11. A Man Who Doesn't Get Screwed Over
11. A Man Who Doesn't Get Screwed Over
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"You're going to be a council member?"
After class.
Just like always, Sihwan had stopped by Yeonseo's office and heard some unexpected news.
Namely, that Yeonseo might run for council member in Seoul, the central city on the 1st floor.
"That's... a bit surprising. A council member from the Ha Family."
Yu Ina tilted her head, looking puzzled too.
Both the Ha Family and the Yu Family were powerhouses, so even the slightest move toward political power drew checks from all sides.
The Yu Family at least got some respect for all the sacrifices they'd made for the continental forces, but the Ha Family? Not even that.
If Ha Yeonseo ran for council member, there'd definitely be talk everywhere—could it really go smoothly?
In response to the two's doubts, Yeonseo slurped her coffee and said,
"It's not set in stone yet. The Clan Head just casually suggested I give it a try... and I'm still not sure myself."
"I thought you were just taking over one business."
"Politics is a business too, in a way."
"The council isn't one of your family businesses."
"But it operates out of a building on our family's land."
"So you're going for council member?"
"I told you, nothing's decided yet."
"No way. Don't go."
Yeonseo was someone Sihwan had already staked a claim on.
She was his girlfriend, but he'd also pegged her as the future model and key figure for his company.
Which meant veto!
"...And who are you to tell me to go or not?"
Of course, to Yeonseo, it just sounded ridiculous.
"Anyway, no."
"Unbelievable, seriously."
If they were alone, he might've thrown in something naughty.
Unfortunately, Yu Ina and Eun-hye were here too.
"But what about you? No word on your end? The Clan Head said the Yu Family was in on it too."
"Huh? I haven't heard anything like that."
"Weird. News traveling slow?"
"Hmm... Grandma's not the type to get into politics...."
"Yu Ina's running for council member too?"
"That's what I heard."
"This one?"
"......What's with that look?"
"No... no matter how I think about it, politics doesn't suit her. She's so clueless. Total airhead."
"Funny. I'm good at most things."
"Yeah, sure you are. Says the three-year-old baby."
"Three years old?"
"For humans, you're like three years old. Goo goo gaa gaa."
"What nonsense. You think you can compare me to humans?"
"Goo goo. Baby Noblesse."
"Cut the weird crap. It's annoying."
The two bickered away.
Yeonseo quietly slurped her coffee, watching the scene.
A sense of incongruity, maybe.
It felt different from usual.
Somehow....
Like the two had gotten closer?
Or more precisely, like Yu Ina had torn down one of her walls.
"You two have gotten pretty friendly?"
"Huh?! What do you mean? Friendly?"
"Well, friendly in various ways."
"You!"
"What."
Typical Ryu Si-hwan, spouting useless crap.
"......We'll talk at home."
"I'm looking at you here too—what's there to see at home."
"If you can't watch your mouth...!"
"See? Even your speech is different. You used to be so stiff.... Right?"
"...Huh?"
"Right."
Heh.
A strange chuckle.
Yu Ina gave an awkward smile and straightened her posture.
"Well, you're married, so it can't stay like that forever~."
"......."
Yu Ina felt her face heating up but tried to ignore it.
"What are you saying?"
"Hmm~. Nothing at all."
"......."
"Anyway, what if they tell you to join the council too? Would you do it?"
"......."
A smooth topic change.
She didn't like feeling teased, but grabbing onto it would just be silly, so she had no choice but to answer.
"I'm not sure."
"But what even does a council member do?"
"Just play around with power. Hold pointless meetings~. Oh! Remember that silver-haired bitch from before?"
"Who?"
"The girl who came to our house with us."
"Oh. That weird name? Phone Eun-jeong or whatever."
"That bitch is a 3rd Rank Commissioner. Strutting around with her pathetic little power—that's their job."
"Sounds like some real bad blood?"
Even a chaebol like her, who at least kept up appearances of dignity, using words like that outright? Meant serious grudge.
Yeah, thinking back to that tenacious bitch face from before, it tracked.
"She's a total obstacle. Doesn't even know her place, so annoying. Ah. Should've just buried her then."
Muttering something chilling, she pulled out a cigarette instead of her finished coffee.
"Gonna reek like an ashtray."
"What're you saying to a lady."
As always, lightly ignoring Sihwan's words, she lit up.
Then Yu Ina, remembering something, spoke up.
"You said 'bury her,' and it reminded me... Did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"That woman killed herself."
"So who?"
"...Seong-hyeon's Mother. The one who came by before."
"Oh."
Yeonseo finally recalled and slightly parted her lips.
"She went missing for a few days, then was found dead by suicide in her 5th-floor residence."
"I think I heard something... But why's that matter?"
"...Doesn't it feel a bit off? She didn't seem like the type to suicide."
"So you think it was murder?"
"Not exactly... but something's fishy. Seong-hyeon too—honestly, not suicide material, right?"
"Hmm... she was annoying as hell... but yeah, suicide with that temper? Weird. Unless it was mutual destruction."
"Exactly. Could even be the Angels getting involved with the 11th Floor Incident."
"That's Committee-level then."
"They're already dispatching an investigation team."
The two women talked fairly seriously.
They had zero interest in the individuals, but whatever the reason, two Noblesse were already dead.
As fellow Noblesse—and members of the continental forces—they couldn't just ignore it.
Meanwhile, Sihwan and Bari—the culprits—quietly listened to the two.
'Thought she was total airhead, but she's sharper than expected.'
-Not like we used any fancy tricks. Suspicion from the circumstances is unavoidable, I suppose.
'Eh, whatever.'
-Yeah. Cause of death is clearly suicide, and it happened on the 5th floor, so no link to us.
Bari's firm assurance.
Sihwan trusted her completely, so he nodded without worry.
'Ah. Gotta eat Jihye tonight.'
Suddenly thinking of Jihye waiting there got him excited.
Oblivious to his mood, the two kept chatting about the dead Jihye—or her clone.
"Alright. Enough of that, time for important talk."
"Important talk? What is it?"
"Already gave 'em to the kids in Class Half, but take this."
Sihwan handed Yeonseo a rectangular something.
Yeonseo snatched it and looked it over, but aside from the sleek, beautiful design, she had no clue what it was.
"You too."
"...?"
Yu Ina and Eun-hye got the same.
No idea what these were.
"Ahh. This is called a 『handphone』...."
"Handphone?"
"Yeah. Seeing you all take days to send letters, I couldn't hold back my lament."
"Listen to this guy."
"Like Prometheus gazing upon primitive Australopithecus—no, Homo sapiens—with pity."
"So what is it?"
"Basically an early form of telepathy. Or, easily put, wireless letters."
"......."
The two women furrowed their brows and tilted their heads.
"You can send letters with this tiny thing?"
"You can talk too."
"Let me demonstrate."
As Bari finished speaking, Yu Ina's handphone screen lit up with a ringtone.
"Wha-what."
It even kindly said 'Swipe to answer' in Continental Common Tongue.
Mesmerized, she swiped, and the call connected to Bari.
"In this state, you can talk to someone far away."
-In this state, you can talk to someone far away.
"The other person's voice comes out through the speaker below."
-The other person's voice comes out through the speaker below.
Bari's live(?) voice from behind, and the handphone speaker output.
Yu Ina panicked.
"What is this."
-What is this.
This time, her voice came out from Bari's side.
Though Bari wasn't holding a handphone—she was the Terminal herself.
"For a clearer demo, I'll step out."
-For a clearer demo, I'll step out.
Bari opened the door and left as soon as she spoke.
Then fully closed it.
Silence filled the room.
Broken by Bari's voice.
-Can you hear me?
"Yeah... I, I hear you...?"
-Yes. Loud and clear. That's how you use it.
Bari came back in, explaining the simple concept and usage to the wide-eyed women.
What a phone was, how to use it, other functions, etc.
By the end, even the stoic Eun-hye gaped in admiration.
"Company name's set. 'Prometheus'. Bringing civilization to the savages. Cheers."