015 - Interview
Lee Jiyeon's small head went blank. She couldn't grasp the meaning of what she'd just heard.
Doing well is the problem? I hope you fail?
Is this the same guy talking as before?
Jin Baek-hyeon's expression didn't change. Still that mild smile.
But something lurking beneath that smile struck at Jiyeon's instincts.
A chill ran down the girl's spine.
"To be honest, I thought you'd just die cleanly."
Jin Baek-hyeon said it casually.
Leaning back comfortably against the sofa, sipping his coffee like it was everyday chit-chat.
"Well, since the experiment succeeded, no need for you to die, but I was hoping you'd at least lose your combat ability. Who knew you'd figure out something like aura?"
The air in the director's office shifted.
Jiyeon's fingers unconsciously clenched into fists on her lap.
"...What are you talking about, Director?"
"Director, could you explain in more detail?"
Jo Jeong-ah jumped in right away, clearly surprised.
Jin Baek-hyeon leisurely looked between the two of them.
"Jeong-ah, you know what kind of guy Lee Chang is, right?"
"Pardon?"
"He's infamous for his non-awakener hate speech, treating Hunter Agency officials like shit, and just being a rotten personality overall. Did a few days together make you fond of him or something?"
"That's... um."
Jo Jeong-ah couldn't continue.
Her face showed she couldn't deny or affirm it.
"... ."
Jiyeon said nothing. Or rather, she couldn't.
It was all true.
Had she ever looked down on non-awakeners? Yeah.
One way to vent her inferiority complex toward true awakeners was picking fights with random non-awakener civilians and watching their reactions.
Out of a hundred, all a hundred just averted their eyes meekly, so it never escalated. She thought of it as harmless fun.
Treated Hunter Agency officials like shit? Obviously.
She could never get along with those bastards. Personal reasons.
Bad personality? She admitted it herself. Yeah, it sucked.
But honestly, you had to grow up in that environment.
Still, was all that worth an S-rank hunter bringing it up personally?
There were way worse A-rank assholes strutting around—over something this minor...?
Jiyeon felt genuinely wronged. Jin Baek-hyeon continued.
"You know what I hate most? Muddying the waters."
His voice carried a hint of anger.
"I can't protect the world alone. Even Sentinels have limits. So I have to let hunters run wild to some extent, but then there are these thorns in my side who overdo it. Right?"
Only then did Jiyeon start piecing together what he meant.
What he truly valued wasn't personal grudges—it was the order he'd meticulously built over decades.
Lee Chang wasn't destroying that order, but he was annoying enough to grate on it.
"I was thrilled when I heard he got beat down by that magical girl last time, and now he's become one himself...."
Jin Baek-hyeon chuckled softly.
"The world sure is funny. Miss Jiyeon."
"...What do you want from me?"
Jiyeon cautiously opened her mouth.
By now, the S-rank hunter's presence enveloped and pressed down on the girl.
Unlike Yoo Hayeon's raw display before, it was precisely controlled.
Jo Jeong-ah felt no pressure at all because of it.
"What I want? Of course I have expectations."
Jin Baek-hyeon's reply was straightforward.
"Don't act like you used to."
Jiyeon shut her mouth.
"You were annoying before, but you never crossed the real line, so I didn't bother hunting you down. But now that you're in my outfit, if you keep being a nuisance, I might actually discipline you."
"...Discipline me?"
The girl's voice rose slightly.
"Yeah. How should I do it...."
Jin Baek-hyeon rubbed his chin and tilted his head.
"Spank your butt? That's how kids grow up, right? Though it'd be weird for a guy like me, so maybe leave it to Jeong-ah."
"Eek."
"Pardon?"
Jiyeon's face twisted, and Jo Jeong-ah reacted like she'd misheard.
The girl probed tentatively.
"You're joking, right?"
"Who knows? If you're curious, test it out. See what happens."
Playful tone, but a firm warning lay beneath.
This man meant it even in jest.
Or rather, he wrapped his sincerity in jokes....
Jiyeon let out a short breath.
"...I'll do my best not to cause any trouble."
In the end, she chose submission.
With this body, she had no reason to pick fights with non-awakeners anyway, and the Hunter Agency officials... she'd just endure.
Jin Baek-hyeon finished his last sip of coffee and set the cup down.
"Music to my ears. I trust you'll keep that promise at the academy too."
"Yes. Of course... Wait, what?"
Jiyeon nodded, then froze.
"The Central Academy?"
"Yeah. You have to go, right?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. You."
"Why?"
"You're a true awakener, and nominally 17 years old, aren't you?"
What the fuck is this bullshit?
Jiyeon's face twisted openly this time, unable to hide her emotions.
Jin Baek-hyeon ignored her reaction and began explaining.
"All minor true awakeners 17 and older in Humanity Alliance registered nations must enroll in the Central Academy and complete the regular education program. Only then do they get their hunter license."
"What??"
Come to think of it, that Russian nickname in the Magical Girl Gallery had mentioned it in passing.
Something about pretending to be 17 to get sent to the academy.
She'd brushed it off back then, but that's what it meant?
"It's been in effect for at least five years—how do you not know?"
After 2035, in the stabilization era, she barely watched news, so yeah, she didn't know.
And her next thought was how they came up with all sorts of nonsense now that things were stable.
During the Cataclysm, they drafted everyone regardless of anything and threw them into battle. Now with "stability," they pulled this?
No fighting unless you're an adult? Hilarious.
Hunters worldwide probably didn't agree easily—what the hell happened?
But she couldn't voice that inner turmoil.
Jiyeon scratched her cheek and spoke up.
"Um, so... Director? You know my actual age is... ."
"Call me Director. We're not close enough for 'senior' yet."
Jiyeon flinched and corrected herself.
"Yes, of course. Director. Anyway, you know I'm really in my mid-30s...?"
"So?"
She hated how he asked even though he knew what she meant.
Jiyeon struggled to keep her expression neutral and continued.
"Can't you make an exception...? At my age, how am I supposed to hang with kids... ."
"You want me to break the rules I made?"
Fuck, you made them?
This guy made the Sentinels, the Hunter Network, and even got involved in founding the academy?
On top of being director. How busy was he?
While Jiyeon floundered, Jin Baek-hyeon nailed it shut.
"Absolutely not."
Was it her imagination, or did the man's face hold some inexplicable amusement?
"Especially you—you didn't even finish elementary school, right? No high school equivalency either."
"Hey, I was busy hunting—why bother with equivalency tests...? It's only been how long since the world got back on track?"
"I got it back on track. To weed out ill-mannered hunters like you."
She couldn't argue.
Humanity recovering civilization in just 20 years after all that chaos was undoubtedly thanks to outliers like Jin Baek-hyeon.
More precisely, because those outliers stayed as heroes to lead humanity.
What if Lee Chang had been in that position?
Even Jiyeon would scoff at the joke.
"...Haa...."
In the end, all she could utter was a sigh.
As Jiyeon fell silent, out of words, Jin Baek-hyeon pointed a finger toward the window side.
Where the Sentinel still stood motionless.
"Hey, Lee Chang. In your opinion, why do we need those things?"
Black exoskeleton and glowing red eyes.
Jiyeon glanced at it and answered.
"For public safety, right? To take down major criminals...."
"Exactly. To keep the uneducated hunter scum in check, we need stuff like that."
Cynicism edged Jin Baek-hyeon's voice.
"It's been over 20 years since the world went to shit. Among the young hunters working now, the ones properly educated are rare. Most grew up learning only how to fight— you know better than anyone how arrogant they are, Lee Chang."
Yeah, she knew too well.
Going around picking fights like it was breakfast, acting like thugs, yet thinking, 'At least I'm better than those other guys.'
And the black hunters outside civilized zones....
Lee Chang had fought those bastards as much as monsters.
"That's why it's mandatory. Especially for true awakeners who'll become powerful B-rank or higher—we want them properly taught and raised."
"... ."
Jiyeon suddenly met Jin Baek-hyeon's gaze.
His eyes were different from hers.
Something beyond mere will. Something neither Lee Chang nor Jiyeon possessed.
Like conviction, maybe.
"Don't hate it too much—just close your eyes and give it a shot. I'll keep your secret."
His words sounded like coaxing a stubborn kid.
Jiyeon swallowed dozens of unspoken rebuttals and refusals.
The mood didn't allow it.
What she finally spat out was her second surrender.
"...It's not like actual high school, right? Three years would be way too much."
Jin Baek-hyeon smirked, like her worry was ridiculous.
"Don't worry. There are early graduation requirements. Look into it later."
Tok.
Jin Baek-hyeon slapped his knee once and stood.
The interview was over.
"Alright then, Miss Jiyeon? That's settled. Enrollment's March 1st, so prepare."
"...Yes."
Jiyeon's reply was curt.
She had no energy left for more words.
Jin Baek-hyeon turned to Jo Jeong-ah next, his tone softening even more.
"Help her out like you have been, Jeong-ah. Glad you two get along. But take it easy, got it?"
"You're such a worrier, Director. I know."
Jo Jeong-ah smiled like she had on the way in, then left the office with Jiyeon.
On the way back.
In the silence, Jo Jeong-ah spoke first.
"Hunter Lee Chang, I don't really mind."
"Just call me Jiyeon like always. And why don't you care? You're the weird one."
Jiyeon grumbled pointlessly.
Jo Jeong-ah just smiled and replied.
"There are people who are truly evil at heart and people who just suck at expressing themselves. I think you're the latter, Jiyeon. That's all."
"Jeez. What even... ."
Must be the bookworm in her—talking all complicated.
It was dinnertime by then. Jiyeon ate with Jo Jeong-ah.
Back in her private room, Jiyeon mulled over the conversation with Jin Baek-hyeon.
It just stressed her out more.
Lying on the bed, she punched the pillow like it was an enemy, then suddenly thought of something else.
'Gallery... .'
If something was gonna piss her off, better not think about it at all.
Jiyeon flopped down flat and opened the system window.
There were a ton of notifications waiting.
Her finger tapped them as if drawn by magic.