2
The esper wasn’t joking, as he was waiting for Minjae’s answer with an uncomfortable smile. Did he really just ask me to be his guide? Minjae doubted his own ears.
“Is anyone there?!”
A tearful voice flew through the hazy dust clouds. There was a civilian nearby. Since it was a voice asking for help, they might be injured. Minjae narrowed his eyes, trying to make out a figure through the dust.
Just then, something swooped in beside Minjae. This something slipped right under his armpits and firmly wrapped around his body. Minjae felt himself being lifted up again, just like before.
“Hey!”
Minjae threw a punch upward. But his aim was off, making it look more like he was enthusiastically cheering.
“Just a moment, Guide! Rescuing people comes first. Please come with me!”
The cheerful young esper, whose leg seemed to be healed and full of energy, spoke in a booming voice as he began flying toward the direction of the cry for help.
Minjae briefly imagined twisting the young esper’s neck, but decided to endure it since flying would be faster for civilian rescue.
“Civilian! I’m a rescue esper! Please call out once more!”
“Here…! Over here…!”
How noisy. Minjae clicked his tongue, relaxing his body while digging at his ear. The shouting voice was so loud it made his ears hurt.
An esper! We can survive! Hopeful voices whispering could be heard from nearby.
Here, over here! Figures were visible waving their hands above their heads while shouting. Roughly about fifteen people. Minjae raised his arm to tap the forearm of the young esper holding him.
“Guide, are you uncomfortable?”
Minjae’s title had been corrected from civilian to guide since earlier. Both were wrong, but Minjae had no intention of correcting it. He’d figure it out soon enough anyway, and Minjae didn’t want to go out of his way to explain who he really was.
Minjae nodded his head vaguely and pointed upward.
“Let’s go up a bit.”
“What? We need to descend now. There are civilians down there…!”
“Yes, yes. First go up to assess the location, then descend.”
Umm… After hesitating and mumbling, the young esper began to increase altitude rapidly. Minjae almost threw up from the queasiness but managed to hold it in.
“Guide! This is the southeast side of A Corporation building!”
“Yes.”
“By the way, Guide, I’ve been wondering, why are you wearing your hat pulled down so low? Oh! Is it rude of me to ask that?”
“Yes, it’s rude.”
“Ah….”
Ahem. The esper cleared his throat awkwardly. Minjae stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Ding-a-ling! Di-di-ding! Ding-ding! Cheerful keypad sounds rang out.
Southeast side of A Corporation building. Multiple injuries. Emergency support required. As he pressed the text message send button, he heard a “pfft” sound like air leaking from a balloon near his ear.
“…Why are you laughing?”
“…It’s nothing.”
When Minjae asked in a menacing voice, the young esper replied in a slightly intimidated tone.
“Let’s descend.”
It was too annoying to say more. There would be too much to point out if he started. Minjae gave a short command. He could feel the young esper’s arms tightening around him.
“Um…”
The young esper called out cautiously.
“What now?”
Minjae answered irritably.
“Hold on tight.”
Hold what? Before he could ask, Minjae felt his body floating.
The two of them were descending at a tremendous speed, like riding a gyro drop without safety bars.
Surprised, Minjae couldn’t even scream, just opening his mouth. It was a feeling of tingling toes and hair standing on end from the fear that hit in an instant.
In the midst of confusion, he felt arms firmly holding his chest. In that moment, those arms felt like a lifeline to Minjae, who clung to them with all his might.
“You crazy bastard!!!”
Of course, holding tight and cursing were separate matters.
***
In a spacious office with luxurious leather sofas and a wide table, there was a man tapping a gold-embossed nameplate with his finger.
The nameplate read “Center Director Kim Jinsung.” Appearing middle-aged, he had a generally round impression despite his distinct facial features, with sturdy cheekbones and deep-set eyes that gave a trustworthy appearance.
He was the person who had advocated for the establishment of the “Hero Center” faster than anyone else when superhumans suddenly began to appear.
Kim Jinsung, who was a relatively young politician at the time, established the domestic Hero Center with his own money. Afterward, he rapidly expanded the Center’s size and developed the current system.
And finally, he succeeded in transforming “fearsome unknown subjects” into “heroic beings” who save people from danger. Two years after its establishment, the Hero Center became an officially recognized rescue agency by the state.
Because he was running the Hero Center, Jinsung had not pursued any other official positions and had been active solely as a member of the National Assembly. However, anyone who tried to get involved in politics knew that he wielded power equivalent to that of a minister in the Ministry of Defense.
Jinsung picked up the tablet placed on his desk. When he turned it on, today’s articles that his secretary had organized appeared.
-What is the true identity of SSS-class esper Woo Minjae?
-Suspicions are rising that SSS-class esper Woo Minjae’s abilities are fabricated. Early that morning, a famous mystery community posted content claiming that “Assemblyman Kim Jinsung,” the current director of the Hero Center and a politician, is creating mercenaries to stage a coup, keeping them under his control, and disguising them as superhumans to commit a massive fraud against the public…
“Really, how childish they’re being.”
Loosening his well-fitted suit’s tie, Jinsung sighed.
He leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, appearing tired. But as if even a brief rest was not allowed for him, his phone kept vibrating with a buzz-buzz sound.
-Arrived at scene. Difficult to detect location after explosion.
The message appeared on the screen.
He contemplated for a moment. The public is easily swayed by gossip. But Kim Jinsung, as a politician, always knew how to create new waves.
The man who had been glaring at the characters on the screen clicked his tongue and put his tie back in place. It was a neat and perfect appearance.
Jinsung pressed a button under his desk. Then, a tense-sounding voice came through a small speaker.
[Yes, Director. What can I do for you?]
“Secretary Yoon.”
[Yes, sir!]
“Our Esper Director is being chewed up quite deliciously. Of course, so am I.”
His voice was soft but carried weight. Gulp. The sound of Secretary Yoon swallowing was heard through the speaker.
[How should we respond?]
“Well, as for me being targeted, I can just consider it a fun news story gifted to the public today…”
[…….]
“But Minjae is the esper representing our center, and I can’t tolerate anything that tarnishes the honor of our heroes.”
[Y-yes, of course…]
Jinsung maintained silence for a moment. This was his attitude when he wanted his secretary to say what he wanted to hear. Shortly after, Secretary Yoon’s cautious voice came through the speaker.
[Should we prepare a press conference?]
“Indeed. I’ll trust only you, Secretary Yoon.”
His voice sounded like he didn’t trust him at all. But Secretary Yoon responded quickly.
[Yes, Director. Leave it to m-]
Jinsung removed his hand from the button before hearing the complete answer. At the same time, the voice from the speaker cut off.
He took out a tablet from the drawer and began scanning through the list of published articles again. In the quiet office, only the occasional sound of scrolling—tap, tap—could be heard.
***
Minjae felt like throwing up.
The little esper brat landed right in front of an injured person among all the crowded places, so Minjae couldn’t even vomit. An esper throwing up in front of an injured person—trust would hit rock bottom.
“There’s someone here with their leg trapped under rebar!”
The young esper who had been repeatedly asking “What should I do?” blurted out, “Guide, stay right here! It’s dangerous!” when he heard about someone with their leg trapped under rebar, then quickly flew away.
Why doesn’t he follow the rule about not asking questions like “What should I do?” in front of rescue victims while following every other protocol? Feeling dumbfounded, Minjae tried to breathe in but ended up coughing after inhaling dust.
Due to his queasy stomach, Minjae hit his chest with his fist several times, then looked around and spotted someone lying collapsed diagonally from him.
“Where are you injured?”
“Ugh…”
The man, who appeared to be in his 30s, was lying on the ground with unfocused eyes. Communication seemed difficult. Minjae examined the man’s body and noticed that his shirt under the jacket was wet, so he carefully lifted the top.
The man’s side had a large tear. The shirt was dark-colored, making it difficult to assess accurately, but the bleeding was severe enough that it felt damp to the touch.
Without hesitation, Minjae placed his hand on the man’s side and used his ability.
Light spread from Minjae’s hand, and the man’s wound visibly narrowed. The wound, which was gradually healing, completely sealed up, leaving nothing but a slightly red mark. Even that began to fade immediately.
Ugh… The man let out a faint groan once more. After the wound had cleanly disappeared, Minjae gently lifted the man’s eyelid with his hand to check his pupils, then used his ability on his head as well.
“I was concerned about possible brain damage, so I injected healing, but because you’ve already lost a lot of blood, there might be other issues with your body. It would be best to get tested. The rescue team should arrive soon, so please wait. You should be fine until then.”
Minjae explained the situation in a calm voice. Seeming dazed, the man responded in a small voice.
“Thank you…”
Minjae didn’t respond to the thanks and got up. Dust was still swirling in the wind. His eyes stung.
As he walked into the dust, a notification sound rang. Text message received! Minjae took out his phone to check.
-Roger.
A two-letter response. So quick. Minjae muttered as he rubbed his eyes and put the phone back in his pocket.
“Guide!!! Where are you!! Please help!”
A booming voice was heard. Earlier he had told him to stay put, but now he was asking for help. And from the so-called ‘Guide’ no less.
Why are kids these days so mindless? Shaking his head, Minjae walked through the dust.
The structure pressing down on the woman’s leg was thicker than what would typically be called rebar. It looked like a concrete structure that had been a wall and the adjacent rebar had collapsed together, crushing the woman.
The stupid esper was struggling to lift the structure and greeted Minjae.
“Guide!! You came!”
He had flown over and tried lifting the structure, but since the civilian couldn’t move on her own, he seemed unable to proceed.
“Ma’am…! Can you move a little bit?”
“No! I can’t…!”
The woman, whose left thigh was trapped below, was crying continuously from the pain. Minjae approached quickly, grabbed the civilian, and asked.
“How long has it been since you were injured?”
“I don’t know. A while…? It hurts so much…!”
Tears were practically pouring from the civilian’s eyes.
“Guide, could you help move the civilian?”
The young esper asked while struggling. How can I just lift and move her when her right instep is also crushed? Minjae turned his head to look at the young esper and said.
“Hold it.”
The urgency of the situation made his words come out coldly. …Yes. The slightly surprised young esper’s response was heard.
“Ma’am, I need to roll up your pants a bit to provide emergency treatment. Is that okay?”
Minjae asked. After confirming the civilian’s nod, Minjae carefully rolled up her pants. Aaargh! A scream rang out.
Minjae swallowed. The wound was deep and serious with a lot of bleeding, but fortunately, necrosis hadn’t begun yet. If necrosis had started, he would have had to use a lot more of his ability, and he didn’t know how much he could endure.
He placed his hand beside the wound and used his ability. A faint light enveloped the leg area, spreading softly.
The young esper’s mouth fell open as he watched the wound gradually heal. With his mouth agape like a yawning hippo, he shouted loudly.
“Huh…? Huuuuh?!”
While Minjae confirmed that the civilian’s wound had healed and lifted her to a position where the collapsed rebar wouldn’t reach her even if it fell, the young esper couldn’t close his mouth.
He seemed surprised, despite having called Minjae a guide all along.
“What are you doing? You can put it down now.”
When Minjae spoke, the esper removed his hands supporting the structure and moved his body forward. Then he pointed at Minjae with his finger.
Where do you get off pointing at me? Minjae’s brow furrowed.
Boom-! Crash!
“Huuuuuuh?!”
A large structure collapsed behind the esper’s back. And the voice like someone who had swallowed a train engine boomed again. Huuuuuuh?!
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
