"Ah. Yes. Hello, Father-nim!"
Jihye gathered herself up and shook the hand that was stretched in front of her.
Kang Minhoo shook her hands with a bit of force. After letting go of her hands, he shook the hands of the other two in turn.
"I won't wash this hand for the rest of my life..."
"You don't wash them often to begin with."
Jisoo glared at Seoktae when he heard his words. And Kang Minhoo smiled softly at them as he watched them interact with each other.
"You get along well, huh?"
"Yes, well."
Jihye smiled awkwardly. She didn't know what to do with herself since there was such a big man in front of them.
"Shall we go?"
Chairman Kang Minhoo turned around and led them away.
It was lunchtime right now and there were a lot of people going in and out of the Ilhwa Group building. All of them bowed their heads in greeting when they saw Chairman Kang Minhoo.
Secretary Park hurriedly opened the rear door of the limousine. This limousine was made by Benz and currently had only 10 of its kind in the world. Kang Minhoo first boarded the car and Jihye, Seoktae and Jisoo followed him inside.
'Wow... The inside is...'
They felt that they had boarded the first class seat on a plane when they entered the car. They were in awe from this rare experience.
"You're my Minhyukie's middle school friends, right?"
"Yes, that's right. Father-nim."
"I heard that you kept on sending my Minhyukie messages. I'm truly grateful that you kept on thinking about him."
Kang Minhoo looked sincerely grateful. He was truly grateful that they had reached out to Minhyuk first.
"You can let me know if you need anything."
The car rapidly moved towards Gapyeong. As the silence pervaded the car, Kang Minhoo suddenly spoke…
"I hope you take care of Minhyukie and show him plenty of love."
"Wow..."
"Uwaaaah..."
"OMG...?"
The three people who arrived at Minhyuk's residence in Gapyeong were all left speechless in awe.
"Y, you'll definitely get lost in this place."
It was a luxuriously large mansion that you could only see on TV!
As soon as the limousine entered the gate, they were able to see plenty of guards. The grounds were covered in grass and there was even a large fountain spewing water in the middle of the area.
The four of them all got off of the car together.
"I hope to see you again next time."
Kang Minhoo smiled softly at them as he once again boarded his limousine and disappeared from their sights.
As soon as he disappeared, the three of them marveled at this palace-like place.
Then, a man came out from the inside. Just at a glance at this man's bulky body, they could tell that he always exercised a lot.
"Are you Minhyukie's friends? I'm Oh Changwook."
"Ah. Yes."
"Let's go. This way."
He turned around and moved somewhere else. As they walked through the place, they could see another large mansion behind the large one up front.
Oh Changwook talked to them as he guided them inside the other mansion.
"This is a building that used to cater guests and there are employees living here. This was supposed to be a place for Minhyuk to play but he doesn't use it often."
"P, play?"
"Yes. We have arcades, theaters, karaoke rooms and even a [1]."
Changwook kept on talking as he introduced the place. Meanwhile, Jisoo mumbled to himself.
"So this is the diamond spoon that I have heard of..."
"You guys are very popular and rich too, huh? I'm also an Athenae user so I know."
When the three of them heard him, they all shook their heads. It might be true that they were rich and had a lot of money but it also cost a lot to keep their guild up and running. They needed to invest their money on artifacts, skill books and potions to keep themselves from falling from their rank. So there wasn't much for them left in real life.
Not long after, they arrived in front of a room.
"Please take a deep breath."
"Hooooooo. Huh? But why do we need to take a deep breath?"
"...I thought that you needed to calm yourself down."
Changwook smiled awkwardly at them while they looked at him in confusion.
"Minhyukie is inside. Well then, I'll be off."
Changwook turned around and left while Jihye stood in front of the door.
'What the hell was that about?'
First, they found out that Minhyuk was very rich. And they didn't know much about his story except that he had gone under the radar for 5 years and that it was inconvenient for him to get out of the house. All of them were full of questions.
Slowly, Jihye turned the doorknob.
When Changwook heard that Minhyuk's friends were already outside, he immediately stepped outside to guide them, leaving Minhyuk sitting on a large chair in front of a round table waiting.
Then, he heard some sounds from outside.
'...I'm nervous.'
He breathed deeply to calm his erratic heart.
At that moment…
The doorknob slowly turned. Minhyuk quickly stood up in trepidation.
Jihye, Jisoo and Seoktae came inside the room. As soon as they entered, they discovered Minhyuk.
Minhyuk had an embarrassed look on his face.
"You're here?"
The three of them remained silent for a moment while Minhyuk fell down in a spiral of thoughts.
'As expected... I've changed too much...'
Was I too hideous to look at? Well, it's really hard to see someone who's at 160kg outside. And even the shape of my face is completely covered with fleshy fat.
Minhyuk thought that he was really doomed and his face became dejected.
Then, Jisoo bluntly spoke.
"We're here. Do you think we'll leave just like that?"
He slid naturally and sat down in front of Minhyuk.
"Hooo. You always wanted to be a fat man who could connect with the wild boars, have you turned your dreams into reality?"
Jihye smiled slightly as she sat down together with Seoktae.
"Hey. Aren't I still handsome?"
"Wow. Just like what Jihye said, you're still a narcissistic jerk."
"Hmph. What did you say about me?"
He smiled awkwardly as Jihye changed the subject.
"What happened to you?"
Minhyuk's appearance was completely different from the past.
As if on cue, Minhyuk described his bulimia to them. All of them were left shocked and speechless when they heard about him having such a disease.
"And now, it seems like I'm starting to get better."
"That's a relief."
"Oh. So you will eventually come back to what you used to look, no, to what you look like in Athenae, right?"
Jisoo and Seoktae did not see it but Jihye was able to see his face when he took off the helmet before. He was so handsome and cool that he couldn't help but just be amazed.
"Ma, maybe...?"
Jihye suddenly opened her mobile phone as if she remembered something.
"Ah, that's right. What time is it now?"
She turned her gaze and looked at the clock. Right now, it was 4 minutes past 1 in the afternoon.
"I heard that the Athenae update will open at 1 o'clock today."
Jihye quickly clicked on the update. Then, she placed her phone on the center of the table.
[Athenae Update
1 100 million gold will now be converted to 1 platinum and will become a silver-like coin just like the image below.
2 You now have a choice to have your nickname float above your head. It is possible to turn it on/off.]
It seemed to have been modified due to the countless complaints from the users.
Now, 100 million gold had become 1 platinum and it sounded good for them. Currently, they had tens of billions of gold. To be exact, around 57.2 billion gold. However, the 572 platinum instead of pouches of gold sounded much better. And the second update about having the nickname float above their head was also convenient. Of course, Minhyuk and the rest of the people here would always have it turned off.
Then, the next part of the update…
[There will be a higher drop rate for ingredients and artifact materials in the Northern Continent. There will also be better cooking ingredients, more effective medicines, new fields and dungeons and plenty of quests!
1 You will have a higher probability of obtaining better and superior artifact materials in the Northern Continent. In other words, materials that can be used to make epic artifacts will be in abundance there is also a rare chance of acquiring artifact materials for legendary artifacts.
2 Special cooking ingredients will also be released in large quantities. A new class of medicine will also be released.
3 New field dungeons will be opened! Inside one of these dungeons, there will be a new artifact and a way to transfer to a special class. In addition, events will randomly occur in certain dungeons in the whole continent including the Northern Continent.
4 SS ranked quest! The Northern Continent has a hidden SS ranked quest! The rewards are definitely amazing ^^!]
Jihye nodded her head after checking all the contents of the update.
"We have to keep up and increase our speed as the level of users increases."
Jisoo and Seoktae both nodded their heads in agreement.
"The Epic and Legendary artifact materials are rare but with the increase in drop rates a lot of supply will be released. And since a lot of high-leveled users will go to the Northern Continent, then it's only natural that there will be epic artifact drops."
All of them nodded their heads. As rankers, whether official or not, they had to move quickly and adapt to the changes.
"A new class of medicine?"
It was Minhyuk who reacted to these words.
"I know right? What do you think is the new class of medicine?"
"You'll find out when you get it."
Minhyuk looked excited when he saw that update and there was only one thing that flashed through his mind as he grinned…
'I wonder if the new class of medicine is something delicious?'
Yeah. As usual, Minhyuk always had his head in the clouds thinking if it was something delicious.
Then, he suddenly felt the pangs of hunger. Since he was talking with his friends, he held back from eating his salad and cherry tomatoes. However, his stomach was already complaining and cold sweat was dripping from his forehead.
"I'm sorry but I have to step out for a bit."
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"The bathroom."
Minhyuk stood up and went out of the room. Just as he stepped out, he saw Changwook waiting for him with the sealed container filled with his salad and cherry tomatoes. He quickly opened the container and hurriedly ate it in a room beside where his friends were staying.
"What did your friends think?"
"I don't know."
In fact, Minhyuk still did not know. He was not sure why he did not do this in front of them. Perhaps it was because he couldn't do so in front of them or perhaps it was because he was afraid that they wouldn't understand and that he would lose face? He did not know so he was still anxious and heartbroken right now.
'This bloody hunger. Just for today, please....!'
Minhyuk began to feel more anxious as his hunger continued to stay. He inhaled his food non-stop just to appease it. And without realizing it, 30 minutes had already gone by. His friends were waiting for him but his damned hunger was still keeping him from going there. He kept on eating until another 30 minutes passed by. When he felt that he had slowly calmed down and his hunger was not that much, he stood up and slowly went back towards the room where his friends were at.
"Minhyuk-ah."
"Yes?"
"Your friends look like they're good people."
Changwook smiled softly at him.
It was like he was telling him to not be nervous and just be his usual self. He knew that that was what he meant but it was still hard for him to do so. He was curious and anxious about what his friends thought of him in their hearts.
Then, he heard the voices of his friends from inside.
"Why isn't Minhyuk coming?"
"Yeah. I wonder what's wrong?"
It was Jihye and Seoktae's voices of concern. Then…
Bang!
He suddenly heard a loud noise. He looked at the door with confusion on his face.
"Jisoo. What's wrong with you?"
"Ah. I don't know. I suddenly feel so annoyed."
"...What?"
"Ah. That fatty!"
Minhyuk's body stiffened.
In the end, will they not accept me anymore since I have changed?
Minhyuk trembled in trepidation, he was so nervous that he gulped and gulped even though his mouth had run dry.
"No. I mean, what does being a piggy have to do with being friends with us? Does he think we're going to hate him since he became fat? Was that all there was to us?"
"Yeah. For us, I think he was the same Minhyuk as before but when we first came in he was very awkward."
"But the fatty Minhyuk, don't you think he looks cute? I want to touch his fat tummy."
"I want to put my head on his fat tummy and make it my pillow... I wonder if it's like a water pillow..."
Minhyuk finally understood.
He was the only one who was worried about his appearance. It didn't matter to his friends whether he was fat or not.
"Hoo..."
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Yeah. I should be proud and confident now.
Then, he went inside and proudly spoke.
"Let's go play now."
"Play? Where? In Seoul?"
"No. In this building?"
"Ah...!"
The three of them recalled that this building itself was filled with things that could entertain guests.
Minhyuk first guided his friends to the movie theater. Even though it was just a movie theater, it was still unbelievable to them. Jisoo turned his head to look around.
"There's pop..."
Then…
Step, step, step, step━
A man popped inside… it was Changwook.
"It's absolutely forbidden to talk about popcorn here. Remember this. Octopus legs, caramel popcorn and cola are prohibited here."
"Ah. Oh... Yes."
After finishing his spiel, he quickly whisked himself away and disappeared with only the sound of his steps echoing in the corridor.
It had been a long time since Minhyuk had watched movies with his friends but instead of munching on popcorn, Minhyuk was munching on his cherry tomatoes.
Then, they went to karaoke.
Jihye searched for 'Spring Chicken Soup' with the remote but it did not come up. She came out to ask but she saw Changwook standing by the door.
"There aren't that many songs in the karaoke machine. I think you need to update this with the latest songs. There's no Spring Chicken Soup~"
Spring Chicken Soup was a song that was released 5 years ago but it wasn't even in the list of songs. However, Changwook looked at her with a solemn expression.
"Songs like [2] are strictly forbidden."
"...Huh. Ah... I, is that so?"
She nodded her head blankly.
When they finished singing, she also couldn't help but admire the building.
"Wow. There's even a cafe in this building!"
It was a cafe on the terrace and the four of them stood together in front of it. The employee inside was also Changwook.
When Minhyuk, who was still munching on his cherry tomatoes, turned his head to look somewhere else, Changwook quickly signaled to the three of them and mouthed something.
"You can only order tomato juice here! Tomato juice! Without any sugar! It's healthy!"
"What would you like to drink?"
Minhyuk turned to them and asked them what drink they would like to order.
"To, tomato juice... The one without any sugar... For all of us... Ha, haha! I really like tomatoes..."
"Me, me too... I, I really love tomatoes!"
"Ha, hahahahaha! Tomatoes are the tastiest in the world!"
"...Your taste buds are weird. I'm even eating it reluctantly."
In fact, it was only Minhyuk who was unaware of the taboo and the rules in this place.
Jisoo, Jihye and Seoktae all thought the same thing.
Are we in a strange country where all of the food is controlled?
Footnotes
[1] Disco pang pang: a circular ride that spins round and round. Sounds fun!
[2] Spring Chicken Soup: A song by Jeong Hyeong-don; My teeth are so cold because of naengmyeon: I don't know who sang this song or if there really is a song like this. Naengmyeon: A duet song by Park Myeongsu and Girls Gen's Jessica during the Infinite Challenge Olympic Festival; (Bingsu-yah, Patbingsu-yah) I don't know if these are two different songs, but there is a song by Yoon Jong Shin.