Hwang Jiwoo (4)
The next day.
A café in Seodaemun-gu.
Hwang Jiwoo, having tossed off her mask, had dressed up quite nicely for the first time in a while.
Birds of a feather flock together, they say.
The image of Baek Ajin she had seen was cool.
Even if her family circumstances were difficult, and even if she did not belong to any noteworthy guild…..
Still, she wanted to become someone who suited Baek Ajin.
Even if that was only on the surface.
'What on earth could this be about?'
Gulp.
In a café with private rooms, Hwang Jiwoo, sitting demurely as she waited, swallowed hard.
It was a nerve-racking moment.
In truth, she had cautiously sounded her father out the night before.
-Dad, what would you do if I had to stay away from home for more than three months?
Not once in her life had she ever stayed out overnight.
That remained true even after becoming an adult.
In effect, before she could accept Baek Ajin's request, there was a huge mountain she had to overcome first!
-Why? What are you talking about? Don't tell me you got a boyfriend or something? If it's something like that, not even if dirt gets in my eyes!
The moment she tested the waters, the household had, quite literally, erupted into chaos.
From Hwang Jiwoo's point of view, it was because of her parents' overprotectiveness...
'Ha…'
She understood, though.
Hadn't the world been especially dangerous lately?
Even if the gangsters had disappeared thanks to Baek Jinwoo's exploits, they were still anxious.
How am I supposed to persuade them? Just as Hwang Jiwoo was about to shake her head in dismay—
"Oh, Jiwoo!"
Baek Ajin came in.
"You're already here?"
9:50 a.m.
Their appointment had been for 10:00, so Baek Ajin had arrived ten minutes early.
But the nervous Hwang Jiwoo had already arrived and sat down a full hour earlier.
This was, after all, a meeting where she was being offered a part-time job worth a billion won.
Friend or not—
She had felt an obsessive need to keep the appointment exactly on time!
"It's been a while. Last time we didn't even get to greet each other properly…... You've gotten even prettier, haven't you?"
"What are you talking about? You're the prettier one, Ajin."
After ordering drinks, the two eased the mood with light conversation.
How much time had passed like that?
"....So what kind of job is it?"
"Well, actually, um….. I'm not sure how this will sound. Jiwoo….. you saw my brother last time, right?"
"B-Baek Jinwoo sir?"
"What do you mean, Baek Jinwoo sir? He's my brother."
"I saw him."
He had come up to her saying he would take a picture for her, but she had been so stiff that they had not even managed to take it properly.
"Since you're my friend, I won't make you sign some information nondisclosure contract or anything…. but you can't go around carelessly talking about this proposal, okay?"
As Baek Ajin hesitated, Hwang Jiwoo grew impatient.
What in the world was it?
"There's nowhere for me to talk about it anyway. You know that. You guys are the only friends I have."
"Ahem."
Baek Ajin cleared her throat again.
Damn.
Where should I even start explaining this? Should I just begin with the big picture?
"To get straight to the point, you just need to come into Yoobaek for 100 days and stay with my brother. All day, twenty-four hours..."
Baek Ajin's shocking proposal struck Hwang Jiwoo right in the mind, and—
Pffft!
Hwang Jiwoo spat the iced Americano in her mouth straight forward.
"W-What…..?!"
Her face turned bright red in shock.
What was she saying?!
Was she telling her to spend the night with—no, practically live together with—that Baek Jinwoo she admired?
Startled beyond belief, Hwang Jiwoo shot to her feet, only to notice coffee splattered on Baek Ajin's face.
"S-Sorry!"
"It's fine. Anyone would be shocked."
Baek Ajin calmly pulled out a tissue and wiped her face.
"Just hear me out to the end first. We'll provide an apartment in Yoobaek City, okay? More precisely, you'll live there, and you know my brother's summon, the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer, right? You just need to stay beside it while it trains. It's okay to step out for a bit, but you have to come back within an hour.... If it resets, the contract is void. Even if you fail, we'll still guarantee you 100 million won, and if you succeed, 1 billion. What do you think?"
For the record, the 100 million won was going to be paid out of Baek Ajin's own pocket.
Having become a director of 「Yoobaek」 and guaranteed 20% of the proceeds from rune sales, Baek Ajin's wealth outstripped that of most chaebol heirs.
Doing this much for a friend was not difficult.
Especially when that very friend happened to possess the incredibly rare Fiery Body!
Her brother had asked her.
No matter what method she used, he had told her to make sure to secure her.
And if she rejected the offer?
Baek Ajin intended to raise the compensation even further.
"So I just have to stay beside it? I don't have to do anything else?"
"Yep."
"Hmm."
Hwang Jiwoo closed her eyes.
What was there to even think about! There was no reason to refuse such an offer.
Not only would she be able to meet Baek Jinwoo once again, but they were offering her a huge amount of money too.
"But why me, specifically?"
"Hm?"
"Is there some special reason it has to be me?"
"Hoo."
Baek Ajin smiled.
As expected, her friend was smart.
It was a perfectly natural question to ask, and a perfectly natural thing to wonder about.
But Baek Ajin was also a businesswoman.
"I'll tell you after you agree and sign the contract."
If Hwang Jiwoo realized she was special, she might demand a higher reward.
It was not that Baek Ajin distrusted her, but neither did she trust her completely.
A deal had to be made clearly, and thoroughly!
"Okay."
"Really? Then should we sign the contract right away?"
"No, before that."
Hwang Jiwoo shook her head.
"There's one more thing I have to do first. Once I resolve that, I'll come to your company."
She had to persuade her parents!
For a woman in her early twenties, staying out overnight was a very big issue.
* * *
"Dad."
"No."
As expected of her parents.
They figured it out just from her expression before she even asked.
"You're about to talk about staying out overnight, aren't you? It's fine if you want to be a Player, and it's fine if you want to join a guild. You can even try dungeons as long as your safety is secured, but staying out—"
"It's because I found a really good part-time job."
"What kind of ridiculous part-time job requires you to stay out overnight? And for more than three months at that!"
"They said they'd pay me 1 billion won if I work just 100 days."
"Wh....one billion?"
Her father's eyes, which had been full of anger, went wide. Then his expression hardened even more.
"You brat! I don't know what kind of scammer got to you, but absolutely not!"
It was complete nonsense.
One billion won for 100 days?
That came out to 10 million won a day.
What kind of work in the world paid 10 million won a day!
It was one of two things. Either a scam, or organ trafficking.
"Jiwoo. I thought you were smart, but you're actually unbelievably stupid! Haven't I told you again and again? There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. This is insane! That does it. You're not going out for a while either—"
"Dad!"
"Not before dirt gets in my eyes…... No! Not even if dirt gets in them!"
"It's Yoobaek!"
In the end, Hwang Jiwoo blurted it out.
"Hm?"
Her father frowned.
What is she talking about now?
'Yoobaek? The Yoobaek I know?'
The one-man management company of national team captain Baek Jinwoo?
"You know Baek Jinwoo from Yoobaek, right? I told you he's my friend Ajin's older brother."
".....There's no way your dad wouldn't know that."
Her father's ears perked up.
It had not been long since Baek Jinwoo became known to the public, but at this point, if you did not know him in South Korea, you were a spy.
No, even a spy would probably know who he was.
"It's a part-time job that Baek Jinwoo himself is hiring for."
"Why would Baek Jinwoo want you? Does that even make sense?"
"You don't even know the details, and Ajin came to see me today and gave me the contract too. It's not something weird….. I think it's probably something where I can be of help to Baek Jinwoo. Here—"
Flaaap!
Her father snatched the contract away and began reading it quickly.
At the same time, his eyes trembled wildly.
Th-This was real? It was hard to believe, yet he had no choice but to believe it.
He had known for a very long time that Baek Ajin was his daughter's friend.
'I don't know what exactly is going on here, but.'
This would be an opportunity.
Especially for his daughter!
"Ahem."
Her father twisted his neck sharply from side to side.
Then he looked at Hwang Jiwoo.
"Jiwoo."
"Yeah?"
"Why are you still here?"
"….Huh?"
Hwang Jiwoo stared at him in disbelief.
"But earlier you said, 'Not even if dirt gets in my eyes'....."
"What dirt? Want me to drive you there? Hurry up and pack. Haven't I always told you? Opportunities are meant to be seized."
"But just earlier you said there's no such thing as a free lunch….."
"Sssup! How dare you talk back to an adult!"
Hurry up and go!
Go and endure the full 100 days, no matter what! Don't even think about coming back!
* * *
In front of the main gate of Yoobaek City.
Thud!
The car door shut.
Vroom!
After the car drove off, only Hwang Jiwoo was left standing there awkwardly alone, a large suitcase clenched in her hand.
Once she showed her father the contract, everything had moved forward at lightning speed.
Hwang Jiwoo was dumbfounded.
Her father had even brought up his military days, which he normally never talked about, insisting over and over that 100 days was nothing and that she absolutely had to endure it no matter what happened.
But.
Flaap!
Even the expression on Hwang Jiwoo's face as she unfolded the contract looked firm, as though she had made some enormous decision.
'I want to give up the price of 1 billion won….. and make a different proposal.'
She did not know why Baek Jinwoo had called for her, nor what kind of value she possessed.
That was why she could not press too hard.
Not only would it never work, she did not want to do that either.
But.
'What if, instead of money, I asked for instruction for those 100 days?'
One hour…
No, even ten minutes would be enough.
If she could receive instruction from Baek Jinwoo, then who cared about the money?
That was how desperate she was.
Honestly.
You could tell just by the reactions of the rankers.
Baek Jinwoo's time was worth its weight in gold.
'Even if he rejects me, I have to at least try.'
One time of regretting not speaking up had already been enough.
Let's go!
I'm going in there and saying it!
I'm heading straight to the training ground.
If she wanted to change the contract, it was better to speak directly with Baek Jinwoo, the person involved, than with Baek Ajin.
Especially if what she was asking for was instruction.
They say everyone gets an opportunity in life, and a moment comes when you have to catch it.
In Hwang Jiwoo's eyes, that moment was today.
Nodding to herself, Hwang Jiwoo strode boldly through the main gate.
* * *
"Haaak, haaak!"
"Hwaaaaaaah!"
The training ground heated up once more.
Monday had come, and the four disciples had returned to the training ground.
Having released all the summons and left them in HunGyo's care, the disciples focused on physical training.
"Hoo."
Baek Jinwoo did not neglect his own training either.
Now he could perfectly control his entire body's muscles.
At least in terms of sheer strength.
Now it was time to develop flexibility and fine control.
Standing on his hands with all ten fingers supporting him, he exhaled slowly and began lifting his fingers one by one.
Starting from the little fingers, then ring fingers, middle fingers, and index fingers.
And finally.
"Hup!"
Baek Jinwoo, now balancing upside down on nothing but a single thumb, let out a shout and exerted force.
Whirl!
Just like that, his body spun once through the air, and he landed facing forward.
Even throughout that process, he continued circulating the Clear Heaven Heart Technique.
The disciples running around the training ground shook their heads as they watched.
'A monster.'
'Scary big bro.'
'.....An amazing Master.'
Three of them looked on with eyes full of respect.
And then there was Hong Ari, who stared with a sulky, envy-tinged expression.
Seriously, does he think he's some kind of summon or something?
This was actually a hot topic among the disciples themselves.
If an F-grade summon fought Baek Jinwoo, who would win?
Normally, a human could not beat a summon.
But if it's Baek Jinwoo?
If it's F-grade, maybe. If he's without runes, that is.
And then at that moment—
"Um..."
Creak!
The door to the training ground opened.
A new face!
With an innocent expression, Hwang Jiwoo stepped in cautiously, the contract in one hand.
Then she froze in shock.
Hong Ari?
Hong Ari, whom she had always admired.
And Oh Sunyoung, Gi Jaehyuk, and Kang Jihoe too?
Only now did it truly hit her.
She had just stepped into an incredible holy land that every domestic Player dreamed of entering.
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