Yoo Jia (3)
Early morning.
-Is that all you've got? Move more. More, more, more. Push yourself to the very edge of your limits. That's the only way you'll grow.
The clearing was filled with the sweat of summoned creatures.
-Haa… haa…
-Hoo… haa…!
Lamba's ragged breathing as she slumped over, and the groans of the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer.
Baek Jinwoo didn't know exactly what HunGyo was training them in, but he figured it would be handled properly and began his own workout as well.
-My lord, if you do it like that, your muscles won't grow efficiently. Like this. Yes, you need to hold your posture that way.
The funny part?
Even Baek Jinwoo couldn't stop the training fanatic HunGyo.
-Upper body, lower body, core muscles, and even cardiovascular endurance.
HunGyo taught him methods to develop everything evenly, and Baek Jinwoo listened carefully and absorbed it all.
HunGyo was a summoned creature born to become, without question, the strongest of teachers.
'Am I going to unlock some kind of hidden potential ability later too?'
Whatever.
As long as he could improve, that was enough.
He had been exercising for quite a while when—
-Everyone, quiet.
HunGyo silenced them all.
Then he approached Baek Jinwoo and bowed his head.
-My lord, someone is approaching.
"Okay."
Baek Jinwoo wiped his sweat with the towel he had brought and stood up. He already knew who it was.
Yoo Jia.
The only reason he had come out here today was because of her.
'Still…'
HunGyo, this guy.
His perception is pretty sharp, isn't it?
As much as he forced others to train, he also led by example himself. Because of that, his level had risen quickly and his stat growth was significant.
Truly fitting for an EX-rank.
At HunGyo's words that someone was approaching, Lamba and the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer both clamped their mouths shut with both hands.
No talking in front of outsiders.
That was Player Baek Jinwoo's absolute command.
Before long—
"Hoo… hoo…"
Yoo Jia arrived, breathing deeply, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"I felt it last time too, but this place is at quite a high altitude."
"You're here?"
"Yes. Were you working out since early morning? Oh my, the summoned creatures are here too."
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the exhausted summons sprawled across the clearing.
"So that's one team, I suppose? I've seen Mini Kong and the Golden Fairy a few times, but the rest are new to me."
Lamba, HunGyo, the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer.
There was no way Yoo Jia would recognize them. They were one-of-a-kind summons in the entire world.
And even more so—humanoid summons, which were considered extremely rare.
"Haha, yes. I'll explain more later, but they're my main forces."
"I see. First, let me give you the gift. That's why I came all the way here."
Wooooong!
As Yoo Jia opened her hand, light spilled out.
[Player 'Yoo Jia' proposes a trade.]
[Please carefully review the other party's offer.]
The now-real Battle of Summoners supported player-to-player trading.
To prevent scams or fraud, the status window executed the trade. If the promised compensation failed to be exchanged, a curse would be inflicted.
The curse was powerful—strong enough to lead to death—so extreme caution was required.
[Yoo Jia: Combat Sheriff (C-rank), Priest of Radiance (C-rank), Spotted Komodo (B-rank), Wind Hawk (B-rank), Titanium Golem (B-rank), Horn Fairy (C-rank), Frost Cat (C-rank), Sky Roller (C-rank), Sky Wyvern (B-rank), Lava Drake (C-rank), Lava Drake (C-rank), Lava Drake (C-rank)]
[Baek Jinwoo: No compensation.]
Their trade lists appeared.
[Do you accept Player 'Yoo Jia's offer?]
[Y/N]
There was no reason to refuse.
'She really gathered all of these.'
As Baek Jinwoo nodded, the summons piled into his inventory. From today onward, he had more members to train intensely with HunGyo.
"Thank you. This is truly a valuable gift. I mean it."
"Hehe, it's nothing. We've decided to become one family now, haven't we?"
Yoo Jia smiled softly, then licked her lips lightly.
"Shall we talk seriously now?"
* * *
Yoo Jia delivered the information quickly and precisely.
The name of the management company would be 'Yoobaek'.
It was formed by combining the surnames of Yoo Jia and Baek Jinwoo.
Baek Jinwoo would own 70% of the company shares.
Yoo Jia would take 25%.
The remaining 5%?
Park Changseok's share.
It was both compensation for helping Yoobaek grow while positioned at headquarters—and a gift.
'After all, he played a big role in discovering Baek Jinwoo.'
Of course, as a lawmaker, Park Changseok was obligated to publicly disclose his assets.
But Yoo Jia had her ways.
'We'll bind it by contract.'
Specifically, a player-to-player trade contract—the most reliable kind.
Once he resigned from his political position in the future, the 5% company shares would be transferred to him.
Park Changseok had readily agreed.
"Anyway, Baek Jinwoo will be the largest shareholder, and I'll serve as CEO. The Advisor will be Assemblyman Park Changseok. As for employees, we're planning to hire Kim Byungjin and Hwang Taeseop under excellent conditions."
"Kim Byungjin and Hwang Taeseop… aren't they people from headquarters?"
"They all resigned this morning. When you guarantee triple their previous salary, there's no way they'd hold back from submitting resignation letters."
Triple meant three times.
Her grandfather had once said: never spare money on good talent.
Park Changseok had also dismantled the much-criticized
He said letting the foolish headquarters manage Baek Jinwoo would be like betraying the nation.
"But…"
Baek Jinwoo asked carefully.
"Is it really okay to give me 70%?"
It was nice, sure.
But it felt like too much. A little overwhelming.
"I may have provided the capital, but the core of Yoobaek is you, Baek Jinwoo. If you become more famous, other companies—or even countries—will try to reach out to you. But I'm certain of one thing. None of them would ever give you more than 50% of the shares."
That was only natural.
Once someone held more than 50%, voting power became meaningless. The company would effectively belong to Baek Jinwoo.
What fool would start a company and immediately hand over control?
"Then why are you…"
"It's my own kind of bet."
"A bet…"
"If I securely take 25% of what the company earns. As long as my decisions are reasonable and I work hard, the largest shareholder won't reject them, right? I'm confident. I have the ability to maximize the value of that 25%."
Besides, since it was effectively a one-man company, voting power wasn't that critical.
If Baek Jinwoo—the one-man in question—disliked something, every resolution would fall apart anyway.
'In the end, what matters is the relationship.'
Lower your greed slightly and strengthen the relationship.
If the relationship was strong, neither conditions nor temptations would shake it.
That was Yoo Jia's strategy.
"I'm grateful."
Baek Jinwoo carefully examined the contract.
Even as an ordinary person, he had climbed to the top of a game before.
He could filter out toxic clauses.
'It's impeccably clean.'
In fact, it was set up so favorably for him that he wondered if this was really okay.
"Do I just stamp my seal here?"
"Yes."
"Then I look forward to working with you, CEO Yoo."
"Of course."
Just as Yoobaek Management was about to be officially established—
Pow!
HunGyo, who had been silently observing his lord's conversation, suddenly shot forward.
Toward the nearby bushes.
"W-What is it?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure either."
Baek Jinwoo and Yoo Jia flinched.
Then—
"Kyyaaa!"
A woman's scream rang out.
Rustle, rustle!
HunGyo emerged from the bushes, gripping two figures by their ankles—one in each hand.
In his left hand: a Shadow Elf (C-rank).
In his right: Baek Ajin.
HunGyo's silent expression seemed to say he had captured those who were eavesdropping on his lord's conversation.
Of course, Baek Ajin's entire body was covered in a barrier, so there would be no physical damage.
'Wait.'
Baek Jinwoo's face twisted in disbelief.
"Why are you here?"
"And this person is…?"
"Oh. She's my younger sister."
This brat.
Had she been listening to everything this whole time?
* * *
Baek Ajin was stunned. Beyond stunned—her heart was pounding wildly.
It was shocking enough that Yoo Jia had appeared here.
'Unbelievable.'
She had been on her way to see her brother.
How did that make sense?
What connection did the number-one chaebol in Korea have with her family?
She couldn't just ignore it, so she hid nearby.
The Shadow Elf specialized in stealth. She thought deceiving two players would be easy.
'But…'
She couldn't clearly hear what they were saying.
One thing was certain.
The atmosphere between them was extremely good.
'What is this…?'
This wasn't the feeling of secretly watching her brother on a date.
This was horror.
The ordinary Baek Jinwoo seemed like someone living in a completely different world.
And that sense of disparity only grew stronger.
Because someone who looked like Baek Jinwoo's summon was rapidly approaching her.
'He can see through stealth?'
It was C-rank.
Even most B-ranks couldn't easily detect a Shadow Elf if it hid properly.
But clearly—
That armored summon was running straight toward her location.
'I have to get away.'
Baek Ajin signaled the Shadow Elf.
But HunGyo's speed exceeded imagination.
Like a frog snapping up a fly, he closed the distance instantly and seized the elf's ankle.
Swish!
The Shadow Elf tried to react swiftly—
Thud!
With a light flick of his hand, the elf's body froze.
He had struck a vital point and completely subdued it.
'This is insane.'
Baek Ajin had never seen such an absurd summon.
She watched the Player League regularly, but this level of combat ability…
And then—
"Kyyaaa!"
HunGyo subdued Baek Ajin as well.
'Ah, shit.'
She had only intended to watch for a bit and then run away. Now everything had gone completely wrong.
"So."
Baek Jinwoo muttered in disbelief.
"You recognized Yoo Jia, you're her fan, and you followed her?"
"It wasn't following! I was just curious!"
"That's called following."
"….."
"And when you followed her, you saw me, got curious, and hid using stealth?"
"Yeah! That's right!"
Baek Ajin finally admitted it.
"And what about you? Don't you think you owe more of an explanation?"
Ha.
Baek Jinwoo sighed inwardly.
This…
This just became troublesome.
He had planned to tell her eventually. But it had been exposed far too soon.
"How do you know Yoo Jia… and what is that ridiculous summon? It subdued my Shadow Elf in less than five seconds! Does that make sense? And you've only been out of a coma for less than two months! There's zero plausibility!"
"Slow down, slow down."
Baek Jinwoo looked at Yoo Jia with an awkward expression.
"I'm sorry. I forgot that my sister knows about this place."
"Hehe, it's fine. If she's your sister, Baek Jinwoo, I was planning to greet her properly soon anyway. This works out well."
What?
Ah…
She must have seen it in the contract.
It said she would handle management exclusively for Baek Jinwoo—even covering family members.
"R-Really?"
The most surprised one was his sister.
"Yoo… Jia… is going to greet me?"
Baek Jinwoo had never seen Baek Ajin look so blissful.
Understandable.
Yoo Jia was someone at the highest tier of people she admired.
"For now."
Baek Jinwoo wrapped up the situation.
"I'll stamp the seal right now."
Thud.
He pressed his seal in several places on the contract and split the two copies between them.
"We'll talk in more detail later. For now, I think I need to spend some time with my sister."
"Yes, understood. I'll call you."
"Okay."
Baek Ajin still couldn't understand this situation.
Not even a little.
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