Chapter 83. A Lucky Day(?)
Chapter 83. A Lucky Day(?)
"Lately, everything's been going so well."
Incidents that didn't involve direct violence.
The judiciary had swiftly dealt with the previous malicious comment incident.
And the recent friction with the politician had also ended quickly, thanks to his 'confession of conscience'(?).
"It's just because you go around doing so many good deeds, Hero~"
"Come to think of it... definitely, even back when we were over there..."
When he'd lost his identification during battle and drew suspicion from the nobles.
When he was slandered with accusations of colluding with the Demon King.
When that assassin guild kept annoyingly chasing after him.
'But I was sure I intended to destroy that assassin guild...'
But when I looked into it later, the guild itself had disappeared because of someone else.
At the time, I didn't give it much thought.
Because those who trade in human lives were better off gone.
'Did Kyle step in and handle it?'
The crown prince of the Everheim Empire.
With that level of authority, erasing a single assassin guild wouldn't even be a chore.
'Back then, definitely...'
He looked at Laila beside him.
"Laila, just in case... back when we were over there..."
"Yes?"
"Nothing..."
"What is it... you're being so anticlimactic..."
He leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes.
Even thinking about it himself made him chuckle.
'Honestly, there's no way that innocent Laila would do something like that herself...'
---
For a foundation that didn't even have an office, they'd rented a building to use temporarily.
There, he and Laila were receiving reports from the CEO and the legal director.
"As expected, the home repairs are taking the longest."
"Yes, because that takes a lot of time."
"Take as much time and money as you need, just make sure it's done properly."
And additionally, they discussed Mexico and Türkiye.
"Chairman, are you not planning any separate promotion?"
"No, because we don't need marketing."
From the very start of the foundation, my ironclad principle was that there must be zero won wasted—not a single one.
So now, there was no reason to do image-making through marketing.
"Still, Mexico is a dangerous neighborhood... should we attach security?"
At his answer, the CEO and the legal director shook their heads.
They said security was completely unnecessary.
"They say that after the Del Norte incident this time, even the small gangs operating locally won't touch a Korean under any circumstances."
"Rumors spread that far?"
"Yes, because Del Norte's base vanished without a trace as if it had been bombed."
There was circumstantial evidence, but no physical proof.
The legal director looked at him with a meaningful gaze.
"It must have been heaven's punishment."
"Haha, that must be it."
In fact, he had asked Emir earlier if he intended to go to Türkiye.
But Emir said he never wanted to go there again.
"There are still a lot of informal protests coming in, right?"
"Yes, and because of this, our government is reportedly having quite a headache."
Concerns about Emir's 'long-term stay in Korea'.
Türkiye regarded Emir as a national asset and was reluctant to let another country become deeply entangled in his narrative.
"An individual being a national asset, what the hell..."
"They expressed displeasure, mentioning that Mr. Emir is close to a 'certain person'."
'A certain person, huh...'
'No way?'
"Yes, there was no exact mention, but the Foreign Ministry also interpreted the context that way."
"Honestly, is it because he's done crap himself, so they can't say anything to his face and just grumble behind his back?"
"Haha..."
At his blatant remark, the legal director and the CEO just laughed.
"So, you have to be good to people while they're around."
The most important topics—support for war veterans, and matters regarding Türkiye and Mexico—were roughly wrapped up.
"Of course, not just war veterans, but what about support for active duty and discharged soldiers?"
"..."
"..."
At his question, the CEO and the legal director glanced at each other.
Their lips parted and closed repeatedly, reluctant to speak.
"Why?"
"Well... Chairman, we would like you to reconsider that..."
"?"
"Tsk... ha, this is..."
Normally he would speak logically, but why was he acting like this today?
"Don't beat around the bush and just say it."
"First, I'm saying this with reference to actual incidents other companies experienced."
'Seriously, this was infuriating.'
"To conclude... we would prefer if the support for active and discharged soldiers never happened."
"...?"
'I didn't take him for that kind of person... this was really strange...'
"That's not it."
He explained an incident with a certain coffee brand in the past.
A free coffee event promoted for armed forces soldiers had spread through online communities and sparked a gender discrimination controversy.
"???"
"..."
"Wait, even though I haven't completed my military service, I know the military has female NCOs and officers."
"Haah..."
The CEO and the legal director also sighed, as if even they found what they said absurd.
"If they were the kind of people who'd listen to that argument, they wouldn't have raised the controversy in the first place..."
"No... what kind of insane idiocy is this..."
'They've always been a noisy bunch... still the same, huh.'
He tapped the pen on the desk and fell into thought.
"Let's do it. Just do it."
He snorted.
"Offering a bit of support to the people protecting the country isn't such a grave sin..."
Their pattern was always the same.
Whenever something they didn't like happened, they messed with the country.
Then politicians, afraid of losing votes, would somehow humor and placate them.
'Then I should mess with them a bit.'
It'd be more burdensome for them if I started pecking at them than the other way around, wouldn't it?
---
A grand, lavish-looking house that seemed to belong to someone wealthy.
A woman was busily packing her luggage, while a man next to her was helping.
"Chae-hyun, did you get everything packed?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, what kind of company... sends a new hire who's barely been there on an overseas assignment?"
Lee Chae-hyun shrugged at her brother's words.
Practically everyone at the company was a new hire.
Because the company itself had only recently been established.
"You want me to drop you at the airport?"
"Nah, it's fine. The company said they'd send a shuttle bus."
"Alright..."
The man scratched his stomach and yawned.
He was the next president, learning the trade under his father.
"Today's the founding anniversary, right?"
"Yeah... so Mom and Dad are taking the day off and eating out."
She, who had always been typing away in a corner of her room, was thrilled at the thought of becoming an official company employee and working.
'This was fun...! The company food was delicious, too!'
It was a job she started simply because staying home was boring at first.
She began to feel rewarded helping people.
That simple act of giving help and receiving thanks was indescribably enjoyable.
"Be careful with the car, be careful with people, be careful with the food... and..."
"Ah, come on...! I'm not a child!"
Her brother, who from way back always worried about everything like a father, was overflowing with concern.
Even his usual nagging(?) was bearable enough to let slide today.
She brushed off her brother's worries and stepped outside.
─ Ding!
"Huh?"
She checked her phone and saw thank-you texts from the elderly people she'd met while volunteering before.
"Hehe, this is so fun after all!"
Lee Chae-hyun boarded the chartered shuttle bus provided by the company and headed to the airport.
As expected, thanks to the Chairman's consideration, there were no pesky reporters clinging to her, which was nice.
---
"Ugh... I'm exhausted."
A week had already passed since she came to Türkiye.
Today, as usual, she continued relief activities, distributing supplies and providing medical support.
─ Vrooom...!
With that sudden roar, everyone's eyes turned in that direction.
"That... isn't that a vehicle sound?"
At someone's words, the interpreter raised his head.
"...!!!"
Black SUVs and pickup trucks approached, kicking up dust clouds.
The occupants were armed rebels.
The interpreter quickly responded.
"Everyone, don't move and stay calm!"
The security personnel also tried to respond, but the difference in firepower was far too obvious.
If they responded half-heartedly, someone could get hurt.
"Hey, stop!"
They got out of the vehicles and surrounded the foundation members with practiced ease.
They smashed communication devices, confiscated equipment, forced them to kneel, and checked IDs.
"What, Koreans?"
The one who seemed to be their leader muttered.
As if he'd done this more than once or twice, he quickly located the interpreter.
The interpreter stepped forward while discreetly speaking to the foundation members in Korean.
"Under no circumstances... you must not do anything foolish. Don't provoke them."
The leader flipped through the passports and IDs in his hand and furrowed his brow.
In the hand holding them, there was a sheet of paper densely filled with text.
"Seonghwa... Foundation?"
He laughed scornfully, nudging a nearby comrade, and said,
"Ever heard of it?"
The soldier beside him also smirked and shook his head.
"What's that? Not UNICEF, not the Red Cross, not World Vision... never heard of it."
"Hmm... if only it had been a name with some clout..."
They didn't know whose people these were, or what entity they belonged to.
They simply judged them as a foreign NGO, and in this underdeveloped region, they figured even the Turkish government would have trouble intervening.
"Let's take them first."
And so, the foundation members were loaded into a shabby vehicle and transported somewhere.
The gun barrels were still pointed at them, but no one harmed them.
Because this was a 'hostage deal' for money.
"Hmm... still, I've heard Koreans have quite a bit of money."
None of them knew.
Just how close these people were to a 'certain man'.
---
"What? Who got kidnapped?"
And this news reached Song Hoon's ears as well.
"Ha... no wonder I thought things were going too smoothly lately..."
I take back what I said about being lucky...