Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: A Visit to the Master
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"What is this nonsense?"
"Why would the Master sponsor us?"
Everyone looked just as bewildered as I did.
Kang Han even said gravely,
"This has to be fake news. We need to request a correction from the media right away."
"Maybe it's a different Justice Guild?"
Han Ji-seong went so far as to open the Association site and search for other guilds with the same name.
That's not it.
Guild names can't be registered as duplicates anyway.
"Haa."
I'd been planning to head straight home and crash into a deep sleep.
"I'll be right back. I have somewhere to go."
I need to have a talk with Jeong Je-hwa.
With that thought, I turned to leave.
Tap.
Someone gently but urgently grabbed my wrist.
It was Kang Han.
I looked up, silently asking with my eyes why he'd grabbed me.
"......?"
"Ah, it's just..."
Kang Han seemed pretty surprised by his own action.
As if even he didn't know why he'd grabbed me.
"Nayeo-ju-ssi."
"Yes."
"......Be careful out there."
He seemed like he had more to say.
But right now, the urgent matter was Jeong Je-hwa.
"Got it."
I hurried out of the Seyeon University campus, hailed a taxi, and headed to Jamsil.
"What the heck? Why is it closed?"
The lights were off at Sugar Workshop in the basement of the Maestro Building.
I peered into the pitch-black interior and pounded on the locked door, but there was no sign of life inside.
Realizing Jeong Je-hwa wasn't there left me momentarily stunned.
Muse this, muse that—he'd given me special treatment, but if not here, I had no idea where he even lived.
"Guess I should call."
If he's got any conscience, he'll pick up.
I'd just pulled out my phone when—
"Nayeo-ju-ssi?"
A stranger's voice made me turn around. A man in a suit stood a few steps away.
I hadn't noticed him approaching this close.
No matter how scattered I was right now, I couldn't miss the presence of a regular person.
This guy's a hunter.
A high-rank one, at that.
"Who are you?"
"I'm one of the Master's errand boys. I was told to bring you upstairs if you showed up at the workshop."
"Upstairs?"
"Come with me."
For a split second, I wondered if this wasn't someone Jeong Je-hwa had actually sent.
"Show me your ID."
"Here's my business card too."
The man pulled out an Awakener Association ID and a business card with the Maestro gear symbol.
Click.
I snapped photos of them and sent them straight to Han Ji-seong.
If anyone asks why not Kang Han or Jang Su-ho...
Those two would race to Jamsil the second they saw the card.
Jang Su-ho might even smash up Maestro yelling 'Hand over Nayeo-ju!'
"You're not stopping me from taking pictures of your ID and card?"
I didn't hide my lingering suspicion.
"The Master warned me you'd do this."
"Ah."
What the...?
If he knows me that well, he should've just waited quietly at the workshop.
"Let's go, then. To the Master."
Jeong Je-hwa's penthouse at the top of Jamsil Tower was perfectly him.
Muted tones with no flashy colors anywhere, and the only thing catching the eye was a pitch-black coffee table that seemed to absorb all light, no matter what it was made of.
And above all, it was utterly silent.
Quiet enough to hear the clouds drifting by below.
I stood there alone, taking in Jeong Je-hwa's home.
The Maestro employee who'd escorted me here had said he couldn't enter and taken the elevator back down ages ago.
"Hmm."
I gazed at the clouds flowing past the window for a bit, then at the incomprehensible painting on the wall, and some time passed.
There was a plush-looking sofa right there, but I didn't sit.
"Nayeo-ju-ssi."
I figured Jeong Je-hwa would slip out quietly like this.
He closed the door to what looked like a bedroom and walked over to me.
"Why are you standing? Sit down."
As he spoke, he checked my expression—like Jang Su-ho peeking after pulling a prank.
"President."
"Yes."
"How could you announce it so one-sidedly? Shouldn't you have given me a heads-up at least?"
Jeong Je-hwa fell silent for a moment after my outburst.
Then he smiled quietly.
"As expected, Nayeo-ju-ssi isn't surprised that I'm the Master."
Oh, right. That.
With everything exploding right after I got out of the gate, it hadn't crossed my mind.
"Ahem. How could I not know? The quality of every item you make is so high."
An excuse slipped out before I knew it.
"Let me apologize first. I'm sorry for pretending not to know who you were, even though I did."
"It's fine. No need to apologize. I was the one who didn't say anything."
I figured his affection would drop around now.
But Jeong Je-hwa looked pleased instead.
"Thanks to Nayeo-ju-ssi treating me not as the Master, but just as myself, I was able to break out of my slump."
"Let me introduce myself properly, Nayeo-ju-ssi."
Jeong Je-hwa straightened up and said,
"I'm Jeong Je-hwa, Guild Master of Maestro."
"Jeong... Je-hwa-ssi?"
"Yes."
He smiled when I said his name.
His smiling face was handsome, sure, but that wasn't the issue.
"Is it okay to just hand out your name like that? How many people on Earth even know the Master's real name?"
"No one yet. But you're not just anyone to me. Not ever. And..."
Jeong Je-hwa smiled softly again.
"You look beautiful today, Yeo-ju-ssi."
Oh my god.
The keyword changed.
Beautiful, though?
My face heated up from embarrassment.
"No, this is... I came straight from the photoshoot."
"I know, Nice Sports. They're doing a random poster event with sneaker purchases. So I pre-ordered fifty pairs."
"Fifty...?! You're swimming in money, huh."
Being Maestro's Guild Master and all.
I almost nagged him out of habit but shut my mouth.
Jeong Je-hwa chuckled softly at that and led me to the sofa.
I have no idea what it's made of, but the way it cradled my body—soft yet firm—was incredible.
He sat me in the prime spot, the single-seater, and took the closest seat to my left before asking,
"Did you like the gift I gave you?"
"Haa, that's actually why I'm here."
Right, that's why I rushed all the way here.
"Official sponsorship? You sure about this? Maestro never does that sort of thing."
"Where's 'never' when it comes to you, Nayeo-ju-ssi?"
Kang Han says stuff like that, and now this guy casually says things that could mislead anyone.
I let out a small sigh and said,
"Don't say it so lightly. Sponsorship under Maestro—no, under the Master's name. It's great for us, sure. But Maestro doesn't need the publicity."
What's with sponsors anyway.
To buy the Master's works at full price, a single item could shake a whole guild.
And getting them sponsored entirely? That's massive favoritism.
...Not that I have much room to talk, having gotten them for free till now.
"Actually."
Jeong Je-hwa, who'd been listening quietly, spoke up.
"I thought you'd be angrier."
"Angry? Why?"
"It's basically me announcing on my own that you're precious to the Master—to me."
"Well, yeah, but."
"I wanted to tell the other crafting guilds. That Justice Guild, where Nayeo-ju-ssi belongs, is my territory. So don't even think about peddling your junk items there."
So it's like staking a claim.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't startled, but it didn't upset me."
"Good. Then."
Jeong Je-hwa pulled two sheets of paper from his sub-space.
"It's a contract. I should've done this first, really. Will you sign now?"
"Con, contract."
If I had an affection balloon right now, it'd be going off like crazy, pop pop pop.
A contract legally binding Maestro's sponsorship.
My heart felt like it might burst.
"Where? Where do I sign?"
The terms were overwhelmingly in Justice Guild's favor.
Except for the condition that it was valid only while I was with Justice Guild.
But I'd stay with them until the apocalypse was averted, so no issue.
I signed quickly and stashed my copy in my sub-space.
Sipping the coffee he'd given me, a sudden curiosity hit me.
"Oh, right. Was the coffee truck from you, Jeong Je-hwa-ssi?"
He's the only one who'd pull a surprise like that around me.
But the answer was unexpected.
"Coffee truck? Who sent a coffee truck?"
Jeong Je-hwa looked completely clueless.
He wouldn't lie to my face, so it wasn't his gift.
"Then who...?"
"You rat bastard."
Sama Jeong spat at Sama Young as he emerged from the Sama Group chairman's office.
Rat bastard.
It was an insult he'd heard nonstop since first stepping into the Sama estate. Nothing new.
But today's vibe felt fresh.
"Are hamsters or flying squirrels considered rats?"
Because that ridiculous thought crossed his mind.
If they were, it wasn't a bad label.
Rats could become pets if someone adored them enough.
"What bullshit is that?"
Sama Young brushed past Sama Jeong, who was glaring at him.
"Ku, heuk!"
Grabbing Sama Jeong's throat with one hand.
Before the reawakened S-rank's vastly enhanced physical power, the A-rank non-combatant Sama Jeong was helpless.
"I don't have time to deal with trash like you right now. Scram."
Sama Young growled lowly.
"You have time to make rampage drugs? Why not try making a reawakening one? Who knows? Maybe even a loser like you has hope."
Thud!
"Gah! Cough!"
Sama Young tossed his half-brother aside like roadside trash and headed to the elevator.
"Here."
He wiped the hand that had gripped Sama Jeong's throat with a handkerchief Woo Jun-kyeong had silently offered from behind.
"The thing I ordered?"
"Handled perfectly. Would you like to see the photo Nayeo-ju-ssi posted?"
Woo Jun-kyeong pulled up Justice Guild's Stargram account and showed it to Sama Young.
Nayeo-ju's smiling face filled the screen, coffee truck in the background.
"Pretty."
"Uh, my lord. You should see this too."
Woo Jun-kyeong switched screens to an article he'd prepared and held it out again.
Sama Young read the article silently, then snatched the phone.
Crackle—!
The phone incinerated in his hand without a trace.
Ding!
Stepping into the arriving elevator, Sama Young ground his teeth and muttered,
"Damn flies keep buzzing around my flower."