Chương 128: I Need to Make Money

The president of Daehan Group's car did not fit inside a single parking space at the apartment complex. Its black body stopped between two compact cars. The front wheels were within the white lines, but the long rear end protruded a little into the lane. A man in a black suit got out of the driver's seat first. A woman carrying a briefcase emerged from the passenger side. A resident polishing his car stopped. The courier unloading parcels took another look at the small Daehan Group emblem on the door too.

Kichan watched from the living room window.

"Someone you know?" his mother asked.

"I don't know people like that." The intercom rang. When Kichan went downstairs, the rear car door opened. The man slowly straightened. Gray threaded the hair at his temples. His dark gray suit fitted without a wrinkle, his black tie centered on his shirt. His cheeks were lean and his jaw straight. Fine lines marked the corners of his eyes, but his mouth did not move. Each time his gaze shifted, he finished examining one thing before moving to the next. The apartment's exterior wall. The entrance camera.

The people at the far end of the parking lot. Kichan last. As he stepped fully out, his driver and secretary each withdrew half a pace. The courier who had been on the phone lowered his voice. A child wheeling a bicycle went around behind another car. The man had done nothing to quiet the people around him. They quieted themselves.

"Mr. Han Kichan?"

"Yes."

"I'm the president of Daehan Group." He moved aside from the rear door.

"Please, come in." Kichan looked inside. Where black leather seats should have been was a broad white stone floor. It extended far deeper than the open car door. He bent and put one foot inside. A solid sound came from beneath his shoe. His second foot followed. The car door closed behind him. The parking lot's sunlight and human voices vanished together. Kichan stood in the middle of a lofty stone chamber. White and gray walls spread to either side.

Thick pillars lined them, and the vaulted ceiling above was high enough for its farthest reaches to blur. There were no windows or lamps, yet the grooves in the columns and shallow cracks in the floor were brightly visible. A long semicircular line was cut into the floor. A single chair stood inside it. Three angels sat on a raised dais before him. The central angel wore his ash-gray hair swept back. White wings folded over broad shoulders; only the outermost feathers were pale gray.

His lips were pressed together and both hands rested on his knees. The corners of his eyes sloped gently along deep wrinkles. When he met Kichan's gaze, those eyes examined his face, then his hands. The gaze was warm but never left him. The other two angels sat side by side to the left. The nearer one had a long, thin face and eyebrows that rose at the ends. His white sleeves were rolled to his elbows, and he held several sheets of paper. A few feathers at his wingtips splayed out instead of lying neatly together.

Beside him, the second angel had silver hair tied tightly back. The skin beneath his eyes was faintly red. His clasped fingers pressed hard against one another at intervals. His folded wings were so taut they lay against the back of his chair. The Daehan Group president who had brought Kichan stood by the door. Long, dark gray wings hung behind his suit. Only then did Kichan look at their backs in turn. Every one of them had wings.

"Sit," said the central angel. Kichan sat in the chair inside the semicircle. A warm hand reached over and took his right hand. He turned. A young-looking woman sat right beside him. Her light brown hair was loosely tied, with a strand falling in front of one ear. Her round eyes were clear, and a smile lingered at her mouth as though she might speak at any moment. Small cream-colored wings folded behind a white outfit with a pale green sash. A single feather near the top stuck out sideways.

When their eyes met, she squeezed his hand again. The central angel spoke.

"We requested your response."

"Yes."

"Why did you not come?" Kichan did not hide it.

"I had to earn a living." The eyebrows above the papers rose higher. The silver-haired angel stopped pressing his fingers together. The woman beside Kichan rolled her lips inward. Her eyes creased briefly. When the central angel looked at her, she tucked in her chin as though nothing had happened. He turned to the left. The angel holding the papers spoke at once.

"The dead in Sector 19 returned all at once." He raised a sheet.

"Over a hundred angels have been working overtime for two months to restore the boundary. They have yet to return to their own sectors." The faster he spoke, the more stiffly his splayed wing feathers rose. The silver-haired angel continued.

"The reverse occurred in Sector 2. Countless lives vanished at the same moment." The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The redness beneath his eyes became more visible.

"Over a hundred and fifty angels have been going without sleep to deal with it." The woman's grip tightened. The smile disappeared from her mouth. The loose strand of hair stayed where it was, but her chin lifted. Her formerly round eyes narrowed.

"Sector 19 would never have reached that point if those responsible had dealt with matters on time." Tendons stood out on the back of the paper-holding angel's hand. She did not look away.

"You were already working angels into the ground because of your own mishandling. You cannot come here now and speak as though this child caused all of it."

"If he had not opened the boundary--""Before that, so many who should not have died should never have been allowed to die." She did not raise her voice. With each interruption, only the papers in the angel's hand trembled. The silver-haired angel leaned forward.

"Then are you saying the annihilation in Sector 2 was justified as well?" Her gaze shifted to the central seat.

"The same applies to Sector 2." The fingers holding Kichan's hand remained still.

"You granted the dragon's request, Warden. Had you prevented the elf and dragon from crossing into Sector 2, this would not have happened either." The central angel brought a fist to his mouth.

"Ahem." The brief throat-clearing echoed through the chamber. Both angels on the left turned to him at once. The woman closed her mouth. Her narrowed eyes rounded a little, but she did not release Kichan's hand. The Warden called to the president by the door.

"Please escort our guest outside."

"Yes, sir."

"Offer him some tea and show him around." The president bowed. The woman's hand loosened. When Kichan stood, she smiled with curved eyes. The sideways feather still had not returned to its place. The tall door opened. Kichan followed the president out. Beyond the chamber, broad stone steps took the place of a corridor. He went down three steps, then stopped. Beneath him was a high mountain peak. Huge white rocks rose above the clouds.

Below, clouds filled the spaces like valleys, and the lower halves of distant peaks were submerged in white. Stone galleries and broad stairways followed the mountainsides, breaking off among the clouds. Some paths led to the opposite peak. Others seemed to run straight into the air. It was difficult to tell where land ended and open sky began. Kichan remembered Mount Olympus from a childhood picture book. A great shadow passed overhead. A beast with feathers and talons flew through the clouds.

Armor covered the body beneath its eagle's head, and broad wings beat on either side of a lion's torso. Metal plates flashed whenever they caught the sun. An angel rode the griffin's back. Angels holding long spears traveled between the peaks. Two mounts descended side by side below the clouds. Another passed close to a stone gallery. Wind from its wings stirred Kichan's clothes. On a landing platform a little farther away, a griffin set down its forefeet. Metal-covered talons scraped the stone.

The rider passed a spear to another angel, and the griffin lowered its head and shook its neck armor. The president looked back from ahead.

"This way." A café occupied one side of the gallery below the stairs. Round tables stood between white pillars, with clouds drifting beyond the railing. Angels sat with their wings behind their chairs, holding cups. Bundled papers were stacked high on one table. The angel beside them held a cup in one hand and pressed around his eyes with the other. Kichan and the president sat at an empty table. Soon, two small white cups were set down. They held dark purple liquid tinged with red.

The warm steam smelled sweet and unfamiliar. Kichan peered into his cup.

"What kind of tea is this?" The angel setting it down answered.

"Bacchus." Kichan looked at the cup again. The president lifted his own without a word. Kichan hooked a finger through the handle too. Then the president's cup stopped before his lips. The eyes that had never once lost their composure opened wide. He looked up at the empty sky. A griffin passing above the clouds receded with its spear-carrying angel.

"What is it?" Kichan asked. The president set down his cup.

"The Warden asks us to return."

"Already?"

"They seem to have reached a conclusion." Kichan glanced at the Bacchus he had not yet tasted. They returned to the high stone chamber. The papers held by the two angels on the left had been put in order. The silver-haired angel sat back in his chair. The one who had held the papers looked at Kichan with his mouth set. The woman remained in her original seat. Her eyes lit up first when she saw him. The Warden spoke.

"We have prepared three possible compromises." Kichan sat again.

"First." The Warden raised one finger.

"Short and severe. Thirty years on the ninety-ninth level of Hell." The woman gave Kichan a tiny shake of her head.

"Second." Two fingers now.

"Long and mild. A hundred years on the second level of Hell." This time, she shook her head faster.

"Third." The Warden spread three fingers.

"Nice and simple. Fulfill an angel's request three times a year for ten years." The woman's eyes widened. She pointed at the Warden's fingers, then held up three of her own beside her knee. Her lips moved broadly without sound. `Three. Three. ` Her eyebrows lifted twice. Her chin dipped three small times. When the Warden glanced aside, she hurriedly folded her fingers and tucked the loose strand behind her ear. It failed to stay and fell against her cheek again. Kichan spoke.

"May I think about it for a moment?"

"Of course." The Warden lowered his hand. At that moment, the woman's voice sounded inside Kichan's head. `Child. ` Kichan looked around. The woman smiled and waved without making a sound. `My name is Gaia. I am the chief angel of Sector 2. ` Kichan looked at her. Pretending to watch the Warden, Gaia held up three fingers again. `The first two are not just names meant to frighten you. That is the very Hell Dante wrote of in The Divine Comedy. ` Kichan's gaze returned to the Warden. He waited quietly.

`Choose the third, and you will receive an official reward every time you fulfill an angel's request. I will add a separate reward of my own. ` Gaia was still smiling as though nothing were happening. Kichan leaned a little toward her.

"Please be honest with me." Her smile paused.

"Why are you taking such an interest in me?" Her eyes swept over the Warden and both angels on the left. Her fingertips rubbed the fabric over her knees twice. The voice in his head grew a little quieter. `A Transcendent was born in Sector 2, which I oversee. ` Gaia looked at him again. `If that Transcendent helps the angels with their work, my performance score goes up. ` The corners of her mouth rose awkwardly. `And a higher score could get me a promotion. ` Kichan watched her without speaking.

She looked straight back. `So wouldn't that be good for both of us? `"How much is this additional reward?" Her awkward smile straightened at once. `I will add a billion won. `"And payment for the work?" `Separate for each request. ` Kichan looked at the Warden.

"Have you decided?"

"I'll take option three." Gaia's shoulders bounced. She made no sound, but her open mouth could not hide all her laughter. Both angels on the left looked at her together. She promptly straightened and closed her mouth. She lifted her chin at them, but the strand over her cheek and the stray wing feather stayed as they were. The president approached with a black document envelope. A thin contract came out. `Term: ten years. ` `Three requests per year. ` `Compensation determined separately for each request.

` A larger number appeared below. `Signing payment: 1, 000, 000, 000 won. ` Kichan counted the commas again from the beginning.

"A billion."

"The signing payment Chief Gaia has added," the president said. Kichan looked at her. Gaia sat with both hands demurely on her knees, smiling only with her eyes. Kichan turned the pages one by one. There was nothing he could not read. Three angelic requests per year. The specific work and payment would be decided each time. He accepted the pen. Wrote his name on the signature line. When he returned the contract, Gaia beamed and gave him a thumbs-up.

As both angels on the left looked at her again, the thumb slowly sank below her knee. The Warden spoke.

"The compromise is agreed." The chamber's tall door opened. Kichan followed the president across the threshold. The white stone beneath his feet became the black floor of the car. Only then did the phone in his pocket sound. A bank notification. The deposit amount had a string of zeros. The rear door stood open. Sunlight and the sound of a delivery truck returned from the parking lot. As Kichan got out, the president asked,"Will you come when called next time?" Kichan pressed the phone through his pocket once.

"If you've got work, start with the money." The man did not answer. The car door closed. The long black car left the parking lot. Kichan took his phone out again and checked the billion won one more time.