“…Suddenly? Without any explanation as to why the error occurred?”
[That is… □■□■]
[Since there's something more important, shall we move on! (◔◡◔)]
“…Right, this is the kind of guy it was.”
In truth, after the system shut down, Wonwoo had wondered if this was all a dream or perhaps someone's prank.
But whenever he did, the moment of the virtual experience would flash in his mind, as if something was warning him.
The hand that had desperately reached for the sky while buried in debris before quickly falling to the ground, the suckers that had squirmed grotesquely and suffocated him, the sight of people screaming as monsters lunged at them—all of it flickered in his vision.
Dreaming of the world's destruction whenever he slept had become a part of his end-of-day routine, and he had to face himself drenched in a cold sweat every time he woke up.
Whether the system had intentionally caused the breakdown under the guise of rebooting or not, Wonwoo thought that the system he had to be with from now on was a truly relentless bastard. Moreover, he couldn't tell anyone about what he had been through.
If he were to post it on the internet, it would be flooded with mocking comments like “Fake lololol,” so he couldn't say a word and had to endure and swallow it all alone.
Time passed just like that.
There were more than one or two times when Wonwoo had thought, 'If only I had the system.' To a degree that the him who first met the system would find hard to imagine.
He hoped that a humming alarm would ring and wake him up whenever he had a nightmare depicting the apocalypse. He wished for the system’s unique emoticons to erase the cruel images of destruction that lingered in his eyes.
With the system appearing in such a situation, Wonwoo felt a sense of relief before anything else. That was why he decided to let the minor… things slide.
“Right. If there’s something important, we should do that first. Haha.”
Wonwoo laughed out loud. The laugh contained a hint of emptiness and a resignation to having to tolerate the system's suspicious behavior. Wonwoo then looked at the system’s quest message again.
[How about recreating that moment on May 8th? ( •̀ ω •́ )✧]
“May… 8th.”
Wonwoo recalled his memory that had cut off on the Line 2 subway crossing the Han River. The sudden appearance of the unexpected gate, being sucked into it, and then being revived like this.
“Are you telling me to take that subway again?”
[That is correct. On May 8th, the train user ‘Wonwoo’ took was the train bound for Sindorim. (ﾟДﾟ*)ﾉ]
“…Does the time have to be the same, too? I remember it was 1 o’clock, but I don’t remember the exact minute.”
[The user boarded the Sindorim-bound train from car 5-3 at Hongik University Station at 14:18. (ﾟДﾟ*)ﾉ]
Wonwoo got goosebumps at the specific time and location, but he decided to ignore it.
“A Gate… it’s not going to appear, right?”
[That is a part that even ‘SYSTEM’ does not know, so I cannot give you a definite answer. (T_T)]
[However, it is an important quest, so user Wonwoo’s participation is ★highly☆strongly★ recommended!]
[Don't worry! ‘SYSTEM’ will always be with the user. (●ˇ∀ˇ●)]
'I should really trust the guy who was out of commission for 120 hours,' Wonwoo thought, clicking his tongue. But sadly, Wonwoo had nothing to believe in but this system.
'If that’s the case, I have to think as positively as possible. What choice do I have?'
It would be good if a Gate didn't appear, and if a Gate did appear… espers would show up to resolve it, so he might be able to meet them.
However, Wonwoo then realized the espers he had to meet were S-Class and shook his head.
If the Gate's rank was high enough to draw out S-Class espers, he might die from being swept up in the Gate's influence before he could even meet them. Just like in that virtual apocalypse experience. And just like when he had died.
Wonwoo spat out a curse under his breath and hoped again and again that nothing would happen during that damned ‘It Was That Moment Back Then’ quest.
As if in response, the system made its humming alarm sound several times.
***
“Welcome, Jinho-nim.”
“Ah, Manager. Hello.”
Jinho smiled, his looks not losing their luster even though it was early in the morning and he had only washed his face shortly after waking up. Every time the manager saw that smile, she found it hard to erase the thought, 'Does someone with such a radiant appearance really need to go to an aesthetic clinic…'
But Jinho was a customer she couldn't afford to lose, the biggest spender at the aesthetic clinic that only catered to VIPs. The director, who was rumored to be notoriously hard to move, would personally step up to meticulously handle his treatments and reservations.
“You booked today's appointment a very long time ago. Do you have an important engagement?”
While one manager naturally took Jinho’s belongings and put them away, Jinho drank the rooibos tea prepared by another manager and nodded his head.
“Yes. It's a very, very important appointment. So I’m in your hands.”
“Then, I’ll prepare a foot bath for you before the consultation.”
“Ah, the consultation is fine. The foot bath, too.”
“Do you have something specific in mind?”
“Please do everything you can. It’s, um, a really important day for me today.”
At Jinho's carefully added words, the director almost dropped her business smile.
“As much as possible, so I can look the prettiest… the most handsome.”
May 8th. Today was the day Jinho had been waiting and waiting for.
[May 8th. At that time.]
[You will meet your destiny.]
It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had abandoned his Norwegian citizenship and come to Korea for this day; today was an incredibly precious and important day for Jinho.
When Jinho had returned to the country, the Republic of Korea was focused on which guild the S-Class esper from Europe would join. Thus, Bureau intended to create an opportunity for large guilds to publicly scout Jinho under its leadership.
But Jinho refused with a single sentence.
‘I will fulfill my duties. But other than that, I want to live quietly, doing what I want to do.’
It was a sudden declaration of being a freelancer. As an S-Class, he would take the lead in solving various Gate problems, but he had drawn the line, stating he would do nothing more.
However, for someone who declared himself a freelancer, Jinho was very active. He was the first to apply for dispatch to ‘Bureau’ to resolve high-risk Gates, and after resolving them, he would actively show his face in news and media interviews to explain the situation.
It even reached a point where people here and there speculated that he hadn't joined a guild and declared himself a freelancer simply because he was worried about adapting to Korean organizations or culture.
At that, Jinho just smiled, thinking, 'People are so interested in other people's business…'
'If I had difficulty with group life in the first place, it would be the same in Europe. Whether it's a Korean guild or a European guild, isn't it the same in the end? I'm just doing it because I want to.'
In front of a Gate, race, nationality, none of it mattered. The people who bullied and discriminated against him would have found all sorts of excuses to torment him even if he wasn't of mixed race.
'Besides, what if I rashly sign a contract, and when I finally meet my destined one, they're in a rival guild… I like Shakespeare's literature, but I hate Romeo and Juliet.'
And the reason he proactively stepped up to solve Gate problems was his own way of trying hard to become an esper who could be proud in front of the destiny he would one day meet.
Jinho pressed down on his pounding heart and chest, appealing the importance of today's appointment to the aesthetic clinic manager.
***
“Chief Shin, you look very well today. Your skin is glowing.”
Yonghyun heard the words from a subordinate in the same dispatch department and raised his hand to needlessly stroke his cheek and jaw. The smooth, elastic, and soft skin asserted its strong presence.
“Is that so? I don't feel much different from usual.”
“Come on, Chief, your skin has always been great. But how should I put it, you look brighter? Like an office worker who’s come back from a fantastic vacation? Did something good happen?”
The phrase ‘fantastic vacation’ did not exist in Yonghyun's vocabulary. Therefore, he couldn't fully relate to what the employee was saying, but he didn't feel bad about his face looking brighter. No, in fact, it felt good.
“Something good… Yes. I suppose you could say that. Maybe it’s because a day I’ve been waiting for is here?”
“A day you’ve been waiting for? Ah, now that you mention it, you have a day off tomorrow, Chief!”
[As an esper, you will be able to recognize the Guide, who can stabilize and enhance your abilities, at a single glance.]
The email that came to Yonghyun, the date shown by the Absolute Power contained in that email, was tomorrow. He didn't know what exactly May 8th signified or what he was supposed to do on that day, but based on the emails so far, Yonghyun believed it was a day related to the ‘Guide.’
The most important hint to solving the Gate problem. Yonghyun, who had defined the ‘Guide’ as such, had been dreaming and picturing it every day since the day he learned of its existence.
Not knowing what would happen on May 8th, he had pulled his schedule forward by working late for several weeks to make time to act as freely as possible on that day. And he very carefully submitted his request for annual leave.
‘Uh, the name here is written wrong. Who was it that submitted annual leave for May 8th?’
‘Huh? Whose name is written?’
‘Chief Shin Yonghyun.’
‘…No, it’s true, the Chief submitted for a day off.’
‘What?! The, the, the Chief is taking a day off? What! Is South Korea ending tomorrow?!’
‘It's the first time I've seen the Chief take a day off since I joined, but it's so sad when you put it like that!’
Regardless of whether his subordinates were whispering below, Yonghyun wrote his precious vacation day on the schedule in the main conference room.
Unless an A-rank or higher Gate appeared, or an emergency situation where more than 10 Gates occurred in one area, Yonghyun would be able to devote all his time to the "guide" that day.
Thinking that the day related to the precious existence that could solve the Gate problem was approaching, Yonghyun felt a strange excitement for the first time since joining Bureau.
On that day, when Yonghyun, the Lighthouse of Yeouido, did not show up for work.
Two A-rank Gates appeared consecutively on Yanghwa Bridge. The two Gates that appeared each grew in size, then became one large Gate.
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