Chapter 91: A Quiet Cat Might Just...
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 91: A Quiet Cat Might Just...
Lee Yu-jin’s new SNS account sent her starving fans into a feeding frenzy.
Her first post consisted of two photos.
They featured Lee Yu-jin in a flight suit, seated inside two different fighter jets.
[[IMG_1]]
[Lee Yu-jin sitting in the cockpit of what appears to be a secret modified Air Force F-22, her face full of a sorrowful, storied expression.jpg]
[[IMG_2]]
[Lee Yu-jin sitting in the cockpit of a Navy F-35C stealth jet with a look of grim determination.jpg]
└ I’m voting for the Air Force one. That teary-eyed expression is absolutely lethal. T_T
└ My vote goes to the Navy one for that epic solemnity. It reminds me of the Holy Virgin Swordmaster Black-haired Elf, and I love it. ;;;
A lively "WWE" match broke out between the Air Force and Navy factions.
└ Yu-Yu, you finally opened an SNS account! Yu-jin, I’m so excited right now! I’m so happy! T_T
The good news didn't stop there.
Only a few hours after opening the account, Lee Yu-jin started a vlog livestream.
The news spread like wildfire through the fandom, both domestically and abroad, and fans starved for Yu-jin content came running at breakneck speed.
Among them, naturally, were those "suspiciously wealthy" foreigners who had recently moved to Hannam-dong.
However, there was one major hurdle...
└ Yu-Yu, please, can’t you broadcast in selfie mode?
└ Noona, I’m dying... I’m starving because I can’t see your face...
└ Her excited voice is so cute, though. T_T
└ It’s obvious the Baby Elf is so hyped she’s not even looking at our comments. T_T
└ Help! There’s a person over here!
Fortunately, a helping hand reached out.
Her younger brother and manager, Lee Yu-seok, started his own broadcast on his account: "Vlogging my Noona doing a Vlog."
The fans instantly migrated to Lee Yu-seok’s stream.
└ You guys are amateurs. You should be like me and have both open on dual monitors.
└ I’m watching on my phone, so I can’t do that. ;;;
└ That’s why you should’ve bought a Fold like me. lol
└└ The flex is real. T_T
“Anyway, I’ve already sat in every model here at least once. Oh! Just to clarify so there’s no misunderstanding, I only sat in the cockpits!”
└ The Elf in a flight suit is seriously gorgeous. ;;;
└ Was a flight suit always such a pretty outfit? I’m just now realizing this.
└ Clothes get buffed or nerfed depending on the hanger.
└ Manager-nim, please ask her: when did she go to the aircraft carrier?
“Noona, a fan is asking when you got to the carrier.”
“Oh! I’ve been living on the carrier for a few days now. I wanted to post a greeting on the fan cafe, but I’ve been busy with simulator training. I even started the centrifuge gravity training! The Republic of Korea Air Force is being incredibly cooperative! Please show our Air Force lots of love!”
└ (First Son of the Northern Grand Duke): I love you, Actress Lee. Please film a great movie. Due to my circumstances, I’ll have to watch it via illegal download when it first comes out, but I’ll buy 10,000 copies of the Blu-ray once it’s released.
└└ This guy’s commitment to the bit has been consistent for a long time. lol
└└ Is he someone famous?
└└ You’ll know what his deal is if you look at his nickname. lol
└└ LMAO.
“I got great results in the full flight simulation training! And I easily endured up to 6G in the centrifuge! I didn’t faint once! Please cheer for me so I can handle 9G!”
└ ????
└ Wait, how long has it been since she started adaptation training, and she’s already cleared 6G? Judging by her tone, she probably did it with a smile on her face.
└ Did you guys forget how she jumped into the ring in one go during the Skinhead Match? You can’t judge an Elf’s physical abilities by human standards. ;;;
└ Didn’t she jump nearly three meters back then?
└ It wasn’t a standing jump; she used the momentum from the ropes, but still, jumping that high and pulling off a front-flip tumble in mid-air is definitely not normal.
└ Rocktten Jupiter Bell’s Bane front-flip was beyond the realm of art... every pro-gamer knows this...
└ Then why is her win rate like that?
└ That’s a team diff. ;;;
└ Ah. T_T
“Everyone! A Super Hornet is attempting a landing right now! Oh! We have permission, and a Navy officer is watching right beside us, so don’t worry!”
Thud! Screeeech!
“Wow! Wasn’t that a cool landing? I’m going to land just as coolly as that in the movie! Even though I won’t be the one holding the control stick!”
└ Yu-Yu’s excited voice isn’t just purifying my ears, it’s purifying my soul. ;
└ She’s been hiding this level of cuteness all this time. ;
└ Why on earth did they only give such a cute person solemn and pitiful roles in her works?
└ I want to see a drama where Yu-jin plays a chaebol daughter who sweeps the idol industry. She should even make it to the Billboard charts and become the world’s top pop star.
└ I feel like we might see that in real life, not just a drama.
└ Is she a chaebol daughter? No, but she herself is at the level of a chaebol. Does she sing well? Yes. According to her managers, her singing ability is as high as her Elf-ness.
└└ Isn’t it common knowledge that Elves are good at both piloting planes and singing?
└└ I’m pretty sure Yu-jin is a chaebol daughter. The Hannam-dong villa she lives in now was a gift from her grandfather. ;;;
“Filming is still a ways off! But anyway, I’m having a very happy and rewarding time living on the carrier! If you ever get the chance to tour an aircraft carrier, don’t ever miss it!”
└ But it’s weird that the North is so quiet when the Ford, not even the Nimitz, has come all the way to Jeju...
└ Right? I thought they’d be throwing a massive fit.
└ Fact: North Korea never acts up when the US is in "serious mode"... You can tell by looking at 9/11...
└ Maybe the North Korean high-ranking officials are all Yu-Yu fans and are quietly cheering her on?
└ Even the "Earth Writer," who breaks probability on a daily basis, wouldn't write a plot like that...
*
‘As expected, an aircraft carrier is the ultimate future evolution of a Panokseon... or is that too much praise?’
Perhaps because it cost 13.7 billion dollars to build, it felt larger, cozier, and more comfortable than my 13-billion-won Hannam-dong villa.
‘Oops, Grandfather. I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking down on it at all.’
On the carrier, it wasn't just the three of us; the staff members Han Ji-woo sent were also staying here.
The carrier command had provided a communal dormitory for them.
For the record, Jang Ji-hye and my brother were each assigned a private room right next to mine. I’m just grateful for such exceptional treatment.
‘If I had started acting sooner, I would’ve been on a Nimitz-class carrier by now.’
The Nimitz might be an older model, but it’s a vessel where tradition breathes. I definitely plan to board one if I get the chance later.
“Hey, why does your account have more live viewers than mine? This is unfair.”
“If you broadcasted in selfie mode, Noona, people wouldn’t need to watch my stream. Actually, wait. They’d probably watch both anyway.”
“Yu-jin, Yu-jin, and use a newer phone for the broadcast. It keeps stuttering, and the fans are suffering.”
“Hmm, should I use a newer phone just for the vlogs? If it’s for the fans who might one day make me a major shareholder of Envidium... I can do at least that much...”
“Yes, we’ve just heard her bold ambition to earn over 300 trillion won in appearance fees. Considering taxes, she’ll need to earn over 600 trillion won, then?”
“I guess the only way is to earn as much as I can in this life, hide it somewhere, and pass it on to my next self...”
I thought Jang Ji-hye would miss Seoul if our stay on the carrier got long, but that wasn't the case at all.
She showed no signs of homesickness and was full of energy.
“Huh? You were worried about that?”
“Well, you’re young...”
“I was born 364 days before you, what are you talking about? Besides, just the serotonin I get from taking care of you is enough for me.”
“Please, just give me your account number. At least accept the Kakao transfer! It hurts my heart when they keep getting returned!”
“No? I’m not taking money from you.”
Today, luck found its way to me.
The opportunity to hold the control stick had arrived.
I wasn't actually flying; with the engine off and external power supplied, I was just tilting the stick to move the ailerons, rudder, and elevators.
‘Ah, I want to fly.’
Of course, that was just a wish.
Even though I had achieved excellent results in gravity adaptation training and the simulator and received much praise, I never once asked to be allowed to pilot.
I was confident I could do as well as any Top Gun pilot, but that would be a major security breach, wouldn't it? High-ranking officers would lose their uniforms over that.
*
A few days later.
“I’ll be back! Take good care of our baby Ford while I’m gone!”
“Have a safe trip!”
“Safe travels, Elf!”
Today was the day to experience the VR simulator at the Osan US Air Force Base. So, I left the carrier on an Osprey.
*
Brigadier General Asher, the Public Affairs Director for the Department of the Air Force, visited Osan Air Force Base.
Lately, he had been coming to Korea frequently because of the movie Ace Down to Sea. If it weren't for Lee Yu-jin, he would hardly have had any reason to set foot on Korean soil.
“Where is Actress Lee?”
“She is currently training with the VR simulator. She’s showing an unbelievable kill record. I’m dying to see how she’d do on the full flight simulator equipment.”
The best simulators for training pilots were only in the US mainland.
The ones at the airbase were downgraded versions used by already-qualified pilots to maintain their edge.
In that regard, it was a win for the Navy, who had brought a full-scale simulator onto the Ford.
“You Air Force guys can’t do something like this, can you? Are you really the same guys who look for hotels even on a battlefield? Hahaha!”
Brigadier General Asher frowned as if he could still hear the Navy Public Affairs Director’s laughter ringing in his ears.
As long as the Navy was handling the simulator training, there was no need for the Air Force to do it.
However, out of a competitive spirit that refused to lose, the Air Force was providing VR simulator training in addition to the gravity adaptation training.
“What is her gravity adaptation status?”
“I observed the training with the Korean Air Force, and it’s nothing short of miraculous. She adapted to 9G faster than anyone.”
9G—the realm of ace pilots.
“That is absolutely not the physique of an ordinary human.”
“She’s a minor whose body hasn't fully matured; is it alright for her to undergo such high-G training?”
“The agency submitted her medical records. The doctor’s diagnosis is that she has already completed all her growth.”
“That agency is out of its mind, too. Still, to think they’d...”
“They probably had no choice because Actress Lee wanted it more than anyone. Besides, they had the doctor’s guarantee.”
“Is she just barely maintaining consciousness at 9G? Or...”
“Her consciousness was completely clear. She wasn't just enduring it; she was enjoying that realm. It was to the point where I even felt like testing her at even higher G-forces if possible.”
Of course, that was impossible. Training didn't even account for G-forces higher than that.
Brigadier General Asher muttered to himself.
“This makes me uneasy. I wonder if those Navy bastards are going to let her actually pilot.”
“Would they really go that far? That’s a major security breach that wouldn't end with just one or two people losing their uniforms.”
“With the Navy’s brand of craziness, it’s possible. And surprisingly, there’s a high chance Washington might go easy on them. Right now, isn't the US security policy for Northeast Asia itself being shaken because of a single sixteen-year-old actress?”
To be precise, it wasn't because of Lee Yu-jin, but because of the hundreds of super-rich individuals and their families who had flocked to find her.
If you added up the assets of the super-rich families who had moved to Hannam-dong, it easily exceeded 10 trillion dollars.
If you included the businesses they operated and the derivative assets under their management, the amount was staggering.
It was no joke—if a missile were to fall on Seoul, the entire global economy could come crashing down.
The "diamond eggs" that had been scattered across the globe had happened to gather in a single basket.
The reinforcement of US Forces Korea and the reduction of defense cost-sharing were already being seriously discussed behind the scenes.
In this situation, the Navy might actually pull a stunt—letting Lee Yu-jin pilot a fighter jet.
“Before the Navy does it, maybe it would be better if we cut in line first.”
Brigadier General Asher muttered with a cold glint in his eyes.