# Chapter 44
“With your level of guiding ability, you could return without a single hair on your head being harmed. Why haven’t you escaped?”
Seo Jihan’s question was reasonable. As he said, with Hajin’s abilities, he could have remained safe without a single scratch even in a place crawling with Espers.
Hajin was about to ignore him, but with the doorless frame allowing the other’s gaze to penetrate fully, he finally answered with a sigh.
“If Espers were the only ones after me, I would have escaped long ago.”
That’s right. Among those targeting Hajin were also anti-Esper organizations.
He couldn’t forget the shootout he had experienced on the rooftop. More than monsters or supernatural abilities, this had remained as a more realistic fear for Hajin.
Moreover, while Espers could be handled somehow through guiding, the anti-Esper organizations consisted of a minority of guides and civilians, making it impossible for Hajin to deal with them alone.
“I don’t want to go out there by myself only to get shot in the head and die.”
Seo Jihan seemed to accept this explanation as he turned his gaze away and closed his mouth. Hajin also found the next volume of the book he had been reading and opened its pages again.
The silence that filled the space between the two continued until the puppy-like man returned with a new door.
“I’ll install the door for you.”
Despite his seemingly simple personality, he seemed to have good craftsmanship as the new door was quickly installed.
When Hajin let out a small “oh” of admiration, the puppy-like man raised his chin proudly. His expression showed how pleased he was.
However, that satisfaction disappeared completely when Hajin coldly closed the door without a word, separating himself from them.
Even though Hajin had a soft spot for younger people, he wasn’t thoughtless enough to lower his guard around kidnappers.
The day felt long. When would his Espers come to rescue him? Hajin cut off his deepening thoughts and focused on his book.
* * *
In the days since Hajin’s kidnapping, the atmosphere at the Association had been terrible.
Between the Alpha Team, on edge and ready to explode at any moment, and the Association Chairman yelling to find Hajin immediately, it was chaos.
‘Only people caught in between like us are suffering…’
Having slept less than ten hours in the past week, Im Jun habitually consumed caffeine that no longer had any effect. Though he desperately wanted to bury his head and sleep, he couldn’t.
“Was there any progress with the place they found this time…?”
“No… It was another dead end.”
“Aaaaargh! These crazy bastards! Where the hell are they hiding?!”
This was because they simply couldn’t catch the tail of the anti-government forces that had kidnapped Hajin.
They had raided not only the hideouts they had previously investigated but also newly discovered locations, yet they were always greeted by empty spaces, as if the targets had known they were coming.
With no results for a week, the morale of the employees naturally plummeted. Rumors even began to circulate that there might be a spy within the Association.
Of course, initially, no one was serious about these rumors. The anti-government forces weren’t stupid, and they wouldn’t be scattered about knowing the Association’s Espers would be going wild.
‘But is it really possible to find absolutely nothing like this?’
With consecutive failures, it was impossible not to have such thoughts.
There were even reports that Seo Juan had appeared at perfect timing several times, waving mockingly before disappearing with the anti-government forces right before their eyes, which only increased suspicions.
And the Association Chairman couldn’t be unaware of this atmosphere. He had personally stepped in several times to tell people not to spread false rumors, but the quiet never lasted long.
“…What’s happening with Alpha Team?”
“Their numbers are at a critical point, so we’ve forced them to rest by giving them medication, but I don’t think they can hold out much longer.”
If one were to name the people most dedicated to finding Hajin within the Association, it would undoubtedly be Alpha Team, who were searching like madmen.
It was natural that their bodies would wear down in the process, and their runaway values also increased in proportion to their accumulated fatigue.
Concerned that they might go berserk, they were told to take turns resting and manage their runaway values since there were other S-class Espers available, but they simply wouldn’t listen.
“Haah…”
The Association Chairman rubbed his face vigorously and sighed. His hair was disheveled and a mess, but that wasn’t important right now.
If Alpha Team were to go berserk, the Association would be utterly finished.
Of course, the risk of going berserk was always like a bomb that S-class Espers carried with them. But there was a vast difference between when they carefully managed their runaway values and when they ran around like madmen as they were doing now.
The Association Chairman felt his stomach ache at the sight of what felt like bombs with legs jumping into a fire.
‘If only Han Jiwoo had been S-class…’
It was already impressive that an A-class Guide was guiding an S-class Esper, but that made it all the more regrettable.
It meant his skills were good enough to guide an S-class despite the grade difference, so how much better would it have been if Han Jiwoo had been S-class himself?
In a situation where they hadn’t even found a clue about Hajin’s whereabouts, with Alpha Team running wild, the Chairman felt a regret for something that had never even existed.
“Ch-Chairman!”
At that moment, Dr. Song burst into the Chairman’s office without knocking, making a loud noise. As if the Chairman’s head wasn’t about to explode already.
“Dr. Song, what is this behavior? No matter how brilliant you are, do you think my office is a playground?”
The Association Chairman took out his frustration on Dr. Song, but it didn’t affect him at all.
“That’s, that’s not important right now! Th-the…”
The Association Chairman frowned deeply at Dr. Song, who was sputtering and stammering, spraying saliva.
“What! What is it! Speak properly!”
“S-S-class! It’s an S-class Guide!”
“What?!”
Dr. Song tried to explain what had happened, but the Association Chairman couldn’t sit still. Dr. Song wouldn’t make such a joke.
“Let’s, let’s hear it while we go.”
It couldn’t mean that Lee Hajin had returned. Dr. Song had been the first to confirm with his own eyes that Hajin’s grade was beyond measurement.
This meant a new S-class Guide had appeared. A ray of light had descended from the collapsed sky.
“Is it a new Guide?”
“No. A Guide who had already been graded has had their rank increased.”
It was nonsense. Just as an object thrown into the sky couldn’t rise forever, it was common knowledge that once a grade was measured, it didn’t change.
Yet someone had appeared who broke this common sense. If it hadn’t been Dr. Song who came with this news, the Chairman wouldn’t have believed it.
When Dr. Song led him to the location, Han Jiwoo was there. He was surrounded by researchers bombarding him with various questions, and though he couldn’t hide his bewilderment, he was answering diligently.
“Ahem.”
When the Association Chairman cleared his throat to draw attention, the researchers reluctantly stepped back from Han Jiwoo’s side. It was remarkable how they all resembled Dr. Song.
“First, let me hear an explanation of what happened.”
At the Association Chairman’s words, one of the researchers who had stepped back spoke up.
Though surprised, Han Jiwoo wasn’t injured and had started guiding Espers returning from searches, saying he wanted to help. Of course, this included S-class Espers.
The Esper Management Team told Han Jiwoo that he didn’t need to push himself, but Han Jiwoo wouldn’t back down, arguing logically that it would be dangerous if they weren’t guided. Eventually, the management team had no choice but to let him guide the S-class Espers as well.
The anomaly was discovered then.
“Is the guiding especially good today?”
Beginning with one S-class Esper’s comment, most Espers guided by Han Jiwoo reported that the guiding efficiency was good. If only one person had said it, they would have assumed it was just a good day condition-wise.
But when most of the Espers guided by Han Jiwoo said the same thing, it couldn’t be ignored.
One researcher persistently asked Han Jiwoo to be remeasured, and since there was no harm in it, Han Jiwoo readily agreed.
And that’s when the jackpot hit.
No matter how many times they rechecked, the grade consistently showed S-class.
Those who had believed that Han Jiwoo, though considered an A-class on par with S-class, could never actually become S-class, widened their eyes at this impossible phenomenon.
The one who stopped them from immediately informing the Association Chairman in a panic was Han Jiwoo himself.
Everyone in the Association knew that Han Jiwoo was obsessed with his grade.
Anyway, at his suggestion to wait a few days to see if it might be a temporary phenomenon, they waited with great impatience.
Three days passed. Han Jiwoo’s grade was still measured as S-class, and the guiding efficiency remained ridiculously good.
The birth of another S-class Guide.
“My goodness… Truly, truly remarkable…”
Having heard the full explanation, the Association Chairman tried to maintain composure, but his surprised expression couldn’t be concealed. They had found a way to solve the current crisis.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
