All In
In the chairman’s office of the Lee Do Group, Lee Sang-byuk slightly lowered his glasses and stared at the bizarre creature standing before him.
“You… look like…”
The sight of Lee Shin was truly a spectacle.
Slippers, sweatpants, and a shirt that looked like it had been pulled straight out of the laundry basket. He was the very definition of a bum. Was this the fashion trend among today’s youth? Or some new form of rebellion? Lee Sang-byuk seriously considered sending his grandson back to the mental hospital.
“A bit shabby, right? I threw something on in a hurry and ended up like this. Here, try one. They’re still warm.”
“What the hell is that?”
“Bungeoppang. Felt weird showing up empty-handed, so I bought some. But man, prices these days are insane. Two for a thousand won? That’s robbery.”
Lee Shin handed over the fish-shaped pastry while seriously contemplating the high cost of living. Lee Sang-byuk let out a stunned “Heh” at his grandson’s shameless audacity.
“How did you get here? You’re supposed to be grounded.”
“I made a movie. Title was Knock and the Door Shall Open!”
For an entire week, he had flashed charming smiles until his eyes nearly went blind, and he had performed a slow but thorough hacking job that proved programming was nothing but manual labor.
“If I used the outstanding charm my grandfather passed down to open people’s hearts, I used a bit of code-based trickery to open the security doors. Speaking of which, the CCTV in the room was a bit much. I have a right to privacy too, you know.”
Lee Shin spoke in a light, teasing tone.
But Lee Sang-byuk wasn’t listening to the banter.
Opening hearts with charm? In other words, he had used that pretty face to smack people around, hadn’t he?
Fine. He could let that slide.
But what did he mean by code-based trickery? And how did he know about the CCTV?
Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Lee Sang-byuk asked. Lee Shin answered with a perfectly straight face.
“That’s a trade secret.”
“What…?”
“Trade. Secret.”
From here on, it’s pay-per-view, dear customer.
With a sly grin, Lee Shin took a big bite of the bungeoppang.
“Heh, trade secret? You’ve lost your damn mind. Completely lost it.”
“Hee~”
“You’re laughing?”
“Should I cry instead?”
Lee Sang-byuk’s face twisted in utter disbelief.
And Lee Shin kept grinning like an idiot the entire time.
Lee Sang-byuk was dumbfounded that this boy would dare joke around in front of him. Yet at the same time, it felt strangely refreshing.
Did this kid always have this side to him?
Whenever he frowned like this, everyone lowered their heads. No one dared meet his eyes. The old Lee Shin—or rather, the one from a few months ago—had been no different.
But now this brat was holding his head high, staring straight into his eyes. Straight into Lee Sang-byuk’s eyes.
Knock. Knock.
“Coming in.”
The door opened and Yu Cheol-ong entered, carrying a tray with two cups of coffee that were still steaming.
“Cheol-ong? What’s that? I didn’t order anything.”
“I asked him to bring it. My throat was getting dry.”
“This punk…”
“Here you go~”
When Lee Sang-byuk saw Lee Shin casually reaching for the snacks with a completely innocent expression, he felt a vein pop on his forehead. But at this point, he was too curious to stay angry. He needed to know why the boy was acting like this.
Meanwhile, Lee Shin’s attention was fixed on Yu Cheol-ong.
More precisely, on the numbers floating above the man’s head: (179/181).
It was a number only visible to him as a manager and player—an ability unique to Awakeners. It displayed Current Ability / Potential Ability.
In other words, Yu Cheol-ong was an Awakener. And not just any Awakener—one talented enough to become a Hunter.
“Ho…?”
“??”
“Looks like you’re a ‘gifted’ person, sir. Wow~ Let’s get along well from now on.”
The eyes of both Lee Sang-byuk and Yu Cheol-ong sharpened instantly.
“You bastard. You remember Cheol-ong?”
“Did you already forget? I lost my memory.”
“Then why did you call him gifted?”
“Just a gut feeling. If you get the chance, please help me out. Hehehe.”
Lee Shin laughed while rubbing his palms together greedily.
The two men tried to read what was hidden behind that expression but soon gave up. How could anyone read a guy who was as erratic as someone who’d taken the wrong medication?
“So why the hell did you come all the way here pulling this stunt?”
“I came to see my grandfather.”
“I’m warning you, my patience ends here. If you keep beating around the bush, I’ll throw you out immediately.”
“The thing you’re about to do, Grandfather—the guild-related matter. Let me do that too.”
“……Guild? What are you talking about?”
Lee Sang-byuk spoke casually, but Lee Shin responded with a meaningful smile.
“The guild. The guild. The one that just popped into your head, Grandfather.”
He wasn’t guessing. He knew for certain.
Lee Sang-byuk’s previously calm expression crumpled as if by magic.
“How do you know about that?”
It wasn’t an absolute secret. Given the nature of the matter, the Strategic Planning Office, the Crisis Management Office, and the family members selected for ‘dispatch’ already knew.
Still, Lee Sang-byuk was irritated because his order to “keep it out of his ears” had clearly not been followed.
Yu Cheol-ong lowered his head in shame, unable to offer any excuse.
“Don’t tell me the vice-chairman told you.”
“Would Dad really do that?”
“Answer me.”
“Well, I told you already. I’m your grandson, the devilishly charming guy.”
A week was longer than it seemed, and human mouths spilled far more information than people realized. Especially when the person they were talking to was someone they wanted to impress—like the friends of Lee Shin’s younger sister who were all tangled up in his looks.
“……So what you’re saying is, you extracted the information? Not satisfied with charming the employees, you even went after your sister’s friends?”
“Dad’s been busy traveling around the provinces. He’s been really interested in Hunters lately. None of that stuff is exactly top secret, is it?”
“Ha……”
“Honestly, I figured some kind of ‘guild’ event would pop up sooner or later anyway. There’s no tutorial in GM, after all.”
“What?”
“Never mind, just talking to myself. Anyway, when I put all the information together, the answer just hit me like lightning.”
“This is ridiculous.”
Whether it was turning the employees to his side with that handsome face, coaxing his sister’s friends, or deducing the entire situation from a few casual words.
Or the sheer drive it took to escape while completely restricted and make it all the way to stand in front of Lee Sang-byuk.
Most of all, the fact that he had done all of this while supposedly completely bound and helpless made him quite the piece of work in many ways.
“So you want to work on the guild?”
“Yes! I’m confident I’ll do well.”
“I see.”
“Exactly.”
“Heh heh.”
“Hehe.”
The grandfather and grandson looked at each other and laughed.
Lee Shin grinned like a sycophant, and Lee Sang-byuk kept nodding with a smile.
Then, just as he picked up the phone—
“Secretary’s office. This kid is my—”
“Grandfather—!! Please give me just one chance!”
As if he had been waiting for it, Lee Shin leaped like a frog and landed on the desk, dropping to his knees.
Fast little bastard…?
The speed of those knees made Lee Sang-byuk pause with the receiver still in his hand. But his eyes remained ice-cold.
“A chance, you say… That’s not a word that should be coming out of your mouth, is it?”
“I know. I know I’ve already received far too many chances.”
“You know that and still have the nerve to ask? Are you hoping I’ll show leniency because you lost your memory or something?”
“No. The sins I’ve committed are far too great for that.”
“At least you have some shame.”
Lee Sang-byuk pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
Lee Shin swiftly reached out, grabbed the lighter on the desk, and lit it for him. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he held the ashtray with both hands like an offering.
Look at this guy. He even knows how to flatter.Lee Sang-byuk let out a small chuckle.
“You’ve got good senses, but no pride?”
“If I had to pick one word I hate the most, it would be ‘pride.’ I don’t raise that kind of thing.”
“For a man, that’s quite the boast.”
Though his expression looked disappointed, Lee Sang-byuk was inwardly satisfied.
It was the answer he wanted.
Pride was only useful once you had reached the very top. Until then, pride was worthless. That was how Lee Sang-byuk had lived, and how he had reached this position.
“Reason.”
“Sorry?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself. Give me a reason. Tell me why I should give you a chance.”
Lee Shin reached out without hesitation.
He pointed at a framed piece hanging on one side of the chairman’s office.
The frame was filled with calligraphy—teachings left behind by Lee Sang-byuk’s father, the previous chairman of the Lee Do Group.
And on the third line:
Use discrimination. Give the talented plenty so they can grow arrogant, and plant a sense of crisis in the untalented so they fear they might fall behind…
“……But give opportunities fairly.”
“Ha, so you want me to give you a chance because of my father’s teachings?”
Lee Sang-byuk laughed as if it were ridiculous.
It was bold, but ultimately just a tantrum. He was about to dismiss it as not worth listening to when—
“I’ll bet everything I am set to inherit.”
“!!”
Those words stopped Lee Sang-byuk in his tracks.
He froze, then slowly turned only his head to look at Lee Shin.
His expression had turned as cold as ice. Lee Shin didn’t avoid that chill. He stared back so intensely that his own reflection was visible in the old man’s pupils.
“……Do you even understand the weight of what you just said?”
“Yes. I understand it very well.”
No matter how much of a good-for-nothing he was, he was still the eldest grandson of this family. The inheritance rights granted to him were by no means small.
Vast lands that were hard to take in at a glance. Dozens of large and small buildings built on Seoul’s prime real estate. And finally, shares in the Lee Do Group—the very pillar of the nation.
In small terms, it was wealth that could let him play for the rest of his life. In large terms, it was a guaranteed future.
“I’ll bet it all. In return, give me the chance. If I fail, you can take it back. If I succeed, then I succeed. Either way, it won’t be a loss for you, Grandfather.”
All-in.
A bet with everything on the line.
Lee Sang-byuk stared at Lee Shin with a rare look of blank astonishment.
He had never imagined this worthless grandson would have such guts. The shock was considerable.
“……Does the vice-chairman know about this?”
“No.”
“For a deal of this magnitude, going to your father would have been far better, no?”
“A deal with Dad? No way. Do you think I’m doing this just to make money? If that were the case, I’d just sell it off privately and leave the house.”
Heh heh. So it wasn’t about money? This wild rascal who had only ever stretched his hand out for allowance?
And he was saying he had made this enormous decision not according to his father’s wishes, but by his own will.
Looking into his eyes, it was clear. It was the truth.
It was a continuous stream of things he had never seen before and could never have predicted.
Lee Sang-byuk was now genuinely intrigued by this human called Lee Shin.
“Why me?”
“It’s simple.”
Because Lee Sang-byuk would soon be the head of Lee Do.
“You’re the king, Grandfather. Of course I have to serve the king.”
It was easier to move with one person above him than two.
“I’ve played enough. Now I want to try getting on your good side, Grandfather.”
“And so?”
“You like it, don’t you? Adventure, gambling, courage.”
“……!”
It was exactly as Lee Shin said.
The reason Lee Sang-byuk had been able to leave his mark on the world, starting from nothing but a single grain shop inherited from his predecessor, was not because he played it safe. It was because he had the guts to pull out his own heart when necessary.
A beginner's spirit he had forgotten about at some point.
Lee Sang-byuk had never imagined he would see that original intention in the good-for-nothing standing before him.
“……”
“……”
The grandfather and grandson glared at each other as if in a battle of wills.
Neither took a single step back. Lee Shin’s eyes were desperate and frantic. Lee Sang-byuk could feel it with his entire body.
The boy was serious. He had truly bet everything in this moment. Suddenly, Lee Sang-byuk’s blood began to boil.
“Fine. I’ll give you that last chance. Go ahead and take it.”
“Yes!!”
Lee Shin clenched his fist and cheered.
Kneeling on the desk, the sight was rather pathetic, but who cared about appearances?
The meaningful smile Lee Sang-byuk wore was a little concerning, but who cared? He had succeeded!
“Don’t forget. This is your last chance. If you fail this time, you’ll be removed from the family register and kicked out as a penniless beggar.”
“Call!”
Ha! What a funny kid. Lee Sang-byuk had to admit it.
His grandson.
The troublemaker of the Lee Do family.
Had completely changed.
·
·
“Ah, right.”
At that moment, the troublemaker grandson spoke again.
“In return, please give me one person. He’s probably working as an intern at the logistics warehouse right now. His name is……”