Chapter 98: Experience (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 98: Experience (4)
“Yes… with that, we will conclude this meeting.”
The 7th-floor conference room of the Hero Association.
From Association-certified guilds to private organizations, a considerable number of groups were in attendance.
Right in the center, seated in a place of honor, Kang A-rin was in a very foul mood.
“…A-rin, calm down a little.”
The man sitting next to her was her uncle, Kang Yun-hyeok.
He was the Guild Leader of Maengju and the very person who had dragged her here.
“I’m not angry.”
A short, dry reply.
But inside, she was boiling with rage.
She was absolutely furious.
By now, she should have been touring the company building with Jung Hae-in, guided by Kim Ha-eun, taking pictures together in the lobby, and trying on equipment.
She should have been standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him, sharing their first experience together.
But now…
She was stuck in an excruciatingly boring conference room.
Her uncle, Kang Yun-hyeok, had dragged her here.
Something about it being time for her to start making an impression.
She knew it was all supposedly for her own good, but…
Kang A-rin knew all too well that such things were nothing but empty formalities.
Before long, the meeting was winding down.
People began to organize their documents and rise from their seats one by one.
‘All this, just to listen to that…’
“Haaah…”
A deep sigh escaped Kang A-rin’s lips.
But it was then.
“Ah, and everyone is aware, correct? The Strategy Exchange Meeting is this evening. I hope many of you will be able to attend this year as well.”
The Association President’s bright voice echoed through the conference room.
“Haha, of course we’ll be there.”
Formal laughter and replies were exchanged throughout the room.
The Strategy Exchange Meeting.
An annual event for the various organizations, held around this time every year.
Its official purpose was ‘a joint response to global threats,’ a place to share strategies with one another.
In reality, however, it was closer to a social gathering or a party, meant to foster camaraderie between the different organizations and guilds.
At that moment, Kang A-rin’s eyes flashed open.
‘This is it.’
Life quickly began to return to her sharp, tense face.
"Uncle, who's going to that?"
"Probably me..."
"I'll go."
"Huh? What's gotten into you? I was wondering if I'd have to go alone, it'd be great if we went togeth—"
"No."
Kang A-rin smiled softly. The corners of her lips curled up strangely.
"I'll. Go."
"Huh...?"
The invitation allowed for one guest per person.
The person Kang A-rin would bring as her guest…
In fact, was already decided.
*
Kim Ha-eun led the students into the Research Wing.
Countless pieces of equipment and artifacts awaiting analysis stood in orderly rows.
The air was drab, and a mixture of mechanical whirs, keyboard clicks, and the low murmurs of researchers echoed from all around.
Even amidst all this, one person stood out.
In one corner, a woman was practically glued to her monitor.
Her hair was carelessly tied up, and she wore glasses, her face a picture of utter exhaustion.
Dark circles spread thickly beneath her eyes.
She looked like she'd be pretty if she cleaned herself up, but she was so worn out that her complexion was awful.
Kim Ha-eun approached her cautiously.
“Um… Hero Kang Su-jin… I've brought the students.”
Kang Su-jin, who had been staring holes into her monitor, turned only her eyes.
“Augh…”
She rolled her shoulders and stood up.
“Alright, kids, you're here.”
She raised a hand and gestured around.
“This is your future.”
“…I’m fine with that!!”
One student shouted enthusiastically.
Kang Su-jin just blinked.
“…Oh, yeah? Well, I hate it.”
Then she took a cigarette out of her bag, only to put it back again.
“Ah. Sorry.”
She looked back at Kim Ha-eun.
“So, what am I supposed to do with them?”
“Ah, just… a brief explanation of what you're working on~”
Kim Ha-eun patted her shoulder playfully. Kang Su-jin let out a disbelieving snort and turned the whiteboard in front of her around.
– Swish.
“Alright then… how about I ask you this.”
The back of the whiteboard was covered in dense equations, structural diagrams, and a network of circuits drawn in red marker.
But, it looked familiar.
‘…Could this be.’
"This thing, you guys know about Fragments, right? Fragments."
The students nodded.
“It's a hypothesis my cousin sent me a while back. The essential requirements for extracting a Fragment's power. For your information, my cousin is one of your professors.”
She continued.
“He suddenly sent it to me, saying it was a theory some student came up with. I was going to ignore it, but then I looked… and what do you know? It actually makes some sense. What was the student's name… Jung something, I think.”
"Simply put, it says that to extract a Fragment's energy, you need the 'System's Choice'."
Ssk— She drew a large circle around the words.
[System's Choice]
"But here's the problem. We have no way of knowing how this choice is made, or what kind of reaction it triggers.”
Kang Su-jin turned her head.
“This reaction, how in the world are we supposed to figure it out? So, right now. Anyone have any ideas?”
The students started to look dazed. It was only natural.
It was an impossible question. After all, it was a problem that even a top-tier researcher like Kang Su-jin hadn't been able to solve.
Kang Su-jin added.
“Just speak freely.”
One by one, the students began to raise their hands.
"Uh... maybe it reacts to some kind of life signal? Every individual has a unique frequency..."
A male student in the front row said cautiously.
“Okay, next.”
"The possibility that it manifests through a specific gene... or an illness."
“Yeah, next.”
A few more suggestions followed, but her expression only grew more tired.
After listening to several more opinions, Kang Su-jin finally closed her eyes and nodded.
“Alright, kids, you worked hard. Miss Kim Ha-eun~ You can take them now.”
“Gasp, yes ma'am.”
Kim Ha-eun responded quickly.
Even in that moment, I was hesitating.
‘Would it help if I said this?’
Mu-gung was Kang A-rin's guild. It wouldn't hurt if their research on Fragments progressed.
I quietly opened my mouth.
“Isn't it possible that neither the Fragment nor the subject is ready?”
Kang Su-jin, who had already slumped back into her seat, slowly turned her eyes toward me.
Kim Ha-eun laughed urgently and waved her hands dismissively.
“Ah~ that's enough, our researcher is very busy~”
“Wait a minute.”
Kang Su-jin stopped her.
Then, she tilted her head toward me and said.
“Go on.”
I nodded and quietly continued.
“The 'System's Choice,' in the end, is something that can only be observed once a reaction occurs, right? But if the subject isn't strong enough to withstand the Fragment's energy, it's only natural that no reaction would occur at all.”
In the original story, too, the characters had to reach a 'certain level' of mastery to find a Fragment.
In fact, the reason I'd picked Yu Hana as the first person to entrust with a Fragment was because she seemed closest to reaching that realm.
In other words, because the potential subjects weren't ready yet, the Fragments weren't reacting.
And once those characters reached that realm?
The Fragments would react instantly.
“Fragments are a higher-dimensional energy, aren't they? To extract it, the subject must be strong. Ultimately, because the subjects aren't ready, it's only natural that you can't find any reaction right now.”
After I finished speaking, I looked around.
Before I knew it, nearby researchers had gathered around one by one.
“So….”
Ah, what the hell.
I've already said this much.
I walked straight to the whiteboard.
Among the dense equations, there was a single empty space.
I boldly drew an X there.
“You're basing your calculations on a reaction that might not even exist, this 'System's Choice.' Isn't it obvious why you can't find an answer?”
For a moment, the lab fell silent.
Kang Su-jin tapped her desk. Her face was expressionless.
A researcher whispered quietly.
“Um… Researcher Su-jin, this…”
Kang Su-jin put a finger to her lips.
Shh.
“Then, when will they be ready?”
“I don't know that either.”
You can't expect me to give you everything for free.
Only then did Kang Su-jin let out a small laugh.
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Kim Ha-eun also remained quiet.
“What's your name?”
Kang Su-jin stood up and started rummaging through her pockets. She spoke as she approached.
“It's Jung Hae-in.”
“Jung Hae-in? Jung Hae-in… Ah… so it was you. My cousin talks about you a lot.”
The professor who recommended graduate school to me before.
It seemed she was his younger cousin.
She took out a business card and handed it to me.
“This is my card. Contact me anytime.”
Then she swept her hair back and spoke to Kim Ha-eun.
“Miss Ha-eun.”
“Yes.”
Kang Su-jin handed her a blue card.
"There's a cafe on the 3rd floor, right? Go there and buy the kids a drink. They all worked hard."
“Gasp, thank you…”
“Oh, and.”
She suddenly turned her head.
"You get cake, too. Three or four pieces. No, just eat as much as you want."
Kang Su-jin said to me with a smile.
Then, she turned her head and shouted to the researchers.
"Alright, everyone?"
The researchers began to avoid her gaze one by one.
“Looks like we're working overtime, doesn't it?”
The researchers let out small groans.
*
A famous spot in the Mu-gung building.
The 3rd-floor in-house cafe.
Kim Ha-eun was sitting across from me.
“I'm telling you, this is a huge deal! Do you know how much of a bitc— I mean, how cold Miss Kang Su-jin is? For her to give you her card…”
“Ah… yes.”
Kim Ha-eun, stuffing her face with cake in front of me.
It seemed like the whole thing was just an excuse for her to eat some delicious cake.
Still, it was probably welcome news for them.
They'd finally found a lead in their research, which had been completely stuck.
Until the main characters had grown, the Fragments would have shown no reaction whatsoever.
The way the other students were looking at me had definitely changed.
Before, it felt like they were looking at me as if I were pathetic…
Now, it was the gaze one gives a powerful rival, a feeling of intense wariness.
It was at that moment.
“Oh, she's here.”
A small murmur went through the students, and some quickly stood up.
“Good afternoon!!”
When I turned my head, Kang A-rin was walking in from the cafe entrance.
She was clearly a first-year. But despite that, even the upperclassmen bowed to her.
A confident, natural stride.
Kang A-rin gave a light nod.
And then her eyes locked precisely onto mine.
Her sharp, cold expression melted away.
She said with a bright smile.
“Jung Hae-in~”
“Oh, you're here?”
Then she walked straight over and shot a short, sharp glare at the back of Kim Ha-eun's head, who was sitting across from me.
Then, with a smile back on her face, she casually plopped down in the seat next to me.
“What did you do today? Was it fun?”
She began to chatter away.
She barely spoke to me at school, but she seemed quite excited now that she was in her own company's building.
From a distance, a few students stared our way.
Bewilderment, curiosity, disbelief.
'Why in the world is Kang A-rin...?'
It was written all over their faces.
“Oh! Miss A-rin, you're here?”
Kim Ha-eun greeted her cheerfully while shoveling cake into her mouth.
Kang A-rin gave a chic nod.
“You know, student Jung Hae-in is really smart! He even got a business card from Researcher Kang Su-jin!”
“Oh~ is that so?”
“Yes, and also…”
Kang A-rin cut Kim Ha-eun off.
“By the way, Hero Kim Ha-eun, haven't you been summoned?”
“Summoned? No? I'm completely off-duty. Hehe.”
“Ah… is that so?”
Kim Ha-eun laughed happily and continued to eat her cake.
With a nonchalant expression, Kang A-rin took out her watch and tapped the screen twice. Beep, beep.
Then, suddenly.
– Ring, ring.
Kim Ha-eun's watch started to ring.
“How about now?”
“Ah…”
Kim Ha-eun stared at her watch with a bewildered look before finally getting up.
“Oh dear, you'd better hurry. I'll wait here for you.”
Kang A-rin said with a smile and a look of pity.
Trudge, trudge.
The sight of Kim Ha-eun's back as she left, unable to even finish her cake.
Kinda pitiful.
“Tsk.”
Watching her go, Kang A-rin clicked her tongue.
Then, she nonchalantly scooted closer to me.
She nudged my arm with her elbow and said.
“Hae-in, tonight… want to go somewhere with me?”
“Where?”
“Hmm…”
Kang A-rin lightly touched her lips with her finger.
“A party?”
And she smiled quietly.
Kang A-rin's eyes shone bewitchingly.
For a moment, I felt like I was back on Baekdusan.
'This is...'
Right now, she was wearing the exact same expression as she had back then.