After meeting my father, I returned straight to the Mount Baekdu base.
After arriving at the base, I tried calling by satellite phone, but Margreta and Catherine still had not finished their business.
It seemed I would have to put off going to pick them up a little longer.
I found myself with time to spare.
Since I had come to Korea, I could have met Director Han or officials from the Korean government, but I did not feel like it.
More than anything, I wanted to rest a little.
I crossed the base, which looked livelier than before, and headed for the container barracks Margreta had used.
The barracks were empty.
I sat on the sofa and stared blankly at the dark TV.
Many things flashed through my mind.
What had happened on Trappist, what I had done on Earth, meeting my father, and even hearing Soph’s story.
I let out a sigh.
“I suppose I need to get myself together.”
[There is still work left to do.]
Even Soph’s ordinary words no longer sounded ordinary to me.
I shook my head, picked up the remote rolling around on the table, and turned on the TV.
Click.
When the TV turned on, the Korean president appeared on the screen.
It seemed he was holding a press conference or making a political statement of some sort.
I could have changed the channel, but I simply stared blankly at the screen.
“……I am fortunate to be able to make this announcement. For now, we have escaped the worst-case scenario. The carbon dioxide and methane that had been pouring out of Antarctica have stopped. We cannot prevent Earth’s destruction, but at the very least—we have regained several years of time.”
It seemed to be a speech explaining what had happened during my recent trip to Antarctica.
Certainly, if they wanted to reassure people, such a speech was necessary.
However, what came next made me furrow my brows.
“The person who stopped the Antarctic eruption is a Korean who had been dispatched to Trappist. In addition to stopping Antarctica’s eruption, he has accomplished many other things. And now, our government is working with him to save as many people as possible in the time that remains.”
Was it to soothe public opinion?
The president had revealed that the person who solved the crisis was Korean.
And yet he did not say who it was.
I did not want my name exposed either, but I had never imagined he would reveal it in such an ambiguous way.
“Well, I guess this is the limit of what the Korean government can do.”
As I shook my head and watched the screen, the president concluded his speech with his final words.
“These are hard and painful times, but please trust the government and endure. We will not abandon our people.”
The president bowed his head toward the screen.
But there was something meaningful about those last words.
They would not abandon the people.
Then did that mean someone had?
Along with the president bowing his head, I sensed movement outside.
Several people stopped outside the door, and two people entered.
I asked the person coming into the barracks about those final words.
“Were there really people who abandoned the nation?”
“Yes. There were many who abandoned both the people and the country. Because of that, it was not easy to maintain martial law.”
The people who entered the barracks were Director Han, whom I had seen not long ago, and an older man.
The answer came from the older one.
He was currently on TV, bowing his head.
The president of Korea.
He had come here in person.
The president sat down on the sofa opposite me.
The president sat before the TV screen where he himself was bowing his head.
Since the TV speech was a recorded broadcast, it was not strange for him to appear here, but to think he had come to see me in person like this.
I had seen the president before, so it was not enough to shock me, but this still felt rather unreal.
Click.
I turned off the TV.
I asked the president.
“Did you come to see me?”
“I did.”
I had thought as much, but what had brought the president all the way here?
“What brings you here?”
“There is the matter of expressing my gratitude for what you have done, and also seeing the Mount Baekdu base for myself, but…… truthfully, I came to ask for your help.”
This president truly was unlike a politician.
Just like last time, the president spoke frankly.
At his words, I sighed inwardly.
As Soph had said, it seemed this was no time to rest.
I straightened up and said to the president,
“Please go ahead.”
At my words, the president also changed his posture.
After choosing his words for a moment, the president clasped both hands together and earnestly asked for help.
“It is exactly as I said in my speech…… We must evacuate people from this Earth during the time you have earned us. And you are the only one who can do that.”
I looked at the president with puzzled eyes.
“Did you not say in your speech that we were already looking for a way together? I also handed over enough stimulants this time.”
Wondering if the stimulants had not been delivered, I looked at Director Han.
“They were delivered immediately.”
Director Han hurriedly shook his head.
He was not lying.
Then there was no problem.
Honestly, at this point, the stimulants were something I was handing out without any benefit to myself.
If they were saying that was not enough, I was confident I could cut ties with the Korean government too.
However, the president bowed his head before me.
“I am grateful for the stimulants. Thanks to them, we were able to save many people, and we will be able to save many more.”
The president’s gratitude, directed not at the entire nation but at me.
It was an impressive experience, but my question still had not been answered.
The president continued.
“However, the number of people who can obtain those stimulants is far too small. In the end, only a few hundred people can become candidates to use them. With that number, even if several years pass, we will hardly be able to save anyone.”
That, too, had been special treatment given only to Korea, but the president’s words were not wrong.
Still, there were other ways to leave Earth.
“The stimulants are not the only option, are they?”
“There were the Paradise tickets as well, but……”
At my question, the president trailed off.
It was strange.
Through the Trappist dispatch, Korea should have received many Paradise tickets.
Between the share for the Mount Baekdu base, the share for the families of the dispatched team, and the allocation according to the black stones, Korea should have had the most tickets after the United States.
Come to think of it, I had not heard that the families of the Korean dispatch members had gone to Paradise.
I had intended to bring all the team members’ families to Trappist’s underground city, but the fact that none of the Korean dispatch members’ families had gone to Paradise was somehow strange.
When I stared at him, the president let out a sigh.
“It was entirely my failing.”
Along with that admission of fault, the story the president revealed was quite surprising.
“The so-called powerful people, politicians and chaebols, diverted the Paradise tickets. While I was focused on securing the stimulants, I failed to stop them from taking the tickets and fleeing.”
The air grew cold.
Director Han, who had been watching from the side, darkened in expression.
At the president’s words, faces came to mind.
The politicians and chaebols who had said they would sponsor me, and even the third-generation chaebol heir who had been stationed at this base.
“Among those who diverted them, were the ruling party leader and the people from HS Trading?”
“So you knew. Those two were at the center of it. A considerable number of ruling party assemblymen and even officials were in league with them, so it was difficult to stop.”
I had been deceived too, so I had nothing to say.
“So they were not trying to monopolize the dispatch support work.”
“Their goal was the tickets.”
Thinking about it now, there had been hints in several places.
They had coveted the stimulants that much, so there was no way they would not want the Paradise tickets.
But my thoughts had not reached that far.
“Did you not protest to the United States?”
At my words, the president shook his head.
“It was not easy to contact them, and I do not know how much lobbying they had done in the meantime…… I did protest, but it was useless. In addition, those people who had gone to the United States had closer ties with the American side than we did.”
They were famous for being close to the United States, so that made sense.
I did not feel good either.
Paradise tickets only had a lifespan of a few years, but those tickets belonged to the people who had worked hard on Trappist.
‘Should I protest?’
The Korean government’s protests had not worked, but it might be different if I did it.
After pondering for a moment, I shook my head.
Those people would already have crossed over to Paradise by now.
Now was not the time to worry about the people who had gone to Paradise.
Later, when Trappist received the people in Paradise, all I had to do was exclude them.
“When that news leaked, the country became extremely turbulent. We forcibly suppressed the chaos, but even now, the people’s resentment has piled up greatly.”
Even after the president’s long explanation, I still did not know why he was telling me this.
“I understand the situation. But what does that have to do with me……”
Only then did the president bring up what he had been trying to say.
“Do you remember what you told me last time? The request to find the families of the dispatched team. I learned that some of those families came to this base and then disappeared. It was the same with the Americans.”
It seemed the Korean president had also learned what only a few officials knew.
I thought I understood what the president wanted.
I told him the truth.
“That is correct. I took them.”
“Was it truly possible to take civilians to Trappist as well?”
The president leaned forward and asked me again.
“Yes. I can take them.”
When I gave the same answer, the president bowed his head again.
“That is what I am asking of you. Please move as many people as possible. Please save our people.”
His bowed head did not rise until he finished speaking.
As expected, this president was not easy to deal with.
A president making a straightforward request without regard for appearances.
Even if I refused, it would leave me feeling terribly uneasy.
Fortunately, there was no need to refuse.
“Understood. However, I will need some time before I can begin.”
I had planned from the beginning to take people to Trappist.
If the Korean government helped, the work would become much easier.
However, I could not do it immediately.
“There is something I must resolve on Trappist first. Until then, please keep this a secret.”
“I understand. I do not know what it is, but I will trust you.”
With a firm expression, the president clasped my hand tightly.
It was not a strong grip, but his sincerity was contained in his hand.
A day passed after the president left.
I received word from Margreta that her work was finished.
I headed straight for the Djibouti base.
When I arrived at the Djibouti ruins along with a bright light, Margreta and Catherine were waiting for me there.
There were others waiting in the ruins besides the two of them.
This time, the president of the United States and several officials were waiting for me.
As I watched the long line of people cross the portal toward Paradise, I spoke with the American president.
“Are you going to Paradise?”
At my words, President Edward shook his head.
“The evacuees are going to Paradise, but we intend to return to the United States.”
Since we had gained time, were they returning to their homeland?
The presidents of the United States and Korea were better politicians than I had expected.
“We will continue to support you as much as we can with whatever you need. Please do not forget America in the future.”
At the president’s words, I checked the box in my backpack.
If they continued to provide support properly like this, there was no reason to forget America.
“I also wish to maintain a good relationship.”
At my words, the expressions of the president and the officials brightened.
After that brief conversation, before returning with the two women,
I asked the president one question.
“Are the Koreans who received tickets in Paradise?”
“Why are you looking for those people?”
At my words, the president tilted his head.
There was no particular reason.
I was simply curious.
I told him the truth.
“Those people are neither the families of the dispatched team nor people chosen by the Korean government. They are people who seized the tickets by force.”
The president’s expression hardened.
I could feel the expressions of the people around us change.
One official who had been watching hurriedly opened his mouth.
“Is that so? Those people are……”
I waved my hand.
“Ah, I am just telling you so you know.”
This much was enough. If I told them this, even if those people were in Paradise, they would not be able to live comfortably.
Together with Margreta and Catherine, I climbed onto the altar.
And at the moment we crossed the portal,
I could hear the conversation between the president and the officials.
“The Koreans are still here. They are all in the transport fleet.”
“Then they can return home with us. I wonder if there are enough prison cells.”
Flaaash!
With that conversation as the last thing we heard, we were enveloped in bright light.
Preparation (1)