Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: Jun-sama (1)
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Now that the decision was made, the wise course was to execute it as quickly as possible.
After pressing a few buttons and lifting a heavy lever, the right-side hatch finally opened.
As soon as the lead-lined double door swung open, I bolted straight out toward the exterior.
“Ugh, what’s with this pressure...”
Whether from the heat or the radiation, it was an oppressive sensation unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
The protective suit guaranteed safety from all surrounding toxins underneath, but I couldn’t be entirely sure.
One thing was clear... this moment was far from normal.
“Red, red wire. This is it. Gotta hurry.”
I wrapped marker tape around the two severed red wires, then dashed back into the armored vehicle.
The vehicle, wrapped in lead plating for radiation shielding, remained a safe haven inside.
“Phew... Can you hear me? I’ve finished marking and returned to the armored vehicle. Nosy old man?”
-What? Chairman’s alive! He’s alive! I told you so!
This Western technician seemed to have bet on my life or something.
I ignored his uncharacteristically excited clapping. Right now, it was time to focus on the reality at hand.
“So, why is dying the default assumption? Anyway... let’s get started on operating the robotic arm.”
-Okay! Grab the handle on the top right. Press down firmly to the third slot!
Truth be told... even now, my mind felt a bit foggy.
Had it started when I first entered this place and briefly lost consciousness from the impact of the collapsed structure?
Or was it after I’d recklessly gone outside the armored vehicle despite knowing better?
Hot nosebleed trickling below my philtrum. The metallic taste lingered on my lips, but that was fine. For now, staying compos mentis was the priority.
-More, more, more... Lever higher up! Chairman, very nice!
With a sizzling sound, the red wires fused together in an instant.
Just as I was mesmerized by the colorless sparks visible through the camera feed, I bit my lower lip and completed the final step.
“It’s done. I’ve done everything I can. Now all that’s left is...”
The iron tang rising from the blood pooling in my mouth.
“To leave it to the heavens...”
My eyes, bloodshot as red as my mouth, blinked. Focusing my blurring vision as best I could, I spoke.
“Coolant supply system. Restarting now. No countdown—I’m pressing the button.”
My trembling fingers, moving against my will, hovered over the round button.
Why wouldn’t they press down? Only after leaning my body forward did the button finally give.
-Han Seo-jun Chairman...
Director Watanabe’s voice filled with concern.
Was it... working?
My mind grew hazier. To the point where I could barely grasp what I was doing.
“Just a bit more...”
My eyes slowly closing.
But the nightmare creeping into my body receded momentarily thanks to the sudden roar that erupted.
Powerful jets of water blasting forcefully from all directions.
-Waaaaaah! Success! It’s a success! Coolant’s flowing!
The reactor, glowing as red-hot as the cheers over the comms.
That reactor, which should have melted the ground and spewed its radiation across the world, was now being cooled by the icy coolant.
“We... did it.”
The water streams hitting the superheated reactor, vaporizing instantly and billowing mad clouds of steam.
Was it the steam?
My vision was fogging over too.
“I need to move forward, but my sight... it’s too hazy.”
My body moving on autopilot, without conscious thought.
Gripping the steering wheel tightly, my dazed mind surrendered to the jolting vibrations, heading toward some unknown location.
“Just a little farther to the outside... just a bit more, just a bit more...”
Then, my eyelids drooped shut.
Even as bright light shone in, I couldn’t open my eyes. The last thing I heard before blacking out... was someone desperately calling my name.
-Chairman! Han Seo-jun Chairman!
And with that voice, I plunged into a long, uncertain sleep.
“It’s over.”
* * * *
-Incredible. Something 130 million Japanese couldn’t achieve, accomplished by a single Korean. Don’t you agree, Professor?
A dream?
The clean pronunciation and formal tone made the words easy to understand, despite my shaky Japanese. It sounded like something an announcer would say.
-In any case, Chairman Han Seo-jun’s decisiveness was perfectly timed. His swift judgment averted a global catastrophe. That’s how I’d evaluate it.
-What if Chairman Han Seo-jun hadn’t taken that heroic action?
-Good heavens, the mere thought is horrifying. The entire Japanese archipelago—no, perhaps the whole Pacific region—might have faced devastation.
Are they talking about me?
The praise felt a bit embarrassing, loosening my stiffening body.
Hold on, stiffening...? How long had I been like that?
-Yes, let’s revisit the scene from that day. Right as Japanese police and firefighters arrived, everything was already done, and the armored vehicle emerged...
Twitch. Once my fingers tensed, they finally moved.
As the signal raced through my nerves, my body in the darkness stretched like it was waking up.
The stuffy feeling under the mask irritating me, a cough burst out immediately.
“Cough! Cough!”
“Huh? He’s awake! Chairman Han Seo-jun! You okay? Say something!”
Someone shouted at full volume, drowning out the TV.
The person who’d been by my bedside. And the one who forcibly propped me up was none other than.
“Princess Hina...?”
“He’s alive! Han Seo-jun’s alive! Doctor! Get over here quick!”
It was clearly a hospital, yet Princess Hina wore full radiation protection gear. The medical staff rushing in behind her were similarly heavily equipped.
What the hell was going on?
“Please stay calm for a moment, Your Highness. We need to check for any life-threatening issues first.”
They’d brought examination equipment right into the room, running various tests for hours.
Only after the midday sun dipped behind the western mountains, casting an orange glow through the window, did the exams finally wrap up.
“Fortunately, he was exposed to radiation, but not severely.”
A real relief. For a life-or-death gamble, the stakes had been surprisingly low.
The follow-up report from the medical team was enough to let me breathe easy.
“White blood cell and red blood cell counts are a bit low, but still within normal range—just barely.”
“So, no other issues?”
“We’d need more precise tests, but he should be fine. Just a short course of medication.”
Once the medical staff left, the tension finally eased.
“Guess I scraped by somehow.”
“What?”
I’d tried lightening the heavy mood, but Princess Hina got mad instead.
“You call that ‘scraping by’? No, let me rephrase—do you even remember how you survived after passing out?”
She launched into a monologue about what happened after I lost consciousness.
The armored vehicle, careening out of control and crashing into a massive tree. The radioactive contamination on the exterior complicating the rescue.
And sinking into a coma for nearly ten days without waking.
“...Sounds like quite the uproar.”
“You nearly died, for real. The radiation accident specialist firefighters said if the suit had torn even slightly, you’d have been gone instantly.”
It had been... an insanely risky op. Impossible without divine intervention.
“Looks like the heavens did help.”
“Bullshit, you and your cheeky mouth... Anyway.”
Princess Hina suddenly unzipped and shed her protective suit’s upper half.
“Phew, now I can breathe.”
Shaking her sweat-matted hair—whether from heat or not—she approached me.
“Hey, can you take that off? I’m a radiation patient here.”
“The doctor said it’s fine. Exposure was minimal. Plus, I have something to give you.”
“Something to give me?”
She struck a weird pose, face flushing oddly.
“......”
Something... was short-circuiting in her head.
She suddenly leaned in close, bringing her face right up to mine.
“Y-Your Highness?”
“Shut up, I’m embarrassed right now. Just remember this is the extent of my sincerity.”
What the hell was in her brain?
Eyes closed, lips pursed out like a goldfish. I placed a finger on her forehead as a barrier and spoke.
“No need for sincerity. Look behind you. Behind.”
“Behind...? Ow!”
Princess Hina clutched her head as if seeing stars circling above.
The one who’d flicked her hard on the back of the skull was... the man I’d met before, Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister.
“Didn’t I tell you not to act recklessly, Your Highness? What’s this disgraceful behavior?”
“Ugh, seriously, old man!”
They seemed on familiar terms. Like a troublesome niece and stern uncle?
“Think you can nag just ‘cause you’re Deputy PM...!”
“Reflect on it and step out. Unless you want His Majesty the Emperor to hear of this.”
“...Wilted old geezer.”
With the eviction order, Princess Hina was booted from the room.
The Deputy Prime Minister, who’d watched me impassively, now addressed me.
“Chairman Han Seo-jun?”
Then, just like Princess Hina, he unzipped and removed his protective suit’s upper half.
“Y-Yes... But why remove the mask too...?”
I had no desire for fresh trauma in under a minute. Especially not from this old guy.
“To properly thank my benefactor, I must observe the courtesies.”
“Pardon?”
Thankfully, unlike my fears, he bowed his head politely.
Not just his head—his waist too.
He bent at nearly a right angle, then spoke words that, though perhaps a touch awkward, rang with sincerity.
“On behalf of 130 million Japanese citizens, I offer my deepest gratitude. You have averted the worst catastrophe and become Japan’s hero, Chairman.”
“Y-Yes...?”
The unlooked-for title of ‘Japan’s Hero,’ thrust upon me overnight.
Even lying there in patient garb, I hadn’t fully grasped it yet.
Not until after discharge, on the way home... when the Japanese Self-Defense Forces band lined up at the airport to give me full state honors.