137. Connections from Daeseong (1)
Today, Jinwoo only did my morning workout before heading back home.
Has the energy of the Clear Heaven Heart Technique been building up lately?
Day by day, his body felt refreshed and overflowing with strength.
“HunGyo.”
—Yes, my lord.
“I have an appointment today, so I need to head out somewhere. Please take the lead and handle training. Since Aso won’t have me around, put her on self-training, and focus mainly on Dampir and Jaggeo.”
—Yes, no problem.
Today was the day of the invitation from Daeseong that had been arranged earlier.
Baek Jinwoo, Yoo Jia, and her grandfather Yoo Byeongcheon were going to have a meal together at the mansion.
‘Yoo Byeongcheon.’
Under normal circumstances, he was a figure Baek Jinwoo would never have even dared look at directly, a man who had played an immense role in the economic development of South Korea.
A towering figure who, after a century had passed, could well be called a great man of history!
Of course, now Baek Jinwoo was no longer someone who fell short of him—in fact, he had more than enough standing himself...
‘Still, he’s Yoo Jia’s grandfather.’
That alone was reason enough to meet him.
The reason he had been able to rise to world rank number one in just a single year?
More than half of it was because of Yoo Jia.
If not for her support, even if he had gotten there eventually, wouldn’t it have taken quite a long time?
First, he washed up thoroughly and came back out.
There wasn’t a single ounce of flab reflected in the mirror now.
His whole body was just one solid mass of muscle.
‘Still, I should have at least a little fat.’
No matter how much he ate, his activity level was on a completely different scale, so fat never remained on his body.
Next came the clothes.
Swoosh!
When he opened the dressing room, rows of luxury suits were lined up inside.
He normally had no occasion to wear them, but Yoo Jia had ordered employees to stock the room.
“Ahem.”
Baek Jinwoo picked one from the middle without much thought.
He always felt this way, but clothes like these were awkward. He had never worked an office job in his life.
‘Still, I should at least be polite.’
After roughly putting it on, it actually looked pretty good on him.
Nodding with a satisfied expression, Baek Jinwoo then pulled out a box.
An empty box, neatly wrapped.
Into it, he placed one ‘Intermediate Skill Book Selection’ he had taken out of his inventory.
It was the very same ‘Intermediate Skill Book Selection’ he had once obtained five of and used on his parents, Baek Ajin, and Yoo Jia.
He happened to have one left, and it wasn’t like he had another gift to give...
Still, wouldn’t this be enough to satisfy him?
Smirk.
The corners of Baek Jinwoo’s lips curved upward.
* * *
“Mr. Jinwoo!”
He met Yoo Jia at around four o’clock.
She had also finished her work as early as possible because of the appointment, and she came out all dressed up.
‘Oh.’
Baek Jinwoo inwardly admired her.
She was wearing a soft, flowing one-piece dress completely unlike her usual work attire, and even her makeup was different from before.
Should he say she looked more like someone in her twenties?
Rather than the usual charismatic image she gave off, she felt fresher and more youthful.
“Wow, seriously, Mr. Jinwoo really looks amazing in a suit.”
“Really?”
“Yes. What’s that box?”
“Just a small gift?”
“Huh? A gift?”
“I can’t exactly show up at someone’s house empty-handed on a first visit.”
“...A, a house visit?”
Chatting away, the two of them headed out through the main gate of Yoobaek City.
And there were people staring intently at them.
“......No way!”
“Where are those two going right now? A date?”
“It’s my first time seeing Lady Yoo Jia dressed like that.”
“And what about Guild Master? He always wears training clothes, so why’s he suddenly in a suit?”
It was the guild members.
Since their average age was young, they were very interested in other people’s love lives.
And if those people happened to be the head of SKY and the head of 「Yoobaek」, then all the more so!
There had already been plenty of talk about the two of them.
They were both so strikingly attractive, and they had been together since the early days.
Most people believed that if a young man and woman stayed that close, feelings were bound to develop.
But the guild members knew.
Baek Jinwoo, crazy only about training!
Yoo Jia, crazy only about work!
There had never even been time for anything to happen between them.
Which was exactly why this was so puzzling. Why were the two of them going out looking like that?
If it wasn’t some official occasion, they were the sort of people who never went anywhere together!
“See? I told you the two of them are dating.”
Arms folded, Kang Jihoe nodded with an expression of total conviction.
“I know, right.”
Gi Jaehyuk agreed with him.
“Our Guild Master... honestly, I thought he might actually be impotent.”
“Hey, what kind of blasphemous thing is that to say?”
“No, I mean, you know what I’m saying. Just saying.”
Gi Jaehyuk and Kang Jihoe were firmly in the they’re definitely dating camp!
“Come on.”
“No matter what, that can’t be it. Morning, noon, and night... he even trains his breathing method at dawn, and that’s our guild master.”
Hwang Jiwoo and Song Yeonhee were firmly in the no way they’re dating camp!
Hwang Jiwoo in particular had puffed out her cheeks in a sulk.
Just as they were all arguing back and forth—
They sensed someone behind them.
Song Yeonhee, whose sensory perception was innately exceptional, turned her head first.
Eek!
She had the experience of every hair on her body standing on end.
The one staring at the four of them expressionlessly was none other than HunGyo!
—Break time is over. What exactly are you doing right now?
“Huh!”
“I-is it already this late?”
“We’re sorry!”
They apologized quickly, but HunGyo was not the kind to let it slide.
—Your training discipline is lacking. The four of you are forbidden from resting for one week. And there will be nighttime physical conditioning as well.
Aaaaargh!
Everyone screamed internally.
They absolutely could not let it show on the outside.
Because that training freak HunGyo standing before them... had a twisted tendency to enjoy those screams.
* * *
Hanam-dong, an upscale residential district.
This place was famous as a wealthy neighborhood where diplomats and chaebol chairmen often lived.
And among them all, the very finest was this Daeseong Palace.
A noble mansion with a well-maintained garden and a harmonious blend of traditional Korean beauty and modern elements.
Whoooosh!
There was even a fountain in the garden illuminated to display the colors of a rainbow.
‘So this is what a chaebol’s house is like.’
He didn’t feel particularly nervous.
Yoobaek City also had a garden that lacked nothing, and by now he had enough wealth to buy hundreds of houses like this.
“This way, please.”
Following behind Yoo Jia, he passed through a hallway lined with statues and paintings, and soon a vast hall appeared.
The table was overflowing with every delicacy from mountain and sea.
“Hoh hoh hoh, you’ve come?”
The grandfather, leaning on a cane, emerged from the room and welcomed his granddaughter and Baek Jinwoo.
“I’m truly grateful that a hero ranked number one in the world would come to visit such a humble place.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time.”
Baek Jinwoo bowed his head politely.
Modesty did not suit this kind of setting.
It was better to be confident instead.
“I’m the one who is grateful that you invited me to such a precious place, Grandfather.”
“Wahahaha! Is that so?”
Yoo Byeongcheon laughed heartily.
He was genuinely delighted.
And he especially liked that Baek Jinwoo had called him Grandfather instead of referring to him as the master of Daeseong.
‘It means he came because I’m Yoo Jia’s grandfather.’
Yoo Byeongcheon loved Daeseong.
Only Daeseong was his true child, and he would likely think of nothing but its prosperity until the very moment he died.
That was exactly why he was pleased.
‘Thanks to my granddaughter, Daeseong has hooked an enormous fish!’
Perhaps the significance of what his granddaughter had accomplished in one year was even greater than everything he himself had achieved in eighty years of life.
However.
This could not continue as it was.
If they remained nothing more than coworkers, then that was all their relationship would ever be.
History proved that.
My dear granddaughter.
Just trust this old grandpa.
‘No matter what it takes, I’ll connect the two of them today.’
“Come, sit down! Ah, I heard you like whisky above all drinks? Take a look here.”
The chairman gestured toward a display filled with limited-edition whiskies of every kind.
Yoo Byeongcheon carefully lifted one of them.
“This is Macallan 1926. A rare collection with only forty bottles in the entire world.”
About 2.3 billion won in value.
Since he had acquired it at auction five years ago, it had probably gone up even more by now.
“A precious guest has come today, so I’ll open this.”
“Ohhh, thank you.”
Gulp.
Baek Jinwoo swallowed.
He already knew what whisky was like from the last time he had tried it on the private jet.
He remembered that rich flavor that spread the moment it slid down his throat, and because he had liked it quite a bit, it had become his only hobby at present.
‘And I do need to put on a little fat too.’
When it came to putting some fat on his body, nothing was better than alcohol.
“Grandfather, Mr. Jinwoo brought something too. Would you like to take a look?”
“Really? Hahaha! There was a gift for me too?”
“Of course.”
Yoo Byeongcheon laughed so heartily that the atmosphere relaxed in no time.
They unwrapped the box.
“And what is this?”
Yoo Byeongcheon lifted up a slip of paper.
“Intermediate Skill Book Selection?”
“It’s the same one I used for Ms. Jia and my family. You just need to register the skill ‘Desperate Call’ to your bonded summon, then set me as the target.”
- Desperate Call: Once a day, forcibly summons the designated target player.
“Hoh?”
Yoo Byeongcheon was genuinely impressed.
“Isn’t this the same as having the best bodyguard in the world?”
It was the kind of gift tycoons could not help but favor most.
And more than anything else, there was one part Yoo Byeongcheon especially liked.
‘Ms. Jia and….’
Those words meant...
Didn’t that also mean he thought of his granddaughter like family?
And he was even including himself, her grandfather, within that circle?
“Hah, hahaha. This is truly a happy day!”
Yoo Byeongcheon’s mouth stretched all the way to his ears.
“Come, come, drink! Jia, don’t even think about sitting this out today.”
“Of course, Grandfather.”
And so the meal began.
It was a meal that would become quite a major turning point in Baek Jinwoo’s life.
* * *
Yoo Jia cannot handle alcohol well.
That was obvious from the private jet too. When all the guild members except the two high schoolers were having a drinking party, she alone had stayed out of it.
But.
“Ahem! You’re going to refuse such expensive liquor?”
Her grandfather was strange today.
He clearly knew her alcohol tolerance, yet he kept making her drink. And not just anything, but extremely strong liquor...
‘He’s just too excited.’
Still, it had been a long time.
Since she had seen her grandfather smile that joyfully.
He was famous for being so strict that even relatives hesitated to go near him.
And even Grandfather himself seemed fairly drunk.
He was originally not the sort to reveal his true feelings easily...
“Heh heh, you know, before I die, I’m going to hand all my stocks over to our Jia. Daehwan isn’t a bad boy either, but tsk tsk, he’s still no match for his daughter, hm!”
The things he was saying without hesitation would become headline-making exclusives the moment they left the mansion.
“If our Daeseong is not to collapse, that’s the best way.”
“Oh, Grandfather. There’s no need for that. Yoobaek alone is already more than enough for me.”
“Oh-ho! Are you saying only Yoobaek matters now? You have Daeseong blood in you too. Don’t say something so disappointing.”
Even if her grandfather spoke like that, Yoo Jia had no intention of leading Daeseong.
Naturally, being a shareholder was fine.
But she only intended to become the owner of the company, while leaving management to professional executives.
Before they knew it, time passed.
One hour, two hours, three hours.
Baek Jinwoo had kept pace with Yoo Byeongcheon’s drinking, and before he knew it, he too was feeling the alcohol hit him.
His head was spinning.
“Ahem.”
At that moment, Yoo Byeongcheon rose from his seat.
“I should go to the restroom for a moment. Neither of you even think about going anywhere! I’ve already had rooms prepared over there! Tonight, you’ll eat, sleep soundly, and leave tomorrow.”
Leaving that stern warning to the young man and woman, the expression on his face as he walked toward the restroom was sly.
‘It’s about time I excuse myself from the table.’
Alcohol has always had an important influence on historical perspectives and culture.
It’s not for nothing that drinkers call liquor “the lord”.
‘And today.’
The history of Daeseong will surely be made through alcohol.
Uwahahaha!
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