Kangin Academy
Kangin Academy.
The largest academy in the world — not merely in Korea — stood in Sariwon-si. After North Korea's collapse and its absorption into a unified Republic of Korea, the former northern territories lagged behind the south in both public safety and development. Even so, Choi Kang-in had chosen to build the academy in Sariwon-si, a city nestled between Pyongyang and Kaesong.
It was a declaration that the north would not be neglected — and with vacant land in abundance, he had raised an institution on a scale that called an entire town to mind. Kangin Academy had been founded not merely to produce powerful hunters, but as a cradle for raising the Kangin Guild's next successor.
In the original story, Baek Seo-jin had already possessed the qualifications to become the Kangin Guild's heir, academy or no academy. Because of me, that would never come to pass.
"So. What brings you here so early this morning?"
Choi Kang-in regarded the boy who had come to see him first thing that day — Baek Seo-jun. At nineteen — twenty by Korean reckoning — he had just stepped into his twenties, and it showed. He had grown enough that the law now recognized him as an adult, and it was written in the set of his shoulders.
Blue hair. Ruby-red eyes that looked as if they could freeze whatever they touched. A face so finely sculpted it seemed capable of enchanting any number of women by appearance alone. Even the actresses who filled television screens might have lost themselves for a moment, seeing that face in the flesh.
The appearance he showed to others was slightly diminished from his true looks, which was the only reason the effect was not worse. Even that false face, however, was striking enough — and officially, he was known as a genius without precedent in history, the hunter who had reached SSS-class at the age of fifteen.
Had he been alone, women would have approached him in droves. The only reason they did not dare was Seomun Ye-jin, who clung to his side — a woman already famous as a model, whose beauty no celebrity on television could hope to match.
"I came to settle some matters going forward."
"Oh! Well then — have you decided to become the Kangin Guild's successor?"
Baek Seo-jun gave a slight shake of his head.
"Not yet."
"That again, is it?"
Choi Kang-in felt a flicker of disappointment. Seo-jun always spoke as though he would accept the offer eventually — and then kept putting it off.
"I came today to set a concrete timeline."
"Oh? Is that so?"
So today, it seemed, the schedule would finally be made clear. Choi Kang-in waited with genuine interest to hear how the boy intended to arrange it.
"First, Ye-jin and I will enroll in Kangin Academy together next year."
"Will you, now?"
"Yes. That said, I have no interest in wasting time on pointless lectures. I'd prefer to graduate as quickly as possible."
"Wouldn't enjoying academy life make for some fine memories?"
"Spending that time with Ye-jin would make for far better ones."
He clearly had no intention of attending Kangin Academy in any earnest sense. Choi Kang-in knew that neither of the academy's founding purposes — raising exceptional hunters, or finding a successor for the Kangin Guild — held any meaning for this boy, and so he did not press the point. The matter of the guild's heir was already settled. There was no other candidate he would even consider.
"I see. Early graduation, however, would be difficult. I may have a free hand in most things, but appearances still matter, don't they?"
"Then tell me what is possible."
"You needn't attend classes at all. Simply register your names and show your faces once or twice a year. You and your wife already spend plenty of time clearing dungeons, do you not? I'll count dungeon raids and villain captures as academic credit in place of coursework."
"Hmm. That should work. Speaking of 'wife' — did you happen to look at the marriage registration?"
"No, I haven't seen it, but I did put in a request to have it processed quickly. It should be finalized today or tomorrow."
"I see."
Baek Seo-jun smiled, thinking of Seomun Ye-jin. Choi Kang-in found the sight genuinely fascinating — this boy, so overwhelmingly powerful, smiling with such open satisfaction at the thought of her as his wife. To be that strong, and yet so thoroughly lost in the woman he loved.
"Graduation will still take four years, then. What do you intend to do after that?"
"What comes after is what matters."
The smile had vanished. Choi Kang-in sensed that the boy was finally coming to the point.
"After that?"
The date was set, and Seo-jun stated it without a trace of hesitation. Choi Kang-in let out a dry chuckle. The declaration might have looked like arrogance of the highest order — but the truth was that the Kangin Guild could vanish tomorrow and it would hardly matter to this boy. If he was willing to be seen accepting it, he had a purpose in mind.
"The year Seo-jin enrolls, is it? Would you have this old man put on a performance for the boy?"
"I'd be grateful. Will you?"
Seo-jun's easy composure drew a hearty laugh from Choi Kang-in.
"I know well the grudge you bear against the Baekho Guild. You want to let Seo-jin drink his fill of false hope, raise him to the peak of happiness — and then send him crashing down. That's the revenge you have in mind, isn't it?"
"Yes. I'll explain the details when the time comes, but in short — that's the idea."
Baek Seo-jun's revenge. Choi Kang-in knew what the boy had endured, and he nodded. On top of everything else, the Baekho Guild had a prior offense: they had laid hands on Seomun Ye-jin. That alone was something Seo-jun would never forgive.
"Five years from now, once Seo-jin has enrolled and you've already graduated — how do you intend to move?"
A professor? An instructor? Seo-jun could claim any position he wanted without the slightest difficulty.
"I'll tell you that later."
"Very well. I'll make the arrangements in advance so that once you two enroll next year, skipping class won't cause any trouble."
"Thank you. I'll leave it in your hands."
And on that same day, every breaking news bulletin was filled with stories about Baek Seo-jun and Seomun Ye-jin.
He was known to the public by his alias, Kim Ho-jun — but the articles set the internet ablaze in a matter of hours.
This can't be happening.
Baek Seo-jin trembled as he stared at the article on his phone, fury rolling through him in waves.
How? How could this be possible? Seomun Ye-jin — his Seomun Ye-jin — had become Kim Ho-jun's wife? They hadn't held a ceremony, but filing the marriage registration made the truth obvious enough.
"Nngh…"
The more he read, the more the rage burned. Seomun Ye-jin had been deceived, or forced into the marriage — that much was certain. And he did not have the power to save her.
I have to get stronger.
He would become strong enough to tear her away from Kim Ho-jun. And once she had nowhere left to go, he would comfort her with warmth, and give her the peace and happiness she deserved. Even if her body had been defiled, his heart and his resolve would not change. That was the respect he owed his first love.
He killed the screen and thought of Lee Ha-yeon and Han Se-hee.
I'm not alone.
Together with his precious friends, he would rescue Seomun Ye-jin from that loathsome villain Kim Ho-jun. And to do that, he would have to grow stronger, faster — by throwing himself into battle against villains again and again.
"The strongest I can hunt right now is an S-class villain."
He would use the Baekho Guild's intelligence network if he had to. He would find every S-class villain he could and bring them in. And if there was word of villains running rampant somewhere, he would go hunt them even if it meant leaving the country.
I have to get strong enough, fast enough, that the Kangin Guild has no choice but to notice me.
He was a promising talent, yes — but he did not yet possess the power of an SSS-class hunter the way Kim Ho-jun did. If he reached SSS-class, the Kangin Guild would certainly take notice. If Choi Kang-in took an interest in him — if the two of them could simply talk — he might even be able to make the old man see Kim Ho-jun for what he truly was.
Wait for me, Ye-jin. I'll save you, I swear. For now… even if you have to hate me for being too weak, just hold on.
Having sworn that to himself, Seo-jin saw an article about villains causing large-scale chaos in China and immediately decided to lead the Baekho Guild's forces there himself.
"I don't think I'll be able to go to China with you."
"Villains have been causing trouble on the Japanese side as well, so the Angel Guild's forces have been assigned there."
Han Se-hee and Lee Ha-yeon both declined to accompany him for those reasons, and so — with no small amount of regret — he would have to go to China alone.
A year passed.