the menu prices and looked surprised.
"Hyungnim, oden stew's fine...
This is too pricey, isn't it?"
"Nah, relax and eat."
Jin-seong replied breezily and ordered soju.
As the drinks flowed, Hyun-sik's tension eased.
Jin-seong kept it natural to avoid making him uncomfortable.
"Got any plans since discharge?"
"Nah, nothing yet. What about you, hyungnim? FB makes it look like you're raking it in...
Share some wisdom?"
Jin-seong pretended to mull it over.
"You know what a master agent is?"
"Oh! Some of my buddies do that.
Does it really pay that well?"
"Depends on you. Could make nothing... or bank."
Hyun-sik's eyes lit up with curiosity and hope.
"If I learn under you, hyungnim, can I make bank too?"
"If you hustle, yeah.
But you know it's illegal, right?"
"As long as it pays, hyungnim. I'm desperate."
Jin-seong saw his own past desperation in Hyun-sik's eyes.
That made him like the kid even more.
"Alright. Come to my office in two days.
I'll show you the ropes."
"Thank you so much, hyungnim. I'm broke as hell right now."
Hyun-sik downed his shot and spilled his family woes honestly.
Listening, Jin-seong knew he'd picked right.
Desperation was an unbeatable drive.
After round one, Jin-seong took him to a nearby bar for round two.
Hyun-sik, first time in a girl-bar, got flustered at first,
but soon his eyes sparkled like he'd discovered a new world.
Three hours of wild drinking and fun later,
fully relaxed, he marveled as they left.
"Whoa, hyungnim, thanks for showing me a place like this.
Total new world."
"Hustle hard, you could come every day.
Dream big."
Seeing Jin-seong's easy confidence and free-spending ways,
Hyun-sik already looked up to him.
That night, he was hooked on the successful Jin-seong vibe.
I sat staring at the fancy seafood platter and grilled meats on the table,
swallowing hard without realizing.
The prices I'd glimpsed on the menu lingered in my head.
Watching Jin-seong hyung treat me to a place this pricey,
I truly got what success looked like.
"Hyungnim, oden stew's fine..."
I mumbled awkwardly, but hyung just shook his head with a relaxed smile.
"Nah, relax and eat."
Every word and move from hyung screamed cool.
As the soju kicked in, my tension melted,
and I naturally poured out all the army hardships and family crap I'd bottled up.
"Hyungnim, I wanna make money bad.
I'll do anything. I'm desperate."
Even hearing it was illegal didn't faze me.
To a broke guy like me, "illegal" didn't matter.
I needed to support the family now,
and I was done being poor.
Jin-seong hyung said calmly,
"Alright. Hit my office in two days. I'll teach you."
Those words set my heart racing.
My mind flooded with visions of cash and what it'd buy.
All my past suffering felt repayable in one go.
I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.
Round two at the girl-bar was tense at first—total newbie here—
but hyung made it a fresh thrill.
Thinking this could be my daily life? Honestly exciting.
And hyung looked even cooler.
Spending big without blinking, owning spots like this with ease—
that's who I wanted to be.
"Whoa, hyungnim, total new world."
Hyung grinned.
"Hustle hard, this could be daily.
Dream big."
I meant it—I wanted this life for real.
Just knowing I'd learn under hyung
filled my chest with unstoppable desperation and hype.
Even heading home, I buzzed about what I'd learn at the office day after tomorrow,
my future unfolding so vividly sleep wouldn't come easy.