34-31

Chapter 31 

[Lightning from a clear sky... What is the truth behind the sudden wildfire?] 

[Wildfire on the outskirts of Seoul... Nearby residents evacuate in a hurry...] 

  Oh my, I was hiking in the mountains and the noise was so loud! 

  That’s the heavens showing their anger! There’s no other explanation! 

A wildfire suddenly broke out in the mountains on the outskirts of Seoul. 

And in a world with superpowered individuals, investigating the cause of a wildfire wasn’t difficult. 

[Was the cause of the wildfire the Seoul mayor’s hidden villa?] 

  Why did the Seoul mayor visit this place? 

  It’s such a remote area, with no sign of people. 

  It’s mysterious that such a large mansion existed in the mountains and no one discovered it. 

  Experts say the mansion was likely hidden by some kind of superpower. 

[What was the Seoul mayor doing that he had to hide his mansion?] 

[Was he pretending to be good in public while plotting behind the scenes? What is the truth?] 

  What was he doing in this huge mansion that he kept hidden? 

  And what happened to cause such a big explosion? 

  We will keep searching for the truth behind all the world’s secrets. 

  This has been ‘I Want to Know That.’ Thank you. 

“Oh dear... Mayor, what are we supposed to do now that you’ve gone first! Oh dear!” 

After the death of Seoul mayor Ha Seonghun was announced, a line of mourners formed in front of Seoul City Hall. 

At the center were countless bouquets and wreaths. 

Ha Seonghun had a strong support base, having been elected by an overwhelming margin. 

But just as no one can be loved by everyone, Ha Seonghun was no exception. 

“Eh, what’s so sad about the guy who ruined Seoul dying...” 

“What? Grandpa, watch your mouth!” 

“Did I say anything wrong?” 

Ha Seonghun was a progressive, so to the more conservative elderly, he was a thorn in the side. 

For those with a “if you’re not with me, you’re the enemy” mindset, Ha Seonghun’s achievements didn’t matter. 

“Don’t you know how much the mayor did for Seoul? Why don’t you die instead!” 

“You brat! He died doing shady things behind the scenes, how is that my fault?” 

Ha Seonghun died in an explosion at his hidden mansion. 

For conspiracy theorists, his death was a feast of speculation. 

From “why did he have a hidden mansion” to “why was there an explosion,” there was plenty to chew on. 

“The mayor is allowed to enjoy his private life! That’s not our business! Do you know how hard he worked? You’re only alive and not starving because of his policies!” 

“You little punk! I’m alive because I worked hard, not because of the mayor! And what’s so great about passing a few policies... Someone else would have done better as mayor!!” 

It looked like a lively rebellion from the old man, but numbers win out. 

Being elected by such a large margin meant most people there supported Ha Seonghun. 

“Ugh, is this old man senile...” 

“Senile? How can you say that to an elder?” 

“Isn’t it true? Why are you acting like this in front of the dead?” 

Emotions ran high, and just as things were about to turn physical... 

Wee-woo wee-woo  

“We received a report. Please come with us to the station to talk.” 

Apparently someone called the police. With such a large crowd, they were already on alert. 

The police took away the old man causing trouble. 

  Hey! Is this a country? Can’t I say what I want? 

  Please be quiet. 

Also, some Ja-Ae Cult followers were present at the mayor’s memorial. 

Apparently, they gathered voluntarily. 

“So, are we pretending to be sad to pick up guys?” 

“Hey, I’m actually sad, okay?” 

Whisper whisper  

Some followers joined the memorial with other motives. 

“Looks like all the good men came with girlfriends.” 

“Yeah... This is a total bust.” 

“I’m actually going to mourn, you two go have fun.” 

Some of them seemed to think it was a club. 

But from their perspective, there was a reason for their desperation. 

After the media labeled the Ja-Ae Cult as “villains,” the number of men contacting them dropped sharply! 

Or rather, there were still plenty of men reaching out, but the number of “serious” ones had dropped! 

Maybe call it the “red pill” effect? 

Once it became known that Ja-Ae Cult followers had used superpowers for plastic surgery and body modification, some people started to avoid them. 

And since even superpowers couldn’t hide the signs of aging, men started demanding ID checks when meeting cult members. 

Most of the women looking for men at the memorial were in their mid-30s! 

Normally, they would have given up on pregnancy, but Lee Jinwoo’s power made healthy pregnancies possible. 

Their plan was to find a decent man grieving at the memorial, comfort him, get him drunk, and have a one-night stand to “attack” with pregnancy. 

They figured grief would cloud men’s judgment, and by acting sad themselves, they could create a sense of empathy and make something happen. 

But even with so many men, the ones they liked all seemed to have girlfriends. 

The rest just didn’t measure up. 

“Sigh... I really need to get married this year...” 

“Yeah... I’d given up before, but honestly, now it seems possible.” 

What does that mean? 

These were women who’d given up on marriage when they were younger. 

But now, in their later years, they felt marriage was possible? 

Did they believe that “women are like wine” line? 

Not really. They didn’t truly believe such nonsense. 

The reason they were reconsidering marriage was entirely thanks to Lee Jinwoo. 

Women who should have been “weeded out” were re-entering the marriage competition. 

But of course, the men weren’t interested in them. 

“Let’s just leave.” 

“Yeah, it’s weird to be doing this at a memorial anyway.” 

Not every Ja-Ae Cult follower was happy. 

The death of the Seoul mayor. 

It was a shock not only to ordinary citizens, but also to Korea’s elite. 

“What the hell happened?!” 

Because even they didn’t know the truth. 

All they knew was that the mayor was dead and there’d been a wildfire. 

There’s a huge difference between pretending not to know the truth and truly not knowing. 

“Do you know anything?” 

  Chief of Staff, it’s not that... 

With such a powerful person dead, a proper investigation was essential. 

But... 

“What? Human experimentation?” 

“He was in contact with villains?” 

No matter how secretly things were done, the Association and the government weren’t that incompetent. 

The mayor’s hidden activities were exposed, and some secrets were so sensitive they had to be kept classified. 

But even with the truth uncovered, whether to tell the public was another matter. 

If they told the truth, people would be shocked by the dark side of a mayor who’d built a good image. 

And it would surely splash onto other politicians. 

“Even that guy seemed good until he died... Are you all hiding something too?” people would say. 

But if they hid the truth, they feared what would happen if it came out later, or if someone forced it into the open. 

“Why did you hide it back then?” they could be hit with twice the backlash. 

“Sigh... Why did Ha Seonghun do this...” 

The Blue House chief of staff was about to lose what little hair he had left. 

“Heh, having trouble deciding what to do?” 

“...Mr. President.” 

The president, the highest authority in Korea. 

“You look like you have a lot on your mind.” 

“Regrettably... yes.” 

The current president wasn’t elected by as big a margin as the mayor, but still had a solid support base. 

Since the two were similar types, criticism could easily turn toward the president. 

“Heh, I’ll take care of it.” 

“…!” 

“A friend’s death... should be handled by the friend who remains.” 

The president, who’d been passive, began to act. 

[Dear citizens, I have something to say regarding the death of the Seoul mayor.] 

[To get straight to the point, the government has determined that the mayor’s death was not an ‘accident’ but ‘murder.’] 

[We are doing our utmost to find those responsible, so please trust the government and wait.] 

[We will uncover the truth as soon as possible.]