At that mont, in the chairman’s office at Haegneul Headquarters:
“All the rchandise related to Baek Seol-hee is imploding in sales. Shouldn’t we file a lawsuit about this?”
“How? Are you going to sue the governnt?”
“But we had an official contract…”
“We didn’t even sign a formal contract with Baek Seol-hee herself. It was through the Hero Alliance. Good luck winning a lawsuit with that.”
The chairman of Haegneul mocked the CEOs of major subsidiaries in their presence, clicking his tongue.
“We’ve already made profits from copyrights and royalties we didn’t pay. Just consider it balanced. If we provoke Baek Seol-hee now, Tae Chae-jin and the chairman of the Alliance will raise hell.”
“Then what about that man, Do Ji-hwan…”
“He’s dangerous too. That man is even more dangerous than Baek Seol-hee.”
The chairman gestured to his ear.
“According to insider information, Gwang Ik Gong shielded Do Ji-hwan.”
“Gwang Ik Gong…! Has he finally appeared?”
“Yes. That Gwang Ik Gong is protecting this man. Who knows what might be behind it? Just my guess, but…”
The chairman lowered his voice.
“Could that man be associated with the Sephiroth Order?”
“What?”
“If not, why would Gwang Ik Gong defend him that way? Why would Baek Seol-hee risk her virtue to protect him?”
The CEOs’ jaws dropped in astonishnt.
“If heroes, tasked with protecting humanity, are willing to shatter their own image to uphold a value, then…”
“Future peace!”
“Exactly. What other explanation could there be? Baek Seol-hee has built her career and image for years. How could she throw it all away in an instant unless there was a compelling reason?”
When heroes acted beyond reason, it was because there was an equally extraordinary reason.
“But so rumors say Baek Seol-hee went crazy over a man…”
“Does that even make sense? Sure, he’s got a good-looking face. But you can’t know what’s below unless you strip him down. Baek Seol-hee doesn’t have X-ray vision. Are they saying she picked him because he’s supposedly ‘big’? If she were such an easy woman, would she have stayed a virgin until 25? She would’ve gone abroad like other weak-willed won by now.”
“That’s true. As expected of you, Chairman.”
“Stop stating the obvious. More importantly, what about Chairman Desmond?”
“Uh, well….”
One CEO, a middle-aged man who looked relatively young, turned pale.
“He’s deliberately avoiding our contact….”
“Hey, Ho-jung.”
“Y-Yes! I’m Choi Ho-jung!”
“When I put you in charge of Haegneul Daily, what did I say?”
“You said if there’s soone the chairman wants to et, I must ensure it happens by skillfully leveraging the dia!”
“And?”
The chairman slowly stood from his chair.
“An airline CEO holding a feather dares to avoid eting the chairman of Haegneul?!”
“Well, uh….”
“Did we ss up sohow? Did we offend PayGreen? During the Yangyang Airport bid, didn’t we compete in good faith? Are they sulking because we paid extra due to the kimchi premium? Huh?”
“N-No, sir. It’s just… we suspect he’s avoiding a eting to raise the feather’s value.”
“Oh, really? Keep talking.”
The chairman picked up a golf club from the wall and swung it leisurely.
“I’d hate to have to use this to hit my nephews instead of golf balls.”
“Desmond Fayegreen is currently eting with local entrepreneurs, evaluating capital. Regardless of who he sells the Phoenix Feather to, he’s seeking the best offer. He’s likely avoiding contact with us until auction day to drive the price up….”
“Does that make sense logically or rationally, Ho-jung? Even with S University brains beside you, you’ve learned nothing. Tsk tsk.”
“Uh, I….”
“Forget it. If he doesn’t want to et, fine. We’ll just buy it with money. Is he not going to sell it to Koreans when he’s selling it in Korea? Hahaha.”
The chairman swung the golf club into the air.
“Spread rumors. Say Fayegreen is deliberately driving up the auction price while negotiating with Japan and China.”
“Understood. But the dia’s attention…”
“What about it?”
“They’re focused on Baek Seol-hee and Do Ji-hwan. It might only work after the heat dies down…”
“Then manipulate the search rankings. Do I have to explain this too?”
“Understood.”
The chairman pointed the golf club at the CEOs and swung it toward their heads from a distance.
“Don’t think I’ll go easy just because we share blood. If you ss up, my wife will take your position.”
“That’s…!”
“My wife, an A-rank ability user, would manage this company better than any of you dimwits. Now, get to work before you embarrass .”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
With that, the CEOs excused themselves.
The chairman, now alone in his office, shook his head as he watched them leave.
“Still married to non-ability won, huh? No wonder they’re so clueless… Tsk.”
He glanced at a photograph taken on a golf course, a smile spreading across his face.
“Being with an ability-using woman is true happiness, but none of these CEOs get it. Tsk tsk…”
At that mont, on a certain golf course near Ulsan.
Pa-ang!
A golf ball soared into the sky.
The ball, which seed to be flying horizontally, soon described an arc and began its slow descent toward the ground.
“…….”
A woman with short gray hair, clutching a 7-iron, walked across the ground with a stern face, scanning for where the ball had landed.
The bunker.
The white golf ball, buried in mud, was covered in filth.
Was it because of last night’s rain?
Or had they deliberately made the mud to add so rustic charm?
Perhaps the mud was there to create a scene where soone takes off their shoes and socks to retrieve the ball?
The reason was unclear, but the golf ball had to be retrieved.
The woman, however, simply stared at the filthy ball for a long ti.
Waaahhh—!
Suddenly, the cry of a baby echoed behind the woman.
“Aw, aw, Da-eun, are you hungry? Should Mommy feed you?”
Panicking, the woman reached back and cradled the baby in her arms, patting gently.
“No, no. Mommy’s not crying. It’s just that the ball didn’t go where I wanted it to. Why would Mommy cry? It’s just, just….”
Though she continued to soothe the baby, the crying showed no signs of stopping.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. Mommy should’ve given birth to you with a higher grade. I should’ve… but this is all Mommy knows how to do….”
The baby cried endlessly, as if sensing her mother’s exact emotions.
“No, no. Mommy’s fine. It’s just that Mommy is lacking. Later, when Da-eun can sense mana better, Mommy will ask others for help. I’ll make you an S-rank, sweetie. So….”
Pat, pat.
“Sothing good will definitely happen. So let’s hang in there, okay?”
Love made ability users the strongest.
At the sa ti, betrayal or shock in love could create the most negative emotions.
The emotion that produced the most demons was also love.
When intense love for soone rotted and decayed, those negative and corrupt emotions turned ability users into demons.
It was a little different from “yandere.”
If one were to define the act of becoming a demon due to betrayal in love with a single term, this word fit.
NTR.
Netorare.
“NTR is a sin.”
As soone who was once a reader, I could never accept NTR.
But.
“Oh, God, grant righteous NTR.”
To oppose the great evil that was Haegneul, sotis even such a sin must be committed.
“I will NTR the wife of Haegneul’s chairman.”
This was the only way to dismantle Haegneul while maintaining its system, removing only the “people” who were its core.
The Haegneul board mbers were not ability users.
So ability users were involved, but only in superficial roles, like the chairman’s wife.
“…There are already plenty of stories about won forced to marry rich, old n discovering true love and escaping.”
And when they escaped, the man they ran off with must be handso, physically fit, and often penniless.
“Choi Ho-jung, chairman of Haegneul. I will NTR your wife.”
Without letting anyone realize that the Secret Society was behind this or that the project was being carried out by Goblin.
“No amount of money, honor, or power can surpass the wild charm of a young male.”
Even if Choi Ho-jung’s wife had children, she would choose another man.
“Not .”
I could be an adulterer, but I could not commit NTR.
“Who would be the right choice?”
I took out three profiles.
“Tosin, Cheok Jun-gyeong, Taejo.”
Among the three.
“If Baek Seol-hee can ss with a married man, why can’t you ss with a married woman? Who cares if she has kids? She’s an A-rank ability user.”
One of them would have to beco the adulterer.
“For Haegneul’s downfall, soone must take that role.”
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