Translator: Wan ED/PR: Solarin
42. Price of achieving a wish (11)
For the last few days, Gong Cheonghwon was held up by the Hwang Myeong Foundation.
Even now, after being set free, he was still under surveillance.
They were excellent at hiding their presence, but the senses of Gong Cheonghwon, who possessed ‘Presence detection’ skill at a level higher than his disciple, Han Yi, couldn’t be deceived.
Gong Cheonghwon hid his sinking feelings behind a good-natured expression as he walked.
‘As the full-time teacher who caused an incident, it can’t be helped, right?’
Since this year, there have been an unusual amount of incidents at Eungwang School.
Numerous teachers were fired, arrested or put on the wanted list, and the remaining teachers were thoroughly investigated.
Amidst that, Gong Cheonghwon was solving the clash with the service company through ‘conversation’, and was discovered by the Hwang Myeong Foundation.
Gong Cheonghwon was ready to receive a resignation suggestion, but strangely, the Hwang Myeong Foundation came out polite.
He suffered a baptism of questions for a few days, but he had a feeling it was more similar to the time when he was interviewed for taking the lead as a band vocalist during his school days, rather than being investigated by a superior as a teacher who caused an incident.
When Gong Cheonghwon indirectly asked why is he treated with such hospitality, Hwang Myeong-ho’s secretary, who smiled with an expression as if she was wearing a mask, said:
— Chairman Hwang Myeongho-nim asked to treat teacher-nim politely.
Then did he somehow earned chairman Hwang Myeong-ho’s favor?
At this question, the secretary bowed, while apologizing.
— I received an order[1] to answer any question of teacher-nim. However, I also wasn’t able to hear about the reason. I apologize that I can’t give You an answer.
As the secretary apologized like this, Gong Cheonghwon didn’t press on it any further.
Chairman Hwang Myeong-ho was a person that couldn’t be figured out.
There were such rumors, and his feelings, when really meeting him, were also like this.
Anyhow, he couldn’t guess why chairman Hwang Myeong-ho left his personal secretary at this side throughout the time he was investigated by the Hwang Myeong Foundation’s investigation team.
But thanks to that, he was able to get through several days of physical, superpower and mental inspections and assessment processes without any kind of feelings of discomfort.
‘Why am I treated like someone precious?’
There were many strange things in addition to the Jin identity of the highschool student Hwang Jiho, who was well known to be chairman Hwang Myeong-ho’s close relative.
The chairman’s personal secretary, who took care of him while staying by his side for several days, said to make sure to contact them if something happens while handing him business cards.
The secretary didn’t hand out one but an entire business card holder, so it seemed that inside there wasn’t only the sectary business card, but also the chairman’s business card.
On the back of the chairman’s business card, there was the name ‘Hwang Jiho’ and a device code written.
‘Student Hwang Jiho’s device code? Why the hell?’
He recalled Hwang Jiho, who was asking about his blessing, as if urging.
Even while receiving a body examination from the Hwang Myeong Foundation, the blessing that operated according to his superpower wave’s manifestation was thoroughly examined, as if there were orders from above.
‘It seems that someone who bestowed me a blessing is related to Hwang Myeong Group. Who are they?’
As he walked, while recalling the series of incidents, he arrived at his destination.
‘The atmosphere is different from usual.’
Gong Cheonghwon’s destination was Eungwang District, Gwangli Neighborhood, Eungwang Brilliant Light Children’s Home.
It was a children’s home where Gong Cheonghwon, who lived around here, volunteered at since he was young.
Gong Cheonghwon, who visited the children’s home after several days, made a surprised face.
‘What the hell happened?’
The Eungwang Brilliant Light Children’s Home was recently swept into the fight of interest of the area residents and abruptly lost their volunteers.
Even though Gong Cheonghwon knew this, he couldn’t deal with it.
Gong Cheonghwon was a powerful Player, but this case was a fight of interest between ordinary people.
As a Player, he couldn’t display his power, nor he could borrow the power of the Player’s Association.
All Gong Cheonghwon, who was just a rookie teacher who became a full-time teacher at Eungwang School moments ago, could do was to just come to volunteer more often.
But when he heard what Han Yi was swept in too, he ended up acting recklessly.
“Oui, who is that?! If isn’t the Eungwang School’s teacher-nim! You should be busy, why do you come so often?”
“Cheonghwon hyung!”
“Cheonghwon oppa!”
The Children’s Home people, who were so close to him, they were no different from family, welcomed Gong Cheonghwon.
Unlike usual, the children’s home was overflowing with vitality.
The children ran around holding the toys he saw for the first time, and the newest model of the automatic cleaner was going around the children’s home cleaning.
He saw the workers, wearing work uniforms with the logo of ‘Hwang Myeong Constructions’, moving in perfect order and carrying out a construction around the outer wall that needed repairs.
Not only that, a security service company was installing security equipment.
“Should I call you teacher Gong Cheonghwon-nim?”
“I’m okay. Please call me as You like. What happened?”
“Hwang Myeong Foundation said They know about our situation and will help. Because we received such large donations before, I planned to reject Them, but… I decided to accept when I thought about the children’s safety.”
The children’s home’s director, who had an ashamed face, looked at the playing children.
From the director’s face, it seemed that he heard Han Yi’s story.
“You heard about Han Yi, eh?”
“… Yeah. I don’t know how I should apologize to Han Yi and those children, huh?”
As Han Yi, and the students, who came to volunteer that day, belong to the Eungwang School, that level of favor from the Hwang Myeong Foundation seemed a bit excessive, but it wasn’t that strange.
Gong Cheonghwon asked about something that bothered him to change the topic.
“Who are those people?”
He saw four men and women with red eyes, as if they were about to cry, diligently playing with children.
Those people, after examining the Taehokwon that Gong Cheonghwon taught the children, decided to suggest teaching them some postures.
“They’re said to be Hwang Myeong Foundation’s People, but they themselves said they’re people who have a debt of gratitude towards a child who lived at the children’s home, huh? They brought a lot of gifts and things like that.”
The children’s home’s director added a word that it seemed difficult for them to reveal who they have a debt of gratitude for, so he didn’t ask.
According to the children’s home’s character, there were many children with complicated situations and there were people who donated without revealing their names. It was difficult to ask too deeply, so the director’s attitude was natural.
Even so, the four subtly bothered Gong Cheonghwon.
After looking at the list of gifts that they brought, it was even more so.
‘No way, do those people have a debt of gratitude towards Han Yi…? No, it doesn’t sound like that if we consider the age difference, but…’
All the gifts that those people brought were sweet snacks and rinks, that could hurt the tongue.
* * *
My head hurts.
When my vision brightened and my thinking resumed, it was the first thought I had.
As I blinked my eyes a few times, I recalled my last memory.
I communicated with the Transcendent Universe in front of the Heavenly Sacred Tree, and then reached my limits and fainted, right?
‘… Where am I?’
I remembered seeing it somewhere, but because my head wasn’t operating very well, I couldn’t recall it clearly.
Perhaps because my body was still tired, or because I was lying down for an extremely long time, I couldn’t judge it well.
… Woof! Woof woof!
Ah, I came to heaven, huh?
The angel in front of my eyes was jumping and running while giving me a welcome.
“Looking at that stupid expression, it seems that you came to your senses, eh?”
At Hwang Jiho’s words, I was dragged back to reality.
Looking around, it was Hwang Myeong-ho main mansion’s guest room.
I recognized the room structure, but the wallpaper, curtains, decorations were different from the ones I saw when coming here before, so it took me some time to recognize it.
Even guest rooms were getting a new interior based on the season?
I wanted to ask, but there was something that bothered me more than that.
“How much time had passed?”
“It’s been 3 days.”
The one who reply was Baek Ho-gun.
Besides Hwang Jiho, even Baek Ho-gun was in this room?
I guessed my deeply considerate Playable Character guarded this place until I woke up.
‘Three days also passed when I opened my eyes after communicating for the first time.’
But when the Power of Fate activated, I woke up the very next day.
I couldn’t accurately confirm for how long I passed out, but I guessed it was similar to the time when I used the communication before entering Eungwang School.
But unlike that time, I didn’t wake up with dehydration symptoms.
It seemed to be thanks to the vein catheter attached to my arm.
“But you should’ve just left me in the dormitory room.”
As Cheong-ho and Sinin’s identities were revealed, there wouldn’t be a small amount of work that the Ho tribe had to do.
The people, who were at that place, heard my questions.
They would want to meet Han Yi and Gong Cheonghwon, who were mentioned as reincarnations of Cheong-ho and Sinin, and there would be many things to investigate anew about those two.
It meant despite that, the angel and the tigers spent quite a lot of time on me in this room until I just opened my eyes.
A Player’s body is much tougher than that of an ordinary person, and this body’s overall statistics have risen exponentially since I communicated for the first time.
Even if I was just left behind, I wouldn’t die or have side effects remaining, but if I knew it would turn out like this, I would go to confirm it alone.
“…”
At those words, no one responded.
Snare, who was wagging its tail crazily, abruptly stopped.
I had a thought that I had made a mistake.
I corrected myself straight away.
“Sorry, I should’ve said thank you first for treating me, so… thank you.”
The atmosphere was cold.
It didn’t seem to be the right answer.
When I was about to apologize again, Hwang Jiho opened his mouth.
“You mean we should’ve abandoned you, who coughed blood and collapsed, alone in the dormitory?”
In addition to Hwang Jiho’s words, I heard Snare make a ‘Keung….’ and a crying sound.
“… Jo Uisin, I do my best to grant all of the benefactor’s requests if possible. But there are requests[2] that I can’t accept.”
Hwang Jiho pressed his temples and sighed.
“It is not something you should apologize or thank for. Instead, if something similar happens in the future, I’ll ignore your request.”
I had no idea how I should reply in such a situation.
As if he didn’t expect me to reply, Hwang Jiho continued to speak.
“Considering what you said just before using that unidentifiable power, it seems that you were aware of what would happen to you after you used that power.”
I nodded.
I knew about the side effects of the Communication with Transcendent Universe skill, but I had no option to choose.
“I can’t order or punish the benefactor, who rescued our descendant, and found our close friend and Sinin, right?… That’s troublesome, eh?”
Even though he spoke like this, his face was more angry than troubled.
Hwang Jiho’s anger was a secondary problem, the bothering part was something he said.
“You believed the words that Cheong-ho is Han Yi and Sinin is teacher Gong Cheonghwon?”
Considering the Ho tribe’s position, there was nothing to prove it besides my words.
There was sufficient room for doubts.
“That day an enormous power descended on the Heavenly Sacred Tree, right? It wasn’t anything like the superpowers of humans or the powers of Jin people or higher beings. If it was information determined by drawing on such power, it’s worthy to trust. More than that, shouldn’t it be natural to trust it when the benefactor said that?” [3]
I guessed the power of the Transcendent Universe was very different from the power of higher beings.
I guessed that, but as the Ho tribe’s head said that, it was confirmed.
“You shouldn’t use that power if possible, eh? It’s not something to endure with human’s power. Wait a minute, I discovered you around the Heavenly Sacred Tree that one time, right? Jo Uisin, no way, did you also use that power at that time and collapsed?”
Woof, woof-woof!
At Hwang Jiho words, Snare’s tail stood up and it barked.
From Snare’s expression, it seemed that Snare was working hard to be angry at me.
The angel asked, so at the thought that I shouldn’t lie, I replied:
“Yeah. I tried to use it, because it seemed like the Heavenly Sacred Tree and my skill are connected.”
“… And that meant that you fainted in that place, right? What would have happened if I and Baek-ho didn’t come at that time?”
“The 3rd year class 0’s seniors-nim were around. And the Mountain Spirit.”
Woof woof woof!
It seemed that the people, who heard those words, were even angrier.
Even so, as it was a factual truth about what I did that day, and I couldn’t say anything but excuses, I shut my mouth, ending my words.
After I shut my mouth, Hwang Jiho changed the topic.
“You asked three questions that day, right? The first and second questions were related to Cheong-ho and Sinin, but…”
I could guess what Hwang Jiho was going to say next.
I had a thought that I should pull out the catheter and flee, but I had no confidence to pierce the encirclement of Hwang Jiho, Baek-ho and Snare and escaping.
“The third question you asked was ‘Is Seong-heon doing well?’. Who is ‘Seong-heon’?”
*~*~*
[1] order — a stand-alone word ‘명 (myeong)’ is used here. I don’t want to get into the grammar here, but the usage of it in this sentence is somewhat usual. As if for emphasis? … I hope this isn’t a cipher. I really hope so. Also, it’s the only time in this chapter where a lonely word myeong is used, the other instances of ‘order’ use a different word.
[2] requests — two different words of similar meaning are used here. In the ‘I do my best to grant all benefactor’s requests if possible.’ the word is ‘부탁 (butak)’ which could be simply understood as asking for a favor. The ‘But there are requests that I can’t accept.’ had a bit stronger meaning of requesting, the word is ‘요청 (yojeong)’ which would mean asking for necessary action or thing.
[3] “That day an enormous power descended on the Heavenly Sacred Tree, right? It wasn’t anything like the superpowers of humans or the powers of Jin people or higher beings. If it was information determined by drawing on such power, it’s worthy of trust. More than that, shouldn’t it be natural to trust when the benefactor said that?” — Hey, so you know how Hwang-ho would usually use a plain form when explaining something? Yeah, so this is entirely in casual form. And Hwang-ho continues to only use a casual tone until the last sentence of this chapter. That man is driving me crazy.
Translator’s note: I can’t count how many times I slammed my head against the wall because of Jo Uisin during the translation of this chapter.
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