Chapter 1487.2

The blankets rustled as Hyun-Ah woke up. She opened her eyes and clutched her throbbing head. “Ugh... My head. My goodness, it’s killing me...”

Feeling sick to her stomach, she rolled around in bed.

Then, she noticed Red Ribbon peeking at her through the partially open door, her eyes narrowed as she watched her suspiciously. Below her stood Blue Ribbon, poking her head out with a blank expression.

Her head killing her was one thing. Nonetheless, Red Ribbon was as adorable as ever.

When she reached out to her, the little girl backed away and shrieked, “Eek!! I don’t like you, Auntie Hyun-Ah!!”

Seeing Red Ribbon scamper away, Blue Ribbon flinched and ran off with her.

“R... Red Ribbon?” Hyun-Ah’s hand froze in midair, as if a lover had just abandoned her. She slowly looked around.

It was her room, but everything was a mess for some reason.

At the same time, a terrible hangover gnawed at her head. “Aaaaah... I’m going to die for sure... I was crazy, I was crazy! To drink that much...”

It was so severe that she only vaguely remembered what even happened the previous night.

Just then, she felt a strong, eerie sensation hit her head, overcoming the hangover pain. “Wait... no way. I didn’t make a mistake, did I?”

She had definitely been drinking alone with Chris Marten. She had gotten so wasted that anyone could’ve carried her off, so she worried she had done something weird while drunk.

She frantically checked herself.

“Okay, good. I still have my underwear on.” She didn’t feel odd pains or anything like that, either. “I’m crazy, I’m seriously crazy!! I must’ve been crazy to drink so much...”

She then wondered if she had done something embarrassing while drunk. Just as she was thinking that, she saw Red Ribbon glaring at her again through the door crack. “Red Ribbon?”

The little girl watched her warily like prey watching a predator, then carefully tiptoed into the room. She then handed her a smartphone.

“Auntie Yeon-Hee told me to give this to you!”

Hyun-Ah took it and lightly tapped the screen. Her face turned pale in an instant.

“Good job coming back home that drunk.” As soon as she heard Yeon-Hee, Hyun-Ah stared blankly as her eyes darted between the smartphone and her. “Heek!!!”

Then, as if she had seen something horrifying, she shrieked, tossed the phone aside, and pulled the blanket over her head. She kicked wildly under the blanket, making dust fly everywhere.

“Just kill me! Please, just kill me!!!”

The video on the smartphone showed her embarrassing drunken antics from the night before.

“Quit making a fuss and get up,” Yeon-Hee told her. “You have a lot to do today.”

“H-how about some hangover soup first?”

“Why would I make you hangover soup? Just get up. Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon, shall we go get some ice cream?”

“O-oh, ice cream!”

“Please! Please! We want ice cream! Banana flavor, please!”

The two looked up with eyes gleaming with desire. They looked like starving beasts with food placed right in front of them, hopping up and down.

Yeon-Hee took Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon and left without hesitation.

Hyun-Ah called out after her, “S-Sis! Please, bring me some hangover soup!”

“You know that Hyun-Su came and carried you back yesterday, right? Do you know how much trouble he went through to bring you home after you passed out and acted like a drunkard at the headquarters bar? You even threw up on the way.”

Hearing that, Hyun-Ah froze, petrified. “No... no way... In front of everyone?”

“Be thankful it wasn’t in front of anyone, you brat.”

“Phew...” With a sharp feeling of horror and relief, she patted her chest. “Ugh... I’m dying! Seriously, I feel like someone hit me with a huge bulk deal bundle of hangovers.”

In fact, Davey had indeed hit her with a bundle of hangovers, but she didn’t know that.

“If I ever drink until I get like this again, I’m no longer human,” she mumbled to herself.

“Hyun-Ah.”

“Hmph?! U-Uncle?”

Hyun-Ah had grumbled as she walked into the living room, but froze the moment she saw her uncle on the couch on his tablet.

He advised, “You’re all grown up now, so it’s not my place to interfere, but try to watch how much you drink. If it had been anyone other than Chris Marten or Hyun-Su with you, there could’ve been trouble...” He trailed off, but she knew exactly what he meant.

He continued, “As you know, if you get caught up in a scandal, you’ll be the one dealing with the fallout. If it’s someone you truly love, there’s nothing wrong with moving quickly, but you still need to be careful.”

She looked down, embarrassed. “I’m sorry...”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. Apologize to Hyun-Su next time.”

“Yes...” She had nothing to say. She knew she had no excuses.

Even though she was suffering from a terrible hangover, it was all her own doing.

Sighing, she diligently prepared for work. She had no choice but to apply makeup, which she rarely used, to hide her hollow eyes and dark circles.

Even if she had to go to work looking half-dead, she couldn’t postpone her duties. Once she got to the office, she quickly scanned her work reports and sighed. “All this greed... Jeez.”

She confirmed that the government had once again demanded a whole blob of things. “Do these people think the Sacred Group belongs to them just because I’m Korean?”

Some politicians in the Korean government were trying to cause trouble for the company, claiming that the Sacred Group was making unfairly excessive profits through a monopoly.

Considering that the Sacred Group was an international corporation, that was a foolish move on the politicians’ part.

The Sacred Group worked with the Church of Neltarid as well as the International Federation, so it essentially wasn’t a corporation that belonged to any single nation.

It was true that the headquarters was located in Korea, but it also had other branches all over the world.

In addition, voices of concern were constantly being raised by them about Chris Marten’s long-term stay in Korea. An S-Class Awakened was practically a strategic weapon, after all.

It seemed they were offended that such a strategic weapon was active out of their sight, even if they were from allied nations.

The same was true for Kouna, as well. Of course, she was in a rather ambiguous position, but Chris Marten was strictly an American Awakened.

“I thought this government was quite friendly,” she mumbled to herself. “I can’t believe there are still people like this around.”

The place was crawling with people who wouldn’t hesitate to use the media against her if necessary, and she knew they’d be a pain to deal with.

Of course, what they really wanted wasn’t anything productive. They were essentially throwing a tantrum, demanding some type of compensation in exchange for putting on a show and backing off with a suitable excuse.

Sighing, she picked up her phone and made a call.

- Hello?

She spoke politely, but made no effort to hide her anger. “Hello. Nice to talk to you, Assemblyman Park. I got your number from your business card. This is Shin Hyun-Ah from the Sacred Group.”

- Ah, yes. How can I help?

‘How can I help? This greedy ass is running wild without even knowing his place in the food chain.’

Hyun-Ah sighed silently and kept at it with her calm voice. “Well, it’s about the official documents you sent to the Sacred Group this time.”

- Oh, that’s why you reached out. Yes. Is there a problem?

“Yes. Everything, from A to Z, is a problem. Wasn’t this already dealt with by the government?”

- Well, about that... I’d like to just let it slide, but rumors are already spreading among the people. We have to at least put on a little show, don’t we?

‘Let it slide? Is he joking? The Sacred Group isn’t doing anything illegal right now.’

Yet that fearless man was openly treating the Sacred Group like it had done something wrong just because he’d gained a little political power.

“You said you’d like to overlook it? I don’t understand at all what part is the problem.”

- Hahaha. Why is a young person like you so rigid? I want to help, too. However, the prolonged stay of a high-ranking American Awakened in Korea can cause anxiety among the public.

“Haah.”

- So, what I’m saying is... How about we help each other out? If I give a slight nod to the bill related to the Sacred Group this time...

“You’ll give a nod, and in exchange, you want us to pay the price, is that what you’re saying?”

- Ahem! My goodness. You young people must be ignorant because you lack experience out in the world. Do you not know how much impact every single word can have? Hmph. Hmph.

“You’re right. I apologize. Yes, it’s absurd for money to be involved in this kind of thing. But we’re in an unfair position as well, so I’d like to ask a favor. Chris Marten is an American Awakened, but he belongs to our company.”

- You? What do you mean? What are you trying to say, Shin Hyun-Ah?

“Don’t beat around the bush. And don’t you dare look down on me.”

- My, why can’t you understand what I’m saying? It’s for the sake of helping each other out. The idea is that you lend Chris Marten’s power a bit in the future, and I help the Sacred Group operate more comfortably. Nothing deep.

“Help, my ass. I’ve been polite this whole time, while you’re the one picking a fight for no reason.”

- You... you?

“Listen here, Assemblyman Park. Did you think you could look down on me just because I’m young?”

- W-what did you say?!

“Pick your battles wisely. I’m sorry to say this, but you know the Korean government doesn’t have the authority to carelessly interfere with the Sacred Group, right?”

- Are you... is a mere company picking a fight against the state right now?

“Not the state, but you,” she firmly declared. “And as long as Korea is part of international organizations, you know we can’t be forcibly expelled without a special reason, right? You must also know that if Korea gets kicked out of the international organizations, they won’t be able to sign a trade contract with Tionis?”

- You... if I really put my mind to it...

Her voice turned ice cold. “Go on. Try it.”

- You!

“Go ahead and try,” she repeated. “Chris Marten is a valuable contracted Awakened in our company. I don’t know what kind of nerve you had to pick a fight with the Sacred Group, but if necessary, I’ll take this fight all the way to Tionis. Keep going if you really want, eh?”

- You! Is there a reason why you’re acting this way?! Chris Marten is a great asset! Is it really so hard to lend him out a little?! Young people these days have no heart... What does it matter? He’s not even someone important to you.

She shouted, “He is someone important, you bastard!!! If you ever say that nonsense to me ever again, I’ll meet you for a full political brawl. I don’t know how many people will take your side in the political arena. You better pick your fights wisely.

- You... you’ll regret this!!

He hung up, flustered, but there was nothing he could do anyway.

It was annoying that there were occasionally people among the elected assemblymen who pulled stunts like that.

“Haah. Shits like that are seriously annoying.”

Sighing, she raised her head. Her eyes abruptly widened the moment she saw who was in front of her.

Chris Marten was watching her with an utterly moved expression. “Oh, my god... I can die happy now...”

As he knelt down with a look of serene bliss, spreading his arms into a Y as if he were ascending to heaven, Hyun-Ah screamed, her face bright red, “W-why in the world are you here?!”