episode_0134

“In the end, resources on Earth are limited, and the international political situation, contrary to freedom, is becoming increasingly hostile.”

“……”

“The reason nations were born is security. As a country caught between powerful nations and troublemakers, there’s no issue more important than security. How about it, Doyeon student, who has turned over a new leaf and become quite smart? You probably don’t need any more explanation than this, right?”

Like a meek lamb, I listened to everything my noona articulated.

It was news that could certainly tempt one, and to dismiss it as mere plausible bluff or fraud, it carried the weight of coming from the actual owner of Hwaryeong.

After attentively listening to the serious discussion, I couldn’t help but fall into deep contemplation.

‘…This future didn’t exist?’

I had never heard any news about Hwaryeong staking everything on AI. And it wasn’t the kind of AI I knew well, like one that answers all sorts of useless questions, or one that draws pictures instead. The very intent behind its development was thorough war preparation. The situation had changed to a profoundly serious path that couldn’t be ignored.

It was a future so excessively distorted that at this point, such a thought also crossed my mind. ‘Has the future… even if not greatly, at least its flow, changed?’

I hypothesized that the changed existence of Cha Doyeon, who had now become ‘me,’ might have stimulated the eldest, Cha Seonmi.

The act of growing rapidly within the company, then coming out to create a company called and recruiting her sisters one by one to prove her own worth, might have created impatience in Cha Seonmi’s position, twisting her thoughts towards a bold strategy.

In other words, the reason Cha Seonmi plunged in so boldly was likely due to the significant existence of the changed Cha Doyeon.

But ultimately, this was the realm of delusion, ending in mere hypothesis. Facts that could only be known once the future arrived.

“Ugh….”

Even if I tried to hide it between my teeth, a groan involuntarily escaped.

More than anything, the problem was that her plan was so incredibly plausible, making it difficult to dismiss my eldest noona’s story as mere bluff.

AI was publicly used mostly in service industries and for drawing. But it’s unthinkable that nations, which extend a hand of negotiation on the surface, wouldn’t consider applying AI to war beneath the surface.

The sweet fantasy that the tragedy of war would be completely absent in the future changed day by day as I encountered international news.

Moreover, all of this would undoubtedly be top-secret, to be carried out in utmost secrecy so that no one could know.

It was impossible for the United States, which dominates the world with its defense industry and scientific technology, and which devotes itself to hard power for global dominance, to miss out on such technology. And China, which always follows in its shadow, grinding people away, wasn’t even worth mentioning further.

‘So it’s confirmed that is currently focusing on AI, just as Woo Miae reported.’

Only now did I seem to understand the clear blueprint and the true nature of Cha Seonmi’s confidence.

Noona was dwelling not in sweet illusions, but in a brutally cold reality.

Furthermore, a war had currently broken out in Ukraine. This news had shocked the entire world, and I would earn significant profits by trading the physical gold I had previously accumulated. However, even I, who came from the future, didn’t know the end of this war. The one thing I did know was this: What military equipment would become a new game-changer due to this war.

If AI were introduced into war as Cha Seonmi said, and it actually materialized, the biggest variable would be─

“Hmph, it seems you’re still agonizing over whether to come over or not, but I’ll add one more definite point.”

As many thoughts flashed through my mind, Cha Seonmi subtly interjected into my thoughts.

As if regretting the lack of coffee, she tilted her mug towards the bottom, then placed it back on the table and murmured.

“We’ve already found the primary target for introducing the AI we’re developing.”

“……What is it?”

“Drones.”

“……!”

As her unhesitating immediate reply came back, goosebumps rose.

“It was originally a promising drone company in China, but we’ve already extracted all their technology at great expense. We’re planning to begin our own development soon, and if it goes according to plan, it will be integrated with the Ministry of National Defense.”

“Drones….”

That’s it. Exactly that.

Originally, in distribution and delivery industries, drones were promoted for delivery purposes. But looking at it through the lens of warfare, this was a suicide drone, designed to deliver bombs to people.

In the war currently happening, drones were the objects that killed people more efficiently than expensive fighter jets. A flying plastic lump whose propellers create an intentional sense of fear, slaughtering people at an incredibly low cost.

At this point, all my doubts vanished.

The eldest, Cha Seonmi, was serious. She hadn’t just blindly jumped into AI development; she had bet on the grim future of ‘war’.

She was planning to bet Hwaryeong on the AI defense industry, using security as an excuse to even involve the nation, going all in together.

This was my eldest noona’s strategy for never failing, and it was an impregnable fortress that I, who had been wandering, could never covet.

A cold-blooded person who, setting aside ethics, evaluated all values solely by profit, resembling Cha Seongtaek more than anyone.

“Looks like you’ve finally understood everything. You’ve realized, haven’t you? No matter how much money you scrape together, you’ll never be able to obtain my .”

“…….”

“Ah! And to add, what I’ve revealed to you will soon become a top secret, and it will proceed while maintaining external confidentiality. Korea, geographically vulnerable on all sides, will no longer be able to survive without the name Hwaryeong. Kekeke.”

She shrugged her shoulders as if sneering.

Soon, she extended her hand as if urging me to answer.

“You understand now that you were trying to engage in useless competition, right? The fact that the nation is directly taking my side on the data center land issue we’re building now—all of that has this kind of deal hidden within it. It will continue to be so in the future. Don’t you think it’s better to cooperate if you can’t have it anymore?”

…All this time, I thought I had been feeding money incredibly well, but it turned out she had put an unshakeable leash on the nation.

Even when I tried to lobby them, they stiffened up and refused, and indeed, it was because the nation’s lifeline depended on it.

Conversely, it proved Cha Seonmi’s solid standing within South Korea.

“…So.” I slowly parted my lips, a heavy feeling accompanying the action.

Though I found it thoroughly displeasing, I couldn’t help but ask this question.

“Noona, with a tongue that could make even birds flying in the sky fall, what does it mean for you to suggest cooperation with me?”

At that, Cha Seonmi slowly curved her lips into a smile.

Before we began, I had clearly thought she was in the position of yielding, but before I knew it, she was lifting her chin with arrogance.

“What I want from you is simple. It’s for you to sit at this dinner table with me. Let’s work together well on the spread I’ve laid out, by sharing the small modular reactor and data center that we’ve secured to address the power issue.”

It meant she intended to take over the infrastructure I had been trying to build all this time.

However, it was a full-fledged proposal, too significant to ignore.

Certainly, if we cooperated instead of engaging in meaningless competition that uselessly wasted money, I could easily earn profits too. Additionally, I would be investing in noona’s vision, and if Cha Seonmi was the one pushing it, she would succeed no matter what.

“But if you do come, there’s one thing I want to make clear.”

A late addition, as if good conditions naturally come with restrictions.

I focused my gaze on her dark circles.

Our gazes firmly crossed, then Cha Seonmi issued an order as if commanding me.

“Come home.”

After glaring at me with emotionless, fish-like eyes,

“Just come back under me, rejoining Hwaryeong along with your runaway siblings. Then, I’ll gladly let our family happily feast on this entire nation together.”

It was the queen’s command to bend completely. To make it clear who the winner of this contest was, she explicitly stated that she was the captain holding the keys to .

“Originally, Hwaryeong was one, and if we cooperated, there would be definite synergy. The conditions aren’t bad, are they?”

“…….”

Now that I looked closely, money issues seemed trivial in Cha Seonmi’s eyes. Crushing the arrogant defiance of her rising younger sibling was clearly more important.

It was to become the true owner, no longer just ‘Hwaryeong’s successor’ or ‘de facto ruler’. It was to put on an external performance, showing that she had dealt with all the arrogant siblings who dared to covet her throne.

I clasped my hands together, pretending to ponder the conditions. I nervously tapped the floor with my shoe, then finally gave the obvious answer to this arrogant noona.

“I refuse.”

“…….”

At this single word, Cha Seonmi’s face immediately stiffened. Soon, she let out a deep sigh as if annoyed.

“…I’ve offered you the easy path twice, yet my sibling keeps trying to go the long way around?”

“I’m the type who enjoys adventure, you see. Refusing a well-prepared meal, there’s no real need to attach a reason, is there?”

“Fine, it seems I’m just wasting my breath if I say more, so you can leave now. Even after explaining the situation, if you’re determined to rush in like a moth to a flame, preaching to an insect would be futile.”

Looking down at me disdainfully with her now indifferent, fish-like eyes,

“Just know that I gave you an an opportunity to end things amicably here.”

“…I’ll be leaving now.”

At that, I slowly buttoned my suit and stood up. After tidying my attire to be as neat as when I entered, I walked towards the exit.

“Ah.”

Then, near the entrance, I pivoted, dragging my shoe. Towards noona, who stood before the espresso machine, as if getting her caffeine fix the moment her guest left, I left a final message.

“Since noona has given me quite valuable information, I’ll tell you something too.”

“…There’s nothing more for enemies to talk about. Go out and just scheme more to uselessly trip me up.”

“Why do you think Dad didn’t hand Hwaryeong over to you, noona?”

“!”

At this, Cha Seonmi fell silent. A furrow appeared between her brows on that perpetually composed face, and she shot an expressionless, laser-like gaze at my intentionally stalling face.

“Look, your ruthless business plans and execution are perfect, aren’t they? Even for a daughter who knows how to properly start a business, considering even international politics, why didn’t he fully support you?”

“…….”

I raised a question and intentionally dragged it out. Though I could have said it from afar, I walked purposefully, as if delivering a blow. I deliberately went right up to her, borrowed her ear, and whispered.

“That’s because, from noona, a certain scent was terribly absent.”

Cha Seonmi’s expression after hearing that was a sight to behold. With a face that looked truly struck, I smirked and turned away.

“I’m really leaving now.”

“Get out now.”

Thus, from the negotiation table Cha Seonmi had set, we parted ways once more.

As I exited the CEO’s office, Woo Miae immediately came up beside me.

“Chairman-nim, what happened?”

“Ah, it broke down.”

“I see.” Woo Miae, not asking any further questions, diligently followed behind me.

For the record, there was only one reason I refused. I refused for one simple reason, just like I had always done.

‘How can I bend now and lose face?’

Because if I yielded narrowly and entered, I wouldn’t be able to truly conquer noona.

To truly conquer the eldest noona, who would be the final piece, it was only right to make her bow her head to me instead.

‘Hoo… In the end, it’s going to be a muddy fight until the very end.’

The critical moment had finally arrived. Now that I knew my eldest noona’s trump card, it seemed I should start preparing my final hand.