novelraw Chapter 126 : Between Celebrity and Hunter (2)
Chapter 126 : Between Celebrity and Hunter (2)
Between Celebrity and Hunter (2)
"Indeed."
After leaving Alencia at Shin Ah-yeon's house, I greeted PD Jung and the staff, then moved to Tae-yeong Group's headquarters. There were a few things I needed to briefly discuss regarding what had happened this time.
"So something like that happened in the US. I heard that child called Alencia came with you as well."
When I gave a brief account of the events in America to Chairman Song Hyun-seung, he nodded slowly.
"Alencia will be working as part of Unique from now on."
"I heard her mother is Korean. Are you considering naturalization for her, by any chance?"
"No, that would probably be difficult. They wouldn't just leave her in America, after all."
"I see, that's unfortunate."
Though he said that, Song Hyun-seung's expression did not seem particularly regretful.
It seemed like he'd just said it as a passing remark.
"From now on, there will be many eyes on you in Korea. How many S-rank hunters does Unique have now? Is it three?"
"Yes, it's become that way."
"So now you're on par with Grand Nova."
Currently, there were seven S-rank awakeners in Korea including Alencia. Three were with Grand Nova, one with Moon Halo, and the remaining three had gathered in Unique.
"The numbers are the same, but we're still lacking."
"But isn't that only a matter of time?"
At Song Hyun-seung's subtly probing words, I gave a faint smile.
The S-rank hunters in Grand Nova were all highly skilled.
Shin Ah-yeon, who was still incomplete, and Soo-ah, who'd only recently awakened, would find them overwhelming opponents.
And Alencia, who had many restrictions, went without saying.
"I'm not sure about that. In the first place, it's always hard to gauge the standard of S-rank awakeners."
Honestly, if we only had a bit more time, we could easily overtake them.
"But it wouldn't be good to give a definite answer."
After all, the reason Song Hyun-seung had extended his hand to me while being antagonistic toward Grand Nova was—
It was due to both the dangers inherent to S-rank hunters and Grand Nova's immense power.
If Unique were to surpass them, it was clear that the blade would eventually turn toward us.
Therefore, I needed to establish a situation where Song Hyun-seung couldn't easily meddle with Unique beforehand.
Just as Tae-yeong Group used us to check Grand Nova, I intended to use their power to the fullest as well.
"Chairman, there's actually something I'd like to propose."
"A proposal?"
"It concerns the existence known as demons."
I brought up the story of Damian, the Demon King's son I met in America—
And carefully explained the Monster Wave he triggered and the dangers it posed.
I had already mentioned the events in America, but there was a need to elaborate further.
"Of the people I know, he's the only one who can influence those at the top."
If I could reach higher-level contacts through Song Hyun-seung, perhaps we could make more certain preparations.
I couldn't immediately do anything about other countries, but at the very least, Korea had to be protected from the threat of demons.
"That certainly doesn't sound good. Are you saying such beings are in Korea?"
"From what I know, Javelin and JM have felt a lot of their influence."
"The rumors about them haven't been good lately."
Javelin and JM could be considered part of the same corporate group, and the level of hunters affiliated with them had recently risen at an unusually fast pace. There was no way Song Hyun-seung didn't know about that.
He was the very one who contacted me more quickly than anyone else.
"So you're saying the reason Javelin and JM have so rapidly gained recognition is because of them?"
"Yes. In fact, they even distributed ultimate magic stones. Ivan Hunt from UnderStellar also seemed to be involved."
"UnderStellar..."
As someone who was deeply aware of the dangers of S-rank hunters, Song Hyun-seung's reaction was all the stronger.
Demons he hadn't seen with his own eyes were less threatening to him than UnderStellar, no doubt.
All the more reason they were trying to recruit me.
And now, listening so carefully to my words—wasn't it for the purpose of curbing those S-rank awakeners?
"But there's no need to worry about Javelin or JM anymore."
"You seem to know something."
To my words, Song Hyun-seung nodded slowly.
"I've been keeping an eye on them since their sudden surge. Of course, I didn't know they had contact with demons or UnderStellar."
Saying this, he took a sip of tea, then continued.
"But that growth has recently ceased."
"Does that mean...?"
"It's safe to say their support has been cut off. From those demons you mentioned."
Had the supply of ultimate magic stones been halted?
Perhaps they had reached a situation where they could no longer receive the demons' help.
"Well, they kept failing, and they would have realized I was catching on."
Maybe the incident in Shenzen was the final straw.
After that, they must have started distancing themselves from Javelin and JM.
They were now avoiding head-on confrontation with me.
They weren't ready for it, and the world wasn't yet in a state that could fully accept them.
"What do you think? Do you believe those demons will retreat just like that?"
"Not at all. They'd surely look for another host. If not in Korea... perhaps they've gone elsewhere."
But they wouldn't leave Korea entirely.
If they wanted to keep me in check, they'd have to plant roots somewhere and keep watch.
"If you see anywhere with suspiciously rapid growth, please let me know. Whether it's a management agency or a guild."
"And what will you do if you find them?"
My answer to that was obvious.
"I'll smash them to pieces."
***
"Hey, you jerk! Why'd you leave me at the bus—couldn't you have let me on?"
"The bus was called by PD Jung Jun-su."
As soon as I left Tae-yeong Group and headed straight for Unique, Sung-hwan shouted as if he'd been waiting.
Maybe the journey back from the airport had drained him—his usually neat suit was a complete mess.
"And why didn't you answer your phone? Do you know how many calls I got because you didn't pick up?"
"My phone? Ah."
Checking my smartphone at Sung-hwan's remark, I realized I had kept it off the whole time.
It had kept ringing ever since landing in Korea.
"Since they couldn't reach you, calls kept coming to me and Director Song, non-stop—I thought I'd die, seriously!"
"Why does everyone know my number? Is my phone number public property?"
"How should I know?"
Sung-hwan said, peeking through the blinds at the ground floor.
It had been a while since a crowd gathered like this—the last time was when Soo-ah became S-rank.
"... Wow, the reporters are still swarming. How'd you get in?"
"That's why I came in from the building next door."
"What?"
Perhaps Sung-hwan thought I was joking and let out a dry chuckle.
Well, it made sense, considering the buildings were about five meters apart.
"Anyway, you should really turn your phone on soon. Or else the higher-ups from the networks will all start showing up for you."
"I was just planning to do that. Right now."
If even Sung-hwan said this much, I must have gotten a ton of calls.
Nervous, I turned on my smartphone, and all the missed calls and texts poured in at once.
Bzzz. Bzzzzz!
"... The phone won't stop vibrating."
"I stopped counting at thirty calls. There's a ton."
As in Sung-hwan and Director Song's conversation, there were dozens of missed calls alone.
The messages—countless.
From PDs I'd only met a few times to reporters from various media outlets.
I expected the US incident to make headlines, but I didn't imagine this scale.
"Did they really keep things under wraps properly?"
It was enough to make me wonder.
But the Anomaly Management Bureau was no mom-and-pop shop, so I was sure they plugged all information about me as requested.
"Jung-woo, do you have some sort of divine power or something? Why does everyone you touch become S-rank?"
"Come on, you know just by looking at the other hunters we're fostering at Unique that that's not true."
"Even so, it's already three people. Three. Even Yeon-ji seems like she's on a roll. If Hwang Yeon-ji becomes S-rank, that's four."
I brushed off Sung-hwan's words and scrolled through my messages one by one.
What surprised me was that there were more inquiries about "Challengers" than about the Monster Wave or the SS-rank Titan we'd defeated.
"Even with such great events, I guess incidents across the sea don't hit that hard here?"
Come to think of it, neither the Monster Wave nor the Titan took even two days to handle.
From a Korean perspective, it must have seemed like nothing much.
"And they probably don't even know how Alencia defeated the Titan."
After all, the only camera that captured that scene belonged to reporter Pyo Ji-yeol.
Hunters and the military at the scene had no time to film; only Yeon-ji definitely got it on camera.
'Manager Park, you're including this footage in the next variety show, right?'
'Yes, but please make sure it doesn't leak. You know, right? With your years as a journalist, I trust there won't be any 'mistakes'.'
'Haha, of course. This Pyo Ji-yeol will keep my lips sealed until broadcast.'
I remembered Pyo Ji-yeol making a gesture as if zipping his mouth.
He was a reporter who understood hunters well.
The footage he took was clearly valuable, but more than that, he wouldn't want to get on our bad side.
"If you reject all the offers this time, isn't there anything decent among them?"
"I'm not sure; I'll have to take a look first."
The most persistent love calls came from HSN.
Of those, the one that stood out the most was the message from PD Do.
【Would it be possible for Hunter Alencia to appear on "Living Together"? Manager Park Jung-woo, I sincerely ask for your help!】
A person I'd once been at odds with during "Super Hunter K" had now become likable.
It was rare even among strong-willed PDs to see someone switch so quickly.
"Maybe this isn't such a bad idea?"
PD Jung Jun-su's new variety program, now renamed 'From F-rank to S-rank', had about a month before it aired.
HSN seemed eager to air it sooner, but Tae-yeong Group wanted it to coincide with Shin Ah-yeon's movie release.
Since we were all from Unique and I'd appear in both, they must've thought it would create synergy.
"So in that month, we make Alencia a familiar presence to the public."
While she'd gotten steady exposure through behind-the-scenes videos, there was a world of difference between a YouTube channel and network TV.
If we showcased more of Alencia's abilities through 'Living Together', it would attract more attention.
"I should have Alencia do internet broadcasting in Korea too."
"Are you going to keep her streaming?"
"Foreigners doing YouTube in Korea actually do pretty well."
"... Isn't that like one of those patriotic Korean YouTube channels?"
At Sung-hwan's sour reply, I smiled.
In fact, taking that angle might make it easier for Alencia to film.
If she did what she did in America, interest would drop off in no time.
"And anyway... if only there was something for Soo-ah to appear in too."
With that in mind, I continued scrolling through my messages and spotted a surprising sender.
It was a message from Superintendent Shim Hyuk-soo.