Chapter 112: Schemes
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 112: Schemes
5
Alterz.
A clandestine organization created by S-rank hunters.
I was currently in a conversation with Yu U-jeong, a woman I presumed to be a member of Alterz.
The main topic of our discussion, for now, was a scouting offer.
It would be strange if I showed any sign of suspicion.
So, I decided to feign ignorance for the time being.
“Ji-eun, don’t you have a YouTube channel?”
“Oh, I do! Unni, how did you know?”
“Oh my gosh, I knew it! Animal Ji-eun! I’m a fan. Look, I’ve liked all your videos.”
“Whoa, you really did. Hehe, a few people have recognized me lately, but you’re the first to say you’re a fan. I’m so embarrassed.”
“I’m telling you, Ji-eun, you’re going to hit a million subscribers soon. I’m absolutely sure of it!”
In the midst of our conversation, Yu U-jeong and Ji-eun had become remarkably close.
Ji-eun was naturally sociable, after all.
She made friends in an instant, and with Yu U-jeong playing along so well, she seemed even more excited.
The problem was that, to my eyes, it all looked like a calculated ploy.
“You’re amazing too, Ha-chan. You’re the one who helped Ji-eun grow her channel, aren’t you?”
“It was all thanks to Ji-eun’s hard work.”
As Ji-eun had grown closer to her, she had started excitedly bragging about me, and Yu U-jeong skillfully shifted the conversation in my direction.
“Oh, of course, Ji-eun worked hard, but we can’t deny your efforts, Ha-chan.”
“That’s right! Ha-chan-oppa worked so hard. I couldn’t have done it without him. For real.”
Ji-eun, even more thrilled to hear someone she liked being praised, clung to my side as she spoke.
What was I going to do with this naive girl?
Yu U-jeong seemed exceptionally skilled at handling people.
Slurp—
Si-ho, who had been silent the entire time, took a sip of her drink through her straw.
She didn’t warm up to people easily, and it was clear she wasn’t particularly fond of Yu U-jeong either.
“Your name is Si-ho, right?”
But Yu U-jeong had no intention of leaving even Si-ho alone.
With a gentle smile, she spoke to Si-ho, who simply nodded in response.
Seeing her act like this reminded me of when we first met.
“Si-ho, you’re so pretty. Unni, when I first saw you, I thought a doll was walking around.”
“I know.”
Come to think of it, Si-ho had a surprisingly shameless side to her.
Of course, she was pretty enough to back up that shamelessness.
Just today, countless eyes had been drawn to her as she walked beside me.
It would be stranger if she didn’t become this confident.
Si-ho watched Yu U-jeong with a guarded expression.
That was just like her.
“Since you’re so pretty and cute, Si-ho, you must be incredibly popular with older guys.”
“…I am?”
“Yep. The reason men date younger women is because they’re cute. And you’re not just cute, you’re beautiful. It’s a sure thing.”
“Really?”
Si-ho’s expression softened slightly as she began to look at me.
…That was just like her, too.
“Girls like Si-ho are the type to love only one person their whole life. Right, Ha-chan?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“Mhm. Si-ho only loves one person. There’s only one prince, after all.”
Si-ho gently leaned her head against my arm.
It seemed Yu U-jeong was also incredibly perceptive.
In just a short time, she had figured out what Ji-eun and Si-ho wanted to hear and had them wrapped around her finger.
But there was one obstacle.
She hadn’t gotten past me.
“Ha-chan, you look like you enjoy games. Is there anything you play?”
Twitch.
My eyebrow reacted instinctively.
“I play a lot of different games. Lord of Academy, for one.”
“Oh, really? I play that too. I recently crafted a +18 weapon. A friend of mine has the Master Craftsman title, so the success rate was pretty high, and I made it easily.”
“Would you care to add me as a friend?”
“Are you an idiot?”
Behind me, Baeksan glared, but I couldn’t suppress the impulse.
Araman… a chance for Araman to become +18 had arrived.
The Master Craftsman title was so difficult to obtain that not even Juksim had it.
Right now, Yu U-jeong was a goddess in my eyes.
“Of course. Let’s add each other.”
I quickly got her username.
You never know what might happen, so I had to get it while I could.
“Back then, when I saw you, Ha-chan, my friends and I were all saying how handsome you were and how we wanted to go to S University. I never thought we’d meet like this.”
The flattery was a bit much.
Judging by how she was acting with Si-ho and Ji-eun, it was obvious she was trying too hard to seem friendly with us.
At this point, it almost seemed like she was the one trying to scout us.
‘What’s her goal after gaining our trust and joining the company?’
Games were games, but I fell into thought as I watched her.
It was just a guess based on the circumstances, but she was most likely from Alterz.
And according to Seo-ho, Alterz was wary of Korea as a whole, which meant Si-ho and I would have caught their attention.
If that was the case, there was a high probability that this entire approach was intentional.
‘Should I make the first move?’
Or should I wait and see how things play out?
Triring!
Just then, Yu U-jeong’s phone rang.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Just a moment.”
She answered her phone and, after talking with someone, her expression turned troubled.
“What? No. I was planning on refusing… This is too presumptuous…”
As she spoke with a troubled tone, the three of us turned our attention to her.
“You’re coming here? But… what? You’re already here?”
The moment a look of surprise crossed her face, the cafe door behind us opened.
My gaze shifted, and there stood a man wearing a jacket with a tiger emblazoned on it.
The rather intimidating-looking black man saw us, strode over, and slowly slid the sunglasses perched on his head down over his eyes.
“Hey, you the ones? The ones sweet-talkin’ the hunter we scoutin’.”
What now?
A foreigner mixing Korean and English had suddenly appeared.
Feeling a brief headache, I glanced back at Yu U-jeong.
“Miss Yu U-jeong, who is this person?”
“…He’s the one from Beom who made me a scouting offer.”
As Yu U-jeong replied in a voice full of distress, I turned back to the man.
His leather jacket clearly marked him as a member of Beom.
“Hey, Me askin’ you. Is it you?”
His threatening demeanor was enough to intimidate any ordinary person.
As proof, a startled Ji-eun was gripping my sleeve tightly.
While this was happening, I studied Yu U-jeong’s expression.
Perhaps because I’d had so many emotional clashes with women recently, I’d become better at reading changes in their expressions.
On the surface, Yu U-jeong certainly looked troubled.
But the slight quiver at the corner of her lips told a different story.
‘This woman is enjoying this.’
It was obvious she had orchestrated this situation.
It seemed her plan was to stimulate a sense of competition to make us feel compelled to scout her.
‘And she can add a dash of damsel in distress to the act.’
If I defeated him here, she could accept our scouting offer under the pretext of gratitude.
The problem was, there was one thing she didn't seem to know.
And that was my relationship with that other company.
I rummaged through my pocket and pulled out my wallet.
What I took from it was none other than a black card marked with the word “Beom” in gold.
I held the card out in front of him.
At that moment, the foreigner froze, unable to say a word.
“You said you’re from Beom. Could we have a word?”
“Uh, uhh?”
His sunglasses slid down his nose. He glanced back and forth between me and the card before quickly taking them off.
Then, he bowed his head politely and said.
“…Yes, Sir!”
So this guy was mixing in English on purpose.
Yu U-jeong’s eyes widened.
In any case, the situation had been turned on its head in an instant.
6
I was now outside, standing face-to-face with the foreigner from Beom, David.
From the moment I showed him the Tiger Card, he had stood with his hands clasped respectfully, and I scratched my cheek as I looked at him.
“You don’t have to be so stiff.”
“No! I have been unforgivably rude to the benefactor of our Lady and our Boss!”
The lady and boss he was referring to were probably the Eva twins.
I figured the card Hyeok-seo had given me would come in handy someday, but I never imagined it would have this much impact.
“Is this card really that big of a deal?”
“Recently, our Lady gave us advance notice. She said that if a man in his mid-twenties we meet on company business has a Tiger Card, he is a great benefactor to both her and the Boss, and we are to treat him with the highest respect.”
So this was Eva-noona’s doing.
It seemed she had given the order just in case I ever crossed paths with them, since I was working for the Rodri Company.
I was grateful, but it was a little excessive, which was also a bit scary.
“Ah, ahem. Well, let’s just say that’s the case. Mr. David, you also came to scout Miss Yu U-jeong, correct?”
“Yes. We have quite a few foreign members, so besides those who were already active in Korea, many of us can’t officially work as hunters yet.”
That made sense, as Korea was one of the countries that prohibited foreign hunters from operating immediately.
“We’ve applied for visas with the Korean Hunter Management Bureau, so they should be approved soon, but we need people to fill the gap until then.”
I see.
Now I understood why Beom had been so aggressively scouting hunters lately.
“…May I ask just one thing?”
“Yes, ask me anything.”
“Why were you mixing in English earlier?”
“Ah, that’s because the bosses said that if a foreigner comes up and speaks English, Koreans will freeze up and just say, ‘I’m fine, thank you. And you?’ so it’s a good way to get the upper hand…”
What a strange thing to teach someone.
Or wait, is it Korea that’s strange?
In any case, I now understood Beom’s situation.
“Sir, you want to recruit Yu U-jeong, correct? I will report it directly to the higher-ups.”
“Ah, just a moment. I’ll talk to Eva-noona—no, Se-hee-nuna about this.”
“The, the Lady Boss, you mean?!”
David looked flustered, not knowing what to do.
Ah, from his perspective, it must feel like he met an employee from a rival company, only for that person to call his own company’s president directly.
As a fellow company employee, I understood his feelings. I gave a small, bitter smile and told him not to worry.
“It’s fine. I’ll be sure to speak well of you, Mr. David.”
“Hieeek! I’m so sorry!”
He seemed to have interpreted my words differently, letting out a scream and bowing his head low.
…Is this why superiors are reluctant to say anything to their subordinates?
“I’m serious. No, I’m sorry. I won’t say anything at all, so don’t worry. I just have something I need to discuss with her personally.”
“Yes, yes!”
After reassuring David a few more times, I took out my phone.
I had gotten Eva-noona’s number a while ago, so I dialed it and made the call.
Ring, ring, ring—
After a few rings, I heard a click from the other end.
[ Domi? ]
A familiar voice came through, and I smiled as I replied.
“Eva-noona, it’s been a while since I’ve heard your voice. You seem busy these days. Are you doing well?”
Lately, Eva-noona had been busy with Beom’s affairs and cleaning up after Hyeok-seo, so we had only exchanged a few texts and hadn’t had time to talk on the phone.
It had been a long time since I’d actually heard her voice, so I smiled, but Eva-noona was strangely quiet.
[ …Am I still dreaming? I keep hearing Domi’s voice. ]
“Nuna, you were sleeping.”
It seemed I had woken her up, as her voice was groggy.
[ Domi, why do you keep appearing in my dreams…? ]
“I’ve been appearing in your dreams?”
[ Is it because you’re my benefactor…? ]
“I guess being your benefactor was worth it, then.”
[ I don’t have any… ulterior motives. ]
“Ulterior motives? Don’t worry. I never thought you’d backstab me.”
[ ……. ]
“Nuna? Did you fall back asleep?”
There was no response from Eva-noona’s end.
Did she really fall asleep again?
[ Domi. ]
“Yeah, nuna.”
[ How long have we been on the phone? ]
So she was sleep-talking.