Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Please Tell Me Honestly
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Please tell me honestly.
Early in the morning, Siwoo was having a phone call with someone in the hallway.
"Yes, that's correct."
[Do you really think that makes any sense right now?]
"...I'll ask you one more time."
[Look here, Representative Han. Now that there are three S-ranks, doesn't it look like you're hiding something?]
"Yes."
[...What?]
"Yes, I won't deny it."
[...No, how can you be so brazen about it?]
"And yet, you're still asking me."
[Wow... Is this really a request?]
"That's why I suggested a system that benefits Baek Changgi."
[....]
"Using the contract suspension system means there won't be any issues with the White Tiger Guild contract period."
[...Sigh. I know, I get it.]
"I'm also saving face for Baek Changgi here. That's enough."
[What?]
"Either way, if Choi Minseok refuses to go into dungeons by force, there's no way to stop him."
[...Representative Han. Do you know what?]
"Please speak."
[You're really attractive. No desire to think it over again...?]
"I'll take that as agreement and hang up."
Siwoo let out a deep sigh.
Now that Red was captured, there was no need for him to take risks as bait anymore.
The association was leading efforts to locate other facilities, but progress was still sluggish.
And Choi Minseok was itching to bolt at any moment, held back only temporarily by using Jiyu as an excuse.
Siwoo had requested to interrogate him himself, but the association refused.
They wanted to uncover it themselves to create a debt from Choi Minseok, but it was backfiring instead.
"Pathetic bunch."
He sighed once more and opened the hospital room door.
As the special room door opened, Lee Chaei looked at Siwoo with eyes trembling in anxiety.
Siwoo approached slowly and held out the exclusive contract.
Huddled in the corner of the bed, she stared blankly at the paper in front of her.
"This is the exclusive contract."
Siwoo handed her a pen.
"As I mentioned, this is an exclusive contract as an Awakener, not as a Hunter."
"Th-then... I don't have to fight?"
Lee Chaei's hand trembled as she gripped the pen.
Seeing her eyes shake, Siwoo spoke calmly.
"Don't worry. I won't send you into a dungeon to fight monsters."
"...Really?"
Lee Chaei's eyes widened round. An Awakener contract without fighting?
It was beyond her common sense.
"Then, maybe with people...?"
"I will never put Chaei in danger."
Siwoo's voice was dry, but the conviction within it eased her anxiety a bit.
"For now, let's find something Chaei can do. There are ways to prove your value beyond combat."
Lee Chaei looked into Siwoo's eyes.
They weren't lying.
With trembling hands, she signed the bottom of the contract.
The crooked handwriting sealed the deal.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Contract established. Contract Target: Lee Chaei Passive Skill 'Growth Synchronization' has activated. Sharing 3% of target's acquired experience. Siwoo gathered the contract and stood up.
"Then, I'll head to the office to sort some things out..."
As he turned to leave.
"Ah...!"
Lee Chaei reflexively leaped from the bed.
She clutched the hem of Siwoo's clothes tightly.
"D-don't go...!"
Siwoo swallowed a sigh and turned back.
He held the contract up before her eyes.
"Chaei. Look at this."
"......?"
"What is this?"
"Cont...ract."
"Right. A contract. A legally binding document."
Siwoo spoke slowly, as if soothing a child.
"As long as this document exists, you and I are legally bound. It's a relationship guaranteed by the state."
"Legally..."
"Yes. Employer and employee. Manager and Awakener. We're now inseparable. There's no reason for Chaei and me to part."
'Legal connection.'
'No reason to part.'
Those words stuck firmly in Lee Chaei's ears.
More than abstract promises, the tangible paper and the weight of 'law' gave her a strange sense of relief.
It felt like an unbreakable, sturdy rope.
The strength left Lee Chaei's hand.
"Ah..."
"I'll arrange a place to stay and come pick you up. Don't run. I'm going to be with you."
"...Yes. I'll wait."
Only then did Lee Chaei nod.
She returned to the bed and sat obediently, knees together.
Like a loyal dog waiting for its owner.
Siwoo watched her for a moment before leaving the room.
**
Miracle Management CEO's office.
Returning to the office after a long time, Siwoo was greeted by a mountain of documents needing approval.
He hung up his jacket and switched straight to work mode.
Scribble, scribble.
The only sound filling the quiet office was the pen gliding across paper.
After reviewing documents for a while, Siwoo pressed the intercom.
"PR Team Leader, come in for a moment."
Soon, a knock sounded, and the PR Team Leader entered.
"You called, President?"
"Have a seat."
Siwoo pushed aside the approved stack and got to the point.
"Form a new scout team."
"Pardon? A scout team?"
"Yes. I've been finding talent through personal connections so far, but there's a limit now. Assemble a professional team and dedicate them to it."
The team leader's eyes widened.
And for good reason—the talents Siwoo had brought in were all monsters.
Kim Yaeun, Choi Minseok, Lee Jia.
And now Lee Chaei.
The industry called Siwoo's eye for talent the Eye of God.
Yet he was handing that authority to the team?
"But no one can match your discernment, President..."
"Even ten bodies of mine wouldn't be enough. I can't keep running around inefficiently forever."
Siwoo cut in firmly.
"The basic framework is set. Now it's time to expand. We need to move to operations."
"...Understood."
As the team leader left, silence returned to the office.
Siwoo leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
System building is going smoothly.
Funds and personnel are accumulating.
The problem is...
'Lee Chaei.'
The B-rank Awakener he contracted today.
No, B-rank trauma patient.
How to utilize her.
Siwoo opened his eyes and looked at the monitor.
Her profile photo was on the screen.
Pale but unrealistically beautiful features.
'Combat impossible. Anthropophobia. Panic disorder.'
Regular Hunter work is out.
But he couldn't just let her idle.
She needed a role too.
He wasn't a philanthropist.
Time had passed midnight.
All employees had gone home, leaving Siwoo alone in the building.
Knock, knock.
Then, a cautious knock sounded.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Lee Jia entered.
"You haven't left yet?"
"How could I, with the president still here."
Lee Jia smiled brightly and sat on the sofa.
She quietly checked her phone, careful not to disturb Siwoo.
A moment later, Siwoo cleared his throat, his throat dry, and turned to look for water.
In that instant.
Swoosh.
Lee Jia had approached silently and offered a cool bottle of water.
"Ah, thank you."
Siwoo took the bottle and drank deeply.
The cold water sliding down his throat cleared his complicated mind a bit.
Then.
A memory flashed through Siwoo's mind.
From the hospital room.
The melody Lee Chaei had hummed softly.
'......'
It was brief, but the tone was eerily beautiful.
A captivating, ear-pleasing voice.
It must be the influence of her ability.
'Voice.'
Siwoo set down the bottle, lost in thought.
Great voice.
Appearance goes without saying.
Singer, then?
Possible? Maybe.
No, impossible.
Can't put someone who faints in front of people on stage.
'Then scrap this plan too.'
Siwoo tapped the desk with his fingers.
No face-to-face possible.
But needs to be shown.
A way to expose to the public without standing before crowds.
Siwoo's gaze shifted to the computer monitor on the desk.
He stared blankly at the screen for a moment.
'......Do I really need her to stand directly in front of people?'
Communicating from a room, through the monitor?
Facing only the camera lens, not actual people?
A stage maximizing her voice and looks without triggering her anthropophobia.
'Internet broadcasting.'
Siwoo's eyes gleamed.
Streamer.
Or a virtual YouTuber with face hidden.
No, with her looks, no need to hide.
Visuals bursting from the screen and a demonic voice would captivate viewers instantly.
This is it.
But needed confirmation.
Was it just pretty in his eyes, or did it have objective market appeal?
Siwoo looked up at Lee Jia on the sofa.
"Jia."
"Yes?"
Lee Jia looked at him with wide eyes.
"You seem to know, so what do you think of Lee Chaei?"
"L-Lee Chaei?"
Lee Jia panicked.
Sudden mention of Lee Chaei?
Contract issue maybe?
"Wh-what kind of question is that...? About her abilities?"
"Ah, sorry. Too broad."
Siwoo spun his pen casually.
"I mean her appearance."
"Ap-appearance?!"
Lee Jia's voice flipped.
The president, Han Siwoo, asking to evaluate someone's looks?
A woman's, no less?
"......"
Lee Jia stared blankly at Siwoo.
Siwoo was serious.
No hint of joking.
'Why is she so surprised?'
Siwoo thought inwardly and asked again.
"Yes, honestly."
Lee Jia's lips twitched.
Honestly.
Hated to admit it, but Lee Chaei from the hospital was breathtaking even to another woman.
A face blending innocent allure that stirred protective instincts with a seductive decadence.
"Sh-she seems pretty... Very much so."
"I see."
Siwoo nodded.
But not enough.
Needed a comparison.
"Then."
Siwoo stared straight at Lee Jia.
"Compared to yourself, what do you think?"
"...Pardon?"
Lee Jia's mind blanked.
Compare? To me? Why...?
'Why compare to me? ...No way.'
"Seriously. Need an objective evaluation."
Siwoo's gaze was steady.
Lee Jia bit her lip.
Pride hurt.
But if the president wanted, objective answer.
She answered honestly in a trembling voice.
"Lee Chaei seems... prettier."
Lee Jia's voice crawled.
"Is that so. Yes, got it."
Siwoo nodded satisfactorily, organized papers, and stood.
If even Lee Jia admitted it, success.
The most critical evaluator—same gender, and stunning herself—agreed.
Market appeal overflowed.
"Then, I'll head out."
Siwoo left the office with confident steps.
Lee Jia remained alone.
She hung her head, shoulders slumping.
'As expected... Pretty girls are the best.'
The president is a man after all.
Of course he'd be drawn to the prettier Lee Chaei.
Guess I'm no good.
No matter how close, in the end...
Defeat darkened Lee Jia's face.
She looked ready to cry.
Creeak.
Then, the closed CEO office door opened again.
Siwoo poked his head in.
"Jia."
"Y-yes?!"
Lee Jia jumped, lifting her head.
She hurriedly wiped tears from her eyes.
"By the way."
Siwoo gripped the door handle, expression as impassive as ever.
"Yes."
"About that question earlier."
"...Yes."
Lee Jia swallowed hard.
'Wh-what is he going to say?'
Confirming the kill?
Siwoo adjusted his glasses.
"I think a bit differently."
"...Pardon?"
Lee Jia's eyes widened.
Her mind froze.
'Thinks... differently?'
She said she was uglier, but Siwoo thought otherwise?
Meaning, in Siwoo's eyes...
"Then, I'm off first."
Click.
The door closed, silence returned.
1 second. 2 seconds. 3 seconds.
Lee Jia stared blankly at the door.
The meaning sank in slowly.
I think differently?
Then...
In my eyes, Lee Jia is prettier.
Right?
That means...
'He prefers me?!'
Whoosh—!
Lee Jia's face turned beet red.
Her heart pounded wildly.
She clutched her burning cheeks, stomping her feet in fluster.
'Wh-what do I do! What do I do!'
The president... the president toward me...!
She banged her head on the desk, screaming inwardly.
'Th-this is that proposal you only hear about?!'