Chapter 42: Do You Know the General, Lee?
Chapter 42: Do You Know the General, Lee?
9:47 a.m.
I changed into my work clothes, slipped on my triple-stripe slippers, left the dorm, and went down to the counter.
Our cleaning team, who had come back late last night, were still a long way from being ready for work.
When I got to the counter, Chanhyeok-hyung was watching the news with a corpse-like expression.
“Good morning!”
“Oh—Chan. I don’t know… do you think we might really end up at war? It looks like an unbelievable number of people are evacuating right now!”
On the news, footage showed people fleeing toward Gangwon Province and Busan, as well as crowds packing the airport to leave the country.
The total number of guest teams yesterday: three.
“Wow. This is a record low.”
I sighed as I looked at yesterday’s room sales report.
This was worse than during the nuclear missile scare.
At this rate, the motel might actually go under. I was seriously worried.
If this situation dragged on, bankruptcy was a real possibility.
Just looking at Russia and Ukraine, wars tended to last an incredibly long time.
If, as the TV news said, people in the metropolitan area and along the West Sea coast were evacuating, normal operations would be impossible for the foreseeable future.
“How can you even think about room numbers right now?!”
Chanhyeok-hyung raised his voice, apparently angry that I wasn’t empathizing with his anxiety.
“What are you going to do? I’m scared. It feels like a missile could come flying down on our heads at any moment!”
“Do you really think war breaks out that easily? I watched some videos, and they said our country is a major military power too—so even China can’t just mess with us.”
“You’re so naive. If you believe that and a real war breaks out, then what? The guys who made those videos are probably fleeing in a panic right now! I’m clocking out today and heading to my parents’ place in Gangwon. I got a call earlier from the owner and the manager. They said they have urgent business and won’t be able to come to the motel for a few days, so we should hold down the fort. Those guys are probably already on their way to the airport.”
“You don’t have to do that, hyung. China can’t even touch us with a fingertip. Don’t worry, rest well, and come in tomorrow.”
“What are you talking about? Do you even know the difference in military power between our country and China? If war breaks out, everyone in the metropolitan area dies!”
“Even if you head to Gangwon now, you’ll probably be stuck on the road all day. Don’t make yourself suffer for nothing—listen to me.”
I spoke firmly, trying to reassure him, but it didn’t seem to get through at all.
“Anyway, I’m clocking out. You take care of yourself too, Chan… Oh, right. What about Bella and the cleaning team? It’s dangerous. Should I suggest we all evacuate together for now?”
While Chanhyeok-hyung was muttering to himself, the cleaning team came down.
“Good morning, Chief Kang. Deputy Lee!”
Their expressions didn’t look as fear-stricken as Chanhyeok-hyung’s.
“There isn’t much to do today. Focus on cleaning the hallways, the lobby, and organizing the storage rooms.”
As soon as I finished speaking, they smiled brightly and started cleaning the lobby.
But if you looked closely, they were just rubbing the same spots over and over, only pretending to clean. Their eyes and attention were completely fixed on Room 105.
Chanhyeok-hyung looked at them, seemed about to say something, then swallowed his words and left the motel.
Looks like he’ll be suffering on the road to Gangneung today.
He might not even be able to get a bus or train ticket and end up waiting aimlessly in a terminal…
He should’ve listened to me—this is what you get for bringing trouble on yourself.
After Chanhyeok-hyung left, I inspected the two rooms that had checked out among the three sold yesterday, then came back down to the counter.
The time was 10:30 a.m.
In the counter office, Bella, Cheolmin-hyung, and Lauren were sitting side by side, drinking coffee and watching the news.
Then the door to Room 103 opened and Seorin came out. She made herself a cup of instant coffee as well and watched the news with them. She was wearing a rather provocative outfit; since her body didn’t burn under sunlight, she seemed to be enjoying full exposure to it without restraint.
Isn’t that basically lingerie?
With weather this nice, wouldn’t it be better to go up to the rooftop and sunbathe instead…
With four people watching the news in the office beside the counter, our cleaning team—who had been pretending to clean the lobby—gradually drifted into the office as well, drinking coffee and watching the news.
“Chief, do you think we’ll get any guests today?”
Cheolmin-hyung asked me.
“Who knows. There’s a famous saying in this industry. Even during wartime, babies are born—and empty rooms are needed. I think a few teams might still come.”
I didn’t mean it as a joke, but Lauren and Cheolmin-hyung burst out laughing.
“China is really acting outrageously. There’s clear evidence, yet they’re brazenly denying it—and now they’re even declaring war! I’m worried this might turn into World War III.”
I could feel Lauren and the cleaning team focusing intently on every word Cheolmin-hyung said.
When I took a quick look with my telekinetic field, I saw that they were recording with devices disguised as pens, hairpins, and buttons. They really must like Cheolmin-hyung.
He has gotten handsome, that’s for sure.
Women complain that men only look at women’s appearances, but it seems they care even more about men’s looks.
Should I try some kind of total physical transformation too?
Would I become popular like Cheolmin-hyung?
Just imagining the cleaning team, Bella, Lauren, and Seorin showing interest in me made me suddenly feel exhausted.
Total transformations are off the table.
Come to think of it, Bella’s appearance-upgrade plan fizzled out halfway. Maybe today I should at least guide her through the Small Heavenly Circulation.
I took the money—so I should deliver the results.
“Uh… breaking news!”
Lauren shouted while looking at her phone.
“They say Chinese intelligence agents already infiltrated South Korea and are carrying out military operations. Their targets are the communications and power grids. The outbreak of war is certain!”
I checked real-time news on my own phone, but nothing like that was showing.
“Where is that reported? It’s not on my phone.”
“I’m a U.S. citizen, so I get separate news channels. This is circulating in foreign media.”
As expected, the U.S. really does get information faster.
I focused my mind and expanded my telekinetic field to cover all of South Korea.
This wasn’t just wrapping everything in a protective sphere—I was observing the entire interior in detail. A slight headache formed, but it was bearable, so I searched for movements that matched Lauren’s words.
She was right.
A total of 517 Chinese spies at 43 locations were infiltrating key facilities across the country, planting explosives.
The detonation time was set for 1:00 p.m.
Wait—
How does this even work?
I just tried it because it felt like it should work—and it did.
Is this really possible?
As I was newly astonished by my own ability, the broadcast switched to an emergency address by the president.
“Fellow citizens, at this very moment, our neighboring country is attempting to intimidate us with force. But the Republic of Korea has a proud history of standing up to foreign invasions and emerging victorious. This land is one protected by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, General Eulji Mundeok, and countless unnamed patriots who gave their lives. Today, I declare that I, too, will follow the will of our ancestors and stand firm against foreign aggression. I warn China: cease your provocations immediately and apologize to the people of the Republic of Korea!”
The president delivered his speech with grave resolve, but Bella looked completely uninterested, munching on jelly candies pulled from her pocket.
Wang Ggumul-ti.
Do they still make those?
I slid over and took the longest cola-flavored gummy from her, popping it into my mouth.
Meanwhile, Lauren, the cleaning team, and Cheolmin-hyung had tense, rigid expressions.
Seorin was also watching the news while sipping her coffee.
The time was 11:30 a.m.
Lunch was coming up soon, but I doubted any restaurant would be delivering in this chaos. When I opened the delivery app, not a single place was available.
This is bad.
Should I go to the convenience store and buy boxed lunches?
Cheolmin-hyung, Lauren, and the cleaning team began an intense discussion about the possibility of war between China and our country, and what would happen if hostilities actually began.
Strangely enough, the women knew more about the military than Cheolmin-hyung, who had been discharged as an army corporal. They rattled off names of destroyers, ship classes, and fleets in English, overwhelmingly arguing that Korea was at a disadvantage.
But Cheolmin-hyung passionately insisted that with Admiral Yi Sun-sin on our side, we would win.
“Delivery for you!”
At that moment, a motorcycle pulled into the parking lot, and the rider carried armfuls of food to the counter.
“Yes! Over here!”
Bella, who had been idly fiddling with her phone, lit up and ran out.
Five servings of tteokbokki. Five servings of sundae. Three servings of fish cake. Three servings of fried food. Five servings of gimbap.
When I checked the app earlier, there hadn’t been a single place delivering—so how did Bella manage this?
“There was a place delivering? When I checked earlier, everything was unavailable!”
“Better safe than sorry. Bella’s the type who orders ahead of time. I figured this might happen, so I stayed on standby from 10 o’clock. As soon as one place popped up, I ordered immediately!”
She spread the mountain of street food across the office table, and the women—who had been having a serious military debate just moments earlier—reached straight for the tteokbokki and sundae.
“Thank you for the food, Bella.”
Seorin nodded slightly to Bella as well, then carefully picked up a piece of tteokbokki and put it into her mouth. She closed her eyes, savoring it as she chewed slowly. She hadn’t liked Pyongyang naengmyeon, but tteokbokki clearly suited her taste. As the hot gochujang broke down and was absorbed by the taste buds I had opened for her, Seorin’s pupils dilated fully—
And then she began devouring the food at a terrifying pace.
I half wished I could automate Seorin’s digestive system so food would be absorbed without me needing to worry about it—but that was impossible.
Could it really be that controlling Seorin’s digestion was harder than rooting out spies spread across the entire Republic of Korea?
“Breaking news. Chinese carrier strike groups have gathered in the West Sea and are approaching our territorial waters. In response, the Republic of Korea Navy has deployed a fleet consisting of Sejong the Great–class Aegis destroyers and the Dokdo.”
We watched the news while chewing on tteokbokki and gimbap.
Next, footage showed panicked civilians—people abandoning their cars and running along the long evacuation routes toward Gangneung, the despondent faces in Seoul Station’s waiting hall of those who couldn’t get train tickets, and Incheon Airport packed so tightly there was no place to stand.
For a brief moment, the camera caught Chanhyeok-hyung standing in Seoul Station’s waiting hall with a look of utter despair.
I checked the time. 12:52 p.m.
Scanning with my telekinetic field, I saw dozens of Chinese warships massed off the West Sea. Around a massive carrier-like vessel—something I’d only ever seen in photos—were multiple ships: destroyers, frigates, and other types of warships.
The Chinese soldiers were extremely tense, their expressions clearly those of people prepared for war.
In contrast, the South Korean Navy clustered a few kilometers away looked full of worry. They were all in combat readiness, but the personnel on standby were busily messaging someone, which didn’t look like soldiers about to enter battle.
In eight minutes, the infiltrated spies would destroy key facilities.
After a moment of deliberation, I dismantled all the explosives they had planted. I altered the molecular structure of the explosives so they wouldn’t detonate even when the time came.
If electricity and communications were completely paralyzed, it would take a very long time for the economic system to recover.
Then our owner might shut down the motel—and fire me.
That couldn’t be allowed to happen.
The infiltrated Chinese spies were now evacuating to avoid the blast.
How infuriating.
All I want is a modest life—so why do they keep interfering like this?
So, once I judged that all of them had evacuated to what they thought were safe locations, I severed the cerebral blood vessels of all 517 of them. At the same time, their eyes went unfocused, and they collapsed where they stood like dolls whose switches had been turned off.
Killing people invites inner demons—but when you have to be ruthless, you have to be ruthless.
Perhaps because it was a justified killing, I felt nothing in particular. It didn’t seem like any inner demons would come.
Today felt like a day my hands would be stained with blood.