As I sat still, strangers who wanted to leave a good impression approached and greeted Ki Yoon Jae, the Sungwoon successor. Originally, it would have been proper for me to look for them and greet them instead but the Sungwoon name held threatening power.
“Oh, Mr. Yoon Jae1, long time no see.”
“Hello.”
“I just remembered. You’re going to be a high school student soon, right? Are you going to Sung Woon Foundation’s high school?”
The man went on to mention that his daughter attends that exact high school, and that it would be good for me to get along with her. Ki Yoon Jae was a good-looking guy, but he wasn’t dating someone nor did he have a fiancée. So blind dates were a good thing, and since it was beneficial to get engaged to him, everyone was anxious to introduce their daughter.
“If we meet by chance, then sure, I’ll do it.”
Even now, I answered vaguely to people who seemed to bring up their daughter, and they returned to their tables satisfied.
Phew.
If he kept pushing, I wondered if I should react with something stupid, but fortunately, he easily backed off. That’s a relief…
“What’s wrong with you this time?”
“What?”
It was Jung Yi Joon, who frowned deeply while he silently stared at me.
I thought about just pretending to not know what he was talking about, but his eyes gave me that intense glare again.
“So… are you going out with her?”
“What?”
“She’s the type of student who doesn’t study, but likes to play around instead…”
Hearing him talking in a dissatisfied tone makes it seem like he’d been listening to that father’s story earlier. I wondered why he was angry, but since his eyes showed signs of cooling, I casually waved my hand at him.
“I’m not dating anyone.”
“Really?”
I guess Jung Yi Joon had some kind of suspicion. He even asked me, “What would you do if she was beautiful or if she was your dream woman?”
It would be nice if he could just consider my feelings. I didn’t want to date… eventually I would. However, right now, I was tired.
“She can’t be prettier than me.”
I said, thinking he would stop if I acted rudely. But honestly, Ki Yoon Jae’s face was almost like a celebrity’s.
“
While saying this, I thought he lost interest. I proceeded to leave with the impression that I was unlucky when it came to women, but Jung Yi Joon’s reaction was absurd.
“That’s true.”
What is? Next to Jung Yi Joon, who nodded with a serious face, Kwon Jae Hyuk and Ha Hyun Seo nodded along. Even Ha Eun Seo, who was afraid of me, was nodding quietly, which was absurd.
However, thanks to this, I was able to prevent Jung Yi Joon’s questioning attacks, so I took a breather. Since then, more people have approached me, some showing interest in the gifted people sitting next to me.
However, it seemed that they judged that I had them near me to show off, or maybe it was because they didn’t know the gifted people’s purpose yet. I can’t say for sure when, but I was very curious whether they would still be able to make those faces when monsters will appear before I turned 20.
How long has it been since I spent time meeting people coming and going? Suddenly, someone rushed in and grabbed the microphone on the podium.
– “The president is coming soon. Everyone, please stand up and prepare to meet the President.” Those who were sitting stood up.
Except for a select few, most of the guests here were either in politics or business circles (or both). The room moved when it was announced that a 70-year-old man would be entering.
This was the strength of Korea’s Sungwoon Group. Such a force that made everyone halt, with no one daring to oppose it.
That’s amazing.
His title of ‘King of the Underworld’ wasn’t for nothing. What had he sacrificed for power like this…
Huh?
For a moment, my eyes became blurry and my head was spinning. Something flashed in my mind for a moment and then disappeared.
What is this?
‘Sacrificed’? What? The silhouette that came to mind for a moment disappeared so quickly that I couldn’t even check it properly. I didn’t feel well.
“Are you okay?” Jung Yi Joon grabbed my slagging arm. When I said I was fine without looking up, he suddenly pulled me over and made me lean on him.
“You’re a fool, you almost fell in.”
The tone was blaming, but there was concern hidden in his voice. I laughed a little because he was worried. Fortunately, it was a brief headache, and my condition improved quickly.
I have to be here for about an hour.
I couldn’t go out in the middle because I wasn’t feeling well. If that happens, my grandfather, Ki Jae Mu, won’t like it, and I will only provide an excuse to my enemies seeking my place.
The door of the reception hall reopened as people were waiting for the appearance of Ki Jae Mu.
As everyone greeted and applauded him, Ki Jae Mu flashed a friendly smile and came up to the podium before sitting down at his assigned table. As soon as he sat down, everyone was seated.
“Thank you so much for coming today, everyone.”
His words were polite, but his face looked natural. At the same time, the hotel staff began serving food and drinks. First to Ki Jae Mu and his table, then one by one to other tables.
“Now, everyone, for the New Year, cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Juice was handed to minors, wine and champagne to adults, and Ki Jae Mu gave a toast after everyone seemed to have received it. When the meal began, everyone was anxious to talk to him. A skilled person would approach with a bottle of wine and start talking by offering a glass to taste. The only table not interested in Ki Jae Mu was mine.
“Is it delicious?”
“Yes, it’s delicious. Hyung.”
Ha Hyun Seo smiled and nodded at my question. So cute…
However, that cuteness was just a fantasy. I should be afraid of Ha Hyun Seo since I had been killed by him once, but strangely, I felt worried about him when I saw him. When Ha Hyun Seo came and hugged me, my hand naturally fell on his head.
Did Ki Yoon Jae cherish Ha Hyun Seo a lot?
Is that why my body moves naturally? I couldn’t tell.
The dinner was delicious, and no problem has arisen yet. There was nothing else except that, Jung Yi Joon, who acts more like an elementary school student than an actual elementary school student, was angry about why I didn’t ask him about his meal.
I was going to go back after eating the dessert that came out at the end of the evening, but Ki Jae Mu called me over.
“Young master, the president is calling you.”
“Hmm… I’ll be back, so wait for me.”
‘Don’t get in trouble.’ I said the same thing that Ki Hyun Joo said. In fact, Jung Yi Joon was the only one who could cause an accident here, but he just sneered as if he didn’t care. I barely took an anxious step and went to Ki Jae Mu on the podium. There were many people beside him.
“Ah! Yoon Jae!”
When I approached Ki Jae Mu, he smiled and gestured. Both eyes were full of pride and affection.
“My eldest son’s eldest son.”
“Ah, he looks very bright.”
“He resembles the president and is very handsome.”
“Haha, these people…”
Everyone was impatient since they couldn’t flatter Ki Jae Mu because of the group’s rattling. Ki Jae Mu had a face full of satisfaction, even though he was relentless. After being complimented as Ki Jae mu’s pride for a while, I told him I would leave while he was in a good mood.
“Are you leaving already? Why don’t you play with your cousins?”
“I am not feeling well today. I’ll see you at the Lunar New Year.”
Ki Jae Mu let go of me. Then, he told me he’ll be seeing me there. Phew. It was hard work to hear Ki Jae Mu’s praise among the rattling uncles, but it was a relief that he let me go easily. As I was going back to the table where I sat while thinking that I should go home quickly, I noticed that it seemed a little noisy there.
“What’s that racket?”
Someone was arguing with Ha Eun Seo. Damn, this crazy guy? I wondered if they wanted to die. If you pick on Ha Eun Seo, you may get strangled in you sleep.
Ha Eun Seo was rather weak, but her ability wasn’t. Aside from her detection ability, she has a stealth ability, which means that she cannot be detected by any device. In the original work, Ki Yoon Jae used her as her spy a lot. She was weak-minded and couldn’t do something like an assassination, but seeing that she made it to Ki Yoon Jae’s end, it didn’t seem like that.
“Of course, I don’t want to make her do it…”
If she became used to assassinations, won’t she have no hesitation in dipping into me?
Anyway, I rushed to save a fool where angels fear to tread2.
Huh?
His face was familiar. If Ki Yoon Jae was a selfish bastard, this one was an asshole-type bastard. When he was young, he learned how to drink and smoke, and when he grew up, he fell into bad things, like gambling. His name is…
“No, shit. Why are these oysters so expensive…?”
“Sung Yoon Hyung.”
“Oh. …Uh?”
1Actually the raw used -gun but me and my editor had a hard time finding the suitable word in English so I use Mr. for now, I will put the note on chapter 17
2The korean proverb expresses the foolish and reckless behavior (attitude) of a person who suffers great damage or great difficulties while rushing fearlessly without knowing the other person. This is the closest idiom I can find in English.