# Chapter 12
“…I’m sorry. Even if it takes longer, please explain it again step by step.”
Going into a gate? He wasn’t ready for this at all. The Guild Leader had clearly said not to rush and to take things slowly. Following the instruction to come up to the office, Dohyun hurriedly pressed the elevator button. Watching the floor indicator change sluggishly, he felt frustrated and was considering running up the stairs when the elevator finally arrived.
As soon as he entered the elevator, he repeatedly pressed the close button.
Thud.
A hand suddenly shot through the closing gap and forced the door open.
“Whew, I understand you’re in a hurry, but there are people behind you waiting to get on.”
“…I’m sorry.”
His heart nearly dropped—it was Haegang. Dohyun bowed politely to him as he exhaled, his breathing slightly quickened from running. How did he get here so fast…? Haegang had definitely been Guiding since 12 o’clock.
After wondering briefly, it occurred to him that Haegang might be here for the same reason. Even if there was such an exceptional situation, Haegang seemed like someone who would never make allowances, but perhaps he was different than expected.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Ah, yes…”
“So you didn’t.”
Somehow, he was easily found out. Haegang, who had been staring at Dohyun, impassively turned his gaze forward. Should he ask the same question back? Would not asking be impolite? While he wasn’t particularly curious, they did have a Guiding contract. Isn’t asking about meals a common greeting? Dohyun’s mind raced quickly. But in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to ask.
“You don’t eat much, do you?”
“Yes. What?”
“That’s why you’re so skinny.”
“……”
Lost in his own thoughts, Dohyun had responded halfheartedly to Haegang’s remark, who apparently clicked his tongue at Dohyun’s poor eating habits. The difference between Haegang’s large build covered in solid muscle and Dohyun’s scrawny frame was obvious to anyone.
‘But I’m actually stronger than him, though.’
Even thinking this, he remained silent.
Today, Haegang wore the same formal attire as when they first met. A neat black suit with his hair swept back. A black tie hung in the center of his crisp white shirt. Of course, it was hard to imagine Haegang wearing a tie of any other color. The shirt buttons were properly fastened but…
‘I hope they don’t… burst…’
Although Dohyun knew it was just his imagination, he couldn’t stop glancing. Objectively speaking, Haegang had an impressive physique. But dressed in that impeccable suit with black shoes and a furrowed brow, Dohyun flinched every time their eyes met. He tried hard to divert his thoughts from the image that came to mind, but it wouldn’t easily disappear.
Somehow, he felt that if Haegang went outside the guild, large men in similar attire would line up on both sides of the road. And then they would bow at 90 degrees and say…
“Hyung-nim, and…”
Ding. The elevator arrival sound rang loudly.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Didn’t you just say ‘hyung-nim’?”
Alarmed by Haegang’s question, Dohyun shook his head in denial. Chan’s scolding echoed in his mind.
‘You tend to blurt out whatever comes to mind, so you should try to keep your mouth shut.’
Dohyun desperately wished he could turn back time.
❖ ❖ ❖
Chan guided Haegang and Dohyun to the conference room where they had signed the exclusive Guide contract. Though it was Dohyun’s second visit, he still felt unfamiliar and readjusted himself in his seat. The difference from last time was that Chan, who had previously sat beside him, was now sitting across from him, while Haegang, who had been opposite, was now seated next to Dohyun.
The seating arrangement feels uncomfortable. Reading Dohyun’s thoughts, Chan mouthed for him to just sit down.
“Esper Baek Dohyun hasn’t heard the details yet, so I apologize, but the explanation might take some time.”
“Since Esper Baek Dohyun is the person concerned, shouldn’t he be briefed?”
“Our Esper is usually quite busy, you know.”
Can’t tell him not to go to that delivery loading and unloading part-time job. Though Chan muttered this to himself, everyone in the small conference room heard it clearly.
“He’s the one who initially rejected guild support. That’s his problem, but anyway, Bbakdo. You need to enter the gate.”
“I don’t even know my ability yet. What would I do in there? And wasn’t it originally the case that non-combat types didn’t need to enter?”
“That’s not necessarily true. Among non-combat types, there are cases where they participate in gate raids. The Guild Leader will explain the details about this entry separately. It’s also customary for Espers to enter a gate at least once… This time, the schedule was suddenly arranged, so we had to notify you urgently and ask you to come to the guild early. Thank you, Guide Choi Haegang, for coming early despite your busy schedule.”
There it is again. That so-called custom. Isn’t it not a custom if new members don’t know about it? Despite the irritated thoughts filling his head, Dohyun quietly nodded. Haegang responded somewhat sharply.
“Yes. I have a schedule too, so let’s proceed quickly.”
Would it hurt him to speak more politely? Though Dohyun himself was quite used to Haegang’s way of speaking by now, he noticed Chan raising one eyebrow briefly in disapproval. In this already uncomfortable situation, he hoped a fight wouldn’t break out. Fortunately, Chan didn’t press the issue and continued.
“Guide Choi Haegang, please decide whether you’ll join the raid after hearing my explanation.”
“Let’s do that.”
“The gate we’ll be entering is F-class. Our guild sometimes requests lower-grade gates for Espers who haven’t experienced gate raids yet, or for Espers to check their strategies. This case is the former.”
“…Because of me?”
“I can’t say it’s not because of you, but it’s not entirely that… F-class gates don’t appear that frequently. Given our guild’s position, lower-grade gates are actually lower priority for us. But this time, thanks to you, the raid has been approved, and everyone’s happy about it. Usually, F-class gates are primarily assigned to student Espers for field training.”
Thanks to the new Esper joining the guild, Somyeong Guild was able to participate in an F-class gate raid after a long time. Chan further explained that although there were no Espers completely new to gate raids besides the temporarily enrolled Dohyun, there were new employees at Somyeong Guild, so a low-grade gate raid was necessary to check their capabilities. Worried that it might be because of him, Dohyun nodded upon hearing it was actually to his credit.
“As Guide Choi Haegang knows, Somyeong Guild’s motto is safety first, safety second. We prioritize the safety of both guides and Espers in our raids, so there should be no discomfort for Guide Choi Haegang to participate.”
“Then what about Guiding?”
“Since you’ve signed an exclusive Guide contract with Esper Baek Dohyun, naturally you’ll only need to Guide him. Of course, if you don’t refuse Guiding requests from other Espers, we would appreciate it. And we’ll certainly compensate you accordingly. For this raid, two defensive Espers from our guild and the Somyeong Guild Leader will join to protect the guides.”
Dohyun nodded, thinking of the Guild Leader. That definitely ensures safety.
“An S-class Esper participating in a low-grade gate means there won’t be any dangers. I’ll join. When do we depart?”
“The gate is expected to open around this evening, so you’ll need to leave in the afternoon. For your information, besides the Guild Leader, the Deputy Guild Leader, who is also an S-class Esper of Somyeong Guild, will join the raid team. So there won’t be any issues even if the gate’s grade increases during the raid.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be there on time.”
Haegang rose immediately, as if there was nothing more to hear. Wondering if he should say goodbye—after all, he was receiving exclusive Guiding—Dohyun stood up and bowed. Haegang, showing a briefly surprised expression, nodded slightly in return before leaving the conference room.
“Sa Gongchan. Can I go home and come back on time?”
“You have a lot to do.”
“…Can’t I leave work?”
“No.”
Before Dohyun could ask why, Chan pushed a thick binder of documents in front of him.
“Read all of this. There are places you need to sign, and there are also precautions for participating in gate raids, so put it all in your head.”
“I just came from hauling cargo, so I feel grimy and want to shower…”
“Do all that and go to the training room downstairs to wash up.”
“I don’t have clothes…”
“The guild has guild activity clothes. I’ll get them for you. Wear those.”
“…I haven’t eaten either.”
“Go to the company cafeteria and they’ll give you breakfast. It’s free.”
“You bastard.”
Seeing Dohyun’s expression, Chan raised one corner of his mouth. He’d really made the wrong friend.
❖ ❖ ❖
In the end, Dohyun couldn’t leave work until it was time to depart for the gate raid.
There were so many things to read and memorize. The content was the same as the training he received every time he went to the Association before his Esper powers manifested. Back then, he had skimmed through it, but now that he was immediately facing a gate situation, he had no choice but to learn and memorize diligently.
Perhaps because he had become an Esper, even though the content was excruciatingly boring, it stuck firmly in his mind. Of course, it felt more like engraving everything in his head rather than understanding it.
“Alright, that’s the end of the explanation. What are your thoughts after hearing everything?”
Handam, who had just finished explaining what to do with the Association staff waiting after exiting the gate, turned to Dohyun and asked with a teacher-like smile. When Dohyun couldn’t immediately respond to the sudden question, Handam laughed and added that his speech patterns had been influenced by his younger sibling who was a teacher.
If information had entered his head this easily when he was in school, he might have studied abroad. Looking slightly aggrieved, Dohyun glanced at his notes before speaking.
“It seems people can really do anything when the situation calls for it.”
“…Huh?”
“When I heard this at the Association, it felt like memorizing math formulas.”
“Really?”
“But now it feels like I’m learning how to calculate wages.”
Dohyun was serious. It seemed like an appropriate comparison. Putting aside the precautions for gate raids, it was all about ratios, contribution rates, by-product distribution, taxes, legal processing—essentially, it came down to calculating how much money would be allocated to Dohyun himself, which wasn’t much different from calculating salary. He couldn’t understand why Handam and the Guild Leader in front of him were laughing so heartily.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
