[Heard a rumor about H.R. transferring overseas?]
[A friend works at the Center, and they said H.R. was publicly scouted by an Esper from the Union recently!
The excuse for stepping down from the team leader position due to his pair Esper’s disciplinary action is just a pretext; they say he’s going to sign a contract with the Union and depart soon….
What’s going to happen if an Irregular Gate erupts again without H.R. in this situation? ㅠㅠ I’m so anxious and scared these days, I can’t sleep at night….]
[598 Comments]
Anon1: Huh? What, is that true?
Anon2: H.R. is going abroad? The European Union?
Anon3: They are really bothering foreign ability users, aren’t they? How many times has this happened now?
└Anon7: Seems like they’re mainly taking away Guides?
└Anon11: I heard their number of Guides is extremely low compared to their number of Espers….
└Anon19: But what good is taking Guides from other countries? Especially when we only have one S-Class Guide, H.R.;;
Anon4: But this isn’t confirmed yet, is it?;;
└Anon5: Yeah, it’s just a rumor….
└Anon8: But it’s a rumor that’s starting to be heard everywhere ㅠㅠ
Anon6: What are we going to do about the next Irregular Gate right away;; I can’t trust S.D.J. anymore;;;
└Anon9: How did S.D.J. end up like this… wasn’t he quite a competent Esperㅠㅠㅋ
└Anon12: The rumors about him in the military are terrible nowㅋㅋㅋ
└Anon15: Huh why? Didn’t he just return?
└Anon18: S.D.J. took the command position back as soon as he returned, and since H.R. left, there’s so much talk nowㅋㅋㅋ
└Anon20: All that aside, what about the next Irregular Gate? Is it really okay as things are?
“It’s a mess.”
Raon muttered softly after reading the post.
He definitely felt that since Mikhail had spoken so publicly, even within the military, the news might leak out, but he hadn’t expected it to spread this quickly.
Since a post had appeared on a community this large, it wouldn’t take long for newspaper articles to come out now.
And if that happened, the Union would openly send a love call instead of trying to hide it.
Raon sighed, remembering Mikhail’s messages that he had deliberately not checked.
“Haa.”
“You seem to have something on your mind.”
“…!”
Raon was startled by the sudden voice next to him and turned his head.
He met the brown eyes that were intently staring at him.
‘Who is this?’
Black-rimmed glasses covered half his face, and wavy bangs covered his forehead.
His clothes were ordinary, but a faded, checkered T-shirt stood out a bit.
Even in his past life, he had seen many people dressed like this when he passed through the engineering college campus.
Raon unconsciously recalled the engineering students who wore similar clothes, then looked at the man again.
“Who are you?”
“Hmm, it’s the first time we’ve met like this, Team Leader Han Raon.”
“…!”
The man recognized Raon even though his face was completely covered.
He must have an unusual eye for detail.
‘Or he might have been watching me constantly.’
The address of the house where Raon and Siwoo lived was classified information.
If their location was found out, there was no telling what strange organizations might do to them.
But it wasn’t impossible to find out if one set their mind to it.
Although difficult, an ability user could use their powers to persistently track and follow Raon.
Though this was earlier than he had expected.
“Don’t be so guarded. I’m not a suspicious person.”
“Have you ever seen a suspicious person say that themselves?”
“Hmm, generally no.”
The man laughed awkwardly at Raon’s question.
When he curled the corners of his mouth upwards, small dimples were etched onto both cheeks.
His smiling appearance looked quite youthful.
Feeling his wariness strangely easing, Raon focused his eyes.
He glared at the man, who smiled innocently, and gritted his teeth.
“I’m late in introducing myself. I’m probably registered as Yoo Jeongwon in the system.”
“Yoo Jeongwon?”
“Yes, I am Team Leader Yoo Jeongwon of the Intelligence Division. For now, anyway.”
“For now?”
“Ah, I have so many temporary identities. Right now, I’m disguised as a university student for a mission.”
“…I see.”
In that case, his engineering student-like attire made sense.
He was a spy who was unnecessarily serious about historical research.
Raon looked over Jeongwon’s appearance and gave a grudging nod.
“I was actually hoping to meet you, so this is fortunate. I’ve been quite busy lately. How lucky that you came outside today.”
“You weren’t keeping me under constant surveillance, were you?”
“Surely not.”
Jeongwon flinched and waved his hand.
He seemed genuinely flustered.
But Raon wasn’t fooled and stared intently at him.
“Well, actually, monitoring Team Leader Raon’s safety is also part of our Intelligence Division’s job. We are always informed of your movements.”
“You are quite honest.”
“I figured I couldn’t fool you anyway, haha.”
“Hmm.”
He was surprisingly a person who gave off a down-to-earth impression.
Raon had expected the Intelligence Division Team Leader to have more charisma than Dojin or Inho.
The person he actually met had a common appearance that could be found anywhere.
Though he must have deliberately disguised himself that way.
“What is the reason you wanted to meet me?”
“Ah, about that.”
When Raon asked, Jeongwon smiled warmly.
The way he smiled, with his brownish eyelashes delicately lowered, suited his mood quite well.
As Raon momentarily thought this inwardly, a small voice penetrated his ear.
“Team Leader Raon, are you perhaps the type whose life isn’t precious?”
“What did you say?”
The gentle voice and the content of his words didn’t match, causing Raon a moment of confusion.
Then he swallowed hard as he looked at Jeongwon’s face, which had moved closer.
“I heard from Team Leader Inho. That you are investigating Apophis.”
“Ah.”
“For a Guide to try to do something so dangerous. It’s too reckless.”
Jeongwon blinked and stared at Raon.
His gaze clearly held a look of reproach.
Even he, the Intelligence Division Team Leader, was warning Raon that chasing after a terrorist group as a Guide was dangerous.
Raon clenched his hands tightly and met Jeongwon’s gaze.
Then he slowly parted his lips.
“You will regret it if you don’t accept my help.”
“I will?”
“Yes.”
Jeongwon chuckled at Raon’s supremely confident words.
Raon eyed him suspiciously.
‘What is his ability, exactly?’
Jeongwon, the Intelligence Division Team Leader, was an A-Class Esper, like Yoonchae, but he was treated as near S-Class due to his rare ability.
He was said to have risen to the position of Intelligence Division Team Leader because of that ability.
However, since he was a character he hadn’t cared about enough to even know his name, he only barely recalled this information now after being reminded of him.
Espers each had their unique aura.
Every Esper Raon had met so far had that aura slightly revealed.
Siwoo’s aura was cold like spring water, and Hamin had a cool scent like the wind.
But Jeongwon, standing in front of him, gave off no feeling at all.
It would be normal for an S-Class Guide like Raon to feel even a little bit of the Esper’s characteristic aura, let alone an ordinary person.
Yet, Raon felt no aura from Jeongwon from the moment they met until now.
“Are you perhaps doing this because you trust Hanmyung?”
Jeongwon asked, tilting his head. He still wore a smile as if he found this amusing.
“A corporation, no matter how much they know, only knows so much. It wouldn’t be good to blindly trust them too much, you naive young master.”
“Phew.”
The way Jeongwon kept smiling slyly and teasing Raon while speaking suggested he was accustomed to provoking and needling others in this manner.
If Raon were the foolish, original Han Raon, he would have already exploded and spilled harsh words.
Instead, Raon took a light breath.
He didn’t know what Jeongwon was aiming for, but one thing was certain: he was testing him right now.
He initially thought Jeongwon had come to make him give up on pursuing Apophis, but seeing him provoke like this suggested otherwise.
Raon curled up the corners of his mouth and smirked.
“Although I am receiving support from Hanmyung, it is not Hanmyung that will be helpful to Team Leader Jeongwon.”
“Then who is it?”
Jeongwon asked curiously.
This time, he seemed to be asking out of genuine interest.
Raon answered with a deeper smile.
“Me.”
“Pardon?”
“I will be helpful to the Intelligence Division.”
At Raon’s confident statement, Jeongwon’s eyes widened for a moment.
Then he burst out laughing.
“Haha, you are an interesting person.”
“I’m not joking.”
“Oh?”
When Raon spoke seriously toward the laughing Jeongwon, he tilted his head in confusion again.
He stared at Raon with eyes full of doubt and asked.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
When Raon nodded silently again, Jeongwon slowly wiped the expression from his face.
This must be his true self, Raon muttered nervously inside.
“That is truly interesting.”
His voice and atmosphere were also different from before.
The subdued tone felt particularly sharp.
“Then, Team Leader Raon, shall I hear exactly how you can be helpful?”
At least now, Jeongwon seemed willing to listen to him seriously.
It was fortunate that the opportunity had come.
Raon slowly answered his question.
