Chapter 309
Chuuwaaap.
“Huueeeek...!!!”
I stretched Danto’s cheek like a sticky rice cake—pulling and tugging without mercy.
Danto flailed her arms wildly, then barely managed to nod her head.
Still, her pouty lips stuck out like a duck’s bill on that sulky face of hers—so damn cheeky.
What the hell should I do with this brat?
“You gotta earn your keep, you little shit. How long are you planning to just eat and freeload?”
“Auh...”
“If she doesn’t listen, grab her cheeks and stretch the hell out of them.”
“...Yes, Master.”
“Eeek?! I—I’m the senior here!!”
“...Huh?”
Is that so?
Now that I think about it... she might be right.
Eun-hwa, Ma Yeon-ju, and Seo Eun...
“No, you little liar. Eun-mi was already around when I first came to Incheon. What are you talking about? I almost got fooled.”
“Ughhh... Th-That’s...!!”
Danto mumbled like she had a lot to say.
She knows everything, but probably can’t say it out loud because it’s a sensitive topic.
“Whatever. Who’s senior or junior doesn’t matter anyway. Everyone’s got different skill sets. Seo Eun-mi and Ma Yeon-ju have already been deployed on actual missions, so have them take the lead on that. Make sure they pass down their know-how to Danto and the others. As for Eun-hwa, dispatch her wherever force is needed. During downtime, she’ll oversee overall coordination. Think of yourself as the team leader.”
“Yes, my lord. I will do my very best!”
“Good. Now go draw up a concrete plan. Seung-hee, go help them out.”
“Yes.”
Strategy team leader Ra Seung-hee took the girls and left.
Just as things were starting to wrap up, a text came in.
I thought it might be Go Minji, but—
- Muyeol-ah
It was Go Min-young.
We almost had a falling-out over the whole Eun-hwa situation once, but narrowly avoided it.
That incident gave me quite the cold sweat.
**- Yes, Min-young.
**- Your toy
- The knight-exclusive unit.
- Ah.
Something like that—I could’ve just had Go Minji take care of it.
But she contacted me herself. How thoughtful.
**- It passed all tests,
**- Muyeol,
- Yes.
Her tone was dry, but I could read between the lines.
‘If I couldn’t read this, I’d be a fucking idiot.’
Of course she could just have it delivered to my island.
But she was clearly saying she wanted me to come get it in person.
Naturally, it wasn’t about convenience—it meant she wanted to see me.
‘Considering what happened last time... I should go and settle that properly.’
Everything else was going smoothly right now.
Incheon politics just needed the mayoral election to wrap up. The rest of the tasks were already being handled by my secretaries.
Sure, I’d still need to act as final decision-maker, but Soo-ah could just relay the reports.
‘Right now, there’s nothing more important to me than family.’
- I’ll come.
**- Really? You’ll come?
No real plans on that day.
There is the Dickhouse Meeting, but that’s a weekly thing anyway...
**- I’ll come then.
Still short replies as always.
But they felt like they carried warmth.
‘While I’m at it, I should check in with the others too.’
I ended the chat with Go Min-young and started sending greetings to the others.
A light check-in message to someone I’d seen recently, like Go Minji.
And then messages to the ones who’ve already become “mine”—Go Hayoung and her candidate circle: Go Hayan, Go Seona, and Go Seonyul.
The last one, of course, was Grandpa.
The only man I stay in regular contact with.
**- Bzzt
Guess I really am the popular guy, Go Muyeol—even in their busy lives, they all respond instantly.
‘Damn. My direct bloodline’s love for their nephew is... intense.’
I saved the safest bet, Go Minji, for last, and sent replies starting from Grandpa down the list.
Most chats ended on a friendly, cheerful note with some casual greetings.
Until...
**- I already bought the prep supplies ♥
There was one formidable opponent in the middle of it all, but even that... ended pretty smoothly.
Aside from the fact that we scheduled a visit sometime in May...
‘Come to think of it, this’ll be my first visit to the Financial Holdings...?’
Not just Financial Holdings—other than Militaris, I haven’t really visited anywhere else.
‘Maybe I should plan a company tour schedule someday...’
There are quite a few places I’d like to visit.
Like Minji-ah’s Biotech under Militaris, or Koryo Card under Financial Holdings, and so on.
Someday I should make time to check out our Group’s affiliates.
Feels like I only know Incheon and nothing else.
**- Muyeol-ah, remember when we talked about going to the art museum together? You said okay, but... you haven’t forgotten, right? I don’t think you did, but I’m just asking just in case. I think I’ll have enough free time in May. What do you think?
Go Seonyul brought up the art museum.
Right, I had promised her we’d go together... quite a while ago.
We never followed up, and it kind of faded.
Go Seonyul must’ve wanted to go for a while, but since I never said anything, she held it in all this time.
Now it finally slipped out of her mouth.
And from the way she’s saying we should go in May, it sounds like she doesn’t want to put it off anymore.
‘May’s getting crowded...’
- May is fine.
- Right? Then let’s plan to meet in Jeju in May. The art museum is great, but Jeju has plenty of other sights too.
We agreed to meet sometime in May.
**- The product’s official release is in April.
**- “Event” sounds fancy, but it’s really just a press conference or presentation.
If it weren’t for Go Minji, I might’ve rolled around with her on that yacht back then. Still kind of bummed about that.
- I’ve never done something like that before...
**- What?
There’s bound to be questions like how Sinabro was developed, or how I discovered it—lots of speculation and behind-the-scenes talk.
I’m not confident I could answer those appropriately.
Not that getting questioned would ruin my life or anything, but... it just feels off. My sister will be there, and probably other family members too.
‘Still... maybe it’s better if I go?’
**- Noona
Compared to all the grim shit in this world, I’m just a mere mortal, but still—I’m not exactly free from the delinquent image.
I’m known as a brutal, chaotic bastard, but one who cleansed Incheon with sheer force—that’s kind of the rep I’ve got.
Is that really the kind of image that suits a gemstone like Sinabro? Hell no.
In this case, mystery works to my advantage.
- I’m fine with any month except May.
**- Then in May—
- ....
If I end up meeting Go Hayan in May too, that’s way too much.
I don’t even know how things will play out when I meet with Go Hayoung and Go Seonyul—and on top of that, adding Go Hayan is a little too much.
It’s already a lot, honestly.
Unless I start batching these meetings, I should probably limit it to one Go per month... Otherwise, I won’t be able to function.
And we’re talking Go Hayan and Go Seonyul, for god’s sake.
I’m not even used to being around them—just sitting next to them drains the hell out of me.
‘Sigh... Go Muyeol, you’ve still got a long way to go. Better toughen up somehow.’