When Siu arrived in front of I Jia's house, his watch pointed to 1 a.m.
He sent a message without hesitation.
[I've arrived.]
The instant he pressed send, a loud clattering *thud-thud-thud* rang out from inside the firmly shut front door.
Shortly after, the door opened with a cheerful beep of the lock disengaging.
"P-President...!"
I Jia revealed herself through the gap.
For a moment, Siu wondered if he had come to the wrong house and had to check the nameplate again.
Normally, her trademarks were baggy training clothes, tousled hair, and thick-framed glasses.
But the woman before his eyes now was a completely different person.
Her neatly combed hair gleamed with luster, and instead of a loose T-shirt, she wore a snug white cotton tee and jeans.
Her face was bare of makeup, yet perhaps thanks to her cleared complexion after the Reawakening, it seemed to glow on its own.
Despite having become an A-rank Hunter—a being in the top 0.0001 percent of South Korea—she still fidgeted before Siu like a fledgling new hire.
"I-I'm sorry. The house is a bit messy..."
She bowed her head, seemingly embarrassed, and stepped aside to let him pass.
Siu took off his dress shoes and stepped inside.
The studio apartment was small, but neatly organized, much like her personality.
"Sorry I'm late."
"Not at all! Thank you for coming. I'm the one who asked you to come."
She hurriedly pulled out a dining chair and seated him.
Then she took out cold water from the refrigerator.
Her hands were trembling slightly.
Siu accepted the glass and slowly looked her over.
Her shoulders were still hunched up tightly.
"First of all, congratulations once again. A Reawakening—it's truly a miraculous thing."
When Siu offered his heartfelt congratulations, Jia smiled awkwardly and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"It's... all thanks to you, President. If it weren't for you, I..."
She couldn't continue and bit her lip for a moment.
Then, as if having made up her mind, she took out thick document files she had hidden under the table and placed them before Siu.
A heavy thud echoed across the table.
Siu opened the files with a puzzled expression.
And the moment he turned the first page, his eyebrows twitched.
[Taeyang Guild Scouting Proposal]
[Daeseong Guild Scouting Proposal]
[Star Entertainment Exclusive Contract] ...
Dozens of contracts.
The names of major guilds and management companies that counted themselves among South Korea's elite were stamped on them one after another.
Each and every one contained jaw-dropping, unprecedented terms.
Penalty-fee coverage was a given, plus dedicated vehicles, penthouse provision, and even livelihood support for her family.
Their desperate efforts to secure an A-rank Reawakened were etched on every single page.
The problem was that all this contact was blatantly illegal.
Under Hunter law, it was forbidden for other guilds to contact a Hunter currently under contract.
It was only possible starting one year before the contract's expiration.
Yet they acted as if the law was beneath their notice, completely ignoring Siu's Miracle Management and approaching Jia directly.
This was blatant tampering. A violation of the pre-contact prohibition clause.
"What is... all this?"
Siu asked, feigning ignorance.
With her head bowed deeply, Jia answered in a timid, faltering voice.
"The moment I received my Reawakening assessment and left the hospital... contacts flooded in. Constant calls from unknown numbers, people showing up at my door... they were even stuffed in my mailbox."
Her expression was one of terror.
The pressure of having become the center of the world overnight, and the blatant desire of massive powers, were suffocating her.
"They all... told me not to worry about the penalty fee. They said the contract with you, President, is an unfair contract, so we just need to file for invalidation, and they'll take care of everything..."
Jia seemed to choke up as she spoke, her eyes growing red.
She pointed at the contracts one by one with trembling hands.
"Look. They say five billion won. Some even called out ten billion. They say if I just sign, my life will change. They say they'll provide support that can't even be compared to a minor management company like yours, President."
Her voice was shaking.
It was not temptation that shook her, but fear of this surreal situation surrounding her.
Siu silently took a sip of water.
The cold water traveled down his throat, cooling his burning insides.
A brief silence passed. Within the heavy stillness, only the ticking of the clock's second hand could be heard.
With her head deeply bowed, I Jia clenched both hands resting on her knees.
Her knuckles were white from the force.
Like someone preparing to make a grave decision, her lips moved.
"President. No, CEO."
She opened her mouth with difficulty.
The honorific had changed. Was she trying to create distance?
"I... don't think I can... keep maintaining this contract."
*Thud.* It felt as if Siu's heart had dropped to the bottom.
Had the situation he had feared become reality?
Perhaps it was only natural that she, now winged with the rank of A-rank, would want to break out of her narrow cage and fly toward a wider sky.
No matter how much trust they had built, anyone would waver before hundreds of billions of won.
But Siu did not let go of the thread of hope.
Because her eyes were filled not with greed, but with regret and guilt.
Not yet had the word "contract termination" left her mouth.
Siu waited silently for her next words.
Jia took out a crumpled sheet of paper from inside her clothes.
It was the exclusive contract with Miracle Management that she had first signed with Siu.
A paper containing a hundred million won signing bonus and an unprecedented 9:1 profit split, imbued with Siu's sincerity.
She carefully placed that contract on the table.
It was a touch as if handling fragile glass shards.
Siu drank water once more to soothe his parched throat.
His mouth was bone dry.
Then, Jia raised her head and looked Siu straight in the eye.
Her pupils were shaking, but the will contained within them was firm.
"Please... recontract with me after adjusting the profit split."
"...What?"
Siu doubted his own ears. What did she just say? Recontract? Not termination?
"You... believed in me and protected me until the end, President. When everyone laughed at me for being F-rank, you were the only one who held my hand. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to endure those hellish times."
A tear fell from Jia's eye with a soft plop.
"But... I don't think I should take the nine. It makes no sense. You gave me a hundred million, even took on debt to support me... What would you have left if I take the nine? You'd go bankrupt."
She continued, sniffling.
"Looking at the other guilds' contracts, I realized. The conditions they offered... 8:2, 7:3... they say that's the industry's best treatment. But you gave me nine, President. I only now realize how nonsensical a loss that is."
She began to sob.
When countless guilds came to entice her with sweet talk, she had instead come to a painful realization of Siu's sincerity.
They had called out money based on her value, but Siu had bet his life on her potential.
Even when she was treated like F-rank trash, Siu had tried to protect her self-esteem with a foolish 9:1 contract.
That fact was so grateful, and so sorry, that she couldn't bear it.
"So... please recontract with me. At a 5:5 profit split. No, I can even take four. Make the term five years plus five years instead of five. Raise the penalty fee too. Only then will my heart be at ease."
She pleaded with all her heart.
This was not a simple contract modification.
It was her heart wanting to repay a debt of gratitude, no different from a confession that she wanted to continue with Miracle for a long time.
Siu stared at her blankly.
The favor he had extended had returned not as greed, but as loyalty.
A corner of his heart grew warm and tight.
It was a moment that once again confirmed his eye for people had not been wrong in choosing someone named I Jia.
Having quietly listened to all of Jia's words, Siu drank water once more to compose his emotions, then slowly shook his head.
"...President?"
"I can't do that."
Siu's voice was firm.
"I will absolutely not accept it."
"What? W-why? It's a much better condition for you, President! You can earn so much more money..."
Jia's eyes went wide with confusion.
She had thought he would naturally be happy; a refusal was the last thing she expected.
"Jia. I have no intention of offering you such a slave contract."
"A slave contract! I'm doing this because I want to...!"
"5:5? To an A-rank Hunter, such a ratio is exploitation. A ten-year contract? It's no different from shackles binding your prime years entirely. If other guilds found out, they'd curse me as a corrupt employer."
Siu smiled bitterly.
Of course, it wasn't that he wasn't tempted.
A 5:5 contract with an A-rank Hunter—it was no different from sitting on a cushion of money.
But he couldn't do that.
It went against his convictions, and it wouldn't help Miracle Management's future in the long term.
"But...! I have a debt I must repay to you, President!"
"You can repay that debt slowly as you work going forward. Even at 9:1, the amount you'll earn is so large that the money falling to me will be plenty."
"No! I can't do it with an uncomfortable heart!"
Jia stubbornly insisted.
It was the first time the mild-mannered woman had ever acted stubborn toward Siu.
After a moment of thought, Siu looked her straight in the eye and made a proposal.
"In exchange, will you make a promise with me?"
"Yes?"
"Miracle Management is still greatly lacking. There's only one employee—me—and only one affiliated Hunter—you. We can't provide the flashy support that large guilds can."
Siu paused briefly.
"But I will definitely grow Miracle Management. Three years. Please wait just three years. If, after three years, our company becomes the best management company in South Korea, one that won't embarrass you... then."
"...Then?"
"If your heart remains the same then, and if you still trust me. I will formally propose a recontract then. At that time, I'll offer you the conditions you want—no, even better ones."
Siu's gaze was unwavering.
He had chosen the future three years later, and his trust with her, over immediate profit.
He recognized Jia not as a simple means to make money, but as a growth partner for the company.
At those firm words, Jia bit her lip.
She realized Siu would never concede.
But she didn't back down either.
"Then... I'll set a condition too."
"Yes. Please speak."
"In exchange, the recontract terms... please let me have them my way. So that you, President, can't refuse."
Her eyes sparkled.
"...If the conditions don't stray far from industry standards, I'll accept them."
"As long as it doesn't stray from standards, right?"
Jia extended her pinky finger.
It was a pure, but resolute, gesture like a child's.
Siu smirked and hooked his finger around her pinky.
"Yes, very well. Let's promise."
"You promised clearly! No take-backs later!"
Only then did Jia break into a bright smile.
It was a sunny smile blooming on a face still bearing tear tracks.
"Now, that's enough of that. I'll take these contracts and do my job. You rest well, Jia. Starting tomorrow, your schedule will be packed."
Siu gathered up the illegal tampering contracts scattered across the table.
Leaving behind a somehow disappointed Jia, he bid farewell and exited the room.
Click.
The moment the front door closed, the smile vanished completely from Siu's face.
Taking its place was a cold rage, chilling enough to frost the air.
*How dare they... ignore me and attempt tampering?*
Siu clenched the bundle of contracts in his hand hard enough to crumple them.
The arrogance of the large guilds. Their behavior, as if a newborn management company was beneath their notice, was disgusting.
If I Jia had wavered even slightly, Siu would have lost everything overnight.
They had crossed the line.
Siu took out his phone from his pocket.
Force entered his fingers as they tapped the screen.
He found one of the saved numbers and pressed the call button.