FLIA 137

Park Seungmin: Since I was young, my family’s situation was not good. I never got along with my parents and I never went to a single academy.

This was an interview with truth and lies mixed in. His family situation was not that good, but it was not terribly poor either. He did not get along with his parents, but he was not neglected or abused. He had never gone to an academy, but it was only because he did not want to. But what problem would there be if he exaggerated a little in an interview?

Park Seungmin: In high school I had a friend whose parents owned a pharmaceutical company. His family was rich and I was really jealous. No matter how much effort I put in, I always stayed in the same place like a hamster wheel, but he was lucky, everything went well for him, and even if he failed, his parents always took care of it. I often thought it was unfair as I watched him always live comfortably and gain things without effort. I am really happy to receive this reward for the years I lived with hardship.

This interview contained plenty of spite toward Yang Yohan. Ever since he was completely ignored by the Taeyang Guild last time, he had been seething with anger. If only Yang Yohan had not slandered him, he too could have gotten close with the Taeyang Guild. Each time he thought that his position had basically been stolen, his anger grew worse.

After checking that the interview content was decent enough, Park Seungmin looked at the comments. Recently, his hobby was to read online reactions about himself. As the only purifier in the world, people’s expectations, cheers, and support for him never got boring no matter how many times he read them. But while he was happily checking the interview reactions, his face twisted suddenly. Because mixed in, there were often comments like these.

-Hahaha legendary case of being mad with jealousy

-This is definitely him trying to drag down Taeyang Guild so petty lol

-Isn’t he also someone who got everything without effort? He was just lucky and awakened as a high-level

-ㅇㅇDid he ever do school violence or cause trouble?

└So far, only people saying they were classmates are shielding him

└Did Samyeong Pharma pay people to do that?

I got everything without effort m? I almost got eaten by a monster, if that is not effort then what is it?

Boiling with anger, Park Seungmin collected the comments that offended him and saved them on a USB. Then he nervously pressed the bell nearby. After a moment he heard noises from outside and hurried footsteps.

“Yes, Mr. Park Seungmin. What is it?”

The one who came running right away at his call was the personal secretary the guild had assigned to him at his request. His face was full of fatigue, and the moment he saw Park Seungmin, he was visibly tense. Park Seungmin shamelessly called out to someone older than him, “Hey.”

“Go to the cafe and bring me a caramel macchiato. One shot of espresso, three pumps of syrup but not too sweet, and put just enough ice so it is cool. And give this to the guild lawyer, tell him to sue them all. Also wash the car.”

The secretary first ran to the cafe and brought the caramel macchiato. But Seungmin cursed that it was too sweet, so he went again. Then Seungmin cursed that there was too much ice, so he went a third time. He was called a secretary, but in truth he was no different from a servant. Because Park Seungmin’s status was the highest of the high in Korea now, the secretary cursed him in his heart while politely receiving the printed “malicious comment” documents.

‘More than half of these comments cannot even be sued.’

But since Seungmin told him to sue anyway, he had to do it. Just thinking about how he would be caught between the lawyer and Park Seungmin like a shrimp crushed in a whale fight made his stomach ache. Since he had been assigned as Seungmin’s exclusive secretary, he had been going to the hospital with stress-induced gastritis. Even though as a low-level awakener he was sturdier and healed faster than an ordinary civilian, it was bad enough that he developed gastritis.

After scolding the secretary, Park Seungmin drank coffee and lazed around. Famous figures from politics and business were sending requests to visit, citing mild corruption as the reason. Thanks to that, his bank account was growing fatter day by day, and his face was full of smiles. He checked through the messages and was just about to reply to the ones offering the highest amounts when the secretary returned.

“What? You already finished washing the car?”

The secretary, sleeves still marked with soap from scrubbing, bowed nervously.

“I will finish the car wash soon. Just now, a request came from the Rift Management Bureau. It is about Awakener Jeong Siyeong’s purification. They said you must come by 3 o’clock…”

“Damn it, are you kidding me? 3 o’clock? Then you should have told me earlier. What are you doing telling me only now?”

The secretary groaned from the kick to his shin and begged for forgiveness again and again. After tightening discipline just enough, Park Seungmin hurried to change into the clothes that suited him best. He fixed his hair neatly, then left with his limping secretary and his guards.

“Hello, Awakener Park Seungmin.”

Every Sunrise Guild member he met greeted him politely. It was the result of Park Seungmin having scolded the PR team several times to make the guild members greet him properly. He smirked as he accepted the greetings. He also knew well that the guild members did not actually like him much. But he never grew tired of watching them lower their pride and behave obsequiously because they had no choice but to treat him with respect, it was always enjoyable.

‘What will they do even if they dislike me? Unlike Go Jaewon, I cannot be replaced.’

With no mid to high-level purifiers appearing yet, Park Seungmin enjoyed his right as the only purifier as much as possible. People rushed to satisfy his wishes from all sides. It felt like he was in paradise. He planned to stay in this paradise forever.

This Jeong Siyeong purification case was especially important. Jeong Siyeong had returned two days ago after completing the first sweep operation in Busan, but purification had not been possible right away. Because of the corruption, her mental state had become extremely unstable. Since she might harm the precious purifier, she had been placed in isolation to rest.

‘…How severe is the corruption?’

While riding in the ceremonial car provided by the Rift Management Bureau, Park Seungmin started to frown with worry. Up until now, most of the corrupted people he had dealt with had only been mildly afflicted. It was because the ones he met were usually authority figures who had stayed in safe zones and then gotten slightly corrupted, panicked, and called him.

‘The Rift Management Bureau will take care of everything well.’

And this was not just anyone, it was Jeong Siyeong. In times like these, high-level awakeners were the most precious connections to have, so it was worth the risk. Inside the car, Park Seungmin checked the mirror again.

‘If I am lucky, this could be my chance to get a high-level awakener girlfriend.’

Because of Yang Yohan’s slander he had not gotten close to Lee Hyunmook yet, but Jeong Siyeong was different. On top of that, since her corruption was said to be serious, it would be easier to earn favor…. With such inflated hopes, the moment he met Jeong Siyeong, Park Seungmin almost vomited.

‘Ugh, the smell!’

The moment the door of the isolation room where Jeong Siyeong was staying opened, a stench rushed out. Her left arm, tightly wrapped in black latex, was strangely swollen and distorted. Even the lower part of her face was covered with a mask. The appearance was so revolting it was beyond what Park Seungmin had imagined, and though he felt like throwing up, he forced himself to smile.

“Ha ha, ah, hello! Awakener Jeong Siyeong? I am, huh, Park Seungmin…!”

“I know. They said you are a high-level purifier.”

Jeong Siyeong, expressionless, replied with unclear pronunciation. Her cold and detached eyes scanned Park Seungmin up and down. Park Seungmin glanced at the Special Task Force members assigned as his guards behind him. If he got attacked, they would protect him, right?

“You must be suffering a lot! I will heal you right away.”

Holding back the urge to vomit, he tried to act as friendly as possible, but Jeong Siyeong did not reply. She only stared at Park Seungmin without expression. Not wanting to get too close, Park Seungmin approached awkwardly and released light. When the bright light poured toward Jeong Siyeong, one of the Special Task Force members behind flinched.

But as Park Seungmin began using his power with confidence, his expression gradually stiffened. Jeong Siyeong’s corruption was not like the mild cases he had handled before. Normally, light would erase symptoms like slight depression, anxiety, or skin blotches, but Jeong Siyeong’s arm showed no sign of improvement.

“Huff, huff….”

Park Seungmin staggered after pouring all his strength into purification. Even after scraping together all his power, the arm only quieted down a little from its grotesque writhing. Jeong Siyeong, now with a faint trace of vitality returning, stared straight at Park Seungmin. Her eyes seemed to say, ‘Is this guy really a high-level awakener?’ Park Seungmin flushed red.

“Well… thank you, Awakener Park Seungmin.”

While Park Seungmin gasped for breath, Jeong Siyeong sighed and rose from her seat. It was a sigh that clearly showed disappointment.

Jeong Siyeong already owned an Eternal Stone given to her by the government to treat corruption. But since she constantly hunted monsters and exposed herself to corruption so often that even continuous purification was useless, her condition never improved. During this Busan subjugation, she had overexerted himself, so her corruption was especially severe. That was why she had expected more from a high-level purifier, but this was only slightly better than the Eternal Stone.

The moment Jeong Siyeong stood, the overwhelming pressure of a high-level awakener made Park Seungmin instinctively retreat in a hurry. Jeong Siyeong glanced at his frightened face and then left the room. She signaled to a Special Task Force member.

“To Busan, right now. The sub… jugation isn’t over.”

“But Captain…! Your condition is far too bad….”

“My condition is fine. I was just purified.”

“No…! How can you say you are fine! Captain, Captain! Captain! Please wait!”

Their argument grew distant. Park Seungmin was left behind, completely ignored, in the foul-smelling room. A Special Task Force member guided the dazed Park Seungmin out with a blunt expression. His eyes also clearly showed disappointment.