Though he’d suppressed the unique energy signature of an Esper to blend in as a civilian, he couldn’t fool my eyes.
So this is the guy whose energy I felt back at the company.
Posing as a manager, huh? No question—he was from the government, sent to keep tabs on me.
Perfect.
I smiled and greeted him with a warm face.
“Nice to meet you, Manager. I’m Yeon Yu-jin.”
“Ah… I’ve heard a lot about you. Especially from Manager Hyun-soo—he said you’re someone to be extra careful around…”
“Hey! What the hell are you saying?!”
“Ha ha, just kidding.”
“D-Don’t misunderstand him, Yu-jin…”
“I won’t.”
There’s no way clueless Hyun-soo’s connected to the government.
Most likely, this guy was handpicked as our new manager by the company.
Is it because I opened Ahn Ga-hyun’s vault? Or… because I ran into Hyun Je-ha?
As Hyun-soo and Lee Ha-ram bickered like old friends, I quietly sorted my thoughts.
Despite his friendly appearance, Lee Ha-ram was absolutely an Esper sent to monitor me.
I can feel it—there’s a distinct energy flow that only Espers possess.
It was completely different from the four members’ temperamental auras. He was clearly trying to suppress it, but the raw, restless power bubbling just beneath the surface… there’s no way I wouldn’t notice.
Tch. I was secretly hoping Hyun Je-ha would show up again.
But it didn’t seem like he would.
I had no way to contact him, no way to summon him. All I could do was hope he’d come back. But he didn’t.
Then again, it’s not like it’d be hard to investigate and find out I have nothing to do with Ahn Ga-hyun…
Why would he bother following me after that?
That thought left a hollow ache in my chest.
“I’m gonna get some sleep before we arrive.”
“Sure.”
As I turned away from reality, a comfortable darkness swept in.
Why the hell did I end up possessing someone I didn’t even know?
Was the real Yeon Yu-jin already dead? And if so, what pushed him to the point of throwing his life away like that?
The endless questions swirling in my head began to lull me to sleep.
Just as I was drifting off, someone reached out and draped a blanket over me.
“…So you’ve changed your mind?”
That voice—it was Ra Ho-yeon.
“Maybe… I really did see it wrong, like the manager said.”
You mean the time you thought I was cutting myself with a boxcutter?
Idiot. I’ve told you a dozen times I don’t do that shit. How many times do I have to say it before you get it?
Still… among the four, Ra Ho-yeon seemed to be the most reasonable one.
Not that it makes much of a difference.
Half-asleep, I mumbled under my breath.
“You just… worry about yourself.”
“……”
“Just… don’t end up regretting it later.”
Even if they hated their Guide.
The Yeon Yu-jin who used to guide these guys had vanished without a trace.
And without even realizing that, they’d kept acting like assholes—who were they to say who should be nicer to who?
These Espers, and me… we were all equally pathetic.
I could feel Ra Ho-yeon freeze slightly at my words, but I didn’t care anymore.
Sleep took me soon after.
***
“We’ve arrived.”
As we neared the dungeon gate, nearly cleared already, I spotted our snack truck up ahead.
[Courtesy of Secreti! Good luck to all Espers and Guides on your raid!]
The colorful banner draped over the truck was impossible to miss.
Ugh.
I’d braced myself for it, but I still couldn’t get used to this kind of scene.
The way people idolize Espers and Guides now… and the fact that this whole “cheering squad” culture even exists. It’s surreal.
Back in my day, there was no such thing.
Looking around, I noticed other food trucks parked nearby as well. One banner read:
[Celebrating Top Esper Jin Eutteum’s Nth Dungeon Raid—From the Overflow Guild!]
[A gift from Jin Eutteum Esper’s fan club, Number One.]
Fan… gift…?
Their setup looked way more like an idol event than ours.
Since when do Espers have fan clubs and receive tributes like this?
Was Jin Eutteum that powerful?
Staring in disbelief, I caught the gaze of a woman standing in front of the Number One truck. She smiled shyly and asked:
“Oh—are you a fan of Jin Eutteum too?”
Blushing and clearly thrilled, she looked like a hardcore fangirl of this Jin Eutteum guy.
As much as I hate to admit it… I’m kind of jealous.
New-gen Espers, born in a better era, had become beloved symbols of hope—icons for civilians. Meanwhile, some of us died like dogs in forgotten dungeon breaks.
Espers born in the right time… got worshipped instead.
It made me sick. If the thousands of ability users who died—myself included—had been born in this era, we might’ve lived and thrived.
“…No, I’m not a fan. I’m Yeon Yu-jin, from the idol group Secreti. We’re here to hand out snacks and cheer on the ability users raiding the dungeon.”
The moment I spoke honestly about why we were here, the woman’s expression did a complete 180.
“Wait… you’re that Yeon Yu-jin?”
“The Yeon Yu-jin from Secreti?”
“What’s he even doing here? The nerve to show his face…”
“Didn’t he pull some kind of suicide stunt recently?”
“He looks fine to me. Wasn’t it just a car accident?”
“Isn’t he just here to leech off Jin Eutteum’s fame?”
“Totally. He is.”
The murmurs around me grew louder. I was stunned.
Just hearing the name “Yeon Yu-jin” flipped their reactions that fast…
Maybe I could understand why the Secreti Espers hated me so much.
Having someone with such a bad reputation in the group… yeah, no wonder we’re called flops.
Still, being glared at by people I’d never even met—it stung a little. And since they were civilians, I couldn’t exactly blow up at them.
If they were Espers or Guides, I could at least beat the crap out of them…
Or maybe not. That kind of thing was probably off-limits now. Remembering my promise to the CEO, I bowed deeply to the woman.
“I’m not sure what misunderstanding you have, but my group and I are here today solely to support the ability users working hard in this dungeon raid.”
Sure, maybe we’re hoping for some positive press out of it…
That’s likely why the CEO set this up in the first place. The media was here too—journalists with cameras stood by, waiting.
She must’ve thought it was time to get our faces out there again, even through volunteer work. So fine. I’d play along.
I kept my tone polite and composed.
“I know my public image isn’t great. But I hope you won’t misinterpret the intentions of my team and I—we’re trying to move forward and continue our activities with a new mindset.”
When someone with a rock-bottom reputation starts acting even a little decent, the reversal effect can be huge.
Right now, what I needed was sincerity. Or at least the illusion of it. Even if I didn’t mean a single word, I had to make them believe—“I’ve changed!”
This wasn’t because I was flat broke and couldn’t afford to pay the breach of contract penalty. Absolutely not.
“A-Ah… I mean…”
The Jin Eutteum fangirl fumbled for words, caught off guard by my unexpected response. The others, who’d been trashing me behind her, also went quiet and awkward.
“We’re just here to support the ability users like everyone else. Let’s work together to make this event a success.”
Would a “Fighting!” pose be too much?
I wanted to ask Potato, but it was still asleep. Screw it—I decided to go with my gut. The CEO said to give it my all, after all.
“Let’s all do our best today!”
I gave the cheesiest fighting pose I could and made a quick escape toward our snack truck.
“…What the hell was that?”
I heard someone mutter blankly behind me as I left.
Yeah… that fighting pose was probably overkill.
I scratched the back of my head, regretting the corny move, only to find the four Secreti Espers staring daggers at me.
“What are you looking at?”
“…What’s with you? Since when do you know how to handle a situation without blowing up?”
It was Shin Tae-boem who spoke, eyes wide in disbelief. I replied flatly.
“I just responded… rationally.”
“No, see, the problem is—you’ve never responded rationally before.”
“I almost died. Figured it was time for a mindset shift.”
“…Huh?”
He looked like he had a thousand things he wanted to say. The guy who once almost tore his own hair out over my behavior now couldn’t wrap his head around me being quiet. I didn’t owe him any explanations.
What a pain.
Explaining would only get me labeled as nuts. Best to just keep my mouth shut.
“…The hell’s gotten into you…”
Still muttering complaints, Shin Tae-boem started prepping the snack truck, seemingly relieved I wasn’t causing any more chaos.
Today’s menu: spicy tteokbokki, hot curled fish cake skewers, and blood sausage.
All we had to do was scoop the ready-made food into takeaway containers for the ability users finishing their raid.
“Here, Yeon Yu-jin. Take this.”
“Got it.”
As I tied on the apron Ra Ho-yeon handed me, I couldn’t help but think…
The world’s changed so much.
Espers and Guides were no longer treated like disposable meat shields. Now they were admired, idolized, even had fan clubs.
And here we are handing out snacks and trying to ride the wave…
These days, some Espers and Guides had become influencers on social media, living celebrity lifestyles.
Meanwhile, Secreti, desperate to pick up scraps of good press, was stuck playing delivery boys.
Whatever. Time to stop whining and just do my job.
I quietly put on gloves and a hair cap, then stirred the tteokbokki pot. And once again, the members stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
“…What? Never seen someone stir tteokbokki before?”
What’s with those looks? Like I was some kind of rare zoo animal.
