12 Hours After

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

After Crow left, I came down the hill again. I drove away the Porsche that I had parked in the parking lot of the National Library, and went back to my apartment, passing through Seoul National University of Education Station. I threw my sweaty clothes into the laundry basket and took a shower. I washed away the sweat and turned on the air conditioner. The cool breeze of the air conditioner blew away the remaining water from my skin and made me feel a few times cooler.

“Hoo… it was hot last year, and it seems like it’s getting hotter every year.”

Well, if I thought about it, one of the most recent stocks I’d been trading was that kind of stock. [Due to the scorching heat, demand for air conditioners has soared. The stock price of Ilsung Electronics hit the upper limit price.]

And the theme stocks also occurred. [Increase in demand for power due to heat. Blackout related stocks are all up.]

On reflection, I had known in the spring that this summer would be very hot.

‘It turns out I’ve been thinking about buying stocks and memorizing the names of the stocks… Even though I’ve earned tens of million dollars, I’ve not thought much about the stories behind them.’

As I lived on numbers, I tended to overlook the side that touched my daily life. I stood in front of the air conditioner for a long time, cooling myself down and thinking about Crow. Strange things abounded. First of all, apart from his clothes, I couldn’t know whether he was a white, a black, or a yellow man, along with his mysterious words and his appearance. ‘He’s… that’s really weird.’

I sat down at my computer desk. The computer for trading was still on. Today was the day I received the Master Class Guide, so instead of trading myself, I set the automatic algorithm trading system and went to work.

‘… It’s all going well.’

I left the computer alone, slid over in front of the game computer and turned it on. I opened the mailbox by floating an Internet window and opened a link to Customer Service through the email 12 Hours After. The chat window appeared soon.

– Hello, customer Han Sang-hoon. How may I help you?-

The Customer Service welcomed me with its usual kindness. In any case, the greeting was friendly.

‘The problem is that their answers are unkind.’ I asked what I was curious about, thinking about it.

– How do I get the results from the request I made to Crow?-

As expected, the answer came in 0.1 seconds.

– After thirty days, you will meet face to face and receive a report when the investigation is complete. Please specify the time and place to receive the report through this email.-

I guessed I would have to meet like that every time and get the report.

‘This is burdensome to me… But if that strange basic outfit is somehow resolved, it won’t be too difficult to meet.’

I decided to ask them something else.

– Is there any possibility that Crow can get caught while he’s working? For example, as he investigates someone, getting caught by the target.-

– That’s not going to happen. Crow is a very able reporter.- There was a firm answer.

I looked at it and thought, ‘He’s a very able reporter… but he seemed unfamiliar with the word “reporter” itself.’

He had said to me, “I’m a man who sells information for a price.”

When I heard the explanation, I felt more like a spy than a reporter. At any rate, he seemed to be professional as far as his job went. I took the mouse cursor to the top of the chat window. I had asked everything I could ask; I didn’t think I’d get a proper answer if I asked more. But I decided to turn the cursor and just ask the Customer Service things that came to my mind. No matter what I asked them, they would answer.

– What kind of country is Crow from?-

There was a longer answer than I expected.

– I understand that when Crow became a Crow, he destroyed all his identities, such as age, name, and nationality. His nationality is now meaningless.-

It wasn’t exactly an answer which resolved my question.

– He said that he’s been sent to this world, and isn’t he a man of this world?-

– He is a man of this world and he is not.-

It was a biggie, a secret of the Customer Service. It was answered to a certain extent.

‘So he’s not an ordinary person.’

The one sending this email certainly seemed to be on the border between reality and unreality, like Crow was rather unrealistic.

– Who is Crow’s boss?-

– Crow’s boss is Master Crow.-

‘Master Crow?’ Crow’s boss name seemed to be Master Crow, the man who put him in the odd coat of fur, the one even the strange Crow said was strange.

– What the hell is this Master Crow?-

This time there was an even stranger answer. -Master Crow is the owner of ‘Darker Dan Black’ and one of the strongest in the world.-

‘Darker Dan Black? Master Crow? The strongest in the world?’

Those words were a little funny.

– What’s strong?-

– People who know information are strong. He has a lot of crows and a lot of information about the world.-

‘It is not likely to be wrong, saying that he is strong. The reason why I’m strong right now is that I know the future. It doesn’t mean simply being socially strong.’

I followed that point. – Is he physically stronger than me? If I shoulder throw him in the Judo training center…-

– He won’t be beaten by you. He will know which way you’ll jump if he plays Judo with you.-

– Oh, really?-

I felt as if I was in touch with something outside the world. I asked one last question out of curiosity. – The Master Crow, can I see him?-

– I know that he is very busy at this moment. I don’t think you’ll be able to meet him.-

When I looked at the reply, I felt a little bit disconcerted and scrolled up a little bit.

– I understand… he destroyed all his identities.-

– He will know which way…-

– I know that he is very busy.-

– I don’t think you’ll be able to meet him.-

There were all speculative answers.

Usually, this Customer Service had spoken conclusively.

– It is…-

– Yes.-

– No.-

Customer Service was secretive and looked completely innocent, but it seemed to be unsure here.

‘That’s unusual…’

I turned off the chat window here, and for a moment I leaned back in the chair and thought about Crow.

‘I was so embarrassed when we met, and I didn’t think… Now that I think about him, I feel a little sorry for him. He was wearing that kind of outfit in the world these days, and he followed as I ordered… Maybe he has been working under some strange contract.

‘If Crow brings the result a month from now, I’ll buy him a nice meal and talk with him. I don’t know the Master Crow, but I want to be a good boss. After all, this is the end of the Master Class adaptation.’

I caught a glimpse of the automatic trading program on the computer next to me.

‘Today, there is nothing to sell, but something to buy’ The split-buying actually made little difference, whether I was forced to touch it or not. Sometimes the computer was better than if I did it myself.

‘Then today… shall I take a break to call Ah-young and go out for a date with her?’ Come to think of it, Ah-young said she was going to her relatives’ house in the countryside today.

‘Well, then…’ Ah, there was one thing I was going to do today: buy a new car. I’d received the Master Class and I would buy another car. I picked up my cell phone and called Secretary Seo.

“Yes, boss.”

“Secretary Seo. Take the car and come to my apartment. Let’s go buy a new car.”

“What kind of car… do you mean?”

“This time, I’m going to buy a sports car, like a Lamborghini or Ferrari.”

“Oh, yes. I’ll be right there, boss!” Secretary Seo answered jubilantly.

In fact, I just thought myself, ‘Shall I drive a sports car this time?’ but Seo Ji-hoon was more interested in cars than I was, so if I wanted to buy a car, he would like it more than I did.

‘By the way, when I had started my company, I had told him I’d let him have a Porsche in three years.’ There were two years left. Thinking about his salary now and his salary going forward, he would definitely have Porsche in two years.

‘No, at that time… I’ll just buy it for him as a celebration of three years’ service… and I’m sure he’ll be very happy.’

I waited for Secretary Seo to come, thinking about it. Not long after, the cell phone rang. I answered and told him, “Yes, I’ll be right down.”

He came really quick. It was close by, but he must have been excited to buy a car.

————————-

I looked around the dealership of the Lamborghini with Seo. Sometimes in Gangnam, I’d seen them go by, motor rumbling, but it was really pretty seeing them shine like this.

“This is an Aventador, sir.”

“Oh, that’s?”

“It’s a Uracan model.”

The salesman was a handsome man in his thirties. He was no older than I was, but he followed me and explained everything in detail.

“This model is a Midship equipped with a 6.5-liter natural intake V12 engine. The power output is 700 horsepower. It takes 2.9 seconds to get up to 100 kph. You can get up to 200 kph in 8.6 seconds and up to 350 kph…”

When I heard that, I thought frankly, ‘There’s no place to drive at 200 kph… no, it’s illegal to speed in the first place.’ There was no place in Korea to drive a sports car like that. I could only drive slowly between cars in Gangnam. It was the irony of a sports car.

‘But I didn’t buy it to run.’ The reason for buying it was that it had beautiful colors, smooth curves, and strong angles. It was purely aesthetic.

Secretary Seo came up to me and whispered, “It’s the hottest model in the world, Boss.”

It looked like it. It was really pretty. If I put it next to the Porsche Panamera and Bentley Bentay, it was going to be another good addition to my collection.

“So how much?”

“The factory price is five hundred and fifty thousand dollars…”

I didn’t listen to the numbers after that. I nodded and said, “I’ll buy this Aventador.”

My words brightened the salesperson’s face. Secretary Seo seemed to get vicarious satisfaction. I would let him do the test drive.

The salesperson gestured into the store, “Would you like to come over here for a moment?”

It must have something to do with the paperwork. I started to follow him in, but someone greeted me. “CEO Han, I am seeing you in a place like this. It’s been a long time.”

It was a familiar face. This was the third Lee son of the Daewon Daily News, Director Lee Won-jae, Kaiji.

For once I felt nothing wrong with him on the surface. I said to him with a slight salesman’s smile, “Yes, Director Lee, long time no see.”