The Chairman's Interrogation
The Chairman, Jeon Nando, pushed aside the documents he’d been reviewing and slowly looked up at me. “Hmm…”
“Is this everything?”
His gaze was sharper than one would expect from a man in his seventies. I tensed slightly, cleared my throat, and began my explanation in a measured tone.
“Yes. His biological parents died sixteen years ago, and the grandparents who raised Yu Jihwan passed away twelve years ago.”
After that, he grew up in an orphanage until the age of fourteen, when he was hospitalized due to an unknown illness. Jeon Nando listened in silence, eventually pulling out a fresh cigar. He trimmed the end with a few quick taps and spoke in a low voice.
“And then?”
“…After falling into a coma, he suffered cardiac arrest from shock, but suddenly recovered his health.”
At fifteen, Yu Jihwan was discharged after receiving research funding and left the orphanage. Once out, he suddenly began approaching the Sword Empress and her daughter. Not long after, he enrolled in the Academy, formed a partnership with the Sword Empress’s daughter during a friendly match, and even played a key role in stopping the recent terrorist attack.
His activities over the past two years painted him as an extremely suspicious individual.
“That concludes the briefing.”
Once the full report on Yu Jihwan was finished, Jeon Nando fell into quiet contemplation, steadily puffing on his cigar. Some time passed. By the time half the cigar had burned to white ash, he finally gave a new order.
“Bring him in quietly.”
*
Ro…se….
A flood of related search terms instantly popped up. I’d heard of rose pasta, but rose chicken stew? Rose chicken feet? It seemed like they just slapped “rose” onto anything red.
“There really is one for everything…”
I let out a small sigh of amazement and slowly moved the mouse. While checking the recipe and jotting down the necessary ingredients on my phone, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
At this rate, I’ve gotten pretty close to Soyeon, haven’t I?
I’d been in and out of her house, gone grocery shopping with her, played games together, and even cooked for her. It wasn’t quite at the level where she could lean on me emotionally, but I could confidently say we were quite close. Something like a dependable friend?
The closer two bodies become, the closer their hearts tend to follow. Before long, I’d be able to support Min Soyeon both materially and emotionally.
Satisfied with that hopeful future, I wore a pleased smile as I finished organizing the recipe.
That was when it happened.
Vrrr— Vrrr—
The phone I’d left beside me suddenly began vibrating. Who could be calling at this hour…?
I glanced at the screen and saw an unfamiliar number calling. “…What the?”
Thinking it was a spam call, I hung up. A moment later, a message arrived from the same number.
It was a blatantly suspicious message. A few days ago while I was in the hospital, the Academy had said they would be in touch. But in this dangerous era, telling someone to just hop in a random car was far too suspicious.
Then another short message arrived.
“Huh?”
The Chairman I knew? There was only one person at the Academy who could be referred to that way—Jeon Nando.
He had been my wife’s mentor, practically a father figure to her. He used to call me “that coward who only casts magic from behind women…” The memory of getting beaten black and blue the day I revealed that my wife was pregnant was still vivid.
…It was a little early back then.
But why would that old man suddenly reach out now? When I had boldly declared I would reveal my identity, he hadn’t even acknowledged me. And now, all of a sudden…
“Ah.”
It suddenly occurred to me that this might be an opportunity. If I revealed my identity to Jeon Nando, I could ask about my wife’s whereabouts, and maybe even tell Min Soyeon who I really was…!
At that exact moment, something flashed before my eyes and completely blocked my vision.
“W-what the…?”
Make Min Soyeon the Strongest in the World.
📍 Failure Condition: World Destruction
Do not reveal your identity to Min Soyeon.
📍 Failure Condition: Death
It even had a damn footnote attached.
What the hell was this…?
I was extremely flustered by the sudden event. The fact that the “Message,” which had shown no change until now, had finally reacted meant my actions were properly influencing the future. That part was encouraging.
But the newly added condition was the problem.
Don’t reveal my identity to Min Soyeon? I’d die if she found out?
This was beyond unreasonable. What did saving the world have to do with hiding my identity from Soyeon? It wasn’t as if this was the first time I’d considered telling her. So why all of a sudden…?
“Don’t tell me…”
A suspicion crossed my mind as I looked down at the phone still in my hand. The message had changed right after Jeon Nando contacted me. There had to be a connection.
[Understood.]
I replied to the Chief Secretary, then immediately dialed Min Soyeon’s number. If this was genuinely about the terrorist incident, she should have received a call as well.
But…
[…I didn’t get any call.]
She said she hadn’t received any contact at all.
[…Who did you say called you?]
I told her the name of the Chief Secretary from the message. She seemed to think for a moment before speaking as if something had clicked.
[…That person is probably the real Chief Secretary.]
Huh? How did she know that?
I was about to ask how she knew when I suddenly remembered the relationship between my wife and Jeon Nando. To Soyeon, he was practically a grandfather. It wouldn’t be strange for her to know his staff.
“…Really? That’s a relief. I thought it might be suspicious… Anyway, I might be a bit late today.”
[…Huh?]
I could hear the slight panic in Min Soyeon’s voice through the speaker.
“I’ll be back by dinner, so if you’re hungry, go ahead and eat something.”
[Y-yeah…]
For some reason, I felt like I was soothing a child left home alone.
“See you in a bit, then.”
[…Okay…]
After ending the call with Min Soyeon, I prepared to go meet Jeon Nando.
*
I rode the car that had come to pick me up in front of the house and headed for the Academy. Just in case, I stayed ready to counterattack at any moment, but thankfully it turned out to be unnecessary worry.
Once we arrived at the Academy, I was guided by the man who introduced himself as the Chief Secretary and headed straight for the Chairman’s office.
“You may go right in.”
Following the Chief Secretary’s instruction to enter alone, I quietly pushed open the door.
The first thing that greeted me was the thick smell of cigar smoke filling the room. Even at his age, it seemed he still enjoyed them.
“…This is Yu Jihwan.”
When I cautiously identified myself, the man who had been leaning deeply into his chair slowly sat up.
His massive frame made it hard to believe he was in his seventies. However, time had still left its mark—his hair and beard had turned completely white.
Jeon Nando looked exactly as I remembered him.
“Sit.”
Seeing the face of an old acquaintance left me momentarily stunned. I barely regained my senses and took the seat across from him.
So why had this old man called me here?
I waited in tense silence. Then he spoke.
“No need to be so nervous, young man.”
He was smiling kindly. “…Yes.”
The Jeon Nando I knew was not this gentle. This was clearly his public persona.
“You did a truly remarkable job in the recent terrorist incident. If we had let the culprits escape, the Academy might have had to close its doors.”
“…Thank you.”
I quietly expressed my gratitude. He stroked his beard slowly and continued.
“The reason I called you here today is simply because there are a few things I’d like to ask you.”
What could be so important that he’d send a car just to ask? Was this really only about the terrorist attack?
“…Do you believe in God?”
Huh? The sudden question caught me off guard.
“No, that came out wrong. Do you believe that God exists?”
“…I’m not sure.”
“…Then, are you familiar with the Gujae Church?”
Gujae Church. After talking about gods, a random religion had popped up. Wasn’t that a cult?
“Isn’t that a cult?”
Why was he suddenly bringing up a cult? Don’t tell me this old man had actually joined…?
When I gave him a suspicious look, he hurriedly added an explanation.
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I don’t believe in such nonsense. …So, you consider the Gujae Church a cult?”
Anyone would think he was testing whether I was part of the cult. This old geezer really…
“I don’t believe in any religion.”
Only after I drove the point home a second time did Jeon Nando show a satisfied smile.
“Mm. Good to know.”
…What the hell was going on? I couldn’t figure out where this conversation was headed.
He moistened his lips with the tea his secretary had brought and casually moved on to the next topic.
“Alright. Shall we move on to the next question?”
Of course this wasn’t the end.
“I heard you were quite ill for a while in the past.”
That was from before I died. How could Jeon Nando know about that?
Hiding my rising doubts, I answered as casually as possible.
“…I’m fine now.”
“That’s good to hear… You must not have been able to enjoy your youth properly while you were sick. What did you do after you recovered?”
Jeon Nando’s eyes gleamed as he asked the suspicious question. That was when I finally realized what he was after.
He was testing me.
First he’d checked my ideology, and now he was digging into my past. The fact that he even knew about my illness meant he probably knew everything and was waiting for me to slip up. He was dangling the bait and waiting for me to bite.
But what exactly was he suspecting me of? I couldn’t think of anything.
In the end, I had to find the clues in his questions. The period when Yu Jihwan had been sick and then suddenly recovered coincided exactly with when I had taken over his body.
What would a man who had come back to life do? He would go looking for his wife and daughter.
But reality had been cruel, and I had eventually given up.
Did Jeon Nando know that I had been searching for my wife and daughter?
I decided to test him.
“…I just rested.”
Jeon Nando’s eyes flashed sharply.
“I see… You just rested…”
From his reaction, it seemed he already knew. He crossed his arms, staring at me with indifferent eyes, and continued firing questions.
“I heard you formed a partnership with Min Soyeon and even caught the terrorists together?”
“…That’s correct.”
“How did you end up partnering with that girl?”
What kind of excuse should I give? No good lie came to mind.
“…It was love at first sight.”
His eyes twitched violently.
“I approached her because I wanted to get even a little closer.”
That part was the truth.
After answering the barrage of miscellaneous questions that followed, Jeon Nando, who had finished his tea, set the cup down and spoke with what sounded like regret.
“…I’ve heard enough.”
I waited to see how he would respond. He let out a deep sigh and slowly began to speak.
“…I can tell that you don’t intend to harm our Soyeon.”
It seemed my sincerity had gotten through.
“…However… I still don’t understand.”
At that moment, the air in the room grew heavy.
“The fact that you spent two years searching for Yeonhee, that you enrolled in the Academy to approach Soyeon…”
So he really did know everything.
“…And the way you use that ‘cowardly’ ability of yours. None of it makes sense to me.”
“Coward.” That was the nickname he had used for me while I was still alive.
“…Just who are you?”
An unexpected question had finally been thrown at me.