#40
Why was it being so stubborn for no reason, was it just trying to sell me something? To think there was a reason like this. Seriously, how nice would it have been if it had told me sooner?
Wonwoo grumbled, conveniently forgetting how he had diligently ignored the System’s messages until now.
Then, he suddenly felt a sense of crisis, realizing he might look like a ‘suspicious guide who mutters to himself while looking at his phone’ to the three men. He swallowed dryly.
“Uhm, ex-excuse me. Where is the restroom?”
“It’s right over here. Do you see that box?”
“Yes. I see it. Then I’ll just use the restroom for a moment….”
Slipping away like that, Wonwoo entered the restroom, needlessly looking around. His real purpose wasn't to relieve himself but to have a proper conversation with the System, so he stood in front of the sink.
“Come to think of it, about Jinho-ssi’s affiliation earlier. If he’s a freelancer, doesn’t that mean he’s literally free?”
But the message the System sent had listed the Bureau and the European Union Esper Association.
“I can understand the Bureau… but now that he’s in Korea, isn’t he unrelated to that European Union Association thing?”
[It’s kind of like this. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]
[European Union Association: Jinho-ya,,, r u sleepin ,,,?]
[European Union Association: It’s nothin big,, ㅎ saw ur pfp looks like ur doin well.... so i contacted u.,, ㅎ]
[European Union Association: i was thinkin,, there’s no... Esper like u,,, ㅎ]
“Wow…. I really hate this.”
Wonwoo shuddered, feeling like he could almost hear a voice reading it out loud.
[Clingy people exist throughout all ages and places! （︶^︶）]
Then, the System sent him a link. As soon as he clicked it, he saw an internet news page summarizing the story of the European Union Esper Association being clingy towards Jinho.
[Chairman of the European Union Esper Association: “Regret Han Jinho’s sudden departure to Korea two years ago… Leaving the association and going to Korea was not agreed upon with the European Union.”
Chairman of the European Union Esper Association: “This happened due to an accumulation of many misunderstandings. I truly wish to arrange a conversation with Esper Han Jinho….”
Secretary-General of the European Council: “Deeply regret the Korean government and its national Agency for accepting Esper Han Jinho’s move to Korea without prior consultation with the European Union… It is late, but we plan to discuss the reconsideration of future cooperative relations.”]
“…This is a news article I didn’t see when I looked him up before.”
[Of course! It’s a hot-off-the-press article that came out today! ( •̀ ω •́ )✧]
“Today? It’s been a few years since Jinho-ssi came to Korea. Why are they doing this now?”
[Back then it was like, ‘Hmph, whatever, we can live well without you!’ but….]
[As luck would have it, just the other day, some high-rank Espers from Europe bolted to the US… (˘･_･˘)]
“Ah….”
Jinho-ssi must be going through a lot too….
Wonwoo briefly recalled Jinho’s bright smile as he said he believed in destiny and thought that he himself was that destiny.
‘Come to think of it, I never got to ask him what he meant by… destiny. I was too flustered at the time.’
Could Jinho’s coming to Korea have something to do with me, who he thinks is his destiny? I should ask him when I get the chance later. Wonwoo made a mental note, determined not to forget.
[Wouldn’t it be great if human relationships and social life could be neatly organized just the way you want? ╯︿╰]
“That’s true…. Hey, but you talk as if you’ve actually experienced social life?”
[Of course! I’ve had my fair share of social life, I have! ( •̀ω•́)✧]
Wonwoo dismissed the unconvincing words without giving them much thought.
“But, umm…. I get the situation, but I don’t have any power. Let’s say I start a business, a guild. But what can I, a guy who was a college student until yesterday, possibly do well? This isn’t a school club. A powerless fence is as good as nothing, isn’t it?”
The more he talked with the System, the more he thought, ‘No matter how I look at it, this is reckless.’
His combat ability was zero, and he knew almost nothing about Gates. That was only natural since until recently, he had been an ordinary person with no direct connection to them.
“What if I join the Bureau or Black Star first and then go independent later?”
But as Wonwoo said that, he recalled the image of the clingy European Union. If he were to belong somewhere and then try to become independent, he might have to change his nationality like Jinho.
Then, Wonwoo suddenly had an idea.
“If I say I’m going to create a guild… I’m not sure about Hyeonil-ssi, but the Chief and Jinho-ssi would help me, right?”
[Ding-dong-daeng-dong, that’s correct! ♪(^∇^*)]
[Let’s send cooperation requests to the Bureau, Black Star Guild, and Geonyeong Guild, and form relationships with them in various forms such as alliances or unions!]
[And user ‘Wonwoo’ has to create a guild so that I can help. ( •̀ ω •́ )✧]
“Help? What kind of help? Ah. Could it be that you can create a guild system, like the favorability system?”
In response, the System sent a series of emoticons that looked like it was nodding its head vigorously.
[You’ll become a Guide Guild and form a cooperative relationship with the S-Class Espers!]
[Let’s grow both the favorability and the guild!]
[The SYSTEM cheers on the growth of the one and only Guide in the world, ‘Wonwoo’! Aja aja~! o(*≧▽≦)o]
First a dating sim, and now a management sim too….
Feeling like he was becoming a game collector rather than a Guide, Wonwoo needlessly swiped his thumb across his phone screen.
***
After finishing his conversation with the System, Wonwoo cautiously returned to where the three men were.
Then, he suddenly threw a single sentence into their midst.
“I’m going to create a guild.”
“…Huh? A guild?”
“Yes. A guild.”
Worried he might be misunderstood as being constipated for staying in the restroom for so long (‘He was in the restroom for so long, is he constipated?’), he couldn't have a long conversation with the System, but in that short time, Wonwoo had decided on his future plan.
He felt embarrassed for having nagged and ignored the System that kept harping on about starting a business, but with the System's persuasion and the guarantee of a 'management system,' Wonwoo decided to create a guild.
“I just looked it up on the internet, and creating a guild isn’t that difficult. It seemed similar to registering a business.”
“If you create a guild, it’s better than just operating on your own, but… wouldn’t it be too unstable in terms of safety and budget?”
“The Bureau provides a lot of support for small guilds, including one-person guilds! Couldn’t I make use of that?”
These were all facts the System had told him. As soon as Wonwoo showed a favorable attitude towards creating a guild, the System, as if it had been waiting, began to send him various guides and related official documents for establishing a guild.
On top of that, when Wonwoo said, ‘When am I supposed to sit here and read all this?’, it even gave him a short summary.
“It’s a little embarrassing to say this but… if I join the Bureau, I don’t think I could work with Hyeonil-ssi, and if I join Black Star, I don’t think I could meet the Chief or Jinho-ssi… that’s how it seemed.”
Recalling the war of nerves between Yonghyun and Hyeonil, Wonwoo said this and nodded to himself.
“…That’s not true. On the contrary, if you work in the Support Departmemt or my Dispatch Department, you can freely receive cooperation from other guilds. We would absolutely not force your guiding or anything of that sort.”
“Haha. I think Wonwoo’s idea sounds good.”
Hyeonil didn’t show it, but he was currently marveling at Wonwoo’s plan. Yonghyun had said he ‘wouldn’t force him,’ and he himself had planned to say the same to Wonwoo.
But as long as one belongs to a specific group, one has no choice but to follow the will of that group.
Yonghyun might have said that out of genuine concern for Wonwoo, but it was ultimately just his own wishful thinking. If the other higher-ups at the Bureau decided otherwise, there was nothing Yonghyun could do. Wishful thinking was just that—wishful thinking.
Besides, wasn't the Bureau already working Shin Yonghyun, an S-Class Esper, to the bone, getting their money's worth out of him? There was no guarantee they wouldn’t do the same to Wonwoo.
And as for himself….
“So I should make an offer for an alliance or cooperation, not a scout offer!”
If Wonwoo were to join somewhere, it seemed more likely he would join the Bureau rather than Black Star.
Just looking at the previous Gate subjugation, Wonwoo had shown that he tried to provide guiding as fairly as possible without leaning to one side. From that, Hyeonil realized what kind of guiding Wonwoo aimed for and what his stance was.
‘Wonwoo intends to be with everyone.’
So, Hyeonil thought it would be better to support the establishment of the guild, score some points with Wonwoo, and secure a firm position in an alliance, rather than letting him go to the Bureau.
As if Hyeonil’s thoughts were correct, Wonwoo’s face lit up when he heard Hyeonil’s words.
“Then Wonwoo-hyung can just hire me!”
“Oh, that sounds… good, but I don’t have enough money to hire an S-Class Esper. Instead of employment, could we make it work as a cooperation?”
Before Wonwoo could even finish his sentence, Jinho smiled brightly and said that in that case, he could just voluntarily join Wonwoo’s guild.
Yonghyun barely managed to collect his thoughts and briefly halted the two’s future planning.
“A guild to which an S-Class Esper belongs is not considered a small-scale guild, regardless of the number of members.”
“Or we can put in a special clause so my employment fee is 0 won, hyung!”
“But then wouldn’t that collapse the standard market price for freelance Espers? Jinho, are you planning to make other Espers say, ‘I heard S-Class Esper Han Jinho gets paid 0 won…’?”
“It’s a special clause, so it’s fine!”
Yonghyun thought. If Wonwoo wasn't going to join the Bureau, he had to use the Bureau's position to the fullest to stay closest to him.
Hyeonil also thought. He would aim for the number one spot for cooperation and stay close to Wonwoo.
And Jinho, too, was praising his past self, thinking, ‘So this is the moment I’ve been working as a freelancer without joining a guild for!’
Thus, Yonghyun, Hyeonil, and Jinho, from their respective positions, began to search for the spot that would allow them to be as close to Wonwoo as possible.
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