The Chairman's Lunch Invitation
I realized too late that I had forgotten the memories I was trying to recall.
It had been too long since I had thought about it.
It might have been seen before...
To put it clearly, it wasn't that I had met him, but that there was a possibility he knew me.
But that can't be.
After all, it was a long time ago, and I wasn't the kind of person who left a big impression.
There were so many talented people around Chairman Kang Cheon-seo that it was laughable.
Someone at that level of importance wouldn't have the leisure to remember me.
"If Mr. Han Goyo wishes, I will arrange a schedule to meet the Chairman."
"The Chairman...?"
"Yes."
Samra's expression seemed to say, 'What's the problem?'
If a chaebol chairman of a major conglomerate says he wants to meet, it's just someone he can meet.
I don't know if it was the power of the Era Bureau or Samramansang's power, but it was a bewildering situation.
Anyway, I needed a handsome appearance. It would be a huge help if I used it in the trial.
In the past, while playing in the trial, I had regretted it many times if there had been a handsome appearance.
I made a decision and said,
"I would like to meet him."
"Understood."
Samra looked at the empty space for a moment. He was probably contacting someone.
The hologram eyes sparkled.
Watching that, I suddenly wondered,
How do I exit when I leave?
Probably like Je Hyeon-o, he would cover everything, but even with goggles, the hair would be a problem.
To completely hide the hologram light from leaking out, it seemed like I would have to wrap it in something like a cloth.
While thinking of some unnecessary things, Samra finished the contact.
"It's a lunch at 12 o'clock in two days."
"...Is it okay to make an appointment with the Chairman like this?"
"Why not?"
Samra acted as if my reaction was incomprehensible.
"There is no one more important than Mr. Han Goyo in the current South Korea."
Samra lightly downgraded the Chairman, and I just gave an awkward smile.
Probably only Samra thought that way.
After confirming the appointment with the Chairman, Samra looked at me quietly.
"How is your body?"
"It's fine."
Samra, who knew all my body data, knew my condition better than I did.
As expected, the real reason came next.
"I want to know the reason for the reckless attempt."
Since there was no reason to lie, I answered honestly.
"It was to become the maximum contributor. I wanted to prove my necessity to the Era Bureau."
"Was it not enough with my testimony?"
"No, no. Thanks to Samra, I became a trainee... It was just my personal desire to make it more certain."
Samra stared at me without blinking once, as if my hasty excuse was inhuman.
His gaze held an unspoken condemnation.
From the time I entered Dead Zone Delivery, Samra had told me to prioritize me.
"Mr. Han Goyo is the only unique existence at this point in time."
Recalling his words, I said with the most apologetic expression.
"I will be careful from now on."
Samra still didn't take his eyes off me, but fortunately, he changed the subject.
"There is something to check regarding the acquired items."
I waited for his words with a full heart of cooperation.
"Items cannot be extracted from Mr. Han Goyo. Is it a unique ability?"
"...Eh?"
But it was a completely incomprehensible question.
Item extraction?
At the first hearing, my eyes widened, and Samra immediately guessed that I didn't know and explained.
"The Trial Response Bureau extracts the acquired items from the Fit Candidates when they clear the trial."
It was new information.
Extraction...
How was it done?
It was a word that gave a sense of rejection, but as a soldier, I could understand if the ownership of the item passed to the state.
Still, if I get a good item, will I be rewarded?
It seemed there would be rewards for Je Hyeon-o and the Captains who risked their lives entering the trial.
Having somewhat shaken off the reluctance towards extraction, I naturally thought.
It was strange that I didn't know this.
I had obtained all sorts of miscellaneous information while playing Archive games.
There were many things considered confidential, but it was unreasonable that I hadn't known basic things that even general office workers at the Era Bureau knew.
Even if the creator had deliberately restricted information, the reason was unclear.
Is he hiding the negative parts from players? But why?
It felt a bit insufficient to say it was to continue guiding players to play the game.
"I had no idea about extraction. I don't know the reason why the items I acquired weren't extracted either."
Samra's pupils dilated and then shrank. He judged that my statement was true based on my body reaction.
"I failed to extract during the Happy Smile Factory clearance. I tried to re-extract, but Head Researcher Ham Ji-wol wanted to stop the extraction for body data collection, and I agreed."
And it failed when I tried to extract after clearing Dead Zone Delivery this time.
It was a fact I didn't know.
Probably it happened while I was not paying attention.
After explaining, Samra asked me.
"Would you show me the acquired items?"
Perfect timing.
It seemed natural to ask Samra to listen to the music at this opportunity.
I took out the small candy and the cassette tape wrapped with the portable music player from my inventory.
"It's the Happy Smile Candy and the portable music device."
However, when Samra received the items, he showed a strange expression.
"This is..."
He looked at me with disbelief.
"It's a bound item."
Items obtained as trial clearance rewards sometimes get bound to the Fit Candidate.
In the case of binding, only that Fit Candidate can use the item, but it's extremely rare, and there are almost no cases worldwide.
Yet all the items I got were bound so that only I could use them.
Two in a row, no less.
Unlike me, who was panicking, Samra was rather filled with interest.
"True ending clearance and binding shouldn't be related... What kind of item is it?"
"Ah, that's it."
I felt a bit embarrassed and read the description on the item to Samra.
"It's a music device containing a candy that makes you feel happy with a smile when you eat it and a cassette tape with 666 fun songs. It says that listening to the music makes you feel a pleasant feeling."
Before I could be scolded for bringing unnecessary things, I hesitated while trying to convincing Samra of the usefulness of the candy and music device.
Samra's eyes sparkled.
How much they were glowing, the narrow hospital room seemed to brighten.
"Samra, tone down the light..."
I said, almost closing my eyes because of the light.
Then Samra blinked for the first time since entering the room, and the light dimmed as usual.
"This is the first time an item affecting emotions has come out. It must have meaning."
Samra carefully examined the items for a while and then returned them to me.
After all, they were bound, and there was a reason that I might use them inside the trial.
Instead of returning, I promised to provide information to Samra if I used the items.
"And regarding the creator, I found out the users who watched his broadcast and played the games."
"...!"
Unexpected words, and this time I was surprised.
If I had light in my eyes, I would have definitely blinked.
"However, since it's difficult to obtain statements from the target, I'm looking into various methods."
While making the lunch appointment with the Chairman...?
I couldn't understand who it was that Samra had determined was difficult.
But if I asked who it was, he probably wouldn't tell me.
If it was something he could say, he would have said it long ago.
I didn't ask anyway.
And when Samra asked if there was anything else he needed, I said there wasn't for now.
I only made a request that if I receive a phone later, he could prevent AI videos from mixing into my M-Tube algorithm.
Whenever I'm bored, I sometimes watch animal videos, but these days there are too many fakes.
After sending him away, I was left alone in the room and looked at the closed door.
Did he not ask about the eyes?
Samra didn't ask about the golden eyes that had changed inside the trial.
I didn't know if it was simply that he didn't mention it, or if the people who entered together hadn't reported it.
As far as I was concerned, there was no reason to stir up a beehive, so I stayed silent.
For now, let's rest.
Recovery was the priority now.
***
Until the day I made the lunch appointment with Chairman Kang, Ham Ji-wol came to the hospital room several times.
Fortunately, each time Samra chased her away with various strange methods.
Like setting the hospital room door to automatically lock, or suddenly playing a broadcast calling the head researcher urgently.
Thanks to that, I could focus on recovery without losing even a gram of my nails.
On the appointment day, Samra came to pick me up at the hospital room.
I changed into the pre-issued clothes and saw Samra, my eyes widened.
Samra in a bright-colored suit had beige hair and eyes.
It was still noticeable, but compared to the original hologram color, it was a color no different from a model student.
"How did you change it?"
Samra smiled a little while looking at my surprised face.
"I used an item."
"Wow..."
I wanted to ask what item he got from which trial, but I held back.
"Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyeon-o also has a similar item."
I became even more curious, but I couldn't ask for detailed explanation because of the Era Bureau person accompanying Samra. Maybe it was classified, so he kept quiet.
The place we arrived by taking the official car was a very burdensome place.
"Th-that... Is it lunch at Chairman Kang's residence...?"
"Yes."
With Samra who couldn't feel any problem beside me, I looked up at the Hannam-dong mansion in front of me.
In vague imagination, I thought I would eat at a room in a high-class restaurant like in a drama.
But I didn't know that a much more burdensome situation would arise than that.
It was when I was standing blankly in front of the gate for a moment.
A large van suitable for celebrities smoothly stopped.
As soon as the car door opened, the first thing that hit my ears was a nervous voice.
"Grandma, what charity business are you trying to do again?"
A woman in a suit got out, and then a woman with a flashy appearance scrunched her face irritably and got out of the car.
It was the 4th-generation chaebol heiress, Kang Byeok-rin, granddaughter of Chairman Kang.
Well-known even to ordinary people, she had enormous popularity on SNS due to her outstanding appearance.
However, I had heard that her personality was not soft.
"I didn't say I would hang out with commoners!"
...It really seemed like that.
"If you bring annoying kids and make them work, the results will be annoying too. I'm already in a bad mood these days because of you, Grandma, and I'm going to go crazy..."
Suddenly, Kang Byeok-rin's words cut off. She had noticed me and Samra standing in front of the gate.
I tried to greet Kang Byeok-rin first, but I couldn't.
For some reason, Kang Byeok-rin looked at me with a greatly shocked face.
It would be less surprising than meeting Je Hyeon-o in the middle of the night.
Kang Byeek-rin, who was staring at me blankly, suddenly screamed in surprise.
"...Me, wait, wait! I'll change my clothes! I'll be right back. No, come inside. U Sil-jang, show the guests in!"
Then she rushed into the house.
Left behind, I stood blankly and looked at Samra.
I sent him a look that said 'This is ruined,' but Samra just smiled meaningfully and added a not very believable word.
"It's going well."
***
Kang Byeok-rin was running up the stairs wildly.
When going to the 3rd floor, her space, she usually used the elevator, but she had no mind for that now, so she ran up to the 3rd floor in one breath.
Standing in front of the door of the room where even the cleaning staff and U Sil-jang couldn't enter casually, she panted and caught her breath.
Kang Byeok-rin grabbed the doorknob with her trembling hands.
The door opened slowly, revealing the inside of the room.
The room was filled with posters, photos, photocards, dolls, and various official and unofficial goods.
All of them were about one person, and although the number was large enough to fill the wide room, there were few types.
Standing in front of the display case where dozens of the same things were lined up, Kang Byeok-rin staggered and groaned.
"I'm crazy..."
And muttering with a face that had turned bright red,
"Why is Goyo in our house...?"
She was a fan of the pro gamer 'Goyo'.