Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 528: Tectonic Shift (3)

Ahn Seok-Chun picked up the hwatu cards on the table and started his psychological warfare.

"The current value of Ace Entertainment shares is around thirty billion won. But all you have in front of you is five billion, plus the three billion you brought today. How are you going to make up for the shortfall? Should I lend you some? I'll give you a good interest rate."

I scoffed. "Since I accepted the challenge, you must be mistaken. Should we just call it quits here?"

In gambling or any game, the stakes weren't always equal for everyone. As long as the opponent accepted, that's all that mattered. I told Ahn Seok-Chun that if he kept playing mind games like this, I would just flip the table and walk away, shares or not.

He hesitated for a moment, but he wanted to crush me even more than I wanted his shares. "Look at this guy. The way you talk... Did you learn gambling with your mouth? Fine, kid. And we'll shuffle the deck each round."

"Sure thing."

With an expression that screamed you're done for, Ahn Seok-Chun rolled up his dress shirt sleeves to his elbows to show that he wasn't hiding any cards. However, tricks like bottom dealing or card switching were always possible. Sometimes, hands were faster than eyes.

"I'm shuffling, so roll up your sleeves too."

I copied him, rolling my sleeves up to my elbows. "Got it."

Shuffle shuffle shuffle.

The hwatu cards danced between Ahn Seok-Chun's fingers, shuffling at a rapid pace. The friction of the cards rubbing against each other made an oddly satisfying sound. However, compared to the smooth skill he displayed in my previous life, there were still some rough edges.

"Alright then, let's begin."

Ahn Seok-Chun, oblivious to the fact that he was the real sucker in this game, brimmed with confidence.

Keeping a poker face, I took the cards he handed me. "Shuffle away."

And so, the game against the sucker began.

***

Ahn Seok-Chun flipped his cards and shouted, "Eight pairs!"

I set mine down with a disappointed look. "Nine pairs."

"Fuck!!"

His face turned pale. This was already the 50th round. By minimizing my losses when I lost and maximizing my wins when I won, I had already taken about fifteen billion won from him. With no betting limits, each round involved massive sums of money.

"Now it's my turn."

"Hurry up and deal!"

Now that it was my turn, I started shuffling.

Shuffle shuffle shuffle.

Then, Ahn Seok-Chun suddenly clamped down on my wrist.

Grab.

"Wait. You just used a trick, didn't you?"

"Got any proof?"

Contrary to his suspicions, I hadn't used any tricks this time. But ever since he started losing money, paranoia had set in. He had already interrupted the shuffling multiple times.

'He's cracking.'

His mental state was starting to crumble. At this point, he was nothing more than prey. I flipped my cards over as if I had no other choice.

Seeing that there were no signs of a trick, Ahn Seok-Chun looked shocked. "This... This can't be happening."

"Shall I continue shuffling?"

"Shit. Go ahead!"

I turned my hands over and began shuffling again. But at that moment, I smoothly executed a trick to create the exact hand I wanted. Then, I placed two cards in front of Ahn Seok-Chun and two in front of myself.

At that moment, Ahn Seok-Chun's face brightened after checking his two cards and he shouted confidently, "Ten billion won! If you're scared, just drop dead!"

Despite Ahn Seok-Chun's bold bet, I remained composed. "I'll match your ten billion won and raise another ten."

"Alright!"

"Then reveal your hand first."

With a grin, Ahn Seok-Chun laid down his cards. "18 Gwang-Ddaeng! I win, punk!"

The 18 Gwang-Ddaeng was one rank below the 38 Gwang-Ddaeng, but it was still considered one of the best hands. Since there was only one Gwang card for 1, 3, and 8, as soon as this hand appeared, a 38 Gwang-Ddaeng was impossible.

Overcome with excitement, Ahn Seok-Chun stretched out his arms and pulled in all the chips on the table.

Just then, I gently placed my hand over his. "Mr. Ahn, shouldn't you take a look at my hand first?"

Ahn Seok-Chun's eyes wavered. "No way... No, it can't be..."

With a blank expression, I revealed 'Secret Royal Inspector.' This was a combination of the April Ten and July Ten cards—the only hand that could beat both the 13 and 18 Gwang-Ddaeng.

Ahn Seok-Chun trembled as he stared at my cards in disbelief. Meanwhile, I remained calm, lifted his hand off the table, and pulled all the chips toward me.

Clatter.

As expected, Ahn Seok-Chun exploded in rage. "You bastard! You cheated, didn't you?!"

"Got any proof?"

"Proof? Cut the bullshit! The fact that this was so one-sided is proof enough!"

He had used tricks while dealing, but now that he was on the losing end, he was crying foul.

Just then, Jin Ah-Ram spoke up in my defense. "Mr. Ahn, don't you think you're being unreasonable?"

"What?! Director Jin, you saw it too! This was a total scam!"

"Well, I don't know about that. When Mr. Jung shuffled, he didn't win every time either. Did he?"

I calmed the agitated Jin Ah-Ram. I had intentionally let Ahn Seok-Chun win with the 18 Gwang-Ddaeng to shake his confidence before delivering the final blow.

"It's fine, Ms. Jin."

The moment she saw my expression, she quickly backed off. Being sharp-witted, she instantly realized I had a bigger plan in mind.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Jung."

I flashed her a grin before turning back to Ahn Seok-Chun.

Still seething, he huffed and fumed as he was unable to calm himself. I watched him for a moment before pushing all the chips I had just won to the center of the table.

Clatter.

As I went all in, Ahn Seok-Chun's brows furrowed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You seem unable to accept the result, so let's settle it with one last round. I'm all in."

At this moment, I had more chips than Ahn Seok-Chun. Yet I didn't hesitate to bet everything since it was a calculated move for the final showdown.

However, Ahn Seok-Chun was too riled up to think straight. If he won just this one round, he could recover all his losses and walk away with an eight billion won profit. It was a chance for a dramatic comeback for him, and no one could stay calm in the face of such a tempting opportunity.

I didn't stop there and added one more condition. "Since you're so suspicious, let's switch to a fresh deck. Oh, and one more thing. For the final round, you can shuffle the cards yourself."

Telling a seasoned gambler to shuffle the deck himself was practically inviting him to cheat.

Ahn Seok-Chun's eyes widened. "Are you serious? You're letting me deal?" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"Yes. No matter what I do, you keep accusing me of cheating. Let's settle this cleanly with one final round. You shuffle the deck, Mr. Ahn."

As the possibility of victory flickered before his eyes, a smirk spread across Ahn Seok-Chun's face. "You little punk. Not bad. Okay. If I back down here, I'm no man! I'm all in too!"

Ahn Seok-Chun shoved all his remaining chips forward.

Clatter.

I gathered the hwatu cards on the table and handed them to the dealer. "Please bring out a fresh deck."

With hundreds of billions at stake, the dealer, who had been silently observing, trembled. "A-Alright."

With shaking hands, he retrieved a new deck from under the table. He selected 20 cards to form a seotda deck and placed them before us. A single round with thirty eight billion won was on the line.

Ahn Seok-Chun grinned as he began shuffling.

Shuffle shuffle shuffle.

That was when I casually spoke up. "Surely, in a match like this, a 38 Gwang-Ddaeng won't appear, right?"

A quake ran through Ahn Seok-Chun's pupils. If, after all my concessions, he ended up pulling a 38 Gwang-Ddaeng, it would be as good as admitting he cheated.

Ahn Seok-Chun's hand movements shifted and his chatter increased. "W-Well, we'll see once the cards are drawn! If luck's on my side, it could happen! Right?"

It was clear that he had planned to draw a 38 Gwang-Ddaeng. But my words had made him change his strategy.

Seeing that, I chuckled. "True. The thrill of the game comes from the suspense."

"Yeah, exactly!"

By then, Ahn Seok-Chun had finished shuffling.

Tap tap.

Ahn Seok-Chun dealt the cards one by one as they stacked beside the mountain of chips. Thirty eight billion won was an amount the average person would never even dream of. Even for a billionaire like Ahn Seok-Chun, this was an unprecedented gamble.

Excited, Ahn Seok-Chun checked his cards slowly. Then a smirk spread across his face. It was proof that the hand he wanted had appeared.

"Shall I reveal my cards first?"

"Go ahead."

"Haha! Jang-Ddaeng!"

Jang-Ddaeng was a pair of October Tens, one of the strongest hands and only Gwang-Ddaengs ranked above it. Since he had shuffled the cards himself, he was already convinced of his victory.

Still covering my cards, I asked, "Mr. Ahn, no complaints regardless of the result, right? You shuffled the deck and we even switched to a new one."

"Fuck. Enough with the talking! Just reveal your hand already!"

Not only Ahn Seok-Chun but also the VIPs gathered in the room watched with bated breath.

I shrugged and flipped over my cards one by one. "Understood."

Tap.

A 3 Gwang.

Tap.

An 8 Gwang.

Together, I had 38 Gwang-Ddaeng—the ultimate seotda hand that trumped all others.

I said, "My apologies. Looks like I won again."

A collective gasp filled the VVIP room.

"How... how did he get 38 Gwang-Ddaeng?"

"This is insane. How... in this situation..."

"Is that even possible?"

"Does he have the gambling gods on his side...?"

Behind me, Jin Ah-Ram and Lee Soo-Chan clenched their fists as they let out small cheers.

But the louder the celebration, the more Ahn Seok-Chun's face turned ashen. "You bastard... What the hell did you do?"

"What do you mean? You shuffled and dealt the cards yourself, didn't you?"

"Y-Yeah, but this doesn't make sense! The cards I gave you..."

"Surely, you didn't use any sleight of hand, did you?"

Ahn Seok-Chun froze and his mouth clamped shut.

If he admitted to using sleight of hand, not only would it mean his loss, but he could also be permanently banned from the casino.

"Th... This..."

His body trembled, unable to form a proper sentence.

At last, my setup was complete. Now, it was time for my final move.

"Mr. Ahn, could we have a private conversation?"

"Shit. What kind of trick are you pulling now?"

"If you spare me a moment, I guarantee it won't be a loss for you."

Jin Ah-Ram tried to intervene. "Mr. Jung, maybe it's best if I stay—"

When someone lost big in gambling, being left alone with them almost always led to a fight. Nevertheless, I assured them it was fine and asked everyone to leave.

Lee Soo-Chan and Lee Ho-Jae, after some hesitation, exited first. Ahn Seok-Chun's entourage followed soon after. Lastly, Jin Ah-Ram shot me a worried look before stepping out.

Clunk.

When the VVIP room's door closed, I got to the point.

"Mr. Ahn, I'll return all the money I won. In exchange, I want to buy Ace Entertainment's shares at today's market price."

Ahn Seok-Chun unclenched his tightly balled fists and scanned me from head to toe. "You punk... What's your angle?"

"There's no hidden agenda."

"Then why would you give up all that money?"

"I simply wanted to buy the shares at a fair price. But since you refused to listen, things escalated to this point."

The real reason I was willing to return all my winnings boiled down to two factors. First, if I exchanged these chips for cash, I would be committing an illegal act. And that would mean handing Jinseong Inc, which managed this VIP casino, leverage over me. After all, gambling was illegal.

However, since I hadn't cashed out yet, I technically had only been playing with plastic chips, not real money.

Second reason was my long-term relationship with Ahn Seok-Chun. He loved gambling, but in the future, he would make a name for himself as a major investor in the content business. Making an enemy out of him now wouldn't be beneficial.

Moreover, he would eventually form a close relationship with Kim Dong-Soo, who happened to be skilled at poker. So, before the two became too friendly, I wanted to forge a stronger bond with Ahn Seok-Chun first.

Ahn Seok-Chun fell into deep thought, clearly trying to decipher my intentions. But soon, his expression softened. Even for a billionaire like him, thirty billion won wasn't a small sum.

Ahn Seok-Chun asked, "But do you even have the money to buy the shares?"

"Yes. The Vice President of Reverse Entertainment, who accompanied me, will be purchasing them."

"Ahem. Then I just sell my shares to him?"

"Yes. And I'd also like your cooperation in restructuring Ace Entertainment."

Ahn Seok-Chun nodded. "Alright. Fine."

"Then once the sale agreement is signed, I'll return your chips."

"Alright."

'It's done.'

By winning this high-stakes match, I secured the opportunity to purchase 30% of Ace Entertainment's shares. This meant Kim Dong-Soo could no longer take over the company entirely.

Since Ahn Seok-Chun, as the largest shareholder, still held influence over other shareholders, his presence would block any full acquisition attempt.

"Phew."

I let out a breath as if I had been tense, and Ahn Seok-Chun's hostility slightly faded. "You know... For someone your age, you've got some guts."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Compliment? I've never seen anyone remain so composed in front of hundreds of billions of won."

"I just had different priorities."

"Still... damn."

Now that he had his money back, Ahn Seok-Chun seemed more relaxed and even showed curiosity about my win.

"But seriously, how the hell did you do it? I gave myself Jang-Ddaeng and dealt you a Three-Ddaeng. I shuffled the cards myself, so how the hell did you end up with 38 Gwang-Ddaeng?"

"Are you curious?"

"Of course I am!"

I smirked and began revealing my secret.