Suho smiled upon seeing them.

*“Ah, I was wondering when they'd show up.”*

The staff quickly formed a human barricade, blocking the crowd's access.

Through this barricade, Jung Chul-min appeared, standing beyond the safe line, gazing at Suho while dialing his phone.

The recipient, of course, was Suho.

Suho answered the phone and asked,

“Hello, Team Leader.”

- *"Suho, I don't know if I'm dreaming or seeing this for real."*

“It’s real, Team Leader, unless you've been using some kind of drug.”

- *"I would never do that... Suho, you’re always more than I imagined. Anyway, would you please move with us to the Association?"*

“May I ask why?”

- *"It’s an unprecedented incident. We thought the Tower would never be conquered. The government has been managing it as a public gate."*

“I know that, but there’s no reason for me to go to the Association, right? There’s no official reason to do so.”

It was obvious.

Jung Chul-min was probably ordered by the president or vice president to bring him in.

The reason? Probably for a photo op.

Those former members of parliament were always so meticulous about their image management.

*“They probably told him to bring me along for some staged photo. Chul-min’s been involved in this kind of stuff often.”*

That’s why Suho wasn’t planning on going to the Association anytime soon.

If he went, it would be on his terms or out of necessity—not because those two had called him to take free pictures.

Upon hearing Suho's words, Jung Chul-min hesitated and spoke up.

- *"That’s true, but... considering the scale of the incident, we still need to conduct an investigation."*

“You didn’t investigate when other major guilds cleared a hard gate like this. If you need any information, just make a separate request.”

- *"...*

Jung Chul-min fell silent.

He had nothing to say.

But despite that, Jung Chul-min wasn’t going to give up.

Even though he was just a powerless civil servant, he had become a team leader at a young age because of his competence.

- *"I understand. But would it be okay if we at least escorted you outside? If we don’t move carefully, there could be a stampede."*

“Don’t worry. I can leave on my own.”

- *“Huh?”*

“I’ll contact you again soon, Team Leader.”

At that moment…

- *"Huh?"*

Jung Chul-min was bewildered.

Suho, who had been standing right in front of him, suddenly vanished.

It wasn’t just him—others around also noticed.

- *"Huh? Where’d he go?"*

- *"Where did he go?"*

- *"What’s going on?!"*

- *"Hey, where’s Ahn Suho?!"*

But Suho, without any hesitation, walked past them and exited the Tower of Trials.

[ *Monochrome Solitude* is activated. ]

Thanks to the first *Mumumu* synthesized for stat boosts.

Suho leisurely walked out and spotted the yellow Ferrari, ready for departure, at a nearby parking lot. He got into the passenger seat.

The moment the passenger door opened, Jo Jin-hwi was startled and immediately on guard.

*“Ah! You scared me... Wait, Suho?”*

“Let’s go now.”

“W-How did you get out?” 

“I managed to avoid them.”

“That’s weird. I was keeping an eye on you through the side and rearview mirrors.” 

Even if he kept watching, how could he have seen Suho?

No matter how hard a regular person looked, the first *Mumumu* caused cognitive distortion.

Soon enough, the yellow Ferrari roared to life and pulled out onto the highway.

Once on the highway, Jo Jin-hwi pulled out a business card from his pocket and said,

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Jo Jin-hwi, Senior Reporter at PBS.”

At PBS, reporters have a ranking system starting from trainee reporters, to full reporters, senior reporters, and eventually lead and chief reporters.

In company terms, Jo Jin-hwi's rank was equivalent to an assistant manager.

Suho responded,

“Ahn Suho. I’ve already introduced myself by phone, so I don’t need to repeat it, right?”

“Of course. You’ve told me everything I needed to know. But... can I ask you one thing?”

“Of course, you’re a reporter, after all.”

“I’ve been thinking about this, and I just can’t understand. Why did you choose to become a civil servant? With your skills, you could be called anywhere, so why this?”

Suho smiled faintly and answered.

“Money? Sure, I’d probably get paid more. But no matter how strong a private guild is, it can’t match the power of the government.”

At this, Jo Jin-hwi’s eyes widened in surprise.

He had never heard anyone interpret it this way.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

“But if you think about it, don’t private guilds have more power? Their collective force is a lot stronger than the national hunters’ combined strength.”

“Even so, they’re still just civilian hunters. And why does that matter? Honestly, if it were just about power, they could have started a coup already. But what would they really gain? At best, a brief feeling of achievement. The only place where they can truly shine is within the infrastructure the government has built.”

“True…” 

Suho wasn’t wrong.

Of course, if they went abroad, the treatment they’d receive could match or exceed what they’d get in Korea, but could they ever truly be satisfied living in a foreign land, especially as native Koreans?

The answer was no.

*“Why do people who flee overseas because of money or military service issues always want to return to Korea?”*

No matter how luxuriously they lived abroad, Koreans born and raised in their homeland could never be completely satisfied in foreign countries.

So, no matter how strong a private guild might be, it wouldn’t dare cross the line against the government.

If they wanted to enjoy power, it had to be within Korea.

Suho continued,

“As I’ve said before, I genuinely want to end the gates. But ending them as an individual is impossible, so I needed an affiliation, and I chose the government as the most effective means.”

“Hm... I see. But you know this, right? Among the Korean players I know... no, among all Korean players in history, no one has made an impact as big as yours. There have been others, but they were never as impressive as you.”

At those words, Suho thought of some of the historic star players.

But even in his past life, those players were overshadowed by Suho in terms of recognition and impact.

It wasn’t surprising.

Suho lightly nodded and said,

“I know. That’s why I’m even more determined to join the government.”

“Are you going to apply for the public exam this time? But no matter how I think about it, it seems like such a waste to put someone with your talent in a grade-9 field position.”

“I’m not aiming for grade-9.”

“Huh? Then are you going for grade-7?”

“No, I’m aiming for the grade-5 public exam.”

“… Huh?”

For a moment, Jo Jin-hwi’s mouth dropped open.

“Are you serious?”

“You keep asking if I’m serious, but I’m always serious.”

“Wow…”

“By the way, don’t write about this in the article.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“I’m planning a build-up in the future, and it’s too early to reveal it now.”

“Can I know what it is?”

“Sure. There’s no harm in telling you.”

At Suho’s answer, Jo Jin-hwi’s mouth slowly dropped open once again.

“Ah, is that the plan?”

“That’s why I asked you not to write about it.”

“Good idea. But... did you just come up with that idea? Could it possibly be related to a Nexus Academy scholarship student? Or are you actually from Nexus Academy? I don’t think so, though.”

Suho laughed at that.

“Well, I can’t disclose contract details.”

“Ah, come on. I won’t be going around spreading it. I’m not blind to information that could help catch someone like you. That’d be a big mistake.”

Suho, understanding Jo Jin-hwi’s perspective, decided to share a bit of the truth to build some rapport.

“Actually, I was the one who proposed the scholarship. It’s not that rare.”

“Ah, so that’s it... But you must have been pretty short on money, right?”

“Well, I just recently dropped out.”

“Oh, right. You mentioned dropping out due to problems in the department?”

It was an old memory, so there was no real anger about it.

Realizing the conversation was drifting, Suho naturally changed the topic.

“Anyway, I don’t really care about that anymore. I’ll help you create more buzz, so feel free to use me for exclusive reports and grow your influence in the company.”

This time, Jo Jin-hwi smiled.

“So you’re planning to make good use of me, huh?”

“If I’m going to be friends with a reporter, I might as well make it useful for both of us.”

Jo Jin-hwi nodded and said,

“In that case, we don’t need to arrange any special interview spots like Newsroom. Just keep up the exclusive coverage on you, and your presence will rise.”

Suho agreed.

“Exactly. I’ll only release official statements through you, so there’s

 no need to make a big fuss.”

“Then, it’s all easy for me. I won’t have to chase after scoops anymore. By the way, are you heading home?”

“For now, yes.”

“Are you sure? By now, people must be waiting outside your house, having dug up all your personal info.”

“It’s fine. I’ll get in the same way I got out of the Tower.”

“Don’t do that. Why don’t you stay at my place for a while?”

“At your place?”

“I’m not suggesting anything weird. I live alone in a big house. If you’re okay with it, you can stay in the guest room. The security’s tight, so only residents can get in.”

“Where do you live?”

“Kaiser Cheongdam.”

“Wow.”

Kaiser Cheongdam.

It was a luxurious residential area worth hundreds of billions of won, one of the top-tier areas in the city.

It truly matched the golden reputation of a reporter like Jo Jin-hwi.

Suho asked,

“That’s quite a place. But with a place like that, I assume you’re not just from a regular wealthy family, right? I know you’re a *golden spoon*, but…”

There are different levels of being a *golden spoon*.

But Kaiser Cheongdam wasn’t exactly a place for just any wealthy person to live.

Jo Jin-hwi smiled quietly and replied,

“Not just any golden spoon… Well, I’m the youngest son of the Dae-San Group chairman.”

“Wait, what?”

Suho’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Jo Jin-hwi casually continued,

“It’s not a big deal, but you know Dae-San Group, right? I’m the youngest son of the chairman.”

“Wait, but the chairman of Dae-San Group is...?”

“My older brothers have different mothers. My mom was his concubine. So I’m the child of a concubine... a half-blood.”

“Oh…”

“This is a secret I haven’t shared with anyone at the company. But since we’re likely to be seeing each other often, I thought I’d let you know. By the way, although my father gave me a lot, I have no influence in Dae-San Group. I don’t have any shares. I even turned down an offer for a subsidiary.”

“Interesting.”

“Right? Maybe we’ll become even closer than we expected.”

Suho smiled, feeling the connection.

Maybe, just maybe, they would become closer than either of them had anticipated.

**Boom!**

The yellow Ferrari roared across the highway.