Chapter 213: Episode 213

Episode 213

She looked puzzled but obediently extended her arm. I unfastened the grass bracelet I had been wearing and slipped it onto her wrist.

“Oh! What’s this?”

“A grass bracelet.”

“Wow! That’s so you, Sunbae!”

’That’s called old-fashioned, you know.’

“If you don’t like it, give it back.”

“Nope! Not a chance! It’s mine now!”

She quickly pulled her arm back and giggled.

“I’ll treasure it.”

Seeing Jin Bora wearing the bracelet Bellica had given me, I made up my mind.

’I will never let the same tragedy happen again.’

“There’s a flower on it, too.”

“It’s artificial. Supposedly the flower’s meaning is immortality.”

“Immortality…”

She smiled.

“See? That’s so you, Sunbae.”

“…Are you going to keep dissing me like that?”

“Ahahaha! I’m kidding!”

I found myself laughing along with her. She always did this, right when things started to get serious.

Just then, light rippled at the Tower’s front gate and new figures appeared.

Na Daeyong and Eunsol.

“Master! You have returned!”

“Oppaaaa!”

Eunsol was the first to sprint over with her arms wide open, slamming into my legs and hugging them tight.

“Up you go!”

I hoisted her up and sat her on my knee.

“Oppa, you’re way too late!”

“Sorry. Nothing happened to you, right, Sol? You okay?”

“Yup! I’m fine!”

Thankfully, because she was still young, Eunsol had been relatively free from mandatory call-ups or Dungeon deployments.

“Hng! I’m so relieved you’re safe!”

Na Daeyong’s eyes were already brimming with tears as he dropped to his knees.

Before he could kick off another Overacting Daeyong Show, I hurried to cut him off.

“I heard you went through a lot, too, Mr. Na.”

“Ah, it was nothing! I managed just fine!”

The 4th-floor team had been scattered and forced to carry out the Association’s regular assignments.

A hunter’s “regular assignment” basically meant going into Dungeons to hunt monsters, but thanks to Garam and Shin Nara backing them up, they hadn’t been in any real danger.

Instead, they had been subjected to all kinds of humiliation.

“I did some porter work, that’s all! Hah!”

Even though Na Daeyong was a fully licensed hunter, the seniors who went into Dungeons with him made him do grunt work like a scavenger—hauling loads, collecting mana stones. Naturally, he was exposed to all sorts of trash talk and petty abuse.

The other 4th-floor team members who were now returning to the Tower had gone through pretty much the same thing.

“All of you went through that because of me…”

“No, not at all! It was manageable. Really!”

Na Daeyong flashed a big grin and gave me a thumbs-up.

“Do you know how many years I’ve survived in non-combat support jobs? I’m used to being cursed at and looked down on! I’ve done plenty of scavenger gigs, too, so that part was no problem at all! And every night, when I met up with our team for drinks, everyone said the same thing!”

I listened in silence.

“If we’d never met you, Master, we’d still be living like that anyway! It was a good chance to remember where we started! I really don’t hold any grudges. The only thing that was hard…”

His fist trembled.

“…was listening to people run their mouths about how you’d never make it back. That was tough to swallow. But you did come back, and now we can all work together in the Tower again! That’s enough for me!”

I pressed my fingers into my temples.

’There it is again—this guy’s chronic over-immersion. That’s the real problem. Not me.’

Forcing my emotions back down, I threw my arms wide.

“Mr. Na! Come here, let’s have a hug!”

“Masteeeer!”

Na Daeyong, built like a bear, charged in and wrapped me up in a hug. Whoa, heavy.

At some point, Eunsol had climbed up to my chest and planted a quick kiss on my other cheek. I pulled her in with my left arm as well.

’I won’t let you go through that kind of humiliation ever again.’

I would get stronger and climb higher, so punks like Frost could never again mess with the people I care about.

“Bora. What about Seojin and the rest of the 4th-floor team?”

Jin Bora thought for a moment, then answered, “The 4th-floor members all had their regular assignments canceled, so they’re on their way back… and Seojin’s been pulling all-nighters at Alchemia for a week straight.”

“I need to see Seojin as soon as possible. She must’ve had the roughest time of all.”

“That’s true,” Na Daeyong nodded. “I watched her press conferences on TV every evening… her expression really didn’t look good. But thanks to her cool-headed leadership, things didn’t get any worse than they did.”

“Yeah. I’ll give her that—we got through this thanks to Seojin.”

I had heard that Jeong Seojin, working with Shin Nara, had managed to put the brakes on Frost’s plans. She really was irreplaceable.

“Oppa!”

Eunsol shook my shoulder.

“What is it?”

“Look! Look! The President is on TV!”

“The President?”

I turned my gaze to the laptop screen. The caption said that President Park Jeongyang’s national address would begin shortly.

With public sentiment in total chaos, he had come out to Gwanghwamun Square himself.

’Alright, then.’

I straightened up and focused on the monitor.

’Let’s see how the man at the very top decides to play this.’

* * *

Gwanghwamun Square held special meaning for Korea’s President Park Jeongyang.

Back when he had been just one of many opposition candidates, he had delivered a single, unforgettable speech there before a crowd of millions, and that one speech had carried him all the way to the presidency.

Ever since, a Gwanghwamun Square address had become Park Jeongyang’s trademark. Whenever his approval ratings dipped or he was mired in controversy, he would come to Gwanghwamun and rally the people.

This time was no different. Faced with the greatest crisis of his political career, Park Jeongyang once again appeared in Gwanghwamun Square.

But the atmosphere was very different from the old days, when he had stood surrounded by cheering supporters. Park Jeongyang himself was now under fire for alleged involvement in Frost’s bribery scandal.

“Fellow citizens! Koreans overseas! I stand before you today to personally reveal the truth behind the allegations that have recently dominated the news!”

Low boos were already rumbling through the crowd. Park Jeongyang pressed on regardless.

“First of all, as your President, I feel an infinite sense of responsibility for the turmoil and confusion that have shaken our nation! I will cooperate fully and faithfully with the prosecutors’ investigation, more than anyone—”

“Boooooo!”

“Park Jeongyang, step down!”

“Resign now!”

“You’re in bed with Frost!”

The jeers grew louder and louder. In response, Park Jeongyang had the speaker volume cranked up and raised his own voice.

He spoke of the future of the Republic of Korea.

Of a Korea that had to stand united to overcome foreign threats.

But no matter how much he appealed to patriotism and national security, the crowd would not listen. Things had gone too far to be smoothed over with that.

’…Damn it!’

Park Jeongyang ground his teeth.

He could not let this happen in Gwanghwamun. This was his victory ground.

He wanted to tear apart and kill every last one of his incompetent aides for letting things deteriorate this far. He also felt like unloading a torrent of curses on Frost, who could have just feigned ignorance but had instead confessed.

In the end, it was up to him, the President, to clean up the mess. Before the mood soured any further, he had to steer the conversation elsewhere.

“My fellow citizens! As of today, I, Park Jeongyang, have decided to accept Chairman Frost’s resignation!”

At his sudden declaration, a murmur rippled through the crowd as camera flashes erupted from all sides.

It wasn’t a bad reaction. The mood had shifted.

Park Jeongyang boldly erased the lengthy speech he had memorized from his mind. No amount of flowery rhetoric would reach an enraged public; this was the moment to go all in.

“Next, I will announce the new Association President who will restore order to this chaotic situation!”

The murmuring swelled until it was nearly unmanageable. Inwardly, Park Jeongyang smiled.

’Yes, get more confused. The more confused you are, the further my own scandal will be pushed to the back burner.’

Frost had been arrested, and all the attacks had converged on him. Now, if the next Association President drew their fire, he could simply step back and adopt a detached stance.

Rustling inside his jacket, Park Jeongyang pulled out the appointment letter.

The next Association President was hunter Heo Il, an officially certified Rank 2 from the Phantom Guild.

’Anyone but that woman.’

If it ended up being her, every move he had planned would be blocked. Not only that, but he would have to return to the old days of being ignored and humiliated by her.

Heo Il was good enough. The public would accept the choice. His record, his experience, his star power—by any metric, there was no better candidate.

“I will now make the announcement!”

Unfolding the appointment letter, Park Jeongyang spoke.

“The next President of the Hunter Association of the Republic of Korea is…!”

“Hong Yul!”

A voice suddenly cut him off, booming across the square.

“…”

For a split second, there was absolute silence. Even Park Jeongyang was left momentarily speechless.

Then, within that hush, a ripple began to spread through the street.

“Yeah, of course it should be Hong Yul!”

“Who else is there but Hong Yul!”

“The only one fit to lead Korea’s Association is Hong Yul!”

The ripple swelled in an instant into a massive roar.

“Hong Yul! Hong Yul! Hong Yul! Hong Yul! Hong Yul!”

Fists shot toward the sky, veins bulged in necks, and feet stomped the ground. With faces flushed red, the entire crowd shouted Hong Yul’s name at the top of their lungs.

All of Gwanghwamun Square was shaking with the chant of her name.

Seeing this, Park Jeongyang’s expression hardened.

’…Wh-what? How is this happening?’

In the days leading up to the speech, the video of Hong Yul saving people falling from a building had racked up tens of millions of views, becoming a nationwide sensation. A hunter saving people wasn’t unusual, but the video made the entire country viscerally feel that the woman they had thought dead had truly returned. Its impact was enormous.

Above all, when the people she had rescued told the media, “Hong Yul gave up chasing Frost to save us instead,” the story gained even more traction.

The countless atrocities committed by Frost that had just come to light stood in stark contrast to Hong Yul’s decision to prioritize the lives of ordinary citizens.

“Come back, Hong Yul!”

“You’re the only one we have!”

“Make hunter Hong Yul the Association President!”

The hand holding Heo Il’s appointment letter began to tremble. The atmosphere was on the verge of erupting into a full-blown riot. Even the bodyguards who were supposed to be protecting him were no longer watching the crowd; they were looking back at him instead.

’Do I even have a single ally here? In this atmosphere, what will happen if I announce Heo Il?’

“Hong Yul! Hong Yul! Hong Yul! Hong Yul! Hong Yul!”

Tensions were at a fever pitch. With faces flushed crimson, people chanted her name until their voices grew hoarse.

The same was happening online. “Hong Yul,” “President Hong Yul,” and similar phrases dominated the top search rankings, her name flooding social media and live chats.

The entire nation was crying out for Hong Yul.

“Th-the next President of the Hunter Association is…!”

Park Jeongyang swallowed hard. After coming this far, what was there to hesitate over? All he had to do was say one name—Heo Il. Just that one name. He already had a plan in place for everything that would follow.

However, he couldn’t understand why it was so hard to force out that single word.

His mouth simply wouldn’t open.

Hong Yul! Hong Yul! Hong Yul! Hong Yul! Hong Yul!

The roar crashed over him like a wave.

His lips opened and closed soundlessly, like a fish out of water. It felt as if someone had stolen his voice.

In the end, Park Jeongyang crumpled the appointment letter bearing Heo Il’s name.

“…The next President of the Hunter Association is the officially certified Rank 1, Hong Yul.”

A thunderous cheer shook the entire square.

* * *

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep