“Hmm, then in Center Director Kim Taekjun’s view, if something really happens, do you think they’ll leave for another country?”
“He has a gentle and soft personality, but he also has decisiveness. If problems arise for them or those around them because of this incident… there’s a strong possibility they’ll leave for another country.”
Sighs filled the conference room from all directions.
“But it’s not like they can easily leave for another country, right? Even if we don’t know about Esper Seo Gangwoo, that pair Guide must have family too.”
“What’s the use of that! They’re an S-rank Esper and an A+-rank Guide—just showing any intent to leave and other countries will offer incredible conditions, taking care of everything including the family’s adaptation! They’ll come running with their eyes rolled back!”
“I’ve already looked into that part as well.”
Just as both sides were about to raise their voices in opposition again, Center Director Kim Taekjun’s calm and cold voice cut through the excited executives.
“Among Guide Kim Jiwon’s family, his father is highly recognized for his abilities at a global company. If they leave, he’ll probably be able to transfer to a foreign branch. His mother also worked as a translator and interpreter, his older sister graduated from early childhood education and has a decent job, and the Guide himself is a talented individual who entered Korea University at the top of his class. He has a history of being quite frail for a considerable period during childhood, so his family’s affection runs deep.”
“Oh my…”
Despite the groaning sounds from various places, the words continued unshaken.
“If Guide Kim Jiwon makes the decision, his family will all move together without any opposition. Esper Seo Gangwoo is practically alone, and now that a Guide with a matching rate has finally appeared, he’ll naturally move together with him.”
Having heard about the commotion within the Center, Center Director Kim Taekjun immediately looked into information about Jiwon’s associates. As a result, he concluded that if problems really arose around those two, they could leave for another country without much difficulty.
“We can’t let this continue. Don’t think about hiding and minimizing things to save the headquarters’ face—we need to handle this decisively.”
“Of course dishonorable discharge for those involved, and legal punishment without any leniency!”
One of the executives who had been maintaining neutrality without much opinion spoke almost shouting with an expression mixed with anxiety.
“Those kinds of people should have been cut out from the beginning!”
More and more people agreed with him, and those on Chairman Choi Taehyeon’s side couldn’t raise their voices as much as before.
Screech.
At that moment, the sound of a chair being pushed back echoed through the conference room. Everyone instantly became quiet and looked in one direction.
It was Chairman Choi Taehyeon who had stood up from his seat.
“I apologize for throwing the Ability User Headquarters into chaos with the disgraceful actions of my son and granddaughter. It’s regrettable, but it’s all due to my lack of virtue. I won’t avoid any responsibility. I will also step down from my position as Chairman once everything is sorted out. Then, I’ll take my leave.”
“No, Chairman…!”
“Sir…!”
“Chairman!!”
People from Choi Taehyeon’s side panicked and tried to stop him, but having finished what he had to say, Choi Taehyeon bowed with a stiff expression and left the conference room.
In his view, this matter had gone beyond a level that could be appropriately managed and moved past.
It had been a plan he didn’t particularly like from the beginning, but he regretted having been swayed by greed to control and utilize the off-the-charts S-rank Esper and agreed to it.
Pulling out quickly at this point was the way to at least preserve the honor he had maintained thus far. Though he had handled things thoroughly, if the investigation continued, the fact that he was also connected could be revealed. He felt sorry for his son and granddaughter, but it couldn’t be helped.
They should have done better.
Choi Taehyeon, who let out a deep sigh, hurriedly walked to check and erase any possible traces.
Though he felt sorry for his son and granddaughter, who had already been caught with clear evidence during the investigation, if he tried to do anything more and it went wrong, the entire family could be endangered.
After that, things proceeded swiftly.
As Choi Taehyeon stepped down from his position as Chairman, he contacted political figures within the family to inform them of the situation and told them not to step forward but to protect themselves, so all the backing that would have supported Choi Hyerin disappeared.
The audit team thoroughly swept through every department within the Ability User Headquarters without exception, and everyone who worked on secretly approving the pair contract termination, those who accepted bribes and turned a blind eye, and all those involved within Center 8 were called in and received high-intensity investigations.
The information that had been controlled became known to the outside due to these noisy movements. The news about S-rank Esper Seo Gangwoo and A-rank Guide Choi Hyerin, who had previously received much popularity and envy as a celebrity, became a hot topic day after day in the media—news, articles, NewTube, and other platforms.
In the midst of this, speculative articles that inflated rumors or created issues with false information began to appear, and all kinds of lies and truths started to run rampant.
Despite the Ability User Headquarters’ official announcement, rumors continued to be produced, such as there having been discord between the two from before, that Esper Seo Gangwoo had an affair with another Guide, that the affair partner was the new rookie Guide with whom he formed a pair contract, and that Seo Gangwoo, who hadn’t participated in recent gate conquests, was in a runaway state.
In response, the Ability User Headquarters posted an official statement once again.
– Ability User Headquarters Official Announcement –
[ We hereby announce once more the facts regarding the controversial pair contract termination between S-rank Esper Seo Gangwoo and A-rank Guide Choi Hyerin, and the official position of the Ability User Headquarters.
As with the previous announcement, the pair contract between the two ability users ended with Guide Choi Hyerin’s unilateral termination.
The procedures for approving the pair termination were omitted, resulting in an abnormal approval, and corruption occurred in this process. The person in question, Guide Choi Hyerin, and those involved in the pair contract termination approval will receive penalties, disciplinary actions, and legal measures according to the degree of their charges.
We clarify that Esper Seo Gangwoo’s new pair Guide manifested just about two months after the pair contract with Guide Choi Hyerin was terminated, has absolutely nothing to do with the pair contract termination, and it is true that the matching rate is higher than with the previous pair Guide.
Additionally, while it is true that S-rank Esper Seo Gangwoo was in a dangerous state, he is currently smoothly regaining stability with the help of his new pair Guide. When he will participate in conquests again will be decided through precise examinations.
All the false information running rampant through the media and various platforms is not true.
We prohibit rumors and speculative statements about Esper Seo Gangwoo and his new pair Guide and inform you in advance that legal action may be taken. ]
.
.
Until now, large and small crimes committed by Guides had often been buried for the sake of the Guide’s honor. Clear criminal facts like this had never once been publicly disclosed to the public.
Moreover, since Choi Hyerin was a high-ranking A-grade Guide and a famous celebrity, the controversy was bound to be huge. Due to this unprecedented situation, it made headlines not only domestically but also abroad.
Most of the general public were angry at Choi Hyerin’s actions and said she should receive appropriate punishment, but some people said it was a national embarrassment and questioned whether it was necessary to make such a big deal out of it even though she was a Guide.
[Board] Ability User Headquarters Official Statement Released
There was a previous official statement, but there’s some additional content.
Since there’s so much inflation and speculative information everywhere, they finally announced their position again!
To summarize, Guide Choi Hyerin unilaterally pushed through the pair contract termination approval on her own.
(But why would she do such a thing?!)
Esper Seo Gangwoo’s new pair Guide is a new Guide who manifested after the termination was approved, so unrelated to the pair termination!
The fact that Esper Seo Gangwoo went to a dangerous state would mean the risk of a runaway, right? ㅜㅜ
Fortunately, it says he’s regaining stability now.
I hope it’s not a big deal.
We can’t lose our super handsome S-rank Esper ㅠㅠ
(Link)
[Comments]
– Can’t lose him ㅜㅜ 2222
– Wishing you a speedy recovery. 333
– 4444
– Protect the super handsome one 55555
– Why am I not a Guide?
– New pair Guide-nim, we’re counting on you (prostrating)
– Esper Seo Gangwoo at risk of runaway… I thought he’d be fine since he had a pair Guide even with low matching rate
– What, then it’s certain that Guide Choi Hyerin arbitrarily terminated the contract?
– What’s the reason.
– He really went to the point of runaway risk???
– Oh my. That was close… Good thing he’s okay now.
– They were making a fuss saying Esper Seo Gangwoo cheated and whatnot. I knew it would be like this!!!
– Didn’t she go on interviews and broadcasts all this time bragging about being an S-rank Esper’s pair Guide?
– She did a few photo shoots too…
– That’s stuck in my room’s bookshelf… damn.
– Really? Isn’t the Ability User Headquarters lying?
– Above commenter, have you lived only being deceived.
– What fraud, Guides are precious so they get away with most things, but seeing them officially announce it like this, it’s certain. They might have even minimized the announcement.
…
…
…
– As expected, it was true.
– I knew it would be like this too.
– What? What is it?
– That ㅊㅎㄹ didn’t properly do ㅅㄱㅇ guiding
– ??
– ???
– ?????
– I heard it was a well-known fact among ability users
– That’s right. I heard it from an ability user relative.
– Are you sure?
– Since it’s already blown up, information is leaking out.
– Ah… I wish someone from the inside would expose the facts boldly.
– The Centers and ability users’ side don’t usually talk about internal matters carelessly and there’s something closed-off among them.
– Right, they control information tightly over there. They filter and filter to only expose what they want to show externally.
– Didn’t Choi Hyerin and some ability users do external activities?
– Idiot! That all comes out after getting permission and censorship from the Center.
– What I heard is that during the pair period, she didn’t even do guiding properly, didn’t come to the Center, and didn’t answer emergency calls.
– Whoa…
– Is that true?
– S-rank Esper pairs originally have no mandatory performance or call obligations.
– What about pair guiding!?
– Crazy, so she just played around without work and didn’t even do pair guiding properly?
– Isn’t that dangerous? If an S-rank Esper goes into a runaway, we’re screwed.
– Should I move to another district now…
– Read the official announcement properly… It says he was in a dangerous state but is now regaining stability!
– I heard it almost happened this time. He endured only with medication but due to tolerance, it didn’t work anymore…
– That’s insane.
– If an S-rank goes into runaway, several cities will be blown away.
– But is it real? She would have been living the sweet life as a pair, so why did she terminate first?
– She probably did it to control the Esper as she pleased. Everyone who knows knows that Guides abuse their power over Espers.
– Come on… would she really go that far?
– Our country’s S-rank Esper count almost changed from 2 to 1.
…
…
…
– Hey!! Guide Choi Hyerin put out an article saying she’s the victim? (Link)
– What???
– That’s weird?
– See, the Ability User Headquarters is hiding something?!
– Let’s hold back on conspiracy theories…
– Staying neutral. We need to hear both sides!
.
.
