Chapter 46 – Invincible Intern – Part 6

Chapter 46 – Invincible Intern – Part 6

As if his thoughts had stopped, Lee Jonghoon stared blankly at Woojin.

He then asked,

“Re-reality?”

“Yes, reality.”

“Not a PC game, not a mobile game, but reality?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Lee Jonghoon laughed loudly.

He thought it was a joke.

Naturally, Woojin’s words were a means to keep the conversation going in an entertaining way for Jonghoon.

“So, like, a Status Window appears and stuff?”

‘A Status Window, huh…’

Woojin could see people in a similar way, but there was no need to explain that.

Instead, he suddenly changed the subject with an unexpected remark.

“Can I use your PC for a moment?”

“Of course.”

Woojin sat down at the PC and searched for a girl group.

They were the hottest girl group of the year.

He had heard from Manager Lee that Jonghoon seemed to like girl groups.

Also, Woojin never chose difficult words when speaking.

“Among the members of Pink Mango, I like Yejin the most. So I thought about it. The probability of me being able to date Yejin. If I went to a concert, I’d be able to see her face directly, but the probability of talking to her would be close to zero, and a fan signing event would only be for a short time. So I thought about it more specifically, in more detail.”

Woojin started another search.

It was an article about a former girl group member getting married.

“Most of them marry self-made people, those who built a company on their own. So it seems they meet a lot of entrepreneurs.”

Woojin, who had been sitting and looking at the monitor, spun his chair around to face Lee Jonghoon.

“I think those self-made people are the high-level players in reality. They’re good at English, went to good universities, earn a lot of money, and even marry beautiful celebrities.”

As Lee Jonghoon was blinking, seemingly understanding Woojin’s words but not quite, Woojin continued.

“So, to increase my chances of meeting a girl group, I decided to become a high-level player. I considered English a sub-skill: memorize 10 words, level 1; 20 words, level 2; 40 words, level 3. I figured I’d need to be around level 80 on the Righteous Path to get into S University. I leveled up my math like that, and then…”

Woojin pulled a math workbook from the bookshelf and grabbed a pen from the desk.

And he started solving problems as if to show off.

Of course, it was an unbelievable speed.

He seemed to just read a problem, then solved a whole page in less than a minute.

He wrote down the answer as soon as he saw it.

Then he showed Jonghoon his solution and the answer key, and said,

“That’s how it turned out.”

“Wow…”

Lee Jonghoon’s mouth hung open as he looked back and forth between the workbook and Woojin.

Woojin gave a self-conscious, gentle smile and nodded.

Showing a direct reality like this, rather than just talking, makes a bigger impact.

“As I leveled up the sub-skill of studying, I got into S University with a perfect CSAT score. People looked at me with great admiration, asking how I studied. I just leveled up the sub-skill of studying because I wanted to meet a girl group. And when I wore the S University Business Department jacket, girls would stare at me.”

“Ah…”

“As I leveled up various sub-skills, I discovered new things. I realized things others didn’t quite grasp. I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t leveled up like this.”

He piqued Jonghoon’s curiosity with talk of things others didn’t know, secrets.

It was to make him join the conversation freely.

It was a kind of hypnosis.

“What is it?”

“The more ignorant and foolish I am, the more people try to take advantage of me. I, not knowing this, just keep getting taken advantage of, and some people use that to steal my time and make money.”

Lee Jonghoon’s eyes looked up.

He was thinking.

Woojin thought that reaction meant it was enough.

He had given plenty of hints.

If he were to say that the time Jonghoon spent playing games, that games are for enjoyment as a hobby and playing too much is bad, it would completely negate Lee Jonghoon’s existence, leading to resentment.

If you give hints and make them think, their self-consciousness will feel proud and readily accept it.

“Oh, he must be waiting for me.”

As Woojin was about to leave, Lee Jonghoon spoke.

“Excuse me… brother.”

“Yes?”

“What level do I seem to be in real life?”

“Well… think about what level your close friends are.”

People always dislike complicated things and prefer to judge easily.

The Blood Type Personality Theory is a good example.

Woojin gave Jonghoon something easy and convenient to judge.

If he thinks his friends’ levels are higher than his, he will be motivated, and even if their levels are similar to his, he will try to push forward.

Because he made it that way with their current conversation.

“See you again, Jonghoon.”

As Woojin came out, Manager Lee and his wife’s eyes were fixed on him.

They had hoped Woojin would spend a lot of time with their son, like a tutor, but he came out in less than 20 minutes, leaving them a little disappointed.

When Woojin approached and sat down, Manager Lee whispered so Jonghoon wouldn’t hear.

“What did you talk about?”

“We talked about leveling up.”

Her face was clouded with disappointment.

“You talked about games?”

“Yes.”

“Oh dear… Jonghoon already plays too many games, and now more game talk…”

She trailed off, giving Manager Lee a sharp look.

She had been happy about her son meeting Woojin, who scored perfectly on the CSAT, but then he came back talking about games.

It felt like pouring oil on a fire.

Manager Lee asked,

“Woojin, didn’t you say you’d share study tips or motivation?”

“Yes, I did.”

“But that was about games.”

“Yes.”

“Oh dear…”

As Manager Lee sighed, Jonghoon’s room door opened.

Seeing her son looking at the drinking party, his mother asked,

“Jonghoon, what’s wrong? Oh, try some of this pig’s trotters. Should I bring it to your room?”

“No. I have something to ask my brother…”

Woojin thought it was a relief.

If there were more people, he wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy the small amount of pig’s trotters.

Conversely, the son’s parents made bitter expressions.

Because the game story was obvious.

Woojin replied with a gentle expression.

“What is it?”

“Earlier, someone said that some people make money by taking other people’s time, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then… do game companies also make money by taking people’s time?”

Woojin immediately praised him.

“Oh… now that I think about it, you’re right. It’s good to enjoy it moderately as a hobby, but if you think about it like Jonghoon said, they’re making money by using people’s time.”

Woojin then looked at her.

And he said, not artificially, so that Jonghoon could hear it,

“Game companies… make money that way. Your son is really smart.”

While Jonghoon’s parents looked puzzled, Jonghoon, who had been standing silently, recalled Woojin’s words and mumbled.

‘The more ignorant and foolish I am, the more people try to take advantage of me.’

“I… I was letting them earn money by taking advantage of me.”

Jonghoon, who had been repeating his words, asked again.

“Brother… have you ever had a hard time when you were leveling up in reality?”

“Yes, I did. The strategy changed as the level went up. But that was fun. Everyone else’s level went up slowly, but I felt like I was leveling up super fast all by myself.”

A small gasp of admiration escaped Jonghoon’s lips.

He seemed to have realized something as the game and reality intertwined.

“Ah…”

Woojin said,

“If you don’t know how to level up in reality, call me. I’ll carry you.”

The next morning at 7 AM.

Manager Lee stared blankly at his son, who had just finished showering.

His son was someone who couldn’t wake up well even with an alarm set, and only managed to get up after his wife’s nagging.

But to wake up on his own at this hour and shower?

“Son, you didn’t stay up all night, did you?”

“No? Why?”

“I thought you played games all night.”

“I’m not playing games anymore. I deleted them.”

“Oh? Really? That’s a good idea. Hahaha!”

It had been a long time since the three family members sat side by side eating breakfast, and Mom was also secretly surprised.

His son, who used to always have his eyes glued to his cellphone even while eating, was nowhere to be seen.

“Can’t I get a tutor?”

He planned to use real money to get ahead of his friends, just as his brother Woojin had said.

At Lee Jonghoon’s words, his Mom and Dad threw their hands up in delight.

“Honey? Did you hear that? Get him one right away.”

“Son, what subject do you want to do?”

“I want to start with English.”

***

“Good morning! How are you!”

As Woojin arrived at work with a cheerful greeting, Manager Lee approached him with open arms.

“Woojin, come here.”

As Manager Lee tried to hug him, Woojin stepped back and bowed his head.

“Manager Lee, good morning!”

Manager Lee, who almost hugged the air, said,

“Do you know what my son said this morning?”

“I don’t know.”

“He wants to study English, English. Hahahaha!”

“That’s great. Jonghoon seems very smart.”

“He also seems to have a talent for charming people with his words. Thank you. I’m buying lunch today, so don’t make any plans, okay? Assistant Manager Im, what was that place last time? Reserve the duck stew restaurant. So we can eat right away. Duck stew is okay for Woojin, right?”

“Oh… I can’t get enough of it.”

Then Assistant Manager Im said,

“Max-level Intern, take a partition to Sales Team 1.”

“Yes!”

Woojin disappeared, wondering what kind of work he would be doing in Sales Team 1 today, and Assistant Manager Oh asked Assistant Manager Im,

“Why is Manager Lee taking such good care of the intern? Did something happen?”

“He told Manager Lee’s son to stop playing games and level up in real life, and the way he coaxed and praised him, even I was convinced.”

“Level up in real life?”

“Yeah, you too, man, when you get off work, don’t just drink all the time, study.”

“I always do! I’m always striving to find the golden ratio of soju-beer.”

Assistant Manager Oh went back to his seat, and Assistant Manager Im looked at Woojin’s seat.

If I were to think about it using his words, the world isn’t difficult.

If you think of the world like a game and level up…

The problem was knowing it but not doing it.

But Woojin made Jonghoon do it.

He said that game characters fight and move as if they’re dying, with their health fluctuating, but in reality, people don’t do that.

‘He’s a crazy guy.’

So Assistant Manager Im refocused on his work, and Woojin returned to the Management Support Team after 30 minutes.

He then looked at Manager Lee, who was humming a tune.

Because of Lee Jonghoon, Manager Lee and he were bound by a sense of camaraderie. No, Manager Lee’s unconscious felt that way.

What would happen if he were to promote such a person to Deputy Manager?