# Chapter 11
After eating until my stomach was about to burst, I collapsed and fell asleep. With a full belly and the comfortable temperature in the cabin, sleep came easily. I woke up to Director Kim Jeongseon vigorously shaking me.
“Guide Park Garam, Guide Park Garam.”
“Yes, yes!”
“We’ve arrived. Let’s get off.”
“What happened to Esper Kim Haewon?”
“Let’s talk while we move.”
I got up without argument. Director Kim Jeongseon glanced at her watch and continued speaking as she started walking.
“It’s been 4 hours and 17 minutes since gate entry. Three minutes ago, we received communication that the gate has almost been completely cleared. The external inspection shows the same result. The internal gate clearing appears to be about 97% complete. Therefore, Esper Kim Haewon will return shortly.”
“I was asking about Esper Kim Haewon’s condition.”
“He’s at least capable of communication, so it’s not a crisis.”
“…”
“Not yet, anyway.”
Her pace quickened. As soon as we got off the plane, I boarded a police bus. There were more than twenty security personnel on the bus, all armed. In the middle of the bus sat myself, Director Kim Jeongseon, and Director Mark from the Chicago state government.
The atmosphere on the bus was tense. I understood what this heightened security meant. Kim Haewon was taking more than twice the usual time to clear a gate. The situation was more serious than expected, which meant that Kim Haewon might go berserk.
Director Kim Jeongseon was calming Director Mark with a cold expression as he became agitated during their conversation. Though I couldn’t understand the English conversation, Mark’s red face and non-verbal cues told me plenty.
He seemed to be panicking about the possibility of the entire state of Chicago being wiped out. Occasionally, he would point at me with a gesture of disbelief. He clearly didn’t believe that someone as frail-looking as me in shabby hospital clothes could be his pair guide.
Director Kim Jeongseon remained consistently firm. Director Mark clearly couldn’t comprehend the situation, so I gave him a pointed smile. When Director Kim Jeongseon noticed I couldn’t speak English, she handed me a simultaneous interpreter used by the Association. It looked like wireless earphones, and when I put it in and pressed the button, I could hear the conversation.
{What’s with that expression? He’s mocking me!}
{Guide Park Garam doesn’t speak English. Don’t misinterpret his friendliness toward outsiders.}
{Oh, Jesus. Kim. If something goes wrong, our federal government will definitely hold someone accountable for this.}
{Go ahead. But if the clearing ends safely, you’ll also have to take responsibility for your rude behavior toward me and Guide Park Garam.}
{Of course. If the Chicago state government still exists. What can that scrawny person possibly do? We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t collapse during guiding.}
The translation might not have been accurate. But once I had even a rough understanding of their conversation, I became angry. Mark’s repeated finger-pointing wasn’t helping either.
When he pointed at me again with another insulting gesture, I grabbed his finger.
“STOP.”
I didn’t say much. I couldn’t, because I didn’t know how. But I was confident. Not speaking English wasn’t a crime.
Mark seemed taken aback by my firm expression and word. I pushed his hand away and looked at Director Kim Jeongseon.
“Tell him if he points at me one more time, I’ll bite his finger off.”
“Mark is an important figure in the Chicago state government. Please refrain from acting rashly.”
“He just needs to stop pointing at me. I get why he’s skeptical… but if he’s not satisfied, tell him to bring someone else.”
Director Kim Jeongseon took her eyes off me and looked at Mark.
{Guide Park Garam finds Director Mark’s ungentlemanly behavior toward him disrespectful.}
{He doesn’t speak English. The translator is terrible. If he properly understood what I was saying and recognized the situation, he couldn’t act this way.}
{No. Even if language doesn’t connect, communication is still possible between people. He’s angry because Director Mark’s expressions and actions are inappropriate for dealing with an S-class guide from another country.}
Director Kim Jeongseon conveyed my feelings perfectly. I nodded in agreement. Director Mark crossed his arms and turned his gaze away sharply. The vehicle bumped along. Director Kim Jeongseon began explaining the situation around the gate.
“The Management Bureau will remain on standby in the air in case of emergency. The Chicago state government is viewing the current situation pessimistically. Guide Park Garam’s role is extremely important.”
The word “pessimistic” implied many things: Kim Haewon going berserk, shockwaves powerful enough to wipe out the entire state of Chicago, and the subsequent plummet in Korean-American relations. But such grand political matters weren’t important to me.
Surviving by any means necessary was what mattered. That’s why it was important to show this novel to Kim Haewon and disrupt this real-time serial novel. Of course, how much that jerk would cooperate with me remained unknown.
But shouldn’t he at least cooperate that much with the person who saved his life? No. Even if he didn’t cooperate, just Kim Haewon knowing this fact could change many things.
He had more resources than me and could do more. Besides, he wasn’t the type to stand by while our story was being misrepresented under the name of BL.
As I was thinking this, the bus stopped. I headed to the isolation center with twenty security personnel. Inside the box were various guiding assistance devices organized neatly. First, I changed clothes and replaced the translator with a radio.
— Guide Park Garam, can you hear me?
“Yes.”
I adjusted the earphone I had loosely inserted. Director Kim Jeongseon’s voice flowed through.
— The gate clearing is 99% complete. Esper Kim Haewon will be transported directly to the isolation center within the next 3 minutes.
“Understood.”
I said this while putting one arm through the workwear. One side of the white box was connected to the gate entrance. It was designed to automatically open when an esper emerged from the gate with energy reactions.
I turned on the guiding amplification device and checked the emergency drugs. This was just a precautionary measure. According to the novel’s progression, Kim Haewon was probably already in a state where drugs no longer affected him. I had to be careful, as improper drug administration could cause shock.
— Gate clearing complete.
With her words, one wall opened. I tried to prepare myself thoroughly to face him, but it wasn’t possible.
“Aaack!”
Water poured in like a dam had burst. As the gate closed, one wall of the white box also closed. I instantly became like a drowned rat and sputtered.
Once the water level reached a certain point, the white box immediately opened the drain below, and the water drained rapidly. After all the water had drained, warm air blew from all directions, seemingly trying to raise Kim Haewon’s body temperature.
I wiped my wet face and looked ahead. Kim Haewon was collapsed on the floor. Judging by his moving fingers, he hadn’t lost consciousness yet.
I slowly approached him with his terrifying wavelength.
“Esper Kim Haewon, it’s me, Park Garam. I’m starting guiding now… gack!”
There was a bang. It was the sound of my back hitting the wall of the white box. The man who had been lying face down had seized my neck at the speed of light and slammed me against the wall.
It took several tens of seconds just to grasp what was happening. My head was ringing, and blood flowed from my mouth. Above all, I couldn’t speak properly because I couldn’t breathe.
My nose burned, and my eyes felt hot. I couldn’t bear the sudden breathlessness. He still had white pupils. If he used his pressure energy now, my neck would burst and I would die.
“Get out.”
“…”
“Right now.”
Kim Haewon was afraid. Afraid that he might go berserk. But judging by how long his reason was being maintained, the worst scenario could be prevented. I flailed my hands and grabbed Kim Haewon’s arm.
I could start guiding just by touching him. As a bit of guiding energy spread, Kim Haewon frowned and squeezed my neck tighter.
“Stop fucking around and get out!”
“Gack, keuak, gack.”
*Let go and I will. What a contradictory bastard.*
I thought this as I gripped his arm tightly. Kim Haewon didn’t intend to kill me. If he had, he would have twisted my neck off already.
He instinctively wanted to live. He wanted to receive my guiding and stop his rampage.
As his instincts and thoughts moved in opposite directions, Kim Haewon didn’t know what to do. I took advantage of this confusion to inject guiding energy into his arm.
When I injected a large amount of energy, color spread through Kim Haewon’s pupils like blue paint dripping. His white pupils gradually mixed with blue, then began to take on their original blue-gray color.
The hand gripping my neck gradually lost strength. I finally exhaled and knocked away his hand that was holding my neck. Then I immediately increased the contact range. Just holding hands as I usually did with other espers wasn’t enough.
I had to pour in the maximum guiding I could provide. And that to someone who was rejecting my guiding.
I grabbed his collar and pulled him closer. I tightly embraced his neck so he couldn’t escape from me. Simultaneously, blood gushed and poured from my mouth, as if Kim Haewon’s wavelength had pierced me like a thorn.
