# Chapter 29
Kim Haewon had once killed a senior esper who went berserk inside a gate. It was a decision made to save numerous other espers, but after witnessing the scene, many younger or lower-ranked espers quit the Association or returned to civilian status.
It was a very famous incident. It happened when he was not even 2 years into his manifestation. Moreover, the deceased esper had been his closest senior.
No one could know exactly what had happened inside the gate. The berserk esper was stopped by Kim Haewon and died. Kim Haewon had done the right thing, but it had been a story hushed up within the Association.
Since he mentioned it directly, even Nam Ihyeon had reason to be surprised.
“The first time is difficult, but after that, it’s not hard.”
“You’re threatening a human life.”
“You have the nerve to say that when you tried to kill a guide? Ptui! You cowardly bastard. Without guiding, you’re nothing, yet you try to kill someone because yours is worn out? And you call yourself S-class? Your character is F-class. F!”
I poked my head out from behind Kim Haewon and shouted at the top of my lungs. Kim Haewon kept staring at Nam Ihyeon.
“Go.”
“Fuck. Do you think I’ll let this slide?”
Kim Haewon chuckled. It was a weak laugh, as if he felt no threat at all from Nam Ihyeon’s anger. Nam Ihyeon stood there seething before turning around.
Then, deliberately kicking up dust, he jumped as if soaring toward the gate entrance. Thanks to Kim Haewon blocking the area with a blue light, the dust didn’t shower down on us but bounced away. After seeing him escape through the gate entrance, Kim Haewon turned to face me.
“What happened?”
Kim Haewon asked as if interrogating me. I answered calmly in response to his serious tone.
“It’s A-class guide Han Miyeon. A D-class esper jumped in here, and she seems to have gotten caught up while trying to stop him. Then she caught Nam Ihyeon’s eye, and it looks like Nam Ihyeon, who was short on guiding, requested guiding from her.”
“…”
“He probably prevented her from stopping even when she was exceeding her limit. Higher-ranked espers often do that to lower-ranked guides, don’t they?”
Kim Haewon just nodded. His expression suggested it wasn’t even worth explaining further. While examining Han Miyeon’s face, I said:
“Esper Nam Ihyeon lied to me.”
“What did he lie about?”
“He said he couldn’t feel a guide’s wavelength anywhere nearby. Han Miyeon was barely conscious, but an S-class wouldn’t have missed it. You even pinpointed exactly where she was.”
“…”
“He was trying to kill her.”
I said while brushing aside Han Miyeon’s bangs. I still had a stone clenched in my other fist. I dropped the stone to the floor and looked at Kim Haewon.
“He’s probably been doing things like this all along.”
“…”
“Maybe I’ll be next.”
Kim Haewon quietly looked at Han Miyeon and me before softly saying:
“Let’s get out first.”
I nodded. It felt like my heart was sinking.
* * *
Han Miyeon was transported to the Center Hospital immediately after exiting the gate. But that was all. Infuriatingly, Nam Ihyeon received no disciplinary action whatsoever. Instead, they said Han Miyeon might be disciplined for entering the gate without permission.
“Does that make any sense?!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs after returning to my hospital room. Not that anyone was there to listen. If I didn’t yell, I felt I couldn’t bear the frustration.
How could I make Nam Ihyeon pay dearly?
My head was filled with anger and thoughts about it. It wasn’t just an issue with Nam Ihyeon alone. It was the prevailing attitude of higher-ranked espers looking down on lower-ranked guides.
“Pathetic bastard, trash!”
I pounded my pillow with my fists, imagining it was his face. In reality, I might not even be able to get near him. S-class espers had superior physical abilities, and among them, Nam Ihyeon was at the top.
“This is so frustrating.”
I buried my face deep in the pillow. I had never been so angry since becoming a guide. What could possibly quell this boiling rage?
As I was cursing Nam Ihyeon like I was reciting a prayer, the hospital room door opened. I just turned my head to see who it was. It was Kim Haewon.
“What are you doing?”
“Why should you care what I’m doing?”
I knew it was childish, but I couldn’t stand the sight of espers. As I buried my face in the pillow again, Kim Haewon tossed something onto the bed. I got up after it hit my back. It was a not-too-thick document.
“Four-directional gate report? Isn’t this Esper Department material?”
“It’s edited to be within the range accessible to outsiders. You participated in the mission regardless of your contribution level, so it’s being shared with you.”
“Now you’re not speaking informally?”
“Why? Do you prefer being treated roughly?”
Kim Haewon immediately reverted to his rude way of speaking. I hurriedly expressed my opinion.
“Who said I liked it? Anyway, thank you.”
I opened the report right away. Kim Haewon sat on a portable chair. I could see detailed information about the western gate we had participated in.
“The western gate’s disaster rating is ‘Mu’?”
Kim Haewon just nodded. His expression suggested it wasn’t even worth explaining. Usually, a gate’s rating was adjusted largely based on the opinions of espers who had cleared it. National disaster rating ‘Mu’ meant a level that A-class espers could subdue.
“But even an S-class esper had trouble. And there were tons of those undead goblin things. And that…! That polypodal whatever was there too. That centipede monster thing. The one with the Hell Mouth face…!”
“Undead monsters with simple attack patterns aren’t included in the numerical calculation unless they exceed a thousand. And while one A-class esper might struggle with a Polypodal Under Dragon, several attacking together could easily subdue it.”
I stared at Kim Haewon with wide eyes. I wanted to ask if that was just his perspective, but Kim Haewon seemed to be speaking objectively without a hint of exaggeration.
I could still vividly recall the monsters swarming like ants. The tremendous wavelengths pouring out from a distance, the wind, flashes, and dust. I had felt all of that at the scene. However, even though we were in the same place, what Kim Haewon and I experienced was different. Drastically so.
I didn’t continue speaking and went back to reading the rest of the report. My main curiosity wasn’t about the gate rating but something else. However, no matter how much I searched, that part wasn’t there.
“There’s nothing about what Esper Nam Ihyeon did?”
“The report was rejected.”
“That was attempted murder!”
“I know. Esper Nam Ihyeon will be disciplined internally by the S-class team. It just won’t be documented.”
“What’s this internal discipline?”
“He’ll be given guiding kidnap prevention medication.”
Guiding Kidnap. Literally, it meant kidnapping the guiding itself. It referred to the act of taking all guiding energy against a guide’s will. Since it threatened a guide’s life, higher-ranked espers received especially strong sanctions.
Of course, there were exceptions. Kim Haewon had done it last time. When an esper sustained dangerous levels of damage and couldn’t control themselves, it was possible within the Center if there was an EM warning or if the research/medical team was present. This was under the premise that the guide’s safety was minimally guaranteed.
Even if Nam Ihyeon was disciplined for this four-directional gate incident, it was light compared to endangering someone’s life. It was all because he was an S-class esper. Such incidents were more frequent than one might think due to high-ranked espers, and for the same reason, they were just as frequently covered up.
Treatment of espers was far superior to that of guides. Most cases were quietly handled behind the scenes. If not for testimony from an esper of Kim Haewon’s caliber, Nam Ihyeon might have faced no punishment at all.
Without me, Han Miyeon would have died, just like in the serialized novel. Nam Ihyeon would have continued such acts without any punishment. Thinking about it made my fists clench.
“That bastard isn’t getting fired?”
“Even if he wanted to leave voluntarily, they’d hold him back.”
His words were right. Nam Ihyeon was the face of the Association. He wouldn’t be fired. Even if he voluntarily retired, the Association would cling to his pants leg, begging him to stay. That was the most infuriating part.
“Let’s see if I ever guide him again. That trash. Cowardly and despicable bastard. Ah! Go to hell! Hell! Hell!”
I pounded the pillow with my fists. My anger wasn’t subsiding. Kim Haewon watched me silently for a while, then said:
“Did you guide Nam Ihyeon?”
“I’m just saying! That bastard suddenly took me to the gate and asked me to do it with him.”
Kim Haewon’s face hardened. Regardless, I continued speaking in my anger.
“He’s such a lowlife. No wonder he’s called ‘rotten pepper’.”
“So?”
Kim Haewon’s gaze suddenly felt frightening. I nervously opened my mouth.
“W-what do you mean ‘so’?”
“What did you do with Nam Ihyeon?”
“What would I do? I just did some contact guiding and told him to go fight quickly.”
Kim Haewon sighed and then continued:
“Break the habit of guiding just anyone. You’re not a universal spare key anymore, are you?”
“What did you say?”
“Am I wrong?”
Kim Haewon’s fierce gaze and words left me speechless.
