35 Chapter 35

Inside Jiyoung Yoo's office.

"First things first, I would like to personally thank you for saving everyone." Jiyoung said while giving a little bow.

"Don't mention it. I like those guys." Owen said immediately with a smile

Jiyoung nodded her head and took a seat in her chair.

"While I am extremely thankful, I do have many responsibilities as a national ranker."

(A/N: Meaning #1 in the country)

"And you have broken several rules set forth by the WAA and the union of our country. So, I would like to discuss our next steps and the statement I would have to give to the union." Jiyoung said

Owen sat across from her table, listening carefully to what she was saying.

After all, if he played his cards wrong here, then he would be in a lot of trouble.

He had lied to the World Awakeners Academy and took leave from there in order to resolve a personal issue at home. If this news blows up that he was in Korea instead, he would have to suffer severe repercussions.

Although he could claim that he is in Korea regarding that very business, that excuse will not be enough to convince the upper echelons of the WAA and the powerful families who have been vigilant about Owen's strength after he beat all of their heirs.

"Where does Shinhwa stand in this case?" Owen asked

The first thing on Owen's mind was to know if Shinhwa would truly remain by his side. He doesn't see Shinhwa's chairwoman in good light anyway, since she hadn't exactly given any response to his proposal and was just stringing him along until his time runs out and he has to go back to his country.

The reason was incredibly childish and otherwise not actionable, but he was still suspicious that he might get backstabbed.

Although he hasn't sensed any animosity from her or anyone here, he still needs to be sure before entrusting his back to them.

"Shinhwa is as responsible as you in this matter. The best thing to do now is to trust and help each other."

"You are Shinhwa's guest, so it was under our negligence that you, an outsider, used his abilities out in public. We will be reprimanded in our country as well. Getting the union on our side is our top priority. Though that will not be very troublesome as long as you give a reasonable explanation to them."

"Mr. Park Sangah, the representative from the union, is on his way here as we speak. We will need to get our stories straight." Jiyoung said

"Alright," Owen said, "Subin is from the union, right? I saved her life in this incident, so that should work in my case, right?"

"That will give you a little advantage initially. But, considering how much damage you have done, it will be of little help."

"What do you mean?"

"Baekdu, one of the groups in our country, is difficult to deal with, and they will do whatever they can to bring down Shinhwa's reputation. They could portray you like a loose cannon and harm your image among the general public."

"They will say that you not only used your powers unauthorizedly, but that you injured over 20 members of the union and killed a criminal that was under our custody, and they will try to make it out as if the whole incident was caused by you." Jiyoung said

'Shit. This is worse than I imagined.'

"Even if that Loberne guy is captured or whatever, they will not listen, and they might spread rumours about this incident in the entire world, which will destroy the image of not only me but my entire group. Correct?" Owen said, and Jiyoung nodded her head in agreement.

'Jisuk and Subin might be able to speak in my favor, but it is highly unlikely that their opinions will matter since they themselves do not possess any influence. Mom was once part of Shinhwa, so we could use some of her connections if possible, but the fact that she was once part of this group could also be used against us, with them saying that it only made it easier for us to deceive them and plot this scheme.'

"What if I get Loberne to confess and take responsibility for the whole incident and the union to say that I had no other choice but to use my powers and that they are fine with only monetary compensation?" Owen asked

"I don't think you can just throw money at this problem and make it go away. It would be better if I claimed that Shinhwa has received proper compensation from your group regarding this. As this incident took place in our territory, you don't have to provide compensation to other groups."

"What do you want as compensation, then?" Owen asked with his eyes slightly narrowed.

'Was this her motive from the start?' Owen thought

"Nothing." Jiyoung replied

"Huh?"

"We will not have to show others what we received as compensation, since we can just say that it has the same level of importance as force control." Jiyoung said, "They don't have to see us receiving anything from you. All we need to do is release this statement."

"I see," Owen said

"But all of this will only work if we manage to fulfil the condition you mentioned before."

"You mean Loberne's confession?"

"Yes. Getting Loberne to take responsibility will make the whole problem go away. But the question is, How will we manage to do that?" Jiyoung asked

"You can just leave that to me." Owen said with a smile

"How exactly do you plan to do this?" she asked

"First, we need the union's permission to let me interrogate that guy, and second, I just need to interrogate him." Owen said

"He is one of the top 200 awakened ones in the world. Ordinary methods will not work."

"Don't worry, I can be quite scary." Owen said with a cute smile, though his intentions were clear to Jiyoung.

This guy was going to torture the information out of him.

"Anyway, we need to move fast. Also, will you be able to extend your stay by a couple of days?" Jiyoung asked

"Hmm, I don't think so. I have already taken an extremely long break from the academy. I don't think they will allow it. Why though?" Owen asked

*Knock* *Knock*

"Ms. Jiyoung, Mr. Park from the union has just arrived." Inhyuk said, "Should I ask him to come upstairs?"

"No. I will meet him directly." Jiyoung said

She got up from her seat and walked towards the door of her office. She stopped and looked at Owen and said, "I figured you would need a couple of days to recover after our spar."

"So you finally decided, huh?" Owen chuckled and looked at Jiyoung.

"You should come along to meet Mr. Park as well." Jiyoung said as she held the door open.

"Alright. Let's go."