#295. Am I Right?
Kang Moo-hyuk holed up in his office and got straight to work drafting a comprehensive guild development plan.
It was the first real step toward turning the strategies that had been swirling in his head amid all the crises—big and small—into reality.
Drafting the detailed plan didn't take long. He already had the materials prepared in bits and pieces.
The very next morning, he burst into Joo Se-ah's office, arms loaded with a towering stack of documents.
"What's all this?"
"Documents for your approval."
"All of this?"
The pile rose precariously in his hands, nearly brushing his eyebrows. Joo Se-ah recoiled.
"Can't you just do it like always? Electronic signatures."
"There are too many supplementary materials you need to review, Guild Master. I didn't have time to condense them into a presentation with only the essentials. It's hard to view multiple files at once on a tablet anyway. So I figured it'd be best if I walk you through them one by one."
"Finding what we need in this mess will take forever."
"Don't worry. I remember exactly where everything is."
"All of it? Are you even human?"
Joo Se-ah shot him a look like he was some otherworldly being. Knowing his condition, she couldn't help but worry.
"Aren't you pushing too hard? Don't overdo it. You're not exactly healthy."
"It was just one late night. It's not like I pulled an all-nighter for days. I haven't felt this motivated in ages—I'm in top form."
"So you've been phoning it in until now?"
Joo Se-ah thought back to everything he'd accomplished. Even excluding the major incidents, the sheer volume of his workload would make a hunter suspect overwork death.
Catching her train of thought, Kang Moo-hyuk offered a half-excuse.
"That was just work. It's not like slaying monsters—why would desk work get me pumped?"
"You're a bona fide workaholic."
"Some hunters risk their lives on hunts. My job is to handle the traffic control so they don't have to sweat the small stuff."
Joo Se-ah recalled the "small stuff" he mentioned.
Developing North Pocheon, gaining guild independence, annexing Sinuiju to Korea, reclaiming the Korean Peninsula's northeast with a unified strike force...
He'd dashed everywhere—Russia, China, Japan, the US—without respite.
Those he'd reined in fared no better. Off the top of her head: Darden, brother of the Tyrant; China's S-rank Sim Wol; Baekho Guild had its sign taken down entirely; even the US President got a slap in the face.
Others might have done the legwork, but no one escaped unscathed once Kang Moo-hyuk targeted them.
Joo Se-ah swallowed dryly, sensing something even bigger than before might be coming.
"Go easy. It's hard to keep up."
"No need to keep up—just follow. I'll pave the road."
"That makes me more nervous."
Of course, Joo Se-ah had no intention of letting him shoulder it alone. Whatever he stirred up, she'd back him to the hilt. She vowed it silently.
"Oh, right—putting that aside. What about Jin Do Group?"
"Oh? That. Yeah."
"'Yeah'? That's what started all this. Eul-ji's a handful, but we can't ship her off to Ujungdo."
"Honestly, it was no big deal. I wasn't even thinking about it."
"No big deal?"
"Just give back exactly what they handed over."
Joo Se-ah tilted her head at his words.
"How?"
"Like I said—don't sweat the small stuff. I'll handle it. Besides, there's something more important."
"More important?"
"I could manage this one myself... but it's sensitive in a lot of ways. Better if you handle it personally, Guild Master."
"What's so heavy about it?"
"We need internal discipline."
Joo Se-ah's face hardened at his words. It was a touchy subject. She understood why he was passing the buck to her.
"We purged all the opposition from the guild, didn't we?"
"That's the problem—the ones we purged."
"The ex-hunters?"
"What do you make of the info leak about Go Eul-ji training under you?"
"What's to make of it? Everyone in the guild knows."
"Exactly. On the surface, it's nothing. No need for secrecy. But if it leaked outside... that's different."
Kang Moo-hyuk continued gravely.
"After Taeseong became Iron Will, I dismantled every old faction."
No Song-rin from the strike team had surrendered to him; Do Kyung-hoon from the expedition team, caught siphoning hunters, was booted with his cronies.
The remaining expedition members were a tiny handful loyal to him, like Choi Mi-ran and Kim Seong-hyeon.
Jo Choong-hyeon, who betrayed them during the orc war and endangered guildmates, was officially expelled—and per unofficial records shared with Jang Deok-gu, executed. Even the Taeseong line was gone.
With all obstacles eliminated, Kang Moo-hyuk scouted fresh blood and rebuilt the guild from the ground up.
The Tumen River and northeast defenses had forged tight bonds among members.
Finally, they felt true belonging to Iron Will.
"The current structure ensures no whisper escapes without my say-so. I can't claim 100%, but after showing Do Kyung-hoon and his ilk the axe—and their street cred outside—no one dares blab."
"Then we're good. Stirring internal drama now will just piss people off. It'll look suspicious. Handle this stuff quietly."
"Like I said, this discipline is about the exiles."
"Do Kyung-hoon? Jo Choong-hyeon? It's been ages since they left."
Kang Moo-hyuk flinched inwardly when she named Jo Choong-hyeon. She didn't know he'd eliminated him. Jang Deok-gu had kept mum, deeming it unnecessary.
He shook off the distraction.
"As you know, Guild Master, several others were expelled. Some were once called the 'fourth faction' in Taeseong."
"A fourth faction?"
"Back then, they were the minority neutral line."
"Oh, right. Solid hunters. Aren't some still around?"
"Not all. Some left. Something fishy turned up, so I tasked Mr. Jo with digging deeper. Got results this morning. That's where the Eul-ji leak came from."
Joo Se-ah spotted the hole in his logic.
"They're not guild anymore. Why me instead of you?"
"They handled luring orcs to the waterfall during the war."
She got it.
Betrayed by Jo Choong-hyeon, they'd held the line with skeleton crews, unable to retreat in time.
Eul-ji's intervention let them breach the dam late, but couldn't prevent casualties. Most war dead came from that line—the tightest-knit bunch—leaving traumas that lingered.
Joo Se-ah recalled the report: some hadn't coped and quit.
The heavy mood got to her; she bowed her head.
"I neglected them. As Guild Master, that was callous. I need to reflect."
She was used to loss.
Her mother, Slayer comrades—all gone. Veterans like her learned to forget fast or break.
They accepted death's volatility quickest.
She was no different.
"Don't dwell. It clouds raids."
Kang Moo-hyuk cut in firmly. She met his eyes; he spoke evenly.
"I've lost hunters on my orders too. Even sent them to certain death. No regrets—they saved more. But my actions don't vanish. I'm asking you to step up out of respect for those who fought to protect others. A non-hunter desk jockey like me can't lecture. Especially ex-comrades, no matter how briefly shared. Go as Guild Master and hunter. Comfort, but be clear."
"......"
"They need a firm warning. For the guild's sake."
The Artisan Community, the unofficial potion cartel's craftsman bloc, called an emergency gathering of members.
Jin Do Group's chairman Jin Gi-ju oversaw gate industries personally. The other groups did too.
Sudden as it was, they booked a massive hall in a seven-star hotel, as always.
Only the cartel heads entered, sans entourages.
Jin Gi-ju strode toward the enormous round table at the hall's center. As usual, lighting dimmed everywhere but the table.
He loved these clandestine meets—the elite status of those who moved Korea thrilled him. The staging was his flourish.
One of four seats was taken.
"Chairman Tae, early bird. Others not here yet?"
"This is everyone."
"Everyone?"
As a question mark hovered over Jin Gi-ju's head, a shadow detached from a corner.
"Hanju forfeits."
"What?! Who the hell are you?"
"Kang Moo-hyuk. That's the kid."
Taeseong's Tae Jin-seong made the intro. Jin Gi-ju assumed he'd brought him.
"Hey, Tae. Bringing riffraff to our circle? Rule breaker."
"Underestimate that riffraff and you'll regret it. Seen it plenty. Tonight too. And I didn't bring him."
Kang Moo-hyuk walked to the table and claimed one of the two empty seats—the Artisan chair.
"Here as Artisan proxy. Delegation letter."
Jin Gi-ju snatched the paper aggressively.
"It's legit, but..."
He tore it up.
"This table isn't proven by paper scraps."
"Say what you will—tonight, I'm Artisan rep."
"You... how..."
Jin Gi-ju sensed the upset. He recalled pressuring Iron Will via his son recently.
He'd expected backlash—in their favor.
With Hunter Association chair's granddaughter (close to Joo Se-ah) hostage, plus Hanju and Artisan pledges, victory seemed sealed.
Iron Will's tactician was sharp, sure to side with them...
"So you're soft on sentiment after all?"
"I appealed to old ties. Got this seat that way."
Jin Gi-ju couldn't parse it.
Kang Moo-hyuk clarified.
"Asked Hanju's chairman not to come."
"That calculator yields to sentiment? First I've heard."
"He's sharp. Told him our Guild Master would swear off Hanju potions, badmouth them everywhere. He agreed on the spot."
"......"
"As for Artisan? Bribed a liquor fan."
"......"
Perplexed, Jin Gi-ju glared at Tae Jin-seong for answers.
"What the hell is this shitshow?"
"What else? Your nose getting bloodied. I'm just here for the show."
Kang Moo-hyuk addressed the smirking Tae Jin-seong.
"How about it, Chairman? Am I right?"