Chapter 66: The Emergence of a Top Star

Jo Insu. 

Grandson and eldest son of the chairman who leads SG Group, ranked 5th in Korea’s business hierarchy.

SG Energy Group had quickly jumped into the magic-stone processing and energy business in line with the changing times, growing into one of Korea’s fruits of success.  

It was the company that once monopolized roughly 90% of the early magic-stone energy market in Korea.

The power that catapulted a mediocre conglomerate hovering around 20th place into Korea’s representative group came from magic stones, so naturally it was deeply involved in player-related industries as well.

Besides running Phoenix—one of the five major guilds—it held stakes in numerous other guilds, and rumors even said that key positions like the Player Management Office Director and the Magic Stone Exchange Director needed SG Group’s approval. 

A corporation deeply entrenched in player society.

The grandson was also an awakened player, and his awakening skill was A-rank to boot. 

He was the one who single-handedly silenced the complex of a family that made money from player industries yet had no actual players among its relatives.

Naturally, he was raised like gold and jade within the SG family.

Though only A-rank, he was known to possess firepower and skill surpassing S-rank thanks to items bought from auctions around the world.  

He was symbolically included in the top raid team, but of course he was only ever on the roster and never actually entered the tower.

All they needed was the title: “The eldest son of SG Group is fighting on the front lines of the Suseo Magic Tower!” 

There was no reason to put their son in mortal danger.

Anyway, under SG Group’s philosophy, Phoenix Guild—one of the five major guilds—was also a guild created with the capital of Korea’s mega-conglomerate SG Group.

And now the eldest son of that family, someone any player would recognize, had suddenly taken an interest in Lee Nayeon.

Two bodyguards approached Lee Nayeon while she was stretching.

Feeling the rare hostile presence, Lee Nayeon glanced sideways at the two men.

A heavy voice spoke.

“Excuse me. Could we have a moment of your time?”

Lee Nayeon tilted her head and flatly refused.

“No.”

“……Just a moment is all we ask.”

They deliberately shifted sideways, turning her so that Jo Insu, the eldest son of SG Group, came into view.

He was visibly handsome and exuded an aristocratic air.  

But Lee Nayeon merely blinked twice and repeated herself.

“I don’t have time.”

Having consumed TV, media, and dramas, Lee Nayeon knew exactly what this situation was.  

She simply had zero interest or time.

When Lee Nayeon didn’t return, a staff member came looking for her, startled, and bowed deeply.

“Hello.”

“Yeah, hi. By the way, who are the people you’re escorting up ahead?”

“Uh… they are guests who came with Miss Lee Jiyu.”

The commotion in the hallway drew Lee Jiyu, Choi Junseok, and Song Hana outside.

Lee Jiyu’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Choi Junseok also recognized him instantly—Jo Insu, heir apparent and eldest son of SG Group, a name impossible to miss if you had any foot in player society.

“Hello.”

He smiled gently and bowed. 

The two bodyguards naturally stepped aside and took positions behind him.

“It’s been a while, Miss Lee Jiyu.”

“…It has.”

Lee Jiyu bit her lower lip with a strange unease.

Any man would naturally be interested in Lee Nayeon’s appearance—she couldn’t be unaware that he was interested.

“Ah, introductions are late. I am… the Vice Guild Master of Phoenix Guild, Jo Insu.”

He casually pulled out his business card case as if it were second nature.

Three luxurious cards—each probably costing tens of thousands of won—were produced.

When handing them out, he deliberately gave Lee Nayeon’s last, holding the edge a little longer than when giving them to Choi Junseok and Song Hana. 

That subtle gesture grated on Lee Jiyu’s nerves.

Contrary to introducing himself as Phoenix Guild Master, the card actually read SG Energy Internal Director.

“Well then, we’ll be on our way.”

“Why so stiff? Won’t you introduce your companions?”

“They are government-managed players, so I’m afraid revealing their identities is difficult.”

“Ah… then could it be… the rumored ones?”

Jo Insu looked at Choi Junseok in surprise and used Appraisal.

The grade immediately appeared.

S-rank?

Next to him, another S-rank.  

And when he checked the beautiful woman in question, his eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but blurt it out.

“Unappraisable…? …Ah! My apologies. Using Appraisal so rudely…”

Normally, newbies would collapse just from appraising S or SS-ranks, yet Jo Insu showed no aftereffects after appraising an SS-rank.

Instead, one of the bodyguards staggered as if dizzy.

He must have tried to appraise her out of curiosity upon hearing “unappraisable.”

But that obviously didn’t look good to Jo Insu.

He glared at the bodyguard and gave a sharp eye signal.  

If no one had been watching, he would have said something.

The retreating bodyguard’s face turned pale—not from dizziness, but from fear of the punishment to come.

“Excuse me, but may I join your shopping? I’m sure I could be of help.”

“No, that would actually be rude. We came to spend time among ourselves.”

Jo Insu didn’t usually act this persistently, which only showed how smitten he was with Lee Nayeon.

With his wealth and looks, no one had ever been immune—yet Lee Nayeon showed zero reaction.  

That only made him more desperate.

Government-managed player. 

Even Appraisal doesn’t work on her.

That alone was enough for him to think he had figured out the mysterious beauty.

“Haha, I suppose so. Then until next time. My apologies.”

“How many times is that guy going to say ‘sorry’?”

Song Hana’s casual remark scratched his back, but he didn’t show it and walked the other way.

Instead, he thought being a government-managed player made things easier and nodded to himself.

She’ll be mine anyway.

There had never been anything in Korea he wanted and couldn’t have.

“…What was that guy? Something feels off!”

Even Song Hana’s intuition had picked up on his dark intentions.

Lee Jiyu told them not to mind the stares from behind, yet she herself couldn’t shake the unease.

“Nayeon-ssi, if anyone related to that man approaches you, avoid them immediately. Got it?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just kill him now?”

A calm and direct solution, but Choi Junseok and Lee Jiyu frantically stopped her.

Reading the shocked atmosphere from the staff behind them, Lee Nayeon calmly added,

“It was a joke.”

***

“Ugh, mood ruined!”

“You still bought way too much for that.”

Lee Nayeon set down the shopping bags filling both hands.

Shopping had essentially ended with his appearance.

No matter how expensive or pretty the clothes shown, satisfying Lee Nayeon and Song Hana’s firm tastes had proven difficult anyway.

Back home, the four continued chatting over a simple meal.

It was a luxurious spread.

The aunties who managed the house were already skilled cooks, but having been called back after a long time—and with more mouths to feed—they had put extra effort in.

The number of side dishes filling the large table was no joke—easily close to fifty.

Rumor had it they had prepared at home out of joy at returning to work.

“Oh, and Nayeon-ssi, things like today might become pretty common from now on.”

“…?”

She tilted her head mid-meal with a why? expression.

“Starting today… the ads where you appear as the main model for Supersonic.”

“Ah.”

“Wow! Nayeon-unnie is going to be on TV?!”

Excited Song Hana threw both hands in the air.

Sure enough, that very afternoon.

Just hours after Lee Nayeon’s face appeared on billboards everywhere as the main model, Korea was already erupting in fervor over her.

It was practically a storm.

[Insane. Is she really a player?] 

[Not just any player—government-affiliated, managed by the Player Office.]  

[SS-rank Lee Nayeon… looks SSS-rank.] 

[The country was hiding someone like this?] 

[Foreigner? Mixed? But somehow very East Asian.]  

The public’s reaction was explosive.

Lee Jiyu’s commercial and marketing sense had perfectly combined to catapult her straight to top-model status in one stroke.

That afternoon, Lee Nayeon—questioning whether this had been the right choice—spoke to Choi Junseok before entering the tower.

“I think… I should quit modeling.”

Back then she had agreed mostly out of boredom and the thought that earning money for Choi Junseok would be nice. 

She hadn’t expected the fallout to be this massive.

Truthfully, even Choi Junseok hadn’t predicted it would blow up this much.

Naturally, the eldest son of SG Group couldn’t be unaware of the now-trending Lee Nayeon.

“Ah… her name was Lee Nayeon? I didn’t even need to look her up.”

Model information had already spread among players.

Most crucially, high-rank players had openly mentioned that Lee Nayeon was SS-rank.

“SS-rank, even?”

That alone made her more than qualified to marry him, he thought with satisfaction.

And she has that prickly charm too.

The thornier the rose, the greater the pleasure when plucked, right?

The only problem was the man who had seemed quite close to Lee Nayeon.

Who the hell is that guy…

He was annoyingly good-looking. 

Not that Jo Insu thought he suited Lee Nayeon.

The one who suited an SS-rank player was himself—the eldest son of SG Group, which practically ruled player society.

He immediately picked up the phone and called SG Group’s Future Strategy Planning Division.

“Yeah, it’s me. The thing I told you to look into—how many hours has it been? Yeah. Okay. Contact Lee Jiyu and the Player Office. Get Lee Jiyu transferred to Phoenix Guild—no matter the means. Put pressure on eastern Eden too; they seem close. And register her to my raid team. Got it?”

While the value of the woman he had his eye on skyrocketed by the day,

Choi Junseok, Song Hana, and Lee Nayeon were casually challenging the 31st floor of the Suseo Magic Tower, completely unbothered.