Wolf Among the Sheep (1)
Ju Kang-rim mulled over Yoo Seo-kyeong's words for a moment. Her offer to help wasn't about urging him to surrender or soothing his emotional wounds. Yoo Seo-kyeong was a politician through and through. It wouldn't even be surprising if she'd cried out "Vote for number one!" the moment she was born. In other words, she was a highly functional sociopath driven by pure logic.
And since her son had seen through her at a young age, she didn't bother pretending affection or playing the moral exemplar. She'd simply become a living embodiment of raw ambition. Still, he hadn't expected her to go as far as offering to help dispose of a body.
"What kind of problem are we talking about? Your approval ratings, Mom?"
Silence stretched across the Biman line for a beat. Ju Kang-rim briefly wondered if he'd gone too far, but immediately dismissed it—Yoo Seo-kyeong wasn't the type to get hurt by words like that. A politician who bruised that easily couldn't survive. And she wouldn't have let herself become one if she were.
Resentment toward her was a distant memory. A twenty-year-old Ju Kang-rim might have felt it, but the man now was Colonel Ju Kang-rim, who'd witnessed humanity's end. He hurried to change the subject.
"Well, yeah, there is something I want. We'll see how it plays out."
Whether Park Tae-hyeon lived or died, the Awakener Management Act was destined to pass. It was the will of the immortals who ruled the world. Ju Kang-rim didn't like it, but he had no issue with the act itself—only Park Tae-hyeon's version of it. The adjusted bill was fine.
Ju Kang-rim said it like a joke, but a chill ran through him as he realized how terrifying his actions were. Murdering a congressman to dodge the draft, impersonating a soldier, manipulating a blood relative in Congress to amend the constitution? Straight ticket to hell.
Yoo Seo-kyeong paused briefly before rushing on.
Click. The call ended before Ju Kang-rim could respond. He stared at the Biman screen in disbelief. A chat starting with corpse disposal and ending in praise for murder. Perfectly grim mother-son talk for a world on the brink.
On the drive back to Seoul, the news blared nonstop about Park Tae-hyeon's disappearance. A sitting congressman—and a potential presidential candidate from the opposition—no wonder. But Yoo Wol-ryeong seemed a bit worried about the fallout.
"Wasn't that a bit too flashy?"
Ju Kang-rim shot Yoo Wol-ryeong an incredulous look.
"Last time you saw Clint, you said you'd charge right in and kill him. That would've been way louder than this."
"That was unavoidable. This time, you deliberately made it noisy."
"Well, it was meant to be seen."
The mystery black motorcycle, tinted helmet, sword, mad chase, and crash. All mirroring the Vito family assassins who'd ambushed Ju Kang-rim and Yoo Wol-ryeong. The difference? The Vitos left no witnesses.
"Witnesses aren't an issue?"
"Hmm, that's the weird part. Why hasn't the aide shown up?"
Ju Kang-rim had spared the aide on purpose. By now, he should've surfaced to the press or police, spilling about the attack on Park Tae-hyeon. That was the plan. But the aide was in hiding.
Not entirely unexpected.
Someone at aide level knew enough about this world. Witnessing a midnight assassination on his boss? Hiding or fleeing abroad made sense.
"Not bad, though. No interference. Shame if it throws off the plan a bit, but Gerald's sharp—he'll act even without the aide."
"Plan? I thought you spared him because you couldn't kill an innocent civilian."
"Huh? No way."
Ju Kang-rim tapped his fingers together before speaking.
"Yoo Wol-ryeong Reaper, how common is it for an immortal to die?"
Yoo Wol-ryeong fell silent, then shook her head.
"If their immortality is weak, you can grind them down—destroy the body until the soul wears out. Or meet rare conditions like special artifacts. But some can only be killed via Reaper's Soul Harvest."
"So, immortal deaths are extremely rare. Unless you're another immortal, you wouldn't even know how."
Ju Kang-rim grinned, drumming the table.
"Gerald will know something's up. At minimum, another immortal's involved. The only other one around lately? Kangryeong Daegun, who's been clashing with him. Dig into that, and it leads straight to the Vito family."
Because Ju Kang-rim had leaked Vito intel. And he'd even left traces of Shira Vito—the one he'd let escape—at the scene.
Ju Kang-rim kept tapping his fingers.
"Above all, Gerald hates the Vitos. A little digging, and he'll link them to recent events. I'm just poking his side and handing him the answer sheet: Vito family."
Even if they investigated the truth alongside, they wouldn't trace it to him. He was just a zombie hunter on paper.
"If they sense manipulation, they'll still fight. Their conflict's real anyway."
Running an organization meant inertia. Unlike individuals, groups couldn't pivot fast. Even dramatic compromises from leaders didn't halt momentum. Not without a massive shared threat.
"Until the Gates go berserk—the 'Hellgates'—they'll be too busy slugging it out. Once they're worn down, that's when we strike the snake's head."
Right before the world's end, Gerald and Vito had allied. Facing apocalypse, even enemies joined hands. But Ju Kang-rim planned to let them self-destruct first, weakening their forces.
Immortal infighting meant grunts died, but heads survived. Only Ju Kang-rim could behead them. Unavoidable blood from innocents, but he wouldn't charge head-on and shatter like some gangster mob. Armies were different.
Yoo Wol-ryeong watched him quietly before speaking.
"You seem awfully skilled at this."
"Ah, well…"
Ju Kang-rim started to answer naturally, then clamped his mouth shut. Under Gerald, he'd managed billions—humans and awakeners. His talents shone as a hunter, but he'd excelled more as an administrator. All thanks to Gerald's teachings.
Gerald had shown him how to control crowds, synergize their power. Revolting in hindsight.
How many had he killed personally? Zombies or humans—maybe under a thousand. But every signature, every order in Gerald's name? Over a hundred million dead.
No one kills a hundred million alone. Politics could.
His face paling, Ju Kang-rim stood.
"Anyway, that's the complicated part. Congresswoman Yoo Seo-kyeong will handle the rest."
Days later, the Awakener Management Act passed decisively. Park Tae-hyeon's hardline stance and scandal had sapped opposition momentum. With Gerald's invisible pressure and Yoo Seo-kyeong's compromise, it sailed through.
Some branded her a sellout to nationalism or corrupt policy, but overall reception was decent. The final bill focused on systematization and registration—not conscripting awakeners like slaves.
Awakeners' lives shifted dramatically. Walking and skimming the new law, Han Min-ah frowned. With her brief career, she couldn't pinpoint the changes.
A car pulled up beside her.
"Han Min-ah."
"Ah, Mr. Ju Kang-rim."
Ju Kang-rim greeted Han Min-ah, whom he hadn't seen in a while. Her zombie bite was still bandaged, unhealed but not turning her.
Han Min-ah hopped in happily.
"No Yoo Wol-ryeong?"
"Moved on for other work. All prepped?"
Han Min-ah pulled out shin guards, arm protectors—personal gear—from her bag.
"First zombie hunt since then! I can actually help this time, right?"
"Of course. Re-registered as an awakener?"
"Yeah, you told me to hurry. But I don't get what's changed."
Han Min-ah peered at her exam tag from her bag.
"Already confirmed C-rank, but now they say performance can bump me to A. What's different?"
Ju Kang-rim pondered where to start.
"Old ranking was the 'Munich Announcement'—vague criteria some scholars hashed out. Back when awakeners were new, no standards. Fair enough."
"Mm, so?"
"Problem: one powerhouse awakener racks up feats. 'How's yours stack up? Ours is badass!' Turned into a comic-book battle royale."
Strong awakeners boosted national pride. Some stats got "creative."
"Not a huge issue. S-ranks usually are strong."
"Sometimes not?"
"Yeah. Stats catch 'strong' ones. Assumes similar powers scale the same."
"That's bad?"
"Rankings prioritized 'zombie/abomination kills.' Some get high ranks without real fights."
Han Min-ah tilted her head.
"Doesn't seem terrible?"
"Support or utility powers get sidelined. Like yours—they're just as crucial."