The Nation’s Eyes
On the night of the fifteenth, a banquet was held in the 63 Building.
It was a gathering meant to welcome the S-class hunters.
Broadcasters from all over the country had rushed in to cover it, but the Korean government flatly turned them down.
The reason was simple: they wanted to keep the event exclusive, to the point that the whole world would have no choice but to come looking for Korean broadcasts.
Of course, when they refused, they used the excuse that filming the banquet from every country’s broadcasters might make the S-class hunters uncomfortable.
For that reason, the government planned to air only the opening portion of the banquet.
There were only four broadcasters allowed to attend.
Three major Korean terrestrial networks.
And the Hunter Association’s internet broadcast.
The host of the association stream was, as always, Gong Cheol, the lowest of the low and the man who got saddled with every thankless job imaginable.
“Hello. It’s Gong Cheol, back again despite not having died.”
The association broadcast had always been run by Gong Cheol alone.
But today, unlike usual, he was covering a “big deal.”
If you ranked this broadcast, it would be S-rank.
Which was why he wasn’t hosting alone today.
“Rejoice, everyone!”
Gong Cheol pointed to his side.
A woman with obvious tension written all over her face appeared: Jeong Haseol.
She was the A-class hunter who had appeared as a guest on the previous broadcast.
“Thanks to your overwhelming support, Ms. Jeong Haseol has been invited once again!”
“H-hello! I’m Jeong Haseol!”
As soon as Gong Cheol introduced her, she greeted the viewers brightly.
Her face, after bowing deeply and lifting again, was flushed red.
She seemed embarrassed to be sitting here.
Gong Cheol glanced at the chat window and grinned.
The chat had a bright, lively energy that you never got when he was hosting alone.
“But it’s a shame, isn’t it? You won’t be able to see Ms. Jeong Haseol anymore.”
“Haha. Your misfortune is my happiness!”
The moment he said that, the screen changed.
Instead of Gong Cheol, who had been grinning like a fool, and Jeong Haseol, who had been stiff as a board, a middle-aged man appeared on screen.
It was Song Mujin, the nineteenth President of the Republic of Korea.
The chat quickly fell quiet.
The screen did not change back.
“...I’ll keep this brief. Please enjoy the moment. Thank you.”
President Song Mujin’s greeting was very short.
He understood perfectly well that he was not the star of the show here.
Amid applause, President Song stepped down from the podium, and the cameras returned to the S-class hunters seated at their separate tables.
The first person to appear on screen was Li Lianzhe.
Li Lianzhe was clinking glasses with his disciple, Liu Yiho, while looking somewhere off in the distance.
The two of them were speaking with solemn expressions.
“Li Lianzhe, the hunter....”
Gong Cheol started to bring up the topic.
For a moment, he hesitated over what honorific to attach to the name.
After thinking it through, he settled on the safe choice: hunter.
“...He’s been active the longest as an S-class hunter, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Since he’s ninety-three, this year marks his fiftieth... no, his fifty-third year as an S-class hunter.”
“Wow, fifty-three years.... That’s incredible.”
Gong Cheol and Jeong Haseol each added a remark in turn.
Then the camera cut to Maksim Smirnov.
He sat there blankly with his arms crossed.
Maybe that was why.
The people at his table remained still even with food spread out in front of them.
Next, the camera captured Aladin Miller and Edidat Gwicin.
The two of them were chatting pleasantly.
The conversation seemed to be going well; Miller laughed as she patted Gwicin on the shoulder.
Perhaps because the mood was so lively, the people at that table, unlike the one with Smirnov, were talking and eating with obvious enjoyment.
Gwicin said something and rose from his seat.
Miller nodded and turned her head.
At that moment—
“Ah....”
Jeong Haseol let out a small gasp.
She had been fidgety from nervousness, but she was still an A-class hunter.
An A-class hunter who operated solo, no less.
Her field of vision was far broader than most people’s.
That was why she noticed something Gong Cheol, sitting beside her, had missed.
The eyes of the S-class hunters were all fixed on one place.
Jeong Haseol tilted her head, unable to understand why they were looking there.
Then the camera moved slowly.
Someone else had noticed what she had just noticed.
It was the cameraman on site.
The cameraman quietly angled the lens toward where the S-class hunters were looking.
There, seated together, were the members of Baekwooncheon.
“Ah...!”
Jeong Haseol gave a startled exclamation.
The cameraman, looking just as flustered, zoomed in on Baek Do-hee in a hurry.
She sat there calmly.
Beautiful, like a statue carved from fresh snow...
She was not actually sitting there calmly.
She was pretending to be calm.
Because of Baek Do-woon and Lee Tae-cheon, who were busily stuffing their faces.
That was the polite version.
If you used the words that rose from Do-hee’s heart, those two were devouring everything around them like gluttons, caring about nothing else in the world.
“Uh, th-there was an issue with the food, the food.... Ah, no. That’s not it.”
While Gong Cheol stumbled over his words, the camera slowly zoomed out.
Han Jae-im and, opposite him, Tae-cheon and Do-woon came back into view.
Do-woon and Tae-cheon were no longer eating like starving beasts.
That was because they had already cleared every single dish on the table.
Do-woon was looking down at his smartphone, while Tae-cheon rose from his seat, holding an empty bowl.
He was clearly about to go refill it.
The chat was flooded with laughter for a while.
That finally ended when one viewer asked a question.
The question was about Do-woon.
There was suspicion behind the question.
Some viewers agreed with it, and some didn’t.
The camera was still filming the Baekwooncheon table.
It was driven by the cameraman’s personal curiosity.
Why were the S-class hunters looking at the Baekwooncheon table?
He wanted to know the reason.
It couldn’t just be because they found the sight of them eating like maniacs unusual.
He was also curious why nobody was asking the chat to show the S-class hunters instead.
The rapidly rising chat came to a halt.
The viewer who had said they’d seen him fight continued.
Once again, the chat stopped dead.
It was as if the chat moderator had frozen their ability to type.
Do-woon was fighting Tae-cheon so he wouldn’t have his food stolen.
Fighting with both arms in perfect working order.
But the fight didn’t last long.
After Tae-cheon said something, Do-woon nodded as if admitting defeat and backed off.
Seeing that, Do-hee and Han Jae-im shifted their chairs slightly.
Both of them were shaking their heads, looking as though they wanted nothing to do with him.
The chat was on fire with talk about Do-woon.
Unaware of any of it, Do-woon stood up with an empty bowl in hand.
He was going to refill his food again.
Though his ears seemed to be itchy, because he kept rubbing them over and over.
All without knowing that he was doing it live on air.