Shinyeom (3)
Honestly, it was a story I could barely believe.
"...So they just get away with it?"
"It's not that they get away with it so much as that nobody bothers to catch them."
Min Yoongi replied in a perfectly casual tone.
"As long as they keep clearing Gates properly, that's all that matters. Shinyeom doesn't even have any particularly famous Awakened among its ranks, so there's no real reason to go after them."
"And the Management Bureau is fine with that?"
"There's nothing stopping them. Their stance is probably that as long as no civilians or other Awakened get hurt, it's none of their business."
"What... isn't that a crime?"
You've got to be kidding me. I stared at him, incredulous.
"Is that kind of thing common?"
"Not particularly. If a well-known guild pulled something like this, there'd already be an uproar. Cheonhwa, or Guseong, for instance."
So that was it. In other words, they were being let off the hook simply because they weren't famous or influential enough for anyone to care.
"I feel like I've just learned something I wasn't supposed to know..."
"Haha. It's not the kind of knowledge that does anyone any good. That said..."
Min Yoongi picked up the contract Shinyeom had given them again, tilting his head with a thoughtful hum.
"This one's a little unusual. Typically they draw up a legitimate contract first, slowly reel the person in until they can't get out, and only then shove a contract like this in their face."
"You sure know a lot about this."
"I have a few acquaintances in that line of work. I hear all sorts of interesting stories thanks to them."
He grinned and held the contract back out to me.
"In any case, a contract like this can naturally be declared void. And they won't have much of a leg to stand on, either."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. So you can simply ignore any contractual issues involving them."
That was a relief. I'd been worried that Han Yerim's contract with Shinyeom might become a problem, but if what he said was true, there was no need to fret.
"Which means what I'm curious about now is what kind of contract you, Mr. Yeonwoo, intend to make with the people here..."
"Ah, about that."
I told Min Yoongi the exact terms I'd proposed to Choi Jian.
"...Fifteen percent guild equity, and a nine-to-one settlement split?"
Min Yoongi's expression turned slightly sour. He looked back and forth between me and Choi Jian, then asked, as if he simply couldn't accept it.
"...I have to ask, just in case. Is the person sitting here an S-Rank Awakened?"
"Not yet."
"Not... yet?"
Min Yoongi tilted his head, looking thoroughly uncomprehending.
"Forgive me, but how did you arrive at that assessment of her potential?"
"...Do I really have to explain?"
Obviously, I had no intention of revealing that I could see status windows. I hadn't even told Choi Jian or Han Yerim. There was no reason to tell Min Yoongi.
"No, if you'd rather not say, that's perfectly fine. I was simply curious about the basis for such confidence."
"All I can say is that I had my own reasons."
"Haha, that's quite all right."
Apparently he had no intention of pressing further. Min Yoongi smiled and nodded.
"If we assume the people here truly are S-Rank Awakened, then the contract isn't actually that unreasonable."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. At the S-Rank level, that kind of treatment is only natural."
He shrugged once, then pulled a laptop from the bag he'd been carrying.
"If you'd like, I can help you draft a contract with those terms."
"Oh, you can?"
"Of course. That's what I came here to do in the first place."
There was no reason to turn that down.
"Thank you. I don't know much about this side of things, so it's been giving me a headache."
"That's precisely why my profession exists, isn't it?"
Tap-tap-tap—
After a few bursts of typing, he turned the screen toward us.
"This is a preliminary draft I've put together. Aside from the guild equity and settlement ratio you promised, Mr. Yeonwoo, everything else is industry standard."
"Oh..."
"If there's anything you'd like to change, just say the word."
"Ah, then I...!"
Choi Jian, who had been watching from the side, cautiously raised her hand.
"I'd, um, like to change the contract period a little..."
Her finger pointed to the number written as three years.
"I just... if possible, I'd like to stay in Mr. Yeonwoo's guild for good."
"If you're talking about a lifetime contract... that's not possible."
"Wh-why not?!"
"There were far too many guilds that tricked ignorant Awakened into lifetime contracts and worked them to the bone. That's why the maximum term you can sign at once is five years."
"Ah..."
Choi Jian's face filled with disappointment. Min Yoongi glanced at her, chuckled, and amended the contract.
"However, with a little creative workaround, a quasi-lifetime arrangement is possible. We simply add a clause that the contract automatically renews at the end of each term. Since the Awakened can refuse renewal at any time, they can always just serve out the period and leave if they want to."
"Th-that would be perfect!"
Color returned to Choi Jian's face.
"I don't think there's anything else I'd want to change."
"And this young lady...?"
All eyes turned to Han Yerim, who was sitting there with her eyes wide.
"Hm?"
Han Yerim blinked, then nodded vigorously.
"I'm good with all of it!"
"...You're going to get yourself in trouble someday, talking like that."
"But oppa would never do anything bad to me."
Han Yerim giggled and plopped herself right up against my side.
"I'm not going anywhere but oppa's guild anyway, so whatever."
"...Right."
"You two are quite close."
Min Yoongi laughed good-naturedly and tapped away at the keyboard.
"Then we'll go with these overall terms... Is there anything you'd like to add, Mr. Yeonwoo?"
"Nothing on my end."
"Very well. That covers the Awakened contracts, then."
Min Yoongi's fingers flew. After a few more bursts of typing, he turned the laptop screen toward me again.
"...What's this?"
"You wouldn't happen to need an employee, would you?"
"Excuse me?"
"It's a bit awkward to say this myself, but I am something of an elite. I've picked up quite a few certifications in my spare time, and my network is reasonably well-connected."
"Excuse me?"
"Legal work, of course, but I can also handle tax and accounting entirely on my own — if you'll just leave it to me. Any other administrative work, too. Give me the assignment and I'll have it down in no time."
"Excuse me?!"
He grinned.
"I won't even ask for a high salary. I may not look it, but I'm fairly well-off, so I'm not in any particular hurry."
"That's... wait..."
If I let him keep going, I was genuinely going to lose my mind. I barely managed to raise a hand and stop him.
"Why on earth would you go that far...?"
"Ah, well."
He shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I've been a longtime fan of Apex Guild. That's the entire reason."
"...What?"
I stared at him, eyes wide, at a reason I had never even imagined. Min Yoongi gazed into the air for a moment, his expression distant, as if recalling something. Then he looked back at me.
"The guild I've admired for so long is about to be reborn. And I have the chance to put my own hands on it, even just a little. How am I supposed to sit that out?"
"Uh..."
"I'll say it again — I don't need a large salary. Minimum wage is fine. Just take me on."
"Hold on. Hold on a second."
He wasn't wrong that we needed personnel. Someone who understood the inner workings of guilds and Awakened, who could handle every kind of administrative work at once — that was the kind of talent you welcomed with open arms.
...I feel like I could make him a better offer than that.
But was a mere employee position really what he wanted? The thought crossed my mind.
"...There's something I should mention first."
"Yes?"
"Rather than just an employee... would you be interested in becoming an investor?"
"?"
Min Yoongi's expression went blank for a moment, but I pressed on shamelessly.
"As you know, I didn't inherit much besides the guild's name. So we're extremely short on money. I didn't have any to begin with, either. We don't even have the funds to buy our members equipment, or to send them into Gates."
I'd heard him say it earlier. He was fairly well-off.
"So instead of just an employee — how about investing properly, and working with us?"
"..."
Min Yoongi said nothing for a while, resting his chin on his hand, quietly tapping a finger.
...Did I push too far?
I was just about to take it back and pretend it never happened when—
"An investment."
Min Yoongi slowly opened his mouth.
"I hadn't even considered that."
"If you'd rather not, you're free to decline. We can go back to what you originally—"
"No, it's not that I don't want to."
Click. Min Yoongi closed the laptop and looked at me with a decidedly serious expression.
"How much do you need? For the investment."
"...Well. To be honest, I don't even know how much we need."
"Hmm."
He stroked his chin, thinking, then let out a small laugh.
"Very well. Shall we start by settling on an investment amount?"
"...!"
My eyes went wide at those words.
"Are you serious?!"
"Of course."
Min Yoongi opened the laptop again, a genuinely delighted smile on his face.
"The truth is, I've always wanted to work at a place like this."
"...Really?"
"Yes. The work never ends, does it? It's a dream job, in every sense of the word."
"..."
This guy is insane.
That was the moment I, without meaning to, locked in my internal evaluation of the man.