Special Business Designator: Baek Jaesung 3
Special Business Designator: Baek Jaesung
After chatting positively with the association staff, I checked the time and realized it was lunchtime. My stomach was growling. Usually, I'd eat the lunch the girls made, but the chef was out on a business trip today. I suddenly felt like eating out for a change.
"Let's go out to eat."
"Sounds good!"
Jisu beamed with joy. We headed downtown.
"Ah, I keep forgetting to buy a car. Should I just get one today?"
With the reward money close to 20 billion won, buying a car seemed like no big deal. It'd be convenient for quick trips between home and the city. Jisu nodded at my words.
"You gotta handle stuff like that the moment it starts feeling inconvenient."
"Right? Cool. Let's eat first, then hit up a car dealership."
"Ooh! Can I pick one out?"
Jueun suddenly perked up with interest.
"When you and the others go to dungeons, oppa, I could drive you guys."
"Oh, yeah. We used van services before, but if you handle it, that works."
Van services are nice, but fucking expensive. Sure, we're past the point of skimping on that, but why waste money when we don't have to? Using spare hands efficiently is a win.
We went to a high-end French restaurant in the department store basement. The course meal we ordered ran about 500,000 won per person. We paired it with wine.
This was the kind of fancy food my old self couldn't even dream of window-shopping. 500,000 won a meal? More than broke-ass novelist Baek Jaesung's weekly food budget. That fucking loser Baek Jaesung was such a pathetic bastard.
"Pretty tasty, huh."
Seeing Jisu and Jueun's smiling faces made even 5 million won feel worth it. As we savored the food slowly, two guys suddenly approached our table. They hesitated awkwardly before speaking to Jisu.
"Um... are you Jisu by any chance?"
Jisu looked up from her seafood dish topped with ricotta cheese and eyed them.
"Yeah? That's me."
"Whoa! Never thought we'd spot you here! We watched your last dungeon raid—it was awesome! Huge fans! Could we maybe get an autograph?"
Jisu's fans. She'd gained them after our Level House raid incident. All my girls had their own fan clubs now. With looks like theirs, it made sense.
Dungeon hunters with celebrity-level faces and figures? No surprise they had fan clubs. Pretty girls get them even from criminals, right?
Among my women, Jisu boasted one of the best bodies, so her popularity was sky-high. From what I'd searched, she had the most fan club members.
"Sure."
Jisu gave an awkward smile and signed the paper they handed her. The guys left grinning ear to ear.
"Whoa, guess we really are kinda famous now."
Jisu said that once they were gone. Yeah, definitely.
After eating, we headed to a car dealership. We picked a Benz shop.
"Welcome!"
The downtown Benz showroom greeted us with a sales rep bowing politely. Turns out Jueun was surprisingly into cars. She excitedly browsed around, and the rep hustled alongside her, pitching hard.
"Should we get two? One for casual daily drives, and a bigger one for dungeon raids. Big vehicles are better for those."
"Two, ten, whatever. You handle it."
I waved her off, handing full reins to Jueun. She nodded and scanned the cars like a hawk.
I sipped coffee the rep brought over with Jisu. Besides cars, the shop sold clothes, golf gear, and such—all stamped with the Benz logo for absurd markups. Brand power, huh?
We leisurely browsed and chatted. About the dungeon entertainment business the association guy mentioned earlier. Jisu was pretty positive.
"Sounds fun. Like he said, it could make good money."
"The Hunter Association has a nose for cash like no one else. They squeeze tons out of us."
"But they pay big too. 18 billion this time, right?"
"They better. We risked our lives. Level House was fucking brutal, even thinking back."
We'd gone all out, even using Life Vessel. Later, chatting with Master Kim Minyoung, she said that boss, Karon, was around 6-rank to 5-rank level.
Output-wise average, but the combo of abilities made it insanely tough.
"We're 7-rank now too. At 7-rank, you're legit firepower in the dungeon hunter world."
"For us, 6-rank's a breeze."
6-rank's seen as the typical endpoint for dungeon hunters. There's a massive invisible gap between 6 and 5. Climbing higher is trial after trial. Master Kim Minyoung, a 3-rank dungeon hunter, was a monster.
Jueun finally settled on cars. Two in total: an SUV and a van. Full options jacked the price—about 900 million won combined. I paid with card.
"Thank you!"
The rep bowed deeply. Big spenders get the respect, naturally.
"Feels reassuring to have cars now."
"I'll handle insurance, registration, everything."
"Cool, cool."
We headed home like that. Bellies full, a nice walk—mood relaxed. Perfect for a nap.
"Feeling sleepy."
Jisu felt the same.
"Let's nap in the room. Wanna join?"
"Yeah!"
Jisu came to my room in negligee. I hugged her close. Even without sex, skin-to-skin was pure bliss. Did I deserve this happiness? Sometimes I wonder if it's all a vain dream. If so, it'd be the world's cruelest nightmare. Nothing worse than false hope.
I woke up. Jisu was still snoring softly beside me. Throat dry. I tucked her in and got up.
Heading to the kitchen, my phone rang. Caller ID: Sujin. Picked up right away.
"Yeah, it's me."
"Ah, Jaesung. Your voice sounds off."
"Just woke from a nap."
"Oh? Did I wake you?"
"Nah, was heading for water anyway."
Hearing Sujin's voice lifted my spirits. Hearing it through the phone felt a bit lacking compared to in person.
"You get home safe?"
"Yeah. Got an earful from Mom and Dad. Sigh~ Shouldn't have come. Shoulda just stayed home."
Sujin called here 'home.' That warmed me up. This was our nest now.
"Your folks are all hunters, right? Sisters too."
"Yeah. Not a full hunter family, but weirdly, everyone's a hunter. Guess abilities are hereditary. Scholars say no, though."
"Those scholars miss everything. Anyway, see your parents' faces and come back slow."
"That's why I called... They really wanna meet you."
"Huh?"
A question slipped out at Sujin's words. Not weird, thinking about it. I'm her party leader—and lover.
No clue how much she'd told them... but yeah, understandable they'd wanna see me.
"Especially Dad—he's insistent. Might visit soon. Prep your mind."
"Oho, gotta brace myself?"
"Hate to say it, but Dad's super stubborn. Talk might not click. Just let it in one ear, out the other. Even bugs me, his daughter."
"Gotcha."
Her worried tone suggested it might not be fun. Still, inevitable. Wedding means meeting parents eventually.
Ah, come to think—I hadn't seen mine in ages. Dad's meh, but Mom... later.
Parents don't call when their kid strikes it rich? Or is it on me?
"Gotta go~"
"Yeah. Lots to tell, but when you get back."
I hung up, grabbed water from the fridge, and pondered.
"Sujin's parents, huh."
Might meet Yeonji's and Rina's too. Never heard about Yeonji's folks.
Rina's from a martial family, runs a small dojo. Parents probably tough.
"Ahh, refreshing."
Drank and headed back. Jisu mumbled in her sleep, tossing.
"Mmm... oppa..."
Her bro, Go Yohan, popped in my head. Academy同期, died in accident. Solid hunter.
"Right, that guy. Hwang Cheolmin? Wonder what he's up to."
Another academy buddy surfaced. Saw him at a workshop once; in some party now.
"Eh, probably living well."
I slipped under the covers, hugged Jisu. Her warmth was perfect. Sleep tugged again. I drifted off.