The Airport Airport!
“Hand me your business card!”
“Boo-woong-”
A long line of cars heading toward Incheon International Airport in the early morning.
Lee Junwoo, the representative of Anz, was stuck right in the middle of it.
“I wonder how many of them have shown up?”
He had scoured the internet, sending bold emails to hunter associations around the world and even mailing out items.
“I thought Anz’s name and Ian’s creations would be enough to make it work.”
The problem was the replies came back vague. They were either “maybe” or “we’ll see,” with no clear dates or places.
Since the dates and locations were already set, he figured he might as well head over.
But when he parked and approached the airport shuttle, the place was packed tighter than a night market.
“When are they coming?”
“Someone call headquarters!”
“I don’t know, some girl answered and said she didn’t know, then hung up.”
“I heard a machine voice on my line.”
“Are they even going to do anything today?”
“Is some celebrity coming? There are reporters everywhere—how crazy is this?”
Junwoo felt irritated just standing there with no space to even step.
“Guess celebrities really aren’t cut out for this kind of work.”
He secretly thought it was a relief he hadn’t sent Ian into the entertainment industry.
He set off toward the business center anyway.
“No other events were mentioned, but the crowd keeps growing.”
“Aya!”
“Oh, sorry!”
“Be careful there.”
“After you.”
He pushed through the crowd and reached the entrance of the business center.
“Click—”
“No outsiders are allowed in right now. Please use this facility another time.”
Junwoo was a bit startled. He hadn’t heard about security personnel standing guard like a fortress.
“I made a reservation here today. What kind of event is this?”
He spoke carefully, but he still sounded confident.
After all, he hadn’t done anything wrong.
In a way, Junwoo was the victim here. They should have announced the event in advance.
“Are you from Anz?”
“Yes. We’re having a new product launch today, so we were supposed to meet here. I didn’t know there was a big event.”
The moment Junwoo mentioned Anz, the security guard’s attitude flipped instantly.
“I’m so sorry! I made a huge mistake!”
The guard bowed so low his forehead nearly touched the ground. Junwoo actually felt even more awkward.
“N-no, it’s fine.”
“I’m sorry, but do you have proof?”
“I don’t have anything else except a business card…”
“That’s enough! Please, I beg you!”
The guard took the card and started searching something on his phone, hands trembling.
“I’m terribly sorry! Please come in!”
“Huh? In?”
“Today’s entire event is Anz’s new product launch!”
“???”
Junwoo had no idea why Anz’s new product launch was happening at the airport business center.
He was pulled inside without understanding.
When he came to his senses, he was already standing on stage.
“Ahem… Hello. My name is Lee Junwoo, representative of Anz.”
As soon as he spoke, applause erupted.
“Ohhh!!!”
“Clap-clap-clap—”
The launch was short because so little preparation had gone into it.
He simply showed the real products and explained usage and precautions from the email.
“Does anyone have any questions?”
It was just polite small talk.
“How much production volume is there?”
“Are you planning to register a patent?”
“Exactly! Are you considering licensing production?”
The crowd wondered how much they could actually supply.
In reality, licensing would be far easier for such a massive batch.
But since people still didn’t fully understand mana circuits, it wasn’t possible yet.
“We’re considering it long-term, but for now we’ll produce and sell everything in Korea.”
“You’re practically monopolizing it, but how can you supply the whole world!”
As he said, even if Anz ran their 3D printers until they broke, supplying the entire world was impossible.
But there was a cheat key.
“Then shouldn’t we just stop selling?”
It was bad luck for the people, but Anz wasn’t going to starve just because they didn’t sell items.
“…”
“…”
The crowd fell silent.
And everyone knew one thing.
There were no alternatives to Anz’s products.
“We’re glad so many people showed up. You must have come to take everything we’ve already made.”
“Exactly! How much do we have right now?”
They had already shipped the items, tested them endlessly, and verified everything.
No point following them around for more checks.
Besides, these were people with power and influence who could track down fraud or defective goods if needed.
“We came prepared with ten thousand measurement devices and fifty thousand detectors as our first batch.”
It was either too little or too much.
“Measurement devices at two million five hundred thousand won each, detectors at five hundred thousand each.”
They had spent extra on decorations and looks to make them look premium, so the production cost rose.
Detectors one hundred thousand, measurement devices three hundred thousand.
The profit margin was a bit lower, but still in the “people won’t know it’s cheap” range.
A scam syndicate had appeared.
“We’ll buy all of it! Double!”
“We’ll take it at two point five!”
“Hah! We’ll buy at three!”
But they started an auction anyway because profit was overflowing.
If they kept doing this, the winners would be America, China, and the Middle East.
“Everyone, the mood is getting too heated. These items will keep being produced. This isn’t the end.”
Instead, Junwoo had to calm the crowd.
Their voices were rising and it could turn into a fight at any moment.
“All sales revenue will go into building the factory. Just wait a little longer and the products will flood the market!”
“But we want ten times more!”
“…”
In the end, the first batch was all taken by Americans.
A staggering five trillion won appeared in one go.
“Representative? What will you do for future transactions?”
“You’re not planning to keep gathering and auctioning, right?”
The people in the room were busy—vice presidents and managers from hunter associations around the world.
Doing this every time would be a nightmare.
“First I’m thinking of creating a hunter mall, but I have no idea how the government will react.”
“Hey! Then come to the US! No taxes, no hassle!”
“What about Europe!”
“The Middle East is open too!”
Junwoo was contacting the government about building a hunter-only shopping mall.
But the associations kept throwing obstacles.
“Hmm? Really? You don’t need to stay in Korea at all, do you?”
“Ohhh!!!”
A cheer burst from the crowd the moment Junwoo spoke.
On the other side, the faces of people from the Korean government and associations twisted in ugly expressions.
‘This is giving us the shaft!’
‘What if they really leave for foreign countries?’
‘They were supposed to watch out for the conglomerates and now they’re going to disappear?’
‘I have to call the association president right now!’
‘They might even get hit by the public if they stay put!’
The Korean association people were on the phone everywhere.
Foreign association people handed Junwoo their business cards with hungry eyes.
After a long while, they had shipped the products from the factory and the event was finally wrapping up.
“I’ll contact you soon. See you at a good venue.”
“Let’s definitely meet again!”
The American vice president, the only one who had been desperate to shake hands and leave immediately, was the last to leave.
The event officially ended.
“Whew… I’m exhausted.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Huh? Who are you?”
“Hello. My name is Bang Manchun, president of the Korean Hunter Association.”
It was Junwoo’s first time meeting the president.
With his thick eyebrows and tightly shut lips, he looked more like a soldier than an administrator.
“Why are you here from the association?”
“Let’s go somewhere quieter to talk.”
“Then let’s go by car. It’ll be more comfortable.”
“Sure, okay.”
The two men left the airport in silence while reporters swarmed around them.
“It’s a Korean company! They should use their technology for the good of the country!”
“Why didn’t you sell items in Korea?”
“Are you trying to sell technology abroad?”
Junwoo answered nothing and walked quietly, but words he couldn’t understand kept coming.
“Selling technology? The association clearly got the items first and got their door slammed in their face. Then they said hunter goods can’t be sold without association permission. So we’re supposed to leave Korea?”
“…”
“…”
Junwoo had deliberately said it to anger the reporters, hoping the president would hear.
The reporters who had been loud in the center suddenly fell silent.
“What? The association did that?”
“Those guys are selling the country out?”
Among them, the ones who spoke up were reporters who had come on their own.
The president’s face turning red was probably embarrassing for him too.
“So you really plan to sell the technology!”
“Yes! Let’s drop the other talk!”
Feeling disadvantaged, he immediately shifted to more provocative words.
The reason was simple—the reporters stuck to him were mostly lackeys sent by conglomerates.
They wanted to dig up dirt on Anz and ruin it.
‘As expected… this guy has no way out either.’
Junwoo felt disappointed in the president, who had been quietly blushing. Just as he was about to speak again.
“KWA-AANG—”
The president slammed his foot down on the ground.
“CHEE-JEOK—”
Tiles and paving stones cracked like a turtle’s shell.
Of course—the president was an Awakened.
“Who sent you?”
“What do you mean? Do you think reporters are sent?”
“We just sold products! Why do you keep saying we sold technology?”
“That’s because the products contain know-how, right? Of course they’ll take them apart and learn.”
The reporter probably had no brain and wasn’t afraid of anything.
‘The floor is already broken and you still can’t see it? You’d be in pain if hit, right?’
Junwoo was sure the president was about to throw a punch.
“Whew… so you’re saying no Korean products can be sold at all?”
“That’s not what I said, is it?”
“So even conglomerates have to stop exporting?”
“What nonsense! I’m telling you no!”
The reporter was saying no, but the president had already stopped listening.
“Hey, give me your business card, reporter guy.”
“Why? What are you?”
“I’m still the president of the hunter association. Can I just stand here quietly? Every time I do a broadcast or interview, I’ll tell exactly what you said.”
“I’m telling you no!”
He was probably planning to sell the reporter’s name in newspapers or something.
Junwoo was surprised the president didn’t throw a punch first.
“Hey, everyone’s gathered here! Hand over your business cards! That’s why you’re all together—because you all have the same idea as this guy!”
“N-no! We’re just here for the interview!”
“Yes!”
The reporters were shocked by the president’s no-holds-barred attitude.
“Then the interview material will be announced by the association. Everyone, please leave.”
“Ugh…”
“What’s the point of standing here? Nothing good will come of it.”
“But… the public’s right to know…”
“Then hand over your business cards.”
“Eek!”
In the end, the reporters ran away.
They had warned not to mess with crazy people who were ready to die together.
‘He might actually be a decent person.’
Junwoo changed his opinion of the president a little.
On the way to the car.
“Can you help me?”
Junwoo hadn’t even finished reacting to the sudden question when the president continued.
“The association is being controlled by the conglomerates right now. Even civil servants are doing it.”
The president wasn’t powerless—he just couldn’t go beyond that.
“I want to reform the association from the inside. To do that, I have to drive out the conglomerates.”
“What do you want?”
“Internally, I can rearrange things however I want. But the companies themselves—no. We need a way to crush them with money.”
The president had come looking for an ally to fight alongside him.
“Is there something you want from Anz?”
“Make normal hunter goods. What the conglomerates are selling is completely useless.”
“…”
The president was even more ruthless than Junwoo expected.
“What will the association do?”
“Are you looking into creating a hunter mall?”
“Yes.”
“The association will build a hunter mall. You’ll join us there.”
It sounded like the association was only doing good things.
“Then taxes will disappear. The conglomerates are currently holding the National Assembly hostage with money and preparing a tax-free hunter mall bill. It ends at a fixed tax based on transaction amount.”
This meant no progressive taxes on the hunter mall.
Right now, the five trillion won from America alone would bring over one hundred and twenty billion in taxes.
“We won’t lose anything?”
“I’ll do my best to help you, so can you really sell at a fair price?”
“I’m fair anyway. Let’s work together.”
“Thank you!”
The two had no economic sense.
A scam duo with no conscience.
It was the moment the president had the last laugh.