NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46
Chapter 46. Interview
“I’ll contact you once it’s completed.”
Nam Ho-yeol mentioned that it could take some time before Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu’s equipment crafting was finished.
While creating ordinary equipment might take a day or two, utilizing the beak of the monster chicken required the blacksmith to investigate the material’s usability.
For instance, cutting a part of the beak to see how it holds up when heated or applying a strong impact to test its durability.
And blending it into a fine powder to mix with various materials—there were countless possibilities.
Since all these tasks aimed to enhance the equipment’s perfection, Sweet Fun decided to wait patiently.
“Hyung, we need to get going if we want to be on time.”
“If you’re ready, let’s go.”
1:30 PM.
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu, who had a quick sandwich lunch in the office, stood up from their seats.
“Wait a moment.”
Before stepping out, Yoo Ji-han glanced at the small mirror in the office.
His recently trimmed hair from the salon reflected back at him.
‘An interview request, huh.’
He had an interview with the press scheduled for 2 PM.
He was surprised to learn there was already media interested in the guild when he heard the news from Kim Si-hu.
“It seems this interview includes all parties that have ranked up to 4th.”
Kim Si-hu flipped his mobile phone to show the screen.
The search results displayed interviews from the Shin Woo-jeong party, which had also ranked up to 4th, along with another group.
“Did you see the interviews conducted with the Shin Woo-jeong party?”
“I heard that their article got deleted.”
“What?”
Kim Si-hu clicked on the article about the interview with the Shin Woo-jeong party.
The result showed a single line of text.
[This article has been deleted.]
It was a warning that the article had been taken down.
Yoo Ji-han mumbled at the warning.
“Do you think it got deleted due to the recent disciplinary action?”
“That would be my guess. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any reason to delete an article published two days ago.”
“Ugh…”
Kim Si-hu manipulated the phone and returned to the search result screen.
Since the deleted articles were still appearing in the search results, it seemed the information hadn’t been updated yet.
But that would likely disappear in a day or two.
‘That’s a bit unfortunate.’
Due to one wrong choice made by Shin Woo-jeong, the entire guild was facing various disadvantages.
As someone who had a good impression of him at their first meeting, Yoo Ji-han couldn’t help but feel sympathy.
It should be a bad example not to repeat in the future, a cautionary tale to learn from.
Fortunately, Kim Si-hu, the Guild Master of Sweet Fun, was not a foolish hero who would make the same poor judgments as Shin Woo-jeong.
Even if he were to head in the wrong direction, Yoo Ji-han could help correct him along the way.
‘People really are important.’
In the guild’s expenses, the category that usually took up the largest portion was the salaries paid to heroes.
That’s how important people were.
Be it school, company, or guild, the most crucial element in any gathering of people remained the individuals themselves.
Sweet Fun aimed for a select few, but they should have no hesitation in extending recruitment offers to any good talent if they came across them.
*
“It seems they haven’t arrived yet.”
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu reached the café where they had scheduled their meeting with the journalist.
They arrived almost exactly on time, but the reporter was nowhere to be seen.
About five minutes after the scheduled time…
“Pant! Pant! Are you from Sweet Fun?”
“Yes, that’s us.”
“Thank goodness!”
A young man appeared, speaking to Kim Si-hu.
“I’m Lee Wan from Hero Daily, and I’ll be conducting today’s interview!”
He was the journalist from Hero Daily, who had quickly come running.
Looking like he had rushed over, he constantly fanned himself as if feeling quite hot.
“I’m Kim Si-hu, the one who set the interview, and this is Yoo Ji-han.”
“Oh! I’m really sorry! The traffic was terrible!”
“It’s alright.”
“Let’s head inside.”
They entered the café and ordered their drinks.
Kim Si-hu attempted to pay using the guild card, but Lee Wan quickly handed his card to the staff before him.
“But we’re supposed to pay…”
“It’s fine; this is legally covered.”
“Oh.”
They sat down in the corner of the café.
The café wasn’t too crowded, making it a perfect spot for an interview.
“You’ve been busy since your promotion, right? Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview today.”
“We are grateful for your interest in such a small guild.”
“That makes me happy to hear.”
Yoo Ji-han’s response elicited a smile from Lee Wan.
And…
‘Basic attitude score: +2 points.’
Lee Wan mentally scored Sweet Fun with an additional two points for their good attitude out of a possible ten.
This was a habit he developed when interviewing new guilds.
Some heroes he encountered as a journalist often displayed arrogance, and in such cases, he might write the articles rather carelessly based on the score he had registered.
‘The first impression is not bad at all.’
Fortunately, Sweet Fun passed the first impression test.
They didn’t openly blame the journalist for being late, indicating he possessed good manners and a fairly generous personality.
Of course, their true thoughts might differ, but that’s how it appeared on the surface.
“Allow me to give you my business card first.”
He handed his business card to both Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu.
Yoo Ji-han took the card and examined it slowly before speaking.
“Do you primarily interview parties that have just ranked up?”
“Yes! I mainly conduct interviews focusing on parties that have succeeded in ranking up, regardless of whether they are new heroes or experienced ones.”
“I see.”
Yoo Ji-han placed the business card prominently on the table.
‘This person was indeed the one who interviewed Kim Hyun-tae’s party back then.’
Lee Wan was the journalist who had covered the Kim Hyun-tae party of Keroes when they ranked up to 4th and 3rd.
Having hesitated when hearing his name, Yoo Ji-han confirmed his memory was correct after seeing the information on the current business card.
‘What a coincidence.’
This was an interview he couldn’t participate in due to being an unofficial party member back then.
Thinking of how the journalist from that time was now in front of him made him chuckle slightly.
It felt like finally getting to do the interview they missed before.
Click!
Lee Wan powered on the handheld recorder.
“First, could you briefly introduce your guild…”
He asked Kim Si-hu for some basic information about the guild, like when it was established and why they decided to create a new guild instead of joining another.
These were common questions often asked of new guilds.
Since these were anticipated questions, Kim Si-hu answered them effortlessly.
As Lee Wan jotted notes in his notebook, he said, “I noticed your party has the smallest number of members among those who ranked up to 4th in recent months. Were you aware of this?”
“About that, yes.”
“Most parties consist of three or more members. Is there a particular reason for not increasing your party size even after your rank up?”
“We aim for a select elite. We don’t want just anyone joining our party. But we’re always open to recruiting new heroes, and we actually have someone in mind recently.”
“Oh! If possible, can you tell me who that is?”
“That would be a bit difficult. They’re quite well-known even while active.”
“Their name is well-known… Now you’ve got my curiosity piqued.”
Mentioning Min Yu-ri at this moment might attract some interest, but it would also cause her trouble.
It would be better to wait until recruitment was confirmed before discussing it during an interview.
“How have things been since you ranked up?”
“We’ve hunted giant cats and giant dandelions. It’s been quite busy.”
“That’s impressive!”
“Not to mention that back when we were level 5, we also hunted the giant monster’s mutation.”
“Excuse me?”
Lee Wan, who had been taking notes, lifted his head.
‘Did he just say they hunted the mutation of the Giant Monster?’
He wondered if he misunderstood, so he asked slowly for confirmation.
“Are you referring to the mutation MU-1302 discovered in Korea?”
“That’s correct.”
“Oh! So you guys caught that monster!”
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu planned to use this interview to promote their party’s name.
Citing the monster chicken was part of that plan.
Even though that information had already leaked out during the private Rank 4 exchange meeting, revealing it publicly for the first time would likely bring some publicity benefits.
‘This could turn out to be quite a good interview!’
Lee Wan’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he gained new information.
It might not be a breaking story, but he could see an article that would attract attention forming in his mind.
“Right now, you are primarily known by your guild’s name, but the exact name of your party is Kim Si-hu’s party, correct? What plans might you have for Kim Si-hu’s party in the future…”
“Excuse me, journalist, just a moment.”
“Yes?”
Kim Si-hu interrupted Lee Wan.
“About that party name you just mentioned.”
“Kim Si-hu’s party?”
“We’re not Kim Si-hu’s party; we’re Yoo Ji-han’s party!”
“Huh? But the Guild Master is Kim Si-hu, right?”
“Our party leader and guild master are different.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. We’ll be submitting the official list for the change of our party leader to the Hero Department soon.”
“Oh! That’s interesting.”
Lee Wan nodded several times, scribbling in his notebook.
‘These folks are entertaining.’
It’s rare to see a structure where the guild master and party leader are different, especially in cultures like Japan or Korea with a distinct hierarchy.
“So then, what is the reason for having different guild and party leaders…?”
There was likely a reason behind dividing the roles.
Shifting his focus, Lee Wan began to ask Yoo Ji-han more targeted questions.
*
“I think I’ve asked all the questions I can at this point.”
As the interview, which had been progressing for about thirty minutes, was nearing its end, Lee Wan looked at his half-melted ice coffee.
“Um… Ji-han, this might be a bit personal, but…”
“Yes?”
“You were with Keroes before joining Sweet Fun, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Do you have any special comments about Kim Hyun-tae’s party, the representative party of Keroes?”
“…?!”
Yoo Ji-han was suddenly taken aback by the unexpected question.
‘What’s the intention behind this question?’
It was unrelated to the previous ones and hard to gauge his motives.
“It just seems I interviewed Kim Hyun-tae’s party a long time ago.”
“…I see.”
“Since you were in the same guild, I thought you might have run into each other occasionally. Is there anything you would like to say in this setting?”
Yoo Ji-han took a moment, pretending to think while observing Lee Wan’s face.
Was he genuinely curious, or was there something more?
‘What could he know?’
As a journalist for a media outlet, he might be privy to internal information about Keroes.
Perhaps even information that was meant to be discreet.