Chapter 72

Chapter 72

In the chilled atmosphere, Choi Junho raised his hand.

“This part looks like it needs an edit. On second thought, treating it as villainy seems excessive. People can make calculation errors, and there are cases where an additional levy gets imposed and they pay it. If they don’t even comply with that, then sure, it’s a crime.”

“Ah, yes.”

Relieved, Go Yejin shifted the topic.

“Speaking of which, I heard the World Transcendent Association’s Day event is being held in Japan soon. Do you plan to attend as well, Transcendent Choi Junho?”

“That’s something I’m currently considering……”

It was a topic far removed from tax payments, but as a flow it wasn’t bad enough to warrant a separate edit.

Watching the exchange from the sidelines, Lee Sehee slipped out of the room.

“Whew!”

Just recalling what she’d heard moments ago made her blood run cold.

Every corporation does everything it can to save on taxes. Crossing the line between legal and illegal was practically taken for granted. At times, corporations wage outright war against taxes, going so far as to commit crimes. When a mistake blows up in their faces, they pay additional levies, and sometimes the owner ends up in prison.

The same applies to Shinseong Group. No—since they were ranked first in the business world, they were the most aggressive in this area. Shake them down, and the most would come spilling out.

Back in her office, Lee Sehee immediately summoned Lee Youngtan and gave her orders.

“Have our tax payments reviewed from every angle. Keep it as legal as possible—and make sure nothing can be picked apart.”

“Team Leader, you need to reconsider this.”

“This is the right call.”

Lee Youngtan tried again and again to persuade her, but Lee Sehee shook her head firmly.

This would mean an astronomical sum going out, but that was a hemorrhage she could afford.

She just had to think of it as the cost of keeping Choi Junho at her side.

If she tried to cut corners and things went sour, the damage would be far greater.

“This is what I get for trying to do business with a man who has no greed for money.”

Recalling why this whole incident had come about, she let out a hollow laugh.

* * *

The tax interview drew an explosive response.

With Go Yejin pulling out a provocative headline and Jin Sejeong’s design on top of it, the comment sections of online articles were buried under praise.

He’d only paid the taxes he owed—was that really something to go wild over?

Honestly, there were parts of the recent trend he just couldn’t understand.

“Give up and accept it. It’s easier that way.”

Yunhee summed it up for him simply.

What she meant was that if he hadn’t changed from his usual self, the people around him would take care of the rest.

Yunhee’s point was: there’s no use racking your brain over it since you’ll never get it, so just live the way you always have.

That was probably for the best.

Anyway, Yunhee said she was visiting their parents’ house tomorrow—he was curious how the whole idol-fangirling tip-off would turn out.

And the question about the tax payments was cleared up for him when he reported to the National Guard Bureau and Jung Juho explained it.

“It just means there are plenty of people who don’t do what they’re supposed to, either. Paying taxes hurts your stomach.”

“Even for you, Director?”

“I’m human too—you think it doesn’t? Just thinking about my refund shrinking every year makes my stomach ache. Why does it feel like they take more every single year, ugh.”

If even Jung Juho, who seemed to have zero greed for money, begrudged paying taxes, then money really must be a him-only quirk.

Was it a side effect of living on the run for so long as Blood Lord?

“And you did the right thing, not labeling people who didn’t pay their taxes properly as villains.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. Tax law is unbelievably complicated. Back when I didn’t know any better, I got calls for not filing properly too. It’s all a matter of perspective—hang it on your nose, it’s a nose ring; hang it on your ear, it’s an earring. One wrong step and something legal turns illegal, and if you treat all those people as villains, more than half the world would be villains. You’ve got to avoid making enemies of half the world.”

So it meant there were too many ambiguous cases to make hasty judgments.

Then Jung Juho, who happened to meet his eyes, curled his lips upward.

“But there are probably quite a few people who got the scare of their lives watching your interview. Some might be scrambling to pay up in a panic.”

“Come on, surely not.”

“I’m serious. You don’t realize how terrifying a single word from you is.”

Apparently it had become widely known, thanks to him, just how terrifying a person who follows through on his words can be.

If you say something, isn’t it natural to act on it?

“So, how’ve you been lately?”

“In what way?”

“I mean your fans growing. Isn’t it nice?”

“……It’s not bad.”

Better to be cheered than hated.

The problem was just that he didn’t quite understand why—but it didn’t feel bad, so it was fine.

It was an unfamiliar feeling, but it felt like compensation for not having become a villain.

He found himself looking around a little more.

“Hehe, you’re more popular than idols, apparently.”

Jung Juho’s attitude was so playful that he didn’t much care for it.

He ought to teach him that kind words come back kind.

“Congratulations on your inauguration as Administrator.”

“……That’s all because of you.”

Jung Juho’s grinning face twisted instantly. The effect was certainly reliable.

Though he didn’t understand why he was blaming him when he’d been promoted for his own excellent abilities.

Jung Juho had always been recognized for his skills, but between his flawless commanding during the villain subjugation operation and his perfect execution of the Busan takeover operation, he’d been tapped as the Administrator of the newly established Administration.

It was an organization that would sit above the existing three Bureaus, and he would become a member of the three-top system alongside the Director of the Awakened Security Office and the Minister.

All of it was the result Jung Juho had achieved.

All he’d done was take issue with something during the President’s questioning.

And yet he couldn’t understand why he was blaming him.

“If you hadn’t paired up with that Director Cheon, I’d have been living comfortably right here!”

“They say a talent cannot stay hidden—how could that be?”

“You—if it weren’t for you, I could’ve been more devoted to my family.”

His reaction was intense—too intense.

If anything, he thought he should be the one receiving thanks.

Instead of thanks, he was getting a finger jabbed at him, which didn’t feel great.

And what he knew differed greatly from the facts.

“Your wife was happy about your promotion, though.”

“……How do you know what my wife thinks?”

“Dahyun got in touch. She said to thank you. But that doesn’t match what you’re saying, Director? Shall we have a three-way sit-down with your wife?”

“No. You don’t need to ask. Don’t contact her. Fine, the wife actually loves it.”

Jung Juho turned pale and rattled off excuses like a rapid-fire rapper. Was mentioning his wife really that shocking?

Watching him was like watching a rookie Hunter who’d just run into a Grade 7 Corrupted Monster, so he started trying to soothe him.

“Still, isn’t this better than being idle? If you do well as Administrator, you could even become Director of the Awakened Security Office or Vice Minister of Awakened Affairs.”

“I don’t particularly want to. And I’m not politically inclined toward the ruling party or the opposition. I don’t like any of them.”

His goal, apparently, was to thread the needle in the middle, taking swipes at both while surviving.

“And to become Administrator, there’s the hassle of preparing for a confirmation hearing.”

“Is there something dirty in your past?”

“……There isn’t. But why are you asking?”

He caught him flinching for a moment.

He wondered if there really was a problem, then laughed at the absurdity of the thought.

“I was just asking out of concern?”

“A cold-blooded type like you would slit my throat without a second thought. If you’re going to kill me, promise me you’ll make it painless.”

“Come on, after all the time we’ve spent together, Director. Of course I trust you.”

“It hasn’t even been a year!”

That was true. With so many incidents and accidents, it felt like quite a lot of time had passed.

He was thinking for a moment when Jung Juho seemed to take it differently.

“Hey, normally when I say something like this, you’re supposed to say you won’t lift a finger, aren’t you? Huh? You’re not thinking something else, are you?”

How was he supposed to take that?

“If a case comes up that’s hard to tolerate, I suppose I’ll have to reconsider.”

“Huh? Really? No, right? Hey, hey, hey?”

“We’ll see. Well then, I’ll be going.”

Jung Juho tried to grab him, but he was quicker to slip away.

It’d probably be fine.

* * *

He had a meal with the President, the First Lady, and Cheon Myeongguk. There too, the name of the organization that had come up in passing during the interview was mentioned again.

“The World Transcendent Association?”

“It’s a famous organization among the Awakened. It’s abbreviated UPN in English. Do you know it?”

“I know of it. But I figured it wasn’t particularly connected to me.”

“You are connected. Getting close to them wouldn’t hurt.”

“Are there practical benefits?”

“There are. They evaluate all sorts of things. One of them is the World Awakened Power Ranking, and that’s quietly important from a national standpoint.”

There was such a thing? He’d thought it was a hopelessly childish classification, but the President’s take was different.

“It’s a ranking of every nation’s Awakened strength. Think of it like the old military power rankings. In this era, it’s an index of national prestige.”

According to the President, the World Awakened Power Ranking was calculated by factoring in the number of Awakened, the number of high-level Awakened, the amount of support and market size of the country, geographical advantages, monster emergence frequency, and hunt results.

South Korea, relative to its population and size, had many high-level Awakened and a relatively low rate of monster emergence, so it hovered around 10th in the World Awakened Power Ranking. That was a remarkable ranking for its population.

At its historical peak, it had ranked 8th, and afterward it had bounced between 9th and 11th.

“But this time, we hit 7th for the first time.”

“That’s high.”

Wasn’t that its all-time peak, based on what the President said?

He figured he could be a bit happier about it, but his expression was tinged with dissatisfaction.

“But we protested that it was far too low.”

“Why?”

“The World Transcendent Association didn’t properly reflect our Transcendent Choi Junho hunting Nuri alone.”

The World Transcendent Association was dismissing it as false and refusing to acknowledge that he’d hunted Nuri alone, he said.

He’d caught it, he said he caught it—what was the problem? Strange bunch.

“If properly applied, South Korea’s Awakened power ranking could rise to 4th or 5th. That would make us a permanent member state or higher.”

He hadn’t known that.

Anyway, it meant the ranking was swinging wildly because of him, but honestly it didn’t hold much interest for him.

A high ranking didn’t mean money would fall from the sky.

But the President’s thinking seemed to differ.

“The World Transcendent Day event is being held in Tokyo this time. How about attending?”

Me? Was there really any need?

He wasn’t particularly curious about other Awakened, and even if it was Tokyo, he didn’t feel the need to travel far. And they said they didn’t even believe he’d hunted Nuri—staring at a bunch of people full of disbelief would only kill his appetite.

He’d probably be busy killing the ones who picked fights.

“Can I not go?”

“……”

For a moment, he saw the President’s and Cheon Myeongguk’s expressions darken. They must have wanted him to go.

If anything, wouldn’t it be bad for him to be away and leave a hole in the workflow?

Perhaps sensing his gaze, the two hastily smoothed their expressions.

“Hm! You don’t have to go, but going doesn’t seem like a bad idea either.”

“Correct. It’s a place where you can see transcendents from all over the world, excluding those assigned to essential defense. It will help broaden your view of the world going forward.”

Was there really any need to broaden his view?

Broaden it all he wanted, and the thought that came was: the world is wide and there are plenty of people worth killing.

Was this somehow different?

Anyway, if they were recommending it this much, there must be a reason.

“Then I’ll go take a look.”

“Truly?”

“Yes.”

Why were their faces brightening?

He didn’t learn the reason until the meal was over.

* * *

These days he was feeling that people were truly strange animals.

Meeting Jin Sejeong, actively managing his image, and gaining people’s support—he could feel various changes happening inside him.

The Blood Lord inside him was fading, and he was becoming the real transcendent, Choi Junho.

Until then, he’d had no great attachment to or deep thoughts about being a transcendent. But as he watched people support him, his thinking was shifting.

He found himself looking around once more for no particular reason, and thinking that it might be okay to lend a hand when someone was in trouble.

“That’s exactly why you can’t become a villain, Junho.”

Lee Sehee’s words gave him strength.

Then one day.

Today, as on any other day, a transcendent call came, and he was on his way back after providing outer-perimeter support.

Riding the helicopter back, just as they entered Seoul, something caught his eye.

On any normal day, he would have just passed it by. But a sudden surge of curiosity wouldn’t let him.

“Captain Han, go on ahead and return.”

“Yes? Then, Transcendent……”

“There’s something that’s bothering me. I’ll drop down for a moment and then return.”

“Transcendent……!”

He heard the reply, but he opened the door and jumped straight down.

Perhaps because he’d suddenly appeared from the sky, all eyes around him gathered the moment he landed. He paid them no mind and approached the ones who’d caught his eye.

They were a brother and sister. The girl who looked to be the older sister was about twelve or thirteen, and the boy about seven or eight.

“Whoaah! A hero!”

The boy let out a gasp as he watched him descend from the sky, but the girl who seemed to be the older sister looked at him with wary eyes.

He slowly looked the siblings over. What had caught his eye was the sight of them walking the streets in worn clothes that clearly weren’t being properly taken care of.

Even in inner Seoul, the security wasn’t good enough to walk around freely. There were villains inside the city, and young children were targets for kidnapping.

Of course, even so, Seoul was Seoul. A city where people capable of working and paying their taxes normally gathered. Seeing them wandering around dressed like that in a place like this, he wondered if there was a story behind it.

“You two.”

The two flinched at his words.

“Why are you out and about looking like that?”

“……”

“We don’t have anything to eat! I’m hungry!”

The answer came from the boy. The girl grabbed her younger brother and tried to stop him from saying more, but he’d already heard everything.

Nothing to eat? Why?

He felt puzzled. Even if the country’s circumstances weren’t what they used to be, at least minimal support should be provided, shouldn’t it?

In an era where monsters and villains ran rampant, Seoul’s citizens had a minimum standard to live at least minimally human lives.

“Do they not give you support?”

“They say we don’t qualify!”

“That can’t be.”

“It can’t be, and yet here we are, wandering around begging.”

“I see.”

Faced with the girl’s sharp words, he had no choice but to concede.

But the puzzlement wouldn’t go away. Seoul was where the government’s influence reached strongest, and they poured special effort into making sure citizens didn’t end up as refugees.

When citizens became refugees, most of them joined up with villains, so even struggling households were given enough support to at least get by. Which meant what the siblings said made no sense.

“Let’s go to the community office. I’ll look into it for you.”

“How am I supposed to trust you, mister?”

“Sis, that guy’s a hero.”

Looking at the wary older sister and the grinning kid, I shrugged.

“If you don’t trust me, just follow from a distance.”

I took the lead, and together with the siblings I went to the nearby community office and made an inquiry.

The official on duty pulled up the records and spoke with a troubled look.

“They don’t qualify.”

“Why not?”

“They have a dependent on record. Households with a dependent on record can’t receive support.”

“Our father got hurt at work. We can’t even afford his medicine right now, so……”

The girl spoke up when she caught my eye.

“That’s what she says.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s still not possible. Even though your father is injured, your mother is still registered as the dependent.”

“Mom ran away.”

So that was it. With no one in the house able to work, the siblings were starving, and the country couldn’t give them support.

The situation made sense now. So then they’d be able to get support……

“There’s a dependent on record in the system, so it’s not possible. I’m sorry.”

“……”

That’s the rule. The official can’t just change it on their own. In the end, for all my big talk, I walked out empty-handed.

No, not exactly empty-handed. The official, saying it was a shame, gave us three boxed meals meant for vulnerable households.

From what I could see, it was a shabby boxed meal… and this cost 6,000 won each?

Unbelievable.

Feeling hollow and bitter, I looked at the siblings standing there awkwardly and said,

“Follow me.”

I bought the kids clothes and food. To me it was cheap pity, but to them it was what they needed. I couldn’t just hand them those pathetic boxed meals and send them off.

“Mister! Thank you!”

“Th-thank you.”

“……”

Back at their home, watching the kids thank me with tears in their eyes, I fell into a strange train of thought.

The country spends astronomical sums to help kids like these. But when it comes down to it, that money isn’t reaching the kids who actually need it.

I’d paid my taxes without question, believing the country would use the money properly. But what I’d just seen made me doubt that system.

“Where is my tax money actually going?”

Why is the rule like that? And those boxed meals really cost 6,000 won?

I’d have to look into this.