The gallery was on fire.
📰 Hunter Minor Gallery
[Title: Hermes Chairman Suddenly Appears in Back Alley]
Posted by: HermesDog
No way;; I saw the issue trending and checked it out, and it really is the Hermes chairman. Look at how shocked those guys are too. I seriously don’t get it. Why the hell would that man be walking through a place like that by chance?
— HermesDog
(Link) See for yourself. It’s real. It’s not like he got caught randomly on camera—the guy is the real deal.
ㄴAnon: Balak’s there too? And he’s smashing through walls? The fact that it’s real is honestly insane.
— HermesDog
Yeah. If nothing else, there’s no one in Korea who can imitate Balak’s size. That’s why it’s legit.
— RandomUser
But how did he even get caught on camera? He could’ve just walked on by.
— HermesDog
Some idiot live streamers were messing with easy targets and caught the chairman’s eye. He chased them off. That’s it.
— RandomUser
Weren’t those the guys who bait for views? Wouldn’t jumping the chairman get them insane numbers? Why didn’t they?
— AA
They’d get torn apart by Balak. Even if the chairman let it slide because it was a broadcast, they’d still end up as “steel drums.”
📰 Hunter Minor Gallery
[Title: Real-Time Ultra Beautiful Goddess Has Appeared]
Posted by: MM
An insanely beautiful hunter just showed up. Seriously, look at this. She’s drop-dead gorgeous. I only went because the Hermes chairman was there, but that’s not the point. Just look. You won’t regret it. It’s like a fairy popped into existence. I’m dead serious—she’s top tier among every woman I’ve ever seen. There’s zero editing or filters. This is real. Holy crap, she’s beautiful.
— Anon
Isn’t that a civilian? Are we allowed to post normal people’s photos?
— MM
I’m on an overseas IP, bye.
— AA
She really is stunning. Does anyone know her Insta or Twitter? Hehe.
— MM
She seems to be a hunter but otherwise a civilian. If she was active as an Awakener, there’s no way we wouldn’t know her. Since she’s not famous, well…
— Anon (235.238)
Doesn’t she look foreign?
— Anon (59.38)
Isn’t that bastard Kim Jian trying to hit on her?
— Anon
Fr, it does look possible lololol
— MM
If we’re being real, there’s no reason for him to be there. But since he showed up, maybe it really is because of her?
— Anon (125.238)
Is he actually trying to pick her up?
— dd
Why would he go through all that trouble? It’s probably just a coincidence.
— dd
I have so many things I want to say about that woman, but my wallet doesn’t have enough space to write them all.
— Anon (18.27)
Lmao for real. She’s a real person, dude. What are you gonna do if you get reported lololol
— dd
I held back even though I wanted to say a lot after seeing that face.
“Hah. It’s full of sexual harassment.”
I turned on the computer to check the reactions and the bait was burning hot. The topic was exploding across all kinds of galleries. Because it was an internet broadcast, it was trending in the internet broadcast gallery.
Since the fact that I was an Awakener had been revealed, it was also blowing up in the Hunter Minor Gallery. Even the galleries that fed on controversy and hate were blazing.
Sexual harassment? I thought I wouldn’t mind. But it didn’t feel as good as I expected. I guess this is what they mean by difference in position.
Still, I had no intention of suing or anything. In the end, all of it was still interest. At least unlike real malicious comments that tried to harm or slander me, this level could be generously called praise.
Well. This much I can let slide.
That part was fine. It wasn’t a big deal. There weren’t any people seriously hating on me, and even the comments were mostly just calling me pretty.
The real problem lay elsewhere.
Kim Jian… why the hell did he approach me?
He had definitely come looking for me for some specific reason. The fact that he had come all the way to that spot, the reason he kept talking to me even though he said he was busy, and the fact that he didn’t seem to view me negatively. Adding all those up, it was clear he had interest in me.
That interest probably wasn’t romantic. A man of his caliber wouldn’t lack women to the point of targeting me. And the chance that he had realized I was a mage was also low.
Every time I wrote on the gallery I used an overseas VPN, and I had never logged into that account anywhere else. It was possible to track if someone really tried, but doing so in such a short period was impossible.
Besides, if he knew I was a mage, there was no reason for him to approach me so obviously. The whole thing looked suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
It was more reasonable to assume there was another reason.
But is there any way for me to find that information on my own…?
Han Yeseo probably wouldn’t know. An S-rank hunter might have some connection to the Hermes president, but she had only recently become S-rank.
So pass. Then who could I ask?
Hmm. I guess that’s the only place.
The place that had turned me into a mage. The Mage Gallery. They had said there were two mages there. I went there and wrote a new post.
🌀 Mage Gallery
[Title: Hey, does anyone know anything about Hermes President Kim Jian?]
Posted by: MagicMage
I stopped by the hunter gallery today. Does anyone know why that guy went there? Everyone’s just making a ton of guesses. Honestly, there’s zero reason for a corporate chairman to be walking around a place like that. A guy in a position where no one would say anything even if he rode in an expensive car is walking on foot? It’s reasonable to be suspicious.
Even if we say he came to hit on a girl, that’s weird too. He could approach her normally, so why act like that? You guys are mages, right? All eleven officially recognized mages in Korea must have gone through Hermes, no? Since mages would have met the chairman face-to-face, does anyone know anything?
There are only eleven mages in the Republic of Korea. There are more than eleven corporations large enough to be considered major companies. In other words, mages were rarer than corporate chairmen. The people here might know something, at least roughly.
— Hermes42
Kim Jian? That guy’s never been the type to chase women in the first place.
— MagicMage
Do you know something?
— Hermes42
We’re somewhat close. Friends, I guess.
— MagicMage
? What does that mean? How is some random who posts on the bottom rung of the gallery friends with the chairman? Are you S-rank?
A-rank was like getting a first-grade on the college entrance exam. Rare, but not impossible to find. But did that make someone equal to the Hermes president? Of course not.
— MagicMage
Then how are you close if you work at Hermes?
— Hermes42
I’m not. I’m with Iron Blood.
— MagicMage
Then how are you friends?
— Hermes42
We were friends before he started his business? Even a few years ago, an A-rank hunter wasn’t at a level where you couldn’t meet him.
Come to think of it, I had forgotten. The Hermes president was only twenty-four years old. Just four years older than me. And he probably hadn’t been that successful when he first started his business. If they had been friends before that, it made sense. Being A-rank in your mid-twenties was impressive.
— MagicMage
So do you know anything?
— Hermes42
I don’t know either. No way to find out. After the company got big he became too busy to meet me often.
— MagicMage
Then you’re not really that close, are you?
— Hermes42
If he was into women, he would’ve been chasing them since way back. But even though a lot of women confessed to him, he never did anything like that, so isn’t it more reasonable to say he’s not into women? It actually seems more likely that he’s gay.
— VeteranSupporter
I don’t know much. There are more than a couple things about that person that don’t add up.
— MagicMage
What are they? I’m curious, so tell me everything. I didn’t tell Hermes that I’m a mage like you all advised. Whether I say it or not depends on this.
— VeteranSupporter
There are a lot of questions. Starting a business at sixteen? We can say that’s because he’s a genius, but how did he get investors and investment money? How did he manage his connections? Those are the important parts. Even if his business sense is insanely good and the items are excellent, how did a sixteen-year-old with nothing proven gather investors? That’s the questionable part.
— MagicMage
Doesn’t Hermes tell you?
— VeteranSupporter
He says it’s a secret. There seems to be something, but who knows?
Hmm. As expected, there was almost no helpful information at this level.
— MageFan
Seriously, why did he intervene? I really don’t understand it at all.
— MagicMage
Oh. Perfect timing. Aren’t you a mage? Couldn’t you get a private meeting with Hermes?
— MageFan
A private meeting is possible, but I don’t know him well either. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. Last time he captured a living demonic beast and dragged it away or something.
— MagicMage
What the hell does that mean?
— MageFan
No idea. Most of what he does is shrouded in secrecy anyway. They say he’s E-rank, but I don’t think he is. There’s a lot I don’t know. More than anything, he’s close with politicians, so if it goes in that direction I really don’t know anything.
— MagicMage
He’s close with politicians? And what do you mean he’s not E-rank?
— MageFan
Yeah. The reason he grew that much in the first place is because of his connections with politicians. They’ve been close since he was young. I don’t know why. And the E-rank thing is a conspiracy theory, but basically, there’s no reason for him to stay at E-rank no matter what. It’s certain he awakened, so there’s little reason for him not to grow.
— MagicMage
You’re saying he might be hiding his power?
— MageFan
That’s right. At least after his business stabilized, he could have trained and grown, but he’s deliberately not doing it.
Hmm. This side doesn’t seem to know the details either. Separately from that, there might be a gap between his actual rank and his official one.
— MagicMage
But there’s no reason to hide it, is there? Don’t hunters decide whether to clear gates or not?
— MageFan
That’s why it’s a conspiracy theory. Honestly, I’ve scanned him a few times and he’s definitely not E-rank. But he’s not promoting. I don’t know why.
It smelled. Something very fishy was going on.
— AriaSong
Anyway, that woman is seriously hot as hell? Anyone know her Insta?
— Hermes42
This guy really isn’t worried about getting sued, huh.
— VeteranSupporter
This kid’s a minor so he’s half-immune.
— Hermes42
Why is she a minor?
— VeteranSupporter
The future of the world is dark.
And the comment below it. What the hell is this bastard?
Tsk. I guess this is as far as I can get.
It was impossible to find out any more information. At least it didn’t seem to be a problem on the surface. For now, it was best to leave this matter alone.
Kim Jian
Anyway, we had already exchanged numbers. If there was something to contact me about, he would reach out. Worrying over something I couldn’t do anything about right now was very un-mage-like behavior.
I decided to go back to studying magic.
Riiiiing—
While I was studying, the phone rang for the first time in a while. It was probably Han Yeseo.
I picked up the phone and looked at the screen.
“Eh…?”
Soae…?
The moment I froze looking at the screen, a corner of my memory recalled who that person was.
Baek Soae…
Baek Soae. Baek Sowol’s older sister.
The only member of Baek Sowol’s family saved in the phone. She had called urgently.
Even if I asked why, no answer would come. Because I had no memories, any reason was possible.
I can’t avoid this, can I?
It was a trial I would have to face someday anyway. Since I wasn’t busy, doing it now was probably best.
“Hello?”
I answered the phone.
