Against the Clock: The Team Leader’s Pursuit of Glory

How would people react if they received a terminal diagnosis with an unknown time to live?

American psychologist Elizabeth Kubler Ross clearly divided the process into five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. (EN: This is deep!)

"Bullshit."

Kang Mu-hyuk chose a completely different path.

Resistance and overcoming.

He was born at the end of the Great War era. From the time he was a fetus, the death of numerous people surrounded him.

He survived the Gate Outbreak. Although he lost his mother, he tenaciously clung to life and vowed revenge instead of succumbing to sorrow.

Even when he joined the guild, death was never far away. No matter how good the plan or how successful the operation seemed, it was almost inevitable that things would go awry as soon as monster hunting began. In such cases, casualties always occurred, whether the hunt was successful or not.

In moments of crisis, Kang Mu-hyuk always encouraged his fellow Hunters not to give up.

He would tell them to hold on and resist, promising that he would find a way and save them.

But now, was he going to give in to despair and give up?

"I should at least resign from my position as the Strategy and Tactics Team Leader out of shame."

There was no such thing as 'absolute' within the Gate.

Neither the absolutely impossible nor the absolutely achievable.

Mana Addiction was also a product of the Gate.

He just didn't know the method yet. It wouldn't be an 'absolutely' incurable disease.

Less than an hour after receiving his terminal diagnosis, Kang Mu-hyuk made up his mind and began to take action.

First, he gathered information on Mana Addiction.

Articles, papers, information from relevant organizations, and so on.

He needed to know his enemy to find a way to fight it.

Unfortunately, since the probability of being diagnosed with this disease was one in a million, there wasn't much information available to the public.

In the end, he had to look into experts and private research to delve deeper.

Kang Mu-hyuk had no choice but to use his connections as the Strategy and Tactics Team Leader of the Titan Guild.

"I guess the guild will find out?"

Health was a serious disqualification for the Strategy and Tactics Team Leader. For a Hunter, it wouldn't be a problem unless they were permanently disabled, but it was different for the ordinary man, Kang Mu-hyuk.

If his poor health caused a lapse in judgment, Hunters could die.

So he decided to leave the guild cleanly. He became the Strategy and Tactics Team Leader to hunt monsters, not to get Hunters killed.

With a single phone call, he informed them of his resignation, leaving no regrets behind.

"Alright. You've worked hard all this time."

"Thank you for appointing me as the Strategy and Tactics Team Leader, Guild Master."

"Appointing you wasn't a mistake... There could be no one else like you as a Strategy and Tactics Team Leader."

"Ah, and please don't disclose my illness for the time being and appoint a new Strategy and Tactics Team Leader. As for the long-term vacancy, just say that I'm not in good enough health to endure the duties and need long-term care. And about the C project..."

"Don't worry. I'll handle that. Just take care of yourself."

"Yes. I'll visit you as soon as I'm discharged. Goodbye."

Although Kang Mu-hyuk became unemployed after leaving the guild he had been with for the past ten years, he was still busy.

With his laptop and smartphone as his constant companions, he reached out here and there, investigating Mana Addiction.

Time passed, and the day of discharge approached.

"Mr. Kang Chang-soo, I'm going to Ilsan Memorial Park now."

"You're talking to your father, huh? What's the point of going to an empty grave?"

"Come if you want to come, drink if you want to drink."

"Bring a bottle of soju."

Ilsan Memorial Park was a place built for the victims of the Great War and the Gate Outbreak.

In most cases, when someone was sacrificed to a monster, their body could not be recovered. The park was created to provide solace for the families of such victims, and as a result, it covered a vast area.

In contrast, the tombstone was humble. A gravestone with three characters for the name. For the first time this year, Kang Mu-hyuk had visited the place twice, having come only once a year before.

There was no particular reason for visiting only once a year. As his father had said, it was a grave without his mother's remains. Visiting frequently only made his heart heavy. He thought that fulfilling his duty as a son by visiting on the anniversary was enough. In his mind, true commemoration was catching one more monster.

"Mother..."

As he gazed at the humble tombstone, about one pyeong in size, a shadow appeared beside him without him realizing it.

[TL: 1 Pyeong ~ 3.3 sqm/35.5 sqft]

"Huh? From the beginning? I'm a dew lover. Anyway, not knowing your father's taste in alcohol, who would call you a good-for-nothing son?"

[TL: Dew is a colloquial term for Soju]

"How would I know if we never drank together?"

"What about the side dishes?"

"Is this a bar?"

"You're a guy with no sense. Do you have any problems in your social life?"

"Would it be as much as Kang Chang-soo, who got kicked out of the lab?"

"I left on my own!"

Kang Chang-soo poured alcohol into a paper cup and handed it to his son.

"What are you giving me alcohol for, when I have a deadly disease?"

"Your disease is more dangerous than alcohol. Your mother also drank well."

"I quit drinking a long time ago. It interfered with my work."

"You're living your life missing all the fun just to catch that damn monster. Don't live like that. Your mother would cry in heaven, thinking it's her fault."

"...I can't hear you. When she knew she was slowly dying, what do you think mother would have felt?"

Despite his words, Kang Mu-hyuk took the paper cup and drank it all at once.

Kang Chang-soo spoke with a smile as he took back the empty cup from his son.

"So what? She put your life before her own. She knew it was a genetic disease and cried in secret because it was even more heartbreaking. All I could do was comfort her."

"And you comforted her? You were locked up in the lab more often than at home."

"That was my way of comforting her. Sometimes pretending not to know can be a consolation."

"So you chose to save your research materials instead of mother that day? Because you were pretending not to know her?"

"That was..."

Kang Chang-soo couldn't continue his words.

There was no emotion in his son's eyes. There could be anger and blame only when there was affection. His expressionless face, like talking to a rock, choked him up, making the words he wanted to say get stuck in his throat.

Kang Mu-hyuk said what he had to say without waiting for an answer.

"I asked you to come here today because I thought there might still be something you were hiding from me. It took me 15 years after my mother passed away to find out about her illness. Do you know how pathetic that makes me feel?"

"What good would knowing have done? There was nothing I could do."

"At least I could have shared the pain. I could have comforted her, taken her to the hospital. Looking back, there was so much I could have done."

"Your mother wouldn't have liked that. She didn't want her son to know about her illness."

"So, there's really nothing else she hid?"

"What could be worse than Mana Addiction? If you hadn't experienced the incident, we would never have known. What good would knowing do?"

"We're in front of mother's grave. Don't lie."

"What lie? Did you call me on a busy day just to ask me about that? Tsk! If you've said all you wanted to say, then I'll go. There's a mountain of research to do."

Kang Chang-soo turned his back, cradling the soju bottle.

Kang Mu-hyuk didn't stop him. He knew his father's personality well, and he knew it because he himself resembled him so closely. If something needed to be said, it wouldn't come out until it was absolutely necessary.

Kang Chang-soo found his car in the parking lot and opened the passenger door. In the driver's seat was his brother-in-law, Yoon Ildo, who was also his wife's younger brother.

"What did Mu-hyuk say?"

"What could he say?"

"Didn't he ask you about that day?"

"How would he know about that?"

"True, with his personality, if he knew, you wouldn't have been able to come here unscathed. He would have grabbed you by the collar."

"It's better if he doesn't know. If he thought it was his fault, how would he feel?"

Kang Chang-soo remembered that day 15 years ago. It was still vivid for him.

"Dad! I can't see mom!"

At that moment, his wife's words echoed in his ears.

"You're a doctor. The best one. No matter what, save our Mu-hyuk. Even if I can't do anything right now, save Mu-hyuk at all costs. If something happens to me, never stop your research to save him."

So he chose the research materials, leaving his wife behind. He went back to the place where the monster rampaged. His wife had lived with death for decades; would she be afraid of a mere monster?

With reddened eyes, Kang Chang-soo felt a tap on his shoulder from Yoon Ildo.

"Brother, do you need more alcohol?"

"No, I've had enough. I'm not even drunk."

"Then let's go and work. We have to finish this. That's how we save Mu-hyuk... and fulfill my sister's wish."

As Yoon Ildo's car left the memorial park, Kang Mu-hyuk stood in front of the empty grave and faced his mother. It felt as if she had been watching him from somewhere in the sky and had come before him.

Looking at his mother's worried gaze that seemed to dampen his eyes, Kang Mu-hyuk made a promise.

"Don't worry. I won't give up, Mother."

Kang Mu-hyuk visited the guild headquarters for the first time in a while.

His resignation hadn't been processed yet, so his card key was still usable.

From the entrance, employees who recognized him greeted him and asked about his well-being.

As he politely responded and tried to catch the elevator, he met someone who welcomed him enthusiastically, unlike the formal employees.

"Oh? Team Leader Kang!"

"Party Leader Park Min-soo. It's been a while since I've seen you."

"What do you mean, it's been a while? It's only been two weeks. We usually don't see each other for a month when we're on a mission. How are you feeling, by the way?"

"Yes, I received expensive treatment, so I have no problem with my daily life."

"I knew that crazy Ma bastard would cause trouble someday. It wasn't enough for him to leave the situation room unattended, he even attacked the guild's Strategy and Tactic Team Leader. Oh, I haven't had the chance to thank you. Thank you for rescuing our party. You told the Guild Master to open Warehouse C, right? We survived thanks to you. We would have been in big trouble if you were even a little late."

"I just did what I had to do. Is the Guild Master upstairs?"

"He might be a bit late today. He's attending a conference and will be back from the association."

"What about the Vice-Guild Master?"

"He's... well, quietly living his life. He should be in his office. He rarely comes out. I heard the Vice-Guild Master's line is all but dead. But why do you ask about the Vice-Guild Master? Are you planning to give him a piece of your mind?"

"Scolding should be given to those who deserve it. Why would I bother the innocent Vice-Guild Master? I just want to ask for some compensation since he couldn't properly watch his younger brother."

"Hahaha, go ahead. The Vice-Guild Master is rich, after all. Make sure to get a hefty sum."

"Alright, I have a lot of things to do, so I'd better go upstairs."

"Sure, take care of your work. You should gradually return. The Strategy and Tactics Team isn't in sync without Team Leader Kang. Let's have a drink later... Oh right, Team Leader Kang doesn't drink, does he? Let's have a meal together instead."

"Sounds good."

As Kang Mu-hyuk requested, the Guild Master had not yet announced his resignation.

'But the Vice-Guild Master must have caught wind of it.'

It was impossible to know exactly what had transpired between the Guild Master and the Vice-Guild Master, but he had a rough idea.

A warning not to interfere with the guild's operations, or pressure to support the Guild Master himself.

'It must be the latter.'

If he withdrew from the guild, the Vice-Guild Master would become a mere figurehead. Staying involved in the guild would increase the chances of seizing an opportunity.

The Guild Master knew this, and the Vice-Guild Master's support served as a shield when dealing with the shareholders.

Given the Guild Master's frustration with the verbal battles against non-Hunters, he must have considered using the Vice-Guild Master as a beneficial strategy.

'On top of that, Ma Taesik attacked me. The Guild Master didn't say it out loud, but he must have been thrilled to receive such a huge gift.'

The man nearly destroyed an elite party, not to mention trying to kill the Strategy and Tactics Team Leader. This left the Vice-Guild Master, who supported his younger sibling, with a lot to answer for.

It wasn't because the Guild Master lacked integrity; it was the calculated decision he had to make as the leader of an organization. If he could put an extra leash on the Vice-Guild Master, it would be a good thing.

When Kang Mu-hyuk arrived at the Vice-Guild Master's office, the secretary greeted him with wide eyes.

"Is the Vice-Guild Master in?"

"Yes? Yes, yes. He is."

"Please let him know I'm here."

Upon entering the office with the secretary's guidance, Kang Mu-hyuk was taken aback.

The Vice-Guild Master, Ma Taesu, was bowing his head.

He had never bowed his head to anyone, even if they were the Guild Master. The same held true during the recent rescue signal incident.

'They say there's no such thing as "absolute" in the Gate. Is the Vice-Guild Master also a person within the Gate?'

Why would he bow his head to Kang Mu-hyuk?

Kang Mu-hyuk quickly grasped the situation.

The damned disease was the conclusion extracted from the Vice-Guild Master's actions, his face, the atmosphere, and the information about the current situation. Thanks to this, Kang Mu-hyuk could understand it without it being said.

"Vice-Guild Master, no matter how much you bow your head, I cannot release Mr. Ma Taesik from prison."