Director Lim Finally Realizes How You've Been Living

The Awakening Management Bureau of the Republic of Korea.

Eleventh floor. The Director's office.

Bang—!

The door flew open with violent force.

The man who stormed in, yanking his necktie loose as he went, was Lim Wanseop.

The man ultimately responsible for every awakener in Korea. Director of the Awakening Management Bureau.

"Huuuuu…."

Director Lim dragged a long breath up from his lungs, trying to cool the rage. His face was already flushed crimson. The shins that had been kicked raw were just as red.

He had just been hauled before a pack of National Assembly members and thoroughly humiliated. As a bonus, the President had given him a joint-cracking dressing-down as well.

If it weren't for the senior awakeners…

He would have charged straight in and settled it with his fists.

"Can't do that either."

Lim Wanseop pressed both hands to his forehead and forced himself to breathe. How had it come to this?

From above, the daily grind never stopped: Bring Hiki in. The public was in an uproar because he still hadn't brought Hiki in. Even at home, the quiet side-eye was constant. Approval ratings had hit rock bottom; talk of impeachment floated around casually. Open the internet and it was nothing but people cursing his name.

How was he supposed to find someone who refused to come out of hiding? Finding a criminal, a lost wedding ring, or a way to revive the economy would have been easier. At least those things left clues.

Hiki gave him nothing.

"This is rough…."

He had boldly taken command of the Hiki recruitment race. Now he was simply exhausted. He almost wished he could just announce that Hiki had been brought over from another country. He would have to step down, sure—but at least the suffering would end.

That was when he heard it.

Thud-da-da-dak—

Urgent footsteps in the corridor. Staff bringing fresh news, maybe?

What appeared in front of him, however, were two unfamiliar faces. A pair of young women. They rushed into the room, slammed the door shut behind them, and then—

"Haaah… We made it…!"

"We did it!"

—they stood there gasping and congratulating themselves, looking exactly like deer that had just outrun a pack of hunters.

Lim Wanseop asked in a tone of pure disbelief:

"Who are you?"

Only then did the women notice him. Under the Director's flat stare they visibly shrank.

"Ah! W-we're not here for anything weird!"

"We're, um, the Capybara Guild…."

"Capybara Guild?"

He had never heard of it. Some tiny operation, probably.

"I don't recall making an appointment with the Capybara Guild."

"Th-that's right! We couldn't get an appointment! They said you were too busy."

"We have something we need to tell you…!"

What now? A sigh escaped him on its own.

"How did you even get this far? You shouldn't have been able to walk in freely."

"Well… we hid really well? Hehe."

"She's a mana-detection ability user. She sensed the security officers' mana, then we slipped past—shook-shook—and—"

"Shut up…."

Headache material. However they had gotten in, the mention of mana detection jogged something. Both faces were familiar from the new-awakener camp.

Not particularly outstanding hunters.

Bottom of their cohort then. Still bottom now, judging by the thin aura and mana leaking off them. They clearly hadn't grown much. They hadn't come here with that meager power to attack him. So what, then? Filing a complaint? Small guilds getting stepped on by the big ones was nothing new.

"So what is it you want?"

His voice came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out rough and hoarse—fatigue and stress.

Ssssss—

Mana slipped out of him without conscious intent. Jin Sujin's face turned the color of dirt. She forced her trembling chest still and managed to speak.

"Director, what I'm about to tell you absolutely cannot leak."

"…?"

"Can you keep it secret?"

"Only you can know, Director!"

The way they were acting made it look like he was the one desperate to hear the news.

"I'm a busy man. If you're here to play games, leave."

"You can't."

"You have to hear this."

"Then spit it out already."

"Promise you'll keep the secret first…!"

Irritation surged. He wanted them gone this second. One flick of his finger and these kids would drop unconscious—but then the whole circus would start again. The situation was already crushing enough. He did not need more work.

"Fine. Talk."

"You have to promise!"

"Say you'll promise!"

"All right. I promise to keep it secret. Now hurry up and speak so you can leave."

Only then did Jin Sujin prepare herself. She swallowed hard, took two deep breaths, set her face into something resolute, even smoothed her clothes—and finally, right before Lim Wanseop's temper detonated, she said:

"We found Hiki."

"She wants to register as an awakener."

Crash—!

The Director shot to his feet. Fountain pens and assorted clutter went rolling off the desk.

"……."

"……."

Tiger eyes flicked back and forth between the two Capybara Guild members. Jin Sujin, who could read mana, and Lee Soyeon, who could not, both locked up equally tight under the pressure.

"Where is she right now? Hiki."

"She should be at her residence."

"And you didn't bring her with you?"

The air went out of him. Clarity returned, and with it the judgment that this could easily be a false report. They didn't look capable of it—but clumsy criminals had always existed.

"Then how am I supposed to believe the person you met is actually Hiki?"

"If you meet her yourself, you'll know right away…."

"Haa."

If she wanted to register, she could simply come herself. There was no reason to send proxies.

"The truth is… Hiki isn't in any condition to go outside right now."

"She smashes her way through the Tower but can't leave the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠house?"

The guild members stumbled through the whole story. It wasn't completely absurd.

"Hiki is a real mage! She's on a completely different level from skill-click hunters like me."

In fact, it was extremely attractive. She hadn't even cleared the tenth floor yet, and she already had at least three usable spells. The appearance of a genuine mage who stirred the imagination and a sense of romance. If he could make her public, every recent failure would be wiped clean.

But there's no proof.

Only circumstantial evidence. He wanted to believe it so badly—and that was exactly why he could not simply believe it.

"If we're lying, we'll give up everything we have. Our hunter status and benefits too."

"All of the guild's assets will go to the Bureau."

"I don't need any of that."

"Ugh."

Lim Wanseop weighed the possibilities. That this entire performance was a setup to frame him. That Capybara had cleverly fabricated a fake. That Hiki was real. All of them.

Hmmmm.

Verification itself wasn't that hard. All she had to do was put on a performance worthy of the world's number one. Exactly as Capybara claimed: high-purity mana, versatile magic skills, overwhelming climbing ability. Prove those three things and it was done. Registration formalities could be handled as a simplified process under the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Director's authority.

There's also the symbolism of me personally registering Hiki.

Politically enormous. A title that would protect him for the rest of his life.

"I'll visit tomorrow. Contact Hiki and set a time."

"Yes! Ah, but…."

"Director, you're going to need some… makeup."

"Makeup?"

"You look a little—no, a lot—scary…. We'll prepare the disguise."

"……."

"……."

A little kid with social anxiety, they had said. He felt a flicker of dread about whatever costume they planned to bring, but—

"Very well."

It was a deal worth accepting.

"Th-then we'll be going!"

He sent the Capybara Guild on their way. The moment they stepped out, a commotion erupted in the hall.

"Let them go! If you were going to catch them you should have done it from the start."

"Y-yes, sir!"

Security failure, in any case.

Zzt—

One staffer flinched hard under the scolding order and answered. Right after the employee left, the secretary followed into the office.

"It's time to move, sir. Regular briefing schedule."

"Right."

In the car he thought. If this really was Hiki, when should the announcement be made? How should she be revealed?

"Today's briefing will be delivered directly by Lim Wanseop, Director of the Awakening Management Bureau."

While he was still turning it over, he found himself already at the podium. He slowly unspooled the prepared remarks.

"I offer my deepest gratitude and respect to every awakener who continues to devote themselves to the nation and its citizens today."

Click-click—

"Over the past week, five awakeners lost their lives during Tower raids. We pray for the repose of their souls."

"Additionally, two more fell during the suppression of the A-rank gate in Haeundae, Busan. To the fallen awakeners and the civilian victims as well—"

"Recently ten new awakeners have begun training at the Bureau's training center—"

Click-click—

The ceremonial numbers ended. He moved on to new policies and domestic and international trends. His voice was cold yet weighted with force. Nothing interrupted except camera shutters and keyboards.

Then:

"We will now take questions from the press."

Hands shot up. The moment a microphone was passed, the questions poured out. None of them had anything to do with what he had just announced.

Hiki.

Hiki.

Hiki.

Was the emigration rumor true? Shouldn't the recruitment strategy change? Criticism over the failed Hiki recruitment was rising— Stocks dropped because they couldn't find Hiki. People were depressed because they couldn't find Hiki.

Nonsense. Pure garbage.

The Director stuck to principled, empty answers. Then, near the end of the Q&A, one more question:

"Has there been any additional lead regarding Hiki?"

A flicker of calculation crossed Lim Wanseop's face.

Additional lead? There was one.

Grounds to trust Capybara's words? None.

He simply wanted to believe.

Yes. He wanted to believe that badly.

His mouth opened on its own. People were not always rational.

"I cannot disclose the specific progress of the investigation. However—"

That single word, however.

Every reporter who had been staring at their laptops snapped their heads up as one.

"We have recently confirmed positive signals and have been in communication. I will only say that Korea currently stands at the forefront of the Hiki recruitment race."

Charr-rr-rr-rr—

A storm of flashbulbs.

"Director!"

"Just one more question!"

Lim Wanseop answered nothing further and left the stage.

So that's how it went….

Messenger off. I finally let out the breath I had been holding.

"Huuuuu—"

Even texting is hard, you know.

My stomach's churning.

I buried my face in the pillow for a short rest and tried to organize things in my head.

Tomorrow, the Director of the Awakening Management Bureau is coming to my house. I have to put on a show-and-prove for him.

Ugh.

Is this really the best option?

Is this the best you could do, Capybara Guild?

Was a better non-face-to-face, zero-contact, nonstop, direct registration completely impossible?

It was impossible, so they did it this way.

Even I couldn't think of another answer. If I just blurted out, "Hi I'm Hiki please register me," would they go, "Ah, so you're Hiki. Sure, I'll register you. Here's five hundred billion won"? Absolutely not.

In the end I had to suffer through it once. Capybara Guild had simply reduced that suffering to the minimum.

Haa, I'm so nervous.

Maybe it was the aftershock of meeting the Capybara duo last time. My stomach already felt like it was burning. Like Mom saying, "Just wait till we get home," and promising the switch. I don't have a mom, but I roughly know the feeling.

Huu.

Director, if you're coming tomorrow, then I'm going to be depressed starting today.

"Uwaaaaaah—"

I keep making weird noises. How badly have I tensed up, seriously?

Should I ask the gallery? A little embarrassing, but better than fainting in front of a person.

Tadak-tadadak—

Imagining that keyboard sound, I wrote a post.

Why are they so sharp?!

What even is Kigal.

How do you seize the initiative with Kigal.

Only after a long back-and-forth with the gallery did decent answers start appearing.

Queen?

I had zero desire to become a queen… but the advice still made sense. I ran straight to the closet.

I shoved aside all the old clothes I used to wear and focused on the ones Capybara had gifted me.

A dress? Do I have to pick something like that?

There were a few. Princess-dress types.

"Ugh…."

That might be a little too embarrassing. Forget it. Forget it.

I looked at other clothes instead.

"Oh?"

Somehow I found one that looked pretty decent. A suit. For a business-type meeting, a suit was the way to go, right?

I changed right then and there. The clothes fit like they had been tailored for me.

It actually looks pretty sharp?

I struck a few poses in front of the mirror.

"Looking good, right? What do you think, Musang?"

Wooooong—

Just changing clothes and I already felt more confident. Should I add sunglasses too?

While I was at it I tried combining accessories. Looking cool was one thing, but—

This way I can naturally avoid eye contact.

After mixing and matching several items, I completed the optimal combination. I struck an arrogant pose in front of the mirror.

"Perfect."

All right. Bring it on, Director…!