Chapter 113
Having heard my story, the high school boy Woo Jun-hyeong was flustered.
"Uh... hyung. Is that really true?"
"Yeah."
"Wow... hyung! Hyung! Then is it okay if I post this on Stargram?"
"Of course."
"Whoa, thanks! Hyung! Ah, but could I take a picture with you, too? I don't think people will believe it if I post it without a picture of you."
"I'm in the mood. Come on."
"Wooooah!!"
I took a picture with the big-built high school boy.
After Woo Jun-hyeong, the other boys asked me to read their fortunes, too, so I quickly did so.
"Go Ho-mun. Hmm. This might be a little blunt, but don't confess your feelings."
"Wh-why not?!"
"Yang Mi-ra of Taejin Girls' High, the girl you like, has a boyfriend."
"Urgh...!!"
I saw a future in which Go Ho-mun got brutally rejected.
And it was pretty devastating.
When I described in detail the future in which the girl burst into tears after he confessed, Go Ho-mun became completely crestfallen.
Was this what they called a confession attack?
After Go Ho-mun withdrew, comforted by his friends, the next boy stepped forward.
"Lee Jin-myeong. You sure are bold. You took the Ballantine from your father's cupboard and drank it with your friends, didn't you?"
"...Gasp!"
"Your father caught you this morning. Consider yourself dead when you get home."
"R-really?? Damn it. Hyung, how can I avoid getting scolded by my dad?"
"Do you think there's a way...?"
Once I told him about the futures in which his father beat him and cut his allowance, he became crestfallen.
Hmm, in that case, I should give him a solution.
"Your father cares a lot about grades, right? You ranked twentieth in the school last time. Beg him and promise you'll rise to tenth. Then he'll postpone your punishment."
"Hmm... That won't be easy."
"Still, isn't it better than getting only five thousand won a month in allowance?"
"I guess you're right. Hyung! Thanks!! This is my divination fee! I bought it at the convenience store earlier."
The three things in the high school boy's hands were snacks that had cost 3,000 won each at the convenience store.
They looked terribly shabby compared with the divination fees given to me by corporate chairmen and wealthy people.
But this was food from a broke, hungry high school boy.
Ten thousand won is not a particularly large sum to someone with one hundred million won.
But to someone with one hundred thousand won, ten thousand won is by no means a small amount.
Even so, because I'd read this boy's future, he had willingly handed over his own snacks.
"Thanks!"
"Don't mention it. Next!"
And so I quickly read the fortunes of dozens of high school boys.
When people began flocking over after hearing the rumor, I got to my feet.
"All right! That's all for today!"
"Awwww!!"
"Guys? I came here to have fun, too."
"Well, in that case, it can't be helped!!"
Kids. At least they understood how I felt.
The boys whose fortunes I hadn't read were disappointed, but perhaps they no longer intended to keep bothering me when I'd come to have fun, because they cleared a path.
"Hyung!! Thank you so much!!"
"I'll never forget this favor for the rest of my life!!"
"I'll post a recommendation for your show!! Hyung!!"
I withdrew amid greetings so enthusiastic they bordered on violent.
Han Yu-na, who had been standing beside me, looked at me with something close to admiration.
"As expected of you, Mr. Noah."
"Why all of a sudden?"
"So many people love you."
A faint shadow appeared on her face as she spoke briefly.
"That's not easy for me."
"Are there people who dislike you, Ms. Yu-na?"
"A lot...."
"At the company?"
"Yes."
She was serious about everything.
From simple tasks to major ones.
She never minded working late for the sake of the company.
As the chairman's daughter and the successor who would lead Saseong one day, she never stopped working hard.
She was a far better person than her older brother, who had skimmed off rebar under the pretext of using a construction method he'd learned abroad.
But.
They say fish cannot live in water that is too clear.
"Quite a few people oppose the way I work."
"Really?"
"Yes. Even the construction method for the apartment complex we're building this time is an issue."
The latest construction method Saseong Group had been using minimized the amount of materials.
Naturally, it had drawbacks.
It caused severe noise between floors and was less structurally sound.
"I hated that. I thought it was right to build proper buildings, even if it lowered the company's profits and raised the prices."
Naturally, since that would reduce the company's profits, quite a few executives opposed it.
"Why do they dislike it?"
"The company's profits... and, I suppose, because it would make it harder to take kickbacks."
The old construction method made it easy to siphon off materials.
But the method Han Yu-na had chosen made it difficult to siphon off materials.
Not only that, she'd spent extra money on supervision and ordered proper inspections.
From the executives' point of view, it was an enormous headache.
"Some people are even calling for me to be pushed out again immediately and for my brother to be brought back."
"Chairman Han Jun-ho won't like that, will he?"
"That's why some executives are trying to attack my father, too."
"Hmm. I see."
"A lot of people don't like me."
The black-haired beauty slightly lowered her head, her face expressionless.
I'd known Han Yu-na for barely a year.
But I probably understood her better than the people who had watched her for more than a decade.
She was sad and suffering from self-loathing right now.
"Don't worry."
"Pardon?"
"I like you, Ms. Yu-na."
"W-what?!"
"No one can be loved by everyone in the world. You said it yourself, didn't you? That I was loved by people."
"N-no, not that! I meant what you just said..."
I wished she'd listen a little more quietly when I was talking seriously.
I took her hand.
Han Yu-na's body stiffened with a sudden jolt.
"There are quite a few people who dislike me, too."
Mexican cartel.
Allah's Moon.
And criminals, among others.
There were many people involved in the futures I was changing who would hate me with all their hearts.
"But why worry about things like that?"
"......."
"I'm too busy even worrying about the people who like me. Ms. Yu-na, there's a saying."
"What... saying?"
"If someone seems to hate you for no reason, give them a reason to hate you."
"......."
"If they hate you for a reason, get rid of that reason if you need something from them. If not..."
"If not...??"
"Trample them thoroughly."
"Ha. Haha..."
"If you want, I'll help you."
The people at Saseong who disliked Han Yu-na were hardly normal people.
In that case, all she had to do was cut them loose.
"Mr. Noah... you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I told you. I like you, Ms. Yu-na. And..."
I raised the hand I was holding.
Strength slowly entered the white hand that had been pulled up limply.
"We're friends, after all."
"...Ah."
Joy appeared on Han Yu-na's face.
Her faint smile.
Because I could tell she was genuinely happy, I smiled back at her.
"We'll deal with that problem once we get back to Seoul."
I led her by the hand I was holding.
"For today, let's just enjoy ourselves."
***
Han Yu-na stared blankly at Kang Noah walking ahead of her.
He was a fascinating person.
And a strong person.
'He's really incredible...'
Any Korean would know that Kang Noah was an amazing person.
No, countless people around the world knew it.
He was someone who could read people's pasts and futures.
If a person like that wasn't amazing, what could possibly be?
But Han Yu-na knew that wasn't the only reason Kang Noah was amazing.
He was an incredibly strong person.
Someone who viewed the world according to his own standards without being swayed by others.
Despite growing up in less-than-ideal circumstances, he must have been someone who had carried out his will without wavering.
Even if people hated him in the process, he could snort and ignore them.
'What if I had the same ability as Mr. Noah...?'
She would have watched people's reactions.
She would have used her power for those who approached her because they wanted to be loved by people.
Perhaps most people would be like that.
For their own benefit.
Or they would use their power to be loved.
But Kang Noah was different.
She had heard it once when they were drinking at Kim Seok-chun's villa.
He had said that he had always lived by his own standards, even since his time at the orphanage.
Though he was an orphan, he had spent his whole life adhering to the standard that he didn't want to live like one.
'Ah...'
Kang Noah was younger than her and less educated.
He had no parents and was poor.
Even so, Han Yu-na thought he was far stronger and more amazing than someone like her.
Because he possessed an indomitable spirit that nothing could shake.
Who could possibly avoid falling for someone like that?
'I admire Mr. Noah, and I like him, too.'
She slowly looked down at her hand.
His hand holding hers firmly.
It was large and rough, yet warm.
Holding that hand made her so proud and happy.
"Mr. Noah."
"Yes?"
"...Did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That you're a really wonderful person, Mr. Noah."
At her heartfelt words, Kang Noah chuckled.
"Of course I know."
Ah.
He really was impossible not to fall for.
***
Gyeongju World was fun.
Wow. It was seriously freaking awesome.
There were tons of attractions that made a man's heart pound, and I rode every single one.
"Hmm? What's that?"
It was when we'd had our fill of fun and reached the Gyeongju World exit, thinking it was about time to leave.
There was someone dressed in a manner ill-suited to an amusement park.
It was a man nearing old age, dressed in a suit.
Han Yu-na tilted her head, but I knew who he was.
"That's the mayor of Gyeongju."
"Did he come to Gyeongju World??"
"Do you really think so?"
Of course not.
If he'd come to have fun, would he have shown up dressed like that?
"He must have come to see me."
When we went outside, an elderly gentleman approached me.
"Haha. Mr. Kang Noah. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Gu Ji-tae, the mayor of Gyeongju."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Noah."
"I learned that you were visiting Gyeongju after seeing the post uploaded to Stargram."
Those high school boys must have posted it.
"If it isn't too much trouble... I'd like to treat you to dinner..."
"Hmm. Well, before that, why don't you turn this over first?"
The mayor hesitated for a moment, then turned over the card.
It was the Tower reversed.
"You plan to build a new tourist complex with Gyeongju City taking the lead. And you want me to inspect the proposed sites, correct?"
"Gasp... Y-yes! That's right!"
"You have the proposed sites written down, don't you?"
"Yes! Here they are!"
I took the documents he handed me and read them.
"Hmm. This is around Tap-dong."
"That's right. The commercial viability here..."
"This one won't do."
"Pardon? Why not?"
"There are a lot of Silla-era artifacts buried beneath that land."
"......"
"Next... Ah. There are a lot here, too."
"...Huh."
"Ah, and this area around Daegyeong-ro won't do, either."
"Are there a lot of artifacts here, too?"
"No. It's land owned by the cousin of the employee who recommended this site. If you develop it, you'll get embroiled in a dispute over land compensation and lose the next election, Mayor."
He immediately tore the third document to shreds.