If you were to pick a famous site in Beijing, most Chinese people would probably point to Jingshan Park, located at the edge of the Forbidden City.

From Jingshan Park, the golden rooftops of the Forbidden City could be seen in one glance.

Beyond that, the bustling cityscape of Beijing was visible in the vast open space.

Normally, Jingshan Park would be crowded with tourists, but for some reason, today it was quite deserted.

Perhaps it was due to the no-entry signs posted at the entrance and the security guards standing watch there.

At the peak, there was Wanchun Pavilion (万春亭).

From Wanchun Pavilion, someone was gazing down at the Forbidden City. It was Liu Qiang, the secretary of the Central Administration.

“Should we have a drink?”

Liu Qiang offered a cigarette to a man who looked around the same age. The man had striking long hair. He shook his head.

“You know I don’t smoke.”

“I was just asking in case you wanted one. Have you been to Jingshan Park before?”

“A long time ago, I came with my children.”

“Ah… You were a primary school teacher back then.”

“That’s in the past.”

“Right, it’s in the past.”

“The reason you asked to meet here rather than at the secretary’s office is because you have something to discuss, right?”

“You’re quick. Take in the scenery as well. How magnificent is it?”

The man with long hair reluctantly took in the view from Wanchun Pavilion.

“How is it?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes. Now, please tell me what you need.”

“I need you to go to Korea.”

“What’s the mission?”

“K.”

Even with the brief reply, the man with long hair nodded, seemingly understanding. Liu Qiang handed him a document. After skimming it, the man spoke.

“Gui Xuan failed, so it’s this person?”

“Can you handle it alone?”

“Of course. When should I depart?”

“In three days.”

“I can make it there quickly.”

“As you know, if you fail…”

“There’s no way I’ll fail. Even if I do, I’m Taiwanese.”

“I wish you good luck.”

Days later, at Incheon Airport.

“What’s the purpose of your visit to Korea?”

The immigration officer, sharp and serious, asked. The man with long hair revealed his white teeth in a smile.

“Tourism.”

Despite his native-like pronunciation, the officer’s expression remained indifferent.

A Chinese person entering Korea for tourism. Surely, there was some enchanted item for translation magic.

“Have you decided where you will stay?”

“I plan to stay at Daesan Hotel. Oh! And this.”

The man took a card out of his pocket. It was an International Awakener Card. Awakeners entering other countries would report to authorities with this card.

It wasn’t a big deal for Taiwanese Awakeners visiting Korea, so the officer maintained his professional demeanor while checking the card’s issuance number.

Everything checked out fine.

The officer handed him a document.

“Please carefully review the parts underlined in red and sign it. The agreement takes effect once you sign it.”

In simple terms...

This is not your country, so do not cause unnecessary trouble. If you violate it, we can report you to your country or an international organization, and you may be detained.

...It was a formal document.

The man with long hair quickly signed the form. After his photo and fingerprints were taken, the officer said:

“Yan Junling, welcome to Korea.”

On the long, straight street of Gyeongnidan-gil, a black ink-like substance suddenly spread. The source of the ink was the large black sedans. After a moment, the black ink came to a halt.

“We’ve arrived.”

Go Hyung-geon turned around and spoke through the rearview mirror.

“Let’s finish this cigarette and get out, man.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll go in first, so you all can follow in about five minutes.”

“Aren’t we going in together?”

“I have something to discuss with the boss separately.”

“Ah… Understood.”

Go Hyung-geon quickly got out and was about to open the back door for them, but Hwang Tae-su waved his hand.

“No need, just open the trunk.”

“Yes.”

Thud!

Hwang Tae-su walked over to the trunk. Inside, there was a beautifully wrapped set of Hanwoo beef gifts and traditional soju.

Hwang Tae-su took the gift set and the soju and walked toward the restaurant “One Drink.”

‘I’ve been here a few times, so I’m not nervous anymore.’

In the past, just thinking about the soju at “One Drink” made his heart race and he couldn’t calm down.

But strangely enough, he didn’t feel that way now. Well... it was still the same that he was scared of Monsters 1 and 2.

As soon as he opened the door and entered, the most human-like person at “One Drink,” Yeon-jun, greeted him.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Did I come too early?”

“No. You came at the perfect time. We just finished setting everything up.”

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s for Choi Jun-gi. And this is for Seo-jun.”

The Hanwoo beef was medicine for Yeon-jun, while the traditional soju was a bribe for Monster 1.

“Isn’t this the soju brewed by Master Kwak Gyeong-cheol?”

“You know your stuff.”

“Isn’t this quite expensive?”

Traditional liquor comes in various price ranges. The price depends on who brewed it and how it was made.

Master Kwak Gyeong-cheol’s name was well known among liquor enthusiasts.

The brewing method was also famous. Most masters use modern equipment to make traditional soju.

But Master Kwak brewed his soju using traditional methods. Despite the drawbacks of traditional methods, like variations in taste, his soju had none of those issues.

Because of this, Master Kwak’s traditional soju started at a minimum of three figures in price. The soju that Hwang Tae-su handed over was probably worth at least hundreds of thousands of won.

When Yeon-jun hesitated with a troubled expression, Hwang Tae-su pressed the soju into his hands.

“Don’t worry about the expensive stuff. This is a gift to me too.”

“A gift?”

“The same thing came three times.”

“Still, this seems too much.”

“No need to feel burdened. I’ll drink it later anyway.”

Hesitating, Yeon-jun accepted the drink.

“Then, I’ll bring it out together later. But I didn’t prepare a separate gift or anything... I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

I didn’t even expect it.

...swallowing back those words, Hwang Tae-su hesitated.

“You came early.”

“Hello…”

It was Seo-jun.

Reflexively, Hwang Tae-su bowed his waist. Every time he saw Seo-jun, he always greeted him with a 90-degree bow.

The problem was…

“Boss?”

Yeon-jun was also present.

“...My shoelace came undone. Haha.”

“Are the others outside?”

“Ah, yes. I had them wait since I had a few things to hand out.”

“President Hwang gave it to us as a Chuseok gift.”

Yeon-jun showed Seo-jun a Korean beef gift set and traditional soju.

“You didn’t have to.”

“No, it’s nothing. Then, I’ll go tell the others to come in.”

“How many people was it again?”

“Including me, forty-seven.”

Nodding, Seo-jun entered the kitchen.

In truth, the reason Hwang Tae-su came to One Drink today was because of a group gathering ahead of Chuseok.

Normally, they would have gone to a karaoke bar or one of the establishments he managed to drink, but…

‘If that monster catches wind of it, who knows what kind of fuss he’ll make.’

To prevent any nitpicking in advance... and to curry favor with bribes, Hwang Tae-su had made a group reservation at One Drink.

After a while.

The gangsters came noisily in a group.

“But why are we coming here?”

“Dunno. Boss chose this place.”

“Ha... I was hoping to have a drink with Mihee in the Maldives after a long time.”

“Idiot, you think Mihee would sit next to you?”

“Why wouldn’t she? She would.”

“Look at this guy, talking like that with a face like his. Try looking at yourself in third-person view, you ape.”

“Th-third-person view? What the hell is that?!”

“Ugh. Forget it.”

Yeon-jun flinched. As an ordinary person, he naturally shrank back in front of this gangster squad.

The one who organized the chaos was Go Hyung-geon.

“Cut the chatter and take your seats by department.”

With just that one sentence, the gangsters settled down in an orderly fashion. Yeon-jun hung a “Closed” sign outside the door.

Orders started flooding in immediately. Since it was a special occasion, even Park Yeon helped with serving.

Of course, in true capitalist fashion, Park Yeon wasn’t working for free. His daily wage was three cans of cola.

“Hyung, 20 servings of spicy pork belly!”

“Hyung, 50 fried eggs and 10 steamed chickens!”

“Hyung, tables 5, 7, 8, and 9 need fishcake soup!”

Yeon-jun busily moved between the hall and the kitchen. Since everyone was big-built, the amount they ate was considerable.

Whenever he finished delivering the food, more alcohol orders came in, and when he finished delivering the drinks, food orders poured in again.

As he rushed around, Yeon-jun suddenly had a thought.

‘Not a single order is getting delayed?’

In a way, Seo-jun was essentially cooking 47 servings of food all by himself in the kitchen.

And yet, not once did the incoming orders pile up.

“Man... this tastes amazing.”

“The deep aroma is incredible, right?”

“Yeah. Even though this has a high alcohol content, it would pair well with light dishes too.”

Seo-jun was even managing to leisurely drink with Hwang Tae-su in between cooking.

‘Is this even possible?’

It seemed physically impossible. Yet seeing it happen made him question that thought.

Yeon-jun’s wonder didn’t last long.

“More soju here!”

“Bring another glass over here too!”

There was barely enough of him to keep up even if he had two bodies.

“Um, may I excuse myself for a moment?”

As he was drinking with Seo-jun, Hwang Tae-su suddenly asked for permission, as if something had come to mind. Seo-jun shrugged.

“Manager Go! Manager Kim!”

“Yes, boss.”

“You called for us?”

“Enjoying the drinks?”

“Yes, we’re enjoying them a lot, sir.”

“Not you guys, you punks. The others.”

“Ah... the others are drinking well too, sir.”

“Just saying, don’t be too strict today. Chuseok is coming up soon.”

“No worries, sir.”

Nodding, Hwang Tae-su glanced at Seo-jun while putting a cigarette in his mouth. Of course, he didn’t light it. No, he couldn’t.

How could he dare... in front of him.

Keeping the cigarette in his mouth, Hwang Tae-su took out stiff envelopes from his inner pocket.

“Here. Take it.”

“What’s this, sir?”

“What else? A Chuseok bonus.”

“You didn’t have to, sir.”

“Then don’t take it.”

“Th-that’s not what I meant, sir.”

“You punk.”

Smirking, Hwang Tae-su handed over the envelopes to Go Hyung-geon and Kim Si-hyun.

“Oh, is Dong-chul’s mother still in the hospital?”

“As far as I know, yes, sir.”

“Give Dong-chul a little extra.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Off you go.”

“Enjoy your drinks!”

After the two gave a slight bow and disappeared, Hwang Tae-su hurriedly took the cigarette out of his mouth.

“Sorry about that. Since it’s in front of the kids…”

“It’s fine. But.”

“Yes?”

“Do you always hand out bonuses like this?”

“Well... it depends, but usually, yes.”

“Surprising.”

“There’s no business against cash. Especially when it’s handed out in cash, loyalty becomes even stronger.”

Seo-jun nodded.

It was true.

“Ah, I’ll gladly accept the gift. Especially this liquor.”

“Haha. I’m glad you like it.”

“Since I accepted, I can’t just pretend nothing happened.”

“Oh no, it’s really fine.”

Though Hwang Tae-su said that, he secretly got his hopes up.

After all, it’s Monster1. A gift from Monster1!

‘What could it be?’

Would he grant him one of his monstrous abilities?

Or maybe a high-value item?

If not that, then...

‘Could it be a spatial artifact?!’

As he let his imagination run wild—

“Let’s just drink.”

The supposed gift was Seo-jun simply offering him another glass. Hwang Tae-su blinked like a fish.

‘He’s not toying with me, is he...?’

Making someone expect something and then just saying, “let’s drink”?

‘I’m the fool for getting my hopes up. I’m the idiot.’

As Hwang Tae-su shook his head inwardly, Seo-jun chuckled.

He had already given a gift—it just wasn’t visible to the eye.