Chapter 155
At dawn, Jo Jin-hwi began releasing the special articles he had prepared, as instructed.
Among them was a video interview.
The video interview began with a view of the entrance of the Korean Veterans Hospital, followed by a shot of a young Hunter sitting on a bed, dazed, with one arm and one leg missing.
Biting his lip, as if recalling a nightmare, he spoke.
“I shouldn’t have gone into that gate. My equipment, damaged from the previous raid, hadn’t even been fully repaired, but I had to follow the deployment order, and… well…”
Afterward, a soft female voice provided narration.
She described how unstructured and unfair the Korean Hunter Association’s system was back then.
She also spoke of how the man interviewed earlier was now living a grueling life.
More interviews followed in sequence.
There were interviews with people who had suffered extreme psychological trauma within gates, and those who had gone into raids composed solely of warriors without any healers, barely making it back alive.
As a result, at the end of each interview video, everyone said the same thing.
“If only the Association had provided just a bit more support…”
“…I don’t expect a high salary. But I do think they should have provided equipment support or assigned support staff.”
“At the very least, they should have let us keep the loot. If the support funds were too low, they should have let us earn the difference ourselves…”
The voices were filled with resentment.
These were not staged performances for the interview.
They were all public servant Hunters who had actually worked for the Korean Hunter Association in its early days.
And as each video interview concluded, the last shot showed Suho, exhausted and bloodied, dressed in rags, standing in front of the portal to the Dark Canyon, fading out to black as the video ended.
This was both the beginning and end of Jo Jin-hwi’s special article, and as a result, his report and video interviews caused an uproar throughout the country.
– Are you kidding me? We’re talking about national Hunters fighting for the country, and this is how they were treated?
– This country’s always been like this.
└ The Imo Incident was justified.
– Soldiers, firefighters, Hunters… they treat every profession in this field like garbage, don’t they?
– Who the hell came up with that loot return policy?
– Wow… are they really just going to let people suffer like that, with no aftercare?
– Who’s going to sacrifice their life for this country when this is how national Hunters are treated?
– What’s scary is that the treatment hasn’t changed at all.
– At this rate, the only ones left will be private Hunters who pick and choose gates just to satisfy their own greed…
└ But honestly, you can’t blame the private Hunters. The gates are only being raided because of them.
└ Right, don’t try to muddy the waters here. Private Hunters may not fight out of patriotism like national Hunters, but we should still be grateful to them.
The criticism poured in.
And, unsurprisingly, the Korean Hunter Association was the primary target of that anger.
The Association was in turmoil.
The special article Jo Jin-hwi released at dawn, already an issue due to Suho’s injury, now rocked the world with the combined offensive of the Priests of Suho, leading to intense criticism of the government.
The government was caught off guard.
It felt as though they’d been struck by a sudden bolt from the blue.
Sure, this festering wound had been on the verge of bursting at any moment, but they hadn’t expected it to blow up like this, in this way, now.
Of all people, the one most flustered was none other than the head of the Korean Hunter Association, Jang Kyunghwan.
Jang Kyunghwan felt like he was going insane.
Until just last night, he’d thought this was merely a commotion over Hunter Ahn Suho’s injury.
But by morning, the surge of public opinion, spurred by the PBS special article, became an all-out attack aimed at the Korean Hunter Association.
“If things keep going like this, my next position…”
It was dangerous.
He was still in his prime and had no desire to retire so soon.
He wracked his brain.
But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t find a solution.
Normally, he would punish the person who caused the issue, throwing them to public opinion as a scapegoat, or just ignore the issue entirely and wait it out—but neither option was viable this time.
‘If I punish Ahn Suho, it’ll be like pouring gasoline on a fire. But if I ignore this, I’ll be the one under attack…!’
At that moment.
Knock, knock!
A knock sounded at the door.
It was Park Gyu-min.
Seeing Park Gyu-min, Jang Kyunghwan asked with a serious expression.
“What’s going on here?”
“It seems we’re at a dead end.”
“A dead end?”
“Yes, right now, we can’t punish Ahn Suho, nor can we ignore public opinion.”
“Then what do we do? Should I take responsibility and step down?!”
An impatient demand for a solution.
Quick on his feet, Park Gyu-min soothed him.
“Don’t say that… How about this? They say to turn crises into opportunities.”
“An opportunity?”
“Yes, the issue at hand is the lack of support for field Hunters affiliated with the Association. Let’s start by addressing the loot return policy.”
“And how do you suggest we use that?”
“The loot return issue is technically due to the loot allocation law. But we didn’t create this policy, did we?”
“Well, no… Wait, are you suggesting…?”
“Yes, let’s shift the blame to those who created it. We’ll say that we, as non-Hunters, didn’t fully understand Hunters’ struggles, and thus upheld the existing policy, thinking it was the right thing. But now, we realize that it wasn’t. Given the current situation, I believe that’s our best course.”
“Hmm, not bad. But how do we just change the policy overnight?”
“This is a special law created as Awakened Ones emerged. And there’s a provision that allows for flexible amendments to laws related to Awakened Ones, depending on circumstances. We still need approval from the National Assembly, but let’s take this chance to give the public what they want and secure some breathing room. Who knows? This might boost your popularity as well.”
“My popularity?”
“Yes, with that in mind, would you take a look at this?”
Park Gyu-min placed a stack of printouts in front of Jang Kyunghwan and handed him a single page he’d set aside.
“What’s this?”
“These are the revenues from selling loot obtained by Association-affiliated Hunters in gates… Initially high, they’ve steadily decreased, almost disappearing at this point.”
“You’re right. Why’s that?”
“As support dwindled, no one wanted to risk entering gates. If their equipment got damaged or they got injured, they’d have to cover it out of their own pockets.”
“Hmm. Fine, let them keep the loot. It’s practically nothing to begin with, so even if they keep it, our revenue won’t change.”
“Yes. Shall I prepare a briefing draft?”
“Ugh… But the timing looks ridiculous if we rush to change policies just because of public opinion… Won’t people say we’re bending to mob rule?”
“Yes, we might face some criticism, but is that really important right now? With your term nearing its end, it’s more crucial to put out the immediate fire.”
“…You’re right.”
“Yes, I would do the same.”
“Good. So, this one change will suffice?”
“For now, it seems that way. I’ll handle the rest depending on how things unfold.”
“Great, then let’s proceed. Let’s meet public demands at the peak of this public interest and firmly establish my image. But… what if the National Assembly rejects the bill amendment?”
“That could actually work to our advantage.”
“Why?”
“We can deflect the blame onto the National Assembly.”
“Hmm… but they won’t take that lying down…”
Jang Kyunghwan frowned, calculating his options, then nodded.
“No, that could actually be a good thing. In that case, bring in Ahn Suho as well. If we’re going to do this, let’s put on a proper show. By the way, where’s Ahn Suho now?”
“He’s at the Association.”
“How’s his condition?”
“He’s fine.”
“Huh? Why’s he fine? Wasn’t he severely injured?”
“His class is healer, after all.”
“What? So he can heal himself and was wandering around in that state on purpose?”
“…Haha…”
When Park Gyu-min chuckled awkwardly, Jang Kyunghwan scowled.
“Couldn’t he at least wrap himself up in some bandages for effect? It’d have more impact during the press conference.”
“…That might backfire. People know Ahn Suho well, so it’d be better if he simply read a prepared script sincerely.”
“Hmm, not bad. Let’s proceed with that.”
“Yes, understood.”
With Jang Kyunghwan’s approval, Park Gyu-min left the director’s office, exhaling in relief.
He immediately called Suho to report the conversation with Jang Kyunghwan.
Upon hearing the report, Suho nodded.
– Well done. I’ll bring you the script, so bide your time and deliver it then.
“Understood.”
Everything was going according to Suho’s plan.
In this situation, only Park Gyu-min could sway Jang Kyunghwan.
‘Meanwhile, Pi Seongyeol will likely stay out of it.’
It was wise to avoid dirty water.
Even proximity could soil you.
Safety first.
Pi Seongyeol was that kind of person.
That’s why handling this was easier.
Ending the call, Suho picked up the script on his desk and stood up.
He was going to deliver it to Park Gyu-min.
As Suho stood, the Exploration Division members, including Jung Chulmin, who had been waiting nearby, clenched their fists in encouragement.
“Good luck.”
The team quietly cheered him on, their voices low.
Despite their dark circles from hangovers, everyone had made it to work.
Because that’s what it meant to be an “office worker.”
And although they didn’t know exactly what Suho was up to, they were now in the same boat, bound by solidarity and trust in him.
Silently acknowledging their support, Suho also clenched his fist in return.
As he was about to cross the Gate Division hallway, he nearly collided with someone turning the corner.
It was Team Leader Oh Bong-shik from Team 1.
“Oh, sorry.”
“S-Suho? Ah, no. It’s okay. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
Although Suho had bumped into him, Oh Bong-shik was the one apologizing profusely as he hurried away.
It couldn’t be helped.
Following the social media incident, Oh Bong-shik had been harshly reprimanded by Park Gyu-min per Suho’s orders.
Now, he was actively avoiding Suho and the other members of Special Division 2.
In particular, he tried to steer clear of Suho as if in panic.
After all, his social media still attracted negative comments from the Priests of Suho.
‘One reaps what they sow.’
Suho gave a faint smile and made his way to the Deputy Director’s office.
***
Several hours later.
Jang Kyunghwan spoke.
“It’s time.”
“Yes, Director.”
After several hours of preparation, Jang Kyunghwan decided to hold an emergency press conference.
Of course, Suho was with him.
Everything was unfolding according to Suho’s script.
Suho followed Jang Kyunghwan like an aide, and the two entered the briefing room under a barrage of camera flashes.
Suho stepped back, waiting for his turn.
He scanned the reporters’ seats and met eyes with Jo Jin-hwi in the middle, exchanging a brief smile.
The host spoke.
“Now, we will begin the emergency press conference.”
Finally, the first step towards changing the deeply corrupt Korean Hunter Association had begun.