Weekend, morning.
Kang-Joon didn’t have any close friends, nor family. Recently the only times his phone rang were caused by mobile games, which he mistakenly downloaded, sending him promotional messages like “log-in now to collect 20 Ruby”, Seol Yeong was the only person who sent him messages.
[The company car will be used by Mr. Kang-Joon in the future. The key is at your desk so take it later. There is nothing to worry about about insurance, Team Leader Song will handle all of it.]
After scouting the Magical Girl and extorting devices worth 800 million won (~800,000USD) Seol Yeong’s trust in Kang-Joon shot up to the sky. That was the reason he suddenly had an imported car. Kang-Joon enjoyed the corporate lifestyle quite a bit. The low number of people meant that there was almost no hierarchy, and he enjoyed the part where he could act like half-friends with the president.
‘Should I raise Hero Management instead?’
After he talked about creating a company with Seol Yeong, he realized that it was quite a troublesome task. How many documents one needs to prepare; what insurance to choose; how many administrative matter one had to know. Kang-Joon realized creating a company wasn’t as easy as he thought.
And also, he found out that the administration of most of that sort of administrative work was handled by team leader Song who just slept everyday.
Most of all, Kang-Joon was currently in a dilemma. If he developed Hero Management itself and later, when he established his own, all of his efforts until then would go down the drain. He would be back to square one.
Working at a company to get to know the industry, and ending up helping it was rather nonsensical. But Kang-Joon was always a hardworking person like that. Doing sincerely what work he must, and doing whatever was necessary in the immediate moment.
Be it developing Hero Management and taking over it later, stealing it’s manpower, or starting a new management from scratch, all of that belonged to the future. As always, no one knew Choi Kang-Joon genuine aim.
In many ways, Kang-Joon’s start-up is still far away in the future, and for now he should first focus on his work developing Hero Management sincerely. They still didn’t possess a proper hunter team yet, and he must get to know how they are faring in other areas than hunting.
-Ziiin!
His cell phone rang as he received a message. This time too the sender was Seol Yeong.
[Mr. Kang-Joon, we should now create our proper hunting team, right? Monday two weeks from now will be the completion ceremony of the Korean Branch of the Temple. It would be good if we could rope-in a Knight there. We have a total of 3 sets of equipment. If we can at least get 2 more persons we should be able to run our first hunting team.]
[Oh, that sounds good.]
[In that case you and I will have to go to YangPyeong on monday so I called to let you know.]
[Okay.]
[Then go rest. Sorry for contacting you on your day off.]
And with that the call came to an end. Kang-Joon fell into his thoughts.
Every year new Knights would graduate from the Knight Temple and join the Hunter circle in droves. The Knight Temple itself was an organization funded entirely by the UN, which had grown in scale ever since the Great Disappearance. They looked for people who had talent to become a Knight, and trained them.
After finishing it, the graduates can become Templars under UN or choose to become a Knight. Templars are those without worldly desires who wander the world’s dangerous areas for the sole objective of protecting others, and Knights had many choices, such as deciding to sign a contract with a management company, or becoming a freelancer.
Naturally, there were many people who choose to become a Knight over a Templar. However, there
were still many that chose to become Templars as a result of Knight Education or body modification process.
And the graduation ceremony was where they will evaluate the level of the graduates and also the moment each and every one of them will decide which way they would go.
And, that graduation ceremony is precisely monday after next week. Obviously, Knights taking their first steps preferred affiliating themselves to a management rather than hunting alone, being taken care of until they were able to throw out their newbie badge, while managements always required new Hunters so each party needed the other.
Kang-Joon had no knowledge of that system, and Seol Yeong had enthusiastically told him about it.
‘I now know something I didn’t before.’
Kang-Joon had experienced attending a completion ceremony in the past, the memories he had of it was of observing a sacred ceremony. However, it had now become a place where management scouter were everywhere.
Next week would be period management and Knights meet each other, which would be one week earlier than the graduation ceremony where they decide which path they will walk in the future.
A hunting team required a minimum of 3 members. Of course, Awaken and Mutants possess their own diverse abilities and as such have their own appropriate battle formations. But, the most important pieces were the Knights. Knights were fundamentally more efficient than most other units. They were indispensable since their strong bodies could defend attacks or easily fend them off, which in turn, allowed for more stable formations.
Therefore, a good Knight was considered indispensable in a hunter team.
Even though Kang-Joon didn’t have a bad eye for Knights, he knew an expert in the area. He called somewhere with his cellphone. And, after beeping for a moment, somebody answered.
[Hey. It is been a long while Kang-Joon.]
“Hey. What are you doing?”
[I just received a massage moments ago. I am in a hotel.]
“Where are you?”
[Rio.]
“Busy?”
“No, I intend to relax since i did one big one last time. Why?]
“I need to get a Knight, and I need to borrow your eyes.”
[… you want to use a major manpower like me on merely checking some baby chicks?]
“That is just an excuse, it is being a long time since we saw each other.”
[In that case you should come to me. Why do I have to go to you?]
“As you can see, I am an office worker, and you are a freelancer right? Help me just this once.”
[Shut up, you don’t even come to the Union nowadays, and you are looking or friendship? Also I am not a freelancer now. I found myself a management.]
“Union… I’m not sure right now.”
[Oh, I don’t know. I have being bored these days.. Anyway, if I go when should I leave?”
“The sooner the better. Will the management not care?”
[At my level, that doesn’t matter. Just buy me something delicious.”
“I shall provide the best of the best services, Ma’am.”
[F*ck you.]
Kang-Joon hung up his phone, the phone had [Maria] written on it. Thinking about Maria’s real name for a moment Kang-Joon chuckled alone.
And that night,
“Hey.”
Kang-Joon met a blonde woman wearing sunglasses, tight jeans and a white T-shirt at Sillim Station. Kang-Joon gazed at her speechless.
“… How come you already arrived?”
“Why? You told me to. That’s why I’m here early. Uh, why are there so many people around?”
All the passers-by took sidelong glances at the tall and attractive Maria. Maria had a good style, and even though all she had on was single pair of uni-color sneakers and a single pair of sunglasses, it all suited her. Maria’s luggage consisted only of a metallic carrier. Kang-Joon was speechless and asked.
“No, No… That… How did you arrive so soon like this?”
“This noona has a private plane.”
“Private plane?”
“Yeah, the management gave it to me. So I immediately took the ride over.”
“That’s crazy.”
Kang-Joon was entirely incapable of speaking after that words. He heard she found a management, but he couldn’t imagine that the management would give out a private plane for a single person.
Maria was affiliated to Christlene, an international super-management. That management was so excessively big that it supervised some dangerous countries as UN proxy.
Maria was a manpower that was sent to events equal to or above S-rank. As such, even the that private plane possessed the finest airframe and latest core engine. That is to say, it could be used on leisure trips but also on hired missions.
Kang-Joon looked at Maria, and wondered if this was still the same person that, like him, rolled around on the floor, covered in dirt just a few years ago.
“Suddenly I get this feeling you and I are so far apart.”
“If we look only at your skill we aren’t that far apart, though?”
“Image is everything in this world.”
S-ranks Knights were a very strong workforce, and moreover Maria was special even among S-rank Knights. As such Maria was eligible to receive special treatment. High rank Hunters received a huge contract deposit simply by entering a management, and were able to live a luxurious life without even using a penny of their own, just like Maria was right now.
But to think she would receive such treatment immediately after joining that international management company…
It would be a lie to say Kang-Joon didn’t think about winning over Maria, but that thoughts quickly collapsed, not to mention buying a private plane right now, it a wonder whether Hero Management could afford her a car.
“Let’s see what kind of party Choi Kang-Joon has prepared for me, shall we?”
Kang-Joon couldn’t possibly say to the excited Maria that he only had ramen on his house. Once Kang-Joon brought her to his studio, Maria frowned as soon as she came inside his room.
“Kang-Joon. What is this?”
“What?”
“What sort of extreme hobby do you have?”
“Why?”
“Why are you obstinate in living in this sort of place?”
“What do you mean a place like this?”
“No, you know you have a lot of money. More than I do… Why are you living in a studio?
Maria’s doubt was valid. There were many Hunters who earned a lot through a single hunt, and Kang-Joon too had quite a lot of money. As such she couldn’t understand Kang-Joon living in a studio like this. Maria sighed seeing Kang-Joon wouldn’t reply.
“Haa, forget that. Since there is no changing it does that mean you and I are going to sleep here together tonight?”
Maria said as though she gave up.
“You… Lived in Korea for 1 year and then turned in a perfect player…
“5678.”
“Uh?”
But Kang-Joon muttered something, and hearing the words Maria tilted her head.
“5678.”
“What is that?”
“The password from the house in-front.”
“That… Why?”
Kang-Joon took out a blanket from the wardrobe and suddenly threw it at Maria.
“Here, it is the front room.”
“Eh, Eh?”
“This is an office building.”
Maria didn’t free herself from the stupor caused by those words for a while. She only stared at Kang-Joon blankly while hugging her blanket.
The studio in Sillim-Dong.
This four-storey building only had Kang-Joon living inside.