It had always been me who planned the first two terror acts from beginning to end; they just had to execute them. But now, as my ideas are running dry, I need to harness the power of collective intelligence. Help me out!
Oh, but I haven’t mentioned this.
“Ah, and also. The situation has to be so desperate that the hero appears just in time to save everyone. When everyone is on the brink of death, the hero pops up out of nowhere to rescue them.”
“Seriously! Why are there so many conditions!”
Upon hearing that, Seo Eun couldn’t hold back her frustration any longer and burst out in annoyance. Subin, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up.
“…And the hero, is it Stardust again?”
“Uh? Yeah, that’s right.”
“Hmm…”
After hearing that, she took a sip of water from her mug cup.
Glug.
“Stardust, Stardust. Why don’t you just go live with Stardust instead? From the looks of it, you’re practically married to them.”
Seo Eun rested her chin on her hands and mockingly whined.
She looked grumpy.
Hey, I’ve seen this before in a parenting book.
Once upon a time, I dreamed of being a teacher.
In Emile, a must-read for prospective teachers, didn’t I read something similar?
Children feel jealous if their parents show more interest in someone else than in them, right?
Anyway, in such a situation, I think I should respond like this.
“Aww, Seo Eun. That guy is just someone I use to elevate my own position, it’s not like I’m doing anything for him, right? Of course, I care about our family and Seo Eun first.”
“Hmph.”
Although Seo Eun turned her head away as if offended, I could see the corners of her mouth rising.
Raising a kid isn’t easy…
Then again, a ninth-grader isn’t a kid anymore, right?
But truth be told, Seo Eun.
It’s all really for Stardust…
Hiding the truth that could blow up into a storm deep beneath the surface, we continued our meeting.
In the midst of various ideas being thrown out, Subin presented an idea.
“The terror acts you’ve done so far have been on a ship and a train, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then it’s simple. The next one should be on a plane.”
“A plane?”
A plane, huh?
Hmm. A ship, a train, and now a plane.
A trilogy of transport terror?
Not bad at all.
“That’s not bad. But how do we bring down a plane? I mean, bringing it down is easy, but before that, we should present a dilemma or some kind of a quirky show. Also, we need to give them a glimpse of hope that everyone might survive.”
“Ah, how about this then?”
As Subin continued explaining her idea.
I had to ask her.
“Subin, are you a genius?”
“Haha…”
And so, our next terror plot was decided.
Since I’ve already sent Stardust a warning for a terror act next month.
Let’s prepare it flawlessly before then.
***
An airplane from Incheon to Jeju Island.
Although it was a domestic flight on a small plane, everyone on board was headed to Jeju Island for their own reasons.
During the short flight, people engaged in various activities.
Some were napping, others reading a book, or watching a movie on the display installed in front of their seat…
In their own way, everyone was passing the time.
Yes, that’s how it was.
Until suddenly, all the lights on the plane went out.
“…?”
Up to this moment, no one really thought much of it.
But when all the front-seat displays suddenly turned on, broadcasting the same content to everyone, that’s when they all had to be startled.
[THE EGO SHOW]
[Now Live]
“What is this?”
Voices of grievances echoed as interrupted viewers complained about their abruptly cut off movies.
Those quietly doing their own thing also started watching the display that suddenly came alive, wondering what was happening.
And then all of a sudden, a voice that wasn’t the pilot’s began to broadcast over the speakers, which were normally used for announcements.
[Hello everyone! Welcome to the greatest quiz show at the altitude of 25,000 feet. No! The greatest quiz show in the skies, The Ego Show Live!]
Suddenly, the bright voice of a man came through the speakers.
As his voice concluded, applause sounds like from a comedy show started to play through the speakers as well.
[Wow-. Clap clap clap clap.]
The cheerful sound from the speaker contrasted with the chilling silence of the plane.
“What’s going on? Flight attendant! Where are the flight attendants?”
However, no flight attendants came.
Just as the passengers were beginning to sense that something was terribly wrong,
The announcement continued to broadcast.
[Now, now! First, for dramatic tension, we have attached a bomb to this airplane! And if you all do something foolish… Boom! Oh my, you better be careful.]
Even before his speech ended, screams filled the air from all around. Anyone who had heard of the Egoist at least once knew he wasn’t one for empty threats.
Amidst a cacophony of screams, the speaker continued to emit his cheerful conversation.
[Now, let’s start the game!]
***
[Stardust, are you watching the broadcast started by Egoist? He’s launched another terror…]
“Yes, I’m watching it right now.”
What on earth is he up to this time.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
