The Hana Association is one of the Associations of the City, acting as the head of all other associations and offices. The specific section fought in the Library is Hana South Section 3, lead by Director Mirinae.
Story
The Hana Association is in charge of grading Fixers and Offices. They also give out fixer licenses and rate the threat level of hazards within The City. The ratings are Urban Myth, Urban Legend, Urban Plague, Urban Nightmare, Star of the City; the only one they are not able to grade being Impurity. The Hana Association are ordered to enter The Library, after it being deemed at an Impurity, and figure out how it works.
Key Page stories
A Hana Fixer’s Page
Each Association has a creed or maxim that reflects its atmosphere. Some emphasize gallant passion, while others aspire to a quiet and cold attitude. The Hana Association is no exception in that it has a number of outwardly seen principles. Coincidentally, they represent the most basic ideas of the attitude a Fixer must have.
We must exercise concentration and resoluteness in all situations. Be diligent to detect the emergence of a new flow, yet be wary not to be swept by the flow yourself. As our occupation involves placing some on low positions and holding others in high regard, we must secure the values that constitute our frame, while amending outdated parts of our ideologies. Thus, we need to have an open mind that can accept opinions that differ from our own in moderation. Be willing to listen to the criticism of others and acknowledge it, but be cautious not to throw yourself into confusion by accepting any and all opinions, changing yourself without due consideration. Change what needs to be changed, but be stubborn about the rules we’ve maintained. In conclusion, we mustn’t fall for temptation or deception.
Much like how a foundation influences the structures that stand on it, these principles serve as a basis for all Associations to uphold. Being the Association that supervises the system of Fixers in general, the principles of the Hana are also applicable to the mindset any Fixer should have.
Mirinae’s Page
There are twelve Fixer Associations across the City, and the Hana Association is the one in charge of general management of the rest. We’re renowned for rating the threat level of hazards that occur in the City, and grading Fixers and Offices. On top of that, we give out Fixer licenses, issue official documents about certain requests, and assign Colors to Fixers who prove themselves to be beyond the grading system. Our Association calls the shots on pretty much everything regarding Fixer activity. Although, there is one thing the Hana Association can’t touch on.
The ratings of hazards in the City are as follows: Urban Myth, Urban Legend, Urban Plague, Urban Nightmare, Star of the City… and Impurity. Most other Associations only deal with Stars of the City or lower. Even though Hana Association has control over grading the hazards… There’s one grade our Association can’t assign: The Impurity. Only the Head has the authority to decide that. I don’t know the exact rationale behind designating Impurities… From what I can see, they seem to declare beings that defile the City as Impurities and banish them to the Outskirts. I suppose the Head manages that part since things like the ethics of the City aren’t subjects we are qualified to discern.
Harold’s Page
Some people ask how Stars of the City, the highest level of urban hazards, are any different from Impurities. They wonder… “Aren’t they disrupting the City’s order?”
If you ask me, this City as it exists with the Stars… might be what the Head thinks as the ideal image of the City.
In the universe that is the City, a center of mass forms for each person who bears a wish for something, and clusters of dreams comparable to interstellar matter gravitate toward those centers. Driven by the force people exert in their efforts to reach those goals, such nebulae repeatedly expand and contract, until they finally fulfill their wishes—creating a Star whose glow we can observe. The people who witness the sparkle of that Star admire how brilliantly it shines in the dark, and entertain the hope that they will shine as brightly one day, making yet more centers in the universe…
Of course, some people will have their eyes fixed to the ground—too busy to gaze at anything other than their path ahead; however, once a person sets their eyes on a Star, they begin to head towards it, using its guidance like a compass. Although they probably aren’t trying to become a Star themselves. They merely want to shine with their dreams for once, not to indulge in the sense of superiority that comes from being high up in the City’s sky.
Olivier’s Page
Roland and I were long-time partners in Charles’ Office since the year dot. There were twelve members in total—excluding Angelica who joined the Office later on to resolve the case of the Blood-red Night. Consisting of rather few Fixers for a Grade 1 Office, it took on various requests, playing to the strengths of the twelve members who had different quirks and characteristics each. Roland and I got along well together, so I often worked with him. Well, not exactly for that reason. To be precise, someone had to keep his impulse to jump into action before thinking on a dog’s leash.
“Valor without forethought is little more than a bluff, and there is more strength in discretion than recklessness.” I wonder if you remember this piece of advice I gave when you were still prone to take action without thinking. I remember you conceding it and taking a step back. Although I gave you that advice, now I understand that it’s not without fault. Thinking alone doesn’t make progress, and too much caution can be a harm to oneself. I had the prudence, and you had the unhesitating action. We helped each other with our strengths, and we could just live on by dealing with matters at hand back in the day. Maybe those were the days when we could laugh and lament the most, and carry out our lives just like that. But now we’ve come too far to go back—so did you, and so did Charles’ Office.
Trivia
Hana means "One" in Korean, which is likely meant to signify its authority over the other associations.
The Trigrams the Hana Association is themed around are symbols from Taoist cosmology used in the South Korean flag. Geon (☰), gon (☷), gam (☵), ri (☲) represent heaven, earth, the moon, and the sun respectively.
