IH Ch 115

Chapter 115

“It’s quite all right.”

Even with that blunt expression—now understood to be his natural resting face—Chairman Ma Jungseok took no offense. Leaning on his cane, he moved slowly, followed by the secretary team who had grown familiar with Jae-i after several encounters.

After brief greetings, everyone naturally gathered at the central table. When the room dimmed, a screen lit up across one wall. No polite small talk—everyone went straight to business.

Chairman Ma began with the performance reports.

“Thanks to Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i, our products have become immensely popular. Demand is so absurd that production can’t keep up. We’ve switched to a reservation system, but that too is in chaos.”

His secretary nodded vigorously.

“All vehicles and electronic products for the year have already sold out. And the water purifier model the guildmaster used at the end—that line is especially popular. Reservations are full for the next two years.”

The middle-aged man’s face brightened as he formed a V with his fingers.

At first, he couldn’t even look Hwang Jae-i in the eye. Now his expression resembled someone gazing at a treasure chest. With all production lines running at over 1000% and Haeseong’s stock soaring, how could he not be pleased?

But those doting, sycophantic looks made Jae-i uneasy. He turned to the chairman.

“I haven’t done anything special. The products Haeseong produces are simply of excellent quality.”

“We’re benefiting from each other. Thanks to you, the ones who held out to the end have finally withdrawn. They must have sensed the shift.”

The “ones who held out” were the relatives who tried to seize Haeseong while Ma Jungseok was absent—those he once cared for as family but now regarded as enemies.

The quick-witted among them cleaned up their traces immediately upon the chairman’s return and might still salvage their positions. But some resisted until the end. When Chairman Ma transferred a portion of his shares to his granddaughter, and when Hwang Jae-i boldly plastered his face across all Haeseong-related brands, the holdouts’ morale collapsed. They raised white flags—but far too late. No amount of begging or apology would secure them a position now.

Jae-i listened as the chairman continued to explain.

Whether the products he endorsed were selling out or advertisers were profiting was irrelevant to him. That wasn’t the point.

“There are many who want a meeting with you. I can’t connect you with everyone, so I selected only a few.”

At this, the secretary slid several documents toward him. Pulling them closer, Jae-i flipped through them one by one. Representatives of several major corporations—though none as large as Haeseong—solid mid-sized companies, a few members of the National Assembly, and some government officials.

“They’re decent people, in my view. But if you’re unwilling, feel free to pass. If you approve them, I’ll handle the rest.”

Even that would be enough to turn them into allies. Though not relationships built over years of trust, having support—even once—at a critical moment was invaluable.

“I’ll leave it in your care.”

Having memorized every face and name, Jae-i handed the papers back. The chairman passed them to his secretary and continued.

“People are making quite a fuss about me suddenly joining hands with you. Many are wondering why—and most are simply jealous.”

“…….”

“I used to be strongly against celebrity-based promotion, but this time my thinking has changed. The guildmaster is far greater than I expected.”

“……Some people may become troublesome.”

Praise still felt foreign to him. If this continued, the conversation would veer into even more personal compliments, so he cut it short.

The chairman, noticing his intention, nodded and said,

“It’s already begun. I received a call earlier—apparently, our aggressive marketing with you as the front is suspicious, they say. Nothing wrong on the surface, but some are trying to uncover the nature of our arrangement.”

“Are you prepared?”

“If they want to find fault, let them. We’ll let them land a blow this once—and return it later.”

“…….”

“But I don’t intend to take it quietly. I still have plenty of contacts in the government. Before, they ignored me as though I were a toothless tiger. Now they come to me so often it’s bothersome. Once again, I see the influence of Guildmaster Hwang.”

A faint line appeared between Jae-i’s brows. Before he could change the subject, the chairman added,

“Back in the day, there was something called the Hallyu wave—stars from this small country taking over the world. I only heard stories from my seniors, but lately… I’m experiencing something similar firsthand. We suddenly received calls from overseas. They want to discuss exporting the exact products you used.”

“…….”

“And among them was the United States.”

A short silence fell.

If it were only Haeseong involved, overseas attention would mean little. But this time, Jae-i was entangled. Conspiracy theorists would undoubtedly claim foreign powers were using Haeseong as a bridge to approach him.

Most countries strictly controlled the movement of high-ranked hunters. An S-rank’s existence itself was a measure of national power. Before, he would have dismissed such contact immediately—it would only be annoying.

Chairman Ma observed his expression and said calmly,

“Shall I act suspicious, as though we’re hiding something?”

“…….”

As though the chairman had read his mind, Jae-i nodded slightly.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“Rest assured. I earned my position by doing exactly that sort of thing.”

To lead a nation’s major corporation, one couldn’t rely on integrity alone. One had to dirty their hands when necessary.

“Next week, we’re planning an event with many attendees—but expecting you to join is too much, isn’t it?”

“I’m not comfortable in crowded spaces.”

“Yes, I know. Just thought I’d ask.”

Chairman Ma rose to his feet.

“I’ll take my leave now. Ah—may I trouble you for an autograph on a magazine? Today’s issue was wonderful. Hwayeong wanted it so badly that we acquired a copy with difficulty. I think she’d be even happier with your signature.”

“…Send it later.”

He couldn’t refuse something meant for a child.

The chairman’s expression softened even more. After giving Jae-i a grandfatherly look, he shifted to the others—and bowed politely to Dohwa in particular. Everyone except Jae-i stood when he did, and they exchanged farewells for the next meeting.

After he left, the lights came back on. A short meeting, and yet he had come personally. But they had another purpose: to spread word that Hwang Jae-i had visited Haeseong HQ. To cement the connection between them.

The longer Jae-i stayed here, the faster the rumor would grow wings and spread. So Ahn Yuna said they would remain twenty more minutes. Yohan immediately moved to where the guildmaster had been sitting.

There had been a wide variety of desserts—half had already been eaten. Assuming it was Dohwa, Yohan tidied up the rest with care. As Dohwa tried to stand, Jae-i quietly held his arm. Dohwa paused, leaning toward him, and whispered,

“I should help clean up.”

“I said leave it.”

After that brief reply, Jae-i pulled out his phone, which had been buzzing for a while.

He was not someone who received many messages. Few had his contact information. And recently, the person messaging most frequently was Park Jaehwan of the Imun Guild. He had taken a picture in front of a large advertisement showing Jae-i sitting on a sofa, leaning forward slightly. If it were just a picture, whatever—but he held up two fingers, pointing right at Jae-i’s face as if to say look at this!

The issue was that this wasn’t the only photo. He had apparently tracked down every billboard in Seoul featuring Jae-i—taking pictures in front of them, through building windows, from every conceivable angle. The last one came with a message:

[What’s all this? lol]

Anyone could see he sent these purely to tease.

“…….”

He had made the choice himself, so he didn’t regret it—

but it was infuriating.

As he scrolled with a hardened face, another notification appeared.

A short message from the Association President.

[Guildmaster Hwang, your popularity these days is truly remarkable^^]

The message looked casual, but Jae-i could sense the probing intent beneath it.

Of course they were uneasy. Someone who refused ads and even photo shoots for years had suddenly flooded the entire nation with his face. Naturally, they wondered what he was scheming.

And knowing their sharpness, they had likely already figured out more than he wanted them to.