# Chapter 48
If it had been the Guides who did it, one could understand given what Espers and the Center had done so far, but for the researchers to do this definitely seemed excessive.
While we were sitting there, Kyun In’s device rang.
“It’s the Center Director.”
He figured the Research Team Leader couldn’t contact us directly and was trying to speak through the Center Director, so he ignored the call.
“But why was Ha-min so obsessed with the stabilizer? Could it be because he didn’t want Seo Eunwoo to Guide us?”
When Byun Tae-young said this, Ha-min flinched.
What? Was that really it?
Ha-min was really ridiculous.
“We shouldn’t blame the researchers. I think Ha-min is worse.”
The other S-class Espers agreed with Shim Woo-jin’s words, and Ha-min’s face grew increasingly red.
“Ha-min. Is that really true? Let’s hear what you have to say.”
Kyun In spoke, but I didn’t think Ha-min would answer.
However, while Ha-min did seem apologetic, his answer was clear and definite.
“Yes. I will definitely find a way to Guide S-class Espers. So please consider Eunwoo as my exclusive Guide.”
“…”
The S-class Espers looked at each other as if wondering what they had just heard.
“Wait a minute, Ha-min. Does my opinion not matter at all in this?”
Ha-min looked at me, seemingly startled.
“Eunwoo, do you dislike it?”
“Wouldn’t I? I have the ability, and even if they develop the stabilizer quickly, it will take time, and no matter how good the stabilizer is, it won’t be the same as a Guide directly performing Guiding. There could be side effects. Besides, I’m really good at Guiding. So it’s too much to ask to rely solely on the stabilizer.”
The S-class Espers seemed relieved that I had said everything they wanted to say.
“Wow… There’s really no one to trust. I can’t believe Ha-min would do this. Wow. I’m really disappointed, Ha-min.”
Kyun In said this, but Ha-min didn’t back down.
“I hadn’t thought about the possibility of side effects with the stabilizer. That could be the case. If it weren’t for that issue, I would want Eunwoo to become my exclusive Guide. Oh, and since I can still perform Guiding, I could Guide the Espers as well. So please let Eunwoo be my exclusive Guide.”
“I feel the same way. I’d like Seo Eunwoo to be my exclusive Guide too.”
“Me too, Eunwoo-ssi.”
“Look at these people? Esper Seo Eunwoo. Be honest. Isn’t it humanly best to become my exclusive Guide? Don’t hide your true feelings and spill them out. Because you’re not speaking up, everyone is swarming around you like flies.”
I was surprised by what others said, but I didn’t know how to respond to Kyun In’s pointed remark.
How on earth did they come to think that way?
Why?
While I was thinking how strange and curious it all was, the bell rang.
Without having to get up, the monitor lit up and showed the people outside.
Unsurprisingly, it was the Center Director and the Research Team Leader.
Since it was easy to guess that the Research Team Leader was anxious, no one would have thought it strange that they appeared there.
Ha-min went out to open the door, and the two came in.
“You’re all here.”
The Center Director probably thought he had been seeing us quite often lately.
It wasn’t for good reasons, so seeing us frequently probably wasn’t very pleasant for him.
“There has been an unfortunate incident, and I thought we needed to talk about it, so I came with the Research Team Leader.”
As the Center Director spoke, he scrutinized the faces of the S-class Espers.
His expression was curious, as if wondering if the S-class Espers had already heard about it from us.
“First, I want to apologize. I heard that Esper Seo Eunwoo overheard what the researchers were saying, and I came urgently because I thought you might have misunderstood. What you heard was incorrect, and what those researchers said is not true. They came to tell us about it. They said it was a joke, expressing what they wished would happen, but it seems you took their words at face value.”
Was that the best he could do?
Was that the result of putting their heads together to figure out how to avoid this situation?
I had thought the people at the research center would be smarter than that, but the answer they came up with was the worst possible one.
The S-class Espers just gave hollow laughs, as if they were dumbfounded.
“Then there’s absolutely no reason for us to feel sorry for the researchers. I understand. I’ll take it that way.”
When I spoke, the Research Team Leader looked at me as if wondering what I meant.
Had he told the Center Director the same story?
Did the Center Director believe him?
I was more curious about that.
The Center Director was politically savvy.
Most of the center’s leaders had secured their positions through such abilities.
If the Research Team Leader had told someone like that what he just told us, the Center Director would have known his intentions.
Yet, for him to come with the Research Team Leader and say that…
‘This is really hopeless.’
From that point on, I kept my mouth shut, and so did Ha-min and the S-class Espers.
There was no reason to engage with them if they were going to act that way.
Sensing the atmosphere, the Research Team Leader rubbed his hands on his innocent pants.
Despite being the Research Team Leader of the center, which was by no means a low position, the presence of the S-class Espers was enough to make him barely able to breathe properly.
No, wait a minute.
That’s not it—is someone actually using physical force right now?
I glanced at Kyun In, and he was using his ability as if he knew nothing about it.
Byun Tae-young smiled as if amused.
The Research Team Leader coughed, and the Center Director seemed to notice what was happening.
However, perhaps because they had done something wrong, he didn’t tell him to stop.
Or maybe he was worried about how to save face if Kyun In didn’t withdraw his power even after being told to stop.
“The Research Team Leader is a regular person. I don’t think Espers should use their abilities on regular people like this. Besides, I don’t think S-class Espers should act this way. I think we can’t say that Espers are completely blameless in how things have come to this. Espers are the upper class of society and have enjoyed a lot of power and authority until now. They thought it was natural to step on those below them. It might have been natural for people not to feel like dedicating themselves and sacrificing for such Espers.”
Those were Ha-min’s words.
I hadn’t expected him to intervene in such a way.
“Whether the researchers will present their research results honestly, or withhold them saying there’s more to verify, is entirely up to the researchers. If they say they can’t provide the stabilizer they’ve made so far because there are still procedures to verify and confirm, we have no choice but to accept that. If Espers treat regular people and Guides the same way they did before, I might do the same if I were them. It might be the only chance for regular people to climb to the upper class of society.”
Ha-min had such a side to him?
I always thought he had a knockout punch, but that appearance was completely unexpected.
Kyun In withdrew his power as if he found it boring, and the Research Team Leader coughed deeply.
The more I thought about it, the more Ha-min’s words seemed right.
And I also felt that speaking as Ha-min did would be better for the Research Team Leader.
Ha-min also didn’t believe what the Research Team Leader said was true, but he didn’t push him.
Instead, he seemed to open an escape route, which was much more beneficial from our perspective.
There was nothing good about being on bad terms with regular people, especially researchers.
If you cut the throats of all the people you don’t like, you might feel relieved in the moment, but ultimately you’d have to do all the dirty work with your own hands.
The S-class Espers looked at each other and slowly nodded.
“That’s not wrong. After hearing Ha-min’s words, I did feel a bit sorry toward the Guides, but I never spoke directly or apologized, so I was wrong too.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong. If you ask the Guides, I don’t think anyone would say they resent me.”
“Byun Tae-young, you just look nasty from your expression alone. When you stand there with that scowl, wouldn’t they naturally have trouble breathing? But I really feel wronged. I was in the forest almost all the time practicing and training. The Guides wouldn’t have been scared of me.”
Everyone from Kyun In to Byun Tae-young and Shim Woo-jin said something, and the Center Director seemed to think that this was what he couldn’t get used to.
I would probably feel the same way if I were him.
“Then please gather the Guides, Center Director. If we apologize first, other Espers will follow suit. That would be good. I think we got the order of things wrong.”
Kyun In, who seemed to have done the most wrong to the Guides in one way or another, spoke up first.
Considering how uncomfortable and afraid the Guides and lower-class Espers were when Kyun In first appeared in our cafeteria, he was justified in saying that.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
