The Birth of the Typhoon
• Lee Taepyeong Rejects All Guild Offers to Establish 'New Guild'
• 'Typhoon Guild': The Beginning of the Greatest One-Man Guild in History?
• A Real-Life 'Unjust Deal'... Will the GR Guild Face Sanctions?
• Shortage in Tower Byproduct Distribution... GR Group Left Stamping Their Feet
"The articles are just pouring in."
On the television, on my phone—everywhere I looked, it was nothing but news about the Typhoon Guild.
Go Juhee was supposed to handle this side of things...
Well, it's certainly a flashy start.
Though, for Go Juhee, this was probably the obvious move.
She needed to make a powerful impression on the GR Group.
It wasn't bad for me either.
Since I had gone as far as setting up a guild, I needed to make a strong impression as well.
Not that it would be easy.
But with the Hunter Administration Office's support, and the other guilds being friendly, things were progressing smoothly.
Especially since the GR Guild and GR Group had built up so much ill will all over the place. As their counterweight, we were quietly reaping the benefits.
"Ah, seriously!"
School bullying? What school bullying!
I was about to type a furious reply, but—
—Leave this side of things to me.
Go Juhee's words flashed through my mind, and I stopped.
"Sigh, seriously..."
Honestly, it was true that a lot of hunters had school violence controversies.
But I really wasn't one of them!
The injustice of it was killing me.
Should I track down who this bastard is?
"..."
No.
What would I even do if I found out?
It's not like I could go over and punch them in the face.
If the issue got any bigger, Go Juhee would handle it.
More importantly, what I needed to focus on right now was...
My team members.
Right.
I had dropped some hints, but it was better to make things official.
We can just run the tower together light-heartedly and talk it over, right?
Besides, my body was feeling stiff after resting for a few days.
"Sangjin, could you contact the team members for me?"
"Yes, sir. Right away."
Crack!
Whoosh!
Thud!
The sounds of skeletons shattering echoed loudly.
Bone fragments scattered in every direction.
And, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, platinum boxes dropped.
The 30s floors are a breeze now...
In particular, our clear speed had gotten even faster after Baek Harim joined.
To the point where gold boxes didn't even drop anymore.
I couldn't believe how quickly everyone was growing.
Click.
High-grade items materialized in everyone's hands.
"..."
"..."
"..."
However, the team members' expressions weren't as bright as before.
How should I put it? The atmosphere felt somewhat depressed.
"Ahem..."
I cleared my throat and stole a glance at everyone.
"...Should we head back now?"
Cha Yerin muttered quietly as our eyes met.
"W-wait a minute!"
At my words, everyone snapped their heads toward me.
They hesitated.
Their faces were filled with questions they wanted to ask but couldn't bring themselves to.
"The reason I gathered you all today is because there's something I want to tell you..."
At my words, the expressions of the three grew even gloomier.
Cha Yerin avoided my gaze entirely, while Woo Jumin hung his head low.
At least Baek Harim looked at me and spoke up.
"We already know what you're going to say."
Baek Harim wore a bitter smile.
What on earth was with this atmosphere?
This was not the vibe I had envisioned at all!
"Don't worry about the party. We'll ask Kang Mina to match us with a new dealer..."
Huh? A new dealer? What was he talking about?!
"...We might all end up scattering, but I will never forget what you've done for us, Taepyeong."
Cha Yerin spoke in a calm, or rather, emotionally suppressed voice.
Wait, wait, wait! There was definitely a misunderstanding here!
Grab!
Suddenly, Woo Jumin lunged forward and hugged me with all his might.
"Hyung, I'll do really well, so please take me with you too!"
What was with this dialogue that was practically begging to be misunderstood?!
"W-wait, hold on a second!"
I hurriedly pried Woo Jumin off me and looked at the three of them with a flustered face.
From Cha Yerin and Baek Harim, who looked as if they already knew everything, to Woo Jumin, who was on the verge of tears.
"I think you guys are misunderstanding something..."
"I saw the news too!"
"W-what news?"
"That you made a one-man guild, Hyung!"
So that was it.
"Well..."
I calmly began to explain.
"Half of that is right, and half of it is wrong."
At my words, a look of confusion crossed their faces.
"What do you mean by that?"
Cha Yerin asked, her voice uncharacteristically anxious.
I let out a deep sigh.
"It's true that I created a guild."
"..."
"But it's wrong that it's a one-man guild."
"...!"
As if a light switch had been flipped, the faces of the three instantly brightened.
"Does that mean..."
At Baek Harim's words, I nodded.
"Yes. If you all join the Typhoon Guild..."
"I'm in!"
Before I could even finish my sentence, Woo Jumin shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I can do really, really well! I'll do whatever you tell me to do!"
No, saying you'll do whatever you're told is a bit dangerous.
"...Hyung doesn't have a hobby of making unfair contracts, Jumin."
Baek Harim chuckled at that.
Cha Yerin's stiff expression finally softened as well.
"We thought... we thought this was the end..."
"How could that be?"
"Still..."
"You're the people who gathered here at my request. I have to take responsibility for you until the end."
"..."
"Of course, only if you're okay with it."
If they preferred being free agents or wanted to remain affiliated with the Administration Office, I had no intention of forcing them.
But if they trusted me and came to the Typhoon Guild,
I fully intended to take responsibility for them until the very end.
"I'd love to."
Cha Yerin nodded with a gentle smile.
"You're my savior. Of course I'm following you."
And then Baek Harim.
"Uh, you guys can take some time to think it over more carefully..."
Now that everyone was agreeing so readily as if they had been waiting for this, it actually felt a bit pressuring.
"I said I'm in, Hyung!"
Woo Jumin grinned widely.
"Ah, seriously! I thought I was going to be left all alone again...!"
"Why would that happen?"
I ruffled Woo Jumin's hair.
In a way, Jumin was someone I had personally discovered, so I felt more protective of him.
Whether a minor hunter could join a guild might be an issue,
but the Administration Office would likely take my side.
"It won't be immediately. There are still a lot of issues to resolve."
"Sure, we're fine, so let's do it whenever you feel ready."
Baek Harim nodded.
He seemed to have a rough idea of how things were playing out.
"Thanks for understanding. I'll prepare the contracts as soon as the situation settles down."
"I'm down to sign right now!"
"Kid, no matter how excited you are, there's still a process."
I grinned and gave Jumin a light flick on the forehead.
The guild was currently in disarray in many ways.
It was only right to sign the contracts after things were somewhat organized.
For example, our relationship with GR. Things like that.
If things didn't go as planned, being associated with the Typhoon Guild could end up becoming a stigma for these three.
"If there are any conditions you want, I'll do my best to accommodate them, so think about it."
"Oh, come on. I'm sure our Guild Leader will take good care of us."
"Whoa, what if I scam you?"
When Cha Yerin spoke playfully, I replied in the same tone.
Cha Yerin thought for a moment, then smiled brightly.
"Then I guess I'll just get scammed."
"...If you say it like that, it just makes me look like the bad guy."
"Hahaha."
We spent quite a while chatting warmly about the new guild before heading back.
Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz.
And as soon as we returned, my phone began to vibrate like crazy.
Go Juhee
The caller was none other than Go Juhee.
What was going on all of a sudden?
"Hello?"
"Lee Taepyeong. No, Guild Leader."
"What's going..."
"You need to come to the guild headquarters immediately."
"Right now?"
"Yes. A car is already waiting for you."
It seemed she didn't even have time to explain what was happening.
Not that it mattered.
I'd find out once I got there anyway.
Still, since our talk had gone so well, I had been planning to treat the team to beef.
"Go on, get going."
Just as I was about to explain the situation, Baek Harim patted my shoulder.
"...Thanks, Hyung."
I quickly left the Administration Office.
The Typhoon Guild.
"Go Juhee!"
A middle-aged man wearing silver-rimmed glasses and a luxurious suit barged in violently.
Go Mincheol.
He was the third son of Chairman Go Myeongjung of the GR Group,
and the head of GR Group's byproduct distribution business.
The very same Go Mincheol who maintained the closest ties with the GR Guild.
Even in front of her third brother, who was Chairman Go's favorite, Go Juhee didn't even bat an eye.
"Typhoon Guild? What exactly is your intention in interfering with our business with this kind of child's play?"
"Child's play? I'm just finding my own way to survive."
"Didn't Father tell you that your way to survive was to quietly play director and marry into a suitable family at the right time, Juhee?"
Go Juhee snorted at Go Mincheol's words.
"You mean you and the other brothers, not Father."
Go Mincheol's face distorted.
"I don't know if you realize just how much loss we've suffered because of your little prank."
"Is the GR Group so fragile that a child's prank can make it totter?"
"Instead of bringing Lee Taepyeong to us, you created a new guild? This isn't just about the GR Guild going under. If the flow of the byproduct processing business is blocked..."
"If it was such an important business, you should have managed it properly in the first place. Instead of handing it over to a bastard like Han Myeongjin."
"Han Myeongjin is an expert. He knows the hunter society inside out..."
"You do know that all the hunters in the GR Guild ran away thanks to that 'expert' Han Myeongjin, right?"
"That's..."
"Don't fool yourself into thinking it collapsed just because of the articles about guild corruption. Even before those articles came out, the GR Guild was already on the verge of death."
"..."
"Thanks to the Han Myeongjin you trusted so much."
"Go Juhee!"
"Why don't you just ask for a favor instead?"
"What?"
"Say something like: 'Since our byproduct supply is blocked, we would like the Typhoon Guild to trade with GR.'"
"..."
"If you ask nicely, I'll try bringing it up with Guild Leader Lee Taepyeong."
"You...!"
Go Mincheol's hand whipped upward.
Whoosh!
Just as his gold-ringed hand was about to strike Go Juhee's cheek,
Grab!
Someone caught Go Mincheol's wrist mid-air.
Crack!
Even though they had merely grabbed it, the sound of wrist bones dislocating echoed through the room.
"Aaargh!" Go Mincheol screamed in agony.
And looking at Go Mincheol as if he were absurd...
"What do you think you're doing in someone else's guild?"
Lee Taepyeong.
The head of the Typhoon Guild had arrived.