12 Hours After

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

‘As it has been, I like the forest of buildings. And I like to look down from that tall building even more.’

I looked outside again today from the top floor of the building, my arms folded. Today’s landscape was quite different from what I usually saw. Nearby, I could see a big park, and in the distance, a forest of large buildings bigger than Gangnam. I looked at it and thought, ‘Certainly the original is better.’

The nearby park was Central Park. What was far away was the forest of buildings in New York City where Spider-Man webslung through in the movie. The place where I was standing was the top floor suite of a five-star hotel built by Trump, the former president of the United States.

I thought, sipping champagne from a glass, ‘I’ll buy a vacation house near here to come and take a rest with Ah-young and Seo-hyun sometimes.’

I came to New York to attend SHH Electronics’ new product conference, but I wasn’t interested in the conference, because I knew the results in advance. The new hologram phone would have a tremendous impact on the market, and it would boost SHH Electronics into a leading player in the smartphone business. I would sit in the front seat and give them some applause.

I was rather more concerned about meeting with the American reporters after the conference. My name was now very well known in Korea, but not in America yet. My name needed to spread further, so it would appear frequently in the newspapers, and so I could expand my U.S. career.

Fortunately, the American journalists seemed very interested in me, too. The story of a man who was born into a poor family, and became the richest man in Korea and the owner of Korea’s largest investment company seemed to be drawing keen attention, even in the mainland of capitalism. As soon as I set up my U.S. schedule, the American press was in contact, trying to make an appointment with me.

‘Win-win is what this is.’ As I thought about it, I once again sipped some champagne and looked out of the window. But then, behind me, I saw a big, tall shadow. A big man had come into a hotel room reserved by me without making any sound with the door closed.

But I wasn’t surprised at all. It was Crow who had showed up. He had appeared with a thick document as usual.

I said, raising my glass slightly, “Leave the document there, and come here. Let’s have a drink. How about?”

Crow left the document he carried on the sofa as I said, and instead picked up a glass of champagne.

“If the CEO recommends it.”

I filled Crow’s glass with champagne which I had taken from the hotel bar. Even though I hadn’t seen the price, it was probably over $3,000. Then I said, tinking a glass with him, “Crow, you have a good job.”

“Don’t mention it.”

We drank to one another. The pungent carbonic acid, rich fruit scent, and a slight aroma of alcohol were fantastic.

I asked, pointing out the window with a glass of champagne. “The night view of New York is great. You were here last year, weren’t you?”

“No. It’s my first time in New York. I’ve only been back and forth in Washington a lot.”

“Ah… I see.”

Last year, when there was a nuclear war crisis, Crow traveled to and from the U.S. and China every month. However, he seemed to be new to New York, too.

I said, as if Central Park were my front yard. “This is New York City, the capital of the world.”

Crow looked at the night view of New York with his exotic eyes for a moment. “What a splendid sight…” He then added, “It’s very good that this place has not been burned to ashes.”

I smiled and nodded. Only Crow knew that I had known the end of the world in advance, and that I had stopped it. So when I talked to Crow, I felt free, since I had never told my wife that the end of the world was coming. I was slightly intoxicated and repeated the remark, “That’s a relief. Thank God.”

Crow said, filling my empty glass, “You’ve done a really big job.”

I laughed at his words. Crow was the only one who could congratulate me on my achievement.

“Well, I did it for myself and to save my wife and my daughter.”

Crow nodded and said as if he had just remembered. “Ah, by the way, Master Crow called to congratulate you.”

“The… the boss?”

“Yes, and he congratulates you on having power to compare with God.”

“Umm…”

Master Crow must have found out what abilities I had. I thought about the mysterious character, and said, “Please give him my thanks.’”

Crow drank all the remaining wine and said, “Yes, I will.”

Only after that did I approach the document he had brought.

Crow spoke on my back, “I hope this investigation will be helpful for your work.”

The words were based on ‘I apologize for not being helpful during a nuclear war.’

“Oh, don’t mind that. Crow, the information you brought wasn’t used to stop the nuclear war, but it really helped me. It’s true.”

Crow spoke in a rather light voice, “Then, I am glad.”

“Yes. Next month… I’ll see you in fifteen days.”

“Yes, Mr. CEO.”

After hearing the words, his presence disappeared. I lifted the document Crow had left behind and thought, ‘Even when I have God’s power now, Crow is still very useful.’

—————-

“Mr. Han, Mr. Han.” Ignoring the microphones of the flocking reporters, I calmed them down and took a seat. Then, I gave some reporters a chance to ask questions.

“How would you rate this conference?”

I answered deliberately using automated voice recognition translations for the next generation of cell phones from SHH Electronics. When I spoke in Korean, the voice came out in English immediately and clearly.

“It’s very satisfying. SHH’s next generation of mobile phones will lead the next generation of mobile phones with powerful holographic capabilities.”

“How is your relationship with President Maverick Turner?”

“I have a hundred percent confidence in President Turner. As you’ve all seen today, he sometimes looks like Steve Jobs’ reincarnation… Steve Jobs with a lot of hair.”

At my words, some reporters burst out laughing.

“Do you intend to increase your investment in the United States?”

“Of course. If you’ve seen this conference, you’ve foreseen the tremendous growth of SHH in the United States. So have I. I am going to increase SHH Group’s investment in the U.S., and I will personally invest in a U.S. company, too.”

When I talked about my personal investments, the eyes of the reporters were wide. Whether it was in Korea or in USA, news of money coming in was something to write home about.

“Can you tell me which company it is?”

I said with a smile, “That, of course, difficult.”

“Please, give me some least hints.”

I hinted at the reporters, making them as curious as possible. “You’ll find out about it before long.”

But in the meantime, there was a reporter who asked me a serious question.

“Mr. CEO, you are known to be close to Maverick Turner’s brother, William Turner. There’s a saying that you intend to use him in the U.S. government as a lobbyist. What do you think about it?”

I looked at the reporter who asked the question. ‘What is this guy, a political journalist mixed up?’

A little misrepresentation might harm me or the Turner brothers. I answered moderately, “No. I just talked to the senator of New York because I was trying to invest in New York.”

“Are you serious? You’re going to have dinner together tonight.”

‘Where did he get that information?’

I looked at the microphone held by the reporter as I thought about it. It said ‘BNC Media.’

‘BNC…’ I memorized it and told him, “Yes. I’ve been invited to join them. I am sorry if I got clumsily caught up in their family dinner.”

The reporter wanted to ask me something more, but another reporter stepped in. “Mr. CEO, the FutureSink you sold to Amazon is now valued at five billion dollars. Do you have any regrets that you sold it at too low a price?”

I went over to that question easily. “No. With the money I earned at the time, I made dozens of times more by investing in China. The deal was good for Amazon and me, too. It was a win-win deal.”

—————

After the press conference, I spoke to Secretary Lee who was following me. “Secretary Lee.”

“Yes.”

“This the first time I’ve heard of BNC Media, either small or new. Find out about the company’s stake here.”

“Yes, boss.”

Today’s question had the potential to be a problem with my future course of action. I intended to forestall it.

‘First, I will press it with money, and if I can’t finish it… I will edit it…’

That evening, I had dinner with Maverick Turner and William Turner, as the BNC Media reporter had asked about.

“So what kind of person is the new president, Edward Pittman?”

“In a way, he’s more aggressive than Trump. President Trump used to exaggerate all the time, but he was much more cautious about what he did. But on the other hand, President Pittman is normally a placid man, but sometimes he does something drastic.”

“Well… I see.”

Now it was March 2025. Originally, it would have been the aftermath of a nuclear war. It meant that former President Trump was a problem, but now President Pittman was responsible.

I used some negative expressions, “I think President Pittman is a little bit dangerous about the matter of China…”

William Turner seemed to think the same way, as well. “Yes, I think so, too. It’s good to pressure China, but he goes too far. I think it’s better to ease military tensions.”

I looked at him. It was my third meeting with him so far, and he was prudent, bright and above all, kind. It was a quality not seen in the previous and current U.S. presidents.

I said with my hands together for a moment, “President Turner, could you leave us for a moment? And you too, Secretary Lee.”

At my words, President Maverick Turner and Secretary Lee left the room.

I spoke to Senator William Turner, using that simultaneous interpretation app, “Senator Turner, I hope you will listen to me carefully and think about it.”

As I made them leave and said that, Senator William Turner looked at me with a slightly nervous look. “What… what do you want to say?”

I told him what I really thought, “Somehow, I think… you should be aiming for the next presidential election.”

“Pardon me?” Senator William Turner was not only half surprised. It was that kind of response, ‘I had that idea, too, but I didn’t expect it to come out of your mouth.’

I took out the document I had prepared and handed it to him. t was the political weaknesses of the current U.S. president, whom Crow had investigated. As soon as he received the document, which would make it impossible for President Pittman to be re-elected, he grasped at a glance the importance of what was written there.

“It’s…”

I hinted to him. “How about it? Why don’t you try it with me?”

Senator William Turner spoke in a rather cautious voice, “But the presidential election is four years away…”

I said, holding hands together, “It is because we have four years left that I’m telling you.”

In four years, there would be plenty of time to satisfy the probabilities in “Edit.”

I spoke to him in a firm voice, “Senator Turner, please become President of the United States in four years. I will help you.”