Chapter 39. Plane Accident (2)

As the plane started to move, Senator Phillips felt like a child, his heart leaping with excitement. He, too, had once begged his parents to take him to an amusement park.

'A family trip...'

He planned to relax and not think about anything on this trip.

'I won’t even watch the news; I’ll spend time with my family.'

Just as he made this resolve, a loud noise came from behind. The flight attendants were moving back and forth, and the co-pilot rushed out of the cockpit.

Something was definitely wrong.

"I’ll go and check."

One of the bodyguards got up and headed to the economy class.

A moment later, the bodyguard returned and reported.

"A passenger is causing a commotion, demanding to be let off the plane."

"What do you mean?"

"He says there’s an unusual noise coming from the engine. Despite the flight attendants and the co-pilot assuring him that everything is fine, he insists on getting off."

At that moment, an announcement came over the intercom.

[Our plane is returning to the boarding gate. Please remain seated and follow the instructions of the flight attendants.]

The plane, which had already entered the runway, turned around and started heading back to the boarding gate.

Angry and frustrated voices erupted from various parts of the plane.

Leanna complained, almost pouting.

"Why can’t they just let him off on the runway?"

Elina also frowned.

"If one person wants to get off, everyone has to disembark, and the luggage will be inspected, the plane will be checked, and the tickets and procedures will have to be redone."

"How long will that take?"

"At least two hours."

Leanna was annoyed.

"Then our schedule is ruined. I was planning to go to Disney World as soon as we arrived. Oh, come on, really!"

Seeing his daughters’ disappointed faces, Senator Phillips sighed.

'What a mess at the start of this precious family trip.'

He really wanted to see the face of the person causing all this trouble.

A moment later, the plane stopped.

[Our plane has returned to the boarding gate. Please take all your belongings and disembark. The airline will provide further instructions for reboarding.]

Passengers with carry-on luggage grumbled as they made their way down the stairs.

"Damn it!"

"Son of a bitch!"

"What the hell is this because of one person?"

"What a lunatic."

Senator Mark Phillips also led his family off the plane.

An Asian man was being held by security personnel. Below, airport security officers were already waiting to take him away.

'Is it because of this person?'

The disruption of a pleasant trip was a shared frustration.

Passengers glared at him with angry expressions. Some children started crying, and their parents tried to calm them down.

Despite this, he continued to shout without any sign of remorse.

"I’m telling you, it’s true! There was an unusual noise coming from the engine!"

Fed up, Elina shouted at him.

"Apologize!"

"What?"

"Do you know how many people have been affected by your actions?"

"What harm have I caused?"

Elina was speechless.

"Can’t you see the children crying? Everyone’s precious trip has been ruined. Can you take responsibility for everyone’s time?"

Han Miru replied calmly.

"Would you take responsibility if the plane took off and the engine exploded?"

"What, what are you saying?"

Han Miru quickly pointed to a black man and said.

"I’m not the only one who heard it. This man is the world’s top engine expert and he also heard the unusual noise! Chris! Confirm what I’m saying!"

"Ah, no..."

Somehow, the best in the U.S. had become the best in the world.

'If you keep this up, they’ll think I told you to do it.'

Unable to bear the pressure, Christopher turned his head away, and Han Miru was flustered.

"Hey! Chris! Sir!"

Frustrated by his persistent claims, the passengers started cursing him.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Go back to your country!"

"Why are you causing trouble in America?"

"Damn yellow monkey!"

"You dirty Chinese!"

"Go back to China!"

No matter how angry they were, making racist remarks would lower America’s standing.

"Please calm down, everyone."

When Senator Mark Phillips stepped forward, the economy class passengers who recognized him were shocked.

"It’s Senator Phillips!"

"Wow, it really is him."

"Why is he here?"

"I didn’t expect him to be on the same flight."

Han Miru said to Senator Phillips.

"I’m Korean."

"Huh?"

"I’m not Chinese, I’m Korean. If you’re going to make racist remarks or insults, please hold back."

"..."

Is he some kind of troubled young man?

'Given his behavior, he must have caused this commotion and stopped the plane.'

Just as he was about to speak on behalf of all the passengers, ...

BOOM!

An explosion sounded, and flames erupted from the left engine.

People were shocked and stared at the plane. The fire alarm blared, and fire trucks rushed to the runway.

"Put out the fire quickly!"

"It’s an emergency!"

"It’s dangerous here! Please move to the airport building quickly."

While the passengers were speechless, the Asian man who had caused the commotion said calmly.

"See? I was right. There was an unusual noise from the engine."

* * *

[(Breaking News) Engine explosion at Atlanta Airport on Orlando-bound flight!]

[(Exclusive) Georgia Senator on board the flight]

[Senator Phillips’ survival unknown]

[BridgeWorld Airlines Flight BW130 explosion! 'Curse of 13'?]

[Possibility of a terrorist attack targeting the senator?]

[All passengers presumed dead]

The news sent shockwaves across the United States.

A terrorist attack causing a plane to explode and a senator to die!

This was an unprecedented event since 9/11!

American citizens who saw the news were furious.

- Did the plane explode in mid-air?

- Unbelievable! How could such a terrible thing happen?

- Senator Mark Phillips was on the plane with his family!

- Oh, God!

- A terrorist attack! Who could do such a thing?

- They must not be forgiven!

- No! My brother was going on a family trip to Orlando today!

- My parents might be on that plane! I’ve been trying to call them, but I can’t get through.

- Oh, my God!

- Please, let the passengers be safe...

- I’ll pray for you!

Atlanta Airport, a major hub and the busiest airport in the world, handles nearly 300,000 passengers daily.

As soon as the news broke, calls inquiring about the safety of passengers and the status of flights flooded the airport, causing operations to grind to a halt.

However, within three minutes, new reports started pouring in.

[(Breaking News) BridgeWorld Airlines issues emergency statement: Engine fault detected before takeoff, all passengers safe]

[Flight returned to the gate just before takeoff; no injuries reported]

[Homeland Security official: Very unlikely to be a terrorist attack]

[Atlanta Airport: Other flights operating normally]

[BridgeWorld Airlines: Apologies and compensation promised to passengers]

[Senator Mark Phillips and family safe]

[Korean passenger requested the return to the gate]

[Senator Phillips: Grateful no one was hurt]

CNN, NBC, and FOX News immediately issued corrections.

Footage of the engine explosion on the runway and the fire trucks extinguishing the flames was broadcast on TV and the internet.

People breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that the plane was turned around just before takeoff and that it was not a terrorist attack.

- Who wrote the first news report?

- Get down!

- Damn these fake news reporters!

- Fire all those who reported the false news!

- What kind of media outlet is spreading fake news?

- But isn’t it strange that he detected the problem just by hearing the engine?

- This Korean must have perfect pitch.

- Does this make sense? How could a regular person notice that?

- Could he have planted the bomb himself?

- The news says the air force mechanic sitting next to him noticed it first.

- Still, the Korean requested the return, so he did a great thing.

- Thank you for saving Senator Phillips.

- I love Korea!

- Who is he?

- A passenger on that flight. An Asian man caused a commotion, demanding the plane turn around. I cursed at him, saying, 'Stop it, you lunatic,' but thanks to him, I saved my life.

* * *

Although the plane’s engine exploded, everyone was safe thanks to me.

Would I have been immediately released, received applause, and had countless handshakes requested?

Not a chance.

Instead, I was led by security to a room that looked like an interrogation room.

The room had only a desk and a chair. One wall was a mirror, likely a two-way mirror.

From the other side, they can probably see everything clearly.

It’s a classic interrogation room from the movies. Before entering, I was searched, and my smartphone, passport, and wallet were taken away.

At least they didn’t put handcuffs on me.

By now, the media must be flooding with news.

I recalled the events from my first life.

According to the law of scumbag preservation, scumbags exist in every country.

The cause of the false report was a journalist at the airport who cut the story short and published a headline about the engine explosion.

Other media outlets picked up the story without verification, and it quickly turned into a report of a terrorist attack causing the plane to explode in mid-air.

Even a report claiming all passengers had died was published!

The problem was that this false report caused the financial markets to go into chaos.

With the possibility of a terrorist attack, the U.S. stock market, which had been steadily rising, turned downward, and BridgeWorld Airlines’ stock price plummeted by over 30%.

As the saying goes, when the U.S. sneezes, Korea catches a cold. The shock from the U.S. stock market affected the Korean stock market, and the securities market went into emergency mode.

I was watching CNN news with my senior colleague and other employees, who had stopped eating lunch.

Fortunately, once the false report was revealed, the stock market stabilized, and BridgeWorld Airlines’ stock price rebounded like a flame, closing at a slight 5% loss.

Since this happened on my birthday and some reports linked it to the 'Curse of 13,' I remembered the headlines clearly. The fact that the airline’s code was BW even led to a joke about it being a convertible bond airline.

That’s why I’m sitting here now.

"Hmm..."

On second thought, it’s a bit of a waste. If I had placed a bet, I could have made a decent profit.

Instead, I deliberately chose to board that flight.

Even if I hadn’t boarded the plane, the outcome wouldn’t have changed. The only difference would be whether I was there or not.

However, the reason I boarded the flight was to meet one person.

Even now, if I become more successful in the future, I might face challenges or attacks. It’s necessary to have allies prepared for such situations.

To ensure no one would dare to touch me.