Chapter 12
“Why all of a sudden?”
Jiseo listened half-heartedly, drinking her sports drink in gulps. The cool liquid flowing down her throat felt refreshing and pleasant.
“It’s been a bit iffy until now. If you do it now, I think you could come out as B-rank.”
“Me?”
Even though awakened individuals appeared with an extremely low probability, considering the entire world, quite a number of people were born as such. That meant the spectrum of ability was very broad. And since it was divided into just seven levels, people with the same rank weren’t necessarily at the same level.
“Well, I think you should redo your rank assessment and see if you can form a new team. Of course, the higher-ups decide, but the committee probably had some objections to letting you consistently be a team leader just because of your rank.”
Jiseo, with a nonchalant expression, had already finished preparing cold sports drinks for the team members who would return after guiding.
“I like my team as it is. Guide Jung Yoon is nice too.”
“If your rank goes up, your salary goes up too.”
At that, Jiseo whipped her head around. She knew the team leader allowance wasn’t much, but she hadn’t considered the salary table that strictly divided pay by rank.
“How much more do you get than me, team leader?”
“I’ve been B-rank from the start, so I don’t know. But it doesn’t seem bad. Compared to some high school friends who went to big companies, I’m way better off.”
Junho, who was rolling up a plastic bottle to remove the wrapper, spread his fingers. Jiseo glanced at them and chuckled.
“Ah, come on.”
“Don’t, man.”
Junho opened and closed his hand again, and again. Impatient, Jiseo grabbed the empty sports drink bottle from him and peeled off the plastic.
“When I first awakened and was assigned to a team, I got about this much.”
Jiseo’s eyes changed as she looked at Junho’s hands. She knew ranks made a difference, but this much of a difference? She felt utterly unfair.
Of course, Junho was an excellent esper and a good team leader, but was he really this much ahead of her?
Junho, who would take reports and act as Jung Yoon’s driver at the slightest chance?
Junho, who always left the kids’ training to others and went to wait for treats like Madeleine because he liked Jung Yoon?
Junho, whom she had saved several times after he’d nearly gotten in trouble while talking about how cute Jung Yoon looked today or what she ate in the cafeteria?
Was the salary really that different from the very beginning?
“Hey, Im Jiseo, look at me.”
Her gaze must have been too insolent. Jiseo raised her palm over her face, spreading her fingers from forehead to chin. Junho, seeing her clear, polite eyes after her hand passed, laughed lightly.
“Anyway, redo your rank assessment. I’m not joking.”
“Yes, sir!”
Junho left, saying he was going to shower, and headed to the men’s locker room. Jiseo recalled the starting salary of a B-rank esper Junho had told her and twitched her lips slightly. For Jiseo, who had never really worked in society, it was laughably high.
“Ah, I can cover some repair costs.”
The day after Jiseo had been almost absent-minded during Baek Dohyeok’s guiding, he stopped contacting her as if by magic.
About ten days later, an image arrived on her phone. No explanation, just a single image. It was filled with long text in French, German, or some foreign language, with numbers next to each item. It looked like a quote or invoice.
It was hard to understand, but Jiseo had a translation app. And an online currency converter.
Three minutes later, she let out a dizzying exclamation.
“Oh.”
‘Oh,’ indeed.
Im Jiseo was completely screwed.
The converted amount far exceeded her expected range. Was it because of the pandemic? Poor management? A global economic crisis? Or… war, perhaps?
Her mind swirled with all sorts of thoughts. This wasn’t a normal car repair bill. The numbers weren’t just a repair cost—they were a countdown to the end of Jiseo’s life. The invoice amount was enormous.
It was foolish to try to estimate the repair cost of a car of which there were barely a few dozen in the world using only an internet search.
“Does a 9-to-1 fault traffic accident liability get covered under bankruptcy exemption?”
That was Jiseo’s first thought. Then she wondered, “Seriously, is it even legal for someone to drive a car that can bankrupt another person with just a minor collision?”
After thirty seconds of wallowing in despair, she sighed and called the insurance company to ask about handling procedures beyond the maximum coverage. However, they said the victim hadn’t filed a claim yet. Jiseo assumed she had received it first and hung up.
[It’s difficult to send the full amount at once.]
[Is partial payment possible?]
[I can deposit about 20% for now; can you give me the account number?]
20% of the remaining balance, after subtracting 300 million won for the repair, was all the cash Jiseo could manage. But Baek Dohyeok didn’t respond.
‘If I wait, he’ll contact me.’
Jiseo’s principle was that it was better to take the first hit, but this repair invoice was no minor slap. There was no rush to pay it off immediately—and in fact, she couldn’t pay it off quickly anyway.
She stopped contacting Baek Dohyeok and returned to her usual routine. If there was no dispatch, she helped with deliveries after work, drank beer while watching baseball, and went out on calls when a gate opened.
Jiseo had no real hobbies. She occasionally went to baseball games and had chicken and beer, but by saving and cutting back, the amount was manageable. She could stay with her parents like now, or if kicked out, live in the company dormitory.
If she sent all her earnings to Baek Dohyeok, she could pay it off in ten years.
Ten years was fine. She’d be under forty, and as long as espers didn’t die, it was a lifetime job. Some first-generation espers were still active in the field. Those who left the field mostly retired due to family obligations.
But if she became B-rank? Ten years? She could finish it in three to four years.
Jiseo could work from home the next day, but she went to headquarters before lunch to schedule her rank assessment. The place was unusually bustling that morning.
Reporters camped out, men in black suits, and excited staff filled the central entrance.
“Unnie, unnie!”
It was Hayeon. Small Hayeon climbed onto Choi Minhyuk’s shoulder—like a vertical armored vehicle—to wave boldly. Both Minhyuk and Hayeon lived in the special dorms provided for espers and guides at headquarters.
“What’s going on? Why is it so loud?”
“They say an S-rank guide appeared!”
Hayeon shouted excitedly. Young Hayeon often got easily thrilled over small things.
Now it made sense. There were only three S-rank espers in Korea, and only one guide had been judged S-rank. So the whole country was buzzing.
Though it had nothing to do with Blue Team 2, the constant excitement meant her rank reassessment might be delayed. Jiseo nodded nonchalantly.
Minhyuk muttered in annoyance, Hayeon on his shoulder:
“I just finished dawn training and wanted to eat, but Hayeon wanted to see the S-rank guide. I’m starving.”
Minhyuk, with four younger siblings, indulged Hayeon, who still had a childlike spirit. It was understandable; missing three meals could feel fatal, so a famous person’s face was worth a little effort.
“Who is it?”
“LS’s youngest son. Ah, Im Ji, you probably don’t know. He’s a chaebol, really handsome, quite famous on SNS.”
Minhyuk tried to explain further, but Jiseo tilted her head.
“Baek Dohyeok?”
“Yes! So~ handsome, unnie. Come watch with me, okay?”
Hayeon, already wide-eyed, begged excitedly. Of course, an S-rank guide would draw national attention, and kids were curious about celebrities.
But Jiseo, who had eaten, had tea, and even received guiding from that S-rank guide, just patted Hayeon’s chubby cheeks.
“Hayeon, go watch. I’ll head to training first.”
“Aw, unnie!”
“Yeah, see you later.”
The reveal, supposedly scheduled soon, was today. When the guide said public exposure was better than an exposé, the man seemed like a businessman in a world where even marriage was a business. After that, the man was unpredictable—arrogant, then boyishly innocent, then polite and gentlemanly.
‘Did he find another pair, or is he going to guide?’
Either way, it no longer concerned Jiseo… or did it? Remembering the huge debt she owed him over several years made her chest tighten. Maybe she should have just closed her eyes and played up having her rabbit-like parents and fox-like sister!
