Chapter 81 – Return
Titan Guild’s Private Plane.
When he saw the grandly prepared in-flight meal, Woojin spoke.
“This one is better than Jongdo-hyung’s plane.”
Minchan tilted his head in confusion.
Jongdo? Ah… President Baek-jongdo.
Minchan suddenly felt awkward in the current situation.
When they traveled to the US, they had used the KH Guild’s private plane. And when they had to return to Korea, the Titan Guild let them borrow their private plane.
They had participated in the consortium, but they had received special treatments. They also made a separate treaty with the Titan Guild.
Their guild were on equal footing… No, Alandal was in the dominant position against America’s top guild.
Everything arose with Woojin at the root of it all.
“When I finally think I know you, I find out that I really didn’t.”
“What?”
Woojin dipped a piece of bread into honey, and ate it in one bite.
Even his action right now was incredible to Minchan.
Minchan thought about it, never having witnessed such luxuries. They were given the the use of chartered airplanes, the best hotels, translators…
Even after given all these luxuries, Woojin took it in stride, in a cool manner. It would be strange not to look at him as if he were amazing.
“President. I honestly feel that you are a really amazing person. It still feel like I’m in a fleeting dream.”
He used to be a team leader in the Hammer Guild, yet he had just negotiated with the the Titan Guild’s most important figures on equal footing. They were the number one guild in the US.
Just this fact boosted Minchan’s self-confidence.
“What nonsense are you spouting now.”
Woojin had lived in much more luxury and public interest in the past. He was apathetic to such things. Truthfully, this kind of thing didn’t matter much to Woojin. He had thrown away that lifestyle, one an emperor would have envied, to come back to earth.
“Haha. I think I’m slowly getting used to it.”
Jung-minchan let out an embarrassed laugh.
He joined when he saw Woojin and Alandal’s growth potential. However he had made a wrong assessment. Alandal was like a high speed train that was already in motion. He had been lucky. He had gotten on the train before it had started to move.
Alandal’s growth was so fast that their guild moved past the boundaries of Korea. Now they were establishing their name across the world. Even if he was the general director, he would be left behind on the curbside if he wasn’t on his game.
“Yes. You have to get used to everything…. Bibi.”
“Yes? What the heck is a Bibi?”
Black smoke coalesced on the table in front of Woojin, and a cat suddenly popped into existence.
Bibi looked at Minchan, then she tilted her head in confusion in a very cute manner.
“Nyahh.”
“You don’t have to pretend to be a cat anymore.”
“Ha-ah. Understood-ahong.”
Minchan stood up from his seat in fright as human words suddenly came out of the cat’s mouth.
“W…what the hell is th…this cat?”
“Why are you so surprised? This is a world where monsters pop out of Dungeons.”
When he put it that way, it did make sense.
Minchan sat in his chair again.
“She is my familiar.”
“I’m Bibi-ahong.”
“I’m Jung-minchan..”
Minchan felt endlessly awkward exchanging a conversation with a cat. Bibi turned her head towards Woojin.
“Why did you call me-ahong?”
“I wanted you to eat some food.”
“I have no appetite-ahong….”
“…….”
Bibi had been revived from death not too long ago. Woojin knew Bibi liked sampling earth’s food, so he had purposefully summoned her…
“Just call me later when you are going to sleep-ahong.”
“Uh. All right.”
Bibi disappeared as she turned into black smoke. As if his appetite had been chased away, he put down the bread he had been eating.
“Did something happen?”
Minchan didn’t know the details, but he was quick to pick up on Woojin’s mood. It made Minchan turn serious right alongside Woojin.
“It’s nothing. I’m going to sleep, so don’t wake me up.”
“Yes… Please rest.”
Woojin had cleared Dungeons for the past month without taking a single break. In real time, he had spent thirty days inside of the Dungeon, but what it felt like to Woojin was actually 120 days. It would be strange if he wasn’t tired.
Minchan’s heart became heavy as he saw Woojin walk into the bedroom.
‘President must be tired.’
He suddenly thought about all the things he took for granted with Woojin and reflected upon his thoughts. Woojin was still human, so of course he would be under a lot of stress.
‘It’s the Support Division’s job to properly assist him.’
Aiding the Roused; it was the main reason why guilds existed.
Even if everyone talked about guarding the world, it was Minchan’s job to support Woojin in the end. Saving the world felt too far away, so he had decided to pay attention to Woojin, who was nearby. Minchan’s job was to help Woojin.
Woojin was under much more strain than Minchan could imagine.
It was so bad that he had preferred hunting down monster in a pressured situation rather than going to sleep. He had held out until he reached the limit of his willpower, but he eventually had to sleep.
While Woojin’s consciousness weakened, the evil spirits showed up to torment Woojin, but he couldn’t do anything.
Bibi had still been dead…
Woojin laid down on a fancy bed one could find in a hotel room. Bibi curled up by his pillow. When he saw Bibi in low spirits, his anger towards Rashmode spiked.
“I’ll never leave you behind when I go hunting from now on..”
“…Understood-ahong.”
If only Bibi had been stronger… She might have been able to escape through her own power. With the purpose of protecting his family, he had left Bibi home too much.
Leveling up his familiars was as important as getting stronger to Woojin.
The Immortal’s true power wasn’t the power he wielded. It was his Undead Army, which was composed of his familiars.
It had been a really long time since Woojin fell deep into sleep.
He didn’t have a sweet dream, but he didn’t mind being accosted by nightmares.
The airplane with Woojin in it headed towards Korea.
*
The manager took out the bag from the compartment above the seat and looked at the singer sitting on the seat.
“Hey, Cindy. Let’s get off.”
“Oppa. Let’s wait a little bit longer before we go.”
“Huh? Aren’t you tired?”
Cindy’s manager, Moon-sahngchul, was worried as he saw her tired face. However, what could he do? One had to row when the tide came in. If they didn’t take advantage of the current situation, they would never know when Cindy could still become popular as she was right now.
Her schedule was so tight that he hadn’t been able to make the flight appointment until it was too late. He couldn’t book a first class seat, so he felt sorry towards her.
A woman sitting in a seat from across the aisle walked towards Cindy.
“Unni! Here are the items you are sponsoring.”
Cindy put on the shoes and sunglasses and was pushed towards by the stylist. Then, she picked up her bag.
The arrival of a star at an airport was a newsworthy event. The reporters took pictures of the outfit dubbed Airport Fashion. It was a fantastic way to advertise products.
From the tip of her toes to her head, sponsored items were worn by a popular entertainer like Cindy.
“If you’re ready, let’s go.”
“Whew. Let’s head out.”
Cindy let out a short sigh as she trudged forward. It was uncomfortable to wear all these items, but she had been able to sleep a lot on the plane. She was in a pretty good condition.
After putting on a cheerful smile, she passed through the arrival gate.
Cindy, who had a bright smile on her face, couldn’t help but be taken aback at the numerous reporters and broadcast cameras.
‘A…aren’t there too many of them?’
It wasn’t only Cindy who had been taken aback. Her stylist, as well as her mananger Moon-sahngchul, had also stopped walking from the surprise.
“Oppa. What are you doing?”
“Oh yeah.”
Cindy was the first one to gather herself. Sahngchul also regained his senses as he looked around Cindy’s surrounding. She started walking with a bright smile on her face. It was a familiar yet unfamiliar situation, so she felt really awkward in this situation.
None of the several dozens of cameras let out a flash.
As she continued to walk, her patented smile slowly disappeared from her face. She quietly asked her manager.
“Oppa. Is someone else arriving here today?”
“I have no idea. It does seem someone is coming…”
He couldn’t say ‘someone who is more famous than you is coming…’, since it might hurt Cindy’s pride.
“Isn’t that Cindy over there?”
“I guess so. Just take several shots.”
“Eh. I guess we can somewhat salvage this situation with some pictures of her.”
What the hell? This felt worse than receiving no interest at all.
Cindy tried to hear the conversation between the reporters, who were still not showing any interest in her. Now that she had looked them over they weren’t the usual reporters from the entertainment division she usually saw.
“When is Mr. Kahng-woojin arriving?”
“He’s on a private plane, so we don’t know the exact details.”
“Ha. Maybe he was already diverted to a different route?”
“Eh-ee. He has to pass through here no matter what.”
“You never know. Cheongwadae might have sent him an escort…”
At his words, all the waiting reporters turned to glare sharply at the reporter. If his words were true, then they had waited five hours for nothing.
Unexpectedly, Cindy was able to exit the airport without any fuss. When Cindy got in the company van, she immediately took off the sunglasses.
“Huh. Jeez. It seems Kahg-woojin is quite an amazing person.”
“Uh-ooh. He’s incredibly hot right now. It seems he’s coming back from the US today. Hey, Hweesup. Let’s go.”
“Yes, chief.”
The company’s road manager put the van in motion. Moon-sahngchul opened his hand phone. He didn’t even need to search for Kahng-woojin. His name was trending as the most real time searched word.
“Every time he does something, he is always the number one searched person.”
It pretty much indicated how explosive the interest that Kahng-woojin was currently receiving from the public was. He could now understand why several dozen reporters were looking for Kahng-woojin.
His every movement was considered to be a scoop in Korea.
“Ah. It seems he’ll be meeting the President today. Those reporters have to completely write-off today.”
It meant Kahng-woojin had escaped the airport already in secret. In the real time search ranking, keywords such as ‘Kahng-woojin meeting the President’, ‘Kahng-woojin and Cheongwae’ was starting to pop up.
“Hey, Cindy.”
“Uh?”
“What are you looking at? Are you also looking for the articles?”
“It…it’s nothing.”
When Cindy turned on her private handphone, she had read the message that had been sent to her.
[Notice for Mido High school’s Alumni meeting. ㅇㅇRestaurant 7 o’clock. Kahng-woojin in attendance. … This is the end to this week’s mail. Please reply if attending. Chairman Nahm-jihyuhk.]
After she first debuted, she had gone to the alumni meeting several times.
After she became busy, however, she had never gone to one. It seemed that she needed to go this time.
Cindy turned over her hazy memories. There was this one student who had disappeared before the Dungeon Shock. It had caused a big ruckus.
‘This Kahng-woojin is that guy?’
It had been a long time since Cindy’s eyes shone with interest. Her finger immediately pressed reply on her handphone.
*
Inside the limousine sent by Cheongwadae’s secretariat. (TLN:Cheongwadae is also called the Blue House. Korean equivalent of the White House.)
“Let me off here.”
“What?”
His days were filled with a lot of surprises, but a situation like this had always surprised him in a new way.
Michan couldn’t help but dumbly ask the question. Maybe he misheard?
“Let me off right over there. I’m riding a taxi back.”
“What are you going to do about the P..Ppresident and the dinner party?”
“I don’t care about the dinner party. I’m full.”
No, a dinner party didn’t really mean it was solely for eating food.
“Still, the President invited us…”
“I even skipped out on the Yankee President, so why should I care about this?”
“Still, this is the second time…”
“You can go in my place.”
Minchan let out a deep sigh.
“President has to go. Even if a general director attends….”
“Just remake your business card.”
“What?”
“You are vice-president from now on.”
“…….”
“Just tell them you are there instead of the president.”
“…….”
Minchan pinched the bridge of his nose.
Ha. He was in a tough position, yet he couldn’t help but feel giddy.
“Just tell them I went home since I’m tired. You talk to them.”
“Still, this is…”
“Vice-president Jung-minchan. Fighting!”
“…….”
Ha, vice-president. Vice-president….
His eyes were troubled, but his lips kept stretching into a smile.
Woojin grinned, then he spoke to the driver in a clean suit.
“Please stop here.”
“But the President….”
“Are you trying to take me somewhere when I don’t want to go?”
“But….”
“Are you trying to kidnap me? Will you be able to bear the fallout?”
The driver was taken aback by Woojin’s word, and he didn’t know what to do. Minchan spoke to the driver in a reasonable manner.
“Please stop. Our president’s condition isn’t so good.”
“…….”
He didn’t look like that at all, but… he was only the driver so he had no choice. He stopped his car by the road.
“I’ll see you later president. When I go to the office later, I’ll give you my business report after I organize it properly.”
They had made an alliance with the Titan guild, and there were the small deals they had made after finishing tasks given by the US government. There were a lot of things he had to report.
“All right. Go have a good meal, vice-president Jung.”
Ah, one doesn’t go to dinner party just to eat. When Woojin spoke like that, it seemed as if he were saying that Minchan was going to a birthday party just to eat food.
Minchan gave his farewell to Woojin and rolled the window up.
He sneakily moved to the seat of honor where Woojin had been sitting.
“Huh huh, vice-president. Huh.”
Minchan kept shaking his head as he put his hands over his forehead. His half covered face was filled with a smile.
He was probably the first one?
He had risen from being a salaryman in a guild’s Support Division to the position of vice president.
“Ha, vice-president… Huh huh.”
The driver kept glancing at his mirror as if Minchan was acting strange.
Both this guild’s president and vice-president were all abnormal people.
The limousine slowly headed towards the Cheongwadae.
