12 Hours After

Chapter 191. The Emperor Who Has Become God, Part I

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

“Today is the day when your alumni are coming from America, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s been years.”

My wife spoke to the fullest of her expectations. She hadn’t even been outside since she had given birth to Seo-hyun, and I’d decided to invite her American college classmates to Korea to play with her. While my wife was outside, my mother and father, who came from my hometown, would take care of Seo-hyun.

“That’s great. Where are you going when your American friends come?”

“I have a lot of friends who are new to Korea. I will take them to Bukchon Hanok Village, Insa-dong Culture Street, and Gyeongbok Palace… At night, I want to go to Cheonggyecheon.”

“Okay, and which hotel did you get?”

“I’ve got one right near Cheonggyecheon.”

“If there’s anything you want during the play… call Secretary Park. He will provide it. Do you want me to put him on as a chauffeur or as a bodyguard?”

My wife hated that. “No! I don’t want to make them feel a sense of incompatibility. My friends have been already saying that I got married to a chaebol. I’m just going to get together like in the old days, have a beer, and have a chat, like in college.”

I said with a smile, “Yes, then.”

Looking out the window, the sky was a little dim with thick clouds. Now, it was mid-February 2025. The cold hadn’t gone yet.

“By the way, isn’t it too cold today?”

“It will be okay. The weather forecast says it’s snowless and sunny today.”

“Well, have a good time then. Give my regards to Sarah.” Then, I bowed my head and said to my daughter Seo-hyun, who was being held by my wife. “Seo-hyun, I’m going to work.”

“Dad~mom.” Seohyun beckoned me with a medium pronunciation of ‘Daddy’ and ‘Mom’.

I kissed Seo-hyun, then took the elevator, waved to my wife, and went to work in the president’s office.

“Good morning, Secretary Park.”

“Good morning, boss.”

“Are you here, boss?”

I greeted the two secretaries, and the sweet aroma of coffee stung my nose. I said, looking at the take-out coffee cup in front of Secretary Lee.

“Secretary Lee.”

“Yes?”

“Is that white chocolate mocha coffee?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“It’s a cafe coffee in our building, I should be able to guess it. Buy me one of the same.”

“Now?”

Secretary Lee tried to get up from her seat, but Secretary Park suddenly stood up at my words.

“Then I’ll go and come back.”

I looked at Secretary Park and Lee in turn. ‘What is it? Is it a chivalry’s mind? Is he trying to look good to her? What’s going on between the two of them?’

Anyway, I only needed to drink some coffee. I nodded, “Yes.”

“Do you want just coffee? What about a sandwich or a muffin?…”

I shook my head. “That’s okay. I’ve had enough breakfast that my wife prepared. Just coffee is okay.”

“Okay.” Secretary Park went to buy coffee.

I asked Secretary Lee, “Do I have anything important scheduled today?”

“Yes. Today is the day when the trading team reports. It’s scheduled for eleven a.m.”

“I see.”

I came into the president’s office and turned on the computer leisurely. It was 8:20 and there was still about half an hour left before the future news would come. I spent time watching YouTube videos. Soon, Secretary Park, who had gone down to the cafe on the first floor, came in bringing coffee.

“Thank you.”

Secretary Park bowed his head, opened the door, and left. At that moment, I could see that Secretary Park and Lee had made eye contact. I sipped my coffee and thought, ‘Will it be a problem if those two have an office romance? I don’t know. What if there’s a problem? I can prevent it before any matter happens…’

At 8:50 a.m., the future news came. I opened every email as usual. By the way, there was a catchy news. [Life/Culture of E 12 Hours After – This afternoon, we had a sudden gale and snowflakes. It was the recorded snowfall in Seoul.]

I muttered when I saw it, “Hmm? They forecast today’s weather would be okay, didn’t they?”

I clicked on the article. It was reported that there was heavy snowfall in Seoul around this afternoon, causing traffic to be paralyzed; it was very cold with strong winds and was definitely not the right weather to go somewhere.

‘Don’t tell me…’

I came to the portal site and searched for the weather today. It said that today’s weather would be very bright and getting warmer.

‘Ha… the weather forecast is wrong again…?’ I picked up my cell phone right away and tried to call my wife, but instead, I set the alarm to call my wife at 10:30. Then I looked up the rest of the future news. The most interesting news to read these days was 12 Years After.

‘Wow! A small American pharmaceutical company invented a liver cancer treatment. Is it a company listed on the NASDAQ?’

‘These are all investment news. I can buy a company before positive news comes out, or if SHH Electronics or SHH Construction can dominate it, we can start developing it first. If I have a twelve-year timetable of the future, it’s not too difficult to create an investment company with the four trillion dollars needed for the next step. There is a lot of news that I can enjoy even if it’s not about money…

‘MMORPG via VR? The story that could come out of a game fantasy novel becomes a reality. They can decorate an avatar to become a completely different person. I should try it when it comes out.

‘In the future, there are things going on that would only come from science fiction. Of course, it is due to all my hard work. This is thanks to the elimination of the nuclear war.’

After last December, once the new skill ‘Edit’ was used to get rid of the article about the nuclear war, news after 2026 continued to flow out. Although the U.S. and China’s war of nerves continued, they stopped at taking their own profits. It was the start of a new cold war.

In the meantime, Korea had received both love calls and checks from the U.S. and China at the same time. President Joo Sung-won seemed to have avoided the checks and walked a tightrope while eating the carrots. According to the news of 12 Years After, the next president came from the same party as President Joo Sung-won.

‘Ahn Hyun-joon… It is Ahn Hyun-joon of the same party who will be chosen to replace President Joo Sung-won, who has served eight years. He is now Anyang Mayor, but he’ll be working as governor of Gyeonggi-do later. Who is the president? I’ll have to meet him on the pretext of investing in Anyang some time.’

I made a schedule on my timetable: Meet Anyang Mayor Ahn Hyun-joon within the next month.

‘I’m going to meet him and if I like him, I’m going to make him the next president, and if I don’t like him, I’m going to change it. It’s easy for me to change. I can send Crow to check his background, but before that, I can bring him down by editing the probability. It is not hard to bury a person if I want to.’

I looked down the article and saw the ‘Edit’ skill at the bottom, and thought, ‘This skill is too powerful.

‘It’s really a different skill from the ones that have come out so far. Since I can edit the future myself, it is completely different from passively reading something and responding to it. Manipulating reality is nothing but an ability that is close to God. I have dreamed of becoming an emperor… with this, I’m a god.’

———————-

The time passed and it was 10:30. The alarm went off.

‘Well… shall I stop the wind with editing, and let it not snow. She must have been looking forward to it today. But I don’t know if the probability will allow it. In most cases, probability becomes magnanimous if time is far away. Just as it is certain to fall to the ground if a mobile phone in hand is released right now, there is a possibility that the wind and snow that the Korea Meteorological Administration did not expect at this time may be near the Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, to be honest, it’s a little bit too much to use a month’s skill for my wife’s one-day vacation. In fact, this ‘Edit’ skill, if I used it well, would be a skill worth a few billion dollars.

‘Yes, it’s a waste to use it to change the weather. I should persuade Ah-young to change her schedule.’

I picked up the phone and called my wife, “Honey.”

“Yes?”

“I think you’ll have to cancel taking your friends to Bukchon.”

“Why?”

“It’s going to be windy and snowy this afternoon. It will be the worst ever.”

“No way! The weather forecast for today is going to be nice.”

“As you know, the weather forecast is often wrong. From the information I just received, that forecast is wrong.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s hot news from the Daewon Daily News. The traffic is going to be confused because of the snow today. Just hang out in Gangnam. I’ll change you to a better hotel here. Go to Bukchon after the weather clears up tomorrow.”

“Hmm…” My wife was worried for a moment, but she soon followed my words. “Okay, no problem.” She knew from experience that I was more often right than the weather forecast.

“Then, switch to a Gangnam Tour today and play here. I might be able to show my face to your friends when I have time.”

“Yes.”

After completing the conversation with Ah-young, I proceeded with the next item on the schedule.

“Let’s go, boss.”

“Yes.” I headed to the trading team, accompanied by Secretary Park and Lee.

——

“Boss, we welcome you!” About thirty people greeted me in unison as I entered.

“How have you all been?” I asked, waving my hands.

“We have been fine, sir!”

The trading team somehow was bright and cheerful. I thought it was because every word I said would end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in rewards.

“Okay, let’s cut it short, and look at your accomplishments first.”

I reached out into the air. Director Park, who was in charge of the trading team, came running up and handed me a report. Watching it, I glanced at the trading crew and said, “You’re not doing very well this month, are you?”

As I said, I saw everyone was slightly intimidated. But in fact, I wasn’t disappointed, and I wasn’t angry, because I knew it was going to be like this. A month without great volatility was bound to yield less.

“It’s okay. You can make a lot of money next month. Anyway, I’ll give you the incentives I promised.”

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At my words, some clenched their fists with a happy look, some cracked their lower lips with an angry look. That was good. ‘As the rewards are different depending on the results, people work hard.’

I set the agenda for next month. “We are going to buy oil next month. The target price is…” I pretended to be thinking for a moment. “About $84.50. Think of that as the highest price and buy it.”

I told them using the figures I had seen in the future news. After my instructions were given, the trading team nodded with a determined look. My soldiers would probably make quite a fortune next month.

After finishing my morning schedule like that, I came back to the president’s office. Instead of sitting in front of the computer, I looked out the window. Outside the window, it was starting to snow slowly, as I had seen on the news of 12 Hours After. It would be a little cold outside, but it was a beautiful view from here. I watched it for a moment with my arms crossed. Then I muttered to myself, “Everything is perfect…”