Chapter 513 – Childhood Friend (7)
Whether I interfere or not.
When she was confessed to by Yoon Si-hoo, Jin Ha-rin’s answer was already a rejection.
The two are childhood friends, but their personalities are polar opposites.
One side is passionate, the other side is cynical.
One side is full of pure enthusiasm, and the other side is full of lustful venom.
Lastly, one side likes the other person, and the other side both likes and dislikes the other person.
She came to me one day and asked me about her complaints about Sihu.
-“So you don’t like Sihu?”
Then she answered like this.
-“Sometimes I don’t like it, and sometimes I like it.”
How could anyone in the world not only dislike someone, but also like them?
Jin Ha-rin’s dissatisfied gaze toward Yoon Si-hoo did not originate from her hatred.
Then what did it originate from?
-“I feel it every time I see her. “The fact is that I am a person who has become very tangled with time.”
It was none other than jealousy.
She lost her parents at an early age and was raised by her childhood friend’s parents.
She is a childhood friend who grew up receiving plenty of love and support from her supportive parents.
Wherever she went, at home or outside, she had to be watched by someone.
She was a childhood friend who was free from anything and didn’t care about what anyone thought.
A person who has to achieve everything alone in a cold reality.
A childhood friend who has someone to warmly hug even if you fail or fall.
Envy, envy, and jealousy towards my childhood friend who has something I don’t have.
He also regrets that he might have been able to live a happier life if his parents had been alive.
That was the reason why I sometimes looked at Yoon Si-hoo with disapproval.
Pure kindness and love.
She couldn’t give it to anyone but her parents, and she desperately wanted that feeling that was difficult to accept.
These days, those feelings have become even more intense.
Her only pride was that she was ahead of Yoon Si-hoo with talent, but now she’s trying to catch up with even that.
She tried desperately to avoid being caught, and such venom colored her emotions even more deeply.
In the midst of all this, she confessed that she loved her, so how could that possibly work?
“Sihoo.”
“Yes, senior…” .”
“Why can’t Harin accept her confession?”
“That…”
“Is it because you can’t afford to date right now? Too much to do? Those are all excuses.”
“P, excuses… “You say?”
“Is it for nothing that it is said that children are born even during war? “If you have fallen in love with Harin, there is no reason to reject her heart, no matter how poor she is.”
“…”
A guy who gets depressed quickly.
I pour a glass full of soju and throw a stone at him.
“But it’s still too early to despair.”
A small stone of hope that will cause ripples in a lake full of black despair.
“If I didn’t like you, I would have stubbornly refused.”
“Well, I guess so.”
“But what does it mean to push you away with such a reckless attitude?”
The guy who found the answer by struggling with his brain, which was not working properly due to drunkenness, opens his mouth.
“I like it, but I’m not into it enough to date right away…” ?”
I reply with a grin when they ask me to tell them if the answer I was thinking of is correct.
“Smart guy.”
He asks again.
“Well, then I…, Is it okay for Harin not to give up?”
“Of course, man. On the contrary, if you give up now, you will become a real brat.”
It’s still clear in my memory.
The look on her face as she read Yoon Si-hoo’s confession in advance and asked me what she should do.
Why did she try to ask me for an answer when there was already a predetermined answer?
I couldn’t understand it at first, but after a while I figured it out.
Jin Harin is relying on someone for the first time in her life.
And she said that that person was none other than me.
Here another question arises.
Why?
A childhood friend I’ve been with for over 10 years.
Was it possible for me, who hadn’t even started interacting with her in a long time, to open her heart that even her childhood friend’s parents, who had taken in her as an orphan, couldn’t?
My guess is that she was in a similar situation to me and felt deep empathy for it.
Anyway.
Being able to change her answer means I can customize the situation to my liking.
There was only one thought that came to mind at that time.
It seems worth using.
“Well, then what should I do from now on?”
“First, you have to become strong. Both physically and mentally.”
I lightly tap the limp guy on the shoulder and continue speaking.
“I will teach you well, so let’s work together.”
“Seo, senior…”
“Why do you call me hyung in private, man?”
“Tongue, tongue!”
The guy hugs me with a very touched expression.
I hate hugging a man more than dying, but I have to endure it for now.
Until he settles down deep in his bones as a respectable older brother, senior, and guild leader.
“I’ll work really hard, bro! Even though I still worked hard…, Anyway, work harder!”
“Yes, yes.”
I know.
Sometimes it acts as an invaluable driving force for humans, and sometimes it acts as the final piece that completes human destruction.
The two sides of the name hope.
That’s why I was confident.
This will be the most powerful weapon I have when Yoon Si-hoo becomes my enemy in the future.
* * *
The day I had been waiting for has finally arrived.
The day when a prosperous guild hideout opens up in the twilight guild that used to live in university clubrooms.
After spring, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, it’s starting to get warmer.
Kim Do-jin, who finally heard the news that construction was finished, headed straight to Gangnam with his guild members.
What is in front of them is a newly built building in the middle of Gangnam that makes their mouths water just by looking at it.
Lim Na-eun asked in disbelief.
“This is really our guild’s hideout… ?”
“… That’s right.”
“In the middle of Gangnam, not even one floor, but the entire building… ?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
This is really the new home of the guild that used to live in a university clubroom.
The guild members felt their hearts growing majestic.
My normally large chest puffed out even more as I took a deep breath.
At that time, no one could easily take a step and just look up at the building.
Seo Jeong-hee, who had joined the guild as a non-combatant, stepped forward and asked.
“Aren’t you going to go in?”
Kim Do-jin, who suddenly came to his senses after hearing those words, took a step forward and awakened everyone’s spirits.
“… Let’s go in.”
The inside of the building I finally entered with a strong mind.
The center of the spacious lobby.
There are two beautiful women wearing two-piece suits standing in front of the information desk.
On one side is a foreigner with blonde blue eyes, and on the other side is a Korean with flowing black hair.
They greeted Kim Do-jin and other guild members politely.
“Welcome.”
“I was waiting.”
Shin Yu-jeong, who was nervous at the appearance of two attractive women who are not easily seen, poked Kim Do-jin’s side and asked.
“Hey, what are those women?”
“Who is it? Our employees who will be working at the information desk from now on.”
They were employees selected with the help of a saint.
Both of them are devout believers of the Vatican Orthodox Church. They recently graduated from university and while preparing for a job, they applied after seeing a recruitment notice posted and were selected despite high competition.
“Hello everyone. “It’s Rachel.”
“Nice to meet you. “This is Shin Ji-yeon.”
The guild members respond to their greeting with a light nod with a puzzled expression.
Shin Yu-jeong was muttering behind him.
“… Is there a need to have two at the information desk?”
“Hmm, of course. “How many guests will come to our guild in the future?”
Kim Do-jin tries to maintain a calm demeanor and rambles on about her words.
It was because she was slightly stabbed.
As she said, only one person was scheduled to be selected to staff the information desk.
The first talent selected through fierce competition was Shin Ji-yeon.
Rachel was scheduled to find another job for her, but her fate was changed by the intervention of Kim Do-jin, who promised to hire her as well.
Then why did he try to recruit her?
“It’s a global era. “Is it common sense to have one employee to greet Korean guests and one employee to welcome foreign guests?”
It’s a lie.
Shin Ji-yeon is a talented person who can speak not only Korean, but also English, Japanese, and Chinese.
No matter what kind of customer comes, she can handle it.
Rachel was just her own self-satisfaction.
It reminded me of the blonde receptionist who greeted me at the Zodiac Guild where I visited for negotiations in the past.
At that time, he made a promise.
I’ll make sure to hire a blonde receptionist like that for the guild hideout I plan to buy someday.
She just did not forget and fulfilled her promise at that time, and had no other purpose.
Maybe.
It was when she was defending Shin Yu-jeong’s suspicious gaze.
“I will guide you.”
Shin Ji-yeon, one of the guides, claimed to be her guide.
The building tour soon began.
“The first floor has a lobby, a café, and a convenience store. Of course, it is provided free of charge to all guild members, so you can use it whenever you need it.”
“Oh, oh…”
The second floor is an office space prepared for office guild members who will be selected in the future.
The third floor is the personal lounge and equipment storage room for key members of the guild.
The 4th floor has conference rooms of various sizes divided according to purpose.
The 5th floor consists of the guild leader’s office and a vacant room whose purpose has not yet been determined.
“And…, The guild leader is no joke.”
“I guess the saint really cares about us.”
“I know…”
Guild members are amazed at the guild leader’s room filled with custom-made, ultra-expensive furniture in a spacious space.
But it didn’t end here.
No, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the real story begins now.
“Now we will move underground.”
Take the elevator and press the ‘B1’ button.
Ding!
“This is a restaurant for guild members only.”
A kitchen filled with state-of-the-art cooking tools and a restaurant that can accommodate hundreds of people eating at the same time.
As soon as Kim Do-jin arrived there, she lightly pushed Seo Jeong-hee on the back.
“Now this is…, No, it’s the lady’s place of work.”
“Oh my.”
She joined the guild as a non-combatant and her exact position is nutritionist.
So, for her, this is her place of work.
When I led her to her spacious kitchen with a confused look on her face, her two sons and three daughters, dressed in their cooking uniforms, bowed their heads respectfully.
“Hello, Chef!”
“Thank you for your continued support!”
Seo Jeong-hee, who saw them, asked in a surprised tone.
“Do, Dojin. Who are these people? ?”
“Who is it? “They are kitchen assistants who will help the lady cook.”
“Well, then the person called Chef earlier…”
“Of course you’re an ajumma, right?”
“Oh, my, my, my, my.”
Seo Jeong-hee was so surprised that she kept saying ‘Oh my!’.
It was the first time.
The experience of getting a job at such a prestigious place and being greeted by someone.
Since she had a child before graduating from college, her life has always been about raising children.
So her heart swelled a little.
I feel like I can finally experience the life of an ordinary office worker that I sometimes dreamed of.
At the same time, I was scared.
“I-I don’t know if I can do well…”
I wonder if I can sit in such a high position even though I have never learned how to cook professionally.
Kim Do-jin answered by gently holding her hand.
“What’s the point even if I’m not good at it? “There is no one who is good at it from the beginning.”
“Dojin…”
These words were more touching than the vague confidence that I would be able to do well.
“Until we hire employees, we are all the people here, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
Gaining her courage, she nods her head with a determined expression.
“Okay, I’ll try my best! However… “I may be a minister, but I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
When Kim Do-jin asked, she whispered in a low tone.
“I want my own office…”
“That’s whatever…”
“Don’t you think the 5th floor would be a good location?”
“Ah.”
The strange breath that came out of her mouth tickled her chest.
