Chapter 5
Even before taking the official government test, Hajin had learned he was a Guide through his father.
Looking back, it was absurd. At just five years old, he was told he was a Guide simply after holding his father’s hand.
However, Hajin’s father, with the most serious expression little Hajin had ever seen, desperately insisted that this fact must be hidden at all costs.
He extracted a promise from a child who knew nothing about what it all meant.
‘I think he said something like if I was discovered to be a Guide and taken away, it would be a disaster.’
Though the memory had faded, the need to hide his identity as a Guide remained ingrained in Hajin’s mind, serving as a guiding principle in his life even now, past the age of thirty.
‘Haah…’
Hajin closed his eyes momentarily as his head began to throb. If there had been more Espers around, Hajin would have waited for them to subdue Baek Jaan.
But they were inside a dungeon, and even among other S-class Espers, only two people stood against Baek Jaan. Additionally, the third person was occupied with protecting him.
‘At this rate, those two might go berserk as well.’
This was why Hajin was deliberating so deeply about his lifelong safety.
From the moment Hajin first saw them, their wavelengths had been unstable. Yet they appeared unfazed, which meant they were likely accustomed to such wavelength levels in their daily lives.
It was a pain that couldn’t be relieved without a Guide of equal rank. With their wavelengths perpetually unstable, they probably wouldn’t sense danger from slight instability, considering it normal.
In such a state, using their abilities recklessly to stop their berserk colleague put them at risk of going berserk themselves. Sure enough, they were breathing roughly with contorted expressions—harbingers of a power surge.
“Shit, this is maddening.”
Lee Doyoon was thinking the same as Hajin. The future where three Espers went berserk was crystal clear.
With no way to calm three S-class Espers, the government would likely abandon them early on.
Though S-class Espers were rare, three berserk S-class Espers could destroy a country, so to prevent damage, they’d probably bury the entire dungeon.
After cursing, Doyoon set Hajin down in the farthest corner.
“Stay right here. I’ll make sure you don’t get even a scratch, so don’t get in the way by wandering around.”
Hajin was impressed by Doyoon’s steadfast rudeness even in this situation. No, perhaps it was because of the situation that his true personality emerged.
Without waiting for Hajin’s response, Doyoon immediately rushed toward Baek Jaan. Since Doyoon hadn’t taken action until now, Hajin wasn’t sure what his ability was.
Seeing him charge in and collide physically, it seemed his ability might be enhanced physical prowess.
“Both of you, back off!”
“You, huff, you think you can handle Baek Jaan alone?!”
At Han Seungho’s shout, Doyoon yelled back while throwing a massive punch at Baek Jaan.
“It’s easier than facing three berserk Espers!”
Kwang!
Sounds that seemed impossible for human combat continuously echoed. Unable to refute Doyoon’s logic, Han Seungho and Cha Jinwoo tried to catch their breath, seemingly hoping to calm their wavelengths by resting.
But if wavelengths could be calmed that way, what would be the purpose of Guides? On the contrary, once unleashed without restraint, wavelengths increasingly escaped control.
“Haah…”
Watching their wavelengths dangerously fluctuating on the verge of going berserk, Hajin finally couldn’t hold back and sighed audibly.
He secured his uniform tightly and removed his gloves—something he never did except when alone or when necessary.
‘At this rate, forget about dying wishes, we’re all going to die…’
The white gloves, stained with dirt, fell to the ground. Ignoring Doyoon’s instruction to stay put, Hajin approached the two struggling not to go berserk while taking deep breaths.
Despite their distressed state, both men simultaneously turned their heads, unable to miss his presence.
“It’s dangerous, kuk, don’t come any closer.”
“Do you want to die? You should, kheuk, run away instead.”
Despite dripping with cold sweat, they managed to speak coherently. Though their tone was sharp as an awl, their concern was ultimately for Hajin’s safety as a civilian.
Seeing them urging him to escape when they knew what would happen to themselves if they went berserk, Hajin felt shackled, unable to move away.
Despite having altered his entire lifestyle to hide being a Guide, Hajin wasn’t callous enough to turn his back on people who worried about others even when their own lives were at stake.
“Huu…”
Ignoring their warnings, Hajin stepped forward decisively. The Espers clicked their tongues and tried to avoid him when he was within arm’s reach, but their bodies, suffering in pain, were slower than the civilian’s.
In the end, Hajin’s hands caught theirs before they could evade.
“…!”
They were silently shocked. Simultaneously with the touch of soft, warm hands, their bodies were filled with an energy they had never experienced in their lives.
It was Guiding.
“This… is…”
How could one describe this Guiding?
Cha Jinwoo, always cool-headed no matter the situation, lost himself in the Guiding that satisfied his thirst for the first time. No, it would be more accurate to say it was Guiding that made him aware of a thirst he hadn’t even known he had.
As a substitute, to reduce the risk of going berserk, he had received Guiding from numerous Guides.
‘Something’s different. This person is somehow different.’
But he could assert that Hajin’s Guiding was unlike any other Guide’s. A sense of fulfillment and comfort he had never felt before enveloped his entire body.
‘This is… Guiding…?’
Cha Jinwoo staggered but stood firm, trying not to fall asleep. He wanted to fully experience the Guiding just a little longer.
The risk indicator for going berserk had clearly dropped to zero without needing confirmation. But regardless, he wished for this comfortable sensation to continue a little longer.
Was this how it felt to have a spoonful of food after nearly starving to death? Or was it like encountering a gentle breeze after wandering under the scorching sun? Any comparison fell short.
Since his awakening, there hadn’t been a single day without pain. Pain had become the norm. Even Guiding from association-affiliated Guides only reduced the risk of going berserk without alleviating the pain.
The pain he thought would accompany him until death had vanished.
As if returning to the time before his awakening—no, even if he returned to the healthiest time in his life, it wouldn’t be more comfortable than this.
Han Seungho had already passed out as if unable to endure. Soon, he too would probably fall asleep like that.
At that moment, Cha Jinwoo instinctively realized:
The moment this person’s touch had reached him, he had already become subordinate to him.
And that this person would become the guiding principle of his entire life. It was as certain as the sun rising in the morning and the moon at night.
“Ah…”
He felt reluctant as the hand withdrew, as if the Guiding had been sufficient. If he could, he wanted to curl up at this person’s feet and beg for more of his touch, but his body collapsed, unable to withstand the comfort any longer.
It was truly a deep sleep after a very long time.
Despite putting two S-class Espers to sleep instantly, Hajin appeared unfazed. Even though it was his first time performing Guiding, it felt like something he had been doing for a long time.
Hajin looked down at his hands, which showed no change, and momentarily sank into thought.
‘What should I do now?’
He still hesitated to reveal himself as a Guide and become government-affiliated. But he couldn’t let them go berserk when they were trying so hard to save him, so he had performed Guiding.
At this rate, he would no longer be able to follow his father’s dying wish. Hajin brushed back his hair that had fallen forward as he thought.
‘Should I put them all to sleep and escape?’
It sounded absurd, but if he’d already put two to sleep, why couldn’t he do the same with four?
“Hmm, that sounds good.”
Only his name and face had been exposed. If he put them to sleep, left for home, and kept a low profile, they might not be able to find out where he lived.
“Alright. Nothing to lose.”
Hajin moved toward Baek Jaan and Lee Doyoon. Baek Jaan, who had been using his abilities uncontrollably, already had a face so pale it looked corpse-like blue.
The condition of Lee Doyoon, who had been facing him alone, didn’t look good either.
If Hajin hadn’t given up his escape kit, they would have self-destructed here.
“What the! I told you not to move, ugh! Oh, for real!”
Lee Doyoon, seeing Hajin approach, started to yell but then used his body to block Baek Jaan, who was lunging toward Hajin.
‘So this is a power surge… The air does feel a bit stifling.’
For an impression of an S-class Esper’s berserk state, often compared to a disaster, it was remarkably concise. Despite the explosive wavelengths surging and threatening, Hajin remained unaffected. Just a little stifling?
He didn’t know that most Guides would have foamed at the mouth and fainted from wavelengths of this intensity. He simply thought he wasn’t affected because he was a Guide.
“Mister, what are you doing?!”
Lee Doyoon was exasperated. What was a civilian, as fragile as a paper doll, doing here? Even a slight touch from Baek Jaan would literally shatter Hajin’s body.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
