Chapter 61. The Head of a Group.
Chapter 61. The Head of a Group.
"So, the people going this time..."
I was seriously deliberating who to bring when the President spoke up from beside me.
"I would appreciate it if you could take me along this time as well."
"You might see some rough things. And..."
"Not at all. No matter how long you have lived, Mr. Sihu, a South Korean politician is the best person to deal with a South Korean businessman. Heh heh."
Maybe he'd been itching to get out of Gimpo, because he practically begged me to bring him. So the group ended up as me, Chaeyeon, Jia, the President, and Choi Jae-hyeok. Plus the old man to fly the helicopter, and Warrant Officer Lee Geun-cheol, of course.
Inside the helicopter, the President made a request that wasn't quite a request.
"If it's all right with you, Sihu, may I pretend to be the group's representative when I meet this 'chairman'?"
"Hmm? I don't mind, but you must have something in mind."
"I simply want to get a read on their intentions."
"That much is fine... You've probably got your reasons, Mr. President. Understood."
We were heading there to drop off supplies and check in on them, and apparently they'd set up base somewhere on a university campus. As the helicopter's rotor noise swelled, people began climbing up to the rooftop one by one.
'A faintly familiar aura...'
We unhooked the ropes and lowered the supplies safely onto the rooftop for the university groups. Then they started waving their arms and shouting at us. The height wasn't as great as I'd expected, so my companions could make out their gestures too. We couldn't hear the words over the noise, though.
Ignoring whatever bullshit they were spewing, I turned over the aura I'd felt earlier. A mana aura, and one that felt oddly familiar. But it was too faint to affect us in any way, so I put it out of my mind.
The President called out to me while I was lost in thought.
"Sihu, can you hear what they're shouting?"
My companions all turned to look at me, equally curious.
"Yeah, they're complaining that this amount of supplies is a joke, things like that. Let's just ignore them and get on with it."
Sigh... I hate to sound like some kind of old geezer, but back on Titan we were grateful for even a single scrap of bread...
"Did we tell them we were coming in advance?"
"Yes, they actually suggested we sit down and talk things over, coordinate our positions. Still, they humbly asked us to come here—very cautiously."
'Is this guy more decent than I thought?'
Everyone except the President looked oddly tense.
"Why are you all so on edge? We're not going there to fight."
"Oppa! He's the chairman of a major corporation...!"
"...?"
"Hmm... To you, Sihu-nim, he probably just feels like a slightly bigger guild master, but from our perspective, it's like meeting a celebrity. An influencer."
"Well, of course it is, Sihu—you've met the king of a country without batting an eye..."
I really don't like this kind of attitude. What reason is there to be nervous before you've even met someone? Even back in the Disaster, I'd tell them to carry my name on their backs and never feel small in front of anyone—I've always hated seeing that kind of posture.
"I'd prefer it if none of you showed that cowed attitude. Whether it's a corporate chairman or a chairman's father, in front of me they're all the same: just another human being. As long as you're part of my group, I'd rather not see you looking so pathetic."
"Ahem... Sorry, Hyung-nim."
"Yeah, got it..."
"Yessir..."
"Anyway, Mr. President, you seem completely unbothered by all of this."
"Not at all. I'm very nervous as well. But they're businessmen who pursue profit. And they built one of the nation's leading corporations. If you show nerves right from the start, you'll hand them the initiative without a fight."
"Is this the President's seasoned veteran intuition or something?"
"Haha, exactly. Anyway, here's what I wanted to say. Sihu is standing firmly behind us—what in the world is there to be afraid of!"
'Seriously, this geezer acts like somebody's neighborhood ahjussi sometimes.'
We exchanged a few words, and in no time we arrived above the research complex. Glancing down, I spotted people moving around below here and there. We landed the helicopter at the coordinates we'd been given in advance and disembarked. A sturdy old man stepped forward to greet us as we climbed out.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Lee Hyeon-cheol, the one leading this place, humble though it may be."
"Pleased to meet you. I am President Min Seok-woo."
Once the introductions were done, the attendant secretary who'd been standing quietly beside the chairman led us into the conference room inside the building. The President took the lead in the conversation.
"How did you end up coming to this place?"
"Heaven smiled upon us. We had come here to inspect the research complex—myself, my children who were to lead the company someday, and some politicians—when the crisis broke out. Fortunately, other members of our family were also nearby, so my family survived unscathed."
"What of the members of this community?"
"The people currently in this conference room, plus the employees who work at the research complex. There were more than this, of course. But they..."
The President and the chairman continued exchanging talk of little consequence, each busy probing the other's unspoken intentions. Eventually the extended feeler-round seemed to end, and they slowly began cutting to the chase.
"I heard you want to negotiate a deal."
"Precisely. We dispatch technicians to assist you, and we receive food and weapons. Nothing more, nothing less. Is that not a perfectly reasonable transaction?"
"Would you not consider joining our side? There would be no compulsion, and at present we ensure that all survivors are treated equally..."
"Are you naive? Or are you deliberately testing me?"
"..."
"I have no intention of letting go of this authority. That said, I have no intention of lording over everyone like a tyrant. I'll wager that if you ask the people under me, not a single one would say they feel discriminated against. I direct the people and merely wish to receive slightly more benefits than the average person. Do you truly believe receiving this much benefit in a world like this counts as discrimination?"
"I understand receiving a small benefit, especially in a world like this."
"Then allow me to ask you something. If we were to join your group, could you grant me those modest concessions? And even if you did, do you think the existing members of your group would accept such an arrangement?"
I listened to their exchange and reached a conclusion. This man could not tolerate being commanded by someone else—he had the disposition of a ruler who must command others himself. If you asked whether he was a tyrant or a sage-king, though, the answer was a sage-king.
"If someone truly worthy of trust appears, I can more than willingly place myself under that person's group. But this is not yet that moment."
"Sigh... I can readily understand the food, but why do you require weapons?"
"Obviously, we need them to defend our settlement. I am by no means asking for tanks, helicopters, or missiles. A sufficient quantity of rifles and ammunition will do."
The President, the chairman, other politicians, corporate executives—all mixed together, talking till spit flew, weighing the ratios of the deal. At last, their opinions dramatically compromised. They wrote up the terms of the trade on paper and left only the signatures.
'In a world like this, what does a contract like that even mean... honestly.'
"So, as written in the contract, we dispatch our technicians, and you send food and weapons on the helicopter that brings the technicians back, correct?"
"Yes, that is correct."
After hearing the President's words, the chairman signed first, then extended his hand holding the pen and requested my signature.
"It would be proper for the group's representative to sign in person, don't you think?"
"That's right."
As I answered and reached to take the pen from his hand, he didn't let go. Instead, he silently stared at the President.
"I need the pen to sign. What are you doing?"
"I said it would be proper for the group's representative to sign."
He shifted the direction of his outstretched hand. And his hand was now pointing to where I was sitting.
'Since when did he figure out I'm the representative?'
The President looked back at the chairman and spoke with a smile.
"I am the group's representative. If I, the President, am not the representative, then who else could it possibly be?"
"Mr. President, as one does business, one encounters many situations. And when you become the head of a corporation, you inevitably find yourself having to evaluate people countless times. Let alone someone like me, who grew this into a leading conglomerate—do you know how many people I have met?"
Without dropping his smile, the President continued to gaze wordlessly at Chairman Lee.
"I pride myself on being rather good at reading people and situations. While you and your companions were speaking, I noticed you kept subtly checking on that young man over there. You outwardly pretended that nothing was the matter, but I sensed you were unconsciously gauging his reaction."
Listening to his explanation, I noted that he was observing his surroundings far more than I'd realized. And now that I thought about it, our eyes had met a few times earlier—turns out he'd sized me up faster than expected.
"To think the representative is not the man who won office as an independent and commands the people, but this young man... I am well aware of what the Awakened are. I'm something of an Awakened myself, you see."
I'd known the chairman was an Awakened from the moment we met. My companions probably hadn't, though.
"So I'm even more curious. Why are you the representative?"
He asked me: Just how strong are you, what special ability do you have, that you became the representative?
"Is it that you don't like the fact that I'm the representative?"
"My apologies. My phrasing was poor. I didn't mean it that way—I'm simply curious. Why you are the representative."
I felt a glint of ambition in his eyes. Not some lowly, vulgar desire, but the ambition of a businessman who wanted to deepen his relationship with me.
"I would prefer it if you never had to find out why I'm the representative."
Would he truly grasp exactly what I meant? The reason I'm the representative is fundamentally overwhelming force. The role of a deus ex machina that employs supernatural power to ignore all context and resolve the problem—that's my role.
If we ever fell out and my power came to light, then he would learn why I'm the representative.
"Worry not. I would rather strengthen friendly ties with your group."
"You're surprisingly quick on the uptake. Usually, when a mere pup younger than you says this kind of thing, people tend to laugh it off."
"Let's call it a businessman's intuition. I didn't build this up to this scale with reason and emotion alone. I've always trusted my gut in the crucial moments."
I gave a quiet scoff and at last picked up the pen he was still offering me.
"Allow me to introduce myself once more. I am Lee Hyeon-cheol. I currently lead this group, and in the past I led the Penta Group."
I finished signing and looked at him.
"I'm Cheon Sihu. I lead this group now."
And so, once again, we clasped hands firmly in that conference room.