Episode 6
Historically, ‘Gate expansion, rifts, and rank upgrades’ have always caused massive loss of life.
When Yeongwon first arrived at the Headquarters, she hadn’t fully grasped the seriousness of it, but afterward, she definitely knew.
How terrifying the results of the incident her landlord was caught up in could be.
[US, etc., 6 Nations… Rapidly evacuating their citizens via charter flights]
[Breaking: Blue House, cancels all state visits]
[Breaking: China advances Special Awakened Forces near the border]
She felt it vividly not only through the news, but also through the Awakened inside the Headquarters.
“These sons of bitches, why are they all changing their f*cking terms of the treaty and throwing a fit!”
“Look at these assholes paving the way to bail. This is seriously f*cked up!”
CRASH, CRASH!
“If Kim Yeohyeon comes out alive, assign him an exclusive Guide no matter what! Make them do anything, even reverse-Guiding!”
“No matter how much pain it causes, it’s better than dying!”
“Even if we have to beat up the Guides who are backing out, make them run beside Kim Yeohyeon on the front line!”
She also realized that the phrases following ‘If Kim Yeohyeon comes out alive’ were just masking the desperate wish of ‘Please, let Kim Yeohyeon come out alive.’
‘I know he’ll come back alive.’
In the midst of it all, Yeongwon didn’t doubt it.
‘Nothing can go wrong.’
Still, she gradually became anxious.
The Ilsan Gate, initially predicted to be a B-rank Gate, was upgraded in danger level to A-rank after 6 hours, and AA-rank after 12 hours.
The two-rank upgrade was the first since the Venice Gate, which brought the ‘Hell Summer’ to Europe.
24 hours had passed since Esper Kim Yeohyeon entered the Gate, media around the world spoke of a nightmare’s return.
They said the Gate rift wouldn’t stop there. Just like the Venice Gate in the past, the Ilsan Gate would turn China, Russia, and even Japan, both above and below it, into a battlefield of chaos.
And… Kim Yeohyeon must already be dead. They predicted that any moment now, the World Tree would announce a ranking change due to his death.
But their prediction was wrong.
Completely.
Kim Yeohyeon returned alive. As the hero who saved the nation.
Ding. Doro-rong.
[World Esper S-rank Top 10 Ranking is changing]
[Esper Kim Yeohyeon, Title: ‘Devotee of Eternity’]
[World Esper Ranking S-rank 9th/94 people ▲2]
All they got right was that the World Esper S-rank ranking would change.
[AA-rank Gate Concluded… Casualties “0”]
[First-ever A-rank Gate! Noros Perfect Clear!!!]
[US President, “South Korea must learn from”]
[Japanese Prime Minister, “Kim Yeohyeon has Japanese blood in him”… Center, “Fake news”]
[China, “Kim Yeohyeon’s roots are on the continent!!!!”… Center, “Please get a grip”]
Yeongwon also watched the Ilsan Gate collapsing scene live. As soon as the alarm went off, she ran straight to the TV.
The Gate was slowly erasing itself.
It was magnificent.
Nothing more, nothing less.
It was magnificent.
She felt a rush of emotion at the sight, which was beyond words.
So, she rewound and watched the same scene over and over on the dormitory TV.
Rumble.
Thud.
Swoosh.
Half great natural scenery. Half a bizarre anti-matter structure that could only be called a fantasy.
It looked like a glacier melting, and also like a mountain range collapsing. No matter how many times she watched it, she didn’t get bored.
After snapping out of it, she turned on the smartphone provided by the Center to check people’s reactions. All the online boards were in an uproar.
‘Cheers, Jumo! Give me another bowl of national pride!’
Not just Esper-related sites, but even the quiet Plant Gallery, where only ‘scholars’ were quietly photosynthesizing, was going wild.
[Did you see that? This is the nation that God Yeohyeon owns!!!!!]
[The undisputed top of Physical System Espers~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[Do you know Kim Yeohyeon? No Exclusive Guide but World-Class Top Ten!!!]
[Speechless Kim Yeohyeon’s power imbalance is insane hahahahaha crazyyyyyyy lost it hahahaha]
[Zero casualties is real????????????????]
[Yeohyeon Loyalty Loyalty^^777]
[God Yeohyeon, clap! King Yeohyeon, clap! Yeohyeon-Jwa (Lord), clap!]
[Looks like they need to print a new 100,000 won bill with God Yeohyeon’s face on it]
[Isn’t fighting without an exclusive Guide basically the same as fighting with one’s right arm tied behind one’s back? lolololololol We’re basically the world’s number 1 holding nation lolol]
[World Tree, please buff God Yeohyeon’s stats -_-^^]
[Is it true that the K in K-Nation stands for Kim and not Korea????? o_o?????]
[Yeo-men (Amen) bb Take everything I have, my Lord T_T T_T T_T I believe T_T T_T T_T Yeo-men 8ㅅ8]
[We’ll tolerate the crazy antics of the cult followers who rushed in from the Yeohyeon-freak-gallery just for today, go ahead and be crazy]
However, separate from the fact that all global media were ready to do special reports on every one of his eyelashes and every cough, Kim Yeohyeon did not set foot in the Ilsan Kintex press conference hall.
He didn’t even allow a single paparazzi photo near his residence.
[[Exclusive] Esper Kim Yeohyeon, possibility of returning to Center Headquarters next week]
Four days after the Gate collapse, articles predicting his return-to-work date began to be reported.
The story became more concrete.
[Breaking: Center says “Kim Yeohyeon(ES3) will return to work at the Headquarters Annex next Tuesday”]
When the breaking news popped up, Yeongwon was walking in the Headquarters park, fiddling with her smartphone. Her quick steps came to a sudden halt.
Yeongwon slowly turned her body and shifted her gaze to the Annex building east of the Main Building.
The official name of the agency: Awakened Management, Research, Protection, and Reporting Center. Abbreviation: ‘Awakened Reporting Center’ or ‘Center.’ The Annex of the Yeoksam Headquarters, where the agency was rooted.
A solidly built, enormous gray building with 6 floors above ground and 93 floors underground.
The fact that its inside was utterly unknowable at the moment, somehow resembled him, too.
Yeongwon passed the Center’s security AI search test (boringly nicknamed ‘AI’) and entered the Education Center.
Knock, knock.
“Professor. I’m here.”
“Oh, Yeongwon! Come in, come in.”
Professor Yoon Heeyu, with fluffy reddish-brown hair and thick-rimmed glasses, welcomed Yeongwon into her office.
She had been put in charge of Yeongwon’s education since the first day. Her main feature was being an extreme talker.
“Sit there, sit there. Ah, I printed too many papers for the conference, I’m a mess, a mess.”
“Should I sit here?”
“Yes, yes. There. Ah, today we’ll be looking at match rate.”
Plop. Yeongwon sat down on the empty couch.
“I heard from the TA that the machine from Busan is really coming back within a week this time. It could be different from the B-rank you got at the Convalescent Hospital, so I’m excited. How about you?”
“Umm… Maybe it’ll just be B-rank again?”
“Aww. It could be different. Our Center doesn’t trust those civilian tests.”
Yeongwon nodded with a subtle expression.
“When your match rate comes out, you might get to meet various Espers according to it. It’s an exciting meeting.”
“Ah, yes…”
“Regarding match rate, do you happen to know anything, even just as general knowledge? Same as the other stuff?”
“No. Please feel free to explain it as if you’re talking to a two-year-old toddler.”
Yeongwon smiled slightly, not at all ashamed of her complete ignorance.
“Oh my, I can’t live like this. I hope I didn’t make you think bad things. Just hearing your old story makes me feel bad. Should I make you a capsule coffee?”
“No. I would be grateful for the coffee if you offer it.”
“Then wait a moment. A nice acidic one just arrived.”
On the surface, Yeongwon adapted to Center life quite quickly.
The Center’s meticulous care for Yeongwon played a part.
Necessities were provided, and she was informed of the results after the orphanage and facility staff who harmed her were reported.
Thanks to that report, the main staff of the orphanage and facility began to be thoroughly investigated and shaken up within three days of the Ilsan Gate conclusion.
Not only were criminal cases filed, but tax audit decisions were made.
The center has been the most powerful state institution after the Blue House since the 2000s.
Watching how the Espers, who were biased towards Guides, ‘destroyed’ the humans who harassed a Guide from all sides, Yeongwon once again realised why overpowered hero stories were popular.
And why is the trope of the male lead (Note: the personification of the Center) who is prickly to others but only kind to me, a time-honored tradition?
The director who pretended to be Yeongwon’s guardian at the Convalescent Hospital hadn’t been caught yet, but Center officials said it wouldn’t take long.
They said it was only being delayed slightly because there was so much work to process due to the aftermath of the Ilsan Gate.
In any case, Yeongwon was also given an appropriate place to live and a job according to legal principles and procedures.
The home: A 9.5 pyeong two-room dormitory with a view of the Center Annex.
The job: Trainee for the Guide Candidate under the Center.
Click.
“Here’s your coffee.”
“Thank you.”
“Alright, shall we continue with the lesson?”
Of course, the ambitious Yeongwon was not satisfied with that.
‘A 200 pyeong house… Please, give me a 200 pyeong duplex penthouse…’
Her internal desperate plea became more and more agonizing as time passed.
‘Please don’t give me things to study and work to do…’
‘The only job that suits my aptitude is being unemployed…!’
Thus, the current status of the immature 22-year-old Shim Yeongwon:
Desired home: A 200 pyeong penthouse with a Han River view.
Desired job: Unemployed, whose main task is swiping someone else’s Black Card.
That’s why Yeongwon was waiting for Esper Kim Yeohyeon’s return to work more desperately than anyone else.
‘Hurry up, rush on over.’
Non-stop, continuously.
