# Blue House Underground Bunker
A heavy silence hung over the round table, where a single document lay forlornly.
**[Hunter Kang Tae-ho Overseas Activity Report and Imugi Hair Growth Tonic Impact Analysis]**
"The United States, United Kingdom, and Middle Eastern royal families have been flooding us with contact through official diplomatic channels."
The Minister of Foreign Affairs swallowed dryly as he spoke.
"Switzerland even sent a secret letter offering Hunter Kang Tae-ho land in the Alps and extralegal immunity if he'd defect. The terms are astronomical."
The President's brow furrowed deeply.
Kang Tae-ho's overseas departure.
South Korea—the only safe place in the entire world.
The moment that shield disappeared, the foreign capital and wealthy elite that had flooded in would drain away like the tide, and real estate and stock markets would become worthless paper.
"We must block this as a matter of national security."
The Minister of Defense pounded the table firmly.
"No matter how S-Rank he is, he's still a South Korean citizen. We should propose special legislation equivalent to a national emergency to completely block our strongest asset from leaving the country..."
"Minister. Stop talking nonsense."
The Director of the National Intelligence Service, sitting across from him, removed his glasses with a weary expression.
"Complete blockade? How exactly? Are you going to confiscate Kang Tae-ho's passport at immigration?"
"If he breaks the law, we could even mobilize the military..."
"Minister, when your military fired missiles at that 3km Imugi a year ago, did they even scratch its scales?"
Brutal fact-bombing.
The Minister of Defense's mouth clamped shut.
"We impose special legislation to restrain him? If Kang Tae-ho gets pissed off and thinks, 'Ah, Korea's annoying. Guess I'll go to Switzerland,' and flies away, what will you shoot him down with? If he gets irritated and swings his fist once, the entire capital region's air defense network goes down. We haven't confined Kang Tae-ho within our control—Kang Tae-ho is graciously choosing to stay in Korea."
"Then, then we should at least establish some justification! A hero's duty to protect the nation or..."
"The justification is on his side. Who spent two years coughing up blood to save this country while we cowered in bomb shelters?"
This time, the ruling party leader shook his head with a groan.
"Politically, it would be suicide. Hunter Kang Tae-ho's public approval rating is essentially a religion. The moment even a rumor spreads that we're trying to suppress him, there'll be impeachment protests in Gwanghwamun Square the next day."
Physical force.
Moral justification.
Political impact.
A being where all three aligned perfectly.
The word "control" was completely erased from the minds of the nation's highest power holders.
A suffocating sense of helplessness crushed the conference room—the realization that no means or methods could overcome that one person.
The President rubbed his face wearily and let out a deep sigh.
"Haah... Then what exactly are we supposed to do about this off-the-charts natural disaster that could erupt at any moment?"
The NIS Director flipped to the last page of the file and answered dryly.
"Fortunately, the behavioral patterns of Kang Tae-ho that the NIS has identified are very simple and clear. He has zero interest in consolidating power or political authority."
"Then what does he want? Money?"
"No. Complete non-interference and his family's everyday life."
The NIS Director's gaze sharpened.
"He spent two years grinding through hellish battlefields. His current psychology matches exactly that of a discharged veteran in his thirties who just wants to live quietly on his pension. The moment we drag him into politics under the pretense of honoring him as a hero, or try to force him onto annoying official stages, he'll consider it a hostile act."
"......"
"Don't create problems by bringing up patriotism or duty. Thoroughly protect his privacy, and prevent any media or politicians from approaching his home."
That was the conclusion reached by these brutally intelligent and realistic power holders.
"Ensuring Hunter Kang Tae-ho can rest peacefully on South Korean soil without any bothersome interference—that's the cheapest and most reliable national defense to prevent South Korea's destruction."
* * *
I flicked my wrist holding the mouse.
The moment an enemy's head crossed the center of my screen, I reflexively pressed my index finger.
*Bang!*
**[Headshot!]**
A crisp impact sound.
I was sweeping through the enemy lines solo, greedily farming ranked match points in this hyper FPS game.
Against dynamic vision and reflexes pushed to their limits with mana, ordinary users' movements were no different from slow motion.
"Good. Just win this match and I'll reach the highest tier..."
The screen suddenly froze.
A popup window filled the center of my monitor.
**[Abnormal program usage detected. Account permanently suspended.]**
"......"
I was too dumbfounded to hold the mouse.
Rather than anger, a hollow laugh came first.
Well, yeah.
I'd been snapping my aim to heads in 0.01-second intervals, so to the system it must've looked like a machine was shooting.
My body was basically illegal hack-level specs anyway.
"Ah. All my skins are gone."
I abandoned any lingering attachment and stood up from my chair.
I opened the door and burst into Ha-eun's room across the hall.
Ha-eun, who'd been lying on her bed looking at her smartphone, jumped in surprise.
"Ah, knock first!"
"Hey. Give me your game account ID and password."
"Why? You have your own. Use that."
"Mine got suspended. Let me play one match on yours."
At my unilateral announcement, Ha-eun's face scrunched up.
"Ugh, so annoying, seriously. It's written on the Post-it on the desk, so turn it on yourself."
Permission granted.
I nodded and turned on the computer.
Login screen.
Ha-eun's account was loaded with expensive, flashy limited-edition weapon skins.
"Oh. You spent some money."
I immediately queued for ranked.
Just because my ID changed didn't mean my fingers changed.
As soon as the game started, I concentrated mana into my eyes and wrists.
The keyboard and mouse moved like they'd break.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The enemy team was helplessly swept away.
The all-chat started going crazy.
**[Ah, that hacker bastard's back again.]**
**[Blatantly using aimbot. Everyone report.]**
**[Main account got banned so came on a smurf. Are you seriously this pathetic in life?]**
Text fragments on the screen.
I lightly ignored the chat and blew away the enemies' heads.
*Grumble.*
As the game was ending, a light signal came from my stomach.
Looking at the clock, it was already lunchtime.
I quit the game and went out to the living room.
On the dining table, bubbling kimchi stew was set up.
I hopped up onto a chair.
Mom, sitting across from me, scooped a generous portion of rice and held it out.
"Where's Dad?"
"He left early this morning. Said he had to show off his regrown hair to the early morning soccer club uncles, so he set up a meeting. Ugh, so childish."
Mom clicked her tongue and placed some meat from the kimchi stew on top of my rice bowl.
I chewed and swallowed the meat, thinking absently.
Was hair really that important?
I guess the uncles' balding heads were a more serious disaster than Earth being half-destroyed by the Gate Shock.
After finishing the meal, I moved to the sofa.
I sat next to Mom and blankly watched the weekend drama series.
"OPPAAAA!!!!"
The door burst open like it would break as Kang Ha-eun flew out.
Ha-eun, her face flushed bright red, rushed over and grabbed both my shoulders, shaking me.
"What is this!! Oppa, did you use hacks on my account?!"
"Let go. I'm dizzy. I didn't."
I answered dryly, but it didn't seem to register in Ha-eun's ears.
"It got permanently suspended!! It says right on the screen illegal program usage, what are you talking about!!"
"No, I just used some mana to boost my dynamic vision, I didn't install any hack programs."
"How is that different from hacks!! My limited edition skins!! My tier!!"
Ha-eun plopped down on the floor, pretending to cry and whining.
"Ah, whatever! Oppa has to take responsibility! Get it unbanned right now!"
Annoying.
Seriously exhaustingly tiresome.
I let out a deep sigh and stood up from the sofa.
"Fine. I'll get it unbanned, okay? Move."
I went back into Ha-eun's room.
I dialed the customer service number displayed on the monitor.
After going through the tedious ARS guidance, I was connected to a representative.
*—Yes, how may I help you, customer?*
"My game account got permanently suspended, but I never used any illegal programs. Unban the account."
I stated my business in a languid voice.
I heard the representative typing on a keyboard, then a mechanical response came back.
*—Customer, after checking the logs for that account, we detected hundreds of instances of 0.01-second aim adjustments that are impossible with human reaction speed. This is a clear illegal program usage pattern, and suspension removal is impossible.*
"No, my hands are just a bit faster than others, why are you treating them like a program?"
*—Customer, our system...*
No getting through.
It was a waste of energy to get angry at an employee who just parroted the manual like a parrot.
"Fine. Then if I prove with my own body that I didn't use hacks, will you unban it?"
*—Pardon? Ah... If you can prove it's your pure physical ability, then according to regulations, removal is possible, but...*
"How do I prove it?"
*—You would need to come directly to our headquarters and play the game under our security team's supervision, or on an official tournament offline PC...*
*Click.*
I hung up.
Ha-eun was staring at me from behind with wide eyes.
"Hey. Get dressed."
"Huh? Where are we going?"
"The game company headquarters. Let's go get yours and mine unbanned."
* * *
Pangyo IT Valley.
In front of the headquarters of South Korea's largest hyper FPS game developer.
I descended from the air with a mana field deployed.
The moment I landed, the gazes of passing office workers and people locked onto me in unison.
"Whoa. Did that just come down from the sky..."
"Hey, silver hair! Isn't that Hunter Kang Tae-ho?!"
"Crazy, it really is. Why's he here?!"
People started murmuring and pointing their smartphone cameras.
Ignoring the annoying stares, I strode into the lobby, pulling Ha-eun along.
The information desk in the center of the grand lobby.
However, the desk was so high that only the top of my head barely reached it.
"Ugh."
I lightly laid mana under my feet and floated my body in the air.
Only then did my eyes meet the information desk employee's.
The employee was frozen with a face as white as if they'd seen a ghost.
"H-Hunter Kang Tae-ho...?"
"I'm here for an offline appeal about an account suspension. Tell the security team leader or any director to come down."
"What?! Ah, yes! Just a moment!"
The employee frantically dialed the internal phone with trembling hands.
The absolute power who saved the nation had stormed into their game company headquarters—it must've been like a state of emergency.
In less than three minutes, the elevator doors opened and a middle-aged man in a suit along with security team staff came running, dripping with sweat.
"H-Hero! Hello! I'm the Executive Director! Wh-what brings you here..."
The director bent 90 degrees at the waist and asked with a pale face.
I waved my hand dismissively and pushed Ha-eun forward.
"Her account and mine got permanently suspended for supposedly using hacks."
"Pardon...? H-hacks?"
"My fingers are just a bit faster than others so I moved the mouse, but they banned me saying I used a program. They said if I came in person and proved it with my hands they'd unban it, so I came. Give me a mouse. I'll shoot here and show you."
At my casual explanation, the director and security team staff's mouths fell open.
The ultimate overpowered being who tore apart a 3km calamity with his bare hands, whom the nation's leadership couldn't handle.
That person had been massacring casual players in their game's ranked matches by channeling mana, got suspended, and flew through the sky to their headquarters to get it unbanned.
"Ah... Ahhh...!"
The director made a sound like his soul had left him, then urgently shouted at the security team leader.
"Restore the account immediately! No, whitelist Hero's account so he never receives system sanctions again! Right now!"
"Y-yes!"
"Hero! We're truly sorry for the misunderstanding! Our humble system failed to keep up with the reaction speed of the sacred fingers that saved humanity!"
The director grabbed my small hand, dripping with sweat, and bowed repeatedly.
Burdensome.
Suffocatingly annoying, really.
"That's enough, just restore the skins that got deleted from mine and my sister's accounts."
"Of course! We'll add the full set of this season's legendary skins to your accounts!"
From behind, I heard Ha-eun quietly pump her fist with an "Alright!"
Confirming the situation was resolved, I turned around.
"Let's go."
"Oppa's the best! I'll buy chicken for dinner tonight!"
Leaving behind the figures prostrated flat on the lobby floor in farewell, I soared back into the air and returned to the penthouse.
* * *
That evening.
While tearing into chicken, I logged back into the game on my account.
The suspension was lifted, and limited edition skins were in my inventory.
I entered the waiting room and clicked ranked matchmaking.
**[Match found.]**
The game started and the hero selection screen appeared.
Someone posted an urgent message in chat.
**[CrispyChicken: Holy shit crazy. Guys. That ID is Kang Tae-ho hyung. Didn't you see the post earlier? There were photos of hyung going to headquarters to get his hack ban lifted.]**
**[PitchforkMan: Wow crazy it's real. That's hyung's ID ㄷㄷ]**
**[HealerAssistant: Hyung!! National Savior!! I'll mark you exclusively and pocket heal you all day!!]**
**[PitchforkMan: Everyone rally in front of Tae-ho hyung! Rush to open kill opportunities for hyung!!]**
"......"
Instead of playing the game, my teammates started circling around my character, cheering and forming an escort formation.
The enemy team was also running over in all-chat saying "Hyung, please shoot me just once!" while throwing away their guns.
Complete pandemonium.
The game had devolved into an idol fan meeting.
I stared blankly, then picked up the remote and clicked off the monitor.
"Ah shit, so annoying, seriously. What is this?"
It was an exhaustingly tiresome day.
I just wanted to quietly play some games.
