A Gate Opened On My First Day As A Politician - Chapter 38

The cold that slipped in through my nose woke me up. It stung.

It seemed I had left the window open while sleeping, and the chill had settled over the room. Shivering, I crawled toward the window.

My head was pounding, and I felt like I had a fever.

The clock read 6:30 a.m. Outside the window, it was still pitch dark, like the middle of the night.

But tiny, white snowflakes sparkled in the darkness.

In that frigid December, South Korea endured one of its coldest winters yet.

—

Every person has their quirks.

Each of us has unique traits that set us apart. That’s what makes humanity special.

However, despite these little peculiarities that make us unique, we are often dissatisfied with ourselves.

The saddest part is that it’s sometimes nearly impossible to fix the things we dislike about ourselves.

“Ah-choo!”

In my case, I hated the sound of my sneeze.

The reason doesn’t matter.

I’ve endured countless mockeries and sneers over my sneeze throughout my life.

“Ah-choo! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!” Three sneezes in a row. Yeo Do-yeon, pulling porridge out of the microwave, smirked and teased me.

“Hey, cutie. You caught a cold?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Sniffing, I nodded. She added with a grin:

“I told you not to make those nasal sounds when you sneeze.”

“Like I can control that…”

She was already dressed for work, wearing a suit. Since she doubled as a bodyguard, she opted for trousers.

“You’re starting to look good in suits.”

“Hey. Catch.”

I accepted the chicken porridge she handed me. It had an abundance of jujubes and ginseng. She lightly sprinkled some salt and remarked:

“Mom sent it.”

“Wow, she didn’t have to go to all that trouble…”

Yeo Do-yeon grumbled with her usual stern expression. It wasn’t much different from her normal demeanor.

“You should call Tongyeong sometimes. Mom’s worried about you.”

“You know I don’t even have time to eat. You’re always around me anyway. You’ve already had breakfast, right?”

“I ate all the meat from what you’re eating now.”

“Is there a Gate open in this house…?”

Translation: Are you even human?

Of course, there was plenty of chicken in the porridge. Exhausted, I started eating.

Lately, my days always went like this.

Yeo Do-yeon would finish her breakfast and get ready for work, and only then would I wake up. She even prepared my suit for me.

It wasn’t because I was lazy.

She crossed her arms indifferently.

“You didn’t even get six hours of sleep last night, did you?”

“You barely slept three hours.”

“That’s different, you idiot.”

A reinforcement specialist.
A physical-type Awakener.
A melee combatant.
An attacker.
A tank.
A forward.

There were countless titles, both at home and abroad. No single term was set in stone; broadcasters all used different labels.

Research on Awakeners was being conducted “intensely.” That’s how I learned Yeo Do-yeon’s abilities were quite rare.

Most reinforcement specialists needed to focus their energy or concentrate to harden their bodies.

Moreover:

Some only strengthened their arms.
Some only strengthened their legs.
Some were elastic like rubber.
Some were hard as stone.
Some weren’t durable but were incredibly strong.

The variety among Awakeners was greater than expected.

In Yeo Do-yeon’s case, her body was always hardened, even without effort. On top of that, she was incredibly strong.

I had assumed that was normal, but it turned out to be rare. Chun Hwa-ran had mentioned it.

Of course, she needed to consume a lot of mana stones to maintain her strength. But mana stones were commodities acquired through money and power. Yeo Do-yeon had absorbed an immense amount.

Watching her fight occasionally was terrifying. Her powers and martial arts created a frightening synergy.

“Hey, water.”

At the moment, though, she was my water carrier.

“Ugh, fiiine…!”

“Damn it, seriously!”

Knowing that if she said “Are your hands broken?” I’d wave my prosthetic leg with a mischievous grin, she begrudgingly brought me water.

As I chewed my porridge, I asked in my garbled voice:

“How can someone function on less than three hours of sleep…?”

Giving her a questioning look, I watched as Yeo Do-yeon chuckled softly.

“I wonder that myself.”

—

“Ah, yes, I understand your concern.”

– How is this any different from what local thugs do? Do you know how many buildings the Hunters have destroyed!?

“I deeply regret that. However, since the damage occurred during the subjugation of monsters, compensation isn’t legally possible—”

– They’ve destroyed perfectly good buildings! Are you just going to ignore the backlash from the residents? And you still call yourself an Assemblyman!?

“I apologize. Deputy Mayor.”

– Ugh! This is outrageous…! Assemblyman Han, if you keep brushing us off like this, we won’t let it slide this time. If we don’t get compensation for the building damages, there will be no further support from us!

Click.

The deputy mayor serving as the acting mayor of Uijeongbu abruptly ended the call.

Letting out a small sigh, I motioned for Lee Ho-jung, who quickly approached. I muttered indifferently:

“The residents protested with a few picket signs because a couple of apartment buildings got wrecked. This guy’s trying to challenge us, huh? Must be a newbie.”

“Do you think he’s eyeing the next mayoral election?”

“Probably just trying to curry favor with the residents for a shot at being mayor, knowing full well he won’t get the money. Can’t let that happen.”

How dare he meddle with the Hunters’ operations and try to play politics?

“Ho-jung, grab a few files from the cabinet and send them to the prosecution. Let’s get him dismissed immediately.”

“That could leave a vacancy in the administration. Ah, I’ll look for someone suitable from among the former district chiefs in Seoul. Do they just need to be cooperative?”

“Yeah. Get my confirmation and then fax it to the martial law commander.”

With Lee Ho-jung recently promoted from secretary to chief aide and two interns under him, this matter would likely be resolved soon.

Having dealt with one uncooperative deputy mayor, I turned my attention to the budget execution report for the newly operational orphanage. Yang Il-ho had organized the document neatly, making it easy to review.

Much had changed.

I had changed many things.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office now had a Department for Special Investigations on Awakeners.
The National Police Agency had established a Monster Response Bureau.
There was even a petition on the Blue House website advocating for the creation of an Awakeners Management Bureau.

Awakeners Management Bureau, Hunter Management Bureau, Superhuman Management Bureau—call it whatever you want. If such a department were established, I was the top candidate for its minister. Countless people were already shouting, “Han Seung-Moon for Minister!”

Being a minister would have its perks. Riding an Equus, enjoying ceremonial receptions, being called “Minister Han” while taking daily photos with the President, and holding all the nation’s Hunters in my grasp.

But the Hunters were already in my grasp.

I couldn’t let myself be blinded by useless ambition. It was better to aim for practicality and safety.

So, I swayed public opinion and the National Assembly to block its creation.

Even those who feared giving me too much power smiled brightly and shook my hand.

…The stronger you become, the more enemies you make.

And I was already strong.

There was no need to be greedy.

Thus, I had the guilds designated as “quasi-government organizations” under the Monster Response Bureau of the National Police Agency.

This was an organization that, in the future, would become more important than the armed forces. Yet, I placed it under the Ministry of Interior and Safety’s
National Police Agency’s
Monster Response Bureau,
making it a cooperative entity.

The result was a sweet deal.

First, the police could never touch the guilds. Not while I was around. This meant freedom from state pressure.
Second, while Hunters became subject to the Kim Young-ran Act (anti-corruption law), we secured an enormous state budget allocation from the Ministry of Interior and Safety. Specifically, I secured it.

A man with no official title yet holding real power.

This made me a shadow ruler, a character straight out of a movie.

However, this was also the source of my overwork.

With no clear position but controlling multiple organizations, I ended up doing everything myself.

Even crucial tasks couldn’t be delegated. I barely managed with Yang Il-ho and Lee Ho-jung half-broken from the workload.

I secured contracts through the designation process, repeatedly adjusted the capital contributions to maintain equity shares, and laundered funds.
I kept the budget under 10 billion won to avoid the Audit Board’s attention, negotiating deals over barbecue with the finance and interior ministers.
I formed teams to clear monster corpses, dismantle them, and analyze them. I built a partnership with Chun Hwa-ran’s lab.

Above all, I hung those who toyed with lives in the name of profit.

All this work was exhausting.

It felt like my lifespan was being shaved off in the name of social justice. In my way, I was building a defensive power structure like Cha Jae-kyun’s, but with my own touch.

I was meticulously crafting a system to eliminate monsters.

And then, shocking news arrived.

“Assemblyman, you’ve got gray hairs…?”

Yang Il-ho, passing by, remarked.

I was startled and turned my head while going over a list of companies to provide vehicles for guild Hunters.

Yang Il-ho hurried over with a mirror, parting my hair to reveal the strands of white.

I stared into the mirror with trembling eyes.

There were a few gray hairs above my forehead.

And in my entire family lineage, no one had gray hair.

Which meant—

“No… no way…!”

This was purely from stress.

—

That evening, after finishing work, I headed to a barbecue restaurant with Yang Il-ho and Lee Ho-jung, as usual. Yeo Do-yeon was off hunting monsters.

While we regularly ate dinner together,
…something felt off.

It sometimes felt like I was keeping these two from going home to their partners, forcing them into a company dinner. I handed out wet towels and awkwardly broke the silence.

“Uh, hey, guys?”

Both Yang Il-ho and Lee Ho-jung turned to me with tired expressions. Was this what it was like to be a boss who worried about their subordinates’ feelings?

“You don’t hate eating with me, do you?”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, I should just let you head home without making you eat with me. I hope I’m not being inconsiderate by insisting on dinner together…”

“Are you sleepy, hyung?”

“How’d you know?”

“In my experience, being drunk and being sleepy have similar effects.”

“And?”

“Well… you act a bit pathetic when you’re drunk.”

—

Yang Il-ho sat at the barbecue table, rubbing his ribs where Lee Ho-jung had elbowed him earlier. Wearing an apron, she tied her hair back and addressed me curtly.

“We’re saving up to buy a house together, you know. Thanks to you, we’re saving a ton on meals, so don’t feel bad.”

“…So, you’re only eating with me for the money?”

“Hmm, think of it as a friendship fee.”

Lee Ho-jung grinned playfully as she started grilling the meat. Fine, with all the overtime I made them do, I guess I could cover their “friendship fee.”

We spent a long time chewing on beef and chatting about this and that.

“Ah, at least today’s been a relief.”

“Why?”

“They’re saying the death rate is now down to 0.1 per second.”

“Uh, how do they even calculate that?”

“They say 1.3 million people have died over the past five months.”

“…Oh.”

“That’s a lot less than the 3 million who died in the first month.”

Lee Ho-jung glanced at her smartphone and continued.

“Hey, the Ministry of Defense just announced that rescue operations around Seoul are almost finished.”

“Total BS. I heard from the minister it’s barely over halfway.”

“Media play?”

“They’re trying to create a sense of safety to boost the economy, but with monsters pouring in endlessly…”

Yang Il-ho spoke up suddenly.

“Oh, a senior of mine joined the Prosecutors’ Office’s Hunter Investigation Unit. Apparently, another Awakener killed someone.”

“Not one of the escaped test subjects?”

“No, it was manslaughter. A woman awakened and accidentally killed her husband. She touched his shoulder while he was doing dishes, and he got electrocuted…”

“Why do people call it the Hunter Investigation Unit?”

“Because so many Awakeners refuse to hunt monsters. They’re trying to create the perception that if you awaken, you’re a hunter by default. It’s probably in the media guidelines too.”

“Use the terms ‘Hunter’ and ‘Slayer’ frequently.”

“They found Yoo Ho-yeop’s body this time.”

“Ah, the nation’s MC…”

We casually continued eating while talking about someone’s death.

Lately, we were all growing numb. Handling documents that involved death every day had taken its toll.

It wasn’t just us. Even the news casually talked about death.

– The tragic story of famous actress Lee Song-ha and her manager has drawn public sorrow. The manager sacrificed himself to save Lee Song-ha…

“Is that even newsworthy these days…?”

“They probably thought it was better to air that than to report how 26 people died in a gas explosion in Seocho District last night.”

“Where do you even hear things like that, Assemblyman?”

“I’ve been drinking with TV station execs lately to manage Hunters’ public image. With the presidents gone, the senior staff are filling their roles, and the stories they tell are hilarious.”

As Yang Il-ho and I chewed on beef and joked around, Lee Ho-jung suddenly received a call.

“Hello? Seok-ho?”

Her voice turned grave as she continued.

“…Si-ho? Hey, is that you, Si-ho? What’s going on? Huh!?”

Si-ho was Kang Seok-ho’s fourth sibling. Lee Ho-jung’s expression grew tense as she put the call on speakerphone.

Over the speaker, Kang Si-ho’s desperate cries could be heard.

“- Hic…! Save me…! I’m scared…! Ahhh…! Aaaaah…! Huuuuu…!”