Chapter 45 (1/2)
Seol Ji-Hu carefully checked out the contract from Gula. Not one word had been changed from when he first read it. Of course, judging from the personality she displayed until now, Kim Hahn-Nah wouldn't try to pull a fast one like that.
Seol Ji-Hu finished browsing through the contract and signed on the dotted line. And as he returned the contract to her, he spoke.
”Now that I've signed the contract, I want to ask you about something.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Don't you work for Sinyoung?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Yeah, I do.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Why did you say those things back then? Wouldn't it be more advantageous for you if I ended up signing with them?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Kim Hahn-Nah carefully but professionally folded the contract and hid it inside her jacket, before c.o.c.king an eyebrow.
”I was wondering why you haven't asked me that yet. But, shouldn't you have asked that question before signing up? What if you have a change of mind after hearing what I had to say?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”You'd have said things in such a way to make sure that I don't change my mind, anyway. Well, I just wanted to hear your honest words without worrying about how you'd change the story.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”….Well, you seem to get smarter when it comes to things like this, huh.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah shot him a prim glare and took off her gla.s.ses. She even put the spoon down and began lightly tapping the table with her index finger.
”Okay, fine. It's a long story, but since you want to hear it, I'll tell you. Do you know what the current situation is like for Sinyoung?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol Ji-Hu was about to ask, ”Weren't they the biggest organisation in the Paradise?” but held back. The way she asked her question, it sounded like something pretty serious was going on here.
”They are stuck between a rock and a hard place, going nowhere fast.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah rested her chin on the back of her hand and gazed at the outside of the diner with half-closed eyes. Her face, as reflected on the gla.s.s, looked rather bitter.
”Their situation is really complicated right now. Sinyoung had lost their most powerful combat force, and they are also losing their justification for being there, too. It's not as if their foundation has become weak enough to be shaken around, but on the flip side, they can't deny that they have indeed been weakened considerably compared to the past. I'm curious, but have you read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms before?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
She came out of nowhere with that one, but Seol still nodded his head.
”Cao Cao succeeded in ‘securing' the young emperor, thereby creating the firm foundation for himself to control the empire, right? Sinyoung did something similar. A year ago - no, wait. Three years ago in that place's time flow, the very first rebellion happened within the human alliance.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah lowered her voice and continued on.
”To be more specific, a certain kingdom wanted the Earthlings to become more proactive, and they formed an alliance of sorts with other like minded kingdoms, and tried a method that was a bit more forceful than before. As a result, several organisation rebelled openly against their unreasonable demands. An entire region rose up to resist this push, so surely you can imagine how big of a rebellion it was.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”A region? Which one?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”The South…. The resistance movement formed around the South as its centre. And in the end, a war broke out. Those guys were defeated…. in the blink, and…. pushed to the brink…. Ah.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
In the middle of her speech, Kim Hahn-Nah went, Ah! She forgot about the pact to never to speak about the secrets of the Paradise and ended up doing precisely that.
Seol Ji-Hu waved his hands around briefly to show her it was fine.
”Did every Earthling partic.i.p.ate in the rebellion?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”No~pe. Some partic.i.p.ated, but there were some who supported the royal families. However, most were neutral.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah then placed her hand on her chest.
”It was right around, then. Sinyoung had remained neutral until that time, but they declared their support of the royal family and entered the fray.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
She then raised two of her fingers.
”There were two reasons why Sinyoung decided to intervene. The first thing was, of course, for profit. And secondly, they were confident of winning.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
As if she was feeling thirsty, Kim Hahn-Nah took large gulps of the cold water.
”Phew~. Of course, even Sinyoung didn't possess the military might to subdue a rebellion of that size by themselves. However, even though they were small in number, there were some Earthlings who supported the royal families, so they joined in. Sinyoung also persuaded their allies to partic.i.p.ate as well. Then, using those events as the pivotal point, they began persuading other neutral organisations into partic.i.p.ating, too. And most importantly….” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
To signify the importance of what she was about to say, her expression hardened noticeably.
”They let loose a very, very high-leveled ranker into the battlefield.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
To be acknowledged as a top ranker in the Lost Paradise, one had to be level 7 or above. Not everyone could level up that high, and there were only a handful of such individuals in the whole of the Paradise.
”His name is Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun….. Seol Ji-Hu repeated that name inwardly. He had heard of this name before. From the way she had crossed her arms against her chest, it seemed that Kim Hahn-Nah wasn't happy about something there.
”Sinyoung was encouraged by Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun's combat prowess, and through him, they were able to achieve a sweeping victory against the rebellion. The royal families wished to push forward with the momentum and even destroy the rebellion's headquarters, but Sinyoung didn't want that. No, they came up with a nice-sounding pretext of giving the other side a chance, saying that the continuous fight between humans would only weaken the influence of mankind on the planet. So, they went ahead with ceasefire negotiations.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
No matter how good a pretext sounded, it'd always remain as a pretext. It meant that Sinyoung had already started their machinations on the political landscape of the Paradise well before the negotiations began.
”In the end, the royal families promised to allow complete freedom of the Southern region under the condition that all the remaining rebels were relocated there.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Mm…. Isn't that the same thing as the rebels ultimately getting what they wanted in the first place?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”If you look at the result only, sure. However, you could also say that they were exiled there, too. I'm sure you've heard by now that the South is always mired in warfare, right?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol Ji-Hu had heard the condensed version before - that there were currently four different species calling the Paradise their home, and that the humans were the weakest of them.
”The South is pretty much the frontlines of the war. It's the most dangerous area, in other words.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Ah.”
Seol Ji-Hu let out a gasp of shock. Because, he now understood who had gained the most out of the rebellion from those two sentences she uttered out.
”That's right. It's the same thing as Sinyoung sending all their rival influences down to the South to act as their meat s.h.i.+eld. And thanks to that, Sinyoung got to increase their political clout back in the Capital without a single worry. And they even had the royal family in their back pocket, so what would they have to fear now, right?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah spoke the last sentence with a slight hint of disdain before slowly leaning her back against the chair.
”However, no flower blooms forever… Not everything was plain sailing for them, you see. About two years ago in the flow of time that side, a new problem occurred, one n.o.body saw coming.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”A problem, you say?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”It was Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
It was that name again.
”Well, him…. Why he did what he did, even I can't figure it out. Some said he had a falling-out with Sinyoung's management, some said the royal family made their move after getting worried about Sinyoung's growing influence, or maybe even Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun's own greed got the better of him….” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Just what kind of a person is this Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun, anyway?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”I can't speak about his ident.i.ty here. But know this, he isn't a nice guy. His abilities are indeed a real deal, but I remember him being incredibly arrogant, and that he used to do whatever he felt like. What's important is that, he went ahead with a certain military expedition against other's wishes, spectacularly failed that, and went missing ever since.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Dead?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”That's the thing - no one knows. Just because he's ‘dead' that side, that doesn't mean he's dead this side too, you know? However, he's completely disappeared without a trace over that side and over here, too.” (Kim Hahn-Nah) (TL: this is the literal TL of the raw. I must've missed something, because this doesn't make much sense to me, but whatever….)
Seol Ji-Hu agreed with the notion that it did sound rather bizarre and opened his mouth to speak.
”I guess that with Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun going missing, Sinyoung got affected pretty badly, right?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”But, of course. That guy was what you'd call an Irregular.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah nodded her head.
”No matter which organisation, there is a limit to how much manpower you can mobilise at once for individual requests and missions. The reason why Sinyoung was able grow at an explosive rate was because of the full support from the royal family. Of course, Sinyoung had to listen to the royal family's demands in return. And the nearly impossible missions or difficult tasks were taken care of by Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun, you see.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
However, with the disappearance of that Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun, it became harder to carry out the demanding tasks set out by the royal families. And so, the foundation Sinyoung relied on to grow more influential and wealthy began to rock unsteadily.
Understanding as such, Seol Ji-Hu's eyes narrowed to a slit.
”I think I can understand where the rebellion was coming from. Just how ridiculous were the demands made by the royal family? I get where they are coming from, but wouldn't you normally make the request after seeing what the current situation is like?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Right…. That's how you'd normally do that, but….” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
For some reason, Kim Hahn-Nah blurred the ends of her words. It was as if she was trying to be vague about something.
”In any case, that's where this story ends. Actually, this isn't something you should be aware of, right now. But, I should answer that question you asked me earlier.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah coughed to clear her throat and stared straight at Seol Ji-Hu.
”After the powerful combat potential called Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun had gone missing, Sinyoung has become incredibly busy. They have way too many business interests to look after, and they gotta keep an eye on the royal family, too. Even I'm supposed to handle eight different a.s.signments right now.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Eight?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu could only leak out a hollow chuckle. He even thought whether it was fine for her to be here or not.
”And then, in the midst of this madness, a new Irregular has appeared. Of course, that's you. The paths you walked, the things you've done and achieved, they are remarkably similar to Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun's. Well, if you are Sinyoung, how would you respond?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”I'll probably try to scout me.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Obviously. But having lost Seong s.h.i.+-Hyun once, they would make sure they are prepared this time. You felt it too when you took a look at their contract, right? Every single clause promising to support you were traps that would've shackled you real good. Sure, they would help you get stronger, but they will also turn you into a puppet that only moved according to Sinyoung's wishes.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
He had been expecting something like that already, but now that he heard the truth straight from her, it certainly felt a bit different than before. Kinda like his body was shuddering or something.
‘But, why me?'
”If I were to be honest, you're like a really tasty prey as you are now.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol Ji-Hu stared blankly at Kim Hahn-Nah.
He understood now why he shouldn't sign up with Sinyoung, but her helping him out was a different matter altogether. At the end of the day, Kim Hahn-Nah still worked for Sinyoung, after all.
”And finally, the reason why I'm helping you like this.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
She locked her fingers.
”Well, you can criticise me for being materialistic if you want. That gold stamp was my private property. And besides, I didn't want others to steal you from me.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Steal?”
”Ng. If I coerced you into joining Sinyoung, then sure, they would've praised me for it. They'll promote me as my reward, too. But, that would be all, right? The moment you join the company, the higher-ups would do anything to possess you. And since I don't have any power, you'll end up being taken from me.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah then raised both her hands in a slight shrug.
”If that was the case, then wouldn't it be much more profitable for me if you didn't join and grow stronger outside the company? Mu~ch more, right? You grow powerful and strong and start supporting me, then I'd get to have a proper say within Sinyoung, you know what I mean? Uhuhuhuhu.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”T, that's how it was?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”That's right! I raised this guy, he's friendly with me, he only deals with me, etc, etc. You wanna ask this guy for a request, then talk to me first. Keuh~.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah's neck shrunk back slightly and her shoulders started to tremble a little as if the thought alone made her very excited.
Now that he heard her story, he kind of agreed with her there. However, the rosy future of her dreams could only take place on the condition that Seol Ji-Hu grew up to become someone with great power. Honestly, he felt burdened by her expectations.
”I think you're thinking too highly of me.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Hmm.”
Seeing the youth smile awkwardly, Kim Hahn-Nah pouted slightly.
”Indeed. You do make me worried from how you acted this side, you know?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
She began giggling and that brought out a soft but genuine smile from him as well.
The two of them continued on with their breakfast and chatted about what they needed to do for their happy future on the other side.