Chapter 3: Dungeon Fame and Domestic Blame

With the public’s attention focused on them, it was only natural for Awakeners to take over the spots usually reserved for celebrities.

Subsequently, the state began classifying Awakeners by grade, using dungeon grades as a benchmark.

At the same time, through a series of certain incidents, they discovered the existence of Guides.

Guides were the only beings capable of calming an Esper’s overload.

By the time some semblance of a system was in place, the humans who had survived by physically tackling dungeons began actively recruiting new Awakeners on their own, forming teams to clear dungeons.

This was because the so-called ‘dungeon by-products‘ yielded money.

Materials with molecular structures non-existent on Earth were used in various fields and quickly gained attention as an alternative energy source.

If you could survive and bring back the by-products, it was a jackpot.

To do that, you had to assemble as many people as possible and clear the dungeon quickly.

Should we call it a positive function of capitalism?

After that, agencies sprang up like mushrooms, completely overturning the rankings of established blue-chip companies.

Though they were called agencies in name only, they effectively gained the fame and wealth of major corporations.

At the same time, some people used their status as Guides or Espers to gain popularity beyond imagination.

Kang Jung-hoon was one such person who exploited this very actively.

“Kang Jung-hoon was under Hao, wasn’t he?”

Hao was a special-purpose agency famous not so much for acquiring dungeon by-products, but for recruiting charismatic Guides and Espers and making money by having them appear on various media platforms.

Of course, the most profitable broadcasting these days was live dungeon raids, so appearing on regular shows didn’t generate enormous revenue.

However, dungeons that dropped high-grade by-products were limited anyway, and aside from a few agencies, even forming a raid team was difficult in itself.

So, quite a few agencies survived by adopting Hao’s method.

Besides, live broadcasts originally required experts to provide commentary, didn’t they?

Over time, even without directly participating in dungeon raids, one could gain popularity as a commentator for dungeon broadcasts.

Since Kang Jung-hoon had been an actor even before awakening as a Guide, he was a perfect fit for an agency like Hao.

Moreover, that bastard was inherently gifted at drawing attention.

Anyway, since both Kang Jung-hoon and the Hao agency were like that, he had expected them to issue a statement quickly.

He had also anticipated that the divorce would become a hot topic when he started this.

Whether good or bad, Jin-yeop intended to grab some attention himself before getting down to business.

Kang Jung-hoon, who appeared in the media constantly, was supposedly his partner Guide, yet had never once accompanied him to a dungeon after their marriage.

Naturally, Jin-yeop had no choice but to put his activities on hold after marriage, and Jung-hoon exploited this very well on his SNS, spewing nonsense about how Jin-yeop was resting well after marriage, living a stable life, and taking good care of him.

Since it was partly a self-imposed seclusion, he didn’t intend to argue about that.

It was he himself who had cut off his own limbs and holed up in a corner of the room, unwilling to displease Jung-hoon, who secretly shied away from dungeon raids.

“But still, that’s too much.

Holding a press conference, claiming he has something to say?”

Jin-yeop watched Jung-hoon’s ranting with a mindset of ‘just wait and see.’

It seemed he hadn’t learned anything from the huge scene Jin-yeop had made yesterday.

He probably mistakenly believed that no matter what he said, Jin-yeop wouldn’t dare refute a single word.

Unaware that all of this could very well be a self-destructive move.

<After marriage, Cha Jin-yeop has not participated in any dungeon raids.

Consequently, I alone have had to bear the responsibility of supporting our livelihood through broadcast appearances.>

Jin-yeop, who had only snorted at whatever nonsense Jung-hoon spouted, twisted his face ferociously at the word ‘livelihood’ uttered in a calm voice, and shouted.

“What the hell is that crazy bastard saying now!”

Bearing the responsibility for their livelihood?

What a ridiculous statement.

To anyone unaware of the inside story, it was more than enough to make them think Jin-yeop was a loaded waste who didn’t contribute a single penny to living expenses.

Because Jin-yeop was an A-class Esper.

He had awakened ten years ago by his count.

Since then, he had tirelessly raided dungeons, so he had enough wealth in his bank account to live leisurely without working for the rest of his life.

And this was something everyone in the world knew.

“So this is how you want to play it, huh?”

Jin-yeop sneered at the screen.

He had blathered on about how making a big fuss over a divorce would do neither of them any good, but in the end, it seemed he wanted a mudslinging match.

“Whether he’s stupid, or just completely disrespecting me…”

The reason he bothered to give for the divorce was ‘livelihood’ – it was so absurd he was speechless.

After willingly appearing on broadcasts all the time, was he now making excuses that it was for their livelihood?

And doing so by painting me as the trash?

Who did Kang Jung-hoon think enabled him to make a living doing broadcast work all this time?

Getting a little popular had apparently gone straight to his head.

How much must he look down on me to be pulling this stunt so brazenly?

Is he stupid enough not to even consider the possibility that I might have gathered some material by now, given that the divorce papers came from me this time around?

Muttering to himself, Jin-yeop focused again on what Jung-hoon was jabbering.

<It’s true that I initiated the divorce, but this was merely a means to improve our relationship.>

“Ha… f*ck.”

<However, Cha Jin-yeop, as if he had been waiting, produced divorce papers he had prepared himself and handed them to me on the spot.

I couldn’t even react properly.

After all, he’s a famous Esper, and I’m just a Guide.>

At that moment, Jin-yeop was seized with such rage that his hands trembled uncontrollably.

Since the press conference was a replay, not a live broadcast, he immediately called Kang Jung-hoon.

After only a few rings, Jung-hoon’s voice came through, and at the same time, Jin-yeop shot up from his seat as if propelled and shouted.

“You bastard, do you think everything that comes out of your mouth counts as words?

Huh?

Livelihood?

A means to improve the relationship?”

His yell was loud enough to echo through the empty house.

Jin-yeop was so consumed with fury that it was a miracle his phone didn’t shatter.

As he waited, half-dreading, half-eager to hear what other crap the bastard might spew through the phone, what came through wasn’t Kang Jung-hoon’s voice, but the voice of a stranger he didn’t recognize.

– Mr. Cha Jin-yeop.

Please calm down.

The moment his name was called, Jin-yeop quickly checked his phone screen, wondering if he had perhaps called someone else and started yelling.

He had definitely heard Jung-hoon’s voice, and the recipient name clearly displayed on the screen was also Kang Jung-hoon.

So, putting the phone back to his ear, Jin-yeop asked, his face contorted with displeasure.

“Who is this?”

– I am Attorney for Mr. Kang Jung-hoon.

“Unbelievable, seriously, ha…

Put Kang Jung-hoon on.”

Frustration surged to the point of dizziness.

Lawyer or whatever, why the hell was this person answering someone else’s phone and causing a fuss?

– My apologies for the late introduction.

I am Ko Min-soo, an attorney affiliated with Hao agency and entrusted with handling the legal matters related to this divorce.

As Mr. Kang Jung-hoon wishes to avoid direct communication, you may speak with me.

“Never mind that, just put him on the phone.

I have a few things to say to the bastard who ran his mouth so freely in an official setting.”

– “…..”

“Attorney-nim, you’re not getting paid a hefty retainer just to take insults on his behalf, are you?

Or rather, since you usually review statements made at press conferences, should I consider you partially responsible for this too?”

Even though he understood that a lawyer only hears one side of the story, Jin-yeop was in no position to grant such leeway right now.

Because he was absolutely livid.

– Regarding that matter, let’s arrange a formal meeting with both lawyers present.

First of all, we have decided not to sign the uncontested divorce papers you presented to Mr. Kang Jung-hoon.

“So, you’re determined to go to court?”

– Yes, that is correct.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

Jin-yeop let out a hollow laugh, genuinely dumbfounded.

– If you wish for an amicable settlement, please draft the relevant documents and send them to our side for review.

For any further contact, please direct it to the Hao agency.

Goodbye.

“He, hello?

He, hel…

Hey!”

Staring at the black screen of the phone that was disconnected after they unilaterally said their piece, Jin-yeop started screaming at the top of his lungs.

The fact that he hadn’t been able to utter a single word to Kang Jung-hoon, the bastard who deserved to be cursed out endlessly, made his blood boil.

In his past life, and the life before that, and the life before that, and the life before that, he had always regressed like clockwork because he couldn’t say everything he wanted to.

This time, he’d managed not to choose suicide, only to find himself in a position where he might die from sheer frustration.

“Ugh, that bastard, I could just chew him up and he still wouldn’t be enough.”

Unable to quell his anger, Jin-yeop threw his phone onto the sofa in frustration and plopped down on the living room floor.

While he’d been raging, the ramen he’d so carefully boiled had swollen up and gone mushy.

He hadn’t even eaten more than a few bites…

For some reason, his eyes welled up with tears.

The broadcasting station, repeatedly showing that disgusting Kang Jung-hoon’s face and voice, seemed intent on airing nothing but Jin-yeop and Jung-hoon’s story all day, playing the same commercials over and over.

It looked like that wretched press conference, in its original and replay forms, was being inserted into all sorts of programs, raking in advertising revenue.

“Won’t agree to an uncontested divorce?

Seems like he’s determined to paint me as the guilty party and squeeze something more out of me…”

Jin-yeop, glaring at the advertised product on the screen, let out a hollow laugh.

Given how many years he had wasted struggling through this, there was no way he hadn’t prepared for a situation like this.

It was just that, knowing it all, he couldn’t contain his anger at that bastard for choosing the worst possible path, just as he had predicted.

“You foolish bastard.

It would have been better for you if you’d just divorced quietly and headed for your downfall, but instead you’re really fanning the flames.”

He had intended to let him fall into a fire pit and struggle a bit, but since the bastard was volunteering to jump into a blast furnace and melt away completely, he had no reason not to grant that wish.

As he clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, suddenly a familiar commercial jingle from an ad reached his ears.

<Ah~ My other half!

Where could you be?

The fated meeting of Guide and Esper!

Gaae helps you find love!>