An Invitation Declined
"I invited him, but he declined."
Just as I thought! Her instincts had been spot on. Lee Se-yeon nodded and said, "Then let's do this. Recruit Kim Tae-hyun for me. As a team, with me. If you can make that happen, I'll participate."
"Excuse me?" Bae Jang-wook tilted his head. For a moment, he thought he had misheard. Unlike Tae-hyun, who had an odd obsession with wandering around alone without forming a guild, Lee Se-yeon was the leader of her own established guild. Why was she asking him to recruit Kim Tae-hyun? And as a team, no less.
"Is that not possible?"
"W-well... since he already declined once, it might be difficult. But I will do my best. May I ask why, though?"
"I want to see how well Kim Tae-hyun and I can play together. And I'm only human—if I'm going to participate in the pro league, wouldn't I want to win?"
"That certainly makes sense." Bae Jang-wook nodded. Lee Se-yeon's guild members were all highly skilled, but compared to Tae-hyun, they simply weren't on the same level.
As expected of Lee Se-yeon. So thorough. That cold calculation, already planning ahead for victory. The legend of Pan-On 1 is a legend for a reason. Bae Jang-wook was completely misunderstanding her. Of course, Tae-hyun's skills were top-tier, but Lee Se-yeon wasn't the type of person to abandon her beloved guild members just to join hands with an outsider for a win.
She wanted only one thing: to get Tae-hyun in her grasp! If I keep pursuing him, he'll eventually give in! If Tae-hyun had heard her thoughts, he would have been utterly appalled, wondering what kind of stalker she was. Meanwhile, Bae Jang-wook, who should have been the voice of reason, was completely sold on her idea. Lee Se-yeon and Kim Tae-hyun on the same team? It was a literal dream team!
"I will do my absolute best!"
"Son, are you ready?"
"I'm always ready."
"...Show a little tension, will you?!"
"You were the one who told me not to be nervous!"
"You don't show enough tension, you brat!"
The father and son bickered. Kim Tae-san cast a worried glance at Tae-hyun. This kid isn't going to embarrass me at the Chairman's birthday party, is he? Tae-san knew his son well. Tae-hyun wasn't so poorly mannered that he would go somewhere and make a fool of his father on purpose. However...
He is more than capable of tormenting me in the most subtle, petty, and underhanded ways! After all, whose son was he? Tae-san knew Tae-hyun all too well. Just as Tae-san had failed in his attempt to spill embarrassing stories about Tae-hyun on a broadcast, Tae-hyun could easily turn the tables and air his father's dirty laundry at the party.
"Son, do you need some pocket money?"
"Seeing how you're offering me money out of nowhere, you must have a guilty conscience about something..."
"..." Sharp as always! Cold sweat broke out on Tae-san's back.
"Ah. You're worried I'll say something unnecessary over there, aren't you?"
"...N-no, of course not."
"Come on, I won't. You don't have to worry."
"Really?"
"I already have plenty of material to tease you with just from your broadcast appearance anyway."
"I changed my appearance to an Orc! No one knows that was me!"
"Oh, really? Then I'll definitely have to mention that."
"Don't you dare, you brat! Don't say a word!"
"By the way, Dad. Isn't Mom coming with us?"
"Yoon-hee is... far too precious to go to a place like that..."
"...Dad, you didn't leave her behind because you were afraid she'd embarrass you, did you?"
Tae-san avoided his gaze. It was his ultimate desire to always appear as the perfect, dignified husband in front of his wife, Jeong Yun-hee! His grand plan was to go to the venue first, check if his reputation was intact, and if everything looked good, bring her along next time. Such meticulousness! Tae-hyun stared at his father with a look of pure pity. Is that being thorough, or is it just pathetic?
Tae-san quickly changed the subject. "So, what have you been up to in Pan-On lately? You haven't been on any broadcasts."
"Oh, I just escaped from the Demon Realm and barely managed to make it back to the continent."
Tae-hyun tossed out a piece of news that would have shocked anyone else as if he were talking about the weather. Tae-san wasn't even surprised anymore. He merely marveled inwardly. When on earth did this kid go there and get a quest like that... He had wanted to show off his greatness as a father and teach his son a lesson at least once, but the gap between them was only growing wider.
"Are you still in the Auston Kingdom, Dad?"
"Yeah. I'm managing a castle with my friends."
The current situation in the Auston Kingdom was incredibly chaotic. Half of it was controlled by the newly unified kingdom, while the other half was occupied by various player factions that had swarmed in during the confusion. These player factions were constantly clashing, seizing castles, cities, towns, and fortresses. It was a fierce Warring States period where no one could be sure who was friend or foe.
"There are so many enemies around these days... Oh, right. I actually received an invitation."
"What kind of invitation?"
"It was from a guild made up of guys who hate your guts. They tried to lure me in, saying we could crush you if I joined."
The Guild Alliance! Tae-hyun flinched. He knew the guilds that disliked him were banding together, but he hadn't expected them to be moving so aggressively. Is the Power Warrior Guild doing their job properly? Tae-hyun had asked the Power Warrior Guild to monitor the movements of the large Guild Alliance. He had absolutely no idea that the Power Warrior Guild members were currently holding back the Guild Alliance using some incredibly bizarre methods.
"You didn't accept, did you?"
"Why? Scared?"
"Please, what kind of cheap provocation is that? If you want to hold hands with them, go ahead. But who was the one who said that hanging out with losers only rubs their loser energy off on you...?"
Poked in a sore spot by Tae-hyun, Tae-san winced. Indeed, it was Tae-san himself who had coined the phrase, "If you play with losers, you become a loser!"
"I turned them down, you brat. Speaking of which, we have a weird guy in our guild too."
"One of your friends?"
"No. A new guy. Well, to be precise, he's not really a guild member, more like a captive... He's got a terrible attitude, so we've been dragging him around to teach him some manners, but he complains constantly and never listens."
It was Roy, who had been thoroughly snared after attempting a PK! Though Roy had barely managed to scrape his way into the lower ranks of the server, that meant absolutely nothing to Tae-san and his guild members. Their thoroughness left him with zero opportunities to escape. At first, Roy had tried to look for an opening to run away. Even though he was worried about the penalties from the contract he had signed, he simply couldn't stand being held captive any longer. However, the members of the Choigang Jijon Mussang Guild were logged in at all hours of the day!
"Seriously, why are these old men always online whenever I log in?!" Roy prided himself on being a hardcore gamer, but he was no match for middle-aged men with too much free time on their hands.
"That friend of yours who follows you around, Cain or whatever his name is, seems really diligent and nice."
"Oh, please. Cain is such a slacker." Tae-hyun casually uttered a statement that would have made Cain clutch the back of his neck in sheer outrage had he heard it.
"Oh, right. Dad, you said you were in the Auston Kingdom, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"...Be careful, because something might happen there later. You should probably prepare some items that are effective against demons..."
"What are you talking about? You brat, how do you know that? What did you do this time?"
"What do you mean? I'm telling you out of pure goodwill!"
"The very fact that you know is suspicious, you punk! This is the first time I've ever heard anything about demons in the Auston Kingdom! Do you have any idea how many sources I gather information from?"
With money to burn, Tae-san purchased exclusive Pan-On 2 information from several private sites. There were players among the explorers who sold high-grade information they gathered while traveling across the continent. Yet, the rumor of demons appearing in the Auston Kingdom was something he was hearing for the very first time from Tae-hyun! Bicker as they might, the father and son eventually arrived at Chairman Yu Seong-su's villa.
Tae-hyun let out a low whistle. It wasn't his first time seeing a luxurious estate, but the villa before his eyes was on a completely different level. Did Dad really have a friend this wealthy? Tae-hyun tilted his head. Among Tae-san's friends, Tae-san himself was usually the richest. Truly expensive buildings couldn't just be thrown together. Cluttering a place with pricey decorations or sculptures often ended up looking tacky or cheap. True elegance was born from precise, calculated restraint. In that regard, this villa was magnificent. Without a single gaudy ornament, the simple and clean design of the buildings exuded class. Furthermore, the resort located near the villa looked as if it were for the exclusive use of the villa's owner.
"Stop gawking and let's go in. Here is the invitation."
"Ah, Mr. Kim Tae-san. Please, come right in." The security guards at the entrance verified Tae-san's invitation and let them through. Tae-hyun looked around and asked,
"Didn't you say this was a birthday party?"
"I did."
"For a birthday party, there isn't even a single banner..."
"Banners are for tacky people."
"But on your birthday, didn't your friends send wreaths and banners saying, 'Happy Birthday to our Line*ge Castle Lord! Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!'—"
"Hey!"
"Haha. I just won't say it in front of other people, right?" The two got out of the car. Tae-san looked at Tae-hyun with an anxious expression. I really hope that brat doesn't run his mouth in front of others... The people gathering here were highly respected figures in society! If he blurted out something like, "My dad was a Line*ge Castle Lord, haha! Whenever he went to an internet cafe, the part-timers would bow and call him 'Boss'..." in front of them...
As if reading Tae-san's anxiety, Tae-hyun spoke up. "Dad, there's still plenty of time before the party starts. Can I look around the grounds?"
There were plenty of places to explore around the estate, starting with a wide, quiet walking path. Of course, the guests who had come for Chairman Yu's birthday weren't wandering around outside. They were all gathered in the main hall, exchanging business cards. While it was Chairman Yu's birthday, it was also a prime networking event. Since everyone invited to the Chairman's birthday was a person of high standing, there was no harm in expanding their social circles.
Of course, regardless of all that, Tae-hyun was letting his introverted instincts take over. It was the golden rule of any true loner to avoid crowded social gatherings at all costs! Reading Tae-hyun's inner thoughts, Tae-san hesitated. I was planning on introducing him to some people, but of course... After a moment of deliberation, Tae-san gave up. Tae-hyun wasn't the type to listen to orders anyway. Besides, if they walked around together and Tae-hyun let his tongue slip, it would be an absolute disaster in front of strangers! It'll be better to just introduce him to the Chairman privately later and then leave.
"Sure. Go take a walk." The father and son had reached a perfect, unspoken agreement!
"Why is nobody out here when it's this nice?" Tae-hyun muttered as he strolled along the path. Surrounded by lush greenery and paved with smooth stones, it was a scenic trail that was hard to find in a city like Seoul. To think such a beautiful place was completely empty while everyone huddled inside! Tae-hyun shook his head and kept walking. When you spent all your time gaming, it was easy to forget to move your body like this.
Physical fitness is always key. Now, once I get back home, the next quest I need to do is... First, I need to find that secret Engineering skill. Should I escape as quickly as possible, claim the reward, and head to the Erangs Kingdom...? Despite criticizing others for staying inside, Tae-hyun was doing nothing but thinking about the game while walking! He was hardly one to talk.
"Huh?"