Ch. 210 - To Think There Was A Case Like This

"Today's guest is someone who's been the talk of South Korea for months: the country's one and only S-rank hunter. Let's welcome the Iron Will Guild's Ju Se-ah. Hello, Guild Master Ju!"

"Yes, hello. This is Ju Se-ah."

The news anchor began with polished words, setting the tone for the interview. The initial questions flowed easily, and Ju Se-ah responded without difficulty.

However, as the discussion progressed, it took a sharp turn. The anchor started delving into sensitive topics like Tier Guilds keeping a check on them and interference from neighbouring countries. The conversation eventually touched on dangerously controversial points depending on how you interpreted the questions.

"Rumor has it that the sudden cesser of the White Tiger Guild was orchestrated by the Iron Will. What do you have to say about this?"

Pyo Beom-hee, watching the interview from outside the set, snapped with frustration.

"What is he asking? That question wasn't on the pre-interview list, was it?"

As a member of the communications team, Pyo Beom-hee was in charge of public relations. 

While the PR department usually handled external affairs for the guild master, recently, she had taken on this role herself. For someone who was an A+ rank hunter, it felt like a waste of her power.

Still, in moments like these, she was an indispensable force.

"Oh, yes, Haha... Our anchor must have gotten ambitious. I didn't hear about this either..." stammered the news producer, breaking into sweat under Pyo Beom-hee's piercing glare.

It wasn't clear if the producer truly didn't know about the question or if he was feigning ignorance. Either way, it was a nuisance.

'Why did I even agree to this? Still, with Guild Leader Kang insisting on more media exposure, there was no avoiding it. It's not like I could send Guild Master to a variety show either.'

Be it news or variety shows, both  are equally crazy for viewer ratings, and it was equally dangerous.

In this era, rather than focusing on truthfulness and fairness, people crave sensationalized news even if it's false. The supposedly pre-agreed questions can't be trusted either.

'This is all Kang Mu-hyuk's fault.'

Pyo Beom-hee blamed Kang Mu-hyuk, even though she knew she couldn't balanttly ignore it. She had to figure out a way to out of this puzzle.

Stopping the live broadcast was out of the question. Even though she was about to do it---it'd only add fuel to the fire since it was being broadcast live. She'd be criticized for it.

'Plus, that's a really bad question. Cutting it off here would be like asking to be suspected.'

Meanwhile, as Pyo Beom-hee tapped her feet nervously, the anchor pressed on, seeking an answer from Ju Se-ah by changing the question.

"The sudden dissolution of a major guild like White Tiger is seen as harmful to the national interest by some. People say eliminating such a large guild for someone of the same rank is especially a hard feat. Many wonder if Ju Se-ah, as South Korea's sole S-rank hunter, played a role. What's your take on this?"

Ju Se-ah paused, crossing her arms as she pretended to ponder the question. Then she spoke deftly.

"That's a weird question."

"Which part do you mean?"

"Well, everyone knows about White Tiger Guild's crimes that surfaced during their dissolution. The evidence and witnesses were clear. Even China criticized their plans to overthrow the country. Yet, it seems like you're defending them. Am I misunderstanding your question?"

Her counterattack left the anchor momentarily speechless.

Pyo Beom-hee clenched her fists in silent approval.

'That's right!! Good job!'

The anchor, now at a loss for an answer, awkwardly waved his hand, making an excuse.

"Oh... no, of course not. I'm not defending them. I was merely addressing the suspicions surrounding the situation. To be fair, all we've seen so far are the results. The process leading to White Tiger's disbandment has been shrouded in mystery."

He hoped his response would smooth things over, but Ju Se-ah wasn't done.

"I've heard a rumour too."

"A rumuor?"

"Something about people trying to discredit me after I became an S-rank hunter. Some say these rumours started abroad--- from Japan, maybe? But no, they came from people within Korea, from who dislike me. Manipulating the media, stirring up internet forums to discredit me. You're not basing your questions on such baseless rumours now, are you?"

"Haha... of course not. I just wanted to cover all viewpoints."

"Right? Hahaha."

The broadcast ended with nothing but awkward laughter.

***

As Pyo Beom-hee drove Ju Se-ah away from the news station, she sprawled across the back seat, groaning in exhausted.

"Ugh, I'm dying here. Sis, how much longer do I have to keep doing such interviews? Let's just stop here."

Pyo Beom-hee glanced at the rearview mirror.

In an instant, Ju Se-ah's perfectly fitting outfit now hung loosely. Her faintly red hair had subtly changed colour and length.

"Until Guild Master Ju Se-ah is back home. For now, the public needs to believe that the Guild Master is in Korea. So transform back, Mr. Cho Siwon. It'd be chaos if anyone saw you like this."

"Who can even see me right now? No one can see through these tinted windows.'

"A hunter with see-through abilities could.'

"Hmph, Guild Leader Kang didn't buy this expensive car just for show. See-through abilities won't work. Look."

"There is no such thing as 100%. You should always be careful. Didn't the Guild Leader say to do as much as you are paid? The money paid by the guild includes such a confidentiality clause. So do as much as you are paid, Cho Siwon."

"Fine, fine. Also, Please call me Mr. Cho and not my full name."

"Oh? I guess so. You're a professional spy, so it'd be awkward if someone called your real 

name, right?"

"No. We're not even close, so hearing you say my name is embarrassing."

"Okay. I'll call you Mr. Cho. So stop acting like I'm your sister."

"Yes, ma'am."

Snap!

For a moment, Mr. Cho looked over at the driver's seat, thinking that the vein on Pyo Beom-hee's forehead had burst. But, the vein she had hoped would pop was intact. Instead, part of the steering wheel was shattered.

Mr. Joe could read Pyo Beom-hee's mind just by looking at her expression.

'Just let me get out of the car and I'll show you.'

'Don't you dare get out of the car.'

At Pyo Beom-hee's killing intent, Mr. Cho shut her mouth, shifting back into the image of Ju Se-ah obediently. Her clothing resized itself perfectly and fit her body.

Just then, the car's interface lit up with an incoming call.

At that moment, her smartphone rang. A call icon appeared in the corner of the front window, and the caller's name appeared.

-Guild Leader Kang Mu-hyuk is calling. Do you want to answer?

"Take the call."

-Connect Hands-Free

"Hello."

- Team Leader Pyo Beom-hee, where are you now?

"I just finished the broadcast and am on my way back to the guild. I'm on the highway to Pocheon, so I'll be there soon. Why?"

- The Guild Master just succeeded in entering the country illegally. She's on her way to North Pocheon. Please tell Mr. Cho that she doesn't need to pose as Guild Master Ju Se-ah anymore.

"Yes, I will."

"Hurrah! I'm free now!"

As soon as the call ended, Pyo Beom-hee made a U-turn at the next freeway exit.

Mr. Cho, who initially thought they were heading back to Seoul, spoke anxiously as the car veered into a darker, less-travelled area.

"Hey... Sis? Why are we going this way...? Haha... isn't the road to Seoul a left turn back there?"

No answer. The car stopped soon.

Pyo Beom-hee got out, opened the back seat door herself, and said, "Oi, get out."

***

Go Eul-ji, who even managed to endure Ju Se-ah's hellish training, looked at her smartphone during a break and then screamed, clutching her head with an expression as if the sky had fallen.

"What the f---"

"Are you swearing in English now? Watch your language. Not all hunters should be this shameless."

"Master, what do I do?"

Ju Se-ah wasn't curious, but she couldn't ignore her disciple who seemed to be on the verge of tears, so she asked out of concern.

'Guild Leader Kang told me to look after her so... He said that the child became all twisted due to all the pressure from Chairman Han Byunggu... Even though it's annoying, she's still my student so should I at least show her the the minimum sincerity, right?'

Ju Se-ah asked, acting like she was curious.

"What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, Go Eul-ji showed her smartphone screen which showed an article.

[Idol of the Century, BTA. LA Concert Cancelled.]

"Of course. What did I expect? You're crying over a mere cancelled concert?"

"A mere  concert'? We're talking about BTA! I came here because of this concert."

"Not for the meal coupon with them, huh?"

"The BTA oppas say they're busy. So they're not doing any domestic activities for a while, and that they only came here briefly for last year's concert at the end of the year.  Then, they gotta come for overseas concerts Why do you think I've been studying English? I was planning to go to LA this summer!"

"Oh, so that's why you swore in English. Funny, I don't recall hearing any English from you other than curse words."

"When you're learning a foreign language, you learn curse words first. Curse words stick the fastest. Same reason foreigners learn Korean curse words first."

"What kinda teaching method is this? It really does stick into your ears."

"Right?"

"You thought I was praising you?!"

[Tenfold Shackles]

"Whoa! Stop hitting! Even your finger-snaps are lethal weapons! Where in the world do you find fingers that pierce metals?!"

"Oi! You dare block the master's taps of teacherly love? You've been getting cockier ever since your ranked-up, haven't you?"

"No! You think someone would be arrogant just because they're an A-rank and don't challenge an S-rank! Please! You're gonna hit me again?"

Somehow, Ju Se-ah's relentless finger-snap attacks found their way past Go Eul-ji's defenses.

Clutching her reddened forehead, Go Eul-ji complained, "I'm about to graduate. I'm not a kid anymore! At this rate, I'll be end up getting beaten even when I'm twenty. Are there still students getting hit these days? If this keeps up, I'll go on TV to tell people."

"When the time comes, I won't hit you even if you ask me to."

"When will that be?"

"When you stop obsessing over idols."

"You're saying you'll beat me for the rest of my life?!"

"Stop doing it if you don't like it."

"I'm petty so I'll leave right after I get my meal with my dear oppas."

"Good. Join the Hunter Association then. Work hard with your grandfather."

Go Eul-ji's face turned sour, but she shot back, "I think I'll join the Slayer Guild."

"What? Slayer?"

"What? Are you nervous because I said Slayer?"

"Guess I have no choice then. If I can't have it, I'll just break it."

"Wait, what?! I said stop hitting me!"

Go Eul-ji eventually passed out after being hit with a few more blows. It was not to the point of getting shocked. It was the exhaustion from trying so hard to block it.

***

As the saying goes, life is like a blessing in disguise and good news awaited Go Eul-ji when she woke up in the infirmary.

After waking up, Go Eul-ji received surprising news. Kang Mu-hyuk had summoned her to his office.

"I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?"

"Good news. I always eat the most delicious part of food first."

"The BTA concert isn't cancelled---it's postponed. Team Leader Pyo Beom-hee confirmed it."

"Really? When?"

"October. They'll announce the exact schedule later."

"I knew it. People should live a long life. I do and see, so this is how God rewards me."

Kang Mu-hyuk shook his head as Go Eul-ji clasped her hands in prayer, looking up at the sky.

"It's not a divine reward. It's thanks to America's defense power against monsters. The concert was cancelled due to a large-scale monster incident in LA, but they resolved it quickly. They'll go forward with the concert later. Considering the scale of the incident, it was dangerous, but as always, American hunter forces are impressive."

"Jeez, you sure know how to ruin the mood. By the way, Guild Leader Kang, how did you manage at Titan? How did you even become a team leader with your lack of social skills?"

"Ability and character."

"If anyone needs to pray, it's you. Go ahead and thank the heavens."

"Of course, I'm good at navigating politics. I'm confident, but I also pushed out a stubborn team leader who endangered hunters and any hunters who ignored my strategies only to cause casualties. Those efforts are why I'm here today, aren't I?"

"That's not usually considered effort."

"Then what would you call it?"

"Fraud, blackmail, conspiracy?"

"I still put in effort to plot it, right? Handling such things is part of my job too."

"It's all wrong. There's something wrong with this guild. What kind of life have you been living? Jeez. It's so twisted."

Kang Mu-hyuk ignored Go Eul-ji's complaints and continued.

"Alright, let's move to the bad news. The fall concert in October---Hunter Go Eul-ji, you can't go."

"What?! Why not? Why?!"

"It's during the school semester. Are you planning to skip school?"

"Of course. It's BTA! I'm not going to college anyway! Skipping school is no big deal."

"I looked into it. If you miss any more days, you won't be able to graduate. Remember the days you skipped during the Tumen River incident for joint attack team schedules? You'd need to attend another full year to make up for it."

"No way! That should count as official work... Wait, right, I was hiding the fact that I'm a hunter."

Go Eul-ji's maternal grandfather, Han Byunggu, had been concealing her status as a hunter to protect her from external threats, particularly from Japan.

As a result, whenever she skipped school for training or missions, it looked as if she was simply skipping classes or wandering aimlessly. This gave her a reputation as a delinquent.

And now, this secrecy was holding her back.

Still, Go Eul-ji didn't give in and stood her ground.

"Then I'll just drop out. Honestly, if it weren't for Nari, I'd have quit school ages ago."

"Nari? Ah, your only friend?"

"Why did you have to emphasize 'only'? You're making me feel sad."

"Do you have any other friends I don't know about?"

"...Reminding that I don't have any just makes me even sadder."

"In any case, your grandfather, the president of the association, insists that you must graduate high school. If you don't, he's prepared to kick you out of Iron Will by any means necessary. Do you know that if you drop out, you'll end up in the Association?"

"Are you on the same boat as the Guild Master?!"

"Of course. It's my job to be."

Go Eul-ji slumped to the ground, defeated. There was no escape. She was surrounded by enemies. Not just ordinary enemies, Red Get level, maybe even higher ranking demonic den: Ju Se-ah, Kang Mu-hyuk, and her grandfather.

But just as she was sinking into despair, Kang Mu-hyuk offered a lifeline.

"Well, bad news aside, there's a solution."

"I knew I could count on you, Guild Leader Kang!"

"I'll disclose your hunter status. You'll be officially registered as a hunter."

"Really? What about Grandpa? He'll definitely object..."

"The chairman has already approved it, now that the threat has disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Since our guild master declared her S-rank, Japan's attention is focused on her. They don't have time to monitor promising Korean hunters. With the reduced surveillance, it's safe to restore your hunter credentials."

"You create problems for me and then you solve them! Whoo! I get to benefit thanks to our dear guild master. So what happens now?"

"I'll take you out for hunter training during the fall semester. That'll coincide with your LA trip."

"You'd do that?!"

Go Eul-ji clenched her fist and held it up.

Finally, she could attend the BTA concert she'd been dreaming of.

"But there's no better place to work than Iron Will, is there?"

"Yes, Guild Leader. Even my bones shall rest here in peace here."

"That sounds like a lifelong contract..."

"Oh, my time's up. We'll talk later."

Kang Mu-hyuk smacked his lips in regret as Go Eul-ji bolted from the room.

"What a shame."

***

Sinuiju Prison Village

Sinuiju had transformed so much it couldn't be called a prison anymore.

New houses surrounded the Sinuiju Council building, replacing the prison that was destroyed during the Sinuiju War.

Families of Hunters of Sinuiju lived here, their children dressed well, eating delicious foods, and attending school.

A new sense of hope flowed throughout the city.

Of course, not everyone was happy.

"Oi, kid."

"Huh? Ahjussi?"

Park Cheol-i, who was watching his friends run around, was surprised to see No Song-rin after half a year, so he ran over.

The sleeve of his severed arm flapped in the air.

Although his arms were weak, unlike before, they didn't wobble or lose balance. They seemed to have gotten used to life.

"You said you awakened as a hunter last time?"

Park Cheol-i felt a sense of relief as he watched No Song-rin start talking whatever the hell he wanted without asking how he was doing.

"Ahjussi, you haven't changed at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Ever had someone tell you you're too nosy?"

"I've heard that I leave a bad impression many times or people ask me to 'spare their lives', but 'nosy'? That's new."

"You must've changed a lot then."

"There's no way a person can change so much in just half a year."

"Maybe you've always been like this."

"So I've always been nosy...?"

"No, you're funny... And you take care of others."

"Take care of others? I don't know about being fun, but that's the first time I've heard someone say I'm caring."

No Song-rin said after an awkward laughter.

"Sure. You might just be right. Alright, enough banter. I came here on business."

"What business?"

"When you awakened as a hunter during the chaos here--- the moment that saved your life. You were able to make it through all that bleeding because your life became just that much more tenacious when you awakened. According to Guild Leader Kang. Oh? He is the leader of our guild. Kang Mu-hyuk, the guy who was making a fuss here last time."

"I know Guild Leader Kang Muhyuk."

"Yes. According to him, statistically, the more you are exposed to mana, the closer you are to the gate. And the more you experience a near-death crisis, the higher the probability of you awakening as a Hunter. It's not an absolute requirement, but it's generally true. The environment of Sinuiju before was full of danger, so of course the probability of awakening would be high. It's also close to the demonic realm, so the concentration of mana would be high. But the fact that you awakened then was a really lucky...."

"I know that, but... What can I do with just one arm? I'm crippled..."

"I told you before, didn't I? There's an S-rank hunter who's a swordsman with one arm too. Don't give up so easily just because you have only one arm."

"... ..."

"Anyway, here's why I'm really here."

Park Cheol-i looked up at No Song-rin.

You're too young for hunter training, so you can't train unless you have a legal guardian. Usually, that'd be your parents. But you don't have them.

"So?"

"I asked Guild Leader Kang. He told me to do it. I mean, I'm not that reliable of a guy."

"Then does that mean you're my..."

"Yeah, simply put, I will become your godfather. Then, you will be able to go on a hunter training course later."

"Ahjussi..."

"Okay, I've said everything I wanted to say. Stay healthy. If anything comes up, let me know. I'll come back after find a lawyer, so listen carefully to what he says. I'm leaving now."

No Song-rin left just as bluntly as he had come.

Park Cheol-i couldn't leave his seat for a long time even after he disappeared.

***

Kang Chang-soo, who had been browsing research papers on the Internet late into the night, rubbed his eyes wearily and got ready to get up from his seat.

Just as he was about to shut down his computer, a new email notification popped up.

"An email? From this site?"

It was the site where he had posted his paper on mana poisoning---a site that had never sent him anything beyond standard administrative notices.

Curiosity sparked as he noticed the sender wasn't using an administrator ID.

'He's an American. Thomas Lee? Is he Korean? Or Chinese? Please don't let it be a spam.'

With a click, he opened the email. The message was lengthy. Initially intending to skim it, Kang Chang-soo started reading just the opening lines.

But as his eyes scanned the first sentence, he found himself compelled to read further. The content reeled him in, making him  through the whole two full A4 pages worth content.

"There was a case like this? This might be the clue I've been looking for to cure Mu-hyuk's illness."

>>>Part 2 is complete. Part 3 coming soon.

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