Han-Ho woke up at six fifteen AM on Saturday.
He sat up.
Looked at the Netflix screensaver.
Looked at his phone.
The Director's message from last night.
He read it.
Read it again.
Put his phone in his pocket.
Stood up.
Looked at Moru.
Moru was already awake and already watching him with the focused attention of something that has been waiting for this specific morning since eleven forty seven PM last night.
"You saw the message," said Han-Ho.
"I have very good hearing," said Moru.
"Min-Seo."
"Also saw it," said Moru. "He put it face down. He was going to tell you after the green onion."
Han-Ho looked at Min-Seo asleep on the couch.
Looked at the door.
Looked at his work bag.
The media blackout lifted at nine AM.
He had a cleanup start at seven AM.
He had a green onion to buy.
He picked up his work bag.
"Moru," he said.
"Yes."
"The green onion. Then the river bank. Then whatever nine AM brings."
Moru floated to his shoulder.
"In that order," said Moru.
"In that order," said Han-Ho.
He put on his shoes.
Left.
The GS25 at six twenty AM had Cho Hyun on shift.
Cho Hyun looked up when the door opened.
Looked at Han-Ho.
Looked at Moru.
Looked at the absence of Kjor.
"The other one not coming," said Cho Hyun.
"Still sleeping," said Han-Ho.
"Okay." Cho Hyun reached under the counter. Put a bag of honey butter chips on the counter. "Pre-emptive."
Han-Ho looked at the chips.
"I'm here for a green onion," he said.
Cho Hyun stared at him.
"A green onion," said Cho Hyun.
"Yes."
"You've been coming in here for three months. Every day. Sometimes twice. You have never once bought a green onion."
"I know."
"You bought chips. Kimbap. Energy drinks for the tall one. Shrimp crackers. That lemon thing once which you told me didn't deserve customers."
"I remember."
"Never a green onion."
"I'm buying one now."
Cho Hyun looked at him.
Looked at Moru.
Moru's expression was the expression of something that has been waiting for this green onion for nine days and is containing its feelings with great effort.
Cho Hyun went to the produce section.
Came back with a green onion.
Put it on the counter.
Han-Ho looked at it.
The green onion looked back with the resigned energy of a vegetable that has no opinions about its situation.
"One," said Han-Ho.
"One," said Cho Hyun.
"Thank you."
"Of course." Cho Hyun scanned it. Scanned the honey butter chips. "That'll be—"
"I know," said Han-Ho.
He paid.
Took the bag.
"Mr. Kang," said Cho Hyun.
Han-Ho stopped.
"The footage," said Cho Hyun. "From yesterday. In Yeouido." He looked at the counter. "I saw it before the blackout. Someone sent it to our work group chat."
Han-Ho looked at him.
"You walked next to it," said Cho Hyun. "The thing from under the earth. You just walked next to it with your hands in your pockets."
"It needed to move to a better location," said Han-Ho.
"And the notebook," said Cho Hyun. "You had your notebook out."
"Cleanup route planning."
"While walking next to the oldest thing in the world."
"The cleanup starts at seven."
Cho Hyun looked at him for a moment.
"I've been working this shift for three months," said Cho Hyun. "You come in every day. Sometimes twice. You're always in the uniform. You always get the tuna mayo. The small dark ones are always with you and they always want the honey butter chips." He paused. "I didn't know any of that meant—" he gestured vaguely at the footage implication "—that."
Han-Ho looked at him.
"It just means I clean things," said Han-Ho. "The rest is the rest."
Cho Hyun nodded slowly.
"The blackout lifts at nine," said Cho Hyun.
"I know."
"It's going to be a lot."
"Probably."
"Are you ready for it."
Han-Ho looked at the green onion in his bag.
Looked at the door.
Looked at Cho Hyun.
"I have a cleanup start at seven," said Han-Ho.
Cho Hyun looked at him.
Then he did something he had not done in three months of morning shifts.
He came out from behind the counter.
Held out his hand.
Han-Ho looked at the hand.
Shook it.
"Good luck," said Cho Hyun.
"Thank you," said Han-Ho.
He left.
Cho Hyun went back behind the counter.
Updated The System.
Rule five: When the footage releases at nine AM and the whole country loses its mind, remember he was here at six twenty buying a green onion.
At six fifty AM Han-Ho arrived at the east bank access point of the Han River in Yeouido.
He had his work bag. He had the green onion which he had put in the bag pocket next to River who had looked at it with great interest and asked what it was and had been told it was a vegetable and had said "extraordinary" which was now the green onion's entire personality as far as River was concerned.
The thing was on the bank where he had left it.
It looked at him when he arrived.
Han-Ho looked at the thing.
"Morning," he said.
The thing made a sound.
Han-Ho took out his notebook.
"Starting with the east fracture access point," he said. "Working west. The mana vein damage is going to be the longest part. I'm going to need the specialized equipment approved today. The Director said he'd handle it."
He took out his phone.
Called the Director.
It rang once.
"Mr. Kang," said the Director.
"The east bank access point," said Han-Ho. "I need the Class A subsurface equipment approved today. The mana vein damage is significant."
"The approval came through at six AM," said the Director. "The equipment team is en route. They'll be on site by eight."
"Good," said Han-Ho. "The media blackout."
"Nine AM."
"I know. Is there anything I need to do."
A pause.
"No," said the Director. "The communications department has a statement prepared. Registry official statement. You don't need to do anything."
"Okay."
"Mr. Kang."
"Yes."
"It's going to be significant coverage."
"I know."
"The footage is—" The Director paused. "It's significant footage."
"I was told."
"Are you—"
"I have a cleanup to start," said Han-Ho. "The coverage is the coverage. The cleanup still needs doing."
A pause that contained the particular quality of a man who has been Director for seventeen years and has handled significant situations and is now handling a situation that his seventeen years did not prepare him for but which is somehow the most straightforward situation he has encountered because the person at the center of it keeps reducing it to its most essential components.
"Yes," said the Director. "The cleanup still needs doing."
"Equipment team at eight," said Han-Ho.
"At eight," said the Director.
Han-Ho hung up.
Opened his notebook.
Started the assessment.
They arrived one by one between six fifty and seven fifteen.
Oh Kyung-Soo arrived at six fifty five. He had changed into work-appropriate clothing. Not Hunter gear. Practical clothes. The clothes of someone who has decided they are coming to work today rather than to fight.
He nodded at Han-Ho.
Han-Ho nodded back.
Oh Kyung-Soo looked at the fracture access point Han-Ho was assessing.
"Where do you need me," he said.
Han-Ho pointed.
Oh Kyung-Soo went there.
Baek Sung-Il arrived at seven exactly. Also in practical clothes. He looked at the thing on the bank for two seconds. Not in the assessment way. In the way of someone completing a process they started the night before.
Then he looked at Han-Ho.
"Where," said Baek Sung-Il.
Han-Ho pointed.
Baek Sung-Il went there.
Jin Tae-Yang arrived with Song Mi-Rae at seven oh four. They had clearly traveled together. Song Mi-Rae was in practical clothes. Jin Tae-Yang was also in practical clothes but had a look on his face that suggested he had considered wearing Hunter gear and had made the deliberate choice not to.
Han-Ho pointed.
They went.
Lee Soo-Bin arrived at seven ten with a coffee from the GS25 around the corner. He had also brought eight coffees, one for everyone, because he had arrived early enough to think about it and had thought about it and had decided that bringing coffee was the right thing to do and had done it.
He handed them out.
Han-Ho looked at the coffee.
"Thank you," said Han-Ho.
"I bought a green onion," said Lee Soo-Bin.
Han-Ho looked at him.
"For the work," said Lee Soo-Bin quickly. "I thought. For the. I don't know why I bought a green onion."
He held out the green onion.
Han-Ho looked at it.
Looked at his bag where his own green onion was.
Now had two green onions.
"Thank you," said Han-Ho.
Lee Soo-Bin went where Han-Ho pointed.
Yoo Chae-Won arrived at seven fifteen.
She arrived in a car.
A nice car.
The kind of car that has a publicist in it.
There was a publicist in the car.
Yoo Chae-Won got out. Looked at the publicist. Said something. The publicist got back in the car. The car left.
Yoo Chae-Won came to the bank.
"No publicist," said Han-Ho.
"I sent the publicist away," said Yoo Chae-Won.
"Good."
"He's going to call every five minutes after nine AM."
"That's between you and him."
"Han-Ho—"
"Where do you want to work," said Han-Ho.
Yoo Chae-Won looked at the fracture access points Han-Ho had laid out.
"What exactly am I doing," she said.
"The fractures are deeper on the south side. I need someone to monitor the contamination spread while I address the mana vein. Your energy detection capability is the best here. You can track the spread in real time."
Yoo Chae-Won looked at him.
"You've thought about how to use everyone," she said.
"Last night," said Han-Ho. "After you texted."
"You were planning the work assignments while we were texting about logos."
"Multitasking."
Yoo Chae-Won looked at him for a moment.
Then she went to the south side.
Min-Seo arrived last at seven eighteen.
He had Kjor with him. Kjor on his shoulder. River presumably had stayed with Moru because the bank was a work site and Moru had made a decision about River's proximity to active cleanup operations.
Min-Seo had three bags of honey butter chips.
"For the break," said Min-Seo.
"We don't take breaks," said Han-Ho.
"We're taking a break at ten AM," said Min-Seo. "You've been working since six thirty."
"The work—"
"Ten AM," said Min-Seo. "Han-Ho. Ten AM break."
Han-Ho looked at him.
Looked at the assembled S-Ranks working at their respective positions.
Looked at his notebook.
"Ten fifteen," said Han-Ho.
"Ten," said Min-Seo.
"Ten fifteen. I need to finish the east section first."
Min-Seo looked at him.
"Ten fifteen," said Min-Seo.
"Ten fifteen," said Han-Ho.
Moru on Han-Ho's shoulder looked at Min-Seo with the expression of a former Demon King that is deeply grateful for someone else making Han-Ho take breaks.
Min-Seo went where Han-Ho pointed.
At eight AM the equipment team arrived.
Four specialists with the Registry's Class A subsurface equipment. The equipment was large and technical and made sounds. The four specialists looked at the bank. Looked at the thing. Looked at Han-Ho.
"You're Kang Han-Ho," said the lead specialist.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Registration 4471-B."
"Yes."
The lead specialist looked at his equipment list. Looked at the bank. Looked at the thing.
"The Director said you'd brief us," said the specialist.
"Yes." Han-Ho showed them his notebook. The route plan. The fracture map. The mana vein damage assessment. The contamination spread projections.
The lead specialist looked at the notebook.
Looked at Han-Ho.
"You made this last night," said the specialist.
"Yes."
"After the emergence."
"Yes."
"In—" The specialist looked at the detail level. "In one evening."
"I had time before I fell asleep."
The specialist looked at the notebook again.
The notebook contained a more thorough preliminary site assessment than his team had produced for any Class A cleanup in the last three years.
It was in a notebook.
From a GS25.
With honey butter chip residue on the corner of one page.
"Okay," said the specialist.
He briefed his team using Han-Ho's notebook.
At nine AM exactly the media blackout lifted.
The footage went everywhere simultaneously.
On the east bank access point of the Han River in Yeouido, Han-Ho pressed his hand against the first fracture site and his skill activated and the cleanup began.
He did not look at his phone.
He was working.
The thing watched from the bank.
The six S-Rank Hunters worked at their respective positions.
The equipment team ran their equipment.
The river flowed correctly.
At nine oh three AM Min-Seo's phone vibrated six times in four seconds. Then nine times. Then it stopped vibrating between individual messages and just began vibrating continuously which meant the notifications had reached the volume where the phone had given up distinguishing between them.
He put it in his pocket.
At nine oh seven AM Yoo Chae-Won's publicist called.
She let it go to voicemail.
At nine twelve AM Lee Soo-Bin looked at his phone.
His follower count was moving.
Not in the normal way follower counts move when you post something significant.
In the way a number moves when the entire country is looking at a piece of footage and looking up the people in it and finding that one of the people in it has an account with forty three million followers and clicking follow on everyone associated with the footage regardless of whether they were in the footage or not.
He put his phone away.
Went back to the south section contamination monitoring.
At nine fifteen AM Han-Ho's phone buzzed.
He finished the section he was on.
Looked at the phone.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Mr. Kang," said a voice he did not recognize. "I'm calling from—"
"I'm working," said Han-Ho.
"Sir the footage—"
"I'm working," said Han-Ho. "Call the Registry communications department. Director Choi Byung-Soo. They have a statement."
He hung up.
His phone buzzed again immediately.
Different unknown number.
He turned his phone to silent.
Put it in his bag.
Looked at the fracture site.
Pressed his hand against it.
The glow started.
The work continued.
At ten fifteen AM Han-Ho stood up.
"Break," said Min-Seo, who had been watching the clock since ten oh two.
Han-Ho looked at the east section.
Looked at his notebook.
Made a note about the section's progress.
"Ten minutes," said Han-Ho.
"Fifteen," said Min-Seo.
"Ten."
"Han-Ho it's been three and a quarter hours—"
"Ten minutes," said Han-Ho. "Then the west mana vein section. That's the main work."
Min-Seo looked at Oh Kyung-Soo.
Oh Kyung-Soo shrugged with the particular shrug of someone who has known this outcome was coming and has made peace with it.
They sat on the bank.
Min-Seo distributed honey butter chips.
The thing watched.
Yoo Chae-Won ate chips and looked at her phone which had forty seven missed calls and put it back down.
Baek Sung-Il sat next to Han-Ho.
"Mr. Kang," said Baek Sung-Il.
"Han-Ho," said Han-Ho.
"Han-Ho." Baek Sung-Il looked at the east section they had just finished. "In twenty years I have never worked a cleanup like this."
"The subsurface work is unusual," said Han-Ho.
"That's not what I mean."
Han-Ho looked at him.
Baek Sung-Il was looking at the east section with the expression of a man who has done twenty years of dramatic combat operations and has just spent three hours doing methodical careful incremental cleanup work and has found, to his considerable surprise, that it was satisfying.
"It's good work," said Baek Sung-Il. "Quiet. But good."
Han-Ho looked at the section.
"Yes," he said.
"You've been doing this for ten years."
"Yes."
"Alone."
"Until recently."
Baek Sung-Il ate a chip.
Looked at Han-Ho.
"I hit it with everything last night," said Baek Sung-Il.
"I know," said Han-Ho.
"Everything I have. Full output."
"I know."
"And this morning I'm monitoring fracture contamination spread with a notebook."
"You're useful here," said Han-Ho. "Your energy sensitivity is strong. The fracture mapping was more accurate with you on it."
Baek Sung-Il looked at his hands.
The hands that had destroyed a dam. That had full output. That had registered as background noise.
That had just spent three hours on fracture contamination mapping.
"I'll be back tomorrow," said Baek Sung-Il.
"The west mana vein is the main work," said Han-Ho. "It's going to take several days."
"I'll be here," said Baek Sung-Il.
"Me too," said Oh Kyung-Soo.
"Same," said Jin Tae-Yang.
"Same," said Song Mi-Rae.
"I'll be here," said Lee Soo-Bin. "Also I cleaned a Gate residue site this morning before I came. Small one. Near my apartment." He said this very quickly and then looked at the river.
Everyone looked at Lee Soo-Bin.
"It needed doing," said Lee Soo-Bin, to the river.
Yoo Chae-Won looked at Min-Seo.
Min-Seo looked at Yoo Chae-Won.
They did not say what they were both thinking because Lee Soo-Bin had specifically asked them not to make it a thing and sometimes the right move was to not make it a thing.
"I'll be here," said Yoo Chae-Won. "And we are talking about the brand situation Wednesday."
"No logos," said Han-Ho.
"Registry reform pressure campaign. Using the footage. Like you said last night."
Han-Ho looked at her.
"Wednesday," he said.
"Wednesday," she said.
Han-Ho stood up.
Looked at the west section.
"Break is over," he said.
"It's been eight minutes," said Min-Seo.
"The west mana vein—"
"TEN MINUTES HAN-HO—"
"Eight is close to ten."
"It is NOT—"
"Moru," said Han-Ho.
"He's right it's been eight minutes," said Moru, from his shoulder.
"MORU—" said Min-Seo.
"The mana vein section is the main work," said Moru. "We should—"
"MORU YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE ABOUT BREAKS—"
"I am on Master's side about the work," said Moru, with the composed dignity of something that has made its loyalties clear and is not apologizing for them.
Min-Seo looked at Moru.
Moru looked back with ancient red eyes that were not apologizing for anything.
"Fine," said Min-Seo. "Fine. West mana vein. Fine."
He stood up.
Han-Ho was already walking toward the west section.
Kjor on Min-Seo's shoulder offered him a chip.
Min-Seo took it.
"He's going to run himself into the ground," said Min-Seo quietly, to Kjor.
"He has been running himself into the ground for ten years," said Kjor. "The difference now is that we are here to occasionally make him take eight minute breaks."
"That's not enough."
"It is more than nothing," said Kjor. "More than nothing is where we start."
Min-Seo looked at Han-Ho's back.
At the work uniform. The work bag. The two green onions inside it. The notebook. The route. The methodical patient relentless person who had cleaned a storm drain before responding to a full national emergency and had planned cleanup assignments while texting about logos and had made a fracture map that outperformed the professional equipment team's three year archive.
More than nothing.
That was where they started.
Min-Seo went where Han-Ho pointed.
The cleanup continued.
The river flowed.
The city outside the media blackout that had just lifted was doing the thing cities do when they encounter footage that does not fit into any existing category which was look at it very many times and try to figure out what it meant.
On the river bank it meant work.
It meant the west mana vein section.
It meant ten minute breaks that were sometimes eight minutes.
It meant two green onions and honey butter chips and the oldest entity in the world watching from the bank as seven people and three entities cleaned a fracture site on a Saturday morning because the fractures needed cleaning and that was the job.
Some Saturdays were just like this.