Ep.162 Helping and Keeping in Touch
“Oh, of course, we should use our strength. It’s a request from the chairman herself, how could we refuse?”
“Thank you.”
It was a fancy Korean restaurant.
Deep inside, a middle-aged man in a suit and a woman with long sky-blue hair were engrossed in a lively conversation.
“All of this is for the sake of the country, isn’t it, Chairman Lee? Hahaha!”
The woman smiled quietly at the man’s flattery.
As the meeting drew close, she turned to him and said, “The opposition hasn’t had any fun lately, have they?”
“Oh… we just have to do better.”
“I hope this will go well. Especially if someone as capable as Director Gam can contribute to the process.”
The face of Director Gam, who was known to have a deep understanding of politics, lit up with joy, and she thanked them profusely.
Soon, Director Gam chuckled and disappeared.
In the tinted black limousine, Chairman Lee sat in the back seat with her eyes closed, lost in thought.
Yuseong Enterprise, and Chairman Lee herself. She had already achieved an unprecedented level of power in South Korea.
Even if it was said that the country’s economy was already in her grasp, it was not an exaggeration. With overwhelming control over the business world, she had gradually begun to dominate politics and had already gained half the power of Yeouido.
In this situation, the government and lawmakers were also keeping an eye on Yoo Sung and Chairman Lee.
With a bit of carrot and stick, they were able to prevent Yuseong from doing anything that would raise eyebrows in the political world.
Moreover, today’s meeting was with the ruling party, where Chairman Lee, who had already gained control over the opposition, was expected to keep the opposition in check.
“Sigh…”
It was not an easy task for her to meet and talk with political figures amid her busy schedule, but she managed to finish it.
It was a request from Egostic Da-in himself, after all.
“…”
PMC.
The project Egostic Da-in presented to her was proving to be more problematic than she had thought.
Firstly, the fact that the company privately hired skilled individuals using money could be misinterpreted as the company forming an armed group, leading to various concerns.
While this was not uncommon in other countries where skilled individuals had become a battleground, it had never happened in Korea.
Therefore, Chairman Lee had to approach the project with great caution from the beginning.
Actually, the bigger problem was the association rather than the government or the media, but that could be dealt with through the association president and her strong connections. After all, wasn’t she also a hero? She would never withdraw from the association and instead promised various supports, claiming that it was all for the betterment of humanity.
Lost in thought, Lee Seola recalled a conversation she had with Da-in some time ago.
…
“…We’ll gather people with abilities and create a private military company. A so-called PMC.”
“Yes?”
That day, at the top of Yuseong Corporation.
In the place that had now become the official meeting place for her and Da-in, he explained his plan to her in a serious tone. He didn’t aim for Class A abilities but planned to employ many B-class or lower abilities to create a security company. Of course, it was just for show. The real plan was to train and prepare them for actual combat.
“Do you know why the ability holders hesitate to become heroes in the association?”
Because it’s a difficult and thankless job that involves hard work and criticism. In Korea, where even one mistake can result in being sold out, it’s not easy to live as a hero. Even if they’re offered a lot of money for being Class A, it’s not worth it, especially for those who are B-class or lower.
Egostic, who explained this, said that it would be better to employ these leftover workers and give them high salaries for training and mental education. Because…
“The public safety will be very chaotic from now on.”
Da-in spoke seriously, as if he had seen the future and was making a definitive statement. Lee Seola didn’t know how he knew, but she somehow agreed with him.
“In other words, it’s not a bad idea to employ ability holders before they become villains because they want to make money in the future. Besides, they all have their own use.”
In summary, his words meant this: In preparation for the day when public safety in Korea collapses due to some incident, we should hire ability holders privately and train them into a similar military force.
In fact, there was no basis for his words, but Lee Seola believed him. After all, Egostic had never been wrong before. And Da-in had said it.
“This is a request that only you can fulfill, no one else.”
Da-in looked into her eyes and said that.
Create a secret organization with talented people. The moment someone tries it, they will face backlash from the government and association. Unless they are a successful company that has half-eaten Korea, anyone can fail.
To Da-in, who was talking seriously about herself, Lee Seola responded that she would help. Well… since now Korea is almost hers, it is good for her to protect Korea from her point of view. Besides, she has done something wrong. She has received a lot from Da-in…
“It’s something only I can help with…”
That’s right.
This is something only Lee Seola can do for herself and her Egostic powers, which have good judgment to the extent that they can almost see the future, her colleagues with strong abilities, and even Stardus can’t do it.
Because it is something only Lee Seola can do for herself.
“Uh-huh…”
Returning to the present again.
Lee Seola felt better as she recalled that fact for some reason and unconsciously hummed a song and flicked her legs behind the limousine.
Yeah. It was worth trying to eat Korea until now. If not, could she have helped Egostic with this?
When Egostic thinks of PMC in the future, Lee Seola will naturally come to mind.
Slowly, she will capture his heart…
Lee Seola, who looked happy, flicked her legs behind the limousine and suddenly remembered something and spoke to the driver.
“Oh, right. Please go to this address.”
“Yes, madam.”
Yeah, since she came to Seoul, why not see her home after a long time?
That’s what Lee Seola thought, and she turned the car towards her home.
“Haru…”
I want to see you after a long time.
In fact, Haru was almost the only friend for Lee Seola. Before Da-in came, they spent their school days together…
“I wonder if she’ll be happy to see me after a long time?”
In fact, there has been some minor… friction related to Egostic work recently. But that’s not enough to distance them. From the beginning, they were almost the only ones who confided in each other. It was also rare for Haru to talk to Lee Seola.
Anyway, she decided to make a surprise visit to Haru’s house this time. If she’s not at the association, she might be at home. Especially since it has been over three months since Egostic has not committed any terrorism. As for whether Shin Haru, who is either a workaholic or a homebody, will be there.
Lee Seola arrived at the apartment complex where she would spend the day driving in her car.
As she arrived in front of the entrance, she thought to herself, “I should surprise Haru.”
Lee Seola naturally started typing in the secret code to Haru’s apartment.
Since they were close friends, they already knew each other’s secret codes and could come and go as they pleased.
Lee Seola opened the door and shouted in a bright voice, “Haru, I’m here!”
She smiled as she walked in and was met with a slightly dim atmosphere.
She murmured to herself as she approached the room, feeling a strange, uncomfortable atmosphere.
“Haru…?”
No answer came back.
As she headed towards the living room, wondering if Haru was not there, she suddenly stopped in front of a photograph of Egostic hanging on the wall.
She saw the picture and the words next to it, wondering why it was hanging in Haru’s house.
Just as her gaze turned towards it naturally, she heard a sudden voice from behind.
“Lee Seola?”
Startled, Lee Seola almost dropped her ice, turning her head to see Haru’s face with a shadow over it.
Lee Seola’s body froze in the sudden atmosphere of fear.
“When did you come?”
Haru, who smiled lightly, combing his wet blonde hair, turned on the lights in the living room.
The house was bright again. Seeing Haru, who looked different from the scary atmosphere earlier, Lee Seola sighed with relief. She was startled for a moment, but Haru was still Haru. She always acted tough and unapproachable, but she was actually a kind and warm person to her friends.
“I just got here… You were showering, huh? I thought you weren’t here for a moment.”
“Ahaha, good timing.”
Haru greeted Seola with a smile.
Seola had been a little worried about how Haru was doing lately, but she looked surprisingly bright.
Relieved, Seola laughed and spoke while calming her startled heart.
“I came to Seoul for a bit and thought I’d see our Haru. Oh, but Haru, what’s this?”
Seola pointed to a photo of Egostic on the wall curiously.
Haru answered nonchalantly with slightly darkened eyes.
“Oh, I’ve been thinking about how to catch Egostic. Of course, it’s not really meaningful to think about it alone since he’s not causing any terror these days. He’s probably playing with his colleagues at home.”
Haru chuckled while saying that.
…And in that brief moment, Seola caught a glimpse of Haru’s slightly dark circles and empty laughter, feeling a sense of hostility instinctively.
…No, to begin with, Haru isn’t the type to laugh like that.
“Ahaha, really? Um, my throat is a bit dry. Do you have something to drink?”
“Ah, wait. I’ll bring something out for you.”
Seola, who managed to steer the conversation in a different direction, noticed Haru’s current state as a savvy entrepreneur. Hmm. She shouldn’t bring up Egostic in front of Haru today. The atmosphere isn’t good.
Seola decided to remind Egostic once again to be careful with Stardus and started chatting with Haru about this and that.
It was nice to catch up after not seeing each other for a while.
…Of course, when the topic of Egostic accidentally came up in the middle of their conversation, Seola’s body trembled slightly at Haru’s fervent argument about why she had to catch Egostic and why she had to be the one to do it.
Other than that, they got along well.
Well, that’s not entirely true. It was until they received a message from the association during their conversation, saying that they had sent an S-class hero from the United States to Korea to catch Egostic.
