# Chapter 20
“Why, why are you doing this!”
Suddenly grabbed by the collar, I shouted in surprise. When I yelled loud enough for it to echo through the corridor, Oh Guhyeon rushed out from his office.
“What’s going on? What happened? Hey! Jeon Jinhyeok!”
“Is the White Box a joke? Just because they tell you to go in, you go? What if you had died in there, how could you so readily accept? You should have refused. What if you had died! And you call yourself a guide!”
As my collar was being shaken violently, I thought about his words. I’d thought he might be a fan of Kim Haewon, or was unhappy about me becoming S-class, or was blaming me for my inadequate handling of the situation, but that wasn’t it.
As a fellow S-class guide, he was concerned about my safety. Of course, he was saying this while roughly shaking my still-recovering body.
“Kek, kek.”
“Do you know how vicious that woman is? How could you believe everything she says!”
“Jinhyeok, don’t take out your anger toward your ex-wife on Garam-ssi.”
Ex-wife? Who? Director Kim Jeongseon? I was surprised by this new information and looked back and forth between Jeon Jinhyeok and Oh Guhyeon. Jinhyeok muttered “damn it” and ducked into his office. Guhyeon brought water to me as I was coughing and led me to his office.
“Jinhyeok and Director Kim from the Diplomatic Management Department used to be married. It’s been over five years since they split up, but they’re still like sworn enemies…”
“I see, so that’s how it was.”
“You should understand. Later, after a few shots of soju with some pork and kimchi, he’ll feel better. Despite how he seems, he does have a sense of loyalty.”
Oh Guhyeon said with a friendly smile. I nodded and emptied the remaining water. Then I asked what I was curious about.
“Is there no interaction with the Department 1 people on the other floors?”
“Maybe just when we gather in the main conference room? S-class guides don’t usually interact much. We fight our own battles. There’s not much need to help each other. Once you start using this floor, there’ll be many people pretending to be friendly just to get in with Director Ham.”
“I’ve already been marked, so that won’t happen to me.”
“That’s true. It’s been a while since I heard Director Ham roar like that. What did you do wrong?”
“It’s not my fault. Apparently, the Esper Department contacted him saying I should only guide Kim Haewon. But the director thinks I instigated it through Kim Haewon. Kim Haewon and I don’t even get along…”
“Weren’t you supposed to only handle Kim Haewon anyway? With a 98% match rate, right?”
“Ah, but I also had about a 90% matching rate with Esper Nam Ihyeon, so Director Ham made me his temporary guide.”
“Oh, really? That’s Director Ham’s mistake then. With Kim Haewon’s pride, he must have shown his displeasure when he found out.”
I couldn’t agree more. A guy who would shout “dirty” to someone’s face would do that and more. Who knows how much trouble he caused at the Esper Department. I shook my head after trying to imagine it. Just thinking about it briefly made me feel stressed. Oh Guhyeon changed his expression to a more serious one and continued.
“Jinhyeok’s reaction isn’t just about Director Jeongseong. Since you suddenly appeared, there have been a lot of concerns within our Department 1. We’ve all tried guiding Kim Haewon, you know.”
“…”
“It was the first time in my life I couldn’t properly guide even a single hair of an esper. Moreover, that energy was truly overwhelmingly powerful. Violent.”
Oh Guhyeon spoke as if it was a long time ago. For some reason, his expression was tinged with bitterness. Guides who had high matching rates with everyone all had that side to them. Like mountain climbers looking at a tall peak they couldn’t conquer, it seemed they retained some lingering attachment to the one esper they didn’t match with.
Perhaps that’s why they wanted to hear about Kim Haewon through me. But I didn’t have much to tell them.
“Well, I’ll be heading back now.”
“Okay, see you later.”
“Yes.”
While it was important to get along with colleagues on the same floor, it was also crucial to maintain some distance. I was already on bad terms with Director Ham, and Jinhyeok didn’t seem to like me either. And while Guhyeon was kind, there was something vaguely unsettling about him. He was like a character often referred to as the ‘black curtain’ in novels.
I hit my head.
“Get a grip. Not everyone has dark intentions.”
Because I was thinking I was possessed by a novel, I was viewing even well-meaning people with suspicion. Goodwill should be taken as goodwill, not misinterpreted. When situations arose that could lead to misunderstandings, that would be the time to properly doubt.
I looked again at the pile of paperwork. There was a mountain of things to process. Despite shouting at the top of my lungs for administrative staff, nothing improved. This seemed to be the case even for S-class.
“Espers have secretaries, why don’t we? Come on.”
I sighed as I checked each document one by one. But after reviewing just a few documents, I had to stop again. It was because Director Ham was calling.
“Yes?”
— Starting today, clock in at the Esper Department. It’s for Kim Haewon Esper’s condition. Be careful not to get in trouble again. Understand?
My earlier words must have had some effect, as Director Ham spoke in a slightly more conciliatory tone. I clicked my tongue at how he fluttered like paper—how could someone like that be the director of Guide Department 1? But I told him I understood and hung up. As soon as I hung up the office phone, my cell phone rang. It was like a house on fire. I took a deep breath and checked my phone. The caller was Secretary Hwang Changho.
“Hello?”
— Yes, Guide-nim. You received the call, right? If now is a good time, I was going to have the car depart.
“Can’t I just take the shuttle?”
— Ahaha, Esper Department 1 isn’t accessible by shuttle. The same should be true for Guide Department 1.
Everything was so complicated. The shuttle bus was a versatile bus that went everywhere, including the Guide Department, Esper Department, and hospital wing. Plus, with frequent services, it was easy to use.
I was already tired just thinking about having to wait for Kim Haewon’s car every day, riding it, and then coming back. But as Director Ham had said, I couldn’t go against orders anymore, so I briefly replied that I understood.
Hwang Changho said he would send a driver, and I went out to the front of the company at the appointed time. As I stood there with an extremely tired expression, a black sedan stopped in front of me. Someone who looked like an executive assistant got out, checked my ID card, and then showed me his own ID card. He was from the Esper Department security team.
“I’ll escort you.”
“Yes, thank you.”
His respectful attitude made me feel correspondingly serious. I got in the back of the car. Even the car seat was soft, firm, and exuded a luxurious leather feel.
“We’re departing.”
The driver and security staff member were silent. There was no music or radio playing in the car. It felt like a big problem would occur if even the sound of swallowing was heard. I could almost hear the sound of the second hand on my wristwatch.
It surely wasn’t that far, but it felt like we had been traveling for a long time. One second felt like ten minutes. It was an atmosphere where I felt I should maintain a proper posture.
“We’ve arrived.”
After the security team member informed me like that, he opened the door for me. I expressed my thanks and got out of the car. Secretary Hwang Changho was waiting at the entrance to the Esper Department.
“Guide-nim!”
“Hello.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Your complexion looks much better.”
“Yes, well. Have you been well?”
“Me? I’m always the same. Ah, I’m really sorry about last time. Our Esper-nim can be a bit hot-tempered…”
I waved my hand dismissively, cutting off his words.
“If it’s about that guy, forget it. Why do you keep apologizing on behalf of someone else when you didn’t do anything wrong? That jerk doesn’t even seem sorry.”
Hwang Changho seemed flustered and couldn’t continue. I looked around the interior of the Esper Department. Guide Department 1 had a nice building, but it was nothing compared to the Esper Department. This building felt like it was about 30 years more advanced. Without even having to tap my ID card, a blue light scanned me as I passed by the door, and the monitor displayed who I was. That wasn’t all. My pre-entered purpose of visit and number of visits were immediately visible.
“Wow… the security is amazing.”
“The Esper Department has always had many intruders, so it’s been reinforced in various ways. I heard it’s scheduled to be gradually applied to the Guide Department as well.”
If applied sequentially, when would it reach Guide Department 17? I thought it might never be implemented. People didn’t think it was necessary to go to such lengths to protect lower-ranked guides.
I set aside my bitter thoughts and followed Hwang Changho. He said Kim Haewon had already moved to the infirmary. While it was called an infirmary, for S-class espers whose injuries healed quickly, it was a place used solely for guiding. There was a row of separate guiding rooms for individual espers. Kim Haewon was in the innermost one. It was a place that required opening a protective door to enter.
While it was called protection, it was virtually no different from isolation. Even when receiving guiding, Kim Haewon was classified as a dangerous subject. Well, he had never experienced a normal guiding procedure. All the times Kim Haewon and I had connected were only in crisis situations.
As I entered the guiding room, the man sitting with his back to me turned around. It wasn’t Kim Haewon.
