Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Yu Ji-a (2)
While maintaining his Summoner Beasts in between waiting for the headquarters' response.
Ding!
A single text message arrived.
— I'd like to give you a reply regarding what you requested last time. Shall we meet and talk in detail? I'll send you the address. It'd be great if you could come by the time we set.
It was a message from Yu Ji-a, whom he had met once before.
"Ho, already."
Baek Jin-woo grinned.
He had just poked at it on a whim to see what would happen, but was she actually going to buy it?
He found it strange.
1.3 billion wasn't easy money, yet she was moving this swiftly on a single piece of information.
It was even more baffling because the information about the Weekly Dungeon Core Unit was, to Baek Jin-woo, genuinely low-grade intel.
I have to go, I absolutely have to go.
The time was 6 PM tonight.
The location was a place called Daeseong Palace in Gangnam.
When he looked it up, it turned out to be an ultra-luxury traditional Korean restaurant with private rooms.
"……Wow. What kind of menu is this."
Taking a brief glance, the basic course menu started at 1 million won.
A place that ordinary people like Baek Jin-woo would never get to visit under normal circumstances.
Just how delicious would the food there be?
Gulp.
Baek Jin-woo swallowed his saliva and checked the reviews.
Surely they must have complained about how expensive it is.
But to his surprise.
Everyone was singing nothing but praise.
Apparently it was top-class cuisine made by an ultra-luxury kitchen crew handpicked by the Daeseong Group?
What?
World-class food that everyone should taste at least once in their lifetime?
"Wow."
Baek Jin-woo was impressed.
These headquarters guys.
They were at least showing some sincerity.
This kind of treatment makes you want to keep sharing information.
Honestly, in the worst-case scenario, he had imagined something like this.
After seeing the Summoner Beast purchase list I gave them, they go completely quiet and just use it for research.
Well, they might figure it out through research eventually.
But seeing is believing.
Having them watch Baek Jin-woo play firsthand would be the cleanest and most reliable information they could get.
Of course.
Even if they did that, it wouldn't matter to him in the slightest.
That information was the tip of the iceberg anyway.
Headquarters would simply lose his trust, and their connection would end there.
Even for deals, he could always go through a private large-scale guild or something.
"Indeed."
What would headquarters say?
Baek Jin-woo found himself looking forward to the evening.
* * *
Time passed.
6 PM.
"Wow……"
Upon arriving at Daeseong Palace, Baek Jin-woo felt his confidence shrink completely.
Right before his eyes was a sprawling grand hall that rivaled a 5-star hotel.
Is this really a restaurant?
It looked, at a glance, like a place built specifically to entertain high-ranking dignitaries.
"Welcome. Do you have a reservation?"
As he approached the counter, a staff member guided him in a dignified voice.
"Yes."
"May I have the name under the reservation?"
"Yu Ji-a."
"……!"
At that moment, the expressions of the staff members shifted completely.
Their movements, which had been fluid and relaxed, suddenly sharpened.
What is it, why are they acting like that?
"Are you Baek Jin-woo?"
It wasn't the original staff member, but a man who appeared to be quite senior who came over to guide him.
"Yes, that's me?"
"Please come this way. We will escort you to the VIP room."
Whoa, VIP?
There was nothing about that in the reviews.
The staff member guided him to an elevator deep inside the building, and after quite a long ride upward, ding!—the doors opened.
"Please enjoy your time."
Baek Jin-woo couldn't see the staff member bowing respectfully behind him.
The moment the elevator opened, the breathtaking nighttime panorama of Seoul spread out beyond the glass walls, and it was simply too beautiful to look away.
Wooow.
The VIP room of Daeseong Palace was located on the top floor, accessible only with the permission of the Daeseong family.
Of course, there was no way Baek Jin-woo could have known that.
Yu Ji-a was already there, waiting for him.
"Welcome."
"Oh, are you alone?"
The bearded man?
He didn't come?
"Yes. The business today is with you, Jin-woo, and it's not from headquarters—it's from me personally."
"Huh? I wasn't informed of that beforehand."
Baek Jin-woo grew wary.
At the same time, he grew tense.
That woman.
She was clearly no ordinary headquarters employee.
"Ahem, I should introduce myself first to avoid any misunderstanding. Please, have a seat."
Yu Ji-a's gentle expression put Baek Jin-woo's nerves at ease.
And she gave a brief explanation.
Who she was.
How the Talent Management Team had been established, and how she ended up coming here.
"Huh."
Baek Jin-woo was surprised.
To be honest, it was simply astonishing.
The granddaughter of the Daeseong Group?
Was this someone he would ever get to meet in person in a lifetime?
Either way, this is a massive gain for me.
What Baek Jin-woo needed most of all, in truth, was connections.
Connections of the sort that would pay a lot of money in exchange for information.
And.
There was no organization in this country with more money than Daeseong.
There seems to be quite a bit to get out of this.
Baek Jin-woo and Yu Ji-a's eyes met.
Did either of them know?
That they were looking at each other with the exact same thought in mind.
"Shall we begin with the meal first?"
"Gladly."
And with that, the atmosphere was on its way to becoming quite pleasant.
* * *
"Anyway, to put it simply, receiving support from the headquarters side appears to be difficult. Congressman Park Chang-seok tried his best, but……there are quite a few opposing congressmen, and the Low-Grade Summoning Scroll from last time was already a bit of a stretch."
"Hmm, I see."
Munch, munch.
Baek Jin-woo swallowed a bite of the dish and nodded his head nonchalantly.
Absurdly delicious.
He was experiencing flavors he had never encountered in his life, and he could barely process what was being said.
"Well, it doesn't matter. If that's the headquarters' position, then that's that."
Information?
If they weren't going to give support, then he simply wouldn't provide it.
Money could always be accumulated on his own.
Either way, Baek Jin-woo would keep growing, and the rate at which he'd be acquiring items would only accelerate.
It would take some time, but the number 1 spot in the world was already guaranteed.
Because he had the EX-Rank Summoner Beast.
As long as that existed.
He was confident even if the old God of Jinu showed up.
Honestly, just properly raising the Ruination Dragon alone would be enough to laugh at the title of world's strongest.
"By the way."
Having completely cleared a steak off his plate, Baek Jin-woo set down his fork.
"Shall we get to the main point now? There's no way the granddaughter of a chaebol family is buying me this expensive meal for absolutely no reason."
"Hehe, you're right."
While Baek Jin-woo had been eating, Yu Ji-a had been watching his eyes the entire time.
Her grandfather always said.
When sizing up a person, just looking at their eyes tells you quite a lot.
Indeed, that's true.
Clear and sharp, not murky.
And it radiates a neutral energy—neither malicious nor saintly.
And.
That confidence.
Yu Ji-a found that boldness of Baek Jin-woo's fascinating.
Who had ever eaten so comfortably in front of her, even after learning who she was?
She had ventured out into social circles and met quite a few people her own age.
The vast majority were all the same.
Either they felt visibly oppressed by the name Daeseong and became uncomfortable, or they were busy fawning in an obvious way.
Refreshing.
At this point, it seemed worth throwing out the plan she had in mind.
If Baek Jin-woo turned out to be a fraud?
Then she would simply write off the 1.3 billion and the company establishment costs. For Yu Ji-a, that level of loss wasn't even a scratch.
But if he was the real deal?
She could extract hundreds of billions—no, trillions or more in value from him.
This was a deal that could only come out ahead.
"Actually, the reason I called you was to make a proposal."
So she decided.
To say what was on her mind.
* * *
Words are a fascinating thing.
The same content can feel unpleasant coming from one person, yet genuinely move your heart when it comes from another.
Yu Ji-a's words were remarkably comfortable.
Her voice was soft, and she explained things in a way that slid neatly into comprehension.
Good.
A 1-person management contract.
Baek Jin-woo was satisfied with her proposal.
If anything, the business world felt more comfortable to him than headquarters.
Because corporations move purely on money.
Pursuing extreme profit within the bounds of legal frameworks was the essence of a corporation, and that was precisely what Baek Jin-woo wanted.
And.
While listening to the explanation, he had quietly searched up information on Yu Ji-a on his phone.
She was a chaebol granddaughter, so he figured there'd at least be some information on her.
But to his surprise.
[Indeed, Daeseong! Granddaughter Yu Ji-a Earns Stanford MBA Early—Entirely on Her Own Merit!]
[Yu Ji-a Dreaming of Becoming a World-Class CEO? ‘Not Interested in Management Rights’]
[Yu Ji-a Joins Player Headquarters with Top Scores!]
[The Genius of the Century, Yu Ji-a! Yu Byeong-cheon Is All Smiles!]
She's actually incredibly famous.
Good grief.
Baek Jin-woo internally clicked his tongue in admiration.
Face, background, and ability—a perfect trinity.
An elite, but what kind of elite is this?
She was at a level where even a fictional perfect daughter would bow her head and weep.
"Would the management cover asset management as well?"
"Huh?"
Yu Ji-a was caught slightly off guard by Baek Jin-woo's abrupt question.
Asset management?
Was that really the concern right now?
"Being a Daeseong family member and all, couldn't you just get information from like, the company's finance team? You could grow a fortune quite enormously with that."
"Uh……"
Even if Baek Jin-woo was a genius, it was only within Battle of Summoners. In reality, he was just an ordinary man in his mid-twenties.
His interest was simply money.
And support.
Hehe, he's kind of cute.
Fortunately, Yu Ji-a found that side of him endearing as well.
Well.
Her interest was already piqued.
Even the sight of him chomping away at his food was bound to look appealing.
"Asset management is of course included. Once the company starts fully supporting you, investment proposals will come flooding in from all directions. Since it'll be divided by equity from the start, whatever the company earns, Jin-woo gets the same."
"Really?"
"Of course. Jin-woo, you just need to focus on your Player activities."
"That sounds great. For now, this has got my interest. I haven't known Ji-a for very long, but you really do seem like a good person."
She was willing to invest 1.3 billion, trusting in him without hesitation—what else could that be but a good person?
After all, money doesn't lie.
She has money so she's spending it carelessly?
Not at all.
Rich people are actually the ones who guard their money more closely and spend it more carefully.
"What would the split look like?"
"The details will be properly laid out in the contract at our next meeting. You won't feel shortchanged—you'll definitely be satisfied."
"Next meeting?"
"How about tomorrow? I'll come to that vacant lot."
"Vacant lot?"
A meeting at a vacant lot?
"The Summoner Beast you requested. You'll need to see it, won't you?"
"Oh, you're going to buy it right away even before we've signed anything?"
"Yes, well. The staff are already purchasing it."
"Huh?"
"Let's just call it a gift. Even if you don't sign, those Summoner Beasts are yours. As a gift."
Urk.
Baek Jin-woo's throat tightened.
So this is chaebol energy?
The generosity was on a whole other level!
It was certain.
Yu Ji-a was a good person.
At least to him, she was.
* * *
The next day.
Baek Jin-woo was at work, as usual, at the vacant lot in front of his parents' house.
A secluded vacant lot nestled along a hiking trail.
Baek Jin-woo called this vacant lot the ‘Nest’.
There were very few people who knew of the Nest's existence.
Baek Jin-woo, the former Talent Management Team members from headquarters.
And his younger sister, Baek A-jin.
In truth, the Nest itself was a spot that Baek Jin-woo's family had discovered and kept to themselves since they were young, during their walks.
A place like a sanctuary for the heart—somewhere they'd come to stretch and breathe in the clean air whenever their heads felt heavy.
What's Oppa been up to lately?
Baek A-jin, who had been deeply involved in the Rune retail business, suddenly found herself curious.
Before, he'd call often and ask all sorts of questions, but now there wasn't a word from him.
I heard he even moved out of Mom and Dad's place and is living on his own.
It was a little strange.
She knew he had registered as a Player and was making money from it, but……
Honestly, right?
Her brother had an EX-Rank Summoner Beast, and yet somehow he hadn't asked for her help once?
They could even run a dungeon together as a party if he wanted.
She didn't know why.
She just felt like spending the day—today—resting from farming and walking the hiking trail since early in the morning.
She wanted to walk that path she used to walk so often with her family.
The nice thing about this place was that there were no people.
The hiking trail hadn't really spread by word of mouth, so it stayed quiet.
Trudge, trudge.
Walking along with her body loose and relaxed.
Wow.
She spotted someone who made her eyes snap wide open.
What a strikingly pretty woman.
What was strange was that her outfit was absolutely not dressed for hiking.
Full makeup, looking as if she were about to step onto an official stage.
But what is she doing here?
The occasional elderly man or woman came here sometimes, but someone like her was entirely out of place……
And on top of that, the path she was taking overlapped suspiciously with hers.
Wait.
But that face.
It was a face she felt she had seen many times somewhere.
Baek A-jin, who kept up with trends, scrolled through social media whenever she had free time.
The pretty women who got picked up by the algorithm were her main viewing material.
So there was something familiar about that face.
The appearance of a staggeringly influential influencer……
Gasp?
That was when it happened.
Baek A-jin froze completely, every part of her body locking up in shock.
That person is Yu Ji-a.
The dream of every woman!
The flower of the chaebol world—the one said to be the only person the nation's goddess Jang A-yeong kept as a close friend!
It was unmistakably Yu Ji-a.
Why at this run-down hiking trail of all places?
She was walking at quite a brisk pace, so Baek A-jin couldn't bring herself to speak up—but her curiosity had already been ignited, and she began trailing behind her under the guise of heading the same direction.