WHOFA 13

Humans are animals of adaptation, and people gradually grew accustomed to the hatred and anger directed at someone whose name they did not even know.

In the first week of the Hate Phenomenon, people unable to control their anger caused disturbances here and there, leading to no small number of conflicts and incidents. However, starting from the second week, videos with titles like ‘WhoAreYou Bounty Project—We’ll Give 100 Million Won to Whoever Reports Hate’ and ‘When you think, “Am I the person hated by the whole world?”’ started to appear.

By about the third week, the Hate Phenomenon had become a part of daily life. People used Hate as a meme, saying things like, ‘I made so many mistakes at work today ㅠ I deserve to be Hated ㅠ’, and ‘I wanna become Hate… if I become Hate, everyone on the subway during rush hour will stand up to avoid me… Then I’ll just sit in that seat…..’ 

Variety shows featuring celebrities also used captions like, ‘Who is today’s Hate?’

As the Hate Phenomenon became normalized in this way, the Department of Awakened Safety planned its next step.

“We must reveal to the world the reason why the Hate Phenomenon occurred, and the entire world must begin preparing for the rank 6 dungeon in earnest. Now is the time to start preparing seriously.”

Department of Awakened Safety, 5th basement floor conference room.

At Director Go Hyeyeol’s words, Commissioner Kim Eunji nodded her head in agreement, while the Minister and Vice Minister wore displeased expressions. The two, who were now closer to politicians than hunters, couldn’t help but first consider the political gains and losses of revealing that they had hidden Hate’s existence until now. However, they agreed on the point that they needed to start preparing for the rank 6 dungeon in earnest.

“Next week will be the fourth week of the Hate Phenomenon, and people will be more adapted, so it would be best to set the official announcement date for then.”

“No. Let’s do it this week. I have to enter a dungeon next week. You aren’t going to hold a press conference without me, are you?”

As Seo Hwa, sitting at the end of the long table, opened his mouth, a chilling silence momentarily fell.

“Half of this week has already passed. A nation’s affairs are not something that can be handled in a flash like unwrapping a candy.”

“You’ve been preparing for the official announcement since the day the Hate Phenomenon broke out anyway. You’ve spent three weeks reconfirming, reviewing, and preparing thoroughly, yet you speak as if you have to rush the preparations starting from now. Any hunter knows that our country’s Department of Safety is meticulous in its work. Though non-Awakened ordinary citizens would never believe it.”

His words were clearly a compliment to the Department of Safety. However, every single person listening frowned as if they had just heard a string of curses.

“Let’s do it two days from now. Announce it on Friday, handle the calls coming in from here and there over the weekend, then enter the dungeon on Monday. It’s perfect.”

“It would not be too late to make the announcement after clearing the next dungeon.”

“The dungeon I’m entering this time is a rank 4, so it’ll take some time to clear. Between a week and ten days. Will that be alright?”

“Must you enter it yourself? You could just tell our agents how to open the hidden mission and how to acquire the item, yet you keep going in yourself and taking the items for yourself.”

The Minister’s words were a complete distortion.

The reason Seo Hwa entered the dungeons himself was because the conditions and situations for opening the hidden missions were difficult to convey with words.

‘If you dig a hole between the bushes and rocks in the rank 3 meadow-type dungeon that appeared in Jeonju on Month 0, Day 0, at 0 o’clock, a hidden mission will open.’

If he relayed it like that, in a meadow-type dungeon, the natural environment of bushes and rocks is extremely commonplace; wherever one looks, it is all bushes and rocks. Thus, one cannot dig up all the numerous bushes and rocks inside the dungeon.

Seo Hwa himself had also wasted a lot of time in the beginning searching for the locations based on information he heard from hunters. It was far more efficient for someone who already knew the location in detail to enter the dungeon personally and open the hidden mission with the sense they had acquired through experience.

Furthermore, after acquiring an item through a hidden mission, Seo Hwa would immediately relinquish ownership as soon as he came out of the dungeon and return it to the Department of Awakened Safety. To date, there was not a single item that Seo Hwa had taken for his personal possession.

The Minister knew this fact as well, but even knowing it, he felt the urge to blame Seo Hwa regardless.

“Sunbae Yoon, I do not wish to agree with this man’s words either, but it seems better to make the official announcement as quickly as possible. The speed at which rumors are spreading right now is unusual.”

“Commissioner Kim Eunji is right. We cannot hide this man’s existence forever. If we delay the official announcement and the rumors continue to spread, and the truth happens to leak out, the Department of Safety will lose the trust of the entire world. Taking control of the situation before the rumors spread further is the way to stabilize the situation quickly.”

At the advice of Commissioner Kim Eunji and Director Go Hyeyeol, who were known as the most competent people in the Department of Safety, the Minister finally made a decision.

“Hmm… I understand. I was also concerned about the rumors.”

And so, the date for the official announcement and press conference regarding the Hate Phenomenon was decided.

“No matter how much we have confirmed its authenticity, there will be many who will not believe this man.”

“Yes, that is likely. Especially the civilians.”

“Still, once it’s revealed that the rumored Hate is an Awakened, won’t the aversion subside a little?”

‘Soul,’ the system that grants supernatural powers to the Awakened, allowing them to display mysterious abilities.

Thirty years had passed since the system appeared in the world. During that time, the very first thing people had tried to figure out was the method of awakening. Under what conditions does one awaken? Is there a way to awaken artificially?

They still had not found the answer, but there was one clear truth that everyone believed.

There are no villains among the Awakened.

There are no criminals, no terrorists.

If one were to ask, ‘Do all good people awaken?’, the answer is ambiguous.

However, if one were to ask, ‘Are all awakened people good?’, the answer is ‘Yes.’

Based on the statistics so far, people believe in this absolute truth of the system.

If someone with a criminal record awakens, the current perception is to think, ‘Ah, they must have been falsely accused in the past.’

Because of this, no matter how hateful Hate was, once people learned that he was an S-rank hunter, they would think, he must not be a heinous criminal, and his words must not be a complete lie.

And even if it were a lie, they would believe that as an Awakened, he would never do anything to harm the world and humanity.

However, there is a big difference between understanding with one’s head and accepting with one’s heart.

Even now, the Minister, Vice Minister, Commissioner, and Director were being subjected to constant temptation.

‘Do not believe that thing’s words. It must be excluded immediately.’

‘That thing will endanger the world. It must be eliminated from this world.’

‘It is the whisper of a devil. That man came here to destroy the world.’

If even the Awakened were engulfed in such temptation, how confusing would it be for ordinary people?

“For now, what’s certain is… a great confusion will arise, so we will need to cooperate with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.”

“The financial market will also take a big hit. We will have to suspend stock trading for now, and we must warn them to prepare in advance for a possible bank run.”

“How much should we tell other countries?”

“We should give our allies a heads-up.”

“What about the World Hunter Association and the hunter organizations?”

“The heads of the hunter organizations already have a rough idea of the matter, so we will just deliver the date—”

Seo Hwa was only half-listening to the ensuing meeting. Seo Hwa’s goal was to inform the world about the rank 6 dungeon as soon as possible, and having achieved that purpose, he was satisfied. The political, economic, and social repercussions resulting from it were not Seo Hwa’s share of worries.

Even when he was a guild master, if he was called for political matters, he would use a dungeon raid as an excuse and send Gam Yigeon or Shim Jin in his stead.

‘After the meeting, I’ll first visit Hanaflotion’s potion synthesis lab and weapon crafting workshop… and then I should go back to the lodging and get some rest.’

Three weeks had passed, yet his left arm had not returned to normal. No matter that he had missed the initial treatment, this was the first time his recovery had been this slow.

‘Should I test the waters and ask for treatment if the mood seems okay…?’

Seo Hwa stealthily glanced at the man sitting diagonally from him. Gam Yigeon was focused on the meeting’s agenda. He could be seen clenching and unclenching his fist. It was a sign that he wanted to participate in the meeting. There were fifteen people in the meeting, and among them, only Gam Yigeon was not from the Department of Safety but a hunter belonging to a guild, which was why he was restraining his comments.

Gam Yigeon quickly sensed the gaze and glared at Seo Hwa. When Seo Hwa winked, his handsome face crumpled into a deep frown.

‘He’s much more expressive than the Gam Yigeons of previous timelines. It’s refreshing.’

The Gam Yigeon that Seo Hwa knew was a person who could maintain a stoic expression even when a politician he despised made comments of a style he loathed most, right to his face. Now, he was completely unable to control his expression, making his thoughts transparent.

He wanted to keep watching, but he felt that it would be too torturous for Gam Yigeon. For everyone’s sake, Seo Hwa quietly lowered his gaze.

*

Friday, 1 PM. The address to the nation began as scheduled. The president’s statement was short.

Even knowing that it is desirable for politics, the military, and the economy to be separate from one another, they are intertwined to the point where they can never be apart. However, the hunter system is different.

The affairs of the system are left to the Awakened.

This was a providence that had been firmly upheld since the system first appeared 30 years ago.