Chapter 68 – New Team Member (Part Two)

“No, I have no intention of collecting that money.”

-R-Really? Thank you! Thank you so much!

Il-hyeon, who had stepped out late at night to buy groceries because they kept running low, received a phone call.

It was from an unknown number, and he wondered what it could be, only to be met with a ridiculous story.

*Just what has she been up to?*

It was Jeong Sang-soo, the man who’d had a showdown with Hyeon-seo at the restaurant.

Jeong Sang-soo, who had collapsed in shock at the astronomical cost of the shopping spree stipulated in the bet, had called the number they exchanged as soon as he came to. At the time, Hyeon-seo, having no other contact information, had given him Il-hyeon’s number.

As a result, the call had come to the clueless Il-hyeon, who then heard the full story.

Apparently, she had won the bet by including not only the cost of clothes and food but also extremely expensive equipment for the Awakened in the terms. The other party seemed to have never imagined that gear worth tens of billions would be part of the deal.

It was understandable, even from his perspective.

In any case, Il-hyeon had no intention of actually extorting money over something so ridiculous.

The man likely couldn’t afford it anyway. And while it was a significant amount of money for Il-hyeon, it wasn’t as if it had simply vanished—so he could live with it.

He wondered why the man was going this far when they hadn’t even signed a contract, but it seemed he had his reasons, like his on-air persona.

-I’m sorry for calling so late. I hope you two have a happy life together! Thank you!

“Excuse me…?”

Relieved that things had been resolved amicably, Jeong Sang-soo sounded utterly cheerful. Il-hyeon tried to question his baffling remark, but the call had already ended.

“Happiness? Love?”

Not understanding what he meant, Il-hyeon tilted his head as he stared at his dark phone screen.

What an odd person, to simply assume they were a couple just because someone else answered a phone number he’d been given.

Just then, the crosswalk signal changed, and Il-hyeon casually crossed the road.

He had only stepped out near his home, not even going far, but people who recognized him kept approaching.

They would recognize his face, whisper among themselves, and then ask for a photo or an autograph.

In the past, he would have used his ability to alter his face to avoid such attention, but ever since the Nightmare had slashed his cheek, facial transformation had become difficult.

The wound was said to prevent healing, and it seemed to be affecting his transformation ability as well.

Because of that, people recognized him wherever he went, making him realize just how easy he’d had it before.

The other team members, who had been active for years, probably had it worse.

Except for Ghost, of course.

Normally, the Awakened didn’t need to engage in things like fan service.

Celebrities and athletes existed because of their fans’ interest, but the Awakened received nothing of the sort; on the contrary, they were the ones protecting the citizens.

Consequently, it was rare for them to kindly accept every request that came their way.

But Il-hyeon did his best to accommodate people sincerely.

In these situations, he was always reminded of his friend, an avid fan of the Awakened, and he knew how overjoyed his friend would be after receiving something as simple as an autograph.

It was nighttime, so there weren’t many people, and even fewer once he entered the apartment complex.

Just as he passed through the parking garage and was about to enter the building, Il-hyeon noticed something strange.

*Wait… that car. I think someone was in it earlier, too…*

Glancing back, Il-hyeon’s eyes fell on a vehicle with windows so darkly tinted that it was impossible to see inside.

But it couldn’t fool his eyes.

He could sense a human presence inside. Slowly, Il-hyeon focused his scattered senses.

Then, he felt a gaze directed blatantly at him.

*’Kang Il-hyeon is looking this way. Do you think he’s spotted us?’*

*’Don’t be ridiculous. Just take more pictures.’*

Their cautious whispers reached his ears with perfect clarity.

A sealed car. They probably never imagined he could hear them from this distance.

Il-hyeon strode over and stopped directly in front of their car.

“Could you open the door for a moment?”

Il-hyeon tapped the window lightly with one finger.

He had a good idea of who they were, but they could have been a suspicious group trying to dig into his background.

Unless they were incredibly complacent fools, he needed to confirm their identities.

*’What do we do?’*

*’Shh! J-Just stay still. He’ll probably leave soon.’*

He heard them whispering again, holding their breath.

He could even hear their quickened breathing from nervousness; making that much noise, there was no way they wouldn’t be caught.

They didn’t seem like professionals who specialized in tailing the Awakened, which made him even more curious about why they were following him.

“Open up before I rip it off.”

Il-hyeon tapped the car door.

Terrified, they clicked the door open and looked up at Il-hyeon pitifully, frozen stiff.

“Who are you with?”

“Uh… we’re from It’s Patch.”

The two exchanged a glance before speaking. As expected, they were reporters.

Il-hyeon took the camera from the hands of the female reporter in the passenger seat.

A photo of Il-hyeon, clearly just taken, was displayed prominently on the camera’s screen.

It was undeniable proof.

“Are you allowed to just take pictures like this without permission? I’m not too familiar with this sort of thing.”

Il-hyeon asked, gesturing to the camera.

He was an Awakened who hunted monsters, not a public figure or a celebrity.

“We’re… we’re sorry.”

The man in the driver’s seat, who wore glasses, was the first to bow his head obediently.

Reporter or not, getting on the bad side of a high-ranking Awakened from Aegis would do them no good.

They’d rather be on a politician’s bad side.

“Since it’s come to this, could you just answer one question? Please!”

The female reporter squeezed her eyes shut and bravely spoke up.

It was a shameless but desperate plea.

Her attitude made Il-hyeon wonder.

Staking out his house wouldn’t yield anything; there weren’t any particular issues surrounding him.

“What question, all of a sudden?”

“Could you say a word about your relationship with Ms. Kang Hyeon-seo?”

When Il-hyeon didn’t shut her down immediately as she’d expected, the reporter’s eyes lit up as she asked.

“What kind of relationship? She’s a colleague I’ll be working with from now on.”

Il-hyeon answered, bewildered by such a question.

An announcement had already been made that afternoon about Hyeon-seo joining the team and deploying overseas starting tomorrow.

The news that a previously unknown Awakened was the second to join the Alpha Team after Il-hyeon had become quite a hot topic.

“Oh, come on, that’s not it. The articles are already out… Please, just be honest with us.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Question marks filled Il-hyeon’s mind.

“The dating rumors about you two are already everywhere… Is it true you used your connections to get her on the team?”

* * *

Il-hyeon heard the unbelievable story from the two reporters.

Respect, a media outlet specializing in the Awakened that had always kept a close watch on Il-hyeon, had obtained photos of him and Hyeon-seo entering and leaving the same house. The timing coincided with Aegis’s new recruitment announcement, allowing them to score a major scoop.

From Il-hyeon’s perspective, it was utter nonsense, but it would be stranger *not* to assume something when two grown adults were seen living together.

Furthermore, during his recent, first-ever appearance on a live stream, he had apparently said something strange about going to protect someone precious.

Il-hyeon was no longer just a promising rookie. Being largely unknown to the public, combined with the recent Christmas incident, had long made him a prime target for reporters.

Because of that, Il-hyeon’s name was currently number one on the real-time search rankings. Soon after, his parents called, but when he told them it wasn’t true, they couldn’t hide their disappointment.

They used to say they wanted nothing more than for him to be safe, but it seemed they had gotten a little greedy.

“Hmm…”

Il-hyeon, who had been looking at his laptop, glanced over at Hyeon-seo, who was sleeping peacefully on the sofa, tangled up with his summons.

It wasn’t like he was married or had a girlfriend he was cheating on, so it didn’t matter who he dated. However, rumors were now spreading that he had pulled strings to get his lover on the team, causing quite a stir.

*They should at least say something that makes sense.*

Il-hyeon scoffed.

Never mind the Alpha Team; you could count the number of Awakened in all of Aegis who had joined after him on one hand. What kind of power did he have to pull something like that?

It was nonsense not even worth mentioning, but it was true that a headache had appeared out of nowhere.

As Il-hyeon, new to this kind of situation, was lost in thought, the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Hm? I’m not expecting anyone.”

Il-hyeon got up and headed to the door.

When he opened it, Il-hyeon couldn’t believe his eyes.

Lee Soo-yeon was standing alone in the empty hallway.

“What brings you here all of a sudden?”

“Just wanted to see you.”

she said nonchalantly, a look of deep bewilderment crossing Il-hyeon’s face.

At his reaction, Lee Soo-yeon let out a cheerful laugh and handed him the items she’d brought.

“I’m kidding, of course. Take these. An ID and a phone. I also had a card and a bank account set up. She’s not officially registered in any database, so don’t go trying to get insurance or anything.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Il-hyeon took the items.

He’d heard about it before leaving work, but he was still impressed by how she managed to arrange such things.

Lee Soo-yeon had gone as far as to erase records, reporting the truth only to the chairman, and they had decided to keep Hyeon-seo’s identity a complete secret.

In these dangerous times, there was no reason to go around openly advertising Il-hyeon’s incredible ability.

“Did you come all this way just to deliver this? You could have given it to me tomorrow.”

“That was the plan… but things suddenly got noisy.”

“Ah.”

Understanding what she meant, Il-hyeon nodded.

It seemed she had come all this way because of the baseless rumors spreading online.

“What should I do? I have no idea how to even begin clearing this up.”

“Clear it up? The company’s already taken care of it. The search terms and articles are being taken down, and a correction will be issued. You’re busy dealing with Gates; you don’t need to worry about things like this. This is what an agency is for, isn’t it?”

At her words, Il-hyeon took out his phone and checked the internet. The search rankings had dropped, and articles about him were indeed disappearing.

It wasn’t just about Il-hyeon’s personal situation; Aegis wasn’t about to stand by and let absurd rumors about a team member getting in through connections spread.

Il-hyeon, breathing a sigh of relief, said to her.

“Whew… I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

“Don’t be. I just got off work anyway and stopped by on my way home.”

“You’re just getting off now?”

“Yeah, things got a little delayed because of this morning’s incident.”

It was already a little past nine, yet Lee Soo-yeon said she had just finished work and was heading home.

Unlike the regular team members, the team leader position came with a lot of work, and Lee Soo-yeon was particularly zealous. But even considering that, it was late.

It seemed the appearance of the spider queen that morning was the reason for the delay.

A monster that could speak a human language.

It had been somewhat overshadowed by Hyeon-seo’s sudden appearance, but it was a monumental event.

The research and analysis teams had been thrown into an uproar, and countless discussions had taken place.

Of course, no definitive answers had been found yet, and at the government’s request, the information was kept from the public.

“You weren’t photographed coming here, were you?”

Il-hyeon suddenly felt anxious and poked his head out to look down the hallway.

Just when things had quieted down, he was worried another strange rumor involving him and Lee Soo-yeon might start.

“Then it would be two women at once? You’ve got skills.”

“…Please stop teasing me.”

Il-hyeon put a hand to his forehead at her mischievous joke.

She seemed serious, but the occasional jokes she threw out always made him break into a cold sweat.

Lee Soo-yeon chuckled, seemingly amused by his reaction.

“Haha, but what are you going to do from now on? As long as a man and a woman are living in the same place, the talk will never stop.”

“I know. It’s a relief that it’s been settled for now, but what do I do going forward…”

The immediate rumor had been squashed, which was fortunate, but as long as a man and woman were seen coming and going from the same apartment, there was no telling when another strange rumor might surface.

It wasn’t just reporters; residents of the same apartment building could tip someone off or gossip.

But he couldn’t just get a separate place for Hyeon-seo either.

He was still a little worried about leaving her to live on her own.

Watching him deliberate, Lee Soo-yeon slowly opened her mouth.

“Hmm… How about you just buy the entire building?”