Chapter 42
I crossed my legs and folded my arms.
My posture alone made it clear that I was wary of her.
Ryu Seon-hwa, on the other hand, leaned forward.
She looked like she was about to whisper something secret.
Or maybe she was simply that confident.
And the business card she pulled out certainly justified that confidence.
[Galax Varuhus, U.S. Branch
Marketer Ryu Seon-hwa]
The name sounded simple enough.
But there wasn't anyone living in the modern era who didn't know Galax Varuhus.
The world's first department store built specifically for Hunters.
Most of what it sold consisted of items, rare Gate byproducts, and supplies needed for Gate expeditions.
It had been established with Hunters as its main customers from the beginning.
There was another reason Galax Varuhus was so famous.
Even though countries hosted their own auctions and item markets, Galax Varuhus had managed to maintain its reputation.
Some items could only be obtained there.
Exclusively.
And most of its merchandise was of higher quality than what you'd find at auctions hosted by ordinary countries.
Recently, it had even begun increasing accessibility for non-Hunters by bringing so-called high-end luxury brands into the first floor of its department stores.
When Galax Varuhus first began accepting ordinary luxury brands, people laughed and said it was abandoning its identity.
The result was the exact opposite.
Luxury stores located in a place Hunters frequently visited.
For wealthy non-Awakened customers, that alone was attractive.
And the image of a department store frequented by both wealthy civilians and Hunters spread the Galax Varuhus name far beyond the Hunter world.
For Hunters, there was another benefit.
Walking toward the Hunter-only floors while wealthy, influential non-Awakened people watched naturally made their shoulders rise a little.
In a way, the company had simply understood human desire very well.
And Ryu Seon-hwa was a marketer at the U.S. branch of that famous department store.
That was the source of her confidence.
"Don't cling too tightly to the past, Artist Do. If you keep staring backward, you'll fail to see opportunities until they've already passed you by."
"And you're trying to tell me that you're one of those opportunities?"
"Aren't I? If you supply even a single item to Galax Varuhus, your name could become world-class overnight. Doesn't it feel suffocating to stay inside a small country like Korea?"
I deliberately clicked my tongue and let my gaze drift.
From the business card on the table...
Back to Ryu Seon-hwa.
Then I smiled as though I'd only just noticed the posture she'd been holding from the start.
"I think it's the opposite."
"...Excuse me?"
"You flew all the way back to Korea to tell me something you could've said over the phone. And you're the one trying to sell yourself first."
I smiled crookedly.
"The hungry dog is always the first to bark."
"...Hah!"
Ryu Seon-hwa immediately straightened her back.
Her face flushed.
She had clearly taken it as an insult.
I smiled slightly and pressed harder.
"I can guess what you came all the way to Korea hoping to get from me. The weapons I made were introduced overseas too, weren't they? You wanted them badly enough to risk flying here."
"You shouldn't reject my offer because of momentary anger and arrogance."
Her voice sharpened.
"How many people do you think will simply sit back and watch while S-Class weapons are supplied only inside Korea? Rather than inviting danger, wouldn't it be wiser to establish a relationship with Galax Varuhus through a marketer who already owes you something?"
"Hmm. That's not a very convincing threat."
"A threat? I'm offering sincere advice."
"All I see is someone so desperate for results that her eyes have gone red."
"..."
Ryu Seon-hwa's expression calmed.
The fire in her eyes remained.
But the flush vanished from her face, and every trace of irritation disappeared.
It didn't look like the face of a professional marketer.
It looked more like obsession from some unknown source.
"Are you sure you won't regret losing me?"
"Are you sure you won't regret acting this shamelessly?"
"I don't know. Like I said earlier, I don't think I did anything wrong. Though I'm sure you see it differently."
"...Even if you regretted it now, what would change?"
Ryu Seon-hwa's eyes flashed.
I had no idea what she was hoping to hear.
Whatever it was, she wasn't getting it from me.
"I've wasted enough time. I didn't invite you into my home to listen to this."
I stood first.
Then looked down at Ryu Seon-hwa, who was still sitting.
The homeowner had already risen.
Was the guest really going to keep sitting there?
It was an unmistakable order to leave.
Ryu Seon-hwa walked while conscious of the Hunters stationed as guards around the property.
She deliberately kept her stride confident and unhesitating.
Eyes forward.
Back straight.
Only after she had walked far enough that their eyes could no longer reach her...
She furiously scraped the soles of her shoes against the asphalt.
As though trying to rub off chewing gum.
As though merely stepping on Do Hwa-in's property had dirtied them.
"Ah, damn...."
She barely swallowed the curse and bit her lower lip instead.
Her car was parked not far away.
A new Porsche model aimed directly at Hunters.
It had better durability than ordinary vehicles, but that wasn't the main selling point.
It had been advertised as a car suited for Hunters.
Its body had been designed aggressively and beautifully.
The engine was new.
It was packed with features.
That's right.
I'm successful.
Successful enough that even after returning to Korea after so long, she could drive an expensive car like this.
Then why wouldn't this humiliation disappear?
It felt as though she'd been dragged back in time.
Back to when she was a poor artist.
A starving, unknown painter.
Teacher never helps my life.
Always irritating me....
She had become Do Jae-hwan's student for one reason from the very beginning.
Success.
As a child, she'd believed her only talent was painting.
So she sought out Do Jae-hwan, who had begun gaining recognition in the art world, and became his student.
Many senior figures were paying attention to him.
His reputation had only just begun rising, so it seemed likely to climb even higher.
And she had judged that the title student of Do Jae-hwan would become a powerful business card for her future artistic career.
Her goal had never been the same as the other students who acted as though they'd sold their souls to painting.
Success.
Nothing else.
Climb as high as possible using her talent.
Then the Gates appeared.
Everything collapsed.
For a brief time, she had even felt hopeful when she saw her teacher running around everywhere and pouring all his savings into preserving art.
And what had come of it?
All he'd accomplished was preventing art from disappearing from academia.
Preventing pure art from disappearing from the category of art.
People in the art world praised him endlessly, saying it was extraordinary that he'd managed to include art among the countless necessities of national reconstruction.
But Ryu Seon-hwa wasn't impressed.
The success she wanted required attention.
Support.
Large numbers of people looking up to her.
And money they were willing to spend on her.
Art that only survived as an academic field did nothing for her success.
So in the end, Ryu Seon-hwa left Korea while Do Jae-hwan disappeared into the countryside.
She went overseas.
To the United States, where the vast land and resources had left conditions much better than in Korea.
Other than the money I got for selling information about Teacher's posthumous work to the Korean Hunter Association, he's never helped me once.
No.
If I think of that money as the price for today's humiliation, even that wasn't enough.
Still, there was one thing that comforted her.
The position she'd reached through her own effort.
Marketer at Galax Varuhus.
