Chapter 218
Chapter 218
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: A Sudden Public Confession
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……What the hell is this?
After receiving a mysterious note claiming to know my identity and arriving at the park, I couldn't help but be utterly flustered by the sudden situation unfolding before me.
“I like you!”
An unknown 1st-year girl was holding out a beautifully wrapped bouquet to me.
Her face flushed bright red and her bold shout filled with courage made it instantly clear what kind of situation I was in.
……So, I've just been publicly confessed to?
—Whoa.
—Isn't that a 1st-year? Man, confessing just three days into the semester? What kind of guts.
—Heh heh.
—Look at that candle heart. Must've taken a ton of effort to prepare.
I could hear giggles and whispers from the crowd surrounding me.
Someone else was already filming a video with their smart student handbook to post on SNS.
[You have achieved 'Receiving a Public Confession'.]
[You have obtained 2,000 points as a reward.]
Haa.
I let out a sigh inwardly.
It seemed the note claiming to know my identity was just a trick to lure me out.
Her face was completely unfamiliar, so she didn't seem like a fan either.
She appeared to be a girl who genuinely harbored special feelings for me.
……What should I do about this?
I had no idea how to handle this unfamiliar situation I'd never experienced before.
First off, I had no intention of meeting this girl.
Her face was new to me, and more importantly, I didn't have the leisure to meet anyone right now.
Her hand holding the bouquet looked so pitiful, though, so maybe I should reject her first.
“Um, thanks, but…”
I approached the girl, trying to get her to lower the hand holding up the bouquet.
But at that moment, she quickly placed the bouquet into my hand.
—Whoa! Hey, what?! Hey, he accepted the bouquet!
—Waaaaah!
Whether it was the outcome they'd hoped for or not, cheers and gasps erupted from the onlookers(?).
Some clapped in celebration, while others whistled with their fingers.
‘Huh? Huh?’
I hadn't intended to, but it ended up looking like I'd accepted the confession by accident.
As the commotion grew, the crowd naturally swelled.
Flustered, I glanced around and spotted a familiar face.
It was Choi Seo-yoon, staring at me with wide, bewildered eyes.
Next to her, Song Sung-ah was also gaping at me, though she seemed more intrigued than shocked.
“Ha…”
Realizing there were familiar faces among the spectators made the embarrassment hit even harder.
Dragging this out wouldn't do me or the girl any favors.
I should just reject her quickly.
I forcibly handed the bouquet back to her.
The girl took it and looked up at me with puzzled eyes.
“…”
“Sorry, but I'm not thinking about dating.”
I don't even know who you are.
And.
At my words, the girl's eyes trembled greatly.
She seemed like she wanted to say something, her lips twitching, before tears welled up in her eyes.
[You have achieved '1 Strike'.]
[You have obtained 1,000 points as a reward.]
……What the hell is this now?
I'd unexpectedly earned points, but it didn't feel good at all.
I just wanted to escape this awkward situation without any lingering mess.
“…Anyway. I appreciate the sentiment. I'll be going now.”
I lightly patted the shoulder of the girl, who had bowed her head deeply as if in consolation.
Then, without a second thought, I turned and walked away briskly.
At the same time, whispers rose from behind me again.
—Whoa, he just left without looking back.
—Can't be helped. That's the right thing to do. They didn't even seem to know each other.
—Still, that was too harsh. He could've ended it without hurting her more.
No, harsh?
These kids are too young to understand.
[You have achieved 'Heartless Man'.]
[You have obtained 2,000 points as a reward.]
“…What the…?”
Flustered by the ridiculous achievement, I got a message on my smartphone.
[Jin-woo, today is the meeting with Hanseong Pharmaceuticals regarding the magic stone monopoly.]
It was from Yang Tae-min.
I pulled myself together and replied using an external proxy.
[Yes, just follow the script. Wrap up the contract smoothly.]
Afternoon, Hanseong Pharmaceuticals headquarters.
Han Se-yeon sat in her office reviewing documents.
The meeting with JWK was about to start. It was the exclusive deal meeting for magic stones, whose prices had skyrocketed due to recent shortages.
“…Hmm. Didn't expect them to do business with us.”
Of course, Hanseong Pharmaceuticals had offered competitive terms that wouldn't lose to any other company.
But rumors said her brother, Han Se-jin, who ran Hanseong Development, had offered even better conditions, so she'd half-given up.
Plus, there was the sense of stability from dealing with a top-tier company like Hanseong Development.
“JWK…”
The company name oddly reminded her of that person.
She'd investigated just in case, but it was an unlisted company, and its headquarters was listed as Shincheol Workshop, a workshop firm, so no solid info.
Even Shincheol Workshop wasn't the real entity; it was just a shell for some unknown company.
What kind of company is it? On the surface, it seemed like Yang Tae-min was the owner. But was he really?
That was when it happened.
Knock knock.
A knock came at the door.
“Yes, come in.”
Creak.
The door opened, and a man who looked mid-30s entered.
“Hello. Han Se-yeon Division Head. I'm Yang Tae-min.”
Yang Tae-min smiled and extended his hand. Han Se-yeon shook it.
“Nice to meet you, CEO Yang Tae-min. Please, have a seat.”
“Yes.”
Yang Tae-min sat down. Feeling the plush chair, he let out a short breath.
Having the heir of the world's top conglomerate right in front of him made his heart race for no reason.
At the same time, he wondered if he even belonged here.
Han Se-yeon gave him a businesslike smile.
“Partnering exclusively with Hanseong Pharmaceuticals will be a smart choice.”
“Yes, we're confident of that. Haha.”
“But what made you choose Hanseong Pharmaceuticals?”
Han Se-yeon suddenly grew curious.
What had they seen in us?
“Ah, well…”
Yang Tae-min trailed off.
“We chose you because we want to build an even better relationship in the future. We're planning to venture into various fields beyond just magic stones.”
It didn't add up.
Logically, if that was the case, Hanseong Development under Han Se-jin would have been the better pick.
Han Se-yeon felt a flicker of doubt but smiled warmly.
“I see. We want to maintain a good relationship too.”
That was when talks for the contract were about to proceed.
The door suddenly burst open, and a man strode in.
“Oppa?”
It was Han Se-jin, a leading heir to the Hanseong Group.
He wasn't the only one shocked by his entrance.
Yang Tae-min was greatly surprised too.
He'd never imagined encountering someone he only saw on TV like this.
Han Se-jin approached Yang Tae-min briskly and offered his hand.
“You're CEO Yang Tae-min, right? I'm Han Se-jin from Hanseong Development.”
“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.”
Yang Tae-min shook hands in a daze.
Up close, he was tall and exuded class from his face.
Like Han Se-yeon, everyone in their family had striking presence.
“I heard you were coming here, CEO Yang, so I came in person. Let's contract with Hanseong Development.”
Han Se-jin spoke with confident tone.
From his words and the situation, Yang Tae-min sensed Han Se-jin's strong determination.
For someone of his stature to move personally was proof enough.
“Oppa. What do you think you're doing?”
Unable to stand it, Han Se-yeon stepped in.
“What do you mean? Hanseong Pharmaceuticals will all be mine eventually anyway. This is for the good of the company.”
“……What?”
Han Se-yeon felt momentarily absurd.
She'd been pretending to have no interest in management to lower his guard, but she'd never once said she'd hand over the company.
“Sorry, but we've already agreed to contract with Hanseong Pharmaceuticals.”
At Yang Tae-min's words, Han Se-yeon felt relieved.
“We'll give you 20% more than the terms we offered before.”
“……20%?”
But Han Se-jin's follow-up made Yang Tae-min falter.
20% was no small amount.
“And we'll invest in Shincheol Workshop, JWK's headquarters. We'll fully cooperate in other workshop-related ventures too.”
Faced with such generous terms, Yang Tae-min realized he couldn't decide alone.
“…I'll step out to discuss this.”
“Go ahead.”
Yang Tae-min excused himself and stepped back to make a call.
—Yes, what's up?
Kim Jin-woo's voice came through.
Yang Tae-min quietly relayed what had just happened.
—It's war. Didn't expect Han Se-jin to step in personally.
“What should I do?”
—Pretend to negotiate moderately, then hand it to Hanseong Pharmaceuticals as planned.
“Yes? But thinking long-term, Hanseong Development…”
That's when Kim Jin-woo cut him off.
—That would be true if Han Se-jin becomes the head of the Hanseong family in the future.
“…”
—But the head of the Hanseong family will be Han Se-yeon. That's how we'll make it.
Though he didn't grasp what he meant by "make it," Yang Tae-min nodded at the confident voice.
“Yes, we'll proceed as planned.”
Click.
After hanging up, Yang Tae-min stood before them.
Han Se-jin looked at him and said quietly.
“What did the boss say?”
Han Se-jin had apparently noticed another figure above him just from the call.
Han Se-yeon seemed to realize it too.
It didn't matter.
Kim Jin-woo from yesterday had predicted this anyway.
Calming his pounding heart, Yang Tae-min smiled leisurely.
“Shall we restart the contract discussion?”
[Contracted with Hanseong Pharmaceuticals as originally planned. However, Hanseong Development jumped in before signing, so we negotiated an additional 20% on top of the existing terms.]
Late at night. After physical training, I was checking the message from Yang Tae-min.
[Yes, good work. It's late—get some solid rest.]
I sent the reply and stood from my seat.
“Whew…”
It had been a while since I'd done strength training, and my whole body ached.
Vacation had been so packed I hadn't even had time for manifestation training.
From today, I'd rebuild my strength too.
“Yawn!”
Stretching long, I headed to the shower room inside the training facility.
After showering, I looked in the shower room mirror.
I hadn't trained strength lately, yet my body felt even better. It wasn't just pumping; I sensed a difference in my frame.
“Is my skeleton really still changing?”
Questions arose, but with no way to check, I brushed it off.
I changed clothes and left the training facility.
That's when.
By pure chance, I spotted a familiar ponytail carrying major textbooks.
“Choi Seo-yoon?”
At my call, Choi Seo-yoon turned and looked at me.
“Huh? Sunbae?”
Choi Seo-yoon stared blankly before snapping to and approaching me with an “Oh!”
“You were at the training facility.”
She noted my still-damp hair.
“Yeah. You were at the library.”
“Yes!”
Choi Seo-yoon replied cheerfully.
I chuckled and walked ahead. Our dorms were different, but the direction was the same, so we went together.
We were walking the dark streets of the wizard academy when.
In the distance, through the darkness, a familiar silhouette caught my eye.
A scruffy-bearded man smoking a cigarette.
It was Choi Il-hyun.
“Teacher?”
At my call, Choi Il-hyun took the cigarette from his mouth with his hand.
“Oh, my cute disciple's here?”
“……Disciple?”
Choi Seo-yoon looked at me questioningly.
“My personal instructor.”
Only then did Choi Seo-yoon nod in understanding and bow politely to Choi Il-hyun.
“Hello.”
Choi Il-hyun stared at her for about two seconds. Then he grinned.
“Ah~ You're that girl!”
“……Who?”
“I heard you got a public confession when you entered school. So, you two dating now~?”
“No?! It's not me!”
Choi Seo-yoon waved her hands frantically in shock.
Choi Il-hyun looked at her, then turned back to me.
“It's not her.”
“Ah, got it. Yeah, a girl like this wouldn't confess to you anyway.”
“……Ahem.”
Choi Seo-yoon cleared her throat awkwardly and spoke again.
“You two probably have things to discuss, so I'll head out. See you tomorrow, sunbae!”
With that, Choi Seo-yoon vanished somewhere.
I watched her back, then turned to Choi Il-hyun.
“What brings you here? Personal lessons start next week.”
At my words, Choi Il-hyun took another drag on his cigarette.
“Wanted to see my disciple, Sung-i. Need more reason?”
“……Don't say creepy stuff.”
When I said it seriously, he exhaled smoke and shook his head tsk-tsk.
“This kid's got no charm.”
Then he got to the point.
“Anyway, down to business. Came 'cause I have some questions. And I heard you've properly mastered Rebound. That true?”
He must've heard rumors of me using Rebound and wanted to see it himself.
“Not perfectly, but wanna see?”
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