Adaptation Complete
After purging the drug addiction, I bought a house in Songdo through the app. It was a three-story mansion on about 5,000 square feet of land with a 1,500-square-foot footprint per floor, costing a whopping 16 billion won. I paid with Goryeo Entertainment's capital, of course. Considering the company's 100 billion won in funds, that was a massive 16% of it! And this was a fire sale—the price had tanked because the previous owner, the one before that, and the one before that had all kicked the bucket one after another.
Turns out it was just bad luck.
It was a house that would skyrocket in value several times over later, so even buying at this "premium" price was a steal.
I had the cops deliver the drugs and everything else from the underground warehouse to my new place, then headed off with Im Sua to our next stop.
The early-game priorities boiled down to four big ones:
1. Recruit a secretary.
2. Secure the heroine.
3. Kill the hero.
4. Develop and secure production for RK-99.
Number one was a no-brainer. If things went smoothly, it might overlap with number two. Worst case, I could just contact Prestige and hire one. Or scout Im Sua outright. She struck me as the type who'd flip for the right paycheck.
So first up: number two.
This game had dual protagonists. No matter if you started as the guy or the girl, the other one existed somewhere in the world, growing in influence over time. So with me possessing Ko Mu-yeol, both the heroine and hero were out there right now, living their lives.
The heroine, Seo Aram, had a brutally dark backstory. Her mom battled a rare disease, scraping by until she couldn't and had to sell her body. The real story kicked off in the summer of '77 when mom finally died.
Today was August 25, '76, so she hadn't hit the selling-herself stage yet. Probably just drowning in debt collector harassment.
My plan: pay off her debts, treat her mom, and claim Seo Aram's loyalty in return. Bonus if she doubled as my secretary.
The hero? Straight to the kill. No upside to letting him live.
And RK-99 was a room-temperature, normal-pressure superconductor. During gameplay, you could snag a highly encrypted manufacturing recipe at razor-thin odds. Decode it through corporate collaborations, and you'd get a deliberately vague recipe for RK-99. Something like:
1. Roast lead or copper at 110~190°C for 12~24 hours.
2. Roast copper or lead at 190~250°C for 24~48 hours.
3. Mix the roasted lead and copper in a "specific ratio" and roast again for 24~48 hours.
Of course, that was just the start—dozens of steps, each with wildly fluctuating temps, times, and ratios. You'd need endless trial-and-error to nail the optimal points, hence the need for crowdsourcing with companies and experts.
Once you cracked it, you'd birth a miracle material that revolutionized every industry on Earth.
Me? No collaborations needed. I already knew the perfect recipe and exact specs.
"Where... is this?"
We'd arrived at the hospital where Seo Aram's mom was admitted.
"Did you hurt yourself somewhere?"
"Nah. Got someone to see."
+++
"This month's total is 17.32 million won. Sign here, please."
"S-Seventeen... million?"
"Yes. Right here."
Seo Aram signed with trembling hands. Normally, payment would've transferred instantly to the hospital, but unfortunately, her account was empty.
"...Sorry. Insufficient funds. Any other payment methods?"
"Ah... j-just a moment..."
She stepped away from the counter.
Ha... money... I need money so bad...
Work all day, side gigs from evening till midnight, night shifts till 4 a.m., crash for a bit at home, back at it by 8. This hellish grind had dragged on for two years now. And still, no money. Debts just kept piling up.
No matter how optimistically she spun it, no solution in sight.
Skip the hospital bill, and Mom dies. No question.
With shaking hands, she pulled out her phone. The contact: her latest loan shark.
"How much."
The shark jumped straight to the amount, business as usual.
Seo Aram's lips quivered before she named her figure.
"Seven... no, eight hundred."
"Eight hundred? You sure?"
"..."
Loan sharks front-loaded interest. Deduct it upfront from principal—like 10% on ten million meant you got nine. And that wasn't the end; monthly interest stacked separately.
This guy's terms: 15% upfront, 10% monthly. 120% annual, compounded. Insane.
She needed about seven million. Factoring upfront interest, seven or eight hundred million? No, wait—seven or eight hundred thousand wouldn't cut it. And that was just hospital; she needed living expenses too.
In the end, Aram called a full thousand.
"Looking rough these days? Just close your eyes and decide already. You'll sell like hotcakes, I swear."
"..."
Normally, she'd ice him and hang up. Pay the hospital with the cash, head back to work.
But...
She was breaking.
His bullshit pitches started sounding tempting.
Your face, that body—you could pull a mil a day. I'll hook you up with high-end ops. Minimum 600k a pop.
No really. You think you've been had your whole life? I'll take an intro fee, sure.
World ain't kind. Grind your bones away forever—debts won't budge.
You're coming to this side eventually.
"Mom..."
She hung up, checked the 8.5 million transfer and IOU, and choked back sobs.
The worst part? She was starting to hate and resent the mom she loved so fiercely.
"Haa..."
After crying her guts out internally, she shuffled back to the counter. Staff saw this all the time—no comment on her red face. Just handed over the receipt.
As Aram went to sign, someone snatched it away.
"Yup. Seo Aram."
+++
Perfect timing—I'd just arrived and spotted her.
"Y-You're... the guardian?"
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Who? Me?"
Her eyes were puffy and red from crying. Heroine material—stunning face. Too good to let her sell herself. I had to claim and cultivate her exclusively.
"Your owner."
"Huh?"
I signed and tossed the receipt at the clerk like trash. She fumbled to catch it while glancing between me and Im Sua.
"P-Payment processed...!"
"Play your cards right, and I might free you from this shitshow. Up to you."
"..."
Aram stared blankly at me and the receipt. Still processing.
I asked the clerk, "How much was that again? Just to confirm."
"Uh, yes—17.32 million won—"
"That buys me some talk time, right? Meet me in the lobby. Wash up, fix your makeup, come down looking sharp."
"W-Wait...!"
I headed for the elevator. Behind me, Seo Aram yelled, "Thank you!!"
Grateful already? Didn't even know what I'd demand yet. Green as they come.
Im Sua, who'd watched it all, hurried after me.
"You know her?"
"Nah. About to."
"Oh my. A total stranger, and you drop 17 mil? Well, you're the young master—pocket change, I guess?"
Chattering beside me, she spotted the elevator and dashed ahead to hit the button.
"Or... for that kinda use?"
"?"
I tilted my head. Im Sua made a lewd gesture with a sly grin: left thumb and index in a circle, right index poking through.
"You look like the type guys go nuts for."
"That coming from a cop?"
"What's wrong with it? World's gone to hell."
Ding.
Even inside, Im Sua kept talking.
"Even in the force, higher-ups have a girl or two. Or more? They flaunt their slaves outright. Y'know Incheon's got tons of off-the-books folks—no IDs, nothing."
"End times. Cops like that."
"Hardly anyone runs on justice anymore. Especially in our proud Demonic Incheon! All the righteous types got weeded out ages ago. Only survivors ignore injustice unless there's cash or cred in it."
"Admirable. Overlook evil like pros."
Most venting like this dripped with organizational bitterness. Not her—no regrets.
She shrugged.
"Survival of the fittest, right? City's a jungle—play hero every time, and you're fish food."
"And you?"
"What do you think? Hehe."
She glanced at me with a coy smile, like she was blushing. Sly vixen, practically flirting.
Was she? Or was my libido firing up?
"I'm already the young master's... oh, too forward? Sorry~"
"How about this, then?"
I reached out, stroking her police skirt—basically an H-line—then grabbed her ass hard.
"!!"
"Faced with this injustice, how's Team Leader Im Sua gonna react?"