You Come Here
It had been a stretch of time so easy on the mind that the mental exhaustion washed clean away — but the body was another matter entirely. The moment Jeong-Hoon returned to Lumen, he headed straight for the shower.
"If it weren't for the bathroom problem, it really would have been perfect."
"I shall place a capsule bed here."
Butler Ju nodded as he took in Jeong-Hoon — who, after nothing more than a shower rather than a proper bath, already looked healthy enough to glow.
Jeong-Hoon was so full of vitality that one could have sworn sealed spaces alone were enough to put him at ease.
"A capsule bed in a royal suite doesn't seem quite right, does it?"
"What matters is that the Gaju requires it."
"Well, let's leave sealed spaces as an occasional special treat."
At Jeong-Hoon's tactful refusal, Butler Ju bowed his head.
A capsule bed was tempting, but Jeong-Hoon decided it simply didn't suit a royal suite.
"Nothing happened while I was in the shower, right?"
"Butler Baek said he would like to treat you to a meal in celebration of your passing the assignment. How would you like to proceed?"
"…A celebration? We've never done anything like that before."
Hearing it for the first time, Jeong-Hoon looked puzzled. Butler Ju shook his head.
A congratulatory gesture from the vassal in charge was, in a certain sense, a declaration of loyalty.
And yet the Gaju himself found it awkward.
That realization settled into a sense of responsibility — as the foremost of the 12 Vassals, Butler Ju felt he had managed them poorly all this time.
"It is something that should have been done as a matter of course. We simply never had the chance, with incidents arising one after another."
"Is that so? Then I'll accept. I'd like to see Chef Baek's cooking for myself, too."
Knock, knock.
He was just thinking it would be nice if it were live cooking when a knock sounded at the door.
Two soft raps — neither too loud nor too quiet, yet somehow perfectly audible to everyone inside. Jeong-Hoon's gaze turned toward the sound.
"Is someone supposed to come here?"
"There are many people who would."
Startled by the unfamiliar knock, Jeong-Hoon looked surprised, and Butler Ju once again felt the weight of his own responsibility.
It was only natural for a vassal to call on the suite where the Gaju was staying.
And yet not a single vassal — not even Butler Ju himself — had ever knocked properly.
"It will be one of the 12 Vassals. How would you like to receive them?"
"The first of the 12 Vassals to ever knock. Let's give them a warm welcome."
Butler Ju, who had meant only to carry the guilt himself without telling Jeong-Hoon, flinched at those words.
It felt as though his private thoughts had been read. Startled, he still opened the door with composure.
"Pardon the intrusion, Chief Butler."
The man who entered with a greeting for Butler Ju approached Jeong-Hoon and gave his attire a quick inspection.
Confirming there was nothing amiss, he bowed at a precise ninety degrees.
"It is an honor to meet you for the first time, Gaju. My name is Park Jin-Yang. I am an S-class Awakened, and as one of the 12 Vassals, I handle the family's external channels of communication."
Jeong-Hoon nodded at the introduction from the vassal who managed the family's lines of contact with the outside world.
A lean build, copper-toned skin, and a two-block cut with a side part that left his forehead visible — an impressively youthful-looking handsome man who did not look his forty years at all.
"Seeing you in a suit is new."
"Hahaha. Is that so? I'm actually more used to this side of things."
Jeong-Hoon spoke familiarly — not only from the materials Butler Ju had provided, but because he had often seen the man even before becoming Gaju.
Park Jin-Yang handled liaison with the government, but that was only his role within the family. In everyday life he worked as a hunter-specialty streamer.
To Jeong-Hoon, then, Park Jin-Yang was someone far more familiar in the casual clothes he wore on stream than in a suit.
"Hmm, this is tricky."
"Is something the matter?"
"I've been settling on a title for each of the 12 Vassals, but nothing's coming to me for you."
Aside from Butler Ju, Jeong I-Yeong, and Ko Yu-Yeon, this was the first of the 12 Vassals Jeong-Hoon had met who did not oversee a business.
The others had all had distinctive enough traits that naming them was easy. With Park Jin-Yang, nothing jumped out.
There was no real need to force it — but he had kept the habit going, and dropping it now felt vaguely unsatisfying.
"Please don't trouble yourself over it."
"No, I can't just leave Butler Park out."
"Then perhaps based on the image of me Your Grace usually holds…"
"Sorry to say this, but when I think of Butler Park's usual image, a tow truck comes to mind."
"…Hahahah?!"
He bit his tongue at Jeong-Hoon's words and looked at him with eyes that asked, Why?
He streamed, yes — but he had never stooped to the kind of behavior that would earn him the label of a cyber tow-truck, a content scavenger.
"No, it's just — you always joke that you're a cyber tow-truck yourself, don't you? That's why…"
Realizing it was a matter of his own verbal habit rather than his conduct, Jin-Yang's face brightened with relief.
"Gaju, you've watched my stream?"
"I'm a regular. More importantly, about the title — since you connect the family and the government as a kind of diplomat, let's go with Ambassador."
Moved that the Gaju was a fan of his, Jin-Yang nodded so hard his head nearly came off.
Watching that reaction, Jeong-Hoon thought that even if he had simply gone with "Tow Truck," the man would probably have accepted it with joy.
"Gaju, if you regard Butler Park as a diplomat, may we take that as a declaration of intent to found a nation?"
"…Absolutely not."
Jeong-Hoon shook his head at Butler Ju's interjected joke and looked at Jin-Yang.
"So, Ambassador Park — what brings you?"
"Government business, of course. An invitation has come from the Blue House. They request an audience this evening."
"Uh — the Blue House means… the president is summoning me?"
At words he had never imagined, Jeong-Hoon looked back and forth between Butler Ju and Jin-Yang.
He could hardly believe it.
"It is indeed a summons from the president."
"It appears to be an invitation to find common ground over certain… unfortunate recent events."
At Butler Ju's explanation, Jeong-Hoon nodded, acknowledging that there was certainly no other reason to call him.
"If he wants to see me, tell him to come to Lumen himself. They're the ones who need this more — so they can come to me."
And the words Jeong-Hoon spoke next were so domineering that even the two vassals could scarcely believe them.
This was, after all, the president of a nation — and he had just cast You come here upon him.
President Seong Hyeon-Jang of the Republic of Korea was known as an excellent leader who kept the balance between the country's corporations and guilds with exquisite precision.
Thanks to that, even midway through his term, he still held the approval ratings of his first days in office.
One reason for those high numbers was that, despite standing at the political opposite of his predecessor, he had maintained that predecessor's signature hunter policies.
That same man now arrived at Lumen with a rigid expression.
"Thank you for coming all this way, Mr. President."
"It's been a long time, Director Joo Yeong-Cheol."
When Butler Ju, who had come out to meet him through the VIP passage, greeted the president, Seong Hyeon-Jang returned the greeting and offered a handshake.
"Where is Chairman Lee Jeong-Hoon?"
"He is waiting in the dining room."
As he shook Butler Ju's hand, the president made no effort to hide his displeasure.
Not only had a twenty-year-old upstart summoned him, the boy hadn't even come out to receive him and was waiting inside.
It was an act of disrespect toward the president of the nation.
Seong Hyeon-Jang was not known as a president overly conscious of his own authority.
But he was a politician who had risen all the way to the presidency.
The sense of authority that came with that was natural — and right now, it was being denied.
The truth was, he had not wanted to come. But the policy for which he was most highly praised — the coordination of corporations and guilds — was Lumen's achievement.
No: Lumen's influence touched every policy related to hunters and dungeons. Once the other side had spoken, he could not ignore it.
The one who needed this was the president.
"The Chairman's condition has not been ideal due to recent unfortunate events. I hope Your Excellency will understand."
"Not at all. The fault is mine for insisting we meet today."
Reading the president's irritation, Butler Ju soothed him with gentle words.
Seong Hyeon-Jang knew full well that Butler Ju was saying it as a matter of courtesy to calm him.
Even so, the fact that Butler Ju — who had long acted as the chairman's proxy — had come out in person to receive and soothe him eased his mind.
It could be read to mean this was not a cold shoulder at the gate, but a signal that while the family had grievances with the government, room for dialogue remained.
Passing through the VIP corridor, they arrived before a splendid door finished in gold leaf. Butler Ju knocked, then opened it at once.
"Chairman, the president has arrived."
"…Thank you for coming all this way. I am Lee Jeong-Hoon, chairman of Lumen."
When the door opened and the scene within unfolded, Seong Hyeon-Jang let out an involuntary sound of admiration.
A chandelier casting soft reflected light. Red carpet laid throughout the banquet hall.
A round table set with exactly two chairs.
To the left of the table stood a cooking station, and at that station Baek Si-Hwan, representative of Flamma, stood in chef's whites.
On the opposite side, an ensemble played quiet classical music.
Behind Jeong-Hoon, who stood by the table offering his greeting, Jeong I-Yeong, Ko Yu-Yeon, Yeo Tae-Hyeon, Woo Do-Il, Jeon Mun-Jae, and Park Jin-Yang all bowed as well.
Jeong I-Yeong was someone even the president did not know well.
But the maid uniform made it clear she was a close attendant who served Jeong-Hoon at his side.
Attorney Ko Yu-Yeon — impossible not to know. The monster of a lawyer who appeared in every Lumen-related matter and proposed settlement terms the other side could not refuse.
Yeo Tae-Hyeon of Shine Mall. Woo Do-Il of Myeongil Hospital. Jeon Mun-Jae of Apollon. And Park Jin-Yang, who handled the channel between Lumen and the government.
Add to that Baek Si-Hwan of Flamma, present as the chef, and Director Joo Yeong-Cheol.
These were Jeong-Hoon's innermost circle, identified by the government when it stripped Lumen of the Hunter Association and investigated Lumen-related enterprises.
"I did not expect so grand a welcome. I am Seong Hyeon-Jang, president of the Republic."
It could be read as an attempt to seize the initiative.
But it could equally be read as a gesture that took the president's visit seriously enough to bring out close aides who were normally kept out of sight.
And so, not merely in words but in truth, the president's sulky mood melted away.
"I'm glad it meets your approval. You haven't already eaten, I hope?"
"Completely empty. Hahaha!"
Seeing the president so thoroughly pleased, Jeong-Hoon decided to keep quiet about the fact that this occasion was actually a celebration of Si-Hwan's assignment being cleared.
The president had actually come, so they had simply added one more chair.
"By the way — tonight's arrangement is live cooking. That won't be a security issue, will it?"
In case anyone tried to argue that kitchen tools were weapons, Jeong-Hoon asked. The president nodded with complete readiness.
"Who would turn down Baek Si-Hwan's cooking when you couldn't see it for money?"
In fact, the bodyguards who had accompanied the president did not so much as stir.
If anything, they seemed to have relaxed precisely because this was Lumen.
Si-Hwan's cooking was deeply satisfying. He had drawn freely from every country and genre, yet somehow the result formed a perfectly balanced course.
Jeong-Hoon and the president devoted themselves to the meal in silence, so absorbed that they hardly spoke at all.
"Was the meal to your satisfaction?"
"Extremely so. Thank you for the splendid hospitality. If you visit the Blue House next time, we shall have to put our hearts into it."
Relieved by the president's contentment, Jeong-Hoon decided it was time to move to the main subject.
He had not summoned the man for a free meal, after all.
And though the food had been excellent enough to make him forget, Jeong-Hoon was currently performing as the chairman of Lumen in front of the president.
He had grown much more used to it lately — but sustaining the act for long still weighed on him.
"You must be quite unsettled by the Hunter Association president's resignation."
When he floated the opening for the real conversation, the president shook his head.
"He felt the weight of his own responsibility and resigned as the man in charge."
It sounded abrupt, but it was a probe freighted with meaning on both sides.
Jeong-Hoon had asked, Did you come to take issue with the fact that pressure was applied to make the Hunter Association president resign?
And the president had answered, That is not why I came, so don't worry.
"The reason I imposed myself so suddenly is that I was far too curious about Chairman Lee Jeong-Hoon, the genius businessman who appeared like a comet."
It was a remark meant to signal goodwill toward Jeong-Hoon, but Jeong-Hoon did not take it at face value.
It meant something closer to: I take this much interest in you. I have no intention of fighting.
"…What is it you were curious about?"
"I am not trying to pry into know-how or the like. It is merely a politician's curiosity. For instance — who did you vote for in the last presidential election? That sort of thing."
Reading Jeong-Hoon's words as a sign he was not yet ready to reconcile, the president answered in a joking tone.
But hidden underneath was: You supported me in the last election too, didn't you? So let's end this on good terms.
"Hmm. That makes things awkward."
"Haha. Don't tell me you voted for another candidate?"
"No — I was still in high school then, so I didn't have the right to vote."
At Jeong-Hoon's frank answer, which made no attempt to hide its meaning, the president broke into a cold sweat.
He could not tell how he was supposed to take this.
"Even without a vote, you supported me, did you not?"
"Well, it was a few years ago, so I don't remember clearly. And I've never told my employees who to vote for, either."
This time Jeong-Hoon shrugged with words that did conceal their meaning, and the president nodded, meeting his eyes.
I have no particular intention of involving myself in politics. As long as nothing troublesome lands on my doorstep, I have no intention of becoming your enemy either.
That meaning came through clearly enough that the president clenched a fist without thinking.
This alone was a major gain. If the current mess at the Hunter Association could be cleaned up properly, there would be no further collision.
And so he floated the opening for formal negotiation.
"Come to think of it — since we're here — the recent terror incident left me with a question driving through my mind: Is our country truly safe?"
It sounded like a president worrying over national security, but Jeong-Hoon understood.
Right now the president was using "the safety of Korea" as a pretext to open back-channel negotiations with him.
"Hmm. Have you come up with any good measures?"
"For one thing, I have realized that the Hunter Association needs sweeping reform."
When the president, in answer to Jeong-Hoon's question of what the back-channel talks would be about, named reform of the Hunter Association, Jeong-Hoon smiled.
"…It seems I will need to speak with you at length, Mr. President — for the sake of our country's safety."
When Jeong-Hoon deliberately stressed our country, Seong Hyeon-Jang smiled as well.
Under the pretext of Korea's safety, negotiations between the government and the family on "reform of the Hunter Association" had begun.