Chapter 409
Paris, Charles de Gaulle International Airport.
It was one of the busiest airports in Europe, with around 530,000 planes landing and taking off every year. It was always bustling with people. It was good to see it crowded.
“It was large and scary.”
Korea’s national team descended from Yura’s private plane and entered the 2E terminal. Their mouths dropped open as they saw the interior.
“Doesn’t it seem bigger than Incheon Airport?”
“That’s right. It’s two times bigger than Incheon National Airport.”
“Wow, look at the map. It takes an hour to walk to the nearest exit.”
Yura explained to the astonished group.
“Don’t worry. We can catch a bus.”
Yura was the best beauty and ranked 5th in the unified rankings, so she had always been an object of interest and was invited to many countries. This was already her 9th visit to Paris. She was familiar with the landscape, and after following her, the group of people walked 20 minutes to a bus stop and boarded a bus.
Due to his habit from his school days, Youngwoo sat directly behind the driver’s seat and sighed.
“Are we moving to the city with this bus?”
He was worried about moving through a large airport, so he was glad that they could move relatively comfortably. Yura spoke shocking words to the relieved Youngwoo.
“This is the airport shuttle bus.”
“Airport shuttle…?”
“Yes, we will take this to the nearest taxi stop and take a taxi to the city.”
“…”
The airport was enough to make a person tired. Youngwoo looked out the window and pledged not to visit Paris again. Paris was one of the world’s top tourist destinations, but Satisfy had a lot more beautiful spots. Therefore, he didn’t feel any inspiration.
On the other hand, Yura was sitting next to Youngwoo and smiling softly. Youngwoo’s forearms were now solid and burly, different from when they first met. It was a pleasant and reassuring sight.
‘Why is she sitting next to me when there are plenty of empty seats?’
It felt good to touch Yura’s soft skin. From the side, her nose was as beautiful as a sophisticated artwork. There were no spots on her white skin, making her look like a pure snow field.
Thump thump thump thump.
Youngwoo’s heart started beating faster as he became conscious of Yura.
‘Remain calm, calm.’
The nervous Youngwoo formed tight fists. He was worried about what might happen if he moved a finger by mistake and touched Yura’s body.
***
The Korean team travelled 40 minutes by taxi from Charles de Gaulle airport and arrived at their hotel.
Shang X Lila Hotel. It was a 5 star hotel located 600 meters from the Eiffel Tower. The luxurious interior was reminiscent of a palace from medieval times, and the guest rooms had a view of the Eiffel Tower and Montmarte.
“Furthermore, the restaurants in this place made it into the Michelin Guide?”
“The rate for the rooms is probably ridiculously expensive.”
“I heard that the cheapest room rate is 2 million won per night, while the expensive rooms are priced at 30~40 million won.”
“30~40 million? F-For one day…?”
“Yes.”
“…”
A total of 224 people were participating in the 2nd Satisfy National Competition. The S.A. Group provided accommodations at 5 star hotels for all of them. It was for 16 days. Indeed, this was the power of the world’s number one group.
‘It would’ve been great if Sehee could participate in this tournament.’
Youngwoo admired the luxurious room assigned to him and was reminded of his sister Sehee. He imagined how delighted Sehee would be to see this place.
‘Well, there’s no urgency. I will be with her starting from next year’s National Competition.’
Currently, Sehee was a student. She had little time to play Satisfy because of her studies, and her level was low, so she couldn’t participate in the National Competition. But it would be different starting next year. Sehee had a good understanding of the value of Satisfy and her Saintess class. Therefore, she was planning to concentrate on Satisfy after she entered university.
“By the way, what are these clothes?”
Youngwoo frowned as he unpacked his clothes. It wasn’t the training clothes and slippers that he normally wore. Instead, there were sneakers, slacks, cotton shirts, and jeans. There were even nice shoes.
‘You want me to wear something like this?’
Youngwoo dressed just for convenience. Style? He had no interest in that.
He was traumatized by being ignored by his first love Ahyoung after wearing fashionable clothes to pursue her, and he didn’t pay attention to fashion after that. In particular, he hated the cramped nature of the collared shirts.
Sehee knew these tendencies and still packed these clothes?
“Sehee, this girl…”
She pretended that she wanted to pack because he would be gone for a while, but it was just a trick? Youngwoo complained as he showered and changed clothes.
He selected one of the coordinated sets that Sehee had arranged from 1 to 19. He chose the 1st set because it had number 1 on it. Today was his first day in Paris. He would wear set 2 on the next day.
[Roll your shirt up to your elbow and tuck it in your pants! Wear this watch!]
“…Wow, the man who will be her husband later on will really be tired.”
Youngwoo checked the note that Sehee left and dressed according to the contents of the note. He stood in front of the mirror and his eyes widened.
‘Don’t I look very handsome?’
In the past, Youngwoo had heard many times that he was ugly. The protruding cheekbones, high T zone, and eyes without double eyelids gave him an overall nervous impression. His skin was rough and his shoulders were hunched over, so he gave off a bad impression.
But in the past year and a half, Youngwoo had gained weight and trained his body through exercise. His features also matured as he got older and his skin care was good compared to the past.
No, even if he didn’t compare to the past, he looked good when compared to the average Korean male. His high T zone and filled up cheeks emanated a Western charm, while his wide shoulders accentuated his masculinity. In particular, his eyes were sexy to women.
Due to Sehee’s styling, Youngwoo was able to show off his charms.
Knock knock.
Youngwoo was staring blankly in front of a mirror and became astonished at the sound of knocking.
“Come in.”
“Are you ready?”
Peak Sword came into the room and felt amazed.
“Ohu, you’re dressed properly for once.”
Peak Sword raised his thumb. Youngwoo felt better and left the room. The two people headed to the ground floor of the hotel, where the press conference would be held. The US, British, and Turkish teams, who were also staying at the same hotel, were seated already.
“Grid!”
Regas waved from where he was sitting as the representative of the British team. On the other hand, the US team leader Zibal was indifferent to Youngwoo, and Bubat, the Turkish representative, was staring at Youngwoo.
“Huh? I’m South Korea’s representative?”
He was confused when he saw ‘Shin Youngwoo’ as the Korean team leader and Yura belatedly explained.
“We decided that at the meeting.”
“Why? Heok.”
Youngwoo swallowed his breath at Yura’s appearance. Yura appeared wearing a dress, looking like the goddess of beauty had descended. Youngwoo couldn’t take his eyes off the neckline that was revealed by her tied up hair.
“You are the strongest among us, and aren’t you also the master of Overgeared? Who else would be the representative?”
‘Do I have leadership?’
As the master of Overgeared, all he did was make items and hunt. Youngwoo wasn’t convinced, but Yura’s evaluation was different. During the Elfin Stone raid, Youngwoo showed unexpected leadership that minimized the damage to his colleagues.
Yura was very appreciative of Youngwoo’s potential as the leader, so she aimed to train this potential in the National Competition.
“Yes… Eh… Um…”
Youngwoo was swayed by the unexpected praise and Peak Sword pushed him.
“What? Everybody is waiting for you, God Grid.”
“Kuk.”
In the end, Youngwoo sat in the seat of the Korean team’s representative. At that moment.
‘His expression changed?’
The hundreds of reporters and staff gathered at the meeting place were surprised at the same time. Youngwoo’s silly expression changed as soon as he sat down. His eyes gazed sharply as hundreds of eyes focused on him.
“Sorry I’m late. I am Shin Youngwoo, also known as Grid, the Korean team’s representative.”
An ordinary person would be nervous in front of the public. It was hard to maintain their spirit while being burdened by the many gazes focused on them. Especially the Youngwoo of the past.
He lacked confidence, so he had trouble communicating with someone in front of his eyes. He always looked at the ground. But he had developed since starting Satisfy. He realized his value and found his confidence. He became familiar with the public gaze as duke, hero of the kingdom, and head of Overgeared.
Grid was the leader of more than 20,000 people and hundreds of guild members. How could he shrink back in front of hundreds of journalists? It was impossible.
“Is this a live broadcast? I would like to say hello to all the people who are watching me right now.”
Relaxed eyes and stable intonation. It was incomparable to the Youngwoo from the 1st National Competition.
“God Grid, this is why I decided to follow you.”
Peak Sword knew how rare it was for a person to grow and change quickly. Peak Sword once again felt inspired to follow Youngwoo.
“Great.”
Today, from Youngwoo’s style to his attitude, everything was Yura’s favorite. On the other hand, the Korean people watching the press conference live on TV and on the Internet were impressed.
“Was Grid’s personality always so intense?”
“Last year, he seemed like a child, but now he clearly isn’t.”
“Doesn’t he look handsomer than before? Plastic surgery?”
“How is that plastic surgery? He used to look like that from the beginning, but it was just his style. You should go in front of a mirror and look at yourself. You look stupid.”
“I think he did a lot of exercise.”
“A diamond in the rough…”
Satisfy had a culture beyond a simple game. And the representative of Satisfy in South Korea was Grid.
Ttiring~
Ttiring~
The rankings of the search portals were renewed about Grid. Youngwoo’s parents watching the TV in their vegetable store was also impressed.
“Our son has become more dependable… Our son is the representative of South Korea for two consecutive years…”
“We gave birth to such a good son. Right?”
The National Competition hadn’t even started yet. However, Youngwoo had already become prominent. Not as Grid, but as ‘Shin Youngwoo.’
One foreign reporter didn’t like it and threw a provocative question at him from the beginning.