Past Life Returner

「Saemangeum Tour Leisure Complex Development Proceeding.」

「Kim Seok-Jun, “Saemangeum Resort will result in more than ten trillion won in tax revenue every year.”」

「Daehoo Group (Mother group: Jeon-il) signed a memorandum of understanding worth five trillion won for Saemangeum Tour Leisure Complex. 」

「Saemangeum Special Act was introduced to the National Assembly’s Judiciary Committee.」

The Saemangeum Reclamation Project was a hot potato, and everyone was talking about it.

One day, Jamie brought a blueprint over, and the design looked like a semiurban area, which was several times larger than the initial plan.

“I knew it,” I said.

Since Jeon-il had selected it as the medium- and long-term key project of the year, the Korean government also took part in the project. The blueprint that was created even before completing the seawall was full of optimism. Plans were always plausible, and the government had even attached the name tag ‘luxury complex city’ to the economic zone that would be invigorated around the resort. According to the blueprint, the wide mudflat in the West Sea would be turned into a waterfront leisure city similar to Venice and Amsterdam.

“Yea, they want more investment,” Jamie said.

“Let’s put this aside for a bit and talk about us first.”

I picked up the file that Jamie had prepared. Daehoo Group had been constantly restructuring themselves since the IMF crisis, and they had cleaned up all of their external firms except for the construction and automobile businesses. This action had reduced their debt, but the remaining amount was still considerable. Therefore, all their profits had been spent on paying off their debt, and that was how they escaped the danger and reached a plateau. That was why Jamie seemed uneasy.

“The board of directors in Daehoo are pessimistic. If we continue pushing ahead with the resort business, they said they want to take advantage of Gangwon Land[1] and take the safe route,” Jamie said.

There was an A-class dungeon buried in Jeongseon[2], and, in my previous life, its gate had opened in the air. Hence, if they involved Gangwon-do Province, that city would be completely devastated on the Day of Advent.

“Should we carry the Daehoo Group?” I asked.

She replied calmly, “This business is going to get bigger and bigger, right?”

Of course.

“Ethan, Daehoo’s mobile business is still a long way off from success, and their automobile business has taken first place because of Xia and Daehyun. Also, their construction business doesn’t stand out from the others as it has always been at a similar rank with Daehyun…” Jamie continued.

“So you’re saying that Daehoo must advance in construction to take the lead in the industry, and the Saemangeum resort project is a great opportunity, right?” I asked.

She nodded. “I can convince Daehoo’s directors, so I hope you can put off telling me to exclude them from the project.”

“Okay, I’ll wait. Then, how far have the talks gone with you and the government regarding this?” I questioned.

She replied, “They are confused about why we chose Saemangeum to build the world’s largest resort, so we only talked about the special law. We are currently discussing the scale of government aid and cooperative projects.”

“Let me get one thing straight here. The employers won’t withdraw the development plan.”

I picked up a marker and drew a thick line around the resort site on the blueprint. Jamie looked at me with curiosity.

“We will build strong barriers throughout the site, and we can make up any reason we want to tell others who ask. We can say that it’s to separate the outside environment to create an image of paradise. Also, we’ll build a shelter in the basement that can withstand nuclear bombs, and we’ll pay lots of attention and spend lots of effort in it,” I explained.

“What do you mean by shelter?” Jamie seemed to have an idea that crossed her mind. She then asked, “Is it because of North Korea?”

“I’m aware that this country is in a state of war, and our employers are keeping an eye on that. They think that a place to protect the group’s property and people is necessary in case of an emergency.”

“Ah, I see…”

“Does that make sense? The employers have no plans to withdraw the group from this country, so convince the government and if they agree to the terms, start the project with all your might,” I said.

A few days later, news that shook the entire country poured out from early in the morning.

「Jeon-il Group decided to invest thirty trillion won in Saemangeum Tour Leisure Complex until 2008. Currently under discussion regarding additional investments.」

「The world’s largest tourist resort will be established in Saemangeum!」

「Domestic companies are submitting a number of investment proposals for the Saemangeum luxury complex city.」

「The government and Jeon-il Group are putting tremendous effort to turn Korea into a mecca of tourism!」

It was up to the government and Jeon-il Group whether this project would become profitable or not. The best-case scenario would be if we gained profits from it, but just maintaining its condition would be considered a success. From the Day of Advent, the resort would become the world’s largest safety zone and the headquarters of the World Awakening Association.

***

“Yes, Saemangeum has been reborn as a dynamic and creative business. Jeon-il’s decision on a grand-scale investment basically gave Saemangeum powerful wings to the world. On top of that, Saemangeum’s reclamation area is vast, so as a complex city…”

The radio economy channels were buzzing about Saemangeum, and the panel on this channel praised Jeon-il’s contributions a lot.

“It’s Jeon-il again,” Woo Yeon-Hee muttered.

Of course, her tone was negative. She was well aware of what Jeon-il was like as she was interested in Korea’s economy. She continued as if she was asking for my consent, “It’s a big problem that they’re spending lots of money to fill the ocean, but the bigger problem is that the government views Jeon-il favorably again. Don’t you think so too?”

I responded bluntly, “Who else would do such a thing in Korea other than Jeon-il? Otherwise, precious taxpayer money would be stuck in the sea.”

“The sovereignty is on the verge of falling into Jeon-il’s hands, Seon-Hu.”

“It already happened. Don’t mind that too much.”

I lowered the radio volume and added, “Change lanes to that one.”

“That one leads to Gimpo,” Woo Yeon-Hee said.

“We’re heading to the airport.”

“Huh? I didn’t bring my passport.”

“I have someone to introduce you to. I’ve resolved the problem with recruiting new team members,” I replied.

“...”

“He already took the exam, and he will be able to fulfill his duty if we train him a bit,” I continued.

Woo Yeon-Hee would figure it out as soon as she spent some time with Michael, but I briefly recapped what happened in Europe. When I told her that the pre-Awakened had formed a group and would continue expanding over time, she blinked quickly.

“I would have killed him if the two of us were enough to go through everything,” I said.

“What happens if a problem arises in the team?” she asked.

“The group leader has to take care of it, and he will be fine. Don’t worry about him. You just have to focus on yourself.”

Then, Woo Yeon-Hee replied as if she suddenly remembered, “I can’t speak German.”

“Michael will learn Korean. He speaks fluent English, so there will be no communication issues. You are studying English, right?” I asked.

She nodded. “As soon as I got back, I began taking private lessons. Don’t you think I improved a lot?”

“Study Japanese if you have time. We will be more active there.”

“Japanese, too?” She widened her eyes.

“The more languages you speak, the better. You are no longer a middle school teacher, Woo Yeon-Hee.”

We arrived at the arrivals hall, and Michael approached us full of excitement. He looked at Woo Yeon-Hee for a long time as he didn’t expect to see someone else other than me. She reached out her hand first.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you,” she said.

“This is Mary,” I introduced her using her codename.

Then, Michael held her hand.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Michael. I look forward to working with you.”

“You guys can get to know each other in the car,” I said.

We returned to the car, and Woo Yeon-Hee sat in the driver’s seat while Michael and I sat in the back seat together.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Let’s start with Suwon.”

By tomorrow, we would be able to conquer all the F-class dungeons that were left unattended as mental wards. This was all for Michael, not us. He hadn’t realized it yet, but he had a gift for combat. His potential ability would naturally develop if we helped him a bit.

“How’s the group?” I questioned.

“Hectic, but there were no defectors. Mmm… It’s more accurate to say that Joshua no longer tolerates any. Also, the number of private mercenaries has increased significantly.”

Michael explained that the private mercenaries were now regulating the security of the mansion and surrounding area, and that Joshua had expanded the mansion like a small kingdom and isolated it from the outside world. Joshua had succeeded in becoming the next head of the Karjan family, and he was now working hard to reinforce the group’s regulations. He would start attacking dungeons as soon as he established Revolucion’s foundation.

Michael finished his long story and stared at Woo Yeon-Hee’s back. It was natural that he was interested in her ability and had questions.

“For now, it’s just Mary, you and me. It’s a group of three people, and Mary has been with me for a while,” I said.

“Then, can I call you ‘Odin’ from now on?” Michael questioned as if he had been waiting.

“Of course, but you should show respect. Not just to me, but to Mary as well,” I replied.

Michael was lost in thought.

“It’s not too late to go back to Germany if you can’t follow the group’s rule,” I said.

“I can do that to you, but Mary?”

Michael’s eyes were fixed on the back of Woo Yeon-Hee’s head.

“Even if a hundred of you attacked her at once, not a single hair on her head would be harmed,” I said sharply.

***

We went around the entire area around the hospital, and it took longer to travel than it did to conquer them. However, Michael was still unlucky like he was in the past. The number of points he received to upgrade his stats was quite dismal, and he only gained low-class items. He barely managed to upgrade his Agility after targeting a few more extra dungeons we had not planned to originally conquer. He experienced a Sense expansion and began floundering as he was startled by his own uncontrollable speed.

Woo Yeon-Hee commented, “He’s quiet, but he seems like a good person.”

Woo Yeon-Hee had also been quiet as she had been observing Michael all along the way.

“We should increase his stats a bit more before entering higher-class dungeons, right?” she asked.

“He’ll be able to fulfill his duty if he upgrades his stats to E-class. I’m going to take him to Japan and finish upgrading his stats there. Do you want to tag along?”

“What?” she questioned.

“I’m going to place the wards that we’ve completed construction with under your company. You’ll need some time to sort them out, so you can stay in Korea if you want. It won’t take long,” I said.

“No, I’ll leave it to the manager,” she replied.

She chose stat points over corporate work.

“Is he reliable?”

“Yes, from what he has done so far, I consider him trustworthy. He’s not a backstabber.”

“Then let’s get this over with. We should raise him to a true Awakened.”

1. A casino and resort company in Gangwon-do Province. ☜

2. A district in Gangwon-do Province. ☜