The Little Prince in the Ossuary

00051

#Past (4), After The Transaction

Ah-young hesitated in front of the closed door. From the inside, she could hear violent noises. This meant that her father, Chairman Ko Kun-chul, must be having one of his murderous fits again.

Still, she knew she had to go in. Even though both father and daughter hated each other, Ah-young was practically the only one who could stop him. She took a deep breath to steady herself before pushing the door using her whole weight.

A whole mess promptly greeted her.

“You little quack! How dare you try to fool me?!”

The chairman swung a plaque at the doctor who was standing in front of him.

Bam! Bam!

The doctor turned at the right moment and was hit on his back instead of in his face. The poor man whimpered and ran to the corner of the room. One of his shoes was off, and the floor was now full of broken glass. He left a trail of blood as he rushed to the corner.

However, the doctor’s escape was meaningless. He was captured by the president’s bodyguards and found himself thrown back in front of the chairman.

The bodyguards didn’t seem to like what they were doing, though, and their eyes all automatically went to Ah-young, their expressions desperate. They seemed to be pleading with her to end this chaos.

There weren’t many familiar faces in the room; there must have been another purge. For an instant, Ah-young thought about her mother. She was the one who had caused all this distrust in her father’s heart.

“You came, boss.”

As he got closer, the chief of staff bowed to Ah-young. She didn’t hesitate. “How long has he been like this?”

“It’s been about thirty minutes.” The chief of staff was shaking. When the chairman went on a rage like this, it was common for him to have a number of his staff fired. And this was not about simply losing a job: the old man would make sure to ruin your career afterward.

It was the reason why close aides called for Ah-young if anything bad were to happen. Only she could survive the anger of the president.

Boom!

As soon as the vase broke, Ah-young clenched her fist. She felt her whole body tremble.

‘I’m scared, too.’

The memory of the violence she had watched as she grew up was deeply rooted. She had rarely been the victim of it herself. However, it had happened during a time when her young emotions were hard to handle.

The fear that couldn’t be reasoned away now burned her nerves to the core.

The doctor then cried out, his mouth muffled. “I told you! Your sexual dysfunction! It’s a mental problem! There’s nothing wrong with your body!”

The plaster plaque soared. The Chairman’s anger was rising rapidly.

“Why are you telling me that now?!”

Ack!

“The information needed for the transaction…”

Ack!

“…should be pre-provided!”

Bam!

Blood splashed once more. The doctor, who now had a tear in his forehead, rolled back and finally found Ah-young. Crawling with his eyes locked on her face, he clung to her leg.

“Save me! Help me, boss! Boss!”

The chairman approached with a huff. His appearance was far different from before. There was an old rage in the new flesh, and it changed day by day. Ko Kun-cheol hadn’t even shown a boyish expression before the deal. Could the inner side have such a strong impact on the outer side? Now he was a completely different person from who he used to be.

Ah-young managed to move between her father and the doctor. She bowed her head and let her hair cover her face.

“Stop it,” she said.

“Get out of the way! Get out of the way!” The chairman pushed his daughter away to the side, and yet Ah-young managed to hang on. In frustration, the old man brought his huge palm down, striking his daughter’s face.

It suddenly became quiet. The chairman looked frozen as he stared at his hand. The same hand that had hit Ah-young.

“No… I shouldn’t have…”

Chairman Ko Kun-chul had begun muttering incoherent words, something only he could hear. Then he was silent for a long time. He didn’t even move; he was like a statue. His ragged breathing soon calmed down.

Ah-young didn’t look at him. The face that resembled her mother was her original sin. However, even without facing each other, she could feel the love/hate pouring between them. This was a contradiction that could not be clarified until the answer came.

“That’s not why I started this.”

Who was he talking to? The chairman, who had again gone silent for a long time, finally spoke to Ah-young.

“Get out of the way.”

She obeyed and got out of the way, leaving the doctor floundering. However, before he could catch Ah-young, the chairman got to him first and raised him by the collar. The doctor couldn’t even resist properly.

“Don’t think you can screw me over and then live a decent life. I am a person who gets what I give and gives what I get. Give me a solution. Find a way to solve the problem.”

This was a threat with a proven record behind it. Thanks to his widespread connections and the chairman’s status in political and financial circles, the means of “smooth management cooperation” indeed made social death possible.

The doctor, who knew this, nodded desperately. “Okay! I’ll do my best! Trust me!”

“Good.”

At this, the chairman finally let the doctor go.

“Get out everybody, except for Miss Ko.”

‘Why?’ There had been a moment of relief that it was over.

The attendants escaped quickly. There could be no possible delay in carrying out the chairman’s order. When only the father and daughter were left, the chairman began to speak more quietly than before.

“I was going to call you, but you came on your own.”

“…What’s the matter?”

The chairman revealed his answer in the manner of an excited little boy. “Get ready for a divorce.”

She was rendered speechless. Ko Kun-chul’s “economic dialogue” embarrassed even his closest daughter.

After a while, Ah-young finally asked. “Why… why? Why all of a sudden…?”

“You don’t know?”

Ah-young’s father barked out a laugh.

“He did not abide by the principles of good faith and sincerity. How dare a husband play with another woman? Of course, he should be punished.”

‘Principles of good faith and sincerity.’ Ah-young trembled. It was like a spell that her father had once used to curse her mother.

“Why now?” Ah-young swallowed the words and continued, her voice sounding almost like a moan. “Why are you doing this now? You already knew he had another woman, didn’t you? I thought you were ignoring it on purpose.”

“Yes, I was pretending I didn’t know.” The chairman’s voice turned angry again. “To crush the bastard thoroughly, it took time to prepare.”

‘Prepare?’ Ah-young quickly realized what he meant.

“The management rights of the paradise group…”

Her husband was the successor to the paradise group. He had a stake. With a divorce suit and the cause of divorce attributable to the husband… Ah-young shook her head.

“That can’t be possible.”

“I made it possible. I just needed time to do it,” was Ko Kun-chul’s cynical answer. Ah-young felt dizzy. Her father just said things he knew he shouldn’t say without thinking first.

“Don’t take my daughter’s father from her. I was holding it in, too. To keep my child happy… I had to. How lonely I have been…”

“What?”

Ko Kun-chul stopped talking. Ah-young realized her mistake and closed her eyes tightly.

“You… don’t tell me, do you miss that bitch?”

It was different from the anger that had boiled earlier. Now it felt terribly cold. The chairman reached out as if having a seizure, but the hand that he tried to grab with did not reach his daughter. Instead, it caused a slight convulsion.

“It was a fair contract!” the chairman roared. “Pay for my life! I decided to buy that bitch’s life! It was a fair trade! No one can blame me! No one should be on her side! No one should miss her! Especially you, not you! If you’re truly Ko Kun-chul’s daughter, you must not!”

“I didn’t miss her. I was just lonely.”

“Don’t try to fool me!”

Ah-young opened her eyes. As expected, it was the same as always. Mistrust was staring at her. In this matter, her father had never trusted his daughter—the father who had now begun to murmur with a contemptuous voice.

“One trick is enough. I’m telling you, half the mistrustful blood you have…?”

“…”

The chairman then turned around. “At least today, don’t show up in front of me again.”

Ah-young lowered her head. It felt like she was bumping into a wall. It hurt. She had bumped into it so many times that she’d thought she didn’t have anything left to crash.

She sighed, as per usual.

#Journal, page 82, Camp Roberts.

Even after the operation, the officer’s mission was not over.

After returning from Atascadero, I was asked to submit a combat report.

Jeffrey explained what he needed. “They’re making a [Trickster] combat instructor based on our report. Write it in as much detail as possible. Why did he move like that in each phase, what was the basis of judgment, what were the trickster’s characteristics, etc.? He told me not to leave out any little detail.”

The operation was well regarded in many ways. This was because some special mutants, about which no prior information had been available, had been wiped out without damage. There had been considerable confusion and damage elsewhere.

During the operation, all the platoon members had been wearing combat cameras. These were devices that were mounted on helmets and which recorded or transmitted what a soldier saw. As the information on mutants had become more important, the United States had been increasing its combat camera payout rate.

Jeffrey and I had reviewed the recorded videos over and over again. It was footage of a whole platoon, so it had taken a lot of time for us to go over the material meticulously.

Originally, Jeffrey wouldn’t have had to supervise the report himself because he was a commander. However, I guessed those at the top had judged that my opinion was more important. His pride could have been hurt, but Jeffrey had nodded, acknowledging the fact that it was deserved. This was what he said:

“If you do well, you’ll get a medal again.”

When asked if that would be possible, he burst into laughter. “You have the obvious evidence.”

He pointed at the screen that was still playing.

“Aim to become the Audie Murphy of this era. You could do it.”

I’d heard the name Audie Murphy before. Had it been after the Silver Star Medal ceremony? When I asked who that was because I didn’t know, Jeffrey had been a little surprised. He’d said that it was strange not to know. I thought he just remembered my background.

At the time, Jeffrey had tried to make an excuse because my expression was a little strange.

“Who thinks of you as a refugee these days? It’s normal to forget, like I have.”

I didn’t think so.

Anyway, I listened to the explanation. Audie Murphy was America’s most legendary war hero. He had been active in World War II and received twenty-seven medals from three countries in just two years.

It was burdensome to be compared to such a person. However, it would be appreciated. For me now, I knew I had people to protect.

The report took a considerable amount of time.

What he had felt during the second day’s search was also described at the end of the report. The emergence of infectious mutants and hypotheses about their new abilities. This was just my guess, but I really thought it was highly probable.

I just hoped that this was not a sign of a new disaster.