Kim Siwoo (3)
Kim Siwoo (3)
"Yes. I am SW."
At the bomb-like statement that fell from my lips, time inside the hall seemed to stop.
A perfect silence, without even a breath, descended for exactly three seconds, and then hundreds of flashes burst from all directions, making it impossible to open my eyes.
"SW?!"
"Did you just admit that you're him?!"
In an instant, the hall turned into utter chaos, with people shouting and camera shutters going off to the point of bursting eardrums.
I tapped the microphone and calmed the hall.
"Please be quiet. I'll take questions one at a time."
As soon as my words ended, a reporter sitting in the very front row shot up his hand and shouted urgently.
"I want to know why you're revealing your identity now after having hidden it all this time!"
It was a sharp question.
I calmly answered the reporter.
"It's to prevent the terrorist acts carried out by the Cypher organization. After awakening, I felt danger to my personal safety and have been making and selling items while hiding my identity. Then this incident happened."
I paused for a moment and looked around the hall.
The images of people bleeding in the ruined heart of Seoul flashed through my mind.
My voice naturally sank heavily.
"Of course, the fault lies with them, but I feel no small amount of responsibility. So I decided that control of the items I make is necessary, and I thought revealing my identity was inevitable."
The reporters' pens became busier as they scribbled down my answer.
At that moment, another reporter sitting in the middle row abruptly stood up and fired a question.
His eyes held a deep skepticism.
"Honestly, I find it hard to suddenly believe that you're SW. The Cypher branch chief had skills that overwhelmed the two rankers Hong Chae-yeon and Cha Seo-yun."
The reporter pushed up his glasses and stared intently at my face before sharply pressing on.
"The person in the video had enough martial power to easily subdue that Cypher branch chief. Your face seems to match the video, but are you telling me you're a crafting-type named SW with that kind of martial power? It sounds more plausible that you were a hunter secretly affiliated with the Association."
It was a perfectly reasonable doubt.
Common sense would ask: who could easily believe that a crafting-type beat up someone who overwhelmed two Korean rankers with his bare hands?
Trying to explain with words would only hurt my mouth.
I took my hand off the microphone and stepped to the side of the podium for a moment.
Countless camera lenses followed my steps.
I stretched my hand toward the air.
A cascade of light poured down and wrapped around my body.
The lustrous purple Orichalcum equipment, familiar to people's eyes, instantly armed my entire body, and in my hand appeared a weighty silver Mithril greatsword.
As soon as the overwhelming appearance of that equipment was revealed, the hushed hall was turned upside down once again.
"Th-that equipment...?!"
"Barcode?!"
The reporters couldn't shut their mouths and sprang up from their chairs as if bouncing.
I raised my hand, took off the Orichalcum helmet, and tucked it under my arm as I spoke.
"Yes. I started climbing the Tower with the equipment I made. I now go by another name, Barcode."
I fixed my gaze on the reporter who was standing frozen.
"Is that enough to answer your question, Reporter-nim?"
The reporter who had stood and shot a sharp question had his eyes wide as if they would pop out.
His legs must have given out, as he slumped back into his chair and answered in a dazed voice.
"...Yes."
I grabbed the microphone tightly again.
Now it was time to bring up what I really wanted to say standing here.
"I want the items I make to be used in the right places. So I'll say this here."
My firm voice spread through the speakers.
"As I said earlier, things like this incident must never happen again, so I will create a guild as soon as possible. To use my items, one will need to meet the conditions set by the guild."
I added, driving the wedge into the murmuring crowd.
"Also, I can't do anything about the items already out on the market. If you report anyone who is misusing or doing illegal things with my items, I will make you an item for free. Thank you."
As soon as my words ended, the reporters' suppressed shouts erupted like a volcano.
"SW-nim! What are the guild's conditions?!"
"Barcode-nim! Just one more thing, please!"
Questions rained down on me, but I shook my head calmly.
I had a mountain of urgent tasks to deal with.
"Due to time constraints, today's press conference will end here."
I turned my back on the shower of flashes and without hesitation stepped down from the podium.
My footsteps as I opened the door and exited into the waiting room were lighter than ever.
Finally, the long, long game of hide-and-seek was over.
As soon as I opened the waiting room door and stepped inside, two gazes stabbed into me.
It was Hong Chae-yeon and Cha Seo-yun.
Both had their eyes rounded as if seeing a ghost, frozen in place.
I scratched my head and sheepishly approached.
"Chae-yeon-ah, you worked hard making the script and I just went off on my own, sorry."
At my apology, Hong Chae-yeon snapped back to her senses and waved both hands quickly.
"No, that's fine! But the most surprising thing... you were Barcode?!"
Hong Chae-yeon couldn't hold back and raised her voice.
Her amber eyes looked like they'd pop out at any moment.
I couldn't find an excuse and smiled awkwardly.
"I just never had the right timing to say it. I'm sorry."
At my apology, Hong Chae-yeon put a hand to her forehead as if dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Cha Seo-yun, who had been standing quietly beside her, nodded slowly and muttered quietly.
"......I knew it."
Cha Seo-yun's single word carried a heavy nuance implying that all situations now made sense.
While we were making a ruckus, Hong Chae-yeon's phone suddenly rang.
Her expression hardened as she checked the screen.
After answering, Hong Chae-yeon gave brief replies and soon ended the call, looking at me.
"The Association President-nim says he wants to meet you once."
Hearing that, I paused in thought.
The Association President was the person who, upon learning I was SW, had coordinated with Hong Chae-yeon to help me as much as possible.
He even tried to set up a plausible shield as a secret agent, so I had a favorable impression of him.
'I should at least give my thanks.'
Without hesitation, I nodded and readily agreed to meet.
Not long after, I was sitting on a plush sofa in the highest floor's President's office of the Korea Hunter Association.
Across from me, the President, exuding a weighty pressure despite his middle age, sat facing me.
He slid a thin document folder across the table.
"What is this?"
When I asked, the President gestured with his chin.
"Take a look."
The moment I opened the document, a laugh almost escaped me.
Inside, my fake personal details and a classified document detailing how I became the Association's secret agent were densely written.
The President tapped the document and said.
"Know how much trouble I went through to make that?"
"Khm... I'm sorry."
As I gave an embarrassed cough and apologized, the President let out a chuckle and waved his hand.
"Well... no need to apologize. In fact, it's actually more convenient now that you revealed yourself as SW."
He leaned back deeply and stared at me with sharp eyes.
"So you were trading with the Red Scale Guild Leader because of tax and personal safety issues before?"
He hit the nail on the head, and I stung inwardly.
The President had already seen through the transactions between Hong Chae-yeon and me.
I couldn't hide my guilty expression as I answered.
"...Yes."
The President stroked his chin a few times, seemingly lost in deep thought, and then spoke gently.
"Well... it's better than being careless. Taxes... I'll take care of that."
For a moment, I doubted my ears. I stared at him with surprised eyes and asked.
"You mean...?"
"I'm saying we won't collect taxes from you."
"Is that okay?"
At my careful question, the President smiled deeply and asked back.
"Why, do you want to pay?"
Without delay, I flailed my hands and shook my head vigorously.
"Hahaha... no."
"In return, I'd like a promise to supply equipment and consumables to the Association."
"Yes. That's easy enough."
It was a deal that had no downside for me.
The President nodded as if satisfied and stood up from his seat.
"You can go now. You must be tired from the press conference."
Saying so, he opened the table drawer and took out a stiff sheet of A4 paper, handing it to me.
"Oh, just sign here and go."
I tilted my head, holding the blank paper.
"Right here?"
Then the President, who had just been exuding weighty pressure, slightly averted his gaze and coughed.
"Yeah... actually, I'm a fan, you see."
At the unexpected confession from the mouth of the Korea Hunter Association President, I burst into a light laugh.
I cheerfully picked up the pen, left a stylish autograph on the A4 sheet, and left the President's office.
At that moment, while Si-woo was away from home.
On the rooftop of the old studio apartment building, Celine, perfectly disguised as an ordinary person, was sitting with her legs crossed.
She stared into the empty air and muttered to herself.
"So, that guy was both that Barcode and SW?"
Even for her, sitting at the world's number one spot, the content of the press conference live-streamed on the news seemed quite shocking.
She clicked her tongue and was lost in thought.
It was then.
In the alley below the building, two men in shabby clothes like petty thieves were looking around and trying to sneak into Si-woo's house.
"Hey, is this really that SW's house?"
"Yeah, I told you it is. Stop asking."
They were uninvited guests who had come to grab a piece of the pie, having found the address as soon as the press conference ended.
Looking down at their pathetic sight from the rooftop, Celine's crimson eyes grew cold.
A small, cold snort escaped her lips.
"Hmph."
It was the moment she lightly flicked her finger.
"Uh... uwaaah?!"
The bodies of the two petty thieves floated up as if bound by ropes, and then, by an invisible massive force, they were slammed into the hard alley wall with a bang.
Without even a scream, the two collapsed and fainted on the spot.
The dust settled and the alley grew quiet as a mouse.
And at some point, on the rooftop, there was no trace of her who had been sitting with crossed legs just moments before.
Only a chilly wind blew across the empty, unoccupied rooftop.