* * *
At first, they didn’t even take the test, using the excuse of being a minor.
It was natural for ability users, regardless of age, to wield guns and slaughter monsters, but Haegum’s excuse worked well enough.
For the past few years, they had just blindly shot with their eyes closed.
Naturally, the bullets never hit the target.
“Did you sleep well?”
Seo Munhyun asked, looking into Haegum’s eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Did you finish all your sleeping pills?”
“There’s still a little left.”
“…Is that so?”
Seo Munhyun raised an eyebrow as he asked.
Even though he wasn’t a mental esper, sometimes his gaze felt like it pierced through one’s mind.
“I just slept well, so I didn’t take much. Sometimes I only took half… or didn’t take any at all.”
Haegum had chronic insomnia.
With no memory of life before the age of twelve and no medical records, it was unclear whether Haegum’s insomnia was hereditary or acquired later.
One thing was certain, though: it was hard to sleep on days when they heard explosions or gunfire.
“Don’t overdo it.”
Seo Munhyun placed his hand back on Haegum’s shoulder.
It was just a casual touch, but it made Haegum tense up. Haegum swallowed hard.
-Whirr, whirr.
“Hyung, I’m being called.”
The alarm on Haegum’s band sounded.
The weight of Seo Munhyun’s hand on their shoulder disappeared.
“I’ll get going.”
Haegum turned their head toward Seo Munhyun as they stood at the door.
The band on their left wrist was still blinking as it sent out the alert.
“Haegum.”
“Huh?”
Seo Munhyun slowly called out Haegum’s name. Then, in a nonchalant tone, he said,
“I heard you had dinner with Seo Munhyuk yesterday.”
It was an ordinary statement, yet Haegum felt a chill run down their back.
Though it might go unnoticed by others, Haegum could pick up on Seo Munhyun’s subtle changes.
His voice, which tried to sound indifferent, was too cold.
“Haegum is my guide.”
“…”
“I can’t help but feel a little jealous.”
Seo Munhyun let out a soft chuckle as he added.
Haegum turned to look at him.
His hair, neatly slicked back like the version of Seo Munhyuk they had seen in a video the day before, caught their eye.
They looked identical, had similar styles, yet were completely different people.
As Haegum pondered how to respond, their lips parted slightly, but they used the buzzing alert as an excuse to quickly leave.
Haegum arrived at the center director’s office, only to find the director wasn’t there.
“What should we do? The director got an emergency call and left right away.”
The director’s secretary scrunched his nose a little as he spoke.
It seemed like the director had indeed left urgently, as the secretary was busy adjusting his schedule.
“Alright. Do you happen to know why I was called? I didn’t get a code.”
“Well, since there weren’t any special instructions, it was just a general call.”
“Understood.”
After bowing politely, Haegum left the office. They tried to think of a reason why the director would call them.
Other than the research on dispersed guiding, nothing else came to mind.
Since the National Assembly released data last year, there had been stricter standards for experiments on living subjects for research purposes.
Compared to the days when they had to guide for nights on end while hooked up to machines, Haegum now lived a relatively “easy” life.
Though some said that research on dispersed guiding had stalled because of it, Haegum didn’t mind.
They felt a bit pleased at having avoided the director’s long-winded nagging disguised as advice.
Checking the time, Haegum headed for the cafeteria.
Haegum was busy eating the mountain of food in front of them like a squirrel when Seo Munhyuk placed his tray down.
“Seo Munhyun was throwing a fit about having eaten with you.”
Haegum slowly lifted their head to naturally look at Seo Munhyuk, who had taken the seat across from them.
“Why are you eating here?”
“To piss off Seo Munhyun.”
Seo Munhyuk replied calmly to Haegum’s question.
The casual way he referred to “Hyun” by name sounded oddly endearing.
“Hyung doesn’t get angry over things like that.”
“Well, you never know unless you see how mad he gets.”
“I’ll just say you sat here of your own accord while I was eating alone.”
“Did Seo Munhyun tell you to eat by yourself?”
“No.”
Haegum shook their head.
“Then what did he say?”
“He just told me to be careful around Seo Munhyuk.”
Seo Munhyun controlled many aspects of Haegum’s life, but he didn’t interfere with their interactions with other ability users in the center—except for one person, Seo Munhyuk.
Haegum suddenly recalled Seo Munhyun’s words from some time ago: “Don’t get too attached to someone who’s going to leave again eventually.”
“Does he feel threatened? Well, I guess I am excessively good-looking.”
“…”
Seo Munhyuk’s self-praise was so bold and natural that it left Haegum speechless.
Yet, considering they harbored feelings for someone who looked exactly like Seo Munhyuk, they couldn’t exactly say he was wrong.
“So, this handsome hyung—”
Seo Munhyuk was about to make another playful comment to tease Haegum when—
Beep, beep.
The bands and phones of Haegum, Seo Munhyuk, and other ability users emitted urgent sounds.
The emergency alert they received was about a sinkhole that had formed not far from the center.
[Estimated 5-meter diameter sinkhole in Geumsan-gu / Multiple C-rank monsters detected]
Espers and guides, after checking their phones and bands, calmly turned off the alarms and resumed their conversations.
“Isn’t there a way to get workers’ comp for Monday blues? It’s a real illness.”
“That beeping sound is driving me crazy.”
One of the espers sitting at the table next to Haegum and Seo Munhyuk irritably tapped the screen of his wristband.
“You can turn off the sound if you root it.”
Before the words even finished, the restaurant was once again filled with the loud noise of an emergency alert.
Haegum put down his utensils and checked the new message.
The estimated size of the sinkhole had increased.
[Estimated 8-meter diameter sinkhole in Geumsan-gu / Multiple C-rank monsters detected / Request for assistance]
“So, you’re meeting again this weekend?”
“Yeah, we’re going to watch a movie.”
“Didn’t you say they were completely against espers?”
The espers and guides continued to eat, accustomed to ignoring the blaring alarm.
In an era of chaos dominated by monsters, people expected ability users to act like Good Samaritans.
To incentivize them, espers and guides were given high salaries and robust pensions.
But the reality was far from those expectations.
“Ugh, this is so annoying. Why are they asking for backup when it’s just C-ranks?”
“Must be a lot of monsters. I told you, just root your device so you don’t hear the alerts.”
Haegum quietly observed the scene around him. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen people ignoring a call for assistance, but it never failed to feel out of place.
However, as a guide unqualified for combat, he had no right to criticize others.
[Estimated 10-meter diameter sinkhole in Geumsan-gu / Multiple B-C rank monsters detected / Request for assistance]
When the alarm blared again, several people openly expressed their irritation.
Seo Munhyuk, having finished his meal, set down his utensils. He tapped his band screen a few times.
“Guide Yeon Haegum, are you done eating?”
“…Yes, more or less.”
“If you’ve got nothing else to do, wanna come with me?”
“Go where?”
“Geumsan-gu. I accepted the support request.”
Caught off guard by his unexpected answer, Haegum let out a small sigh. Instead of replying, he simply looked at him.
Interpreting his silence as a refusal, Seo Munhyuk stood up and said,
“If you don’t want to, never mind.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to.”
Haegum also stood up, following him.
“Then what?”
As they walked, Seo Munhyuk buttoned up his clothes, fastening them all the way to his neck.
He checked if his basic emergency gear was in place, moving with a fluidity that made the whole process look natural.
“Espers who don’t pass basic military training aren’t allowed in real combat.”
Haegum’s words made Seo Munhyuk pause. Scratching his head, he seemed to suddenly recall the combat regulations.
“Oh, right. The shooting test.”
“Yes.”
“It’s just B-rank monsters. We’ll finish quickly. Come on.”
Seo Munhyuk resumed his stride, crossing the hallway with long steps. When the emergency alert went off again, his pace quickened.
“…I can’t.”
* * *
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Thanks for the chapter 😌
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