Kim Haewon laid me down and talked with the Management Bureau people. Then he sent out a flurry of contacts to his informants. When an answer came back in less than 30 minutes that Alexa Lu’s whereabouts were unclear, Kim Haewon’s expression darkened a bit more.
“Guide Park Garam.”
“Yes.”
“Do you happen to remember the Alliance Leader’s appearance too?”
“No. The Alliance Leader is always invisible. As if they have no form. Their voice is very deep and low. But strangely, it seemed like they were visible to other people but not to me.”
Kim Haewon nodded. Alexa Lu’s death seemed to be becoming an established fact among the informants. The problem would be that I, who had woken from sleep, knew that fact before his swift worldwide informants. I knew how strange I must look right now. But I also hoped he would just believe me as I am.
I wanted to tell him more, but that was all I saw, so I kept my mouth shut tight. Kim Haewon looked at my expression and held my hand tightly.
“I’m not doubting Guide Park Garam.”
“Yes, I know. I know but… even I think I’m too strange.”
As I muttered while hanging my head, Kim Haewon gripped my hand tightly.
“I’ll protect you. No one will be able to think you’re strange.”
Kim Haewon said firmly. He’ll protect me. So that no one can think I’m strange. I lifted my head and looked at Kim Haewon.
“Why?”
The words that came from my mouth were unexpected even to me. But I didn’t understand. If I were Kim Haewon, I felt like I would doubt me too. I asked once more.
“Is it simply because I’m Esper Kim Haewon’s pair guide?”
“Do you need a reason beyond that?”
I shook my head. A chuckle escaped. I found it funny what answer I had wanted. I should be grateful just for being taken care of this much because I was his pair guide. Moreover, wasn’t he believing a story no one else would believe?
“Guide Park Garam, don’t think other thoughts. That’s enough.”
“…”
“With that one reason alone, there’s enough reason for me to believe Guide Park Garam, and I’ve decided not to doubt you.”
“…”
“And I won’t reverse that decision.”
Kim Haewon tried his best to give me trust. I nodded my head earnestly. Then I changed the subject.
“How much longer until Pamundong?”
“We have to go a bit more. I just heard that Emily and Gabriel arrived at the gate.”
“Will the scene be broadcast this time too?”
“Yes. The video footage from the last gate was very helpful in analyzing the incident. We’ve arranged to do so as much as possible for matters related to this case going forward. Otherwise it’s also difficult to know the situation inside.”
No sooner had Kim Haewon finished speaking than Management Bureau Director Kwon Jinho opened the door and entered the flight cabin where we were.
“We’re connected to Esper Gabriel’s camera.”
“Yes.”
The screen was displayed on the central monitor. I quickly plugged the interpreter into my ear. Amid blindingly bright light, Gabriel and Emily were visible.
{This is Emily. Multiple corpses discovered. All in skeletal state.}
At the word skeletal, I leaned my head forward a bit. Gabriel’s camera showed things with only bones and clothing remaining. Countless fragments formed the floor and ceiling. They were all pieces of shattered mirrors. They sparkled like stars densely embroidered across the night sky and were bright enough to make it hard to see the screen properly. Kim Haewon immediately turned on the microphone and continued.
{This is Kim Haewon. The corpses appear to be deaths from counterattacks. Judging from the mirror fragments, there’s a high probability that Pamundong’s Heo Juan became a monster.}
{We need to find Heo Juan’s main body, but how do we find it? This place is full of broken mirrors in the sky and ground. The horizon is endless too.}
{What’s the position of the skeletons?}
{There’s no consistency. They’re not clustered in one place but spread out. One here, one there, like that.}
{Please capture it on camera.}
{I’ll try my best.}
Gabriel said that and floated the camera. The skeletons were truly in different directions. As if they’d been flung somewhere. It was difficult to find continuity. Kim Haewon seemed to be the same. A mirror-attribute esper was an unexpected wild card.
I kept watching the screen and looked at the direction of the clothes. Because the torn clothes were scattered in a consistent direction.
“Esper Kim Haewon, the clothes. The direction the clothes are torn.”
“Yes. They’re all in one direction. It’s probably in the opposite direction.”
“Because it’s a mirror?”
“Yes.”
Kim Haewon conveyed that story to the espers inside the gate. Then Emily and Gabriel nodded. I leaned forward worriedly.
“They’ll be okay, right?”
“There’s no better match for a mirror-ability esper than a telekinesis-related esper. Gabriel has dealt with many mirror-ability espers before, so he’ll be fine. Let’s prepare too.”
Kim Haewon was confident the gate would be cleared quickly. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen and shook my head. The plane circling near Pamundong landed at the place China had designated. We got in a car prepared nearby and entered inside Pamundong.
Pamundong’s bustling atmosphere had disappeared. The street stalls and shops were all closed, and the houses all had their doors firmly locked shut.
Judging from the wood fragments scattered on the streets and bloodstains, it seemed the Chinese government had swept through once. Near Pamundong’s secret base, barracks had already been set up, and Gabriel and Emily’s guides were said to be there.
“You can wait there together. I’ll go meet Wang Feng and come back.”
“Can’t I come along?”
“No. It’s dangerous too.”
“That’s true. Ah. Then let me go in as soon as you subdue Wang Feng.”
“We don’t know what kind of devices might be hidden in the secret base.”
“I won’t touch anything else. I’ll just check one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“The deer head.”
Somehow the taxidermied deer head the girl had pointed at kept bothering me. They definitely said Wang Feng found it and had the ring, but was that really true? The Alliance Leader said Pamundong’s chairman hadn’t changed.
Didn’t that mean Wang Feng didn’t have the Alliance Leader’s ring? Because none of the executives had the ring, that gate might have opened. So that no one could approach it. Perhaps it was in a place the Association couldn’t find no matter how hard they tried. Even if they cleared the gate, even if they subdued Wang Feng.
If the Alliance Leader’s ring was still there, it felt like there must be something more in that deer head the girl pointed at.
“In the dream, the Alliance Leader said Pamundong’s chairman hasn’t changed yet. I’m wondering if they haven’t found the Alliance Leader’s ring yet.”
“Guide Park Garam doesn’t need to check directly.”
“When everyone’s focused on Wang Feng, VENT, Kuhne, or MK will definitely move to take advantage. They’ll probably target Wang Feng.”
“Still, it’s too dangerous.”
“They think I’m the weakest, so they won’t care what I’m doing. Only you and Esper Kim Haewon know that deer head was where the ring was. This is definitely worth trying.”
“Ask another esper for help…”
I held Kim Haewon’s hand and shook my head. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Emily and Gabriel. But I couldn’t let my guard down. Ryu Heegang and Akutagawa weren’t originally untrustworthy people either.
“Then move with me.”
“Everyone pays attention when Esper Kim Haewon moves.”
“Still, that’s the only way.”
“I’ll quickly look around and come back.”
“Why do you keep trying to do dangerous things yourself?”
Kim Haewon’s voice rose a bit. He seemed angry. My lips twitched. It seemed useless to insist more that I’d go alone here, so I rolled my eyes and found a reasonable compromise.
“Then how about I go first and you follow about five steps behind?”
“…”
“Three steps?”
“Is there a difference?”
“Esper Kim Haewon has long strides.”
“Are you joking right now?”
“No, I’m saying the degree of attention is different.”
I said as if frustrated. Kim Haewon sighed and continued.
“I hate Guide Park Garam being in danger.”
“No, then think about it the other way. Do you think I’d like Esper Kim Haewon being in danger? Don’t you know the saying about putting yourself in another’s shoes?”
“I’m an esper.”
“What’s so special about being an esper? Esper Kim Haewon almost died twice before my eyes! Once during EM, once in Chicago!”
“Doesn’t Guide Park Garam also wander between life and death after being stabbed with a knife?”
“That was only once for me!”
“Are you childishly comparing by count right now?”
“Yes!”
“You…!”
Kim Haewon trembled as if he absolutely couldn’t deal with this conversation partner, then exhaled a sigh.
“Three steps. You promised.”
“Yes!”
“I won’t let it go if you get hurt.”
“What will you do if you don’t let it go?”
When I spoke cheekily in a good mood, Kim Haewon flicked my nose bridge.
“It’d be better not to be curious.”
The expression when he said that was so chilling that I nodded saying I understood. Kim Haewon ruffled my hair once, then got up from his seat with a sigh. I fidgeted with my hair that had become a bird’s nest. I didn’t like being treated like a child. I said to Kim Haewon’s back.
“Esper Kim Haewon, you know I’m the hyung, right?”
“I don’t know.”
That bastard 100% knows. He knows.
