#052
It was about 20 years ago when dungeons suddenly opened in the air, and a very small number of people began to manifest as so-called “awakened ones.”
The early awakened ones were weak and struggled, fumbling around without a proper system. In an era when even the concepts of esper and guide didn’t exist, guides didn’t know they were guides, and espers couldn’t receive guiding.
Eventually, as espers who went berserk and died or got involved in crimes appeared in various parts of the city, espers faced severe oppression from the government.
When a guide accidentally discovered how to guide an esper, espers and guides were subsequently distinguished, and gradually a system began to take shape.
Above all, as more civilians died due to dungeon breaks and it became difficult for the military to completely handle dungeon monsters, the government officially established an Awakened Center and began managing all awakened ones.
Seven years ago, Hyun Dowoon, who manifested as an S-class esper with an L-class constellation, used his politician father’s power and his own strength to bring the control of the Awakened Center from the government to the awakened ones, leading to research on dungeons and improvements in the treatment of awakened ones.
And Shin Haejun… manifested 14 years ago. He was 7 years old at the time, unofficially the youngest S-class esper to manifest in the world.
***
As a child, Haejun was a slightly mischievous but lovable boy.
Born into a wealthy family, there was only one thing this fearless child was afraid of: being left alone in the dark.
For Haejun, who acted as the leader in kindergarten, this was a secret he could never tell his friends.
“Bro, let’s sleep together.”
As always, Haejun knocked on the door holding his dinosaur-shaped stuffed animal.
Haemin, who had been studying in the room, closed his book with a thud and opened the door.
“How long are you going to sleep with me, huh?”
It was quite inconvenient for 14-year-old Haemin to adjust to his 7-year-old brother’s bedtime.
As Haemin lightly pinched Haejun’s chubby cheek and asked, Haejun pouted and stomped his feet.
“I’m saying I have a fever. My insides are hot.”
“You have a fever?”
Surprised by Haejun’s words, Haemin placed his hand on his forehead. But Haejun’s forehead was cold rather than hot.
“It’s cold…”
“I’m really sick, I’m telling you! I really won’t come tomorrow!”
“Alright, alright, if you say so.”
Haejun shouted confidently. Haemin nodded with an attitude that said, “Whatever you say.” He knew that Haejun would come again tomorrow and say, “I really won’t come tomorrow!”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Little one, just come and lie down.”
Haemin walked to the bed first, pulled back the covers, and slipped inside.
Haejun stomped his feet and ran to the bed.
“I want to sleep on the wall side! That’s my spot!”
“Who’s stopping you, really.”
Haemin sighed and wriggled to make room.
Haejun climbed onto the bed triumphantly and giggled.
“Bro, let me use your arm as a pillow.”
“That’s annoying, just go to sleep.”
“I hate you!”
Haemin was basically a kind and affectionate brother, but as he was growing up, he was increasingly not doing things as Haejun wanted.
Annoyed with his brother, Haejun turned his back and hugged his stuffed animal tightly.
He fell asleep soon after, not even hearing his brother’s “Good night.”
In his dream, Haejun was flying. The dream of floating was very pleasant. As Haejun gently drifted around, he felt a strange sense of reality.
‘This feels good.’
The hot feeling inside his body that he had felt all day was gone. Instead, his body felt very light.
He tried posing like a hero from an animation, tried walking in the air, and finally chose to lie down floating.
After floating for a while, Haejun felt a rough touch from below. Looking closely, it was a ghost with no face! The ghost seemed to be trying to communicate something, making some sort of sound with its gaping mouth.
Like a child, Haejun disliked ghosts. If not for that, he wouldn’t have been afraid of the dark either.
The ghost’s hand tried to touch Haejun’s body. Startled, Haejun trampled on it frantically as if trying to shake off something scary.
“No!”
That’s when he woke up. Haejun’s body fell onto the mattress with a thud.
It was such a scary dream. Haejun turned his head to call for his brother to hug him.
‘Huh?’
The place where his brother had been lying… had changed into an empty hole.
Haejun, startled, looked down into the deep hole.
‘Below this… is Mom and Dad’s room.’
Somehow, the floor with the hole, including the mattress where his brother had been lying, was very clean. As if cut out with a sharp knife.
“Aaaaaaah!”
Below the hole, Haejun could see his parents in their pajamas. He blinked and peered into the hole below. He could see his mother screaming and flailing on the floor.
His mother crawled to the center of the hole. Then she wailed loudly, looking at something flat on the floor.
His father hurriedly turned on the lights in the master bedroom. Then he approached and slumped down on the floor.
Thanks to the light… Haejun could recognize what was crumpled in the center.
It was a grotesquely twisted corpse. Wearing familiar pajamas…
“Huaaah!”
Haejun screamed in shock. That couldn’t be his brother. His brother… should be right next to him.
The moment he screamed, his eyes met his mother’s below.
His mother seemed relieved when she saw Haejun. But soon, she cried again with empty eyes, trying to somehow embrace the corpse.
***
After his brother’s bizarre and mysterious death, his mother lived with Haejun by her side for a while. She was in a state of lost reason, fearing she might lose her only remaining youngest child to something supernatural.
The atmosphere in the house changed completely after his brother disappeared. It wasn’t a very harmonious home to begin with, but his father, having lost his potential successor, was deeply depressed, and his mother began to obsess over Haejun.
Except for when he was a baby, it was the period in Haejun’s short 7-year life when he was held in his mother’s arms the most.
Apart from the pain of losing his brother, Haejun was happy to be able to stay close to his mother.
However, sometimes his mother looked at Haejun with very strange eyes. It was a look mixed with fear and hatred. When he received such looks, Haejun somehow felt intimidated and couldn’t speak to his mother.
And when he grew a little older and became old enough to understand what had happened to him. When awareness of espers became more active and he learned about what they could do.
‘I killed my brother.’
Haejun realized what he had done. It was from then that extreme self-loathing and fear of uncontrollable situations began to bloom.
‘I can’t hide it anymore.’
After secretly researching about awakened ones, Haejun learned that he was an esper, and that even if he didn’t use his power, he might go berserk someday if he didn’t receive guiding.
Because of this, on the day he finally went to the center for a rank test.
When the center learned that 14-year-old Haejun, the same age as his deceased brother, was an S-class awakened one, they bombarded him with countless questions.
Haejun, who faithfully responded to the tests and learned that his abilities were in the “gravity,” “ice,” and “charm” categories, felt like he had been definitively executed.
That day, he confirmed that it was indeed himself who had manipulated gravity and killed his brother.
“Did you manifest recently?”
Haejun, who had faithfully answered all questions, couldn’t properly answer this one.
Even manifesting at 14, Haejun was already the youngest S-class awakened one. There wouldn’t be much difference if he said he had manifested at 7.
Above all, Haemin’s mysterious death was once a famous case that made the newspapers. Although many might have forgotten by now, if it was announced that there was an S-class gravity-type esper who manifested at 7, they would immediately connect it to Haejun.
“Our child manifested about a week ago. I thought it was strange and suggested we come here.”
When Haejun hesitated for a moment, unable to answer, his mother beside him responded in a calm voice.
It was an unexpected moment for Haejun. When he realized his mistake, Haejun understood what the strange look in his mother’s eyes had contained.
His mother… suspected the second son who had been next to her dead son. It was a very intuitive and instinctive suspicion.
His mother, who couldn’t sleep without Haejun right after his brother died, at some point moved Haejun’s room to the farthest empty room. As if she was afraid Haejun might harm someone again.
‘Why did Mom say that?’
From that moment, Haejun found it difficult to stay quietly at the center. He couldn’t bear wondering what his mother was thinking.
On the way home, in the car, Haejun called out to his mother.
“Mom…”
With just that one word, his mother seemed to understand what Haejun wanted to say next.
She answered in a tired voice.
“I couldn’t lose you too after losing my firstborn. So the group will do everything to find your guide. But honestly… I’m scared of you, Haejun.”
Haejun felt both despair and empathy at his mother’s words.
In fact, he was scared of himself too. The guilt and fear of having killed his closest, most beloved family member was a trauma that suppressed Haejun’s life.
After that, Haejun and the Haesun Group struggled to find a guide with the best matching rate for Haejun. Unfortunately, all the guides who took the matching test with Haejun were below the standard of 70%.
As a result, for a long time, it became Haejun’s daily routine to receive mismatched guiding and suffer from nausea and headaches.
As time passed, frustrations piled up, and he became a pessimistic person who never let anyone close, known as the esper with the worst personality.
It was around this time that Shin Haejun met Kim Sehyun, who recorded a 98% matching rate.
***
Shin Haejun, recalling his most terrible past memory, clutched his forehead.
If he doesn’t receive guiding… he could kill someone unconsciously again. He must receive guiding somehow to prevent an uncontrollable situation.
‘Otherwise… this time, Jaeha might die.’
His hand clutching his forehead trembled slightly. What was even more frightening… was his own desire to keep Jaeha by his side despite suppressing this fear.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
