Chapter 138 - Meteor

# Yu-seong Corporation.

The number one mega-corporation in the Republic of Korea.

This company, the only Korean enterprise to rank in the global top 10, wasn't always this dominant.

While it had always been among the top three major corporations, that was all.

Its market capitalization and recognition were slightly behind Han-eun Group—it was just one of many well-known major corporations.

However, this changed dramatically in recent years.

The playing field shifted when Han-eun Group self-destructed.

Their atrocities were exposed when their attempt to manufacture biological weapons beneath Seoul failed catastrophically, bringing their misdeeds to light and shattering the company.

Han-eun Group's high-ranking executives all fled overseas, while the remaining core developers were subdued by other villains after attempting terrorist attacks.

The situation changed rapidly as Yu-seong Corporation devoured all the fragmented Han-eun Group affiliates, displaced employees, technologies, and trademarks left adrift.

As if they had been waiting for this moment, Yu-seong Corporation began acquiring other companies one by one through lobbying and intimidation, taking advantage of the national confusion following Han-eun Group's bankruptcy and subsequent terrorist attacks.

By the time the government noticed, Yu-seong Corporation had already seized control of most of Korea's business world.

Now Yu-seong was swallowing not just the business sector but the political sphere as well.

And all of this happened under the direction of a woman named Lee Seol-ah.

Lee Seol-ah.

A woman who held two difficult-to-obtain titles: third-generation chaebol heir and A-class hero.

Having seized control of the company just after reaching adulthood, she began to gain public recognition when she was officially appointed as CEO following the chairman's unofficial retirement.

It was already widely known that all of Yu-seong Corporation's achievements were accomplished by Lee Seol-ah.

With her mysterious political maneuvering, unpredictable actions, and high-level information from unknown sources that shook both corporations and government, she had already become a symbol of fear among business leaders.

On top of that, she was somewhat popular with the public as a hero herself, couldn't be directly confronted because of her association membership, and commanded regional loyalty with Busan as her base.

She was truly an all-powerful figure.

Now, amid widespread fear among the social elite that she was trying to swallow not just the business and political worlds but the Republic of Korea itself.

This woman, currently the most revered and feared figure in Korea...

Was now hanging her head low and fidgeting nervously in front of me.

"...I'm sorry?"

"Yes...."

In the CEO's office that occupied the entire top floor of Yu-seong Corporation's headquarters, the tallest building in Busan.

I was sitting there.

More precisely, I was sitting in a wheelchair with an IV drip.

"I mean, why on earth did you bring Shin Ha-ru in that situation?"

"Well, I thought Ha-ru wouldn't recognize Da-in, and... I was hoping you two could get closer in a casual setting..."

"Sigh."

When I sighed at her explanation, Lee Seol-ah flinched and glanced at me nervously.

Looking at her, I spoke again in a low voice. Naturally, I didn't speak casually as usual, but formally.

"...Sigh, there's no point discussing what's already happened. Although I've overexerted myself by overusing my ability and my physical condition is a mess, and now even Stardust might have discovered my identity and I could be captured, I'm fine."

At my words that clearly suggested I wasn't fine at all, Lee Seol-ah continued to fidget anxiously with her fingers.

Then she slightly raised her head, but seeing my downcast gaze, she quickly lowered it again.

I spoke to her again.

"...That's fine, but I'm personally disappointed in you, Ms. Lee Seol-ah. I don't know what I can trust you with anymore. At this rate, will you reveal my home address to others too, claiming you have some reason?"

"No! Never that!"

"Be quiet."

"Yes..."

After silencing Lee Seol-ah again, I asked her. Partly to pressure her, but also because I was genuinely curious.

"So, why did you do it?"

"Pardon?..."

"I mean, you must have had a reason. I'm asking what you were thinking. It was a dangerously reckless plan by anyone's standards, wasn't it? Obviously, I wouldn't think well of you afterward either. Why did you do it?"

"Well..."

And then Lee Seol-ah carefully explained her reason to me.

And when I heard it, that reason was.

"Alcohol?"

"Yes. When I drink, my judgment becomes temporarily impaired..."

That excuse about diminished capacity due to alcohol sounds familiar.

Just to be sure, I tried to recall the original work.

I didn't pay as much attention to Lee Seol-ah as I did to Stardust, so I don't know her detailed background...

Alcohol, alcohol.

After briefly diving into my memories, I remembered that in the original work, Lee Seol-ah once impulsively destroyed an entire corporation while drunk.

Oh, so she was always like this.

"From now on, drinking is forbidden. Okay?"

"...What?"

"Alcohol. Forbidden. If you don't like it, let's not meet anymore."

"...Yes! I understand, I really won't drink anymore!"

When I turned my wheelchair toward the door to leave, she answered urgently.

Actually, I've never left through the door by teleporting, so this is just for show.

Seeing Lee Seol-ah looking uncertain about whether she could really stop drinking despite her own promise, I sighed.

Who made her an alcoholic anyway?

...Well, it was me, but I decided not to dwell on that fact.

"Haah... cough, cough"

After I sighed briefly and then coughed up blood again, her face turned pale.

I wiped it with a handkerchief I had prepared in advance, then spoke again, sounding tired.

"Sigh... Actually, why would this be Ms. Lee Seol-ah's fault? It's my fault for trusting you. If I had been more careful, this wouldn't have happened. I trusted you too much. cough I think it's my fault for being careless."

"....I'm so sorry, sob."

Oh dear. Did I push too hard?

After pressuring her several times, seeing Lee Seol-ah on the verge of tears made me feel a bit bad.

Still, it couldn't be helped, as something like this could happen again, so I needed to make things clear. Even though it wasn't intentional, we almost lost everything when Shin Ha-ru found out.

"You did wrong, right?"

"I really did wrong..."

Hmm. I was originally planning to get closer before asking for favors.

Let's just do it now.

"If you acknowledge your mistake, let's do some business together."

"....What?"

Seeing her raise her head in confusion at my sudden business proposal, I opened my mouth.

Even if the actual work comes later, I should at least get her permission first.

There's nothing to lose now that my face and name are already exposed.

***

"Sigh...."

Right after Da-in left.

Lee Seol-ah quietly poured grape juice into a wine glass and drank it.

"...At least I avoided being cut off completely."

She muttered bitterly as she downed the grape juice in one shot.

Though it had no alcohol content and wouldn't help her headache, it provided some relief through the placebo effect.

"...Haah. Crazy woman. Why did I really do that?"

Lee Seol-ah held her head as she thought about the atrocity her past self had committed.

How on earth did she arrive at the conclusion to bring Ha-ru there? Now sober, it was hard to imagine.

As a result, the distance between her and Da-in had widened again, and he had started speaking formally to her again. Considering everything, she should be grateful he didn't angrily cut ties with her. She had been prepared to get on her knees and beg.

"...Right. From now on, I won't do such things and will rebuild our trust."

It would probably work. No, it had to work.

Egostic, Da-in. She absolutely couldn't let him go.

Haah. That damned alcohol was the enemy.

...If those crazy people hadn't acted up, she wouldn't have drunk in the first place.

"....I swear, I'll devour all of Yeouido within this year, just watch me..."

Lee Seol-ah's eyes burned with determination.

Once she completely swallowed up the Republic of Korea, wouldn't Da-in look at her differently?

Even now, just remembering his disappointed gaze made her heart ache.

...Ah, and she also needed to look into that PMC and academy or whatever he mentioned at the end.

Right. She was busy.

From now on, she would acquire everything aggressively without hesitation.

With her eyes flashing like sparks of fire.

From that day, Yu-seong Corporation's expansionist course officially began in earnest.

***

After returning home, I first removed this wheelchair and IV drip.

I'm not actually this sick. I just exaggerated to make Lee Seol-ah feel guilty. The IV bag only contained saline solution anyway.

"Da-in! How could you remove the IV bag!"

"No, this was just an act..."

"It's not an act, so put it back on."

I obediently reattached it at Su-bin's insistence.

In conclusion, the series of events that started at the beach have now more or less ended.

I told Lee Seol-ah to find out what Stardust thinks, but judging by the fact that my face and name aren't on any wanted lists yet, things seem okay for now. Come to think of it, my face is under recognition reduction anyway, and I can use aliases for my name, so it doesn't really matter. Though I'll have to abandon this identity.

Anyway, looking at the bright side, I used this opportunity to preemptively stage the terrorist attack and get PMC approval from Lee Seol-ah, so it's all good, right? Since my identity has already been exposed to Stardust, who I should have hidden from the most, there's the advantage of being able to use this identity without concern.

Haha.

Thinking this way, I dragged the IV drip to the living room. This is really inconvenient.

And just then, Seo-eun, who was in the living room, saw me and immediately said:

"Oppa. Have you seen this?"

"Huh? What?"

She manipulated the TV and displayed a news broadcast.

And there:

[Breaking news! As of today's local time, Brazil has literally been destroyed! Currently, there is no communication with Brazilian authorities, and satellite imagery shows the country has been completely destroyed, centered around the capital. International society is paralyzed by this unprecedented event. The KOSPI has crashed, and world leaders are issuing statements...]

Breaking news was coming in that an entire country had literally been destroyed.

Ah, as expected, the insanity from the original work is starting to unfold.

"...Now I really need to start preparing seriously."

Preparations to survive the apocalypse.

Stardust, you take a rest.

I'll handle the rest.