Chapter 43
I requested Mr. Choi to keep the construction strictly confidential and not to ask questions about the building until he stamped his signature on the investment proposal of the paper company. Although this could have increased his interest in buildings, the building itself was already attractive enough that it grabbed his attention.
“No matter what I say, my company is trying to construct an ugly building. It will look awkward, and journalists and local politicians will come running once it is built. Large construction firms are weak to that kind of pressure,” I said.
“Oh, yes,” Mr. Choi replied.
I continued, “Since large firms co-exist with the media and local politicians, they won’t be able to reject their demands.”
“I know what you mean, and I’ll keep that in mind,” he responded.
“Of course, such a thing shouldn’t happen, but our headquarters has taken the position that it would be easier to control your small company instead of hiring a big construction firm. That’s what I appealed to the board of directors during the meeting,” I said.
He bowed down to me. “You…You have done so much for me. I’ll never let you down.”
“You don’t have to worry about the investment companies because they're busy with other business. Your company is just a test case they have bought to prepare for entering Korea’s construction market later,” I added.
Mr. Choi gulped at my sentences.
“But my company might suddenly ask you for documents detailing various aspects of your company for stockholder meetings. If you make light of money from abroad…you will pay the price, and I won’t be responsible for it. They are extremely cruel,” I warned him.
“Yes, I know that you’re speaking out of worry. I will not forget this debt for three generations,” he said as his voice trembled.
The contract had been roughly sorted out. Mr. Choi said he would guide me to a better place than a coffee shop. By his tone, I guessed that he had prepared liquor, women, and a thick envelope with money. He looked at me as if he would do anything I say.
Anyway, I refused his offer and carried on the conversation about the construction. I spoke about the fact that the firm was ready to continue building such projects in future.
“But won’t there be a problem one day? I’m not trying to start an argument,” Mr. Choi said.
I shrugged and said, “That’s a good point, and I’m actually worried about that, too. I’m just a salaryman and do whatever my boss tells me to do, but I’m responsible for this project. If something goes seriously wrong, then I’ll be fired.”
“Sir,” he looked at me.
“Yes,” I answered.
“There’s a mountain behind where I live, but no one goes up there. It’s not similar to what you requested, but the mountain is also surrounded by walls, but that isn’t the reason why the villagers don’t go up there,” he said.
“Is it a psychiatric hospital?” I questioned.
He explained, “Oh, it may be, but there are traditional roof tiles on the top of walls. Also, the road going up is blocked by a traditional gate that looks like the gate to a temple to outsiders. That’s why outsiders who went up often came down in fright.”
Then, Mr. Choi spoke a name I had heard of for the first time.
“Have you heard of a religious organization called the Church of the Spirit World?”
“No,” I replied.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing before I moved into the town. No one in my neighborhood knew exactly what it was. Everyone hated even looking at the direction of the mountain, but no one filed a complaint,” he continued.
“I understand because who knows what they will do,” I responded.
“I don’t know how to explain since I have no idea about the purpose of the building. I’ll try to ask the higher-ups if they still want to proceed with the project by disguising it,” I said.
“Oh, no. I only said this for your information,” he stopped me hurriedly.
I nodded. “It’ll be one of the many proposals, so you don't have to feel pressured. Since there will be many projects like this, the higher-ups will also need to think about such problems if they want to proceed forward. They’ll choose the best solution. Thank you for the idea.”
“It’s not that much of an idea, and I hope it helps,” he responded.
I smiled. “Would you like to go in first? I have some stuff to sort out here.”.
“Okay, then I’ll contact you once I start,” he replied.
Mr. Choi left. The best solution to secure the dungeon would be to sign a contract with the military to raise the walls as part of the defense industry, but there were a lot of processes to proceed with that strategy. In that respect, it could’ve been more effective to disguise the buildings as mental hospitals or cult facilities instead of bringing other elements. They both created primal fear in people before they even approached them, especially in these times.
I looked at the table after making decisions. There were documents left behind by Mr. Choi, and I had to look them over just in case. I took out a copy of his national ID card and his family register so that I could confirm his family relations and previous home address without stalking him.
While I wanted to trust Mr. Choi, who seemed reliable, I also knew that having blind faith in people was useless.
***
Jonathan had been brave, and I had been cautious. We didn’t criticize each other for having opposite personalities since we considered the differences as a strength. There were several conflicts between us, but our relationship didn’t end.
Jonathan tended to act before thinking, then he would clean up the mess afterwards. That was how he survived while being at a disadvantage in battles with other Awakened, which required quick, decisive actions. But his imprudence had also led him to face death.
All of us Awakened learned our own ways to survive at the Trial Tests. There was no right answer to it, and everyone had to undergo trial and error. Mine was to prepare for all circumstances, and I acted after calculating all the information I gathered. I learned this only after being swept away by peer pressure and facing death several times. Even though I was slower than others, I tended to receive more rewards and had higher success rates when I took the opportunity.
When I was a manager, I refrained from investing in long-term positions, but when I lived to survive, I became a different person.
The survival skills had kept me alive after completing the Trial Tests. However, I remembered Jonathan’s advice that if I gave my all to everything I did, I wouldn’t be able to overcome things when they go wrong. He told me to coordinate my tasks based on prioritization.
Well, I had grown up since Jonathan left, and I could bother the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues because I had followed my strict rules. However, Jonathan seemed right for this occasion, as I didn’t have to complicate things.
My father finally came home drunk, and he passed out. Mother prepared a place for him to sleep in the living room, and went into her bedroom after waiting for him to fall asleep. Soon, the lights in her bedroom turned dark, and it was the moment I had waited for.
“Father, are you asleep?”
I only heard snores instead of answers, so I sat beside my father. In the past, he had become a grocery store owner. I was still used to the old Father on the bench of his store. He had passed away when the gate opened in Seoul.
We couldn’t even recover his body since I was dragged into the army while Mother was lying unconscious in a makeshift hospital. We were notified of his death by only a single document, and getting that message was only possible in that hectic time because I had become an Awakened.
We held his funeral with no graves or ashes, and I cried so much while hugging the passbook he had given me when I was a student. I blamed myself and the military. I understood their situation, but my father wouldn’t have died if they hadn’t detained me. I didn’t return to the army after the funeral. Instead, I went to a foreign private guild that had consistently offered me a position a few times in the past. I secured Mother’s safety by working for them, and that’s how I started working for them.
Of course, history was changing, and such things would never happen again. However, that wasn’t a valid reason to not transfer insignia over to Father. He had lived a healthy life until now, but I didn’t know what would happen to him in the future. When Il-pung Department Store and Seong-su bridge collapsed, was that something we could prevent? What about the typhoon in 2003? There could be natural catastrophes and accidents that no one could predict tomorrow.
It was sad that I only had one insignia. I looked in the direction of Mother’s bedroom and turned to my father again. There was a sense that only the Awakened could feel and use, called the Sixth Sense.
[Would you like to transfer the ownership of the Revival insignia?]
“Yes.”
The system asked me again.
[Would you like to transfer the ownership of the Revival insignia?]
The system seemed to be confused because the insignia was from a challenger box, especially when I had to go into the dungeon alone. Well, I didn’t expect the system to understand such a thing.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢