Chapter 45
The catalyst for Jo Heeseo’s inferiority complex exploding was the company cafeteria.
When some military academy graduates among the Zone B awakened ones who returned after purifying a dangerous area recognized Yeonwoo, they waved at him. Classmates introduced their team members, and Yeonwoo introduced his team members too, naturally leading to them sitting together. However, the atmosphere was far from pleasant.
This was because Jo Heeseo had run straight out after seeing a guide of her same rank surrounded by B-class Espers.
Since that day, Jo Heeseo had openly avoided guiding, and when training with Lee Subin, she wouldn’t even come near. While Lee Subin didn’t pay much attention to this because she was familiar with Jo Heeseo’s ambitions, other Espers were different.
“Esper Seo Yujin!”
At Choi Dongwon’s call, Seo Yujin, who had been smiling slightly, froze when she saw Jo Heeseo. Ignoring Seo Yujin despite the blatant stare, Jo Heeseo was looking for Bae Jaeyoung. After spotting Bae Jaeyoung surrounded by other team members she had been training with, Jo Heeseo gracefully walked toward her.
“What kind of confidence is that?”
Lee Subin, who had approached, gave a small snort. Muttering disapprovingly that someone might think she’d imprinted with Esper Bae Jaeyoung, Lee Subin patted Yeonwoo’s shoulder. Even just seeing the apologetic look, Yeonwoo could guess what was happening. Now that the joint training with the communal zone Espers was over, it was time to decide which teams they would join and which dungeon reserve teams they would be assigned to. She was saying she wouldn’t choose this team. Seo Yujin, who had been briefly greeting Choi Dongwon, showed the same expression.
Sure enough, with the training director’s appearance, the communal zone Espers chose which teams they would join, but none of them chose Yeonwoo’s team.
“I look forward to working with you.”
As Bae Jaeyoung, the last one, made her team selection, Jo Heeseo made a choking sound. Staggering as if the ground beneath her was collapsing, Jo Heeseo walked toward Bae Jaeyoung.
“What are you doing? Clearly—!”
“Guide Jo Heeseo.”
Despite the training director’s call, Jo Heeseo didn’t stop walking. Blocked by a shield barrier that suddenly appeared, Jo Heeseo glared at Bae Jaeyoung with a resentful face.
“What is going on here?”
When Jo Heeseo only widened her eyes at the training director’s question, Bae Jaeyoung sighed and stepped forward.
“She persistently requested to be on the same team, and I told her I would think about it so I could focus on training with other team members… It seems she misunderstood my response.”
At those words, Jo Heeseo glared with furious eyes. The training director, stepping in front of Jo Heeseo as she tried to speak, rubbed between his eyebrows. Sensing the tense atmosphere, Jo Heeseo looked around before speaking with a voice full of bitterness.
“Then please let me move to that team.”
At Jo Heeseo’s determination to be on Bae Jaeyoung’s team by any means necessary, Park Seohyun buried her face in her hands and sat down. Choi Dongwon was watching Jo Heeseo with an emotionless expression.
“Guide Jo Heeseo. As I explained before, we cannot change team members based on personal feelings. I believe I explained this thoroughly both before and after your employment.”
“It’s not about personal feelings—”
“Then what? If not personal feelings, why do you keep requesting to change team members?”
At those words, Jo Heeseo’s gaze turned to her team members. As she surveyed the three with eyes full of tears from some perceived injustice, Jo Heeseo seemed to make up her mind and fixed her gaze on Yeonwoo.
“Have you checked Esper Han Yeonwoo’s ability fluctuations? It’s not just one or two mistakes—his ability has been unstable since his first day until now. How can I go on missions with him when I’m so anxious?”
At Jo Heeseo’s claim, the training director glanced at Yeonwoo and opened the training chart. As the papers fluttered, Yeonwoo swallowed dryly. Unlike him, Jo Heeseo remained confident. After briefly examining the training chart, the training director pressed his forehead as if he had a headache.
“Guide Jo Heeseo. How many times have you provided guiding to Guide Han Yeonwoo so far?”
Jo Heeseo momentarily looked at Yeonwoo with a confused expression.
Why are you looking at me?
“Park Seohyun, 42 guiding sessions for offensive-type Espers. Choi Dongwon, 14 sessions for defensive-type Espers. Han Yeonwoo, 6 sessions for auxiliary-type Espers. Is this assessment correct?”
After Choi Dongwon nodded while recalling his memories, Jo Heeseo clenched her jaw and glared in their direction. Her eyes seemed to be demanding why no one had told her such things were being tracked. Yeonwoo could only let out a hollow laugh.
“Wouldn’t it be stranger if an Esper who has received only 6 guiding sessions since their first day had stable abilities?”
At the training director’s question, Jo Heeseo bit her lip and avoided answering, but the training director wasn’t done with his questions.
“As everyone knows, newly employed Espers make numerous mistakes due to the pressure of having to synchronize with team members and show results. Do you think Zone A Espers are any different? Bursting mana balls is common, and there are many times when they get hit by misfired abilities and end up covered in blood. Didn’t you see Esper Kang Chahun drop an ice chunk and get startled recently?”
Yeonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed at the unexpected example. A newly awakened kid might make some mistakes, so why bring that up here?
“At the beginning, we overlook mistakes and even if guiding isn’t provided, we let it slide. We know everyone feels pressured. That’s why we didn’t give you a separate warning for guiding like this, Guide Jo Heeseo. But with you making such claims, I can’t help but be suspicious of you.”
At those words, Jo Heeseo, who had been staring at the ground, suddenly raised her head.
“What?”
“Didn’t you understand? It’s natural to suspect that there might be something wrong with Guide Jo Heeseo that’s preventing her from providing guiding.”
“No, what are you saying?”
“If that’s not the case, what’s the reason for providing so little guiding to your team members? You passed the mana affinity test, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”
The sound of suppressed laughter came from somewhere. Lee Subin covered her mouth and pretended to cough, but Jo Heeseo was glaring at her with wide, angry eyes.
“Occasionally, or rather frequently, awakened individuals from the same school or academy request to change team members to maintain past friendships. Guide Jo Heeseo isn’t the only one who insists on changing teams.”
“When did I insist—”
“Enough. Well, I understand it’s not because you want to be on a team with someone you’re close to. Of course, I also understand the desire to be on a team with a strong Esper, but honestly speaking, does Guide Jo Heeseo think she has that much value?”
Before the question was finished, Jo Heeseo nodded. This time, laughter came from all directions. Lee Subin was openly looking Jo Heeseo up and down, sneering. With her neck turning red from the laughter, Jo Heeseo glared at Lee Subin while trembling.
In a way, she’s quite remarkable. Usually by this point, one would wonder if they were deluding themselves.
Does she still think this is the military academy? At the academy, guides were so few that they might have tolerated a guide wielding power, but the Center is different.
“Well, your confidence is admirable. I hope it continues.”
After organizing the training chart, the training director separated those who had formed teams with communal zone Espers from those selected for the reserve team. Yeonwoo, who didn’t belong to either group, looked at the training director with a confused expression. He had definitely been part of the first reserve team. He remembered struggling miserably in the first dungeon he’d entered.
But he was excluded from the reserve team?
Park Seohyun, who had been watching the dumbfounded Yeonwoo throughout training, checked the time. As if the negative public opinion formed because of Jung Eunyoung wasn’t bad enough, now Jo Heeseo had targeted Han Yeonwoo, so all kinds of attention would inevitably stick to him. Unlike Park Seohyun, who tried to leave the training ground as soon as lunch time began, Jo Heeseo looked for Bae Jaeyoung.
As Jo Heeseo was about to rush toward Bae Jaeyoung, she flinched upon noticing the gazes surrounding her. Park Seohyun, who approached and grabbed Jo Heeseo, gave Yeonwoo a signal with her eyes. When Yeonwoo folded space toward the cafeteria, Jo Heeseo seemed to feel motion sickness and staggered, reaching out to grab Park Seohyun. Park Seohyun gently detached herself from Jo Heeseo and entered the cafeteria.
The atmosphere was something else.
In this atmosphere, it seemed like any delicacy would cause indigestion. Yeonwoo, poking at his mini kimbap, moved only his eyes to survey his team members. They had come to the cafeteria since it was lunchtime, but it wasn’t an environment where they could eat. Although Park Seohyun was holding a spoon, she was only cutting the egg sheet of her omurice into pieces.
“Why is the atmosphere like this?”
The familiar voice eased his tense nerves. As always, Chahun took the seat next to Yeonwoo and, after looking around, snatched the stir-fried pork. Unlike the other Espers who just nodded silently, Jo Heeseo, sitting diagonally across, brightened her eyes.
“Excuse me, Esper Kang Chahun, you don’t have a pair guide yet, right? And no team either.”
Despite Park Seohyun letting out a hollow laugh at the bold question, Jo Heeseo continued to stare only at Kang Chahun. Jo Heeseo’s intention was obvious. She wanted to be his pair guide.
Dream big.
Even A-class guides struggled to handle S-class Espers. A B-class? It wasn’t about being dismissive—it was just the reality. While guides could absorb mana infinitely from nature, transferring from a shot glass wouldn’t easily fill a drum.
Yeonwoo put down his chopsticks and looked around. A chilly silence had settled in the usually bustling cafeteria filled with various conversations. It was understandable. Jo Heeseo’s habit of discriminating against ability users based on rank had been well-known since military academy days. The people in Zone C, already feeling discriminated against by Zones A and B, weren’t likely to look kindly upon Jo Heeseo, who discriminated based on rank even within that structure.
Noticing that everyone’s attention in the cafeteria was focused on her, Jo Heeseo hunched her shoulders and tried to lean against Choi Dongwon. Choi Dongwon twisted his body to avoid her lightly and only then began eating. Jo Heeseo, looking at Choi Dongwon with eyes full of betrayal, made eye contact with Chahun.
“Excuse me.”
At that sound, a chair creaked from far away. Everyone in the cafeteria was clearly listening intently. Chahun, who was mixing his jajangmyeon, asked disinterestedly.
“Who are you?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
