# Chapter 15
It was a revolutionary research. Currently, the research hadn’t even entered a transitional phase and was still in its extreme early stages, but already the Korean Ability Association was wary of the potential chaos likely to occur in the future.
Guides who need Espers and Espers who don’t need Guides.
It was already obvious who would reign supreme.
But humans already had monsters as a common enemy to face rather than conflicting among themselves, and in this situation, the general atmosphere was one of reasonable compromise and steady research progression, based on the judgment that if Guides gained physical power like Espers, the benefits to humanity would be greater.
Time was the crucial factor. With the current research progress and scientific technology, it wasn’t easy to develop weapons that would assist Guides in physically utilizing their abilities, so it was projected that it would take considerable time before such weapons could be distributed.
But he was Yu Junseo.
One of only four S-class Guides in Korea and the son of Yu Minhwan, the ruling party representative.
He was in a position where it wouldn’t be strange for him to be the first to obtain such a weapon.
As evidence, Junseo’s family had been continuously making substantial investments in several laboratories conducting this research. This was also the reason why rough-mannered Espers couldn’t properly retaliate against Yu Junseo as a person and only engaged in minor harassment or sent anonymous letters.
And now this guy was seriously asking if he looked weak.
The director felt that a lion escaped from the zoo seemed more vulnerable. How pitiful. A lion confined to a narrow facility due to human selfishness, fed only designated food, finally escaping.
Sympathizing with Yu Junseo was less nutritious than focusing on animal rights.
Junseo muttered to himself, completely ignoring the director’s sour face.
“Hmm. This is a problem. It seems the weaker I am, the weaker I become.”
With his eyes downcast and sighing deeply, he looked like he had stepped out of a fairy tale. Moreover, the book Junseo was reading today was “Summer Lingers There.” For people who didn’t know Junseo, it would have been a sight where they’d admire how well the handsome man with a gentle impression matched the lyrical prose of the book, but the director thought harshly.
He really doesn’t suit it.
It was fascinating how someone who seemed to have no sensitivity whatsoever persistently read only literary works with tender or peaceful content.
“Anyway, Guide Yu Junseo. Esper Ji Sangjun has returned today, so don’t be late to the guiding room.”
Why did he, the director, have to take care of every little thing like a parent checking a nine-year-old child’s daily planner? The director felt like he might cry. But it couldn’t be helped—a week after Junseo came to headquarters, an unnamed Esper—truly unnamed, as there were too many suspects—had vandalized Junseo’s desk. It seemed they lacked the courage to directly harm him, so they wrecked his space instead.
As a result of that incident, for the safety of the fixtures, a place for Junseo was created in the director’s office. No matter how crazed an Esper might be, surely they wouldn’t dare touch the office of the Director of the government-affiliated Guide Management Office. Junseo didn’t care where his place was and just busied himself with pastime activities, so if the director could just endure it, everyone would be comfortable.
Honestly, the director wished Junseo would be assigned to another branch, but the headquarters wouldn’t dare do that to someone who hadn’t caused an irreparable accident and more or less completed assigned tasks.
“He’ll probably dislike it if I go. He has his partner, doesn’t he?”
Unlike the director, who was always burning with fury, Junseo’s gentle response was so nonchalant that the director gritted his teeth.
“His partner has been dispatched on another urgent mission. Unfortunately, you’re the only Guide at headquarters right now capable of guiding an S-class. Esper Ji Sangjun knows this fact well, so he’ll understand.”
“There’s no way I’m the only one. Judging by your expression, it’s not even an emergency guiding, so five A-class Guides should be sufficient. Besides, I already have a partner.”
“…Don’t speak lightly of something that requires five A-class Guides. About your partner, do you mean when you practically kidnapped him by writing a partner application form, and pressured the headquarters to approve it without the Esper’s consent? A-class Esper Choi Dohyuk, was it?”
“Yes. I must maintain my chastity.”
“…I’m not sure where to start correcting you, but first, your application form hasn’t been approved yet. The Esper in question hasn’t accepted or rejected it since he’s in a dungeon. Second, even if you become partners, it doesn’t mean you’re married. There’s no need to maintain chastity. The concept of partnership simply means that Espers and Guides with high matching rates prioritize each other, not that they only guide each other one-on-one.”
Junseo blinked. A vein bulged on the director’s forehead as he perfectly understood that this meant, ‘So what?’ The director ground his teeth before quickly regaining his composure and sighing. He was now at an age where his gums were receding. He couldn’t lose his dental health along with his hair because of this lunatic.
“And third, do you know that Esper Choi Dohyuk was previously demoted to the Yeongnam region? For killing a B-class Esper during a mission.”
The long fingers turning the book pages hesitated.
“Guide Yu Junseo. Esper Choi Dohyuk did have a high matching rate with you. 88%, was it? This might be your first Esper with such a high matching rate, so your curiosity is understandable.”
Seeing that he was finally focusing on his words, the director spoke gravely and calmly, like an adult coaxing a child.
“Whatever else you might like about him, it would be better to stay away from a lower-ranked Esper whose string has been cut for a long time. He came to headquarters because frequent dungeon outbreaks required additional personnel, but there’s a high possibility he’ll return to his branch once things stabilize. In other words, although he seems capable with an adequate rank, in reality, he’s just a good-looking but worthless crabapple. You should continue as you are, occasionally guiding S-class Espers….”
Tap.
The hand with neatly trimmed nails closed the book he had been reading. Since he was normally a person with static movements, he must have deliberately made the heavy noise.
“An Esper who was demoted for killing someone is being reassigned to headquarters just to fill a personnel shortage? That sounds strange.”
“His stability was verified through his time at the branch. The incident was also closer to an accident, they say.”
When Director Park responded evasively, the corner of Junseo’s mouth slowly rose.
“I’ll examine my partner carefully. Hearing your words, I’m worried he might have been rolled around here and there due to being excessively innocent.”
He’s not your partner yet, I told you.
And he killed someone—what damned innocence!
Wanting to shout at Junseo, who seemed to have completely misunderstood his kind explanation, the director raised his head to look at his face.
“But from now on, I’ll be supporting him.”
Yu Junseo was smiling sweetly. It was clearly a splendid expression like a flower in full bloom, but it looked strangely chilly, sending a shiver down the director’s spine.
“It will be fine for him to continue living innocently.”
The moment he saw that face, the director realized that Choi Dohyuk wasn’t the only good-looking but worthless crabapple at headquarters.
***
It took about three days to successfully conquer and stabilize the B-class dungeon.
When all the monsters in a dungeon disappear, the dungeon loses its vitality. However, this moment wasn’t what was called conquering the dungeon. To conquer a dungeon, one had to find the core that existed within it.
The core, which could only be found after all monsters were eliminated, was the essence of the energy that created the monsters.
In the past, when there was no information about dungeons, people suffered great damage because monsters would reappear after a certain time even after hunting was completed. After continuing research by dispatching ability users, it was discovered that dungeons contain a core, and only by removing this core could the regeneration of monsters be permanently prevented.
Furthermore, unlike in the past when this core was simply destroyed, after the Second Cataclysm 15 years ago, it was discovered that this core could be used to process by-products from within the dungeon. Because of this, at some point, “conquering a dungeon” became synonymous with “safely acquiring the dungeon’s core.”
Dohyuk’s group joined another team of ability users who had been protecting the surroundings and hunting monsters that escaped through dimensional cracks while they were in the dungeon.
The brief interview with public broadcast journalists after conquering the dungeon was always Seungmin’s responsibility. Although Dohyuk, who didn’t usually check internet reactions or newspapers, didn’t know this well, Seungmin, with his fairly handsome appearance, was an Esper with quite high recognition, to the extent that there were fans who waited just for his interviews and saved clips.
Dohyuk was late in showering because he was first organizing the content to report to superiors with Minseok. Seungmin, who had finished showering much earlier, was performing the role of a dependable Esper in front of the reporters. From a distance, Dohyuk observed his friend’s behavior, which was different from usual.
