After that, my last interview spread all over the place, and if you search for 'Kim Geuk', you get 'Incheon's Crazy Awakened'.
The same interview was posted on HuntWeb three times already, and reading the comments was hilarious.
Ⓐ StoneHeadYouth: I thought that guy was only crazy on HuntWeb, but it looks like he's not normal in real life either;;
Ⓐ 5myJesus: Is he really an A-rank? He looks like a neighborhood thug who just got out of prison.
Ⓐ syberMagneto: Honestly, the way he talks is so refreshing. Everyone else is busy acting like a saint, but he just says what he wants.
Ⓐ BabyBerserker: Baby Mushroom thinks Hunter Kim Geuk is cool! He’s like a big, scary older brother who protects the village, yang!
I scrolled through the comments, feeling a strange mix of amusement and annoyance. It was exactly as I had expected. The public perception of me was a chaotic mess, a blend of fear, curiosity, and a weird kind of begrudging respect.
"Incheon's Crazy Awakened," huh?
I tossed my phone onto the sofa and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. The silence of the room felt heavy, contrasting sharply with the digital noise I had just been consuming. My life had become a series of public spectacles, and I was the unwilling lead actor in a drama I never signed up for.
My thoughts drifted back to the incident that had started it all—the reason I was currently sitting here, nursing a drink and trying to ignore the persistent, nagging feeling that I was being watched. The memory of the teacher, the look in his eyes, the way the world had tilted on its axis that day... it was all still so vivid.
I closed my eyes, trying to push the image away, but it only grew sharper.
"Why?" I whispered to the empty room.
Why did it have to be me? Why did I have to be the one to carry the weight of all these expectations, all this hatred, and all these hallucinations?
I stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the city of Incheon. It was a city in recovery, a place trying to find its footing amidst the ruins of the old world. And I was its protector, its "Crazy Awakened," the man who had promised to bring it back from the brink.
It was a heavy burden, one that I wasn't sure I was strong enough to carry. But I didn't have a choice. I was in too deep, and there was no turning back now.
Since then, my last interview has been floating all over the internet, regardless of the site. I’m talking about the interview where I explained why I chose Incheon.
I admit I gave the interview without much of a filter, and it seems that’s what gave me a sort of cult following. If you just type "Park Mi-hyeong" into a search engine, "Brainwashing Ability User" pops up as a related search, and if you type "Kim Geuk," "Incheon’s Crazy Awakened" comes up.
The same interview post has already been uploaded to HuntWeb three times, and reading the comments was hilarious.
Ⓐ StoneHeadYouth: I thought that guy was only crazy on HuntWeb, but it looks like he's not normal in real life either;;
Anonymous: Isn't he just acting like that for the concept in real life, too?
Ⓐ StoneHeadYouth: That’s definitely not a concept. If it were just a concept, he wouldn't have ditched Seoul to go to Incheon.
Anonymous: If it were just the interview content, I’d think he just made it funny to get attention, but since he actually chose Incheon—which is clearly harder and pays less—and then acted like that, the guy really seems insane...
Ⓐ syberMagneto: Does that guy really act like that in real life?
Anonymous: I’m from the same academy as that hyung, and he’s not like that in real life;
Anonymous: He’s actually very solemn at the academy. He doesn't talk much and doesn't engage in small talk during class.
Anonymous: During physical training, I’m not exaggerating, he’d exercise until his arms broke, saying he’d utilize his Super-regeneration. He was a hyung I truly respected.
Ⓐ ElmaIsWeakYo: What;;
Anonymous: Actually, he didn't even smile much and his tone was quite aggressive, so he wasn't an easy person to talk to at first. I’m genuinely bewildered that this strict, solemn person turns into a maniac on the internet and in interviews.
Ⓐ syberMagneto: So, now that he’s decided to work in Incheon, what’s the reaction at your academy?
Anonymous: Why would the academy’s reaction matter?
Ⓐ syberMagneto: Don't they hate that he went somewhere tough? For an Awakened, working in Incheon is ten times harder than working in Seoul. Doesn't the academy dislike that their Awakened student went to such a poor place?
Anonymous: No, our Director is clearly very happy about it. If he had gone to Seoul, it would have been hard to get our academy’s people into his Hunter Team, but thanks to his decision to go to Incheon, we can send a lot of people there.
Anonymous: They’re even praising him, saying Kim Geuk-ssi is a saint.
As I was scrolling through the comments, a task I needed to do came to mind.
I had to report the Hunter Team I’d assembled to the Association in the near future.
I had already decided on the members for the team. I intended to keep taking the members I usually hung around with.
Sung Moon-young, Kim Jin-jun, Lee Jong-ho, Jung Jin-young, Im Hyung-taek-ssi...
Among them, Im Hyung-taek-ssi and Jung Jin-young were certainly lacking to be considered the best personnel.
First of all, that hyung Jung Jin-young has near-worst reflexes and is usually so scatterbrained that I worry he’ll freeze up in a crisis. But didn't the video he filmed contribute significantly to increasing my market value? I decided to keep him around, if only to repay him.
And in the case of Im Hyung-taek-ssi, there was the problem that his stamina was so low he’d likely collapse in an extreme situation...
Well, whatever. Honestly, I don't think it matters who I take with me.
I recalled the day I first took down a monster, when I fought the Rock Spirit.
Whether it was Kim Jin-jun, who worked out harder than anyone else, Sung Moon-young, who acted like a know-it-all about the Hunter industry, or the 43-year-old Im Hyung-taek-ssi, who lacked confidence in his stamina—I remembered that they were all equally useless that day.
Truly, everyone was the same.
That day in the abandoned building, the non-Awakened Hunter candidates were nothing more than machines designed to praise me.
They weren't comrades fighting alongside me, but spectators. Popcorn would have suited their hands better than rifles that day.
Just like that day, since they were all the same non-Awakened anyway, wouldn't they all be similarly useless?
Well, that incident might have been an extreme case. After all, they didn't even have proper weapons in that situation.
But the encounters that followed were even more shocking.
I thought back to the Hunters I ran into after the situation was resolved.
I had expected that a Hunter who had been active in the field for a long time would exude a different aura than ordinary people. I mean, I thought a veteran Hunter who had survived life-or-death crises and fought monsters would have something special about them, even if they hadn't Awakened.
I was wrong. Those Hunters were just thugs with guns, and the guns they brought were all K-2s. They were assault rifles that would barely leave a scratch on that rock monster.
When I asked why they only brought small arms when it had been broadcast that a Rock Spirit had appeared, what did they answer?
They answered that they hadn't intended to fight the Rock Spirit in the first place, right?
‘A monster like a Rock Spirit will be handled by the Awakened Hunters arriving later. We just came to collect the allowance we get for moving around according to the Association’s instructions. They pay us just for showing up at the scene, don't they?’
My impression after hearing that was simple: ‘Scum with no intention of doing their jobs properly.’
When I asked how long they’d been active, they boasted that they’d been at it for a year. And I was shocked by the fact that those thugs were veterans who had been active longer than our academy’s former Hunter instructor.
That day, the fantasy I held about ‘veteran non-Awakened Hunters’ was thoroughly shattered.
As I witnessed that day, Hunters who hadn't Awakened were nothing but freeloaders who had no intention of protecting the city or taking on important tasks.
Seeing that, I figured there was no need to force skilled people into my team. It seems that as long as they’re non-Awakened, they’re all the same.
Whether non-Awakened have good stamina or how long they’ve been active, aren't they all at a similar level anyway? Whether it’s an ordinary person or a world champion sprinter, they’re all much slower than a cheetah.
Thus, I formed my team with the thought that it would be enough to have people who could give me a great reaction of praise when I performed. The Director was happy, saying he’d take good care of the academy people.
While I was busy organizing my thoughts, I received a call.
It was Park Mi-hyeong. When I asked why she called, Park Mi-hyeong said this:
「Well, I have someone I’d like to recommend.」
“Someone to recommend? Are you talking about a Hunter?”
「Yes! Kim Geuk-ssi, you haven't finished putting your Hunter Team together yet, right? I looked into it, and apparently, veterans need to be attached to new Hunter Teams to teach them a few things. So, I’d like to recommend one veteran Hunter.」
“Oh, the academy I attend already promised to recommend two veterans.”
「Is that so? Is there no way around it?」
Since Park Mi-hyeong sounded flustered, I made a decision right away.
“Well, I can just contact the academy and tell them to recommend one less person, right?”
「Oh, I’d be really grateful if you could do that, but is it really okay?」
“Of course, I have to look out for our Madam first.”
After the call ended, I contacted the academy, and sure enough, the Director immediately accepted my decision, saying, ‘Is that so? Got it!’
So, that afternoon, I met Park Mi-hyeong at a cafe.
Sitting next to Park Mi-hyeong was the ‘veteran Hunter’ she had brought. I frowned when I saw her.
Is that woman really a veteran Hunter?
She didn't look like one at all. She was wearing sunglasses, but even just looking at the lower half of her face, she was a beauty, her long, straight hair reached her armpits, and she was wearing a crop top that revealed her navel, the kind you’d see in a magazine.
I was just starting to suspect that Park Mi-hyeong had brought me here under the guise of recommending a veteran Hunter to set me up on a blind date.
Park Mi-hyeong introduced the woman she had brought along.
“This young lady has been doing Hunter work for 2 years and 4 months. That’s only 2 months off the longest Hunter record. She’s a veteran among veterans in the industry, so isn't that amazing?”
Hmm, 2 years and 4 months of experience. Considering that most Hunters die or retire within a year, it was certainly impressive.
But still, she didn't look like a Hunter. I remained suspicious and asked.
“Her name is?”
“Baek Dam-bi. Pretty name, isn't it?”
It was a name I’d heard before.
“If it’s Baek Dam-bi-ssi, isn't she that person you mentioned before? The Ice-Ability User the city tried to chase away...”
“That’s right, that’s right. My, they say you were a literary boy until middle school, Kim Geuk-ssi, your memory is great!”
Park Mi-hyeong clapped her hands and suddenly began to introduce this 2-year-and-4-month veteran.
“Do you remember when it had just been a year since the Gates opened? By then, everyone was getting used to the existence of Awakened...”
That’s right. It was the time when the Hunter system finally began after various discussions about conscripting Awakened and so on.
And back then, there was this crazy atmosphere that anyone who Awakened had to become a Hunter.
“Really, back then, everyone, regardless of gender or age, Awakened, and there was this atmosphere that if you didn't fight monsters, you were a traitor to the country, right? That’s when Baek Dam-bi-ssi, who had just debuted as an idol, caught people’s eyes. Baek Dam-bi-ssi is exceptionally powerful even among Ice-Ability Users, you know? The fact that she was using that seemingly powerful ability for fan service instead of fighting monsters made people angry at the time.”
According to Park Mi-hyeong’s subsequent explanation, all sorts of malicious comments and protest letters were directed at Baek Dam-bi’s idol group. She said her agency eventually gave in to the heated public opinion calling her a traitor and whatnot.
Thus, Baek Dam-bi began Hunter activities, albeit temporarily, to show the public, and she had originally intended to return to the group after just a few months of Hunter work. But things didn't go as planned.
“It’s a terrible recession, both then and now. While this young lady was doing Hunter work, her agency went bankrupt and the group disbanded. What was she supposed to do? She had to make a living, so she just kept doing the Hunter work she’d only intended to do for a little while. But you know, right?”
As Baek Dam-bi was forced to continue her Hunter activities, it was belatedly discovered that her ice ability was of little use for hunting monsters.
And not long ago, the city of Incheon, assuming that Baek Dam-bi was simply untrained and that her ability was obviously powerful enough to make her a formidable Awakened Hunter in time, had signed her to a four-year long-term contract to keep her for as long as possible. It turned out they had essentially thrown away that 16 billion won signing bonus.
Consequently, the city of Incheon had repeatedly made various nasty attempts to terminate her contract and recoup the money (since the good people of Incheon would never do such a thing, it was likely that someone from Seoul had been wearing a mask and working in the shadows within the city government), and it seemed those attempts were still ongoing.
"Mr. Kim Geuk, your contract also states that you must go on a certain number of deployments per month, right? It says the same in Ms. Baek Dam-bi's contract, but it seems she's having trouble getting deployed lately. If things go on like this, they’ll likely use it as a pretext for breach of contract and terminate her without mercy."
"Having trouble getting deployed? Why?"
"The Hunter team she was originally in has been disbanded, and well, the other Hunter teams won't take this young lady in. It seems everyone is walking on eggshells around the city of Incheon..."
"So, you're saying you want me to add this young lady to my team?"
"That's right. The money comes from the city anyway, so you don't need to worry about that. And this young lady is a veteran who can teach you a thing or two... Could I ask this of you?"
Ms. Park Mi-hyeong said that because she had been trying to help this young lady since their days at the Korean Awakened Alliance, she couldn't just abandon her, and that even if I took her into my team—someone the city of Incheon disliked—they wouldn't dare pressure me, given that I had been signed for over 50 billion won.
After hearing the whole story, I nodded reluctantly.
"Well, I suppose that wouldn't be a problem."
"Oh my, thank you so much, Mr. Kim Geuk, really!"
Ms. Park Mi-hyeong made a fuss for a moment before looking at Baek Dam-bi.
"He said he'd take you into the team, that's great! What are you doing? Hurry up and thank him!"
At those words, Baek Dam-bi greeted me in a small voice.
"Thank you..."
It seemed that response didn't sit well with Ms. Park Mi-hyeong. She scolded Baek Dam-bi, asking why her voice was so faint, and continued to press her.
"First of all, take off those sunglasses! I just noticed you've been wearing them the whole time! Don't you know it's rude not to take off your sunglasses when talking to someone? I said take them off!"
Unable to resist the pressure, Baek Dam-bi took off her sunglasses.
And so, her sky-blue eyes were revealed. I thought to myself that she was indeed a beauty, as one would expect of someone who had debuted as an idol, and it was just as I made eye contact with her.
Uh...
A sudden wave of dizziness. I was swept up in the sensation of being sucked into somewhere.
The hallucination, which I had now grown accustomed to, began.
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