Chapter 463 Taming (1)

For some reason, Choi Kanghyuk wore a displeased expression.

“Jeez. She waited for several hours? If I had been unlucky, Yongbaek might have been discovered.”

Yongbaek was the hatchling’s nickname.

It was not Yongbaek, short for yonggibaekbae, meaning courage a hundredfold.

He combined yong, meaning dragon, with danbaekjil, meaning protein, to make Yongbaek, in the hope that it would eat as much protein as it wanted and grow healthy.

At first, because of the hatchling’s bright red color, Choi Kanghyuk had considered calling it Bulbaek, but it somehow sounded less like a companion spirit beast and more like emergency rations, so he changed it to Yongbaek.

And Yongbaek was currently near the gate entrance.

What if, last night, he had brought Yongbaek all the way outside the gate to feed it?

And what if Joo Hyungyeong, the representative of the HK Guild, had happened to be at the gym at that exact moment?

The situation would likely have become troublesome in all sorts of ways.

Perhaps she might even have tried to kill Yongbaek the moment she saw it.

Joo Hyungyeong had more than enough ability to do so.

Choi Kanghyuk did not know Joo Hyungyeong personally, but he had heard about her through the news.

She was the leader of one of the ten major guilds.

And it was not even the lowest-ranked among the ten major guilds.

It was a guild that competed for second or third place.

Furthermore, Joo Hyungyeong’s individual ability alone was impressive.

It was not merely because she had grown her guild to such an extent.

Joo Hyungyeong was one of only eight S-rank hunters in Korea.

As Choi Kanghyuk recalled this, a deflated laugh escaped him.

“Ah. That does not make sense in the first place. Why would someone like that wait at a gym until nighttime?”

Perhaps even what was written on the business card was a lie.

She might have briefly stopped by the gym, seen that the door was locked, and immediately left.

“This is more realistic.”

After hunters became an admired profession, some hunters enjoyed popularity comparable to that of celebrities.

Naturally, Joo Hyungyeong was considerably famous.

To the point that even the past Choi Kanghyuk, who had not been particularly interested in the hunter industry, knew her name.

“Well, even if she did not stay for long, she still came here. What business does she have with me?”

It was somewhat ambiguous to call it a scouting attempt.

When he had appeared on the news because of the previous abnormal gate incident, several guilds had offered to recruit Choi Kanghyuk.

Naturally, the HK Guild had been among them.

And Choi Kanghyuk had declined every single offer.

Because he did not particularly want to be tied down to a specific guild.

But now they wanted to recruit him again?

And the guild representative herself had come personally?

“Ah. Could it be because of the qi treatment?”

He had lied that the Association President was the one performing the qi treatment, but information might have leaked from somewhere.

After continuing to make various guesses, Choi Kanghyuk shrugged.

“Will I find out by guessing? I can just meet her and ask.”

After organizing his thoughts, Choi Kanghyuk immediately called the number written on the business card.

The ringing tone continued for several seconds.

A businesslike woman’s voice came through the phone.

- Yes. This is she.

“Is this Representative Joo Hyungyeong?”

- Yes. That is correct.

“I am Choi Kanghyuk, the director of Strongest Gym. I am calling after seeing the business card you left at the gym.”

For some reason.

The moment Choi Kanghyuk finished speaking, the tone of her voice changed.

- Ah, yes! Hunter Choi Kanghyuk! Thank you for contacting me!

Choi Kanghyuk asked her directly.

“But may I ask what business you have with me?”

- Ah. Rather than discussing it over the phone like this, I think it would be better for us to meet and talk in person. Around what time would be convenient for you? I will adjust my schedule to match yours.

The representative of a major guild was even willing to adjust her schedule to meet him.

It was truly strange, but Choi Kanghyuk did not feel particularly impressed.

- Ah. Would you happen to have time around lunch today? I would like to treat you to a meal while we talk.

“Ah. I am sorry. I do not think lunchtime will work.”

- It seems you have a prior engagement.

“Yes.”

That was right. He had an appointment at lunchtime.

“I have to train my upper body.”

An appointment with himself.

After Choi Kanghyuk’s calm reply ended, a dazed voice came from the other side of the phone.

- ....... Pardon?

***

Around seven in the evening.

In the back seat of a luxury sedan speeding along the roads of Seoul.

A woman who appeared to be around thirty years old was sitting there.

Dressed in a neat yet luxurious designer suit and high heels, she was working on a tablet PC.

A moment later. A voice came from the driver’s seat.

“We will arrive at the meeting place shortly, Representative.”

At the driver’s words, the woman organized the materials she had been reviewing.

Before long, the vehicle came to a stop, and she stepped out.

The place where they had parked was a restaurant with quite a luxurious atmosphere.

It was also a place she visited from time to time.

It was not simply because it was an expensive restaurant.

Because it was divided into private rooms, it was an ideal place for business meetings.

Click. Click.

She walked forward to the cheerful sound of her heels.

Had the person she was meeting already arrived?

‘Judging by how he played hard to get this morning, I think he will be a little late.’

At least the reason for playing hard to get should have been somewhat believable.

He could not meet her because he had to train his upper body.

It was absurd.

Although she expected the other party to be late, Joo Hyungyeong had still arrived ten minutes before the scheduled time.

Because there was no need for her to behave the same way as the other person.

Clean and confident business.

That was the way Joo Hyungyeong pursued.

When she arrived at the restaurant, a waiter greeted her.

“Welcome, Representative. I will escort you to your reserved table.”

While walking behind the waiter, she heard unexpected news.

“Ah. The person accompanying you arrived first about five minutes ago and is already seated.”

“Five minutes ago?”

There were still ten minutes left before the scheduled time.

The conversation from that morning came back to mind.

‘Then he really rejected me because of his upper-body workout?’

Was he some gym addict obsessed with exercise?

Suddenly, she recalled a story she had once seen on the internet.

It had been written by a woman.

She had gone on a movie date with her boyfriend.

In the middle of the movie, her boyfriend had suddenly said he needed to use the bathroom and disappeared.

Apparently, he had secretly gone outside to eat protein and salad because he had to stick to his diet?

There had been various other stories about a boyfriend obsessed with exercise as well.

‘No way. They were probably all just written as jokes. There cannot actually be someone like that.’

Joo Hyungyeong shook off her idle thoughts.

An important business meeting was about to begin.

It was not the time to be thinking about such trivial things.

“This is the room.”

Having finished guiding her, the waiter opened the door.

Then a hulking man could be seen sitting inside.

“Hello. I am Joo Hyungyeong, representative of the HK Guild. I apologize for being late.”

“Not at all, Representative. There are still ten minutes left, are there not? I am the one who arrived early. My business at the Association ended, and I had an awkward amount of free time, so I ended up coming early.”

Choi Kanghyuk had performed qi treatment at the Association that afternoon.

After sitting down and exchanging a little small talk, Joo Hyungyeong asked.

“Let us talk while we eat for now. The food here is quite delicious.”

“Then I will prepare the course immediately.”

With those words, the waiter left the room.

No, just as he was about to leave. Choi Kanghyuk stopped him.

“Do we have to eat the course?”

“No. Not necessarily. Ah, if there are any foods you cannot eat or any allergies you have, please feel free to tell me.”

“I do not have any allergies, but there are things I do not eat.”

“I see. Then how would you like it served instead of the course?”

“It is because of my diet. Leave out everything else and just bring two servings of salad. And two servings of steak, please.”

“......Pardon?”

“Ah! And please leave out all the butter, sauce, and salt from the steaks.”

The waiter merely blinked.

‘If you remove the butter, sauce, and salt, is that even steak? Is that not just beef?’

Joo Hyungyeong was equally dumbfounded.

‘Someone like that really exists?’

Now she thought she understood.

He had not been playing hard to get during their conversation that morning.

He must have been completely sincere.

“Ahem. F-for now, I will pass your request along to the chef.”

Leaving only those words behind, the flustered waiter hurriedly left the room.

Only then did Joo Hyungyeong put on a business smile and speak.

“You are extremely thorough about managing yourself. I suppose that professionalism is what allowed you to grow so quickly. I truly think it is admirable.”

Choi Kanghyuk silently looked at Joo Hyungyeong.

He had never thought about things like self-management or professionalism.

It was simply something he had done for more than ten years. It was merely a habit.

“But why did you come looking for me? I understand that you are quite busy.”

“Naturally, it is because I want to bring you into our HK Guild, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk.”

“I remember declining once before.”

“Yes. At the time, we made a major mistake. We failed to properly recognize your ability, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk.”

Joo Hyungyeong took out the tablet PC she had brought, displayed some data on the screen, and held it out to Choi Kanghyuk.

“There are currently a total of one hundred and seven A-rank hunters in Korea. Among them, the number of hunters who could be considered tanks is fourteen.”

Five people normally entered a gate together.

That meant only a maximum of fourteen parties containing a tank could be formed.

A mere seventy people.

Considering that there were more than one hundred A-rank hunters, the ratio did not match.

“Of course, it is not a major problem at A-rank. A-rank hunters who cannot find a party can safely enter B-rank gates, and sometimes an S-rank hunter accompanies the party instead of a tank.”

In particular, quite a few A-rank hunters had recently begun visiting B-rank gates because of the strengthened gate-entry requirements.

However, those strengthened requirements did not apply to gates of A-rank or higher.

Because there were far too few S-rank hunters available to accompany parties into A-rank gates.

This was also why Choi Kanghyuk had entered the desert gate last time with only A-rank hunters.

Along with her explanation, Joo Hyungyeong changed the screen.

“The real problem is S-rank. Among the S-rank hunters, there is only one tank. Kang Taeseok of the Dark Knights Guild.”

She changed the screen again.

A large article was displayed there.

[The Undisputed Best Hunter Guild in the Republic of Korea. Dark Knights]

“And as long as an S-rank tank named Kang Taeseok exists, no guild in the Republic of Korea will be able to surpass Dark Knights.”

The reason was simple.

“Do you know what happens among the major guilds whenever an S-rank gate opens in Korea? They have to mobilize every official and personal connection they possess to flatter Kang Taeseok. In order to participate in the S-rank gate raid.”

There were five positions. The tank position was fixed.

Then four positions remained. And seven hunters remained.

In the end, Kang Taeseok, the sole tank, held the right to choose.

And one of the guilds that suffered the greatest damage during this process was HK.

Because it was the most threatening guild seeking to challenge Dark Knights’ supremacy.

Whenever that happened, Joo Hyungyeong thought.

That she wanted to remove the label of eternal second place.

That she needed an S-rank tank to do so.

After hearing about the reality of the hunter industry, Choi Kanghyuk spoke with a displeased expression.

“But why are you telling me all this?”

“Naturally, because I believe that you can become an S-rank hunter, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk. I have decided to stake the fate of the HK Guild on that possibility.”

Choi Kanghyuk scratched his head once and said.

“You said you came to recruit me, but why are you praising me to such an extent? You will end up losing money.”

Choi Kanghyuk, who had gone through all kinds of hardships when he was Mujin, was naturally not a fool.

He merely found it bothersome to solve with his head what could easily be handled with his body.

That was why he found it strange.

‘Is it not the most basic of basics that you have to devalue an item in order to buy it cheaply?’

The more one praised the other party, the greater the amount required to recruit them would inevitably become.

At Choi Kanghyuk’s question, Joo Hyungyeong spoke.

“Because trust is the lifeblood of business. I cannot lie to a business partner with whom I hope to work for a long time.”

She was completely confident.

“And I prefer doing business fairly rather than playing tricks behind the scenes. Likewise, our guild places the highest priority on compensating people according to their ability. Not only you, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk, but every hunter.”

As Choi Kanghyuk silently listened to her, Kim Jicheol came to mind.

‘She certainly feels completely different from Member Kim Jicheol.’

Kim Jicheol worked as a hunter out of a sense of duty.

Joo Hyungyeong, on the other hand, viewed the work of a hunter entirely as a business.

That did not make him feel particularly repulsed.

‘Well, it is better than the hypocrites of the righteous faction.’

It was better than pretending to be virtuous in public while taking everything for themselves behind the scenes.

He preferred someone who openly declared, ‘This is business!’

Just then, the businesswoman spoke again.

“In that sense, we will provide treatment worthy of your abilities, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk. The finest treatment that has ever been offered in the Republic of Korea.”