A Three-Minute Proposal
Go Juhee.
It was a name I had never heard before.
But if it was the GR Group...
"I believe the negotiations are scheduled for a week from now," I said, cutting her off bluntly.
Go Juhee tilted her head.
"You mean the guild negotiations?"
"Yes."
"Don't worry. I'm not here to scout you for the GR Guild."
Then why on earth was she here?
"That makes you even more suspicious."
When I answered honestly, Go Juhee smiled as if amused.
"You do know what the GR Group is, right?"
"I find it suspicious precisely because I know."
"Ah, you have good instincts."
"You could say that."
Go Juhee lowered her sunglasses slightly and stared intently at me.
"Do you not like the GR Guild?"
"Do you want the honest truth?"
"Yes."
"Who would like a guild that scams hunters?"
"..."
Did she not expect me to be this blunt?
Go Juhee stared at me in silence for a moment.
"Heh."
Then, she grinned.
As if she felt refreshed.
"Mr. Lee Taepyeong."
"Yes?"
"I can promise you at least one thing."
"What's that?"
"This will absolutely not be a losing deal for you."
"..."
"Though it will be a loss for GR."
A loss for GR?
What does she mean by that?
Was she not here to recruit me?
Before my doubts could clear,
"If you come with me, I'll explain in more detail."
Go Juhee opened the car door.
"Hmm..."
I pondered for a moment, then said,
"Sure, why not?"
And climbed into the luxury sedan.
The place I arrived at with Go Juhee was a luxury hotel under the GR Group.
Passing through a VIP-only passage, we arrived at a bar with a stunning night view through floor-to-ceiling windows.
"Do you drink?"
"No."
"Oh, self-discipline?"
Go Juhee looked at me with an expression that was hard to read—somewhere between surprised and amused.
"I thought hunters didn't get drunk?"
Well, she wasn't wrong.
Getting drunk was a type of debuff.
It would disappear if you used a detoxification skill or something similar.
In my case, because my danjeon was active thanks to the Deep Sleep Socks, my body metabolized alcohol at a speed incomparable to normal humans.
Even if I did get drunk, it would only last a moment.
"I haven't eaten dinner yet."
I rummaged through my pockets and pulled out a cup of instant ramen and a triangle kimbap.
"Instead of alcohol, I'd like some hot water, please."
"Excuse me...?"
"I need to eat my ramen."
Go Juhee stared at me, unable to hide her utter bewilderment.
But...
"...Bring some hot water here, please."
What could she do?
I was the one who wanted to eat.
As I shook the seasoning packet into the cup and waited, someone who looked like a waiter brought boiling water in a long silver kettle.
"Please pour it just slightly below the fill line."
"Yes, sir."
"It must absolutely not go over."
I absolutely detest bland food.
Fortunately, the waiter poured the boiling water to the perfect height.
I placed the triangle kimbap on top of the cup ramen lid to keep it down.
Then, I checked the time on my phone.
And said,
"I'll give you three minutes."
"Pardon?"
"You said you wanted to talk. It takes exactly three minutes for the ramen to cook, so go ahead and speak during that time."
"..."
Go Juhee's expression went beyond bewilderment to sheer disbelief.
Given her status as a GR Group heiress, this was probably the first time she had ever been treated like this.
"After all, this is an unofficial meeting."
"Well, that's..."
"So I can't give you much of my time either."
"Mr. Lee Taepyeong..."
"Thirty seconds have passed."
Did she realize I was dead serious?
A flustered Go Juhee abruptly thrust a tablet toward me.
"First, take a look at this."
What was on the tablet was the movements of various guilds, including the GR Guild.
To be precise,
These are the terms they're offering to recruit me...
Indeed.
Or rather than terms, should I call them bait?
Starting from money, to items, and all kinds of support.
Some places offered to build a customized team just for me.
Others offered astronomical sums of money.
Among them, the GR Guild...
Money, items, and even a team...
Not to mention various supports, PR, and direct trade of tower byproducts.
It was clear that if I joined, I could easily secure a high-ranking position.
These were terms that any ordinary hunter would sign immediately.
Honestly, even I was surprised.
However, the question was,
"...I'd find out in a week anyway, so why are you showing me this now?"
Even though they had already offered terms that overwhelmed the other guilds.
Why did she go out of her way to find me?
Just to see if I liked the terms?
Go Juhee swiped the screen, and a photo appeared.
A middle-aged man in his forties wearing a neat suit.
"Do you recognize him?"
"No clue."
"That's Team Leader Han Myeongjin."
Han Myeongjin?
The guy who scammed my colleague Baek Harim with an unfair contract, and tried to contact me by coaxing Kim Jesik?
"He's the one who recently obtained information about you and tried to contact you, but failed."
"I know."
"I heard you ripped up his business card."
"Did Kim Jesik tell you that?"
Instead of answering, Go Juhee grinned and continued.
"It seems Team Leader Han Myeongjin is desperate to recruit you."
"So? Did you call me here to ask me to go easy on him?"
I already ripped up his card, didn't I?
"Ms. Go Juhee, want a spoiler?"
"Sure."
"I have no intention of signing with GR."
"..."
"Honestly, it disgusts me that a guild like GR, which preys on hunters, is even participating in my negotiations."
So keep dreaming.
Just as I was about to say that,
"You're serious about what you just said, right?" Go Juhee smiled brightly and asked back. "That you have no intention of signing with GR."
What was with this woman?
Didn't she come here to lobby for the GR Guild?
"I knew my judgment of character was correct."
"Pardon?"
"Mr. Lee Taepyeong."
"..."
"What you just said is exactly what I want."
Huh?
As I stared at her in confusion,
Snap!
Go Juhee smiled and snapped a pair of wooden chopsticks in half, handing them to me.
"Shall we talk about the rest while you enjoy your ramen?"
Go Juhee.
She was the Director of Foreign Cooperation for the GR Group, and the only daughter of Chairman Go of the GR Group.
Though she had been exceptionally intelligent since childhood, because she was the child of a second wife and was overshadowed by her four older brothers, she was a woman who had never been able to show her brilliant talents.
Although she returned after studying abroad in the United States, there was no place for her anywhere in the GR Group.
The only thing placed in her hands was the plausible-sounding title of 'Director of Foreign Cooperation.'
On the surface, it was an entity that assisted in the trade and distribution of tower byproducts between the GR Guild and the GR Group.
But that was merely a facade.
The lucrative tower byproduct business was in the hands of her brothers, and the guild, which was the 'conduit' for obtaining those byproducts, was in the hands of hunters blinded by a few pennies.
In the end, all she had was a name.
Ultimately, Go Juhee held nothing of substance in her hands.
And unfortunately, Go Juhee was smart enough to realize that fact.
So, what was she to do?
How could she obtain real 'power' instead of a hollow title?
She couldn't rashly lay a hand on the GR Group.
If she did, her four brothers would bury her alive.
That left only one way.
Something that wasn't the GR Group itself, but could still exert influence over it...
Taking control of the 'GR Guild.'
However, even this was no easy task.
This was because of the rats who had occupied the GR Guild for over a decade.
Like a multi-level marketing scheme, these 'hunters' had secured their positions by handing over other hunters to the GR Group.
A few hunters, including Han Myeongjin, were still preserving their positions through connections and commissions pocketed from unfair contracts.
Of course, there were gaps in those 'positions' as well.
And Go Juhee was clever enough to find those gaps.
Recently, most of the A-rank hunters who supported the GR Guild had left in droves due to contract expirations.
A few remained, but they weren't enough to run the guild.
Above all, the hardest hit would be the GR Group's tower byproduct processing business.
With the mass departure of A-rank hunters, the periodic supply of tower byproducts from various teams would soon dry up.
It was only a matter of time before this came to light.
That was why Han Myeongjin was determined to get his hands on Lee Taepyeong.
The record holder for the fastest tower clears.
From the 1st floor all the way to the 30th.
Ordinary hunters cleared the tower on a weekly cycle, or every four days at the fastest.
However, according to the information she obtained, Lee Taepyeong cleared it once a day.
Sometimes two or three times a day.
And he even cleared it alone.
If they could just secure Lee Taepyeong, the mass departure of A-rank hunters would no longer be an issue.
Based on these calculations, the GR Guild had offered Lee Taepyeong an astronomical proposal that far surpassed other guilds.
With terms like these, anyone would surely accept.
This was the underlying conviction of the GR Guild's leadership.
If that conviction were shattered, what would happen to the GR Guild?
Even if others didn't know, Go Juhee did.
If that happened, the GR Guild would be finished.
If she could kick out all the rats and take over their positions, the GR Group would no longer be able to ignore her.
After all, the 'byproducts' that fed the processing business ultimately came from the GR Guild.
The final puzzle piece needed for this dangerous plan was none other than...
Lee Taepyeong.
Go Juhee smiled as she looked at the savior before her.
"So, in short, you want to completely destroy the GR Guild?"
"Haha, you speak quite bluntly. Is that a hunter thing?"
"Am I wrong?"
"Shall we say I want to 'teach them a lesson' instead?"
Go Juhee.
This woman was smiling brightly, but she was no ordinary person.
To destroy the GR Guild, which was ranked second in the country until recently.
Especially when she herself was the daughter of the GR Group.
Unless one had nerves of steel, it was hard to even imagine.
"Hmm..."
But I liked it.
Backstabbing the bastards who went around scamming others.
How could this not be fun?
Even if I don't sign with the GR Guild...
they will find their next prey anyway.
And those victims will be sucked dry to the bone, just like Baek Harim was.
Since they had experienced a mass departure of hunters, the next generation of hunters would be subjected to even more subtly revised, unfair contracts.
Without even realizing they were being scammed.
In that case, indeed,
It's better to just crush them.
I poked a straw into my banana milk,
and took a long sip.
The sweet milk filled my mouth.
If things went well,
Go Juhee might be useful for 'that plan.'
I set the empty banana milk carton down on the table with a thud.
"Phew..."
Now that my stomach was full, my brain was working much better.
I grinned at Go Juhee, who was waiting for my answer.
"Alright."
"...!"
"I will absolutely not sign a contract with the GR Guild."
"Thank you!"
"However."
"...?"
"I have a few conditions of my own."