There are countless internet articles that pop up when you search for my name on Google.
Looking at the latest one, it was about my Hunter contract.
“4 Years, 180 Billion Won” Chongqing, China, Proposes Massive Contract to Hunter Kim Geuk
I had publicized the offer from China because I heard that using foreign contract proposals as leverage makes domestic contracts more favorable, and it seems this article was the result.
I read the headline again and again. No matter how many times I looked, I couldn't believe it.
The amount was so large it felt unreal. 180 billion won… just how much is that?
I just couldn't wrap my head around it. The only thing I could grasp was that I would never have to look at a lottery ticket for the rest of my life.
I clicked on the article with a smirk and scrolled down with my mouse wheel. Since the content was already fully covered in the headline, I went straight to the comments.
Taeguk0823: Seriously, every time these Awakened bastards spout nonsense about how it’s hard to make a living, I want to beat them with an aluminum bat.
ㄴ FaithfulConstruction: Every time they whine about "Awakened human rights," it’s like listening to a conglomerate complaining about taxes being too high. It makes me want to commit a mass shooting where the Awakened gather.
I stopped laughing, my expression hardened, and I glared at those comments for a long time. Those non-Awakened dregs, how dare they.
I immediately drew upon my experience working with the Korean Awakened Alliance to write a long, detailed rebuttal.
I posted comments explaining that Awakened who achieve success like the handsome Kim Geuk make up less than 18% of all Awakened, that about 32% live ordinary lives just as they did before Awakening, and that the remaining 50% live almost like criminals.
Then, I immediately bit my lip.
It was because I realized what a waste of time this was. I knew that just as my activities with the Korean Awakened Alliance had been useless, this action of mine would also be completely futile.
It was a fact I had learned well since my time with the Korean Awakened Alliance: those 80% of Awakened almost never appear on mainstream news.
The only Awakened who appear on the news are the lucky few like me. Because of that, every time we appealed for Awakened human rights at the Korean Awakened Alliance, we were forced to suffer through mockery just like those comments every single time.
Each time, I had to struggle to suppress the urge to beat the hell out of those guys who pretended to be so worldly-wise and cynical...
Damn it.
*******
It’s already been a month since the contract offers started pouring in from everywhere. It was about time to decide on a contract, and there were countless interview requests, but since I’ve always enjoyed the attention, I accepted almost every request without turning them down.
Q. Where did you receive your training and education?
“There’s a place called the Bupyeong Hunting Professional Academy, about a five-minute walk from Bupyeong Station? The Director there has a very kind face, and the price was so reasonable that I could attend without any burden even when my wallet was thin. Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean the classes are garbage. The instructors are very capable people, and among them, there’s a trainer who Awakened named Yang Tae-ja? I learned a lot from that person...”
Q. Congratulations on receiving so much attention even before you started your Hunter activities. Your future looks very bright; is there anyone you would like to express your gratitude to?
“Ms. Park Mi-hyeong. Ah, is it rude to just call her 'ajumma' when she’s been elected as a City Council Member? Anyway, I’d like to express my gratitude to Park Mi-hyeong, who is currently serving as an Incheon City Council Member. I’ve been indebted to her in many ways since my time with the Korean Awakened Alliance...”
As I answered this and that question kindly, sure enough, a bombshell of a question was dropped.
Q. I understand you spent time in a juvenile detention center and prison; do you have any clarification or apologies you’d like to make?
At this, I frowned slightly, but I wasn't flustered.
It was just a question I had anticipated. Those bastards who try to intimidate people by digging up dirt.
The guy who asked probably hoped I would get angry or feel embarrassed. But I had nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing at all.
I answered confidently.
“Well, I did spend a long time eating prison food. Should I explain why I ate that food?”
Q. I heard it was related to assault charges; can you clarify the juvenile detention center incident first?
“It was self-defense. On the first day of high school, the bus didn't come, so I was about a minute late, and the disciplinary teacher started picking a fight. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I think he told me to get into a prone position on the floor. He was holding a wooden club in his hand, and it looked like he was planning to beat me with it.
I mean, it was ridiculous that a guy shorter and narrower-shouldered than me was acting like that, so I tried to ignore him and walk past. But then that bastard didn't know his place and started tapping the back of my head with the club. That’s a preemptive strike, isn't it? I immediately landed a straight to his face. He couldn't even take one hit and went down. It was pathetic, so I stomped on his face a bit. The little shit.”
The reporter seemed a bit taken aback by my answer. He hesitated for a moment before continuing his questions.
Q. As a result, the teacher reportedly lost sight in one eye; do you have anything to say?
“It’s his fault for starting the fight and not even taking off his glasses, isn't it? I did nothing wrong. Ah, I did hold a bit of a grudge because I ended up in the juvenile detention center because of that. That bastard and his family had better hope they don't run into me on the street.”
Q. And prison...?
“That was also self-defense. I entered the training camp for Public Service Duty, and after the meal, they made the trainees do the dishes, but they didn't give us rubber gloves. They told the trainees to wash dishes with their bare hands. They said rubber gloves were for the kitchen staff only? That evening, they gave us a survey and asked us to write down any improvements for training, so I wrote about the rubber gloves, and the drill instructor came over and started swearing, asking who wrote this crap.
Do I have anything to be ashamed of? I told him I wrote it. Then that bastard walked up to me and started swearing at me again. Of course, I was angry. I stood up, and he provoked me by saying, ‘If you’re pissed, hit me,’ so that counts as a duel request, right? I beat him up immediately.”
Q. That drill instructor reportedly suffered a permanent disability in his leg.
“That bastard should be thanking me. As soon as he got hit once, he collapsed to the floor and started trembling; he looked like a scrawny anchovy with no stamina, so I calculated that if I stomped on his chest, he might break something and die. So, I only crushed his leg a little bit, which is basically the same as me saving his life. Besides, thanks to that disability, he got discharged, right? He probably got compensation from the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, so he should treat me like his lifelong benefactor.”
Silence flowed through the room, and I sat there nonchalantly, staring blankly.
After that, I answered a few trivial questions, and the interview ended.
Consequently, several more internet articles were written, and it seems our dear Ms. Park Mi-hyeong saw them. A call came in immediately.
「Mr. Kim Geuk?」
“Ah, Ms. Park Mi-hyeong? I mentioned your name on purpose during the interview; I did well, right?”
「I’m grateful for that, but that’s not what’s important right now! Why did you answer like that in the interview?」
She must be trying to blame me for responding to the interview with an overly honest attitude, right? I grinned and answered.
“Don’t worry.”
「Don’t worry? You shouldn't be causing trouble right before a contract!」
“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen because of something like this.”
「How can you be so sure?」
“I’ve looked into it in various ways, and morality isn't a standard for lowering an Awakened’s value. Whether they killed someone while drunk driving or bullied someone in their school days, that kind of stuff doesn't lower their value. I saw that even when an Ice-Ability User was caught up in a bullying scandal in the past, there were no problems at all.”
「Are you perhaps talking about Ms. Baek Dam-bi?」
“I don't know her name, but she was a female Ice-Ability User. Do you know her?”
「She’s one of the Awakened I supported during my time at the Korean Awakened Alliance. She’s an Ice-Ability User, and at the time, ice abilities weren't undervalued, you see? So, without knowing any better, Incheon City signed a long-term contract with her at a high price, and later they did some crude things to try and cancel that contract...」
“That must be her. Anyway, just like that Ice-Ability User had no problems, I’m sure I won’t have any problems either. Everyone says so.”
「Then what on earth has to happen for there to be a problem?」
“If an Awakened participates in a hunt and leaves the operation area without permission, or has mental issues and keeps going in and out of a psychiatric ward, that kind of mental issue... or if they have asthma, or have had surgery at some point and there’s a risk of injury recurrence in some part of their body—only those kinds of physical issues cause problems with contracts. Committing some crimes in the past is fine, but if you have some physical or mental issue that makes it seem like you can't participate in hunts properly, that’s when it’s a no-go.”
I listed the cases I had researched on HuntWeb—Awakened whose far-right internet activities were exposed, Awakened who were sued for sexual harassment, and so on. And the fact that none of them experienced any problems with their subsequent contracts.
0 Comments