Chapter 199: Scoop! The Secret Behind Baek Tae-yang's Airport Fashion?! Let's Find Out in Detail!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 199: Scoop! The Secret Behind Baek Tae-yang's Airport Fashion?! Let's Find Out in Detail!
—"You met him? Then get out of there for now! That guy is a total nightmare! Besides—!"
"No, I'll handle it myself for now."
—"Handle it yourself? You're about to hang up, aren't you! Don't you dare hang up! Absolutely not!"
"See you at the Academy."
Click.
I recalled the message I had read after my Protagonist Share reached 50%.
The words saying that what I do now is what writes the next sentence.
It meant I no longer needed to chase after Kim Min-su's heels and play the role of a cleaner.
I needed to act like a 'Protagonist'—exactly what was required right now.
"Why isn't the immigration process happening immediately? Do you not recognize my face?"
"I am very sorry, sir. There is currently a system error, but we are working to resolve it as quickly as possible. We truly apologize."
"Hah, how many times do I have to say it! I don't have time for this! If I stepped off a private jet, shouldn't you just check my face and let me through?"
"We are sorry."
"Are you a 'sorry' machine? Stop saying that and just move out of the way!"
I could roughly understand the situation just from the dialogue I overheard.
'The entire system changed a lot after Awakeners appeared.'
Now that people capable of using supernatural powers existed, individual combat power had risen exponentially.
Immigration was no longer as simple as just having a passport like in the past.
Thorough background checks and fingerprinting for emergencies were now required.
Preemptive measures were necessary to quickly clean up any incidents that might occur.
'I heard that at first, people couldn't accept it, but after several incidents, it became a global standard.'
It becomes even more complicated when someone arrives via private jet, as that's a guarantee they are a big shot.
What if a truly powerful and wealthy person caused an incident, prepared to pay for the cleanup afterward?
That would be a classic case of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted, so airports couldn't compromise on these protocols.
"If you could just give us a little, just a little more time..."
"Just how much more do you want! I've already been waiting for over three minutes! Do you have any idea how much I earn per minute? Every second I'm standing here, I'm losing hundreds of millions! If I file a claim for damages, huh? You'd have to spend the rest of your life scrubbing my feet to pay it off. I'm asking if you're confident you can handle that!"
"We are sorry. We are truly sorry."
However, not all Awakeners followed this logic.
There are always those who are treated like kings in their own country and cannot tolerate being treated like commoners in another.
That was especially true if the person was the heir to Moros Child, a global resource research corporation.
'I think his name was Gimins Moros.'
A name that practically advertised, 'I am Kim Min-su mk2.'
I walked over to Gimins's side with a relaxed, leisurely gait and spoke up.
"Is the immigration check going to take a long time?"
"Oh? Ah, no, sir. If you could just wait a little, just a very little longer."
"Ah, I see. Then I'll wait."
In truth, even if Gimins hadn't been making a scene, I would have had to come here anyway.
There was only one immigration counter for private jets.
Though called an immigration area, the space was essentially a large suite.
Flying private meant having a lot of money, and if word got out that such people were treated poorly, the airport's image would suffer.
Because of that, the area was beautifully decorated, and highly capable staff were assigned to minimize trouble.
"Who are you?"
The moment I intervened, the airport employee's expression brightened, while Gimins's expression soured even further.
He probably felt unpleasant because someone had interrupted when he thought he had perfect control of the situation.
'The distance from Baelson is... yeah, about right.'
I didn't answer him immediately and scanned the surroundings.
Because of Gimins's foul personality, his bodyguards were standing quite a distance back.
According to Kang Tae-min's information, Gimins was around a Rank 2 or 3 Hunter, so bodyguards didn't mean much anyway.
"Hey! I asked who you are! Why are you butting into my conversation! Do you know who I am?"
"I don't."
I slowly tossed out bait, luring Gimins in.
If Kim Min-su was a timid loser, this guy was a bold loser.
That meant there was a specific way to handle him.
"You don't? You don't know, yet you're standing next to me? Ha! Do you think being in the private jet immigration area makes us equals? I am Gimins, the heir to Moros Child!"
He cut his words short after spitting out his name.
He had a look in his eyes that said I should know how to behave now that I'd heard his name, and the corners of his mouth were curled up in a triumphant smirk.
I ignored him and gave a small hand gesture to the airport employee, signaling them to leave.
'He might only be Rank 2 or 3, but to ordinary people, he's a walking disaster.'
Usually, when dealing with people classified as VIPs, the staff are also Awakeners.
But, quite naturally, they weren't high-ranking Awakeners.
'If they were high-ranking, they'd be Hunters, not airport employees.'
At best, they were Rank 5.
Most weren't even ranked; they had just Awakened and were only slightly stronger than average people.
They might be wolves among civilians, but among true Awakeners, they were just ants crawling on the ground.
The airport employee bowed to me and hurriedly left the area.
Since they mentioned a system error, they were likely rushing to fix it.
I had heard in passing that airports suffered from a shortage of Awakened personnel, forcing individuals to handle a massive workload.
"Hey! Where are you going! Huh? You punk! Did you just ignore me and send him away? Are you crazy? Are you out of your mind?!"
Poke. Poke.
Gimins began provoking me by poking my chest with his finger.
To dangle the bait a bit more, I pulled my body back and spoke.
"Please don't do this. What can they do if there's a system error?"
"Error my ass, I'm busy! No, but how can you act like this even when you know who I am? Huh? Are you really just brainless... wait?"
There was one specific repertoire that people who use their status to pressure others always follow.
'Sizing someone up.'
The act of judging and ranking a person based on their clothes and accessories.
Gimins was exactly that kind of person, so he thoroughly scanned my appearance, and as a result, he saw the Holy Sword.
He looked at the Holy Sword, which was firmly coated in rock, then back at my face.
"Are you Baek Tae-yang?"
"But why have you been speaking informally to me this whole time? I don't think we're on those terms."
"Ha, seriously, what is wrong with Korea? First the airport employee, and now you. Is no one afraid of Moros Child?"
Why would I be afraid?
Now that my Protagonist Share was over 50%.
There was nothing I couldn't handle.
"You should be grateful I'm being rational! If I wasn't, it would've been over for you, Hero or not!"
"I'm asking why you keep speaking to me so informally."
I heard he was raised like a hothouse flower, and that was clearly true.
If he knew I was the Hero and knew my name, it should be very difficult to act this way.
He was the quintessential type steeped in bravado, thinking, 'He's only acting like that because he hasn't met me yet.'
Thinking he was actually someone important.
Well, sure, I guess he could think that.
"What? No, this guy keeps nitpicking... Are you trying to act tough? Huh? I'm going to be transferring to Victory Academy soon. Do you think you can handle the consequences?"
"If you continue to be this aggressive, I'll have no choice but to respond."
"What? Aggressive? Respond? Go ahead! Try it! What are you going to do if you do!"
I felt a thrill.
'This is seriously great.'
The cliché of giving a predictable, one-dimensional jerk a taste of his own medicine.
In the past, I would have found this tedious, thinking I'd just end up cleaning up after Kim Min-su anyway.
But since everything I did now led directly to the narrative, I loved this familiar flavor.
I was excited.
The fluttering anticipation of what would happen if I did this here.
The pleasure of knowing that I alone could monopolize and open this special gift box.
That sensation filled my entire body.
"Oh? Ignoring me now! I said try and respond!"
The continuous ignoring and talking back.
The attitude of not respecting him and the contemptuous gaze.
Unable to handle all of this, Gimins finally raised his fist high and swung it straight at me.
"Young Master! You mustn't!"
Thwack!
Before the bodyguard could intervene, Gimins's fist struck my face directly.
The first strike and a surprise attack.
The justification created for me by experiencing both simultaneously.
"Hero! I mean, Tae-yang! You mustn't!"
Bam!
Before Baelson could rush over to stop me, my fist buried itself directly into Gimins's liver.
It wasn't just a punch; it was the force of driving a stake into him.
I could feel that my strength had definitely increased compared to when I hit Kim Min-su.
"Gah... cough... wait... what are you... doing... you... do you know who... no, before that... if Victory Academy finds out about this... what... what do you think will happen...!"
"What do you think will happen?"
I grabbed the hair of the guy who had doubled over the moment his liver was hit and forced his head up.
To think you'd become the sacrifice for how much of a 'Protagonist' move I can make.
You really have no luck.
"You...! You bastard...! You're a first-year...! I'm going to tell... your grade representative... about this...!"
"I am the first-year representative. But you're still speaking informally?"
"Guh-ack!"
This time, a blow to the solar plexus.
He must have received thorough training as an heir, because his eyes were still sharp even after taking two hits.
Min-su's eyes would have rolled back after just one.
For a 'mk2,' he had been upgraded quite a bit.
"I'll... I'll tell the student representative...!"
"That's also me."
Why are you so short-worded, Mins?
Crack!
"Kieeeeeek!"
Kim Min-su and Gimins were certainly similar, but there were differences in several areas.
When I hit Kim Min-su, he sounded like a pig being slaughtered, but Gimins sounded like a screaming water deer.
'The impact feel and the sound definitely can't beat the original.'
I guess that's why the original famous restaurants are so popular.
And so, for about five minutes, a herd of water deer appeared in the immigration area.
"Save... please save me."
"No, no, I'm not going to kill you. You're Gimins, the heir to Moros Child."
I have to treat a VIP with care.
+++++++++++
Ring... Ring... Ring...
"Ugh, why isn't he picking up!"
Melanie flopped onto her bed, blaming her innocent phone.
In truth, she wanted to run to the airport right away, but she didn't want to see Gimins's face.
Also, he would undoubtedly cling to her like a creep.
She didn't want Baek Tae-yang to witness such a pathetic scene.
'That's why I told him to avoid him as much as possible...'
He said they met and then hung up, so she had no way of knowing what was happening.
While she was fidgeting in a strange state of anxiety...
Ding!
A notification popped up on her phone.
'Huh?'
It was an alert for a reporter who had written an article about Baek Tae-yang a long time ago.
She had set it up just in case they wrote another strange article.
Why was it suddenly going off now?
"Wh-what is this?"
Melanie couldn't help but gape as soon as she read the article.
《Scoop! The Secret Behind Baek Tae-yang's Airport Fashion is <This>?! Let's Find Out in Detail!》
[Reporter Yoon San-dong]
[Published :: 20XX.06.04 14:28] ☎
[[IMG_1]]
[A photo of Baek Tae-yang walking out of the immigration area while dragging someone by the hair. Click to enlarge.]
This is the scene of Hunter Baek Tae-yang leaving the airport on the afternoon of the 4th.
Baek Tae-yang was dressed in his usual clean and comfortable attire, and the Holy Sword at his waist was very impressive.
Recently, Baek Tae-yang has been gaining worldwide attention as a Hero after drawing the Holy Sword.
◇ Who is the person Baek Tae-yang is dragging by the hair?
When Baek Tae-yang emerged from the immigration area, there was one more unusual thing besides the Holy Sword.
The scene of him walking cheerfully while holding a person who had become as limp as a deflated squid.
While people wondered who this person could be, everyone was soon shocked.
The identity of that person was none other than Gimins Moros, the heir to Moros Child!
Baek Tae-yang stated that he would reveal the details later and asked for the path to be cleared so he could rest.
[Reporter Yoon San-dong] If you have additional tips, please email lqwe2&*([email protected].
[Comments (52)]
User1 :: Since it's Baek Tae-yang, I'm sure there's a good reason. Upvote if you agree lol. As expected of Tae-yang. [Upvote 231 / Downvote 52]
Choi Young-nam :: If the Hero did it, I believe there must be a justifiable reason. I trust him as someone who uses his power correctly. [Upvote 127 / Downvote 15]
Kang Tae-min :: Upvote for Baek Tae-yang lol [Upvote 60 / Downvote 2]
'This man finally went and caused an accident.'
A deep sigh filled the room.