# Chapter 57
Dohyun sat obediently in the guild’s conference room, rolling his eyes. Can’t I go home? Chan strongly insisted that he should rest after what had just happened, but Haegang argued that they couldn’t hold a meeting about Dohyun’s situation without including him. Thanks to that, Dohyun was sitting quietly in the conference room, listening to people discussing countermeasures.
“I have no intention of letting other Espers into my home.”
“But Guide Choi Haegang, given Esper Dohyun’s situation, something worse could happen if he wanders around alone. Besides, Guide Choi Haegang is also a target.”
It was clear that Dohyun was being targeted. However, Haegang’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed either. Even in this recent incident, they had targeted Haegang to lure Dohyun. The guild suggested restricting Dohyun’s radius of activity until it was safe, but Haegang said that wasn’t possible.
Of course, there were bound to be differences in their positions. Haegang knew that Dohyun didn’t show such a tense reaction to people other than Jiwhan, so he had concluded that they just needed to be careful about that aspect. However, the guild concluded that other Espers besides Jiwhan could also be dangerous to Dohyun.
“From our assessment, this is quite entangled in various areas.”
The Guild Master sighed with a complicated expression. While Dohyun was developing response methods with help from Haegang and Handam, the guild was also checking the situation from various angles. But they reached the conclusion that it was hard to know where to start.
There was a clear reason for the Guild Master’s conclusion. The more they looked into the records of the orphanage from when Dohyun was Seonwoo, the more they were left in the dark.
“We only discovered the location of the orphanage when Esper Dohyun was kidnapped.”
“What you mean is…”
“We can’t precisely verify details related to Esper Baek Dohyun. Especially, there’s no information about his initial adoption.”
Without records, it was difficult to confirm information related to Dohyun. It was as if someone had intentionally removed them—there was simply no content. Even the orphanage residents who supposedly lived with Dohyun when he was Han Seonwoo couldn’t be verified.
Dohyun clearly remembered being told by his adoptive parents that everyone at the orphanage had died in an accident. But it was impossible to confirm where his adoptive parents had heard this information.
At Dohyun’s words, everyone in the meeting fell silent.
“Ah…”
“The building owner is someone who died a long time ago. The building has been owned by the state for a while, but since it’s in a remote location, not many people know about it. There are no development plans for the surrounding area, so it’s just been abandoned.”
What Chan displayed on the conference room screen was a photo of the orphanage taken by Handam. When Dohyun was captured inside the building, Handam had gone to the location written on the note in Dohyun’s place and had to face low-ranking Espers. Surprisingly, those who attacked Handam lost consciousness due to his actions and remembered nothing when they woke up.
‘I didn’t know what I was doing…?’
‘Yes, of course! We had no reason to attack Esper Ye Handam!’
‘Why would we attack an Esper we barely know?’
Surprisingly, they were individuals who had gathered to participate in gate conquests. They said a post was uploaded on a community site recruiting part-timers for collecting gate by-products.
The Espers said there was nothing unusual about the post. It was an ordinary job posting recruiting for gate by-product collection, and since such posts appear several times a day, they simply moved to the designated location after applying.
“Since these Espers showed no abnormalities, we took their contact information and sent them home. Esper Ye Handam had attached a body cam before moving, so all related footage remains, and the Espers accurately wrote down their information. We’ve also confirmed that their addresses match.”
“There’s a high probability they were affected by a mental-type Esper.”
They were a minority among combat-type Espers. While using mental attacks on ordinary people or Guides was severely punished, the penalty for using them on other Espers wasn’t that high. When Dohyun asked why everyone looked like this would make things more complicated, Haegang, sitting next to him, explained quietly.
“It’s because Espers don’t remain under the effects of mental attacks for long.”
“Ah… So it wears off quickly?”
“Yes. Basically, it’s known to wear off within a few seconds, and even if a high-ranking Esper uses it on a low-ranking Esper, it lasts only a few minutes. It’s said not to exceed 10 minutes.”
During a time when Espers’ human rights were at rock bottom, there were even countries that expressed ambitious intentions to create armies by using brainwashing or hypnosis on Espers. Korea also had such projects under the old association, but it was overthrown by the affected Espers, leading to the existence of the current association. Dohyun nodded, indicating he understood.
“Mr. Baek Dohyun, do you remember the name of your previous orphanage?”
“…No. I remember that I was in an orphanage, but the name of the orphanage is blurry.”
“That could also be due to an Esper’s ability. If it was before your awakening as an Esper, it would have been easier to tamper with your memories. Esper Dohyun, what about friends you had back then?”
“There weren’t any.”
Dohyun answered firmly. As if he didn’t need friends. Chan, who had been flipping through hastily prepared documents on his laptop, looked up at Dohyun briefly before turning his gaze back to the screen.
“I didn’t have any friends I hung out with until high school. If I really had my memories altered through mental manipulation, even I can’t be certain, but according to my memory, there were none at all.”
Dohyun tried to suppress the emotion rising from the depths of his heart.
That emotion’s name was guilt.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Can I go home now?”
It was a protracted meeting. There were numerous things they couldn’t figure out, and rather than clarifying the situation, the more they talked, the more unclear it became. For now, all they could say was that Dohyun needed to be careful. The guild concluded they would check around the orphanage.
“Yes.”
Instead, Dohyun agreed to contact the guild whenever he left the house. Haegang strongly opposed having another Esper come to his house. There was also a suggestion to move to another house that Dohyun had seen, but Dohyun rejected that. It wasn’t out of any selfish reason but simply because it would be uncomfortable for Dohyun at the moment.
If it were just about making potions for the guild, it would be simple to get another house and move out. Even if it was a bit uncomfortable and awkward, it wouldn’t matter if an Esper occasionally visited for protection.
But Dohyun was currently potionizing other abilities as well. Haegang knew this too. Since Dohyun set aside several potions for Haegang’s share, it was a win-win strategy.
“Commuting is becoming a bit difficult.”
“It’s going to be even harder for a while. Since Mr. Baek Dohyun can’t drive.”
Dohyun felt disheartened. Since the incident occurred at the driving school, it would be difficult to register at that school again. Of course, Dohyun was just a victim, but they couldn’t know who else might get caught up in such incidents. This time it was related to Dohyun and Haegang, but it would be uncomfortable if ordinary people who knew nothing were harmed.
“I want to ask something personal.”
Haegang’s car quietly started moving. Since the engine wasn’t loud, Haegang’s voice was clearly audible. Dohyun hoped Haegang wouldn’t try to enter the boundaries he had drawn. But Haegang asked Dohyun in a calm voice.
“Did your adoptive parents pass away? Can you answer?”
Dohyun felt like the current situation was like a cage match. Unless someone is knocked down, they can’t leave the cage. In the previous match, Dohyun had thrown in the white towel first. He had withdrawn, saying, “I won’t ask, so you don’t ask either.”
It was the same space as before. Previously, Dohyun could have ignored Haegang’s question and walked away. But although it was the same car, the same seat, Dohyun couldn’t leave now. The situation was completely different.
If Haegang had asked about the watch that irritated him like before, Dohyun could have answered the same way. If he asked why Dohyun preciously wore a broken watch that didn’t move on his wrist every time, Dohyun would have answered that he didn’t need to worry about it.
But Haegang asked about his parents. While doing so, his gaze remained forward as if to say Dohyun didn’t have to answer. It was a subtle expression indicating that while he was curious, he wouldn’t press if Dohyun didn’t want to talk about it.
Faced with this politeness, which differed from the strangely irritated tone of last time, Dohyun kept his mouth shut.
“May I ask?”
“…”
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to tell me.”
Dohyun remained silent for a while. If Haegang had shown frustration and gotten annoyed at Dohyun’s lack of response, Dohyun could have used that as a reason to keep his mouth shut. But Haegang was calm.
Dohyun glanced sideways to check Haegang’s expression, then lowered his head again. Haegang was merely concentrating on driving while waiting for Dohyun to answer. Unlike before, he wasn’t showing impatience, which made Dohyun struggle to open his mouth.
“Why are you trying to ask?”
“Because of what came up in the meeting earlier.”
Dohyun finally realized that Haegang’s curiosity was inevitable given the situation. Chan, who was in the conference room, knew about Dohyun’s parents’ circumstances. The Guild Master would also know to some extent from what Chan had told her. Handam, also being a guild member and having spent a long time with Chan, would have figured it out to some degree.
But Haegang was different. He wasn’t entangled with the guild and had only begun interacting with the guild purely because of Dohyun himself. This meant that if Dohyun didn’t tell him, he could have remained in the dark indefinitely.
Dohyun let out a sigh.
“…Could I perhaps try drinking alcohol?”
“Alcohol?”
“…They say adults can drink it.”
“I have beer, soju, and other things at home. But Mr. Baek Dohyun probably won’t get drunk easily.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re an Esper.”
Is that how it works too? There were too many unexpected things.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
