Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Inquiries Flood In
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Chapter 122
"Yes, President. What brings you here so late at night...?"
Minji jumped up in surprise and answered the phone.
- Oh, sorry about that. I didn't realize how late it was.
For some reason, his voice sounded even more excited than during the interview last time, like something good had happened.
Jeong-hyeon gave a brief apology and got straight to the point.
- Minji, I think it's about time to open the homepage.
"Really?"
The moment she'd been dreading had finally arrived.
She'd built it, but putting that homepage out into the world still felt off somehow.
When Minji seemed to hesitate, Jeong-hyeon asked.
- What's wrong? Is there a problem? I heard it was finished last time.
"Oh... It's not that, President."
After pondering for a moment, Minji squeezed her eyes shut and decided to be honest.
She told him what her friend had said, and how no matter how she looked at it, things seemed suspicious.
"So, I'm not doubting you at all, President, but people around me keep saying..."
Jeong-hyeon listened calmly to Minji's words and burst out laughing.
- Don't worry. I know it looks plenty suspicious to me too. But it's not a lie.
"Really?"
- Yeah. And even if it were a scam, I'd be the only one going down for it, so don't worry and just open the homepage.
"Got it."
- Then call me tomorrow morning with the results.
"Tomorrow morning? That's—"
- I'll be waiting.
Minji tried to speak urgently, but Jeong-hyeon hung up without waiting.
"What results is he talking about for tomorrow morning?"
He really was an unpredictable person.
Ridiculous credentials, showing up with a business idea, and now expecting results overnight.
Yet his confidence was so unwavering that even Minji, who had been full of worries during their talks, found herself gaining some assurance.
"Does he not know how the world works, or does he really have something up his sleeve...?"
Either way, she'd gotten her orders from the boss, so she just had to follow them.
Minji sat at her desk and opened her laptop.
Around the time she'd finished the homepage, she'd stuck a Post-it note on the wall in plain sight.
- Hunter-related crime hotline: 121 (no area code needed)
'Yeah, if it seems fishy, I'll report it first.'
Jeong-hyeon hadn't expected Minji to already look up the Hunter Association's investigation division number.
And right before clicking the "publish" button on the already completed homepage.
Minji's finger trembled a bit, but in the end, she successfully launched the HJH Gate Office homepage officially.
"Hoo... I wash my hands of it!"
Of course, her heart was a whirlwind of emotions.
Jeong-hyeon had consistently acted like there was nothing to doubt about his business, so part of her thought "maybe," but...
The objectively displayed info was so outlandish that it felt like she was doing something insane.
In the end, Minji closed her laptop and decided to sleep it off and see in the morning.
Come morning, she'd know.
Whether Jeong-hyeon was a con artist or actually had something real going.
And the next morning.
"Ugh... I'm dying."
Minji rubbed her aching back with hollow eyes as she got up.
She'd told herself to sleep it off, but how easy was that?
Desperate to check the homepage, she'd barely slept, staring at the ceiling all night.
She'd held off checking before dawn, feeling like it'd mean defeat, and forced herself to wait until sunrise.
"Let's see how it looks."
Minji shuffled to her desk and plopped into the chair.
She hadn't shut down the laptop last night, just closed it, so opening it would bring up the homepage right away.
With a tense heart, she lifted the lid, and sure enough, the homepage appeared.
"Ah, haha, figures."
The inquiries board showed no changes.
What had she even been hoping for?
A rookie hunter as president of a brand-new gate office.
Declaring specialization in mission gates—something that wouldn't fly.
Even if it did catch on, responses overnight would be the real anomaly.
Creak—
"Honey, you planning to laze around all day again? If you're not working, at least go outside—oh, you're up?"
Just then, Minji's mom came into her room, wearing an apron.
Normally, her daughter slept until late morning, so she'd come to wake her early for some activity, but Minji was already at her desk.
She didn't look great, though.
Seeing her mom's face, Minji's eyes welled up as she said.
"Mom... I think I've been scammed—"
She felt like she was about to burst into tears any second.
Ridiculously, in that moment, Minji caught the smell of doenjang jjigae wafting into the room.
And a sudden thought hit her.
'Refresh?'
What a pathetic mistake.
No matter how out of it she was, how could she forget to refresh?
Minji startled and grabbed the mouse again.
'No way... It couldn't be that the inquiries didn't show because I didn't refresh...'
She knew full well it was her last shred of hope.
That there was zero chance.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
From her mom's perspective, seeing her daughter look like a zombie, on the verge of tears, then suddenly fiddling with the computer was bewildering.
Worried something had gone wrong, mother and daughter peered at the monitor together.
And finally, when Minji hit the refresh button.
"?"
"?"
Minji knew it instantly.
Things had blown up.
***
Meanwhile, Jeong-hyeon had woken early too.
Though for a slightly different reason than Minji.
She'd been fretting over whether any business would come in; he knew for sure.
At least two places would send inquiries.
'At least two, but I'd love for it to spread even more.'
Ding—
Right then, the computer speaker chimed with a notification.
An email had arrived.
Jeong-hyeon checked the sender and grinned.
She'd worried about scams, but Minji must've been curious after all.
Opening the email revealed no text—just an attached document.
The downloaded file's first page listed over twenty guilds at a glance.
- Employee Choi Minji
At the same time, his phone rang from Minji.
Jeong-hyeon skimmed the file while answering.
"Yes, hello?"
- President, what is all this?
"What do you mean?"
Even though he knew exactly what she meant, Jeong-hyeon feigned ignorance and asked calmly.
Minji then unleashed a torrent of words.
- Over twenty guilds actually sent inquiries! You didn't fake them to make it look good, did you?
'Man, what a distrustful person.'
Charitably, the type who wouldn't starve anywhere; uncharitably, the suspicious sort.
As if he'd impersonate twenty guilds out of boredom to fool a newbie.
Of course, to her, he was just an unregistered hunter, so the misunderstanding wasn't unreasonable.
"Why would I do that? If you're suspicious, call the guilds yourself—they'll answer kindly. I'll check the file and call back."
- No, but... Okay, got it!
Her response had more energy than before—clearly, trust was building.
Jeong-hyeon chuckled as he set the phone down after the call.
Over twenty guilds inquiring on opening day.
Even with all the attention on Jeong-hyeon, it was odd.
Without any real promo, how would guilds know to check out a newbie like HJH Gate Office?
'If I hadn't done promo.'
Truth was, before calling Minji last night, Jeong-hyeon had contacted two more places.
***
It was nearly midnight when Jeong-hyeon left the association.
'Now that I'm level 5, geared up properly. Time to get this started?'
With all the delays due to circumstances, it felt like the right time to properly launch HJH Gate Office.
Legally registered already, "starting" just meant opening Minji's homepage, but to really get it rolling, some networking was needed.
He'd already planned for that.
He pulled out his phone and called someone.
- Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon?
"Hope you've been well, Hunter Cha Jun-won."
Jeongjin's HR Team 2 Leader Cha Jun-won's voice brimmed with warmth.
First contact since conquering "King's Playground" together—and that had skyrocketed Jun-won's position.
To Jun-won, Jeong-hyeon was a lifesaver and a ladder to success.
His reaction was purely friendly now, no exaggeration.
- Oh man, I've been busy lately. Calling this late—what's up?
"Just starting a business."
- Huh? A business?
Jun-won's surprise came through loud and clear in his voice.
No contact for months, then suddenly a business announcement—who wouldn't be shocked?
- Sorry, but I don't have that kind of money...
Jun-won's tone carried clear awkwardness.
"Not asking for that. Just hear me out."
Jeong-hyeon gave a quick rundown on HJH Gate Office.
Specializing in mission gates guilds couldn't handle solo—if Jeongjin was interested, reach out.
"All requests strictly confidential, 100% payment after completion, so no worries."
Hearing that, Jun-won agreed readily.
- Of course. If you're starting a business, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon, we gotta support it. You know, if you joined us, we could handle mission gates by the truckload.
"Nah, I'm good."
- Haha, still sharp as ever.
He'd slipped in a recruitment feeler, but got shot down instantly.
"And if you happen to mention it to other guilds, that's fine too."
- Pardon? Ah, got it. Sure thing.
He was puzzled at first, then understood quick.
That had been Jeong-hyeon's intent in calling Jun-won from the start.
Jeongjin could handle most gates unless they were like "King's Playground."
But rumors from Jeongjin's HR would spread industry-wide in a flash.
Even to guilds that snag mission gates but can't clear them solo.
"Thanks, looking forward to it."
- Yeah, let's hunt together again sometime.
After hanging up, Jeong-hyeon called another place right away.
- Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon, calling this late—what's the occasion?
"Yes, long time. Team Leader Jeong Su-young."
This time, it was Sea Guild's sales team.
***
"Even with all that oiling last night, it'd be weird if this many didn't bite. Heh."
The guild list was the fruit of that midnight networking.
Over twenty guilds contacting that night? Jun-won and Su-young must've put in real effort.
'Gotta repay them properly later if they ask.'
He lived by not taking hits lying down—and repaying favors in full.
Vowing to help both guilds big-time if needed, Jeong-hyeon scrolled through Minji's file.
"What a mix of riffraff."
Minji had scraped all inquiries in her excitement, without filtering—but plenty weren't legit requests.
'You lot are all blacklisted.'
Not just one or two; quite a few.
Jeong-hyeon quietly opened Notepad.