How To Survive as a Class a Hunter

36. Korean Awakening Alliance Kim Geuk – [3]

As they said, an internet article about the incident was already up. The title alone was provocative.

– Incheon City, “Hunter Kim Geuk” and the Unbelievable Abuse of Power by a Public Official

A public official from Incheon City is under fire for giving illegal orders to Hunter Kim Geuk, famous for his role in the ‘Incheon Recapture Project.’

On the 16th, Hunter Kim Geuk had just finished a life-threatening sweep operation from 10 AM to 6 PM and, despite being exhausted, responded to an illegal order call from an Incheon City official at around 10:40 PM.

The controversial official, Mr. A, explained, “I sincerely apologize to Hunter Kim Geuk and the citizens of Incheon. I did not realize the order was illegal. I was aware that Hunter Kim Geuk was tired from participating in the operation until late, but as it was nighttime, I couldn’t seek advice from my superior, and as the duty officer, I felt I had to do something in an emergency.”

It was clear that the article was set up to blame the victim and identify the perpetrator. It felt like there was a strong will to half-destroy my duty officer.

Other articles with similar content were also up, clearly written by reporters Park Mihyung knew. It was evident that Park Mihyung was really angry that day.

However, it doesn’t seem like this is the end.

Are there reporters who frequent HuntWeb? There might be some who would write an article after seeing the post I just wrote. I’m worried it might even make it to the news.

If that happens, it would be a disgrace to Incheon. I thought about deleting the post I wrote earlier but decided against it.

Thinking about it, it wasn’t something I could just let go of for my own peace of mind. Especially considering the other awakened hunters who would contract with Incheon City besides me.

I thought about Choeun. It was unexpected. I never imagined he would be subjected to such abuse just because he was a foreign worker.

It was also shocking to hear that some awakened hunters in Seoul were being similarly exploited.

I thought all A-rank hunters lived well without caring about others’ opinions, harboring a sense of superiority, but that wasn’t the case for everyone.

It really didn’t feel like someone else’s problem. It felt like finding out that a family member living far away was being abused by their boss at a small company…

I felt extremely uncomfortable, as if someone close to me was going through such a thing. It bothered me much more than the emergency calls I had unknowingly endured.

*

Since it was a day off, I kept sitting in front of the computer, and indeed, articles covering this incident kept coming up. Given that I was quite a famous person and known for my passionate expressions of affection for Incheon, the content of those articles must have been quite provocative to people.

Park1994: If you received over 50 billion won, of course, you should come running when called to work. Everyone’s worrying about a billionaire with hundreds of billions in assets, what nonsense ㅉㅉ

There were a few comments like the one above from Seoulites, but they were in the minority.

Such comments received numerous downvotes, and most of the comments were criticisms of Incheon City and its officials.

5myJesus: Incheon, Incheon, they really thought they had a pushover, didn’t they? These ungrateful people.

Guest12: Even if you combine all the Incheon officials, they can’t match Kim Geuk’s contributions over the past six months… Confiscate all the officials’ salaries and give them to Kim Geuk.

Guest14: If Incheon City fails to extend the contract with Hunter Kim Geuk next year, it will be because of this incident, and all those involved should be beheaded.

Meanwhile, I wasn’t just leisurely reading articles.

Calls were coming in from all over, and I had to deal with reporters and my assigned officials continuously.

“Ah, Reporter Im Hee-sun? Yes, it’s uncomfortable. Do I still feel like saying ‘Incheon forever’? You’re stating the obvious. This is an unfortunate situation where Seoul’s bad practices have spread to Incheon. It’s all the fault of those Seoulites…”

“…But we absolutely can’t just let it go when awakened hunters are being treated like this. Whether they get paid a lot or not, they’re all risking their lives, and there’s no reason for them to be treated this way. We need to eradicate these bad practices for sure this time…”

“Young-tae? Oh, I saw the article too. Yeah, it’s fine if you’re sorry. I don’t think they were maliciously trying to treat me like a slave, so what can I do? We’ll have a hard time for a while, but eventually, it will all be forgotten with time, so let’s try to pull ourselves together. No, don’t quit being an official. If you quit, is there anywhere to work…”

Meanwhile, it seemed that Incheon City Hall was also in chaos.

In the afternoon, the busy mayor of Incheon personally came to my house to apologize.

“I’m really sorry. I promise this will never happen again. I also promise to severely punish the official responsible for this incident.”

“Oh, I’m close with that friend. It wouldn’t be good if you severely punish him.”

“But isn’t it a bit much to just let it go?”

“Even if you punish someone, shouldn’t it be someone higher up rather than that friend? It seems like it wasn’t just that one friend being presumptuous, but rather a bad practice that was already widespread among the officials. When I asked for an explanation over the phone, that friend said he wasn’t even told it was illegal when he took over the job.”

The mayor just muttered, “I’m sorry,” looking troubled.

Feeling frustrated, I asked.

“Why does that bad practice even exist? It’s not like the officials are trying to discipline the awakened ones they contracted with.”

At my sharp question, the mayor looked around. Then, confirming it was just the two of us, he finally spoke.

“Well, the market price for awakened ones has risen too much, hasn’t it? There are many tasks that require awakened ones, but we don’t even have enough money to hire hunters to protect the land and people, so how can public institutions afford to hire awakened ones separately? So…”

I could roughly understand what it meant.

With the opening of the gate, superhuman awakeners were born, and it seemed that capable awakeners would be placed in various parts of society, but that is not the reality.

Even in police stations, fire stations, and even the military, they cannot hire and use physical enhancers or force field exoskeleton ability users. The reason is that the value of awakeners is too high.

If a powerful and capable awakener were to become a hunter, or if they didn’t want to do dangerous work, they would rather work as security in a high-end apartment complex than receive a low public servant salary.

Even in the prison where I went to visit my younger sister, it was the same. Considering the awakened prisoners there, if a riot were to break out, there should be a capable awakener among the guards to respond, but I have never seen a guard who seemed to be an awakener.

Well, prisons have always been facilities that run at a deficit, so how could they afford to hire awakeners with big money? In the end, before and after the gate opened, prisons were just places where ordinary public servants, pot-bellied middle-aged guards, worked under stress.

“I don’t think it’s right to shamelessly ask for understanding due to difficult circumstances. How much has Mr. Kim Geuk contributed to Incheon in less than half a year? If you want to maintain a good relationship without any hard feelings in the future, there should be actions, not just words.

Since you don’t want severe punishment, I think we should focus on compensation. That will be discussed…”

Hearing that they would give some compensation did ease my mind.

I was about to say something grand like, “I hope you will be careful so that this doesn’t happen again,” but I stopped.

Come to think of it, there was something I had planned for a long time. I brought it up.

“About that compensation, is it okay if it’s a personal request?”

“Of course, it’s okay if it’s personal. Please go ahead.”

After thinking for a moment, the mayor said it wouldn’t be particularly difficult.

Judging it as a de facto permission, I went ahead and called the reporters to confirm my plan. I advertised my plan to them…

A few hours after the article I wanted was published, I received a call. It was from Ms. Park Mi-hyung.

“Mr. Kim Geuk, are you going to build a high-rise apartment? Right in front of the facility?”

“Yes. Doesn’t it make you realize that I’m rich?”

*

Q. Is it true that you plan to build a high-rise building in front of the new Incheon Awakeners’ Shelter?

– Yes, although it was a verbal promise, I have already received a construction permit promise from the mayor of Incheon. If possible, it will be over 40 floors, and if I lack the money, I will take out a loan to build it.

Q. With the current soaring prices of cement and rebar, the construction cost will not be easy. Why do you insist on building a new one instead of buying an already built building?

– To accept residents according to my will. Specifically, I plan to accept ice ability users, so-called ice ability users, as residents. If I bought an already built apartment, I would face opposition from existing residents, so it would be difficult. To avoid any opposition, I will build a new one.

Q. You seem particularly warm-hearted towards ice ability users. Is there a reason?

– My younger sister, my team members, and Councilwoman Park Mi-hyung, who has always cared for me, are all ice ability users. I also have many ice ability user acquaintances. Moreover, through years of activity in the Korean Awakening Federation, I am well aware of their situation (······)

Unfortunately, I know it would be difficult for ice ability users from other regions to gather in one area. I plan to give rental or residency rights mainly to ice ability users who are confirmed to reside in Incheon. So, I want to clarify in advance that there is no need to worry about an increase in ice ability users in the area.

Q. You emphasized that Hunter Kim Geuk himself will live in the apartment you build. Is it to consider the nearby residents?

– Yes. It is important that I live there myself.

Q. Please explain in detail.

– I heard that the monsters inside the gate decide whether to open a gate nearby after seeing the awakeners outside the gate. If a powerful awakener like me is there, the monsters inside the gate will hesitate to open a gate after seeing the ice ability users.

Even if a gate opens nearby, I can be the first to respond, and if that can minimize the damage caused by the monsters, I believe it will help the nearby residents. Currently, there are frequent protests by the residents near the New Awakener Shelter in Incheon, and I hope my plan will help them as well (······)

*

「So, you’re planning to invest all your assets into building that facility?」

“Yes.”

「Are you crazy?」

In response to Park Mi-hyung’s question, I answered coolly.

“You know I can always earn more money. Besides the down payment, I get a lot of money every time I go hunting, right?”

「Still, this is insane! Are you sure you can even recover the construction costs if you build a facility in front of the shelter? It looks like you’re just throwing money away······」

“Well, think of it as a charity project.”

「It’s not just a charity project, that’s the problem! You’re investing all your assets into it, that’s the bigger issue! I’ve done some charity work myself, but never so recklessly. Why are you doing this?」

Seeing Park Mi-hyung getting heated, it seemed she was genuinely shocked. She knew I was doing something for the ice ability users, but she didn’t expect it to this extent.

However, I don’t regret spending money on this project.

Because it’s not for others. It’s for my fellow countrymen.

Baek Dambi pretends to be a successful A-rank hunter on Huntweb. Maybe she’s not just boasting but actually identifying with the A-rank hunters.

She originally believed she would be active as an A-rank hunter after contracting with the local government. Acting as if she were truly an A-rank hunter seems to help her self-esteem and mental health. That’s why she only gets close to those with A-rank badges on Huntweb and shares a sense of camaraderie with powerful awakeners.

On the other hand, I’m the opposite. I’ve spent more time working with the Korean Awakener Association than being a hunter.

During that time, I mingled with ‘insignificant’ awakeners and empathized with their situation. Before entering the hunter academy, I was even intimidated by the fact that I was an awakener.

Now, as a powerful awakener who can spend billions without feeling anxious about the future, I naturally feel a sense of camaraderie with the successful A-rank hunters on Huntweb.

So now, I feel that all kinds of awakeners, strong or weak, are not strangers to me.

Whether it’s an E-rank or an S-rank, I consider them all my kin and compatriots. If they’re awakeners, no matter what they do······.

One of my compatriots called me. My round girl, Baek Dambi.

「Hey, Mr. Kim Geuk? I’m calling about the recent article. By any chance······」

“Oh, are you inquiring about the residency rights?”

「Yes, if it’s okay with you······.」

I originally planned this project after seeing the illusion she appeared in. I spoke with a hint of laughter in my voice.

“Perfect timing. I felt a bit awkward calling you first about this, like I was forcing a jade mattress on a friend. Especially since I’m not sure how well it will go.

Although we haven’t even broken ground yet, let me tell you in advance, don’t expect much from the infrastructure around the apartment we’re building. I plan to include a supermarket and a convenience store inside the apartment, but······”

When I was a child, my father used to rant about patriotism.

If he caught me watching Japanese cartoons, he’d call me a traitor, and if the Korean soccer team played, he’d wake me up in the middle of the night to watch, even if I wasn’t interested in soccer. He did everything he could to avoid paying taxes, but in front of the family, he acted like a freedom fighter.

As a reaction to that, I never had any patriotism since I was young. I never felt a sense of belonging to the Korean people.

My parents were the main source of my stress, so I never felt a strong sense of belonging even within the family. Just hearing words like filial piety or patriotism made me feel repulsed. Every time I heard someone say, “But it’s your country,” or “But it’s your parents,” I felt nothing but disgust.

That childhood mindset still influences me today.

Whether it’s the country or my parents, I will not acknowledge any value in things I never chose and could never choose. I will not recognize their authority, nor will I be loyal to them.

However, I will gladly assign value to the things I have chosen.

I will dedicate myself to my hometown, which I have chosen to live in, and to the people I have accepted as my compatriots.

My few compatriots, the awakened ones… I believe they are the ones I should truly feel a sense of belonging with.

If the vast majority of non-awakened citizens ignore their hardships, I, as a fellow compatriot, will stand by them. Not just for the ice ability users, but for others as well, I must do something…

“Yes, yes. It’s still too early to say thank you, isn’t it? Anyway, I hope things go well, whether it’s for you or for me. The mayor of Incheon also thinks positively about this and has decided to help in various ways, so before you go to bed, make sure to shout ‘Long live Incheon’…”

*