Cafe Commotion (1)
[Park Junghye: Myeonghui~]
[Park Junghye: How about having your son come too?]
"No, this girl really…!"
In the end, Hwang Myeonghui exploded.
Junghye?
Truth be told, she didn't even know what kind of kid her son was.
She'd heard that her son belonged to some guild called Baekho or whatever, but she hadn't actually cared.
They weren't even close.
Junghye kept texting her saying she wanted to meet, so Myeonghui had agreed and set up an appointment.
'What?'
She wanted her son to come too?
"Mom, why?"
Right then, Baek Ajin, who happened to be home, asked.
After moving the family home to Yoobaek City, Baek Ajin had been visiting her parents often.
They were neighbors anyway, and since they lived in the same penthouse, it was easy enough to just hop over.
"No, it's one of my old classmates… she just keeps…"
Hwang Myeonghui briefly explained to Baek Ajin what had happened.
'Oh?'
The corners of Baek Ajin's lips curled upward.
Because at a glance, she could already tell exactly what kind of situation this was.
"Mom."
"Yeah?"
"Do you know what kind of place Baekho is?"
"No. Is it somewhere impressive?"
"...Mom, you saw it during the preliminaries too. It's the hottest major guild in the country! How do you still not know no matter how many times I tell you?"
She was dumbfounded.
She had even explained all about the three major guilds back then.
"You know me. Players, guilds, all that stuff… I have no idea what any of it is. And I don't want to know."
"Ugh."
Baek Ajin let out a deep sigh.
Then again.
Her mother, Mrs. Hwang Myeonghui, was far too kind.
No, rather than kind, maybe pure was the better word?
That was probably why she'd agreed to such an obviously transparent meeting and even set a date.
"Mom. Just say I'm the one going."
"Huh? But Junghye said she wanted to see your brother…"
"That's because she still doesn't know what kind of person our brother is. He's busy. Going to a gathering like that would be a loss to national power and an act against the national interest."
"Really?"
Well, that wouldn't do!
Persuaded by Baek Ajin, Hwang Myeonghui nodded.
And yet, inwardly, she felt pleased.
Whether it was her son or her daughter. They'd both become truly remarkable people!
* * *
A large café in Gangnam.
The drinks were expensive, and even the part-timers were well-mannered, so it was a place known for attracting fairly famous people.
Junghye had invited Hwang Myeonghui there.
"Oh, over here!"
Junghye raised her hand, then soon spotted Hwang Myeonghui and Baek Ajin following behind her.
'Huh?'
Not the son, but the daughter?
And yet, she looked anything but ordinary.
She looked like someone who ought to be on TV.
Elegant and beautiful, maybe?
No matter how she looked at her, she didn't give off the vibe of someone from a dirt-poor family.
'And the clothes she's wearing too.'
They were different from before.
Was she always that refined? Her whole atmosphere had completely changed.
While she was staring blankly in a daze, Hwang Myeonghui had already arrived right in front of her.
"Ahem, ahem."
Junghye cleared her throat.
"Hello. I'm Baek Ajin."
After greeting her politely, Baek Ajin sat down across from her.
"I've heard a lot about you, Auntie Junghye."
"Ahaha, hahaha! So it was true when they said Myeonghui's daughter was pretty?"
Maybe.
'Maybe the Rainbow Snail had gone not to the son, but to the daughter!'
Junghye thought.
Maybe some rich kid had fallen head over heels for that girl's beauty and gifted her that expensive snail.
No, but still…
'The Rainbow Snail is insanely expensive, though?'
Anyway.
'My son doesn't lose out to anyone either!'
While the three women were exchanging light greetings and conversation—
"Mom?"
From far away, a man raised his hand. He had a sturdy build, and on his chest was a tiger badge.
The symbol of the major guild, Baekho!
Murmur, murmur.
The inside of the café grew slightly noisy. Everyone's gaze turned toward that man!
That was the status a major guild held in present-day South Korea.
Even if people didn't openly cheer, they'd at least say, "Wow, look over there. He must be from Baekho Guild."
"Yes, son. Over here."
Junghye called out to her son elegantly.
Her shoulders lifted smugly.
Well?
This is my son!
And so the four people who had agreed to gather were finally together, and the conversation began.
Junghye's routine was always the same.
First she asked about how things had been, and afterward she moved on to talking about children.
"Anyway, your son's a player too, right? If there's anything he doesn't know, ask my son."
"Haha, it's fine. I didn't exactly raise him well, but strangely enough, he's good at finding his own way in life."
"Oh, come on! Still. Connections are so important these days. No matter how capable kids are, parents have to support them from behind a little for them to spread their wings! You know, that's really important."
Neither Hwang Myeonghui nor Baek Ajin mentioned that the person in question was Baek Jinwoo.
They didn't feel any need to.
To be honest, Baek Ajin was bored. And irritated too.
Even Baekho's guild master and vice guild master bowed and scraped in front of her brother, so what was this nonsense about sitting a mere Baekho rookie here and bragging like that?
On top of that, Park Junghye hadn't even asked about Baek Ajin's profession.
Even though she was sitting right in front of her.
The peak came when the conversation turned to the "Rainbow Snail".
"But Myeonghui, you know that snail you showed me last time?"
"Yeah, want to see it?"
Wriggle, wriggle.
The cute snail crawling along Hwang Myeonghui's forearm.
They talked briefly about it, and then Junghye slowly began to reveal her true intentions.
"But do you know how much this is worth? I think you said last time that you didn't know."
"Yeah, I'm not really sure. I'm not planning to sell it anyway. It was a gift."
"...Really?"
Pursing her lips slightly, Junghye made a bold move.
"What if someone offered you 10 billion won? You still wouldn't sell?"
"...10 billion?"
Hwang Myeonghui's mouth fell slightly open.
Absurdly enough.
When she said she didn't know the snail's value, it was true. The estimated value of the Rainbow Snail was at least 50 billion won.
And that was only at the price Daeseong was buying them for; its future value was expected to exceed 100 billion won.
And yet she was gaping at 10 billion won.
"Auntie."
That was when Baek Ajin, who had been listening, stepped in.
She gulped down her iced Americano in big swigs, then said,
"You're joking a little too much. Ten billion? Not even two hundred billion."
"T-two hundred billion?"
Hwang Myeonghui's mouth opened even wider as she looked at her daughter.
Was the snail really worth that much?
"Oh my, what are you talking about? That's nonsense from someone who clearly doesn't know."
Junghye was dumbfounded.
Not 50 billion, but what?
200 billion?
Was the girl joking or something?
"What do you mean nonsense from someone who doesn't know?"
Annoyed, Baek Ajin replied curtly.
"You could sell it to Daeseong alone for 50 billion, so isn't probing with 10 billion the real nonsense?"
"...!"
Junghye was shocked.
Look at these kids.
They actually knew the exact value of that summon beast?
"Haha, I think my mother just said that because she didn't know. Since its performance is so good."
In the end, Junghye's son tried to step in and smooth things over, but Baek Ajin had already slipped the reins.
"Well, I don't know. Ten billion isn't a small amount of money, so there's no way she said it without looking into it properly."
"Hey, the way you talk is pretty rude, isn't it?"
"What? Probing? Spouting off? There should be a limit."
How could a youngster be so ill-mannered?
"Rude?"
Smirk.
Baek Ajin laughed.
Hwang Myeonghui was flustered and didn't know what to do.
Because it was the first time she had ever seen her daughter like this, a daughter who was always so polite.
"Even if it's Baekho, it's still a guild, and your son seems like a fairly capable talent. But after taking up your son's precious time, all you do is brag about your child. Maybe it'd be different if you and my mom were actually close. But you're really crossing the line."
"What?"
Junghye was stunned speechless, but she had nothing to say.
Because every word was true.
"You're being a little too harsh, don't you think?"
Junghye's son stepped in, but Baek Ajin didn't back down.
"If you really want to succeed, you'd better manage your mother properly. The world is wide, and there are many outstanding people. Your mother lacks humility."
The atmosphere turned ice-cold in an instant.
"Can you take responsibility for those words?"
"I just stated facts. What responsibility is there to take?"
Scrape.
Baek Ajin stood up.
"Mom, let's go. And you need to raise your standards too. Don't just meet anyone just because they ask."
"Uh, okay?"
As the bewildered Hwang Myeonghui stood up with her—
"Sit down."
Bang!
Junghye's son, who had been holding himself back, slammed the table.
He hit it so hard that the cups on top toppled over, and coffee and ice spilled out.
The once noisy café fell silent.
People stirred and turned to look this way.
'Wow, this guy's completely unreasonable.'
Just as Baek Ajin was clicking her tongue—
Jingle!
The café door opened, and a group walked in.
Coincidence really is a strange thing.
Of all times, that group just had to enter the Gangnam café right then.
There were three of them.
One Baekho executive.
Ilwol's vice guild master, Hwang Juwon.
And Arirang's guild master, Hong Ari.
The major guilds of the so-called Big 3 met regularly every month to communicate.
This time, there had been a gathering hosted by Arirang, and Hong Ari had treated the participating executives to a lavish meal.
And afterward, they had come to a café for round two.
Since all of them were well-known faces, they had ended up here while looking for a higher-end café.
"Haha, did we come into the wrong place? Why's the atmosphere like this?"
Hwang Juwon laughed when he noticed how quiet the café was inside.
"Seriously. Should we go somewhere else?"
Hong Ari was just about to step back outside when—
"One moment."
The Baekho executive quickly scanned the room and found the source.
That woman standing there.
And the male player trembling with his fist still embedded in the table.
And the Baekho badge pinned to his chest.
'That guy…'
He recognized him well.
A new recruit who had recently joined, someone he had seen around a few times.
Among the new recruits, he was at least around average.
But why was he acting like that?
Causing a scene while wearing the guild badge?
That was directly tied to Baekho's honor, so it couldn't just be ignored.
Murmur, murmur.
The café stirred once again.
"Look over there. It's Hwang Juwon."
"Huh, national representative Hwang Juwon? Wow, he's seriously a handsome older man. Isn't he over fifty?"
"Hong Ari's here too. There's another player wearing a Baekho badge too, right?"
"What is this, Player Day or something?"
"Hong Ari is crazy gorgeous."
As everyone's attention became scattered—
'Huh?'
That was when Hong Ari's gaze landed on Baek Ajin.
Baek Jinwoo's younger sister?
Since she had been training in Yoobaek lately, she had run into Baek Ajin several times and knew her well.
At that point, Hong Ari couldn't just ignore it either.
At a glance, didn't it look like she was in trouble?
Baek Jinwoo was her master. She had to fulfill her duty as his disciple.
Though this was ridiculous.
How could some mere Baekho player dare threaten Baek Jinwoo's younger sister?
That simply couldn't happen unless he was insane.
Ever since the gang incident, touching Baek Jinwoo's family had become taboo.
She could still picture it vividly.
The sight of a criminal crying and snotting all over himself, begging for help to turn himself in.
"Do you know her?"
When the Baekho executive asked, Hong Ari nodded.
"She's Player Baek Jinwoo's younger sister."
"…What?"
The executive was horrified at once.
That crazy new recruit bastard—has he lost his mind?
"Huh-huh?"
Hwang Juwon laughed as if surprised too.
Now none of them could just let it slide. They had to check what was going on.
Step, step.
In the end, Hong Ari and the Baekho executive headed toward the source of the disturbance, while Hwang Juwon sat near the counter laughing heartily.
It looked entertaining at a glance, so he intended to watch from a distance.
As they drew near, Baek Ajin dipped her head slightly in greeting, and Junghye's son, startled out of his wits, immediately sprang to his feet and composed himself respectfully.
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