Chapter 25
Chapter 25: A Sweet Proposal
A café in Gangnam. Pretty women in flashy clothes had ordered coffee and were chatting away. It was Baek A-jin and her friends. Classmates she had known since high school.
Haaa. Baek A-jin sighed inwardly. I need to be farming runes.
The reason she had bothered showing up to this gathering, despite pouring everything into rune farming and selling, was simple. They were her only friends. Skip a meetup they held once every six months? She figured that would be the end of the friendship right there. For someone still in her early 20s, that was an incredibly important matter.
Chatter, chatter. The stories her friends excitedly rattled off weren't fully registering in her ears. Her mind was filled with nothing but Baek Jin-woo.
Did her friends know? That her brother, who had been hospitalized after that accident, was actually the hottest player around these days. And that he had teamed up with the famous Yu Ji-a to form a company selling information.
"Hey, hey—wasn't the guy you started dating a player? Have you seen his Summoner Beasts? How many C-Ranks does he have? Don't tell me he even has a B-Rank?"
"Wow, if your boyfriend's a player, does he like, get you Summoner Beasts? Or maybe some good runes?"
"Seriously……. I'm so jealous."
There was a time when topics like that had been genuinely fun, but now she felt nothing. She was nodding along with a blank expression when her phone chimed.
Ding!
It rang just then. A message. Oppa? And it was a message from Baek Jin-woo at that.
[Baek Jin-woo: Come see me for a sec. Can you come to the vacant lot? Are you free now?]
At that moment. Baek A-jin's expression lit up more brilliantly than it ever had.
"Guys." She shot to her feet and spoke.
"Sorry, but I have to head out first."
"Huh?"
"Just like that?"
"We were supposed to eat dinner together today."
Her friends were disappointed. Baek A-jin was actually quite popular in this group. Because she was an active player who owned a C-Rank Summoner Beast, no less.
"I'm really, really sorry."
Baek A-jin narrowed her eyes and pressed her palms together in apology.
"My brother called for me."
"Your brother?"
"The one you said got into an accident? Oh right, didn't you say he regained consciousness a while back?"
"Is he doing okay now?"
Baek A-jin's mouth itched to say it.
Yes! My brother is none other than that hot Baek Jin-woo who swept every single Weekly Dungeon record in the country!
She wanted to blurt it out, but held back just as she always had. A promise was a promise.
"Hehe, I'll fill you in next time. I'll treat everyone big at the next meetup. So sorry again!"
After apologizing to her friends, Baek A-jin grabbed her clothes and bag and quickly slipped out of the café.
***
Somewhere in Seoul. YuBaek's tiny office.
"D-Director."
Secretary Kim Byeong-jin's voice trembled.
"We really hit it big, right? I'm not dreaming right now, am I?"
Both Kim Byeong-jin and Hwang Tae-seop were staring at the compiled sales figures with expressions of disbelief.
Ever since the information listing went up, YuBaek had truly begun to soar.
"Come on, we haven't even started yet—what are you two going on about."
Even as Yu Ji-a spoke with composure, her eyebrow was twitching.
A windfall!
The information had sold like wildfire, beyond all expectations. In just one week, a whopping 100 players had made purchases. Thanks to the confidentiality clause, there had even been a case where a single large guild bought 10 copies of the video package.
5 videos and 2 text guides. The videos were 100 million won each, and the text guides were 10 million won each…… That meant 520 million won worth of content purchased by 100 people.
And do you know what that added up to in total sales?
52 billion won.
It made no sense. A week's revenue of 52 billion, in exchange for gifting Baek Jin-woo roughly 1.3 billion won worth of items?
On top of that, since there were almost no production costs, the revenue was essentially the company's net profit as well.
This is incredible……. Even Grandfather would click his tongue in amazement.
The founder of Daeseong Group. Even Yu Byeong-cheon would clap his hands in admiration if he knew.
The problem is that this isn't even the end.
First. Thanks to the confidentiality clause, the number of players willing to buy the information would remain enormous going forward. Even with just the low-grade information, the future value was limitless. And when mid-grade came out, followed by high-grade and top-grade? That would be serious money too.
Second. This was actually the real revenue stream. The Summoner Beasts she had stockpiled in advance had suddenly started selling like crazy.
C-Rank at 200 million won, B-Rank at 1 billion won. You know what the full set she had gifted Baek Jin-woo came out to? A whopping 5.4 billion won. Even after all commissions, roughly 4 billion in profit remained per person.
Gulp. Yu Ji-a swallowed and looked at the sales chart once more. It was written in complex detail, but the final summary came down to this:
[Sales Report]
1. Information Sales Revenue — 52 billion won.
2. Summoner Beast Sales Revenue — 325 billion won.
Total: 377 billion won.
Of course, taxes still had to be deducted, and debts repaid…… But it being a windfall was absolutely unchanged. An amount that made even her, a third-generation chaebol, feel slightly breathless. And this time, it was earned entirely through her own efforts—not the power of Daeseong Group.
"Phew, phew."
Yu Ji-a took deep breaths and settled her excitement. Then she addressed her staff.
"The business viability is confirmed, so we need to begin full-scale investment now."
"When you say full-scale……?"
Kim Byeong-jin tilted his head.
"Here."
Yu Ji-a gestured around the office.
"Don't you think it's a bit cramped?"
"It is cramped. Compared to when we were at Headquarters."
"To properly look after Baek Jin-woo, we need to grow first. To bring in a legal team and accounting team, we'll need more office space too."
YuBaek was no longer a simple small company. It was a major management agency overseeing the standout player known as Baek Jin-woo.
"Let's start by going to purchase land and a building. I've already looked into a place."
YuBaek had many ways to make money going forward. Information sales like now, private commissions, coaching, and more. Yu Ji-a had consulted Baek Jin-woo on all of it, and thankfully, Baek Jin-woo had left every possibility open.
And. Yu Ji-a hadn't forgotten what Baek Jin-woo had asked of her.
A private training ground and family protection. All the profits earned this time would be reinvested toward exactly that.
***
Every day, Baek Jin-woo could be found in 1 of 2 places. A regular dungeon, or the vacant lot. After cycling through the Weekly Dungeons, he always went to one of those 2 spots to train or hunt.
Having climbed the hiking trail and arrived at the vacant lot, Baek A-jin's eyes went wide immediately.
What is all this?
Summoner Beasts that were dazzlingly impressive at a glance were training in formation—and they were all ones she'd seen somewhere before.
Combat Marshal and Radiant Priest?
And that wasn't all.
Spotted Komodo, Wind Falcon, Titanium Golem, Horned Fairy, Frost Cat, Sky Dolphin, Sky Wyvern……
And on top of that.
Boom, boom, boom!
3 Lava Drakes prowling around menacingly were visible as well.
And the armored man who appeared to be commanding them all.
That guy who restrained my Shadow Elf last time!
Glance. The Drill Instructor turned his head and looked at Baek A-jin.
Flinch! Baek A-jin's body shook, but he turned back indifferently and resumed his commanding.
"Oh, you're here."
Thud!
Baek Jin-woo, who had been doing a handstand in a corner, corrected his posture and wiped off the sweat.
What the……!
Baek A-jin was startled once again. It was because of her brother's body.
Was Oppa always built like that?
No. How could he be. He'd been hooked up to an IV drip at the hospital, practically nothing but skin and bones…… When did he—?
His bare upper torso was packed with lean, finely defined muscle. His abs were washboard enough to do laundry on.
Swish. The sight of Baek Jin-woo wiping off his sweat with a towel felt somehow unfamiliar.
She didn't know it, but Baek Jin-woo had been putting in an extraordinary volume of training. Technically, a player of his standing could afford to laze around, but Baek Jin-woo hated that. The idea of having only his Summoner Beasts grind away while he lounged about in laziness didn't sit right with his values.
"Oppa, what even is all this?"
Baek A-jin asked, having calmed her startled heart.
"Hm? What do you mean."
"Those Summoner Beasts!"
Baek A-jin stared at the Summoner Beasts training silently without a word. By the way, a player could only have up to 15 Summoner Beasts out at once. That was because 3 teams was the operational limit.
"They're all trending Summoner Beasts right now! The ones with rising prices that top players keep desperately searching for in the Marketplace! Good lord, what do all of these cost……"
There were Summoner Beasts whose prices had shot up dramatically as of late. Exactly these ones right here. All available listings had already been snapped up, yet fairly well-known players were making a fuss saying they urgently needed to get their hands on them. Of course rumors were bound to spread.
There was even a rumor circulating among the public. That people were buying up those Summoner Beasts because of the information sold by YuBaek this time around.
No way.
Baek A-jin let her mouth fall slightly open.
Right, exactly.It all adds up perfectly!
"Oppa, don't tell me you set the record this time using those Summoner Beasts?"
"Yeah."
"Where did you get all of these?"
"You know that Yu Ji-a person you saw before, right? She gave them to me."
"……Gave?"
All those pricey things?
"As in not the company's—but as a gift to you personally, Oppa?"
"Yeah, said it was a present."
"……Ugh."
She had nothing left to say. She'd used up her entire day's worth of surprises in one go.
"Anyway, A-jin. Thanks for coming right away when I called."
"Oh, right. Why did you call me?"
"You're still selling runes well these days, aren't you?"
"Yeah, sold some just yesterday."
"Then come over here for a second."
Baek Jin-woo led her to a corner of the vacant lot. And there.
Whirrrr!
He began pulling out the enormous quantity of runes and materials he had collected from cycling through the Weekly Dungeons. They were low-grade, but the quantity was staggering.
"W-What is all this?"
"Things I picked up while hunting. Want to take a look?"
Baek A-jin picked up the items scattered on the ground one by one and checked their information. For reference, items laid out like this could be picked up and taken without any formal trade. That was why you couldn't leave things sitting out in the open unless it was someone you truly trusted.
"This is a Swift Rune? But the options are mediocre. Huh? Whoa, jackpot! This Slash Rune has a critical rate option on it? This one might sell for a decent price?"
Baek A-jin began going through the runes one by one and offering her assessments.
More sharp-eyed than I expected. Arms folded,
Baek Jin-woo took stock of his little sister.
A Slash Rune had the effect of boosting critical hit rate. If an option that further boosted critical rate was attached to a rune like that? It would be worth quite a bit.
Maybe it's because she's been selling nothing but runes all this time……. She accurately gauges the value of runes.
Not just the common runes with high drop rates—she had detailed knowledge of the effects of even runes with low drop rates.
And it wasn't just runes. It was quite something how she assessed the value of skill books, materials, and the like at a single glance.
She couldn't help it. Baek A-jin practically lived in the Marketplace. She was sharp about real-time information and well-versed in going rates, even doing margin trades. That was also why she had recognized all of Baek Jin-woo's Summoner Beasts the moment she arrived.
After watching her for a moment, Baek Jin-woo nodded.
"A-jin."
"Yeah?"
She looked up from where she had been sorting through the runes and materials as if possessed.
"I'll give you all of this—want to try selling it for me?"
"This……. Me?"
Baek A-jin's eyes went wide.
She was confident. Even veteran rune-selling uncles would always marvel at how well she sold whenever they saw her. She had always been more interested in trading than hunting in whatever game she played as a kid. The thrill of selling something cheap for a high price had always been more fun than leveling up her character.
If I took charge of selling all of this……
There would be no time left for rune farming. But? She was someone who found selling runes more interesting than farming them in the first place.
No. Not just interesting—her heart was already pounding wildly.
"So how much of a commission would you give me?"
Baek A-jin asked carefully.
She would do it for free for her brother once or twice if she had to, but she also had a future to prepare for. She couldn't work for nothing every single time.
"Commission? How much do you want?"
"Usually when players consign to large wholesale dealers, they take about 8 to 10% of the revenue."
"Oh, is that so?"
So there were even companies that sold this kind of thing. That does sound convenient, honestly.
"Yeah, but you're family, Oppa, and you're an attractive player too, so, hmm……. I'll do it for just 5%. That seems fair."
After deliberating, Baek A-jin gave a nod and said so. This was actually generous on her part.
For a player of Oppa's caliber, companies would be falling over themselves to sign him.
They'd probably be willing to take a loss just to bring him on board. She was the one who'd be stepping into that role. An opportunity had come her way precisely because they were family!
Pfft.
Baek Jin-woo smirked at his little sister.
Cute. He'd simply told her to sell them, and she'd gone and figured out the commission on her own—and a fair one at that.
Too bad.
Baek Jin-woo had never intended to use his sister in the first place. He had thought of this for her sake.
"5%? That's too stingy."
"Huh?"
"Let's make it a generous 20%. Try selling hard. Later on there'll be a lot more rare and high-quality runes too, so be prepared to stay busy."
"……What?"
Baek A-jin's jaw dropped.
Fo-for real? All of that at 20%? Does that even make sense?
Uwaaaaa.
Baek A-jin, on the verge of dying of happiness. She then made a resolution then and there. Starting today, she was giving up rune farming and becoming a full-time Marketplace dealer. A full-time Marketplace dealer for Baek Jin-woo and Baek Jin-woo alone.