Prologue
Hero.
Jihwan always wrote that in the box where he was supposed to fill in his future dream. Ever since he encountered animations featuring heroes and villains as a child, becoming a hero had always been his dream. To young Jihwan’s eyes, heroes who saved people looked cooler than anything else in the world.
In elementary school, every teacher patted Jihwan with a pleased expression. “Yes, Jihwan can become a hero!”
His middle school homeroom teacher looked at Jihwan once with a slightly disgruntled expression, then at the future career section once, and nodded. “Just get your parents’ signature.”
His high school homeroom teacher looked at Jihwan, sighed, and submitted a modified career aspiration form. “Center civil servant applicant.” It was a place where people who hadn’t manifested as espers or guides typically applied, seeking stable employment.
After confirming the career goal listed in his student record, Jihwan went to find his homeroom teacher.
“That’s not right.”
At his sudden denial, the teacher asked with an expression of disbelief, “What’s not right, kid?”
“I’m not applying to be a civil servant. I want to be a hero. That’s my future dream.”
In response to Jihwan’s words, the teacher asked, “Have you manifested?” He also said that there was no possibility of manifesting after turning 18, and that Jihwan should give up on becoming an esper.
The teacher looked at Jihwan like he was an immature kid.
“College. Aren’t you going?”
The teacher asked. It was a question Jihwan had heard from his parents too. “You should at least finish college. Are there heroes without college degrees? Watch the movies. Heroes are all smart.” Jihwan thought that statement was strange.
“The heroes I’ve seen just go around saving people, so I don’t know if they went to college.” Before he could finish speaking, Jihwan received a hard smack on the back of his head. “Be quiet, you troublemaker!”
“Then let’s try applying for police or firefighter civil service.” The teacher offered Jihwan a major that was at least ‘close’ to being a hero as a last resort. Jihwan nodded, and his parents sighed in relief while smoothing down their chests.
On the long-awaited day of the college entrance exam, Jihwan was running with his bag. At this rate, he thought he could barely make it to the exam hall in time.
Even though he was out of breath, Jihwan kept running until he suddenly stopped his body.
A small child was toddling into the middle of the road. He quickly looked around, but there was no one who appeared to be the child’s parent.
No one was willing to rashly run onto the road. The road was six lanes wide. Most cars were traveling at speeds that seemed to easily exceed 80km per hour.
The sounds of honking horns and emergency brakes could be heard.
Throwing his bag aside, Jihwan leaped onto the road. Strangely, his legs felt light and his body was quick. For a moment, Jihwan felt like his body was floating.
A car that had slammed on its brakes was approaching the child with a roaring sound. Jihwan quickly snatched up the child and—
He flew.
Struggling in surprise at his body suspended in midair, Jihwan tightly embraced the child to avoid dropping them. Then he began to run, pushing his feet against the empty air. This allowed him to move in the direction he wanted.
Despite it being his first flight, Jihwan knew what to do. The wind brushing against his cheeks felt distinct. At that moment, Jihwan felt as if he had been accustomed to taking flight from a very long time ago. In the air, Jihwan was free.
After returning to the roadside, a woman rushed to Jihwan’s side. I saved someone. Jihwan couldn’t believe it. His heart was beating fiercely with joy.
“Thank you…”
The woman bowed her head deeply toward Jihwan. Jihwan bowed back. At that moment, something abruptly surged up from Jihwan’s mouth. Red blood poured onto the ground. Jihwan’s body trembled.
Huh? Why am I like this?
The woman, with a contorted face, snatched the child from Jihwan’s arms. Her touch was somewhat urgent. Jihwan thought he heard her say sorry.
He heard the sound of people running, and then they gradually faded away. “What’s happening?” Jihwan tried to ask, but his body collapsed sideways.
***
“S-class. A very rare rank. Congratulations.”
The guide’s attitude was quite calm and stiff for someone offering congratulations. But such minor details couldn’t dampen Jihwan’s joy.
Jihwan was trying hard to contain his excitement. He closed his eyes and opened them again, only to be congratulated for becoming an esper. And not just any esper—he was S-class.
Jihwan secretly pinched his cheek. It hurt. Tears of joy welled up in Jihwan’s eyes.
Jihwan received a blue jumpsuit. It was the symbol and uniform of the Hero Center that occasionally appeared in newspaper articles.
Shortly after, Jihwan received a small card with his name on it. It had a structure similar to an ID card. It even had a registration number.
“This is your newly issued identification.”
Jihwan quietly examined his new ID. The words “Esper Registration Card” were embossed at the top. Finally. Jihwan murmured to himself, savoring the joyful feeling.
It was just as he was about to leave the headquarters building to go to the assigned trainee dormitory. A siren began to blare with an enormously loud sound. Red lights were also flashing in the first-floor corridor.
Is there a fire? Jihwan momentarily panicked and shrank back.
“Hello.”
At that moment, a casual voice was heard from somewhere. “Hello” in this situation? Jihwan looked around and discovered someone standing diagonally in front of him.
The man wearing a white t-shirt and jeans had a black hat pulled down low. His back was turned, so his face wasn’t visible, but Jihwan could see the phone held to his ear.
“Turn off the alarm. I’ll just go.”
A calm voice that didn’t match the loud alarm and red lights. The man seemed very accustomed to this kind of situation.
Not long after the man finished speaking, the alarm was deactivated. The loud alarm sound disappeared, and the lighting returned to its original white. It was as if nothing had happened.
Wow. Jihwan covered his mouth. For some reason, he felt like he shouldn’t be discovered here.
The man walked out of the headquarters building with leisurely steps. Someone flew toward him at high speed, and the man took off with them.
Even after the man disappeared, Jihwan stood blankly in the lobby for a long time.
“I’ll just go.”
Those words kept coming back to him. The man must have had confidence that if he went, the situation would be resolved. That person seemed like a very capable individual. A person overflowing with composure.
Cool. Jihwan thought. He hoped that he too would soon become like that.
It would be nice to meet him someday. Even better if they could work together, right? With an excited heart, Jihwan imagined his own success as an official esper. He felt like he could do anything.
As time passed, Jihwan learned that what he thought was a fire alarm that day was actually a dispatch order alarm. As he became accustomed to hearing the alarms, he completely forgot about the person wearing the hat.
And so Jihwan became a hero.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
