Once the details of the joint raid had been finalized, Won Myunghoon rose from his seat.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Hyung,1 you’re leaving already?”
“It would’ve been nice to have a drink together.”
At Jin Taekyung and Im Kkeokjeong’s regretful tones, Won Myunghoon gave them a genial smile.
“I still have work to do. I am the Guild Master, after all. I can’t cause a mess and then be the only one off having fun.”
“Ah, right.”
After he put it that way, no one could press him to stay.
Telling the others there was no need to walk him out, Won Myunghoon left the Peace Guild House. He strolled away leisurely as he pulled out his phone.
After a few rings, someone answered.
“Yes, CEO.”
“The arrangements are done. We’re holding the joint raid tomorrow at two in the afternoon.”
“That was quick.”
“The bait’s too good. When would people like them ever get a chance to enter an A-rank Gate?”
“Haha. That’s true.”
“We’re only bringing one team from our Guild. You’ve told the guys to keep their mouths shut, right?”
“Don’t you trust me? I handpicked only the ones who know how to follow orders.”
“That’s why you’re Team Leader 1. I’ll be back right away, so choose the list of people participating tomorrow and have it ready.”
“Yes, sir. What about the Peace Guild?”
“This place?”
Won Myunghoon gave a short laugh and continued.
“I came by just in case, but it’s a complete mess. A hodgepodge. They’re a bunch of nobodies without even a proper hierarchy. How impressive could a Guild with only five members possibly be?”
“Even without Jin Taekyung, they still have three B-rank Hunters.”
“That’s all they are. The old man they’ve seated as Guild Master looks like a figurehead. The Team Leader and the woman used to be with the Ares Guild, but they’re nothing worth worrying about. The other one is only D-rank.”
“D-rank? That should make tomorrow’s job easy.”
“Easy?”
The amusement vanished from Won Myunghoon’s voice, leaving it ice-cold.
The sudden change in atmosphere seemed to make the person on the other end flinch. He hurriedly added,
“CEO, that’s not what I meant.”
“Team Leader 1—no, Jonghun.”
“…Yes.”
“Let’s stay sharp. Why do you think I’m personally running Gates at my age? Am I wrong?”
“I’m sorry.”
“All right. If you understand, do better from now on. Watch what you say.”
“Understood, CEO.”
“Good. See you later.”
After ending the call, Won Myunghoon took out his lip gloss and applied it.
He was only a few months shy of forty.
He spent hundreds of millions of won2 every year maintaining his appearance, but there was no hiding the passage of time.
“It’s been a while since I was in the spotlight. Maybe I should stop by the salon today.”
Muttering too quietly for anyone to hear, he climbed into the sports car parked by the roadside.
The thought of facing those disgusting monsters again after so long put him in a foul mood. But when he imagined the flower-strewn path awaiting him afterward, he began humming to himself.
The next morning, Jinho hyung1 sat across from me at the table, unable to tear his eyes away from his phone.
“You haven’t even eaten. What are you looking at so intently?”
“Articles about you.”
“Again?”
“What do you mean, again? I could read these all day.”
Anyone watching him would’ve thought the articles were about Jinho, not me.
These days, checking the online reaction and reporting it to me had become part of his daily routine. He was practically my manager.
“People like you. There are tons of articles about Won Myunghoon, too.”
“Of course there are.”
“You two look good together. So heartwarming… I wish Lord Fuck would swear at me, and so on.”
“……”
“There’s even a guy asking to be tied up and beaten.”
The world really was a big place, and it was full of lunatics.
Dumbfounded, I searched for myself. The internet was overflowing with articles about me, while every online community imaginable was packed with nicknames and edited images.
There was even a post summarizing my exploits sitting prominently on the best-posts board.
A Summary of Lord Fuck’s Exploits So Far.txt
Hi. I’m an unemployed guy in my thirties.
I was thinking hard about what useless thing to do today when I became curious about Lord Fuck. Most people who know anything about him probably already know all this, but I figured there might be some people who don’t, so I wrote it up.
I couldn’t be bothered to move my fingers much, so here’s the short version.
Awakened as F-rank at twenty. Spent seven years getting run even harder than a brand-new private, then reawakened.
But the Hunter Association played its trap card, so he was measured as C-rank at the time. The accepted scholarly consensus is that the Hunter Association is full of idiots.
The bewildered Lord Fuck was snared by an unknown Guild called the Peace Guild.
A B-rank Gate erupted while he was going to work in a tracksuit, dragging along slippers. He chewed through the ogres by himself and saved hundreds of people.
His life turned around. On the day he received his A-rank Hunter ID, he made that remark in front of fifty thousand people. Acquired the title “Lord Fuck.”
That’s about it. I didn’t write anything about his family because I might get sued.
A few media outlets have already been taken down. An unemployed thirtysomething like me would be nothing by comparison. If a complaint lands, I’ll get a Mom’s Touch across the back, so cut me some slack.3
I ate doenjang jjigae4 for breakfast, scratched my balls, and scribbled this together.
Only one thought came to mind after I finished reading.
It’s way too short.
If I wrote down everything I’d experienced traveling between the modern world and Murim, even a hundred pages wouldn’t be enough.
Well, they’re ordinary people who don’t know anything. I suppose this is only natural.
I scrolled through the comments packed beneath the post.
Of course, I couldn’t read all several hundred of them, so I picked out a few of the best comments.
└ (Best comment) Fuck. I love him.
└ I saw Lord Fuck live, and he swears even more colorfully than my grandma. Did he go to some kind of swearing academy?
└ But it sounds natural. You can’t hate him.
└ We’ve had innocent, good-natured A-rank Hunters appear on TV before, but none of them were ever this down-to-earth. Lol.
└ Yeah, that’s why people like him. From the stories he told in the interview about his F-rank days, it sounds like he went through hell. Maybe that’s why.
└ Personally, I liked that he went straight to a raid after leaving the Association. It felt like he cared more about a Hunter’s true duty than money.
└ Agreed.
└ (Best comment) So what happened to him transferring to the Star Guild? Honestly, I’d rather he just transfer.
└ Completely false. He kept sucking up to Won Myunghoon in every interview, so he went to meet him once, and the story got twisted.
└ Sucking…?
└ There’s my material for today.
└ Lord Fuck will do it for free.
└ There are so many crazy bastards here.
└ (Best comment) Lord Fuck already has a permanent free pass from criticism, and now Won Myunghoon’s suddenly getting carried by the scruff of his neck.
└ Seriously. I’d forgotten Won Myunghoon’s name. I vaguely remember seeing an article a few years ago saying he was cleared in that case.
└ Wasn’t he popular? Why did he disappear?
└ He was. He was at his peak for his entire career, but the problem was that his career was way too short. By today’s standards, his persona was too predictable, and his acting wasn’t anything special… He only got famous because one of his songs became a hit, and he had tons of fans who were just into his face. Plenty of people still suck up to Won Myunghoon. Jin Taekyung included.
└ Sucking…?
└ This is the same guy from the comment above. Anyway, apparently the Peace Guild and Star Guild are doing a joint raid today. I’m looking forward to it.
The overall reaction from netizens was favorable.
Apparently, appearing on the news once or twice and doing a few magazine interviews had left quite a good impression.
The public opinion of Myunghoon hyung1 isn’t too bad, either.
Was it nostalgia?
Although an unpleasant incident had gradually pushed him out of the public eye, plenty of people still remembered Won Myunghoon.
Jinho, sitting across from me, was one of them.
“Don’t forget to get Won Myunghoon’s autograph, okay?”
“Got it. I’m going to get a callus in my ear.”
I gave Jinho, who was as giddy as a teenage girl, a halfhearted answer and rose from my seat.
We’d eaten breakfast late, so it was already past ten. We needed to leave soon if we wanted to finish the final checks before the raid.
“Damn it. If I were a Hunter, I’d get to raid with Won Myunghoon too.”
Jinho muttered wistfully, envy written all over his face.
To be honest, I was a little nervous myself.
An A-rank Gate with Myunghoon hyung.1
Part of it was that I would be entering an A-rank Gate for the first time, but the thought of raiding alongside one of my old idols also filled me with anticipation.
I never thought I’d live to see a day like this.
My heart pounding with excitement, I left the house.
If mid- and low-level Gates were grains of sand, an A-rank Gate was a massive boulder.
Even in Korea, a country famous for having so many Gates despite its small territory, A-rank Gates were rare. Competition for the right to raid them was fierce.
For the Peace Guild, which still had only five official members, this was unquestionably an opportunity that would normally be almost impossible to obtain.
And yet…
Why is everyone so relaxed?
Even I, who considered myself the strongest person here, had to swallow nervously. But Team Leader Choi, Butler Kim, and Song-i looked as calm as if they were heading to the neighborhood supermarket.
“Did they change this to a B-rank Gate without telling me?”
Team Leader Choi answered in his usual calm voice.
“It is an A-rank Gate.”
“Then why are you all so composed? Did everyone secretly take Cheongsimhwan?5”
“Song-i and I have been to plenty of them. Back when we were with the Ares Guild.”
“Ah. Right.”
Ares was the greatest Guild in Korea—no, in Asia—and a major Guild recognized throughout the world.
Its strength was one thing, but every last member was part of the elite. There was no reason they couldn’t handle an A-rank Gate.
“And as for Butler Kim…”
At Team Leader Choi’s words, Butler Kim smiled.
“I saw more than enough of them during the Great Cataclysm.”
“……”
“Back when I was active, monster armies marched down the highways, and flocks of Drakes flew through the sky. Things like that.”
What the hell? That was terrifying.
As expected of someone from the Great Cataclysm generation. His level of experience was on an entirely different scale.
Butler Kim was publicly known as a B-rank Hunter, but he was powerful enough to put Im Chunsoo—an A-rank Hunter and the Guild Master of Sangdong Guild—through PT drills.
What on earth is someone like him doing here?
Team Leader Choi and Butler Kim’s true identities and relationship remained a mystery.
They knew I was curious yet still refused to tell me. They must have their reasons.
That aside…
I turned my gaze toward the last Guild member.
The one person I’d been most worried about.
Contrary to my expectations, Im Kkeokjeong was leaning back against the car seat with a calm expression.
“Are you all right?”
“Of course I’m all right—urrrgh!”
“……”
Fine, my ass. You’re nervous as hell.
Perhaps he knew it himself, because he quickly pulled out the black plastic bag he had brought in advance and buried his face in it.
After finishing a bout of retching, Im Kkeokjeong muttered with a deathly pale face,
“I’m fine. Really.”
Im Kkeokjeong might have been fine, but I wasn’t. The very act of letting a D-rank Hunter enter an A-rank Gate was a dangerously reckless decision.
“Uh, I’m only saying this just in case…”
As soon as I cautiously began speaking, Im Kkeokjeong shook his head.
“No. The Guild Master and Team Leader gave me permission, too. I can’t keep imposing on everyone forever. I need to gain some experience.”
“Hmm.”
“Taekyung, I have a wife and children to think about. I’m well past the age where I’d make a decision out of pride or childish bravado. Even if something happens…”
“Ah, I understand. That’s enough.”
I hurriedly cut him off before he could say anything more ominous.
He must have been worrying a lot lately because his rank was so much lower than those of the other Guild members, but he had taken it far too far.
“We’re going in safely and coming out safely. The Star Guild is sending two A-rank Hunters too. And Myunghoon hyung1 used to be a ranker.”
Between the two Guilds, there were four A-rank Hunters and more than ten B-rank Hunters. They had more than enough strength to cover for Kkeokjeong.
Team Leader Choi nodded as well.
“Nothing will go wrong.”
He was a cautious man. If he had decided to let Im Kkeokjeong participate, it was because he was confident it would be safe.
“Yeah. It will.”
A faint smile appeared on Im Kkeokjeong’s lips.
Just then, tall buildings began rising into view beyond the car windows.
It looked like an entire village—no, a small city.
Its residents and guards were soldiers carrying firearms and Hunters decked out in expensive equipment.
“Wow.”
Unlike me, who let out an exclamation, Team Leader Choi frowned.
“This place…”
After surveying the scene outside, he turned toward the driver of the limousine bus Won Myunghoon had sent especially for us.
“I think you may have brought us to the wrong place.”
“What? That can’t be.”
The driver’s eyes widened as though he had no idea what Team Leader Choi meant.
“The A-rank Gate, Black Wyvern’s Nest. This is the right place. I entered it into the GPS and came straight here.”
“Black Wyvern’s Nest? There must have been some mistake. Won Myunghoon said…”
“Who’s Won Myunghoon? I work for the bus company, so I don’t know him. I came exactly where I was told to go.”
Team Leader Choi and the driver’s voices buzzed in my ears.
Suddenly, my stomach began to churn, and a sharp pain throbbed through my head.
Amid the confusion, a roar I’d heard three years ago tore through my mind.
Kyaaaaaaar!
Eyes stained pitch-black and a tongue like a blade.
The wingbeats that had brought down the cave and the claws that had torn my teammates apart flashed vividly before my eyes, blurring my vision.
The Black Wyvern.
I never thought we’d meet again like this.
Footnotes
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Hyung is a Korean term a man uses to address an older brother or an older male friend. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Hundreds of millions of Korean won is roughly 100–900 million won, or about $71,000–$640,000 and €65,000–€580,000. ↩
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Mom’s Touch is a Korean fast-food chain. The name is used here as a pun on a mother smacking someone across the back. ↩
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Doenjang jjigae is a Korean stew made with fermented soybean paste. ↩
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Cheongsimhwan is a traditional herbal medicine taken to calm the mind and body. ↩
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