# Chapter 50
Jiwon slapped both his cheeks with an audible smack. Then he stood up abruptly from his seat, stretching his body thoroughly.
Right, with so many things to worry about, he needed to organize his thoughts more calmly.
First… let’s assume Suhyun had noticed. In that case, what should he do? He needed to tell him it was just his imagination.
He had no intention of doing something stupid like hoping things would work out with Suhyun just because he’d developed feelings. Jiwon didn’t want these feelings that had blossomed within him to hinder their future work.
If that was the case, the thing he should be most wary of was Suhyun avoiding him after discovering his feelings. He might even refuse to receive guiding out of discomfort.
“That won’t do.”
Jiwon shook his head with a sigh. Jiwon was still the only one who could provide effective guiding to Suhyun. But for him to avoid Jiwon? That absolutely couldn’t happen.
As if nothing had happened, Suhyun needed to continue receiving guiding from him. For that, Jiwon needed to perfectly hide his feelings from now on.
He was confident in hiding his emotions while smiling frivolously. Up until now, he hadn’t been able to hide them simply because he hadn’t been aware of his own feelings.
What about strongly impressing upon Suhyun that he was a guide genuinely dedicated to guiding? He probably already had that impression to some extent.
If he did that, the previous incidents could be reasonably overlooked. He was just desperate to guide Suhyun because he didn’t want to increase the number of sacrifices.
It was a wish he originally had. All he needed to do was erase the unnecessary emotions that had gotten mixed in.
“Haah…”
Jiwon, having found an answer that wasn’t perfect but not bad, let out a sigh.
Drrrr.
As if it had been waiting for his thoughts to conclude, Jiwon’s phone vibrated just in time.
The caller was Jo Wooyeon.
Had a dungeon appeared? That might be fortunate. No, wait, the situation was still dangerous, so it wasn’t something to be happy about.
How would the Association decide? Would they tell Suhyun to enter the dungeon? Or would they ask him to wait outside again? Shouldn’t they decide after waiting a few more times?
“Yes, Team Leader.”
Having multiple thoughts in a brief moment, Jiwon answered the phone in a businesslike manner. At least, he thought, he would now be able to have a natural conversation with Suhyun since work had come up.
His mind was already filled entirely with Suhyun. Perhaps it had been that way consistently since they signed the exclusive contract.
“…Guide Moon Jiwon.”
Fortunate or not, Suhyun, who had filled Jiwon’s mind, instantly disappeared at Jo Wooyeon’s voice.
It was because he heard Jo Wooyeon’s voice, rigid beyond measure and full of troubled signs.
“…What’s happened?”
Sensing that a very difficult situation had arisen, Jiwon asked somewhat urgently.
Having observed Jo Wooyeon for a long time, he could be certain.
***
Jiwon immediately rushed to the Association in response to Jo Wooyeon’s call. And there he directly faced the troublesome situation that had made his voice tense.
It wasn’t a dangerous situation. But it was certainly a difficult one from the Association’s standpoint.
Jiwon frowned as he faced Adam, the director of the American Ability Users Association, who was looking at him with a desperate expression.
“I know that Korea is taking the lead in entering dungeons and finding solutions more than anyone else. We are extremely grateful for that.”
The man standing next to Adam was using his extraordinary ability to interpret and relay his words even before he finished speaking, so Jiwon could understand Adam’s words almost in real-time.
“But the damage is too great to just wait patiently. Ten percent of our territory has been destroyed by monsters from the dungeons.”
Jiwon nodded slightly. Ten percent of the territory—considering the size of American land, that was enormous.
“We’re ready to try anything. We’ve already lost three S-class Espers, but there are still many Espers willing to step forward to resolve this situation.”
Three S-class Espers gone, yet still more remained. It was surprising, but considering the size of the land, it made sense. With such vast territory, the number of ability users would be proportionately large.
“So, please help us.”
Jiwon slowly raised his head. To express his honest impression, it was completely out of nowhere.
From the beginning, Jiwon didn’t understand why the person was asking him for help.
“What is this…?”
Jiwon asked Jo Wooyeon. But he seemed to be just as confused about the situation, only shaking his head.
So, in the phone call before Jiwon came to the Association, Jo Wooyeon had briefly explained the situation.
The director of the American Ability Users Association had personally visited the Korean Association and wanted to meet Jiwon. He said he would discuss his business after meeting Jiwon, and was stubbornly refusing to leave until he met him.
They told him they would relay the message through the Association, but it didn’t work at all. He expressed his firm determination not to leave until he met Jiwon and had even set up in the Association’s conference room.
The Korean Association couldn’t resist his stubbornness for long. The argument emerged that it wouldn’t hurt to let them meet once, since they might need America’s help someday.
‘Would they have done the same if he asked to meet Esper Seo Suhyun?’
It was obvious. Since he was just a Guide, not an Esper, they probably thought it didn’t matter.
It was a typical Korean Association way of thinking—sensitive about losing Espers, but indifferent to Guides.
For other countries, such a stance toward an S-class Guide would be unimaginable.
That must have been why Jo Wooyeon was so troubled. Even if he had argued against it, his words would have had no effect. He had eventually called Jiwon directly and summoned him to the Association, so he must be feeling like a criminal now.
“……”
Seeing his helpless face made Jiwon sigh.
Should he boycott the Association? Just to let them have a taste of their own medicine.
Recalling the rotten upper management of the Association he had forgotten for a while, Jiwon secretly gritted his teeth.
“Pureta, ach, hamida…”
Perhaps getting anxious because Jiwon was lost in thought and not responding, Director Adam directly pleaded in broken Korean.
Jiwon twitched his eyebrow and crossed his arms. His eyes, staring straight at Adam, were quite fierce.
“If I go to the American Association and insist on meeting a guide, would they let me? Who’s there? Ah, someone like Lyle.”
Lyle was an S-class Guide like Jiwon. A very capable guide whom America treated like a treasure.
“Oh…”
At the mention of his name, Adam rolled his eyes with a guilty expression. Jiwon clicked his tongue openly and continued.
“Did you think that by coming here without any preparation, insisting on having a guide without basic courtesy, and trying to evoke sympathy with your poor Korean, I would say, ‘I’ll help you with anything’?”
Seeing the interpreter flinch, Jiwon gestured for him to relay exactly what he said. Soon, he whispered in a small voice to Adam.
“Anyway, since you’ve come all this way, I’ll at least listen. What exactly do you want to ask of me? I’ll decide whether to help or not after hearing the specifics.”
The attitude that he had no particular desire to help was dripping from Jiwon’s demeanor. It meant he had gotten off on the wrong foot from the beginning.
‘Oh no.’
Adam felt dismayed after receiving Jiwon’s words through the interpreter. He hadn’t expected Jiwon to respond like this.
In fact, after observing the atmosphere of the Korean Association, Adam had thought he might be able to bring both Jiwon and Suhyun to the United States.
The Korean Association was generally disorganized. Unlike the United States, where an S-class Esper held the position of Association President, the Korean Association President was an ordinary person without any abilities.
The high-ranking officials who appeared when he visited were all ordinary people. The senior officials of an organization managing ability users were all ordinary people? An association with such a structure could only be a mess. How could ability users trust an association that couldn’t understand their minds?
Even Adam himself was a B-class Guide. Being an ability user himself, he understood the minds of other ability users better than anyone. Therefore, American ability users trusted their association. They believed it would protect them.
Lyle was a world-famous S-class Guide. Not because his abilities were particularly special among S-class Guides. It was simply because America continuously emphasized how noble and great the achievements of their country’s ability users were.
In the United States, instead of constantly putting them in harm’s way, they strove to fulfill their desire for achievement and honor.
On the other hand, far fewer people knew about Jiwon, despite him being an S-class Guide as well. That’s because the Korean Association focused more on promoting the abilities of the Association rather than the accomplishments of individual ability users.
Korea was still stuck in an era where unconditional sacrifice was demanded of ability users. They were making ability users move solely with a sense of duty to protect ordinary citizens.
‘So I judged it would be simple.’
Most ability users in such an association were often moved by compassion. That’s why Adam thought he could bring both Suhyun and Jiwon to the United States.
Adam first tried to gain sympathy by talking about his country’s dire situation. But unfortunately, Jiwon wasn’t the type to be led by compassion.
“First, I apologize for my lack of courtesy. I was desperate. That’s how much we need you, Guide-nim.”
Jiwon was still regarding Adam with a lofty demeanor.
‘I want to take him with me.’
He was an ability user better suited to America than Korea. Even for an S-class Guide, someone with such guts was rare. Perhaps for an Esper, but not a Guide.
“Most people think the reason for safely escaping the Riska dungeon was due to Esper Seo Suhyun’s power. But I suspect that Guide Moon Jiwon might hold the key.”
Jiwon frowned. His face showed he hadn’t even considered this.
“At first, I also thought the Esper’s mental strength played a major role. But when I learned that he had developed resistance to mind control, I began to think we could place hope in the Guide.”
“Tell me specifically why you came to think that.”
Seemingly quite interested, Jiwon sat up straight. Adam swallowed hard.
It would be best if Suhyun would naturalize to the United States, but the chances were slim. Despite his parents being in the US. In that case, the focus should be on finding a way to clear dungeons on their own.
That’s why Jiwon had to hold the key. If it was all due to Suhyun’s mental strength, this world would have no answer. The possibility of another monster like him emerging was not high.
They couldn’t rely solely on him.
“This is data sent from Korea to show how Esper Seo Suhyun responds to Riska’s wavelength.”
As soon as the interpretation was finished, another man to Adam’s left handed over a document. Jiwon received the document with a sullen face. It felt strange to receive data sent from Korea from an American.
“As you can see, Esper Seo Suhyun is not affected by wavelengths created to be similar to Riska’s. However…”
Soon Jiwon’s eyes became serious. His gaze scanning Suhyun’s wavelength response was quite sharp.
