Business Trip to the U.S. 3

Looking at the future reflected in the wall-mounted mirror, I could tell that refusing here wouldn't get me knocked out or locked up.

Then I can speak at my leisure.

"If that's the reason... I can't help it. But do you intend to keep living in Korea?"

"Well?"

That I don't know either.

Honestly, isn't Korea one of the best places to live for someone as rich as I am?

So I don't really have any intention of leaving Korea.

But the future can change however much it wants with even a tiny choice.

I can't be certain forever.

"Then... yes. Our America is a place united by freedom and goodwill. If Mr. Kang becomes a citizen of the United States, the United States will always protect Mr. Kang."

"Well, that's something to be grateful for."

Raton grinned and extended his hand.

"Even if you don't come right away, if we ask for your cooperation, please do help us. Of course, we don't intend to ask for it for free."

"If it's for doing good, I'll help as much as I can."

"Haha!! Thank you!"

Raton kept bursting into laughter.

Then he snapped his fingers.

"Come to think of it, I didn't tell you how we'd handle travel expenses. If you want money, we can give you money."

"Could I take it in stock instead?"

"Oh! That's fine with us. What stock would you like? Some stock we'd never even imagine? Or maybe something not yet listed...."

"Tesla."

"...Excuse me? Tesla?"

Tesla.

An electric vehicle manufacturer.

A company run by the half-mad Elon Musk.

It was already trading at a pretty high price.

"...Does that guy really go to Mars?"

I only said it because I'd seen the future of someone on the way here, and Tesla stock had shot up.

.

.

.

Anyway, I agreed to take Tesla stock.

When Hong Siyeon beside me asked why I wasn't taking Apple stock instead, I told her Apple's stock price would drop soon.

She seemed a little serious about it, but she didn't say anything else.

"While you are staying in the United States, our agents will escort Mr. Kang and Miss Hong."

"We do have our own security."

Is he looking down on our Cheolhon?

I pointed at Rachel, whom Hong Siyeon had brought along as well.

But Raton was firm.

"I'm not dismissing Korean martial arts. And that lady over there can probably handle Russian-style fighting as well."

Raton grinned.

"But they're helpless in front of guns."

He showed me the pistol at his waist.

Yeah... no matter how well you fight, you can't ignore firearms.

"Understood."

We couldn't exactly buy guns while we were staying here, so let's accept the support.

"In that case, Mr. Cheolhon, please focus more on sightseeing than on security."

"Hmm. Is this really all right..."

"They said they'd take good care of us."

And from the futures of those agents, it didn't look like any of them would do me any harm.

"Wow~ Sightseeing with Noah, huh. Now that we've come all the way to Washington, D.C., let's really have some fun!"

"But what is famous around here?"

"If we're talking tourist spots here, it's definitely the Lincoln Memorial. The White House is worth seeing too..."

She scratched her cheek after saying a few words.

"It's not exactly a fun place."

Going to see them would be cool in itself, though.

"How about going to a mall?"

"That would be better."

We'd just be people-watching.

And eat something tasty while wandering around.

We kept the itinerary light.

We were staying in the U.S. for two days.

Let's just spend the time pretending to be locals.

"...You came all the way here, and you're going to take a trip like that?"

An agent in her mid-forties named Rosetta.

Maybe thanks to Raton's consideration, she could speak Korean, and she was dumbfounded.

But that was all.

She quickly came to her senses and said confidently.

"If that's the case, I'm the expert. How about going to the streets where the locals hang out?"

"Oh. There are places like that?"

"Not Harlem, right?"

"Of course not. John, come along."

"Yes, ma'am."

An agent in his early thirties named John nodded calmly.

Soon, a car stopped in front of us.

The driver got out, and John took the wheel.

"Then I'll take you there right away! Shall we eat first?"

"Yes. I was hungry anyway, so that works out nicely."

All I'd had since arriving was donuts and coffee.

"What would you like to eat?"

"If you're in America, it's McDonald's."

I was curious what the local McDonald's was like.

"....."

"What. Why. What."

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.

.

I ate a Big Mac at McDonald's.

Hmm. It's McDonald's, all right.

It's reliably decent no matter where you go.

It tasted the same when I had it in Japan too.

"For dinner, I was thinking of taking you to a good local restaurant... would it be all right if I recommended one?"

"I'd like to choose the menu myself."

"What do you want to eat?"

"If you're in America, it's pizza!"

Rosetta and John again kept their mouths shut.

So we killed time until evening, walked around the local streets, and even experienced an American Starbucks before returning to the hotel.

"We should've gone out at night, though."

"You can't think of it like Korea. Japan is somewhat okay, but in the U.S., if you wander around carelessly at night, you'll get robbed right away."

Hong Siyeon calmly stopped me, saying it wasn't just the U.S. that way.

Can't be helped.

Let's just stay in the room and do a stream quietly today.

I went into the hotel room, opened my laptop, and started streaming right away.

-Huh? What? Why is the picture quality like this?

-The picture quality's awful.

"Ah. I'm on a business trip to the U.S. right now, so that's why."

-Huh?! Hyung! You've made it to America too?

-Did you get rewarded for the last thing?

"It's not that. It's a personal matter. Anyway, today's stream is starting. All right, I'll take requests, so..."

[Bain Gurgi has donated 100 gold.]

[Hyung! Do you think this year's college entrance exam will be hard?]

"Bain Gurgi. By your standards, it'll be hard. But with your grades all at 5, wouldn't it be better to study more than talk about how hard it is?"

-Bain Gurgi : Dammit...!!

"And how many days are left until the college entrance exam, and you've already installed a new mobile game? It's not exactly my place to say this, since I haven't even gone to college, but I still think it'd be better to study a bit."

-Youuu...!

-Study!!

-When I was your age, I stayed up solving workbooks until dawn!

-You little punk!

-Bulsae : Hyung! Where should we go for this trip?

"Bulsae. You're thinking either Japan or Taiwan, right? If you go to Japan, it'll be insanely hot, and if you go to Taiwan, it'll rain the whole trip. There's an option not to go, but you have to go no matter what, right?"

-Bulsae : Ugh...ㅠㅠ I've already endured it for two years...

-Choosing one of those two places at this time is crazy in itself...

-Still, getting rained on might be better than the heat...

-Heat versus heat and humidity; choosing the latter is just...

The chat room argued over which of the two countries would be more worth visiting.

The choice is Bulsae's to make.

I just have to present the options and that's it.

There were all sorts of other conversations too.

Starting from "My dog ran away; where is it?"

Even serious stuff like "I think my girlfriend is cheating" and "The company seems to be having some trouble; should I stay?" came up.

After telling everyone about their futures and chatting busily for a while, I was just about to end the stream.

-Knock knock

I heard a knock at the door.

I saw Cheolhon, who had been lying on the other bed, go outside.

It was John.

"What is it?"

"Mr. Kang. Can you come to headquarters for a bit tomorrow?"

"Headquarters? The FBI?"

"Yes. They said the travel expenses are ready. And they also want to ask one more favor..."

They were looking for where a serial killer had hidden a body.

If that's the case, I should help.

"Let's do that."

There was no particular problem.

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.

.

The next day, I headed to FBI headquarters first thing in the morning.

There, I checked one criminal's past and future and told them where the body of his victim was located.

Not long after, the agent at the scene called to say it had been found, and Raton started looking at me more warmly than he did his own son.

"Oh, my God. I want to set up an altar for you and pray to you forever."

"Could you not do that? Seriously..."

That was when it happened.

On the news playing on TV, a middle-aged man was shown speaking fervently about something.

Seeing that, Hong Siyeon's expression hardened, and Raton ground his teeth.

I don't know English, so I have no idea what he's saying, but...

"That man is insulting the FBI's incompetence and Noah."

Hong Siyeon muttered in a cold tone, baring her white teeth.

"That's Prosecutor Lake Austin."

"Pardon?"

"There's going to be a by-election soon. He's the one who'll be running then. Since Mr. Kang's name has been getting bigger because of the Atlanta incident, he's trying to use that to boost his own reputation."

"Oh ho. Then why is he taking a swing at the FBI?"

"We've had some friction for a while. And in the middle of that, he probably didn't like us inviting Mr. Kang. He says that if he becomes a member of the House of Representatives, he'll work to cut the FBI's budget for doing nonsense like that..."

That makes him someone the FBI dislikes just as much.

But the problem is that guy has a pretty high chance of winning the by-election.

"He's known as a devout Catholic."

"That sounds troublesome."

Hong Siyeon and Raton talked it over.

Then Hong Siyeon looked at me.

"Noah? What's wrong?"

"Hmm. Is that so."

"...Pardon?"

"As expected, I can't tell you about that."

"No..."

"Definitely... it's not time yet."

"Noah?"

"But... no, let's stop this conversation here."

Everyone looked at me.

I smiled and turned over the card.

Then I said to Raton,

"Please check Room 301 of the Eckel Building, 4th Street, Brooklyn Henstetter Street."

"...Pardon? Why is that..."

"There is a corporate hacker named Mensweed there whom the FBI has recently been pursuing."

"Oh...!"

"And there will be something on the laptop he has that the FBI would find interesting."

"What is it?"

"There is information from hacking several companies, but the most interesting part is the information he got from hacking a company called Bulls One."

"Bulls One? They call it a company, but it's basically a gang..."

Right.

Information from a place where that gang has wrapped itself in a corporate shell is truly nothing but fascinating.

For example.

Like a video Bulls One had of Prosecutor Lake Austin having sex with a minor.

Or a record of him going to an orgy with dozens of participants.

Or records of Prosecutor Lake Austin taking bribes from Bulls One.

Or a video of him, drunk on alcohol and drugs, cackling with gangsters while tying someone up and firing a gun, and the like.