Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 116

118

“Hahaha. Yes. He’s active in the God’s Knights right now. What about you?”

Karen, with a smile that revealed her dimples, replied,

“I’m working as a singer at Leopard Management, which my grandfather represents.”

Although he already knew, Beomseok feigned surprise and responded,

“Oh. A singer? Then you must be good at singing.”

“Yes. Of course, I sing well.”

It was a brazen answer, but he liked Karen even more. First of all, she was a professional singer. She needed to have this much confidence. Beomseok would have given the same answer if someone had asked him the same question about swordsmanship.

“That’s a lot of confidence. I’ll give you a chance to sing sometime.”

“A chance?”

“Yeah. I’ll invite you as a ‘Sigyeokja’ [a guest who performs a symbolic act before a gladiatorial match] at our team’s home game later. Sing then. Of course, I’ll pay you.”

A ‘Sigyeokja’ was someone who came out as a guest before the game and swung a sword at a specific gladiator. It was like the first pitch in baseball or the ceremonial kick-off in soccer. However, it was usually done by famous celebrities or social figures, so it wasn’t something Karen, who was still unknown, could easily do.

“C-can I really do that?”

“It doesn’t matter. Sometimes we select one of the fans to do it. I’ll talk to the manager and let you know. Wait for my call.”

“Really? But if you say so, will the manager really call me as a ‘Sigyeokja’? You’re just a gladiator. I don’t think you can get involved in such team management matters…….”

Beomseok looked at her with narrowed eyes. He realized that what she had said earlier about knowing him well was just a polite greeting. If you were a fan of gladiatorial combat in the Avand region, you would know that he was the chairman of the God’s Knights.

Still, she was cute and pretty, so all was forgiven.

“Yeah. I’m also the chairman of the God’s Knights team.”

Karen’s eyes widened. Being the chairman of a professional gladiator team meant he was quite wealthy. As someone living in poverty, she couldn’t help but be envious. However, there was something more important than envy. It was the money she would receive if she participated as a ‘Sigyeokja’. God’s Knights was his property, but the payment for appearing as a ‘Sigyeokja’ and singing would go directly into her pocket.

“Wow. Really! Then you’ll give me a lot of money when I go as a ‘Sigyeokja’.”

“Well, I’ll give you something, but I don’t know if you’ll like it.”

“H-how much will you give me?”

Beomseok rested his chin on his hand and pondered. The payment varied greatly depending on who the ‘Sigyeokja’ was. Celebrities with some recognition received an average of 150,000 Krang [currency], while ordinary citizens received about 3,000 Krang. Karen was an unknown celebrity, so it seemed fine to give her around 5,000 to 10,000 Krang.

However, she was a woman with the potential to grow into a big star. It was better to be a little considerate rather than applying the standard rate.

“Well, it depends on the situation.”

“How so?”

“Usually, I would give 10,000 Krang, but…….”

Karen swallowed hard. 10,000 Krang was enough to buy about 2,000 packs of instant noodles. That meant she wouldn’t have to worry about meals for a year, including her grandfather.

She looked at Beomseok with anxious eyes and said,

“D-does that mean it could be reduced?”

“No. I already said 10,000 Krang, how can I be so heartless as to reduce it? I’m saying I’ll give you more depending on the circumstances.”

“H-how much more? And what do I have to do?”

Beomseok immediately held out one hand and said,

“I’ll give you 50,000 Krang. In return, make me your ‘Oppa’ [an affectionate term for an older brother or male friend] for life.”

Karen, trembling, looked at her grandfather standing behind the set. And then she shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Grandpa! I got the next job! Beomseok ‘Oppa’ said he’ll give me 50,000 Krang if I go as a ‘Sigyeokja’!”

No sooner had she said that than the old man hurried over. Seeing this, Beomseok looked at Karen with a puzzled expression.

“Is that Leopard, your grandfather? I thought he was your manager?”

“He’s my grandfather. He’s also my manager.”

“Yes. Your grandfather is the president of an entertainment agency, right?”

“He’s also the president. There’s only me and my grandfather in our agency.”

Leopard approached him, who was flustered.

“So, you. Did you really say you’d give my granddaughter a job? And that too, for a whopping 50,000 Krang.”

“Ah, yes. It’s not a huge sum, but yes.”

Leopard went up to the set and grabbed Beomseok’s hand tightly.

“Thank you so much. I’m very grateful to you today, and you’re even giving me this consideration……. How can I repay this kindness…….”

“What do you mean? I’m just giving you a job and paying a fair price. It’s not enough to receive such embarrassing gratitude.”

“No. Thank you so much. With that money, our family can live comfortably for a while.”

‘Oh, man. I don’t know what to say.’

While Beomseok was feeling awkward, the director shouted, as if the filming was completely ready.

“Hey, old man! Get down quickly! Filming is about to start!”

“Ah. Ah. I’m sorry. I got a little excited. I’ll go down now, so start filming.”

As Leopard went down and returned to the shaded back, the director immediately started filming the CF [commercial film].

The filming continued until the sun set that day. It was only an 18-second clip, but they kept filming until the director was satisfied, so it took a long time. Thanks to this, Beomseok had to repeat just a few lines and designated actions hundreds and thousands of times, and by the time the filming was over, he was exhausted. Well, even if a CF was just about selling his face, it couldn’t be easy to earn 32 million Krang.

“Okay, everyone. You’ve all worked hard. Now go home.”

Beomseok, hearing the director’s closing remarks, sighed deeply and stepped down from the set.

‘Tsk. Even if Karen hadn’t been late, I wouldn’t have been able to do the afternoon training anyway.’

The time was exactly 6 p.m. Considering that Karen was about 40 minutes late, it was clear that this filming alone was enough to skip today’s training. He felt like he had been tricked by the Zeus Group’s PR team, but it was already over, so he couldn’t say anything special. He would just receive his appearance fee and return to his daily life from tomorrow.

He looked at the elves under his command who had appeared with him today and shouted loudly.

“Okay. You’ve worked especially hard today, so we’re having dinner at the Rainbow Hotel buffet.”

“Waaaaa!”

Oscar’s shout was the loudest. He hadn’t been able to drink much since becoming Beomseok’s elf, but he was allowed to drink until he felt tipsy when he ate out. Especially today, when he made a lot of money and was in a good mood.

Soon, she and the other elves followed closely behind Beomseok.

“Beomseok-gun. Then we’ll be going now. Please contact us later.”

Leopard, who was with Karen, approached Beomseok, who was about to leave, and said goodbye.

In response, Beomseok spoke to him in a polite manner.

“No. Don’t do that, come and have dinner with us. I’ll treat you.”

“At the Rainbow Hotel?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Leopard looked embarrassed. High-end hotels had a dress code, and the tracksuit he was wearing was prohibited from entering most hotels. Of course, he had clothes to wear, but they were wrinkled from being wet in the rain and smelled bad from not being washed for a long time.

“It’s just that my clothes are like this…….”

“It doesn’t matter. If you go down to the basement of the hotel, there’s a shopping street where you can easily buy ready-made clothes.”

Leopard was even more embarrassed and didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even have money for a taxi, so he couldn’t afford to buy clothes. However, Beomseok, who knew this, immediately continued.

“Don’t worry. I’ll buy you a set.”

Leopard waved his hands wildly and showed his reluctance.

“No, I can’t be so indebted to you. I’m already so grateful for what you’ve done so far…….”

“Hahaha. Don’t be so shy. This dinner invitation is also to discuss inviting Karen as a ‘Sigyeokja’ next time. It’s also related to work, so I have to give you that much convenience.”

Karen grabbed her grandfather’s sleeve. She was out of money today, so she didn’t have anything to eat for dinner. Of course, things would get better when this CF appearance fee came out, but right now her wallet was empty.

“Grandpa. Let’s go. We have to take this job, right?”

“B-but……. I’m too much of a burden…….”

Beomseok forcibly grabbed Leopard’s arm. He had to create a connection with them today to lay the foundation for targeting Karen.

“Isn’t it all fate that we met like this? Let’s go.”

“Ah. I can’t……. Sigh. Okay. Then I’ll be indebted to you again.”

Leopard finally accepted and followed behind him. It was difficult to refuse when he was so strongly encouraged. In addition, it was better to accept such dinner invitations to reduce the burden on the household.

They soon called Aaron, boarded, and headed to the Rainbow Hotel.

“Wow. Amazing. This is my first time here.”

Karen, who entered the hotel lobby, looked around with a curious expression. She had often seen the exterior while passing by, but this was the first time she had come inside. Still, she wasn’t trying to show off her country bumpkin side, so she wasn’t being too frivolous.

“Okay. Let’s go up to the second floor.”

Beomseok and his party, who got on the long escalator, found the buffet restaurant on the second floor and entered. Then, an elf hotelier in a neat suit approached and greeted them politely.

“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?”

Beomseok nodded. He had made a reservation while riding Aaron earlier.

“Yeah. I did it a while ago.”

“Then what’s your name?”

“It’s Oh Beomseok.”

The surprised elf employee hurriedly bowed and pointed to a room nearby with both hands.

“Please follow me. The chairman is waiting for you.”

The chairman of the Rainbow Hotel was Gloria. She had recently been in poor health and had temporarily entrusted management to her employees, but she seemed to be at work today.

“Really? Gloria-nim? I have to go see her quickly. It’s been a while since I’ve been in touch.”

His tone was full of confidence, but Beomseok was quite troubled. He was very happy to meet Gloria, but he was a little burdened by the fact that he had shown her to Karen, who he was planning to target in the future. There was jealousy between human women, so it was necessary to be careful in everything to simultaneously target them.

‘Tsk. I can’t help it. I can’t just go back when I’ve come this far.’

He soon took everyone and followed the elf employee. It was burdensome, but since his relationship with Karen was just that of an older brother and younger sister, there was nothing to worry about.

“Okay. Please come in this way.”

As Beomseok entered the door that the elf employee had opened, a large room that seemed to seat about 20 people appeared. Inside was a woman wearing maternity clothes, who quickly got up and approached him with a happy expression.

“Beomseok-ssi. Welcome.”

“Hahaha. It’s been a while, Gloria-nim. I was hoping to make a reservation at this hotel, and I finally get to see you.”

Gloria covered her mouth with one hand and laughed pleasantly. Whether it was true or not, Beomseok’s tone implied that he desperately wanted to see her.

“Hoh ho ho. Beomseok-ssi, you’re too much.”

He subtly looked at Gloria’s belly. Whether it was because she was wearing maternity clothes or because it was only been 4 months, she didn’t look much like an expectant mother. The hot night he spent with Beomseok. She finally had the child she wanted with a huge amount of radiation.

“By the way, is the baby growing well?”

“Yes. Of course. I went to the hospital this morning, and they said it’s growing very healthy.”

“That’s a relief. Then you’ll be a mother in a few months.”

“Yes. It’s all thanks to Beomseok-ssi. I’ll definitely repay you someday.”

Beomseok looked around and whispered softly in her ear.

“If possible, please do it with your body. You have to make a second one too.”

Gloria, her face flushed red, tapped his chest.

“Oh, Beomseok-ssi, you’re too much. Okay, everyone, come and sit over here.”

“Haha. Yes.”

As Beomseok sat next to her, the elves under his command, Leopard, and Karen took their seats in turn.

In response, Gloria pressed a switch on one side of the seat. Soon, the rails on the table slowly moved in a circular motion, and plates filled with various foods appeared and began to rotate on top of it.

Beomseok, who took out a plate containing steak, had a curious expression.

“Oh. I thought you had to bring the food yourself at a buffet, but that’s not necessarily the case.”

Gloria replied as if it were nothing.

“It’s inconvenient to carry plates around here because there are doors. It could lead to accidents, so we installed an automated system like a revolving sushi bar to provide service.”

As expected of a luxury hotel, they were paying attention to even the smallest details. There was a reason why hotel restaurants were expensive.

“I see. It’s the Rainbow Hotel after all.”

“Hoh ho ho. It’s nothing.”

Gloria, who burst into a light laugh, made eye contact with Leopard for a moment and then tilted her head. She was very familiar with his face. She pondered for a long time and finally remembered Leopard’s identity.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

Phew. I did a big house cleaning for the winter, and my whole body aches. Cleaning wasn’t a big deal, but putting away the summer clothes, taking out the winter clothes, changing the blankets, whew~ I was sweating on this autumn day. Hahaha.

Then everyone have a good day. I’ll see you again tomorrow. Hehehe.