157. Police Chief Han Seong-geun (2)
Han Seong-geun and Jin A-yeon left the fierce yet camaraderie-filled Ulsan front behind and returned to Gyeongju. Shortly after their arrival, they received appointments from Choi Yu-na herself: Han Seong-geun as Police Chief, and Jin A-yeon as his secretary.
The resistance fighters who had hunkered down at Ulsan Airport were now, in the blink of an eye, leaders and executives in a major organization. Staring at the building assigned to them, Han Seong-geun and Jin A-yeon still wore expressions of disbelief. It was clearly meant to serve as their police headquarters—the parking lot was packed with dozens of combat-modified vehicles, and the warehouse inside brimmed with magic items developed specifically to suppress awakeners. Above all, somewhere in the building was a private office reserved solely for Han Seong-geun, the new Police Chief.
"No way, this is really okay!? Us as cops? Like, really okay!? What about our character or whatever? Don't we need some kind of test!? We look like total parachute appointments no matter how you slice it!"
But Jin A-yeon scanned the police headquarters with eyes that said she knew it was real, grumbling—not quite a complaint, but close—about how everything had happened too fast. After all, they were leaders in an organization now. Shouldn't leaders have to prove their character, qualifications, or at least pass some formal exam? Yet upon returning to Gyeongju, they'd only received their appointments from Yu-na—no tests whatsoever.
That fact made her deeply uneasy, so Jin A-yeon just sighed at the neat police uniform laid out before her, so unlike the battle suit she'd worn on the front lines, looking utterly out of place in it.
"I never thought I'd miss Ulsan Airport."
Her usual battle suit... even that brutal battlefield felt a little nostalgic now.
"Couldn't agree more. I'm worried if I can really pull off being Police Chief."
Han Seong-geun had expected some kind of test after returning to Gyeongju, but none came. Instead, they handed him the position as if they fully trusted him right away. The pressure was immense, of course. But he was also glad for that trust. With no base in Gyeongju, a single word from Yu-na that she trusted him had instantly established his authority as Police Chief. It would be the driving force to rally the awakeners now under police command.
Haha. Now I get how Commander Jeong Dong-gun feels with Bahamut-nim's trust. This pressure is no joke...
But on the flip side, that trust from Yu-na created an unspoken pressure: he absolutely could not fail. In a way, Han Seong-geun was now feeling the same burden Jeong Dong-gun had carried all along—and he was deeply impressed by how the commander had handled things so steadily despite it.
As Han Seong-geun pondered the office and his future duties...
"But... is it really okay for us to be here?"
"What do you mean?"
"The Ulsan war, duh! You're all good, Mr. Han, but what about me? No issues if I'm not there!? That front's intense as hell!"
Jin A-yeon voiced her concern about leaving the Ulsan front for this place. After all, these two had been key players there, and few awakeners could match their contributions. Especially Jin A-yeon, who had reached the realm of a superhuman. In the Balhut Cult, aside from Jeong Dong-gun, no other awakener had broken into that level yet. Son Sang-hee showed promise, but she still needed time—which made Jin A-yeon's worries entirely understandable.
"You're not wrong."
Han Seong-geun admitted her concern wasn't off-base. But...
"Still, would the Ulsan front collapse without you?"
"Uh, no... not exactly, but—"
Jin A-yeon's abilities were awe-inspiring. A superhuman past level 20 could handle the work of a hundred awakeners alone, holding the line single-handedly. But the current war wouldn't crumble without her. They'd already crushed the Immortal Cult in a decisive victory, shattering their morale. For a while, the cult would play it safe, probing cautiously before committing to battle.
"The front's on the defensive through winter. No expeditions or major ops for the foreseeable future."
"I know that. But the troops' burden—"
That held only for large-scale fights. Skirmishes still raged, and Jin A-yeon shone brightest in those.
"True. But the more you step in, the less the soldiers level up."
"Ugh!"
Yet there was a clear downside. Simply put, when Jin A-yeon fought, she dominated entirely. The massive experience from those battles went almost solely to her, leaving the others scraps to scrape by on.
"Yeah, that's been an issue. Right."
Thankfully, experience was distributed by contribution, so no one starved completely—but Jin A-yeon still hogged the prime cuts. She kept getting stronger while her fellow average awakeners stagnated.
"To make even one more strong awakener, we need more regular awakeners in the fight now—not victory via a superhuman, but grinding for the masses."
So, to forge strong awakeners, Jin A-yeon had to step back, letting ordinary ones gain real combat experience—even if it meant some sacrifices—to raise the average level.
"I get it. But..."
"I know it's frustrating. If you pushed harder, you'd rack up huge wins on the South Ulsan line."
Han Seong-geun knew full well her presence would ease the front. He'd even built strategies around her maximal output, and she truly equaled over a hundred awakeners. She was vital to Ulsan.
But this new job wasn't trivial either.
"Think this work is beneath you?"
"Nah, no way."
Restoring public order was critically important—potentially more brutal than Ulsan, maybe even surpassing it. In Korea, police weren't just law enforcers; they were the people's shield against crime.
"Exactly. This is protecting people too—putting down the crime wave exploding in this apocalypse. Hero work."
"Hero, huh? Sounds badass."
"And it might be tougher than Ulsan."
Han Seong-geun warned her it could be harder than the front lines.
"Huh? Why?"
"Our targets aren't civilians. Intel from the National Tax Service and military says they're awakeners who've tasted blood."
"Looters, you mean."
From now on, their foes weren't undead, but fellow awakeners. Jin A-yeon immediately pictured looters at Han Seong-geun's words, her face turning deadly serious. She'd seen plenty in Ulsan—ruthless, brutal murderers.
"Right. They're sneaking in disguised as refugees. Victims are piling up already."
"That's a pain. No fixed dens, so they bolt like hyenas at the first snag."
"Yep. Military's collaborating with civilians, but with Jeong Dong-gun tied to Ulsan, we're always a step behind."
Recent reports confirmed it: looters posing as refugees, sowing chaos. Disguised as powerless victims made them tricky foes—not easy prey. As Han Seong-geun warned of this, a young journalist from the newly established police HQ piped up. Kang Jae-wan, a civilian collaborator working with the military, chimed in that military-civilian teamwork alone wasn't enough and detailed the urgency.
"Hey, you're that... reporter guy?"
"Long time no see, Miss Jin A-yeon. Kang Jae-wan."
Spotting him, Jin A-yeon remembered him from the evacuation days and lit up with a grin. Kang Jae-wan smiled back warmly, calling her "miss."
"This is our civilian collaborator feeding us intel on Gyeongju's internal situation."
"Yeah. In my reporting, I stumble on looter crime scenes a lot. Plus, my buddy's always out on external ops and runs into disguised refugee looters too."
Han Seong-geun introduced Kang Jae-wan as their new police partner. The journalist chuckled lightly, explaining his job put him face-to-face with looters often. Especially his friend Kim Tae-hyeon, whose logistics runs meant constant clashes—but no fighting back.
They were civilians deepest in the refugee crisis, the ones most eager for a quick fix.
"So yeah, I like to think I know their patterns cold."
"Damn, reporter dude's got skills."
Jin A-yeon praised his resourcefulness, but...
"On the flip side, you're inviting danger yourselves."
Han Seong-geun sharply noted they were courting disaster by venturing into the riskiest Balhut Cult fringes without fear—self-inflicted wounds, essentially. These incidents were peripheral so far, not yet hitting central Gyeongju or urban cores.
"W-Well, can't be helped! With the apocalypse, citizens are dying for real info—whaddya gonna do!?"
Kang Jae-wan stammered excuses, unable to fully rebut. Few reporters risked the front lines like him; most just cribbed from community rumors or Nutube trash.
"Sorry, reporter dude."
Jin A-yeon and Han Seong-geun both looked pityingly at his desperate plight.
"But danger's danger."
"Fair point. Without my buddy, I'd have died a few times over."
Kang Jae-wan didn't deny it—everyone knew the risks.
"Who's this buddy?"
"Kim Tae-hyeon."
"...Ah, that rich guy? Saw him loads at Ulsan. Supplies for us—like the PX guy, right?"
Jin A-yeon perked up; the name rang bells, especially for soldiers. Unforgettable in Gyeongju, especially the military. During Ulsan, he'd hauled goods right to the battlefield, and she'd owed him big—especially when rations sucked and he'd show up like clockwork.
"Yep, logistics center boss. Problem is, every run's a life-or-death gamble."
"World's scary as shit."
His trucks brimmed with goods—looter catnip. Spot one, and they'd risk everything to raid it. Kim Tae-hyeon had to flee for his life to deliver.
"So, reporter dude—where's the human scum we gotta handle?"
"Easy. I'll show you."
And so, Han Seong-geun and Jin A-yeon were the ones to excise the cancer of human trash festering within society.