Chapter 5 - 01. Adaptation Complete. (5)
After removing the drug addiction, I bought a house in Songdo through an app.
A rough 500 pyeong lot with a 3-story mansion of 150 pyeong (ground floor), priced at about 16 billion won.
(100 pyeong = 330.58 square meters; 16 billion won = around 11.5 million.)
Of course, I paid with Korea Entertainment’s capital.
Considering Korea Entertainment’s capital is 100 billion, I used 16% of the capital.
Even this was bought cheaply as a distressed property, with the price plummeting after the previous owner, the owner before that, and the owner before that all died.
‘Turns out it was just a coincidence.’
Since the house will eventually rise several times in value, it’s a profitable purchase even if it’s expensive now.
I had the police deliver the drugs and other items from the basement to the newly purchased house, then headed to the next destination with Im Soo-ah.
I organized the things I had to do.
1. Find a secretary
2. Obtain the female protagonist
3. Kill the male protagonist
4. Secure RK-99 development and manufacturing facilities
These are the 4 main tasks.
Number 1 isn’t really difficult.
If things go well, it’ll be solved with number 2, and if not, there’s always the option of contacting Korea Prestige.
Or I could scout Im Soo-ah directly. From what I see, she’s the type who’d switch sides completely if given proper compensation.
So, priority is number 2.
This game has two protagonists.
Even if the player starts as a female, the male protagonist lives somewhere, and if the player starts as a male, the female protagonist lives somewhere.
And they exert increasing influence over time.
So it’s reasonable to assume that even now that I’ve possessed Ko Muyeol, both the female and male protagonists are living simultaneously.
The female protagonist, Seo Ah-ram, has a very dark background story,
Basically, her mother has a rare disease, and she struggles hard but eventually can’t handle it and ends up selling her body.
The main story starts when her mother dies in the summer of ’77.
Today is August 25th, ’76, so she probably hasn’t reached the body-selling stage yet. Though she must be agonizing over debt collection.
The goal is to get Seo Ah-ram loyalty in exchange for paying her debt and treating her mother.
And if possible, use her as a secretary too.
As for the male protagonist, I’ll just kill him.
Nothing good in keeping him around.
And RK-99 is a room-temperature superconductor.
While playing the game, you can get a highly encrypted manufacturing recipe at a very low probability. After decrypting it through collaboration with various companies, you get a ve~ry ambiguously written RK-99 recipe.
It’s roughly like this:
1. Bake lead or copper at 110-190 degrees for 12-24 hours.
2. Bake copper or lead (not used in the previous step) at 190-250 degrees for 24-48 hours.
3. Mix the baked lead and copper in ‘certain ratios,’ then bake again for 24-48 hours.
Of course, that’s not all. There are dozens of items, and for each item, the temperature, time, and ratio ranges are crazy, so you need to find the optimal point through tremendous trial and error.
That’s why collaboration with many people and companies is needed.
And when you finally figure out the optimal point, you create a dream material that can change all industries worldwide.
Of course, I don’t need to collaborate. I already know the perfect manufacturing method and optimal point.
“This is…?”
We arrived at the hospital where Seo Ah-ram mother was admitted.
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
“No. Just someone I need to see.”
+++
“This month’s total is 17.32 million won. Please sign here.”
“Se-seventeen million…?”
“Yes. You can sign right here.”
Seo Ah-ram signed with trembling hands.
“… I’m sorry. It shows insufficient balance. Do you have another payment method?”
“Ah…. J-just a moment…”
She moved away from the counter.
‘Ha…. Money…. There’s just no money….’
She works all day, then goes to a second job in the evening. When midnight comes, she does night shift work until 4 AM, then takes a short nap at home before going back to work at 8.
This terrible life has been going on for 2 years already.
Even doing that, there’s no money.
Rather, the debt just keeps growing.
No matter how optimistically she thought about it, she couldn’t see any means to resolve this.
But if she doesn’t pay the hospital bills, her mother will eventually die.
She picked up her phone with trembling hands.
The contact was a loan shark she’s currently dealing with.
– How much.
The lender spoke as if they had said it many times before.
Ah-ram small lips trembled several times before calling out an amount.
“Seven hundred… no, eight hundred.”
– Eight hundred? You sure?
“…”
Private loans have advance interest.
They deduct interest first before giving the principal, so if advance interest is 10% and you borrow 10 million won, you only get 9 million won.
Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s no interest. Interest exists separately.
The lender she talked to takes 15% advance interest plus 10% monthly interest.
An impossible level of 120% in a year. And it’s compound interest at that.
The amount she needs now is about 7 million won.
Considering advance interest, borrowing 700 or 800 won’t come close.
Moreover, it’s not just about paying hospital bills; she needs minimum living expenses, too.
Finally, Ah-ram called out a thousand.
– Still acting tough? Why don’t you just make up your mind? I’m telling you, you’ll sell well.
“…”
Normally, she would have coldly refused and hung up.
She would have just taken the money, paid the hospital bill, and returned to work.
However…
It was getting tough.
The nonsense the lender spoke about became reasonable in her mind…
‘You could make a thousand a day with your face and body. I’ll look into a high-pay op for you. The minimum there is 60 per session.’
‘No, really, I’m telling you. Has this woman only lived being deceived? Of course, I’ll take an introduction fee since I introduced you.’
‘The world isn’t that easy. Try working your bones off your whole life. See if that pays off the debt.’
‘You’re bound to come this way anyway.’
“…Mom.”
After hanging up and confirming the 8.5 million won transfer and promissory note from the lender, she whimpered.
What was hardest right now was that she was starting to hate and resent her beloved mother more and more.
“Haah…”
After crying inside for a while, she headed back to the counter.
Since this kind of thing happened often, the employee didn’t point out Ah-ram reddened face.
They just silently held out the bill.
As Ah-ram was about to sign, suddenly, someone snatched the bill.
“That’s right. Seo Ah-ram.”
+++
Just arrived and luckily found Seo Ah-ram.
“Oh? A-are you her guardian?”
“W-who are you?!”
“Who am I? Me?”
Seo Ah-ram asked with eyes all red as if she’d been crying.
As expected of a protagonist, she had quite a pretty face.
Such a woman selling her body would be too wasteful. It’s right that I raise her well and monopolize her.
“Your master.”
“…Pardon?”
I signed the bill and thrust it toward the employee.
The employee, looking back and forth between me and Im Soo-ah, hurriedly took it.
“P-payment confirmed…!”
“Depending on what you do, I could free you from this shitty bind. What do you say?”
“…”
Ah-ram blankly looked at me and the bill.
Seems she hasn’t fully grasped the situation yet.
I asked the employee who took the bill.
“How much was that again? The bill.”
“Ah, yes. 17.32 million won-”
“If I paid that much, I should be able to get some time to talk? Come down to the lobby. Wash up and fix your makeup. Come with a clean face.”
“Ah, I…!”
I left those words and headed to the elevator.
Behind me, Seo Ah-ram shouted, “Thank you!!”
Already thanking me without knowing what she’ll have to give in return.
She still hasn’t been through enough hardship.
Im Soo-ah, who had been watching the situation, quickly followed.
“Do you know her?”
“No, but someone I’ll get to know from now.”
“Oh my. That means she’s a complete stranger… You spend seventeen million on a stranger? Well, I guess that’s not even pocket change for young master.”
Chattering beside me as we walked, she hurriedly ran to press the button when the elevator came into view.
“Or is it for… that kind of use?”
“?”
When I tilted my head, Im Soo-ah made a sacred gesture with a lewd face.
Making a hole by curling her left thumb and index finger into a circle, and passing her right index finger through it.
“She looks like men would really like her.”
“Should that be coming from a police officer’s mouth?”
“What’s wrong with it? In times like these,”
Ding.
Im Soo-ah’s words continued even inside the elevator.
“Even within the police, you know, having a mistress or two is nothing when you get up to high ranks. And not just mistresses? They even openly brag about their slaves. You know, in Incheon, there are tons of people with no family registry or anything.”
“End times indeed. For the police to be in such a state.”
“These days, almost no one works with a sense of justice. Especially in our proud Demonic Incheon! All those righteous people are long dead. Only those who can generously overlook injustice if it brings money or achievements have survived.”
“How excellent. Overlooking injustice just like that.”
Usually, when people talk like this, they show disappointment and bitterness about their organization, but she didn’t show much of that.
She shrugged her shoulders.
“Isn’t that just the way of the world? Survival of the fittest. With the city in this state, acting righteously at every turn is perfect for getting dumped in the ocean.”
“What about you?”
“Well, I… Can’t you tell by looking? Huhu.”
She glanced at me with a pretend embarrassed face and smiled.
The bewitching woman seemed like she was trying to seduce me.
Whether she’s really seducing me, or if it’s because my sexual desire is burning up, I’m not sure.
“I’m already your… Ah, would it be rude to say this? I’m sor-”
“Then how about this?”
I reached out.
Stroked her police uniform skirt, which was basically no different from an H-line skirt, then firmly grabbed her buttocks.
“!!”
“How will our Team Leader Im Sooa react to this kind of injustice?”