Chapter 361: The Desire of An Sang-cheol |
An Sang-cheol originally did not have such a desire.
He overlooked the comment that if you complete all the rounds, your wish will be granted.
Because he wasn’t confident he’d make it to the final round.
But now, things are different.
Now that I’m with the prophet, I have hope.
As I cleared the rounds one by one and finally passed round 20 to reach the final round, I couldn’t help but think.
A sweet reward called a wish.
‘What do you desire?’
As soon as I thought of that, the first person that came to mind was Ma Gyeong-rok.
That’s his wish.
Even though it was a wish for someone else, An Sang-cheol tried to express what was also his own desire.
But at that moment, something stopped him.
Because he realized that it was meaningless.
‘The CEO must have entered the wish room just like me. If your wish comes true, wouldn’t you be happy as well?’
Double happiness.
In that case, wouldn’t it be better to make a wish for yourself?
But one question held An Sang-cheol back.
“You said you would answer anything I ask, right?”
[That’s correct. Whether you ask with your thoughts or your voice, I’ll answer sincerely.]
In the wish room he entered while holding the stone of wishes, An Sang-cheol asked a question.
A question I’ve always had.
“When my wish and someone else’s wish are the same, there’s overlap, so how do I handle that?”
[There’s no need to worry about duplication. The moment a wish is made, the player is transported to a different world line. That’s the world line where the wish is applied, a world line different from the present one, and other players have no memory of the wish room.]
“Are you saying that each player goes to an environment where their wishes are applied? Is that a duplicated dimension?”
[Correct.]
Honestly, I felt embarrassed.
So, doesn’t that mean that the environment you’ll see when your wish is granted isn’t this one, but a different world that’s been created?
“This is literally like each person dreaming.”
It’s a dream, but if it’s the same as reality, is it a dream or reality?
An Sang-cheol’s knowledge was too shallow to delve into philosophy.
‘Whatever happens, let’s make our own wish. They say the new world won’t be different from this one.’
If that’s the case, the answer has been found.
“Tell me your wish. My wish is... ... .”
—————
When I opened my eyes, An Sang-cheol was in bed.
His own hotel room.
Immediately, I left this place, which was also Ma Gyeong-rok’s hotel, and moved to another room.
As always, the most important person to him was the CEO, Ma Gyeong-rok.
Elegant.
“CEO. Are you here?”
“Please come in, Director An.”
Living-
Since I had a master key for emergencies, I could easily open the door and enter.
‘Did my wish really come true?’
An Sang-cheol was nervous and moved to the bedroom.
He sees Ma Gyeong-rok lying in bed in a shirt.
“Director An. It’s finally over.”
“Yes. We survived.”
“Wow, it was a long battle.”
“Hey, the wish... ... .”
“What do you mean?”
I thought just in case, but it seemed Ma Gyeong-rok knew nothing about the wish.
As the system said, he lost his memory.
“No, nothing.”
“Are you still half asleep?”
“That can’t be. I’m fine.”
“Then let’s have a glass of whiskey for the first time in a while.”
Ma Gyeong-rok got up, poured whiskey, and handed me a glass.
Normally, I don’t drink while working, but today I drank without hesitation.
Because it was the end of a very, very long struggle and the beginning of a meaningful day.
“Black Scythe did it. I killed that damned Chaos and ended the game.”
‘......!’
Although he was secretly surprised, An Sang-cheol didn’t show it.
‘This is the first time in recent times. He didn’t call Black Scythe by ‘he,’ it was just Black Scythe.’
The CEO always referred to Black Scythe as “he.”
At first, it wasn’t like that, but later, it became that way due to a change.
I didn’t like it, but it changed.
“The wish has been applied.”
An Sang-cheol’s wish, in the end, wasn’t different.
The person Ma Gyeong-rok trusts and relies on will shift from Black Scythe to himself.
In other words, Ma Gyeong-rok’s opinion has changed to trust and rely only on him and no one else.
Is that the reason?
Ma Gyeong-rok’s eyes, as he looked at An Sang-cheol, were filled with trust and faith.
“Black Scythe was good, but Director An had a bigger influence on me than anything else.”
“.......”
“I didn’t say it, but the only person I truly relied on was Director An, not my family or anyone else.”
“Well, CEO... ... .”
Honestly, I was touched.
Sometimes we used to have honest conversations, but he never told me he believed in me this much.
‘Of course, I felt it in my heart. But I never thought he’d say it out loud... ... .’
An Sang-cheol lowered his head, feeling as though he was being rewarded all at once.
“I will continue to do my best to serve you, CEO.”
“Then please take care of me, Director An.”
———–
After being acknowledged by Ma, An Sang-cheol’s life changed.
Every day was filled with energy and motivation.
‘I protect the CEO. Because he trusts me more than anyone else.’
The story of Ryu Min, Black Scythe, no longer came from the CEO’s mouth.
As if completely erased from memory, he believed only in himself and only called on him.
“Director An. I’m thinking of going to work today, is the target ready?”
“Oh, not yet. These days, violent crimes have decreased so much that it’s hard to find suitable targets.”
Since Black Scythe started running the counter-player force, commonly known as CPF (Counter Player Force), the insects that were devouring society have drastically decreased.
When the criminal actors controlling the country were finally destroyed, the lowest violent crime rate in history was recorded.
This continued even after each round ended and players lost their power.
Thanks to Black Scythe, the world has become a better place.
Ma Gyeong-rok, who was consuming those bugs, found himself in an ironic situation where it wasn’t easy to satisfy his desires.
“It’s hard to find violent criminals... ... . Then you just need to be a violent criminal, right?”
“What do you mean...?”
“Target even petty criminals who have committed small thefts, harassment, or assault.”
“Are you saying you’ll do it like before? You won’t follow what Black Scythe says?”
“Yes. I don’t have prophetic abilities, so there’s no reason to listen to Black Scythe anymore, right?”
Originally, Ma Gyeong-rok was someone who believed and followed Black Scythe’s words to a strange extent.
To the point where I called him ‘he.’
“The CEO who was like that has changed.”
The reason was clear.
It was due to his wish that only he would be trusted.
“Now that player power is gone, there’s no reason to fear Black Scythe. Well, I didn’t listen out of fear.”
“Yes.”
“Target petty criminals like before. Then, will you allocate a budget?”
“Of course, CEO.”
“Please prepare it as soon as possible. If this continues, I might start having insomnia again.”
—————-
Huff!
“Hey!”
Humans are infinitely fragile beings.
That’s what I think when I see the CEO killing a criminal.
“That guy dies like a pig with just one knife.”
In the past, a knife like that wouldn’t even have pierced my skin.
I once again realized how strong players were.
“Please take care of it.”
“Yes.”
When Ma Gyeong-rok walked away wiping his hands with a towel, An Sang-cheol stepped forward.
Disposing of the body was always his responsibility.
As he silently cleaned the warehouse, Ma Gyeong-rok called out.
“Director An Sang-cheol.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Aren’t you tired of this sort of thing by now?”
“What?”
I asked without thinking.
What do you mean?
I don’t know who I am.
“I trust Director An Sang-cheol more than anyone else. So what I’m saying is... How about you become the company’s CEO?”
“What?”
“It means becoming co-representatives.”
A sudden business proposal?
An Sang-cheol waved his hand with puzzled eyes.
“Come on. I’m not good at that sort of thing and never learned it.”
“You won’t know until you try. If you’re going to work, shouldn’t you gradually learn?”
“But the representative position is a bit...”
“Then, is there something else you want to do?”
“There isn’t. I have no interest in anything other than protecting the CEO.”
Even though he didn’t have a loyal dog, Ma Gyeong-rok didn’t seem very satisfied.
“Are you saying you’re content with just personal security while watching over me?”
“Of course.”
“I believed Director An Sang-cheol was someone who could achieve bigger things... It’s a shame you’re not interested in business.”
Did I disappoint you?
No.
Even though he said that, the CEO’s expression didn’t change.
“I’ll respect Director An Sang-cheol’s opinion. If you change your mind at some point, let me know. I can hand over the company’s position to Director An Sang-cheol.”
“Thank you just for saying that, CEO.”
————-
Since the final round, the world has changed a lot.
The collapsed economy gradually began to recover, and as a result, Ma Gyeong-rok’s company returned to its original state.
Vision Consulting.
The Apple Market, which was initially created following Ryu Min’s advice, failed due to lack of demand.
“To be exact, Ryu Min was largely responsible for withdrawing his 31% stake.”
After that, the company I created with great determination was [Vision Consulting].
Would you call it the second heavenly horse consulting?
Not only was it a familiar occupation, but it was decided that consulting was necessary in the current employment crisis.
It wasn’t bad.
However, no matter how much the economy recovered, the CEO didn’t have the strength to grow a company that had collapsed.
So I decided.
“CEO. It’s the suggestion you made before.”
“Are you talking about co-representative?”
“Yes. I’m going to try. If only that could save the company.”
“If Director An Sang-cheol helps me, I feel very reassured.”
Ma Gyeong-rok smiled and extended his hand.
“I suppose I’ll call you CEO An Sang-cheol from now on.”
———–
Even though he was only a nominal president, his life changed once more after becoming the CEO of Vision Consulting.
He had to learn a new job, different from security, and that sometimes caused An Sang-cheol stress.
But he endured and worked passionately.
“I can’t help just by staying by CEO Ma’s side. Now the world is far from bad, and the company at least needs the help of the kids.”
That was why An Sang-cheol accepted the offer after much thought, but he didn’t know.
He thought he was wearing clothes that didn’t suit him.
He had no idea that the CEO would also be in a difficult situation because of it.
“The company’s shares are falling without a clear bottom. Ma Gyeong-rok, the representative, is aware that this happened because he appointed an unqualified bodyguard as co-representative.”
“As a result, our executives have decided the company has no future and will resign.”
The company collapsed.
All because of Ma Gyeong-rok’s lenient judgment in appointing An Sang-cheol as the representative.
***
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