-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Unrivaled Yu-seong Group
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yu-seong Group.
The number one ultra-giant corporation in South Korea.
This company, the only one to consistently rank within the top 10 globally, wasn't always so uniquely dominant.
It had always secured a spot among the top three conglomerates, but that was it.
Its market capitalization and public recognition were slightly behind Han-eun Group, making it just one of several well-known, ordinary large corporations.
However, this greatly changed over the past few years.
The entire landscape was shaken when Han-eun Group self-destructed.
Their audacious attempt to manufacture bioweapons beneath Seoul was exposed to the world as a research failure, utterly shattering the company.
All of Han-eun Group's high-ranking executives fled overseas, and the remaining core development team caused acts of terror before being subdued by other villains.
As a result, Yu-seong Group absorbed all of Han-eun Group's fragmented subsidiaries, displaced employees, and floating technologies and trademarks, causing the situation to shift dramatically.
As if they had been waiting for just such an opportunity, Yu-seong Group seized the chaos caused by Han-eun Group's bankruptcy and subsequent terror attacks, beginning to acquire other companies one by one through lobbying and intimidation.
By the time the government caught on, Yu-seong Group had already all but seized control of South Korea's business world.
Yu-seong was now swallowing up not just the business world, but the political sphere as well.
And all of these developments occurred under the command of a woman named Lee Seol-ah.
Lee Seol-ah.
She held two titles that were each difficult to obtain on their own: third-generation chaebol heir and A-rank Hero.
At an age when she had just become an adult, she seized practical control of the company, and after the chairman's unofficial retirement, she was appointed president, beginning her public emergence.
In fact, it was widely known that all of Yu-seong Group's achievements were orchestrated by Lee Seol-ah.
With her uncanny political maneuvering, inscrutable actions, and high-level intelligence—whose source remained a mystery—she shook both corporations and the government, becoming a symbol of fear among businesspeople.
Furthermore, as a Hero herself, she held a certain degree of popularity with the public. Being affiliated with the Association meant she couldn't be directly eliminated, and her base in Busan gave her strong regional loyalty.
She was, in short, a ruler with absolute power.
Now, a sense of dread was pervasive among the social elite, fearing that she was about to swallow not just the business and political spheres, but South Korea itself.
This woman, currently the most revered figure in South Korea, was now bowing her head deeply before me, flustered and apologetic.
"...Did you do something wrong?"
"Yes...."
On the top floor of Yu-seong Group's headquarters, the tallest building in Busan, I sat alone in the president's office, which occupied the entire floor.
To be precise, I was sitting in a wheelchair, hooked up to an IV drip.
"No, seriously, what was your reason for bringing Shin Haru into that situation?"
"...Well, I thought Haru wouldn't recognize Dain-ssi, of course... and I hoped you two could get closer in an informal setting..."
"Haa."
When I sighed at her words, Lee Seol-ah flinched in surprise and glanced at me from the corner of her eye.
Watching her, I lowered my voice and spoke again. Naturally, I didn't use my usual casual tone, but rather a stiff, formal one.
"...Hmph, what's the point of talking about what's already happened? Even though my body is a wreck from overusing my abilities, and Stardust might even find out my identity and have me arrested, I'm fine."
At my words, which clearly implied I was anything but fine, Lee Seol-ah continued to fidget with her fingers, looking uneasy.
Then she slowly raised her head, only to see my stern gaze and quickly bow deeply again.
I spoke to her again.
"...That's fine, but personally, I'm disappointed in you, Lee Seol-ah-ssi. I don't know what I can trust you with anymore. At this rate, you might even tell others my home address, claiming there's some reason for it, wouldn't you?"
"No! Never that!"
"Be quiet."
"Yes..."
After silencing Lee Seol-ah again, I asked her. It was partly to pressure her, as before, but also because I was genuinely curious.
"So, why did you do it?"
"Huh?..."
"No, I mean, there must have been a reason. My point is, what were you thinking? It was clearly a reckless and dangerous plan, wasn't it? And obviously, after that, I wouldn't have thought well of you, Lee Seol-ah-ssi. Why did you do it?"
"Well..."
And then, Lee Seol-ah cautiously explained her reason to me.
When I heard it, the reason was...
"Alcohol?"
"Yes. My rational judgment was temporarily clouded because I had been drinking..."
"Temporarily impaired judgment due to alcohol consumption" sounded like a line I'd heard many times before.
Just in case, I carefully tried to recall the original story.
I hadn't been as interested in Lee Seol-ah as I was in Stardust, so I didn't know her detailed settings...
Alcohol, huh.
Lost in thought for a moment, I recalled that in the original story, Lee Seol-ah had impulsively crashed one entire company after drinking.
Oh, right, she was always like that.
"From now on, no drinking. Okay?"
"...Huh?"
"Alcohol. Forbidden. If you don't like it, then let's not meet anymore."
"...Yes! I understand, I truly won't drink from now on!"
As I turned my wheelchair to head out the door, she answered desperately.
In truth, I'd never actually left through the door, always disappearing with teleportation, so this was just for show.
Seeing Lee Seol-ah, who seemed unsure if she could truly stick to her own words about not drinking, I sighed.
Who on earth turned her into an alcoholic?
...Technically, it was me, but I decided not to dwell on that fact.
"Haa... *cough, cough*."
When I sighed for a moment and then coughed up blood again, her face went white. I wiped it away with a handkerchief I had prepared beforehand, then spoke again, feigning exhaustion.
"Sigh... Right. Come to think of it, why would this be your fault, Lee Seol-ah-ssi? It's my fault for trusting you. If only I had been a little more careful, it would have been fine, but I relied on you too much. *Cough*. The more I think about it, the more it seems to be my own carelessness."
"...I'm sorry, *sniff*."
Oh, no. Did I go too far?
Seeing Lee Seol-ah on the verge of tears after multiple rounds of pressure made my heart ache a little.
Still, I couldn't help it; I had to make sure this wouldn't happen again. Even if it wasn't intentional, I almost had everything ruined by being discovered by Shin Haru.
"You did wrong, right?"
"I truly did wrong..."
Hmm. Originally, I'd planned to get closer to her before asking.
But now's a good chance to just do it.
"If you did wrong, then let's go into business together."
"...Huh?"
Watching her raise her head, bewildered by my sudden business proposition, I spoke.
Even if the real work would come later, I needed to get her permission first.
Anyway, with my face and name already exposed, there was nothing to hold me back.
***
Immediately after Dain left, Lee Seol-ah quietly poured grape juice into a wine glass and drank it.
"...At least I avoided being cut off."
She muttered bitterly and downed the grape juice in one gulp.
Even though it had no alcohol content and wouldn't alleviate her headache, the placebo effect somehow brought her some clarity.
"...Haa. You crazy woman. Why on earth did I do that?"
Lee Seol-ah clutched her head, thinking of the outrageous act she had committed.
How on earth had she concluded that bringing Haru was a good idea in that situation? Sober now, it was hard to even imagine.
As a result, the distance between her and Dain had widened again, and he had started using formal language with her once more. In fact, considering everything, she was grateful he hadn't exploded in anger and cut her off entirely. Lee Seol-ah had even been prepared to kneel and beg.
"...Right. From now on, I just need to stop doing things like that and restore our trust."
It probably would. No, it *had* to.
Egotistic, Dain. She could never let him go.
Haa. That damned alcohol was her enemy.
...If those crazy bastards hadn't acted up, she wouldn't have drunk.
"...I will absolutely take over all of Yeouido within this year, I really will..."
Lee Seol-ah's eyes blazed with determination.
Once she completely swallowed up South Korea, wouldn't Dain-ssi look at her differently again?
Just recalling his disappointed gaze still made her heart ache.
...Oh, and she also needed to look into that PMC and academy thing Dain-ssi mentioned at the end.
Right. She was busy.
From now on, she'd stop holding back and truly crush and acquire everything.
With Lee Seol-ah's eyes blazing like flickering flames, Yu-seong Group's expansionist campaign truly began that day.
***
Back home, I immediately tore off the wheelchair and IV drip.
I wasn't actually that sick. I had just overplayed it a bit to make Lee Seol-ah feel guilty. Anyway, what was in the IV bag was just saline solution.
"Dain-ssi! What are you doing tearing off the IV bag?"
"No, this was just an act..."
"It's not an act, so put it back on."
At Soo-bin-ssi's words, I meekly put it back on.
In conclusion, the series of events that began at the beach had largely come to an end.
I had instructed Lee Seol-ah to find out what Stardust thought, but for now, it seemed okay, given that my face and name weren't on any wanted posters. Anyway, strictly speaking, my face was masked by a recognition-disruption ability, and I could use an alias for my name, so it didn't really matter. Still, I'd probably have to abandon this identity.
Well, on the bright side, if I look at it positively, wasn't it a good thing that I seized this opportunity to preemptively cause some terror and even got Lee Seol-ah's permission for the PMC? After all, my identity had already been exposed to Stardust, the one person I absolutely couldn't be discovered by, so now I had the advantage of being able to use this identity without restraint.
Haha.
Thinking that, I dragged the IV drip along and headed to the living room. This really was inconvenient.
Just then, Seo-eun, who was in the living room, spoke as soon as she saw me.
"Oppa. Did you see this?"
"Hmm? See what?"
Seo-eun then operated the TV and brought up a news report.
And there, on the screen:
[Breaking News! As of local time today, Brazil has been literally annihilated! There is currently no connection with Brazilian authorities, and satellite imagery shows the country's territory, centered around its capital, has been completely destroyed. The international community is paralyzed by this unprecedented event. KOSPI has plummeted, and leaders from various countries are issuing statements in unison...]
Breaking news reported that an entire country had been literally wiped off the map.
Ah, just as in the original story, things were starting to go completely wild.
"...Now, it's time to seriously start preparing."
Preparing for the apocalypse.
Stardust, you can rest.
I'll take care of the rest.