Chapter 381: Determination

Lee Seola, the current chairwoman of Yuseong Group and South Korea’s de facto black hand, was extraordinary from an early age.

The Yuseong Group was one of Korea’s leading conglomerates.

Born the only child of the family that her grandfather founded, Lee Seola was raised to be the face of the group since she first realized her abilities as a child.

Her grandfather, a conservative man, had no intention of passing on the company to her.

Or, more accurately, he hadn’t given it to her father in the first place.

Lee Seola was only going to be used as the group’s chess piece, the A-list hero, Icicle.

However, he didn’t know that she was far more frighteningly extraordinary than he realized.

’Miss, what does that mean…’

‘If you become my person, I will fulfill your long-cherished wish for joining this company. How is it?’

She had known since childhood that she was not the chosen one but she didn’t have a problem with inferiority.

She knew that if she couldn’t have it, she could take it.

From an early age, she began to draw people from the group to her side, one by one, and gradually expanded her power.

It’s a frightening behavior for a girl of her age.

When she came of age, she had already taken over the company.

By the time her grandfather realized what was happening, it was too late.

…And so Lee Seola became the de facto ruler of the Yuseong Group but she was never satisfied with that, she wanted more.

Her dream was to take over all of Korea, that’s why she would do whatever it took to get there.

‘Hello, Ms. Lee Seola. I’m Egostic, nice to meet you. Ms. Lee, would you be interested in partnering with me?’

Even if it means joining forces with a villain that’s causing a stir in Korea.

‘Yes. I’m sure we can work together.’

And that choice, it worked.

She already knew he was more of an antihero than anything else.

…and as they continued to interact, she realized his true colors and grew closer to him than she ever thought possible.

With the support of the suspiciously well-informed Egostic, her expansionist behavior only intensified.

After taking control of the Yuseong Group, she has now turned her attention to South Korean politics.

While the president stumbled over the controversial launch of a nuclear missile into the nation’s capital, she teamed up with the legislative and political factions she had already co-opted to form the backbone of the new government.

…And then they took over all the private companies, and then they took over the media.

Lee Seola became the de facto ruler of South Korea.

…Although, with the world in chaos, she’s had a hard time getting things back on track…

She’s risen single-handedly from the mascot of her family to the blackest shadow of Korea.

That’s Lee Seola….was now experiencing the biggest crisis of her life once again.

“Lee Seola, what’s your relationship with Egostic?”

Haru, with her blonde hair hanging down, quietly looked at her with her blue eyes and asked.

Feeling a tingling sensation throughout her body, she made up her mind.

…After all, this moment was bound to come at some point so she had prepared for it all along.

After all, she was the one who had brought together the unlikely pairing of Egostic and Stardus.

‘…In the end, it’s all for the sake of the day.’

Lee Seola thought to herself, and prepared to wipe her mouth.

After all, she had gotten to this point with her excellent situational judgment and her ability to persuade others.

She was confident.

…Although, more than she’d expected, she felt like saying the wrong thing here would be the end of her life.

Lee Seola hid her pounding heart and put on a relaxed expression. She smiled lightly, as if she hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Haru, I think you’re misunderstanding me a bit. Listen…”

She began, in earnest.

***

Seola and Shin Haru.

…It’s been ten years since they’ve known each other.

They were especially close, to the point where Haru was practically her only friend.

As such, Lee Seola knew a lot about Shin Haru, from her personality to her likes, quirks, and thought processes.

…After a lot of carefully calculated words and persuasion.

“…Okay. Okay. I’ll believe you. For now.”

In the end, she succeeded in calming her down.

…Still sitting a bit slumped, but this is something.

‘…I could have been in trouble.’

And so, looking at Haru sipping tea, she smiled on the outside and broke out in a cold sweat on the inside.

It took Seola a long time to explain to Haru how Egostic came to her for business and that there was nothing personal about it.

She felt like she was walking a tightrope in the sky, and she barely succeeded with the help of her best friend.

…But at least I got to live a little longer.

At that moment, Lee Seola was relieved.

“…So, Seola, what did you say earlier, that the Egostream kids are targeting Egostic?”

“Huh? Uh, that’s right.”

In response to Stardus’ question, Seola said.

Let’s make a common enemy and build up for the future. Seola informed Stardus that Ego Stream had formed a group and was targeting Egostic.

With that, Haru’s face became cold again, muttering coldly to herself.

“…I see. We have to take care of all of the Egostream villains…”

“No! No…! That’s not right, Haru.”

Haru started muttering in such an emotionless and frightening tone, so Seola quickly stopped her.

“…Then what, do you want them to take him away from me?”

Haru replied with such cold words while Seola swallowed hard and thought quietly to herself.

From now on the grand plan she designed, the plan that would resolve the Egostic quarrel, would begin.

The reason she’d kept Stardus and Egostic together all this time.

‘…The Egostream is hard to keep apart.’

Already, the cohesion within the Egostream was unbreakable. There was no room for interruption. They’ve already said that they want to be connected.

It would be very hard for her to fit in, since the Egostream connected with Egostic first.

‘In that case, it’s best to have her connect with Stardus first.’

Stardus was the only person she could open up to….and her friend.

Of course, even that won’t be easy…

‘The problem is the Egostream.’

If they find out he’s dating Stardus, will they give up?

No. Of course not.

They’d either kidnap him or imprison him. Either way, it wouldn’t be good for her or for him.

Especially not if there was a fight between the Egostream and Stardus…

Ugh……that would be the day of our nation’s destruction.

She’d have to stop that.

So, in the end, the only way to make everyone happy is to accept everyone.

That was Seola’s conclusion.

As long as Stardus is the first, then the Egostream will be happy as long as it continues…The same goes for everyone else, and Seola sees herself as a natural fit as a mediator between Stardus and Egostream.

‘…The law, well. I can change it.’

In other words, she just needed to convince Stardus.

This was the only answer that would make everyone happy.

So Seola, alone and with a huge mission, began to speak to Stardus solemnly.

“But, Haru, the Egostream, they probably don’t want to give up Egostic.”

“What?”

“They’ll probably kidnap him…Or they’ll go to extreme lengths to get to him, even if it means risking their lives. They’ve been living together for a while, and it’ll be hard for even the most emotionally weak of them.”

Haru’s eyes grew even more sullen at Seola’s words.

“I see…We should throw them all in jail…”

“No…That would make him sad, and he might resent you. Imagine him giving you a look of resentment. Can you handle that?”

Haru’s eyes widened slightly at that.

‘…I’m disappointed, Stardus.’

Seola wondered if Haru thought of Egostic.

Anyway, now was her chance.

“Hmph. Haru….So, I’ve got an idea, a way for you to have the strongest connection to Egostic, while still keeping the Egostream in check.”

“…What is it?”

At her words, Haru looked intrigued.

Seeing Haru like that, Lee Seola spoke in a calm voice.

“Haru, have you ever heard of the term ‘legal wife’?”

Lee Seola began to prepare to open her mouth in earnest, using her years of experience as the president of a large company, with the determination that the fate of the world rested on her back.