Chapter 64 Was it because it was Korea…?
Korea was truly a disgusting country.
A nation that pretended to be advanced while doing things a backward country would do.
A nation that mobilized social weaklings into the military regardless of gender.
A nation full of old-fashioned people, where social classes were divided by the amount of money one earned, a nation lacking consideration in many ways.
That was how Lee Hee-jeong viewed the country of Korea.
‘Why on earth are we in an alliance with Japan? Have we already forgotten what happened 100 years ago?’
The application for a transfer to the US headquarters that she submitted every year.
However, Lee Hee-jeong had never seen a recommendation stamp on that transfer application.
Just because the country was Korea.
Surely, her abilities were better than those of the researchers in the US.
But she was born in this damn Korea!
Moreover, neighboring Japan had a US-Japan alliance, and some researchers had even transferred over.
It wasn’t that she failed because she was incapable.
It was just that ‘Korea’ was ‘being Korea.’
That was the conclusion Lee Hee-jeong came to about why she couldn’t transfer to the US.
However, even a worm will turn if trodden on.
“Miss Lee Hee-jeong. Here is your American passport.”
“W-Wow…!”
That day, by chance, she overheard the head researcher, Jin-ah Lee, talking to herself in the research building.
Jin-ah Lee, who had brought alcohol to the research building, gulped down vodka in the director’s office as if she wanted to be heard.
“A plan to withdraw US troops from Korea… That’s quite something you’re planning…”
“…!”
“Hiccup! But if I help with that, they said they’d let me into the US right away, so I’m really conflicted…”
“…Into the US?”
She was drunk, and because of that, Lee Hee-jeong ended up meeting Dunjo.
And in reality, half of the plan had already succeeded.
“From now on, you are an American citizen. This means you can work at the research facilities at the US headquarters.”
“…! T-Thank you! Thank you so much!”
The American visa she had only heard about!
Now that it had actually become a passport in her hand, Lee Hee-jeong kept caressing her photo in the passport, looking as if she could die of happiness.
It was sheer bliss.
But only for a moment.
“But! Miss Lee Hee-jeong. You must fulfill our contract first, right?”
“Ah, yes! Of course! I’m already fully prepared!”
The condition to not only obtain permanent residency in the US but also to become the next research director of the Hunter Association’s US headquarters.
The contract Lee Hee-jeong agreed to was as follows.
“I will control this cyborg monster, right?”
“Yes! Just treat it like playing a game. Destroy any US military bases you see, and rampage until Korean hunters or military forces gather. That part is entirely up to you, Miss Lee Hee-jeong.”
The role of a pilot controlling a cyborg monster from behind.
That was Lee Hee-jeong’s first contract job from the US.
In short, she was an experimental subject controlling another experimental subject.
‘I’m going to America… I’m going to America!’
She was the protagonist.
Currently, in her mind, only that image was left, so she was eager to control the monster in the test tube.
All she wanted was to leave this disgusting country as soon as possible.
***
The next day.
‘I need to find Lee Hee-jeong quickly…’
As usual, I went to work at the Hunter Association and was looking for Lee Hee-jeong to stop her from going to the US before heading to the workshop.
But the only place she could be was, of course, the underground research building.
‘Should I wait until she comes out?’
Each research building of the Hunter branch was a place only high-level hunters or researchers associated with research could enter.
As just a Hunter Meister, I had no justification to enter there.
So, I could only wander around in front of the elevator.
“Damn it…!”
The main story of this scenario.
I couldn’t prevent Lee Hee-jeong’s US expedition nicely.
As soon as she obtained permanent residency in the US, she would become an anti-Korean figure, delivering a decisive blow in the scenario’s latter part regarding the US military withdrawal from Korea.
“Here we meet again.”
“…!”
It was at that very moment, while I was contemplating whether I should use ‘force’ to stop her.
“Director Jin-ah Lee…?”
“I saw you wandering around like a hamster in front of the elevator, and I was too curious not to come over.”
Jin-ah Lee had approached me from behind without me noticing.
As if dealing with Lee Hee-jeong wasn’t enough to keep me busy.
Now, how was I supposed to get rid of this person?
While I was thinking about that.
‘Come to think of it, wasn’t this person the research director…?’
A brilliant idea suddenly came to mind.
Jin-ah Lee, who didn’t even appear in the original story.
She was currently both the branch director and the research director of the Korean Hunter Association.
In other words, if used well, I might be able to get to the research wing through her.
“Ah, actually, I’ve been quite interested in the research wing lately…”
“The research wing?”
“Yes. Ever since I was a student, it was my dream to become a researcher there. But at that time, my grades weren’t good enough, so I had no choice but to change my career to a Hunter Meister.”
I subtly started laying this groundwork, using the fact that I was in my early twenties.
“Shall we go down together, then?”
“…Huh?”
But then.
Did she really take the bait so easily?
“…Really?”
“Yes, of course. It’s not a difficult thing, and Rolling occasionally goes down to the research wing too. There’s no particular reason why you shouldn’t be allowed, just because you’re his son.”
Then Jin-ah Lee put her hands on my shoulders.
“Besides, I always owe you, Shin-woo.”
“…!”
The debt she mentioned.
It was obvious that she meant Princess Kurumi, who could only have proper conversations with me.
‘She’s saying she’ll do anything if I take good care of the Princess…’
Give and take.
Having immediately grasped Jin-ah Lee’s true intentions, I decided to just go along with it, giving her a smile as devoid of emotion as hers.
“Thank you. Then, please lead the way.”
“Yes. Follow me.”
So, I got into the elevator with Jin-ah Lee.
When she placed her card with her information on the elevator button.
[Do you wish to enter the research wing?]
Along with an announcement I had never heard before.
“Let’s go there.”
[Yes. Understood.]
The elevator then began descending underground without any buttons.
‘Even though I’ve seen it in the game, it’s quite fascinating…’
Anyway, this upcoming American expedition episode was about a character who failed to transfer to the US headquarters again and was about to turn from a heroine into a villain.
The plot was to somehow rehabilitate Lee Hee-jeong and reassign her to Korea.
In the original story, after her family was killed by the entity known as Angel, her hatred for Korea had reached its peak.
Such was Lee Hee-jeong, who considered the US a land of opportunity compared to this small, half-sized peninsula country.
“Why is it always the Japanese! Why the hell do Japanese researchers get to go instead of me!”
Lee Hee-jeong had a fundamental paranoia.
So, she always believed that the reason she couldn’t transfer to the US was not because of her but because of the country’s weak national power.
After living as a researcher in Korea for five years, she eventually reached her limit around this time and crossed a line she shouldn’t have crossed.
Crack!
“Huff… Huff…! 1, 100 years ago, you guys did it too…! So, this is just self-defense… It’s patriotism!”
In two days, when the results of the transfer application were announced, if I didn’t stop her, Lee Hee-jeong would, in a fit of impulse, kill the Japanese researcher who got the transfer instead of her.
If that happened, it would mark the beginning of a bad ending.
Initially, I didn’t care much about Lee Hee-jeong becoming a criminal.
I just thought she was another ‘fake heroine…’ and eventually forgot about this incident.
Yes… Until she was secretly released after her talents in monster research were recognized in the US.
Until she became the leader of an American extremist group in the late stages of the story, significantly influencing the withdrawal of US troops from Korea, I didn’t realize how important she was.
That’s why I came to stop her.
To prevent the catastrophe Lee Hee-jeong would cause in the future.
‘At least my parents are still alive thanks to me, so she won’t be as vengeful as in the original, right?’
Unlike in the original, there hadn’t been any confrontations with her yet, but if push came to shove, I would have to stop her forcefully, even physically.
With the intent to at least make an acquaintance, I finally arrived at the research wing.
But what on earth was going on?
“La la la~.”
The atmosphere in the research wing was simply described in the original work.
After the monster incident caused all the senior researchers to die, Lee Hee-jeong unexpectedly became the research director of the Korean research wing.
However, not satisfied with that, she kept hoping for a transfer to the US for greater heights, and the Korean research wing, on the eve of the announcement day, was like a block of ice.
The research wing was silent, just like a military barracks in the ’80s, all because of Lee Hee-jeong.
…That was the state of the research wing at this time in the original work.
“Alright, everyone! Let’s stay strong and give it our best today!”
Something was off.
It shouldn’t be like this.
I noticed Lee Hee-jeong running around the research wing cheerfully, drawing horrified looks from the researchers.
And I quickly realized.
The original story had already been altered.