“So, you’re saying that the one and only Guide for espers will appear to save the entire world.”
On the sixth consecutive day of staying up all night to greet the sunrise, Shin Yonghyun finished decrypting the suspicious email.
Espers of S-Class or higher could feel the world’s ‘Absolute Power’.
‘Absolute Power’ was an energy that could not be defined with words or discussed with any scientific theory, just as ordinary people cannot analyze the components of oxygen while breathing.
However, Shin Yonghyun succeeded in reading the Absolute Power from the email and translating it into plain words. The email, disguised as a chain letter, was presenting a solution to the Gate problem.
“It seems to be saying... ‘An esper who meets the Guide will obtain the key to solving the Gate problem.’ It’s a bit suspicious, but I can’t ignore such strong Absolute Power. Still, I'm at a loss as to how to explain this Absolute Power to non-espers, or how I should even interpret this message…”
Before Shin Yonghyun could even finish his sentence, a pop-up message appeared on the sidebar, announcing a new email.
[Re: [Urgent] Delivery of Solutions for the Gate Problem]
Shin Yonghyun opened the new email without hesitation.
[SYSTEM
As you said, a ‘Guide’ has appeared to save the world. As a reward for reading the Absolute Power in the email, we will give you a hint.
You will be able to recognize the Guide, who can stabilize and enhance your abilities as an esper, at a single glance.
We wish you peace in your work and your sleep.]
[*We earnestly request that you maintain the confidentiality of this email.]
***
[Time until ‘SYSTEM’ is fully operational, 116:02:19….]
Wonwoo let out a deep sigh, turned off his phone screen again, and shifted his gaze to his laptop. A rough calculation told him it would be another five days before the system was back to normal.
An error caused by an overload from forcibly running a virtual experience program. When he thought about the vivid experience, including that bizarre ‘something’ that had moved as if to swallow him whole, it seemed plausible, yet he couldn't help but doubt whether he could trust the system.
But Wonwoo had no choice. The only things he knew were that he had become a Guide and that he had to provide guiding to S-Class espers.
In this situation, the only thing Wonwoo could cling to, the only thing that could tell him everything, was the ‘SYSTEM’. Even if it was suspicious and seemed to be hiding a lot from him.
“…I have to trust it. It's not like there's anything I can do if I don't.”
'Since when did my fate become like this?' Wonwoo thought, letting out a sigh.
“Right, I should just do what I need to do now.”
After the system error occurred, Wonwoo had searched for information on espers, chanting, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat!”
In truth, Wonwoo, whose only experience with research was for school assignments, was unsure whether he had ‘found information’ or just done a simple internet search. But it wasn't as if research skills would magically appear, so he decided to continue doing what he could.
“There are four S-Class espers in Korea in total.”
It wasn't that S-Class espers only existed in Korea. However, since the appearance of the Gates, getting a visa had become mandatory for any country, and the process took a very long time. Wonwoo didn't want to go that far just to provide guiding.
The thought of himself saying, “I can enhance your abilities! So please, why don't you try receiving this thing called guiding!” to a foreigner in a foreign language made him feel incredibly pathetic.
It was upsetting enough to have to offer himself up like some kind of vitality tonic, but if he had to go abroad to do it, he’d rather just go drown himself in a puddle!
“But if the guys in Korea have terrible personalities or aren't worth dealing with..."
Thinking of the terrible possibility, Wonwoo quickly ruffled his hair, shaking the thought away.
“No, when I watched the news, I never thought, ‘We have to entrust our country's future to a guy like that!!’ It'll be fine.”
And among the S-Class espers in Korea, there were two who, on the contrary, were evaluated with sentiments like, “Such a precious person in such a humble place?”
Shin Yonghyun, the only S-Class esper in ‘Bureau,’ the national agency that deals with the Gate problem, who is so famous for being an incorruptible public servant that people ask why he doesn't just leave Korea. And Han Jinho, who held dual citizenship and caused a stir in Korea when he gave up his Norwegian citizenship to choose Korean citizenship upon turning twenty.
It was known that Shin Yonghyun had received blank check contract offers from private guilds and other countries. However, the story of how he flatly rejected them to dedicate himself to the Republic of Korea, following in the footsteps of his father, a former Minister of National Defense, and took the lead in establishing ‘Bureau,’ was mentioned everywhere every year during the Month of Patriots and Veterans. That was why Wonwoo, too, would watch the news and be surprised, thinking, 'Huh, so people like that do exist...'
Han Jinho frequently appeared on the news not only for solving Gate problems as an esper, but also for his volunteer work and donations.
Wonwoo, having seen a picture of Jinho with his soft, light-pink curly hair promoting the adoption of abandoned dogs, had once been so mesmerized that he donated 30,000 won to an animal shelter, thinking, 'A guy with a handsome face has a kind heart, too...'
When the news broke that he was giving up his Norwegian citizenship and coming to Korea, Neotube and various other sites went wild. The story of him leaving Europe, famous for its excellent welfare and treatment of espers, to come to Korea made everyone suspicious, wondering if there was some secret deal involved.
However, Wonwoo remembered how public opinion had turned around instantly after a video of his airport interview was released, where, with a lovely appearance that brought a smile to one's face just by looking at him, he said he was happy to be able to come to his mother's homeland and be together like this.
Wonwoo searched for ‘Han Jinho’ and played the video that appeared at the very top.
-Han Jinho-ssi, many citizens are surprised by the news of your return to Korea.
-Ah, yes. Well, I think it was a very sudden event, so I imagine many people were surprised.
The reporter's face reddened as he watched him laugh awkwardly and scratch his cheek. A clip of this reporter's reaction would later circulate on various online communities under the title, ‘An S-Class Esper's S-Class Looks That Can Even Charm the Same Sex.’
-But I want to start by saying that I'm very happy to be able to return like this to the country where my mother was born and raised.
-Oh, was your mother Korean, Jinho? This is the first I'm hearing of this.
-Yes, she is Korean, which is why my last name is my mother's.
-So you held both Norwegian and Korean citizenship.
-That's right. Then, when I turned 21, I had a talk with my parents about my future citizenship. I found myself really missing and feeling fondly about the time I lived in Korea as a child. I also heard that my maternal grandmother and grandfather, who raised me when I was young, missed me very much, so I decided to give up my Norwegian citizenship and come to Korea.
-So, after this interview, are you heading straight to your grandmother's house?
-Yes, that's right. My grandmother said she'd make me braised chicken, so I'm really looking forward to it! My grandmother's braised chicken is really delicious. I plan to stay there for a while to adjust to life in Korea.
-Now that you say that, it's hard to keep you here for much longer. Should we wrap it up here?
-Yes. Uhm, it's a bit embarrassing to talk about myself in front of everyone like this, but I'm also very happy. In my mother's homeland, in the place where my beloved family lives, and in my country, I will do what I can and live diligently.
It's hard enough to say anything bad to an S-Class esper, but it was even harder when that S-Class was handsome and pretty and had a touching family story. On top of that, a story quietly and secretly circulated in online communities that he had suffered severe racial discrimination from other S-Class espers in Europe, silencing anyone who might have spoken negatively about his move to Korea.
“They have such good impressions and favorable reputations, so they probably won't just punch me if I suddenly show up and say, ‘Let me hold your hand for guiding!’... right?”
Technically, the fact that Wonwoo, an ordinary university student, was to meet S-Class espers was a problem in itself, but he decided to overlook it for now. He figured the system would sort it out somehow once it was restored, so he decided to think about the minor problems later.
***
In reality, there was a different reason why Jinho, who had only lived in Korea for three or four years, decided to give up his Norwegian citizenship and return.
[<Revealation> that can change your destiny 180 degrees!]
Hello, this is the ‘System Guide’.
Do you have many worries in your life?
Are you worried about how long you have to struggle and toil in this harsh world??
The darn Gates that never end, no matter how many you eliminate.
The monsters you've seen so often they almost feel familiar and welcoming.
And the exhaustion of dealing with the high-and-mighty lord~s who think espers are just their tools!
Aren't you curious when all these things that tire and trouble you will finally end?
The key to solving all of this is right here?!
Right here, right now~!!! Please apply for a consultation right away.
-Consultation Information-
TotoTalk (Messenger) : @Gui_de_Sys_tem
Consultation Hours : 09:00~18:00(KST)
*Leaking this messenger ID is prohibited.]
A strange text message arrived from a phone number his grandmother had given him, telling him he absolutely had to get his fortune told, as it was from a place in the neighborhood rumored to be so good it could control fate.
Jinho reread the message carefully, feeling a strange sense of unease. He would have thrown it in the trash immediately if it hadn't come from a number he had already saved.
“System… Guide?”
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