Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Meeting with Park Geunhwa
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Chapter 125
"Are you Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon? I'm Vice Guild Leader Park Geunhwa."
"I'm Han Jeong-hyeon, president of the HJH Gate Office."
It was his first meeting with Vice Guild Leader Park Geunhwa of Vice Guild.
Geunhwa, who had heard that Jeong-hyeon was coming and was waiting in advance, offered a handshake. Jeong-hyeon lightly gripped his hand and nodded.
He had guessed that things weren't great, but seeing his complexion up close made it even clearer.
'Well, the atmosphere was already intimidating from the entrance.'
It felt like it could explode at the slightest touch.
It was exactly like the atmosphere in the workshop when they hadn't received supplies for months due to shortages and were on the brink of bankruptcy.
They sized each other up based on first impressions and took their seats.
By the time the secretary placed two cups of coffee on the table, Geunhwa spoke first.
"It's urgent since last night, but I thoroughly checked your office's homepage. And I heard about it from somewhere."
"Thank you."
The "somewhere" was probably either Jeongjin Guild or Sea Guild.
Among them, Junwon didn't seem to fit this stiff atmosphere, so it was likely Suyeong, who was naturally in sales.
"You're quite famous even in Vice Guild's HR circles. I guess news travels slower when you're my age."
"I still have a long way to go compared to someone of your stature, Vice Guild Leader."
That was the end of the polite pleasantries for a first meeting.
Jeong-hyeon thought the real talk would start now, and his prediction was spot on.
"But seeing you in person, you look even younger. Excuse my old man's concern, but do you really think you can pull this off?"
It was more direct than Jeong-hyeon expected.
Hard to believe from a mid-tier guild's vice leader.
Of course, it could also be seen as the result of his desperation.
Jeong-hyeon smiled leisurely and countered.
"If I wasn't confident, would a 100% pay-after-results policy even be possible? And with me as your only contracted hunter so far, what more needs to be said?"
Geunhwa paused with the cup halfway to his mouth, as if caught off guard.
He already knew about the pay-after-results.
It showed confidence that they wouldn't fail, but also the boldness of a new office.
But even for a startup, just one hunter—himself?
"You're really handling jobs solo?"
"Ah, there's one office staff member. But I go into the gates alone."
"Ha..."
Could he really be trusted?
It could be chalked up to confidence up to a point, but beyond that, it felt like reckless bravado.
Gate offices were smaller than guilds, but their members were no slouches—comparable to decent guilds.
The standard was a president with experience as a raid team leader in a major guild, plus veterans assigned by gate level as employees.
It was similar to the old private military companies in terms of member quality.
That's why guilds trusted them with tricky mission gates they couldn't handle.
In short, gate offices were what burned-out guild hunters started to make big money on their own.
'A place with no experienced employees, just a half-year awakened hunter?'
It was hard for Geunhwa to comprehend Jeong-hyeon and the HJH Gate Office with his common sense, and it was getting worse.
Sea Guild's Jeong Suyeong recommended this place knowing their situation, and the HR team leader lit up with relief at Han Jeong-hyeon's name.
"Guess I don't inspire much trust."
"Ahem."
Seeing Geunhwa's confused look, Jeong-hyeon sipped his coffee and hit the nail on the head.
Geunhwa coughed awkwardly, realizing his rudeness in front of a potential partner.
If he were in his right mind, he wouldn't have made such a mistake.
Of course, if things weren't this dire, he wouldn't have taken this gamble either.
But Jeong-hyeon, fully aware of Geunhwa's inner turmoil, didn't mind.
It'd be weird if he wasn't worried when his guild was on the line.
Sure enough, Geunhwa spoke in a gloomy voice.
"If the clear fails again, we'll have no choice but to report to the Association and shut down. If that happens—"
"The crafting division might survive, but the raiding department gets closed. It's not your main focus anyway, so no qualms there."
"...Yes."
Geunhwa admitted frankly.
"And I probably won't be able to stay in this industry anymore."
Seeing Geunhwa hang his head, Jeong-hyeon's eyes narrowed slightly.
Why was that?
His words about not being able to stay in the industry didn't feel like worry over jobs or livelihood.
"Someone of your level could work anywhere else. No need to stick to guilds."
Geunhwa stared at Jeong-hyeon blankly at the casually probing remark.
Then he let out a hollow laugh.
"Haha. Of course. But if this goes south and I get kicked out, I don't think I could do anything else. It's all because of my greed— what can I do?"
Park Geunhwa, who had been a hunter since early gate days and recently stepped back to the second line.
He might have climbed high, but long years in hunting meant scars proportional to the time.
Jeong-hyeon smiled faintly.
"You're still a hunter at heart, swinging at monsters, Vice Guild Leader."
"Pardon?"
Geunhwa tilted his head, wondering what that came from.
But Jeong-hyeon just added another cryptic line.
"I'm a hunter too."
Money, rank, level.
Many things defined a hunter, but they were all secondary.
Clink.
Jeong-hyeon set his cup down on the table.
"I'll make sure you can stay a hunter longer, Vice Guild Leader. Shall we move to the contract?"
"Ah, yes. Let's."
Despite being much younger and far less experienced, Geunhwa—seasoned from years in guilds and society—felt oddly led by this young man.
He pulled the contract from the envelope beside him and handed it to Jeong-hyeon.
Jeong-hyeon skimmed it, already familiar from the proposal, and thought.
'Originally, I planned to negotiate better terms.'
Vice Guild was desperate anyway, and if talks failed, plenty of other guilds awaited—far friendlier than this suspicious bunch.
But the short chat with Geunhwa changed his mind.
Specific terms didn't matter much to him; he could adjust.
A few more billion won?
Pocket change long-term.
Instead, he pulled a pen for the special clause.
"Vice Guild Leader, did you see the confidentiality mention on the homepage?"
"Yes, I did."
"It's not just for me—it applies to Vice Guild too."
"What do you mean...?"
What else?
'It means don't talk if I go all out.'
In public parties, Jeong-hyeon couldn't use his traits freely with crowds.
But a 1:1 guild contract changed that.
Even Association Operations' Nam-sik confirmed it was fine.
Of course, he'd deny it if asked.
Anyway, Jeong-hyeon scribbled on the contract and showed Geunhwa.
- Mutual Confidentiality. Party B (Vice Guild) shall not disclose Party A's (Han Jeong-hyeon) abilities or actions inside the gate via any media or outlet. Violation will result in...
"Is this clause... necessary?"
"Well, to clear a mission gate, I can't hold back."
Geunhwa looked a bit dazed.
He thought it was some big demand, but just confidentiality?
Did it need a special clause?
For Vice Guild, it was no issue—no future harm.
The contract was signed quickly.
They signed both copies, exchanged them, and shook hands again.
"Thanks for the smooth deal."
"...?"
"That's how young folks greet these days. Trying to lighten the mood."
"Ah... haha, I see."
Unpredictable guy.
Heavy one moment, light the next.
"By any chance, is the raid team waiting to enter the gate with me?"
"Yes. But we didn't expect solo, so we need to add more manpower."
Geunhwa frowned slightly.
Vice Guild's recruitment favored non-combatants.
Even fewer for mission gates.
Previously, they paid extra to gate offices for more staff.
Now, external was just Han Jeong-hyeon.
His frown mixed worry over increased guild risk and lower raid quality.
But Jeong-hyeon nodded with a carefree smile.
"It's fine. I'm the key anyway."
Beyond arrogant, it sounded like solo-clearing a level 5 mission gate was no big deal.
Wrinkles deepened on Geunhwa's forehead.
If he heard those worries, Jeong-hyeon would've replied:
'It's true.'
Anything short of "King's Playground" was solo-clearable.
Even now, he could tackle that.
But that was the overbalanced gate that swallowed even Jeongjin's raid team.
A level 5 harder than that? System error.
Geunhwa was adapting to Jeong-hyeon's confidence.
Leaving the office, he instructed his secretary to call one more top fighter to the conference room, besides the pre-arranged hunters.
Excluding those at the mine gate—essential—they were all on standby.
When Jeong-hyeon and Geunhwa entered, five hunters were already there, minus that one.
Their gazes locked on Jeong-hyeon in unison.
He took the roster of guild members from a waiting staffer and greeted calmly.
"Hello. I'm Han Jeong-hyeon, president of HJH Gate Office, here to enter 'Merrillium Mine's Gems' with you all."
No real response came.
The five pairs of eyes held mixed emotions, none positive.
'Finally feels like we're heading into a gate.'
Jeong-hyeon nodded contentedly at the guild members' demeanor.