NoveLight ™
The next day, in the Daehyeonhyup auditorium, Suho's thank-you award ceremony was held.
However, there was a problem.
Originally, the event was planned to be a small and simple gathering with only journalists invited, but a large number of unexpected civilians showed up.
As the Daehyeonhyup staff moved to the venue, they were in a panic.
“Why are so many people suddenly here?”
“I heard they’re all fans of Hunter Ahn Suho. Was it Suho Priest?”
“I know, but how did they find out? This event hasn’t even been posted on the official website yet.”
“Well... that’s true…”
The identity of the crowd?
They were none other than Suho’s fan club, "Suho Priests."
Just as the staff had said, today’s thank-you award ceremony was not posted on the Daehyeonhyup official site yet.
Of course, this wasn’t a private event, so there was no rule preventing the public from attending.
Anyway, the event was to celebrate Suho, so it made sense for people to come.
However, it was the first time in Daehyeonhyup’s event history that so many people had shown up for an event that wasn’t even officially announced.
The people gathered in the auditorium spoke excitedly.
“When’s the Sword God getting here?”
“Doesn’t the main character always show up a little late?”
“I’m finally going to meet him in person.”
“I skipped class today just to see the Sword God in person.”
“By the way, is the president not coming today?”
“I heard he has some work, so he won’t be able to make it.”
“Golden Horse will be pretty disappointed.”
“Let’s take a lot of pictures and post them for him.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
At that moment, someone coughed awkwardly.
It was Jo Jin-hwi, sitting in the press section.
It made sense because the "president" they were talking about, and the owner of the fan club, Golden Horse, was Jo Jin-hwi himself.
When Jo Jin-hwi had established the fan club, he had promised never to reveal himself.
If he did, things would get complicated in various ways.
‘But at least I’m fulfilling my duty as the fan club president...!’
It was true.
Jo Jin-hwi was the one who had informed the Suho Priests about the thank-you ceremony in the first place.
Jo Jin-hwi texted Suho.
Suho quickly replied.
I know. I’m watching.
Huh? You’re already here?
Yes, I arrived early and have been watching.
Where are you?
I’m inside the auditorium.
Huh?
It was true.
Suho had arrived earlier than Jo Jin-hwi and had been watching everything quietly.
But why hadn’t anyone noticed him?
The answer was simple.
[ Monochrome Solitude has been activated. ]
Thanks to the S+ rank item, the first of its kind, Monochrome Solitude.
Even though he was right in front of them, no one recognized Suho’s presence.
Soon, he received a message from Pi Seong-yeol, asking where he was, and Suho quickly went to meet him to start the ceremony preparations.
When Pi Seong-yeol saw him, he remarked, “Junior, you're quite popular.”
“Haha, it’s nothing.”
“No, really. I’ve never seen so many people at a thank-you ceremony before. This is the first time. It’s actually a good thing, considering the public opinion was a bit bad because of yesterday’s article.”
Yesterday's article.
It was the second part of the Yeongdeungpo series written by Jo Jin-hwi.
Pi Seong-yeol narrowed his eyes and said, “That journalist, Jo Jin-hwi, why did he write such an article to annoy people? Tsk... right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Well, anyway, it’s about to start, so go ahead and get your award. I have some urgent business, so I’ll go ahead.”
“Thank you, Senior. Please go ahead.”
Pi Seong-yeol left the scene.
As soon as Pi Seong-yeol was gone, Suho wiped the fake smile off his face and thought, ‘Some things never change. People around me still aren’t interested in anyone else.’
Even though he knew that PBS reporters would be there, he didn’t even try to make contact with them. Their name tags were visible, and it wouldn’t have been hard to notice Jo Jin-hwi if he had paid a little attention.
But perhaps it was thanks to his lack of interest that Jo Jin-hwi’s face wasn’t exposed to the public.
‘But he’s definitely paying a lot of attention to me.’
As evidence, Jo Jin-hwi had personally come to the event, even though he didn’t have to.
The ceremony began, and Suho moved to the front to take his designated seat.
At that moment, the fans sitting behind him started to cheer loudly.
“Wow.”
“Unbelievable.”
“It’s the Sword God.”
“He’s so handsome.”
“Look at those eyes... no wonder we’re all in love.”
“Just look at that jawline... this is what they mean by ‘class’.”
“I just wish I could get a single slash from him.”
“I agree.”
People were whispering, excitedly.
Sorry, but I can hear all of that.
It was quite embarrassing.
The event continued, and Suho moved to the stage to receive his award.
When he stood face to face with the president, Jang Gyeong-hwan, the host spoke.
“… And so, we present this thank-you plaque to Ahn Suho, presented by Daehyeonhyup President Jang Gyeong-hwan.”
Click! Click!
As the plaque was handed to him, the flashes from the journalists’ cameras began to flood the room.
Suho naturally posed with Jang Gyeong-hwan, holding the thank-you plaque.
While posing, Jang Gyeong-hwan whispered to him, almost as if he was speaking through ventriloquism.
“You’re used to posing, aren’t you?”
“It’s all thanks to your guidance.”
“Haha, I heard from Chief Pi that your efforts in Yeongdeungpo have been incredible.”
“I just moved to help the victims, that’s all.”
“Haha, as expected from Hunter Ahn. I’m looking forward to what you’ll do next. Expect some good news soon. I’ll send it to you within a few days.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Good news.
Suho smiled at the words.
The good news was most likely referring to his special recruitment.
The photo session ended, and Suho stepped up to the mic to give his speech.
“Thank you. I believe I’m just doing what I should, but receiving this award makes me feel even more motivated. I’ll continue to work hard in the future.”
A short and conventional acceptance speech.
After his speech, the Suho Priests cheered loudly.
“Wow!”
“He’s amazing!”
“We love the Sword God!”
“The Sword God is the best!”
“Haha, thank you.”
Amid the loud cheers, the host tried to calm the crowd, and it was now time for the journalists to ask questions.
The first journalist to speak was from HunterNet.
“I’m Kim Sang-un from HunterNet. First of all, congratulations on receiving the thank-you plaque, Hunter Ahn. I’d like to ask you, do you still have the desire to join Daehyeonhyup?”
The Q&A session had begun.
It was the expected procedure, but there were no pre-approved questions prepared.
Preparing questions and answers in advance was something done when high-ranking people were involved in a scandal, so that wasn't the case here.
Suho responded.
“Yes, I still do.”
The second journalist asked.
“I noticed you’ve opened a Bestagram account recently. Why did you open one now, after not having one before?”
“I was encouraged by people around me, so I decided to try it. SNS is a personal choice.”
“You’ve already surpassed 50,000 followers in just one day. Are you aware of that?”
50,000?
Has it already reached that number?
After turning off notifications all day because the phone was buzzing constantly, Suho hadn’t realized his follower count had already reached that high.
But he didn’t think it was surprising.
Bestagram was much more accessible than the fan cafe.
“I just found out because I turned off the notifications.”
“You haven’t posted anything yet, but what will your first post be?”
“Well, today I received this thank-you plaque, so maybe I’ll post that? I’ve heard SNS is about sharing daily moments.”
More routine questions followed.
It wasn’t surprising that, at an award ceremony like this, no journalist would try to stir up controversy.
Then, finally, it was time for the last question.
Coincidentally, the last person to ask was someone Suho knew.
It was Jo Jin-hwi.
“I’m Jo Jin-hwi from PBS.”
At the mention of Jo Jin-hwi, the crowd started murmuring.
Of course, everyone there had read the Yeongdeungpo special article Jo Jin-hwi had written.
When Jo Jin-hwi raised his hand, Vice President Park Gyu-min glared at the nearby staff.
“Jo Jin-hwi? Isn’t that the guy who wrote the special article recently?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Why the hell did they invite him? Are they out of their minds?”
“W-We were told that…”
“Just get rid of him!”
Haha.
I can hear everything.
Why are you yelling now? Should’ve checked things properly.
As Suho chuckled internally, Jo Jin-hwi’s question continued.
“Did you see the Yeongdeungpo special article I wrote?”
Heh.
You’re asking this question here?
This place is a tiger’s den for Jo Jin-hwi.
But still, his boldness was impressive.
Suho smiled.
‘As expected, this is the aggressive, no-holds-barred reporter style.’
The so-called “blunt, no-nonsense manly style” of Jo Jin-hwi.
He was the type to ask whatever he wanted without a care, which was why Suho had recruited him.
Suho smiled and responded.
“Yes, I saw it.”
Jo Jin-hwi also smiled faintly and continued.
“I understand that both the police and Daehyeonhyup have been criticized for their selective approach toward public safety. Are you aware of this?”
“Yes, I am.”
As the questions continued, the expression on President Jang Gyeong-hwan’s face became more and more rigid.
Seeing Jang Gyeong-hwan’s expression, Park Gyu-min urged the staff to end the questioning, but unfortunately, Jo Jin-hwi’s questions came too fast.
“Then, if Hunter Ahn joins Daehyeonhyup, do you think we can expect Daehyeonhyup’s stance to change?”
He didn’t ask a difficult question about what Suho thought of the current Daehyeonhyup, but asked indirectly, in a way that would benefit Suho.
At Jo Jin-hwi’s question, all eyes were on Suho.
Just as Suho was about to answer, he saw President Jang Gyeong-hwan and Vice President Park Gyu-min moving toward the back of the auditorium, preparing to leave.
Thanks to that, Suho was able to give his answer with the most natural smile.
“Yes, of course. If I join Daehyeonhyup, I’ll do everything I can to change things so that those kinds of criticisms never arise again. I will make sure to root out every bit of corruption.”
“Thank you for your answer, Hunter Ahn.”
The ceremony ended.
Suho quickly left the auditorium, and his Suho Priests followed behind, while the journalists hurried to write articles based on his responses.
Of course, the Suho Priests never found him again.
As soon as he left the auditorium, he activated the first MuMuMu.
After sitting in the car, someone naturally climbed into the passenger seat after a while.
It was Jo Jin-hwi.
Suho smiled and greeted him.
“You came?”
“Ah, the Daehyeonhyup staff were staring at me so hard. I thought I was going to die from the tension the whole way here.”
“Didn’t you willingly enter the tiger’s den? Now you’re overacting?”
“Haha, you saw through me? Anyway, my questions were a bit intense, weren’t they? Sorry about that. My boss told me not to stir things up at the association, but I had to push the 3rd part of the article and get your followers up, so I took a gamble.”
It was an excuse.
But it didn’t matter.
Because thanks to that, he could say what he wanted.
Suho smiled and replied.
“It’s fine. Thanks to you, I was able to say what I wanted.”
“You wanted to say something?”
“Yes, that I will change the Daehyeonhyup.”
“... Wasn’t that just a comment?”
“No, I wouldn’t lie at an award ceremony. As you asked, I’ll work hard. I’ll make sure there won’t be any more criticisms.”
“Haha... then I’ll really be looking forward to it.”
“Of course. Anytime.”
A few days later, Suho’s Grade 5 special recruitment was confirmed.