# Chapter 49
Byun Tae-young seemed to be wondering if he needed to apologize even though he didn’t think he had done anything wrong, while Shim Woo-jin said he could just stand beside Kyun In when he apologized.
Still, it was remarkable that the S-class Espers had made such a decision.
I wondered if they could have even dreamed of doing something like this if it weren’t for Lee Ha-min.
When a mood of sudden reflection arose among the S-class Espers, the Research Team Leader seemed to become solemn and quietly spoke up.
“I apologize to the Espers. When the researchers came to talk to me, I thought telling the truth would escalate matters, so I said I would handle it and clumsily tried to manage the situation. As Lee Ha-min Esper said, I think I did have those feelings to some extent. No matter what, those were personal emotions, and having been entrusted with work at the Center, I should have fulfilled my responsibilities. I’m sorry for not acting professionally.”
Those words came without consultation with the Center Director, who seemed rather taken aback.
“What we can commercialize right now can be expected to have effects equivalent to a C-class guide’s mucous membrane guiding at most. Mass production is not yet possible, but we judge that we can produce up to fifty units per month.”
It was an achievement brought about by Lee Ha-min.
Both I and the S-class Espers looked at Lee Ha-min, thinking that work could be done in such a way, but he too had a puzzled expression.
“Thank you very much, Team Leader.”
After the Center Director and Research Team Leader left, the S-class Espers said this wasn’t something they should just keep putting off and put their heads together about how to apologize to the guides.
“How about going to the guides’ dining hall during mealtime and speaking there?”
At Kyun In’s suggestion, Lee Ha-min immediately shook his head.
“They’ll all get indigestion.”
“Why?”
“Just seeing the Espers’ faces would give them indigestion.”
Lee Ha-min boldly stated, as if there was no other reason needed.
“Ha… When did Lee Ha-min start speaking his mind like this? Did he become like this after hanging out with Seo Eunwoo?”
When Byun Tae-young spoke, Shim Woo-jin seriously shook his head.
“No. Lee Ha-min was always like this. He might have become a bit braver after hanging out with Eunwoo, but he always spoke his mind before too. His eyes are big so he looks frightened, but that’s just his appearance; he’s always said what he wanted to say.”
The S-class Espers seemed to reminisce about the past and all nodded together.
Thinking about it calmly, I seemed to have seen Lee Ha-min doing that quite often too.
“Tae-young, you speak the best, so you should represent us.”
When Kyun In tried to casually pass the buck, Byun Tae-young glared at him.
“What are you saying? It’s appropriate for the hyung who did the most wrong to do it.”
The reason for passing it to Kyun In wasn’t because Kyun In was better at speaking than him.
Lee Ha-min just watched their interaction with contentment.
What must he be feeling now?
Lee Ha-min, who had lived as a guide for a long time before manifesting as an Esper, now seemed to be at the forefront of a guide human rights movement.
It suited him well.
If I had lived a life like Lee Ha-min’s, would I have done the same?
‘But what should I do? Should I apologize too? I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.’
Still, I thought I should at least ask, so I asked Lee Ha-min, and he said I could be excused.
“Eunwoo, you’ve always stood up directly whenever guides were treated poorly by Espers. You’ve helped me many times too. The guides will know that.”
“That’s right. Unless other guides apologize to you, I don’t think I need to apologize.”
When I spoke confidently, the S-class Espers looked at me enviously.
In fact, the S-class Espers hadn’t done anything wrong to the guides either; the guides had just found them intimidating…
When I said that the ones who should really apologize were the other high-ranking Espers, the S-class Espers smiled contentedly.
“Still, if we take the lead like this, other Espers won’t be able to mistreat guides so easily either. As expected, Seo Eunwoo is the only one who cares about us.”
Kyun In said with a grin, and thinking that with such a reason, it would be better for me to apologize together, that’s what we decided.
“Then instead of doing it in the Center dining hall, how about renting a high-end restaurant in Central and doing it there?”
I suggested, remembering the place where Byun Tae-young had taken me before, and Byun Tae-young’s eyes lit up as if he too recalled the place.
“Shall we do that then? Rather than just saying words halfheartedly, wouldn’t it be better to do it properly if we’re going to do it?”
“Then shall I buy each of them an outfit? There might be people who don’t want to sign contracts and just return to Central. It would be good for them to have something memorable too.”
When Kyun In spoke, Shim Woo-jin seemed to be pondering what he should do, and I suggested a violin performance to him.
“Ah…”
Shim Woo-jin didn’t seem very willing, and once the S-class Espers noticed that he didn’t want to do it, they seized the opportunity and insisted that he absolutely had to do it.
I helped them too, and Shim Woo-jin nodded as if he had no choice.
Though the event seemed to be growing bigger, I thought it was worth doing just because it was meaningful to Lee Ha-min.
***
It was a restaurant where even making one reservation was difficult, and it was already fully booked up to two months in advance.
However, after receiving Byun Tae-young’s call and holding a brief meeting, they said they would give an answer, and in less than ten minutes, they contacted us.
Since everyone living in Central owed a debt to the Center’s Espers and guides, they said they would open the restaurant for us on that day.
We, who had been anxious about whether we could make a reservation even after making plans, all cheered in unison.
Byun Tae-young, who had been in charge of the restaurant reservation, seemed to have been inwardly nervous and appeared happier than anyone else.
Since that was a sight not easily witnessed, everyone was in an atmosphere of amazement, and Kyun In chartered several cars to take the guides out to Central and let them shop at a high-end department store.
Going to a top-class restaurant that ordinary people found difficult to even reserve, and shopping with Kyun In, an S-class Esper, would have been a memorable event for them.
Kyun In’s popularity could be seen just by how the news that he and the guides had appeared at the department store heated up various social media platforms.
As the reason why Kyun In came to the department store with the guides was also made known, it had an even better effect than intentional promotion.
And as rumors spread that the S-class Espers and Lee Ha-min would dine with the guides at the restaurant, the attention of many people was concentrated.
“Lee Ha-min. It seems like people might come, aren’t you nervous?”
“I am nervous. I’ll stick right next to you, Eunwoo.”
“Are you sure? I think I’ll be the most popular. If you stay beside me, attention will pour on you too, you know?”
“I think that’s really likely, but I’ll endure it.”
This guy would really do that, so teasing him wasn’t fun.
I asked Shim Woo-jin if he was nervous too, but he retorted, asking what there was to be nervous about.
“Even if I tried to make mistakes on purpose, it would be difficult to make them.”
“Ah…”
“No. That’s the truth, isn’t it? I really hate it when people act humble when it doesn’t suit them.”
I nodded, thinking there was nothing to say when he put it that way, and became increasingly excited.
We should have realized in advance that we weren’t the only ones looking forward to dining at the restaurant with the guides.
***
However, we couldn’t have imagined that so many reporters from various media outlets would gather there, but that’s what happened.
The competition for coverage was so intense that it was difficult even for us to get to the restaurant.
I was a bit worried that the S-class Espers would get annoyed, but they seemed quite relaxed, either because they were enjoying being out after a long time or because they had made some kind of promise to each other not to get angry that day.
“Lee Ha-min. Have you been here before too?”
I wanted to boast that I had been here before, so I asked, but Lee Ha-min was too busy sightseeing outside to even hear my words.
“That’s new over there? It wasn’t there when I came before. That building has changed too? I think there was a bakery there, did it move?”
Seeing that he knew even that much, it seemed he had visited more often than I had.
“The guides will be very grateful to you, Lee Ha-min. If I were you, I don’t think I could have done this much. When I become a frog, I won’t remember my tadpole days.”
Lee Ha-min laughed loudly, saying my words were funny.
Then he said he thought my idea was probably wrong.
“You’ve already taken good care of the tadpoles even after becoming a frog. You did so despite being an amazing frog that never even went through the tadpole stage.”
If that’s what he wants to believe, I have to let him.
Every time the car carrying the S-class Espers moved forward, countless camera flashes went off.
Despite the restaurant’s decision not to accept guests other than us, there was still a crowd, and it took a very long time to get there.
The area was packed with fans who had gathered to see the S-class Espers up close.
Even after getting out of the car, the S-class Espers didn’t go inside first but waited for us. Dressed in suits directly designed by famous designers, they looked like statues.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
