“Why are you turning your back on me?”
Blood flowed thickly from the knife embedded in his stomach.
It was a wound severe enough that it wouldn’t be surprising if he died soon, yet the man seemed unfazed, as if he felt no pain, and even asked a question casually.
His bold demeanor caused the guards surrounding him to pale and step back hesitantly.
“Captain! What you’ve done is treason! Surrender peacefully!”
“His Majesty has promised! If you surrender, he will show you the utmost leniency! So please, Captain, surrender!”
“His Majesty? You mean the one unworthy of wearing the crown?”
The captain chuckled and raised his sword high.
The red aura at the tip of the sword spread rapidly in all directions, and an invisible force tightened around the guards’ throats.
“Engrave it on your body. This is the price of betrayal.”
Ha Suyoung awoke, yawning and scratching his head vigorously.
“Hmm… I wonder if something good will happen today? It’s been a while since I had a dream like that.”
After finishing breakfast, Ha Suyoung received a call from Jeon Seongryeol.
It was about temporarily entrusting export operations to West Sea Foods.
– “We need to make the most of it before the matsutake season returns. Until then, it seems best to proceed under those conditions.”
“It can’t be helped. Time is of the essence.”
– “Thanks for understanding.”
“It’s much better than getting worked up and banging my head against a wall, only to end up with nothing.”
– “If you sell it between 1.5 million and 2 million won, and give West Sea Foods a 15% cut, you could take home up to 425 million won.”
“Isn’t expecting 2 million won per kilo a bit too much?”
– “West Sea Foods says Japanese companies are already lining up after hearing the rumors. Japanese gourmets lose their minds over premium matsutake.”
“By the way, there’s nowhere the name ‘West Sea’ doesn’t appear. West Sea Hotel, West Sea Foods.”
– “They’re the top group in our country’s business world. It’s inevitable.”
“What’s funny is that these top conglomerates are even handling mushroom exports.”
– “They’re even eyeing street foods like tteokbokki to do businesses on, so what’s the big deal about matsutake mushrooms? And even though they share the ‘West Sea’ name, West Sea Hotel and West Sea Foods are practically unrelated.”
“What does West Sea Foods mainly do? From the name, it sounds like they just make and sell ramen.”
– “How did you know? They do sell ramen. They’re number one in the ramen market share.”
“Really? How come I didn’t know? I love ramen.”
– “You know Yoon Ramen, right?”
“Of course. It’s my favorite ramen. Wait, but that ramen company isn’t West Sea Foods.”
– “Yoon Ramen’s maker, Sun’s Heart, is a subsidiary of West Sea Foods.”
“Hold on. Sun’s Heart sells…”
– “They sell all sorts of food. West Sea Foods is involved in everything related to food—production, processing, sales, and distribution.”
“That’s why such a big company initially demanded a 30% commission. Typical corporate exploitation. Anyway, good job. It’s impressive you got it down to 15%.”
– “I never intended to do it long-term.”
“I’m sure President will handle it well. Please take care of it. I need to focus on cultivating golden silk umbrella mushrooms for now.”
– “Can you really lower the cultivation cost?”
“Of course.”
“Alright. Then I’ll start thinking about how to distribute the golden silk umbrella mushrooms.”
After the call, Ha Suyoung took out an elixir.
He dipped a drop on the tip of his chopstick, closed his eyes tightly, and swallowed it.
Soon, a fiery sensation spread down his throat, and a burning pain radiated throughout his body.
“Aaaah!”
With a single scream, he lost consciousness.
How long had he been out?
When he checked the time, three hours had already passed.
Ha Suyoung rubbed his throbbing head and staggered to his feet.
“Ugh, even when I got hit by the dragon’s fiery breath and burned for a week, it wasn’t this painful. It feels like every cell in my body was disassembled at a nano level and then reassembled.”
He went out to the backyard to find the Galaxy Sacred Tree.
As if it had been waiting for him, the tree shook its branches vigorously in greeting.
– “Oh, my son. Your scream was particularly loud today.”
“I thought I was used to it, but it really caught me off guard this time. It was truly painful today.”
– “It’s all part of the process to cancel the human limit and gain a godly body. Now, let’s begin today’s lesson. So, the first intergalactic war to spread the majesty of the ancient god, no, the Franchise God, across the galaxy began…”
Ha Suyoung dozed off again.
The next day.
Ha Suyoung headed to the meeting place to meet Lee Wonjae, a deputy manager of West Sea Foods.
He deliberately didn’t inform Jeon Seongryeol about today’s schedule.
He wanted to see what Lee Wonjae had to say to him directly.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Wonjae, deputy manager of West Sea Foods.”
“I’m Ha Suyoung.”
Lee Wonjae greeted Ha Suyoung politely and handed him a business card, behaving like an employee welcoming a buyer.
“You’re younger than I expected.”
“I just turned twenty this year.”
Ha Suyoung answered nonchalantly, and Lee Wonjae didn’t pay much attention to the word “just.”
“I heard you also supply to Baekdu Hotel.”
“I only do the harvesting. Seongryeol Distribution handles the supply, so I’m not really involved. I’m primarily a first-stage producer.”
“I was amazed when I heard you supply several hundred kilograms of premium matsutake a month, even though it’s not the matsutake season. Matsutake can’t be cultivated, can they?”
“I own a mountain where matsutake grows in the spring and summer. I don’t really know the principle. I just pick them.”
Lee Wonjae’s eyes momentarily gleamed, and Ha Suyoung didn’t miss the subtle change.
Ah, salespeople always have their heads full of suspicion.
Ha Suyoung slowly brought up the main topic.
“I heard you wanted to discuss exporting matsutake to Japan.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Lee Wonjae adjusted his posture and spoke seriously.
“I don’t know how special your relationship with Seongryeol Distribution is, but I’m not sure if it’s necessary to increase the distribution intermediaries for overseas exports. It might not be very beneficial for you as the primary producer.”
“Is that so?”
“For the Japanese export deal, how about trading directly with us? I don’t know what price Seongryeol Distribution is offering, but direct trading will definitely be more profitable for you.”
“Cutting out a middleman would likely be beneficial.”
“If you trade directly with us, we’ll give you an additional 2% on top of the originally agreed 12%. We’ll only take 10%.”
“What? What did you say?”
Ha Suyoung paused for a moment, and Lee Wonjae smiled triumphantly.
– Gotcha.
12%? The CEO said it was 15%.”
– Bite the bait.
“So, West Sea Foods originally agreed to take 12% of the auction price, but if I trade directly, you’ll only take 10%? Is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Ha Suyoung’s expression hardened slightly, and Lee Wonjae secretly celebrated, thinking he had successfully planted a seed of distrust toward Jeon Seongryeol in Ha Suyoung’s heart.
But he was only half right.
Who’s lying to me? Which side is trying to pull a fast one?
Ha Suyoung didn’t blindly accept it.
The two sides were saying different things.
This meant one of them was lying, but he couldn’t determine the truth yet.
Is it the President? Or is it West Sea Foods? Maybe this guy is just a pawn? Or is it just a prank from the higher-ups at West Sea Foods, and this guy is just the messenger?
For now, he couldn’t know anything for sure.
The only certainty was that someone was lying.
Ha Suyoung confirmed once more.
“You’re sure about giving me an additional 2% and West Sea Foods only taking 10% of the auction price? Has this been approved by your higher-ups?”
“Of course. You just need to decide.”
“Alright. I’ll think about it. I’ve developed quite a bond with Seongryeol Distribution over the past few months.”
A few months—a special bond.
The contradictory combination of words made Lee Wonjae think things were going his way, and he smiled inwardly.
* * *
Unaware that Ha Suyoung was meeting with Deputy Manager Lee Wonjae, Jeon Seongryeol was receiving an unexpected phone call at that moment.
“What? You want to buy all the matsutake we’re selling to Japan?”
– “Yes, our Makimiya Investment will purchase them all.”
Jeon Seongryeol was baffled.
Why would an investment company want to buy matsutake mushrooms?
