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chapter 79
“Aaagh!”
The manager, writhing in pain, could only scream.
Wham—
“Ugh!”
When Hanbit released the arm he had been holding, the man lost his balance and fell hard on his backside.
“You crazy bastard! Do you want to get reported?!”
“Is that the only thing you know how to say?”
The repeated curses were stupid to the point of being laughable.
Hanbit turned his head and looked at Kim Jaeha.
“Are you okay? Your hand looks like it might hurt.”
“…Ah.”
Startled by the sudden situation, Kim Jaeha looked down at his own hand.
His clenched fist was still tight enough that his nails were digging into his skin.
“I’m sorry, Black Dragon-nim. I showed you something unsightly.”
“Black Dragon? Don’t tell me you mean that guy?”
At that moment, the manager, who had been clutching his arm, glared up.
“Hey, Kim Jaeha. You should’ve said something. I almost misunderstood.”
Greed crept into his eyes, which had been filled with rage just moments ago.
It seemed he was under the delusion that this situation could somehow benefit the company.
“Looks like there were some misunderstandings between us, so let’s just shake it off. I wonder if the president is nearby.”
Taking out his phone, the manager stepped a few paces away.
It looked like he was calling the president.
“You were working under someone like that?”
At Hanbit’s incredulous question, Kim Jaeha closed his mouth.
He glanced briefly at the manager, then looked away.
“By the way, who are these people?”
“Oh, let me introduce them. This is Roper, and this is Avantgarde, a streamer.”
“Hello. I’m Roper.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Avantgarde, a streamer who loves RP.”
Following Hanbit’s introduction, the other two greeted Kim Jaeha.
Then the manager hurried back over.
“The president just happened to turn his phone off. Why don’t we go upstairs and talk first? Even with my authority, this should be more than enough—”
“Kim Jaeha, would you like to come work for our company?”
“Huh?”
Yeonwoo’s question cut straight through the manager’s words.
Not only Kim Jaeha, but even Hanbit was slightly surprised.
“Is now really the time for a final decision?”
“Someone who’s desperate and passionate is exactly what a company needs.”
Yeonwoo nodded with a confident expression.
The manager, who had frozen, opened his mouth again.
“…What did you just say?”
“I said we’re going to scout Kim Jaeha.”
“Ha.”
The manager let out a sigh, full of exasperation.
Then he shouted in an irritated voice.
“You little shits really think this place is a playground? Even trash like that gets 2.5 million a month here. You understand that?”
“If you come to our company, we can offer a base salary of five million. There are so many performance incentives and benefits that I’ll explain them in detail later. It’s far better than working under someone like that.”
“Fuck, you little bastards—!”
Enraged, the manager’s face flushed as he charged forward.
A fist swung emotionally toward Yeonwoo.
Watching the timing, Hanbit pulled Yeonwoo’s arm just before the punch landed.
“Ugh!”
With his target gone, the manager staggered and lost his balance.
He fell face-first, grimacing in pain.
His fury shifted toward Kim Jaeha.
“Hey, Kim Jaeha! What the hell are you thinking, making that face? Do you really think you can do anything if you leave here?”
“…You’re right.”
Kim Jaeha, who had initially been flustered, didn’t stop thinking even for a short moment.
Looking down at his hand, he lightly clenched his fist again.
Then he raised his head and looked at Yeonwoo.
“If you’ll have me, I’d really like to work with you.”
“Hey!”
At that answer, the manager raised his voice.
Kim Jaeha stepped forward with a resolute expression.
Meeting the manager’s eyes as he sat on the ground, Kim Jaeha spoke flatly.
“I’ll quit, just like you always told me to.”
“What?”
“You told me to leave the company if I didn’t like it. I’ll explain things to the president myself. Since I’m useless trash who can’t do his job, I’m sure he’ll approve my resignation right away.”
“No, wait….”
The manager, faced with an attitude he’d never seen before, was left speechless.
Watching him, Kim Jaeha straightened his back and stood up.
“You don’t need to worry about the random projects you dumped on me. They all looked like doomed plans anyway.”
“What? What did you just say?! Kim Jaeha! You stop right there! Hey!”
His face red, the manager yelled at Kim Jaeha’s retreating back.
Kim Jaeha glanced back slightly and said,
“It’s been shit, and let’s never see each other again.”
***
“I never thought I’d see a day like this.”
The four of them moved to a barbecue restaurant near the station and took a corner table.
Kim Jaeha drank down his cola, his expression refreshed yet somehow complicated.
“You look like you want a drink. Are you okay?”
“I need to help Black Dragon-nim once we get back. This is more than enough.”
At Hanbit’s question, Kim Jaeha shook his head.
Watching them, Avantgarde opened another bottle of cola and said,
“Nothing beats the dopamine from quitting a job. Now you can focus on RP—you’ll be happy! Here, have a drink!”
“Ah, thank you. I’ll take one too.”
Seeing the two of them clink colas still felt strange.
While eating meat, Hanbit looked at Yeonwoo and asked,
“So is the company really starting now?”
“Yes. We’ve finished registering the name and all the necessary procedures.”
“Really? What’s the company called?”
“DD Studio.”
“DD? What does that stand for?”
“Obviously Dark Dragon.”
“What?”
Hanbit frowned, thinking he’d misheard.
“Don’t tell me you named it after my character?”
“Dark Dragon sounds stronger than Black Dragon… Just kidding. Putting you out front is the most effective move. I’m determined to make this company succeed.”
“……”
Hanbit, who had been about to get angry, found himself unable to say anything.
Yeonwoo’s expression was unusually serious.
He was the one who would bear the responsibility of running the company.
And now, they’d even brought in a new employee.
“…What should I do, then?”
Kim Jaeha spoke cautiously, having listened to the conversation.
After venting his emotions at the manager, he now had to face reality.
Even if Black Dragon and Roper accepted him, he had no way to prove his value.
“I’ll explain that.”
Yeonwoo took out his smartphone and searched for something.
Then he showed the screen to Kim Jaeha.
“This is the actual contract.”
“A contract?”
“After talking with my brother, I kept thinking it over. Take a look.”
“…Alright.”
Startled, Kim Jaeha shifted his gaze to the phone screen.
Neatly organized clauses were listed one after another.
A clearly stated full-time employment status.
Below it were the necessary terms of an employment contract.
“…?”
As he read on, his eyes stopped at the salary section.
Kim Jaeha asked Yeonwoo with a flustered expression.
“The salary… were you serious about that?”
“The base salary of five million is fixed. Given the nature of RP-related work, there will be even more incentive opportunities.”
The base salary alone was twice what he’d earned at his previous company.
Incentives were a later matter, but even the minimum guarantee was 50% of the base pay.
On top of that, he’d receive a portion of the revenue from results he personally produced—an absurd structure.
“What do you gain from this?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll get that much value out of you. You see the job description, right?”
“I see it, but…….”
The job description section listed exactly three items.
1. Participate in RP play with Black Dragon, appearing on broadcasts and providing support.
2. Conduct market research on items circulated within RP and gather various information.
3. Exclusive blacksmith for DD Studio.
He felt confident about handling items 1 and 2.
Even if he wasn’t familiar with broadcasting, he could assist by following Black Dragon’s directions.
Market research and information gathering were things he’d handled alone at Taeyul anyway.
The problem was the last item: blacksmith.
He was on that path, but compared to master craftsmen at other companies, he was sorely lacking.
That wasn’t something effort and will alone could solve.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can live up to your expectations.”
Kim Jaeha handed the phone back with an apology.
As tempting as the conditions were, he didn’t want to deceive them.
Reading his expression, Hanbit spoke firmly.
“You will live up to them. In the future, you’ll become the greatest blacksmith among all players.”
“…Pardon?”
It wasn’t encouragement.
It was certainty, without a shred of doubt.
That conviction was clear in both his voice and expression.
“In Dwarven metallurgy, Kim Jaeha is the most important person. The first person to obtain the achievement gets the opportunity.”
“Me? I couldn’t find it before either……”
“That’s because you didn’t meet the conditions. It’s also related to the second episode.”
“…What? You mean it’s tied to the main story?”
Kim Jaeha’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar information.
“More precisely, there’s an NPC involved in the middle. We’ll use that to bring the timing forward.”
“There was such an NPC……! Is it someone I haven’t seen?”
Avantgarde suddenly jumped to his feet.
The existence of an NPC he’d never encountered.
Even if he hadn’t progressed the main quest, there was no place in Ifrit he hadn’t visited.
“You probably haven’t seen him. But I can’t give you the details.”
“What? Why all of a sudden? I didn’t do anything wrong…….”
“It’s not that. This is a skill that will become a company asset. I’m hesitant to make it public.”
The dwarf Gorik.
Kamon’s close friend, and the one who helped craft magic tools.
Specific conditions were required to meet him.
It wasn’t that Hanbit didn’t trust Avantgarde, nor was it especially dangerous.
He simply didn’t want to create even the smallest variable.
That was how important Dwarven metallurgy was to him.
“I won’t tell anyone! No, I won’t meet anyone until the Ifrit episode is over!”
Avantgarde was desperate.
Having finally gotten the chance to move together with Hanbit, he didn’t want to lose anything.
“Anyway, I’ll share it later. We’ll just move separately for a day or two. We’ll still clear the episode together.”
“But……”
Avantgarde looked on the verge of tears, searching for a way out.
His sincerity was completely transparent.
“Ah!”
At that moment, Avantgarde’s expression changed as if an idea had struck him.
Turning to Yeonwoo, he voiced his solution.
“Then I can just join DD Studio, can’t I?”
