FLIA 158

“Yes, that’s correct. When Yohan risked his life to protect me in the Abyss, that’s when he awakened as a purifier. As the first awakener of that type, that means he’s a high-level purifier. If it hadn’t been for our Yohan, neither I nor my team members would have been able to escape from the Abyss alive.”

As Lee Hyunmook admitted it so straightforwardly, the chat window exploded once again. Jeong Eunjae had expected as much and found himself shouting out, “I knew it!”

Yubiit: Insane lololololol

roro-i: So they deceived the entire nation

BigFestival: But why the hell would you do something like that

JungSeoBoonAn-ieyo: Wow, Yang Yohan was a high-level awakener and Park Seungmin was out there talking all that bullshit without even knowing?

BiyaBiya: Why???? What the actual hell???

“Why, of course there’s a reason. It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

Jeong Eunjae muttered to himself as he brought over the ramen he’d been eating for lunch but hadn’t touched because he was so focused on the video. His legs, which had fully recovered, still felt unfamiliar, and he felt endlessly grateful to Yang Yohan. Amid all these various reactions, if he had to sum them up, it came down to this: Why on earth had they hidden the fact that he was a high-level purifier all this time? The interviewer threw that question back at him.

“So, then, why exactly did you hide the fact that he’s a high-level purifier?”

“The biggest reason was that we had enemies we needed to be wary of.”

“Enemies we need to be wary of… Could you explain that in a bit more detail?”

“I can’t speak specifically without evidence, but what I mean is that my team and I falling into the Abyss wasn’t just some unfortunate accident.”

The interviewer held his breath. If what Lee Hyunmook had just said was true, this was an event massive enough to turn the entire Republic of Korea upside down. Everyone watching would undoubtedly be thinking of former Minister Hwang Yeongcheol, who had recently been arrested for a murder-for-hire plot. The interviewer, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, asked again.

“Not just an unfortunate accident, that means someone deliberately put the Sunrise Team in danger?”

Lee Hyunmook fell into a meaningful silence before answering slowly.

“I’ll have no comment beyond that.”

“…Understood. Then, could we hear about any other reasons?”

“As everyone knows, Purifiers are truly vital assets in Korea. The first thing our team worried about was the risk of abduction or coercion attempts from foreign powers. That’s why we needed to keep Yohan’s identity hidden until we could put proper countermeasures in place.”

The chat window, which had been speeding up with messages, suddenly froze completely. So many people were typing at once that the server had crashed. Jeong Eunjae’s chopsticks came to a full stop as well.

“In fact, there was that incident where Awakener Park Seungmin was abducted and tortured. Were you concerned about something like that happening?”

“Exactly. If we’d revealed that Yohan was a high-level purifier, he would have faced the exact same danger. Even the government failed to protect Awakener Park Seungmin properly, didn’t they? But now that we’ve prepared thorough defenses against that, nothing like it will ever happen to our Yohan.”

“That’s reassuring to hear. But on the other hand, there have been opinions like this: A high-level Purifier could accomplish so much, so wasn’t it a waste of time to keep it hidden all this while? What are your thoughts on that?”

At the interviewer’s question, Lee Hyunmook broke into an even more relaxed smile. The chat window, which had barely recovered, froze again.

“In truth, our Yohan felt a lot of regret about that point too. So, we came up with a separate plan. It involved the severely corrupted people held in the treatment center under the Taeyang Guild.”

“Ah, no way?!”

The interviewer, too excited to even try maintaining composure this time, blurted it out. Lee Hyunmook nodded as if he understood completely.

“That’s right. Every single one of them has been fully cured. In the near future, you’ll all get to see them returning to the arms of their families and friends, and to their homes.”

The chat window remained exploded, showing no signs of recovering. But in that moment, someone somewhere was undoubtedly shedding tears of emotion or laughing and cheering in joy. As Lee Hyunmook announced the full recovery of Jeong Siyoung and the Special Suppression Unit, he added,

“Our Taeyang Guild will continue to purify corrupted people whenever the opportunity arises.”

“You’ve been doing that since three years ago, and your tireless efforts are always appreciated. Well… Actually, Awakener Yang Yohan is here in the studio with us right now. Would it be alright if he said a quick hello?”

At the interviewer’s words, the frozen chat window flickered back to life for a brief moment.

snowing: Whoa

sezonKingLime: Why does the chat keep freezing

Marybell: Yang Yohan!!!!

WaeyoMwoyo: Yohan, thank you!!!!! I went back to normal thanks to you!

MeroM: Please purify my family too ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

JjeomJjeom: Come to Suwon just once, please

Jeong Eunjae shoved the ramen pot aside entirely. A staff member hurried over and placed a chair down. A moment later, Yang Yohan approached with somewhat awkward steps and sat in the chair. He placed both hands and politely on his knees, but his cheeks and ears were flushed bright red. Yang Yohan quickly bowed his head in greeting.

“Hello, I’m Yang Yohan of the Taeyang Guild.”

He seemed to be trying his absolute best to stay calm, but his voice was trembling noticeably. But maybe because of his handsome face or because he was their benefactor, in Jeong Eunjae’s eyes, it all just came across as endearing. After the greeting, Yang Yohan sat there with wide, uncertain eyes looking this way and that, stealing glances at Lee Hyunmook repeatedly. It was clear as day that he was uncomfortable in this kind of setting, so the interviewer laughed.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Awakener Yang Yohan. Are you feeling nervous?”

“Y-Yes, yes… Um, this is my first time in a situation like this, so… yeah, I’m a bit tense.”

Lee Hyunmook looked at Yohan with a smile. That gaze was so warm and affectionate that question marks flooded the chat window. How many years apart in age were those two again…? Yeah, he definitely looks like the baby of the family. And since he’s their benefactor, it’s no wonder he’d look at him with eyes dripping with honey like that. Jeong Eunjae nodded, fully convinced.

“If it’s alright with you, could you perhaps demonstrate your purification ability for us?”

“Yes, of course!”

A staff member hurriedly brought over a table and what was practically a black tank of water. Yang Yohan, now a little calmer, conjured a sparkling light on his palm. It took the shape of a paper airplane. The interviewer exclaimed in surprise, “Whoa,” and clasped his hands together. Yohan launched the thing from his hand. The glowing paper airplane slowly circled the studio before plopping into the tank. In an instant, the tank turned completely into clear water.

“Then, I’ll taste it myself!”

With remarkable bravery, the interviewer scooped up a cup of the water and drank it. Then, with a beaming face, he shouted,

“It’s really clean and pure! It’s just like regular bottled water!”

“It should have some purifying effects too, so it’ll be good for your body.”

At those words, the staff members all rushed over, each scooping up a cup for themselves. Yohan wore a proud expression for a moment before remembering the camera and stiffening up again. Without realizing it, Jeong Eunjae smiled. It really was worlds apart from Park Seungmin…. Yeah, this is what a high-level awakener should be like.

With the introduction of Yang Yohan and the demonstration of his purification ability complete, the interview was drawing to a close before they knew it.

“Finally, do you have any words for those watching this video right now?”

At the interviewer’s question, Lee Hyunmook dropped his smile and spoke in a firm tone.

“Even now, we’re receiving dozens of scouting offers every day from foreign countries and other places. But just as we’ve done before, the Taeyang Guild will stay right here and continue to protect people.”

“Thank you for joining us in this interview today. This has been Kim Sewon, reporter for Daily Current Affairs Magazine.”

Without thinking, Jeong Eunjae started applauding enthusiastically. And with that, he made a resolution of his own. If the Taeyang Guild was going to protect the people of this land, then he would gather people like himself to provide cover and support for the Taeyang Guild, for Yang Yohan.

Because of the precedent set by Park Seungmin, and because there had been valid reasons to hide the fact that he was an high-level purifier all this time, the backlash against Yang Yohan was minimal. The footage of the Taeyang Guild’s treatment center, now fully purified, played a significant role in that as well.

“Hanna! Hanna!”

“Mommmmy!”

A woman who had once been confined in a government isolation facility, now completely free of corruption, ran and embraced her mother tightly, crying. The live broadcast of the family’s reunion, after nearly three years of forced separation without even seeing each other’s faces, brought tears to the eyes of countless viewers.

“Come on, my daughter. Let’s go home. Hurry, let’s go. Mom made all your favorite foods and left them ready. Now we just have to get home….”

Tears of joy overflowed across the island. Beyond that, couples, lovers, and friends all achieved heartwarming reunions. As these happy people departed, the center, once filled with corrupted peoples, stood completely empty. Shortly after, when the Taeyang Guild posted a new recruitment notice, the site’s server crashed immediately. A flood of people wanted to transfer from government isolation facilities to the Taeyang Guild’s center.

This put the government in quite an awkward position. Some of the corrupted testified that they had undergone horrific human experiments at the hands of the government. Shockingly, there were even military personnel among them. While denying the claims, the government tried to downplay the issue by making a big deal out of reporting the Gwacheon cult incident on an unprecedented scale.

After that, reports of awakenings and re-awakenings related to cults poured in from all directions. Then, as if they’d never been strutting around so boldly before, the cults vanished overnight, and simultaneously, hundreds of missing persons cases erupted. Everyone was stunned when they saw the CCTV footage of the missing people prying open manhole covers with their bare hands and crawling into the sewers one after another….