Chapter 1
‘Ah… in the end, it comes to this…’
Seoyul blinked, feeling his body growing heavier by the moment.
It had been 10 years since he started making illegal Guiding drugs to pay off the gambling debts his father had left behind. For seven of those years, he had been practically imprisoned, forced to manufacture Guiding drugs.
He had harbored a lot of resentment once, but now he had come to terms with it since his father was dead and gone. He thought that once the debt was paid, he could finally obtain the freedom he had longed for.
During his childhood, it was his father’s violence; after growing up, it was his father’s debt—he had never once lived his own life.
‘Seoyul. You must be happy.’
Those were the last words his mother left him, who never lost her smile despite everything.
Seoyul believed those words had kept him going until now. He wanted to fulfill the final wish of his mother, who had passed away after a life of nothing but hardship.
‘I thought I didn’t have much left…’
He thought the end was in sight, but what a foolish thought it had been. To think a C-grade like him could deliver that much product and still be okay…
Why did he think he’d be fine? Because the organization members said so? Because he thought he would be different?
Those foolish days of the past now seemed pathetic and regrettable.
‘Am I really… going to die like this?’
Through his increasingly blurry vision, a musty smell rose. He was meeting his end in a dark, decaying room.
Would it have been better if it had been in that small room where he lived with his mother?
‘No.’
It wouldn’t have been. This was the result of a wrong choice from the beginning.
‘If I was going to die like this…’
Yes. Seven years ago.
Back when he had more freedom than now.
The day he bitterly regretted not taking that hand, which might have been his last hope.
‘If only I hadn’t been afraid and had taken it…’
With only regrets remaining, Seoyul slowly closed his eyes.
* * *
Korean Ability Management Association.
This was the name of the official government agency that oversaw and managed the Espers and Guides classified as ability users.
Espers and Guides could only be affiliated with either a Guild or an Association after going through this place.
Of course, the higher their grade, the more they preferred Guilds, and the lower, the more they preferred Associations. Therefore, most ability users affiliated with the Association prioritized stability over high grades.
But exceptions existed everywhere.
The Association also had S-grade Espers. The only issue was that he was the most troublesome person across all centers.
“Cha Dowoon!!”
Today, too, the voice of Seoul Branch Center Director Cha Munjin shook the building without fail.
“How long has it been since I called you, and you’re only crawling in now?! Are you being arrogant because you’re the only S-grade in the Association, or what?!”
He was well aware of Dowoon’s chronic Guiding deficiency side effects, but seeing that nonchalant expression as if it were someone else’s problem made his blood boil.
Especially since Dowoon clearly knew why he was being summoned but still acted this way.
“Don’t you know why I called you?!”
“I know. That’s why I came.”
Dowoon trudged over and buried himself in the sofa. His face naturally crumpled as the headache and tinnitus that had been plaguing him for a long time intensified again.
He thought he should have gotten used to it by now, but it was only growing stronger, and the headaches had become a serious condition.
‘Not much time left, I guess.’
Well. He had endured quite a lot, considering he had a body that had never properly received Guiding.
It had been 17 years since he awakened as an S-grade at the age of nine. The only reason he had been able to endure this long was because Cha Munjin had cherished and cared for him like a son.
“Haah… I’m aging because of you, aging.”
“That’s what sons do to their fathers.”
“Maybe I should disown you right now.”
Munjin clicked his tongue, saying words he didn’t mean. Dowoon, who had lost his parents at a young age and awakened as an S-grade Esper, was someone who concerned him both then and now.
Losing both parents at once must have been shocking enough, but awakening as an S-grade had changed his world once more.
The child, with empty eyes, unable to collect himself, had to endure the spotlight from all directions.
That was because an S-grade awakened person was such an important matter.
“Disown me or not, do whatever you want. Just tell me what you need quickly.”
Dowoon spoke as if annoyed, pressing his temples firmly. This gave him the illusion that the pain was slightly relieved.
“What? Does your head hurt again? What happened to the Guiding drug I gave you earlier?”
“Don’t know. Didn’t even register in my system, so I didn’t take it.”
“Hey, you punk. You still should have taken it!”
Munjin shouted in anger.
“If Guiding doesn’t work, you should at least take the medicine! What do you mean you didn’t take it at all because it has no effect?!”
“Ah, do you think my stomach is infinite? I have limits to what I can eat too.”
“You said you didn’t take it at all, you punk!”
“…”
At Munjin’s nagging, Dowoon quietly turned his head. He knew the older man was speaking like this for his sake.
Even with a body that didn’t respond to Guiding, shouldn’t he take medicine to get at least a little better?
Fortunately, the medicine showed some effect, which was why Munjin was making such a fuss.
‘Honestly, isn’t only that one drug effective?’
Guiding drugs were typically made by Guides who regularly visited the Association. That’s why all Guiding drugs had the Guide’s number inscribed on them, and their effects varied widely.
The problem was that the drug’s effect was too minimal. No, it was almost non-existent.
Guides frequently fainted due to Dowoon’s violent energy, and the drugs were ineffective on their own.
‘They might as well be telling me to die.’
What was the point of being one of the country’s few S-grade Espers? Without proper Guiding, he was useless.
“Haah. Here, take it.”
Munjin sighed deeply and tossed a transparent bottle. Seeing that it had no number written on it, it was a Guiding drug being illegally distributed.
“Oh. You got it?”
“Yeah, you punk!”
“I wonder if it’s okay for a Center Director to handle such illegal drugs.”
Despite his words, Dowoon quickly opened the cap and downed the contents. As the liquid traveled down his esophagus, the Guide’s energy began to spread throughout his body.
“Haah…”
His violent energies began to stabilize slightly, and both the tinnitus and headache seemed to calm down a bit.
But it was so minimal that there wasn’t much of a difference. At best, this effect would only be classified as C-grade. It was a ridiculously inadequate performance for someone of S-grade like him, but this was the only one that showed any effect.
In other words, this illegally distributed drug was Dowoon’s true lifeline.
“This case is big. Seems like they’re holding quite a few kids.”
Munjin tossed him a chip containing information as he spoke.
“The operation details are in there, so quickly familiarize yourself. Since the organization is large, there are many people, so make sure not a single one escapes.”
“Especially the Guides, right?”
“…Yes. Especially the Guides.”
In a normal situation, they should be targeting the organization members who forced the illegal manufacture and distribution of Guiding drugs. But that applied to other teams.
Currently, the only case for which Dowoon was dispatched was one thing: raiding illegal Guiding trade centers and rescuing Guides.
Among these tasks, Dowoon was assigned the role of rescuing Guides. As he said, every single one without exception.
“Why is the only drug that works properly in the illegal distribution channel?!”
Munjin pounded his chest as if bursting with frustration.
“It’s something at least that it exists.”
“There you go again with your easy talk. This time, really pray there’s an owner. You’re in real danger now.”
“I know.”
Despite his words, Dowoon wasn’t particularly afraid of death. With life being so hard and painful, what was so scary about dying?
Even while conversing so calmly, his body, which had not received Guiding for a long time, was screaming in various places.
He was just enduring it well, and pretending it was nothing because there were others who would suffer more than him if he showed it.
‘If it weren’t for Cha Munjin, I probably would have died long ago.’
He was twenty-nine when he met Dowoon, adopted him as his son, and began raising him as his own child. At an age not much different from Dowoon now, he took in an S-grade child with selective mutism.
And how devoted he had been.
He was always grateful, but perhaps because he had grown too old, expressing his feelings had become quite difficult.
“Yeah. I need to get better quickly so your hair won’t fall out as much, old man.”
Dowoon raised the corner of his mouth mischievously. In response, Munjin, as always, flared up and shouted.
“Hey, kid! Why is my hair coming up in conversation here?!”
“I heard your hair falling out is because of me? What if you go bald? You haven’t even gotten married yet.”
“Hey! It’s not that bad yet?! And I’ll get married well even if you tell me not to!”
Currently worried about hair loss, he shouted vehemently. Confirming this, Dowoon opened his mouth with a faint smile.
“As a son, I can’t let my father go bald. I’ll be back.”
As he waved his hand lazily and left the room, Munjin immediately shouted with a reddened face.
“This time, make sure to find your Guide!! Got it?!! Do you understand?!”
As if that’s as easy as he says.
Dowoon just shook his head, thinking that the older man’s nagging only increased with age.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
