“Hello, Young Master Raon. I am Secretary Hwang Seungwon, who assists the Chairman.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Raon realize the man’s identity.
He was the Chief Secretary, who served Chairman Han Chanmyeong closer than anyone else.
Raon’s eyes widened briefly, then he greeted the man with a gentle expression.
“It’s my first time meeting you, Secretary.”
“Could we perhaps talk for a moment?”
“Of course.”
Raon readily agreed and led the Chief Secretary to a conference room.
Since he hadn’t officially returned as the Guide Team Leader yet, they had to go into a nearby empty conference room.
“I apologize that I can’t even offer you proper tea.”
“No. It’s quite alright.”
Chief Secretary Seungwon, who shook his head, was surprisingly a man with a genial impression.
It was unexpected that the atmosphere of a person who dealt closely with the notoriously fussy Chairman was not sharp.
However, Raon also thought that perhaps a contrasting personality might be able to work as a secretary for longer.
Raon intently watched Seungwon, who opened his mouth again.
“I believe this is the first time we’ve met like this, Young Master.”
“That’s right. Secretary Youngho is technically in charge of me.”
“Indeed.”
Seungwon’s gaze briefly glanced behind Raon.
He seemed concerned about Siwoo, who was escorting him.
While it was as natural as breathing for Raon, it didn’t seem so for Seungwon.
“Please don’t mind my pair Esper. He is simply doing his job.”
“Yes, I am well aware that the Center holds you in very high regard.”
Seungwon, who subtly praised Raon, smiled faintly.
His pleasant impression almost made Raon mistakenly think he was friendly towards him.
However, a person who was the Chairman’s secretary, let alone the Chief Secretary of a major corporation, wouldn’t be so easy to deal with.
Raon kept his guard up inwardly.
“I apologize for visiting you so suddenly without prior notice. You must be quite flustered.”
“No, I’m sure you have your reasons. I am fine.”
He didn’t have anything to do for a while once he went home anyway, and Seungwon’s visit was practically initiated by him.
He had been looking for a way to contact the Chairman for a few days, and thought it would be easier to contact the secretary, so he found out his number and sent a message.
But there was no reply, so he thought he wouldn’t be able to contact the secretary, but to think he would just show up out of the blue.
It was a good thing for Raon.
“In fact, the competition among the Young Masters has become noticeably fierce, and it seems they might have hacked my work phone. So, I was unavoidably unable to reply.”
“Ah, I see.”
As expected, those golden spoon brothers never just did one thing.
Raon clicked his tongue, understanding Seungwon’s difficulty.
“I understand your desire to meet the Chairman well. Actually, the Chairman also wanted to meet Young Master Raon.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
It seemed the Chairman was also keeping a close watch on Raon, who was actively working as the Guide Team Leader.
Excessive attention was burdensome, but this much was just right.
It wasn’t bad if he was willing to listen to him.
“Then when should I visit the hospital?”
“Ah, the truth is, the Chairman is not at the hospital.”
“Pardon?”
Raon momentarily doubted his ears at Seungwon’s answer.
Seungwon continued with a hint of a smile.
“It is true that he was admitted to the hospital that was initially exposed to the media. But his chronic illness wasn’t that aggravated to begin with, and it seemed the Young Masters were constantly trying to harm him.”
“Ha…”
The story became more absurd the more he heard it.
He didn’t know if Han Minon was involved, but since Han Juon was constantly pulling strings to keep Han Myunghoon hospitalized, he had definitely extended his reach to Chairman Han Chanmyeong too.
“Then the Chairman knew everything and was admitted on purpose.”
“Yes, the situation was complicated at the time, so we had no choice. The board members were also split into two factions, representing CEO Han Myunghoon and the Chairman, and the fighting caused the chronic illness to slightly worsen.”
“Aha.”
Looking at it now, the Chairman seemed to have utilized the crisis as an opportunity.
Unwilling to hand over the corporation to Han Myunghoon, he pretended his chronic illness had worsened and was hospitalized while deliberately observing the situation as the board members fought amongst themselves.
Perhaps if Han Juon had stayed still, the Chairman would have gladly passed on the corporation to the smarter Han Juon than Han Myunghoon, but it seemed he changed his mind after seeing him try to pull foolish stunts while he was hospitalized.
He couldn’t possibly give power to Han Minon, who was even stupider than Han Myunghoon, so Raon felt that the Chairman was also having a hard time.
‘Well, it doesn’t concern me.’
Regardless of that, he would simply take what he could from the Chairman and help him with what he could.
A relationship of give and take, literally.
That was exactly what Raon wanted.
“Then where can I go to see the Chairman?”
“I will give you the address. You can visit anytime.”
“Yes.”
Seungwon handed over a business card with the address written on the back.
The address where the Chairman was currently staying was written on the back of the business card.
It had been a long time since he had made an appointment in such an analog way.
While Raon was looking at the business card, Seungwon quickly got up, saying he couldn’t be away for long.
“Then, I will see you next time, Young Master.”
“Yes, I will visit soon.”
Seungwon bowed and left the conference room.
As soon as he left, he put on a pair of glasses.
It seemed to be glasses that caused perception interference.
He came here disguised, it seems.
Raon clicked his tongue, watched his retreating figure, and then turned his head.
“He didn’t seem to be lying.”
“Hmm, I guess so.”
Raon also had the ability to observe a person’s atmosphere, so he vaguely guessed it.
Although he didn’t know as well as the sensitive Siwoo.
The people whose intentions were difficult to discern were only Jungwon, the leader of the Intelligence Team, and K, the head of Apophis.
The Chief Secretary of Hanmyung was not on that level.
‘Well, if he was that good at hiding his true feelings, he would have joined the Intelligence Team or become a cult leader.’
Raon muttered inwardly and nodded, then asked Siwoo.
“It would be best to visit the Chairman quickly, right?”
“Yes, an Irregular Gate might open soon.”
“Right, and I need to regain command authority before that.”
Raon looked at Siwoo, who was only speaking the truth, with an appreciative gaze.
And he got up with a somewhat relieved expression.
“It’s getting late, shall we grab dinner before heading back?”
“Let’s do that.”
“Can we eat something spicy?”
“…”
Siwoo’s face, which had readily agreed, darkened instantly.
Unlike Raon, who ate spicy food well, Siwoo disliked even touching it.
“Haha, just kidding.”
“No. If Hyung wants to eat it, let’s eat it.”
“I said I’m kidding.”
Raon looked at Siwoo, who was forcing himself to speak despite clearly showing his dislike, with a fond expression.
Siwoo still tried to force himself.
“I’m fine too. Hyung, let’s eat what you want.”
“Haha, what will you do if I actually say I’m going to eat it?”
Raon still spoke playfully, but Siwoo replied in a serious tone.
“But Hyung has been under a lot of stress lately.”
“…”
“You like spicy food, so eat it and relieve some stress.”
Raon paused, looking at Siwoo, who was being considerate of him as naturally as breathing.
He thought Siwoo was just being stubborn because he was young, but it turned out he wasn’t.
Raon, who was touched by the unexpected gesture, froze, then smiled broadly.
“Can you really eat something spicy?”
“…I will try.”
“Then let’s start with a low-level spicy dish.”
“Yes.”
Raon chuckled, watching Siwoo, who was belatedly getting nervous.
The two, naturally holding hands like a couple, slowly left the Center.
The first Chairman of Hanmyung was a person who had experienced many hardships since his youth.
He started his business when Korea was rapidly developing, and although it didn’t go as well as expected, over time, his descendants managed to make it one of the top corporations in Korea.
Though it was questionable whether his methods would please the first Chairman, who was rumored to have a good nature.
“Hmm.”
Raon got out of the car and looked around.
The end of Sector 3 was a place where wealthy people still came and went for relaxation because the probability of a Gate opening was low.
It was natural for a major corporation’s chairman to have several villas in such a place.
Moreover, it seemed that items were planted everywhere to interfere with detection, so that Espers couldn’t find it with their abilities.
Raon momentarily admired the thoroughness.
“Hello, Young Master.”
“Yes, Secretary. How have you been?”
Seungwon approached Raon and Siwoo.
He still looked neat and was smiling quite favorably at Raon.
“The Chairman is waiting for you.”
“Yes.”
And he immediately guided them to the Chairman.
As Raon followed behind Seungwon, he imagined Chairman Han Chanmyeong, whose face he had never seen in person.
Of course, he had seen countless photos while gathering information, but this was the first time meeting him directly.
Would he have an atmosphere similar to his son, Han Myunghoon?
Although the two didn’t physically resemble each other much for a father and son, Raon wondered if their overall demeanor would be similar.
“Welcome.”
“…”
And Raon immediately retracted that thought.
