Chapter 70 – To the US (2)
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Woojin licked his lips as he saw his empty inventory space fill up quickly with items. These were rare crafting items that was hard to find even on Alphen yet they were pouring out right now.
The most numerous items were the bars of metal, and magical crystals. However, a large amount of other rare materials was also extracted.
‘If I’m lucky, then I could probably make my old equipment.’
The equipment he had used on Alandal. It aided in his magic, and It also assisted in controlling the Undead. If he could regain all of his equipment, he could probably recreate his Undead Army on earth.
No. He needed it.
There was a limit on how much he can increase his Stat using Bonus Stats and Reinforcement Stones. If he could get all of his equipment, he would be 3 times or more powerful then his normal self.
Woojin looked through Point Store index to find the equipment he had used before.
‘Three million Achievement Points?’
Woojin’s mouth fell open when he saw the price of his old equipment. It wasn’t something he could acquire using only Achievement Points. Fortunately, the recipe to make the equipments was available for purchase at a price of 10,000 Points.
Woojin decided to purchase one.
A helmet imbued with the God of Destruction Thrash’s power.
Ingredient : Dragon Heart(1), White Gold Ingot(3), Vampire’s Heart(2)….
There were over 20 ingredients listed, so he looked for the material inside the Achievement Point Store. The price of the ingredients varied, but when summed, he needed around 4 million points.
It would be much better to buy the already made item rather then making it himself through buying the ingredients with Achievement Points.
‘I’ll try to gather the ingredients, and if I have no choice, I’ll have to buy it from the Store.’
He’ll gather ingredients as best as he could, then he’ll buy only couple ingredients he can’t find from the Point Store. This way he’ll be able to make the items at a cheaper cost. Woojin purchased the God of Destruction Thrash’s other set items.
He bought the recipe for the armor, belt, glove and boots. Then he checked all the ingredients.
There was a limit to how much ingredients he could earn using item extraction. Currently, he wasn’t able to make even one of his equipment.
‘Well, I’m not in a hurry yet.’
He’ll slowly scope out the market, and he’ll gather ingredients during his hunt. If that isn’t enough, he could break down Artifacts that’s being traded.
After his employees finished sorting the items, Woojin gathered them around him.
“It’ll be impossible for you to solo a 4 star. Go around the 3 star Dungeons, Sunggoo.”
“Yes, hyung-nim. I’ve already finished making appointments.”
His goal wasn’t excavating bloodstones. He was clearing the Dungeons to practice and advance his abilities. In recent days, it felt as if he was finally getting a pay off for his past manual labor job of extracting bloodstones.
“Haemin. You should take good care of Sunggoo.”
“Of course”
Sunggoo was Rank C right now, and he would be a Rank B Roused soon. Sunggoo was growing into an expert, who would be treated well even in the large guilds. No one would treat him carelessly anymore.
Haemin, who was an employee of the support division, had become close friends with Director Hong-sunggoo, so he was never negligent in supporting Sunggoo.
“Minchan. What about my ticket to the US?”
“It’s all been taken care of. You will be leaving in a week from today.”
“Yes. Well, you do everything well on your own initiative.”
Minchan didn’t having any additional words to add to that statement. Minchan was embarrassed yet proud of Woojin’s praise. Unlike his stint in the Hammer Guild, Minchan managed everything that went on in Alandal.
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of fulfillment in his work.
Woojin looked at the gaunt face of Woo-soonghoon.
“You should take care of your hangover.”
“…yes.”
Woojin gave orders to all of his employees. He was about to head out as he turned his back towards them.
“Oh yeah. I chose a new member for the guild. She is a Rank F, and she’ll be coming by soon.”
“What?”
This was a pretty big news for them, so their curiosity was piqued. Woojin grinned.
“You’ll see later. Well, work hard.”
“Have a nice day, president.”
“Have a nice day.”
Woojin left as he received farewells from his employees. He made a call to Jiwon.
[Hey, Woojin.]
“Author Do. Where are you?”
[Ai. What? I’m at the cafe.]
“I’ll be there soon.”
[No. I will head out right now. Let’s meet at the front.]
“All right. Let’s do that.”
Woojin ended his call, then he headed towards Angel Angel.
While he was crossing the street, he saw Do-jiwon come out of the cafe.
When she saw Woojin, she waved her hand with a radiant face. She was exceptionally beautiful today.
“Let’s go. My mother and sister should be at the restaurant.”
“What should I do? I’m really nervous.”
“It’s just lunch.”
Jiwon couldn’t hide her nervousness even when she heard Woojin’s words.
In Korea, it was a bit of a special occasion when one meets the significant other’s parents.
When Woojin and Jiwon walked side-by-side, the surrounding pedestrians couldn’t help but glance at them at least once.
“Wow. Awesome.”
“She’s really pretty.”
“Doesn’t the guy look familiar?”
“That guy? I have no idea. Who cares?”
Jiwon was so pretty that she was the center of everyone’s attention. It even made people not recognize the face of a Rank AA Roused, who was frequently on tv these days.
“It’s over there. Let’s go in.”
“Hoo-ooh.”
Jiwon took a deep breath to shed her nervousness. Jiwon and Woojin entered the appointed restaurant together.
*
Therer was a saying that said pretty teachers were popular amongst children in kindergarten. It seemed those talks were true.
Sooah asked endless questions toward Jiwon, and her conversation made the dinner quite amicable.
“After seeing you on tv, I was very curious. I had to meet you at least once. Thank you for coming out here.”
“No, mother. I’m really grateful you invited me. Please speak freely.”
“Ah-whew. No. You are still someone else’s precious daughter.”
It seemed his mother was quite taken with Jiwon. After a short lunch, she immediately stood up with Sooah.
“We’ll be going. Please continue your date.”
As if she didn’t want to bother them, she left after a brief lunch. Woojin put on a wry smile as he watched his mother leave. His mother didn’t want to interfere with his love life. She was satisfied after meeting with the woman he was dating.
His family really just ate a quick lunch, then they left. It almost made Jiwon feel silly for being so nervous.
“We have a lot of time left. Don’t we have a meeting at dinner time? Who’s coming?
“Yeah. Do you know who Nahm-jihyuhk and Park-sohee is?”
“Those names seems familiar.”
“Jihyuhk said he used to be close to you….”
“Ah. Is that so? Then I’ll probably get along with him again. What should we do until the evening? Do you want to go watch a movie??”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
“All right. Let’s walk there.”
The theater was one subway station away.
As they walked, Woojin grabbed Jiwon’s hand and her cheeks became red.
*
Inside a black van.
“Whew. I really hate this.”
Cindy, who was part of a 4 member girl group named Yuri Girls, let out a sigh.
Her manager laughed as he spoke.
“Heh heh. You have to paddle when the tide comes in. Let’s hurry up and go. The director is waiting for us.”
“Uh-whew. Will the number of people who watch this movie increase if we do this?”
“It’s all about portraying a certain image. Do you really think everything ends after the filming ends? We all have to work hard to promote the film. What would they say if the main heroine didn’t show up on stage? Even if the number of people who’ll watch this movie won’t increase, you’ll gain more fans.”
“Ah. I want to rest.”
It had been 6 years since Yuri Girls debuted, and their popularity was in decline after being pushed by the younger girl groups. However, Cindy was still popular as ever, and she was too busy to eat and sleep.
She had successfully transitioned into an actress. This movie will allow her to reach a new zenith in her acting career.
She’ll be hitting her prime.
“Let’s hurry up and go.”
“All right.”
Cindy put on her sunglasses, then she exited the car after the road manager opened the door. She had naturally high cheekbones, and she put on a gorgeous smile. However, the expected crowd wasn’t in front of her van.
Usually, even if they kept her whereabouts a secret, the fans would show up like swarms of clouds. However, she didn’t see any of those fans. The security personnel, who had been waiting for Cindy, greeted her.
“Oppa. I think we were too secretive.”
“I…I guess so.”
The manager was also a little bit taken aback by this situation.
“This might better, since we can relax. Let’s hurry up and go.”
Cindy went into the ready room with the security personnel, and she saw that the room was crowded near one side.
“What’s going on over there? Did another team other than ours show up?”
“Huh? Wait a second. I’ll go check it out.”
After the manager quickly ran towards the crowd, he came back not too long afterward, and he made a great fuss.
“Wa. Jackpot!”
“What?”
“It’s Kahng-woojin! Kahn-woojin came to see the movie.”
“Is that so?”
Cindy knew who Kahng-woojin was. He was a Roused, who was much more popular than celebrities.
“Oppa.”
“Huh?”
“Go get me his number.”
Cindy’s words made the manager’s brow furrow. His face suddenly stiffened, and he exuded his disapproval.
“Hey. Why are you being like this again? We can’t have a scandal again.”
“Oppa. Did I say I was going to date him? I just want to build a friendly relationship with him. Hurry up and get his contact information.”
“Hey, I have to keep my promise to the president…”
“Do you want me to go there myself? Wouldn’t people recognize me?”
That would cause more trouble.
The reporters probably would love such a situation, and they would flock toward them.
The manager tried to find another excuse.
“Hey. He has a girlfriend by his side.”
“Ha-ah.”
Cindy let out a sigh then she lowered her sunglasses slightly. She looked at her manager with eyes filled with confidence.
“Oppa. I’m Cindy. Cindy. Yuri Girl’s Cindy.”
“…….”
Ah. She was a good actress, and she worked diligently. She behaved in a pleasant manner towards the staff. He liked everything about her except the fact that she acted as if being a celebrity was a position that gave her power.
“Do you want me to go there myself?”
“N…no. I’ll go.”
Before a bigger incident could happen, the manager quickly burrowed through the dense crowd. After he returned, Cindy could guess what had happened when she saw his expression.
“What? You couldn’t get it?”
“…uh.”
“Did you tell him you are Cindy’s manager?”
“I did.”
“He still didn’t give it to you?”
“He said who is she…”
“…….”
At her manager’s words, she saw the security personnel trying to hold back their laughter. Cindy adjusted her sunglasses, then she walked in a calm manner.
‘Huh. He doesn’t know about me? He turned me down?’
Cindy was barely able to hold herself back when her pride was trampled. She moved towards the ready room prepared for her by the theater. After she greeted the director and the other main actors, she went into the theater to greet her fans from the stage.
*
Woojin held up his ticket as they entered, and he whispered towards Jiwon.
“We are fortunate I still had the cancelled tickets.”
“I guess. Aren’t you uncomfortable with this situation, Woojin?”
“Why?”
“People will mob you…”
Woojin grinned at Jiwon’s words.
“Ah. I’m used to it. Are you uncomfortable? Do you want to wear a mask again?”
“Pbbt. No. I’m fine.”
Jiwon couldn’t help, but laugh when she thought about the masks.
When her face was damaged, people looked at her with pity and disgust in their eyes. She could tolerate the stares and interest people showed her now. No, it actually brought up old feelings she had buried.
During her high school days, she had been called a goddess, and she was the center of everyone’s attention.
Woojin and Jiwon got in their seats, and they ignored the glances everyone was giving them. They waited for the movie to start.
“Uh? I guess it’s a stage greeting.”
Jiwon was lucky, since advanced reservation was needed to view the stage greeting. Her eyes twinkled.
The director and celebrities came in, and they started to introduce themselves.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Murim Heroine’s director Lee-jaehong.”
“Hello. I’m Murim Heroine’s main character, Cindy.”
“Hello. My name is Che-jaesong. My role was a warrior in charge of guarding Ms. Cindy.”
As she watched the celebrities give stock greetings, an old memory surfaced within Jiwon.
“Do you remember Cindy over there? She was in the same year as us in high school. She was the trainee in class 8.” (TLN: trainee for the talent agency)
He couldn’t even remember his friends from his own class, so how could he remember a person from a different class? He vaguely remembered there used to be a girl who had been a trainee….
“Is that so? I don’t remember her.”
“Heh. She’s probably the most successful alumni. No. I guess you are more successful now?”
“Successful my ass.”
Woojin was grinning when his eyes met Cindy’s gaze.
“Uh? Isn’t she looking towards us? Did she recognize you?”
“Maybe.”
When Jiwon went to the restroom, the manager had approached him to ask for his phone number… He didn’t feel too good about it.
Cindy continued to stare directly at Woojin, and she brought up the microphone to her mouth.