Preparing for the Trip (3)

"If the unveiling is in three months, wouldn't the promotion period be too short?"

Generally, when you consider that movies release information and advertise over a period of about half a year, three months was an extremely tight schedule.

"In fact, the bigger issue is whether the movie will be completed on time, rather than the length of the promotion. On average, action films need to be made steadily over about a year, so three months is really short. It's fortunate that Shin Ah-yeon-ssi is able to help shorten the CG work time, at least."

Cutting a year-long schedule down to just three months. Even if it was a request from the distributor, it seemed pretty unreasonable.

However, Cha Jae-seok shook his head as if to tell me not to worry.

"If time is tight, we can simply increase the workforce. On that front, the distributor Tae-yeong Group has promised to spare no support."

The Tae-yeong Group currently had high expectations for this movie.

That's probably why they didn't want to miss such an opportunity.

Of course, from our perspective, this was not a bad thing either. Filming was already finished, so there was no chance of Shin Ah-yeon's schedule getting tangled up.

As I thought about it, something I had forgotten suddenly came to mind, and I spoke up.

"You haven't officially announced yet that Hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim participated in the movie, have we?"

"That's correct. Although rumors have spread here and there, we haven't promoted or advertised based on that yet."

It actually helped us that we had kept it under wraps so far.

After the Jeju Island situation, Ah-yeon's name value had skyrocketed, so if it got out that she had appeared as a supporting character, the impact would be considerable.

"I'll trust that part to Director Cha Jae-seok."

"Ah, yes. Of course, I'll put my all into getting the word out, so you don't need to worry about that."

Having replied, Cha Jae-seok glanced over at the other filming teams who were chatting quietly, before lowering his voice to speak to me.

"Oh, and the president of Tae-yeong Group would like to meet you."

"Excuse me? If it's the president of Tae-yeong Group... Chairman Song Hyun-seung?"

"Yes, yes. It seems the chairman was extremely impressed by your performance this time, manager Park. He would like to meet you and perhaps ask for something in particular."

Chairman Song Hyun-seung was a figure who had made the Tae-yeong Group the center of the cultural industry.

Though it was true that the group had been somewhat shaky recently, he was still undoubtedly a big shot.

"I don't mind, but as you know, I'll be heading overseas for filming soon..."

"Ah, I've heard. You're going to be on a variety show, right?"

"Yes, it just happened that way."

"PD Jung Jun-su is really one lucky guy, honestly. How did he manage to get Manager Park's approval?"

With that, Cha Jae-seok laughed heartily.

Watching him like that reminded me of his behavior at our first meeting.

To think he could act like this despite what had happened at first—it must mean he had no lingering grudges.

"Oh, of course, it would be best if you could meet before you leave for the overseas shoot."

"Would next Monday work, by any chance? I think I'll be free then."

"Yes, of course. I'll let the chairman know separately."

With how calmly he said this, it was clear that Cha Jae-seok was no ordinary person either.

I'd realized already how he had earned the trust of Tae-yeong Group at a young age, but all in all, he was a well-connected and capable man.

'Chairman Song of Tae-yeong Group, huh.'

There was nothing bad about broadening one's connections.

Besides, chairman Song wasn't known for any scandals, and as a giant in the cultural industry, he would likely be very helpful to Unique as well.

***

The next day, I headed to the Awakener Crime Investigation Division with Soo-ah.

Since I'd be overseas for a while, I had to take care of things in advance.

"Oh... Hello..."

Shim Hyuk-soo, whom I hadn't seen for a few days, looked as if he'd aged dramatically.

Obviously, it would be because of the incident with Shim Chun-hoo.

After being caught by Shim Hyuk-soo, Shim Chun-hoo had passed away just a few days later.

Since he had faced both Yeon-ji and me in succession after his body had reached its limits, it was only natural.

The only reason it was possible at all was likely because he had extended his life by devouring Hunters' mana-holes.

Thanks to that, we were able to gather various pieces of information from our side...

'... The only problem was that the information wasn't what I expected.'

I had intended to extract information about demons from Shim Chun-hoo.

Their objective was singular, so I wanted to know how far their plans had progressed so far.

And things like who was currently leading the demons, or how many demons were on Earth at this time.

However, the only information we gained from Shim Chun-hoo was: "I don't know why someone from 300 years ago is here."

'There are basically two things that can be inferred from that.'

The first: time flows differently here and there, and the several months that have passed since someone returned to Earth could be 300 years over there.

The second: I may have been sucked into the rift and arrived in the other world at a point 300 years in their past.

Either way, things had gotten very complicated.

If roughly 300 years had passed, it wouldn't be strange for the demons to have a 'Demon King' again by now.

'According to what she said, a Demon King isn't created so easily, but...'

But you never know.

No one can predict how the world might change after 300 years.

"Superintendent Shim Hyuk-soo, are you alright? You don't look very good..."

As I pondered, Soo-ah looked at Shim Hyuk-soo with a worried face and spoke.

It was only natural to feel pity seeing the haggard Shim Hyuk-soo.

"No, I... Ha, actually... Yes, nothing's alright. There's no way I'd look good. He was my brother—even if he was trash. I never thought he'd disappear without even a corpse remaining."

Shim Chun-hoo's body had apparently melted into black blood the moment he died.

It was the same phenomenon that occurs when a demon dies.

The only difference was that Shim Chun-hoo left absolutely nothing behind, unlike demons who usually left a 'core'.

"To be honest, I thought of quitting this job. What kind of face could I show, being the brother... But the kids stopped me, so I had no choice but to stay."

"You made the right choice. If you quit, chief, it would be a massive loss to the Korean police."

"Haha... That makes me sound like I'm someone important."

Honestly, if Shim Hyuk-soo really quit the police, the country would never just let it happen.

Isn't he one of those rare top A-rank Awakener? Among A-ranks, very few chose to become officers.

In fact, Shim Hyuk-soo was the only one I'd ever seen.

With the power of Hunters growing, letting someone like Shim Hyuk-soo quit would be like cutting off their own flesh.

"And... Manager Park."

"Yes."

"This business with the Javelin Guild—something must've happened there, right?"

"I believe so. Though I can't be certain, I suspect Vice-Guildmaster Shim Chun-hoo got caught up in some internal problem."

"... May I ask why you suspect that?"

Though his face was drained, Shim Hyuk-soo's eyes still burned fiercely.

"He certainly had a thirst for power, but he wasn't the type to go around killing people. There must be a reason. Manager Park, are you saying Javelin Guild is the cause? Is that right?"

He seemed to want to believe Shim Chun-hoo hadn't killed for no reason.

To be honest, Shim Chun-hoo had tried to kill people several times before, and would have succeeded if not for various circumstances.

But I didn't bother telling that to Shim Hyuk-soo.

"I'm telling you this only because you're the chief, but... this happened during Ji Hunter Yeon-hwa's rampage."

But Shim Chun-hoo's anger could be useful.

It would serve as a blade to strike at Javelin Guild.

Thus, I adapted and embellished some of the behind-the-scenes stories from the Ji Yeon-hwa rampage to tell him.

That Ji Yeon-hwa's rampage had similarities to the Shim Chun-hoo incident, and that all of it was orchestrated by certain entities tied up with the Javelin Guild.

"Thank you, I promise not to mention this to anyone outside."

"We still don't know exactly who those entities are, so don't overdo it."

"Of course. I've been doing this for over twenty years, you know. I know how to chase rats that've crawled into a hole, so don't worry too much."

Shim Hyuk-soo agreed to share any information he discovered about them during his investigation with me.

This essentially meant I had now gained the backing of the state in pursuing those guys.

"Those entities... You were talking about the demons, right?"

"That's right."

On the way out of the station, Soo-ah asked, her expression bitter and her eyes flashing coldly.

"I didn't like those types from the moment I saw them."

"You don't have to worry. Superintendent Shim will keep a close watch on them."

"..."

At my words, Soo-ah fell silent, lost in thought.

"Manager Park."

"Yes?"

"Um..."

Soo-ah opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, but then shook her head.

"It's nothing."

She forced a smile as if it truly was nothing.

Her attitude bothered me, but I assumed it had to do with the situation with Shim Hyuk-soo, so I didn't pry.

Bringing it up would only make her gloomier.

***

"Well, I'll get going now."

After dropping her off at Ah-yeon's mansion, Jung-woo said goodbye and drove away.

Watching the car recede, Soo-ah bit her lower lip gently.

'So frustrating.'

The incident with Shim Chun-hoo had originally been her responsibility.

It had started as a case for the 'Awakener Crime Investigation Division'.

But Jung-woo had handled it with Yeon-ji instead of her.

She knew the reason.

Yeon-ji had a 'collar'; without Jung-woo's order, she couldn't talk freely.

So, it made sense to involve her in secret events.

'But still...'

Even so, the feelings of frustration didn't go away.

She didn't have a restricting collar like Yeon-ji, but that didn't mean she was careless with secrets.

Jung-woo knew that as well.

So the reason he'd teamed up with Yeon-ji wasn't just about the collar—he must have found her more dependable.

'In retrospect, that's only natural.'

Yeon-ji, despite growing younger, had dealt with all sorts of trouble in her past.

She had more experience and could handle anything calmly.

Compared to her, Soo-ah was just a strong but naive Hunter.

"... I'm home."

She muttered gloomily as she opened the door, and immediately saw Ah-yeon sprawling on the sofa.

"Oh, you're back?"

"..."

Seeing Ah-yeon's carefree figure, Soo-ah suddenly felt all her worries seemed trivial.

She was always curious—how could this woman always remain so relaxed...?

"Hmm? What's wrong? You look worried."

"It's nothing. Seeing you, Ah-yeon-unni, I just feel like the answer is to keep working hard."

Yes, what was the use of worrying?

In the end, working hard was the answer.

Jung-woo said he trusted her.

So, to not betray that trust, she just had to try even harder.

'So that next time, he trusts me more than Yeon-ji.'

Steeling her resolve, Soo-ah gave Ah-yeon a bright smile.

"By the way, what are you looking at so intently?"

"Me?"

At that, Ah-yeon turned her smartphone screen towards Soo-ah.

"Well, you know how Jung-woo oppa is a returnee? I was looking up information about that, and this just showed up in my recommendations."

On the screen was a video by a Dwitch streamer, midway through playback.

The title was so clickbait-y that Soo-ah frowned reflexively.

"... The Returnee's Daughter?"

The streamer's name was Alencia Walker.

She was the daughter of a scammer who used to go around claiming to be a returnee.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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