Chapter 275
"You're naive."
Mr. Choi's words still haunt me.
Sitting in the caretaker's chair next to the bed, I absentmindedly stare at the humidifier dispersing mist. I spoke my thoughts aloud to the sleeping Mr. Hyuk-Jun:
"I am not naive."
The Murim is aptly described as a mountain of swords and a forest of blades.
Blood and death are daily companions. Power is the only justice, and the last one standing is the victor.
Whenever I bore witness to Murim's brutality, I found solace in thoughts of the contemporary world.
A place of welfare and legal order, where people are guided by ethics. Civilization advanced beyond Murim's comprehension.
But I was wrong.
"I was not naive. I was just foolish."
True, martial artists wear their swords with pride, but the modern era hides its weapons more subtly — daggers concealed in fine sleeves.
Monsters aren't confined to the gates; they roam amidst us.
Donning pristine suits, radiating virtue, ruling over sprawling metropolises.
Those who unsheath their concealed weapons are the true beasts beyond the gates.
Like Won Myung-Hoon.
I have been too soft-hearted.
Even knowing that the world is unjust and miserable, I couldn't let go of my optimism.
This is the modern era. A democratic society of the 21st century. Though there might be fierce competitions to prove one's worth, I thought incidents like today's wouldn't happen.
'And this is the result.'
Beside me lay Im Hyuk-Jun, his arms cut beneath the elbows, now restored by masterful healing arts and potent potions.
He might cope with daily life, but his hunter's future teeters on uncertainty. Potions have their limits.
'Who did this?'
Cold thoughts churned within me.
Who? Why? What drove them to dispatch the Black Hunters?
Severing Im Hyuk-Jun's arms could serve as a warning, or perhaps a battle cry.
I will decipher their message.
And until that moment, I refuse to stand still.
Nor will Mr. Choi.
"Rest now, mister."
Gently, I draped the rumpled blanket over Im Hyuk-Jun.
Vvvv vvvv
The stillness of the room was disturbed by the phone's vibrations.
A brief message from Mr. Choi flashed across the screen.
[To the guild house.]
Without hesitation, I departed the hospital. As midnight deepened, two figures awaited me at the now-deserted guild house.
"Good to see you, Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung."
"Come on in."
Mr. Choi and Song Song greeted me.
But Butler Kim, a constant presence like a shadow by Mr. Choi's side, was conspicuously absent.
Mr. Choi read the query in my eyes.
"He has stepped out for a moment."
"Is that so?"
Though Butler Kim's absence piqued my curiosity, there were more urgent matters to address.
I got straight to the point.
"What's this about?"
"Before I explain, I should probably offer you some coffee... but first, have a look at this."
Instead of a coffee cup, Mr. Choi handed me his smartphone. The screen showcased the nation's premier news portal.
A slender finger touched a window, and a cascade of articles divided by categories appeared.
I quickly scanned the article displayed at the top.
[Judiciary Bows to Public Pressure: Is Justice at Stake?]
[A statement from the Unity Party's senior member, Represetnative Yoon Seo-Yoon: "Won Myung-Hoon should have faced the judgment of the law. Instead, he was murdered by an individual's hasty decisions." Backlash ensues...]
[Self-defense or cold-blooded-murder?]
These headlines, dripping with political and societal overtones, conspicuously avoided a direct mention, yet it was evident to whom they alluded.
"When did this go live?"
"Roughly an hour back. It's garnered over 100,000 views with 5,000-plus comments."
"All this at four in the morning?"
"Seems our netizens are rather active, or perhaps those compensated to stir the pot are especially so."
"How amusing."
Sipping his cold coffee, Mr. Choi's gaze met mine, his amusement mirroring my own.
"There's an even more interesting article."
"More than this?"
"Scroll down a bit. It'll be more than you're expecting."
Mr. Choi was right. As I scrolled, my fingers involuntarily stopped.
Silently, I stared at the bolded article headline.
[Exclusive: Former Associate, Mr. K Reveals: "Famous Hunter J is a Truly Reprehensible Man."]
Tapping the headline, a 3-minute interview preview began, preceded by a brief cosmetics advertisement.
Despite the intentional pixelation, the face of the stout man in the suit was unmistakable.
"Ha."
The identity of this middle-aged man, or rather 'Former Associate, Mr. K', made me scoff.
That all-too-familiar face of a person I thought I'd never see again was right there.
"I never thought I'd see him again."
Song Song, peeking over my shoulder at the smartphone, asked,
"Do you really know him?"
"Know him? How could I not?"
"If he's giving such a trashy interview, I assume you two weren't on good terms?"
"No."
"So, were you close?"
"It's not that..."
What word would best describe the relationship between that man and me? After pondering for a moment, I spoke.
"He treated me like shit."
"Oh."
No matter how much I thought about it, that phrase was the most fitting.
Our relationship was terrible. Considering all of our past, it's almost surprising we never came to blows.
I stared intently at the face that had gotten chubbier since I last saw it.
'Mr. Sang-Shik. It's been a while.'
Kim Sang-Shik, once the esteemed team leader of the Picnic Guild.
During my days as an F-rank Hunter, he had orchestrated my dismissal by inciting the guild leader against me.
Our paths last crossed at the Association during my rank reassessment. I never imagined our fates would intertwine again.
'I heard he got fired from the guild afterward.'
Kim Sang-Shik is a person full of greed yet lacking in capability. Contrary to his name, which translates to "common sense," he had none. He frequently stumbled into pitfalls of his own making.
It wasn't surprising that such a petty man would harbor resentment.
His participation in this interview confirmed as much.
'Let's hear what bullshit he's spouting.'
Right at that moment, the reporter in the video began to ask a question.
"We've heard that you have some comments about the recently famous Hunter J. Firstly, is it true you were former colleagues?"
With an air of exaggerated importance, Kim Sang-Shik nodded.
"Without a doubt. I was Jin Tae... I mean, J's direct supervisor."
"Were you?"
"He was a member of my team. After the gate incident two years ago, I became the team leader. It was also I who informed J of his termination last summer."
"Really? What was the reason for termination?"
"There was more than one reason."
Kim Sang-Shik then passionately listed the reasons for firing me.
His hyperbolic narrative reached a crescendo of absurdity when he proclaimed,
"Though I was unfairly framed for employment corruption and got expelled from the guild I served for over 20 years, my firing of J wasn't for any personal gains."
"You had a different motive then?"
"Absolutely."
In this brief preview, with the fervor of a misplaced martyr, Kim Sang-Shik made known his real reason for agreeing to this interview.
"Two years ago, during the Sangdong gate incident, J threw his teammates to the monsters as bait and ran away. He wouldn't hesitate to do anything despicable and dirty to survive..."
I didn't hear the rest of what he said.
After the preview ended with a caption promising a full version of the interview soon, I remained silent, staring at the screen.
Almost as if I believed that if I stared long enough, Kim Sang-Shik would jump out of it.
The palpable tension was punctured by Mr. Choi.
"How do you feel?"
How do I feel?
Betrayed, yet amused. A fire of indignation simmered within me.
"It's quite interesting, just like you said, Team Leader."
"I laughed when I first saw it too, knowing what kind of person Mr. K, or rather Kim Sang-Shik, is. The problem is..."
"The public might not find it as amusing."
"Exactly."
The comments section was already on the brink of a meltdown.
I didn't need to wade through the ever-growing sea of comments, which had already swelled past ten thousand. One top comment caught my eye.
(Top Comment) I knew something like this would happen. I heard rumors from across the bridge and hoped they weren't true, but I always felt it'd blow up someday.
What bridge are they talking about, and what's blowing up?
Luckily, I don't have to face whoever posted that in person.
If they were here, I would've ensured they got their news from the other side of the River Styx next time.
"I don't think there's any need to see more."
With a hollow chuckle, I closed the comments section.
Mr. Choi, retrieving his phone, folded his arms as he said,
"It's organized. It's now clear that they targeted you from the start by sending the Black Hunters."
"This public smear campaign must be their handiwork as well."
"People are like that. Once they start riding a wave, it's hard to regain balance."
"And amidst all this, not a single news article about the attack on Mr. Hyuk-Jun."
"You've done your homework."
"If I hadn't, I'd be an idiot. Did the investigative team handling the case say anything?"
Mr. Choi slightly shook his head.
"You can't possibly mean they're in on it?"
"It seems they're under external pressure too. They're sitting on the CCTV footage."
"Didn't you say there were witnesses?"
"All three of them have vanished."
Fantastic.
The muffled crackling of bones betrayed my unconscious clenching of fists.
"This is a full-scale assault."
"It's a calculated move, targeting you specifically. The interview with Kim Sang-Shik is a testament to that."
And it wasn't just tabloid fodder pushing the narrative.
It was orchestrated by one of the nation's leading media outlets.
"The most absurd bullshit can be well-packaged and made plausible, and in that process, trust can be added through power and money."
For instance... testimonies from those who claimed to know me best.
"I guess I'll see the faces of my old colleagues after a long time. Oh, they'll probably be pixelated, so it might be hard to recognize them, right?"
I posed this to Mr. Choi, who was looking at me with a contemplative gaze.
"Why do you say that? I remember you had a good reputation within the Picnic Guild."
"I got along with everyone. It's a rather close-knit guild after all."
"But why would you think this way now?"
"This always works, right?"
I made a circle with my thumb and index finger. [Note: while this hand sign means 'OK' in most English-speaking countries, in Korea, this sign is also used to mean 'monkey']
It always circles back to money.
For hunters, who brave death for their earnings, the siren call of it proves irresistible.
"After back-to-back betrayals, it's hard to trust those with whom I spent the last seven years in laughter and joy."
Days prior, I would have willingly trusted my old associates.
But not now. The idealistic realm of dreams, fellowship, and decency has faded.
"Considering that articles have appeared in political and social sections, it seems they've buttered up some congressman. What's stopping them from manipulating a few low-ranked hunters struggling to make ends meet?"
Obviously, I'll be the villain, subject to digital scorn. The reputation I painstakingly built will erode, with our guild collapsing in its wake.
Throughout this, Mr. Choi wore a puzzling expression, but eventually, a grin formed.
"You've improved. You seem to think like a worldly adult now."
"Are you taking back what you said yesterday about me being naive?"
"I'll decide that based on your actions from here on."
"What do you mean?"
"You can't just sit idly by and let them walk all over you."
As he spoke, he pressed his phone's screen. When it connected, a voice answered.
"I found it. The tail."
Through the speaker, Butler Kim's low and soft voice echoed.
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Murim Login (Novel)