Chapter 80
Beastkin hater.
The team leader paused at the sudden words and raised an eyebrow.
“Who says that?”
Siwoo answered while carefully observing his expression.
“I saw it on the internet.”
He had read it in a long comment on one of the countless articles about the Baekya Guild. It was a comment that had stuck in Siwoo’s mind.
“They said that person is a beastkin hater. Someone who lived in the same neighborhood and knows them well.”
The comment disappeared within a few hours. It seemed the person had deleted it themselves due to the negative reactions. Everyone was cursing, telling them not to spread rumors.
But Siwoo, who had met the Baekya Guild in person, couldn’t just ignore that comment. He had already seen some things.
“Why believe what’s floating around on the internet? It’s all made up.”
“But it’s true that the two brothers don’t get along, right?”
He spoke without hesitation, thinking this much wasn’t a secret. It was something everyone in the center knew.
“Rather than not getting along… Neither of them has an affectionate personality.”
The team leader trailed off vaguely. He tried to sugarcoat it, but couldn’t think of the right words.
In fact, the information that Geonho and Taebeom’s relationship was different from normal brothers had already spread widely within the center. Almost everyone knew, unless they were a brand new recruit. At least that the two were less than strangers to each other.
“And when I search for Kang Taebeom and Kang Geonho, nothing comes up.”
Despite the brothers belonging to the same guild, there wasn’t a single line about their family. Especially about Geonho, there was almost nothing. It only said that he extremely avoids outside activities due to his high rank.
“Why are they hiding it?”
Siwoo pulled his chair close to the desk and sat down. He was certain that the team leader, who had active exchanges with high-ranking teams, must know something.
He waited patiently for an answer, but what he got was another flick to the forehead.
“Ow! Stop hitting me!”
Siwoo, unable to block the surprise attack, clutched his stinging forehead. This flick hurt quite a bit.
“How dare you casually use their names. Do you know who they are?”
“They’re not even here! What does it matter if they can’t hear!”
Team Leader Yoon clicked his tongue at Siwoo’s outburst and leaned back in his chair.
“We’re all living comfortably thanks to them. Show some respect.”
Siwoo could only glare, unable to find words to argue back. It was true that he had become comfortable around them and the existence of the Baekya Guild had become blurred. Just from spending some time together, they had started to look like ordinary Espers.
“I don’t know the details either.”
Siwoo’s face fell as he watched the team leader shrug his shoulders. If not him, there was no one else to ask about the Baekya Guild.
“Everyone is careful when talking about them. You won’t get even scraps if you try to dig.”
“Why?”
The more they talked, the deeper Siwoo’s questions became. What were they hiding so much? He felt frustrated not knowing anything properly about them.
“The Baekya Guild is different from other guilds. They’re like, what do you call it, symbols of peace.”
The team leader made an exaggerated gesture, stretching out both hands. Symbols of peace. It was one of the related search terms for the Baekya Guild.
Symbols of peace. Beings who brought peace to South Korea.
“Even the public who live for the pleasure of badmouthing others hardly ever criticize the Baekya Guild. Could you badmouth the people who freed us from the Gate saturation state?”
The team leader didn’t give Siwoo a chance to answer, feeling like he might actually do it.
“Everyone makes sure not to show it even if they say something negative. There are many rumors due to their fame, but not enough to damage the guild’s image.”
He said everyone maintains boundaries when talking about the Baekya Guild.
Of course, there were exceptions. Siwoo frowned, remembering the fox beastkin who had treated Seojun carelessly.
“So you’re saying you don’t know anything?”
Siwoo urged him to answer, returning to the main point. He wanted to hear anything about them, no matter what.
He didn’t dare to ask them directly. Kang Geonho had also told him not to ask questions related to his brother.
“I don’t know why the two of them don’t get along either. Only they would know that.”
The team leader opened his mouth slowly, inhaling sharply as he considered his words. He seemed to have something to share but was hesitating.
“It’s not really related to your question, but…”
“Just tell me. It doesn’t matter.”
“Don’t take it too seriously since it’s just a rumor.”
The team leader continued to stall. Siwoo, unable to contain his frustration, stomped his feet on the floor.
“They say Esper Kang Geonho was very unstable when he was young.”
At the team leader’s subdued voice, Siwoo’s feet gradually stopped pounding the floor.
“I heard he couldn’t properly humanize until just before becoming an adult. There’s talk that he lived almost entirely in animal form.”
Among beastkin, a very small percentage struggle with humanization. Some can’t maintain human form for long, or in severe cases, they only live as animals.
Usually, the problem is resolved after childhood, but sometimes the unstable state persists. In such cases, isolation measures are taken. I heard that the more fierce and difficult to control the animal is, the more thoroughly they are isolated.
“This isn’t certain either, but they say he still has trouble reading. Apparently, he never went to school and only stayed at home.”
The team leader lowered his voice significantly and waved his hand at the dazed Siwoo. Despite being told not to take it seriously, Siwoo looked like he was at a funeral.
“I told you it’s just a rumor. Take it with a grain of salt.”
Seeing Siwoo’s expression, he regretted saying anything.
“Who spread this rumor?”
The voice that escaped between Siwoo’s stiff lips was sharp.
“This was before he entered the center, right? Who would know and talk about that?”
The team leader showed signs of being flustered. He hadn’t expected Siwoo to dig this deep.
He cleared his throat and mumbled in an uncertain tone. Since he had only heard these stories, he couldn’t assert anything definitively.
“It seems there was someone from the same neighborhood among Esper Kang Taebeom’s training colleagues. But this could be a rumor too.”
“Are they in the center’s main building?”
Siwoo looked ready to go find that person right away. The team leader shook his head, surprised again by this proactive attitude.
“They’re not in Korea.”
“What?”
“They were assigned overseas and left the country long ago.”
The team leader emphasized again that this was just hearsay and checked his watch. It was almost time for his next schedule.
“That’s enough for today. If you have more questions, contact me. And answer your damn phone when I call.”
Siwoo didn’t get up from his seat immediately. He fiddled with his fingertips with a heavy expression and only moved when the team leader urged him to leave.
He had asked to clear his thoughts, but his mind became even more complicated.
* * *
There were even fewer people on the way back to the Baekya Guild dormitory. Siwoo walked slowly, lost in thought.
In fact, he had wanted to ask the team leader about the leader’s prosthetic arm too, but deliberately didn’t bring it up. It seemed like even the team leader wouldn’t know about that. Given that it didn’t come up even when searching the internet, it seemed to be a secret unknown even within the center.
“Why is everything so complicated…”
The more he thought, the deeper his sighs became.
After mulling over various thoughts, he returned to the dormitory. The only thing that greeted Siwoo was the familiar silence.
Thinking of course no one would be there, he was listlessly taking off his shoes when a pair of large sneakers entered his view. They were Geonho’s shoes.
Siwoo quickly ran through the long entrance hallway to the living room without even putting on slippers. He remembered Geonho falling asleep on the living room sofa before he had given guiding to Yoo Jihan yesterday.
“Kang Geonho?”
However, the living room was empty. Well, it’s unlikely he would still be sleeping until now.
Normally, it would be time for him to be at the field, but seeing his shoes, it seemed he was resting in his room. Unlike Yoo Jihan and the youngest who wore different shoes every day, Geonho always wore the same ones. Looking at the shoe rack, there were five more pairs of identical sneakers.
“Kang Geonho, are you in there?”
Siwoo went straight upstairs and knocked on Geonho’s door.
Knock knock. Perhaps because he knocked too softly, there was no response. It did seem like he was in the room though.
“Can I come in?”
Judging by the lack of response, he seemed to be sleeping again. Siwoo lingered in front of Geonho’s door, remembering how tired he had looked yesterday.
Then, pretending it was an accident, he leaned against Geonho’s door and slightly turned the doorknob.
“Hey, do you want to eat…?”
He opened the door without permission, making an excuse about food. The unlocked door opened easily with a little force.
