Chapter 535: Friend

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Click, click, click, click, click, click, click!

Hundreds of cameras flashed brightly as they captured the scene of Da-Sol hugging a very surprised Minhyuk tightly.

Actually, Minhyuk already knew who Ascar was when he saw her for the first time. After all, how could he forget? There was no other girl with platinum hair as beautiful as hers and eyes as deep and blue as a lake. On top of that, she was someone that might be cold on the outside, but warm on the inside. She was a person that Minhyuk could never forget.

If that was the case, why did Minhyuk pretend not to know her? At first, Minhyuk thought that she might not remember him. But not long after, he realized that that was not the case at all. He could tell that Ascar was not saying who she was for some kind of reason.

‘Perhaps…’

Minhyuk thought that she might be keeping her identity a secret to keep their promise from ten years ago. Minhyuk thus became considerate of the girl’s choice. If she got scared after he revealed that he knew her from the past, then she might leave the guild suddenly.

Actually, there was also another reason why Ascar never revealed the fact that she knew Minhyuk from the past. And now…

Graaaaaaaaab—

…Da-Sol’s body was trembling. She realized that she had done something that she should not have, especially in public.

“Ghost of the Battlefield Ascar hugs the Food God?!”

“This is a scoop!!!”

“By any chance, are the two of them…?”

Da-Sol was suffering from a severe panic disorder. In fact, due to the fashion show, she had taken too much medication. Her vision blurred as the cameras continued to flash around them. At the same time, Minhyuk hugged her and blocked her eyes from the constant glaring flashes while members of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom immediately surrounded them.

Then, the bodyguards appeared, escorting them and opening a pathway for them through the large crowd. The limousines quickly left the scene one after the other after the guild members boarded them.

On this day, Crystal’s Fashion Show had created the greatest buzz of all time. The first issue? The fashion show created and produced a new global top model in Im Da-Sol. The second issue? The Beyond the Heavens’ appearance in Crystal’s Fashion Show and the hug between Food God Minhyuk and Im Da-sol.

***

The entire world was turned upside down with Crystal’s Fashion Show at the center of everything. Just the views of the broadcast in Ztube alone had risen rapidly to the point that it reached the top ten of the most viewed videos this year.

But that was not all.

The appearance of the members of Beyond the Heavens at the end of Crystal’s Fashion show had created a huge impact. And Da-Sol’s finale also created the same impact. Because of that, plenty of articles poured out in just less than half a day.

[Da-Sol’s angelic appearance on stage was showing her desire for the world-class designers to put her on their stages even through SNS.]

[The Gutti handbag that Beyond the Heavens’ Vice Guild Master Genie used during the fashion show is gaining a lot of discussion from all over the world.]

[Netizens are shocked by Alicia, the former master of Artheon, and her beautiful appearance.]

[The true finale of Crystal Fashion Show is the members of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?]

[Which brand of suit did Food God Minhyuk wear?]

[The price of the limousine that Food God Minhyuk rode? Enough to make our mouths gape.]

[Food God Minhyuk and Ghost of the Battlefield Ascar… are they a couple?]

[There are plenty of great rumors between Food God Minhyuk and Ghost of the Battlefield Ascar. Is Ghost of the Battlefield Ascar truly the only daughter of the Jeongsang Group? Rumors continue to spread.]

[Food God Minhyuk has declared a tough response against rumors…]

[A downpour of love calls are coming for everyone from Beyond the Heavens. Plenty of people had shown their interest in them, including those in Hollywood and the fashion world.]

When the members of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom showed up in full attire at Crystal’s Fashion Show, the entire world realized how huge the impact and the ripples that they could create.

And these were the viewers’ reactions…

[From Alicia to Lucia… to Genie… and now to Ascar…]

[Looking at this… Isn’t Minhyuk a thief blessed by the gods?]

[That’s right. He’s a true and genuine thief… God, I’m jealous…]

[He might not have saved a country in his past life, but he did build a country this time… Haha?]

Many people expressed their jealousy toward Food God Minhyuk. However, the problem was that it was not just envy, many of them had started to spread rumors between Minhyuk and Ascar.

[I heard that the Food God was originally dating Genie but switched to Ascar. Aren’t Ascar and the Food God too much?]

[Ah. So that’s why Genie’s expression did not look good when she got caught by the camera? Hahahaha.]

[The world of the rankers is as dirty as the world of the celebrities… haha.]

Perhaps this was only natural. Those that were jealous of their achievements would definitely find the hug between the two as an interesting ‘playground’ where they could create a variety of stories.

Right now, the members of Beyond the Heavens were sitting inside the most expensive suite in the Lark Hyatt Hotel in Paris. All of their phones were ringing constantly. They were phone calls from various advertisements and even movie appearances.

Only Locke’s phone was silent. But then, the phone in Locke, or Jisoo’s hand suddenly rang. The sulking Jisoo hurriedly answered the call.

“An, an advertisement?!”

The eyes of the guild members, who were constantly receiving love calls, were bright as they looked at the once-sullen Jisoo after hearing that he finally got a love call of his own. Jisoo was also smiling smugly. It was as if he was bragging to them with that wide smile on his face.

However, his smug expression soon turned ugly.

“An, an advertisement for dog food? No, why would a person do an advertisement for dog food… N, no. I have to go! Bye!!!”

The guild members chuckled at Jisoo’s unfortunate incident. However, they were in a situation where they truly could not laugh. It was good that Da-Sol made a successful debut on stage and that the members of Beyond the Heavens appeared to congratulate her. The problem was the rumors between Minhyuk and Da-Sol that continued to spread, despite them strongly expressing that they would give a tough response.

These rumors were initially mostly related to Genie and Alicia, but soon, even the other male guild members were being involved and dragged into a love triangle. Of course they did not really care that much about it.

However, Da-Sol cared a lot about it. She looked around them and said, “I’ll reveal my past and my backstory with Minhyuk.”

Even though they heard Da-Sol’s words clearly, none of the guild members felt relieved. This was because they have heard the complete backstory back in the limousine. That was why the Beyond the Heavens members believed that they should not keep their hands off, while it was the parties involved who had the say in this matter.

When Da-Sol’s eyes turned to Minhyuk, Minhyuk opened his mouth calmly and said, “If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to.”

Minhyuk had always lived in a way that he did not care much about what the others said about him. But Da-Sol knew that it was her rash actions that brought harm both to Minhyuk and the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

But what would happen if she revealed her past? It was clear that the image of Minhyuk and the Beyond the Heavens’ member would change for the better.

“I want to reveal it.”

Minhyuk nodded silently as an awkward atmosphere surrounded the two of them. Everyone was quick-witted, so they left the room one after the other, leaving Minhyuk and Da-Sol alone.

Minhyuk stood up and walked to the balcony. Since this was the top floor of Lark Hyatt, the beautiful view of downtown Paris was spread out beautifully beneath him. Even the moon was shining beautifully down on him.

Da-Sol, who had kept her feelings for Minhyuk hidden, thought,

‘I was so happy to see his face that all of my thoughts stopped at that moment…’

She only glossed over that fact with that. For quite a long time, the two of them just stared at the moon hanging in the skies. Then, Minhyuk opened his mouth, “You’ll be leaving, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Da-Sol was very surprised. It sounded like Minhyuk had already seen through her mind. Da-Sol’s level had been halved the moment she changed her class to Asura. Asura’s skills might be out of this world, but she would never be able to cross the walls created by the level gap with just that.

However, once she reached her previous level, there was a high chance that she could express a strength that was several times her previous power. That was why she had to say goodbye to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom for a while, to raise her level.

“I hope you can come back soon,” Minhyuk said, grinning softly at her.

Da-Sol looked at his face for a long time and made a vow,

‘Definitely. As fast as I can…’

And perhaps one day, she would also gain the courage to confess to him.

Tonight was a night where the skies were filled with twinkling stars.

***

The moment Da-Sol posted an official statement on the internet, those that spread rumors and cursed at them for half a day immediately quieted down. In fact, the viewers even cheered for Minhyuk and Da-Sol. One hugged the other without any discrimination and kept the promise that they have made when they were young, sincerely congratulating the girl who finally achieved her dreams of becoming a model. Although there was a slight mishap, the value of each of the members of Beyond the Heavens soared to greater heights after their appearance in Crystal’s Fashion Show.

Not long after Minhyuk returned to his mansion, a black sedan stopped at the entrance.

“Excuse me, who are you?”

The guards could not remove the shock in their eyes after seeing the person sitting on the back seat of the car when the windows rolled down.

“I came to meet with the Food God.”

After stating the purpose of their visits, the guards allowed the car to pass. Minhyuk’s personal health trainer Oh Changwook, immediately ran out of the mansion just as two men got out of the car. These two men were none other than Joy Co. Ltd’s President Kang Taehoon and Team Leader Park Minggyu.

“Hello. You said that you want to meet with Minhyuk?”

“That’s right.”

President Kang Taehoon was as much a bigwig as Ilhwa Group’s Chairman Kang Minhoo. In the past, Kang Taehoon met with the Food God inside the game, Athenae. But this was the first time that the two of them would meet face to face.

‘He’ll come running once he knows that I’m here,’?

Kang Taehoon thought.

However, Park Minggyu smiled bitterly while thinking,

‘Minhyuk is not someone who cares about those?kind?of things.’

The boy was polite, but after living with him for quite some time during the Athenae: Korean War, Team Leader Park Minggyu already had a grasp of Minhyuk’s personality.

Not long after, Oh Changwook said, “I’m sorry, but Minhyuk has already started his exercise.”

“Ah. Is that so? It’s fine. We can just wait in your waiting room.”

“He’s going to take a while. From what he said, he was going to do all of the exercises that he missed yesterday and the exercises set for today.”

“Hahaha. It’s fine. I can spend that much time for the Food God,” President Kang Taehoon laughed. People generally exercised for around an hour and a half. If the exercise for yesterday was added, then that would take at most three hours. Including the time for washing up and getting ready, then Kang Taehoon believed that Minhyuk would be out in four hours. So, they waited for four hours while sitting in the waiting room.

“Is the Food God still not done?”

“Yes. He’s still in the middle of exercising.”

After six hours.

“He’s, he’s still exercising?”

“Yes.”

After eight hours.

“He, He’s still doing it?!”

“Yes… I think he’s almost done by now.”

President Kang Taehoon could only click his tongue while thinking,

‘Isn’t it strange for a person to work out for eight hours straight?!’

Once again, Kang Taehoon realized why the Food God could become a king in Athenae. Also, there was something that he found unusual.

‘He must have heard that I was here.’

In a way, Kang Taehoon’s visit was unannounced. But considering the weight of his name, there were many people that would gladly rush out to welcome him, even if he appeared uninvited in their homes. But that was not the case with the Food God. Kang Taehoon could feel bad about this, but he only just chuckled at the thought.

‘That’s right. If you’re the king of a nation then you should act like this.’

But then, Taehoon felt the pangs of hunger gnawing at his stomach.

“By any chance, could I have some light meal and tea to go along with it? I’ve been waiting for a long time so I’ve already grown hungry. Ah, please prepare some for Team Leader Park too.”

“No. I’m fine, you don’t need to prepare a share for me.”

“Why? Aren’t you starving?”

“I’m really alright, President!”

Team Leader Park Minggyu vehemently refused the offer with a strong wave of his hands. He had lived with her for two weeks before and had eaten the meals that they have prepared.

‘

No, thank you

.’

Food was immediately prepared for President Kang Taehoon. The first dish was…

“So, it’s a salad. A salad without a sauce? You’re living healthily, huh?”

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The second dish was…

“…Tomato steak?”

The third dish was…

“To-tomato canapé…?!”

He was also served some tomato juice without sugar and dried tomatoes for dessert. For some reason, Kang Taehoon felt like he was in a weird country with only tomatoes.

Oh Changwook took things a little further and asked, “We have some tomato ice cream. Would you like me to bring some for you?”

“P-Please stop with the tomatoes…”

“Ah. Yes.”

President Kang Taehoon was once again impressed with Minhyuk.

“Does the Food God always eat this kind of food?”

“Yes. I only ate it for a couple of days but it’s too bland… Now… I’ve grown sick and tired of seeing tomatoes.”

“Ho…”

For the second time since coming here, Kang Taehoon expressed admiration for Minhyuk. For him to only eat these kinds of dishes on top of exercising that much, that was worthy of admiration. In fact, he even felt respect for the boy.

After admiring the boy for a long time, President Kang Taehoon finally said, “It would be really good if the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will agree to participate in the trailer for the Continent Integration.”

The purpose of their visit was finally revealed.

1. In reference to Park Hyatt Hotel, a luxurious hotel under Hyatt.