Chapter 100: The Arrogance of Haenampa

– Guild Office Support Policy

Min Woosung was skeptical.

“Are you really saying you can grant a permanent lease?”

• What’s so difficult about that? If it means keeping a returnee quiet for a while, it’s a good deal.

“Even if you bought the property at a discount, you spent 4.5 billion won. Are you really okay with that? Giving away a 120-pyeong mansion site for free…?”

The one who would be in trouble without the property wasn’t the National Security Bureau but Min Woosung himself. However, hearing them so casually offer a house worth 4.5 billion won left him bewildered.

On the other end of the phone, his superior simply chuckled, his voice full of composure.

• Have you ever dealt with the entertainment industry while working at the Association?

“…I cannot disclose that information.”

• Then just listen lightly. When a celebrity gets into a scandal, the first thing they do is pay off reporters. The first article costs between 50 million and 200 million won to silence.

Even to an awakened individual who could earn large sums easily, that was not an amount to take lightly.

Only now did Min Woosung fully understand why journalists were so obsessed with breaking exclusive news.

‘Uncovering secrets turns into money.’

• The follow-up articles are blocked for around 20 to 100 million won each. If we assume an average of 100 million per case and close down 20 reports, that alone is 2 billion won.

“That’s already 2.2 billion won gone.”

• And if follow-up articles keep coming out, it’s all for nothing. You also need to silence the victims, on-site personnel, and grease the wheels at related departments. Let’s generously estimate that at another 2 billion won.

“That’s… 4.2 billion already?”

• And that’s only if the initial response succeeds. If it escalates into legal battles, litigation costs and losses from canceled endorsements will pile up.

The calculation was already done.

“That easily exceeds 4.5 billion.”

• And this is just what happens when an A-list celebrity from a top-10 agency causes a major scandal.

“Then how much does it cost if a returnee causes a problem?”

• Think of it as a catastrophe on the scale of an S-tier superstar from a top-3 entertainment company triggering a massive scandal. The numbers involved would be at least two digits higher.

“Four… four hundred fifty billion…!”

How important someone is and how great their influence is—

Children might judge that based on their good deeds or personality, but adults were different.

They assessed value through concrete numbers and measured importance with statistics.

‘Like in The Little Prince by Saint-Exupéry. As a child, I never wanted to become an adult like that, but now I’ve turned into one.’

Hearing the figure of 450 billion won, Min Woosung finally grasped how significant Hae Eung Eung truly was.

He felt embarrassed that he had only now realized it.

• The five-year lease was just a leash we hoped could eventually restrain the returnee. If they bit it off before we even put it on, it was just a small trap we could discard.

The sheer scale of using 4.5 billion won as a leash made Min Woosung fully aware of what kind of people he was working with.

As an adult now, he found reality’s objective indicators far more compelling than childhood innocence.

• That said, we can’t make meaningless moves. Make sure to frame it as if you successfully negotiated the permanent lease.

This thorough plan was finalized just yesterday, with even the proxy buyer briefed on the negotiation details.

Thus, the free lease period was changed from five years to permanent.

“Wow~ So this entire place is our guild office? And it’s free??”

“Min Woosung, your negotiation skills are truly impressive. I think we can entrust you with all our guild’s future business negotiations.”

“Damn it. At this rate, am I going to be stuck doing Jumping Rabbit reception duty forever…?”

While one person showed outright fear rather than mere dissatisfaction, the guild members’ reactions were mostly positive.

Even the guild leader, Hae Eung Eung, couldn’t hide their appreciation.

[Thank you. Thanks to you, our financial burden has significantly decreased.]

“Haha. Just flexing my skills a bit. By the way, since we’re on the topic, would it be okay if I recommend some administrative staff?”

Min Woosung was now boldly aiming to plant National Security Bureau spies as guild office staff.

Since he had just made a major contribution, he assumed they wouldn’t refuse his offer.

But unexpectedly, Hae Eung Eung shook their head.

[We don’t need administrative staff.]

“Huh? Did you already secure additional funding?”

[There are people who have volunteered to help.]

Just then, a group of people arrived at the mansion site in droves.

They were familiar faces to both Hae Eung Eung and Joo Ahyoung.

“Instructor! We heard from Ahyoung that you were forming a guild!”

“We don’t need payment. Instead, can we pay tuition and just learn martial arts at the guild?”

“Instructor, I’ve been preserving the posture you taught me all this time… I really want you to see how much I’ve improved!”

These were the academy trainees, now being nurtured as future members of Myungho Guild.

They had all come of their own accord.

There were about thirty of them in total.

Not only the trainees who had attended her lectures but also their friends who had heard the rumors joined them.

Even this alone was an impressive sight, but Hae Eung Eung took it a step further.

“I can teach you martial arts. But for Haenampa to function properly, we need staff who can handle administrative and operational tasks right away.”

“If we can attend your lectures, we’ll gladly help with the administrative work!”

“I know how to use accounting software!”

“I can handle official documents and certified reports for external affairs!”

“I’ve done a lot of part-time jobs mining mana stones!”

“I have a driver’s license! If you’re setting up a transport team, I can be a driver!”

Having struggled to survive in a fiercely competitive society, the trainees had built up various skills, allowing them to fulfill multiple roles needed in the guild.

Even those who didn’t know much showed a strong willingness to learn.

“From today, all of you are members of Haenampa.”

“Wow! Thank you, Instructor!”

“Please, take my money!”

“Here’s my three-month tuition fee!”

Instead of getting paid for their work, they were offering to pay for martial arts lessons while helping out with guild operations a rare sight in this day and age.

Min Woosung was genuinely terrified.

‘This doesn’t make any sense unless they’re under hypnosis. Could it be that… Hae Eung Eung’s entire identity is a fabricated persona created through hypnosis?’

What if the first Awakened never actually died?

What if they faked their death, deceived everyone using mind control, and returned for revenge?

Min Woosung’s panicked report was sent to the National Security Bureau, causing widespread fear within the agency for a time.

Myeongho Guild Headquarters.

10th floor, CEO’s office.

Shin Seonggak originally held nothing more than an honorary executive director position.

However, after witnessing the disgraceful behavior of the third-generation Awakened meant to inherit Myeongho Guild,

he took matters into his own hands, crushing every faction they had formed.

“No one else can lead the guild but you, Executive Director Shin.”

“We all agree. So please, stop hitting us. Do you know how miserable it feels to have aching bones at our age?”

Having been physically forced to acknowledge his authority, the board members unanimously agreed to his appointment as CEO.

That was how Shin Seonggak became the interim leader, taking charge of Myeongho Guild in place of the guild master and vice-guild master.

“When is that old man finally going to drop dead?”

“This is driving me crazy. I had to return all the kickbacks I took, and I can’t do anything now.”

“I hope he just keels over already.”

While the board members fervently cursed Shin Seonggak and wished for his demise, the mid-level managers, in contrast, prayed for his longevity.

“Hasn’t the guild become much cleaner since he took over?”

“All those guys who got by on connections instead of skills got wiped out. Feels great.”

“I hope things stay like this forever.”

Even at the cost of his own well-being, Shin Seonggak dedicated himself to reforming the guild, rooting out corruption and bad practices.

Recognizing his efforts, employees who worked under him ignored the upper management’s orders to withhold information and personally delivered an urgent report.

“A large number of trainees who were supposed to be the guild’s future have defected. Is this true?”

“There’s no doubt about it. Director Jeon Hyundo’s relative runs the academy, so they were trying to cover it up. That’s why we bypassed the usual reporting chain to bring this to you directly.”

“Well done. Don’t worry about what comes next. As of today, you’ll never have to see Jeon Hyundo in this guild again.”

Without hesitation, Shin Seonggak cut off the source of corruption.

However, the problem lay with the talented ones who had already been cut off.

“Secretary Im. Find out immediately whether another guild has poached our promising trainees or if they’re boycotting because the academy director was embezzling funds.”

If it was due to the director’s corruption, removing him would bring the trainees back.

The real issue was if another guild had lured them away.

“The trainees have been frequenting another guild?”

“It’s called Haenampa.”

“A name I’ve never even heard of. Lead the way.”

Shin Seonggak, determined to storm into this insolent guild that ignored the rules of commerce, led the way with his secretary.

“There are always bastards like this. Opportunistic wolves who bare their fangs when a local guild wavers.”

“Are you sure you don’t need backup?”

“The weak would only get in my way. I need to personally teach them a lesson. If they don’t fall in line, I’ll have to destroy their office entirely.”

Shin Seonggak was dead set on crushing this impudent guild that dared to mess with his trainees.

Yet, the route there felt oddly familiar.

“This feels like I’m heading home.”

“All those driving lessons paid off. Thank you, CEO.”

“Is that so? You’ve learned to drive quite well.”

At first, Shin Seonggak assumed it was just the driver’s skill making it feel that way.

But the scenery outside was far too familiar uncomfortably so.

“Wait… This is actually my house.”

The very place where he had lived, which he had hurriedly sold as a distressed property.

Now, on the estate where his mansion once stood, a sign reading “Haenampa” hung prominently.

Myeongho Guild’s trainee academy members were freely coming and going beneath it.

“These arrogant bastards… They dared to turn my house into a guild and even stole our trainees?”

A vein bulged on Shin Seonggak’s forehead.

“This won’t do. I wasn’t planning to touch anyone, but this is beyond forgiveness. As an example, I’ll have to crush at least one guild master.”

With an air of dominance, Shin Seonggak stepped over the threshold of Haenampa.