Chapter 61

[Park Jeonghye: Myeonghui~]

[Park Jeonghye: Why don’t you bring your son along with you?]

“No, he’s busy……!”

At that point, Hwang Myeonghui lost her patience.

Jeonghye?

In all honesty, she didn’t even have a clear idea of what that woman did for a living.

Word was her son had joined some organization called the Baekho guild, but it wasn’t something she ever paid attention to.

They weren’t even particularly friendly.

Jeonghye had sent multiple messages requesting a get-together, so she finally relented and picked a day, but—

What?

To bring her son as well?

“Mom, is everything alright?”

Baek Ajin, who happened to be dropping by, inquired.

Ever since they relocated to Yubaek City, Ajin made a habit of visiting her parents’ place regularly.

They lived right next to each other anyway, and residing in the identical penthouse meant she could just stroll over whenever she wanted.

“It’s nothing important, just an old classmate of mine…… She won’t let it go.”

Hwang Myeonghui briefly explained what was happening to Ajin.

Oh?

A slight smirk played on Ajin’s lips.

She understood the underlying motive perfectly.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“Do you actually know what Baekho is?”

“No. Is it a big deal?”

“……Mom, you literally watched the selection process with your own eyes. It’s counted among the top major guilds in the entire nation! How can you still be clueless after I’ve explained it to you so many times?”

She was completely dumbfounded.

She had even broken down the details of the Big Three guilds on that occasion.

“Dear, you know how I am. Awakened players, guilds, all that business—it just goes over my head. And I really don’t care to learn.”

“Sigh.”

Ajin let out a long, heavy breath.

Then again, it made sense.

Her mother, the honorable Hwang Myeonghui, was incredibly kind-hearted. Perhaps too kind-hearted.

Actually, it wasn’t so much kindness as it was… being overly trusting?

Which was precisely why she had agreed to a meeting with such an obvious ulterior motive and even locked in a date.

“Mom. Just message her back and say I’ll be coming instead.”

“Huh? But Jeonghye specifically mentioned wanting to see your older brother……”

“Are you still unaware of what kind of status Oppa holds now? He’s incredibly pressed for time. Him wasting his day at a petty gathering like that would be a squandering of national resources—honestly, it goes against the national interest.”

“Is that true?”

Well, they certainly couldn’t have that happen!

Completely convinced by Ajin’s reasoning, Hwang Myeonghui gave a firm nod.

Even so, deep within her heart, a wave of pride washed over her.

Whether it was her son or her daughter.

They had truly grown into exceptional individuals!

An upscale coffee shop located in Kangnam.

The sort of establishment where the beverages commanded a premium, the staff operated with utmost professionalism, and the clientele consisted mostly of well-known figures.

Jeonghye had arranged to meet Hwang Myeonghui at this location.

“Oh, over this way!”

Jeonghye waved her hand upon spotting Hwang Myeonghui, who had Baek Ajin walking closely behind her.

Huh.

It wasn’t the son who showed up, but the daughter?

Yet, the girl was absolutely breathtaking. She didn’t look ordinary in the slightest.

She possessed the kind of striking appearance you would expect of a celebrity on television.

A sophisticated, graceful kind of beauty.

No matter how hard she scrutinized her, the young woman didn’t project the aura of coming from an impoverished background at all.

Even the garments she was clad in were remarkable.

There was a distinct difference from how things used to be.

Since when did she carry herself with such poise?

The very air surrounding her felt entirely transformed.

While Jeonghye remained frozen in a state of bewilderment, Hwang Myeonghui had already made her way directly to the table.

“Ahem. Cough.”

Jeonghye cleared her throat to compose herself.

“Good day. My name is Baek Ajin.”

Ajin offered a polite greeting before taking her seat right across from the woman.

“I have heard quite a lot about you, Auntie Jeonghye.”

“Oh my goodness, haha! I kept hearing that Myeonghui’s daughter was stunning, and seeing is believing!”

Reflecting on it now.

Perhaps the Rainbow Snail hadn’t been acquired through the son, but rather through the daughter!

That was the conclusion Jeonghye rapidly drew.

Some wealthy individual must have been utterly captivated by that beautiful face and offered the priceless snail as an extravagant gift.

Still, even if that were the case.

Rainbow Snails commanded a staggering fortune.

Regardless.

My own son is doing exceptionally well for himself too!

While the three women engaged in superficial introductions and casual chatter—

“Mom?”

A man called out, raising his hand from across the room.

He possessed broad shoulders and a powerful build, with a distinct tiger insignia fastened to his upper chest.

The unmistakable crest of the major guild Baekho!

A soft murmur began to ripple through the patrons in the establishment.

Virtually every eye in the café turned to focus on him.

Such was the immense prestige a major guild carried in contemporary South Korea.

No one cheered out loud, but it was more than enough to prompt hushed remarks like, “Wow, check it out. He has to be a member of the Baekho guild.”

“Yes, dear. Right over here.”

Jeonghye beckoned her son with a deeply refined demeanor.

Her posture straightened, her chest swelling with immense pride.

How do you like that!

Behold my son!

Now that all four individuals were seated together, the primary conversation commenced in earnest.

Jeonghye’s conversational formula never varied.

Initiate with catching up on past times, then seamlessly transition into boasting about her offspring.

“By the way, your son is an active player as well, isn’t he? If there’s ever anything he’s struggling with, he’s more than welcome to seek advice from mine.”

“Haha, that’s alright. I can’t claim I raised him with any special care, but somehow he’s managing to find his own path perfectly fine.”

“Oh, don’t be silly! Social networks and connections are everything these days. No matter how much inherent talent children possess, parents have to back them up from behind so they can truly take flight! You realize just how crucial that is, right?”

Neither Hwang Myeonghui nor Baek Ajin bothered to bring up the fact that the son they were discussing was actually Baek Jinwoo.

They simply saw no purpose in doing so.

In truth, Ajin was completely bored out of her mind.

And deeply irritated.

The guild master and vice guild master of Baekho themselves bent over backward in front of Oppa, yet here was a mere Baekho rookie sitting across from her while his mother paraded him around like some prize stallion?

Jeonghye hadn’t even bothered to ask what Ajin did for a living.

Right to her face, to boot.

The absolute climax arrived when the conversation shifted toward the Rainbow Snail.

“Say, Myeonghui. That particular snail you sent me a picture of before.”

“Ah, would you care to look at it?”

The adorable little creature slowly made its way across Hwang Myeonghui’s forearm, moving with a gentle wiggle.

They discussed it for a brief moment, and then Jeonghye began to display her true intentions.

“Do you have any actual conception of what this creature is worth? I believe you mentioned last time that you had no idea.”

“No, not precisely. It doesn’t matter much since I have no intention of selling it. It was a present.”

“……Is that so?”

Jeonghye’s lips tightened slightly as she prepared to lay down her trap.

“Would you still refuse to part with it if a buyer stepped forward with ten billion won?”

“……Ten billion?”

Hwang Myeonghui’s mouth opened slightly in pure astonishment.

The ironic part was—

Her statement regarding her ignorance of the snail’s true market value was entirely authentic.

The current appraised worth of a Rainbow Snail stood at a bare minimum of fifty billion won.

Furthermore, that was the specific acquisition price offered by the Daesung Group; market projections indicated its future valuation would easily surpass a hundred billion.

Yet here she was, completely taken aback by the mention of ten billion.

“Auntie.”

It was at that exact moment that Ajin, who had been silently taking everything in, chose to intervene.

She took a slow, deliberate sip of her iced americano.

“That is a remarkably poor joke. Ten billion? Try closer to two hundred billion.”

“T-two hundred billion?”

Hwang Myeonghui’s jaw dropped even lower as she turned a startled gaze toward her daughter.

Was this tiny creature truly worth such an astronomical sum?

“Oh goodness, what on earth are you talking about? You clearly have no understanding of the market.”

Jeonghye spoke with pure disbelief.

Forget fifty billion, but what?

Two hundred billion won?

The young girl was obviously talking nonsense.

“I don’t know what I’m saying?”

Ajin countered immediately, her voice growing sharp with palpable annoyance.

“If we were to hand it over to Daesung right now, it would easily command five hundred billion, yet you’re trying to fish around for it at a mere hundred? Talk about someone who has absolutely no idea what they are talking about.”

“……!”

Jeonghye was utterly paralyzed with shock.

Look at this insolent brat.

She actually possessed precise knowledge regarding the summon’s authentic value?

“Haha, I am certain my mother simply misspoke. The creature’s capabilities are merely so extraordinary that—”

Jeonghye’s son attempted to step in to diffuse the rising tension, but Ajin was already completely past the point of holding back.

“I highly doubt that. Ten billion won is hardly pocket change, so I find it hard to believe she threw that specific figure out without doing some calculations beforehand.”

“Hey, young lady. Aren’t you being a bit too disrespectful with your words?”

Pardon me?

Fishing around?

Threw it out?

Everything had its boundaries.

Where exactly did a girl this young pick up such an incredibly rude attitude?

“Disrespectful?”

Ha.

Ajin let out a cold chuckle.

Hwang Myeonghui sat perfectly still, completely flustered and unsure of how to intervene.

She had never witnessed this fierce side of her usually well-mannered daughter before.

“Your son belongs to the Baekho guild, so he must possess some decent capabilities. Yet you drag him along to a place like this, waste his highly valuable time, and spend the entire afternoon bragging about your offspring? You aren’t even on close terms with my mother. Don’t you think you are showing your true motives far too flagrantly?”

“What did you say?”

Jeonghye was left utterly speechless, unable to formulate a single counterargument.

Every single point made hit the mark perfectly.

“Don’t you think you are crossing the line right now?”

Jeonghye’s son stepped forward aggressively, but Ajin refused to back down even an inch.

“If you want to actually make something of your career, you ought to keep a tighter leash on your mother. The world is vast and overflowing with truly monstrous individuals. Your mother could seriously benefit from a lesson in humility.”

“……”

The temperature in the immediate area plummeted to freezing in an instant.

“Are you prepared to back up those words?”

“I simply spoke the truth. What is there to back up?”

Ajin pushed her chair back and stood up without hesitation.

“Mom, let us leave. And please elevate your social criteria a bit, alright? Stop agreeing to hang out with just anyone who sends a message.”

“O-oh, alright?”

The thoroughly bewildered Hwang Myeonghui stood up alongside her daughter.

“Sit back down.”

SLAM!

Jeonghye’s son, whose patience had finally snapped, violently struck the surface of the table with his fist.

The impact was so forceful that the containers overturned, sending dark coffee fluid and ice cubes splashing wildly across the wood.

The previously noisy café went dead silent.

Every single customer turned their attention to their table.

Wow, this fellow. He has completely lost his mind.

Right as Ajin was about to click her tongue in disgust—

Chime!

The entrance door to the coffee shop swung open as a small group stepped inside.

Fate truly worked in mysterious ways.

Of all available moments, that specific party chose this exact second to step into a café in Kangnam.

The group consisted of three individuals.

A high-ranking official from Baekho.

Hwang Juwon, the vice guild master representing Ilwol.

And Hong Ari, the guild master leading Arirang.

The entities known as the Big Three major guilds maintained a custom of holding routine monthly assemblies to preserve open communication lines.

On this particular occasion, Arirang had been the entity hosting the event, and Hong Ari had treated the designated representatives from each respective guild to a highly lavish meal.

This café was intended to be their subsequent destination.

Given that they were all highly prominent public figures, they had specifically sought out a high-end venue—and ended up precisely here.

“Ha, did we happen to step into the wrong establishment? What is with this heavy air?”

The profound quiet dominant within the room caused Hwang Juwon to let out a quiet chuckle.

“Honestly. Perhaps we should look for another place?”

Hong Ari was already pivoting around to walk back through the entrance when—

“Wait a moment.”

The representative from Baekho, who had swiftly scanned the interior, identified the root of the problem.

A young woman standing upright over there.

A male Awakened player with his hand still pressed into the damaged table, vibrating with pure anger.

And the specific Baekho insignia attached to his chest.

That individual.

He recognized him instantly.

A fresh recruit from the most recent intake—he had caught sight of him a few times in passing.

He possessed roughly mediocre skills among the new arrivals.

But what in the world was he doing?

Creating a public disturbance while openly displaying the guild’s official crest?

This matter was directly linked to the public image of Baekho. He could not simply look the other way.

The patrons in the café began to whisper intensely once more.

“Take a look over there. That is Hwang Juwon.”

“Hold on, the national representative Hwang Juwon? Wow, he truly is a remarkably attractive middle-aged gentleman, isn’t he? He’s definitely past fifty, right?”

“Hong Ari is present as well. And there is another individual sporting a Baekho crest?”

“What is going on today, is it some kind of player convention?”

“Hong Ari is absolutely stunning.”

While the collective focus drifted in multiple directions—

Huh?

That was the precise moment Hong Ari’s attention locked onto Baek Ajin.

……The younger sibling of Baek Jinwoo?

She had been undergoing training regimens at Yubaek lately, which meant she had crossed paths with Ajin on several occasions and was quite familiar with her.

Under these circumstances, Hong Ari found herself unable to simply walk away either.

The scene unfolding before her clearly indicated trouble.

Baek Jinwoo was her designated Master.

As a follower, she had clear obligations to uphold.

Even so, this situation defied all logic.

How could a mere low-ranking Baekho player presume to terrorize Baek Jinwoo’s younger sister?

You would have to be completely insane to attempt that.

Following the incident involving the criminal organization, bringing harm to anyone in Baek Jinwoo’s immediate family had become an unspoken, absolute taboo.

The memory remained incredibly vivid in her mind.

The image of that particular perpetrator, covered in tears and fluid, desperately pleading for assistance to hand himself over to the authorities.

“Are they familiar to you?”

The official from Baekho inquired, prompting a firm nod from Hong Ari.

“That young lady is Baek Jinwoo’s younger sister.”

“What did you say?”

The official’s countenance turned entirely pale from pure terror.

Has that fresh recruit completely lost his absolute mind?

“Well, well, look at this.”

Hwang Juwon let out a laugh, his face registering genuine astonishment.

At this point, none of the three could simply walk away from the scene.

They absolutely required a clear understanding of what was transpiring.

Step. Step.

Hong Ari alongside the Baekho official advanced directly toward the center of the conflict, whereas Hwang Juwon chose to take a seat near the order desk with an entertained smirk.

This scenario promised to be amusing enough to observe from a comfortable vantage point.

As the two figures arrived at the table—

Ajin lowered her head slightly in a polite sign of recognition.

Jeonghye’s son jumped to his feet in pure panic, instantly straightening his posture into a deeply respectful stance.