NOVEL NEXT Chapter 150
Chapter 150: The Unexpected Turn
“Hoo.”
Lee Si-hyun let out a short sigh.
Dealing with reporters was no ordinary task.
Especially when he had to face multiple media outlets in a row, it had drained quite a lot of his mental energy.
As he finally found a moment to sit, he took a breather.
He turned on his laptop to check if any articles had been posted in the meantime.
As the familiar portal site loaded, he navigated to the news section.
Just as he expected, there were articles related to the recent events.
One newspaper, which had sent a reporter earlier that morning, had published an article.
—Is the A Guild made up of ex-convicts?
It was still an article penned with initials instead of full names.
However, it was clear that actual names would soon flood in.
As he sipped water to moisten his dry throat, he started to read the article.
It was merely a recount of the facts without much in the way of the reporter’s interpretation.
At the end, there was an interview with Si-hyun and Cheol-hyung.
Si-hyun straightened up in his seat and began reading the comments.
—Where is the A Guild? This should be reported with full names, how annoying.
—Where else could it be? It’s Yangji Guild.
—The rumors have already spread all over the industry, why use initials? This is Yangji Guild.
—Yangji Guild, huh? Wow… their image was good until now.
—What? Does that mean there are tattooed thugs with red lines all over the place in Yangji Guild? That’s just hilarious, lol.
—Hey, that’s creepy. So they’ve been tricking everyone all along?
—The guild leader is such a moron. They should have been more careful. What about the innocent hunters who wandered in there by mistake?
—Aren’t we just thankful they’re handling the trash themselves? lol
—Are you an idiot? If you were an ex-con, then I’m also an ex-con when I conduct business and so are all my staff, yet we do just fine!
—Is that the Yangji Guild’s part-time worker already out in the wild? How much do they pay? I wanna join too.
—But from the interview, it sounds like the correctional officer is providing all the aftercare? I noticed during the Ganghwa Island Disaster that this officer is not your average person.
—If they caught the murderer Kang Tae-eun and saved people during the Ganghwa Island Disaster, then honestly, they deserve at least a credit pass. I’m just watching.
—I actually like that correctional officer. It seems they tried to do something for the inmates this time too.
—Regardless of intent, it’s a blatant mistake not to inform the general hunters about the facts and just dragging them in. If they want to live off each other, that’s one thing, but…
—They were too caught up in their beliefs, causing harm to general hunters. When such people get lost in their thoughts, incidents like these are common.
—But they did apologize and allowed people to leave freely.
—They’re just doing it reluctantly, fearing public backlash.
—Should we really allow them to keep operating? With so many criminals around, it feels uncomfortable. There must be all sorts, from murderers to rapists.
—Don’t exaggerate. Are you really seeing a similar country since you keep whining about Hell Joseon? What business can you block in a rule-of-law country? Is that double punishment?
—Whether they block business or not, who’s going there now? lol. They’ll have to play with themselves for the rest of their lives.
“Hm.”
With a thoughtful expression, Si-hyun closed the browser window.
Indeed, the reactions from netizens weren’t very favorable.
If they were good, it would be weird.
Even so, being a correctional officer, he felt his interview must have had some effect, as the events of the Ganghwa Island Disaster and Kang Tae-eun had built an image of a proper heroic correctional officer for him.
He needed to actively use that image in this situation.
“Section Chief, how’s the feedback looking?”
Cheol-hyung, sitting beside him, asked.
“Just as I thought.”
“I see.”
Cheol-hyung smiled wryly.
“Did a lot go out in the morning?”
Si-hyun asked this time.
“Yeah, a whole lot.”
With a bitter smile, Cheol-hyung emphasized “a whole lot.”
“It seems like they might all leave.”
Si-hyun’s expression showed he had already resigned himself to the thought.
From the moment he knew the rumors had spread, he had thought they wouldn’t be able to stick together with general hunters.
They had chosen Yangji Guild because they were unaware of the guild members being ex-convicts.
Moreover, they believed there would be a bright future with a swiftly growing guild.
Now that the fact about the ex-convicts was known, it was clear that the bright future they envisioned would vanish as well.
Therefore, it was only natural for them to leave.
Si-hyun and Cheol-hyung expressed polite apologies to the general guild members during the interviews with the media.
Moreover, despite the busyness caused by media interviews, whenever they found a moment, the guild leader Cheol-hyung sincerely apologized to each departing guild member.
Though it was unavoidable not to disclose their ex-con status, the general guild members were undeniably the victims.
“Yeah, that possibility seems pretty high.”
Cheol-hyung added “pretty” again, as if he was nearly certain.
“Another media outlet came looking.”
Mujik opened the door to the Guild Leader’s Room and announced.
Si-hyun and Cheol-hyung exchanged tired smiles and then got up.
◈ ◈ ◈
Evening came.
Their predictions were coming true.
Nearly all the general guild members had withdrawn from the guild.
Now it seemed like Si-hyun and Cheol-hyung weren’t the only ones with resigned expressions.
Any glimmer of hope they might have held had vanished along with the continuous relay of withdrawals.
It was during this one-sided flow that an unexpected wave hit the guild.
“…Pardon? What did you just say?”
Baek Dong-il’s eyes widened in surprise.
He couldn’t help it.
Until now, he had operated like an automated machine processing only one task, which was to handle withdrawals.
Yet suddenly, a different voice had come in to disrupt that machine.
“I’m not leaving; I’m going to stay in this guild.”
A girl with a cute appearance bluntly stated with a straight face.
It was Euna, the A-Class Healer whom Si-hyun and Cheol-hyung had personally recruited months ago.
And beside her was her husband, Yong-jin.
“Really? Why…?”
Baek Dong-il, caught off guard by a situation he’d never experienced before, couldn’t help but ask.
Finally, someone was going to stay in the guild, and his mind reflexively questioned, “Why don’t you leave?”
Only after he spoke did he realize how odd that sounded, closing his mouth in shock.
However, neither she nor her husband seemed to care at all.
“Over the past few months in the guild, there haven’t been any issues. So why should I leave?” Euna casually retorted.
Baek Dong-il scratched his head, flustered.
“Ah… yeah, right. Of course.”
Yong-jin, standing next to her, chimed in.
“I agree with my wife’s thoughts. I plan to stay with Yangji Guild for the duration of the contract.”
“Oh, thank you. Thank you very much.”
Finally realizing that they indeed intended to stay, Baek Dong-il, overwhelmed with joy, completely forgot that they were fellow hunters as he grabbed Yong-jin’s hand and bowed.
“No need for that…”
Yong-jin replied with an awkward expression.
“You’re staying, then?”
“Really?”
Nearby guild members were staring at them with shocked expressions.
“Hey, what are you all doing? Can’t you see? Clap, clap!”
Someone shouted loudly.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Clap, everyone.”
Clap clap clap!
The guild office suddenly filled with the sound of loud applause.
Yong-jin turned beet red and didn’t know what to do with himself.
Even Euna’s indifferent face showed a flicker of movement.
At the commotion, Si-hyun and Cheol-hyung stepped out from the Guild Leader’s Room.
They looked puzzled by the suddenly changed atmosphere in the office.
Baek Dong-il quickly explained.
“They’re saying they will stay in the guild.”
“Really?”
Si-hyun’s expression turned surprised.
Cheol-hyung looked the same.
Having expected everything to continue along the same path, they hadn’t thought anyone would decide to remain.
Especially not an A-Class Healer, who was sought after everywhere.
“Thank you.”
After regaining his composure, Cheol-hyung sincerely expressed his gratitude.
A smile, pleasant and long-awaited, hung at the corners of his lips.
“I thank you too.”
Si-hyun also bowed his head in appreciation.
A person who lends a hand in times of trouble is hard to forget.
This was indeed that kind of situation.
“Not at all.”
Euna said with her usual expressionless face.
She looked straight into Si-hyun’s eyes as she continued speaking.
“You’re a correctional officer, right?”
She must have seen the article in the news.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Si-hyun replied.
“Does that mean I have to be managed by correctional officers even after being released from prison?”
Having seen Si-hyun’s interview about providing jobs for released inmates, she seemed to still find it hard to comprehend.
Maybe she thought that was part of correctional officer duties.
“No, it’s not like that. I’m just helping a few individuals I have connections with from when they were in detention.”
“I see. Personally, I wouldn’t want to get tangled with correctional officers even after being released into society. Do those individuals really think it’s a help?”
Her question made Si-hyun smile wryly inside.
He had felt the same way on the day of their contract; clearly, she wasn’t of the ordinary type.
That’s why she could throw out questions like this without a hint of hesitation.
“Of course.”
“They’re being a great help.”
“If it weren’t for Section Chief, I wouldn’t be living comfortably in society like this! Just the thought of it…”
The answers arose from the guild members around them.
Not a single one of them disagreed; they were all vocal about having received help from Si-hyun.
Yet Euna’s expression remained unchanged.
At that moment, Cheol-hyung stepped in.
“I think I roughly understand your thoughts. However, Section Chief Lee Si-hyun here is not your average correctional officer.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“There are indeed a wide variety of crimes committed by the individuals here. While some are first-time offenders, there are many who have returned after multiple stints. Yet, everyone says the same thing: they’ve never seen a correctional officer who puts their life on the line for inmates.”
“….”
“Because it’s thanks to Section Chief that we can sincerely trust and follow him.”
Euna’s indifferent face showed the slightest sign of change.
“And I don’t know how you’d take this, but the recidivism rate in our country is not low. In fact, it’s quite high. Statistically, a significant number of people here have likely returned to crime. Yet, none of them have committed crime again. Without Section Chief, that would have been impossible.”
After Cheol-hyung’s words, many guild members around nodded in agreement.
Euna blinked her eyes deeply and then parted her small lips to say,
“I see. Now I understand what you mean. It seems I have misunderstood a bit.”
She continued, “So, no one has re-offended… But you didn’t include this in the interview; shouldn’t you reveal this to the media?”
“I planned to mention it at an appropriate opportunity.”
Cheol-hyung answered with a smile.
Euna nodded her head.
“I hope this situation passes without issue.”
“I feel the same way as my wife.”
Yong-jin said as if conveying encouragement.
“Then we’ll take our leave now. Honey, let’s go.”
Yong-jin took his wife’s hand and led her out of the office.
After they left, the atmosphere in the office felt distinctly different from before.
A sense of vitality returned to the previously stagnant mood.
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
Baek Dong-il exclaimed.
Of all people, an A-Class Healer had decided to stay in the guild.
It was nothing short of a stroke of fortune amidst their misfortune.
“Really great news.”
Si-hyun smiled brightly.
In hindsight, it felt even better since it was unexpected.
“Let’s use this event as energy and push forward. I’ll do everything I can as well.”
Si-hyun rallied the guild members.