Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Scout
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After finishing shopping, I moved to a cafe on the second floor of Hero Mall with Hanna.
"I want to bring you into our company, Mr. Park Un-ho."
The expected words came out.
"I have no intention of joining a company."
I replied indifferently.
"I'll give you the best treatment. 10 billion won as a signing bonus."
Hanna's expression said, How about this?
"......"
It was a considerable amount of money to just turn down.
She said it was a new company, but they seemed to have plenty of funds.
Did they get good investments?
No, even so, this was ridiculously excessive.
Is this a scam?
I couldn't help but think that.
A typical F-Rank would get 500 million to 1 billion.
D-Ranks got more, but probably no more than 3 billion at most.
Who in their right mind would offer 10 billion to a freshly awakened D-Rank?
No one knew an Awakener's growth potential.
Some F-Ranks became A-Ranks, while others stayed F-Rank forever.
Higher ranks drew more interest because they had better odds of climbing even further.
If I'd awakened as C- or B-Rank, it might be different, but initial C-Rank or higher awakenings were incredibly rare worldwide.
They got all the spotlights and headlines.
Nutube was a given.
I didn't watch much TV or news, but even I knew about Awakener Kang Woo-jin, who plastered countless national pride channels on Nutube.
Kang Woo-jin, the proud Korean who shocked the world with a C-Rank on his first mana test.
D-Ranks weren't that rare, so luckily, I wouldn't end up on Nutube.
But 10 billion...
Do they think I'm some clueless rookie?
I wasn't even young enough to be seen that way.
Otherwise... I couldn't understand it at all.
"What do you see in me to make such an offer?"
"I see great potential in you, Un-ho."
Hanna spoke confidently, her eyes sparkling.
I couldn't tell if it was flattery for recruitment or sincere.
Either way, it didn't appeal to me.
She was pretty, but joining a company was another matter.
A signing bonus was just a chain.
10 billion was huge, but with my skills, I could earn that much quickly.
Hunters earned based on performance, not salary anyway.
With Inventory, I'd save on Supporter costs, and soloing meant I could monopolize everything.
Reading my indifferent expression, Hanna took a very humble stance.
"What do you want? I'll accommodate as much as possible."
Hanna launched into pleading eyes.
Was this how you scouted Awakeners?
Everything about it made no sense.
My suspicions only grew.
I'd never seen a recruitment negotiation before...
The huge sum tempted me briefly, but I didn't want to be tied to a company.
"Well..."
For some reason, they overvalued me.
The pretty face desperately clinging to me was cute.
The prim horn-rimmed glasses suited her pretty face well.
Or maybe it was because she was pretty.
A face was fashion, after all—a truth.
And the ample curves visible below.
Feeling my gaze, Hanna blushed.
The short-haired woman who seemed to be her secretary glared at me.
Silence flowed.
Did I stare too openly? I decided to play it cool.
Getting flustered would just make it awkward.
Probably...
Hanna just blushed at my gaze without saying anything else.
Was she enduring it for recruitment?
But the secretary kept watching me warily.
"Can't you really reconsider? Name your conditions, and I'll meet them as much as possible."
For some reason, she seemed desperate to hold onto me.
But it didn't sway me.
She was a beauty.
An absolute top-tier beauty.
I couldn't say I had no interest.
I had no plans to join a company, but because of that interest, I'd come to this cafe with her.
But pretty was pretty, and this was this.
We might never meet again.
It was a shame, but unavoidable.
Hanna suddenly grabbed my hand.
"I don't want to let you go, Un-ho."
The line could make strangers misunderstand.
But the feel of her hand was nice.
Seeing her desperation, I thought I could push for what I wanted without much loss.
"Alright."
"Really?"
Hanna's bright smile lit up the surroundings.
"Not yet. Too early to celebrate."
"Yes! Yes! Just say the word!"
Hanna seemed thrilled at the sign of progress.
I wondered how long she'd keep that face...
"Then, my conditions. First, I'll hunt only when I want to."
"Pardon?"
The secretary's face soured.
"I'll hunt when I feel like it, and skip when I don't."
Hanna pondered my first condition, arms crossed, then said,
"Okay!"
...Did she really understand?
This meant taking the signing bonus without working.
It was absurd, but I had one more.
"And let me cancel the contract whenever I want."
"Whaaat?!"
"That's ridiculous!"
Hanna and the expressionless secretary exclaimed in shock.
It was amusing to see surprise on the always-stoic secretary's face.
Would they entertain such nonsense from a mere D-Rank?
I stayed relaxed.
I had no intention of signing anyway.
Hanna bit her lip, deliberating.
Was there even a dilemma?
I leisurely admired the pondering beauty.
When else would I get to see a beauty like this in person?
"President, this is..."
The secretary looked anxious, fearing a bad decision.
"It's fine, unnie."
Resolution lit her eyes.
"Okay!"
"......You're insane."
The informal words slipped out.
Was this woman really the company president?
Maybe only a president could make such a decision.
.
.
.
Hanna dragged me to the company for the contract, as if it were urgent.
It was a solid-looking company occupying an entire 10-story building in Gangnam, Seoul.
And she finally got me to sign.
Considering the terms, it felt pointless, but...
I had a capable assistant in my head.
The contract listed only benefits for me—an absurd one-sided deal.
Even I felt a twinge of conscience.
I could grant a couple of easy requests.
"Now you're family! Looking forward to working with you!"
As I signed, Hanna offered a bright handshake.
"Ah... sure."
Her joy left me awkwardly shaking her hand.
But a corner of my mind still held suspicion.
.
.
.
"Don't you think we went too low from the start?"
After Un-ho left, Jin-ah voiced her concern.
"He had no intention of joining from the beginning. We had to go this far."
"Is it really okay?"
Jin-ah's face remained tense.
"What?"
"A contract like this... What if he gets ideas?"
Jin-ah swallowed the part about losing 10 billion.
"It'll be fine. It's all benefits for him. He doesn't seem the type to throw that away."
Hanna replied nonchalantly.
"Even if it's fine now..."
"He has that much value."
"That... much?"
"What did you think, unnie?"
"To me, he just looked like a sleazy guy ogling your body..."
Jin-ah said with a hint of disgust.
"Haha. He was pretty blatant. But it didn't feel that bad."
Hanna laughed cheerfully.
"Hanna!"
"Haha, joking. You're too uptight, unnie... Is that all?"
"He didn't feel like a fresh Awakener. No openings at all—unnaturally so. I can't confidently say I could take him."
Hanna was a D-Rank Awakener.
"That hammer lift was incredible."
Hanna recalled the daytime scene with a dreamy expression.
"Honestly... anyone would be impressed."
Jin-ah conceded reluctantly.
"So my eyes didn't deceive me."
"How strong exactly?"
Jin-ah asked curiously.
"Above America's S-Rank hero Ella."
"!!!!"
Hanna smiled confidently.
"If my eyes aren't wrong, just having his name on our roster will profit us more than that measly 10 billion."