Side Story 22 – The Next Day - Concierge, Amanda (2)
「 [Project: The Day After Victory] ― Air traffic resumes today, aiming for a regained peaceful sky.
After the appearance of the evil G.o.d Doom Kaos on the twenty-ninth, aircraft have been completely grounded. Considering the potential dangers from unidentified supernatural phenomena on that day, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiated complete control of air traffic, and international airlines worldwide also decided to cease operations.
However, since November 1st (yesterday), measures were taken to lift the control after the proclamation of the great and historic victory, and it has now been successful.」
「 [Project: The Day After Victory] ― “He made a difficult decision for humanity. The return of the Awakened will not be permitted,” says Steven Johansen, the Secretary-General of the World Awakened a.s.sociation.
The World Awakened a.s.sociation had made an official announcement, the first since the existential crisis for humanity was resolved. Secretary-General Steven Johansen began by saying, “He made a difficult decision for humanity” regarding the matter of the Awakened’s return.
It is known that approximately forty-five million Awakened were deployed in the initial battle, but only 182,329 officially survived afterward. Since then, they have gone through several significant battles in outer s.p.a.ce, recently even the Final Stage.
Steven Johansen stated, “From the beginning of the Stage of Advent to the day of victory, the heroes led the battlefield at the forefront with Him. Thanks to them, the sacrifices made by the Awakened were significantly lower than the number in the Stage of Advent. The exact number cannot be announced, but around one hundred thousand Awakened are alive.”
Among them, those who have returned to earth had been limited to only four: Him and three others who were by His side when He proclaimed the victory. The King of h.e.l.l Jonathan Hunter, Caliber Kwon Seong-Il, and a.s.sociation Chairman Lee Tae-Han.
Nonetheless, the atmosphere tensed up when Johansen announced that a.s.sociation Chairman Lee Tae-Han had left for outer s.p.a.ce. Then he said, “The return of ordinary Awakened will not be allowed. It was His decision considering the impact of their return. Only a few will be allowed to travel between worlds, and in that case, they will become ordinary like us due to His ability.”
Then, the conference room erupted into chaos with questions from reporters.
“As you know, the Awakened have established their own system and order in the decades of isolation and during the unique events. Such an independent world of the Awakened cannot be dealt with from our ordinary point of view.”
“Just as He saved our world and our future generations, this decision also comes from the same perspective. This is my personal opinion. I hope everyone seriously considers the aftermath of the Awakened returning to Earth.”
Steven Johansen dismissed the reporters’ countless questions with a few sentences and left the room. 」
「 [Project: The Day After Victory] Is it Guardian Demon King or Jonathan Hunter, the CEO of Jonathan Investment Finance Group? - The Hero, Jonathan Hero.
There is news that Jonathan Hunter, the King of h.e.l.l, may return to the financial world. Today, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) released an article
WSJ also reported that the office of Jonathan Investment Finance Group has begun remodeling and that there has been no confirmation regarding CFO Brain Kim (Korean name: Kim Cheong-Soo) being elected as the new CEO.
Jonathan Hunter was a powerful Awakened who had stood by us as our guardian while other Awakened were focusing on battles in outer s.p.a.ce. He had repeatedly defended against invasions from outer s.p.a.ce and was responsible for our safety. He had also acted as the defender of the market during the initial incident.
Regarding the news of Jonathan Hunter’s potential return to Wall Street, the U.S. Vice President said, “Nothing could be more welcome. If he wishes to leave for outer s.p.a.ce, we must earnestly dissuade him, not only for the citizens of our allied nations but also for all of mankind.”
When asked what the president thought of His decision not to allow the return of the Awakened, he replied, “As a public official, how could I disagree with His decision? Speaking personally, it is better to be a coward than daring in the newly regained peace.”
He added, “Considering the sacrifice of the Awakened, I thought about accepting Awakened boldly. However, I could only become a coward after contemplating the impact they could have on our families and neighbors.”
The president showed an agreeable stance to His decision. 」
***
Judging by appearances alone was not enough. One could truly understand the meaning of that statement when dealing with real millionaires. The richest among them were not bound by things like luxury goods. Unless it was uncomfortable, they commonly wore ordinary s.h.i.+rts in private, especially when they had come for the purpose of traveling.
However, their so-called ordinary appearance was only a first impression. When Amanda served them, she realized they came from a different world entirely. They would unhesitatingly rent mega-luxury yachts, and the tens of thousands of dollars in mooring fees for one night were only a tiny part of their travel expenses.
What about after including insurance premiums and crew operating costs in the calculation? They spent nearly 1.06 million dollars a day just on yacht operation costs like rental fees of about one million dollars, mooring fees of about twenty thousand dollars, insurance premiums of twenty thousand dollars, crew labor costs of ten thousand dollars, and other costs of ten thousand. They were certainly spending at least 1.06 million dollars in total.
Since the minimum contract time in the yacht rental market was one week, they basically started with the intention of scattering around 7.5 million dollars in the ocean.
The client she was a.s.signed to this time spent even more. There was no trace of hesitation in considering buying instead of renting. He was definitely at the top of the rich. Gillian Taylor was the client’s personal acquaintance, and he actually cared about the client. This was the first time she had dealt with such a large amount of money since entering the concierge industry.
Amanda had to use all her capabilities. The company moved with her in the center. More than five hundred people were used to fulfill the client’s requests, urgently finding experts in various fields and contacting famous auction houses.
Amanda never took her phone away from her ear. It was not just her ears that were busy. She had never let go of her pen, so her hands were numb.
However, everything was revolving around her. She could boldly issue directives to seniors, who she usually had to be careful around, and even the arrogant executives were more cooperative than ever.
It was a moment she had always dreamed of, and it turned out to be even better than she had imagined. It could only be a valuable experience. Also, the external partners that the company had built trust with would now keep an eye on her. Gaining a foothold for independence without being tied to the company was her biggest gain.
Amanda was confident that she would never forget the time that had pa.s.sed, waiting for the client to arrive. Finally, it was time for the pa.s.senger plane departing from Incheon International Airport in Korea to arrive. The awaited message came in.
「We are heading out to the gate now. 」
***
“I am Amanda, the concierge, and I will be serving you from today.”
Amanda finally met the client she had waited for. She had imagined a figure similar to the British prince due to his youthful voice.
However, Ethan looked different from what she had imagined. Although he was American, he appeared to be of full Asian descent and looked younger than the age she had guessed based on his voice.
Amanda’s gaze naturally went towards the eyepatch he was wearing. It was covering his left eye, and as a concierge, she had to know about her client’s health. But she was unsure how to ask about it.
“Ethan lost his left eye, but it is nothing to worry about. It happened so long ago that we are used to it,” said an Asian woman at Ethan’s side.
Amanda realized that she was the fiancée who had given her a second chance. Even though they were of different races and were of the same gender, anyone would find Ethan’s fiancée adorable.
Nonetheless, it was not appropriate to express her grat.i.tude as she was just hearing about the client’s disability.
“I heard that everything was ready. Is it three days from now?” Ethan asked.
She responded immediately, “Yes.”
“You are really fast,” he commented.
“Besides the guests I have selected, there are also guests chosen by the auctioneers. Their attendance is confirmed, and this is the list.”
Amanda pulled out the prepared list. She thought the client would be curious about who their rivals would be once the auction started.
However, Ethan only briefly scanned the list. He didn’t show interest.
“But there is one condition requested by a major partic.i.p.ant. You can bring the most items there, so you might want to consider that.”
“Let’s talk while we go.”
Amanda felt the eyes of the airport visitors on them as she led the way to the limousine. Their gazes moved past her and fixed on Ethan.
It felt natural because Ethan resembled ‘Him’ in many ways. His skin color, physique, gender, and the young appearance of ‘Him’ were reminiscent, as with most men of East Asian descent.
However, that was it. The gazes from the airport visitors were nothing more than fleeting curiosity about an East Asian man who reminded them of Him. Even the lingering stares were naturally attracted to the eye patch Ethan was wearing.
Amanda had encountered clients who had no choice but to wear eye patches. In everyday life, if there was pain in the affected area, one could not wear an artificial eye.
Checklist item one. He might experience pain in everyday life.
Amanda said, “Please let me know if the pain gets too uncomfortable.”
“You really do not need to worry about it. Is that our car?”
Ethan was quiet, but his fiancée was friendly.
“Yes.”
When Amanda replied, Ethan’s fiancée started walking with what appeared to be joyful steps.
The limousine was top-tier, but compared to a billionaires’ garage, it seemed mediocre. Therefore, Amanda found it strange that she was so delighted.
After getting in the limo, Amanda handed Ethan’s fiancée some vanilla ice cream she had prepared in the car’s mini fridge and saw the sparkle in her eyes again.
Checklist item two. His fiancée appears to have little experience with the world of billionaires.
Ethan said, “A major place has set conditions?”
“Yes, they want to put certain items up for auction instead of exhibiting their treasured masterpieces.”
She added a few more explanations. The items were beginning to gain secret notoriety among wealthy networks, and many rich were hoping to join in the auction to win them.
That was when Ethan’s fiancée, who had only been marveling at the ice cream, spoke.
“It is surprising that this is attracting more attention than Van Gogh and Da Vinci. What is it?”
It was a moment of tension for Amanda. She was certain that once the ident.i.ty of the items were revealed, Ethan would burst.
She cautiously opened her lips.
“It is a collection of a South Korean s.h.i.+n-Eung middle School’s year ‘00 graduation alb.u.m, cla.s.sroom nameplates of three cla.s.ses, and twelve plywood pieces torn from the same cla.s.s’s floor. You might already know this, Ethan. These items are…”
The car was excellently soundproofed, but Amanda’s last words came out almost like a whisper.
“Related to Him in the form of a collection.”