Chapter 24 – Heads (Part Two)

“When exactly did you awaken?”

“I don’t know the exact date… but it was about three months ago.”

“If it was three months ago, you were still working your regular job. Is there a reason you hid the fact that you’d awakened from those around you and didn’t engage in any activities?”

“At the time, I had no intention of becoming an Awakened. I figured I had awakened late in life, and I didn’t think my ability was anything special.”

The reporter nodded at Il-hyeon’s answer.

There were many who chose not to become active even after awakening.

Some were content with their current lives or disliked dangerous work, while others had simply awakened at a late age.

Typically, people gained their abilities in their teens, and their physical and mental peak as an Awakened was in their mid-to-late twenties.

Awakening on the cusp of twenty-seven was definitely late.

“In that case…”

“Were you sent into active duty in Russia right away?”

“How did you get connected with Aegis?”

“Uh… one question at a time, please.”

Il-hyeon answered the flood of questions, his head spinning.

Every time he finished an answer, reporters’ hands shot up from all corners of the room.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t expected this kind of situation.

It was only natural for attention to be focused on him, this sudden new face in Aegis. He and Lee Soo-yeon had even gotten their story straight beforehand.

But this wasn’t the atmosphere he had anticipated.

The heat from the reporters was so intense it felt like he could get burned.

There was a reason for their fervor.

Not only was this story a hot topic, but they were also short on time.

Unlike celebrities, athletes, or politicians who frequently appeared in the media, being an Awakened wasn’t a profession that required public attention.

Fundamentally, most of their income came from the Ether Cores dropped by monsters, so as long as they hunted monsters effectively, that was all that mattered. Public opinion and popularity were secondary concerns.

A lower-tier company might need name recognition to land jobs, but a place like Aegis could take an unknown and turn them into a household name overnight.

Just like in Il-hyeon’s case.

Because of this, the time they allotted for press conferences was never long.

In particular, even within Aegis, the time given to reporters varied wildly from team to team.

Many teams would just say what they had to say and leave.

Alpha Team was, at least, one of the more cooperative ones, frequently appearing in the media and not particularly shying away from it.

But even so, their time was limited, which made the reporters all the more desperate to get their questions in.

Il-hyeon reined in his scattered thoughts and answered calmly.

“I wasn’t expecting much, but I figured if I was going to get an evaluation, I might as well get a proper one at Aegis. I was lucky enough to be noticed then and was able to join.”

“Whose eye did you catch, exactly?”

“Ah, Team Leader Lee Soo-yeon’s.”

At his answer, a collective murmur rippled through the reporters filling the room.

“Whoa…”

“That’s huge.”

The reporters’ gazes, which had been fixed on Il-hyeon, momentarily shifted to Lee Soo-yeon.

Il-hyeon’s head turned with them, and he saw Lee Soo-yeon’s profile as she sat coolly with her legs crossed.

Notoriously selective, she was known for rejecting Awakened who were recommended for her team, not for personally scouting anyone.

For an inexperienced rookie who had awakened late to be scouted by her and recruited so unconventionally—it was no small matter.

“What kind of ability do you have that allowed you to be recruited directly into Aegis?”

“Please tell us about your ability’s rank as well.”

“I can’t speak about that part…”

When the question of his ability came up, Il-hyeon tried to brush it off as planned.

But the reporters didn’t give up easily, pressing him relentlessly.

“Why not? Is there a reason you have to hide it?”

“The public wants a more convincing answer.”

As the reporters started cutting him off, Il-hyeon hesitated, flustered. In that moment, Lee Soo-yeon took the microphone and interjected.

“Of course we can’t tell you that. With other criminal organizations still at large, I see no need to expose our strengths.”

The growing number of foreign criminal organizations was a major problem, alongside the monsters from the Gates.

It was an issue not just for national governments, but for private corporations and Aegis as well.

While the powers of an Awakened were useful in any line of work, the main source of income for Awakened criminals was Ether Cores, for which demand in the black market was explosive.

Incidents of them trying to hijack unauthorized sites to obtain Cores were commonplace, leading to frequent clashes with corporations.

Of course, criminal organizations tried to avoid clashing with Aegis if they could, but friction still occurred from time to time.

It was serious enough that Aegis had a separate team dedicated to dealing with Awakened criminals.

The reporters who had been probing Il-hyeon already knew this much.

Slightly disappointed that they couldn’t find out about his ability, they didn’t press the matter further and moved on.

Thanks to that, Il-hyeon could breathe a sigh of relief.

The target of their questions now shifted to Lee Soo-yeon.

“To become a member of Aegis so soon, can we assume he’s exceptionally skilled?”

“I recruited him to the team based on his potential. He’s still lacking, but I believe he possesses outstanding latent talent.”

“Mr. Kang Il-hyeon awakened at a rather late age. Do you believe that potential will have a chance to shine?”

“It’s not a common case, but sometimes those who awaken late show explosive growth. I have high hopes.”

“Then…”

“Shall we move on to other questions now?”

Lee Soo-yeon said, glancing at her wristwatch.

But the reporters didn’t want to let go of the most important issue, the very reason they were here.

“What? We still have many questions to ask.”

“The public’s attention is entirely focused on…”

“No. We won’t be discussing this topic any further. Or should we just end it here?”

The reporter fell silent.

***

The press conference ended, and the team members, except for Lee Soo-yeon who was talking with a staff member, left the building first.

“Team Leader, you think we’ll get another call today?”

“Nah, looking at the other teams’ situations, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be heading out again today.”

Seok Pil-joon asked, and Jeong Jin-seong replied.

Ghost chimed in.

“I’m busy tonight. Don’t call me in the middle of the night.”

“You think I want to go out then? Good work, everyone. Head on home. I need to go straight down to the basement.”

“Good work.”

Ghost and Seok Pil-joon immediately boarded the waiting helicopter.

As the helicopter ascended and quickly vanished from sight, Jeong Jin-seong casually spoke to Il-hyeon.

“How was your first press conference?”

“Whew, it was chaotic. Did I make any mistakes?”

“You did well, no mistakes. Oh, and you don’t have to answer every single thing the reporters ask. We can cut out a few slips of the tongue on our end, but there’s no point in giving them anything to work with.”

“Understood.”

Il-hyeon nodded at his words.

After a brief chat, Jeong Jin-seong headed down to the basement.

He had wanted to receive the Ether from today’s site immediately, but since the incident happened abroad and Russia had a massive cleanup to deal with, it was impossible to get it right away like last time.

While Il-hyeon was waiting for another helicopter, Lee Soo-yeon, having finished her business, approached him.

“You haven’t left yet?”

“Aren’t you heading home, Team Leader?”

“They called me downstairs. Looks like Team Leader Jeong went straight down.”

“Yes.”

“You did well for your first time, but you don’t have to answer everything the reporters ask.”

“Team Leader Jeong told me the same thing.”

“He did? Anyway, not all of them are like that, but you’ll definitely run into people who try to get under your skin. Just kick those bastards out and put them on the list so they can’t come back.”

“What if they hold a grudge and write a weird article?”

“Then that media outlet won’t be allowed in here at all.”

Lee Soo-yeon said, gesturing toward the press conference room.

Since they were the ones ‘granting’ the press conference, who they let in and for how long was entirely at the team’s discretion.

“Well, anyway, once the articles start coming out, you’ll be getting calls from all over the place. Commercial offers will be the least of it, and other countries will try to get you to naturalize with all sorts of conditions. Since you probably still seem relatively approachable, you might even get offers to be a personal bodyguard for the rich.”

“Um… should I be happy about that?”

“No, it’ll be incredibly annoying,”

Lee Soo-yeon said with a smile.

***

*Vzzzt!*

The phone in his pocket vibrated loudly.

Struggling with the items in both hands, he managed to pull out his phone, only to see it was a call from a specialized foreign newspaper wanting an exclusive interview.

Il-hyeon politely declined the offer and ended the call.

How did they all know his number?

He felt a sense of regret for his previously lax personal information security.

Il-hyeon, holding a cake in one hand, was riding the apartment elevator.

He got off and stood in front of unit 804.

He pressed the doorbell once, but without waiting for the door to open, he punched in the code on the digital lock and went inside.

He was greeted by his mother’s surprised face.

“I’m home.”

Il-hyeon smiled gently.

Seeing her face for the first time in nearly a month made him even happier, and they shared a hug right there in the entryway.

It was a warm scene, but it was quickly followed by a sharp smack and a fiery scold.

“Why haven’t you been answering your phone!”

“Ack!”

He got a slap on the back.

As an Awakened, it didn’t even tickle, but for some reason, he felt a stinging sensation where he’d been hit.

“Your face is all over the TV every time I turn it on, but all I get is one phone call? I was so worried about you doing such dangerous work.”

“Sorry, I’ve been really busy lately…”

“Are you alright? Your body?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

In fact, he was more than fine; his body was now capable of taking down monsters with his bare hands.

Il-hyeon and his mother moved from their awkward stance in the entryway into the apartment.

The home, which he hadn’t seen in a while, was just as he remembered.

“Where’s Dad?”

“He’s at work. You think he’d be home at this hour?”

“Ah… I’ve kind of lost track of the days lately.”

“Right, so how’s the new job? They’re all famous people, aren’t they? Are they giving you a hard time? Tell me everything in detail.”

His mother began pouring out all the questions she’d been holding back.

Il-hyeon had only told her he would explain in person, without giving any details.

She had mostly heard news about him from neighbors or through media articles.

“It’s too long of a story to tell all at once. Let’s take it slow…”

Il-hyeon placed the things he had brought onto the living room table.

The cake in his right hand and the brochures and envelopes in his left were spread out.

“My goodness… Did you buy this for my birthday?”

His mother smiled happily as she looked at the large cake box he’d set down.

Il-hyeon nodded and handed her a thin envelope.

“This is some spending money. I set aside a little from my first paycheck at the new job.”

“Thank you, son.”

His mother took the thin envelope but didn’t open it, simply holding it in her hand.

On the table lay several mysterious promotional brochures that Il-hyeon had brought.

They caught his mother’s eye, and she pointed at them and asked.

“What are these?”

“It’s your birthday today. Just thought you could pick out a few houses.”