Chapter 14
“Hmm? Oh, I just ran into him on the way. At Operations Support.”
Choi Minhyeok watched the man walking away, nodding slowly, then quickly turned to grab Jiseo and asked,
“Why Operations Support? Did they find out I broke the equipment in the gym?”
Since espers used it, every piece of equipment in the training room was no ordinary gym apparatus. Each dumbbell had a monster core embedded in it, whether it relied on gravity, anti-gravity, or some other ability. Strength-enhanced espers could easily lift a car with one hand, often breaking the equipment in the process. Naturally, Operations Support was extremely sensitive about such incidents.
“Oh, no, it’s not that. By the way, did you see the S-rank guide, Ha-yeon?”
“Yes! He’s so, so, really, really handsome. Wow… he’s huge, and you could tell he’s an esper. There were these tall, dark-suited men surrounding him like in a movie. But Guide Dohyeok just popped right out. It felt like watching a drama.”
Espers generally had impressive physiques. Physical enhancement types were nearly giant-sized. Yet little Ha-yeon looked so tiny next to them. Jiseo looked down at her adorably, and Ha-yeon babbled on.
“Unnie, huge news! Guide Baek Dohyeok is your fan!”
“Uh… right now, you’re going crazy on SNS. That nickname too… oh, sorry.”
Choi Minhyeok fell silent at Jiseo’s icy glare, which was so cold it made it seem like she might have used her ability on him. Ha-yeon, having been on the team for less than six months, nervously rolled her big round eyes between the two of them. Jiseo spoke gently to her.
“Shall we go eat? Not the cafeteria today. Let’s go have your favorite beef bulgogi. Minhyeok will pay.”
“Really?”
“Yeah… okay. Let’s go.”
What Ha-yeon liked most was the noodles in the beef bulgogi. The restaurant, near the metropolitan headquarters, was famous, and even at this time past lunch, it was packed. Watching the generous beef bulgogi with crown daisy, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, rich broth, and translucent, chewy noodles bubbling in the pan, Ha-yeon salivated.
As usual, Jiseo pushed side dishes to the teammates who ate aggressively, barely touching her own portion. Even after intense training, her appetite was low. She was more concerned about the fact that Baek Dohyeok had mentioned her existence.
A “fan,” she thought. Ridiculous. The man she had just met hadn’t shown a hint of fan admiration when greeting her with, “Are we meeting for the first time?” All she saw was inexplicable anger and frustration. Why did he keep trying to entangle himself with her?
“Uh, look, look, he’s on TV again.”
The TV in the restaurant showed the smiling head of the Esper Management Agency announcing that South Korea had its second S-rank guide. Then came Baek Dohyeok’s interview after S-rank measurement.
On one side of the screen, text scrolled: “South Korea’s Second S-Rank Guide Appears,” followed by Baek Dohyeok’s profile: 29 years old, occupation: company employee. Even the trivial detail that he was the youngest of three sons scrolled across the screen. Jiseo couldn’t help but snicker. On paper, he looked like an ordinary employee who awakened one day.
But the man on screen was completely different. His gaze was sharp as a blade, his suit lines were perfect, and the tilt of his head while answering questions was like a high-paid image consultant’s creation—a work of art.
Watching him among reporters, Jiseo realized how different his world was from hers. Surrounded by cameras and microphones, he exuded a confidence as if he were in full control.
“Vice President Baek Dohyeok, or should we say Guide? How do you feel about awakening as an S-rank guide?”
“Well, it’s still a bit surreal. I’m a little excited to meet the heroes I’ve only seen on TV.”
Baek Dohyeok smiled calmly, making others the focus while still shining as if sculpted from light.
Someone in the restaurant muttered:
“Wow, the rich kid S-rank guide looks like that? Does he live alone?”
“Then what’s the point? A woman strong enough could take him down in one blow.”
Choi Minhyeok covered Ha-yeon’s ears, frowning. Ordinary people couldn’t understand the bond, affection, or protective instinct espers felt toward their guides. A guide’s absence would mean an esper couldn’t truly exist. Some people still didn’t get it, no matter how much it was promoted. That’s why Baek Dohyeok had to consider the shareholders.
“Do you have plans as a guide? Any specific espers you have in mind?”
Being S-rank, he openly asked about a partner immediately after awakening. All three S-rank espers in South Korea currently lacked a paired guide. While they weren’t at risk of rampaging like others, a S-rank guide was necessary for S-rank espers, who could become even more dangerous than gates if they lost control. Everyone had been waiting for such a guide. The choice was up to the guide, so the name that came from Baek Dohyeok would carry significant meaning.
Baek Dohyeok paused, choosing his words. The camera zoomed in on him like a solo shot of an actor, not a news subject. Jiseo turned away from the TV and placed a piece of bulgogi with rice into her mouth.
‘Other people’s business, other people’s business. Didn’t he say he wasn’t doing guide work?’
Lost in her thoughts, she chewed.
“Well… not that I had anyone in mind… but there is an esper I’ve been a fan of for a long time. Jiseo Im from the metropolitan headquarters. I’ve been supporting her for a long time. Many of you probably know. Also known as Byulmido X company.”
“Cough!”
The volume wasn’t even high, but hearing her full name and the nickname she wanted to forget made her choke violently. Even an esper’s body couldn’t protect against food going down the wrong pipe.
“Unnie, are you okay? Water… water.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”
Jiseo wiped her mouth with a tissue Minhyeok handed her. He had just said she was his fan—live, in front of the entire nation on TV. The destructive impact of that was completely different from hearing it secondhand. She had lost all appetite. He hadn’t given up yet.
She took a sip of water and muttered,
“Crazy bastard.”
Uncharacteristic profanity from Jiseo made Minhyeok and Ha-yeon look at her with tense expressions. The glass in her hand had frozen solid, jagged ice forming as sharp as her emotions.
Byulmido X.
That was the faint, lingering nickname of Jiseo.
It happened in her second year as an esper.
Gates didn’t always appear near human residences. Sometimes they appeared underwater, deep in mountains, even inside active volcanoes.
A gate had appeared in the middle of the sea, and monsters began crawling out before anyone could react. Espers who arrived late split into two teams: one entered the gate to eliminate monsters and close it, the other blocked the ones that had emerged from reaching civilians.
Jiseo was in the latter.
The gate appeared over water. Freezing the existing water was easy even for a C-rank. A wind-type esper generated strong waves while Jiseo froze the waves to form a temporary barrier.
Most of the fighting espers were beyond the ice wall, unseen from the coast. Civilians who ignored evacuation orders only saw Jiseo.
And the camera quality on phones these days was impressive.
As a result, Jiseo freezing waves and running across them went viral online. That was how she got the nickname. Her name and face, long unused on social media, were spread worldwide alongside the embarrassing nickname.
