Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 383

385

In the hotel lobby, Bum-seok and his group, along with Julian, took the elevator to the sixth floor and stood at the entrance of the banquet hall. Bum-seok glanced at the lavish and spacious interior, muttering softly.

Although there was a decent crowd, it wasn’t as bustling as he had expected. When he had attended the Federal Pro Gladiator Association’s annual banquet, the banquet hall was so packed that it was difficult to find a seat.

“It’s quite empty. Did we arrive too early?”

Julian replied in a light tone.

“No, it seems like everyone who’s coming is already here. At most, there are only two representatives from each World League team and key executives from the Gladiator Association. There’s no way there would be many guests.”

Bum-seok nodded. With only two attendees per team, there would be a maximum of 40 World League team representatives. And even though the Federal Gladiator Association had many employees, only a select few key personnel were invited. Julian’s words seemed accurate.

“I guess so. But didn’t they book too large a banquet hall? Half this size would have been enough.”

“Well, it’s just rich people wasting money. Come on, let’s not talk nonsense and go get some food. Eating is what matters.”

Julian entered first and sat at an empty table nearby. He gestured to a passing waiter and ordered all the dishes on the menu.

It was a lot of food for one person, but the waiter responded politely and took down everything. There was no reason to upset a guest with unnecessary advice, especially since the Federal Gladiator Association was paying for everything.

“Yes, sir. Your dishes will be out shortly. Please wait.”

As the waiter left, Bum-seok, who had witnessed the entire scene, glared at Julian, feeling embarrassed.

“Hey! Why are you ordering so much food! You can’t possibly eat all that, can you?”

“How could I eat all that?”

“Then you should have ordered moderately. Why order everything on the menu?”

Julian showed off the bag he had brought, revealing its contents: *bongtu* [envelopes, often used for taking leftovers].

“Don’t worry. I’m going to pack up all the leftovers.”

Bum-seok’s face turned red as he shouted. He was ashamed to be next to him. Of course, he often packed up leftovers when he went to restaurants, but this was a *gogeup* [high-class] hotel banquet hall. Moreover, there were many prominent sports tycoons around. If he got caught, it would be a huge disgrace.

“Are you kidding me? Don’t you know what kind of atmosphere this is?”

“Of course, I know. But I have no choice if I want to be comfortable.”

“What do you mean, you have no choice!”

“Ah, I have to give it to Dalma. If I go to a hotel restaurant and don’t bring back food, he gets sulky. You don’t know because you haven’t experienced it, but he’s really scary when he’s sulky.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have brought him! Why bring him and suffer!”

Julian glanced at him.

“Do you think I wanted to bring him? He sensed it and followed me on his own. That guy knows exactly when I’m going out to eat. Today, he was even waiting in the *peullaing ka* [flying car]…….”

“Geez. Then just kick him out!”

“Hah. Kick him out? Then our Dark Hyenas team will be on a losing streak that day. You don’t know how stubborn Dalma is. Everyone can’t sleep at night when Dalma acts up.”

“Then you should train him!”

“Train him? I invited some of the most famous dog trainers in the world, but they were all beaten to a pulp and went back. Even Jakid tried to fix Dalma’s habits, but he got a good scolding and now avoids him. That guy *is* wild. You can’t fix his habits before he dies.”

Bum-seok sighed in dismay. He had nothing to say to that.

“Sigh~ You really live a tough life.”

“Well, not really. As long as I take care of these things, he doesn’t cause trouble. However…….”

“However, what?”

“Strangely, Dalma only acts up when he comes to hotels around here. I guess there’s something he doesn’t like. Well, I don’t care. I clearly warned him a little while ago, so if Dalma causes an accident, it’s the hotel’s negligence.”

Julian couldn’t possibly understand why Dalma reacted strangely only when he came to this area. The reason was that there was no food waste in front of the door.

Of course, Dalma couldn’t help but feel the need to correct this habit. And this *sangnap* [tribute] relationship between the hotel and Dalma was a story from before he met Julian.

Bum-seok smacked his lips and said.

“Well, the hotel will manage it well. Honestly, tying the dog leash to a pillar would solve everything.”

“Heh heh. Do you really think so?”

At that moment, a black-haired woman quietly approached them. She was quite beautiful, and after giving Bum-seok a slight nod, she approached Julian.

“Oh my. Julian, you’re here?”

Even without seeing her face, Julian’s expression quickly soured. It was the voice of a woman he never wanted to meet.

“Teresa?”

“What’s with you? A friend came to see you, and you’re not even looking at me?”

Julian turned his gaze towards her.

“Okay. Now you’ve seen me. Now go away.”

“Why are you being so heartless? We haven’t known each other for just a day or two.”

Julian had known Teresa for a long time as a member of the *Cheongnyeon Gieop Yeonhaphoe* [Young Entrepreneurs Association]. Therefore, he knew her cunning and cruel personality very well. And he had experienced that fact firsthand when he last attended the *Cheongnyeon Gieop Yeonhaphoe* meeting. At the time, Julian’s pride was deeply hurt by her *hoebi* [membership fee] urging.

“Well, that’s true. But we’re not close enough to go out of our way to greet each other. You must know that, right?”

“Hoh hoh hoh. Come on, don’t be so petty about that. As the treasurer, it’s only natural for me to ask for *hoebi*.”

“I guess so.”

Julian took out his wallet from his back pocket, counted out a few bills, and handed them to her. It was a lot of money, so much that his hand trembled, but it was worth it if he could get Teresa to leave.

She took the money and looked at Julian with a puzzled expression.

“What’s this money for?”

“What do you think? It’s the *hoebi* I couldn’t pay before. So, now that we have no business, go away.”

“Why do we have no business? We’re members of the same *Cheongnyeon Gieop Yeonhaphoe*. I have a lot to tell you since you haven’t been to the meetings for a while.”

Julian stared at her with a dumbfounded look.

“What are you talking about? If I haven’t been there for years, you should have assumed I’d withdrawn.”

“What are you talking about? The *Cheongnyeon Gieop Yeonhaphoe* is a preliminary gathering for the successors of economic organizations. The Hyena Group is also a member of the economic organization, so you’ll have to join when you inherit the company someday. What are you going to do then?”

Julian put his arm around Bum-seok’s shoulder and slightly raised one side of his mouth.

“I’m going to join Ilsimhoe [One Heart Society]. So, it doesn’t matter.”

Bum-seok suddenly poked him in the side. He had never heard of such a thing before.

“What are you talking about? Why are you joining Ilsimhoe?”

“Are you going to be so mean? How much money have I provided to Ilsimhoe? Don’t deny it. It’s a whopping 1.2 billion, 1.2 billion. And now it’s increased to 6 billion.”

Bum-seok glanced at Teresa and quietly whispered in her ear. The details of the White Angel Fund were confidential, and she was a spy for the Black Society.

“Hey. You idiot. How can you talk about that here?”

“It’s okay. Teresa is a member of the *Cheongnyeon Gieop Yeonhaphoe*, which is an enemy of the Black Society. And our White Angel Fund is only a little over 130 billion *keurang* [currency unit] at best. And everyone already knows what that money is.”

Bum-seok blinked. The White Angel Fund’s funds currently exceeded 230 billion *keurang*, and Julian, as a shareholder, knew that very well.

Bum-seok, who roughly sensed the atmosphere, repeatedly cleared his throat. He didn’t know why, but Julian was spreading false information.

“Well, that’s true, but there’s no reason to say it on purpose.”

“There’s no reason to hide it either. In the future, Ilsimhoe will have to unite with economic organizations to absorb Black Society companies. So, we need to let them know our financial power in advance.”

Teresa’s gaze was indifferent. The Black Society already knew that Ilsimhoe was using funds to strike at them. They were paying attention because they didn’t know the scale yet, but if it was around 130 billion, they didn’t have to worry too much. The funds had already been absorbed by Vermilion *sa* [company].

“Bum-seok. You don’t have to hide it too much. The Black Society probably already knows about the funds that were revealed during the Vermilion *satae* [incident].”

“Ah. I guess so. Our *gyeonggamnim* [police inspector] from Lexter directly participated in the Vermilion *sa* temporary general meeting and exercised his voting rights on the shares.”

Teresa looked at Julian again. It wasn’t a big deal, so she was now trying to sever the relationship between Ilsimhoe and Julian.

‘I will definitely get rid of that enemy with my own hands. To do that, I must prevent the Hyena Group from going to Ilsimhoe.’

Bum-seok was the enemy who ruined her father, Chairman Lucas. Lucas was currently under investigation by the prosecution for attempted murder against him.

The Black Society was pulling strings, but it was almost impossible for her father to be released because it was a globally publicized case and the evidence was clear. Moreover, in the meantime, the economic organization attempted a hostile M&A of Wind House *sa*, which had suffered a stock price crash, and took it over a while ago.

That company was the group she was promised to inherit in the future. Thanks to that, her dream of becoming a global female entrepreneur, which she had dreamed of so far, had disappeared, and she would have to endure a painful life of catering to her jealous mother. The culprit of all this was Bum-seok. Now, Teresa’s sword of revenge was aimed at him.

In order to take revenge in the future, she couldn’t let Bum-seok grow stronger.

“But Julian, you’re making a mistake. Can Ilsimhoe be compared to an economic organization? We’re a huge interest group. Other companies want to join but can’t. But is it right to abandon these privileges and join that small Ilsimhoe?”

The veins in Bum-seok’s forehead tightened. He couldn’t help but get angry when Ilsimhoe was insulted.

“Hey, Miss Teresa. Aren’t you going too far? Ilsimhoe has a partner-like relationship with the economic organization.”

“Hoh hoh hoh. Is that really the case? I admit that we’re helping each other, but if you say we’re on equal footing, I can’t help but tilt my head. Our economic organization and Ilsimhoe are on completely different levels.”

He barely suppressed the rising anger. He would have caused an accident right away under normal circumstances, but he would have lost if he did that. He couldn’t possibly not know that Teresa’s purpose was to alienate Ilsimhoe and the economic organization.

“Heh heh. Well, let’s say that’s the case. What does it matter whether we’re on equal footing or not when we’re hitting those *gaejaeshik* [bastards] from the Black Society? For now, the top priority is to eliminate them. Don’t you think so?”

Teresa, who had made her eyes sharp for a moment, said mockingly.

“That’s right. But it turns out that Bum-seok has no guts. I would have been very angry if I were you.”

“Well, that may be because our positions are different.”

“What’s different?”

“I’m subtly asking if Miss Teresa is not interested in hitting the Black Society. The average member of the economic organization and the *Cheongnyeon Gieop Yeonhaphoe* don’t say that to me. They think it’s better to join hands with our Ilsimhoe to hit the Black Society.”

Teresa, who received his fierce gaze, shut her mouth tightly. She was angry about the incident in which Lucas had fallen, but she couldn’t deny that she had gone too far. Bum-seok was the first to reveal that someone among the members of the *Cheongnyeon Gieop Yeonhaphoe* and their associates was a spy for the Black Society. There was no need to do anything that would make her suspicious.

“Th, that’s right. I’m really sorry. I got a little excited because my friend Julian said he was leaving the *Cheongnyeon Gieop Yeonhaphoe*.”

“Well, that can happen. I understand everything.”

“I’m really grateful that you said that.”

Julian snorted at those words.

“Hmph. For the word ‘thank you’ to come out of your mouth, the sun will rise in the west tomorrow.”

Teresa, biting her lip, looked at him.

“Julian, you be quiet. I made a mistake because I was trying to help you.”

“Hah. You’re trying to help me? Don’t say nonsense. You’re probably trying to pull another trick. I know you too well, so I’ll never fall for it. So, you better go back.”

Teresa’s face turned red as she jumped up from her seat. Her words would never work on someone like Julian. It was only her mouth that hurt if she said any more. She put Julian’s name right below Bum-seok’s in her head and vowed revenge.

“Julian. I’ll see you later. I’ll never let you go, so be prepared.”

“Do whatever you want. But you better be prepared too. I haven’t forgotten the humiliation you gave me before. You know very well what kind of guy I was in the past, right?”

Teresa gritted her teeth and glared at Julian and Bum-seok before leaving. It was only her temper that she would ruin if she talked to those who were playing *jjaktjjakkung* [playing along]. She vowed revenge, putting Julian’s name right below Bum-seok’s in her head.

============================ 작품 후기 ============================

Ego ego. It’s refreshing to get a haircut after a long time. I cut it almost to a sports cut. Hahaha. ㅠㅠ. That heartless hairdresser. Even if I asked her to cut it short, how could she make it this short? ㅠㅠ. After all, my regular place is the best. The hair salon I usually go to roughly understands what I mean even if I ask them to cut it short and cuts it appropriately. ㅠㅠ.

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