The Trash Wants to Live

In America, a few geniuses can oversee a lot of ordinary people. I thought this big shot would be such a genius. Therefore, when I went to see you, I had the expectation that I would be able to meet an influential person. But there was no one like that, and Mister told me everything without reservation, so I made a hasty judgement. I thought someone ordered you to say that. And who can treat you, the successor, so well? I thought your grandfather or father were the most likely candidates.”

“Well… I’ve been acting foolish on purpose.”

“I assumed you were a puppet because you never got mad at me for being disrespectful.”

She burst into an absurd laugh thinking about the situation. Then she leaned over, drew close, and whispered subtly.

“So… will you forgive my rudeness? I am guilty of nothing but deception.”

Rachel laughed dejectedly when I replied, “I see,” to her subtle seduction. Knowing that I was tough, she seemed to give up a little.

“Well, I’m here to give you this today.”

She gave me a file out of her bag. When I opened it, I saw a contract written in English and Korean. Thanks to Ki Yoon Jae’s ability, I was able to read, write, and speak English like Korean. However, the American side’s attempt to gain favour by making it convenient for me was not bad.

After reading it slowly and making sure there was no unexpected clause, I took a pen and signed next to my name.

“Oh, come to think of it, did the U.S. government control the media? There was no news about me or Sungwoon High School.”

Well, even if it wasn’t a big deal to me personally, it was strange that it was not on the news when foreigners were swarming and even ambulances were dispatched to a prestigious high school in the city.

Rachel nodded.

“Yes, we requested a gag order. I thought it would be best to present some of the information I received from Mr. Ki in a somewhat more organised manner so as to not cause unnecessary confusion.”

I couldn’t help but think of the shock people would receive. If we had simply revealed that there had been such an incident without giving them enough information, false news and rumours would have spread around, which would have left the public confused and panicked.

“Perhaps it will be announced by the end of this evening. Oh, and this isn’t a big deal, but…”

Rachel took a USB out of the bag. With a wicked smile, she whispered, “It’s a bribe.”

“With the cooperation of Senior Ki, I checked the CCTV of Sungwoon High School at the time of the incident. There was an interesting scene there.”

I immediately plugged a USB into my cell phone. There was a video in it.

“Of course, Mr. Ki can always check the CCTV of Sungwoon High School on his own… but since I’ve cut the video in such a convenient way, I can save Mr. Ki’s time, right? Time is gold.”

“Haha.”

“It may not be enough to relieve Mr. Ki’s anger, but…  I hope you’ll take my sincere bribe and think a little better of it.”

Rachel winked slightly and smiled, so I looked at her and smiled. I opened my mouth when I saw Rachel’s smile getting thicker.

“I see.”

Rachel’s smiling face cracked and her lips pouted. I just laughed at her whispering that I was not an easy man.

* * *

– Sungwoon High School is located in Dogok-dong. It’s exam season, so everyone left school around noon on Friday, when something unexpected happened. Suddenly, the air began to crack, and two students were sucked into it. One of the students who saw it reported it before entering the crack. He said it was to save his friends. –

Around 7 p.m. the news began with the sign of breaking news. CCTV images with poor quality were seen on the news.

Even with its low image quality, the gate was clearly visible.

– This gap has been named a ‘Gate’. According to the students who went inside and came out, it looked like a tropical rainforest inside, with creatures that looked like rhinoceros and bull that had been transformed. – 

A picture of the bull was released. It seemed that the U.S. had decided to release that information to some extent.

After some more explanation, a press conference was held. A familiar face was seen standing on the podium and looking straight ahead. Rachel gave a presentation in front of reporters with a screen on one side.

What was then presented was obvious without even having to listen to it, because it came from my mouth.

“Wow, you’ve become a hero.”

“Don’t make fun of me,”

Ki Hyun Joo, who was watching the news with me, laughed and teased me. A hero… Of course, it really was to save them, but it wasn’t such a noble act that could be called a “hero”.

If it weren’t for Jung Yi Joon and Jang Eui Yeol, I wouldn’t have entered. I went in there after really worrying about them.

Did Sungwoon’s PR team make a move?

A boy who, despite being an ordinary person with no power, entered the gate without hesitation while calling people to save his friends who were in danger. In character alone, it was no different from being a hero.

It was as if the U.S. side was the main dish, and the Sungwoon was the seasoning.

A blurry CCTV showed a person whose face was not properly seen and my identity appeared as Freshman A attending Sungwoon High School, but the Internet had already posted my name and eyewitness accounts of people I knew who had recognized me.

Even though I was a chaebol, I didn’t bully anyone or pretend to be nice… No, this shouldn’t be something that a chaebol does, right?

I was originally a good student, diligent, and mature… When I was in elementary school, my homeroom teacher wrote such a review, but it was unknown to me who had no memory whether this applied to Ki Yoon Jae.

The more the “I am kind and righteous” posts were published, the more there were people who hated it. 

I didn’t think this was done by Sungwoon…

〈Was there such a conceptualised conglomerate?

I used to be in the same class as the grandson of a congressman at my elementary school. But he was a real asshole keke.

I can’t even put it into words because he is so nasty kekeke.

Elementary school students can be somewhat innocent, but he was just pure evil kekeke.

I heard that he also went to Sungwoon this time, but isn’t there a huge difference? LOL.

Oh, Judge, I didn’t write this. My cat wrote this. Please don’t sue me.〉

└ Did you go to HJ Elementary School?

└ How did you know?

└ I’ve been there, so I know who it is lol.

└ Me too, second here.

└ Same here, third here.

After a while, I saw that it was deleted. It appeared that the World Party had made a move, but the comments had already spread here and there.

Hoho… That’s why I have to live virtuously.

Fortunately, Ki Yoon Jae didn’t do anything crazy before he became an adult. There was no reason for me to become an asshole as long as I did my best…

Breathing a sigh of relief, my phone rang. I checked who it was and found out it was Ki Jae Mu. As soon as I received it, I heard similar TV noises, as if we were watching the same news.

“Yoon Jae-ya.”

“Yes, Grandpa,”

“You did a great job. I’m so proud of you!”

It seemed that the people who kiss up to my grandfather praised him for his grandson’s great sense of righteousness and built up Ki Jae Mu’s spirit.

When I responded to Ki Jae Mu, who praised me for being brave and amazing, saying, “I tried to resemble my grandfather whom I respect,” he laughed, as if he liked it very much.

“My dear, as expected our blood is not going anywhere. Hmm! Grandpa’s going to send you some pocket money, so buy some good food with your friends.”

“Thank you, Grandpa. Oh, and Grandpa.”

“Yeah. What is it?”

“I’d like to talk to you about something…” 

When I lingered in distress, Ki Jae Mu urged me to tell him as if he sensed something uneasy.

“It’s just… My friends happened to be trapped in the old building right?”

“Yeah… that’s right.”

“I think the grandson of the World Party leader is involved in that.”

“W-what?”

I sent the video that Rachel gave me, telling him to check it out. After not saying anything for a while, Ki Jae Mu asked me in a low voice:

“Then… What do you want me to do?”

From his voice, he seemed to want to cover up this matter. Although the World Party was unpleasant, it was a long-standing partner. He seemed to want to maintain the relationship, especially since there was no substitute as of yet. However, it was impossible.

“Oh… I… I’d like it covered. There is no partner who has worked with Sungwoon for as long as the World Party. It’s not like I’ve been the one locked up, and it’s kind of hard to abandon an old friend for this.”

“Well, that’s right.”

Ki Jae Mu seemed pleased with my response. I don’t know what I’ll say after.

“But…”

“Hmm?”

""

“CCTV footage can be erased, but how do you cover a person’s mouth? I’m not sure who saw it or how many, but someone saw Go In Hyuk walking around the old building.”

Of course, there was no such person. I didn’t see Go In Hyuk, and I wondered how I could fit him in; however, there was still the class president who saw Jung Yi Joon go to the old building.

“You know how terrifying the Internet can be these days. What if I become relieved by shutting one person’s mouth, but it turns out that there were two witnesses. Plus, people who can’t keep their mouths shut aren’t afraid to freely spread the word online…”

When I said I was afraid the problem would get bigger after covering it up, he said nothing.

“I understand. This matter… Grandpa will do something about it.”

“Yes, Grandpa.”

I hung up the phone with a smile.

T/N: I want to see YJ’s smile, anyone gd at drawing?