Chapter 19

Chapter 19. Because That’s What a Hunter Is

***

The plaza in front of City Hall.

The midday sunlight shattered across the concrete ground.

Over it, the heels of my dress shoes rang out dryly.

Step, step.

The automatic doors opened, and when I entered the lobby, a strange tension brushed against my skin along with the cool air from the air conditioner.

A booming voice broke that silence.

"Oh my, Hunter Kim Do-jin! You’re here!"

I looked toward the sound.

A middle-aged man with graying hair was approaching at a quick pace, both arms spread wide.

Late fifties.

His dark navy suit was neat, but his shoulders were hunched, and dark shadows sat beneath his eyes.

He was the mayor of G City.

'···This man.'

I remembered him.

His appearance during the Donggureung Disaster before my regression.

When 250 citizens had been slaughtered, he knelt at the scene and sobbed.

After resigning from his position as mayor and taking full responsibility, he was unable to overcome his guilt and took his own life. A tragic figure.

I remembered the chrysanthemum flower he had placed in a corner of the joint memorial altar, beside the memorial portraits of my mother and older sister.

But now, he was alive.

He was steeped in exhaustion, but at least his eyes were full of life.

"I am Kim Do-jin."

Hiding my emotions, I politely took his hand.

His hand was damp and trembling faintly.

"Thank you. Truly, thank you. Even after receiving Team Leader Kim’s report, I could not believe it. To think you refused Invictus and chose our city···."

He wrapped both hands around mine and bowed at the waist.

He looked like a desperate head of a household, not like someone bearing the weight of the title of mayor.

The civil servants passing around us glanced over.

"Is that the Hunter?"

"Wow, he really is A-Rank."

"Mayor Park is going that far···?"

Whispers spread like a wave.

Awe, curiosity, and suspicion.

I calmly let those gazes wash over me.

"Just by coming here, Hunter, you have given our citizens the chance to sleep with their legs stretched out. You are truly a great strength to us."

The mayor’s words were not empty flattery.

They were sincere.

He knew.

How powerless an administration without strength could be, and what kind of tragedy that powerlessness could bring about.

'This life will be different.'

I muttered inwardly and nodded.

Kim Dae-han and Mayor Park stood on either side of me.

We walked down the long corridor.

The corridor was long.

An old acoustic-tile ceiling, walls with paint peeling here and there.

It was completely different from the office buildings of private guilds, plastered in gleaming marble.

This place was reality.

With each step I took, the memories and knowledge from before my regression meshed and turned.

'The era of guilds.'

Twenty years ago, when the Gates opened, the military and police collapsed.

Before monsters that sent bullets ricocheting away, public authority was nothing but a paper tiger.

The ones who filled that vacuum were Awakened with supernatural abilities.

At first, the government tried to control them.

But once the resource known as Mana Stones was discovered, the balance of power overturned.

The core of an energy revolution, and an astronomical gold mine.

Guilds monopolized Mana Stone mining rights and grew into massive capital powers.

And the government?

It became reduced to handing over half its taxes to them under the name of "public security maintenance fees."

It was called a contract, but in reality, it was no different from paying protection money.

The price of outsourcing national security to private companies was severe.

Guilds protected profitable urban centers, while unprofitable outskirts and poor districts were neglected.

That was the South Korea of today.

'So of course the city’s finances are in ruins.'

G City must have been the same.

Even after pouring enormous sums of money into large guilds such as Invictus and Guardians, dangerous areas like Donggureung were ignored on the grounds that they were "unprofitable."

That was also why the mayor was clinging to me.

He did not need to buy mercenaries with money.

He needed a true ally.

"This way."

As I walked while lost in thought, we arrived before a massive set of double doors.

As soon as the doors to the large auditorium opened, heat and noise poured out.

Hundreds of people were seated densely inside.

It seemed every employee at City Hall had been summoned.

Their eyes fixed on me all at once.

"He really came."

"He’s younger than I expected."

"Doesn’t he kind of look like an actor?"

Curiosity, as if they were seeing a rare animal at a zoo.

And distrust mixed here and there between it.

"I heard he kicked away ten billion won. Is that really true?"

"He must have some ulterior motive. Or maybe Team Leader Kim Dae-han has some weakness of his."

"Agreed. Kim Dae-han would be more than capable of that."

The whispers pierced my ears.

I paid them no mind and walked in steadily.

On the platform hung a tacky red banner.

[Appointment Ceremony for Special Hire Hunter of G City, Gyeonggi Province - A-Rank Hunter Kim Do-jin]

Formal calligraphic gold letters.

A typical government office style.

Holding back a laugh, I sat in the designated seat.

"Now, silence! Please be quiet!"

The host grabbed the microphone and broke into a sweat.

Once the noise died down, the mayor went up to the platform.

He cleared his throat a few times, then unfolded the prepared manuscript.

"Er··· thank you, everyone, for attending despite your busy duties."

His uniquely slow and dignified tone.

It was the beginning of a boring moralizing address.

I had expected it, but as always, government events were long.

***

"Last year alone, our city paid no less than 120 billion won in contracted security fees to private guilds. This is an enormous sum amounting to over 15% of the total budget."

Strength entered the mayor’s voice.

He clenched his fist and shook it in the air.

"Citizens’ precious tax money is being wasted. Guilds refused or delayed dispatch to outer districts on the grounds that there was no profit to be made, and the damage fell entirely on the citizens."

The audience grew quiet.

It was an uncomfortable truth everyone knew, but had silently ignored.

"But now, things are different. Our city has established its own independent response team. This is our will to protect our safety with our own hands, without watching the guilds’ moods any longer!"

He stretched out his hand and pointed at me.

"At the starting point of this effort stands Hunter Kim Do-jin. A hero evaluated as A-Rank and unmeasurable refused the enormous sum of ten billion won and chose our city!"

WAAAAAA—!

Mechanical applause poured out.

My face grew hot.

But beneath that applause, doubt still lay thick.

Cynicism such as, 'What can he do alone?' and 'He’ll leave soon anyway.'

The mayor spoke passionately.

Next year’s budget proposal, an increase in the public security sector, reduced dependence on guilds···.

Rosy blueprints filled the PowerPoint screen.

I watched the screen expressionlessly.

For those plans to come true, Kim Dae-han had to show results.

In other words, the weight of hundreds of billions rested on my shoulders.

"Now then, lastly—"

Is it finally over?

Just as I was about to rise, the host’s comment continued.

"We will now hear an inaugural address from today’s main figure, Hunter Kim Do-jin! Please welcome him with applause!"

This was not in the script.

When I looked at Kim Dae-han, he mischievously shrugged.

His expression seemed to say, Have a taste of it yourself.

This was not going to end with the price of one cup of coffee.

"..."

I went up onto the platform as though pushed forward.

The lights were dazzling.

Hundreds of gazes pierced me hotly.

In the front row, City Hall beat reporters were waiting with their laptops open.

I took the microphone.

The cold touch of metal.

There was no prepared manuscript.

As the silence dragged on, the auditorium stirred.

"Uh···."

At the sound of speaker feedback, people held their breath.

I slowly looked over the audience.

Civil servants worn down by fatigue, reporters hunting for a scoop, and the mayor with desperate eyes.

What should I say?

The safety of citizens? The spirit of service?

Those false words did not fit my mouth.

"Donggu-dong in G City, Gyeonggi Province."

At the sudden place name, people tilted their heads.

"That is where I was born and raised. It is an old neighborhood. My mother has lived there for twenty years, and my older sister commutes from there as well."

My gaze turned toward the window.

A familiar-looking scene somewhere beyond it.

The alley where my mother returned from grocery shopping, the playground where children ran around.

And ten years later, the street that would be swallowed by the flames of Evil God Dragon Zephyros and vanish without a trace.

"I do not want that place to collapse. I do not want to see the ordinary daily life where my family, my neighbors, eat and sleep in peace be shattered."

Was it too simple?

But that was everything.

"I have a question, Hunter."

A reporter seated in the front row raised his hand.

He seemed to be from the City Hall public relations team.

"Then do you have some special sense of mission that made you give up the enormous sum of ten billion won and choose this place?"

A typical question.

He seemed to be expecting a heroic answer.

Without realizing it, strength entered the hand holding the microphone.

The bracelet around my wrist jingled.

"A sense of mission? I have nothing that grand. It is just···."

My brother always said this.

That Hunters were not special people.

Rather, they were cursed humans.

"Because that is what a Hunter is."

It was as quiet as if a silence spell had been cast.

Not even breathing could be heard.

A tacky answer that someone might mock.

Clap.

Someone clapped.

It was Kim Dae-han.

He was grinning and striking his palms together.

Clap, clap, clap.

The applause spread.

One person, two people, ten people.

Before long, the entire auditorium was filled with a standing ovation.

It was not mechanical applause.

Some civil servants had reddened eyes, and some reporters were nodding.

"That is true."

A murmur came from the back row.

I gave a slight bow and stepped down from the platform.

The one sentence I had thrown out without thinking became a storm on social media.

#BecauseThatIsWhatAHunterIs

The video of that day was turned into shorts and reached millions of views.

News outlets gave it major coverage, calling it "a weighty direct hit thrown at a Hunter society that has forgotten its original purpose."

It was a little later that this butterfly effect spread and led to a 100-minute debate on "the existence and essence of Hunters."

***

After the appointment ceremony ended, I went outside.

Once the heat of the event cooled, realistic problems came crashing in.

"I am sorry to pour cold water on the welcome, but compared to the reception, the budget is tiny."

Kim Dae-han scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Wearing an old leather jacket, he had returned to his easygoing civil servant mode.

"The equipment support fund is not generous either, and there is no room in the main building for an office."

"I expected as much."

"You are awfully cool about it."

I could make money through stocks.

An office?

As long as it kept out the rain and wind, that was enough.

"Even so, I am sure you had some expectations."

"Give me a good cup of coffee. Coffee beans, not instant mix."

"Haha! In that case, I will present you with top-quality beans at my own expense."

Kim Dae-han laughed heartily and took the lead.

"We have to walk a bit. It is in the annex."

We left the main building and walked down a side path behind it.

Unlike the well-maintained garden, the rear area was thick with weeds.

An old red-brick building came into view.

It was an annex used as a citizens’ cultural center.

Cheerful trot music was ringing out in the yard.

It seemed to be a dance class for a senior college.

Grandmothers and grandfathers in colorful hiking clothes were dancing in pairs.

A peaceful and somewhat ridiculous scene.

Without thinking, I slowed my steps.

Among them, one strange figure caught my eye.

A foreign old man with long white hair tied back.

Blue eyes.

He was wearing a loose modernized hanbok, but his bearing was far from ordinary.

Among the hunched old people, his back was straight.

'That man.'

His dance movements were different.

It was not simple social dancing.

The shift of his center of gravity as he stepped, and the trajectory of his outstretched hands.

Rather than dance, it was closer to forms.

It flowed as smoothly as water, yet his central axis was as solid as rock.

"You are good, old man."

His grandmother partner laughed brightly and leaned into him.

The old man smiled softly and led her gently.

'I feel like I have seen him somewhere...'

It was the moment I was about to take a step.

CRACKLE——

My entire body froze.

It was not my skin, but a sensation that felt as if it were piercing my soul.

An intense electric current ran up my spine and struck my brain.

'Aura.'

My breath caught.

It was not ordinary aura.

If Yoo Hye-sung’s was a rough wave, this was like the pressure of the deep sea.

So vast and heavy that merely sensing it made me feel as if I would be crushed to death.

It felt as though a sharply honed blade had grazed the nape of my neck.

I hurriedly turned my head to find the old man.

"······?"

He was gone.

The white-haired old man who had been dancing there moments ago was nowhere to be found.

Only the grandmother was looking around for her partner.

As if he had disappeared like a mirage.

'Did I feel it wrong? No.'

Cold sweat trickled down.

He had definitely been there.

That power outside the standard, which had erupted in a single instant.

A monster like that was hiding here?

"Mr. Do-jin? Are you not coming?"

Kim Dae-han’s voice brought me back to my senses.

He seemed to have felt nothing at all.

"···No. I am coming."

I barely managed to calm my trembling hand.

There was no way it had been my imagination.

"Now, we are here."

Kim Dae-han pointed at the building with his finger.

It was the cultural center building where that old man had just been dancing.

"We are here?"

"Yes. The first floor is both a senior center and cultural center."

Kim Dae-han smiled awkwardly and pointed to a window on the second floor.

On the window, an A4 sheet reading [Supernatural Ability Management Team] had been roughly taped on.