#053
#7
“Thank you so much!”
Lim Jihyeok bowed at almost a 90-degree angle. Having reached a zero rating through guiding, Lim Jihyeok’s face was flushed red with excitement. Of course, this could have been due to some sexual arousal, but Eunseok pretended not to notice.
“Then I’ll see you next time!”
Lim Jihyeok repeatedly bowed his head and left the guiding room.
After expressing his desire to increase the number of hunters he was in charge of, Eunseok began guiding two more hunters. One was Lim Jihyeok from the 2nd Combat Team, whom he had previously done emergency guiding for, and the other was a C-rank hunter from the 3rd Combat Team. Both were cases where they had been struggling due to their unique wavelengths and lack of high-matching guides.
Although it was only two people, Eunseok decided to find significance in the fact that the number of hunters he was responsible for had increased. Now, including Choi Hanseo, he was in charge of 8 hunters. With one S-rank and four A-ranks among them, it wasn’t a small number.
Unlike S-rank and A-rank, the guiding time for B-rank was relatively short. In the end, more than an hour and a half remained out of the two hours. Spending time with nothing to do didn’t suit his personality at all. Eunseok wondered if he should ask to reduce the time allocated per person.
Should I go eat lunch early? Or should I go to the gym and warm up lightly first?
While he was pondering for a moment, his phone rang. It was Secretary Kim.
“Hello?”
– “Hello, Guide Lee. Are you in the middle of guiding?”
“No, I just finished guiding a little while ago.”
– “Ah. That’s fortunate.”
“What’s the matter?”
– “Well, I’ve been informed that there’s a visitor at the main entrance who wants to meet Guide Lee.”
“A visitor?”
Eunseok mentally ran through a list of people who might visit him. He had no parents or siblings, and no particularly close friends. The only people he had some connection with were his comrades from his military days. But he hadn’t been in contact with them since being discharged.
– “Well… Do you remember the S-rank esper you did emergency guiding for recently at the request of the Ability Management Bureau?”
“Ah… You mean the esper named Park Sunwoo?”
– “Yes. Park Sunwoo has come saying he wants to meet Guide Lee. What would you like to do? Will you see him, or should we send him away?”
Her tone was cautious.
“If we send him away, does it seem like he’ll leave quietly?”
Eunseok asked, already guessing the situation from Secretary Kim’s voice.
– “Well, we told him it’s not possible unless there was a special matter or appointment, but he’s stubbornly standing his ground. If he tried to force his way in, we’d have grounds to stop him, but he’s just sitting there in front of the main entrance…”
Secretary Kim’s voice was tinged with embarrassment.
Eunseok understood her predicament.
Park Sunwoo is a valuable S-rank esper belonging to the Ability Management Bureau. They wouldn’t let such an esper wander around freely. This meant that Park Sunwoo’s stubborn visit had the tacit approval of the Bureau. Using forceful methods against Park Sunwoo could potentially cause problems. Of course, forceful methods wouldn’t work against an S-rank esper anyway.
“I’ll come down for now.”
– “Yes. I’m sorry, Guide Lee.”
After ending the call, Eunseok immediately left the guiding room. As he stepped out of the elevator on the first floor, he saw people murmuring in the lobby.
People who noticed Eunseok’s appearance discretely made way for him. Passing through them and stepping outside the main entrance, a truly remarkable scene unfolded.
Guards in suits had completely surrounded one person. The guards all wore stern expressions, looking as if they were ready to draw their guns from their holsters at any moment. And sitting cross-legged on the ground between these guards was a young man. It was Park Sunwoo, one of only two S-rank espers in the country.
“Oh?! Guide-nim-!”
As their eyes met, Park Sunwoo waved his hand vigorously with a bright expression. The guards’ attention immediately shifted to Eunseok. Eunseok watched with bewilderment as the guards quickly formed a barrier in front of him, as if they had rehearsed it. They were clearly taking a position to protect Eunseok from Park Sunwoo.
“Guide Lee Eunseok! It’s me, Park Sunwoo!”
Park Sunwoo jumped up and shouted loudly as he approached. He was yelling as if advertising his presence, when he could have spoken quietly.
“Hello, Esper Park Sunwoo.”
Eunseok greeted Park Sunwoo through the barrier formed by the guards. The guards physically blocked Park Sunwoo, who had taken a few steps closer with a welcoming face. Park Sunwoo’s face immediately turned hostile, as if annoyed by the presence of the obstacle.
“Fuck, won’t you move?”
Park Sunwoo glared at the guards and spat out a curse. His eyes showed that he wanted to use force to knock down the guards if there were no witnesses.
It was unclear whether this was his original personality or if it was because he was a young child who had just turned twenty.
“I’ll just have a brief conversation.”
Eunseok spoke to the guards who were unnecessarily caught in the middle and being cursed at.
“That’s not allowed.”
One of the guards flatly refused. Then he spoke to Park Sunwoo.
“If you have something to say, say it like this. If you come any closer, we’ll escort Guide-nim inside.”
“Tch. I’m not some infectious disease patient.”
Park Sunwoo glared menacingly. But the guards didn’t budge.
“Esper Park Sunwoo.”
Eunseok called his name to draw Park Sunwoo’s attention. Immediately, a bright smile spread across Park Sunwoo’s face. Befitting a twenty-year-old youth, his smile exuded a fresh and innocent feeling. His gently curved eyes were brimming with joy.
Eunseok had only briefly met Park Sunwoo during the emergency guiding. But Park Sunwoo seemed overjoyed, as if he had reunited with a long-lost family member.
“Guide-nim. I begged so much up there and barely managed to come out by squeezing my time just to see you.”
Park Sunwoo spoke as if seeking recognition for his efforts, almost like a child asking for attention. Slightly taller than Eunseok, Park Sunwoo had an impressive physique with broad shoulders befitting an S-rank esper. His slightly pale hair took on a reddish-brown hue under the sunlight, and his smiling face was quite likable, handsome yet cute like a puppy.
“What brings you here?”
Eunseok asked stiffly, not letting his guard down despite Park Sunwoo’s appearance. In the ecosystem of ability users that he was gradually learning about, S-rank espers were very threatening to S-rank guides.
Park Sunwoo’s eyes drooped with disappointment at Eunseok’s rigid tone.
“Why are you speaking so formally? Am I not allowed to come see you, Guide-nim? I would have been dead if it weren’t for you. I came to express my gratitude.”
Speaking with a dejected face, Park Sunwoo genuinely looked deeply hurt. Eunseok involuntarily recalled Park Sunwoo’s painful state during the emergency guiding. Remembering how he had been convulsing, covered in his own blood, made Eunseok feel relieved to see Park Sunwoo looking well now. He also felt sorry for the young man who was probably being pushed around by the Ability Management Bureau, not working of his own volition.
“I appreciate your gratitude. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
Eunseok spoke in a somewhat softer voice.
Park Sunwoo’s eyes sparkled. His face brightened again.
Hostile, bright, gloomy… He was a person with quite a variety of facial expressions.
“Guide-nim. Would you like to have a meal with me? I’m so grateful, I’d like to treat you to a meal at least.”
“I’ll just accept your feelings.”
“Then coffee! Let’s just have a cup of coffee together. Are you going to send me away like this after I came all the way here?”
Park Sunwoo pleaded with a desperate face.
Indeed, it seemed unlikely that the Ability Management Bureau would easily allow Park Sunwoo to go out. His claim about barely managing to come out was probably true.
Eunseok glanced at the guards’ expressions. They were still warily watching Park Sunwoo with rigid faces.
“Guide Lee Eunseok. It would be better if you didn’t go out. We don’t know who might target you.”
One of the guards said to Eunseok. Knowing that S-rank guides were good targets for various reasons, Eunseok nodded obediently. Hadn’t there even been an attempted kidnapping before?
“Of course, I have no intention of going out. Don’t worry.”
As Eunseok nodded, the guard looked relieved.
“What danger could there be for Guide-nim when he’s with me, an S-rank esper!”
Park Sunwoo immediately protested.
“You are the most dangerous.”
The guard said bluntly to Park Sunwoo.
After glaring at the guard for a moment, Park Sunwoo turned his gaze to Eunseok. His eyes immediately softened like a puppy’s.
“Guide-nim. Are you really going to send me away like this? Can’t we just have a cup of coffee together? I don’t know when I’ll be able to meet you again…”
Eunseok’s heart softened slightly at the plaintive appeal of the young man who had just left his teenage years. Sympathy for his situation, bound by the shackles of mandatory service, played a big part.
“Let’s just say we had coffee… okay?”
Eunseok spoke as if trying to soothe him. Park Sunwoo’s eyes drooped as if deeply disappointed.
“Then… can’t you at least shake hands with me once?”
Park Sunwoo pleaded. Eunseok, who had softened slightly, snapped back to his senses at the word “handshake.”
He recalled the countless warnings about the obsession of espers and hunters. A handshake between an esper and a guide had a completely different meaning from a handshake between ordinary people.
