episode_0032

Afternoon training was still in full swing.

“… … .”

While chatting with Arin Lim during a break, I stared at a photo she had sent.

[Arin: Preparing for a meeting with the kids! ]

In the photo, Im A-rin was sitting in her office with her beautiful silver hair braided, and behind her, Hong Yu-ra and Seol Ju-hee were pictured in small print, each manipulating their cell phones.

‘I see you’re doing well.’

I zoomed in on the photo and looked closely at the two people, and in order to naturally change the topic, I pretended not to know and praised Lim A-rin’s new hairstyle.

[You look pretty with your hair braided. Did you do it at the shop? ]

Perhaps she was waiting for a reply, but the unconfirmed sign next to the message did not appear, and a reply came back immediately with a cute emoticon and that she had braided it herself.

‘It really feels like we’re dating.’

After receiving a confession that was not a confession from Lim A-rin at the hospital, we began to keep in touch, like a man and a woman checking their feelings before confessing.

From simple conversations such as “Have you eaten?” to really trivial and miscellaneous stories.

We continued to message each other whenever we had free time, and after we got off work, we spent time talking on the phone until we fell asleep.

At this level, it’s not mentioned separately, but it can be seen as a romantic relationship.

‘Is this right…? .’

It wasn’t a bad thing to enjoy a quasi-romantic relationship with Lim A-rin.

no… , to be honest, it’s good.

Although I have lived my life without ever feeling lonely, it is true that there was a feeling of loneliness deep in my heart.

The ray of excitement that came to my dry heart was more intense than anything else, and I couldn’t push it away, especially since she was so close to my ideal type.

Although I am somehow suppressing it while thinking about the teamwork that Queens has worked so hard to build… .

I couldn’t just watch the temptation of Im Ah-rin, who was spreading sweet scent in front of my nose and gently wagging her tail.

[Arin: Oh, I guess it’s about to start! I’ll contact you later after the meeting! ]

At that time, I put my cell phone away and was about to resume training, promising to meet up with Lim A-rin later.

Roaring Roaring──

A small commotion was heard beyond the partition.

““Hello!!””

A loud greeting was heard, so it seemed like someone from some team had come to visit.

‘I’m glad our mayor didn’t have to do something like that.’

Anyway, since it had nothing to do with us, we tried to ignore it and resume training right away… .

“Oh, it just so happened to be there.”

She appeared amid the commotion and grabbed my ankle.

“I think I’m taking a break. Is the time okay?”

It was Lee Hye-ri, the leader of the Sejin Guild.

“Se, Sejin Guild Leader… !”

“Wow… .”

Bang Han-na and Kim Na-rae, who were sitting nearby, reacted in amazement to the appearance of a celebrity, but Jin Seo-won was the only one who seemed uninterested.

‘He said he would send an official document… . ‘You brought it yourself?’

I had already contacted her in advance and knew that she would take some action, so instead of saying hello, I raised my hand and spoke.

“I guess you guys are very disciplined. You can hear the greeting all the way from here?”

“It’s been 2 years now, of course it should be.”

She raised the corners of her mouth as she answered as if it were obvious, and gave a quick instruction to the assistants accompanying her.

“It will be discussed above, so proceed properly.”

“Yes.”

Holding a briefcase in one hand, they went straight to Han Gyu-ri and Kim Jun-hyung.

It really seemed like he had come to personally deliver the official document.

“No, what era is it? Do you bring the documents yourself?”

“I just wanted to see your face.”

Hyeri Lee gave me a mischievous smile as if she was satisfied with my dumbfounded reaction… .

Perhaps because the conversation with her was amazing, Bang Han-na and Kim Na-rae, who were watching in silence, showed a slightly surprised reaction.

“This is… . Team members?”

To me, Hyeri Lee is just a mischievous classmate, but to the team members who mainly encounter her in the media, she is like a famous celebrity.

“Ah, hello! This is Bang Hanna… !”

“Ki, this is Na-rae Kim!”

“… This is Jinseowon.”

The two people except Jin Seo-won greeted Hye-ri Lee with a very nervous look, and she accepted the greeting with a business-like smile full of pretense.

“This is Hye-ri Lee. I think I’ll see you often in the future, so please take care of me.”

“Yes… !”

“Thank you very much!”

After a brief introduction to the team members, I followed her into the office.

*

“How about it?”

“It’s not bad.”

“… That’s barely enough? Do you know how many people stayed up all night to create that one proposal?”

I shrugged my shoulders at Lee Hye-ri’s bewildered reaction and said, putting the proposal I was holding on the table.

“This is high praise.”

The proposal was much more meaningful than I expected.

For smooth cooperation, a proper office will be provided at the guild headquarters and all auxiliary facilities can be freely used.

In addition, a whopping 4 billion won was allocated in the name of ‘activity support expenses’.

At the very least, it even included an unexpected clause that provided welfare points that could be used at Sejin Group affiliates.

‘I tried really hard to apply saliva somehow.’

Actually, these are things that are good to have and not good to have, so they didn’t really appeal to me… .

It was very interesting to be able to use the Sejin Guild exclusive gate.

‘Sejin Guild Gate is famous for its high quality.’

Basically, all gates belong to the country.

However, since the state cannot manage all gates, gates are released to the market in the form of a type of research commonly referred to as a ‘national project’.

Sejin Guild is one of the guilds that received gates like that, and is quite famous in the industry because each gate it receives is of such high quality that it is called a real deal… .

At this point, I began to wonder what words she would use to persuade the guild’s leadership.

“I think the investment is too much… . How on earth did you convince me?”

“I sold your name.”

Hye-ri Lee quietly crossed her legs as if it wasn’t even a task and made a hint.

“In the Sejin guild, if you don’t know Do Ji-hyuk, you’re a spy, right?”

“… Is that so?”

I silently agreed, pretending not to notice her strangely poignant words.

Because I was the one who personally brought down Sejin, who was competing with the Cheonhwa Guild for first and second place.

“What… . I won it because I believed in your abilities, so you don’t have to feel too much pressure. Because I don’t want to burden you for no reason.”

“You don’t want to be a burden, right?”

“Of course not.”

Hye-ri Lee made a mischievous expression and continued speaking while tapping her shoe.

“That 4 billion won is as much as you can eat. Because that’s the budget that was set in the first place.”

“… What?”

I inadvertently laughed at Hye-ri Lee’s words, which openly encouraged corruption, and looked at her gently, crossing my arms.

“How can I take that much money?”

OK.

“You can do enough, right?”

She gave me a sinister look as if asking why the players were acting like this.

‘It can be done.’

Since the Hunter Team business itself is a very expensive business, there are many ways to intercept it, such as Hye-ri Lee taking bribes in the name of activity support expenses.

however.

Since I’m not tight on money and don’t like luxury, I didn’t necessarily want to choose a risky method.

“What should I do if I eat wrong and get an upset stomach? I don’t want to go to jail.”

“Then what… . I can’t help it. This sister has no choice but to help.”

I shook my head as if I was tired of Lee Hye-ri’s tongue flicking between her bright red lipstick lips.

The moment I swallowed up the money, I could see his very obvious intention to tie me up to the Sejin guild.

‘I’m not really trying to tie you up… . It must mean that you are that earnest.’

I easily sensed Lee Hye-ri’s deep intentions and accepted the partnership offer, saying that I would not miss a single ten-won coin.

“So what should I do?”

If something comes, something goes.

Since Sejin has put forth enormous conditions, something must be provided from our side as well.

The proposal that Hye-ri Lee brought in had an ambiguous item called ‘business support’, which could cause problems later if this was not clearly concluded in advance.

“If you tell me something like the right to negotiate first, I just won’t do it.”

“Surely I want that?”

She smiled gracefully, uncrossed her legs as if to tell me not to worry, and quietly spoke about her business in a tone that seemed quite serious.

“Please take charge of Black Rose.”

“… ?”

Hyeri Lee’s suggestion was as follows.

They are asking you to lead the team in suppressing the gate of Black Rose, the team currently ranked second in the rankings.

It was a one-time, one-time offer, not a request to continue in charge, and a huge remuneration depended on it regardless of the partnership agreement or success.

“3 billion?”

A whopping 3 billion.

The plan is to spend as much as 3 billion won on producing, which will only last a few weeks at most.

“If you guys have that much money, just give me 10 billion.”

“There’s nothing I can’t give you. Should you marry me instead?”

Hyeri Lee explained that the compensation standard was set based on the highest-paid producer in the United States.

The compensation is roughly equivalent to one month’s salary.

“… What gate are you going through and are you looking for me with that money?”

I could sense that Hyeri Lee was planning something unusual… .

“We will enter the Paju joint suppression area.”

Sure enough, the overwhelming response jumped out at me.

‘It’s a joint subjugation area… .’

In general, gates above Grade A are designated as special management targets and only one team can enter at a time.

Among them, there are some gates that allow simultaneous entry as an exception, and they are usually called ‘joint suppression areas’.

Why leave that joint subjugation area to me… .

This means that there is a team that enters at the same time as Black Rose on the same day.

“Hmm… .”

Combat is allowed in the joint suppression area.

This means that you can monopolize the gate by interfering with or defeating your opponent.

‘It won’t be an ordinary place… .’

Among the joint subjugation areas located in Paju, there is only one place where Black Rose can prepare well and subdue it.

point.

The Witch’s Castle boasts a vicious level of difficulty.

‘,,,To subdue the witch’s castle, fight with another team and even win?’

The Witch’s Castle is such a difficult place that even the Queens were only able to defeat it once.

They say they also have to compete with other teams… .

The ridiculous amount of 3 billion is starting to seem reasonable.

“So, who is the opponent?

I asked Hyeri Lee about the most important opposing team.

“Thunders? Bulls? or not… . Are they the ones who boasted about getting 3rd place in the 100 Days this time?”

and.

“Queens.”

The team that she thought she would like the most came out of her mouth.

“… Are you serious?”

Hye-ri Lee smiled mysteriously at my question and quietly asked me with a hint of revenge.

“Catch the queens and make Black Rose number one.”

Ask me to kill the queen.