IH Ch 34

Chapter 34

If he hadn’t been an S-rank, no one would’ve paid him any attention in the first place, and he wouldn’t have had to be here at all. Whenever that thought crossed his mind, it became difficult to maintain his composure. That’s why he had made no effort to hide how much he hated it—and today was no different.

What was the big deal about a gate, anyway? His job was to clear them. He had done what was required of him, so why did people insist on piling on unnecessary commentary?

Remaining silent, Jae-i slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again and lifted the corners of his lips ever so slightly—just barely enough to be noticeable.

In an instant, the blinding flashes that had erupted nonstop stopped altogether. The deafening noise that had rung in his ears also died down. The completely unexpected, positive reaction prompted the corners of Hwang Jae-i’s lips to lift just a little higher.

A faint, breathy laugh even slipped out between his lips.

[When you think about it, it makes no sense for a guildmaster to just stand by and watch a gate open in front of him. If it were a low-ranked hunter, maybe you could say they were being reckless, but Hwang Jae-i is S-rank. He’s the top-ranked hunter in the country—if a gate appears, of course he should deal with it immediately.]

[Once a gate starts to open, the entire surrounding area falls under its influence and gets devastated, right? That place had a hospital, a gas station, factories, and a bunch of residential homes. If it were me, I’d have cleared the gate too.]

[It’s a neighborhood without many young people. If something happened, only the elderly would’ve been caught in it. On top of that, it was a children’s hospital, wasn’t it? Everyone knows the benefits are better in Seoul. And if your kid’s sick, can you imagine what the parents must feel? Of course they try to get them treated there. And then a gate opens nearby? Ugh, horrifying. Honestly, I think Hwang Jae-i did the right thing.]

[At first, I thought it was absurd when they said he cleared the gate before it even fully manifested. But then, seeing the interviews with the kids at the hospital in the morning, the photos released in the afternoon, and all the media noise in between, it felt like someone was trying to frame him in a really hostile light. Honestly, what’s the hunter’s job? Clear gates and minimize harm to civilians, right? And another major issue with this whole thing is—I didn’t even get an alert message about the gate.]

[Yes, even though Hwang Jae-i did clear the gate as it appeared, the fact that there was no alert message is a serious issue. People only heard about the gate being cleared afterward. What were the gate-monitoring agencies doing? It’s really questionable.]

[The government issued a formal apology regarding the gate incident and promised it wouldn’t happen again, but the fact that a whole day passed after everything had already happened—people are going to criticize them for not acting fast enough.]

After reading citizen reactions, professional commentary, and formal news reports in succession, Ahn Yuna opened another video.

It was a clip from that afternoon—Hwang Jae-i standing next to the Chairman, shaking hands, looking down at the crowd, and then very slowly, the corners of his expressionless mouth began to rise.

His eyes crinkled gently as he smiled.

“He’s like a fox spirit, bewitching people.”

The words came out louder than she expected. But they were immediately drowned out by the voice coming from the phone she held.

[Honestly, the way Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i’s acted up until now has been disappointing. But this time… I don’t know, maybe I had a bias. On the surface, he looks like a perfectly sculpted pretty boy, but he’s so young, isn’t he? How old is he again? Oh my god. If he’s twenty this year, he’s basically a baby. That means I’ve been thinking poorly and speaking badly about a baby all this time? Oh no, I feel terrible.]

“A baby? How could Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i possibly be a baby? You should see the way he treats me at the guild—there’s no way you’d call him that.”

[So the media has been talking all kinds of trash about someone who’s barely twenty? And every time something happens, they chase him around with cameras? And now they’re pulling people off the street for interviews? Come on, don’t do that.]

“Exactly. The media needs to tone it down. Even today, paparazzi were swarming every turn on our way back. We even disguised the vehicle to look like an old delivery truck, and they still chased us down. Though they did eventually back off when they got suspicious.”

[Sure, Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i has made mistakes, but I think the media’s gone overboard. I almost misunderstood him because all I ever saw was the version they showed. But just looking at his face—he doesn’t seem like that kind of person. How much emotional stress must someone with such a delicate and beautiful face have gone through? Anyone badmouthing the Guildmaster seriously needs to reflect. You hear me?]

“Well, I’m not sure if we need to go as far as ‘reflect’…”

“…Director, we can hear everything you’re saying.”

Whether it was the interview playing from the phone or Ahn Yuna’s mutterings, it had all been audible. If the driver in the front seat could hear, then so could the Guildmaster in the back.

The hunter’s grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly as he glanced at Ahn Yuna. She quietly slipped her phone away and folded her arms, her face set in a grave expression.

…Was it really something to be this serious about? Then again, the Guildmaster had behaved very unexpectedly. Normally, when the press got too pushy or the crowd got too noisy, he’d snap, throw a fit, and storm off. Then she and the hunter would have to drag him out and clean up the mess afterward.

But today, something completely unexpected had happened.

While shaking hands with the Chairman—he smiled.

“……”

No exaggeration, the entire space fell silent for over a minute. No one could speak. Even the reporters forgot to hit their shutters. If the Chairman hadn’t laughed loudly and clapped the Guildmaster on the shoulder while saying, “Looks like he’s done some serious reflecting,” that tense silence might’ve gone on even longer.

It was strange, packaging the moment as a sign of reflection, but in that moment, no one dared question it. The awkward silence shattered under a delayed wave of screaming or cheering—it was hard to tell which. The uproar made their ears ring, and the Guildmaster’s rare smile disappeared almost instantly.

From that point on, it was chaos. They had barely managed to escape the swarming crowd and flee the venue in the car. It wasn’t until some time had passed that the hunter began to process what he had seen. As the memory of the Guildmaster’s smile surfaced again, he shuddered and muttered with a grimace.

A smile on a sculpture-perfect face might be beautiful, but it was unsettling, especially since it wasn’t something he usually did. It made you wonder if he was planning something. No wonder Chief Ahn had been scrutinizing people’s reactions one by one.

A quick glance at the trending articles showed headlines like “Shock: Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i Smiles” dominating the top ranks.

It hadn’t even been thirty minutes since they left the event, and the entire internet was in an uproar. Expert panels, news flashes—it was everywhere. Who would’ve thought it would have this much impact? Even a hunter from his own guild couldn’t stop replaying that smile in his head.

Seriously, what is going on? Are you not feeling well? The hunter bit back the urge to ask as he pulled into a familiar building. Just then, a man in a black hoodie suddenly leapt out, but the building manager—who had been contacted in advance—intercepted him. Using that moment, they quickly drove into the parking lot, and the entrance was shut behind them. The hunter parked near the elevator and let out a small sigh as he took his hands off the wheel.

When the Guildmaster started acting unlike himself, he thought something might go wrong—but they made it back safely. Now, the rest was up to the Chief. Maybe they would go up together and finish discussing the day’s events. But no—Hwang Jae-i was the first to step out. Ahn Yuna, coming to her senses a beat too late, tried to follow him, but the Guildmaster didn’t give her the chance.

“Guildmaster!”

Panicked, Ahn Yuna pounded both hands on the transparent barrier at the entrance, but Hwang Jae-i didn’t even look back. He stepped into the elevator parked on the basement level and shut the door without once glancing outward.

As the doors closed swiftly, Hwang Jae-i finally let out a short breath. Then he noticed the heavy shopping bag in his hand.

It was full of the desserts Ahn Yuna had prepared to try to keep him in a good mood. He hadn’t listened to any of her chatter, but this—this wasn’t nothing. It was the price he’d earned for doing something he didn’t want to do. As he stared at the weighty shopping bag filled with all sorts of treats, the elevator doors opened and he stepped out.

Quiet. Only upon entering a familiar space did the tension in his muscles begin to ease.

It had been another chaotic day. People following him everywhere, the noise, the lights, the eyes. But today had been a little different. All it took was raising the corners of his mouth, and everyone froze in astonishment. That was amusing in its own way. It had even brought a few moments of rare silence.

But that brief reprieve hadn’t lasted. The moment Kim Wi opened his mouth, everyone erupted into a frenzy. Recalling the way his eardrums had buzzed, Hwang Jae-i gently tapped his ears with the palm of his hand, letting out a hollow laugh.

He didn’t need to check to know the entire tone surrounding him had shifted. All from a single smile. Just lifting the corners of his lips—barely—and everything had changed so drastically.

He knew this was what people called strategy, diplomacy. That he didn’t need to react to everything. That he should stop scowling even when he was alone. He’d heard those words often. He understood them in his head—but his body just wouldn’t follow. Everything simply felt unpleasant and dissatisfying.

Standing in front of his front door, Jae-i pulled the handle open. He entered with deliberate noise, kicking off his shoes and stepping inside—only to freeze. He blinked several times, but nothing in his field of view changed.