Chapter 31
Pardon?
This should do it.
The man leading that protest came up to Tokyo, confident he would be a wonderful father to his wife and children.
And what he's doing is leading a fake cult protest.
Japan is a country that values appearances, so if they saw him in this state and it was aired to the companies where his wife and son worked and the schools they attended, that would be great.
Kim Soo-hyun approached him with a reluctant look and said something, and a short while later the fake cult protestors quickly dispersed.
"But this won't be the end of it, will it?"
Anyway, that protest was nothing more than one of Magoda Trading's pawns.
They could bring out as many other pieces as they wanted.
So if we're going to stop Magoda Trading, meeting Oda Ryuki comes first.
"How am I supposed to meet that guy and talk to him..."
Kim Soo-hyun let out a sigh.
He had an expression that said he had no idea what to do.
"President Hong. Is there any way to meet him?"
"I'll look into it."
As expected of Hong Siyeon!
I knew I could count on you!!
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In any case, I couldn't keep clinging to this one issue.
So we went sightseeing.
Well. It was fun enough.
"Man, I'm beat."
"And what's a young guy doing saying he's beat just from walking around a little?"
"I'm a homebody..."
Just being outside felt like I was taking damage over time.
"A nice soak in a hot spring should do the trick."
"You think so?"
"Yeah. The ryokan here is run by someone I know well. The food is delicious, and the hot spring is excellent."
We headed to the ryokan Old Man Kim Seok-choon had booked.
It's apparently a very traditional inn, but honestly I couldn't tell whether it was any good.
Still, as the old man said, dinner itself was delicious.
"Mr. Cheolhon, let's go to the large bath."
There was a hot spring in the room I was staying in, but we should at least go take a look at the large public bath.
Cheolhon and I went to the large bath.
Wow. It really was impressive.
It was a fairly large hot spring, with Mt. Fuji visible in the distance, and not a single person in sight.
It felt like we had the place to ourselves.
"I'm even getting to enjoy some luxury thanks to you."
"Isn't that just how it goes?"
Smiling with Mr. Cheolhon, I went into the bath and stretched out.
It felt like the fatigue I'd built up from walking around all day was slowly draining away.
Then I heard something at the entrance.
What, another guest?
Looking that way, I saw a man who seemed to be in his fifties coming in.
Even though he was at a hot spring, instead of undressing, the man was wearing a neat suit and came up to me before bowing politely.
"Are you Mr. Kang Noah from Korea?"
Mr. Cheolhon tensed up.
But I stopped him.
Because I already knew who the man in front of me was.
"You must be Oda Ryuki, right? Your Korean is very good."
"This much is basic."
The middle-aged man grinned.
Oda Ryuki.
The butler to one of Japan's top five loan sharks.
"I hadn't even looked for you yet, and you somehow found your way here."
"The old man I serve very much wanted to meet you, sir."
Me?
If he'd watched my stream, it made sense he'd want to meet me.
"It isn't especially difficult."
The old man he serves, the one I can see in both his past and future, is Japanese, but he's not a bad person.
No, if anything, you could say he's on the kind side.
And that's despite having so much money and the fact that, by the nature of his line of work, kindness doesn't come easy.
"Do I have to go?"
"He said he couldn't dare tell someone like you to come and go as you please."
He really was incredibly polite.
It was almost making me more uncomfortable.
"I'll bring the old man to Korea. How about meeting him there, sir?"
That was fine.
Meeting all sorts of people in Korea wasn't particularly rare for me anyway.
"That would be fine."
"Thank you, sir."
"Haha. Not at all."
"And as for Mr. Kim Soo-hyun's construction project..."
"I've already taken care of that side."
"How... I won't ask."
I saw it when he came in earlier.
He had already carried out the future I had seen.
The future where the president of Magoda Trading bowed in dogeza and hurled insults at him had come true much sooner than it should have.
"Thank you for understanding."
The matter had been resolved more easily than I expected.
After Oda Ryuki left and I finished bathing, I told Old Man Kim Seok-choon about what had happened earlier.
He put on a grave expression and called his son.
"Looks like I got something out of this. How should I repay you?"
"Just make it up to me later however you see fit. Anyway, I've got a reservation now. And with a big shot, too."
"If someone like that is the one he serves, then he can't be an ordinary man."
I was talking with the old man while sipping milk.
Then Hong Siyeon came out, fresh from the bath.
"Why are you all acting like that?"
"Ah. Well..."
After I told her about what had happened at the hot spring earlier, Hong Siyeon's pretty face stiffened slightly.
The fact that someone who always smiled would react like that meant the matter was serious indeed.
"Grandma said that man should be watched carefully, too."
"Really?"
"I don't know why he came to meet you, but for now, it might be better to add more bodyguards around Noah."
"If you think so, then let's do that."
But.
It didn't seem that dangerous.
"All right. Then shall we play a round again today?"
Old Man Kim Seok-choon grinned and pulled hwatu cards from his bag.
Hah. Looks like he's confident.
I'll wipe the floor with him.
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After that, nothing else happened.
According to what I heard from Mr. Kim Soo-hyun, after Oda Ryuki showed up, the construction started moving forward without issue.
That meant that from now on, we could just play around.
We rode around here and there in Old Man Kim Seok-choon's car with Hong Siyeon.
"Wow! Let's go there!"
"If you're in Japan, you have to eat sushi."
"Wow! Clothes that would suit Noah so well!"
"If you're in Japan, you have to eat ramen."
"Wow! Noah! What do you think of this necklace? It'd suit Noah really well!"
"If you're in Japan, you have to eat eel rice bowl."
Kill... me...
For a homebody like me, it was a pretty exhausting trip.
But if you asked whether it was fun or not, it was definitely fun.
All the different things we ate were delicious, too.
"I'll be moving separately with Mr. Cheolhon today."
"Huh? Why?"
"I'm going to Akihabara."
"Why would you go there...?"
"There's a Dunsa event."
Apparently, they were selling Dunsa event merch in Akihabara.
I also got a coupon, so I need to get the new pet.
"Should I go with you? I can drive you there..."
"I heard it's backed up with traffic there. I'll just take the train and go back."
By car, it takes 30 minutes.
By train, it takes 10 minutes.
Then I should take the train.
"Mm... all right. Mr. Cheolhon, please go with him."
"Yes. Understood."
Hong Siyeon said she was going to take it easy today.
I left the old man behind as he said he'd go check out his son's company, and headed to the station with Mr. Cheolhon.
After buying a ticket and going downstairs, I looked at the Dunsa event merch on my phone.
With the coupon you got from buying the merch, you could get a new pet, a title, and other miscellaneous items.
Should I get some for Han Yuna too?
Then something caught my eye.
A child was holding a ball.
Whether the child was out with their mother, they were smiling brightly, and it was adorable.
That smile didn't last long.
The mother got a phone call.
While the mother answered, the child bounced the ball against the ground.
It was a trivial matter.
There was a small stone on the ground.
There were still many stations in Japan without platform screen doors.
A completely trivial, ordinary thing.
But for that child...
For that mother, it was a horrible misfortune.
The ball, hit by the stone, bounced irregularly and headed toward the tracks.
The child, still not aware of the danger, went to pick up the ball and jumped down onto the tracks.
Children are like that.
They have little sense of danger.
Even if something is taller than they are, they think it'll be fine and do it anyway.
The child landed badly, twisted an ankle, and let out a scream.
So did the child's mother.
The people around them screamed, too.
A train is coming in.
The child's mother forgot her fear and jumped down to try to save the child.
Someone hit the emergency button, and the train slowed down.
But it was too late.
The hundred-ton iron horse was coming.
That was the last thing the child, cradled in the mother's arms, saw.
"Let's go over there."
"Understood."
Mr. Cheolhon didn't say anything else.
He simply followed my lead obediently.
That's when we got near the mother and child.
-Ring ring!!
The child's mother's phone rang.
While she answered it and kept talking.
The future I had seen began playing out exactly as before.
The child heads toward the tracks.
"You little brat!"
"Eh?!"
I snatched the child just before they fell near the tracks.
Startled by my sudden movement, the child widened their eyes and looked at me.
And then they started to sniffle.
"It's dangerous down there."
Of course, the child didn't understand Korean.
But it didn't matter.
What mattered was that the child's future had changed.
Just then, the child's mother, who had ended the call, came over.
Her face was pale.
She must have seen me catch the child just before they fell.
I waved it off as she kept bowing and thanking me.
The train was coming in.
The ball rolled toward the opposite tracks, and the station staff on the other side picked it up.
At this point, there shouldn't be any problem.
"Mr. Cheolhon. Let's go."
"Y-yes? Ah. Yes."
Let's go! Time to grab the event merch!
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And so, four nights and five days passed.
After eating, drinking, and having fun, we returned to Korea.
The day before we left, I went to the old man's business, and honestly, I still didn't really get it.
Still, it looked like Hong Siyeon was handling things well enough, so I decided to leave it to her.
"We'll make a huge profit! I'll deposit the dividends into Noah's account."
"Thank you."
"Then you worked hard~! Please rest easy~!"
Hong Siyeon, who'd gotten out of the car, waved with a smile.
Watching her recede into the distance, I let out a sigh.
I had more luggage coming back than when I left.
That was thanks to Hong Siyeon and Old Man Kim Seok-choon buying me all sorts of things at a Japanese department store.
But honestly, a shirt that costs one million won is a bit much.
"Isn't all of this thanks to your abilities, sir?"
"Even so, I'm still just an ordinary citizen, you know."
"Heh heh heh."
"Anyway, you all worked hard. Mr. Cheolhon, you should go and rest..."
-Ring ring!!
The phone rang.
It was an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Have you returned home?"
A familiar voice.
Oda Ryuki.
I had told him that I'd be home around this time today, and he called right on schedule.
"Yes. When would be a good time to meet?"
"-If possible, let's meet today. The old man is waiting."
"Hmm. Very well. Then..."
I gave him the address of the only cafe near my house that was still open.
After hanging up, Mr. Cheolhon looked displeased.
"You're meeting that man?"
"Yes."
"Let's go together."
"Aren't you tired?"
"This much is nothing."
Then let's go.
I changed into some comfortable clothes at home and headed to the cafe.
Inside the quiet cafe was Oda Ryuki, whom I'd seen before.
And there was an old man who looked to be about the same age as Old Man Kim Seok-choon.
"Ah. Here..."
"Please. Mr. Kang. Please...!!"
The old man.
threw himself into a dogeza in front of me.
Naturally, the people in the cafe turned their attention to us.
Haha.
Looks like I can't come to this cafe anymore.