Chapter 41: Who Exactly Are You?
I hated complicated things.
In that sense, Aize, who overflowed with simplicity, and I might have been more than thousand-year partners.
We might actually have been destined for each other.
Except for one thing.
Her insane love of speed.
“Hey, Aize! Slow down!”
I stared at the digital speedometer.
The gauge was practically fighting to enter the red zone.
“At this rate, we’re going to crash again!”
VROOOOOM!
The brand-new domestic sports car roared happily.
It was around three in the afternoon, so Gangnam-daero wasn’t particularly crowded.
That only made Aize worse.
Her driving was basically legalized madness.
At this rate, speeding tickets would arrive in bundles.
This was getting ridiculous.
Speeding was clearly illegal.
And as a detective, I could not simply watch a crime happen before my eyes.
“Pull over!”
I shouted.
SCREEECH!
Aize violently stopped the car beside the road.
Even stopping had unnecessary power behind it.
“Why?”
“Get out of the driver’s seat. I’ll drive.”
“Really?”
Aize looked worried.
“You said you barely have any driving experience.”
“There’s something called natural talent.”
Unlike her, I was overflowing with confidence.
“Fine.”
Aize obediently got out.
I moved from the passenger seat into the driver’s seat.
“Uh... So the ignition....”
I looked around.
“Where’s the car key?”
It had been almost ten years since I had properly sat behind a steering wheel.
Modern cars looked very different from the old training vehicles at the driving academy.
“Wireless key.”
Aize pointed below the steering wheel.
“Press the ignition button.”
I pressed it.
Nothing happened.
“It doesn’t start.”
“You have to press the brake first.”
“Ah....”
I pressed the brake and pushed the ignition button again.
Vroom.
The engine finally started.
Since it was a sports car, the steering wheel seemed smaller than usual, and the seat wrapped tightly around my body.
The entire body of the car also seemed extremely low.
Now that the engine was running, I shifted gears.
“Here we go.”
I pressed the accelerator.
WAAAAAAAH!
The car screamed like a newborn baby but didn’t move.
“The gear isn’t engaged.”
Aize pointed.
“N means neutral. Put it in D.”
“Oh. Right.”
That was embarrassing.
I moved the gear into D.
“How far should I press the accelerator?”
The engine had screamed so loudly before that I felt slightly concerned.
“All the way to the floor.”
“Riiight.”
I absolutely could not trust Aize.
She was addicted to speed.
I decided to press halfway.
VROOOOOM!
“Waaagh!”
My leg still had no feeling for the pedal.
Instead of halfway, I slammed it to the floor.
The car launched forward like a spring.
My head snapped backward.
SCREEECH!
I immediately hit the brakes.
Fortunately, there was no car directly ahead of us.
I could feel Aize glaring at me.
“It’s fine. All beginners are like this.”
“I wasn’t.”
Aize folded her arms.
“I drove perfectly from the beginning.”
My pride took damage.
“That’s because you’re abnormal. I’m normal.”
I gripped the steering wheel.
“Let’s go.”
This time, I pressed the accelerator very, very carefully.
SCREEECH!
Around thirty minutes later, I entered an alley behind Gangnam-daero in Seocho and parked the car.
“Well, that wasn’t much.”
I slammed the door shut.
“Honestly, my natural talent is frightening.”
Within ten minutes of driving, I had become almost as good as Aize.
Actually, driving wasn’t particularly difficult.
The car had an automatic transmission, so all I needed to do was control the accelerator.
More importantly, I had Ghost Eye.
Even at high speed, everything around me looked slow.
When I drove over one hundred kilometers per hour, it felt more like twenty.
It was almost like driving a children’s car at an amusement park.
Aize laughed.
“Heh. I think it has less to do with natural talent and more to do with the Inhwang’s abilities.”
“What are you talking about?”
I pointed at myself.
“I am the Inhwang. Therefore, the Inhwang’s abilities are my abilities.”
“As expected....”
Aize shook her head.
“You’re much stronger than Taebaek when it comes to talking.”
She grinned.
“If fighting were done entirely with words, Taebaek would probably be nothing more than a snack to you.”
Although she sounded amazed by my endless chatter, she seemed to enjoy it too.
I looked toward a five-story building standing among small cafés and restaurants.
“So this is the place?”
The sign read:
[Crisis Model Line]
Detective Park had told me about this company.
Its president was Terius Hyun, the man Han Manduk had repeatedly called before disappearing from the Land of Zion.
“Aize. Remember what we discussed on the way here.”
“I know.”
She nodded.
“The concept is that I quit being an idol and came here because I want to become a model.”
“Concept? You mean operation.”
“...Let’s just go inside.”
Aize linked arms with me.
According to our “concept,” Aize was supposed to be hopelessly in love with me.
I was playing the role of the older freeloader taking advantage of her money.
Late that afternoon.
Deep inside Insadong stood a traditional café named Mangawon.
To reach it, a visitor had to wind through countless narrow alleys.
Its hidden location looked terrible for business.
Yet behind the entrance stood an elegant hanok building filled with a gentle fragrance.
“Welcome, Boss.”
A woman wearing modernized hanbok approached when Madam Jang and Uncle Frankenstein entered.
Madam Jang owned several businesses besides Doremi Entertainment Bar.
Mangawon was one of them.
“Has our guest arrived?”
“Yes. He arrived earlier. We placed him in the Mureungdowon Room.”
“Good. Then let’s go.”
Madam Jang looked toward Uncle Frankenstein.
Behind Mangawon stood an octagonal pavilion.
It was built separately from the main hanok and offered the perfect private place for secret conversations.
Four large men wearing black suits and sunglasses stood around it like guards.
When Madam Jang and Uncle Frankenstein approached, one of them stepped forward and attempted to search them.
“Stop.”
A deep male voice came from inside.
“She is not dangerous.”
The guard immediately lowered his head in apology and moved aside.
“Welcome, Madam Jang.”
Inside the pavilion, a middle-aged man wearing a white short-sleeved shirt without a tie rose.
“Thank you for coming.”
His square face, sharp eyes, and firm lips gave the impression of a silent and powerful man.
“Thank you, Mr. Ma.”
Madam Jang gave a light bow.
“I appreciate you making time despite your busy schedule.”
The man was Ma Seokdae, current director of the Special Affairs Department directly under the President.
The Special Affairs Department had been established to monitor and eliminate unusual incidents, social instability, terrorist threats, and other dangers within the country.
Officially, it belonged to the National Intelligence Service.
In practice, it operated independently.
It reported only to the President.
Director Ma looked toward Uncle Frankenstein.
“And the gentleman beside you is...?”
“He is Cheongpung. My secretary and bodyguard.”
Uncle Frankenstein was so large that the pavilion almost felt crowded with him inside.
“You have a very dependable bodyguard.”
Director Ma smiled.
“If possible, I’d almost like to recruit him into our ‘company.’”
“Company” was slang they used for the Special Affairs Department.
Director Ma then became serious.
“What did you wish to discuss today?”
“Before that, allow me to serve you some tea.”
Madam Jang lifted a teapot prepared on an old wooden table.
Unlike ordinary teapots, the spout had been sealed with a small plug.
She removed it and poured a cup.
Immediately, a gentle and sweet fragrance filled the pavilion.
Director Ma was impressed.
The aroma was not overwhelming, yet it entered the nose with an unusually deep scent.
“This is Dragon Well Fragrance Tea.”
Madam Jang placed the cup before him.
“It purifies the body and mind and protects the energy within the body.”
Director Ma took a sip.
Warm energy seemed to spread through every corner of his body.
“This is extraordinary tea.”
He looked at her.
“Madam, where do you obtain something like this?”
“Hehehe.”
Madam Jang covered her mouth.
“Obtain it? I grow and cultivate it myself.”
Director Ma thought once again that Madam Jang was a mysterious woman.
He had first met her around five years earlier.
At the time, he had just been elected to the National Assembly and had not yet become director of the Special Affairs Department.
Another assemblyman from his party introduced Madam Jang during a private gathering.
Director Ma had not known it then, but Madam Jang was already famous among powerful figures in politics and business.
She possessed many rare teas that no one else had ever seen or even heard of.
The Dragon Well Fragrance Tea was only one example.
Those teas fascinated some of the most influential political and business figures in the country.
There were even rumors that certain powerful people could not begin their day without drinking Madam Jang’s tea.
She was also famous as an incredibly accurate fortune-teller.
If she knew someone’s birth date and birth time, she could describe their family relationships, the names and connections of dead relatives, and personal histories that nobody else could possibly know.
Her daily fortune predictions were said to be almost perfectly accurate.
Madam Jang was also an excellent conversationalist.
She knew countless strange and interesting stories.
Once someone began talking with her about the state of the world, the Underworld, reincarnation, and the afterlife, entire days seemed to disappear.
As a result, powerful people lined up for opportunities to drink her tea, hear their fortunes, and speak with her.
Naturally, Madam Jang became an important figure in high society.
Director Ma placed the cup down.
“To be completely honest, our company analyzed the ingredients in the tea you gave us.”
Madam Jang smiled calmly.
“We had to make sure it did not contain narcotics or psychoactive substances.”
Important people in politics and business drank Madam Jang’s tea every day.
The Special Affairs Department could hardly ignore it.
“I understand.”
She nodded.
“It would actually be stranger if you didn’t investigate.”
She smiled.
“So what did you discover?”
“We extracted the ingredients and conducted animal tests.”
Director Ma’s expression became serious.
“They were confirmed to be harmless to humans.”
He paused.
“The problem was almost the opposite.”
Madam Jang raised an eyebrow.
“The effects were too beneficial.”
His face hardened.
“But our researchers said the detected substances do not exist anywhere in this world.”
Silence fell.
Director Ma stared directly at her.
“Who exactly are you?”
He had once been a capable army officer who reached the rank of colonel.
After entering politics, he had survived countless struggles in that filthy world.
Considering Madam Jang’s personality and the current situation, he believed beating around the bush would be pointless.
He studied her face carefully.
He wanted to see how she would react.
“Hehehe.”
Madam Jang smiled.
“Mr. Ma.”
She seemed almost relieved.
“That is exactly why I asked to meet you today.”
