Corporate Visit
Jinhyuk lay down on the bed after emerging from the shower.
Kancho burrowed in beside him, poking his head out just a bit.
"How'd it go, hyung? Think it'll work out?"
"We'll have to wait and see. The reinforcement itself went well. And it has the features I wanted."
He pulled the Yodel Compass from his pocket.
[Yodel Compass - Precision Tracking]
It points to any desired destination from anywhere.Reinforcement Option 1: Displays the straight-line distance to the destination.Reinforcement Option 2: Allows setting and tracking a destination where an object made of the same material as something the user possesses is located.
Fortunately, Grandpa Toto had stayed awake and completed the reinforcement perfectly.
It seemed the threat from the mischievous Kancho—who'd vowed to blow up the old tree house—had hit the mark.
He took out the disc embedded with the white stone and brought it near the compass.
The existing needle pointed in a direction, and with a series of click-click sounds, the newly added numerical dial began to spin.
8,000.
The first time he'd tried it, his eyes had nearly bulged out of his head.
Eight thousand kilometers? He couldn't even begin to imagine how far away that would be.
But a simple test had confirmed it was in meters.
Which meant the stone he needed to find was closer than he'd thought.
'Should be about time for them to arrive by now.'
He checked the clock in the room.
It had been eight kilometers since he'd confirmed the reading, but there was no way he could sleep now.
So he'd quietly opened the balcony door and dispatched a reconnaissance team.
Complete with the phone that had the destination marked on it.
Rustle.
Not long after, Seira appeared by the bedside—the one who'd gone out on recon.
She'd slipped out of the house, verified the spot, and manifested back.
"Good work."
Jinhyuk shot up from the bed and approached her.
"A massive ship was docked there."
Seira nodded as she handed him the phone.
It held several photos and videos she'd snapped.
'She did great, even after I only explained it once.'
Seira picked up on this world's gadgets fast.
He'd probably need to get her a phone of her own soon.
They huddled together and reviewed the photos and videos.
"There was nowhere else that could have something like this. Unless it was lodged in the riverbed, that is."
"Yeah, that's for sure."
It was a massive, gleaming ship—clearly brand-new.
'New Kaliho.'
The name rang a vague bell.
A quick internet search pulled up related articles.
Yeouido's Han River to Japan: The Route is Now Open!
It was a story that had been popping up in the news lately.
The New Kaliho: the first ferry service linking the capitals of Korea and Japan.
Its maiden voyage was just four days away.
He headed to the official homepage and browsed the ship.
A buffet loaded with traditional Korean and Japanese cuisine, ultra-luxury accommodations, entertainment facilities galore.
This thing was basically a five-star hotel on the water.
And then the final line.
For its maiden voyage, the New Kaliho will host a joint Korean-Japanese auction house.A meaningful exchange of items acquired from the Tower of Despair between Korea and Japan. We invite you to join us!
Finally, a place where Sirius might turn up.
He hit the list button.
The site had the auction items publicly listed—probably for promotional hype.
The headliners for this auction: a tower-exclusive axe and shield dropped on the 70th floor.
Starting bid: a cool fifty billion.
With any real bidding war, it'd blow past a hundred billion easy.
'That's the world they live in.'
He skipped right past and scrolled down.
And at one point, Jinhyuk's hand froze.
Necklace of the Stars.
The gem was identical to the one embedded in the disc.
It was tucked away in the lower section, where interest levels were pretty low.
Just a plain accessory with no special powers, so the starting bid was only fifty million won.
Still a hefty sum, but something he could gamble on.
Jinhyuk turned to his friends with a steely expression.
"We're boarding that ship in four days."
"You're getting on this thing, hyung?!"
"It's been ages since I was on a boat."
Kancho and Seira buzzed with excitement.
But.
"Ugh."
Dark recoiled, his face twisting in horror.
"What's the matter? Scared of the water?"
"The water's fine. It's the seasickness that's brutal. Last time I was on one, I nearly died in a storm."
"But Dark didn't die, right?"
"It was my first real brush with death."
"If that was the most recent, when was it?"
"Four hundred years ago? Hard to say."
Jinhyuk swallowed hard.
Just how old was Dark, anyway?
He navigated back to the main page and clicked the reservation button.
The top-notch facilities meant it'd cost a fortune, but on this end, it was five people riding for the price of one.
Whatever the tab, the value was unbeatable.
"Ah?"
He scowled at the popup that appeared.
An invitation is required to reserve this voyage.
An invitation?
Money had never been the real hurdle.
'Should've figured if I'd ever been on something like this.'
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Jinhyuk's life had been the polar opposite of an influencer's.
Even as an adult, he'd holed up in a semi-basement, grinding games around the clock—no way he'd know about stuff like this.
"Captain, no invite?"
"Nah. Up until yesterday, I was just your average Joe crashing in a rundown officetel in the old district."
"It's okay-da. We can just sneak aboard-da."
An unexpected snag.
Right as he was wondering if they'd really have to go stealth-mode like Kancho suggested, his eye caught the list of sponsors scrolling at the bottom of the site.
Genex.
"Hoo."
Rubbing his chin, Jinhyuk opened his bag.
The business card from Jin Taegon—the very first one he'd gotten—still safely stowed away.
They wouldn't comp the ride for free.
He'd have to pay up in some form, but based on what he'd seen last time, Jin Taegon was a level-headed guy.
No way he'd demand the moon for a simple ship ticket.
'And sneaking in would make it tough to even join the auction.'
He drew in a deep breath.
Time to reach out, even if it meant eating a little humble pie.
To the chairman of the Republic of Korea's biggest steel giant, Genex.
Late morning.
Cheon Seyeon stretched languidly as she rose from bed.
"Ah."
As usual, she started to head out of the room but released the doorknob.
She hurried to the mirror instead, picking out sleep from her eyes and taming her bird's-nest hair.
She finished up in a way that looked effortlessly casual, like she hadn't fussed at all, then stepped into the living room.
The house lay quiet—Jinhyuk must not be up yet.
"Wow."
She strolled to the kitchen and let out a gasp of delight.
The table was set with what looked like freshly made egg rolls, kimchi stew, and more.
Sure, there was her own kimchi stew in the fridge, so whipping up a fresh batch felt a tad overkill—but whatever.
'He's seriously so diligent.'
She snagged an egg roll and popped it in her mouth.
'Delicious.'
A smile tugged at her lips as she wandered aimlessly around the living room.
If she was going to eat, why not wait and share it with him?
That's when a post-it note stuck to the far wall of the living room caught her eye.
Urgent business came up, so I'm heading out. Don't know how to call the elevator from the entrance, so I'm going via the balcony.
"Yes?"
Even reading it with her own eyes, she couldn't make heads or tails of it.
She stood there dumbfounded for a moment before gingerly easing open the balcony door.
Footprints marred the dust-caked floor.
'He seriously went out this way.'
She gulped, staring at the prints for what felt like ages.
At last, she composed herself, shut the door, and made a vow.
The second Jinhyuk got back today, she'd register his fingerprint and face first thing.
That way, he could summon the elevator properly.
In front of the steel behemoth Genex's headquarters.
'Why's it gotta be this huge?'
It wasn't called Korea's largest for nothing.
The building was absurdly massive.
You could hide a combining robot inside, and no one would bat an eye.
Standing before the revolving doors, Jinhyuk took a deep breath.
He always felt this way about places like this—too polished, too intimidating.
He slipped through the revolving door in the wake of employees flashing their badges.
The lobby matched the exterior: grand, imposing.
He took up position in the center, scanning the space.
Then he made a beeline for the most out-of-the-way sofa and sank into it.
Genex infiltration: complete.
'Didn't peg him for the "come right now" type.'
The clock had just struck nine when he'd called—politely, of course.
Jin Taegon had picked up with a voice brighter than expected.
Once he'd explained the reason, the man had let out a hearty chuckle.
-Come on over by eleven. We'll meet in the lobby.
That was how the appointment with the chairman had been set.
Frankly, it had caught him off guard.
In Jinhyuk's book, a chairman was the sort whose day was jammed wall-to-wall with meetings.
Current time: 10:50.
The thought of facing the head of a corporate titan like this ratcheted up his nerves for no good reason.
He'd been glued to the clock for ages when—
An employee from the front desk approached.
"Hello. How can I assist you?"
An Miyoung offered her greeting, eyeing Jinhyuk curiously.
There he sat, all alone in the cavernous lobby.
His face was far too youthful for an office worker.
Every so often, kids showed up having botched their field trip schedules, so she'd come over to usher him along.
"Hello. I have a meeting with the chairman today."
"Pardon? The chairman?"
An Miyoung blinked, her eyes going wide.
The chairman, just like that?
'An influencer?'
His features were neat, his outfit sharp.
Maybe one of those fresh faces blowing up online? But she dismissed the thought with a shake of her head.
Chairman Jin Taegon was notoriously selective about his company.
He'd shoot down a plea from Korea's top actor without a second thought.
"Miyoung-ssi. Front desk is empty—why are you over here?"
Yu Youngseo, her senior on desk duty, strode up.
"He says he's here to see the chairman."
"The chairman?"
Her face screamed pure annoyance.
Youngseo flicked her gaze between Jinhyuk and Miyoung, then heaved a heavy sigh.
"Listen, kid, I don't know where you wandered in from, but you can't pull this here. The chairman's swamped. He doesn't just chat with anyone off the street. And you, Miyoung-ssi—get him moving and back to the desk. How long are you gonna humor him? Same as that pushy vendor last time; you never learn."
"Sor—sorry."
"Quit with the sorrys every time and actually shape up. Shape up. See, this is why we shouldn't bother with blind hires."
Jinhyuk watched as Miyoung took the tongue-lashing.
'Felt bad for her, for nothing.'
Talk about ruthless.
She must've been itching for this—those words weren't enough, so she kept piling on.
Youngseo paused at last, fixing a glare on Jinhyuk, who hadn't so much as twitched.
"What're you waiting for? On your feet. There's nothing on the chairman's calendar about meeting anyone. Keep this up, and I'm calling security."
Only then did Jinhyuk rise.
'Should've stood up sooner instead of stonewalling.'
A flicker of smug triumph curled her lips—but it faded fast.
Because behind her, Jinhyuk was dipping his head in a polite bow.
"Kept you waiting? Call ran long; sorry I'm late."
"Not at all. It's not even eleven yet."
Youngseo whipped around.
There stood Chairman Jin Taegon, trailed by a phalanx of aides stretching back like a tail.
The awkward tension crackling between Youngseo, Miyoung, and Jinhyuk hung in the air as Jin Taegon spoke up.
"Something the matter?"
"Ah—no. Nothing at all."
Youngseo retreated in a fluster, stammering her reply.
Jinhyuk nodded along.
"Everything was fine. An Miyoung-nim was being incredibly gracious in helping me out, but then this one showed up out of nowhere and started ordering me to scram before security even arrived."
"Huh?"
Jin Taegon's brow creased.
His entourage sobered in unison.
Youngseo's face drained to ash.
"You there—An Miyoung."
"Y-yes!"
"You handled that splendidly. It's those little gestures that shape a company's image, after all. And one careless slip can drag it through the mud just as quick. HR Director."
"Yes, sir—I'll log it in her performance eval right away."
"See that you do."
Jin Taegon shot Youngseo a glacial look before turning away.
"Right, then. Let's head up. We can talk over lunch."
Jinhyuk flashed a grin and traded a quick nod with An Miyoung.
Then he fell in step behind Jin Taegon.
The New Kaliho boarding pass was now within reach.
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T/N:
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