Live Broadcast (1)
The Javelin Guild, the oldest guild among all guild-affiliated management agencies in South Korea.
As such, there were several remnants left from the guild era.
For example, the strongest person would become the representative of the guild.
Only the ability as an awakener, as a hunter, mattered above all.
That was why the current situation was clearly odd.
"Did Baek Hojun stop Ji Yeon-hwa?"
"I-It seems so. There really wasn't anyone else there who could've stopped it."
The man with a pale complexion standing quietly spoke in a chilly tone.
In front of him, a middle-aged man was on his knees, trembling all over.
"It must have been too much for Baek Hojun alone, right?"
"According to the information I... obtained, some people from Unique helped at the time. Among them was Shin Ah-yeon, who is of the same rank as Baek Hojun, so..."
"Silence, Kang Gi-hun."
Kang Gi-hun, that name was the current representative of the Javelin Guild.
Meaning, he was the strongest member of the Javelin Guild.
And yet, he dared not defy this man's command to be silent.
"I already know the information about that human named Shin Ah-yeon. She retired three years ago after her mana hall was destroyed... Are you saying someone like that stopped Ji Yeon-hwa, who absorbed the Heart?"
Heart—when the man used this word, he was referring to the 'Ultimate Magic Stone'.
"T-That! The information must have been wrong. Judging from Shin Ah-yeon shown in the broadcasts, she didn't look like a hunter with a broken mana hall!"
At Kang Gi-hun's protest, the man frowned.
"You did say there's no way to recover a mana hall here. So perhaps the injury three years ago wasn't as severe as thought?"
"Yes, yes. Which means Ji Yeon-hwa ended up facing two S-rank hunters..."
"So, you let Ji Yeon-hwa eat the Heart in a situation where there were two S-rank hunters in the first place."
"..."
Kang Gi-hun was at a loss for words.
Because what the man said was the truth.
'Damn! With Shin Ah-yeon's abilities, she should never have been able to do anything against Ji Yeon-hwa who absorbed the Heart.'
If Ji Yeon-hwa had absorbed the Heart, she could easily handle one S-rank hunter.
From the start, Shin Ah-yeon had never been a threatening variable to Kang Gi-hun's scheme.
There was a world of difference between S-rank and A-rank, and the Shin Ah-yeon he had analyzed so far was nowhere close to even an A-rank hunter.
'JM couldn't have sent the wrong information.'
Some time ago, he had received an artifact from JM to check Shin Ah-yeon's magic power.
The figures included showed the average level of a typical A-rank mage.
Considering Shin Ah-yeon was a former S-rank hunter with overwhelming magic power, it indicated she had severely weakened.
So he had thought she would not pose a big problem.
If anything, it was an opportunity.
If he could take out both the rapidly rising Shin Ah-yeon and Baek Hojun, known as the Blade Master, it would be killing two birds with one stone.
'And yet.'
They defeated Ji Yeon-hwa.
No, he wasn't even sure if she was defeated.
After the massive landslide, Ji Yeon-hwa's whereabouts became unknown.
But given that nothing had happened since then, he had to assume the plan had failed.
"What a waste of a Heart."
The cold-faced man said this and turned away from Kang Gi-hun.
He hadn't expected much anyway, and pushing further was pointless now.
"Sebin."
"Yes."
"First, study the situation and proceed with the plan again. If you fail this time, handle it."
"Understood. Then, will you be away for a while?"
"I'll be going to a country called Mexico. There's a decent rough stone there."
Having said this, the man paused in thought.
After a moment's hesitation, he spoke slowly.
"And find out if Shin Ah-yeon's mana hall was really destroyed, or not."
"... May I ask why?"
"There's definitely no means here to recover a mana hall. Here, that is."
Only then did Sebin understand what the man meant.
"You mean there might be someone from another dimension?"
"That's right."
If it was true that Shin Ah-yeon's mana hall had really been destroyed—and she had recovered it by contacting someone from another dimension—the situation could become more troublesome than expected.
"I absolutely won't allow another incident like before."
He would never make the same mistake as his father.
Making that vow, the man walked away.
***
"By the way... Will this be alright?"
As she stretched in preparation for the upcoming live broadcast, Soo-ah spoke up cautiously.
"In regards to what?"
"PD Do definitely has footage of Ji Yeon-hwa, but didn't release it, right?"
A month had passed since the third mission ended.
All the episodes filmed during that period were aired, and during that time, the hunters participating in Super Hunter K each took time to recover and reorganize themselves.
'That's true.'
Just as Soo-ah said, PD Do surprisingly hadn't aired anything about Ji Yeon-hwa.
On the contrary, by editing out all responses to what happened at the time, it aired as if the third mission had proceeded without issue.
He had wondered if it would later become a hot topic in the news or elsewhere, but there was only silence.
"And..."
Soo-ah hesitated, unsure whether to speak, and then slowly began.
"... I'm sorry."
"Excuse me?"
I couldn't help but be confused by Soo-ah's gloomy expression.
It was a rather unprompted apology.
"Why are you sorry?"
"I-I didn't perform very well in the following missions..."
"But you achieved the score you aimed for."
"Yes, but I didn't really stand out in the broadcasts."
That was probably due more to a change in PD Do's attitude rather than Soo-ah's skills, but I didn't mention it. She wouldn't accept that, anyway.
'It must've had an effect, fighting Ji Yeon-hwa.'
It's unusual to fight an S-rank hunter exuding murderous intent.
At the time, Soo-ah was only barely able to defend herself, but thinking about it, even that was impressive.
But Soo-ah didn't seem to think so.
"I keep thinking about what happened then. When I saw Hunter Baek Hojun's sword, I realized how lacking I was. Even if I trained with a sword all my life, I don't know if I could ever reach that level."
Baek Hojun's sword is firm.
His basics sharpened to the limit, sophisticated with not a single error or blemish, a swordsmanship close to perfection.
Compared to that, Soo-ah was clearly lacking.
"Do you really have to chase after that?"
"... Pardon?"
"Well, certainly, hunter Baek Hojun's swordsmanship is outstanding. That solid and refined swordsmanship is practically a completed form. I understand why you worry—there aren't many people who can wield a sword at that level. But—"
When you think about it, it's a bit funny.
"There's no point in worrying about something you don't have to pursue."
"What do you..."
"Soo-ah-ssi."
I put my hand on Soo-ah's shoulder and looked gently down at her.
Soo-ah's head barely reached my chest, so I could feel her puzzled gaze looking up at me.
"You're misunderstanding yourself."
The mana divergence she experienced had blinded her.
"You're underestimating yourself. Humility can be a virtue, but you don't need to keep looking down. Right now, it's not about what you lack."
It was probably because of things she'd heard over a long time.
The way people's eyes changed after her mana divergence.
That had bound her in chains.
"It's time to think about what you can do, and how much you can do."
"What... I can do?"
Soo-ah blankly repeated my words, lips barely moving.
"Believe in yourself. I'm sure you can do even greater things."
"... "
At my words, Soo-ah looked up at me with vacant eyes for a moment.
Then, her lips twitched...and she smiled.
"... Now that I think about it, manager-nim, you always tell me I can do it."
"That's because I believe you can."
"Really?"
"Yes, I don't lie about this kind of thing."
Only then did the anxiety in Soo-ah's gaze straighten to meet mine.
At that look, I grinned.
"When you first saw Ah-yeon—no, hunter Shin Ah-yeon—what did you think of her?"
"... Um."
What had she thought?
When she'd first seen her in the dungeon exploration team, and when she'd watched her interview at the soup restaurant.
"I thought she was a shining person, someone who seemed like she could do anything."
"That's exactly how I see you, Soo-ah-ssi."
"... "
Soo-ah's eyes widened round at that.
The look on her face didn't even seem to wonder if it was true, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Everyone, filming will start soon! Hunters, please get ready!!"
At that moment, staff walked the hallway announcing the start of filming.
To Soo-ah, who gazed blankly in that direction, I gave a hearty pat on the back.
"All right, off you go. I don't have anything to do today, so I'll just cheer as hard as I can."
"Ah, yes!"
Soo-ah snapped out of it and hurriedly ran toward the staff—only to stop after a few steps.
"Manager-nim!"
"Yes?"
She turned to me, hesitated with her lips, and then spoke in a mumbling tone.
"Uh, um, if it's okay... I, like Unni Ah-yeon..."
"Yes?"
"Ah, never mind. I'll tell you after all this is over."
With that, Soo-ah scurried away.
I didn't know what it was, but was glad she seemed full of energy.
"Well, guess I should get moving too?"
As I'd just said, there was nothing for the managers to do today.
All we had to do was interview the hunters for the first live broadcast, but I'd pushed all that onto Sung-hwan, so I had the day off.
"You seem to have a good relationship with your hunter."
At that moment, as if waiting, someone spoke to me.
I hadn't been surprised since I'd sensed someone down the hall for a while now.
I knew who it was from the start.
"When did you develop a hobby of eavesdropping on other people's conversations, director Jo Chang-woo?"
"Haha, not at all. I just had some business here today, but once I got here, I couldn't find the right time to come out and greet you."
Jo Chang-woo from Upstream gave a sheepish laugh.
"So, what's the matter all of a sudden?"
"Well, I seem to have a bit of a headache."
He said this and turned his smartphone screen toward me.
On the screen was a news article with a provocative headline.
【Super Hunter K covered up the monsterization of Ji Yeon-hwa】
It was making huge waves, enough to be on the Naver headline.
There were already thousands of likes and dislikes, increasing in real time.
Looking at it grimly, I asked Jo Chang-woo,
"... Who do you think is behind this?"
"I'd guess it was PD Do."
The videos attached to the news were obviously taken with the cameras set up at Mount Seorak during filming.
If not for the disaster or a special type of camera, it would've been impossible to shoot in those circumstances.
"I don't think PD Do did this, actually."
"Then do you have any other suspects?"
"I don't know, but it's clear there's an insider leaking information."
If it was PD Do, he wouldn't have released that incident at this timing.
Super Hunter K was already a big issue, and anticipation for the live broadcast was at its peak.
If news like that broke now, there'd be no beneficial effect.
Sure, ratings might spike for the moment, but unless they addressed the footage, the live broadcast would be plagued by scandals the whole time.
"So... I suppose we'd best wait and see if the culprit slips up."
"Yeah, but with this kind of leak, we'll catch them soon."
There weren't many people with access to this footage, so finding the leaker wouldn't be difficult.
The problem was how to contain the aftermath.
"Still, what will we do about this? If we don't clarify, rumors will keep spreading."
As I said this, watching the article's reaction, Jo Chang-woo shook his head.
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that."
"Seems you have a plan?"
"It's nothing grand, but... Actually, I came here today to consult with you about exactly that."
Consult with me?
I could barely do anything about this affair.
With a puzzled look, I glanced at him. He gave a bitter smile and began to speak.
"If it's alright, could Unique take in Yeon-hwa?"
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Okay, 3 S-rank hunters.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】