* * *
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
It was a bit strange to say that, though.
Raon scrutinized Hamin with suspicious eyes.
In response, Hamin forced a smile.
“I’m really fine, Team Leader.”
“Hmm.”
“You’re in a hurry, aren’t you? I’ll explain to the team members, so you should go.”
Raon frowned as he sensed something was off, but Hamin waved his hand quickly, his tone rushed.
It was an obvious attempt to avoid the situation.
Raon glanced sideways at Dojin.
Hamin’s sudden change in behavior was clearly because of Dojin.
“Hyung, what’s going on?”
“Siwoo.”
Siwoo, who had been overseeing the Espers’ training from afar, came running over, panting.
Raon, momentarily flustered, opened his mouth.
“There’s a senior staff meeting today. I completely forgot to check, so I’m heading there now.”
“A senior staff meeting?”
“Yeah.”
But Siwoo’s gaze toward Dojin still wasn’t friendly.
His eyes were filled with obvious hostility, and Dojin let out a small, amused chuckle.
“It’s really just a meeting, Siwoo. I got the message through my device.”
“…Fine. Be careful.”
As Siwoo spoke, he tapped the watch on his left wrist lightly with his finger.
It was a silent signal—call me if anything happens.
Raon nodded and followed Dojin, leaving behind Siwoo’s worried gaze.
Hamin’s reaction earlier kept bothering him.
It seemed like he needed to have a private talk with him after training.
Lost in thought as he walked, Raon suddenly turned his head at the voice beside him.
“It’s like dealing with some damn mutt.”
Raon frowned at the obvious tone of ridicule.
“Who were you just talking about?”
“What? You upset I insulted your pet?”
“Siwoo’s not a pet.”
Raon was speechless at Dojin mocking Siwoo, who had only shown concern for him.
But Dojin’s expression remained unchanged.
“Acts just like a mutt, though.”
“Well, at least dogs know how to listen.”
Raon replied with a flat tone, brushing off Dojin’s provocation.
A faint crack appeared on Dojin’s smug face.
“Must be nice, having such an obedient mutt.”
“Stop calling him that.”
Even as Raon frowned and warned him, Dojin only snickered.
Raon pressed his lips together and turned away.
Continuing this back-and-forth was pointless.
Still… what exactly happened between Hamin and Dojin?
Raon was more curious about that.
“You’re here.”
“Sorry for being late.”
Entering the conference room, Raon first bowed his head to Seokhyeon.
With a tired face, Seokhyeon gestured for him to hurry in.
Raon quickly found his seat.
‘Hmm.’
They called it a senior staff meeting, but all the team leaders—including Raon and Dojin—were gathered.
Along with them were Seokhyeon, the head of the center, and several military officials.
“Let’s begin the meeting.”
Seokhyeon, leading the meeting, directed his gaze to the large screen displaying a presentation.
“This is the Irregular Gate that appeared in District 3.”
The initial image of the Irregular Gate in District 3, which Raon had led the suppression of not long ago, appeared on the screen.
Unlike other Gates, this one lacked color entirely, and the ground around it was sunken, making it look like a simple sinkhole.
“And this is after Alpha 1 Team went in for reconnaissance.”
The screen changed as Seokhyeon finished speaking, now showing the state of the Irregular Gate after Raon’s entry.
“The Irregular Gate in District 3 turned gray. This is a color no one has seen before, anywhere in the world.”
‘Hmm…’
At Seokhyeon’s words, sighs mixed with concern came from the military officials’ side.
It seemed the military was increasingly troubled by Gate-related incidents lately.
“Fortunately, thanks to the hastily assembled Guide Team, we were able to suppress this Gray Gate without major casualties. But going forward, it’s highly likely we’ll face significant challenges.”
“Indeed. Ever since the first Red Gate appeared, the difficulty of all Gates has sharply increased.”
The one agreeing with Seokhyeon was Kwon Yoonchae, Team Leader of Alpha 3 and an A-rank Esper.
Though her rank was officially A, her powerful fire abilities earned her near S-rank treatment.
“That’s not all. The appearance of a new color suggests other colored Gates might emerge too.”
“Aren’t you jumping to conclusions?”
“We don’t even have definitive proof yet…”
As differing opinions flew around, Seokhyeon slammed the table with his hand.
“Now is the time to consider every possibility. Experts believe Gates will remain unstable for the foreseeable future, so we must stay vigilant.”
The room settled down again.
After surveying the attendees, Seokhyeon continued the meeting.
“This is the first gathering with the newly reorganized teams. Since there are no new members, let’s keep introductions brief.”
Those in agreement exchanged quick nods or subtle gestures as greetings.
The introductions passed swiftly.
“Here’s the current status and roster of the reorganized teams. Please refer to the materials distributed.”
The documents outlined the reorganized teams, drawing Raon’s attention.
Aside from Raon’s newly created Guide Team, there weren’t many notable changes.
Alpha Teams 1, 2, and 3 had been merged into a single Alpha Team to better respond to Irregular Gates, while other Gates would be handled as before by drawing members from various teams or Alpha Team.
Perhaps because of this, Raon’s Guide Team stood out more.
Dojin stood to begin the Alpha Team briefing.
“Hello, I’m Seo Dojin, the new leader of the reorganized Alpha Team.”
As expected, Dojin had ended up leading Alpha Team.
Despite constant friction with Inho, the outcome was predictable.
Raon caught a glimpse of Inho grinding his teeth at Dojin before calmly looking away.
“First, I’d like to apologize for the damage caused by my previous mistake.”
Dojin bowed his head with a serious expression.
Most watched silently, some awkwardly clearing their throats.
Raon stared intently at Dojin’s brazen face.
He called it an apology, yet never specified—for forcing the reconnaissance of the Irregular Gate, or for intentionally trying to kill a team member?
Raon clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Expected, yet still unbearable to watch.
“From now on, Alpha Team will devote itself to Gate suppression. We’re also implementing training programs to handle all possible variables.”
The screen displayed Alpha Team’s dense training schedule.
As the Guide, Raon couldn’t tell if the training was appropriate, but the military officials seemed satisfied.
‘Well, the Alpha Team is all high-rank anyway. Their usual training should suffice.’
Most of the Espers were S-Class, and Alpha Team was made up only of the very best among even the A-Class, so there wasn’t much to worry about—except for Team Leader Dojin.
“Any questions?”
“……”
Silence filled the room.
No one asked Dojin anything.
Everyone seemed so used to each other that there wasn’t much to say.
‘As expected, they’re holding this meeting because of me.’
The so-called dangers of the Gate were nonsense.
Seeing how the higher-ups had lumped all of Alpha Team together under the pretense of restructuring, it was clear they didn’t feel any real sense of crisis yet.
It seemed the only thing people were curious about was the newly formed Guide Special Team, and more specifically, its leader—the S-Class Guide, Han Raon.
“Then, Guide Han Raon, leader of the Guide Special Team, will now give his explanation.”
“Hm.”
Raon stood up from his seat and walked to the podium.
Countless eyes locked onto him.
‘I’m kind of nervous.’
Even before possessing this body, he was used to being under the gaze of strangers, but this situation was far more uncomfortable, which only added to the tension.
Raon cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak.
“Hello, I’m Han Raon, the leader of the Guide Special Team. First, let me explain the background of why the Guide Team was formed.”
Raon briefly recounted his deployment to the Irregular Gate and the subsequent suppression operation.
He then explained how that experience led him to propose the formation of a Guide Team to the Center Director.
At that, someone raised their hand.
“Yes, please speak.”
“So, are you saying you personally established the Guide Team, Team Leader Han?”
“Technically, it required the Center Director’s approval, but yes, that’s correct.”
“And you personally selected the team members as well?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Hmmm.”
The man, who appeared to be from the military, made a subtle expression at Raon’s words.
It gave Raon a bad feeling.
“I noticed some unexpected individuals on the roster. Do you have a particular reason for choosing them?”
“Yes, I was just about to explain that.”
Raon let out a breath he’d been holding back.
He didn’t need to work hard to convince Seokhyeon, but the others were different.
This meeting was clearly going to be a rough one.
Raon slowly opened his mouth and continued.
* * *
MC need to roasted all this people’s soon,