"Should we head straight to the Hunters Guild headquarters now, Min-jun-nim? I've already ordered my staff to prepare a welcoming banquet and a massive haul of gifts. I want you to get accustomed to your new corporate home as quickly as possible!"
Choi Jong-In was practically glowing. He couldn't wait to parade Kim Min-jun through the front doors of his massive Guild tower in the heart of Gangnam.
"I don't mind the party," Min-jun replied smoothly, adjusting his glasses. "I'm genuinely curious to see the facilities. But, do you mind if I return to the university first? I still have one afternoon lecture to attend."
"Go right ahead!" Jong-In answered instantly. He didn't even try to stop the boy or pull rank; instead, he completely supported the idea.
Min-jun wasn't surprised by the immediate agreement. In fact, this was exactly why he had chosen to sign with this man. Jong-In was acting exactly how Min-jun had profiled him.
"As expected, you're entirely different from the other Guild Masters," Min-jun noted.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with prioritizing one's education!" Jong-In clapped his hands together, his trademark sly smile spreading across his face. "Just think of the PR angle! A young, devastatingly handsome S-Rank Hunter who still diligently attends his university lectures out of a pure love for academics... Oh, the media is going to eat this up. I can already see my company's stock value skyrocketing another twenty percent by tomorrow morning!"
"...." Min-jun just stared at him.
"Um... please don't mind him," Cha Hae-In whispered softly from the side, looking slightly embarrassed by her boss's blatant greed.
But Min-jun easily ignored Jong-In's scheming. Actually, he didn't mind it at all. Jong-In loved money, and Min-jun was exactly the same. To be completely honest, he vastly preferred this side of Jong-In because it meant the Guild Master was entirely predictable.
Men like Baek Yoon-Ho or Lim Tae-Gyu expected an S-Rank to act like an overly loyal employee—a subordinate who would blindly follow orders for the "glory" of the Guild. If Min-jun refused their orders, they would take it personally and let their egos ruin the business relationship.
Meanwhile, Choi Jong-In treated him strictly as a high-level business partner. As long as their alliance generated massive profits and mutual convenience, Jong-In didn't care if Min-jun spent his afternoons raiding dungeons or taking naps in the campus library.
Min-jun needed Jong-In to handle the suffocating bureaucracy—the taxes, the dungeon permits, the PR disasters, and the endless, mind-numbing government paperwork.
In return, Jong-In needed Min-jun to firmly cement the Hunters Guild as the undisputed, absolute strongest Guild in South Korea.
It was a perfectly balanced trade. And speaking of stock value, Min-jun wasn't exactly slow on the uptake. The moment he realized he was going to Awaken, he had logged into his brokerage account and dumped his entire life savings—all the money he had hoarded from his streaming career—directly into Hunters Guild stock.
Now that the paparazzi had photographed their handshake, his net worth was going to multiply tenfold before the stock market even closed today. It was technically insider trading, but who was going to arrest an S-Rank?
The two of them were very similar capitalists. However, while Jong-In's vision was strictly limited to conquering the Korean market, Min-jun was looking much further ahead. He was looking at the inevitable cosmic apocalypse.
Still, as Min-jun walked alongside the two S-Ranks, a funny philosophical thought crossed his mind.
Why do Hunters even bother following the law?
This world was incredibly dangerous, constantly on the brink of being annihilated by the silly, endless war between the Rulers and the Monarchs—two god-like factions that weren't even born on Earth. Yet, despite possessing the literal firepower to vaporize a major city, Min-jun was still stressing over university attendance and corporate contracts.
Instead of dealing with all this bureaucracy, why didn't elite Hunters just rob banks and take over the government? It would be incredibly easy considering 99% of the population were fragile, normal humans. If he was serious, even the currently "weak" Sung Jin-woo could probably beat the life out of any world leader.
So why didn't they?
Min-jun figured the answer was simple: being a criminal was just too much of a hassle.
He liked his peaceful daily life. He liked fast internet, air conditioning, and convenient food delivery. If a Hunter went rogue and became a super-villain, the Association and other Guilds would inevitably hunt them down. Living on the run, constantly fighting for your life against Chairman Go Gun-Hee and other S-Ranks? That sounded utterly exhausting.
There were already plenty of evil, corrupt politicians in this world who committed terrible crimes but were still legally viewed as "heroes" purely because of their PR teams. If those wealthy elites could manipulate the system from the inside, why couldn't he?
He didn't need to be a villain. He just needed to use his psychology degree to manipulate the market.
Wait, I can analyze the global Hunter economy! Min-jun realized. His mind immediately started mapping out business strategies, applying psychological market trends to dungeon byproducts.
But he shelved the thought for later as his eyes drifted over to Cha Hae-In, the Vice Master of the Hunters Guild.
The canon "waifu" of Sung Jin-woo.
He had to remind himself—and any invisible audience watching his life unfold—that he absolutely did not join this Guild just to steal the protagonist's love interest. He was here for the logistics and the 95/5 loot split.
Still, looking at her, he couldn't deny that she was breathtaking. As South Korea's only female S-Rank Hunter, famously known as "The Dancer," she possessed a deadly, graceful beauty. She sported short, golden-blonde hair styled in a neat, elegant bob that perfectly framed her face. Her eyes were a sharp, highly expressive gray. She had a slender yet powerfully athletic build—fitting for a former track and field star. But it was her fair, almost flawless porcelain skin that made Min-jun completely understand why the original protagonist had fallen for her.
As for love?
Frankly, Min-jun had always thought Jin-woo's romance in the original story was a bit tragic and strange. Jin-woo was rarely actually by Hae-In's side. Instead of focusing on love and a normal life, Jin-woo constantly prioritized his heavy, lonely duty as the Shadow Monarch, fighting endless wars in the dark. It made Min-jun realize that despite being the strongest being in the universe, Jin-woo was arguably the least "free" person on the planet.
"It's perfectly fine, Cha Hae-In-ssi," Min-jun said, offering her a gentle, reassuring smile. "I joined this Guild precisely because I understand the Guild Master's personality. We have a mutual understanding."
"Exactly!" Jong-In beamed, clapping Min-jun on the shoulder. "With the three of us together, the future of the Hunters Guild is brighter than a supernova!"
Choi Jong-In, Cha Hae-In, and Kim Min-jun.
Having three S-Rank Hunters consolidated under a single corporate banner made the Hunters Guild absolutely unshakeable. They were effectively a sovereign military superpower now.
"Anyway, you need to get to class, right?" Jong-In asked, pulling out his phone. "I'll have my personal driver take you to the campus in the armored VIP sedan. Don't worry about a thing. Finish your studies in peace, and when you're done, the driver will bring you straight to HQ."
"Thank you, Guild Master."
"Study hard, Min-jun! When you arrive, we are going to outfit you with the absolute best gear money can buy!"
The one thing Jong-In possessed in infinite supply was liquid capital. Naturally, since Min-jun was now the literal poster boy for the Hunters Guild, he couldn't be seen walking around in cheap civilian clothes. Jong-In was fully prepared to shower him with high-tier artifacts, tailored suits, and luxury watches to ensure his new "Pillar" looked the part.
"Thank you. I'll see you later," Min-jun nodded, turning toward the exit.
"Um..."
Just as Min-jun was about to walk away, Hae-In suddenly stepped forward. She looked incredibly nervous, her pale fingers tightly gripping the hem of her jacket. She looked at him with wide, almost desperate eyes.
"Yes, Cha Hae-In-ssi?" Min-jun stopped, tilting his head.
"Um... can..." Hae-In stammered, a faint pink blush dusting her cheeks. "...can I go with you, Min-jun-ssi?"
"..." Min-jun blinked, completely caught off guard. Why does an S-Rank warrior want to sit through a sophomore psychology lecture?
To Hae-In, the reason was simple. Leaving his side meant she had to go back to standing next to Jong-In, who smelled like a burning, rotting corpse to her mutated senses. Min-jun was the only person on the planet who smelled like fresh ozone and clean air. She literally just wanted to breathe.
"Oh?"
Behind them, Choi Jong-In's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. A massive, terrifyingly opportunistic smile spread across his face as his CEO brain went into overdrive.
South Korea's two most attractive S-Ranks? Spotted together on a university campus? The romance rumors! The paparazzi headlines!
Jong-In could practically see his company's stock chart breaking through the ceiling.
---
No, he won't.
Also, let me explain this: while some of you wish for him to make a connection, I feel like my character will be sociopathic.
Yes, it is wrong, since he, Suzuki, only approaches others for his personal gains, yet it can't be helped, the world is just too tough to live in for a Mob-Character like him.
Making a lot of connections, friends, and others, I have passed that era since for me, instead of 100 acquaintances that you hardly remember, I have just enough to have a few who are close to me; as for the rest, I don't care since it is just exhausting sometimes, so having less people to be by your side will make you less stressed.
It might seem like he is cold; no, he is cold, but that's his survival mechanism, since he is an orphan, someone without parents, support, and everyone else. If he isn't cold and blindly trusts others, relying on them instead of standing on his own legs, and is able to become independent, then, when those whom he trusts betray him, or disappear due to an accident, he can't do anything, and will fall, like how he has to start from zero when his parents and family passed away.
More importantly, during his critical period, no one helped him, so why should he help others when they are in need?
Proverbs 14:20: "The poor is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends".
He is successful now, so even if he is distant, many will come to him; yet this is also why he is cold, since if he were warm, they might come to borrow money from him, right?
Still, it is just my view: having a few friends you can trust is better than having hundreds you can't even trust.
And Suzuki has a few "friends."
You can say that he is lonely, but for success, loneliness is a price that you have to pay.
So, is it worth it?
Lonely but wealthy, or poor but festive.
Which one would you choose?
As for the Manager, while it gives him some leeway, his nature is still one who doesn't like to waste his time, and instead of making useless connections, he might as well work more.
However, he will make a "connection," but only for those who are worth it.
Thanks!