Chapter 304
No matter how diverse the opinions were or how many people shared the same thoughts, the most crucial decision-maker on the agenda was Lotfiout, the chairman.
Even if everyone in this meeting opposed it, if Lotfiout decided to go ahead, the company would ultimately follow his decision.
That’s why all the Tellers, who had been arguing fiercely, were now on edge, anxiously waiting for the chairman to speak.
Lotfiout, holding his staff, opened his mouth.
“According to the strict laws of the headquarters, those who fabricate stories should be put into the Disposal Vault.”
“That’s…!”
Celestina stood up and tried to shout something, but Lotfiout silenced her with a mere glance.
Celestina fell back into her seat as if collapsing. Just meeting his gaze for a moment made her feel like her heart was being crushed.
“Listen till the end. It certainly is an offense that warrants being put into the Disposal Vault. However, I want to ask this. Can all the success stories achieved by Deputy Manager Kang Yu-hyun up to now be attributed to manipulation?”
“……”
“……”
No one dared to answer. The chairman’s words wielded absolute power here, and no one even considered refuting him.
“There are suspicions. There are circumstances suggesting he used the power of Laplace. But that alone is insufficient. Yes, insufficient. If he had come this far just with that, it would be a problem for all of us, not just Deputy Manager Kang Yu-hyun.”
“Mr. Chairman…”
“From the beginning, we should have banned Laplace or placed equivalent restrictions on it. Or we should have banned receiving gifts from other spirits altogether and added various clauses. Success through the power of Laplace, in a way, could be considered Deputy Manager Kang Yu-hyun’s own capability.”
“……”
“So listen. I, Lotfiout, hereby declare at this place.”
The atmosphere changed suddenly.
All the verbal arrows aimed at Yu-hyun twisted and were drawn to one side, as if the space itself was warping.
Everything was directed at the one with the greatest presence in this room.
Words and language, all power, were wielded, moved, and changed by just one person.
“I will give Deputy Manager Kang Yu-hyun one more chance.”
Some Tellers gasped at those words. To give him a chance was virtually the same as forgiving him.
Demialos’s face contorted in anger, but his expression changed at the chairman’s next words.
“Whether his success was fabricated or genuinely earned by his own power, he will have to prove it. On the planet ‘Glakalis.’”
As the name Glakalis came out of the chairman’s mouth, the direction of the storm changed.
Demialos stopped scowling and laughed, while Galitz, who had been quietly watching, stood up from his seat.
“Chairman! That’s practically exile!”
Everyone in this room knew the weight of the name Glakalis.
Lotfiout said he was giving Yu-hyun a chance, but Glakalis was far from being a land of opportunity.
In the Celestial Corporation, Glakalis was known by another name: the Exile Land.
A world of extreme cold where even stories froze, unable to show their bloom.
That was where Yu-hyun was headed.
And not just going; to reach Glakalis, the Teller had to leave behind most of their stories. Yu-hyun wouldn’t be able to use the power of Laplace, which he prided himself on.
He could only take a very few stories and some that would be given upon arrival.
That was why Galitz cried out in unfairness.
Glakalis was practically a death sentence.
It was certain that dying quickly in the Disposal Vault would be less painful than slowly withering away in that frozen world.
“There will be no reversal of the decision.”
Lotfiout’s gaze turned to Yu-hyun.
“If everything you’ve achieved so far was truly your own ability, you will surely succeed in Glakalis as well. So this is not a punishment but another opportunity. Deputy Manager Kang Yu-hyun, can you prove your worth there?”
All eyes were on Yu-hyun.
Galitz sent a desperate look, pleading for him not to answer. It was better to kneel and beg, as going to Glakalis would be irrevocable.
Yu-hyun understood Galitz’s concern for him.
Therefore,
“I will do it.”
He answered in a confident voice without a hint of wavering.
Gasps erupted from various parts of the room, most of them filled with negative emotions.
“Huh, I thought he was smarter.”
“Is he drunk on his own success? He’s deluding himself if he thinks he can do anything in that exile land.”
“Cluck cluck, in the end, this is all he amounted to.”
Everyone mocked Yu-hyun’s choice. He had boldly declared he would go, but Glakalis was not an easy place.
Even if a director-level Teller from this meeting was sent there, they wouldn’t last long and would meet their end.
The number of stories gathered so far didn’t matter.
One had to leave everything behind. No matter how impressive the story was.
Being dropped into the center of a deserted island with just a dagger and minimal emergency rations would be an understatement.
It was like being thrown into the depths of a scorching hell with just an ice pack.
They had to survive and show stories there.
In such a horrifying world, how could anyone show a story? And there were no spirits in such a remote world to witness the story.
Yet Yu-hyun didn’t refuse it. Rather, he answered as if he had been waiting for those words.
The other Tellers didn’t know, but Lotfiout could feel it.
‘Arrogance? No. He’s different from those simple fools drunk on their abilities.’
Was it just bluffing? Or did he truly have the confidence to do it?
Lotfiout tried to read Yu-hyun’s thoughts but soon shook his head, realizing it wasn’t necessary.
He had made his choice, and now he had no choice but to head to Glakalis.
The decision was final and unchangeable.
* * *
The news of Deputy Manager Kang Yu-hyun’s exile caused an uproar in the Celestial Corporation.
“What? Why is that guy being sent to exile! Don’t be ridiculous!”
Alisha, who considered Yu-hyun her rival, shouted in fury at the colleague who delivered the news.
She had only heard that Yu-hyun was being promoted to deputy manager today and had no idea what had happened afterward.
Was there a problem? Why was he headed to Glakalis, a place everyone avoided?
This was a false accusation. It had to be.
There was no way that guy did anything wrong. Because he was the rival she acknowledged. The goal she had decided to surpass.
‘Damn it. Kang Yu-hyun. What on earth happened?’
Alisha bit her lip as she faced the outrageous rumors spreading around.
* * *
“What? Yu, Yu-hyun!”
“Say that again!”
White Flower Management turned upside down at the news brought by Celine. Seo Sumin glared at Celine with wide eyes. An uncontrollable murderous intent flowed from her.
Celine, without changing her expression, said,
“Senior. Deputy Manager Kang Yu-hyun was exiled after the headquarters meeting.”
“Why!”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t there, so I didn’t hear what happened. I can’t know. Only senior managers and above were in the meeting. Several directors were there, and even the chairman appeared.”
At the mention of the chairman’s appearance, everyone fell silent.
“The chairman is the absolute authority in the company. He made that decision, and Deputy Manager Kang Yu-hyun accepted it.”
“Can’t we know the details…?”
“We’ve been ordered not to speak about it. We can only speculate, but no one knows the truth except those who were there.”
“Why, why…?”
The light vanished from Kang Hye-rim’s eyes. Seeing her unable to speak properly, Kwon Jia held her hand in concern.
“He, he’ll come back, right? If it’s Yu-hyun, he’ll come back, right?”
“I can’t be sure.”
“Why not? Why can’t he come back?”
“Do you know what kind of place Glakalis is?”
No one could answer that question. Kwon Jia didn’t know exactly what kind of place Glakalis was either. As a non-Teller, she had no connection to that world.
Needless to say, neither did Seo Sumin nor Yoo Young-min.
“Glakalis is a frozen world. Everything is covered in cold snow. Even stories.”
“Such a world exists?”
“It wasn’t always like that, I hear. I don’t know the details, but something happened that turned the world into ice. Most of the creatures living there died. Yet a few survivors still remain.”
“What does the Celestial Corporation expect from such a place…?”
“For us Tellers, there’s only one thing we seek there: showing stories through Shi-hwa. They want us to show stories somehow in that world. Normally, the company would have suffered a loss and abandoned it, but the chairman has inexplicably held onto it…”
“Showing stories in such a place. Is that even possible?”
“Of course not. That’s why it’s called exile. No Teller has returned from there. It’s not just the difficulty of showing stories. The company has given up on Glakalis. To go there, you have to leave behind most of your stories.”
That’s why it’s called exile.
Leaving everything behind and going there to survive and show stories.
But if they couldn’t show proper stories, they would eventually die from losing the stories necessary for survival.
Calling it
exile was just a euphemism.
In truth, it was closer to hell.
“Yu-hyun in such a place…”
“Why did you come here to tell us this? You’re not here to mock us, are you?”
Kwon Jia was the only one who assessed the situation rationally.
No. Although she spoke that way, she was on the verge of exploding. She was merely suppressing her emotions with great effort.
‘I can’t collapse here.’
Most importantly, Kwon Jia had vaguely sensed such an event from the bracelet Yu-hyun had given her earlier.
All the miracles he had shown so far weren’t just due to luck.
Kang Yu-hyun thought through every situation and prepared for the unexpected meticulously.
Maybe even now, it was the same.
“You are sharp. As Collector Kwon Jia said, I didn’t come just to give bad news. At first, I was shocked, but upon reflecting on the senior’s actions, something caught my attention.”
“What caught your attention?”
“I was promoted to deputy. And I have a chance to move to the Shi-hwa chamber. The senior even cheered me on. However, he adamantly refused to return the library rights he transferred to me. As if anticipating this situation.”
“What?”
“The senior must abandon most of his stories and library rights due to this incident. The headquarters will retrieve the unowned stories and rights as per regulations. Yes, if they are unowned.”
Celine had the rights to Yu-hyun’s library. In other words, with Yu-hyun gone, she was the secondary owner of the library.
“Did he anticipate this? Library rights aside, what about the stories?”
“The senior transferred the library rights to me, so I don’t think he left the stories untouched.”
“No way…!”
Kwon Jia inspected the bracelet on her right wrist. Kang Hye-rim, Seo Sumin, and Yoo Young-min did the same.
Simultaneously, brilliant light emitted from their bracelets, and white stories filled the space.
“Oh my.”
Kang Hye-rim couldn’t close her mouth as she watched the stories. The others were no different.
When Yu-hyun gave them the bracelets made of fragments, he had also transferred his stories.
As if anticipating this situation.
* * *
“Are you saying there are no stories to retrieve?”
“As you can see.”
Yu-hyun raised his arms to show he had nothing. The Tellers from the inspection department, who were to escort Yu-hyun to the exile land, couldn’t hide their discomfort.
Garas, the inspection department head in charge, frowned.
With a crocodile head, he glared at Yu-hyun as if he would devour him.
“Don’t lie! You say you have no stories and points now? Do you expect me to believe that?”
“If you don’t believe it, you can check.”
“You… there’s no way you could have hidden them.”
“I didn’t hide them. I simply transferred ownership.”
“Transferred… ownership? Did you give them all to the Collectors?”
Garas clenched his fists in disbelief. Originally, Yu-hyun’s stories and points should have been retrieved before he was sent to the exile land.
Taking some of it ‘at discretion’ was the prerogative of the on-site leader, himself.
But now Yu-hyun was empty-handed.
No, not completely empty-handed.
‘He has only a trivial story like Focus of Will? Is this a joke?’
It was like a billionaire having only a ten-cent coin in their wallet.
If he had secretly hidden them, the system could track and retrieve them, but if he had transferred ownership, even that was impossible.
Taking that insignificant story would do more harm than good to his reputation.
“…Fine. It doesn’t matter. You’ll die there anyway.”
Yu-hyun only smiled without responding.
Garas assumed it was just a bluff. He believed Yu-hyun was inwardly crying, wanting to live.
It was regrettable not to take Yu-hyun’s stories, but seeing that obnoxious guy die would be satisfying enough.
“Well then, survive if you can.”
With those words, the immense power of the system pulled Yu-hyun into another world.
[Transporting to Glakalis.]
[Analyzing held stories. No stories to filter. Maintaining current state.]
[‘My body’ is granted. A story fitting the “my body” is given.]
‘My body?’
Yu-hyun focused on the words “My body” as he felt his body being pulled.
Glakalis wasn’t just a destination. It was said that some minimum benefits would be provided to help adapt to the place.
It couldn’t be called a benefit, but it was better than nothing.
However, since no Teller had returned, no one knew what that benefit was.
‘It doesn’t matter. What’s important now isn’t the “My body”.’
[Arriving at Glakalis.]
His body, which had floated through several dimensions, finally touched the ground.
‘This is…’
Yu-hyun was speechless as he took in the surroundings.
Everything was frozen, a world painfully blue and white. The sky was full of dark clouds continuously pouring down icy snow.
Predicting a frozen world, Yu-hyun checked his body state and was surprised.
“Huh, huh?”
His voice was high-pitched, and his long hair flowed over his shoulders.
Looking at his right hand, he saw not his usual rough hand but a white, delicate hand.
“So “My body”… is a woman?”