Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Real Sub-Headquarters
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Two days later, Hyun-sik stepped into the office just as promised.
He seemed tense in the unfamiliar space he was visiting for the first time,
hesitating a bit before carefully offering a greeting.
"Hello, I'm Hyun-sik."
Goni looked at the newcomer Hyun-sik with interest
and gave a brief greeting in return,
while Jeong-bae broke into a bright smile at the sight of a familiar face.
"Hey? Hyun-sik! Wow, long time no see.
Are you working with Jin-seong hyung now?"
"Yeah, hyung! I had no idea you were here."
Thanks to the friendly face of Jeong-bae, Hyun-sik's tension eased a little,
and Jin-seong began explaining the job to him step by step.
Over the next few days, Hyun-sik stuck by Jin-seong's side, asking endless questions
and working hard to absorb the system and sales methods.
His passion for learning was plain to see.
On the third day, Jin-seong called Hyun-sik over
and showed him the admin page with his new code.
"I've set up your code now. Commission's 30%,
and if you work hard, I can raise it higher.
For now, get your contacts in there quick."
"Yes, hyungnim. I'll bust my ass so I can make as much money as you."
Hyun-sik took the burner phone from Jin-seong,
quickly set up KakaoTalk and his nickname,
and immediately started reaching out to his contacts.
Watching him, Jin-seong smiled contentedly
and got up from his seat.
"Hyun-sik, I'm heading to HQ to pick up the settlement cash, so keep working here."
Leaving Hyun-sik behind, Jin-seong moved to an empty lot near the office
where no one was around and waited for the HQ staffer.
Soon, a black sedan pulled up quietly,
and the staffer gave a light greeting before getting into Jin-seong's car.
"Settlement's pretty big this week.
You're amazing, hyungnim."
"Yeah, guess everyone died off this week. Nothing going on at HQ?"
"Nope, thanks to you working hard, deposits are picking up more and more."
Jin-seong took the thick envelope of cash from the staffer,
his chest swelling with pride.
The heavy envelope held 16 million won from his personal code alone,
and including the commissions skimmed from his sub-master agents' codes,
it came to a whopping 18 million won.
Jin-seong handed the staffer 100,000 won in cash.
"Thanks for coming all this way.
Get yourself a meal with this."
"Thank you, hyungnim."
After seeing the staffer off, Jin-seong returned to the office and
pulled out the cash bundle in front of Jeong-bae and Goni
to divide up the settlement.
Hyun-sik's heart pounded as he laid eyes on the massive stack of cash for the first time.
Seeing firsthand how much money Jin-seong was making made it all feel real.
Jin-seong's life had now become Hyun-sik's dream and goal.
Jeong-bae was thrilled with his 900,000 won cut,
while Goni gave an awkward smile, a bit sorry about his smaller 200,000 won share.
Jin-seong pocketed the rest and drove off
to meet Jordan and hand over his settlement share.
Back home after wrapping up, Jin-seong stashed 16 million won in his room,
took out 2 million, deposited 1 million in the bank,
and kept 1 million in his wallet.
The day had flown by in a breathless rush,
but looking at his growing cash pile, Jin-seong steeled his resolve once more.
'Gotta grow it bigger. Things are only getting larger from here.'
The life of the newly minted sub-headquarters
was advancing one step at a time like this.
Hyun-sik was throwing himself into work like a madman.
The moment he woke up in the morning, he grabbed his burner phone
and started contacting his network.
Already, members had trickled in from his contacts' contacts,
surpassing twenty in number.
Hyun-sik tended to them daily,
maintaining closeness and managing his members.
Then one day, a massive high-roller appeared.
The kind who deposited millions daily as a baseline and bet like crazy—
a true "patient."
Hyun-sik was nervous at first but secretly thrilled.
He'd felt the rewards of member management for the first time.
'Man, if this guy hits big, my first settlement's gonna be huge...'
But contrary to his hopes, three days before settlement,
the member's balance started ballooning wildly.
Hyun-sik's mind grew uneasy.
He spent the whole day glued to the computer,
monitoring the member's bets with jittery mutters.
"Please hit big, just once..."
Watching him, Jin-seong couldn't help but chuckle.
It was something every newbie master agent went through.
But seeing Hyun-sik taste that tension for the first time was amusing.
Finally, the problem member cashed out after inflating his balance to 14 million won.
Hyun-sik's face froze in an instant.
"Hyungnim... that member requested a payout..."
Jin-seong had already coordinated with HQ.
Handle payouts up to 2 mil for that member right away.
Got it, Hani-nim. Proceeding as such.
The payout processed, and Hyun-sik's settlement page
flipped to a minus 5 million in the blink of an eye.
Hyun-sik, who'd been looking forward to his first settlement joy,
was overwhelmed by disappointment and loss.
His energetic face all day turned dark in an instant.
Jin-seong comforted him with a laugh.
"First minus, huh. Work hard and cover it. You'll be fine."
"Yes, hyungnim. I'll hustle more members and definitely cover it..."
Hyun-sik's voice had no strength left.
Jin-seong found the sight amusing,
but also a bit pitiful.
The minus would melt away with time anyway,
but a newbie master agent wouldn't know that.
Jin-seong patted Hyun-sik's shoulder.
"Cover that minus and hyung'll buy you a drink. Chin up."
"Got it, hyungnim. I'll work even harder."
From that day, Hyun-sik desperately called his contacts.
His tone with them bordered on begging.
"Hyungnim, please, I'm begging you.
Anyone around you wanna play? Help me out just once, hyungnim."
The call brimmed with Hyun-sik's desperate plea.
Watching him, Jin-seong felt pleased.
The most crucial virtue for a master agent
was 'responsibility,' and Hyun-sik had it.
For the first time, his subordinate felt rock-solid.
With a relieved expression, Jin-seong returned to his desk
and dove back into work.
Jin-seong's personal code was already solidly established
and running stably.
He didn't even need to try hard—just chat with incoming personal messages
and lightly manage members.
From now on, Jin-seong's focus was solely on expanding his sub-master agents
and growing his code scale.
But he didn't trust people who'd been master agents from the start.
Veterans who knew the scene well demanded at least 35% commission upfront,
and they came with risks.
When a minus hit, they often shirked responsibility and bolted,
so Jin-seong had no desire to take on that headache.
Thus, he decided to cultivate his own master agents from scratch.
Targeting young members from his own base who desperately needed money and had passion,
he began making offers.
They'd follow him unquestioningly even at a low 30% start,
and he could shape them as he wanted, he figured.
Jin-seong daily shared trivial personal stories via personal chats
to gauge their backgrounds and personalities.
Then one caught his eye.
A fresh 20-year-old small bettor from Pyeongtaek.
Not much value, but active in the family room,
always cheering "Hani hyung!" like a little kid.
Jin-seong messaged him casually.
Hey, wanna try being a master agent?
Huh? Hani hyung, can I be a master agent too?
I'll make you a code, bring in your friends around you,
and give master agent sales a shot.
If size grows, I'll set you up with an office,
and over 30 members, I'll hook you up with a phone too.
Whoa, really? I'll work my ass off, hyung!
The kid was ecstatic, promising to round up all his friends starting tomorrow.
For Jin-seong, if it worked great; if not, no big loss.
Worst case, he could absorb the kid's contacts into his personal code.
If even one survived and grew,
he'd push them hard, that was all.
Realizing this approach, Jin-seong moved fast.
He picked out young, money-hungry small-timers from his members,
offered terms one by one,
and created codes for them.
He started handing out codes indiscriminately like seeds,
motivating them to just hustle their contacts.
Jin-seong's hunch hit the mark. The young ones got hyped about their own codes
and passionately gathered friends.
Inflow rates rose naturally,
and as sub-master agent codes piled up,
he suddenly had 20 personal sub-master agents.
Including the original 8 in the office,
that made a total of 28 master agents under him.
Finally, Jin-seong began bulking up to true sub-headquarters size.
The operation grew even larger, weekly settlements swelling accordingly.
Sitting at his computer, Jin-seong smiled contentedly
at his sub-master agents' admin pages.
This was just the beginning.