What angered Yonghyun about the Director was simply… his attitude of already treating Wonwoo like his subordinate.
The number of high-rank espers who had grown tired of the Director's arrogant attitude of treating people like consumables and left the Bureau to join private guilds exceeded the fingers on both hands.
The espers who remained in the Bureau were barely holding on with a sense of duty and obligation.
'Well, if Chief Shin still doesn't want to, I'll just have to call someone else….'
'No, sir. I will take responsibility and proceed with the raiding with the guide.'
Overturning things would come later; for now, Yonghyun had no choice but to accept the Director's proposal.
He knew that even if he refused here, the Director, who hated troublesome things more than anyone, might do something rash in a fit of anger. The Director could kidnap Wonwoo and push him into the gate without any safety measures. There were countless bad things he could do.
This was a man who, not content with his bloated ego, acted so recklessly even in front of an S-rank esper like himself, trusting in his own power. There was no way such a person would treat Wonwoo, a civilian with no connections to the Bureau, with caution or courtesy.
He had to prevent a situation where Wonwoo was kidnapped by someone under the Director's orders, which had led to the current circumstances.
"So, there is something I would like to propose to you, Wonwoo-ssi."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Would you be willing to participate in the raiding of the Anyang Gate?"
'What is this situation where a pumpkin is rolling into my lap with the vine attached?' Wonwoo blinked his large eyes twice.
"Gasp. M-m-m… me?"
"Actually, yesterday and today, I was planning to invite you to the Bureau and officially… recognize you as an ability user. But the situation has become complicated one way or another."
Wonwoo didn't know how to respond to Yonghyun's sudden words and glanced at him, his eyes darting around.
Yonghyun's face looked more serious than ever, and his gaze felt firm. There was no hint of playfulness or frivolity, and a strange sense of trust arose, making him feel like he could believe anything he said.
'Did he not just offer me a job at the Bureau, but also want to give me an official position?'
A sense of pressure was felt, but at the same time, a sense of anticipation began to bloom in Wonwoo's heart, thinking, 'Was I that helpful yesterday for the Chief to go this far?'
So, Wonwoo decided to listen quietly to Yonghyun's words without questioning them first.
"The official position… I wanted to create one for you by naming your guiding as a 'buff-type ability'. So, like a buff-type esper."
"An esper? Buff-type?"
"Yes. Buff-type espers are active in various places, supporting from the rear rather than fighting on the front lines. I thought it would be good if you were active in that way, Wonwoo-ssi."
"Rear… support."
"I am mainly in charge of the front lines. I think it would be great if I stood at the front, and you… assisted me from behind with your guiding."
'In game terms, would that be a healer class or a supporter?' Wonwoo recalled a mobile RPG game he used to play diligently.
"Your appearance yesterday, I mean. I may have judged hastily, but… I felt that you were also active and sincere in solving the gate problem."
"Yes. Uh. Th-that's right."
Wonwoo recalled the moment of world destruction that the system had shown him. In fact, he had forgotten about it because he was distracted by the new system with its favorability and hearts, but last night, for a very brief moment, he had wondered if it would be okay for him to step up and raid the gates.
'Is it okay for someone like me to say in front of the Chief that I am also willing to actively solve the gate problem?'
-Bbirong bbirong!
As if to be heard by Wonwoo, who was troubled, the system made a sound. With that sound, and with Yonghyun's following words, Wonwoo recalled a message the system had sent him.
[User ‘Wonwoo’ is not alone.]
[There are espers who will be with ‘Wonwoo’!]
"That is why I want to be with you, Wonwoo-ssi. With your guiding… I want to get stronger and fight."
Yonghyun was right. Yes, his role was not to fight alone on the front lines. The very premise of his worry, 'Can I handle a monster like that?' was wrong in the first place.
He was a guide. The only existence that could strengthen the abilities of espers and erase the side effects they possessed.
A guide cannot stand alone in front of a gate. But with espers, with Yonghyun and Jinho… and with other S-rank espers.
'Yes, if I work hard on guiding from the back there. If I become a person who is helpful to the espers who solve the gates… wouldn't that be okay?'
If other espers besides Jinho and Yonghyun were not favorable to him, wouldn't joining the Bureau in a fit of anger solve the problem?
Wonwoo came to an answer to the worries that had been tormenting him since last night, or perhaps since he became a guide. And then he nodded his head.
"Yes. I will also participate in this gate raiding. And if it's okay… I want to continue doing it."
At Wonwoo's words, Yonghyun's expression, which had been stiff with tension, relaxed and he showed a slight smile.
"I am happy to hear you say that. Then, we will proceed with a simple briefing before the gate raiding."
"Is there anything I should be careful about? The gate… I saw it yesterday, but it's almost my first time."
"Your demeanor yesterday and the fact that you responded calmly were good. I don't think there's much you need to be careful about. Of course, suddenly jumping at me was a dangerous thing to do."
"Th-that was…."
'There are circumstances that only a guide would understand….' When Wonwoo spoke in a very small voice out of embarrassment, Yonghyun nodded as if he understood.
"I will summarize the training that espers receive when they first go out for a raiding. For your reference, Assistant Manager Lee Mihee here is a buff-type esper. She will be of great help to you in this raiding, Wonwoo-ssi."
"I look forward to working with you, Guide-nim."
"Ah, yes. I look forward to working with you too. Then, I'll… explain more about guiding in detail."
While Yonghyun, Mihee, and Wonwoo were talking, the van carrying them began to speed up a little more.
***
"Aigoo, the timing is really shitty, isn't it?"
"I know, right. A B-rank gate appearing right after the AA-rank gate yesterday…."
"Any dispatch requests?"
"None. It's not an A-rank, and we didn't respond to the dispatch request yesterday, did we? Wouldn't it be a little strange if a request came in, Team Leader Gae Hyeonil."
"Jihyuk-ah. Didn't we end the 'Gae' surname thing yesterday?"
"That was Gae-gae's story, today it's Gae."
"…Alright. If Jihyuk says so. Right. My grandfather would be a little sad if he heard, but well."
Ignoring Jihyuk who was muttering, 'Aigoo, how did I end up with a boss like that,' Hyeonil stroked his chin and pondered. Whether it was better to stick to the plan of visiting the Bureau, or to cancel it and raid the gate.
The Bureau was already sharpening its knives because he had gone off the grid.
He had read gate energy from a strange invitation, and that's why he said he would visit the Bureau, but the Bureau seemed to be planning to use this meeting as an opportunity to re-examine the contract between Black Star and the Bureau. More than anything, they would bring up the fact that they couldn't respond to the dispatch request for the AA-rank gate right away.
'But Chief Shin Yonghyun will go to the gate. There's a high probability he won't come to the meeting. Then there's no need to… have a meeting.'
But since he had done something wrong, it was a situation where he couldn't just be stubborn. While Hyeonil was pondering, the smartwatch on his wrist vibrated. As soon as Hyeonil's gaze fell on it, the screen of the smartwatch began to flash repeatedly, as if typing in Morse code.
"Cancel the meeting schedule."
"…What? Suddenly?"
"Chief Shin Yonghyun is going to raid the gate anyway, right? Then the meeting is off."
"What are you talking about? Even if the Chief doesn't show up, someone else might. And the Bureau hasn't said anything."
"But, well… I wanted to go to the Bureau to see Chief Shin in the first place. If Chief Shin Yonghyun doesn't show up, then what's the point?"
"Team Leader-nim, if we keep doing this, we'll really lose face with the Bureau, you know? I don't want to write a tearful apology for two days in a row. If we cancel the meeting schedule that we requested first like this…!"
"Don't worry, I'll let you write a cooperation letter instead of an apology."
"What cooperation letter?"
"The Black Star Guild will raid this gate, without receiving a dispatch fee. Me, personally."
"…You, personally, Team Leader-nim?"
"Yeah. Is Chief Shin Yonghyun in Anyang by now? So hurry up and write a cooperation letter and send it. If we do this, won't we save face even if we cancel the meeting?"
"Team Leader Kim Hyeonil…."
"Right, my surname is better as Kim than Gae, isn't it?"
Watching Jihyuk immediately take out his laptop and start writing the cooperation letter, Hyeonil leaned back into the car seat as if burying himself in it.
"Somehow, I have a feeling I might meet a new destiny."
"What?"
"Huh? No, no. Just talking to myself."
Hyeonil hummed a tune and looked down at the smartwatch on his wrist. The screen of the smartwatch was still flashing repeatedly.
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