Chapter 70
They called it KAMHQ, the Korean Ability Management Headquarters.
It was a place that encompassed both Espers and Guides.
It was somewhat different from what we call the Association, which is Guide-friendly, and feels a bit like a higher authority, but they do almost the same work.
But unlike the Association, they don’t actively get involved, and since they only engage in armchair discussions, both ability users and the Association dislike them, is how I should explain it.
However, being a government agency, they send text messages directly to civilians in emergencies.
But receiving an emergency evacuation message was a first for me, both before and after the regression.
They don’t send messages like this to adult ability users.
That means the situation is extremely urgent.
“Yoon Cheong, call your parents right away.”
As I told Yoon Cheong, I quickly opened my phone to call my mom.
Before I could even press the call button, Mom called me.
“Mom, are you perhaps…”
– “Soo-young! The road to your area suddenly got blocked off. They’re not letting anyone in. Are you okay? I just got a message saying not to go near that area!”
She must have been on her way from somewhere else, thankfully not caught up in the nearby commotion.
Her urgent voice actually made me feel relieved.
I quickly responded to calm her down.
“Mom, I’ll stay at school. I think our trip today won’t be possible, so I’ll go back to the dormitory with these guys.”
– “You will? Nothing’s wrong, right? Should I come pick you up when the lockdown is lifted?”
“Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine. They won’t make us do anything since we’re just students. I’ll stay safe. Mom, we’ll just hang out here, so please enjoy your trip. It’s been a while since you planned one.”
– “But we were supposed to go together. Yeohoon’s parents can’t go either.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just send me a few more pictures of Yu-min.”
Mom insisted that I shouldn’t do anything dangerous.
The Espers and Guides gathered here would probably handle the emergency Gate raid, while we’d have to stay quietly at school.
No matter how I looked at it, the trip was ruined.
If we had already left school, it might have been different, but since we were still on campus, we were under school jurisdiction.
Yoon Cheong was also on the phone, telling his parents not to come to the school.
Perhaps seeing us waiting at the school gate and then coming back into the building, the homeroom teacher of the first-year Esper class approached us.
“Kids, don’t go looking at the Gate out of curiosity.”
“We won’t!”
Unless these guys request our guild’s help because they need us, we’re not going.
The teacher smiled and said we were good kids as I shook my head firmly.
Even if a Gate appeared near the school, it was a confident statement because they basically never call on students.
However…
The world wouldn’t go as I wanted.
As soon as we entered the school, we received a contact from the guild.
“Cheong? We got a support request from the guild. You too, Yeohoon.”
“What? Just those two? Why?”
“I wonder…”
There was no point in asking the teacher. Why did everything go downhill the moment I spoke!
“They’re students! And Ji Yeohoon isn’t even in high school yet!”
“Hyung, I don’t think that matters…”
The guys had raided various Gates before, but they’d never entered a suddenly erupted Gate.
What kind of idea was it to take kids to a Gate they knew nothing about!
I got heated because it seemed like they were trying to drag them into something dangerous.
Our little ones are not available! I was about to say as I called the guild.
Usually, the guild would answer first and then connect me to the Guild Master, but this time it went straight to her.
“Why are you taking Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon to a dangerous place!”
Despite my words, the Guild Master responded as if it was nothing.
– “It’s not that dangerous of a Gate.”
“How can a suddenly appearing Gate not be dangerous!”
Gates that appear suddenly get raid requests sent to the guild that can arrive fastest.
This was because the Gate gauge could rise quickly and become dangerous.
We’d have to use our abilities immediately upon entering, so why bring students!
– “Even though it appeared suddenly, after checking the gauge, it’s a D-class Gate. We wanted to ask because Cheong and Yeohoon should start building up their Gate entry specs. We wouldn’t just drag kids in thoughtlessly.”
“I think you would, Guild Master. I think you’d drag them in because it looks fun.”
The Guild Master laughed loudly at my words and tried to appease me.
– “Don’t worry. If our Hoonie and Blue don’t want to go, we won’t take them.”
“…Hoonie is Ji Yeohoon, but what is Blue?”
You seem to think Yoon Cheong’s name means “blue” because of the Chinese character, but his name uses the character for “listen,” Guild Master.
I wanted to object more strongly, but honestly, it wasn’t my place to give permission.
Seeing the Guild Master talk like this, it probably wasn’t that dangerous.
But what bothered me about the current situation was that the guys looked like they wanted to go to the Gate.
If I told them not to go in, they certainly wouldn’t, but how could I stop them when they already wanted to go?
I looked back and forth between the two and sighed deeply.
“You’re sure it’s safe, right?”
– “Of course. Our Chan-seok and Seon-young are going too, so naturally!”
“What do you want to do?”
“I’m fine with it. I’ll go.”
“I’ll go too. The sooner we close it, the safer, right?”
As soon as I asked Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon, they answered eagerly.
They’re always so eager to enter Gates.
Of course, the inside of a Gate where they could freely use their abilities would probably feel comfortable.
Still, these guys don’t know that they’ve imprinted on me, which makes it more dangerous.
This is different from the usual Gates entered through school applications and Association or guild recruitment.
Since it’s different from normal Gates where they can detect the rising gauge value, calculate when it will open, and prepare sufficiently, I couldn’t predict what would happen inside.
Ordinary Gates haven’t had explosions since about five years after the first Gate appeared.
However, suddenly occurring Gates like this still happen from time to time.
If they can’t lower the gauge, it’s dangerous, but where are they going!
“…Fine.”
The reason I couldn’t stop them was because their abilities were definitely good for Gate raids.
Especially with Ji Yeohoon, any ability gets enhanced, so the raid time was instantly reduced.
Plus, he seemed to use his abilities more comfortably on Yoon Cheong, perhaps because they’ve been together since childhood.
So I could easily guess why the guild was calling both of them together, already knowing this.
But somehow I felt extremely uneasy.
I couldn’t tell where this anxiety was coming from, but that strange sensation from the day the guys collapsed seemed to be approaching again.
After deliberating, I added something I normally wouldn’t have said.
“But I’m going in with you.”
“Huh? You’re coming too?”
“Hyung, you don’t really like going to Gates. We can go by ourselves.”
“No. I’m going with you, so ask them to wait a little longer.”
“Are you sure?”
I wish I could think it was just premature worry, but I was too anxious.
“Is it too much for you to protect me? If so, I won’t go in.”
“Of course not.”
“Not at all.”
The two guys firmly shook their heads at my question.
Ji Yeohoon, who had been saying “It’s okay, I can do it,” whispered something to Yoon Cheong and headed outside first.
“He says he’ll be back soon.”
“Oh, really?”
Then he’ll be back soon, I thought, and took a moment to trace my memories.
I thought if such a Gate had opened when I was in high school before the regression, I would remember it immediately, but there was no memory in my mind.
It didn’t make sense to say it was because I attended a regular school.
Now the distance between school and home is quite far because we moved, but the house I lived in before moving was in the block next to the school.
Since it was in the same district, we would basically receive the same evacuation messages.
But no matter how much I tried to remember, I never received evacuation messages when I was in high school.
Is this the butterfly effect caused by me changing the future? But can Gates be affected by the butterfly effect?
“Soo-young Hyung, keep this with you.”
Ji Yeohoon, who had returned, placed something in my hand.
“What is this?”
“A gun.”
By gun, it’s not a real gun like police or military use, but a kind of energy discharge device that stores Esper abilities.
Of course, it’s a weaker weapon than the abilities used by Espers, but with this, even non-Espers can face monsters inside a Gate to some extent.
“Where did you get it?”
“I brought it when I went home last time. It’s a weapon my mom bought for my dad during their dating days.”
“…You just took it?”
“Dad doesn’t use it.”
“That’s theft, you idiot!”
“It’s okay to use it. I got permission.”
You should have said that first, you bastard.
On my hand was the gun, and a small bag of ammunition was wrapped around my waist.
Or is it a belt? It was designed so that the gun could be hung on it.
This is my first time with a gun… As I turned it around to examine it, Yoon Cheong grabbed the gun.
“It’s dangerous, so don’t point the muzzle at your head. Don’t point it at people either.”
“Oh, really?”
When I obediently lowered my hand, Yoon Cheong secured the gun to my waist.
“I was going to do that for you.”
“Too late.”
“Hyung must have stolen a march on me.”
“Stop fighting. First, gather what you need to take in.”
Because they were bickering as usual, the tension in my body eased.
As I moved to stop the two guys, they followed me casually as if they had been waiting for this.
It felt strange, as if they knew what I was feeling and had fought on purpose.
“I’ll protect you well when we go in. Don’t worry. You won’t have to use the gun.”
“Well, okay.”
“Hyung, don’t trust him, trust only me.”
“You’re talking nonsense.”
“What, why.”
No wait, are these bastards just fighting out of habit?
The guys who were growling at each other saw me walking ahead and ran up to stand on either side of me.
“Are you really confident you won’t get hurt?”
After the previous incident, I no longer made them promise not to get hurt.
I just sought confirmation from the guys.
They looked like they were telling me not to worry. Rather, they briefly held my hand with faint smiles and then let go.
“Absolutely not.”
“I won’t get hurt and will stay by your side.”
Alright, that’s fine then.
I quickly gathered my things with the guys and hurried to the Gate.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
