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Woof! Woof!
The sound that had been distant suddenly drew closer. Unable to turn his head due to being grabbed by the collar, Siwoo thought for a moment that Geonho had arrived.
“Are you fighting?”
However, the dog beastkin who arrived at the bench and transformed into a human was not Geonho. He calmly put on the clothes tied to his body and warned the group in a cold tone.
“You look like newcomers. Are you bullying someone right now?”
“No, we’re not bullying anyone.”
The hand choking Siwoo’s neck quickly withdrew. Siwoo inhaled his blocked breath and turned his head while coughing. He thought he had heard that voice before.
“Sapsaree…?”
Siwoo looked up at the beastkin standing with a stern expression, narrowing his eyes. It was the teleport Esper who had helped Siwoo on the day he was discovered by the leader and Geonho and had to run through the pouring rain.
“Yes, I’m the Sapsaree. Guide, please come this way.”
He extracted Siwoo from the group and then asked for the name and affiliation of each guide. The guides hesitated with aggrieved expressions but eventually answered, intimidated by the Esper’s stern look.
The Esper sent them away with a warning and then checked on Siwoo’s condition. Siwoo glared at the spot where the group had been, exhaling through his nose.
I should have completely crushed that pig bastard’s vital point. Being weak is such a shame.
“Are you alright?”
The Esper with a gentle appearance resembling a Sapsaree treated Siwoo kindly, just like that day. He took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to Siwoo to wipe his nosebleed.
Embarrassingly, both nostrils were bleeding. Siwoo thanked the Esper while wiping under his nose. He had received help twice now. He wasn’t sure if he should say the timing of their chance meetings was good or bad.
“It’s nothing. I just did what I had to do.”
The Esper smiled like a model student and checked his watch. He seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere, as he said goodbye, mentioning he had to leave.
“Oh, but why…”
Siwoo bowed his head slightly following the Esper’s gesture, then pointed at the clothes the Esper was wearing.
“Why are you wearing combat gear?”
He was dressed in the combat uniform worn at gate sites. Siwoo had heard that beastkin Espers were banned from entering the sites.
“I just came out briefly to buy food. I need to return to the site soon.”
“But… aren’t beastkin Espers not allowed to go out?”
In response to Siwoo’s cautious question, the Esper tilted his head and explained with a kind smile.
“Our dedicated guide is capable of on-site guiding. If a partner or dedicated guide accompanies us, we can continue gate missions. Of course, there’s a time limit.”
He even shared information that when beastkin Espers are with their dedicated guides, their free time increases as well. This was all new information to Siwoo.
Ha Seojun, that bastard. He left out the most important information.
* * *
Keeeeek! Keeeeeek!
In Sector A, where gates opened incessantly, bizarre cries of monsters echoed loudly. Swarms of all kinds of monsters, including creatures, flooded the sky and ground.
Kuaaaaak! Kuheck!
However, the monsters’ targets were not the Espers but themselves. Every time monsters poured out of a gate, they ended their own lives shortly after. The eerie spectacle of monster swarms bursting their own hearts and biting their own necks continued for a long time.
At the center of it all stood Taebeom.
Taebeom watched the monsters dying cruelly as if gazing at a calm sea. When a new gate opened, he took control of the minds of the monsters emerging from it, making them take their own lives.
This was Taebeom’s most frequently used method. Making them die on their own without dirtying anyone else’s hands.
In less than an hour, all the monsters were annihilated. Even the gates stopped opening, as if sensing the smell of death.
“Good work, sir.”
The secretary, who had just arrived at the scene, handed Taebeom a handkerchief and water. However, Taebeom only took the water bottle.
“You seem to be in good condition. That’s a relief.”
The secretary looked at Taebeom, who hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat, with amazement. Even for someone like Taebeom, annihilating a horde of monsters consumes an enormous amount of energy. Until now, even if he hadn’t collapsed on the ground, he had at least sweated.
The guiding must be really amazing.
The secretary, aware of the deep contact guiding Taebeom had with Siwoo, couldn’t hide his relief. Taebeom’s condition had improved immensely.
“Let’s move to Sector B.”
“You’re going right away? No way! You must rest, absolutely!”
The secretary waved his hands emphatically and exclaimed firmly. Recently, Taebeom had been constantly patrolling gate sites except for meetings. He hadn’t seen him rest even for a moment.
“Go to your office and at least close your eyes for a bit. You absolutely must not let your guard down just because your wavelength is stable.”
“I’ve never let my guard down.”
“Anyway, don’t overdo it.”
The secretary put on a stern expression, widening his eyes.
“Are you going to make Han Siwoo overexert himself again?”
Taebeom stared at the secretary without any response. Not even the usual screams of monsters could be heard from the site now filled with only corpses. A quiet stillness, resembling Taebeom, settled all around. Wherever he stayed, a suffocating silence always lingered.
A moment later, the secretary’s expression brightened at Taebeom’s instruction to the standby teleport Esper.
* * *
The teleport Esper transported Taebeom and the secretary to the corridor of the office on the 54th floor of the main building. Taebeom ordered the teleport Esper to return in exactly one hour.
“What do you mean, one hour? You should sleep for at least two hours.”
“Don’t follow me.”
The secretary followed Taebeom, walking at a distance from him. Although he regretted the short rest time, he was glad that Taebeom had returned to his office without being stubborn. He felt at ease, thinking that Taebeom cared about Han Siwoo more than expected.
“Eat something and then sleep. You didn’t have lunch today either, right?”
When there was no response, the secretary cleared his throat and mentioned Siwoo again.
“If you skip meals, I’ll tell the guide. You know our guide is serious about food, right?”
“That’s enough.”
Taebeom glanced at the secretary as he opened the office door. The secretary, undeterred, continued talking.
“But you’ll eat if the guide tells you to, right?”
Days when the leader was in a good mood were extremely rare. If he didn’t tease him at times like this, there would be no opportunity. The secretary wanted to engage in wordplay with Taebeom, even if just once or twice a year.
“Actually, I know you like the guide a lot. It’s all obvious.”
The secretary spoke jokingly, as if teasing Taebeom. If Taebeom really didn’t want to hear it, he would have closed the door. However, Taebeom didn’t chase the secretary away. He just stood still, looking at the secretary without telling him to shut up.
The secretary was surprised by Taebeom’s reaction, stopping in his tracks and turning to look at him. Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something…
“Ahem.”
An unexpected sound came from the guest sofa in the office.
The secretary, with eyes wide open, quickly turned his gaze to the sofa. Taebeom rolled his eyes a beat later.
“Um… no one was here, so I just came in.”
Siwoo, who had risen from the sofa, awkwardly scratched his neck. He had intended to make his presence known as soon as the door opened, but couldn’t find the right timing during their conversation. He should have just made a sound right away.
“Oh, uh. Yes. Ah, you did well. You should have had something to drink.”
The overly flustered secretary first turned on the lights in the office. Siwoo had been sitting in the office without even turning on the lights. Since he hadn’t received permission to come, he had hesitated before sitting on the sofa. His legs were sore from standing for too long, so he had just perched on the edge for a moment.
“What brings you here?”
The secretary frantically looked for a drink for Siwoo in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, Siwoo got straight to the point. He needed to return quickly as it was almost time for Geonho to come out to meet him.
“I want to do on-site guiding.”
After hearing what the Sapsaree Esper said, he came straight to meet Taebeom. Upon hearing that on-site guiding is decided after consulting with the leader, he immediately headed to the 54th floor.
“If I go to the site, Kang Geonho and Ha Seojun can come out too, right?”
The Esper had said that using a certain amount of ability helps relieve stress. Above all, Geonho, who enjoyed physical work, liked gate subjugation. He had said it was much better than being cooped up indoors. Siwoo remembered this and came right away to get permission from the leader.
“What should I do first? Can I start today?”
Siwoo looked back and forth between Taebeom and the secretary, waiting for an answer. Just as he was about to turn his head towards the secretary, thinking it might be faster to ask him rather than Taebeom.
Suddenly, Taebeom approached Siwoo and abruptly thrust his face close. The secretary, who was taking out various drinks from the refrigerator, was startled and sat down in surprise at this sight.
“Who was it?”
After suddenly thrusting his face close without warning, Taebeom now asked an incomprehensible question. Siwoo blinked rapidly and replied with a “Pardon?”
“Who did this to you?”
Taebeom gestured towards the corner of Siwoo’s mouth. There was a small scratch at the end of his thin lips. It was a minor wound that could have been overlooked, but Taebeom noticed it the moment he saw Siwoo.
