Chapter 82: HFS (2)

A party? It was all so out of the blue.

"The name of the party is HFS."

"HFS?"

"What is that?"

The name was bizarre enough for invitees to seriously reconsider going.

"I understand your confusion. Allow me to explain." Raising his clenched right hand above his head, Kim Ki-Rok unfurled one finger at a time as he listed, "Holiday, fellowship, and salvation."

"Salvation?" a Hunter asked reluctantly.

"Yes. These three things make up the acronym, HFS," Kim Ki-Rok answered.

Lee Ji-Yeon cautiously raised her hand. "Uh... Guildmaster?"

"Yes. Miss Ji-Yeon."

"You said the criminals were going to attack on the twenty-sixth."

"Indeed. At 4 a.m. on the twenty-sixth, Awakened criminals will mount an assault."

"Is there a reason you are throwing a party two days before they attack?" she asked, bewildered.

"Oho? It sounds like you might already have a guess, Ji-Yeon. But it seems the rest of the guild is just confused, so you asked on their behalf."

She nodded. "As I suspected..."

"That's right! Even though you already figured it out, you still asked for the sake of those who might not get it... What a kind gesture! You truly are one of DG Guild's twin beauties, one of the most beautiful! If I had to pick the most gorgeous Elementalist alive, you'd be in the top fiv—"

"S-stop!" Lee Ji-Yeon flailed her arms in protest, her cheeks burning crimson.

"All right, all right. I'll answer your question now. The purpose of this party is to gather allies willing to stand with DG Guild against the Awakened criminals attacking us. And why do it through a party...?"

He halted for a moment before lifting his left thumb and pointing toward the window, covered by thick curtains. "Because in battle, information warfare matters more than anything. As Dong Sung-Min anticipated, the Awakened criminals are undoubtedly spying on us already, watching from somewhere nearby."

At those words, a few members of the guild frowned and turned to stare at the curtained window.

"But please don't make it obvious," Kim Ki-Rok reminded them.

As they all nodded a bit absentmindedly, Kim Ki-Rok clapped his hands to reclaim the attention of those looking at the window. "So, to summarize: we'll be holding a party tonight. The aim is to rally allies without letting our enemies catch on. Therefore, you're free to attend or skip it. It's up to you. But..."

While his Guild members looked at him with tilted heads and waited for him to finish, Kim Ki-Rok slowly turned to survey the meeting room before speaking in a calm tone, "I suspect most of you will end up coming anyway."

Silence filled the room for a brief moment.

"Uh, Guildmaster?" Nam Dong-Wook raised his hand.

"Yes, Dong-Wook."

"I don't have to attend if I don't want to, right?"

"That's correct. You're free to skip it. Gathering allies is a task for me and the party's guests of honor, so it doesn't matter whether our guild members personally come or not."

"Then I'm not coming," he replied flatly.

"But I thought you didn't have any plans?" Kim Ki-Rok asked, smiling.

Nam Dong-Wook let out a hollow laugh and propped his chin on his interlaced fingers atop the table. "What, you think I, Nam Dong-Wook, would have no one to meet on Christmas Eve night?"

"Well, if you did have someone to meet on Christmas Eve, especially the evening of Christmas Eve, you wouldn't be the Nam Dong-Wook we know, would you?"

"

Guh!

" Hit hard by the harsh truth, Nam Dong-Wook slumped his shoulders and buried his face against Lee Ji-Ah's shoulder, whimpering, "Ji-Aaaaah... The Guildmaster is... He's..."

"You have five seconds to lift your face or I'll plant an ice spear into it."

Nam Dong-Wook sat up as if nothing had happened and turned his head toward the colleague sitting on the opposite side.

"What." Kang Seh-Hyuk responded grumpily.

Thud.

Nam Dong-Wook buried his face in the conference table.

"Though knowing you, Nam Dong-Wook, you'd manage to wrangle up someone to meet for Christmas Eve if you really tried," Kim Ki-Rok remarked.

Nam Dong-Wook's ears perked up, a flicker of confidence returning to his expression. But Kim Ki-Rok had raised him up only to slam him back down.

"Though they'd be of the XY variety, not XX chromosomes."

"Guildmasterrrrrr!" Nam Dong-Wook whined.

"I'm just kidding."

"Really?"

"About thirty percent."

Nam Dong-Wook looked dumbstruck. "Wow. Should we settle this in the training room?"

"I'm fine with that," Kim Ki-Rok replied. Whenever he casually agreed to a spar, Nam Dong-Wook would immediately back down.

While laughing at the two's banter, one of the members raised his hand. "Excuse me, Guildmaster?"

"Yes. Mr. Han Tae-Woo."

"I have plans to meet someone. Is it okay if I don't attend?"

"Didn't I say it's fine? The point of the event is to trick our foes while secretly assembling allies."

"

Whew!

Then I'll be skipping out." Han Tae-Woo let out a sigh of relief.

Right then, Kim Ki-Rok flashed a mysterious smile and spoke, "Mr. Tae-Woo?"

"Yes, Guildmaster?"

"Let's think this through. Today is December 24. This morning, we had a Gate defense. Correct?"

That was obviously true, but the atmosphere grew tense around them. They never knew where Kim Ki-Rok's explanations might lead.

"That's... right?" he answered reluctantly.

"Before that, we had fifty-six infected Gates pop up at the start of December. We've spent practically the entire month clearing them. Right?"

Han Tae-Woo hesitated for a while before responding. "Uh... yes."

"Now, think about it, Mr. Tae-Woo," Kim Ki-Rok said.

"About what?"

"Securing a nice date spot for Christmas Eve is a near impossible task, even in early December. Do you think you could successfully reserve a date spot one day before Christmas?"

Han Tae-Woo's mouth clamped shut.

"Well, let's say there are some people who cancelled their reservations, and you were able to book a seat at a famous restaurant with your girlfriend. Do you think you would be the only one waiting for such an opportunity?"

Logically, there wasn't much to argue with.

"Even if you somehow managed it, the entire country is now well aware that no catastrophic crisis occurred. Although we only plan to make the success of the Gate defense officially public on December 26, many people already know that we overcame the Gates without incurring a single casualty. Which means no one is likely to cancel their high-end Christmas Eve bookings out of fear."

A brief silence filled the room.

"Are you saying... salvation, as in salvation for couples who couldn't secure a date spot?"

At Han Tae-Woo's question, Kim Ki-Rok became furious. "No! Couples should go and die...

Hm-hmm!

Just kidding."

"You sound serious to me," Han Tae-Woo protested.

"

Hahaha!

" With an exaggerated laugh, Kim Ki-Rok smoothly shifted to a clearer explanation. "The 'salvation' part isn't about rescuing couples who didn't prepare for their dates."

Although he did not explicitly say it, most Hunters seated in the conference room clearly understood who he meant to rescue.

"All of you have been exhausted, raiding Gates nonstop since early December. The moment this meeting ends, you'll likely head home. You'll take a shower, maybe tell yourself, 'I'll get up this evening and see if any friends are free.' Then you'll pull out your phone, flip through contacts, and give someone a call, only to hear, 'Sorry, I already have plans—maybe next time?' And then, after a blank stare at your screen, you'll rummage in the fridge for a beer, guzzle it down, and crash back into bed."

"

Ugh...

That's so depressing," a Hunter joked while wiping away imaginary tears.

He was describing it so vividly, it felt like he was clairvoyant.

"However!"

Smacking the conference table with a resounding thud, he continued with gusto, "If you attend our Christmas Eve party, HFS, I promise you an otherworldly experience!"

Otherworldly?

Some of the guild members, who were either dozing off, halfheartedly checking their phones, or simply worn out, now lifted their heads at this moment.

"First up, to our guild members with girlfriends. I wish you all would drop dead!"

"Now he's openly mocking us..." a few of them muttered, knitting their brows.

Kim Ki-Rok plunged on, "There's a high chance your girlfriends will be disappointed that you hadn't prepared for a Christmas date. But if you attend our party, it'll be different. Why? Because you'll meet some truly famous people! It'll be tons of fun! Who am I?!"

"A total madman!"

"A complete lunatic!"

"

Oooooh!

"

The Guild members shouted in excitement.

"That's right, I'm the madman, the Crazy Bastard, Kim Ki-Rok! I've prepared all sorts of exciting events!"

"Woahhh!"

"How's that sound, oh you lucky few with girlfriends?!"

"Yeahh!"

The minority of guild members with girlfriends now cheered. Next, Kim Ki-Rok's gaze shifted to the majority, the ones who were single. They stared at him with eyes shining in anticipation.

"Enjoy yourselves! Instead of staying home, ordering fried chicken, and rewatching that classic Christmas film Home By Myself, you can come party with us!"

"That's it?!" the single Hunters shouted.

"Not at all! Our close friends from the Hunter Guild Sky's Wing, an all-women's guild, are attending HFS as well!"

"Ooooh?!"

A roar of excitement erupted from the single men upon hearing "all women." But the one who seemed most thrilled leaped up from his seat and slammed the table.

"WHEN does it start?!!!" Nam Dong-Wook shouted, almost threateningly.

***

Sky Wings was a guild renowned for its exceptionally skilled Hunters, even though it exclusively accepted female members.

"

Pfft.

" Guildmaster Min Sae-Hee chuckled as she reread the party invitation in her office.

A woman peeked into her office and saw her Guildmaster in a state she had never seen before. "Unnie, are you...actually going?"

"Why? Do you think it will be boring?" Min Sae-Hee asked.

"Well, it won't be some stiff gathering since DG Guild is hosting it. Kim Ji-Hee will definitely attend, so it should be fun."

"Right? Then what's the issue?"

"No, I meant, are you planning to go alone?"

A few women had stayed idling in the Guildmaster's office even though their workday was over. They looked intently at the invitation that Guildmaster Min Sae-Hee was holding.

Min Sae-Hee grinned. "Ah! Ah, you all want to go with me?"

"Yes..." one of them answered.

"You don't have any plans?" Min Sae-Hee asked.

"No."

"But it's Christmas Eve."

"Unnie... you know my preference, right?"

"What?"

As Min Sae-Hee tilted her head, the female Hunter who had spoken to her declared confidently, "I like meeting people naturally."

A look of absolute confusion decorated Min Sae-Hee's face. "Huh? What about it?"

"Wouldn't you say meeting someone at a party is a natural encounter?"

***

Amidst a family home located in Jung province, Seoul, where the land price had skyrocketed due to the Hunters Association's presence, a seventy-year-old man was relaxing in a massage chair and looked at his secretary after checking the invitation he was given.

"HFS? Is the party hosted by Il-Sung? Or is it hosted by another corporation?" questioned the old man.

"No," his secretary replied.

"Hmm? Then?"

"It's a party hosted by DG Guild."

"Led by that no-good rascal... our benefactor?"

The old man wasn't wrong. Kim Ki-Rok had indeed saved the UK Department Store. But that didn't change the fact that he was the bastard who had forced the old man to see his own son as the hopeless piece of trash he truly was.

No matter how clearly a parent recognized their child as a lost cause, hearing it from someone else was an entirely different matter. Disciplining one's own child was one thing; watching someone else do it was another. Such was the irony of parenting.

The old man's lips quivered as he stared down at the invitation. "Who's attending?"

"It mentions the Il-Sung Group..."

"Huh?"

"The Shine Guild, Sky Wings Guild, Golden Lion Guild, Baekdusan Guild, and the Hunters Association are also attending."

He nodded slowly. DG Guild having ties with Shine Guild and Golden Lion Guild was well-known, therefore it wasn't a surprise that they had invited Il-Sung Group, and in particular, Chairman Cha Min-Sung. Sky Wings had fought alongside DG Guild in that hush-hush Gate defense, so it wasn't strange they were coming either.

The Hunters Association was more surprising. DG Guild might be popular, but it was still only mid-sized. Normally, top brass from the Association wouldn't grace a smaller guild's event. Then again, the old man had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't be any low-level staff.

"Which Association official is attending, do we know?"

"The president himself."

"Who...?"

"The Hunters Association's President Kang Man-Ki and five others will be attending."

It was exactly the unthinkable scenario he had guessed. "Only an idiot would refuse to attend."