Chapter 70: Family (1)
The first thing he did after acquiring the skill was meet the family members who had returned to Korea for winter break.
“It's been a while. Mother.”
It was because he had promised Chairman Kim to have a meal with the family.
“I've heard a lot about you lately. They say you've been through a lot? Are you feeling okay?”
Choi Yeon-ok grasped his hand warmly as she spoke.
“Yes. I'm all better now. Perfectly fine.”
“You've grown so much more mature, my son. I almost don't recognize you.”
Soon after, a man and a young girl stepped forward from behind Choi.
They were faces familiar to Kim Minwoo as well.
‘Kim Hyung-seok, Kim Naye.’
Chairman Kim had two sons and one daughter.
Fortunately, there were no issues like different mothers or anything of the sort.
Even as Korea's top conglomerate leader, Chairman Kim was a one-woman man.
Among his two sons and one daughter, the second son, Kim Hyung-seok.
He was the one designated as the heir to take over the group in place of the eldest son, Kim Minwoo, from long ago.
And for good reason—he had awakened smoothly at a young age, caused no trouble, and had a sharp mind for studies.
Going to a top American university said it all.
The youngest, Kim Naye.
She had just turned six.
Her defining trait was her abundance of cuteness.
All three were familiar faces.
Over the past six years of playing the game, he had seen them constantly.
Now, with Kim Minwoo's memories fully integrated upon possession, they felt like his real family.
“Big Brother!”
“Naye, you're here? It's been a while.”
“Hug me.”
He scooped up Naye, who approached with arms outstretched.
After a few spins in the air, she burst into giggles.
Even as a total screw-up, Kim Minwoo had always adored Naye.
She wasn't someone to inspire inferiority like his brother Kim Hyung-seok, and she was always affectionate, so there was no reason to push her away. Besides, their status was on the same level.
He felt the same way now.
At that moment.
Chairman Kim sidled up, sounding a bit neglected as he asked.
“My daughter doesn't see her dad anymore?”
“Hehe, I see Dad too.”
“Ahem!”
An unstoppable smile crept onto Chairman Kim's face.
‘One shot, sunk.’
Of course.
With her mother's beauty instead of her burly father's looks, and being the baby of the family to boot—not doting on her would be unnatural.
He exchanged greetings with Hyung-seok as well.
“How's life in America?”
“Eh, for me? Pretty good, except the food's a bit heavy. But hey, I hear you're killing it these days, bro?”
“Killing it? Still a long way to go.”
“Whoa, I just got chills. They said you'd changed a lot, but damn, I can feel it.”
Hyung-seok stared at him like he was an alien.
He had heard from his father over calls that his brother had changed a ton.
But hearing it on the phone and seeing it firsthand were worlds apart.
Kim Minwoo being humble?
An impossible combo.
Yet here it was, real.
And compared to the death-glare stares from before, now he was chatting casually, like it was nothing.
Had the S-rank awakening mellowed his heart?
He had definitely changed.
“Let's head in. The food's getting cold.”
“Alright.”
Chairman Kim escorted Choi inside.
On the table.
An enormous spread of food was laid out.
“What's with all this? We can't possibly eat it all.”
“The family's together after so long. Everyone, sit.”
“Food! Food!”
Naye plopped down excitedly next to Kim Minwoo.
“Eat lots, my girl.”
“Okay!”
She piled a mountain of bulgogi onto her rice. Among the Kim family, she matched her cute looks with the biggest appetite.
“Naye, didn't Mom say veggies first?”
Choi served her some vegetables.
Naye freaked out at the sight.
“No way! They’re gross! I won’t! I want meat! Big Brother!”
She clung tightly to his arm under the table.
But her grip strength was surprisingly intense.
This wasn't the power of a mere six-year-old?
‘All that meat turned to muscle?’
The thought flashed through his mind.
But only for a moment.
With eyes brimming with desperate appeal, Kim Minwoo spoke up.
“Mother, it's a special day. Let Naye have extra meat just this once.”
“…She grilled four racks of short ribs by herself yesterday.”
…Four racks?
He knew she had a good appetite.
‘But not to this extent?’
He tilted his head briefly.
Then looked at Naye.
Four racks?
That's crossing the line.
“Eat your veggies.”
“Aaah! Big Brother!”
“Tsk.”
“…”
“Just a little. Eat together, okay?”
“Daddy.”
“…Daddy's sorry.”
Chairman Kim looked away.
The girl accepted the veggie plate like it was poison, face grim as death. Chairman Kim watched with pity but offered no backup.
Four racks was definitely over the line.
Watching Naye force down the veggies bite by bitter bite lasted only a moment. Then Choi turned to Chairman Kim and asked.
“How's the company these days?”
“The company? Haha, too successful—it's a problem. All thanks to our Minwoo.”
Chairman Kim replied proudly, words spilling out.
“We've surpassed Dorim in home appliances, and the new premium model's flying off the shelves. The same goes for other markets… Equipment market share jumped over 20% in the last month.”
“No wonder. My friends were saying they like it too. Ilsung stock's way up.”
Chairman Kim nodded with a grin. After years of gradual decline chasing Dorim, the stock was finally gaining real momentum.
Right after news of Kim Minwoo's survival from the A+-Rank Gate, it shot up 8% in a day.
For a group the size of Ilsung, that's rare. From his upcoming ads to countless gate raids ahead—the market had factored in the ripple effects.
Foreign buyers were going wild especially. Choi nodded and turned to Kim Minwoo.
“Minwoo, have you thought about working at the company?”
“Yes. Not at all. Give it to Hyung-seok here.”
Hyung-seok and Choi stared at him in surprise.
“…Really? You used to say otherwise.”
“Being a top awakener doesn't mean you'll excel at company work. I'm busy enough mastering this field. I'm for awakening, Hyung-seok for management. Perfect fit, right?”
Division of labor exists for a reason. Kim Hyung-seok was heir material.
‘No real rivalry anyway.’
Kim Minwoo felt inferior to the successful little brother, not the other way around. So pushing him as heir was fine.
It was just swapping Chairman Kim for Hyung-seok.
After the meal, he went to the study with Chairman Kim and spoke.
“Father.”
“Yeah?”
“Lately, places are lining up with cash bundles, begging to invest in our guild.”
“I-is that so?”
“Yes. Of course, I'd love to give shares to Ilsung… But with all these dependents now, and public eyes watching… I can't just hand out special favors.”
“Y-yeah.”
“We need cash for C-rank skillbooks, feeding, clothing, housing our guild members.”
“Right.”
Chairman Kim nodded.
But he couldn't fully hide his tension. From now on, it was talks in the tens of trillions.
Not investing would be absurd, though.
Lavish Guild.
A modest guild with just three members, but its future potential already eyed the world.
And.
‘…A strong chance of performing well in the gate competition.’
His eyes darkened.
Gates fall into three types.
First, random gates.
Spawn time and location completely random. No one knows when or where.
The A-rank Gate in Gyeonggi recently was one.
Second, hidden gates.
They exist but are concealed.
Special gates inaccessible by normal routes.
And the final third.
‘Designated gates.’
The “designated” name is straightforward. The system assigns them deliberately.
Not for free, though.
They hold official tournaments.
National-level ones anyone can join.
Gates go to nations with notable results.
Key traits of designated gates: sky-high ranks.
S-rank minimum.
Korea had a few S-rank Gates. Like the Dragon's Tomb the Sword Sage cleared last time.
That was won 30 years ago in a fierce battle by Korea's top awakeners, including the Sword Sage.
Sadly, after those legends semi-retired, Korea hadn't snagged a single one.
Anyway.
Designated gates have huge perks. First clears, new resources, magstones galore—starting with novel materials.
America, the top awakener nation.
They dominated the biennial designated gate tournaments almost every time.
Dozens of top gates in their possession.
Resources from them? Monopolized by American corps and awakeners.
But infinite perks? No.
Too many S-rank Gates?
Fail to clear on schedule?
Hell breaks loose.
Gates chain-explode, chaos ensues.
But powerhouse America could handle it.
With single S-rank Gates swaying national power, nations bet their lives on these tournaments.
Korea tried hard too whenever they happened.
Lack of standout awakeners meant constant prelim knockouts. Need top 3 minimum for a gate.
Way too high a bar for Korea.
But a new variable emerged.
Lavish Guild.
Each member could be a national call-up.
Tournaments mix low-to-high level awakeners.
Individual contributions tallied for gate awards.
To teams or individuals first, with 20-year exclusive use.
Can open to outsiders during that.
Owner claims up to 50% of byproducts or loot as fee.
Rarely full 50%—no parties would come.
Usually 10% is standard.
After 20 years, gate reverts to national ownership.
Chairman Kim.
His bold investment in Lavish Guild.
The generous terms.
Not solely because Kim Minwoo was his son.
‘Designated gates.’
He saw the big picture. If Lavish Guild snagged one S-rank designated gate?
Economic value: tens to hundreds of trillions, depending on type.
Ilsung, tied to it, would skyrocket in scale. A battle over spine-tingling interests.
“You want us to buy shares?”
“Yes. Best to split it among family.”
Kim Minwoo nodded without hesitation. To get investment, shares must go out.
Better used for Ilsung later.
Win-win.
“…Good. I'll call a board meeting tomorrow. Your price?”
“3 trillion per percent. Up to 20%.”
“…60 trillion.”
Way up from last time's 5 trillion for 10%.
Expensive?
Not at all.
Especially post-A+-Rank Gate smash, with Seo Yerim added.
She was SSS-rank, he'd heard from his son.
If a nation like America grasped the guild's true value?
One EX-ranker and two SSS-rankers.
1% share price? Unimaginable.
Even now, without full knowledge, it looked insane. Once revealed?
They'd print dollars to flood it.
Maybe Ilsung's last chance. Value would spread, nations swarming.
Even America—Minwoo couldn't refuse.
Shares would dilute.
Ilsung needed to stake claim first.
‘Gotta convince the board.’
He resolved firmly.