#38
“Hey, are you feeling a sense of crisis? Don’t rush me so much.”
-Esper Kim Hyeonil. Don't forget that you are being recorded right now.
“Heyyy. Well, can’t be helped. Shall we talk later, then?”
Hyeonil gave Wonwoo a wink. Wonwoo, surprised by Hyeonil’s sudden wink attack, unknowingly nodded and followed him.
In response to Yonghyun’s urging guidance, the three exited the gate. As soon as they came out, the gate entrance showed a bizarre distortion before popping and disappearing.
“This is why entry-type gates are so convenient.”
Jinho added an explanation in Hyeonil's stead, saying that once you kill the monster that can be called the boss, an exit is created on the spot, and when you leave the gate, it pops and the raid is complete. In such cases, there is almost no residual energy, so the follow-up processing is easy and quick, which is good.
“Everyone, you've worked hard."
In the midst of the somewhat chaotic atmosphere due to the completion of the gate raid, Yonghyun approached the three of them.
“So, I wonder if you enjoyed the live broadcast of the raid?”
“Thanks to you. The sight of Esper Han Jinho smashing the clay soldiers one by one was very neat and good.”
“Thanks to you, I also received Wonwoo’s guiding, got to throw some punches, and had an amazing raid.”
“You obtained a close-combat weapon and a lot of diamond ores. Thanks to that, our Planning and Management Department is very, very happy.”
“Haha, really? Right. When else would the Bureau get to handle big money if not for times like this. Tell them to enjoy it while it lasts.”
“That’s right, and when else would Esper Kim Hyeonil get to receive guiding if not now?”
“Huh? You talk as if Wonwoo is already part of the Bureau. Ah, right, the Bureau does have a tendency to be pushy in matters like this, don’t they?”
Sensing that a war of nerves was about to break out between the two again, Wonwoo shifted his gaze back and forth between them. Seizing the opportunity, Jinho cautiously whispered, ‘Those two are always bickering like this.’
No, is this an atmosphere that can be explained as... bickering? Besides, I think there was a subtle mention of my well-being and future residence in there.
However, unable to bring himself to say the words out loud, Wonwoo just laughed emptily.
“…Um, I have a question.”
When the atmosphere between the two escalated from a verbal fight to the point where they seemed about to grab each other by the collar, Wonwoo hurriedly intervened.
“Are monsters that have intelligence or can speak, like the one we saw earlier, common?"
In fact, Wonwoo also knew they weren't common. The monsters Wonwoo had seen so far through the news or press conferences showed no trace of intelligence whatsoever.
Hadn’t the octopus-type monster he faced just yesterday only made crying sounds like ‘Kueeeek’?
But the reason he asked this was Wonwoo’s own way of building up to something.
-Kkeuheul…. This is different from what you promised me, Stardust…!
‘This feels too much like… you know, "It turns out there was a mastermind behind it all! There’s another boss behind the boss!"’
And Yonghyun keenly picked up on Wonwoo’s build-up.
“The words the monster spoke are bothering you, I see.”
“…A little. No, no. Actually, a lot.”
Wonwoo fiddled with the phone in his pocket for no reason.
Gate raids, the world destruction, guides, Espers, the war of nerves between the Guild and the Bureau. Wonwoo’s mind was already saturated. On top of that, from the story he heard on the way to Anyang, he had a lot to think about.
‘I’m truly sorry, Guide-nim.’
‘Huh? For what?’
‘For suddenly dragging you into a gate raid like this.’
‘Manager Kim Jaesung.’
‘But Section Chief, the Guide-nim also needs to know the situation under which he is entering the gate. Surely, you weren't planning to proceed without any explanation? What would you do if a problem occurred?’
Thanks to Jaesung, Wonwoo was able to hear why he had to participate in the gate raid.
‘In short, it’s “I can’t trust you, so show me what you’ve got”… is that it?’
‘Yes. No, how could he say such harsh words in front of our Section Chief of all people…! If the Bureau can't trust the Section Chief, who can they trust?’
‘Manager Kim Jaesung. I think you’re a little excited. Calm down, relax. Relax.’
‘Assistant Manager Lee Mihee is right. Please calm down.’
‘But….’
‘And… to Wonwoo-ssi, I am once again sorry. But I will do my best to ensure there is as little harm as possible.’
‘…What is there for the Section Chief to be sorry about.’
To summarize the situation passionately explained by Jaesung and Mihee, in the end, the Headquarters Director was the bad guy.
Even though Wonwoo himself thought, ‘Wow, even I wouldn’t believe this!’, wasn't this what Yonghyun had seen and experienced firsthand? Seeing the highest-ranking and highest-positioned Esper in the Bureau being treated so poorly, Wonwoo felt the tip of his nose tingle for some reason.
Is this what it feels like to see a department senior, who was on a roll getting all A+ grades, enter graduate school and become a department teaching assistant, only to be crushed from above, below, and the sides? For some reason, the area under Yonghyun’s eyes seemed to be dark.
‘Even if I had accepted the job offer, I would have been torn to shreds at the executive interview stage….’
Still, he had resolved, ‘Alright, let’s work hard to secure my guide position!’, but with the subsequent intrusion of the Black Star Guild and the existence of Stardust, who reeked of a mastermind, Wonwoo, who already had a lot to think about, felt burdened.
“The Stardust the statue mentioned is, hmm…. to sum it up in one word, they’re that. Villains!”
“They’re a group that’s kept secret from the public, known only to the Espers who participate in gate raids. They’re people who are serious about interfering with gate raids.”
“…That’s correct. They are those who stand in opposition to the Bureau… a pro-gate group.”
“Pro-gate…?”
“Those guys are a bit crazy. ‘We can only live if the gates exist, so let’s not get rid of the gates and coexist with them!’ That’s what those bastards shout.”
“…What, are they a cult?”
“Oh, a cult. That’s a perfect expression. Then I guess the name of the religion would be Gate-ism.”
Hyeonil shrugged, and Jinho nodded.
“The general public doesn’t know. Over there, at the Bureau, they’re keeping a tight lid on it because of some issue about causing social chaos. It's a story only Espers know.”
“Keeping a lid on it? Please be careful with your expression. It is a strict vow of secrecy in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances.”
“Mmhmm, you’re good with words.”
At Hyeonil’s sarcasm, Yonghyun let out a very small sigh. Then, he met Wonwoo’s gaze and continued.
“The fact that the statue-type monster knew about Stardust is a serious matter. It means that Stardust has made contact with a monster. We will be conducting a related investigation internally.”
It could be related to the appearance of this gate, or someone from Stardust might have entered first before Hyeonil’s party entered the gate.
After mentioning that possibility, Yonghyun then looked at Hyeonil.
“Esper Kim Hyeonil. Can you finish the report on Wonwoo-ssi as quickly as possible?”
“Huh? What’s the rush? Did the raccoon dogs peck at you or something?”
“More than that… I feel that we need to officially announce Wonwoo-ssi's abilities as soon as possible.”
“That’s a good idea. I want to shout, ‘Something this good should be kept to myself!’, but it's already too late. In that case, we should make it so everyone knows, so they can’t act recklessly.”
“Me too, I’ll do it too. Wouldn’t it be a bigger help if my opinions or the situation were included along with Hyeonil-ssi’s?”
Although they bickered and fought a war of nerves over Wonwoo, the three of them had the same goal. To be with Wonwoo, the guide. To do that, it was necessary to solidify Wonwoo’s position.
“I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been this… comfortable after raiding a gate. No, it’s almost the first time.”
Jinho said softly, in a whisper, as if Hyeonil or Yonghyun shouldn't hear.
“Really? I-I did my best to guide Hyeonil-ssi, but I feel like I didn’t take good care of you, Jinho-ssi….”
Hearing Wonwoo’s words, Jinho, unlike how he had been speaking cautiously until now, quickly shook his head in denial.
“No, that’s not it. Well, of course I was a little disappointed… no, that’s not what I mean. Just being by your side gives me strength. Really.”
After saying that, Jinho then smiled brightly.
“Normally, after raiding a gate, my body would ache all over. My body would feel heavy, and it would hurt…. But right now, there’s none of that.”
Shyness gradually tinged Jinho’s words as he smiled.
“…So I want to be with Wonwoo-hyung for a long… long time.”
At Jinho’s successive confession-like words, Wonwoo swallowed hard. He was Wonwoo, who hadn’t even been able to answer the words that he was considered his destiny. After avoiding Jinho’s gaze for a long while, Wonwoo cautiously took Jinho’s hand.
“Holding hands like this makes the guiding more effective.”
He hadn't yet decided how to accept the cringey words like destiny or being together, but for now, he decided to do what he could.
“I hope you’re not in pain, Jinho-ssi. You go through all sorts of hardships to save the world, so it would be too sad if you were in pain on top of that.”
Although things are complicated with this and that, for now, let’s do what I can. Thinking that, Wonwoo put a little more strength into his grip and readjusted his hold on Jinho’s hand. The tips of Jinho’s ears and nose turned red, as if cherry blossoms had bloomed.
Hyeonil, who couldn’t just stand by and watch this, jumped in between the two, saying, ‘I want to receive guiding too!’
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