Became a Dark Merchant in the Academy - Chapter 181



180 – Guild Internship_11

1 minute 47 seconds.

That’s how long it took me to climb the stairs from the first floor of the Myth Guild to the top floor, open the door, and enter the hallway.

“Heh heh…”

Seokjun Ahn was breathing heavily, sweating profusely, and his legs were shaking as if he had lost all his energy.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s…okay. You’re more…amazing than that. I’m out of breath like this too…”

That was natural since their basic physical specifications were different.

But I had no intention of complaining.

“I’m a little confident in my physical strength.”

I smiled awkwardly and reached out my hand to Ahn Seok-jun, who was trying to spread his wings.

“I don’t think it’s a simple physical problem… or something…”

“More than that, what should we do now?”

“Oh, that’s…”

He took my hand and struggled to get up.

And then, when I was about to open my mouth to explain something.

“I’ll guide you through that.”

A voice that seemed to float was heard from behind me.

“Are you Lee Seong-hyeon?”

“Who are you?”

I turned my head to follow the voice,

There was a woman in a black suit with long brown hair, sleepy, closed eyes, and an impressive warm aura.

She was approaching so quietly that you couldn’t even hear the sound of her shoes.

Judging by that and the momentum she feels, her skill level is roughly in the upper ranks of A-class lieutenant.

‘You don’t seem like a regular employee, and judging by your attire, you seem to be a secretary.’

I think it would probably be something like the guild leader’s exclusive secretary or the secretary team leader.

“Oh, I’m late in introducing myself. I’m Yu Chae-ah, the 3rd team leader of the Shinwha Guild. Although I’m lacking, I’m accompanying the guild leader.”

She came over to me without me noticing and introduced herself with a smile.

“In other words, I am called the guild leader’s secretary. Please take good care of me.”

“I am the one who needs to take good care of you.”

“You don’t have to be so stiff. From now on, you’re part of the same Shinwha family. And after you graduate from the academy, you’ll be a team leader, so your rank will be the same. So, feel free to talk to me.”

“Thank you, but I’m more comfortable with this.”

It wasn’t an organization from the 90s, and it was chaos where people would say they were family and that they were all family.

‘No, in a way, it’s similar. Because there are separate armed groups within the country.’

If you look at it from the perspective of the world before Ice Age, the guilds here are somewhat similar to the organizations behind the scenes.

But there was a simple difference: one was certified and the other was not.

“I see. From now on, I will guide you.”

“I don’t mind, but…”

“Oh, Seokjun, you’ve worked hard too. I’m going to be your guide from now on, is that okay?”

“Okay, Team Leader Chae-ah, I’ll go down now.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

At Yoo Chae-ah’s words, Ahn Seok-jun nodded repeatedly with a blank expression.

Then I opened the door I came out of again and went down the stairs.

“The elevator suddenly broke down. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience.”

“No, that could be the case.”

That might be true, but it was ridiculous for the elevator to break down at that time.

If there were one or two, I could understand it, but just before I got on the stairs, there were dozens of elevators.

It made no sense for them to break down at the same time.

This place is not a small or medium-sized guild, and although it has declined, it is still ranked 2nd in the guild rankings in South Korea.

For something like this to happen in a place like that.

‘I wonder who really hates me?’

But I think this is too childish.

“Thank you for understanding. Then shall we go?”

Yoo Chae-ah nodded and started walking ahead.

I followed her.

How much time has passed like that?

After walking down a long hallway and passing several doors, Yu Chae-ah stopped in front of a large door.

“This is the room of the guild leader, Shin Jin-kwang.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Then I will open it right away.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After a brief explanation, she immediately began to open the door.

“Don’t mention it. More importantly, Lee Seong-hyeon, be careful. There is someone in here who hates you.”

And just as the door opened, she whispered something softly.

“Huh? What is that…”

“Guild leader Lee Seong-Hyeon has arrived.”

So, just as I was about to ask what that meant, a small light poured out from within.

**

“Hello. My name is Lee Seong-hyeon and I am participating in this Shinwha Guild Internship.”

A 45 degree angle greeting.

Correct posture and correct pronunciation.

A voice with a cool feeling.

If this was their first meeting, most people would respond favorably to that greeting.

However, Shin Jin-kwang did not feel favorable towards Lee Seong-hyeon.

Rather, it was unpleasant.

The reason was simple.

Because I know.

It wasn’t that he drew the line on this side, but that he was hanging on to that guy Shin Jin-ho.

‘It was probably a plan for the guild leader to give the guild leader the credit for scouting.’

‘An operation?’

‘Think about it. We offered him a much lower offer than Lotus, and he came this way.’

‘Are you saying that this was discussed in advance?’

‘I heard that the Vice Guild Master visited Laplace Academy a few days before the show called the Grand Guild Meeting.’

It was not long after we scouted Lee Seong-hyeon.

Yoo Chae-ah muttered quietly.

‘But honestly, unless you’re an idiot, there’s no reason for you to kick away much better conditions when there’s no problem and you have no goals.’

‘…’

‘Then, although it’s a bit of a guess, isn’t it possible that he later decided to accept better conditions than those offered by Lotus? After he became the guild leader?’

‘I’m the guild leader. That guy…’

‘Don’t distort your ugly face.’

She was a fucking b*tch, but the information she gave was never wrong.

‘So what does that have to do with why you gave me the ball?’

‘You don’t even know that? You’re really stupid. Think about it. Who was the first person to score this goal?’

It was that guy.

It was he who asked for information that other guilds had noticed, but not this one.

That was a fact known to everyone in the guild.

‘And who is the most powerful within the guild right now? And who is the weaker one?’

‘That means…’

‘I see you’ve finally realized it. It’s exactly as you thought. From the outside, it looks like you’re the one who took the credit for your brother. So how do you think they see it?’

‘That guy came to me on his own two feet.’

‘The outside world doesn’t look into such things in detail. They only see what’s visible. Furthermore, I heard that the cadet Lee Seong-hyeon said that he had a good impression of Shinhwa. If we put that together, the answer is simple. He’s a loser who took credit for his capable younger brother. That’s probably how they frame it. Or maybe he’s a younger brother who saves his older brother’s face. You’ve completely fallen for their plan. Well, since one of the scouts is a cadet, the results will come out in the future, so the guild leader position won’t change right away, but who knows, if things like that pile up one by one…’

Yoo Chae-ah’s words still rang in Shin Jin-kwang’s ears.

If he had been late due to some unfortunate incident, he would have been okay. As there had been no problems so far, Shin Jin-kwang got up from his seat with a friendly smile and approached Lee Seong-hyeon.

If I didn’t know the details, I would have chosen Shinhwa among the five major guilds and would have greeted him warmly and asked him many questions since he was a person with the ability to foresee and prophesy.

After I found out, I couldn’t do that.

“Ah, Lee Seong-hyeon is not a cadet, Lee Seong-hyeon is an ‘intern’. His name is Shin Jin-gwang, the guild leader at a not-so-great guild.”

Shin Jin-kwang greeted me indifferently and extended his hand.

“It’s not that great. The only guild that I have in mind is Shinwha Guild.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Lee Seong-hyeon shook hands with both hands and nodded repeatedly.

“Please take care of me.”

“I will learn a lot and work hard to repay you.”

“There’s no need to work so hard from now on. Aren’t you still an intern?”

“No. Even though I’m just an intern, I think I’m already a Shinwha at heart.”

“He’s a myth…yes, I’ll be watching the activities of intern Lee Seong-hyeon with my own eyes.”

Yeah, very well.

“I will work hard.”

Then, it was Lee Seong-hyeon who bowed his head with a neat posture and precise angle.

“I believe you.”

First of all, since he was a talented person who came here through a special invitation, I had to at least pretend to treat him properly.

It’s a very short internship, a position with no work responsibilities, and nothing to catch right away.

It was inevitable that I would come here after graduation, and at that time…

**

“Hey, how about you quit this job?”

It’s been a while since I’ve called, but what the heck is this sudden call?

Ko Han-sik’s eyes darkened at the unexpected words.

If only there had been some warning signs.

This was so sudden.

“Guild Leader, what do you mean? Did I do something wrong…”

That’s why I’ve been thinking back on everything that’s happened recently.

There was nothing wrong with it.

Actually, I’ve had a few good scouts.

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no reason for me to hear something like that.

“No, that’s not it. On the contrary, you did a good job. But there’s nothing I can do.”

The leader of the Iram Guild in front of Gohansik shook his head with a complicated expression.

“There’s nothing I can do…?”

“It seems like there’s someone in the five major guilds who hates you.”

“The five major guilds? What is that…”

Why are we suddenly talking about the five major guilds?

There has never been any friction with the five major guilds.

Even though they are not the head office or subcontractors, they are largely under their shadow, so it would be foolish to create friction without them.

If it’s something related to the five major guilds…

‘I will not say anything to the Aram Guild in particular.’

ah…

Now that I think about it, that happened.

I heard that he was treated like a team leader in Shinwha.

“Are you taking revenge on me for saying that one word back then?”

I thought it was nonsense, but other than that, I had nothing to do with the five major guilds.

“I’m sorry. I will compensate you with severance pay for not giving you advance notice of dismissal. I don’t think you will be disappointed.”

“Guild Leader, I can explain what happened. I can also turn it back. So…”

If you get cut off like this here, you won’t be able to even set foot in the same industry.

Even though the guild leader didn’t say anything, the title of having friction with the five major guilds will follow him around.

Which guild would accept him?

If that’s the case, then the career I’ve built up until now would be useless.

‘no.’

I was sick and tired of work-related stress and trying to please kids.

I was thinking that I should quit whenever I could.

But it was something I had to decide on my own, I didn’t want to be notified unilaterally like this and have gossip follow me around.

There was a family there just looking at him.

There was still a lot of 20-year term loans remaining, and there was also a lot of other debt that had to be repaid.

That’s the situation.

Since the number of years of service is not that long, even if they give a generous retirement allowance, how much will they give?

And how long will that last?

I know it sounds weak.

You might think that you can simply go out and find another job.

But outside is hell.

The world economy has frozen and even fallen into the red due to the 17th Federal terrorist attack in China and the LA incident, and many people are now unemployed or are candidates for unemployment.

Therefore, it could not be cut.

Even though he wanted to believe that he was different, he knew objectively how absurd that was.

That’s why Gohanshik clung to the guild leader’s leg and begged.

However, the guild leader simply shook his head.

“I’ll drag you out.”

From noble mtl dot com

“Just a moment, listen to me, please… Why are you suddenly doing this, Guild Leader? I…”

Then, he called the two secretaries who were waiting in front of the door, grabbed Ko Han-sik, and dragged him out the door.

Doors closing at the same time.

“Wait a minute, Guild Master. Guild Master!!!”

Koh Han-sik shook off the secretaries and approached the door, knocking loudly, but the tightly closed door did not even show a single sign of moving.

“Any further disturbance will not be tolerated.”

“You should go back now.”

Then, two secretaries again came forward to stop Koh Han-sik.

“…”

It was only then that he realized that there was no turning back.

“I did as you said. So…”

And inside it.

The leader of the Iram Guild turned his chair around and muttered while holding his cell phone with a very haggard expression.

[I see, thank you for your hard work. As promised, I won’t touch the guild.]

And the leader of the Iram Guild bowed his head at the words heard from inside the cell phone.