Chapter 38
Han Miyeon couldn’t be met just because she wanted to meet. The prime room had set visiting hours, and management was strict. There was a reason Nam Ihyeon said that even if Jeong Sanghyeop had hypnotic abilities, approaching would be difficult. In a way, it was fortunate. Even I, who Han Miyeon had permitted, found it difficult, so it would be much harder for Jeong Sanghyeop.
I was only able to meet Han Miyeon after lunch the next day, after receiving contact from the Management Department. As soon as Han Miyeon saw me, she asked about Nam Ihyeon’s news.
“Welcome! I was just curious about the news. What happened to Ihyeon-ssi? Were you able to contact him?”
“Yes, we’re talking for now. Esper Nam Ihyeon also said he doesn’t remember anything. It seems like there’s a problem, so I’m looking into what happened.”
“Then Ihyeon-ssi might not receive discipline? He won’t hate me, right?”
Han Miyeon’s eyes lit up. The most important thing to her seemed to be not being hated by Nam Ihyeon. I pressed down the words from Jeong Sanghyeop’s writing that I read yesterday, which kept coming to mind, and continued.
“I think we’ll have to see it through to the end. Guide Han Miyeon. I didn’t come for nothing today—I have something to ask. Three years ago, was there an incident where an A-class esper went berserk in a gate that Guide Han Miyeon participated in?”
“Um, yes. I think there was.”
Han Miyeon spoke as if her memory was hazy. I asked sharply.
“What do you mean you think there was?”
“A-class espers have frequent accidents, so it’s hard to remember. Even if berserking isn’t common, so many espers really die in accidents. They have to go anywhere that’s more dangerous than B-class but safer than S-class. The grade difference is really big.”
“You mean it’s hard to remember each incident?”
“Yes… If I remembered all of that, I’d have to remember the deaths of over a hundred espers per year. In three years, that would be over three hundred.”
Han Miyeon looked outside with a hollow expression. I held her and continued.
“But berserking isn’t common.”
“It’s more common than you think.”
“Pardon?”
“The number of guides is absolutely insufficient, and when espers enter gates, they push themselves to the limit. Especially A-class espers—if they don’t do that, they might fail to clear the gate, so they fight desperately.”
“…”
It was a story I didn’t know. It was also a story I couldn’t encounter when I was C-class. Come to think of it, when the four-directional gates opened this time, all A-class espers participated in the clearing. Many of them were injured. But they were easily forgotten. Even I didn’t know the names or current conditions of the four people injured in the western gate. Han Miyeon continued with a bitter tone.
“When people hear about berserking, they think of espers as dangerous, so many cases are just expressed as ‘died in battle within the gate.’ Reports are really just formalities. Association data isn’t reliable either.”
If the situation was like that, there was a high probability Han Miyeon wouldn’t remember Jeong Sanghyeop’s older sister. In fact, it seemed that way. But even if it was a 1/10000 chance, I wanted to check just once. It was like hoping that someone other than Jeong Sanghyeop also remembered her death.
“Was this your first time meeting Esper Jeong Sanghyeop?”
“Yes, I have no reason to meet D-class espers.”
“Then among the espers who cleared the gate together, is there any Esper Jeong that you remember? A-class, female. At the time, she had about 11 or 12 years of experience.”
Han Miyeon thought deeply but eventually shook her head as expected.
“I might remember if it was S-class, but it’s hard to remember A-class people individually. What’s certain is that among my pair partners, there was no Jeong-ssi.”
“Then I’ll ask a different question. Is there anyone in the association you had a grudge relationship with?”
“Not particularly. I’m not really the type to stand out either. My matching rate isn’t that good, so I don’t go out to the field much.”
Guide Han Miyeon spoke timidly as if it wasn’t something to be proud of. I immediately added that there was no need for that, but she smiled shyly, saying it was shameful as a guide.
Shameful. That word sounded really strange to me. If your matching rates were diversely high, you should be ashamed for being promiscuous, and if your matching rates were inconsistently low, you should be ashamed for not doing your job. Suddenly, I remembered Kim Haewon’s cold eyes looking at me. I shook my head and erased his afterimage from my mind.
Han Miyeon was staring at me intently. I naturally continued the questions as if nothing happened.
“How did you come to this gate?”
“Esper Jeon Dongmin, who’s my current pair partner, had entered the western gate first. Esper Jeon Dongmin had severe external injuries, so after primary guiding, he was transferred to the hospital. After that, I saw Ihyeon-ssi coming.”
“Normally, wouldn’t you move to the hospital following your pair esper?”
“Yes…”
Han Miyeon’s voice became small. I didn’t rush her and waited for her to speak next. She stuck out her tongue slightly to moisten her lower lip, then added with difficulty.
“You probably noticed, but I’m dreaming of becoming Ihyeon-ssi’s pair guide. I’ve guided him several times. With a matching rate of 78%, I thought it was okay to have hope. Everyone can dream! Besides, S-class guides are so few…”
“I don’t think it’s a vain hope. There are quite a few cases of S-class espers and A-class guides being pairs.”
“Right?”
Han Miyeon’s eyes lit up. As if having an S-class guide like me say such things would actually increase the possibility. I carefully added.
“But making such a choice when your pair esper was injured is honestly hard for me to understand.”
“I know. There’s no room for excuses… But when I saw Ihyeon-ssi entering the gate injured right before my eyes, I just couldn’t bring myself to leave.”
She averted her gaze as if she had no choice. I couldn’t understand it well. Trying so hard to become a pair. To me, a pair was a business partner who worked well together. But what she wanted from Nam Ihyeon wasn’t a working relationship.
“Guide Han Miyeon, don’t you want to become Esper Nam Ihyeon’s lover?”
“Pardon?”
“No, you just seem to like Nam Ihyeon. Apart from the esper or guide stuff.”
Han Miyeon’s face reddened and she couldn’t answer. I scratched my head and continued. This kind of thing was my weakness. But what she wanted seemed clear.
“Then why don’t you just confess? You want to become lovers, not pair partners.”
“If I get rejected, it’s over!”
“Huh?”
“If I just confess and get rejected, that’s the end! If I become a pair guide, I’ll at least have opportunities to gradually win his heart. Ihyeon-ssi doesn’t pair with people he’s rejected after they confessed. He might sleep with them once, but won’t pair with them… That’s why he doesn’t have a pair guide even now. Absolutely not!”
I was surprised by her outpouring words and just blinked. Her plan had quite a meticulous side. But you can’t hide the sky with your palm. Even I could see her heart clearly from the side, so there’s no way that cunning Nam Ihyeon wouldn’t notice. However, Han Miyeon urgently added as if she was serious.
“My feelings for Ihyeon-ssi are a secret!”
“Yes, yes…”
“A real secret.”
“I understand.”
“Really!”
“Really!”
Han Miyeon was relieved only after getting confirmation from me several times. I couldn’t get the information I wanted and got up from my seat. Han Miyeon said she was sorry for not being able to give me the answer I wanted, then clapped her hands and said.
“Ah, right! Jeong Suhee?”
“Pardon?”
“That person asked me if I knew her. That D-class esper who entered the same gate.”
“Why are you remembering such an important thing only now!”
“I just remembered!”
“So, so what did you answer? What did you tell that person?”
Han Miyeon was surprised by my pressing appearance and opened her eyes wide, shaking her head.
“I said I don’t know such a person. Because I don’t know her.”
“…”
“That person didn’t seem upset either. He just said ‘Is that so?'”
Han Miyeon emphasized once more that there was nothing that would hurt either party’s feelings. I understood both sides.
Jeong Sanghyeop had lost the most precious older sister in his life. And while digging into the truth, he learned that ‘something was covered up.’
But Han Miyeon, one of the people related to it, couldn’t even remember. As she said, deaths and accidents of A-class espers and guides were common occurrences.
What did Han Miyeon do wrong? Was she a person involved in the central incident? What if she remembered but was pretending to forget? My head hurt. I felt completely clueless about what to do.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Could you refuse all visits for the next two days or so?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Thank you. Then please take good care of yourself.”
“Ah, me!”
“Yes.”
“Does Ihyeon-ssi perhaps have no plans to visit the ward? After that incident, I really wanted to see him and apologize… I just don’t know how to contact him.”
Apology. The person who really wants to receive an apology might be someone else. They might be in time that you can’t remember. I wanted to tell her that, but it was overstepping my bounds. Until I properly understood that incident, I shouldn’t emotionally side with any one person. I swallowed the rising words and barely opened my mouth.
“I’ll try to contact him.”
“Thank you!”
My head was dizzy. But I walked with determination, step by step. I had to hurry back to the hospital room and look into Jeong Suhee. But could the covered-up truth really be uncovered through my investigation? I was wracking my brains about how to solve this problem when I opened the hospital room door. As soon as the door opened, I heard a man’s voice.
“Where have you been?”
It was Kim Haewon.
