We Do Business In Full Auto [EN]: Chapter 40

040

The Legacy of the British Empire (2)

This meal makes it hard to tell if we’re in Korea or England.

Dried pollack soup with rice and several side dishes.

All the ingredients for Korean food are available at the supermarket. Moreover, this is central London, and there are quite a few 24-hour supermarkets.

My wife knew I’d drunk too much yesterday and must have gotten up early to prepare the meal.

She always showed me that side of her, and each time, I couldn’t express my gratitude enough.

“You worked hard to set the table.”

“It’s nothing. It’s only natural.”

“Wow, so this is what you call hangover soup?”

Slurp!

James takes a sip of the soup.

It was dried pollack soup cooked with our family’s secret recipe. Back when we ran a restaurant, it used to be packed with people having hangover cures every weekend morning.

That’s how amazing our restaurant’s dried pollack soup was.

“Kya! It’s so refreshing!”

“Isn’t it amazing? It’s hot, but it’s refreshing.”

“I didn’t know what that meant before, but it really is refreshing. It completely soothes my stomach.”

“In Korea, we call this *haejangguk* [hangover soup], Uncle.”

“Hehehe. So, I won’t have to clutch my stomach the next day?”

“Tsk! You’re only thinking about drinking again?!”

My aunt-in-law scolds him.

Come to think of it, nagging was a daily routine for this couple. I remember what James said yesterday.

There was a time when he seriously considered divorce because of that nagging. But it seems he has given up now.

“Uncle, why don’t you come to Korea sometime? There’s Andong soju, a Korean traditional liquor that’s comparable to whiskey. It’s distilled from grain, and it’s absolutely amazing.”

“Hehe. Should I?”

James glanced at his wife and chuckled.

He drank so much yesterday, but after eating a bowl of hangover soup, he’s already thinking about alcohol again. At this point, he’s beyond just a heavy drinker.

Breakfast was amicable.

Of course, everyone knew that wasn’t entirely the case at heart. How could we be genuinely happy when today is the funeral?

The London schedule was canceled.

Neither Sujeong, my wife, nor I were in the mood to leisurely travel in London.

The flight time was also adjusted from tomorrow to today.

My wife’s wish was to not stay in London for even a moment longer if possible. Sujeong and I respected her wishes.

My aunt and uncle-in-law had already gone to the funeral hall to attend the funeral.

The funeral is said to be held at a church on the outskirts of London. By now, the body must be laid in state. If we hurry, we might be able to see the hearse arriving.

Of course, whether or not to go there was entirely my wife’s choice.

“Are you going to go?”

My wife closes her eyes tightly.

I could guess that she was feeling conflicted without her having to say anything.

What decision will my wife make? Of course, I was going to follow whatever decision she made.

A little time passes, and my wife opens her eyes.

“Let’s just go and see it from afar.”

“Okay. I understand.”

As we approached the outskirts of London, the traffic became heavier.

“What’s going on?”

“Isn’t it because of the funeral?”

Sujeong guessed.

I wondered if the traffic could really be heavy because of the funeral, but it really was.

Various luxury cars were lined up, and there were many sedans from the British R company [Rolls Royce], which are not easily obtainable.

The highlight was the royal family’s vehicle.

The famous sedan that had its garage forcibly raised because it damaged the dignity of the king [a reference to a story about King Charles III’s Rolls Royce].

“Could the Queen be coming too?”

“Wouldn’t she? Grandma is royalty, isn’t she? Even though she’s from a collateral line, it’s normal for her to come when a relative dies.”

Sujeong’s tone became stiff.

The atmosphere was consistently gloomy.

London was that kind of city for our family. A painful memory and an image that seemed to reject our family.

In fact, British high society was not friendly to me. The contempt for my wife had almost disappeared, but I became a hated foreigner here. A stranger who dared to make royalty suffer.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the traffic was heavy, so the hearse was not able to enter easily.

We asked the driver to take us to a nearby hill.

A hill overlooking the church.

My wife was capturing the sight of the body being carried in her eyes.

Sujeong, I, and my wife all observed a moment of silence.

‘Goodbye. You tormented me so much, but aren’t I the ultimate victor anyway?’

My mother-in-law’s spirit was not visible.

I think she ascended after receiving my wife’s forgiveness at the end. That means she had no regrets in this world.

The short moment of silence ends.

“Let’s go home now.”

“Okay. Let’s go home.”

For my wife, home is now Korea.

Today, the word ‘home’ makes me think a lot.

After spending a day in England, we boarded the plane.

It’s first class, just like when we came.

It feels like it hasn’t been long since we adjusted to the time difference, but we have to adjust again. Perhaps because of that, my wife and Sujeong looked quite tired.

My wife took my hand.

“We won’t have anything to do with them again.”

“Won’t we?”

“I promise.”

I gave a bitter smile.

What would happen if I discovered the Seun Line? It would be a considerable topic. When that happens, I’ll have to go to England at least once.

‘It doesn’t matter. If I delegate all authority to my wife, she won’t have to go to England.’

“What about Uncle James? I even invited him.”

“I wouldn’t stop him if he insisted on coming, but I wish Uncle James wouldn’t come either. It’s enough if we live well. If he comes, it will remind me of my family.”

“Okay.”

My wife still had a firm expression.

But I knew. Tomorrow, I would be able to see my wife’s faint smile.

After arriving in Korea, we spent almost a day at home, exhausted from adjusting to the time difference. And it wasn’t until the next day that our family was able to recover.

Monday morning, a day that is no different from usual begins.

“Honey, wake up.”

“Umm……”

“You said you were going to Namhae today.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

I yawn and get up.

When I get up, Sujeong staggers out to the table, half-asleep.

My wife was carrying the crying baby on her back, and even in the midst of that, she was setting the table and waking us up. And Sujeong and I are groaning from the aftereffects of yesterday’s training.

“Haaaam!”

Sujeong was nodding off at the table.

“Sujeong, eat your food.”

“Yes, Mom.”

Then she dozes off again.

Seeing my wife and Sujeong struggling, I couldn’t help but laugh.

I finished a bowl of rice in no time.

I have to fill my stomach to explore Namhae today.

After a combative meal, it’s time to go to work. Sujeong has also finished preparing to go to kindergarten.

I suddenly look at my wife’s face as she fixes my tie.

Until I was in England, I wondered if she was really the wife I knew, but now she was completely back to her old self.

A woman with a subtle smile and happiness in her eyes. A radiant appearance that doesn’t look like she’s had two children. A goddess is no different.

Although we had a morning like a war, my wife’s heart couldn’t have looked more calm.

“I’ll be back.”

I kiss my wife on the forehead.

I hug Sua once and put on my shoes.

“Have a good day.”

“Mom, I’ll be back!”

Sujeong also says goodbye.

“Pa! Bba bba!”

Sua was already waving her hand.

Perhaps she wanted to say, ‘Dad, bye-bye’?

I grinned and waved at Sua.

Finally, the start of an ordinary morning.

It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve taken Sujeong to school.

Sujeong yawns and stretches.

“I feel like Mom is finally back!”

“Yeah. It seems so.”

“I felt like I was suffocating for a few days? Was she really the mom I knew?”

“Your mom is here. She becomes a different person when she goes to England.”

“Let’s not go to England in the future.”

“Will that be possible?”

“Hehe, we can just go for a little while for the Seun Line, right? Just Dad.”

“Hehe. That’s right.”

Our father and daughter already thought that the Seun Line was in our hands.

The Cotton family probably thinks they passed on a troublesome thing that couldn’t be excavated, but that wasn’t the case.

If Sujeong and I investigate a little more, we can find the Seun Line. Even if it’s sleeping under a deep-sea cliff.

I want to go right away, but I don’t have the energy right now.

“Let’s bury this for now. Let’s go on an exploration when things calm down a bit.”

“Hehe. I’m really looking forward to it.”

In front of the kindergarten.

Not only me, but Sujeong is also raising expectations for the Seun Line.

First of all, to do that, we need to finish this project and buy a deserted island. I’ll think about it after I finish the work roughly.

“Dad! I’ll be back!”

Sujeong hugs me as usual.

I pick up my daughter.

“Come back safely!”

“Kiss!”

Sujeong rubs her face all over my face.

Yeah. This was everyday life.

Tongyeong sea.

There are a lot of people gathered in front of Chuwonpo Port. I wondered why the traffic was so heavy when I was almost there, but it was because these people were gathered here.

“What the heck? Did someone die or something?”

There are reporters gathered.

I hope a body wasn’t found in Chuwonpo on the day we started the exploration.

I ordered the two undead to take the disguised exploration equipment out of the car.

The undead were wearing wetsuits, and I was dressed comfortably. I was wearing a suit and a windbreaker. Of course, the sea would be colder, so I wore another pair of windbreaker pants.

I thought the reporters had nothing to do with me and were preparing.

“It’s Team Leader Lee Yoosung!”

“Where?”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, people start rushing towards this way.

What the heck is going on?

Suddenly, flashes poured out, and I turned my head without realizing it. Because the light was too intense.

Before I knew it, I was surrounded by people.

When I came to my senses, there were microphones densely pushed in front of me.

“Are you Team Leader Lee Yoosung, who is in charge of the exploration of the Yi Sun-sin Project this time?!”

“Ah… That is.”

What the heck is going on?

I clearly asked them not to expose it to the media.

Why?

Because of the undead. You had to reach at least 5th Circle to summon an undead with a human form, and if you reached 6th Circle, you could summon a talking undead.

Until then, I tried not to expose it to the media as much as possible. But it seems that information was leaked somewhere.

‘Is it because it’s receiving the attention of the entire nation?’

I tried to be as careful as possible, but this was the Yi Sun-sin Project.

It is a project being implemented by the government to overcome the current situation. Of course, they had no choice but to leak information.

If the government uses its power, H Group can’t stop it.

In the end, there was no way out.

It seems my position is the exploration team leader.

“That’s right. I am Lee Yoosung, the exploration team leader.”