After the Storm Subsides (2)
The internet was in an uproar. As I scrolled down, more than half the headlines featured Beltsmets or Teika Cooper.
Teika was no stranger to attention—coughing once could land him on the 9 o'clock news. But this level of scrutiny?
His image had never been turned into such a joke before.
"You're not pissed, right?"
Oh Seung-woo, the man asking me that, watched Teika shrug.
"Nah. It's weirder that my image ever got this good to begin with."
Contrary to his public persona, Teika Cooper was just your average 21-year-old guy. A bit scatterbrained, endlessly curious, sleepy, whiny.
But this average guy had the power to flick a finger and wipe an island off the map, if not a whole continent.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't block the articles at all..."
Oh Seung-woo kept glancing at Teika nervously. Frankly, he felt apologetic yet wronged.
He'd arrived here chasing after Teika the moment he'd vanished. He'd assumed the Evrika subjugation would fail. No matter how amazing Teika was, he was still just a 21-year-old hunter.
All he could hope for was that Teika returned in one piece.
Then the sandstorm vanished, and Oh Seung-woo thought:
He screwed up big time.
But this time, it was a good screw-up.
His head spun at the unexpected windfall. Soon, it filled with the resolve not to waste this golden opportunity. He called the reporters.
That's right.
A welcoming crowd awaited Teika—not just fans, but a horde of journalists ready to break the story.
Which meant the moment Beltsmets snatched the mana core from Teika's hands was captured perfectly on film.
As far as Oh Seung-woo knew, that's why Teika seemed so down—because that embarrassing scene was now immortalized for the world.
"I don't care about me. The problem's those guys. If anything, they didn't wrong me at all."
"You mean that seriously?"
"Yeah. My agency might say I got played by them, but without those guys, the subjugation wouldn't have happened."
Teika had tried to tell the reporters swarming him the truth. If Oh Seung-woo hadn't desperately clamped his mouth shut, the public would've heard something close to the facts—instead of what circulated now.
But Oh Seung-woo, tasked with crafting the image of America's hyperactive hope, Teika Cooper, instinctively silenced him.
And that's how he learned the truth of that day.
A truth he still couldn't fully believe.
"Those guys helped with the subjugation...?"
"Yep. And I wasn't robbed of that mana core—I gave it to them."
"We cannot say that. It'd look like you collaborated with villains."
Unlike Teika, who saw Beltsmets in a positive light, Oh Seung-woo snapped back to reality. Everything he'd dug up on them after hearing the truth screamed villain.
He couldn't let Teika get branded as a villain collaborator. Better to be the idiot who got duped and lost a top-grade monster's mana core to villains.
"Besides, we don't even know if they're good people. They might've come there just to use you."
"Hmm. The US government didn't even know I was heading to Australia, but those guys did? Their intel must be insane."
Even as Teika's tone dripped with sarcasm, Oh Seung-woo advised him gravely.
"They're villains. You can't get involved with them."
He showed Teika their alleged crimes, but Teika wondered if they were really that bad.
Stealing from an auction? Fine. Raiding a human experimentation lab and kidnapping kids? That sounds good for the kids, right?
Oh Seung-woo claimed they tricked and used him, but Teika didn't buy it. They hadn't even known who he was until he spoke up. Far from using him, they'd been considerate.
They'd set night watch rotations, shared food. Their leader even stuck by his side, chatting nonstop to keep him from feeling left out.
Their leader had introduced himself as Lee Seung-jun. Probably a fake name and face, but his skills were real.
He'd sized up the monster's status in seconds, judged it, and devised a strategy. That kind of talent was rare. Or rather, it was skill honed by effort.
Not that his innate talents weren't exceptional.
Water, earth, lightning, wind...
Teika had spotted four abilities. Hiding that much mana use without batting an eye wasn't easy.
He kept it secret to spare the man extra scrutiny.
Sure, people called them major villains, but to Teika Cooper's eyes, their crimes were minor.
Villains from some backwater Asian nation. Bluntly, if Teika himself stepped in, he could erase them in a blink.
"Ah, still a shame. Should've invited them to the US more firmly."
Oh Seung-woo's face paled at those words, unleashing a tirade that lasted ages, but Teika's mind didn't change.
"Man, when things go wrong, they really go wrong like this."
I should've kept my distance from the start, knowing it was that Teika. Snag the mana core and split immediately. No waving bye-bye, no casually requesting rescue.
"Misjudged the situation. Sorry. My bad."
Han Seohyun jumped at my apology.
"Why should you apologize, Boss? It's all that bastard's fault! He must've called his crew ahead of time!"
His grudge against Teika ran deep—enough to impress even me with his single-minded venom.
I'd told them blaming others over myself in tough times was healthier, but this was overkill.
Anyway, no time for chatter now.
I gritted my teeth at the monster barreling toward us. I conjured an ice spear with mana.
As the monster impaled on my spear collapsed, a shadow flickered behind it. I scowled.
"Damn it."
We survived in the wild for a full fortnight until the public's interest faded.
We could return to Korea because the farce starring Beltsmets had run its course.
They'd fixated on hunter Teika Cooper, not Korea's Beltsmets.
Still, it wasn't easy. Our entry IDs were burned.
We had to change faces all over again.
Han Seohyun and I had masks, but Kim Jaeho was the issue.
After much convincing, we finally cut his precious long bangs he'd guarded so fiercely.
Went for a drastic makeover while at it. Kim Jaeho ground his teeth at his reflection, clearly displeased.
To me, it suited him perfectly. The scars? Plenty, but they didn't detract—his face was handsome enough to ignore them.
No exaggeration: finer lines than Han Seohyun, whose growth spurt wasn't done, and way more "hot guy" than my own "shady" vibe.
"You look great. What's the problem?"
"Head feels too chilly. No hair like this—head's too exposed."
"Bald guys would kill you for saying that."
After all the hassle, we made it back to Korea. We'd spent the last three days flat out, doing nothing.
Even I, who never skipped training them, declared rest and crashed.
Truth was, I was too drained to even push the kids.
Those two weeks in Australia were brutal.
We nearly died multiple times.
No matter how strong we were, Australia's post-gate break environment wasn't survivable for humans.
When food ran out, I seriously considered eating monsters.
And now, back in this world, we'd become the scum who backstabbed a 7-star hunter.
Villains who even fleeced America's hope.
Beltsmets needed infamy, sure—but this was over the top.
Hmm, how to handle this excess notoriety...
Whatever. Rest first.
The mana core before me gleamed.
Dealing with it could wait.
I was exhausted.
"Still no progress finding that bastard?"
Choi In-hyeok stubbed out his cigarette butt. All leisure was gone.
The message came from the one person he least wanted seeing it.
Kim Du-sik trembled, his ugly face sweating bullets.
"I-I looked, boss! But it's not just us— the whole country's hunting him, every cop on his tail."
"And?"
"Still no catch, that fucker. Probably fled overseas..."
"Overseas or wherever—find him, shit!"
He hadn't wanted to rage like this, but now it was pride. Another mocking from Baek Dosan, and he'd hang himself.
"Money's no object—mobilize everyone. Or does this punk have no friends?"
"Uh, we found one."
"Then drag that fucker in!"
"A-grade hunter with Red Dog Guild."
Choi In-hyeok's excitement deflated instantly.
"Ah."
Couldn't touch that heavyweight.
But sitting idle meant more mockery from Baek Dosan. Rubbing his face, Choi In-hyeok said:
"Gotta meet him. Who knows? Maybe he's hiding his buddy."
A small-time debtor dodging nationwide heat? Suspicious. Red Dog ties made sense.
Problem: not someone you just "meet."
"Gonna squeeze that hunter for cash?"
130 million, now nearing 170 with interest. Big for normals, pocket change for a Red Dog A-grade.
Choi In-hyeok shook his head.
"Nah. Gonna hunt down Kang Ishin myself and shake him down."
From start to finish, that bastard had lied about everything but his name.
"That low-frequency bullshit."
Even his talent was a lie!
Learning it was literally Lie had crushed him.
"I'll collect from him direct. Every damn penny of interest."
And at that moment, the target of someone's seething curse, Kang Ishin, was utterly oblivious.
"Why's my ear itching? Gimme an earpick."
That 130 million from ages ago didn't even register in his head.