If You Like Watching People Die
“Whoa, so our team leader actually knows how to get mad? And? What're you gonna do? Huh? Kick me out or something?”
Thanks to Ma Tae-sik's taunting tone, Kang Moo-hyuk actually calmed down.
Kick him out?
It was a tempting option... but he lacked the justification.
Of course, outright defying a superior could be grounds for a transfer to another department. Kang Moo-hyuk wasn't just any team leader—he had real pull in the guild, and no one would bat an eye if he booted one employee.
That held true even if the guy was the vice guild master's little brother. Shoving his sibling into the position was already shameless enough; meddling in personnel decisions would make the vice guild master look like a joke. Get branded as someone who couldn't separate public from private, and your authority crumbled.
But I can't just fire the bastard outright. If I do, I'll be the one laughingstock. 'Can't even manage his own team member.'
The strategic team leader position came with power, but also a mountain of things to uphold. In this day and age, fussing over face made you a boomer in a heartbeat—but when it came to staring down hunters, you had to fabricate dignity out of thin air and wear it like a crown.
No one in the guild dared ignore Kang Moo-hyuk now, but he'd dealt with every flavor of hunter on his climb from non-hunter to this seat.
Some came out swinging with curses from the jump. Hell, he'd even faced down one who raised a fist. Compared to that, Ma Tae-sik's bitching was just sour grapes over his demotion.
Damn, it's been so long since I got this kind of treatment, I lost my cool there for a sec—not like me.
Kang Moo-hyuk took a short breath and spoke evenly.
“Everyone knows you're the vice guild master's brother. But before that, you're my team member. Stick to the basics as a team member, and I won't make a fuss. Cross the line, though, and I'll have to act like a team leader.”
“Act how? Snitch to my brother? Beg the guild master? Or drag in some hunter buddies for a beatdown? Let's hear it.”
“First off, I'm bringing Hunter Lee Jin-joo onto our team.”
Ma Tae-sik flinched.
“Th-that make any sense? She's an expedition hunter... Why ditch a prime spot for the strategic team...?”
Despite his confident dismissal, Ma Tae-sik's face drained of color.
Stuttering like that—he must've gotten thoroughly wrecked by Lee Jin-joo. Makes sense, with all his limbs snapped. Tsk tsk.
It was a dirty play, but bringing in Lee Jin-joo wasn't a bluff.
She'd been eyeing a strategic tactics spot for a while. Her skills as a hunter matched her ambition.
She wanted to be expedition leader someday?
Female expedition leaders were rarer than hen's teeth in hunter history. A distant goal, naturally. Landing it took more than combat chops—you needed to master ops planning, logistics, the works. Everything from organization to monster hunting.
In that light, the strategic tactics team was a must-pass stepping stone to expedition leader.
The current expedition leader was blocking her exit, sure—but her iron will meant he'd relent eventually.
And Kang Moo-hyuk could nudge that timeline forward. Before, he'd have to watch his step around the expedition leader, but now? Smooth sailing, no blowback.
Ma Tae-sik's tantrum stripped the expedition leader of any face to hold her back. In the end, his own screw-up ties his own feet.
The threat landed; Ma Tae-sik mumbled without retort.
In a guild—part company, part brute squad—hunters couldn't just walk away. That made the leverage possible.
Kang Moo-hyuk saw no point dragging it out and ended the pointless pissing contest.
“Let's not make me act childish. Take your week of duty like a man.”
He ignored Ma Tae-sik's gritted-teeth surrender and headed to his desk. The team members, who'd watched the clash uneasily, finally exhaled and scattered.
Ma Tae-sik grumbled his way out, but Kang Moo-hyuk let him go. Keeping him around would just sour the mood. No point teaching someone who had zero interest in learning.
Business as usual resumed, and some time later.
“Team leader, you skipping lunch?”
Only after Oh Chang-soo's cautious nudge did Kang Moo-hyuk check the clock. Past noon already. He'd buried himself in work to shake off the morning's unease and lost track of time.
“Go eat without me. I'll handle it.”
Hunger had vanished; he passed on lunch. Oh Chang-soo accepted without pushing—classic. Guy wore his heart on his sleeve. Just polite chit-chat; no real invite.
Weee-ooo-weee-ooo!
“!!”
The moment they headed out for grub.
The alarm blared.
The interrupted wail stretched long this time, freezing the team mid-grab for jackets.
“Can't we eat in peace for once?”
Oh Chang-soo griped at the speakers, face twisted. The others silently screamed, clawing their hair.
Kang Moo-hyuk barked.
“What're you waiting for? Bell's ringing—move!”
Phones erupted across the office as his shout ended. They ditched calls, diving into emergency protocols, cycling the contact chain for their roles.
Kang Moo-hyuk saved his doc, issued quick orders, and snatched his line. Situation room light blinked.
“Strategic team leader. Location?”
-Gate at Seogang University.
“Standby squad?”
-Just helicoptered out.
“Prep the follow-up. Pull regular raid gear too. Off-duty's getting the call tree now.”
-Raid team too?
“Seogang's right next door. You wanna hesitate and watch another guild snatch it from our backyard?”
-Got it. Basic loadout?
“Start standard. One more chopper. I'm heading to site myself.”
He hung, grabbed his coat—a burly guy shadowed him.
“Analysis vehicle en route.”
“Who's lead scout today?”
“Section Chief Lee Cheol-ho.”
“That guy's a bit slow. Tsk. Won't cut it. Section Chief Kim, you're with me.”
“Me?”
“You were analysis before. If Lee flubs, swap him out.”
“Aw, man, I'll catch heat...”
Kim Man-gi grimaced but didn't balk. He had backup. Cross-department or not, on-site, strategic team leader called shots. Unless expedition core, his word was law.
Kang Moo-hyuk hit the emergency elevator to the roof.
Propellers thrummed. Wind battered as he boarded the helipad—chopper lifted off instantly, head down.
Headset on, he peered below.
Spectacular view from the 31st-floor tower. National Assembly Building flashed underneath. All around, helicopters lifted from Titan-scale guild towers.
“Everyone's asses on fire.”
“Gotta hustle for the key.”
“Early bird ain't always winner. Charge blind, you just bleed for someone else.”
“That's why you're going, right? Ghost at timing bids and strikes.”
“Text the standby: no half-ass gatekeeper pokes. Like last time—'bull rush' it, and you're standby squad for a month.”
Helicopter banked over Bam Island. Off-limits airspace normally, but gates overrode.
Yeouido guilds swarmed overhead. Speed races risked crashes—had happened before.
Post-incident, guilds tacitly yielded lead to the first across the Han River line. Still, desperate fools bet lives on gates.
-Yo, Team Leader Kang! Late out the gate this time?
Yeouido guild common channel—smarmy voice. Kang Moo-hyuk's vein throbbed.
One chopper hugged close. Inside, slick-backed pretty boy waved.
“Back off, Team Leader Jo Ik-jun. Gonna cause an accident.”
-You back off. Our standby beat yours there—yield this one.
“Won't know till gatekeeper drops. Secure the key first.”
-Anyway, non-tier-1? A-rank's the floor. Taeguk or you snags it.
“Slack like that, B-rank guild swoops.”
-Harsh curse much?
“Curse or truth? See after raid rank.”
[Landing soon.]
Pilot's word—Kang Moo-hyuk cut the channel. Ignored Jo Ik-jun's yap.
Seogang University campus crawled with cop cars, evac crowds.
Followed police to field LZ. Traffic heavy—Titan bird dropped him and RTB'd.
White-jacketed man approached, Titan satellite emblem on chest.
Third party leader Park Min-soo, this week's standby.
“Party leader, gatekeeper?”
Kang Moo-hyuk asked carefully. Rank-wise he outranked, but hunters' autonomy meant party leaders ran independent—like officers and NCOs. Mutual respect the norm.
“Monster beat me here? Harsh. Not caught yet. Breathe first.”
“Year-end quotas looming—no breather. Hit targets early, slack off come bonus time.”
“No sweat. No guild's even raid-ranked yet.”
Kang Moo-hyuk paused.
“None?”
“Yeah. List's empty.”
Park Min-soo's face screamed headache. Rush-hour standbys not ranking meant a beast of a gatekeeper—or unregistered monster.
Gates' real killer wasn't raw power. Unknowns terrified more.
Veteran Park Min-soo not even registering...
“Unknown?”
“Yep. Never seen it. No DB hit.”
Park Min-soo checked the World Guild Federation's Monster Codex.
Global threat-sharing hub. Absent there? First blood.
“Gates thirty years open, still unknowns?”
Kim Man-gi grumbled.
“Gate's blind spot. Not 'dog' gates for nothing.”
Kang Moo-hyuk accented the 'g'.
He scanned rival guilds, read lips.
Lip reading. Common 'lip-reading skill'.
His eagle eyes even hunters envied.
Mom's training pays off here.
Learned to ease his hearing-impaired mother's struggles. Useless daily, gold for spying guilds on-site.
「Standby's no-go. Call main raid.」
「Beyond us. Rally alliance guilds. Hold till analysis report.」
「No DB? Looks weak—rush and eat shit. Vibe check first.」
Consensus: cautious, prudent, cool-headed.
No shock—strategic team's reckless, hunters die.
But the world didn't run on reason alone.
Greed devoured sometimes.
“Someone raid-ranked!”
Kang Moo-hyuk cursed.
“Which idiot?”
Blind charge on unknown—potential bloodbath, no intel.
Kang Moo-hyuk's most despised breed.
“Why? Pioneer means we get data, plan after. Good for tails.”
Kim Man-gi's retort drew glares from Kang Moo-hyuk and Park Min-soo. He shrank. Clueless eyes—Kang Moo-hyuk spoke.
“Section Chief Kim, wanna stick with me? Listen up. Never cheer people dying. Our job? Money blinds you, bodies pile. Lots. Tolerate that, you won't last. You'll wreck yourself.”