Chapter 119
Chapter 119
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Great Power Comes with Great Side Effects
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Han Yura accepted her new "assignment" and headed out to handle some external business.
In the spacious living room, only Choi Yang, Ri Soo-hee, and I remained.
I sat on the sofa and asked Choi Yang,
"Choi Yang, how much time until the security firm arrives?"
"About an hour to spare."
"Meeting place is the company? Or here at home?"
"We set it for the president's house, but should we change it?"
"Nah, no need."
I finished talking with Choi Yang and turned my gaze to Ri Soo-hee.
She was still guarding my side without the slightest disturbance.
"Ri Soo-hee."
At my call, her eyes turned to me.
"That training you were doing up there... If I do it, can I become like you?"
At my out-of-the-blue question, she seemed to think for a moment before shaking her head firmly.
"Nah, impossible."
"Why? My frame too weak?"
"Not that. The issue's the 'survival rate' during training. Nine times out of ten..."
"Fuck, what kind of training has one or two out of ten dropping dead?"
I interpreted "nine times out of ten" as a 10-20% mortality rate.
But she corrected me.
Her voice was so matter-of-fact it gave me chills.
"Nah, wrong."
She looked me straight in the eye and said,
"If ten start the training, nine die."
At that bone-chilling statement, Choi Yang let out an involuntary "Eek!"
But me? Her words ignited some inexplicable thrill and fighting spirit.
A 90% death rate. A survivor from that hell.
And that survivor was standing right in front of me.
I grinned wickedly and told her,
"...They make superhuman warriors up north or something? Anyway... Whip up a training regimen. Just enough not to kill me."
I stared at her intently and added,
"If I die, you're screwed too."
At my words, she eyed me for a moment before nodding for the first time.
"Got it. Back up there, I was the 'instructor'."
"Oh? Really? Lucky me."
Suddenly, I had a top-tier private tutor lined up.
I cheered inwardly. But the joy lasted less than a second.
'Wait, hold up. Is this lucky?'
Thinking about it, this wasn't some survivor of a nine-out-of-ten death training—she was the one who ran it.
Not a survivor, but the instructor who produced them.
The realization hit, and cold sweat poured down my back like a waterfall.
Swamped by anxiety, my confidence evaporated, and I mumbled dumbly at her,
"You'll... go easy, right?"
At my pathetic plea, Ri Soo-hee showed what might've been the faintest hint of a smile for the first time.
"If Comrade President dies, I'm in trouble too."
She started with words that seemed reassuring, rational even.
"But,"
"......"
"I'll roll you just easy enough not to kill you."
I just sat there, dazed, listening to her death sentence.
'Maybe... have Dr. Kim Seul-gi whip up some 'super serum'? Roll it during post-nut clarity, might work out somehow...'
As I entertained that absurd thought, Choi Yang approached with a report.
"President, the security firm is here."
The contract was basically done once we signed today anyway.
Moments later, the bodyguards who would protect my house, company, and those around me from today onward filed into the living room.
All of them were sharp-featured women.
Ri Soo-hee, seeing them, sidled up to me and quietly gauged my reaction before murmuring,
"Hey, Comrade President."
"Yeah? What?"
"Why's the guard unit all Ryosŏng comrades?"
I stated the perfectly obvious reason with pride.
"Can't stand macho assholes prowling around my girls' places."
".........That make sense?"
Ri Soo-hee wore a genuinely baffled expression, like she couldn't comprehend.
"Why not? You said South Korean special forces are trustworthy. These are all female Special Forces alumni."
"Haa......"
Ri Soo-hee let out a deep sigh. Not liking her reaction, I asked,
"What? What's the problem?"
At my question, she glanced at the hired guards and said pityingly,
"Not every special forces alum's a 'combat trooper', got it?"
"Well, sure, some do admin work."
"Usually, in South special forces, us Ryosŏng comrades handle exactly that."
"......In this age of gender equality? And how do you know South military so well?"
I raised the most reasonable doubt to her claim. But that question cracked open her even bigger secret—a Pandora's box.
Looking at me, she smiled—not mockingly, but bitterly—for the first time.
"How d'you think I crossed into this southern land so smoothly, carrying my half-crippled old lady?"
"...No way?"
"Even up top, I came south countless times."
Her final words.
The moment I grasped their meaning, my mind went blank.
.......Who do I report spies to again?
I shoved that horrifying thought into a corner of my brain.
Anyway, not the issue right now.
The real problem was these "Special Forces alums" in front of me...
Just like Ri Soo-hee said, they might be useless without real combat skills.
Tsk... Before signing the contract, better verify first.
Deposit? Pfft, pocket change.
With my thoughts sorted, I flashed the world's friendliest smile at the 40-something sales director lady.
"Ah, sorry... But everyone here is special forces alum, right?"
At my innocent question, the sales director's face subtly stiffened.
She sighed and nodded toward Ri Soo-hee behind me.
"Hoo... You asking if we're just admin desk-jockeys, like the lady back there said?"
"Ah, sorry. You heard?"
"You were talking loud enough."
The sales director pointed at her guards behind her with an annoyed look.
"Can't you see my girls glaring at your personal guard?"
She was right.
The five women in sharp black suits were all shooting Ri Soo-hee death stares.
I began appraising them one by one with post-nut clarity's cold gaze.
The first woman looked like the team leader.
Early 30s, hair neatly tied back, thin gold-rimmed glasses.
No excessive muscle, but her firm jawline and the analytical chill in her eyes sizing up Ri Soo-hee screamed "team brain."
The second was the burliest.
Broad shoulders making her suit jacket look a size small.
Short cropped hair, sharp eyes.
Her gaze burned with pure hostility toward Ri Soo-hee and a savage desire to test who was stronger.
The third seemed the most ordinary.
Bobbed hair, soft features. But she obsessively studied Ri Soo-hee's hands, feet, and stance—not her face or body.
Probably handled tactics or techniques for the team.
The fourth was the shortest but had the fiercest vibe.
Lips pressed tight, body leaned forward like she'd pounce any second.
Her eyes spewed venom like a viper defending its territory.
The last, fifth woman was the youngest.
Mid-20s, she stared at Ri Soo-hee with emotionless eyes—not anger or wariness like the others.
I watched the tense standoff with satisfaction.
Five female beasts' fierce hostility toward Ri Soo-hee.
And the apex predator calmly taking it all in.
The stage was perfectly set.
I slowly turned to the sales director, who probably saw me as some dumb client. The friendly smile on my face vanished like a lie.
My face now held only post-nut clarity's cold rationality and a piercing gaze that saw through everything.
Sensing my shift, the sales director's face subtly hardened.
I declared to her,
"Can we do a test?"
"......A test?"
"Y'know, light sparring?"
I nodded toward her "elite agents" glaring at Ri Soo-hee.
"They seem pretty eager too."
At my words, the sales director's face went rigid.
She now fully realized I wasn't joking.
Staking her company's and employees' pride, she asked,
"If they fail the test, no contract?"
"Yes."
I shrugged like it was the most obvious thing.
"We'll forfeit the deposit, no sweat."
Looking at the sales director's stiff face, I smirked inwardly.
For this "inspection" to work, they needed to go all out, risking it all.
The surest motivator? Money.
Ignoring the sales director like she didn't exist, I addressed the five "athletes" behind her directly.
My eyes locked onto each of theirs in turn.
"Sparring fee: 30 million won per person."
The moment my low voice broke the living room's silence, all five women's eyes widened.
The professional hostility they'd aimed at Ri Soo-hee shifted to raw, realistic shock.
I gave them a moment to chew on the number.
Then dropped the hammer.
"And whoever passes Ri Soo-hee's test gets a 200 million won annual contract. Sound good?"
At the bombshell offer, their eyes changed.
Hidden "fighting spirit" met the bait of "deposit" and "salary," igniting into blatant, ravenous "desire."
They no longer saw Ri Soo-hee as a "rival."
She was now an "obstacle" blocking their life-changing jackpot.
Seeing her employees slip control in an instant, eyes gleaming, the sales director panicked and wedged between us.
"P-President! These are my employees! You can't negotiate salaries on your own!"
Her voice sounded like a powerless queen facing rebels in her kingdom.
I looked at her and feigned exaggerated surprise, like in a play.
"Oh, whoops... Sorry. My bad, wasn't thinking. Let me rephrase."
I smiled softly, as if reassuring her.
"Not salary—just think of it as 'bonus cash' from me personally?"
'Bonus cash.'
The term hit, and the sales director's face turned ashen.
Staring into her wavering eyes, I twisted the knife.
"Taking 'bonus cash' from the client—your company rules against that?"
"......Company policy forbids so-called 'bonus cash'."
She barely mounted her last defense.
But her voice had no strength.
I crushed her pathetic resistance with a sneer.
"Policy says so, but in practice?"
"......"
The sales director fell silent.
She glanced at her employees' greed-fueled glares.
The board was set exactly as I wanted.
Satisfied, I quietly instructed Choi Yang, who'd stood like a doll watching it all.
"Choi Yang."
"Yes, President."
"Rent a nearby gym for the day. They need to warm up."
Watching Choi Yang's perpetually bored face turn to her tablet, I shifted my gaze.
To the five women who might soon become my "possessions."
I scanned their bodies top to bottom, like appraising auction items.
'Hmm...'
Taut silhouettes hidden under tailored suits. The thrill from their special forces background.
'Not bad... edible, even.'
As I thought that, I glanced at the other "beast" beside me.
Apparently, I wasn't alone.
Ri Soo-hee, who liked "girls," was staring at the five with a hunter eyeing prey.
And then, she slowly licked her dry lips with a tongue full of anticipation.