The Abandoned Tank is a Disaster-class Awakener - Chapter 4

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: DereKimchi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Abandoned Tank is a Disaster-class Awakener ◈

Chapter 4

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Korean Awakeners Association headquarters.

The Association's key figures had gathered in the top-floor conference room early that morning.

The Head of Strategy.

The Chair of the Personnel Committee.

The Director of Vanguard Operations.

The Head of Legal Affairs.

An auditor.

And seated at the head of the table, above them all, was Park Gang-sik.

There was only one item on today's agenda.

"Punishment of Awakener Kang Seong-un."

A video recorded at a cafe was paused on the large screen at the front of the room.

Kim Yeong-jin, collapsed on the floor.

Kang Seong-un, gripping him by the collar.

The Head of Legal Affairs turned a page in the documents.

"Under Article 12 of the International Awakeners Agreement, if an Awakener uses superhuman physical abilities against a non-Awakener and inflicts serious injury, they may be punished more severely than for ordinary assault."

"What is the victim's condition?"

In response to an executive's question, the legal chief answered.

"He has an orbital fracture and severe injuries. However..."

The legal chief chose their words carefully.

"There is no sign that Awakener Kang Seong-un used a skill. It appears he deliberately controlled his strength, and the victim's life was never in direct danger."

Several executives nodded.

The Director of Vanguard Operations spoke first.

"Wouldn't a temporary suspension be appropriate?"

"I agree."

Another person continued.

"Of course, this doesn't mean he did nothing wrong. But Kang Seong-un is Korea's first Awakener. A considerable amount of the early Tower-clearing data came from him. We can't ignore his contributions while climbing to the thirtieth floor."

The overall mood was similar.

"How about we suspend his status for the time being and ban him from public activities?"

Then.

"That is all?"

A low voice cut across the conference room.

It was Park Gang-sik.

Park Gang-sik tapped the table with a finger.

Tap. Tap.

The tiny sound silenced the room.

"You are all mistaken about something important."

"..."

"The problem is not the assault."

His finger pointed at Kang Seong-un on the screen.

"The problem is an Awakener who cannot be controlled."

Several executives stiffened.

"Korea's first Awakener. He has worked with the Vanguard for years, and he has considerable public recognition."

Park Gang-sik's voice was calm.

"What do you think will happen if someone like that leaves the Association and starts acting as he pleases?"

No one answered.

"Today, he assaulted an ordinary person."

Tap.

"What about tomorrow?"

Tap.

"What if he refuses the Association's orders and says he'll enter the Tower with only his own people?"

Tap.

"What if other Awakeners follow him?"

The atmosphere in the room changed.

Even those who had argued for leniency gradually fell silent.

Park Gang-sik continued as he watched them.

"We aren't deciding this based on Kang Seong-un alone. We are establishing order within the Association."

Whether Kang Seong-un had done wrong was not important.

The standard was whether he obeyed Park Gang-sik.

The Chair of the Personnel Committee spoke cautiously.

"Then what level of punishment do you believe is appropriate, Chairman?"

Park Gang-sik pretended to think for a moment.

Of course, he had already decided.

"A limited suspension is not enough."

"..."

"Revoke his Awakener status."

Several people looked up.

"Erase his Vanguard record."

This time, the Head of Legal Affairs flinched.

"Chairman. Erasing his career itself would violate regulations..."

Park Gang-sik looked at them.

"Find a way to remove it from the official records."

"...Yes."

The legal chief immediately lowered their head.

Park Gang-sik spoke again.

"Review revoking his government awards as well."

"Yes."

"And the media?"

The public relations director answered at once.

"Public opinion is currently focused on the issue of Awakener privilege."

"Good."

The corner of Park Gang-sik's mouth lifted slightly.

"Push it."

"How far?"

"All the way."

It was a short answer.

"Compile all the special treatment he has received because he was the first Awakener and hand it over."

In truth, there was almost nothing that could be called special treatment.

He had entered the early Tower before anyone else, been injured more than anyone else, and fought longer than anyone else.

Most of what he received in return was equipment and medical support.

But it all depended on how it was phrased.

"Years of concentrated support through taxpayer money."

"Monopolizing a place in the Vanguard merely because he was first."

"Assaulting a civilian despite continued special treatment."

They could craft any narrative they wanted.

The public relations director wrote quickly.

"I will also look into any past disciplinary records."

"And if there are none?"

There was a brief silence.

Park Gang-sik stared at the director expressionlessly.

The public relations director quickly understood.

"...I will review the matter closely again and see whether there were any questionable incidents."

"Exactly."

Park Gang-sik nodded in satisfaction.

At the beginning of the meeting, many people had argued for leniency.

But now, it was different.

"I also believe the Chairman is right."

The Director of Vanguard Operations was the first to change sides.

"Kang Seong-un's contributions and this incident should be considered separately."

That was the same person who had just argued that his contributions should be taken into account.

"I also support revoking his status."

"Considering the Association's authority, we need a strong response."

"It must serve as an example to other Awakeners."

The opinions changed.

No, opinions had never mattered in the first place.

It had been a long time since any conclusion different from Park Gang-sik's wishes had come out of this conference room.

At first, he had merely been the Association Chairman.

A person who negotiated with the government.

Protected Awakeners' rights.

Created systems where there had been nothing.

But as the years passed, things changed.

Park Gang-sik appointed the headquarters directors.

The headquarters directors recommended bureau chiefs.

People close to Park Gang-sik took the committee chair positions.

The heads of affiliated institutions gained their seats with his help.

Then they planted their own people.

After several years, it became harder to find a position within the enormous Association that had not passed through Park Gang-sik's hands.

That was why the Association had become Park Gang-sik's private property.

Any proposal passed if he nodded.

If he said he disliked something, it disappeared.

And now, he was openly excluding Kang Seong-un.

"Then we will vote."

The Chair of the Personnel Committee spoke.

"Those in favor of the highest level of disciplinary action against Awakener Kang Seong-un, revocation of his Awakener status and the suspension of all Association support, please raise your hands."

Hands went up.

Almost everyone seated in the room raised one.

Someone hesitated for a moment.

Park Gang-sik's gaze turned toward them.

A moment later.

Swish.

The final hand went up.

Unanimous.

"...The motion has passed."

The Chair of the Personnel Committee declared it.

Without a word, Park Gang-sik closed the documents.

There was neither triumph nor anger on his face.

He was as calm as someone who had merely finished an ordinary administrative task.

"Announce it before the day is over."

"Understood."

"And."

As Park Gang-sik rose from his seat, he added one more thing.

"Make sure Kang Seong-un understands."

The executives looked at him.

"Just because he leaves the Association..."

A faint smile formed on his lips.

"...does not mean he can escape the Association."

Just as the meeting was ending.

Bang!

The conference room doors flew open.

"...!"

Every gaze turned toward one spot.

An Association employee rushed inside, gasping for breath.

Their face was pale, and they clutched a phone in one hand.

"Ch-Chairman!"

Park Gang-sik frowned.

"What is this commotion about?"

"K-Kang Seong-un..."

The employee swallowed.

"...is making an emergency announcement being broadcast live around the world."

The room stirred.

"An announcement?"

"Where?"

"What is it about?"

The employee looked at Park Gang-sik.

They hesitated to answer.

"It is in a briefing room prepared by the United States."

As if by magic, the noise stopped.

Park Gang-sik narrowed his eyes.

"The United States?"

"Yes."

"Put it on."

The brief command fell.

The employee moved urgently.

Soon, the large screen at the front of the room turned on.

Bzzzt.

The black screen flickered several times before a man appeared.

Kang Seong-un stood alone before a podium.

The man who had been subject to punishment by the Korean Awakeners Association only hours ago was now standing before cameras broadcasting to the entire world.

"Hello. I am Kang Seong-un."

Kang Seong-un on the large screen was remarkably calm.

For days, the entire country had branded him an assailant, yet there was no sense of injustice or anxiety on his face.

Park Gang-sik watched that expression quietly.

It was not the face of someone cornered.

It was the face of someone who had already made a decision.

"First, I would like to say one thing."

Kang Seong-un looked straight into the camera.

"Effective today, I will renounce my Korean citizenship and become a naturalized citizen of the United States."

Scrape!

A chair was shoved back harshly on one side of the room.

"What?"

"Naturalized?"

"He is going to the United States?"

"When did he contact them?"

The conference room was thrown into chaos in an instant.

Only minutes earlier, they had been discussing how to revoke Kang Seong-un's Awakener status and erase him completely from the Association.

But the person concerned had not waited for their punishment.

Instead, he was announcing to the entire world that he would leave first.

Only Park Gang-sik remained silent as he stared at the screen.

His jaw muscles tightened, but he showed no other reaction.

Kang Seong-un continued.

"And I would also like to address the recent incident where I assaulted a civilian."

The noisy conference room gradually quieted.

"It is true that I hit Kim Yeong-jin. However, the media has strangely left out why I went to find him."

The eyes of Park Gang-sik, the mastermind behind it all, narrowed.

"So I will explain it here. Kim Yeong-jin was my longtime friend. He was also the person who introduced me to my wife, Han Seo-jin."

Then Kang Seong-un paused.

"...And the two of them were having an affair."

But that was only the beginning.

"Not only that, Kim Yeong-jin was using Han Seo-jin to extract strategy guides from me."

Strategy guides.

Several executives leaned forward at those words.

"Expected patterns on the next floor, Vanguard formations, equipment assignments, confidential monster information. Things I casually mentioned at home passed through those two and leaked outside."

Kang Seong-un's gaze turned cold.

"And the place that information reached was Japan."

"Japan?"

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly.

An affair was a personal matter.

But leaking strategy guides overseas was not.

In an age when nations climbed the Tower, handing confidential clearing information to a rival country was enough to turn the entire Association upside down.

If this turned out to be true, the Korean Association would have a hard time escaping responsibility as the institution meant to manage all of this.

Kang Seong-un continued calmly.

"Isn't it strange? The video of my assault spread across the country within hours, but Kim Yeong-jin's information leak, his affair with Han Seo-jin, and why I went to find him all vanished cleanly from the news."

At those words, several executives looked toward Park Gang-sik.

"So I checked."

Kang Seong-un spoke.

"Immediately after the incident, the Korean Awakeners Association contacted several media outlets, and the information leak by Kim Yeong-jin was removed during the reporting stage."

Kang Seong-un was not making a guess.

He was revealing confirmed evidence before the entire world.

Then he named one person directly.

"The person behind it is Chairman Park Gang-sik."

Park Gang-sik's expression did not change.

Kang Seong-un stared into the camera as if he were looking directly at him.

"I am certain that you are ruining the Korean Awakeners Association."

He did not speak indirectly.

"While you have remained in that position for too long, the Association has changed. It has become an organization that values connections over ability, loyalty over results, and pushes out those who oppose you."

Only minutes earlier, the people who had argued that Kang Seong-un's contributions should be considered had changed their attitudes at Park Gang-sik's single word.

Then they had unanimously voted to revoke his status.

"..."

Having witnessed that themselves, the executives could not bring themselves to look at one another.

"You did the same to me. When I said I would leave the Association, you covered up the information leak and left only one fact behind: that I was an Awakener who hit a civilian."

The corner of his mouth twisted.

"The reason is simple. I did not listen to his words or accept his offer."

That was no longer how one spoke to a superior.

Kang Seong-un had already crossed the line and walked outside.

"He urged me to retire because I was behind the times, even though I had led Tower-clearing efforts in the Vanguard more than anyone else. He offered me an instructor position, and I refused. That is why the entire country is cursing me now."

If it was true, he had every reason to feel wronged.

Yet his voice remained completely calm.

"Even so, Korea is where I was born. It is also where I first entered the Tower and fought while risking my life countless times."

For the first time, the faintest warmth entered his voice.

"So I want to deliver one final warning."

Then it turned cold again.

"Chairman Park Gang-sik. As long as you remain in that position, Korean Awakeners have no future."

The room sank into a heavy silence.

"Within the next ten years, Korea will lose its name as an Awakener powerhouse."

It was not a prediction.

Kang Seong-un stated it as if he were speaking of something that had already happened.

"It will not end with me. Capable Awakeners will leave for places that properly value them. When people who are good at attaching themselves to powerful connections begin filling those empty spots, Tower-clearing efforts will naturally collapse."

A brief silence followed.

"If you do not want that future, reform the Association."

Kang Seong-un stared forward.

"Remove Park Gang-sik, and start using people based on their ability again. If you have no intention of doing that, then continue as you are."

A faint smile spread across his lips.

"This time, Korea itself can bear the consequences, rather than victims like me."

Then he looked into the camera again, as if speaking to everyone watching the broadcast.

"And I have something to say to those who told me to leave."

Countless people watching the screen held their breath.

"Revoke his Awakener status."

"Kick him out of the Vanguard."

"Why is taxpayers' money being spent on someone like that?"

"It is shameful that he is Korea's first Awakener."

He repeated the words that had recently been thrown at him one by one.

Then he nodded.

"I understand."

That was all he said.

"I will leave as you wish."

Kang Seong-un's gaze grew cold.

"You pushed me out, so this time, I am truly leaving."

It was not the tone of someone appealing to resentment.

It was a notice of the result.

"So even if Tower-clearing efforts stall later, even if there are not enough people, even if you need someone to step in and fill the place left by another person's failure."

He paused.

"Do not look for me anymore."

There was not a sound in the conference room.

"You said you would be more than fine without me."

The corner of Kang Seong-un's mouth slowly lifted.

"Let's see you do it."

And finally.

Kang Seong-un pulled the microphone a little closer.

"And Chairman Park Gang-sik."

The last trace of courtesy vanished from his voice.

"If you think I will regret this and return under you again."

For the first time, Kang Seong-un smiled clearly.