Chapter 39
I wanted to retort asking what business it was of his, but there was nothing to gain from fighting. I answered obediently.
“Visiting Guide Han Miyeon.”
“Are you continuing to look into that matter?”
“Yes. Ah, don’t misunderstand. It’s not to clear Esper Nam Ihyeon’s false accusation, but because the incident seems a bit complex.”
“I’m not misunderstanding.”
Kim Haewon responded as if he was very displeased despite my explanation. But I didn’t believe those words. This bastard had mastered the art of causing trouble over ridiculous points. I’d been through this once or twice before. Especially that damn ethics and morality issue between paired guides – I didn’t want to hear about it anymore.
I began laying out the content I had been investigating to explain that the problem Nam Ihyeon and I were trying to dig into was by no means personal.
“Did you know that Jeong Sanghyeop’s noona was also an esper?”
“I didn’t know.”
“I’m presuming she was an A-class esper who died in the line of duty. I need to look into it more precisely, but I think someone might have exploited the personal grudge that Esper Jeong Sanghyeop had. Guide Han Miyeon seems to be related too.”
“Were they deployed to the same gate?”
“Yes. But Guide Han Miyeon says she doesn’t remember. A-class guides have many deployments and frequent deaths in the line of duty. It’s already been three years.”
“That’s understandable.”
I returned to my seat and turned on my laptop. Then I searched for those who died in the line of duty on the Association’s site. Jeong Suhee. Among four people with the same name, only one person met the conditions.
It was a woman with short bobbed hair smiling brightly. I checked where her story was briefly written and looked at the gate information where she died in the line of duty.
“What are you checking?”
“Esper Jeong Sanghyeop apparently asked Guide Han Miyeon if she knew about ‘Jeong Suhee.’ I thought it might be his noona’s name, and there’s a person who meets the conditions on the list of those who died in the line of duty.”
Jeong Suhee died at the ‘Black Bamboo Gate.’ It was described as having black bamboo packed so densely inside the gate that visibility was completely blocked, and the gate entrance position kept changing, making it impossible to rescue colleagues.
Ordinary gates didn’t have names. They were called by regional names like Cheonho-dong Gate, Dunchon-dong Gate, etc. But gates where deaths occurred or that were difficult to handle often got names.
The Black Bamboo Gate’s grade was listed as ‘Undeterminable.’ This wasn’t a very good meaning. It meant that the assessment that A-class espers could handle it was wrong, but they buried it anyway.
“Six A-class espers were deployed, and two died. The remaining four were also seriously injured and either transferred to the Management Department or quit.”
When all espers who entered a gate never returned to active duty, it meant two possibilities. Either they encountered something so terrifying they could never trust the Association enough to enter a gate again, or they had developed that level of trauma.
“Why didn’t they dispatch S-class espers?”
As I posed the question to Kim Haewon, I recalled a sentence from the novel. Jeong Sanghyeop’s anger-filled sentence that ‘there wasn’t a single S-class esper deployed anywhere in the country that day.’ Kim Haewon came closer to check the date and location. Then he checked something on his phone and looked at me.
“There probably weren’t any espers available to dispatch.”
“What do you mean?”
“There was a disaster grade ‘Eul’ gate in Pyeongseong City. At that time, an international conference was being held in nearby Pyongyang City.”
“Are you saying all the S-class espers went there?”
An international conference held in a divided nation, a disaster grade ‘Eul’ gate, an area close to North Korea’s capital. When these three factors combined, the Association’s choice was extremely radical. It wasn’t incomprehensible, but the fact that they didn’t leave even a single person behind was a bit absurd.
“At that time, key diplomatic figures from 20 countries attended the conference, so the gate had to be cleared within a short time.”
“Did you participate too, Kim Haewon-ssi?”
“I was probably at a gate in Europe. I was in Europe the entire year.”
Would the situation have been a bit different if Kim Haewon had been in Korea? No, it wouldn’t have been. To save face with governments and esper associations of various countries, they would have sent all S-class espers there, even as showmanship. To demonstrate their will that ‘we participated in gate clearing with such sincerity.’
But really, weren’t there any other methods? Alternative measures like mobilizing SS-class espers from other countries, or somehow bringing Kim Haewon back to Korea quickly. But all of that might have looked like ignoring the key diplomatic figures of various countries rather than natural actions for safety. In such situations, it was natural that inter-national security diplomacy should take priority. I asked with a slightly gloomy expression.
“This gate must have been disaster grade ‘Mu’ or higher, right?”
“It’s hard to give a definite answer based on casualty numbers alone, but it probably was.”
If it was disaster grade ‘Mu’ or higher, it was a gate that A-class espers couldn’t handle. It was tantamount to pushing them into a death trap. Was the rampage real? How was the gate cleared? How did Jeong Suhee meet her death?
Unfortunately, no more information about the Black Bamboo Gate could be found. No news appeared, and detailed explanations about that gate couldn’t be seen anywhere. As if they were really determined to cover it up.
“The more I find out, the more unsettling this incident becomes.”
I muttered as if talking to myself. Kim Haewon continued calmly.
“It would be better not to get too deeply involved. If the Association or government finds out, you’ll easily become a target for surveillance or sanctions.”
I just nodded roughly. Anyway, being Kim Haewon’s paired guide itself meant being the first target for information blocking. Cover your ears, cover your eyes, yet still be used when necessary. That might have been why Kim Haewon tried to force a contract from the start.
I had no intention of playing anyone’s puppet game, so I had to be even more vigilant. Even toward Kim Haewon.
“But what brings you here? Is it for guiding?”
When I closed my laptop and looked at him, he took something out from his jacket. It was a square case.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
“Contact lenses?”
“South America has many psychic-type monsters, so they’re well-prepared. This is from there. It’ll be more reliable than pathetic glasses.”
The specially treated lenses were written to be effective not only against hypnosis but also other psychic-type attacks. I’d never worn anything like this because my eyesight was good, but to the naked eye, they looked almost no different from regular contact lenses.
“Wow, there are things like this too. Thank you. SS-class is awesome.”
“You’ll need to visit the S-class Equipment Management Office when you’re discharged. Not only espers but guides can also borrow or use them.”
“Ah, really? Got it. Since nothing’s wrong with me, I’ll go right away once this matter is resolved.”
I said while examining the lenses. Then I immediately opened the lens case and picked up a lens.
“Let’s coordinate our schedules to move together. There’s no telling what trouble Park Garam-ssi might cause if left alone.”
“Even when you say something nice, you manage to be unpleasant about it.”
“I’ve never heard that before.”
I struggled to put in the lens while looking at the small mirror attached to the case. Other people seemed to pop them in so easily, but my hands were trembling and my eyes kept closing.
“You can’t even do that one thing properly?”
“It’s because my eyes are too~ good so I’ve never worn them before, okay? Don’t talk to me. I can’t concentrate when Esper Kim Haewon is talking.”
The soft-textured lens folded or bounced out several times after being blocked by my eyelashes before finally settling in my eye. The feeling of it touching my eye was very foreign.
I blinked trying to adapt to the lens. After shedding a few tears, the foreign sensation decreased a bit more. I wiped under my eyes and looked at Kim Haewon. Unlike glasses, there was no dizziness, and there was no visible difference from the outside.
“How is it? Does it show?”
“……”
“Why is your expression like that? Look carefully. I’m asking if it shows.”
When Kim Haewon turned his head away, I leaned my face closer and kept asking.
“Move your face away.”
“What. I washed my face earlier. Don’t look at anything else, just tell me if these lenses show or not.”
“They don’t show.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
It seemed like a reluctant response. But what did it matter? There was no alternative, and when I looked in the mirror, it didn’t seem to show much either.
Kim Haewon threw the tissue box from the coffee table to me. I caught it and looked at him with an incredulous expression.
“What?”
“Wipe your tears.”
“I already wiped them……”
I pressed firmly on my eyelids as if squeezing out water to wipe away the tears. Only then did Kim Haewon look my way and continue speaking.
“I won’t come tomorrow.”
I already knew this since I’d heard it from Nam Ihyeon. I quietly faced Kim Haewon.
He had already declared to me that he wouldn’t come, so why was he saying this once more? What kind of answer did he want from me? Was he telling me not to have any expectations? I couldn’t tell.
