The Price of a Lunch
The top floor of the auction house building. A place where the entire auction process could be seen at a glance through thick, heavy soundproof glass. It was the VIP room.
“Congratulations, Mr. Yooshin.”
1.5 trillion won. The auction wasn’t over yet, but it was as good as finished. Yooshin, who had been sipping his coffee with his legs crossed and his pinky finger extended, grinned.
“I’m a rich man now, too.”
He had been rich from the start, but a billionaire in the trillion-won class was a different league. It was enough to live off the bank interest alone. What should he do? He could do anything he wanted. A trillion-won asset holder could afford that much. Yooshin, who had been pondering, suddenly realized something.
‘But I was already doing everything I wanted to do?’
What would he do with even more money? ‘Eh, still, it’s better than not having it.’ The more money you had, the better, after all.
Just then, a voice that shattered Yooshin’s train of thought echoed through the screen.
[3 trillion won.]
“Whoa.”
“Gasp!”
Cheon Yooshin and Park Haesu stood up at the same time.
“3 trillion? Who on earth is that person?”
Yooshin pointed his finger toward the monitor. A man wearing a strange hat and a white robe appeared, and 12 attendants followed him in perfect order behind him. Park Haesu swallowed hard before opening his mouth.
“…That is Sultan bin Abdullah Al Saud, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and first in line to the throne.”
Sultan bin Abdullah Al Saud. The prince of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and a country that had accumulated immense oil money, had revealed himself.
‘To think the Sultan prince himself would come.’
Park Haesu’s eyes widened. Anyone standing before him would naturally bow their head due to the overwhelming pressure he exuded. Even the formidable Director James was keeping his mouth shut, looking troubled with a frown.
An exclamation flowed from Yooshin’s lips as well.
“That’s huge.”
Park Haesu nodded vigorously.
“‘Huge’ is an understatement for him. He is the world’s richest man, and someone who will one day become the king of a nation.”
He was someone who rarely appeared in public. The Sultan, who was harder to see than the President of the United States, had appeared at the auction house.
However.
“Really huge indeed. A customer with deep pockets, isn’t he?”
To him, the Sultan in the status of Crown Prince was just that—nothing more. Whether he was the world’s richest man or someone who would become a king, it was someone else’s business anyway.
Just then, the auctioneer’s voice was heard. The auction had ended. And the final winning bid was 3 trillion won.
“Mr. Yooshin!” Park Haesu opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“Why? Is there a problem?”
Why was he like that? Making such an uncharacteristically serious face. Park Haesu, who swallowed hard once, said.
“The 1% of the winning bid, you’re really going to give it, right?”
“Ah….”
Of course he had to give it. A man had his word.
“But is it okay for a public servant to receive that kind of money? You should only take your salary. If you receive something like this, you aren’t an honest public servant, are you?”
It wasn’t that he was stingy about that 1%. Really.
“It’s okay! It’s all okay!”
The calculator in Park Haesu’s head was working rapidly. 1% of 3 trillion won. Although it looked like the most trivial number among percentages, that 1% was 30 billion won. 30 billion won! It was an amount impossible to earn in a lifetime, no, even for generations of descendants, and it was coming in all at once.
What if someone took issue with this situation? Cheon Yooshin was giving it, so who would say anything? But what if someone still said something?
‘I’d just quit! Yes, I’d quit without a second thought. It’s 30 billion won; I’d quit this public servant job for that, wouldn’t I?’
The vow he once made to serve the country for his entire life had long been cleanly forgotten in front of the 30 billion won.
Watching Park Haesu, who was grinning to himself while imagining things like a pervert, Cheon Yooshin stood up from his seat.
“Please take care of handing over the Apocalyptor corpse. And make sure every single won of the money is deposited into my account.”
“I will deduct the 1% and deposit the rest.”
“Well, do whatever you want. Ah! And give me a ride home.”
“Hahaha, I will serve you kindly.”
Laughter never left the face of Park Haesu, who was rubbing his hands together and bowing his waist repeatedly. Since 30 billion won was coming in, he would gladly play the role of a chauffeur as much as he wanted.
***
Yooshin went down to the parking lot and sat in the back seat of the car, waiting for Park Haesu. About five minutes passed. Park Haesu came running to the parking lot in a hurry. His face was a mixture of embarrassment and excitement.
“Why are you so late? Don’t you know how precious five minutes are to a man of 3 trillion won?”
“I apologize. There was an urgent matter. But I have important news. Director James of the US wants you to spare him a moment.”
Director James of the US National Security Agency was a lofty figure who even rejected tea-time requests from world leaders. Such a person had asked for his time first. Therefore, he had to drop everything and run. That was the kind of position the US National Security Director held. However.
“Who is James?”
“He is James, the Director of the US National Security Agency.”
“So that person wants to see me?”
Park Haesu nodded.
“Tell him forget it. I’m a man of 3 trillion won. I’m not the kind of person who meets with peddlers like that. If he really wants to meet, tell him to pay money befitting that. I’m not a person who wastes my time like that?”
No, since when was the US National Security Director treated like a peddler? This is the opportunity of a lifetime, Mr. Cheon Yooshin!
To the bewildered Park Haesu, Yooshin said as he rolled up the window.
“Hurry up and drive. I need to go home and play games.”
Ah, no…. Park Haesu raised his arm to persuade him, then lowered it back down. Judging by his attitude, the meeting with Director James was a bye-bye.
As Park Haesu, shoulders slumped, headed to the driver’s seat, he received a phone call. It was Section Chief Lee Eunsoo.
“Yes. Section Chief.”
Park Haesu answered the phone and got into the driver’s seat. He pressed the start button and moved forward smoothly. The call continued even then.
“Yes? That Sultan? He wants to have lunch together? Ah… what should I do. Mr. Yooshin says he is exhausted in body and mind and needs to go home. Yes. I understand.”
Yooshin opened his mouth while keeping his eyes on his mobile game.
“Why? Isn’t that Sultan person a Saudi prince? Does he want to have a meal with me too?”
“Yes. That is what he says.”
The car headed smoothly toward the exit.
“Ha! He should have just gone back quietly after buying it, why is he bothering me by asking to see my face.”
He shouldn’t get attached if they talked for no reason. It was better for the bidder and the owner of the item to have no personal ties. That way, the relationship was clearly defined. To Yooshin, who was clicking his tongue and focusing on his game, Park Haesu said.
“He said he would give 100 billion won in exchange for lunch time, does that make sense? To a man of 3 trillion won.”
“…Wait a minute?”
Before he knew it, he turned his gaze from his phone to Park Haesu.
“How much did you say?”
“100 billion, 100 billion won. It’s really absurd. This is ignoring our Mr. Yooshin…,”
“STOP!!”
Screech! The tires and the parking lot floor created friction, making an unpleasant sound.
“Is this person joking now, he wants to have a meal and you heartlessly refused it just like that?”
“Ah, no, you clearly said you were going home to play games.”
“Ugh! This is why public servants get cursed at, how can you be so inflexible? Are that James Bond or whatever and the prince the same? Are they the same? At least you should have asked me.”
“Ah, no….”
“Ugh! Call him back right now. Tell him it’s not 100 billion, but that you are honored to have lunch with the prince. Do you understand?”
At the sudden change in attitude, Park Haesu shook his head as if he were dumbfounded.
***
Yooshin arrived at the restaurant decided as the lunch location. There, a man wearing traditional Arab clothing and a woman in a suit that revealed the contours of her body were already sitting together.
‘So that person is the one called Sultan.’
When Yooshin focused his gaze on him, the man seemed to notice, smiling as he stood up.
“##@$@! #$@#$.”
What? It was definitely Arabic. He couldn’t even understand English, so he couldn’t understand a word of Arabic.
‘Should I call Team Leader Park Haesu?’
Just as he thought that, the woman next to him opened her mouth.
“He says it is a pleasure to meet you. His name is Sultan bin Abdullah Al Saud. He says you can call him Sultan comfortably. And I am Laila, the prince’s executive secretary.”
“I see. Please tell him I’m sorry for being late.”
The person in front of him was a pure ordinary person who felt no energy at all. However, his presence had an aura that could not be explained in words. He had encountered a being with a similar feeling before. The king of the demons who ruled the Abyss, Marcas.
‘Is this why kings are different?’
Come to think of it, this Sultan person was also a prince. Unless there was a special issue, he would become a king in the future. However, Yooshin, who hadn’t been intimidated by Marcas, wouldn’t be intimidated by an ordinary person.
Yooshin sat down and said.
“Then, shall we hear what the busy prince has to say?”
There was no need for men to have a long, stale conversation. Sultan opened his mouth, and Laila interpreted the content.
“He says it is good. He says you are as cool-headed as expected of a hunter who caught a B-rank monster.”
“I’ve always been cool-headed. By the way, there isn’t a single person here. It looks like a pretty good restaurant.”
Yooshin didn’t know, but this was a restaurant in one of the three famous hotels in Seoul. It was a place so competitive that you had to make a reservation in advance to eat. But now, there was no one. Only the two people in front of him.
At Yooshin’s question, Laila smiled.
“Sultan purchased this place for the lunch with Hunter Cheon Yooshin.”
“Whoa.”
“##$%$#@.”
At that moment, Laila interpreted Sultan’s words.
“He says that since it is a meeting with a hunter who caught a B-rank monster alone, he did not want to be disturbed by other people. And he said that from now on, if Hunter Cheon Yooshin wishes, he will be provided with free accommodation and meals at this hotel and restaurant for life.”
‘Money-wasting should have its limits.’
Even Yooshin, who had never felt intimidated in his life, felt slightly intimidated just now. At his scale of buying a hotel just for lunch….
“Yes, what is it you want to talk to me about?” Yooshin asked.
“#@$%@$@…”
“We also have hunter guilds in our country. It is a guild operated directly by the prince. He promises the best treatment in the industry. He is asking if you have any intention of transferring your affiliation.”
Then, Yooshin, whose momentum had been slightly pushed back, chuckled.
‘I knew it.’
Sultan, who exuded an inexplicable aura, was no different from anyone else who coveted Cheon Yooshin’s own martial power. He buried his body deep into the chair and crossed his legs. With coffee in his hand before he knew it.
The aura of Sultan, which had seemed huge until just a moment ago due to the power of oil money, had vanished without a trace.
“I don’t want to? I earned enough money to play and eat for the rest of my life with the Apocalyptor’s corpse. Is there a need to go to another country to earn money?”
It was when Yooshin, having regained his composure, was about to put the coffee into his mouth.
“Sultan thinks his thoughts were short-sighted. He asks you to please forget his proposal. He says it is a great discourtesy to think that a unique existence like Hunter Cheon Yooshin could be lured with an annual salary of 5 trillion won.”
The coffee in Yooshin’s mouth failed to travel down his esophagus and flowed down his chin.
An annual salary of 5 trillion won.
‘Should I just naturalize to Saudi Arabia?’