Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Sungyoon stood in front of a gla.s.s door . The door was located at the end of a corridor, and he could see shadows behind the frosted gla.s.s . However, he couldn"t clearly see what was inside .
‘This is the place . ’
Sungyoon was a bit nervous as he gripped the door handle .
There were two words written clearly on the side of the door . "Jung b.u.m" was the t.i.tle written on the company’s nameplate .
‘He said this is the perfect company for me . ’
Insoo had raised his thumb as if he was a street vendor trying to sell him something . This sight had raised his suspicions, but he had nothing to lose by coming here . If he didn’t like this company, he could just ask to be introduced to another company .
‘I don’t have the luxury to be picky with the company I choose . ’
His debt was ballooning right now through interest .
Sungyoon opened the door .
The inside of the room looked pretty good . It wasn’t large . However, it had a clean interior design, and it was lit up by ambient lighting . It left quite an impression on him . The front desk was facing the entrance, and there was a door to the side leading to the next room .
However, there wasn’t anyone present .
‘Did the employee go on a brief break?’
Maybe, the company wasn’t open yet . But if they had other business to attend to, they would have locked the door before leaving the company .
“Excuse me!”
Sungyoon yelled out with a loud voice . Right then, he sense a presence beyond the door next to the front desk . Fortunately, there were people here .
“Please wait a moment . ”
It was the voice of a young woman . Sungyoon thought she sounded like a strict housemistress . Her voice was that brusque .
However, Sungyoon had to revise the image in his mind when she opened the door .
She had straight black hair that swayed in the air . It was long enough to reach her lower back . Her skin was pale, and it was so white that perhaps just even a touch might dirty it . But unlike a sick person, there were no blemishes on her skin . Her eyes were large and she had a medium high nose . Her lips were luscious . She looked like a piece of art .
She had worn a women’s suit . It was a typical suit worn to work at a company, but for some reason, Sungyoon got an impression that this was a suit worn to a funeral .
She walked on low-heeled shoes as she stood in front of Sungyoon .
He could smell something pleasant . Was it the scent of the shampoo she used? Or was it a perfume? It also might be her natural scent .
When she came closer, her beauty shone more . But he could also see grief stricken eyes under the well kempt eyebrows . It was as if one’s soul would be sucked out if one stared too deep into her eyes .
The only negative was the fact that her expression rarely changed . She had a cold expression on her face .
However, that couldn’t overshadow her beauty . The most beautiful woman he had seen up to this point was the woman who had brought s.h.i.+nhae to him from the orphanage . The woman in front of him was almost on par with her . His wife had been a beauty, but Miyun was still several steps below this woman in terms of appearance . It seemed it was his fate to meet beautiful women in his old age .
However, Sungyoon wasn’t happy at all . The first feeling felt by Sungyoon wasn’t interest or love . It was wariness . He unconsciously took a step backwards . He had developed a mistrust for women, thanks to Miyun, and his guard came up without a hitch .
“Are you Mr . Woo Sungyoon?”
Her small mouth moved gently as she spoke . However, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that her voice was ice cold . As expected, she was the owner of the voice from before .
“Yes, that is correct . ”
She pushed her hand forward .
“It is good to meet you . I am the president of Jung b.u.m . My name is Han Jimin . ”
Sungyoon was surprised . At a glance, she looked to be in her early to mid 20s, yet she was the president of this company . When he saw her for the first time, he thought she was just an employee .
Her eyes narrowed . Sungyoon realized that he was leaving her hanging . Her hand remained hovering in empty air .
“…please forgive my rudeness . I was just surprised that the president was so young . My name is Woo Sungyoon . ”
He gave a short apology, and he shook Jimin’s hand . Her hand was smooth, and he could feel her body heat .
“No, it’s fine . Most people are surprised by it . ”
Jimin had experienced this a lot of times, so she didn’t make an issue out of it .
“Let’s go in and talk . ”
Jimin led Sungyoon into a room .
It was a simple room with a desk, a cabinet, and chairs . It was more of a personal room than an office s.p.a.ce .
“Please sit . ”
Jimin brought a spare chair in front of her desk . After Sungyoon sat, she sat on the chair behind the desk .
She brought out several doc.u.ments and placed them on the table .
“Mr Woo Sungyoon . You are a 1st Gen Connector, and it has been two weeks since you’ve awakened . ”
She held a paper with Sungyoon’s basic profile on it, and information about him kept flowing out of Jimin’s mouth .
“Your only family is your daughter, and you have a ma.s.sive amount of debt . ”
It seemed like a good amount of information had been pa.s.sed onto her .
Sungyoon cringed a little when she mentioned his debt . Most companies didn’t like to hire an employee with a ma.s.sive amount of debt . This was especially true for someone that owed an astronomical sum of money .
“…do all companies know this much about prospective Connectors?”
“No . Of course not . ”
Of course not? Sungyoon’s brows twitched . Something was off, but Jimin was being nonchalant about it .
“Mr Woo Sungyoon . Our company wants to sign a contract with you . If possible, I would like to draft the contract right now . ”
His suspicion deepened . They had barely met, yet she wanted to sign a contract with him . Even a convenience store didn’t hire their temp . employees like this .
“You don’t even know me, yet you’ve already decided to hire me?”
“I have a good idea on who you are . I’ve investigated your background . ”
“Investigated?”
Sungyoon’s eyes were starting to show reservation . Suspicion started to appear on his face .
“…what are you plotting?”
Since she had a pretty face, his guard had already been up . Moreover, her odd behavior and words had the effect of pouring fuel on the fire .
“Plotting . . . . I guess that’s the right word . I won’t deny that I am up to something . ”
When he heard those words, Sungyoon immediately got up .
“Then this meeting is over . ”
He had already been stabbed in the back so hard that his back had become b.l.o.o.d.y . He didn’t want to work at a suspicious company like this . Above all else, the president was explicitly stating that she was plotting something . He had heard enough .
Sungyoon turned his back on Jimin, and he took a step towards the door .
But then, in that moment, he heard Jimin’s words .
“Your debt is 7 . 2 million dollars . It isn’t something that is easily overcome . ”
Sungyoon came to a full stop .
“…what do you want to say to me?”
Sungyoon didn’t even turn his head as he asked the question . He had two Achilles heels . One was s.h.i.+nhae, and the other one was his ma.s.sive debt . He wanted to leave this company right now, but the mention of his debt kept him in place .
When Jimin was successful in stopping Sungyoon from walking out, she took out something from below her desk . She opened it on her desk .
“Please look at this . ”
At times like this, he wanted to curse his life, which had become all twisted . He turned around .
From what he inferred, it had something to do with his debt . He couldn’t ignore it .
He looked at the papers on top of her desk . It looked to be printed copies of something .
“This is . . . !”
Sungyoon became surprised when he read the doc.u.ments . These were the doc.u.ments that had taken a mortgage out on his life . It was a shackle that made him tremble .
“Why do you have this?”
His promissory notes were in front of him . He growled as he glared at them .
“I bought them . I bought all your debt . ”
Sungyoon’s eyes widened .
“Now do you want to talk to me?”
“…… . ”
There was silence in the room for a brief moment . Sungyoon looked down at Jimin . She also looked up at him without saying anything . In the end, Sungyoon let out a big sigh as he collapsed into the chair .
“I don’t know what you want, but I don’t have much that you can blackmail out of me . I’m not going to do anything illegal . Let me make that clear . ”
“Do not worry about that . What I want you to do is within your power . It isn’t illegal . Moreover, I don’t plan on blackmailing you . ”
“You are waving my promissory notes in front of me . You are using them to get me to sign a contract . That is blackmail . ”
Sungyoon put a hand over his face when he heard the nonsense coming out of her mouth .
“Don’t worry about it . I won’t do anything if you decide to reject the contract . I didn"t buy the promissory notes to threaten you . It isn’t a whip . It was bought as a carrot to motivate you . ”
“Carrot?”
“That’s right, Mr Woo Sungyoon . If you make a contract with our company, there won’t be any interest added to your debt . ”
Sungyoon lowered his hand from his face . His eyes were twinkling from surprise .
“I’ll also indefinitely extend the deadline of your next payment . You can repay whenever you make money . I won’t quibble on when or how much you wish to pay back . I think this is a very lucrative deal for you . ”
It really was lucrative . It almost wiped away all his displeasure in one go .
“I am also willing to take charge of Woo s.h.i.+nhae’s life and education until you can get your life in order . You’ll be leaving your daughter behind to go to the moon, so this is a great deal for you . Even if some unfortunate accident happens to Mr Sungyooon, I promise I’ll support her until she graduates college . ”
Sungyoon stared at Jimin . Her beautiful face was waiting for his answer . If he took her words at face value, she was like an angel sent down by the heavens to save him . She was a guardian angel that would solve all his problems .
However, Sungyoon was well aware of this truth . Angels weren’t the only ones that extended their hands towards humans . Demons did so too .
There was no way this deal was so one sided in his favor .
“I’m guessing you have demands in return?”
Sungyoon was only a 1st Gen Connector . If he had been a top rate Connector, he might expect such a treatment . However, there was no reason why this company should give such a sweetheart deal to him . There must be some price attached to it .
“Of course . I’m not in the business of doing charity . ”
It was as he had expected . Sungyoon firmed his heart .
He wanted to immediately take the deal offered to him . Even if she asked for something a bit unreasonable, he might accept it . However, he had to be careful . If something bad happened to him, there was a good chance that something bad might happen to s.h.i.+nhae . Even if he died, he had to make preparations for s.h.i.+nhae’s future .
Sungyoon looked tense as he asked the question .
“What is it? What terms are you asking for?”
“I want Mr Sungyoon to aim for the Great Labyrinth . ”