novelraw Chapter 19 : Everyone is Obsessed with Me (1)
Chapter 19 : Everyone is Obsessed with Me (1)
Chapter 19 - Everyone is Obsessed with Me (1)
“I'll be on my way.”
Fumito openly tried to leave his seat.
“Why? Do I make you uncomfortable?”
The Commander-in-Chief tilted his head. He had, at some point, moved to sit next to Fumito, diagonally across from Lee Taebaek.
“To be honest… yes, a little.”
The one who was startled by Fumito's honest, almost insolent, reply was, unexpectedly, Lee Taebaek.
It was a good thing they were the only ones in the cafeteria, since it was early in the morning. If anyone else had seen it, they would have been horrified.
Just imagine. It was like an assistant manager talking back to the CEO.
Even if the Resistance was an organization that aimed for a horizontal structure, this was going too far. If they allowed this kind of insubordination, it meant they had no hierarchy whatsoever.
'Insubordination, of all things. And with me of all people right here!'
A chill ran down his spine, and his forehead throbbed.
For him, who was in a position where he might or might not get permission to go out even if he managed to sweet-talk the Commander-in-Chief, it was an uncomfortable and awkward situation.
“I see.”
But.
“So I made you uncomfortable.”
“......?”
This organization, more than he had imagined.
“Then again, I suppose that's understandable, since I suddenly showed up in the middle of your meal.”
“...Huh?”
It was a place where the hierarchy was faint.
“Fumito, I was going to ask you to elaborate, but on second thought, I can probably do it myself. Alright, you can go.”
“...Thank you. Taebaek, see you later......”
Leaving those words behind, Fumito fled the scene without a backward glance.
His profile, half-cast in shadow, made Lee Taebaek feel a strange sense of unease.
The disconnect from the idiot who, just moments before, had been giggling with grease all over his mouth was too great.
'Why is he suddenly acting like that.'
Fumito seemed to be avoiding the Commander-in-Chief to an extreme degree.
Was the Commander-in-Chief really that scary? Or had there been some kind of incident between him and the Commander-in-Chief? In the first place, was there ever any connection between the two?
'There wasn't anything like that when I designed the story.'
As Lee Taebaek stared at Fumito's retreating back with a suspicious gaze, the Commander-in-Chief let out a mechanical chuckle. As if to resolve his questions, he said the following.
“Our atmosphere is very free, isn't it? Well, there's that, but Fumito is a wounded veteran. Around here, a member who was injured during a mission is my superior.”
“......”
“Above all, Fumito is a renowned warrior. In our society, the more competent you are, the more freedom of expression is guaranteed.”
...It doesn't seem like it's just because he's a wounded veteran.
Swallowing his unspoken words, Lee Taebaek shifted his gaze to the Commander-in-Chief. A playful emoticon—something like (^ㅡ^)—was floating on the surface of the face screen.
The Commander-in-Chief continued.
“What am I to do if you, the prime example, look so disbelieving? Even you spoke informally to me, the Commander-in-Chief, on the very first day we met, yet no one held you accountable. Even I, the person involved, have no intention of doing so.”
“Are you telling me to act like a subordinate now?”
“You know that's not what I meant, don't you?”
“Hmm.”
He could clearly feel that he was trying to gloss over it.
'That damn helmet.'
Because the helmet replaced his face, there was no way of knowing his external reactions.
A bitter groan escaped Lee Taebaek out of frustration.
Not showing one's emotions meant having an advantage before a conversation even began.
How cheap.
'It's not like I'm dying to know their relationship, so it doesn't matter if I don't find out. Though it does feel a bit unsettling.'
But he couldn't just let himself be led on. Since the other party had revealed his expression (via emoticon), it was his turn to take the lead.
“Get to the point.”
“This is why I like Koreans. So straightforward.”
The Commander-in-Chief joked. Then he tapped the side of his helmet with his fingertips. All the emoticons disappeared from the screen. The material of the helmet, which looked like black porcelain, was eerily smooth.
The next moment.
Vreee.
In place of the emoticons, the numbers 3, 5, 8, 9, and 0 began to line up neatly on the screen. Below those numbers, sentences poured down like rain.
“I told you I prepared a gift. Read it carefully. You're to choose one from this list.”
“...Shouldn't an explanation come first?”
“You're right. I'll tell you. What happened was—.”
To summarize the whole story in one sentence, it was this.
'While I was sleeping, a battalion commanders' meeting was held.'
The numbers were the unit numbers of the attending commanders.
He understood up to this point.
Okay, that's fine.
Entitled to a reward? Absolutely. I worked like a dog.
He didn't care if they called him a snob. He was one.
So, although he didn't show it, he was looking forward to a reward.
'Though the Commander-in-Chief coming in person was unexpected.'
But…
“From what I heard, you made your own judgment and wiped out the Triad gang with Fumito. Not only that, but you also killed Haiyen, who had taken a strange drug. And on your debut mission, no less. That's why the battalion commanders can't help but have their eyes on you, Taebaek.”
The problem was that the direction of the meeting had changed from discussing a reward to a competitive bidding war over Lee Taebaek.
As it was, Lee Taebaek was already making a name for himself as the person who had humiliated Playboy James.
According to Fumito, they were calling him 'The Snake that Swallowed the Swallow'. Why a snake of all things? Lee Taebaek had no idea about the origin or the reason.
In the first place, gossip rarely has a reason or meaning. That's usually how things based on amusement work.
But still, it was fine.
Baseless gossip was bound to die down quickly. Of course, he did frown at the sound of people whispering whenever he passed by...
It was bearable. If he ignored the intense gazes for about a week, they would cool down as if they had never been there.
However, when the subject of the gossip shifted from regular members to the battalion commanders, the story changed.
“The bottom line is, the battalion commanders will make their offers, and you just have to choose the one that tempts you.”
Because interests like these get entangled. Gossip is hot, but self-interest is cold by nature.
And a cold nature easily makes enemies.
“The battalion commanders fighting over a rookie. It's unprecedented. If others hear about it, there will naturally be talk, but what can you do? As I said, 'We treat people according to their abilities.' That's our basic principle.”
The reward packages are just a smokescreen.
In crude terms, it was a way to gauge which faction he would join. It meant he would be on bad terms with the battalions he didn't choose. Since they were all in the same boat, they wouldn't become enemies, but an uncomfortable relationship was pretty much guaranteed.
“Look at the 3rd Battalion commander's offer first. The secret manual of the Sichuan Tang Clan, the Twelve Arts of the Dark Fragrance. She said she'll pass it down to you.”
Lee Taebaek's jaw tensed. It was a reward so mouth-watering it made his salivary glands tingle.
But it was at times like these that he had to be calm.
The value of the reward was excessive compared to his performance.
When no reply came, the Commander-in-Chief snorted.
“Normally, I would have gotten a bite by now.”
“Keep talking. Let's hear the whole list.”
“Good business sense. Alright.”
The Commander-in-Chief laughed, pleased. After that, the other commanders' offers followed one by one.
The commander of the 5th Battalion, the Technology Development Division, promised to provide him with their own cutting-edge equipment as a top priority. The commander of the 8th Battalion, the Central Intelligence Division, was no pushover either. He said he would bypass the current deputy, Playboy James, and give him the position.
He probably just blurted it out.
Taebaek guessed that they hadn't expected things to get this big either.
'He probably threw it out there as a half-empty promise, but if he were to back out or retract his words now, it would be a disgrace to the entire battalion. And they all seem like the type who hate to lose.'
However, the Commander-in-Chief's offer easily blew the previous three out of the water.
“My offer is assignment to Division 0.”
“That's insane.”
The words had come out of his own mouth. It was too late to take them back, so Lee Taebaek just said what was on his mind.
“The other rewards, I can concede a hundred times over that they're possible. But there will definitely be talk within Division 0.”
“I know.”
“Knowing is the bigger problem.”
Division 0 was the Commander-in-Chief's direct subordinate unit. You could call it the unit that formed the backbone of the Resistance. For that reason, the authority of each individual member was comparable to that of a battalion commander.
“Let's say I accept your offer, Commander-in-Chief. Then how are you going to convince the members?”
“Is there a need to convince them? I'm the Commander-in-Chief.”
“...You must know that what you're saying now completely contradicts what you yourself said just a few minutes ago.”
“Hmm– is that so? Then I guess it is.”
The Commander-in-Chief gave a faint laugh. Lee Taebaek let out a small, dry chuckle. Now the puzzle pieces were starting to fit together.
“You were the one who started this.”
Lee Taebaek squeezed the words out, his voice laced with anger.
It was the Commander-in-Chief. He had created a primacy effect by playing his strongest card first—assignment to Division 0—and the battalion commanders had just stumbled along, getting caught up in his scheme.
Making him the center of attention, inciting the battalion commanders to throw out empty promises—it was all the Commander-in-Chief's doing. He wasn't just experienced; he was a cunning old fox.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
Even now, the Commander-in-Chief was playing innocent. For a moment, Lee Taebaek felt a surge of impulse to draw his sword.
“But even if your guess is right, isn't it to your advantage?”
“There's no way of knowing if it'll be an advantage or a disaster.”
“Well, well. In trying to make a good impression, I've just fostered animosity instead.”
“So you admit it after all.”
Lee Taebaek shot back, his eyes narrowing. At that, the Commander-in-Chief finally raised both hands as if in surrender.
“I thought I was giving you a high evaluation in my own way, Lee Taebaek. But it seems even that was an underestimation.”
“Since you've been caught, how about you tell me. What's your real motive.”
“To correct your expression, it's not a motive, but an investment.”
“A rather insidious investment.”
“You could also call it flexible.”
The Commander-in-Chief responded in a calm tone.
“I am the head of an organization. It's a position that needs to be backed by a certain degree of mystique. If my intentions and my true nature are exposed, my authority will be diminished, won't it?”
“Is that why you wear the helmet?”
“There's another reason, but I can't say that's not part of it.”
“So, what's the reason for going this far for me? It can't be that you want to see my tears of gratitude.”
“As I said, it's part of an investment. An investment in your potential, more so than your current performance. This is the absolute truth, without a shred of falsehood. Whether you believe it or not is up to you.”
“......”
Silence pooled at the dining table for a moment. The Commander-in-Chief, after adjusting his wide robe sleeves, spoke again.
“Now, let's get back to the main topic. The story isn't over yet, is it? We still have the offer from the 9th Battalion's commander, Kang Hyunseong.”
The Commander-in-Chief's fingertip swiped the screen. Like scrolling down, the previous contents slid upward.
Lee Taebaek didn't want to play along with his tune, but it was true that he was curious.
The Kang Hyunseong he knew, the one he himself had created, was definitely not the type of person to get swept up in the mood. He was even less the type of character to betray his beliefs for personal gain.
What kind of reward did that guy offer?
Lee Taebaek, who had been reading carefully, soon stopped.
“This is......”
“Hyunseong said this. That it was pitiful how you lived your whole life as a megacorp's guard dog, only to be freed and then locked up in the Neuro-prison. So he argued that we should at least let you get out of the sewers.”
The Commander-in-Chief looked straight at Lee Taebaek and told him the inside story. As if he had been waiting for this very moment.
“The condition Kang Hyunseong offered is the right for you to reside outside the headquarters. 'Freedom'. In a way, it's the condition that best aligns with the spirit of the Resistance.”
He was at a loss for words. For some reason, the tip of his nose tingled.
“Judging by your expression, it seems your destination has been decided?”
“Was this… also part of your plan?”
He tried to hide his agitation, but it wasn't easy.
“Of course not.”
The Commander-in-Chief shook his head. Underneath that helmet, he was surely wearing a triumphant smile.
“However, it is my personal opinion that this is a better option than an empty promise whose fulfillment is uncertain.”
“......”
At that advice, Lee Taebaek finally nodded.
“Good thinking. Thanks to you, there won't be any unnecessary disputes between the commanders, which is good. And it's good that your value within the Resistance can be fully protected, Taebaek.”
The letters on the face screen disappeared as if washed away. At the same time, the Commander-in-Chief pushed himself up from the table.
“I've had a car put on standby so you can leave right away. Once you're ready, just tell your unit, the 9th Battalion.”
The Commander-in-Chief began to walk back the way he came, the hem of his robe dragging along the floor.
Lee Taebaek felt completely drained.
The Commander-in-Chief. There's no way to beat him with half-assed tricks.