Legend of Legends

The chief’s office was really spacious. There were high-class sofas and tables, and a large desk was in front of a window.

Eunseo offered him a seat:

“Please, take a seat.”

Junhyuk sat on a sofa, and she drove her wheelchair to stand next to the sofa.

“Did you look over the documents?”

“Yes. I got the files this morning and I’ve been going over them.”

“Did you understand the material?”

“I will need a little more time with it.”

Eunseo looked at him asked:

“By the way, do you speak English? When I went to give you the discharge papers, you were watching CNN.”

Junhyuk smiled ever so slightly.

“I’m not bragging, but I speak over ten languages.”

“Ten languages?! Your application did not mention anything about that.”

“I didn’t want to brag.”

Junhyuk scratched his head, and Eunseo looked at him seriously.

“I hope you are not lying about the ten languages.”

“Of course!”

“How fluent are you in those languages?”

“I have no problem conversing or writing up documents.”

“You speak, read and write in ten languages?”

“Yes.”

“I am surprised. I’ll have to check on what you are telling me, but, if you are being honest, we will be working together for quite some time.”

She might want to use him as an interpreter, but he smiled at the thought of working with her. Eunseo fixed her glasses and said:

“Let me know if you have any problems.”

“OK.”

“Work hard today.”

“I will get going.”

Junhyuk said goodbye and went outside. He took his seat and looked over his files. A while later, a shadow appeared behind him.

Junhyuk lifted his head and saw Mr. Jang standing there, smiling.

“Do you want to have lunch with me?”

He checked his watch, and it was already lunchtime. He had been so focused that time had passed without him noticing. Junhyuk arranged his files and got up. Mr. Jang looked around and said:

“Jangho and Somin, you should come with us. You are all new employees.”

Somin smiled and asked:

“Do you want to have sausage soup again?”

“It’s the best! The best!”

Jangho didn’t utter a word, and just stood behind them. Junhyuk put on his jacket and backpack. He followed Mr. Jang to Granny’s Sausage Soup Restaurant. Mr. Jang said the place was famous.

Junhyuk had seen it on the internet, so it should be good. It was lunchtime, and many people were standing in line. Since it was a soup place, the people ate quickly and left fast.

The line shortened, and the group was able to get inside.

Mr. Jang did not ask what the others wanted and just ordered:

“Granny, four sausage soups.”

“OK. Just a moment.”

Mr. Jang wiped his hands with a wet towel and said:

“So, did you read over those files?”

“Yes, I haven’t finished, but I understand what’s going on.”

“Really?”

Junhyuk also wiped his hands with a wet towel and asked:

“However, aren’t we losing something by collaborating with Robotics? That’s what I feel.”

“Yes, you’re correct.”

Mr. Jang looked around and spoke in a hushed tone:

“Looking at engineering, their contribution is larger than ours.”

Jangho, who hadn’t spoken so far, started talking:

“However, Robotics is a military supplier. Considering the fact they are making medical equipment, that will favor the world’s opinion of us. I don’t think we are losing anything.

“We don’t have the name recognition like Robotics does just yet, but, if this collaboration is successful, we will grow significantly.”

Junhyuk nodded and asked:

“By the way, is it really possible?”

Mr. Jang smiled.

“It’s possible. The trial stage is already over.”

“That’s amazing!”

Robotics was the best in robotic engineering. They said they discovered a new territory: making robotic arms and legs for prosthetics.

To use robotics as medical equipment required enormous sums of money, but first, they would use it on abnormal narcolepsy patients. The research was being supported by W.A.N.C.S., and they also secured the supply route.

The experimental stage was over. When the prosthetics went on sale, people would believe the research. It would be costly for people without limbs, but it was still a revolutionary step.

Somin was arranging spoons and said:

“Should we work with Robotics on marketing?”

“Concerning marketing, Robotics will let us do our job because they’ve been making military equipment, so people don’t think too highly of them.”

“Is that right?”

Mr. Jang smiled and said:

“When the collaboration becomes a success, we will be really busy.”

“Busier than we are now?”

“Of course!”

Everyone sighed, and the soups came out. Mr. Jang picked up his spoon, smiled and said:

“Eat well so that you will be strong enough to work.”

Junhyuk heard him and took a spoonful of his sausage soup.

“It’s delicious!”

Granny was placing soups at the table next to him. Suddenly, she slapped Junhyuk’s back very hard. Junhyuk almost went face-first into the soup, and he turned around to complain. Granny smiled at him.

“Of course, it’s delicious. You should eat a lot.”

“I will.”

“You don’t have to say anything nice. You are paying to eat.”

Granny left, and Junhyuk smiled and picked up his spoon. He had to survive at all costs in order to enjoy moments like this.

Mr. Jang looked at him and asked:

“Delicious, isn’t it? There’s no place like this around here.”

“Right.”

Junhyuk thought it was really delicious. Somin was tired of eating sausage soup, but picked up her spoon. Jangho also began eating.

They went to the office after finishing lunch. Mr. Jang smiled and said:

“Do you want to have a smoke?”

Junhyuk shook his head.

“I’m sorry. I don’t smoke.”

“Really? Jangho, do you want one?”

“Sure.”

Jangho followed Mr. Jang, and Somin asked:

“Should we have some coffee?”

“Sure.”

He had no reason to keep his distance from her, so he followed her. She got two coffees from a vending machine, brought them over and asked:

“Do you have a lot of work?”

“I’ve only read half of the files I’ve been given.”

Somin smiled a little.

“That’s nice. The workload depends on the day, so you might get more files.”

“Really?!”

He already had enough files for a day. It would be like that every day, and that could be a problem. Junhyuk needed to train. It was an unwelcome situation.

“When do we get off work?”

“Don’t think about it. We are on probation, so we can’t get off before the others do it first.”

Junhyuk realized that he needed to work out while he read the files, and, in two weeks, if he had to work late on Friday, he had to come up with an excuse to get off work.

He was thinking about making excuses on Friday when Somin talked to him:

“What are you thinking about?”

“It will be tough from now on.”

Somin smiled and said:

“You should learn your job fast. They don’t go easy one you just because you are on probation. You have to make suggestions to improve the workflow. Jangho already made two suggestions.”

“Really?”

He knew Jangho would work well, but he did not know how fast Jangho would actually work.

“I should work harder.”

“Let’s work harder.”

Somin made a fist, and Junhyuk laughed and made a fist of his own.

“Work harder!”

After finishing his coffee, he was told to report to the chief’s office and headed there. Inside the office, Eunseo was looking at her tablet. When he walked in, she lifted her head and asked:

“Did you have a nice lunch?”

“Yes, how about you?”

Eunseo nodded and said:

“The advertisement photo shoot has been scheduled.”

“Already?”

Eunseo nodded and continued:

“We should do it as soon as possible for the benefit of the company. Here is the contract.”

Eunseo pushed the contract forward, and Junhyuk’s eyes widened.

“The pay is that high?!”

Junhyuk couldn’t take his eyes off the contract. Eunseo fixed her glasses and grinned. He lifted his head, and she spoke as usual:

“It’s an ST Capsule Ad. Even though you are an employee, didn’t you expect to get that much?”

“I really…”

He did not imagine that amount and lowered his head.

“Thank you.”

Eunseo thought Junhyuk always displayed his gratitude honestly and fixed her glasses.

“You should sign the contract.”

Junhyuk pulled out a pen and signed the contract, but he still couldn’t believe it. He hadn’t had that much money in his entire life, and he was earning it all at once.

—

On the 12th floor of ST Capsule’s headquarter, there were two men and a woman standing in the chairman’s office.

Looking relaxed, one man sat on a chair and asked:

“How is the progress?”

With her hair braided and up, the woman answered calmly:

“First, the new battery’s effectiveness has been confirmed. One needs to recharge it once a day, so it could be a problem, but, once charged, it works for twenty-four hours. It will be possible to market it, so don’t worry too much.”

“I already know about the engineering quality of Robotics, so I won’t worry anymore.”

“Trust us, Mr. Chairman.”

A man wearing glasses listened and said:

“W.A.N.C.S. is really cooperating.”

“I knew the president would understand.”

“Mr. Chairman, we are still looking for the people you’ve mentioned before.”

He was sitting, relaxed, but he slowly got up. The current ST Capsule’s CEO Doyeol Kim walked to a window and looked outside. He looked at the night and the scenery and answered:

“There is nothing you can do.”

Doyeol Kim made a fist with his hand until his knuckles turned white.

“Over there, minions have less than a one in 10000 survival rate.”

“Going by that rate, shouldn’t there be at least ten survivors?”

“It depends on the rate. Until now, there have been no survivors, so, we might get some of them all of a sudden. Don’t trust the rate too much.”

Doyeol looked at Elise, who was from Robotics, and asked:

“What about that thing you’ve been preparing?”

“A thousand are ready.”

“That might be too few?”

“It requires secrecy. There is nothing we can do.”

“We need at least 10,000.”

“I will get it done.”

Doyeol looked out the window and said:

“Tell the president I will visit him later.”

Gukhyeon Ang, the W.A.N.C.S. South Korean Bureau Chief, smiled and said:

“I heard he will return soon.”

“I will see him then.”

“I will tell him.”

Elise and Guheyon left, and Doyeol touched the glass window. His hand shook lightly.

“Can’t I go back?” Doyeol murmured and made a fist with his hand.