I Want To Be Your Guide – Chapter 6
[Guides in headquarters… respond… headquarters…]
A mechanical voice mixed with crackling static could be heard.
Jeongyun quickly ran to the desk where he had placed his pager. After pressing the blinking red button twice, a beep sounded and he was connected to headquarters.
“Guide Yeo Jeongyun, currently on standby at headquarters.”
[Standby personnel at headquarters…]
“I can’t hear well because of the noise.”
[Standby… terrorist… headquarters…]
“Please repeat that. I can’t hear clearly.”
[Stan… by…]
The static was severe, possibly due to jamming signals.
He tried shaking the pager and even holding it up high, but the disturbing noise only got worse rather than diminishing. Then even the intermittent voice suddenly stopped.
“…This is driving me crazy.”
Jeongyun put down the pager and took out a gun from the drawer.
He counted the loaded bullets and took the heavy gun with him. While headquarters was generally safe, he needed to be prepared for any emergency.
‘Let’s go check it out.’
In the corridor he cautiously entered, all the other Guides who were working overtime like him had also come out. Everyone was holding their pagers up high, struggling to hear headquarters’ radio transmission.
“Why isn’t this working!”
“I’ve been requesting they replace these pieces of junk for so long! They should be spending the budget on this!”
Everyone’s eyes were filled with anxiety. Though the possibility was slim, if field deployment orders were issued, the Guides on standby at headquarters would have to go out first.
Even if they were deployed to the rear, the field was completely different from the safe Guiding rooms. It was nearly impossible for a Guide to maintain composure and perform Guiding in a hellish environment where people were dying.
Moreover, even with basic firearms training, they would be facing crazed killers. No Guide would want to be in a situation where they had to entrust their safety entirely to Espers. After all, all lives held equal value.
“This piece of junk!”
The most anxious Guide eventually threw his unresponsive pager. The plastic pieces shattered against the wall and scattered across the floor.
Everyone’s gaze lingered there before quickly dispersing. Sighs could be heard from here and there. The quiet anxiety began to surge significantly.
“…No chance of going home today.”
One Guide lamented quietly. A sudden terrorist attack, broken communications, and only five Guides on standby. It was an understandably anxious situation.
There was nothing to be gained by staying together. The Guides who had been watching each other’s reactions returned to their respective Guiding rooms. In the moment Jeongyun was distracted, he found himself alone in the corridor.
The darkened corridor was eerie. Just as he was about to return to the Guiding room, the sound of someone’s labored breathing echoed in his ears.
‘Who is it?’
Jeongyun’s eyes moved rapidly. Like a scene from a horror movie, the anxiety that something was about to happen made his body stiffen.
“Ugh…!”
At that moment, a faint groan was heard from afar.
Jeongyun quickly turned toward the sound. On the far end of the corridor, which had been empty just a moment ago, a pitch-black shadow was moving strangely.
“W-who’s there?”
In response to Jeongyun’s question, the swaying shadow bumped into the wall. The loud thud that reverberated through the corridor made Jeongyun’s body shake violently.
“State your affiliation!”
It was good that he had brought the gun to prepare for any possible situation. Jeongyun took a deep breath, then drew his gun, aimed it at the shadow, and shouted loudly. But there was no response from the shadow.
‘A terrorist?’
The possibility was slim, but not impossible. It was only a few years ago when a tragedy occurred where unregistered Espers annihilated Guides waiting at headquarters while most of the registered Espers were away.
‘Stay calm.’
Following basic gun handling procedures, Jeongyun slightly lowered his waist and kept his eyes on the staggering shadow. Then, he sent a rescue request with the pager in his pocket.
A blue light blinked on the pager. Hoping the rescue request would reach someone in time, Jeongyun calmly closed one eye and aimed the gun at the shadow.
During practice, he had never trembled and had always hit the target well, but in a real situation, it was a complete mess. If he had known it would be like this, he should have practiced more.
‘…I need to focus.’
Jeongyun steadied his trembling hand, then placed his finger on the trigger without letting the shadow notice. Click, the sound echoed through the quiet corridor, and the shadow that had been leaning against the wall began to stir and move.
Jeongyun momentarily held his breath. The wavering gun barrel perfectly aligned with the shadow. Now, all he had to do was pull the trigger—
“D-don’t shoot!”
At that moment, startled by someone’s shout, Jeongyun lowered the gun toward the floor. Another person emerging from the darkness stood up, supporting the collapsed shadow.
Only then did Jeongyun fumble for the wall switch and manage to light up the corridor. The man supporting the other man who could barely stand had a choker indicating he was a government-affiliated Esper.
“Can you help me, please?”
The man asked Jeongyun for help, but the choker alone wasn’t enough to completely let down his guard. This was because there were unregistered Espers who occasionally wore chokers to deceive Guides.
“You don’t need to be wary. I’m Kim Junyoung, an Esper from the Green Team.”
Reading Jeongyun’s gaze, the man took out an Esper registration card from inside his jacket. The card, clearly printed with ‘Kim Junyoung / B-rank Defense Type,’ had the government’s official seal firmly stamped on it.
Only then did Jeongyun let down his guard and approach to help Junyoung. As he got closer, he saw that the unconscious man also had a black choker around his neck.
“I’m sorry. Could you help hold him up from that side?”
“Yes.”
As he helped Junyoung support the limp person, the face suddenly looked familiar. Jeongyun tried to calm his racing heart as he slowly looked to the side.
‘…This can’t be.’
He hadn’t recognized him at first because sweat-soaked hair was covering his face. But no matter how many times he looked again, the person struggling in agony was Domin.
The real Choi Domin whom he had seen here a few days ago.
“Why… is he here…”
“On his way home, he got caught up in a terrorist attack… He used his ability beyond his limits to protect civilians.”
If Domin had been caught in a terrorist attack as Junyoung said, and as a result had used his ability beyond his limits, he would need emergency Guiding.
Having quickly assessed the situation in his mind, Jeongyun asked Junyoung in a calm voice:
“Where is Mr. Choi Domin’s dedicated Guide?”
Junyoung shook his head. The jamming had rendered the paging function completely useless for some time now. Junyoung said in a despairing voice that requesting support would be impossible for the time being.
That meant Domin’s dedicated Guide, Saeon, couldn’t come.
“Let’s move him somewhere else first.”
The two of them first supported Domin to the nearest empty Guiding room.
After laying Domin, who was starting to lose consciousness, on the bed, they turned on the lights. Under the bright light, Domin’s condition was more serious than they had thought.
“How long has it been since he used his ability?”
“Roughly about an hour. It also took time to get here.”
The stronger an Esper’s ability, the more severely they suffered from the aftereffects. There were stabilizers, but the only thing that could completely eliminate the pain an Esper received as the price for using their ability was Guiding.
“Domin especially suffers more aftereffects than other Espers, so he must be in a lot of pain…”
As Junyoung said, Domin was already at his limit. If he continued to be left without Guiding, he might go berserk or his brain could be damaged from the pain.
“This isn’t good…”
Jeongyun cautiously reached out his hand. His hesitant fingertips finally touched Domin after a long moment. His hand trembled as he removed the hair stuck to Domin’s forehead, which was wet with cold sweat.
Responding to the Guiding that occurred with the slight contact, Domin instinctively leaned his head toward the touch. Startled, Jeongyun quickly withdrew his hand.
“Why the hell won’t this damn thing work!”
Junyoung was still holding the unresponsive pager. If time continued to be wasted like this, Domin would be in danger.
‘Perhaps, this is the moment.’
He couldn’t just stand by and watch Domin suffer. Just as Domin had saved him in the past, now it was his turn to save Domin. The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
Jeongyun turned his back on the suffering Domin and took a deep breath for a moment. Steadying his trembling voice, he asked Junyoung, who was still shaking the pager, as calmly as possible:
“Would it be alright if I performed emergency Guiding?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
