Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Field Workers Are All Like That
***
“Go on. Spit it out.”
It was merely a single step.
Only that much distance had been closed, yet Maximus’s shadow completely engulfed Ga-on’s body.
The word intimidation naturally came to mind.
Should I block him? Just as Im Sol hesitated for a brief moment, Ga-on opened his mouth.
“This isn’t something that can be laughed off. I was investigating it under a request from Baekdu. It was a matter directly ordered by Chairman Baek Seok-do of Baekdu himself. That’s correct, right?”
At the urging tone, Im Sol nodded without realizing it.
“That’s correct. He wants to receive the results as soon as possible.”
In that instant, caution settled over Maximus’s face. There was room for it to be interpreted as deliberate interference. If handled poorly, it could even escalate into a dispute between megacorps.
Honestly, he wanted to dig in his heels, but wasn’t Im Sol, a direct party to the matter, standing right in front of him?
When Maximus faltered, Im Sol shrank back as well. She, too, wasn’t entirely in a position of righteousness. It was true that Baek Seok-do was waiting, but it wasn’t enough for her to ride his authority like borrowed power.
A misunderstanding born from an imbalance of information.
As the strange standoff continued, Ga-on threw out another topic.
“And that includes the fact that I’ve kept my mouth shut about Dive.”
Only then did Maximus recall what had led to this meeting. For the sake of everyone’s peace, Dive’s shutdown had been processed as a mechanical defect, but the truth was the exact opposite. It was closer to a complete functional halt.
And it had been the worst possible form. A weapon that Nodetech had spent years developing had been destroyed by nothing more than a mere fixer.
He didn’t know what kind of trick Ga-on had used.
The black box that had recorded the battle was broken, and Im Sol, who could be considered a witness, maintained her silence.
John at least remained, but his testimony felt absurd across the board. Judging by the fatal wounds, it was clear that something somewhere had been broken.
“If you want to win the competitive bid, you have to be careful about scandals, right? I’m giving up an achievement anyone would acknowledge, just because I’m looking at your face.”
This was exactly what it meant to say that A and E could sound different. In social life, what mattered wasn’t logic but presentation.
Who could put forth the more plausible argument.
Everything else was merely embellishment.
In truth, it was a situation where he had no choice but to give it up voluntarily. If this news reached the executives of Nodetech, retaliation was almost certain.
It didn’t matter that he had been the one provoked first by those who breathed in the heavens. What mattered was that a lowly fixer had dared to interfere with a megacorp’s event.
Naturally, to Maximus, who understood that instinct well, it was an absurd consideration.
“Well? Does that settle the score now?”
“Like hell it does, you piece of trash.”
Clicking his tongue briefly, Maximus brushed past Ga-on, even striking his shoulder as he went. Even with only his back visible, his displeasure was unmistakable. Watching the scuffle between the two men, Im Sol muttered her impression in a low voice.
“……You exchange pleasantries rather violently.”
“Field workers are all like that.”
Replying lightly, as if he didn’t even remember the conversation from moments ago, Ga-on approached Maximus once more.
“Mr. Spider, you came by plane, didn’t you?”
“I have no obligation to inform you.”
There was no point in hiding it. The runway set up on one side of the repair shop already held the answer.
“Let’s ride together.”
“Where the hell did this bastard hear that from?”
When coming here, there had been a risk of crashing, so they had no choice but to travel by vehicle. But going back was different. If it was a private jet owned by Nodetech, even Baek Ryang wouldn’t dare approach carelessly.
“Miss One-Day, you come too.”
“It doesn’t seem like an atmosphere where we can leave.”
Though Im Sol stepped back as if reluctant, Ga-on grabbed her hand and pulled her along. At the very least, he wanted the return trip to be comfortable.
***
Snow Apparel Headquarters, President’s Office.
Sitting on a plush sofa, retracing my memory, I finished speaking.
“……That’s it. That’s all I found in my investigation.”
“Alright. You’ve worked hard.”
While the two of us had gone to Hyphen Colony, Baek Seol had been discharged from the hospital, yet her pale complexion had not improved in the slightest.
Even after the long story had finally reached its conclusion, it had borne no meaningful result. Still, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“In the end, what Father had been searching for was a mirage.”
After all, it had been a connection neglected for over twenty years. And on top of that, a catastrophe had occurred, leaving no opportunity to set things right. A miraculous reunion existed only in dreams.
“Strictly speaking, they’re not confirmed dead. It would be more accurate to say the probability of survival is infinitesimally low.”
Baek Seol agreed. That was why she didn’t send me back to Hyphen Colony and instead readily accepted the outcome of the request.
“The data?”
“Here it is.”
Im Sol, who had organized the acquired information chronologically, transmitted it to Baek Seol.
Yeosanghwa moving from residence to residence, the fallen tactical nuclear weapon, and Hangajok Orphanage located at the very center of it all.
There was more than enough circumstantial evidence implying the death of her half-sibling.
Though her blood relative had disappeared, no tears came.
She even felt that it might have turned out for the better.
Though she had never met him—or her—she hadn’t wanted them to walk the same path as herself.
It was the last trace of purity Baek Seol possessed, having grown up in the law-of-the-jungle world of megacorps.
It wasn’t relief from the disappearance of a competitor, but relief from no longer having to witness another sacrifice. That sense of release coursed through her entire body.
Was it because the tension had finally eased?
In that moment, Baek Seol clutched her tightening chest and let out a deep breath.
“Young lady?”
Startled, Im Sol moved to approach her, but Baek Seol waved her hand, signaling her not to.
Ever since 15월 21솔, the pain had refused to be concealed no matter what she did. The memory of that sol remained as a wound, tormenting her to this day.
Sensing something amiss, my brows rose slightly.
It was a sight I had seen once before. Back then, I had thought it was a seizure close to hyperventilation or panic, but the symptoms seemed deeper than that.
“Does your chest hurt?”
“You don’t need to worry. It’s something that happens all the time.”
“All the time?”
Baek Seol always had the finest medical staff waiting nearby on standby. It was hard to believe that someone like her would suffer from a trivial chronic illness.
Naturally, my thoughts showed in my eyes.
Perhaps sensing that I wanted further explanation, Baek Seol added words she didn’t really need to say.
“It’s a nervous disorder. The doctors say psychological factors are affecting my body…… This is why having a delicate personality is a disadvantage.”
As if to prove her composure, Baek Seol lifted her teacup to her lips and took a small sip. The subtle lift of her little finger was the highlight.
As though she had never been in pain, her attitude was dignified. And in truth, it was. What filled her mind wasn’t the constitution she had lived with since childhood, but what lay ahead.
“Anyway, it’s become ambiguous. We’re missing the final piece to drive the nail in.”
“It’s not ambiguous.”
If Black Shower was truly as talented as rumored, Baek Seol’s words might have been correct.
But what I had faced in Dong-gu was a hell on earth.
“Whoever it was realized the two of them were alive and deliberately excluded them.”
Come to think of it, that was true. Baek Seol looked at me with eyes tinged with intrigue.
“Do you think it was someone affiliated with Baekdu?”
“Hard to say. I can’t know that much. But if there’s a next task, it’ll obviously be finding that person.”
There weren’t many choices a parent who had lost a child could make.
It wasn’t an unreasonable opinion, so Baek Seol quietly agreed.
“That could be the case.”
No—considering Baek Seok-do’s temperament, it would be certain.
There was no need to ask where Baek Ryang’s cold-blooded nature came from. Being blood relatives, the two were identical, mirror images reflecting one another.
Caught between them, the only thing Baek Seol could do was prepare thoroughly. This time was no different. To gain the upper hand, she had to prepare in advance—
At that point, her gaze fell on me.
Cold judgment, backed by the skill to support it.
I wasn’t the kind one could encounter at any time.
Of course, there were likely many more talented individuals in the industry than me. But they had already built their own domains with their own clients. They weren’t people Baek Seol could easily recruit.
Well, there was a high chance that I would become like that myself before long.
“Which brings me to this—would you consider becoming my exclusive fixer?”
“An exclusive fixer?”
Most prominent corporations had one. The laws of a civilization that had nearly gone extinct once still included violence, after all.
It was a position that could turn into a hunting dog or a close aide.
Perhaps because it encompassed so many possibilities, it occasionally became a shortcut to rising in status.
“I’m not a light woman who makes heavy decisions after meeting someone only a few times, but I think you’d be suitable. Of course, don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m proposing this strictly from a business standpoint.”
Whether Baek Seol rambled or not, I quietly placed her proposal on the scales.
“I……”
***
After stepping outside the headquarters, I suddenly turned my head. For a fleeting moment, I felt as though my eyes had met Baek Seol’s.
To state the conclusion first, I declined the offer to become her exclusive fixer.
The stunned expression on Baek Seol’s face—she clearly hadn’t expected me to refuse—still lingered in my mind.
I was sorry, but what couldn’t be done couldn’t be done.
Instead, I accepted a different request.
It was to find the one behind the deaths of Yeosanghwa and the real Baek Ga-on. For me, it was a matter of curiosity; for Baek Seol, it was a task that needed resolving. Our interests aligned, so there was no reason we couldn’t join hands.
Some might say:
Wasn’t there no need to go the long way around? Couldn’t I simply reveal the identity I had realized at Hyphen Colony?
It wasn’t as though I hadn’t felt that impulse.
Baek Seol.
On paper, she was my older sister.
From our first meeting until now, we had built a fairly decent relationship. We could have joined hands amicably and gone to seek Baek Seok-do’s recognition.
Baek Seol would receive her promised shares, and I would be registered into the family.
What a happy future that would be.
But the wall of reality was high.
How would I explain the sixteen-year gap? And how would I pass a genetic test?
Even if, by some miracle, we managed to get through all that—would Baek Ryang, who would be pushed aside in the process, applaud and welcome us?
Even a three-year-old child could predict the answer was no.
And to assert that becoming part of the royal family would guarantee inheriting a vast fortune was nothing more than an overly optimistic and self-centered delusion.
I must not forget.
The one holding the hilt of the sword was Baek Seok-do, after all.
What if his true intention was not to reunite with his youngest son, but to cover up his final mistake?
Stepping forward recklessly would be no different from walking straight into the eye of a storm.
In the worst case, I could find myself facing an uncontrollable catastrophe.
‘If it weren’t an ordinary situation, maybe things would be different.’
Shaking my head to dispel the stray thoughts, I stepped out into the street. That place had never been mine to begin with. Unnecessary greed only invited disaster.
Keeping my distance was the right choice.
For Baek Seol’s sake.
And for my own.