4.

Park Sijun had suddenly requested a meeting regarding the Legendary box. Kim Buja already knew what he wanted to say and had no real desire to see him.

'He's obviously going to film it.'

It was all so predictable—how he'd try to handle it, how he'd attempt to sway public opinion. It was like a cliché movie he'd seen twenty times. Still, he agreed to meet.

'Even if it's obvious, I'm not rich enough to turn down an obvious payday.'

He was already entangled with Park Sijun in many ways. Most of it was negative, but on reflection, there was no need to hold a grudge. After all, his dealings with the man had led to him, a freshly awakened newbie, acquiring a full Special-grade accessory set and a Legendary necklace. His video channel had gained a surge of traffic because of him, which had helped him safely navigate his early days of obscurity.

After all that help, he felt obligated to see it through. But he had no intention of just doing Park Sijun a favor.

"I'll go. I'm curious, too," Jeong Seora said, readily nodding when he asked.

So they went to meet him together. Park Sijun, who clearly hadn't expected her to come along, let his smile visibly stiffen.

"What? You here to give me the box?" Kim Buja asked, ignoring his reaction and getting straight to the point. He delivered his line, practically a memorized script, and got the expected response.

"To be honest, I just said that to get some attention for the channel. And since I've already opened the box, I was wondering if I could give you something else as a replacement."

He spoke apologetically, but his expression was anything but. It was a situation that could sour anyone's mood, but Kim Buja simply nodded.

"What is it?"

"Huh?"

"What is it? The thing you're going to give me?"

Sijun's expression hardened. He had clearly expected a tantrum and demands for the Legendary box. He must have anticipated a boring script and written a new one of his own. Otherwise, there was no way he would have come on his own to offer compensation for something that wasn't even a legally binding contract. If Kim Buja had insisted on the box, Sijun would have used the footage to sway public opinion.

But Buja, who never expected to get it anyway, wasn't about to fall for that.

"That Legendary box is worth over ten billion. If you're offering a replacement of that value, are you giving me one of SJ Group's subsidiaries? Maybe the semiconductor division?"

When Kim Buja pushed further, a curse slipped out involuntarily.

"You crazy son of a bitch," Park Sijun spat.

"I know that's not it, so just give me what you brought and get lost," Kim Buja sneered, seizing the opening. "Live with some shame, you punk. A man born with balls, putting on all that bravado, only to come crawling here when you lose. Seriously, I don't know what you were hoping for, but I never once thought you'd actually keep your word. Got it?"

Just as Park Sijun had come prepared to film, so had Kim Buja. This was a video to immortalize the moment. Whatever he received was bound to be worth far less than the original prize, so Sijun would have to endure at least this much humiliation.

And that wasn't the end of it. Park Sijun, fists clenched and trembling, wouldn't normally have tolerated this. Even if he was made to look like a fool, he was still a chaebol. He was a man who had been around the block on his video channel; he wouldn't just take this quietly. He might have even used the filming as an excuse to lunge at him and throw the situation into chaos.

But there was a reason Sijun was frozen. His gaze shifted to Jeong Seora. Sitting beside them, casually sipping her tea, her eyes were filled with amusement. Their relationship was long dead, but the humiliation of being torn down in front of a woman he had once chased, abandoning all pride, was immense.

Even if he wanted to act crazy and throw a punch, the image of Kim Buja clearing a dungeon was seared into his mind. Just hours ago, he had clearly seen the emerald ring on that finger slaughter hundreds of monsters. You don't start a fight you know you can't win. As the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth from biting his lip, he thought of the shield he had left at home.

'Endure it. That son of a bitch… I'll kill him. I swear it.'

He had come here to endure. He had even resolved to kneel if he had to. But he hadn't accounted for Jeong Seora being there. He couldn't bring himself to drop to his knees.

With a gesture, his lawyers came forward with a stack of documents.

"What? Is that it?" Buja asked.

Sijun nodded. The confidence he'd had when he first walked in was gone. Seeing Sijun trying to salvage his last shred of pride, Kim Buja didn't push any further.

"Thanks. I wasn't expecting anything, but for you to take care of me like this really shows that chaebols are different. I hope you and that Legendary item have a great time together."

He just sneered. Park Sijun, having endured all he could, simply nodded and turned his back. It felt as if no words could hurt him anymore. It was that humiliating. The thought of this moment being immortalized on Kim Buja's channel made his vision go blank.

'Son of a bitch. Bastard.' Internally, he cycled through every curse imaginable, wondering a million times before reaching the door if he should beg him not to post the video. But his feet wouldn't move. He had swallowed his words at the end to protect his pride, but then to ask him not to upload the video? If he were rejected and laughed at for that, too, he would truly hit rock bottom. He would protect his Legendary shield and dominate in dungeons, but today's humiliation would follow him like a brand. He cursed himself for taking this so lightly.

Then, a devil's whisper reached his ears.

"Hey. How about we both agree not to upload today's video?"

His steps came to an abrupt halt. The words Park Sijun couldn't bring himself to say, Kim Buja had said them for him.

Of course, it wasn't for free.

"By any chance, do those documents include a villa somewhere in Japan with good water and scenic mountains? Preferably a place with a nice, gushing hot spring."

How would Park Sijun know what was in those documents? The lawyers had handled it. It didn't matter if there was one or not. If there wasn't, the lawyers would add it. They would make one exist.

But he was curious. Why all of a sudden?

He turned to ask, then scowled and started walking again. He had seen them—Kim Buja and Jeong Seora, sitting side by side, smiling.

With slumped shoulders, bearing nothing but wounds, Sijun departed with the Legendary item secured.

* * *

"People are so fickle. They try to hold on to a bare minimum of conscience they don't even need," Kim Buja said, clicking his tongue after Park Sijun had left.

The assets he left behind were clearly worth less than what was promised. But from Kim Buja's perspective, he had gained a fortune from something he never expected to receive at all. On top of that, he had inflicted an unforgettable humiliation on Park Sijun.

If their relationship had been different, would Buja have ever been able to speak like this to the youngest son of the SJ Group, no matter how much of a delinquent he was? Wouldn't he have been the one getting pushed around?

Ultimately, this was all Park Sijun's own doing. If he hadn't tried to save face by offering the Special-grade accessories. If he hadn't kept quiet about the Legendary item falling into Kim Buja's hands. If he had just opened the box himself, taken the heat, and enjoyed his dungeon life.

People aren't perfect. Buja had learned that lesson the hard way through gaming. He had made plenty of mistakes himself and was probably still making them. But that was how he had gained so much.

"He'll be running around trying to kill me now," Buja said.

"You'll be lucky if he doesn't send assassins after me in Japan," Seora replied.

He had gained her, and everything else he had achieved. And he would gain more. He would devour all the tempting prey laid out before him.

5.

The trip was arranged simply and quickly.

"Are we taking a private jet?"

"Since it's just the two of us, I only booked first class. Should we take a private jet?"

"No, I was just asking."

They really were different. For players, time was money, and they had no hesitation when it came to spending it. Kim Buja now had tens of millions of dollars in his bank account from the event alone, but perhaps he just wasn't used to it yet. The memories of his impoverished past were rooted too deeply in his instincts to disappear so easily. That didn't mean he was a cheapskate, of course. The thoughts just surfaced; he was more than willing to spend. Not that the trip required any particular extravagance.

The two arrived at the luxurious villa in a scenic mountain village, courtesy of Park Sijun. After briefly unpacking, they went for a walk.

"He really gave us a nice place. If it were me, I would've found some dilapidated, haunted-looking house on the verge of collapse," Buja commented.

"I know, right? The view is amazing," Seora said.

The mountains were covered in a blanket of white snow under a clear sky. The villa's outdoor hot spring was naturally secluded and, being a natural spring, had a certain rustic charm.

"To think the day would come when I'd be at a hot spring with you, Seora. It's even more unbelievable than when I awakened as a player."

"Me too. I never thought I'd come all the way to Japan with you, Buja. I've only ever seen you in videos."

They were simply drawn to each other. They were comfortable together, and conversation flowed easily, a natural outcome of their shared interests. As the mood grew more intimate, Kim Buja made his ultimate move.

"I'll let you in on one of my secrets, Seora. Just for you."

'My own secret that only you know.' The perfect moment to capture her heart. An array of dishes began to materialize on the large dining table.

"You'll never have to worry about cooking for the rest of your life."

"Pfft."

The line was childish, but it was enough. The night in Japan, at the hot spring, grew deeper.

* * *

After smashing all the furniture in his office once again, Park Sijun caught his breath.

"Son of a bitch."

He now understood exactly why he had suffered such humiliation. It was because he had let himself be swayed. His plan, concocted to appease the trolls on his video channel, had been seen through completely, and he had returned having suffered even greater humiliation.

From now on, he would never be swayed again.

"When the main character has his awakening, you're all dead, you bastards."

At least, he thought, it had given him motivation. Their ranking was everything to a player. No matter how well Kim Buja cleared dungeons, a player ultimately proved their worth through their level. Until now, he had focused on content that would attract viewers to his channel, but things would be different from now on.

"I'll crush him."

Buja was only at level two. For all his bragging, wasn't he just some guy who couldn't even level up because he was stuck? That was the only weakness of Kim Buja that Sijun knew. And he would exploit it.

'Once I raise my level and the stat difference grows, what the hell can he do?'

He would face him then. He would tell him to try running that mouth of his again. He cooled his burning rage. He turned to the lawyer who had returned after finalizing the acquisition, including Kim Buja's additional requests.

"You gave him some garbage haunted house in a cemetery, right?"

"Pardon?"

"What do you mean, 'pardon'?" Sijun snarled. "You watched me suffer that humiliation, and you still gave him exactly what he wanted?"

"I apologize."

The apology said it all. The calm he had just found was instantly consumed by flames. More infuriating than the humiliation Sijun had suffered was the image of Kim Buja's smug face as he rolled around with Jeong Seora in the hot spring villa that he had provided.

"Raaaaaah!"

The cry of the enraged fool once again shook the office.

* * *

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