WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 297: Sacramento (12)

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“Several million... hm, several million... I can put that much together on my own. First, I know a company that would lend it on good terms-”

The company in question was a pizza franchise connected to the Intelligence Agency.

‘Even if the amount is fairly large, it does not have to come directly out of the CIA’s own budget.’

The Intelligence Agency still had considerable political and administrative influence. Its position had narrowed somewhat lately, but it should still be enough to play games with refugee aid funds.

That was part of Gyeoul’s unique position as a refugee leader, and it was the best possible move for the Intelligence Agency. They could make themselves look generous, create leverage over him, and take no major loss themselves.

They would, of course, call it money given freely, but it would clearly have to be paid back somehow.

“And there is also someone I can personally ask for help-”

He had Ju Wei in mind.

“And lastly... even if I dip into my personal assets, it should come to one million dollars.”

“One million...”

Gyeoul explained further for the stunned Ensign Cheon.

“Of course, it is not money I saved from my salary.”

“Then how?”

“When I was in San Francisco, I received a cooperation request from the blockade line command. They said transport capacity was limited, but there were too many gifts from civilians and nowhere to store them. So they asked if I would agree to authorized disposal. The contract came with it, so I signed it and sent it back.”

He had even recorded audio stating that he had not been coerced, but judging by the fact that it had never been made public, there had probably been no major trouble.

“Have you seen anything in newspapers or broadcasts asking people to refrain from sending gifts to the quarantine front?”

“Uh, yes.”

“That was because of me. Probably.”

“...”

“Anyway, the money has not been deposited yet, but they said it was backed up at several logistics centers in every state, so I figured it would be over one million dollars at least. Seeing how long the disposal is taking, things must still be coming in even now. You know how plenty of people do not listen even when they are told not to... Seonwoo Joseph, if you have something to say, say it.”

He had that look. Seonwoo Joseph asked as if he had been waiting.

“Are the things you just said true?”

“What part? Did I look like I was lying? All of it is possible.”

“I was not asking whether it was possible or impossible... Hm, I was asking if you would really do that.”

“It is better than robbing a bank, is it not?”

“...”

For some reason, both of them seemed shaken. Gyeoul made his tone even colder.

“I do not understand. There are so many holes that I do not even know where to start pointing them out. Who do you think would be suspected first if an empty vault was discovered later? Obviously us. This was our station.”

He paused for a beat, then continued.

“There is no way mutants would take money... and no chance isolated civilian survivors mustered tremendous courage for the sake of the future. They are too busy surviving right now... Or what, did armed robbers cross the blockade line? Because they thought mutants would be easier to deal with than the police?”

A new suspicion came to him as he looked at the two silent officers.

“I will believe you were not trying to pin it on the Rangers.”

But nine times out of ten, they must have had that in mind. The unit that had handed the state capitol over to Gyeoul’s task force was the Rangers, so unless clear evidence was found, responsibility would inevitably become murky.

‘All the more because of my name.’

If Gyeoul’s image was damaged, Gyeoul would not be the only one taking a loss. Why else would the public affairs office be so frantic? War bond sales would be affected, of course, and so would the sparks Joanna had been worried about.

Unless the two ensigns were fools, they must have calculated that far too.

But there was no guarantee things would go that way. From the perspective of the Republican Party presidential candidate, Gyeoul would be a serious political nuisance. Whatever the candidate personally thought, Gyeoul was the biggest reason public opinion opposed reducing refugee aid. If that person took the White House, a robbed vault would become excellent justification. They did not even necessarily need to drag Gyeoul down.

「The refugee soldiers betrayed the Major’s expectations.」

Something like that would be enough. They could simply separate the public’s idea of Gyeoul from the refugees. In some ways, it was the best method. They could save the budget while still using a war hero as a war hero.

“Besides.”

Gyeoul pointed it out again.

“Image is a problem too. Perception of refugees is already bad enough, and imagine if we got caught stealing on top of that. We would lose support we could have received. Is the risk not too high compared to the amount? Even spending several million dollars on advertising would not be enough, yet you want to hold a several-million-dollar bomb in your arms... I am starting to wonder if this proposal was made in your right minds.”

The criticism continued.

“The Treasury Department is not that easy to deal with either. Did you not see it before? When Fort Roberts’ residential district was completed, people like Baek San-ho laid out bags of money to speculate in land, and the Secret Service came looking right away. I only learned about it later while talking to Department Head Min, but the two of you must have seen it yourselves, did you not? You only left there after spring had passed.”

The Treasury Department even had its own intelligence agency. In Korean terms, it was like having a National Intelligence Service-like department under the National Tax Service.

“Ensign Cheon, I heard you lived in America for a few years. Is that right?”

“Yes! That is correct!”

“Did people around you not tell you things like that? Not to keep large sums of money in a bank. That once it goes over ten thousand dollars, the Treasury Department checks it, and things get troublesome.”

“I heard it a few times.”

“This is a country where large money movements are always reported, where even buying a single car requires the dealer to file a mandatory report. And you want to start a business and buy agricultural machinery? Is that possible? Should we leave the money laundering to the Triad? Even if they are criminals, I doubt they have that kind of capacity right now.”

Ensign Cheon swallowed hard enough for her throat to move, then opened her mouth with the look of someone who had made up her mind.

“...That is why.”

“What do you mean, that is why?”

“Because it would be difficult to use or move, Company Commander... no, Little Captain. We thought that even if you gave up on us or left us, it would be money left behind. In that situation, even money that is difficult to use would be better than having none. At the very least, it would be usable as pocket money to buy daily necessities.”

What was this now? Gyeoul narrowed his eyes slightly.

“I understand less and less. Why would I leave?”

“I apologize for not telling you everything honestly from the start.”

She lowered her head, unable to hide her gloom.

“But the closer the day of our return came, the more worried we became. As you said yourself, Little Captain, we were at Fort Roberts until fairly recently. As for how the people there have been living, I and Seonwoo Joseph here probably know better than you do, Captain.”

Now he understood.

“...You mean I might get sick of them?”

“Yes. We are ashamed to show them to you.”

“It sounds like the ones disappointed in people are not me, but people like you.”

A short silence followed. Gyeoul tapped the table with his finger while waiting for a response. Tap, tap, tap. In place of Cheon So-min, who showed no sign of raising her head, Seonwoo Joseph straightened his posture.

“I find you difficult to understand, Company Commander.”

“Understand?”

“Yes. Understand. Even a moment ago. When I asked whether you were serious, I meant whether you would really take on debt or spend all your personal assets to help people. But you did not notice. You seemed to think of it as something so natural, and that startled me.”

The ensign took a breath and asked.

“How can you do that? Is there some reason you look after people to that extent? Do you have no personal greed at all?”

“...”

If it had been someone other than Gyeoul, they would have been greedy. Very much so. A comfortable, abundant life in a world that had pushed apocalypse to its limit. For people whose lives had been harsh while alive and whose afterlives were harsh as well, that was a goal anyone might wish for. In every world reconstructed based on the physical world’s past, as long as society was maintained, the importance of wealth was the same as reality. It was the scale that weighed desire.

But to Gyeoul, this world’s wealth had little meaning.

‘It would be a problem if I had none at all...’

It was a hardship he could overcome, or at least endure.

There was no proper way to convey that. A clumsy explanation would cause a Situational Computation error.

Gyeoul’s silence was easy to misunderstand. Seonwoo Joseph nodded faintly.

“It is normal for us to be anxious. Rather, I believe the people who trust that you will continue to stay with us no matter what, all the way to the end... or the people who have never thought about this kind of problem at all, are the strangely optimistic ones. And the selfish people who think only of themselves in this situation are the ones who mistake your goodwill for their right. You are someone who could succeed anywhere in America now and have no reason to envy anyone... someone who would have nothing to regret no matter when you left the refugee zone.”

After thinking for a moment, Gyeoul checked.

“So in the end, saying we should rob a bank was partly for the money, but also because you intended to test me?”

“I am sorry.”

“Good grief. I am not going to get angry or send you to the guardhouse, so both of you, please relax already. You can bring chairs and sit down too. It is really uncomfortable to look at.”

But the consideration was useless. The two ensigns stubbornly remained at attention. Still, they seemed to relax a little. It felt as if they had passed a crisis. Jin-seok and Yura had not chosen just anyone.

“Come to think of it, I had a similar conversation with Department Head Min before.”

Seeing the two platoon leaders’ expressions, Gyeoul made a small smile for them.

“Curious?”

Ensign Cheon asked carefully.

“What was it about?”

“Like I said, it was similar. Department Head Min was very cynical about people. That everyone was more or less the same. Selfish, emotional, and with clear limits.”

“...”

“And then Department Head Min asked me whether I wanted to believe in people. Back then, I just said, maybe, and left it at that...”

Gyeoul leaned back in his chair.

“If I were asked the same question now, I think I would give a different answer.”

That he wanted to believe people could be better than they were. That in the pages of the reconstructed past, he was searching for a possibility that might once have existed.

“Was there some kind of turning point?”

“Stars.”

“...Stars?”

“Yes. These days, every time I look at the stars, I end up thinking that.”

The answer must have come out of nowhere. Perhaps because of how Seonwoo Joseph interpreted it, Gyeoul could sense a gloomy sense of indebtedness from that side as well. Did the ensign think the company commander, younger than themself, counted stars when he felt frustrated?

It was a misunderstanding that did not matter either way. It was hard to say anything about Star Child’s growth.

How sad would it be to gain a human heart and then be disappointed in people? Even if that sadness was inevitable, he wanted to lessen it a little. If possible. He had never expected one star’s promise to deepen this far.

Gyeoul said,

“I know it is not much of an answer. It does not put you at ease, right? Objectively speaking, becoming a member of Congress for American citizens does seem better than becoming the governor of refugees.”

“...”

“I understand the feeling of wanting to have at least some money as insurance because there is no guarantee I will not abandon you, and because you are not sure about refugee aid policy. But even for your own sake, no. If that becomes a problem later, then even if I want to stay, it will become hard for me to stay.”

“...Understood.”

“Most of all, you are worrying far too much. I do not think I have ever shown signs of disliking them until now.”

“But... have you never been disappointed in people? Not even once?”

Ensign Cheon So-min’s question made Gyeoul laugh softly. It was not a smile he made or put on.

“There are probably few people who have been disappointed more than me. Though that may sound strange too.”

“No. It does not sound strange at all.”

A firm emotion could be felt in the almost reflexive answer.

“Well, anyway.”

Gyeoul wrapped up the conversation.

“Let us leave this discussion here. I think I have no choice but to show you through my actions. Seonwoo Joseph, Ensign Cheon So-min. Do you have any other business?”

The two ensigns exchanged glances and answered almost at the same time that they did not.

“Good. Then call the count loudly, do thirty push-ups, and leave. We will end your punishment with that.”

Rather than punishment, it was another act of consideration. It meant he would not make this incident an issue anymore. Either way, both of them were PT Grade 1, so thirty ended quickly. The two matched their pace exactly and saluted with barely any disturbance to their breathing.

After they left, Gyeoul took a letter from the drawer.

No sender, address, or postal code was written on it, but it was not hard to identify who had sent it. In the first place, it was strange for Gyeoul to receive a private letter at all. In other words, it had not been delivered through an ordinary route.

The perfume sprayed on the stationery was Ju Wei’s.

The letter was simple. One phone number and a couple lines of text. Since even that was written in English, anyone who did not know the situation would not understand it.

The contents were as follows.

「This is my number. If you need help, please contact me anytime.」

「And I will wait too. Though it is selfish of me, I cannot help it, so I hope you will not take offense.」

Gyeoul found the second line troubling. He had spoken confidently to the two ensigns, but when the time actually came to ask for help, he felt he would hesitate to contact her. Even if there was risk involved, receiving cooperation from the CIA side seemed more comfortable.

========== Author’s Note ==========

#...

Naver suddenly moved up the manuscript submission schedule, so I have been completely out of it.

This chapter was finished before dawn, but I am uploading it now to match the upload time.

I will postpone comment replies to the next chapter.

Footnotes:

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