Chapter 27 – What not to do at a funeral house

Broken Person10-12 minutes 02.07.2023

It’s 11:48 p.m. in the office of the Awakening Management Bureau’s Field Response Team 1. The spacious office was brightly lit despite the late hour.

“Team Leader, would you like a snack?”

“Oh, sure. Just an energy bar, please.”

Jung-bin, a conscientious government employee, was on duty today. It wasn’t like he had any overtime or urgent work to do, but it was the usual thing to do this time of year.

-Well, it’s only a matter of minutes, we’ll be able to see the new rankings in 12 minutes! I’m really curious to see how the system would have ranked them.

Today was the day every hunter looked forward to, the ranking update. Jung-bin chewed a couple of times with his front teeth as he stuck one hand into his pocket and held an empty paper cup in the other.

Once a year, the system assigns a ranking to all awaken based on their abilities and performance. This year, both new and established hunters waited for their rankings to be updated.

The new rankings are a testament to their abilities, and they can make the difference between joining a new guild or receiving a new advert.

However, it was not uncommon for hunters to go on a rampage if they didn’t get the ranking they wanted, so the Awakening Management Bureau went into emergency mode around this time. The two on-screen announcers pointed to the data and said,

-It’s unclear how the system calculates the rankings, but we understand that it takes into account not only the rank but also the hunter’s activity throughout the year.

-A-rank awakeners can be ranked higher than S-rank awakeners, and it’s all thanks to them. There have been a lot of hunters who have come out of nowhere over the past year, and I think this year’s rankings might be quite volatile.

-Nevertheless, the experts predicted that there won’t be much change in the top 20. Let’s take a look at the predicted rankings.

Lee Sa-young (S)The Gospel of Matthew – Mok Tae-oh (S)Jung-bin (S)GyuGyu – Ban Gyu-min (S)Honeybee – Yoo Chae-hyun (A)Doctor – Nam Woo-jin (A)I am a craftsman ᅳ Hong Ye-sung (S)Ham Seok-jeong (A)Song Jo-heon (S)Shield guy- Bae Won-woo (A)

:

:

-Oh, the predicted rankings… It’s not different from the current ranking, so you don’t expect it to change at all?

-Yes, that’s right, because it’s been the same for the last two years.

‘It’s a familiar face.’

“Team leader, take this.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Jung-bin and his teammate stood side by side in front of the monitor and start eating an energy bar. After checking the predicted rankings, the teammate asked,

“Do you think your ranking will stay the same, too?”

“Well… yes.”

In the last two years, the ranking up to 10th has not changed. The higher the hunter, the more active he is and the more influential his natural ability will be. Therefore, as the panelists say, the ranking will not change again this year.

It’s in the mid-tier that the real generational shift will happen. That’s what everyone thought, and Jung-bin agreed.

“If Honeybee gets an S-rank weapon, I don’t know, but for now, I think I’ll stay in the same position this year.”

He had just finished folding the note into an empty wrapper when he was satisfied.

Pop, a firecracker exploded in the air. Jung-bin looked up, startled, at the pure white window that had suddenly opened.

[Ranking changes!]
[Want to see it now?]

A sound he hadn’t heard in almost two years. It was a sound that could only be heard when there was a change in the rankings. Jung-bin’s face cracked slightly as he checked his ranking.

Ranked fourth. He had been number two when J was around, and after J’s death, he had briefly moved up to number one, but with the arrival of Lee Sa-young, he had become number two again. He was also nervous about the ‘second place for 10,000 years’ formula, but with the arrival of another S-rank, Matthew, he went down a notch.

And now it’s down to number four again. There are only two things that can change the rankings.

A new number one or two is born,

The old number one or two died.

Either way, it was going to be a big deal, and soon enough, Jung-bin… He was faced with a third, unexpected situation.

[Location: South Korea

JLee Sa-young ▼1The Gospel of Matthew ▼1Jung-bin ▼1GyuGyu ▼1Honeybee ▼1Doctor ▼1I am a craftsman ▼1Ham Seok-jeong ▼1Song Jo-heon ▼1Shield guy ▼1]

One by one, the predicted rankings fell, and the number one spot went to…

The name everyone knew, J.

It’s been eight years since that day, but his name is still heard everywhere. In documentaries about the Incheon Rift, in history books about Rift Day, in childish internet threads arguing about who was the strongest in the world.

He died in a rift eight years ago. That’s what it was said. No one had ever seen his body, but the rift had closed, and his name had disappeared from the hunter rankings. Besides, once a rift is closed, it cannot be reopened, so no one suspected his death.

But now, J has suddenly appeared in the rankings.

What does this mean…

-What? No, what is this!

-Wait a minute, the top spot is now….

-Did the rankings change?

-It’s J?

J is alive.

And he’s probably still in the Incheon Rift.

‘Worst case scenario… the Incheon Rift might have reappeared.’

The smile disappeared from Jung-bin’s face. His teammate stuttered as he checked the rankings.

“Te, team leader.”

He grabbed his suit jacket from the chair and headed for the door. His teammates scrambled after him.

“No, team leader! What the…? Did I see that right?”

“How many people do you have available to move in immediately?”

“Uh, not counting the ones on the ground… About ten in all.”

”Tell them to move all but the minimum number of people to Incheon, and everyone else on standby.”

“Incheon?”

“Yes. To the Incheon Rift.”

“Understood!”

“The director will give you instructions for dealing with the media. Those of you who remain, respond according to the instructions….”

Jung-bin’s pager buzzed before he could finish his instructions. He faltered slightly, checked for understanding with a glance, and pressed the receive button.

[Director Ham Seok-jeong]

A gentle middle-aged woman’s voice flowed through the speaker.

-Team leader Jung-bin.

“Yes, sir.”

-There is a lot of work until late at night. Did you see the ranking?

“I have, and I’m leaving for Incheon right now.”

-Yes. I assume you know what you have to do.

“Yes. We’ll check to see if the West Sea Rift has reopened, and then search the immediate area for J and the other hunters, keeping their survival in mind.”

-If J isn’t in the West. And if the rift hasn’t reopened….

There was a short silence. The Director of the awakeners, Ham Seok-jeong, said firmly.

-You must find them.

“Yes.”

-By any means necessary.

Incheon, in front of the memorial.

Jung-bin brushed his hair out of his face as he jumped out of the helicopter. His goal was the memorial.

There’s a person standing in front of the memorial, which had a clear view of the sea. It wasn’t hard to recognize him from a distance, as he stood a head taller than everyone else. Jung-bin took a moment to catch his breath and walked towards the black figure.

“Lee Sa-young.”

“…….”

With his hands in his pockets, Lee Sa-young stared at the top of the memorial. At first glance, he looked calm, but Jung-bin had a hunch.

‘He’s back.’

There was a noticeable ferocity that could not be resolved or not. To the point where a weak person can’t stand it and lose his mind. Jung-bin sent a signal to the team members standing behind him. He meant to stop anyone from approaching him.

The team scattered in unison; no hunter, let alone a reporter, was allowed near Lee Sa-young in this state. A sharp pressure squeezed the air, as if it could tear a man apart at any moment. Jung-bin stood three steps behind him, watching him.

After a moment of silence, he spoke.

“Cracks?”

He must have meant, ‘Have you come to check the crack’, Jung-bin tensed and answered,

“Yes, it is.”

“It’s not open.”

“…….”

With an impatient jerk of his chin, Lee Sa-young pointed to the calm sea. The waves were gently crashing in the moonlight. His gaze was still fixed on a single hint of writing at the top of the memorial.

Originally, the Incheon Rift was a joint venture between the Rift Management Agency and the Awakening Management Bureau. The size of the rift and the scars it left behind were too great for a single guild to take control of, so no guild came forward to bid. The division came from the West Sea, and no one wanted to store a bomb that could explode at any moment.

One day, however, Lee Sa-young appeared out of nowhere, and instead of sharing the findings of the Pado Guild’s research lab, he demanded ownership of the Incheon Rift from the government. It was enough of a headache, so the government didn’t even bother to consider it and handed the bomb over to the Pado Guild.

Ever since that day, a small question had been nagging at Jung-bin.

‘Why did Lee Sa-young take ownership of the Incheon Rift?’

And now. Why is Lee Sa-young here? Is he afraid that something will happen to the guild-owned rift? Is he angry that he lost the top spot to J?

“If that’s the case, go back and manage your hunters.”

“…….”

It was a clear congratulatory gesture. The gas mask’s gaze flicked to the air, just off the memorial. Probably looking at the same thing as Jung-bin.

+82 [CH.1] 《J has entered the room.》

J appeared on the channel.

Now that he had confirmed the safety of the rift, it was time for the second mission. He flicked his fingertips to give instructions,

“Stop before I crush your fingers.”

A languid voice muttered.

“Tell Ham Seok-jeong.”

“…….”

“The Incheon Rift is owned by the Pado Guild.”

“…….”

Slowly, Lee Sa-young turned around to face Jung-bin. Ah, he suddenly realized,

“Everything that came out of the crack is….”

Lee Sa-young said,

“is mine.”

For this day….