Chapter 21

The press conference hall, which had been quiet for a moment, was once again filled with the sound of camera shutters due to the appearance of one person. Soram, who arrived almost last, approached the table where a female hunter was sitting.

The female hunter, who was around the same age as Soram, had her black hair tied up high and was scrolling through her cell phone with an indifferent expression. Her physique, dressed in a black suit like Soram, was even smaller than Ayoung, who was a high school student. The screen she was staring at with an aloof expression had the following written on it:

"Ga-eul unnie, every time you throw a punch with that tiny body, I can't tell if it's the concrete wall or my heart that's breaking, hehe."

"Ah, you startled me. You crazy bastard!"

"Hello, my friend Ga-eul. Are you searching your name in the search bar today too?"

"No, I'm not?"

"Then are you going through the fan cafe posts one by one?"

"If you don't want to get hit and fly away in front of the camera, shut up."

Ga-eul whispered while gritting her teeth. It seemed like he had hit the nail on the head. A few cameras captured the angry expression of Kim Ga-eul, the chief of Operations Bureau Team 1, and the nonchalant expression of Jin Soram, the chief of Team 7.

"Even if you see ten praises, if you see one curse and keep dwelling on it, just stop looking. Just ignore it."

"...They keep talking about me, so you don't want to see it? You should search a bit. You're called Dorami. You crazy bastard."

"Ga-eul, when you're around twenty-six, you shouldn't tease your friend with their name."

"Ha..."

Thanks to the netizens who came up with all sorts of nicknames using people's names, hunters who had gained some recognition mostly had numerous nicknames. Among them, there were quite a few nicknames created with mocking and insulting intentions. 'Dorami' was not without such intentions, but honestly... that nickname was also full of truth. At least that's what Ga-eul thought.

There was a time when she envied that personality. Always composed, not looking back even when making mistakes, shameless and relaxed in front of anyone. Yes, in her early 20s, there was a brief period when she simultaneously harbored jealousy and admiration.

But now, no matter how she looked at it, she thought she was much better! Of course, she's better than someone who throws bombs all over the place and ends up in jail. 

Well, I know there's nothing good about my personality either...

"Where's Min-ki?"

"He came, but that loser got caught by someone again."

"Ga-eul. Min-ki may be a loser, but when you're around twenty-six, you shouldn't tease your friend by calling them a loser..."

"Ah, geez!"

In the end, Ga-eul's cell phone, whose temper had risen, did a full swing in front of Soram. Even though Soram quickly dodged, the distance was such that a heavy gust of wind passed right in front of his nose. Thanks to the strength that could shatter a cement road with bare hands, Soram's bangs fluttered.

"Y-you, how can you try to hit a fragile 1st grade with such strength?"

"A 1st grade can still do an interview even if they lose a rib or two, right?"

"Aah, save me!"

"Hey, you two..."

At that moment, someone who had approached the table called out to the two of them. The voice, which was about half the volume of Soram and Ga-eul's, had a slight Busan dialect accent mixed in.

"Jin Soram, Kim Ga-eul. Your voices are too loud... I heard everything, including the part about the loser..."

Seo Min-ki sat on the chair and politely clasped his hands together. His slightly hunched shoulders and small voice revealed his more introverted personality compared to the other two.

"Ah. Did Director Shin hear it too?"

"Yeah. So I'll curse at you once and come back."

"Then there's no choice. Do it."

"Just do it quickly."

If Shin Gi-hyeon, the current number one in the Busan branch, had heard it, there was no choice. He was Seo Min-ki's right arm, left arm, two eyes, and ears, and a mountain-like defensive wall standing in front of the timid Min-ki.

Before being called separately and listening to a speech starting with "You guys...", Min-ki looked at his friends who were gesturing for him to quickly curse once and end it, then he looked at Ga-eul first with narrow eyes.

"An attention seeker who acts cool and then turns around and digs."

"You little... It's harsh today."

Next was Soram's turn.

"A crazy ruffian who does stupid things alone and goes wherever without order."

"...I feel like crying."

It was a remark that thoroughly drilled into the heart of the four-time regressor.

After exchanging thumbs-up signs with Director Shin, who was standing a few steps back, indicating that he did well, Min-ki let out a sigh. Even though there was no reason to be discouraged by his tough two friends, he was always overly worried.

Jin Soram, Kim Ga-eul, Seo Min-ki. The three high school students who awakened during the crisis of the 2nd Great Rift 8 years ago had now all become chief hunters. Kim Ga-eul, representing the ground team of the Seoul headquarters, Jin Soram, representing the flight team, and Seo Min-ki, representing the Busan branch.

These three, who had consistently been at the center of attention since their appearance, had become hunters representing the current Republic of Korea with their mid-20s age and diverse activities. The dungeon raids or mock training sessions in which the three participated drew keen interest not only domestically but also from foreign media. Reactions envying the fact that they had three young and strong heroes were also common.

However, perfect heroes only exist in movies. Apart from their astonishing abilities, the three of them had personalities that were a bit off. The ones who knew that best were the three of them themselves.

"But why is your way of speaking so different in Seoul and Busan?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I've been going back and forth so much that now when I cross the Seoul border, my accent automatically changes."

"That's nice. You get automatically patched by region."

The atmosphere of exchanging bland jokes was the same even though it had been a few months since they last met. Ga-eul rested her chin on the table.

"Hey, Jin Soram. What about the new 1st grade who joined your team?"

"Over there. He'll be standing in front of the stage for the first time today, so he'll probably hear various explanations."

"Oh my, it's just the beginning then. You said he's the same age as you. Does he listen well?"

"Han Tae-un ssi isn't the type to have age-related pride or rebel or anything like that."

Even if he didn’t have age-related pride, Ayoung, who was a student, had a hard time at first and kept using honorifics when talking to him. Because he was basically taciturn and stiff. Hearing that, Ga-eul speculated that he had a completely opposite personality from Jin Soram. And Min-ki, who was looking around, asked Soram,

"But why didn't Ayoung come...?"

"Ayoung said she's studying. She's very busy as a high school senior. She said she'll see us during training."

"Oh, our cutie. I'm so impressed that she's growing up properly under this bastard. I should have just insisted and brought her to our team at first."

"What can we do? The director chose me between a guardian with a loose tongue and a guardian addicted to SNS... Ugh!" [TL: SNS, Social networking service]

"I knew he would eventually get hit for being cheeky..."

Soram, who had been picking fights, groaned while holding his waist where a fist had been driven. Without exaggeration, he thought his internal organs would pop out to the other side.

As Soram lay down and trembled, enduring the pain, someone approached him. Han Tae-un, who seemed to be far away, was suddenly standing next to him.

"Ha, Han Tae-un ssi... If, if I suddenly stop breathing, the culprit is Kim Ga-eul. Please make sure to testify."

Tae-un swiftly lifted Soram's shoulder as he lay down. His eyes scanned Soram's body as if examining it. Then he met Soram's eyes, which were slightly raised above his arm.

"...You seem fine."

He put the shoulder back down and turned his head. Soram suddenly felt really wronged. No, even if his personality was different from what he remembered, why did it feel like... the changed part was only harsh towards him? While Soram was groaning and getting up, Ga-eul laughed refreshingly for once.

"Hey, the new chief who came seems like a good person. Hello. I'm Kim Ga-eul. Chief of Team 1."

"I'm Han Tae-un."

"That person over there is Min-ki. Seo Min-ki. He's the chief in the Busan branch."

"Don't call me a kid, call me a person at least... Ah, hello..."

Tae-un pulled out the chair next to Soram and sat down. Leaving Soram aside, the other three hunters introduced themselves in a friendly manner. Soram raised his head while exhaling an angry breath.

"Kim Ga-eul, the next time you go down to the guard floor, it will be because I reported you..."

"You're talking nonsense again. Do you know who I am? I have no criminal record, you know?"

"...Huh?"

Soram widened his eyes in genuine surprise this time. As Ga-eul and Soram were both affiliated with the headquarters, they often ran into each other in their previous lives. Although he didn't remember every single action, in the past, definitely...

"You've never been to the guard floor?"

"Of course not."

"Why?"

The Ga-eul in his memory was a regular at the guard floor. To the extent that Soram's current record was nothing. 'If she suddenly becomes unreachable one day, it means she's on the guard floor' was actually the image of Ga-eul in her previous life.

Such Ga-eul confidently puffed out her chest.

"What do you mean why? Because unlike you, I lived diligently and kindly."

"..."

"...Look at that bastard, making sleepy eyes again when he hears something he doesn't like."

No. This was something his mind couldn't comprehend.

The predetermined future changed when Soram's altered behavior had an influence. However, he couldn't bring about as much change to Ga-eul as he did to Ayoung, who was on the same team.

In her previous life, Ga-eul had consistently had a poor relationship with the Reconnaissance Bureau. Originally, there were quite a few hunters in the Operations Bureau who had a subtle confrontational atmosphere, disregard, and superiority complex towards the Reconnaissance Bureau. Among them, Ga-eul was somewhat more severe. To the extent that some in the Reconnaissance Bureau, who designated the dispatch locations, would occasionally take petty revenge on Ga-eul.

Ga-eul would get angry and overturn it, and that conflict was mostly the reason for her ending up on the guard floor. Related vicious rumors spread from the inside to the outside, driving the mentality of Ga-eul, who was under a lot of stress due to her reputation and image.

According to Soram's memory, around this time, an irreversible major incident would occur, so he had planned to intervene then, but...

"Ga-eul, do you get along well with the person in charge of the Reconnaissance Bureau?"

"What's with the sudden question? Ah, come to think of it, the person in charge of our team changed recently. It was better before the change, but it's not bad now either. In the first place, we rarely have to face each other anyway."

"..."

Soram thought a little more, then soon gave up. Anyway, since he had done so many strange things in this life, there must have been many incidents that he had unknowingly passed by. Among them, there might be one or two causes of change. He had no motivation to dig into things that had changed for the better.

"It's good if you don't cause accidents. Keep living kindly and don't go to the guard floor."

"You should do well too."

"Stop searching your name on the internet..."

"Okay, I won't!"

Ga-eul put down her cell phone altogether. In the meantime, the tables were now completely filled, and an employee from the PR department came out as the moderator.

"We will now begin the regular press conference of the Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters for the first half of 2023. Director Kim Won-cheol, please come in."