Chapter 87: Recruit Kim Jinsung (2)

Episode 87

It wasn’t just Hong Hyeonjin who was surprised by Nawaf’s appearance. Everyone who recognized him looked at him with astonishment.

“What?”

“What the?!”

Park Jinwoong and Hyun Sangcheol, who were in a corner, also recognized Nawaf immediately and reacted in surprise.

“How did Nawaf get here…?”

“Seeing that jerk here again? The world is really small, small.”

Hyun Sangcheol muttered, looking annoyed. Park Jinwoong, on the other hand, couldn’t hide his surprise.

‘This is the first time a person from a foreign clan has attended this party, right?’

There had always been a party for the participants every season in the history of Colosseum Survival. It was one of the ways to boost the morale of the participants, who were exhausted from continuous battles and killings.

But it wasn’t long ago that they started inviting external guests. Safety was the primary concern.

And until now, only people from Korean clans were allowed to attend the party. It was Baek Jun’s ironclad rule to prevent him from losing the Korean talents he had painstakingly scouted.

But that rule was broken at this moment.

‘I heard recently that Bin Nasir is interested in the Colosseum project…’

Park Jinwoong, who worked for a company that dealt with information, recalled the information he had heard from the Saudi side.

‘And I heard rumors that he would visit Korea recently… Could it be that he invested in the Colosseum…?’

As Park Jinwoong made his assumptions based on the little information he had, Hong Hyeonjin continued to look at Nawaf, who was approaching, with an incomprehensible expression.

‘How did he…?’

Why would this man, associated with the Al Saud Clan, which had no connection to Korea, be allowed to enter this party?

The answer came from the two clan masters standing beside her.

“You haven’t heard about Bin Nasir’s investment in the Colosseum, have you?”

“……!!”

“Didn’t you know? Oh, dear. Then you must not know that next year’s preliminaries will be held in Saudi Arabia.”

Hong Hyeonjin’s eyes flickered at Oh Byeong-guk and Kang Gyeong-gwon’s words.

The two smiled slightly before greeting Nawaf.

Seeing their smiles, Hong Hyeonjin felt defeated and bit her lip. The smiles they had just shown were clearly those of victors, mocking her lack of information.

‘…I had no idea.’

Hong Hyeonjin had already felt a sense of being pushed around by the other three major clans since her father, Hong Seong-heun, had fallen ill.

But today, she had been completely outmatched in terms of information. This was a defeat without any room for excuses.

‘Ugh… I need to get my act together. I’ll be kicked out of the four major clans if I keep this up.’

Hong Hyeonjin clenched her jaw, watching the Koreans greeting Nawaf. She couldn’t let the position of the four major clans in South Korea, which her father had worked hard to achieve, be lost during her time.

‘I need to find someone useful today…’

As she determinedly looked around, a man suddenly appeared in front of her. It was Nawaf, who had greeted the two clan masters and was now approaching her.

“Long time no see, Hong Hyeonjin.”

He greeted her in fluent Korean. Hong Hyeonjin skillfully hid her surprise and gave him a beautiful smile.

“I never imagined I’d see you here.”

“I didn’t know I’d be allowed to enter until yesterday. But since I’ve managed to get in, I have to do my best to fulfill my mission.”

The ‘mission’ he was referring to was obvious, considering his job as the sole representative of the Al Saud Clan in Korea.

Hong Hyeonjin covered her mouth and giggled at his words.

“Isn’t that going too far? If Al Saud reaches out to Colosseum participants, what will we do for a living?”

Hong Hyeonjin expressed her genuine dissatisfaction with a playful tone and expression.

Nawaf, unfazed by her pointed words, smiled warmly.

“I’m just a small employee following my boss’s orders. He specifically told me to recruit two people, so what can I do? I have to follow orders. Hahaha…”

He smiled kindly and turned to leave. Hong Hyeonjin tried to maintain a composed expression as she watched him greet others nearby.

‘Al Saud of all clans? This makes recruitment so much harder.’

Al Saud was a clan that used the Saudi royal family’s massive oil money to buy the strongest hunters with ridiculous amounts of money. With their wealth, they could easily buy monsters in the New Continent, let alone promising participants in the Colosseum.

‘I’ll have to appeal to them with something other than money… What does our company have that Al Saud doesn’t?’

Hong Hyeonjin pondered, and then she had no choice but to turn on her smartphone. She needed to discuss this with the department heads.

As she pressed the call button and brought the phone to her ear, she looked around and chuckled wryly.

‘…Everyone’s in the same boat.’

The situation was quite entertaining. All the key figures she knew were looking at Nawaf, whispering on the phone with their smartphones to their ears.

The only ones who seemed relaxed were Oh Byeong-guk and Kang Gyeong-gwon.

Then,

[The participants are entering. Please give them a warm welcome with a round of applause.]

An announcement echoed through the hall, and the participants began to enter, escorted by staff.

The audience erupted in applause.

Park Jinwoong also clapped, carefully observing the atmosphere.

‘The famous participants haven’t arrived yet. They’ll probably appear at the end, as usual.’

He recalled past broadcasts of the party. The audience didn’t seem interested in the unknown participants who arrived first.

‘Everyone’s prioritizing the well-known participants.’

Having grasped the overall atmosphere, Park Jinwoong walked forward and approached the first participant to enter the party.

“Hello! I’m Park Jinwoong, CEO of the information company ‘Finder.’ You’re Kim Hyun-su, right?”

“Uh, yes…”

“Our information company, Finder, is one of the few information companies with a headquarters in the New Continent…”

Park Jinwoong immediately began his sales pitch. Unlike the major companies, he ran a small business, so he couldn’t afford to be picky. He had to try to recruit everyone, hoping to find at least one good prospect.

“Hello! I’m Hyun Sangcheol, the master of the Baekho mercenary clan!”

“Hello. I run a specialized hunter loan company…”

Park Jinwoong, followed by other CEOs of smaller companies, approached the participants, starting their sales pitches.

About 30 minutes had passed when…

“Oh, it’s Kim Jinsung!”

“It’s Shin Woong!”

“The main characters are here!”

Park Jinwoong turned his head towards the entrance, hearing the murmurs growing louder. He saw a group of about ten participants, including Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong, walking into the party, escorted by numerous staff members. They were all the most popular participants of Season 12.

‘The goods have arrived!’

The eyes of the guests in the hall sparkled as they looked at the newcomers. The most attention was focused on Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong, who entered last.

“Hello, Kim Jinsung!”

Nawaf was the first to approach Kim Jinsung and greet him.

“Nice to meet you. Have you heard of the Al Saud Clan?”

“Ah… Yes, I have.”

Kim Jinsung looked at Nawaf intently.

Despite Kim Jinsung’s indifferent response, Nawaf continued.

“That makes things easier. Let me be direct. Our Al Saud Clan wants you.”

“Ah, yes.”

His expression and voice conveyed a lack of interest.

Despite expecting an unexpected reaction, Nawaf continued his sales pitch.

“Our Al Saud Clan can offer you the highest salary in the world. The amount we can offer Kim Jinsung…”

“I know. The salary they gave to Maxim when they recruited him recently was a hot topic on the internet.”

“Then you have an idea of what you’ll be earning. So, let’s talk about the conditions…”

“I’ll contact you if I’m interested. See you.”

Kim Jinsung, as if he didn’t want to hear anymore, cut him off and walked away. Nawaf’s face fell.

‘Did he just ignore Al Saud’s offer?’

He looked at Kim Jinsung’s back with an incomprehensible expression. Then, he saw Shin Woong entering and smiled again.

“Shin Woong, nice to meet you. We’re Al Saud…”

But Shin Woong, as if he were invisible, walked past him.

Nawaf, a master of facial expressions with years of experience in sales, couldn’t help but stiffen his face for a moment.

‘That forced laborer just ignored me?!’

Nawaf was fuming, but he managed to control his anger with superhuman strength.

‘Ugh… If it weren’t for the boss…’

Nawaf clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He wouldn’t have left the party without looking back if it hadn’t been for Bin Nasir, the leader of the Al Saud Clan, who had personally instructed him to recruit Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong.

But since he had been given the order, he had to win them over. It was his duty, his job.

‘…Alright, I’ll talk to you later. You’re both destined to join Al Saud.’

With that thought, Nawaf headed towards the food to fill his stomach. Business comes after food.

* * *

There was one thing that could comfort Nawaf.

Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong were treating all the other guests the same way.

“I’ll contact you if I’m interested. See you.”

Kim Jinsung repeated his answer, showing no interest, and only took the business cards before turning away.

Kim Jinsung was better off, at least taking the business cards. Shin Woong ignored everyone, focusing solely on eating.

But their attitude gave hope to the CEOs of smaller companies.

‘They’re rejecting all the offers from the big companies?’

‘Maybe they hate big corporations? Could there be a chance for me…?’

‘Let’s try our luck!’

One by one, CEOs of smaller clans began to approach them. Kim Jinsung, who at least responded, was very popular. His unbiased attitude towards everyone made other CEOs from smaller companies rush to approach him, hoping to at least give him their business cards.

As a result…

‘…How am I supposed to carry all these?’

Kim Jinsung looked down at the stack of business cards in his hand, his face contorted in confusion. They were too many to hold in one hand.

Putting them in his pocket would be uncomfortable, and it was awkward to organize and discard them in front of everyone.

Just as he was in a predicament he hadn’t anticipated,

“Excuse me…”

A young man cautiously approached him. It was Park Jinwoong.

“May I introduce myself?”

“Yes…”

Kim Jinsung looked at Park Jinwoong, his eyes widening slightly.

‘I’ve seen this face somewhere…’

As Kim Jinsung searched his memories, Park Jinwoong politely introduced himself, handing him a business card.

“I’m Park Jinwoong, CEO of the Korean branch of the information company ‘Finder.’ It’s an honor to meet you.”

As soon as he saw the name ‘Park Jinwoong’ on the business card,

A memory from a few months ago suddenly flashed in Kim Jinsung’s mind.

– Jinwoong… tell… my… brother… I’m… sorry… I… couldn’t… fulfill… his… expectations…

It was the scene where Park Seongtae, his fight club comrade, had given him his last words.

‘Could it be…?’

Kim Jinsung finally remembered where he had seen the man in front of him.

The photo of the three brothers inside the necklace Park Seongtae had given him before he died.

The face of one of the brothers matched the man in front of him perfectly.

“Excuse me, but I have a question.”

Park Jinwoong asked him softly, so only he could hear.

“Do you remember someone named Park Seongtae from the fight club…?”

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