WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ How an A-Rank Hunter Lives ◈
Chapter 86: Academy Entrant Shin Mi-rae - [3]
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Even then, Park Juheon couldn't take his eyes off me. He hesitated as he answered the question.
“No, I know him. We aren't close or anything...”
Even after that, Park Juheon kept watching my reaction. The awkward look on his face must have seemed quite funny to the awakened people from the Association.
Sure enough, mischievous smiles crossed their faces. Kim Hyeongman asked.
“Park Juheon, how have you been lately? I heard you left the Special Forces?”
His playful expression alone made his intentions clear.
He was probably trying to seize the upper hand and mock Park Juheon. He might bring up how seven Special Forces members had rushed me and lost miserably, or pretend to ask whether his severed arm had healed while quietly ridiculing him.
Still, I didn't think we needed to crush his pride that badly.
Not because I was especially generous. You just couldn't humiliate an awakened person in front of non-awakened trash.
Unable to watch any longer, I stepped in.
“Park Juheon, are you planning to work at the academy too? As a special training instructor?”
“Hm? Yeah.”
I nodded.
“From what I've seen, every single faculty member picked for the job is trash... Still, it looks like there was one useful person among them.”
Kim Hyeongman stared at me in disbelief.
“You think Park Juheon would make a good teacher? He got cursed out like crazy on Huntweb because his name was on that faculty list.”
“Even so, I think he'd do fine. Where else would you find a capable former Hunter like Park Juheon working as a teacher?”
“Even so...”
“The academy's faculty list was full of people worse than petty peddlers. I honestly wondered if they were screwing around. But seeing him on the list, maybe the country put some actual thought into it...”
I made sure to pronounce “capable” clearly so he wouldn't miss it.
When I glanced at Park Juheon afterward, he looked relieved. He even seemed a little pleased by what I said.
After all, praise from someone beneath you was flattery, but praise from someone above you was recognition.
Our relationship was like that, since a single fight had established who was superior.
“Why do you keep changing the subject? Why won't you answer me directly? How much are you willing to give the Association?”
Kim Hyeongman and the civil servant continued arguing after that. It had been obvious from the start, but no matter what the civil servant said, Kim Hyeongman showed no intention of yielding.
“Don't you have the authority? Then bring your superior!”
There was no way I could help with that kind of argument.
I wanted to get Park Juheon, who still seemed bothered, out of there, so I made him an offer.
“There's something I want to ask you. Want to get a meal together? My treat.”
Park Juheon took a moment before answering.
“Can I have Korean beef?”
“Of course. You know I make a lot of money, so why even ask?”
I got Kim Hyeongman's permission, but I didn't bother asking permission from the non-awakened trash civil servant. Then I took Park Juheon to a barbecue restaurant.
We sat across from each other, and his expression looked so sour that I asked him.
“Why do you look so upset? You said you wanted Korean beef, so I brought you here.”
“How could I feel comfortable eating with the person who cut off my arm?”
“My arm got cut off too that day, so why are you acting like you're the only victim? It hurt like hell for me too.”
“Oh, was that so?”
Park Juheon muttered as if it didn't matter, but my dynamic visual acuity caught the subtle change in his expression.
I could see his face relax.
It was the reaction I expected.
He looked like someone with a lot of pride. Being defeated by me so completely must have wounded it, so hearing directly from me that I had been hurt too, that it hadn't been a one-sided fight, probably helped restore some of that pride.
I needed to save his face a little. There was a lot I wanted to ask him.
The meat arrived shortly afterward. We ate the meat grilled for us by the staff and kept talking, and the atmosphere became pretty good. Before long, we agreed to speak casually with each other.
Once I felt Park Juheon's hostility had faded quite a bit, I asked him.
“Was that civil servant from the National Security Ministry? Why was he acting like that?”
“Hm? What do you mean, acting like that?”
“The government must take our protest seriously if a civil servant came out to negotiate as soon as the Association complained. Yet that bastard kept sighing in frustration while negotiating. Then he tried to pressure us by bringing in a former Special Forces member, like he was threatening a disobedient kid by saying he'd call the gym teacher. What made him think he could act that way?”
It was ridiculous. The people above must have taken this situation seriously and sent a civil servant to negotiate, but the one who actually came out behaved like that?
Well, I could understand his feelings to some extent.
He must have been dumbfounded too. Even I thought Kim Hyeongman's negotiation style was terrible. Kim Hyeongman had run an acupuncture clinic by himself, not built up some incredible amount of negotiation experience.
From the civil servant's point of view, some neighborhood uncle had come out and, instead of trying to have a proper conversation, was whining that the road in front of his store was his personal parking space.
He must have become so frustrated that he called in a big public-service worker, like he was trying to restrain an unreasonable complainant, only to make himself look ridiculous by summoning a Special Forces member.
That still didn't make his attitude acceptable.
Our Hunter Association was a kind of armed organization. Looking only at the people who had come to negotiate today, not one awakened person here was someone non-awakened trash could look down on.
That civil servant should have treated every awakened person in the Association with the same care he would show a superior.
He should have treated Kim Hyeongman, who had come as everyone's representative, like an admiral conducting gunboat diplomacy.
So why?
“Ah, that...”
“The people above really do take the situation seriously, right?”
“They do. The leak of internal documents has them rattled, and so does the fact that the Association's awakened people are trying to tear them apart over it... I think there were even instructions from the minister to make this negotiation as conciliatory as possible.”
“Then why?”
When I asked that, Park Juheon answered.
“Habit, I guess.”
“Habit?”
“Look at that civil servant. His department at the National Security Ministry used to be the one that gave orders to the Hunter Association, you know? Until a few months ago, his position was much higher than the Association's.”
“So? He kept acting like they were still in charge?”
“Probably. The Association has been overhauled now, so they can't order it around like they used to, but... can a few orders from above suddenly change how civil servants think? Even if they received special instructions to be conciliatory, he probably still thought there was no reason to grovel before the Association.”
I let out a sigh, even though I had already expected as much.
That damned habit.
The Gates had only opened around five years ago. Too many people still couldn't adapt to the changed world and kept trying to live as though it were the old one.
Like Han Hee, who had such incredible ability but still believed he needed to watch the reactions of his seniors and father, who were far beneath him. On the other hand, there were plenty of non-awakened trash who tried to look down on powerful awakened people just because they had a high social position.
Idiots who couldn't accept that an individual's pure strength could now be stronger than social status, social influence, and all that other worthless garbage. Non-awakened trash who would all need to be dragged down from their positions someday...
Angered, I asked with fury in my voice.
“So why are they building this academy? To brainwash awakened people before they grow up and become hard to control?”
“I don't think they're trying to brainwash anyone.”
“Then what is it? Why are they gathering soldiers and people from a cult to do God knows what to children?”
“A cult? Oh, the Mystic World Center people? Even the civil servants know they aren't capable of educating awakened people. They're only using them because their labor costs are low.”
“Because they're cheap?”
“Yeah. The people from there are middle-aged men and women without any proper qualifications, so they're cheap. Still, they have some authority in the field, so they brought them in to make it look like they had a decent education program for awakened people at a low price. It costs too much to hire awakened people with Hunter experience as instructors...”
“What about the soldiers?”
“They really are there to keep the cadets under control. And yes, to train them from childhood to obey.”
“Isn't that brainwashing?”
“What else can they do? It's something the government absolutely has to do.”
What kind of bullshit was that? I narrowed my eyes.
Park Juheon explained as though making excuses.
“This isn't my opinion, it's what I learned in the Special Forces... Awakened people appeared too suddenly, and the related systems aren't organized yet, so the Hunter system is only being run as a temporary measure. It can't stay like this forever, can it? Awakened Hunters are basically civilians running wild in tanks and fighter jets. From the country's perspective, that makes no sense.”
I thought to myself, What the hell doesn't make sense?
Park Juheon continued.
“They can't confiscate the tanks and fighter jets and stop people from using them, so at the very least, they have to make them follow the government's control. Even kids who might run wild in the future...”
I didn't want to hear about the country's position. I cut him off.
“So, did many awakened applicants apply?”
“Oh, a ton! I had no idea there were this many awakened kids in our country... There was one little girl you might know among them.”
“A little girl I might know?”
“Was her name Shin Mirae? A girl with a force-field exoskeleton applied. You remember who she is, right?”
Of course I remembered.
Shin Mirae. The girl trapped beneath that bear. How hard had I worked to save her?
I also vividly remembered how her mother had suffered in many ways while staying beside her daughter at the time.
But that mother had applied to that damned academy for her child? That woman who cherished her daughter so much?
I held back the anger rising inside me.
Still, from her perspective, she must have thought it was better for her daughter's sake.
As far as I could guess, since that woman had stayed in the Gate for over a month to remain by her daughter's side, she probably didn't have a decent job at the moment. I didn't even need to ask to know that a state-guaranteed apartment would look appealing to someone struggling to survive.
“So why do you keep trying to become a civil servant, Park Juheon? First, you retired as a Hunter and joined the Special Forces. Why? You made plenty of money as a Hunter, didn't you?”
“I made enough to spend for the rest of my life.”
“Then why keep doing it?”
“I didn't want to rest just because I had money. I wanted to do something impressive, and public service looked pretty impressive.”
“Isn't being a Hunter far cooler than serving in the Special Forces like a bunch of gangsters or teaching at some messed-up school?”
“Still, being a Hunter is basically self-employment, isn't it? It seemed less impressive than having a position assigned by the country. That's why I joined the Special Forces...”
I couldn't relate to that, but I figured people simply had different tastes and let it go.
That ended our conversation, and so did our meal. Park Juheon and I returned to the negotiation room together.
When he saw the person sitting across from Kim Hyeongman at the table, Park Juheon opened his eyes wide.
“Oh, that's the minister of the National Security Ministry.”
I remembered that civil servant's face too.
The minister of the National Security Ministry. Wasn't he the man who had come out with the lawmakers to meet us when we awakened people had taken buses to protest before?
Watching from the side, the minister looked much more serious than the earlier civil servant, and he seemed to listen much more closely to Kim Hyeongman.
Kim Hyeongman continued speaking with the minister. Then they bowed to each other and stood up.
It seemed the negotiation was over. Kim Hyeongman approached me with a smile.
“How did it go?”
When I asked, Kim Hyeongman smiled even wider.
“We got most of what we wanted! I couldn't talk to that bastard earlier, so I shouted for him to bring his superior. Then the minister of the National Security Ministry came himself. I talked with the minister a bit...”
Kim Hyeongman began explaining proudly.
The Association had earned the right to send people to the Hunter Academy. It would be able to offer advice on various matters and collect consulting fees. A few academy board positions would belong to the Association, and so on.
“Originally, even the external instructor positions were meant entirely for those cult bastards. Now the Association will send people for those too! The lecture fees don't seem very high, but it should at least give retired friends some spending money.”
After hearing that, I asked.
“Can I volunteer as an external instructor too? It looks like I'd only need to stand in front of a class once or twice a month.”
“You, Kim Geuk? I thought you were incredibly busy already. Would you have time for that?”
“Maybe next year? The Incheon Recovery Project should finish within this year.”
“Of course there's no reason you couldn't, but like I said, the lecture fee is really just spending money. That's for retired Hunters, too. For an active Hunter like you, it wouldn't even count as spending money. Do you really want to do it?”
I nodded.
I wasn't interested in that damned external instructor position for money or honor. I wanted to see with my own eyes how that damned academy operated.
And if I didn't like how it operated, I wanted to be able to interfere directly.
I thought of little Shin Mirae.
A fellow awakened person I had worked so hard to rescue would be controlled like a private under non-awakened trash? The thought alone disgusted me.
I didn't want to quietly overlook it. Never.
I didn't know whether Kim Hyeongman understood what I was thinking, but he promised to arrange a seat on the academy board for me because he thought someone like me shouldn't just work as an instructor. He added that it would look better if I taught while carrying the title of board member.
Of course, it was still something for next year, months away, so I didn't need to worry about it right now.
And so, after once again getting what they wanted, the awakened people who had gathered there returned to their respective places.
* * *
I planned to take a taxi home, but Kim Hyeongman said he would drive me himself.
We talked for a while as we rode in the same car.
“Uncle Hyeongman, if the Hunter Association couldn't be overhauled, you were planning to make a new organization for Hunters, right? What kind of organization were you going to create?”
Kim Hyeongman answered while driving.
“Hmm, I had a name in mind. You won't laugh when you hear it, right?”
“What was it?”
“Dawn Guild...”
I raised one eyebrow. A guild?
“A guild? Like the groups players make in games?”
“The original meaning is a medieval association, but... yes, I was thinking of game guilds when I picked the name.”
“Isn't that too frivolous? Beyond frivolous, it sounds downright insignificant...”
“Ah, damn it. Don't laugh. I wanted it to sound frivolous! I thought the government might lower its guard if we gave it a name like a game guild...”
The light changed, and the car stopped. Kim Hyeongman turned to look at me for a moment, then snickered.
“Still, it is kind of funny, right? A guild. Even I think it sounds a little ridiculous...”
That was when our eyes met.
Dizziness overwhelmed me, along with the sensation of being pulled somewhere.
It was a phenomenon I hadn't experienced in a long time.
Another future, a glimpse of a future that might or might not become reality, once again consumed my mind.
* * *
‘Come on, Uncle. You're naming our group Dawn Guild? You're going to use that to replace the Hunter Association?’
In the vision, Kim Hyeongman answered my question.
‘Yes. Is it strange after all?’
‘Of course it is! Why would a gathering of prominent awakened people have a name like that? Have you played Dungeon Fighter so much that you can't tell games from reality anymore?’
Kim Hyeongman smiled awkwardly at my complaint, then explained.
‘I wanted it to sound frivolous! I thought the government might take us lightly and lower its guard if we gave the organization a name like a game guild, and also...’
‘And also what?’
‘How should I put it... It makes me angry, you know?’
‘Angry?’
‘Think about it. Why can't awakened people gather without the government's permission? The Special Forces keeps hounding us relentlessly even when awakened people gather just to socialize. It's suffocating.
We're ordinary citizens too. Shouldn't we be able to meet easily, just like players gather in a game guild? So I wanted an organization name that meant we could meet as easily as we do in games...’
Then Kim Hyeongman and I formed an organization.
Dawn Guild had a name that truly sounded like a game guild. When Kim Hyeongman chose that name, he must have hoped the government would take the group lightly.
But they didn't. Whether the awakened people's organization was called a guild or anything else didn't matter to them.
Two months after we formed the organization, I had to attend Kim Hyeongman's funeral.
Over those two months, the National Security Ministry repeatedly sent warnings. A Special Forces member sent directly by the minister of the National Security Ministry said they had been warned three times to stop holding a subversive gathering.
Kim Hyeongman paid the price for ignoring those warnings.
Kim Hyeongman was killed in his home while he slept, decapitated. His neck had been severed so cleanly and straight that even a guillotine would have struggled to make such a perfect cut.
It wasn't difficult to guess that he had been killed that way to show off who had killed him, and how...
* * *
After returning from the vision, I forced myself not to gasp for breath.
My expression must have looked bad. Kim Hyeongman asked with a startled expression.
“Kim Geuk, why did you suddenly stop talking? Is something wrong?”
“No, it's just...”
I made the worried Kim Hyeongman look back at the road, then secretly clenched my fist.
And I thought to myself.
Kang Jun-chi's paranoid speculation had been right.
* * *
Footnotes:
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