818

 [Chapter 206]

[Behind-the-scenes Maneuvering(4)]

What Han Seo-hyun asked Jin Seo-na was also what she herself had been thinking about.

The former Ain Association's voice is too loud.

So Ains tend to be swayed by the former Ain Association regardless of their intentions.

A few years ago, after the former Ain Association's movement.

Jin Seo-na felt disillusioned with the former Ain Association's behavior.

So she left the former Ain Association and interacted with Ains she could comfortably get along with.

Then somehow she came to be regarded as a representative of young Ains before she knew it.

Though she found the position bewildering at first, now she had become accustomed to it.

In reality, though she didn't have an organization, she was excellently fulfilling the role of representative.

Therefore, Jin Seo-na decided through this incident.

The former Ain Association's actions are no different from cursing Ains and Pa-rang oppa.

I can't just stand by and watch anymore.

So she would directly create a new organization for Ains.

Jin Seo-na immediately visited home.

"Hello, mother."

"Seo-na, you came. It's been a while."

Since joining Pandora Clan.

Jin Seo-na didn't visit home often.

While she still couldn't grasp how to treat her mother, her mother tried to treat her like a daughter.

So she felt more uncomfortable with her mother than her father who completely ignored her existence, or Jin Se-na who went half-mad after Hong Jin-woo died.

Nevertheless, she tried to treat Jin Seo-na regardless.

"Visit home often, Seo-na."

"...I'm very busy with work. It's also more comfortable living at the clan."

Years had passed.

The feelings she harbored towards the family that abandoned her had now faded.

Jin Seo-na indirectly rejected her mother's invitation.

When her mother made a lonely face.

Jin Seo-na deliberately avoided her eyes.

Then she brought up her business.

"I'm trying to create an association that can represent Ains. But if I create an association alone, the support rate might not be high. I'll also be financially lacking."

"You're saying you need sponsorship."

"Yes. KK Group is behind mother. I need group-level sponsorship, not just pharmaceutical."

She had thought about the foundation for the new association.

She had already promised financial sponsorship.

Nevertheless, Jin Seo-na thought she needed support other than Sirius, Luminous, and Alice for Ains.

Even adding Hana Group wasn't enough.

So she endured the awkwardness and sought out her mother.

If mother doesn't work, I have no choice.

Then I'll have to find Geon-woong.

The youngest sister of the current KK Group chairman.

Outwardly, it seemed Jin Se-na's father had all the authority.

But the person with the highest position in this house was not the father but the mother.

Eventually she answered.

"Okay, good. I'll talk to oppa and ask for support. Even if it doesn't work, if I just put in effort, I should be able to draw out KK Foundation's support."

Though it seemed a long conversation would be needed.

Unlike Jin Seo-na's thoughts, her mother readily promised support.

Of course, there was a condition.

"Instead, can't you come home once every two weeks?"

"..."

Her mother's earnest request.

Jin Seo-na looked around the house.

The house atmosphere was quiet.

As KK Pharmaceuticals was half-conquered by Alex Pharmaceuticals, her father wasn't visiting home often.

Her mother's married life was ruined.

They were a show window couple.

That had continued for years.

No, there were signs of that even before Jin Seo-na came to the house.

And Jin Se-na was holed up in her room refraining from political and business circles as much as possible.

Not many people cared how KK Group's collateral branch lived.

She was slowly being forgotten.

In the end, her mother was probably spending time alone in this house.

Thinking that way─.

"─I'll do that. Since you're sponsoring, I should pay the price. Though I'll be busy, I'll visit whenever I have time and keep you company."

"Okay, thank you."

Jin Seo-na couldn't refuse.

She tried to ignore her mother's sobbing sound as much as possible.

The coffee tasted especially bitter that day.

In the end, unable to ignore the crying sound, she took out a handkerchief.

☆

National Ain Life Welfare Association.

Shortened to NALWA.

<Golden Tiger> Jin Seo-na created an organization by drawing in prominent Ains from Ain society.

NALWA quickly made its name known and drew in Ains who had felt disillusioned with the former Ain Association.

[Exclusive] NALWA representative <Golden Tiger> Jin Seo-na "I want to support Ains to live better lives. I don't have grand plans. I just want to resolve and help with issues they face in society."

Sirius, Alice, Luminous, KK, Hana Group, etc.

NALWA drew out sponsorship from business groups that the former Ain Association couldn't achieve.

It was possible because it was Jin Seo-na.

She was a figure in political and business circles.

Therefore, business groups promised continuous sponsorship to NALWA believing in her birth and image.

[Column] The start of a new Ain society. Who is <Golden Tiger>?

[Exclusive] Various corruptions the former Ain Association was hiding caught. Prosecution investigation launched

What draws public opinion in a short time is image.

Business groups supporting Jin Seo-na used her image.

New, fresh, new generation.

That image was greatly contrasted with the former Ain Association's image that had become fixed in the public as old, stagnant, old generation.

The former Ain Association lost power in an instant.

The majority of Ains remaining in the former Ain Association had no choice but to stay because there was no organization representing Ains.

They took this opportunity to leave the federation and join NALWA.

[Breaking] Former Ain Association rally protest attendance numbers decreased from previous day...

[Photo] Former Ain Association representative Baek Jin-ho appears

The first thing Jin Seo-na who became NALWA's representative told association members was one thing.

"We swear that we will fight for our rights but not use violence. We will create a new world in a different way from the former Ain Association..."

She established her position to some extent and strongly criticized the former Ain Association.

Then the former Ain Association's movement lost power even faster.

It was good news for PKK Group.

But they weren't free from the rapidly changing flow either.

A bomb dropped on them too.

[Haha! I have interesting news for listeners having a happy day. Gwanghwamun has been very noisy recently, right?]

[Yes, that's right. When passing through Gwanghwamun, you can hear people protesting, but honestly I don't understand the difficult things. Was it PKK Group? What on earth are pure Koreans? We're all the same people. Is there a reason to distinguish races?]

[I was just about to talk about PKK Group. You were curious what kind of group PKK Group is. I think I can resolve your curiosity today.]

PKK Group's information was revealed on various radio and SNS.

Of course, it became known that they don't actually make any effort, just do unproductive things playing games holed up in their rooms.

Their rank system was also exposed.

As a result─.

─Bastards treating life like a game.

I thought they were doing something wearing hoods, but it was just a game offline meeting?

Bastards living without making any effort.

Society's dropouts, life's losers.

Bastards lacking minimum sociability.

As PKK Group's true nature was exposed, they suffered huge image damage.

It was irreparable damage.

"No!! What do you know! How much effort I made! I made effort to enter a good university..."

"Loser."

"No, it's not... Listen to me..."

"Dropout."

""""...."""

Of course, PKK Group protested too.

But it didn't work at all.

No matter how they protested, people couldn't forget PKK Group's image they heard through radio broadcasts.

And their words deeply resonated with members too.

They knew too.

Whatever the reason, they were losers dropped out of society.

Effort was needed to achieve a better life.

But they gave up even minimum effort citing various reasons.

Furthermore, they tried to find the reason for living as society's dropouts not in themselves but in society.

Not wanting to make it their own fault, they blamed innocent society and Ains and foreigners who were striving for better lives.

"Mom! What's that on that person's face? It's cool! I want to do it too!"

"Hey! Young-ho! Don't go there!"

"Why?"

"If you go there, you'll become stupid too. Those people are bad people. You must never approach those people."

"Bad people? Are they villains?"

"Yes, they're villains. You should know that everyone dressed like that is a villain."

""""...."""

Their image plummeted in an instant.

It was so bad they were even branded as villains by children.

"I'm Noh Eun-ha! Buldak! Let's go!"

"Beep beep beep baba boo boo boo.... Young-ho, can I be <Cardinal > too? Or <Divine Spear> or <Diamond Sword>..."

"Only I can be <Cardinal >! Then you be <Azure Wind>! There are villains over there! <Azure Wind>! Let's go fight together!"

That was the end.

PKK Group could no longer be active.

They disintegrated.

They couldn't endure the situation of people pointing fingers and gossiping about them.

Or they realized how delusional their thoughts were after being bombarded with facts.

"No, it's not... I'm not a chuunibyou patient..."

"Why was I doing this. I shouldn't have done this because studying was hard. Let's study a bit harder."

"Farewell, I don't want to live like you guys."

And so PKK Group collapsed without a sound.

Members became ashamed of their black hoods and burned them.

Countless Silvers left.

Golds followed.

Platinums also turned back after deliberation.

Now only Master, Diamonds, and some Platinums remained in PKK Group.

"We must not give up like this! This is the enemy's ploy! We must unite even more at times like this!"

""""P!! K!! Clan!!""""

""""We are blood brothers!!""""

Remaining members didn't give up and held protests in Gwanghwamun.

The scale of protests greatly decreased.

A few Ains on one side.

A few PKK Group members on the other side.

Passersby snorted seeing them.

What protest with that number of people.

By then, even people holding protests realized the embarrassment.

Moreover─.

"─We're placed on the same level as those failures?"

The ripple effect PKK Group brought was truly great.

Ains protesting on the opposite side felt like they had become losers.

PKK Group members also felt more and more self-loathing as time passed.

The scale decreased even more.

When that happened, they chose the method of pitching tents in Gwanghwamun and holding hunger strikes.

It was on one such day.

"J-Jin Pa-rang appeared! Emergency!!"

""""...!!""""

Twelve Seats <Azure Wind> Jin Pa-rang.

There was an occasion for him to pass through Gwanghwamun.

PKK Group's Master heard the news and brought out members.

Jin Pa-rang was facing monsters with several players.

The Master who had become haggard from hunger strikes approached Jin Pa-rang without fearing even monsters.

"Y-y-you bad guy! Because of you this society is ruined..."

"Be careful!"

"Ugh...!"

Right then.

The players' attention was distracted.

The monster didn't miss that moment and escaped the encirclement.

It rushed at the Master.

At that very moment─.

─Blood Claw

"Are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Jin Pa-rang protected the Master while taking the monster's attack.

Soon he immediately counterattacked.

Jin Pa-rang didn't even care about the vanished monster and was busy checking the Master's well-being.

"Th-thank you..."

In front of the deadly crisis of a monster.

The Master expressed gratitude to him.

That was the end.

[Breaking] PKK Group representative Master clings to <Azure Wind> apologizing and atoning

[Photo] Master shedding tears

[Exclusive] PKK Group Master, "I will never live like this again from now on"

While having his life saved by an Ain.

PKK Group's last remaining reason for existence disappeared.

Protests no longer occurred.

☆

The incident quickly subsided.

The former Ain Association's existence became uncertain as the representative's corruption was revealed, and PKK Group was disbanded as the Master declared withdrawal.

Extreme former Ain Association members and PKK Group members were barely maintaining the organizations, but that was all.

They will no longer have the power to raise their voices in society.

"─You worked hard this time."

"Hoho, I only instigated a few people holed up at home. You set up the board, not me, President."

At a restaurant somewhere in Jongno-gu.

Galaxy Drone President Choi Jung-hoon had a meal with <Abyss > Seon U Hwa-ryeong that day.

The two had smiles on their faces even though the situation they planned didn't go as intended.

Of course it was natural.

All the two lost through this incident was some money and time.

If Choi Jung-hoon had to say he lost one more thing─.

"─By the way, will it be okay? You can't move Ain society anymore with this. When I asked the government, they said the former Ain Association probably can't be saved. It seems they'll stop at hiding Galaxy Group's name that sponsored the former Ain Association."

At most, he only lost the former Ain Association.

Choi Jung-hoon didn't mind at all.

He sipped his drink.

"The former Ain Association's use value was as good as over when they held the Ain movement a few years ago. People aren't complete fools, so they wouldn't keep falling for the former Ain Association's words."

"That means..."

"It's good to clean it up with this opportunity. It's regrettable that we can no longer influence Ain society, but I don't regret it."

Though they remain in 2nd place in the business world.

Galaxy Group still had many pieces they could move.

The former Ain Association was just a part.

Above all, he also gained the outcome of sowing poison in Ain society by sacrificing the former Ain Association.

"Ains' voices will become even stronger in the future. Society will change and respond to their demands."

"The flow of the times can't be helped. Ains' roles are becoming more necessary day by day."

"As much as that, the number of people losing their positions to Ains will increase too. Then how will they react?"

"Since there's a precedent... They'll blame their misfortune on Ains and say to expel Ains."

"If that happens, riots will occur again, Ains' sense of resentment will grow, and the thoughts of citizens watching the riots will change a lot too."

People probably realized through this incident.

That Ains and foreigners they pitied are no longer beings to be pitied.

Also that if they become just a little lazy, they'll be overtaken by people they considered beneath them.

If this incident hadn't occurred, people probably would have blamed the cause of that all on themselves.

But with PKK Group's precedent arising, people became able to blame the cause of their social obsolescence on Ains and foreigners.

"In that sense, it's a bit regrettable. If PKK Group hadn't disbanded like that, they could have become a long-term symbol."

"I'm sorry. But it was unavoidable. We had to be able to easily dispose of them anytime if things flowed seriously."

"Hmm, it can't be helped."

Choi Jung-hoon knew when to back down.

The person sitting across from him might be someone standing in an even higher position than himself.

<Abyss > Seon U Hwa-ryeong.

He was currently almost dividing the darkness equally with <King of Shadows> Han Chang-jin.

Situations where his help would be needed would arise in the future, so he couldn't go against his mood.

Therefore, he cut off the topic.

"Then I'll be leaving now. I can't stay in one place for long."

"Yes, it was enjoyable thanks to you. I hope we can meet again."

"It will happen before long."

Soon Seon U Hwa-ryeong stood up.

Choi Jung-hoon saw him off from the room, then put food he had barely touched into his mouth.

It was too much to eat alone.

He chewed on the food while lost in thought.

We should be able to reduce Pandora Clan's influence a bit with this incident.

Choi Jung-hoon gained two things from this incident.

One of them was breaking the power of Pandora Clan whose growth momentum was terrifying.

Even though Jin Seo-na created a new Ain association, no, because she created it, we can say we broke their power even more.

From now on, when Ain issues arise, Jin Seo-na will have no choice but to be entangled in those issues.

Though she may handle things wisely at first, as issues increase her handling will become clumsy and her eyes will become clouded.

The public was intoxicated by Jin Seo-na's image, they might feel fatigue seeing her appear in the media often.

But that was a secondary gain.

The reason Pandora Clan stably holds districts is because of Ains' and foreigners' expectations.

In the end, Pandora Clan has no choice but to move to meet their expectations.

What is Pandora Clan's strength?

The power of clan members?

Business group sponsorship?

Both were correct.

But we should also know there's public sentiment of people supporting them.

And Ain and foreigner public sentiment was reflected in the public sentiment.

Yongsan-gu and Jung-gu were special.

Foreigners and Ains were concentrated in those two districts.

Not stopping there, foreigners were even flocking from various places hearing Pandora Clan's prestige.

In other words, Pandora Clan has come to occupy the position of representative for Ains and foreigners.

Moreover, Pandora Clan has <Azure Wind> as a Twelve Seats.

If Ains and foreigners are attacked, Pandora Clan's name will inevitably be mentioned almost unconditionally.

Pandora Clan handled this incident excellently.

They put forward Jin Seo-na to create a new Ain association.

They protected Ain and foreign clan members.

They defended <Azure Wind>.

As a result, Pandora Clan was being praised by people as a clan that keeps faith with its members.

However, that will someday become Pandora Clan's shackles.

Such incidents will continue to occur in the future, and Pandora Clan will have to respond each time.

They'll have to protect district residents, and also protect clan members.

When that happens, their power will decrease.

Looking at it long-term, this is a fight I win as I have nothing to protect.

Choi Jung-hoon quietly laughed.

What if Pandora Clan stops protecting district residents and clan members?

Then people supporting them will immediately turn their backs.

So they have to keep protecting, and knowingly lose power.

It was a no-win situation.

It was fortunate for Choi Jung-hoon who felt a sense of crisis as two Twelve Seats emerged from Pandora Clan.

On the other hand, the last gain he obtained from this incident was─.

"─It's not <Future Sight>."

Choi Jung-hoon raised the corners of his mouth.

Since confirming Pandora Clan members' gifts 3 years ago.

Choi Jung-hoon had continuously harbored doubts.

And he was able to resolve his doubts through this opportunity.

Until now, Noh Eun-ha has shown quick responses when disasters come to the country or crises come to the clan.

So Choi Jung-hoon thought Noh Eun-ha or people around him could see the future.

Was it just him?

Other people were suspicious too.

To this, Pandora Clan put forward Noh Eun-ah and announced that she was the <Future Sight> holder.

Choi Jung-hoon didn't believe it.

Their announcement could be fabricated anytime.

So he used this opportunity to confirm who among Pandora Clan members could see the future, or if Noh Eun-ah was really the <Future Sight> holder.

As a result─.

"─It's strange. Pandora Clan didn't respond quickly, and while they delayed, the situation only grew bigger."

There is no person with <Future Sight> in Pandora Clan.

That was Choi Jung-hoon's judgment.

It might be that they couldn't predict this incident because it wasn't a monster disaster, but....

That can't be. They even found that Ha Baek-ryeon kid.

He clearly has the power to see futures related to himself.

Choi Jung-hoon judged.

He organized his thoughts while drinking alone.

"It's not <Future Sight>. But even so, there's a power to see the future..."

How should I interpret this?

Choi Jung-hoon's thoughts deepened.

☆

Meanwhile, at that time.

<Abyss > Seon U Hwa-ryeong left the restaurant and hid his body in the darkness.

It's not good to be seen.

I'll just return home without leaving traces like this.

I've given Choi Jung-hoon a hint, so I'll take the opportunity to kill the former Ain Association representative and erase evidence...

He walks on a dark path.

No presence was felt.

That's what he thought.

Thud thud

A presence was felt ahead.

Seon U Hwa-ryeong stopped walking.

It felt strange to sense a presence in a place like this.

Moreover, it was a time when people don't usually pass by.

"..."

Then did the other party sense his presence too?

The other party also stopped walking.

Then after a while, something rolled down the hill path.

Seon U Hwa-ryeong looked down at the sphere rolling to his feet without even mana imbued.

Accustomed to walking in darkness, he could easily confirm the identity of the sphere that rolled to his feet.

"Hah...."

It was former Ain Association representative Baek Jin-ho's head.

He was looking up at him with his eyes wide open.

Seon U Hwa-ryeong clicked his tongue.

He wasn't someone who would be startled seeing a human head in the middle of the night.

Now he tried to confirm the identity of the person who threw the head at him.

Right then─.

─Ox Step

Extreme Needle Strike

A human figure disappeared.

It was a man.

A familiar face.

...Noh Eun-ha!?

Pandora Clan Lord Noh Eun-ha.

Seon U Hwa-ryeong was shocked confirming his identity.

While hurriedly trying to block the falling blade─.

─Worm Hole

Seon U Hwa-ryeong was stabbed in the side.

He couldn't believe the fact that he was stabbed by a sword.

In contrast, Noh Eun-ha was composed.

"I was waiting to see who was behind, I didn't know it would be the Surveillance Bureau Director."

"P-Pandora Clan Lord. What on earth are you doing..."

"This is good. I wanted to get rid of you right in front of me anyway."