Chapter 95
Chapter 95
Insoo looked at his monitor as he typed in each letter . Age was a h.e.l.l of a thing . His eyesight had grown dim with age, so he furrowed his brows as he entered the data . He barely avoided being a two-fingered typist, but if he let his concentration lapse even for a moment, his screen would soon be covered with typos .
‘This sucks . ’
The young people around him moved their fingers as if they had received some kind of special training for their fingers . Their fingers blurred across the keyboard . He felt like a tortoise trying to catch up to the hare .
However, he didn’t give up . Diligence was the virtue possessed by the tortoise . He couldn’t give up in the middle .
He obstinately entered in all the data, finally finis.h.i.+ng his report .
“Ughhh!”
He stretched and loosened his stiff body, trying to get rid of all the stress he had acc.u.mulated . He blinked once as he looked at the clock . It was time to punch out soon . However, his face didn"t have a bright expression . In fact, a slight shadow had appeared on his face .
‘I won’t be able to get off work on time . ’
He wanted to kick the a.s.s of anyone that said public employees always left work on time .
“I prepared what you asked for, chief . ”
A man placed a fat stack of doc.u.ments on Insoo’s desk . His workload had increased once again . He knew he had asked for these papers, yet his underling had brought it right before he got off work . A small seed of resentment appeared in his heart .
However, his underling remained unfazed . He had only carried out Insoo’s order . Moreover, Insoo wasn’t an evil boss that would let negative emotions get in the way of a working relations.h.i.+p .
Still, Insoo looked so bitter that the underling naturally refused to meet Insoo’s gaze .
“Huh? This person is… . ”
In the process of trying to avoid his boss"s gaze, he caught sight of a paper that was slightly out of place in the pile of doc.u.ments . He could see a picture and the profile of a man .
“Aren’t you in charge of this Connector, chief?”
“Yes . Why? Are you interested in him?”
Resentment wouldn’t help with his work, so he got rid of it . Insoo queried him .
“I am a little bit . He is very ‘hot’ in the industry right now . ”
No one had expected anything from this 1st Gen Connector . However, he had acquired a Personal Labyrinth in half a year after registering as a Connector . He had achieved an amazing feat . He was contracted to a run-of-the-mill small company that usually faded away without making any ripple in the industry . This fact increased the surprise felt by everyone .
“In truth, I didn’t know what you were thinking when you decided to take charge of a newly awakened 1st Gen . I never knew he would become such an amazing prospect . I have great respect for you . ”
He wasn’t kissing his boss"s a.s.s . There was a real twinkle in his eyes, and it ruthlessly stabbed Insoo"s guilty conscience .
‘I didn’t take his case with such an intention . ’
His friend’s daughter had begged him for help . This was why he had worked within his power to introduce someone to her . He didn’t want to unnecessarily bring other employees into this venture, so he had done it himself . In his division, everyone thought he had developed the ‘touch’ of finding talent, because he worked here for so long . It seemed he was being looked up to by everyone in his division right now .
Insoo was a bit embarra.s.sed by it .
“Coincidence . It was all coincidence . Even if a 1st Gen shows explosive growth, most of them fizzle out sooner rather than later . ”
“Ah . Wasn’t there a similar case where someone you found became famous? Wasn’t his name Kim Soobin?”
Insoo instantly furrowed his brows when he heard that name . He was the ungrateful Connector who had stabbed Jimin in the back . He had wanted to use the full extent of his power to cause trouble for that man, but he had held himself back .
“In the beginning, he grew in an explosive manner, but he quickly ran into his limitation . It took him a couple of years to graduate from the Beginner’s Labyrinth . According to rumors, he suffered a lot . Also, he’s fallen out of favor with the company that had scouted him . ”
Insoo’s lips twitched this time . That hateful little worm had suffered a lot . He felt much better now . There was a saying that said love your enemies, but Insoo was incapable of such magnanimous gestures .
“His contract is coming to an end soon, and it is rumored that his company won’t re-up his contract . ”
That would be the end of him . He would have to once again search for a company willing to make a contract with him . Of course, he had barely graduated the Beginner’s Labyrinth, and he was a 1st Gen Connector who had already reached his limit . No company worth their salt would give him a contract . He won’t be able to find a large company like his current company, nor would he be able to find a company like the company of Jimin, who had spared nothing in supporting him . He would have to fish at the bottom of the barrel .
“That’s his fortune . He has limited ability . We can’t do anything for him, and we aren’t obligated to help him, either . ”
“I guess you are right . ”
His underling agreed with Insoo as he once again looked at Sungyoon’s profile .
“Since there are cases like that, I wonder how far this guy can grow . ”
“Why are you so curious about him?”
“I made a bet with the other employees . It is based on how high he can go . I went big . I said he’d go as far as the Orange rank . ”
The Gold-rank Gem was already the floor for Sungyoon, but they didn’t know this fact .
“Tsk tsk . You guys are public servants, yet you guys are gambling . Way to go . ”
“Jeez, chief! It isn’t gambling . It is a bet for who buys lunch . ”
“Alright . You should go if you are done here . ”
Insoo waved his underling away with his hand . His eyes went back to Sungyoon’s profile, which had been the topic at hand .
‘I’m glad I was of help to you . ’
He should be happy . His introduction hadn’t been a waste . However, Insoo couldn’t openly be pleased with himself as worry appeared in his heart .
‘I’m sure the scouts will start to come . ’
Mid-sized companies would try to take shots at Sungyoon . No! At his rate of progress, some large company might try to hit the jackpot . They’ll directly scout Sungyoon like what they did to Kim Soobin .
If Sungyoon got scouted, Jimin would be abandoned once again .
‘Then she’ll fold her business . ’
Insoo wanted the girl to give up on her business . He would welcome it . However, he couldn’t help but feel a bittersweet emotion in his heart . He could see the image of Jimin in front of his eyes . He knew she would be hurt from disappointment .
* * *
Jimin glared at the business card as if she wanted to rip it into pieces . She looked between Sungyoon’s face and the business card . All kinds of thoughts filled her head . She was afraid Sungyoon would leave her company, felt hopeless at the thought of folding her company, but also got a sense of relief at the idea of Sungyoon receiving a fair valuation now . He would be able to live a happy life . Conflicting emotions appeared within her and started causing a world war inside her heart .
“… I think it’ll be for the best if I leave right now . ”
In the end, Jimin decided to run away from her overflowing thoughts . She placed her luggage next to the door and quickly turned away .
“Jimin!”
Chelsea called out after her, but Jimin didn’t stop . She didn’t even wait for the elevator . She opened the emergency door and disappeared down the stairway .
Chelsea quickly put down her luggage too .
“I’m sorry! I have to go right now!”
She gave a half-hearted goodbye as she ran after Jimin .
Everything happened in a flash .
Sungyoon was taken aback, but he kept his mouth shut . s.h.i.+nhae was still soundly asleep, so an awkward silence was left behind .
“May I talk to you for a moment?”
The man’s voice broke the silence . He didn’t look interested in Jimin and Chelsea, who had quickly vacated the vicinity . The bright eyes beyond the gla.s.ses looked straight at Sungyoon . He didn"t blink an eye even when such a ruckus occurred in front of him . He only moved to acquire his target . Sungyoon could smell something slightly inhuman about this man .
Sungyoon turned to look at the emergency staircase where Jimin and Chelsea had stormed out . He was taken aback by their unpredictable actions, but he decided to deal with the man in front of him first .
“… please wait a moment . ”
First, he had to put s.h.i.+nhae to bed, and he had to get all his luggage . Sungyoon opened the door, and the first thing he did was to put his daughter on top of her bed . Then he moved all the luggage into his house . He even brought the stuff left behind by Jimin and Chelsea . Finished with all that, he invited the man into the house . He couldn’t leave s.h.i.+nhae alone while she slept . He had no choice .
The man took off his s.h.i.+ny shoes and entered the house . Sungyoon didn’t want their conversation to wake s.h.i.+nhae, so he closed the door to the room . He directed the man to sit at the kitchen table .
‘He is Lee Jungmyun from Fabion . ’
Sungyoon thought about the content of the business card he saw earlier . Fabion was an international moonstone collection company that was considered to be the cream of the crop in the industry . Even his ex-best friend and sworn-enemy Jaeho’s company was a step below Fabion . It galled him to admit this, but his previous company would have been considered to be a pebble that could be kicked around by this company .
In his youth, he would have accepted this fact, but at the same time, he would be fired up to compete with such a company . However, that wasn’t the case anymore . Sungyoon just noted the fact that Fabion was a good company .
“What does a person from Fabion want with me?”
He didn’t offer coffee or tea, and went straight to the heart of the issue . It was clear proof that Sungyoon wasn’t so pleased with Jungmyun’s presence . Still, Jungmyun had been in this business for a long time, and he didn’t blink an eye when he was treated poorly .
“I am here to scout you, Mr . Sungyoon . ”
“… scout me?”
Sungyoon became surprised .
The people around him kept saying that he was progressing at an abnormal pace, but he hadn’t taken their words to heart . It wasn’t as if he didn’t believe them . He just wasn’t interested in the topic . He didn’t care if his growth was fast or not . He didn’t care if he had a good reputation or not . He just wanted to work for s.h.i.+nhae, and he wanted to fulfill his contract .
“The rumors about you are spreading in certain circles . You are a 1st Gen, yet, you were a.s.signed a Personal Labyrinth faster than most of the 2nd & 3rd Gens . ”
Admiration was evident in his voice .
“Our company has become impressed with Mr . Sungyoon’s skill . The higherups want to invest in your future . ”
“Still, I’m only a 1st Gen Connector . ”
“That’s right, and we know the risks involved . However, it is a fact that Mr . Sungyoon graduated from the Beginner’s Labyrinth in a short time . Result! In this business, results are everything . You proved you can get the result . ”
“I’m already contracted to a company . ”
“It is a very small company . ”
Jungmyun spoke in no uncertain terms .
“It doesn’t matter how good of a contract you have with your current company . The support that can be provided by a large corporation will be much better . Monetary support isn’t a problem either . We won’t lose in terms of money, and we have employees with a lot of experience . They are on a different level . If you want to fly higher, you need better support . ”
He started taking out doc.u.ments from his bag and placed it in front of Sungyoon .
“These are the basic terms I can offer in a contract . You can leave everything related to breaking the contract with your current company with me . I’ll take care of it cleanly so that nothing messy comes from it . Even if you signed the contract under very unfavorable circ.u.mstances, please do not worry about it . The law does not recognize contracts signed under duress . ”
It seemed the man thought there was no chance that Sungyoon would decline their offer .
But Sungyoon didn’t even look at the doc.u.ments placed in from of him . He was very simple and direct with his words .
“I don’t want it . ”