47 Tophon

‘Haa, what the hell is this.’

Inside a taxi speeding down the road.

I let out a sigh and watched the meter climb rapidly.

‘How much is this going to cost?’

The taxi kept heading toward the outskirts of Seoul.

As we neared the edge of the city, the eerie howls peculiar to magical beasts drifted in from far away.

The scarf around my neck was uncomfortable, and the coat I’d never worn before was cumbersome too.

But I couldn’t deny that it looked pretty stylish.

Kim Yang nodded in satisfaction, and Renea kept circling around me in admiration.

‘Hmm.’

I sneak a selfie.

Click!

“Ah, I was the one who took this photo.”

Since the driver gave me a sidelong glance, I explained and sent the photo over through KakaoTalk.

A little while later.

- Ryu Seoram: lolololol

- Ryu Seoram: What the fuck are you doing?

- Ryu Seoram: Are you going to meet a woman?

- Kim Juseon: I tried dressing up.

- Kim Juseon: Not bad, right?

- Ryu Seoram: ㅗ

Look at that reply.

Ryu Seoram, whose shoulders had started to rise, straightened right back up.

I’d better stop clowning around and just go.

A little later, after getting out of the taxi, a huge building with a blue-green façade immediately came into view.

This place, which felt like a temple, was ‘Noblesse Ark.’

I’d wondered why they’d chosen the name “Ark of Nobles,” but I understood it the moment I saw the entrance.

‘It’s an aquarium.’

From the entrance, you can see fish swimming through blue water beneath the translucent stairs.

Hosting an event in a place like this would be incredibly expensive, and the fact that they rented out the entire venue showed how serious they were about it.

Another thing that caught my eye was the parking lot.

Heavy, luxurious foreign cars were the bare minimum.

I was impressed to even see a sports car made in Cyber City.

‘……But that one’s a rental car.’

A rental plate was plastered right on it. People on the 3rd Floor might not know, but for someone like me, who had to verify the assets of 6th Floor people one by one, that was something I had to notice.

‘It probably costs more to bring it down from the 6th Floor to the 3rd than it does to rent it.’

I guess that means they’re serious to that extent.

Or maybe it’s just the owner’s stubborn refusal to ever ride in a 3rd Floor car.

When I reached the entrance, there were already two more people waiting.

Looks like they’d both been stopped at the entrance.

One was a purple-haired man who looked like he’d come from Cyber City.

Though the sun was already starting to set, he was wearing sunglasses, and his face was sharp and narrow.

He was struggling to keep the bag in his hand from being taken away.

“No, this is just a bag.”

“Sir, I saw that you have a camera. Cameras are not allowed inside.”

“Ha…….”

It looks like he tried to sneak in a hidden camera and failed, and now he’s arguing with the guide at the entrance.

The other person looks like a man from the old Murim of the 5th Floor—

“This is really difficult, sir.”

This side was clearly a woman who looked like a Tophon employee, and she was making a miserable face.

The slit-eyed man, whose eyes you could barely tell were open, answered with a gentle smile.

“The young master’s safety isn’t guaranteed at a place like this. So I came in his place as the young master’s servant and his eyes.”

“Still, Young Master Cheonjong has to come in person for the match to happen. What are we supposed to do if the person involved doesn’t show up?”

“And if the young master were assassinated or attacked here instead, would you take responsibility?”

“No, ugh—.”

It seemed that the scion of a prestigious family hadn’t come himself, but had sent a proxy to attend in his place.

Seeing me pass between the two of them, the employee approached me as if sighing in relief.

“May I see your invitation?”

“Here you go.”

“Yes, that’s confirmed. Please go inside, tell us your name, sign the pledge, and then you’ll receive your name tag.”

Once inside, a staff member in a suit greeted me with a bright smile.

When I said Kim Juseon, I received a name tag, and since there was an ‘N’ written next to my name, it seemed I was in the Noble grade.

‘Huh, if Tophon rates me as Noble, that’s pretty high.’

Here, grades are measured differently from ours.

Sovereign.

Royal.

Noble.

Citizen.

Prospect.

Citizen is the standard grade.

If you compare it to our system, Noble is B-rank.

Royal is A-rank, and Sovereign is S-rank.

But one thing to know is that their standards are much stricter.

Even someone who gets A-rank in our system often ends up as B-rank in Tophon.

Then they handed over a security pledge.

It said I must never reveal what happens inside or the people I meet.

If I do, there’s a penalty fee that could ruin my life.

‘So this really is a huge banquet.’

In cases like this, it’s usually not for the company’s sake, but to accommodate someone among the participants whose presence shouldn’t be known.

They only come if things like this are in place.

“What’s the highest grade invited to this party?”

As I signed the pledge and asked the employee, he explained with a bright smile.

“A total of fifteen people were invited. Three Nobles, nine Royals, and three Sovereigns.”

“There are Sovereign-level guests too?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Judging by that, the old Murim fellow who was stopped at the entrance earlier seemed like he’d be the Sovereign.

As I followed the guide inside, the word “magnificent” came to mind the instant the grand scene filled my eyes.

In the center of the huge hall was a long banquet table. On top of it were wine, floral decorations, and more.

Chefs were lined up against the walls, each preparing food.

The reason they chose a buffet format was clear: the organizers had thoughtfully arranged it so people could walk around and talk naturally.

And the thing that stood out most, of course, was the huge aquarium.

At the entrance, the aquarium had been beneath our feet through a translucent glass floor, but this time it was the opposite.

The ceiling and walls formed one giant fish tank, surrounding the hall. It was a scene that felt as if we’d stepped into the ocean.

Maybe that’s why the dishes here seemed to be seafood-based.

‘Wow, this is insane.’

When I saw the whale calmly swimming above us on the ceiling, my jaw really did drop.

‘How is that thing even here?’

Seeing this made our Meracle, which had been struggling just to buy a single piece of furniture, feel even more pathetic.

‘Sorry, Kim Yang.’

If a company like this said they wanted to scout Kim Yang... I might have to send Kim Yang over.

“Shall I take your coat and scarf, sir?”

“Ah, yes. Please do.”

The hall was heated and warm, so I took off my coat without hesitation.

It felt awkward wearing just a shirt and vest underneath.

There seemed to be assigned seats, so I sat down, but once I looked, a few empty seats stood out.

My seat was at the very end.

It looked like the higher the grade, the closer the seats were to the head of the table.

Those already seated were all chatting among themselves, but the one drawing the most attention was the woman who had arrived as the only Sovereign present and was seated there.

‘Huh? That person—.’

It’s Seo Hajin, the leader of Prism, an idol group that was hugely popular at one time.

I say “at one time,” but honestly, they’re still doing very well now.

Still, as is the nature of idols, their activities naturally decrease as they get older.

I think she’s in her late twenties now, so she must be thinking about retiring.

When her eyes met mine, she gave me a friendly eye-smile and then calmly went back to talking with the others.

‘So that’s why they make us sign a pledge.’

They must make us sign confidentiality pledges and all that because even people like that come here.

But does an idol really need to come all the way out here to look for a marriage partner?

I don’t know much about that industry, but I was about to brush it off as her having her own difficulties when—

“Sir, excuse me.”

An employee approached me from behind.

He whispered softly with a bright smile.

“Could you come with me for a moment?”

“Of course.”

The reason Tophon had called me here.

It looked like I’d finally get to hear what it was.

The place the employee led me to was a corridor lined with what seemed to be staff rooms.

When we entered one of them, a middle-aged woman was sitting there beside an antique sofa.

Heavy makeup, hair tied up, sharp eyes. The clothes she wore and the bag she carried were all luxury brands.

After the employee quietly stepped outside and the two of us were left alone, the woman smiled pleasantly and offered a handshake.

“Hello, I’m Yujihye, CEO of Tophon.”

“Hello, I’m Kim Juseon, CEO of Meracle.”

I wasn’t flustered.

I had expected this, and I also knew CEO Yujihye’s face.

After we sat facing each other, Yujihye immediately expressed her thanks.

“First of all, I’m sorry for inviting you so suddenly, and thank you for accepting.”

“Not at all. Just coming in has already taught me a lot about what the very best in the industry feels like.”

I mean that sincerely.

If I hadn’t seen this, we probably never would’ve been able to create this kind of atmosphere, even after Meracle grew.

It was a good lesson.

“Hehe, if there’s anything you want to learn, feel free to learn as much as you like. I deliberately set this up so you could experience Tophon firsthand as a participant.”

A teacup was already placed in front of me.

One sip and its warmth brought out the flavor. It was expensive tea.

“So, why did you call me here?”

“Well... first, do you know that besides our Tophon, Wedding Company and Royal Matching are also paying attention to Meracle’s moves?”

“Pardon?”

This was news to me.

Wedding Company is the giant firm right after Tophon.

Royal Matching is a matchmaking company that serves only the ultra-elite, though its scale is small.

As her finger traced the rim of her teacup, her gaze swept over me.

“Because most of the customers turned away by each company end up coming to Meracle.”

That’s because we’re not in a position to be picky about customers.

“Hehe, still, isn’t it amazing? Matching the young master of the Namgung Clan was really amazing. We gave up on that long ago, since the difficulty of the company they requested was so high.”

“Ah... that was just because we were lucky.”

It was thanks to the fact that Hellite’s eldest daughter happened to be connected to our side too.

“But I heard it fell through in the middle and then got reconnected.”

“......How do you know that?”

“How could I not know?”

This time, it wasn’t a calculated smile, but a laugh that showed she genuinely found it amusing.

“At Luminous Plaza in Cyber City. And on Christmas Day, when the crowds were at their heaviest, your ad popped right up. ‘Meracle, the 3rd Floor matchmaking agency.’”

“......”

“Do you know how incredible that is? Even 3rd Floor conglomerates like Shilla Heavy Industries couldn’t have bought a single letter of ad space then, no matter how much they paid. No, pardon me. Of course you’d know. You’re the one who did it yourself.”

Hearing praise like that makes me embarrassed again.

“I did my best.”

“Mm-hmm, there are things that can and can’t be achieved through effort. Mr. Kim Juseon, you’ve already proven your ability with that.”

With her legs crossed, Yujihye’s gaze locked onto me. It felt as though greed were rippling in her black pupils.

“Meracle’s matching success rate is 24.1%. Even by normal standards, that’s high, but the density is different. That’s because it includes those so-called troublemaker customers who were rejected by the three major matchmaking agencies.”

What she took out of her luxury bag was a single sheet of paper neatly stored in a file folder.

Sliding it across the table toward me, Yujihye made her proposal.

“We’d like to formally recruit you at Tophon, Mr. Kim Juseon.”