Chapter 126
The Federal Awakened Research Institute’s hypothesis was proven true once again. While I achieved the highest grade as a Guide, my abilities as an Esper were completely lost. It meant I would no longer use the skills I had painstakingly learned through gritted teeth.
But I had no regrets. When facing the boss mob during the overdrive raid, I had poured out all my Esper energy to the very bottom until I was thoroughly exhausted and drained, leaving me with no lingering attachments.
Suddenly, a new thought occurred to me. Who would have known that although I was a Dual, instead of spending my entire life as just an ordinary C-grade Esper until retirement, my abilities as a Guide would suddenly become so prominent?
I sipped my coffee while immersed in these reflections. Come to think of it, not only had my abilities changed, but my environment had undergone considerable changes as well.
Most notably, my guiding room. When I frantically objected to being moved to Room 3-1, which belonged to Senior Hee-seon, the Guild provided me with an entirely new office instead.
The newly assigned guiding room looked at least five times larger than the one I had been using. It had a nice-looking sofa, all new office equipment, and even a sink, refrigerator, and a coffee machine like those seen in cafés on one side.
Thanks to this, I could enjoy freshly brewed coffee whenever I felt like it. Today, too, I brewed a strong cup to chase away the afternoon drowsiness and was enjoying my private tea time when I heard a notification sound from my device.
‘Oh, that startled me.’
After suffering from a flood of messages on my phone for a while, I found myself easily startled even by device notifications. When I quickly checked the screen, I was even more surprised. I saw a message from an unexpected person.
[Hello, this is Choi Young-sun from Team 6. If you have time today, could I see you briefly?]
To be honest, I felt more puzzled than pleased. We used to run into each other occasionally in the cafeteria or the fitness center, but since the day we had a conversation, I hadn’t even seen her shadow. So I wondered what this was about when she suddenly sent me a private message.
One thing I was certain of was that she hadn’t contacted me just to chat like friends. After checking the time at the top of the screen, I immediately replied.
[Yes, is 2 o’clock okay?]
[That’s fine. If you’re in your guiding room, I’ll come to you]
[Okay]
I took another sip of my coffee, which had cooled slightly, and grabbed my laptop mouse. As I was calmly reading through a dungeon strategy report that I had started perusing in the morning, a knock sounded not long after.
“It’s Choi Young-sun.”
“Please come in.”
I quickly stood up to welcome my guest. Soon the door opened, and Choi Young-sun entered the guiding room.
She didn’t seem particularly surprised, although she must have known that the indoor space was quite large for a guiding room. Rather, I was the one surprised to see her. Young-sun was already thin to begin with, but she had lost even more weight, looking so emaciated that it seemed she might be blown away by the wind.
“Please sit down. Would you like something to drink? I have green tea and coffee.”
“I’ll have green tea, please.”
After taking her order, I immediately headed toward the sink. I put an appropriate amount of dried tea leaves in the teapot, steeped them, poured the tea into a cup, and returned to my original seat.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
As Choi Young-sun carefully lifted her teacup, I also drank a little of my tea. Though tea wasn’t particularly to my taste, I had prepared some for myself too, lest she feel awkward if I only brought a cup for her.
As expected, there was a somewhat awkward atmosphere. How should I start the conversation? Should I ask about her well-being? Like a duck moving its feet vigorously beneath a calm surface, I was thinking hard about ‘how to break this awkward silence’ when Choi Young-sun spoke first.
“Thank you for making time for me.”
“It’s nothing.”
“You probably aren’t particularly curious since it’s a personal matter… but I’m leaving the Guild as of today.”
The unexpected news made me blurt out involuntarily.
“You’re leaving the Guild? So suddenly?”
It was literally such a sudden development. Choi Young-sun was an outstanding talent who had been using Room 6-1 since her employment, and I was sure she was receiving quite favorable treatment. So when she suddenly said she was leaving the Guild, I wondered what on earth was happening.
As I couldn’t even think of closing my slightly parted lips, a certain fact suddenly crossed my mind.
‘…Could it be because of Team 6’s leader?’
During the month or so while I was asleep from the overdrive, I was able to learn about the various incidents, big and small, that had occurred in the Guild. Among them, the most shocking news was that Team Leader Kim Kwang-in’s instruction to deliberately attack me had been revealed to the world, and that before that, he had sustained severe injuries losing both legs while fighting in a regular dungeon.
Coincidentally, the person who mistakenly attacked him was Song Ji-hyeok. When I first learned the truth, my initial emotion was shock, followed by anxiety. After hesitating several times, I very reluctantly asked if he had done it on purpose. Song Ji-hyeok denied it, but I was convinced as soon as I saw his expression.
…You did do it on purpose.
Honestly, the Guild must have known this as well, and I heard that Song Ji-hyeok was called to the Guild Master’s office several times because of it. But since he firmly denied it and it wasn’t easy to prove intent, he ended up receiving only a light penalty of a three-month salary reduction.
Anyway, the reason Team Leader Kim Kwang-in suddenly came to mind was that he was an extremely humane uncle to his niece. Though he might be cold-blooded otherwise, blood seemed to be different, as I’d heard he secretly protected Choi Young-sun and provided her with many conveniences.
Young-sun must have relied heavily on Team Leader Kim as well. It’s very common for siblings or relatives to belong to the same Guild, and there was a high possibility that Young-sun had joined the Sunrise Guild because her uncle was there. I couldn’t even imagine how much of a psychological shock she must have received when her uncle suffered serious injuries expected to take at least a year for rehabilitation, and rumors were rampant about him possibly leaving the Guild.
Because of this, I couldn’t bring myself to mention Team 6 leader’s name. Young-sun, just like that time before, was looking down while biting her lower lip firmly. I couldn’t say anything more and was anxiously watching her when an even greater discomfort came over me. Young-sun’s eyes gradually turned red, and eventually, they filled with tears.
Soon after, she broke down crying and buried her face in her clasped hands.
“…I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
“Please don’t cry.”
Not knowing what to do, I hastily pulled out some tissues and offered them to Young-sun. Even after receiving the tissues, she couldn’t think of wiping her tears and continued to sob, her fragile shoulders heaving.
All this time, I didn’t know what to do and foolishly repeated, “Please don’t cry.” As time passed and I sensed the sobbing gradually subsiding, I tactfully got up and prepared another cup of warm tea.
When I returned to my seat, Young-sun finally wiped her tears and showed her face. I was still restless. I could see that not only her eyes, which had always sent chilly glances, but also the tip of her nose were flushed bright red.
For several minutes, one question occupied my mind:
‘Why on earth is she pouring out tears like this in front of me?’
Thinking back, I had no memory of Young-sun harming me or treating me badly. On the contrary, I only felt grateful for her help in the regular dungeon.
Whether by coincidence or not, the same incident flowed from Young-sun’s lips as she finally resumed the conversation with trembling lips. Her two hands gripping her thighs were so pale that it seemed blood wasn’t flowing through them.
“When I provided guiding to Guide Lee Su-hyeon in the regular dungeon that time, I deliberately sent only a minimal amount of energy. I had the capacity, *sob*, I had the capacity but…”
Along with her terribly trembling voice, I could see moisture filling Young-sun’s eyes again. I pulled out tissues once more and handed them to her, trying to calm her down with the most composed and gentle voice I could manage.
“It’s okay. It’s alright, so please speak slowly.”
Fortunately, it worked. Young-sun slightly turned her head to quickly wipe away her tears, and showed signs of calming herself with deep breaths.
However, her gaze still couldn’t meet my eyes. She was also gripping the already tattered tissue as if it were a lifeline.
It was only through her subsequent words that I finally came to understand why Young-sun was so apologetic and distressed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
