NoveLight ™
Suho’s special recruitment as a Grade 5 civil servant had been in the works for a while, but it happened much faster than anyone expected.
And for good reason.
After the thank-you award ceremony, three installments of articles were uploaded, causing the already growing view counts to explode.
"Where is Justice in Yeongdeungpo? Part 1."
Views: 7,488,486
"Hunter Ahn Suho Appears in Yeongdeungpo! Part 2."
Views: 7,345,845
"The Changshik Gang and Their Victims. Part 3."
Views: 6,812,877
The numbers were insane.
The view count for Part 1, which had barely hit 500,000 initially, was now averaging over 7 million.
Jo Jin-hwi looked at the explosive stats with a satisfied smile.
“This is why I do journalism.”
View counts are my power.
Comments are my power!
The rise in viewership was due to several factors.
For example, articles from other reporters who attended the ceremony played a role.
But the biggest driver was undoubtedly the addition of one keyword that had been missing in Part 1: Ahn Suho.
Jo Jin-hwi scrolled through the comments, checking them one by one.
"Wow… The only light to appear in the forsaken Yeongdeungpo…"
"I always believed in you, Sword God."
"Absolutely badass. How can anyone even do that?"
"But isn’t it kind of hilarious? Why is a private citizen doing what the police, prosecutors, or Hunter Association should be doing?"
"Isn’t Nexus behind this?"
└ "Why would a guild waste their time ordering someone to beat up gangsters? Use your brain."
"I caught a glimpse of him at the ceremony. The man is ridiculously handsome."
"I’d love to be cut by the Sword God just once."
"Mom! When I grow up, I want to be the Sword God!"
There was no shortage of praise.
Of course, not all the comments were positive.
"Isn’t this just vigilante justice?"
"He’s not a cop or a judge. Isn’t this going to get him in trouble if someone files a complaint?"
"Why is he acting all high and mighty? Ahn Suho seems like a bit of an attention seeker, don’t you think?"
Some raised valid concerns.
Others, however, simply disguised their insults as criticisms.
Whenever such comments appeared, Suho’s supporters were quick to retaliate:
"Isn’t this just vigilante justice?"
└ "And? What’s your point?"
└ "At least he’s doing something while you’re sitting in your room scratching your belly and hammering away on your keyboard."
└ "What can you do?"
└ "So what’s your solution?"
"He’s not a cop or a judge. Isn’t this going to get him in trouble?"
└ "Are you dumb? Do you really think the gangsters are going to make Suho’s life hard? Or will it be the other way around?"
└ "Maybe the one with the problem isn’t Suho’s head but yours."
"Why is he acting all high and mighty? Ahn Suho seems like a bit of an attention seeker."
└ "Isn’t the real attention seeker the person writing this comment?"
└ "Ignore the trolls."
└ "Why is someone as insignificant as you even bothering to act high and mighty?"
└ "Public education in this country has really gone down the drain."
└ "Well, it’s true everything’s been falling apart since the Great Catastrophe… oops, Judge, I didn’t say anything!"
With Suho’s supporters stepping up to defend him, Daehyeonhyup realized they needed to recruit Suho as quickly as possible.
Doing so would at least allow them to escape some of the criticism being hurled at both the police and Daehyeonhyup, putting the latter in a better light.
As soon as Suho’s special recruitment was confirmed, Daehyeonhyup flooded the media with reports:
"Yeongdeungpo’s Hero, Ahn Suho, Joins Daehyeonhyup."
"Sword God Ahn Suho: Specially Recruited at Grade 5."
"Hunter Ahn Suho Joins Daehyeonhyup for Real."
"Interview Becomes Reality: Ahn Suho’s Daehyeonhyup Appointment!"
The reaction to the news was explosive.
Jo Jin-hwi’s Yeongdeungpo Series quickly faded into the background.
People’s responses were nothing short of ecstatic:
"At this timing? Absolutely insane!"
"Wait, the interview on the award ceremony day was real?"
"Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho!"
"Mom! I want to grow up to be the Sword God!"
And, as expected, Suho’s popularity, which was already through the roof, shot even higher.
Daehyeonhyup, now associated with Suho, faced far less criticism compared to the police and even started receiving praise:
"At least Daehyeonhyup recruited Ahn Suho. What did the police do?"
"The police? They’re just mold at this point."
"They probably just stood around saying, ‘Oh no, oh no!’ while doing nothing."
It went on like this.
Before long, the public’s attention shifted to none other than the Nexus Guild.
"So, what happens to Nexus now?"
"Yeah, didn’t they still have a lot of time left on the contract?"
"Does this mean Ahn Suho bailed on Nexus?"
└ "No way he’d do that."
└ "Let’s wait and see what they say."
In a way, it was an inevitable turn of events.
You only notice the side dishes after fully enjoying the main course.
Nexus understood this all too well and had prepared for it in advance.
“It seems like people are starting to talk about us now.”
“Shall we get ready?”
“Yes, I think it’s time to start releasing the articles.”
Following the orders of Chief Secretary Kim I-kang, PR Team Manager Park Gu-wan began rolling out the pre-prepared articles.
They weren’t going to miss this opportunity.
As the saying goes, you row the boat when the tide comes in. In this case, they weren’t just rowing—they were attaching a motor to it. This was the perfect moment to polish their image.
The first step was Nexus’ official statement:
Jo Jin-hwi joined in on the article blitz.
He didn’t fabricate anything—he just dressed up the facts and presented them attractively. He simply packed the details that people wanted to know into a well-rounded narrative, like a heaping bowl of rice pressed tightly together.
And as expected, the public went wild over Nexus’ articles:
└ "You don’t know much, do you? Companies care more about their image than anything. A good image is something money can’t buy."
They weren’t wrong.
Even though public opinion played a role, a contract was still a contract.
Of course, the public didn’t know the intricate details of the agreement between Nexus and Suho. But thanks to this turn of events, Nexus’ image had firmly established itself as highly favorable in the Hunter industry.
Where there is light, there is shadow.
The sudden rise of Nexus inevitably cast a dark shadow over their competitors, Hexagon and Prime, who held the industry’s top two positions.
└ "Don’t you remember that incident? They delayed giving potions to a struggling Hunter, and he ended up dying in a gate."
└ "That’s not all. How about the Mage who collapsed from mana depletion because they forced him to keep pushing?"
└ "Amazing, Hexagon. Just pure garbage."
└ "Apologize to literal garbage for comparing it to Hexagon!"
└ "Trash, I’m sorry! Humanity apologizes to you!"
The officials at Hexagon and Prime quietly fumed as they read these comments. However, they couldn’t refute them. Every accusation was based on real incidents, and suing for defamation of character over factual statements wasn’t an option.
Nexus followed up with an interview with their CEO, Bae Dong-hyuk, strategically releasing it as the next step in their PR campaign.
Q: "Was the sudden termination of Ahn Suho’s contract influenced by public opinion?"
A: "No, not at all. This was something we had discussed with Hunter Ahn Suho from the start. His dream was to join Daehyeonhyup. Until the annual recruitment process at the end of the year, he wanted to gain practical experience wherever conditions were right, and our guild happened to fit the bill."
Q: "Do you have any regrets?"
A: "It would be a lie to say we don’t. But we believe that Hunter Ahn Suho can contribute far more to humanity by working at a national institution like Daehyeonhyup than he could with us at Nexus."
The interview was standard but exuded humility and selflessness, the type of message the general public loves.
People cheered once again, and CEO Bae Dong-hyuk earned nicknames like "Father" and "Light" for his inspiring remarks.
To seal the deal, Nexus released one final piece—a report on their "Yeongdeungpo Relief Efforts." This move cemented their new title as the "Nation’s Favorite Guild."
Watching the flood of comments and soaring follower counts, Jo Jin-hwi remarked, “The response over the past few days has been incredible.”
“It’s all thanks to you, journalist Jo.”
“Come on now, all I did was add some seasoning. The foundation was all provided by you, Pro Ahn.”
“You’re amazing, Team Leader!”
At Suho’s safe house in Cheongdam-dong, the atmosphere was cozy.
The next day, Suho would officially start his first day at Daehyeonhyup. To celebrate, he invited Jo Jin-hwi over for a small afterparty.
The Banshees had already met earlier to reconnect, but this gathering had a special purpose: to formally announce Nam Hae-won’s induction into the team.
Nam Hae-won’s joining was a natural outcome of their relief efforts and aligned perfectly with Suho’s goals.
From now on, Suho wasn’t just "Mr. Suho" or "Hunter Ahn Suho." He was Team Leader Suho.
Jo Jin-hwi asked, “So, does this mean the victims’ treatments will soon be completed?”
“Yes, according to the latest data from Nexus, it looks that way. And it’s all thanks to Hae-won’s Hammer 2,” Suho replied.
“Haha, thank you,” Hae-won said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment at the praise.
Nam Hae-won was still living in the Cheongdam safe house and planned to stay there indefinitely. He wasn’t the only one; other Banshees were welcome to live there, but only Seo Gi-won accepted the offer.
Seo Gi-won, meanwhile, was busy leveling up and undergoing rigorous training at Nexus Academy.
“Looks like we can wrap up the special report with Part 4, focusing on the victims’ recovery,” Jo Jin-hwi said with a smile. “You’ve done an incredible job. Let’s toast to that.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Here’s to your first day tomorrow. Don’t forget about us when you’re there!”
“Haha, of course not. We’re partners for life.”
Clink!
The sound of their glasses meeting rang clearly in the room.
The next day, as planned, Suho officially started his first day at Daehyeonhyup.