Chapter 44

EP 9 - Jininsadaecheongmyeong盡人事待天命 (1)

[On the 11th, the court sentenced Ms. Cheon Geumsoon, the CEO of GS Group, to 200 hours of community service. The judgment is analyzed as considering her efforts to take social responsibility after causing economic turmoil through speculative fund management.

Ms. Cheon Geumsoon announced that she would not appeal the decision.]

[This punishment is extremely fair... I realized that my actions to make money could harm others...

No matter how hard I try to make amends, ... sniff...! Mistakes cannot be undone... As an entrepreneur, I need to be more responsible...]

Monster Damage Recovery Foundation, Minor Support Center. Commonly known as the Han Seungmun Orphanage. Infant Care Room.

On the TV hanging in the corner of the ceiling, a video of Cheon Geumsoon, with a pitiful expression, slightly sobbing during an interview, was playing.

Seeing her whine in the interview made her seem a bit like a delinquent.

I asked the woman who was feeding a baby with a bottle.

Hmm. I thought a third-generation chaebol would have never held a newborn before.

"You're doing better than expected."

Cheon Geumsoon, who was feeding the baby with great skill, smiled brightly.

"I had a younger brother. A half-brother, 9 years younger."

"Ah..."

A half-brother. That means he was born because her father had an affair.

"He was cute. But he died of an illness when I was 13..."

"Um..."

"Maybe my mother killed him. I heard he died of acute shock due to some illness, but we were holding hands and walking together the day before..."

"Ah..."

I had a hunch, but it seems she didn't have a smooth life. Cheon Geumsoon, looking at the baby with a complicated expression, forced a smile and spoke.

"By the way, how do you feel about the title 'CEO'?"

Cheon Geumsoon insisted on being called 'CEO'.

"The chairman sounds a bit old... The representative sounds too young... Names have a certain atmosphere, you know."

"I don't really mind."

"I'm sensitive about names... Anyway, isn't it cute? I wanted a name like Geumsoon too!"

"Uh...?"

What's so great about 'CEO'? With a puzzled look, I tilted my head, and Cheon Geumsoon quickly resolved my confusion.

"En-geel......?"

* * *

"Ha...! It's over......" Cheon Geumsoon stretched and walked out.

"You have 158 hours left."

"...Seungmun, please......"

"You need to work overtime when you get back."

"...Honey. Are you going to get scolded?"

"Do chaebols these days just throw ashtrays at employees?"

"I'm not sure. I'd like to throw one at a congressman though..."

"Quit smoking."

"Ah... I'm losing energy....."

As she muttered, "I might light up sometimes..."

"Uncle!"

A young voice came from above.

"Ji-yoon!"

"It's been a while!"

Gan Ji-yoon ran towards me from the sky. When I grabbed her hand, the little girl floated up like a balloon.

I introduced Gan Ji-yoon to Cheon Geumsoon while holding her.

"Ah, CEO Cheon. This is Gan Ji-yoon. She works with me-"

"Hmm......"

"A Seoul escapee, a telekineticist...?"

"Can I hold her just once...?"

She tried to take Gan Ji-yoon from me, like a child trying to snatch a balloon.

"Sure."

Gan Ji-yoon, floating like a helium balloon, swayed back and forth.

"Hey, why are you doing this?"

"I'll just hold her once...!"

"Go away."

"Yah...!"

I used Gan Ji-yoon's superpower to make Cheon Geumsoon float for a moment.

"Ji-yoon. It's been a while?"

"I've seen you on TV a lot!"

"That's not really meeting. Anyway, what have you been up to lately?"

"Umm......"

Gan Ji-yoon smiled brightly.

"Carrying a cargo net and it got twisted! Destroyed a canteen! Got scolded by the foreman! I'm on suspension for a while!"

"Umm......"

My head spun for a moment, but Cheon Geumsoon interpreted it for me.

"While carrying a cargo net, something fell and destroyed the canteen... Got scolded by the foreman and is on suspension for a while......"

"Can you hear this, CEO Cheun?"

"I own a construction company......"

"You're thorough..."

Gan Ji-yoon was an ace dispatched by the Guild's Civil Support Team. 'Civil Support' involves building collapsed houses, clearing debris, etc.

In other words, she performs the role of a walking construction site heavy equipment. She seems to have become quite close to the uncles.

I handed Gan Ji-yoon to Cheon Geumsoon. Cheon Geumsoon gently shook her while speaking to me.

"Sigh... I thought she had sacrificed a beloved section chief and fled. I didn't expect her to get 200 hours of community service..."

"The Financial Commission had to save face, didn't they?"

In the end, they shed the stigma of not cracking down on economic criminals due to political pressure, at least formally. Cheon Geumsoon grumbled.

"Anyway, it's all among people who know each other..."

"They're building an excuse to use in future National Assembly hearings."

"Ah!"

"That's politics for you."

*

Pae Chae-won started her report.

"Mr. Han, who I got close to, was thinking about whether to impose a circuit breaker to adjust the timing......"

She relayed Cheon Geumsoon's inner thoughts to me.

"......Is this guy a complete idiot?"

"What do you mean...?"

"When the stock market crashes, the government closes it. If rookies use this well, they can make thousands of times more money? What...!"

It's as if he needs to take drugs to come up with such ideas.

Thinking about doing such despicable things in the stock market is extremely dangerous, especially for a chaebol.

She has a devilish talent for making money. The fact that she can even think of such ideas is a talent in itself.

"Any other thoughts?"

"No......"

"You have 158 hours left. Please keep working hard, Miss Pae Chae-won.

It seems like a good decision to forcefully bring her in, which stimulated the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

While she is serving her community service at the orphanage, Pae Chae-won can periodically monitor her.

She's a bit crazy and comes up with crazy ideas. And she succeeds in them with crazy methods.

The type of person politicians are most wary of.

We call them heroes.

Pae Chae-won, who performed excellent civilian surveillance, finished her report but remained in the room with a troubled expression.

"What's the matter?"

"......Mr. Congressman. No matter how I think about it, this is wrong-"

Knock. Knock.

"Come in."

A familiar face peeked in at the sound of the knock.

"Hmm. Miss Chae-won is here?"

"Ah, I'm done. Come in."

Pae Chae-won shuffled out of the office, and Jang Won-jang cautiously entered and sat on the sofa.

"How are you doing as the director of the orphanage?"

"I think it's my calling."

Near the underground parliament, the head of the business district.

The head of the National Intelligence Service.

The head of the Seoul branch,

The head of the Han Seungmun Foundation.

"You were a soldier, an agent, and a police officer. Now you're a director?"

"Life is indeed... Ha ha..."

I leaned on my cane, stood up, and handed him a cup of yulmu tea with a gentle smile.

"Isn't this all for the country and the nation?"

"You're right."

"Let's keep going. We."

He respectfully took the yulmu tea with both hands. I tilted my paper cup and sipped it.

The National Intelligence Service anti-terrorism security bureau agent who worked under Cha Jae-gyun is now under my control.

I don't know his name. It changes every time I see him.

He is now the director of the Han Seungmun Foundation Orphanage, or more precisely, the head of the Monster Damage Recovery Foundation Minor Support Center.

"What's the ratio of superhumans?"

He is currently identifying whether the minors who lost their families in Seoul have awakened.

With hundreds of thousands of people without a place to go, it's taking a considerable amount of time.

"Since they are all from Seoul, the awakening rate is quite high."

"Is there a proven relationship between the gate's magic and awakening?"

"Statistically, yes."

But not scientifically...

The head of the research institute, Cheon Hwa-ran, is about to give birth, so the research staff is severely lacking.

"Where is Director Cheon now?"

"She said she won't completely stop the research. She's still in Seoul, not moving to Busan."

"Is it right to give her work when she's about to give birth? Give up on her help for now and immediately send any highly educated awakened individuals to the research institute."

"Understood."

As Cheon Hwa-ran, exhausted from overwork, started recuperating in the hospital, the research progress came to a halt.

Methods to convert mana stones into thermal energy and drugs to accelerate physical recovery using mana stones already exist, but they are still in the experimental stage.

Of course, many scholars have been brought in, but how many researchers and doctors who are experts in chemistry and the human body and are also awakened individuals are there?

For those who cannot see mana, discussing superpowers is too abstract.

I know this because I can't see mana.

Awakened individuals are categorized in various ways, but these distinctions are essentially meaningless.

For example, if David Kim throws a rock, it's long-range, and if Hong Seon-a sticks to someone and burns them, it's close-range. Kim Chun-sik always carries a gun.

On the internet, they are called attackers, hardening mages, healers, psychics, fire mages, and so on, but these names don't effectively distinguish superhumans.

However, there is one established criterion: Type A and Type B.

Type A are people affected by mana.

In other words, people whose bodies have changed.

Examples include Yeo Do-yeon, Kim Chun-sik, and Kang Seok-ho.

Their bodies have become tougher, their hearing has improved, they can spit stomach acid over long distances, and they can produce toxins.

Type B are people who use mana.

In other words, superhumans.

Examples include Hong Seon-a and Gan Ji-yoon.

They can manipulate electricity, levitate objects, heal people, emit light, and cause phenomena that defy physical laws.

The common point between Type A and Type B is that they can see mana and absorb mana stones to become stronger, though the extent varies.

However,

I can't see mana or absorb mana stones.

Personally, I consider myself Type C.

Pae Chae-won is similar to me. She can't see mana or absorb mana stones.

Since these are distinctions made by humans, the exact principles are not well understood, but that's how it is.

"Ah, my head hurts......"

"Are you okay?"

"Maybe it's because I'm getting old."

"Indeed......"

Jang Won-jang asked me.

"No specific research was conducted in that direction in the underground parliament. The problem was how to adapt mana to the human body."

"Were all the test subjects Type A?"

"Type A was the most common, but occasionally Type B appeared. Their individual abilities varied greatly, but the focus was on maintaining their sanity after the transformation."

"Hmm...... Let's stop the headache-inducing talk here. I expect a call soon..."

"Ah, then I'll leave now."

"Yes. Good work."

Exactly 51 minutes later, a text message arrived.

It contained an address.

*

It took 4 hours to reach the address.

And in those 4 hours, the country was turned upside down.

I dodged the journalists approaching me and finally arrived at the rendezvous point, which was an underground bunker in a mountain village.

Seeing the body search at the entrance, I handed over my tie clip and watch first and passed through the search in one go.

Inside, the congressmen were huddled together, watching TV. Some had red faces and were shouting into their phones.

[They said they would control the media, what is this! We need to impose an embargo! An embargo!]

[Hey, Kim, this is disappointing. Are you trying to get me in trouble? Does anyone not know about your kid's drug use?] [I'm done. Ah, no more excuses. No matter how hot it is on social media, the country's business is urgent. We can't be held back like this.]

It's a mess.

I quickly approached and checked the TV news bulletin. The subtitle read:

'Congressional Recording Leaked. Controversy'

[...It was released at 6 PM. The confirmed voices are Democratic Party members Kim Yun-sik, Jung Chul, and Yoon Jae-sang, and Republican Party members Jeon Pyeong-jae, Im Woong-jae, and Kim Jae-un.]

The news bulletin subtitle changed.

'Proportional Representation Members Excluded. Conspiracy?'

A cheap 3D model of a gold badge was placed over black silhouettes, and the recording started with a noisy voice.

[It's said that you met a proportional representation candidate, Mr. Kim Jo-in, Mr. Jung.]

[...No, he is a senior in politics. He narrowly missed out this time.]

[Oh. Do you think no one will take care of you?]

[Oh... Be careful with your words.]

[Don't pick on decent people. Behave properly. How much did you spend to shut up the birds? Now you want to pass on the proportional representation candidacy? That's not polite.]

Proportional representation candidates are numbered from 1 to the last in advance, and then they vote.

When you enter the polling booth, you receive two ballots.

One has the names of people, which is for the local constituency, and the other has the party name, which is for proportional representation.

If the party receives many votes, the proportional representation candidates up to number 23 are elected.

If the party receives fewer votes, only up to number 16 are elected.

Roughly like that.

But let's say 16 candidates are elected.

If one proportional representation member resigns, the 17th candidate takes over.

That's the rule.

[You're not going to follow the rules, are you? What did Kim Jo-in say?]

[What kind of language is that to a senior!]

[I'm his senior! Get your family tree straight!]

[Now, now, everyone, calm down.]

[You? I've known you since you defected from the party. How can you talk about seniority without a family tree!]

We overturned the proportional representation succession issue to monopolize the parliamentary bowl.

The 12-member parliament. They resolved not to bring more people to the table to protect their own shares.

[What did you just say!]

[Anyway, don't bring proportional representation members into the parliament. How did you manage to suppress the talk of a general election in April, and now you're bringing it up again?]

[Hey!]

[Keep some dignity! Some dignity!]

They even postponed the general election scheduled for April and tried to prolong the 12-member system.

[What are you talking about?]

[Anyway, I won't hear any talk of more proportional representation members. I've wasted my time.]

[No, everyone, calm down-]

[I'm leaving.]

[You, the one who got arrested for protecting Kim. Do you know you're now a monster's meal? And you