An Exclusive Reporter
I stared at the man who was bowing deeply in apology, repeating “I’m truly, truly sorry…!” over and over. No matter how hard I looked at him, I couldn’t recall ever meeting him before. I shot a bewildered glance toward the rest of the raid party and the mining team, but not a single one of them seemed to recognize him either.
“Um… excuse me, but who are you?”
The fact that he’d jumped straight into an apology was… maybe he was the type who said sorry in advance? Like, I haven’t done anything wrong to you yet, but I’m about to, so I’m apologizing ahead of time? A slight chill ran down my spine, but I quickly reminded myself that I had two C-rank hunters standing behind me—both of whom could hold their own against most B-rank hunters. Of course, one of them might not lift a finger to help me, but the raid leader would definitely step in. There was no need to feel intimidated. The man in front of me looked like an ordinary civilian, after all.
“My name is Kim Yeonggil. I’m the reporter who wrote the article about Mr. Han Junho’s good deeds.”
Ah. I had been curious about who wrote it. So this was the guy. If it had been a smear piece, I might have demanded an apology, but since it was a positive story, I hadn’t given it much thought. Still, showing up out of nowhere just to apologize…
“Ah, I see… but what exactly are you sorry for?”
“I published the article without first obtaining your permission.”
Didn’t most reporters do that? If he had dug into my personal information or exposed details about me when I was still an ordinary citizen, that could have been a problem—but—
“Well, my face and basic personal information were already all over the internet after those award ceremony articles.”
The photos from the award ceremony had been attached to the news reports, so my face was already public. Even if not every detail of my background had been revealed, quite a bit had come out. In that situation, I didn’t think someone writing a follow-up article would cause any major issues. It wasn’t like he’d broken into my house, taken pictures, and written a piece titled This Is Where He Lives that invaded my privacy. Besides, the article didn’t even include a photo of my face. Instead, it featured the grandmother’s—
“Did you get the grandmother’s permission?”
“Yes! I received her consent while conducting the interview!”
“Then there shouldn’t be any problem.”
When I shrugged, he looked at me with eyes full of emotion, staring so intently it felt like he was trying to bore a hole through me. Hmm… that was a little uncomfortable. Why was he looking at me like that?
“Junho, who is this?”
“Ah, Raid Leader. He says he’s the reporter who wrote the article about my good deeds. Would it be all right if I invite him inside for a moment?”
“Oh! That wonderful person! Of course!”
Given that the raid leader had received a flood of pleasant calls since early that morning, it made sense that she would consider him a good person.
“You can talk comfortably in the meeting room. I’ll brew some coffee for everyone.”
“I can do that myself…”
Before I could stop her, she was already dashing off toward the break room. This was the third time I’d seen her do that. Anyway, I led the man who had introduced himself as Kim Yeonggil into the meeting room, sat down across from him, and continued our conversation.
“It seemed like you had more to say, so I invited you in. Was I right?”
“Of course! I still have so much I want to tell you! Thank you!”
This guy had incredibly high energy.
“I’m really sorry for writing the article about you without permission, but it was exactly the kind of story I wanted to write, so I couldn’t help myself.”
“I see.”
“Yes. I want to write articles that can warm people’s hearts and fill Korea with kindness. Not those sensational, exhausting pieces that wear readers down!”
He was a rare breed of reporter. Most journalists these days were the kind people called “trash reporters”—the ones who chased scoops and stitched together absurd, clickbait stories. But this man seemed different.
“Honestly, I never expected this article to blow up the way it did. The editor-in-chief of the desk I quit kept calling me nonstop after I told him I was writing about you.”
“You even quit your job…?”
That was quite the bold move.
“Yes. They kept hounding me to bring them sensational stories, and I got so fed up that I quit on the spot.”
“…That’s impressive.”
I wasn’t being sarcastic. I genuinely meant it. It was the kind of resignation story every office worker dreamed about—quitting to chase your dream and actually succeeding.
“Anyway, I donated seventy percent of the revenue from this article to an elderly welfare foundation and a children’s foundation.”
…He didn’t keep the money for himself and donated seventy percent? Just what kind of person was he?
“And the remaining thirty percent…”
I swallowed nervously. He was building this up. What grand statement was he about to make now?
“I’d like to give it to you, Mr. Junho.”
“…Huh? What?”
Why would he give it to me?
“I have no intention of profiting from an article I published without your consent. I believe this revenue should go to you.”
Was this guy even from this world? He wasn’t stupid. Even though it was my story, it was still his writing—his intellectual property. He had already donated seventy percent, and now he wanted to hand over the last thirty percent to me?
“No, that’s your earnings as the reporter. I have no reason to accept it.”
I wasn’t the kind of terrible person who would take advantage of someone’s kindness and pocket all the money. …At least, I didn’t think so. And it wasn’t like I was desperate for cash right now.
“But it’s an article I published without your permission.”
“Then I give you permission now. That settles it, right?”
If that was the issue, giving permission now should be enough.
“No, um… well…”
“It’s your work. It’s legitimate income. And honestly, it feels a bit burdensome to me.”
“…You really are a good person, Mr. Junho.”
No, it really was just burdensome.
“Then, would it be all right if I consider this a signing bonus and accept it?”
“What? A signing bonus all of a sudden?”
We hadn’t made any contract. Why was he talking about a signing bonus?
“Ah, when you said you’d give permission just now, didn’t that mean you were allowing me to become your exclusive reporter?”
“What? How did you arrive at that conclusion?”
I had only given permission because he said he would hand over the profits since he hadn’t gotten my consent for the article. That was it.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I got too excited… I want to become your exclusive reporter, Mr. Junho. The kind of reporter who tells the world about your good deeds and heartwarming stories!”
So that had been what he really wanted to say all along. His eyes were sparkling like crazy. An exclusive reporter… Most large guilds kept several dedicated reporters on staff. High-ranking hunters often had their own personal reporters as well. So his request wasn’t completely outrageous.
But still…
“I’m sorry, but I have no reason to hire an exclusive reporter, and I don’t have the money to pay you a salary.”
That was something for high-rank hunters or guilds. There was absolutely no reason for a low-rank hunter like me—someone who worked as a miner—to have a personal reporter. The cost of hiring one was enormous, and what kind of stories could he even write about me? He kept talking about good deeds and touching stories, but while I wasn’t a bad person, I wasn’t some saint either. Helping that grandmother? She was living off a single boiled sweet potato. Any decent human being would have done the same. I just happened to have a gift certificate in my hand. That was the extent of my “good deed.”
“I won’t ask for any payment…! I’ll earn money by writing the articles myself! Of course, since they’re about you, it’s only right that we split the profits!”
“There won’t be any stories worth writing about me. I’m not as good a person as you seem to think.”
It was unfortunate for him since he had even quit his company, but I wasn’t in a position where I could afford to take care of someone else right now.
“That’s fine! You can just live your life as usual, Mr. Junho! I’ll take care of everything else!”
“Are you saying you’ll write fake stories?”
“No way! I’m nothing like those trash reporters!”
…Then what exactly was he planning to write? This guy was frustrating.
“Here, have some coffee while you talk.”
Right in the middle of our conversation, the raid leader came back in and set cups of coffee in front of us.
“Oh my, thank you! You didn’t have to go to all this trouble when I showed up unannounced!”
“It’s nothing! So what were you two talking about?”
She looked at us with an expression full of curiosity. …Now I had two pairs of burdensome eyes on me.
“Ah, he was saying he wants to become my exclusive reporter!”
“An exclusive reporter!? Wow, that’s amazing! But isn’t that really expensive?”
“I’ll earn the money myself through my articles! I just want permission and to split the profits with Mr. Junho!”
“Whoa, isn’t that an incredibly generous offer?”
“Right! I’ll serve you with this generous proposal! What do you say?!”
The meeting room, which had already been noisy with just one person, became twice as loud. My head was starting to spin.
“What do you say?!”
“What do you s…”
“Fine. I understand. So please, just be quiet…”
The two of them got along far too well. They were so excited and loud that I ended up agreeing before I knew it. I had originally planned to politely turn him down, but now I wasn’t sure if this was the right decision.
“I even brought a contract! The profit split would be thirty percent for me and seventy percent for you, Mr. Junho…”
“You take seventy percent. Otherwise I won’t sign.”
I wasn’t some evil employer. The man was willing to work as my exclusive reporter without a salary; it made no sense for me to take seventy percent of the article revenue on top of that.
“Ugh… you’re driving a hard bargain… Then how about forty to sixty…”
“I won’t sign…”
“Ah, I understand…! I understand! I’ll take seventy percent…!”
After we somehow managed to slap together the contract in a chaotic rush, we finally introduced ourselves properly.
“As I mentioned earlier, my name is Kim Yeonggil. I’m thirty-three years old this year. I used to work in a different field and only switched to journalism about six months ago.”
Once people passed thirty, they usually hesitated before starting down a completely new path. The fact that he had chosen this one without any apparent regret was genuinely admirable.
“I’m Han Junho…”
“Ah, I already know pretty much everything about you, Mr. Junho! Your name is Han Junho, you’re twenty-five years old this year, and you’re an E-rank hunter!”
Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t looked into my time with the Onhwa Guild yet. As a rookie reporter with only six months of experience, his information-gathering skills might still be a little lacking.
“I am a hunter, but I don’t work in combat. I work as a miner.”
Now that the contract was signed, if I told him I was a miner, he would probably realize there weren’t any stories to write. If he looked uncomfortable, I could just cancel the contract then. It shouldn’t be that big of a headache after all.
“Oh ho, a miner. I see.”
…Wait, why doesn’t he look uncomfortable at all?
“Since I’m a miner, there probably won’t be anything worth writing articles about.”
“I didn’t choose you because you’re a hunter, Mr. Junho. So you don’t need to worry about that!”
I wasn’t worried…
“Then I’ll stay out of sight and keep quiet from now on. Just live your life as usual!”
The moment Kim Yeonggil finished speaking, he slipped away like a ghost. What the—? How did he do that? Where did he go? Was this guy actually a high-rank hunter who could use stealth or something…?
…Nah, that couldn’t be. If he was that strong, why would he be working as a reporter? I had no idea. I decided to just stop thinking about it.