DP Episode 9

Chapter 2. Run Boy Run

Deep Pivot Episode 9

The area around the Guide Training Camp in District 1 doesn’t have any subway stations or bus stops. So, if you want to move around, you have no choice but to use your own car or take a taxi, both of which were luxuries for Yeon-woo.

The midday District 1, where all the gate-related administrative offices are gathered, felt like a large-scale movie set. There were no cars on the roads, and the sidewalks laid out neatly in each section were as freshly laid as if they had been paved just yesterday.

Unlike District 3, where sewage overflows with all sorts of garbage, here, only stagnant puddles here and there indicated traces of the rain.

Yeon-woo looked down at his old sneakers leaving footprints on the clean road. He would rather walk barefoot at this point.

Suddenly, a loud exhaust sound rushed from behind. Roaring… A powerful Italian sports car approached Yeon-woo as if it were about to pounce on him, creating a large spray of water as it slid forcefully over the rain-filled puddle.

With no room to escape, Yeon-woo stopped in his tracks.

“Sorry!”

A man leaning out from the driver’s seat of the already retreating car apologized cheerfully as he lowered his sunglasses below his nose.

“It’s oka—”

Vroom. Yeon-woo’s response seemed to be unheard from the start as the bright red car, making a noisy sound, continued to move away.

Standing there bewildered, Yeon-woo soon quietly shook his clothes. He must have had some urgent matter to rush like that. Yeon-woo suddenly remembered that he also had something urgent to do and checked his phone from his pocket.

“Oh.”

He would be late if he didn’t hurry. He quickly ran, roughly patting his wet hair with one hand. The moisture he shook off gradually seeped into the bone-dry sidewalk under the sunlight.

✽✽✽

Yeon-woo gradually took in the building getting closer. The exterior of the Guide Training Camp reminded him of the LA Staples Center he had seen in a magazine.

Detailed guidance about the training center was provided in a pamphlet he had received earlier. It included everything from dormitories and basic exercise facilities to indoor training grounds for virtual simulations and a medical center for meticulous health checks of the guides.

He had read through the educational curriculum multiple times, which systematically nurtured guides. Originally, Yeon-woo was supposed to live and undergo training here for two years.

“How did you come here?”

A man who looked like a security officer scanned Yeon-woo up and down as they entered the lounge.

“I’m here for the rookie guide induction ceremony.”

“Oh, the induction ceremony.”

The skeptical look quickly changed to a clear one.

“Guide certification confirmation, training camp completion certificate, and identification card, please.”

The man extended his hand. There was a hint of weariness in his formal tone, indicating repetition. Yeon-woo hesitantly opened his backpack.

“Um… I don’t have the training camp completion certificate, only the certification confirmation…”

“You don’t have the completion certificate? Please show the card you received when you enrolled, then.”

The curt voice interrupted Yeon-woo.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have that either… Doctor Kang Hee-min from the Awakening Research Center wrote me a recommendation letter and said that showing this would be enough.”

Yeon-woo handed him the documents with both hands. The man, seeming uncomfortable with the unusual situation, furrowed his brows as he checked the recommendation letter.

“Oh… You’re a new recruit from SAU?”

As Yeon-woo listened to the slow murmurs, he anxiously checked the time. It was 12:55, and the event was scheduled to start at 1. After meticulously checking the received documents, the man eventually took out an access card from below.

“You can go in with this.”

“Thank you.”

Yeon-woo accepted it with both hands and bowed slightly. The man, with a slightly softened expression compared to before, chuckled and offered something.

“Here, have this.”

It was a small caramel wrapped in paper.

“Oh…”

Holding the card in one hand, Yeon-woo accepted it with both hands, faintly smiling, and bowed once again.

“Thank you.”

“You just need to go over there.”

Watching Yeon-woo disappear in the direction he pointed, the man stretched and shook his head.

Newbie guides were a bunch of clueless, snooty bastards. They think they’re gods because it’s the Espers who awaken superhuman abilities, but it’s the Guides who heal them.

Of course, guides are important. However, after experiencing a few rounds in the field, their arrogance diminishes. Half of them end up dead.

It’s because they’re not the ones directly facing the creatures, but the espers. If the espers support from behind and handle the aftermath properly, it’s fortunate.

For the last five years, he has been the security guard at the main gate of the training center, guiding rookies during their first induction ceremony. Whenever he meets a new guide, he sizes them up from the start.

“A lost sheep has entered.”

But that guide just now has a talent for making people feel sorry. Isn’t it human nature that when someone is being an asshole, you want to be an asshole many times over?

Without showing a hint of annoyance, with a gentle face, if he keeps being polite like that, in the end, he’ll just end up being the only miserable security guard. It’s no use feeling sorry for… Even if he tries to alleviate his guilt by giving him a caramel rolling on the desk, it still feels uncomfortable.

Yawning with a stretched-out yawn, turning his stiff neck back and forth, he muttered.

“These kinds of kids will die soon.”

Being too kind doesn’t work here. The kind ones die first. The selfish ones who consider their own lives the most precious survive the longest. It’s regrettable, but that’s the truth.

✽✽✽

“Zone 3, Room 205…”

Following the security guard’s instructions, Yeon-woo arrived on the second floor, but the interior was too complicated. Yeon-woo anxiously searched for Room 205, the lecture hall, on the directory board in front of the elevator. There wasn’t much time left. No one would view being late on the first day favorably.

“What’s up my friends?”

Suddenly, a cheerful voice came from behind. Yeon-woo, startled, turned around abruptly.

“Uh, it’s you.”

Yeon-woo unknowingly feigned ignorance towards the man. The man was still wearing the sunglasses halfway down, having not yet apologized to Yeon-woo. A logo-patterned shirt was visible under the blue suit jacket.

Even Yeon-woo, who wasn’t familiar with brand names, could recognize the famous luxury brand setup, styled as if just out of the shop, down to the well-groomed wolf-cut hairstyle. There wasn’t a single part that wasn’t perfectly put together.

“Me?”

The man echoed Yeon-woo’s words with a playful tilt of his head. Feeling slightly overwhelmed by his unique aura, Yeon-woo hesitated to speak.

“That, uh, earlier… the water…”

“Water?”

The man, with widened eyes, took off his sunglasses, looking at Yeon-woo with a puzzled expression. Blinking, blinking. As he blinked slowly, an awkward silence hung between them.

“Oh!”

As the man scrutinized Yeon-woo intently, something seemed to dawn on him, and he smiled.

“Sorry about earlier.”

The round eyes that were smiling slightly distorted.

“Did you follow me here because of that?”

“Oh, no. I came here for the induction ceremony.”

Yeon-woo quickly clarified the misunderstanding while clapping his hands.

“Oh, are you a new recruit from SAU? What’s your name?”

The man pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pants pocket and asked.

“…Cha Yeon-woo.”

The hand that was unfolding the paper froze.

“Cha Yeon-woo?”

Snap! Pointing at Yeon-woo with his index finger, the man approached excitedly.

“98.8?”

“…Yes?”

Following Yeon-woo, who was stepping back slightly, the man advanced briskly down the corridor and shouted loudly enough to echo throughout.

“The legend who matches perfectly with our Seo-joon! The legendary 98.8% rookie guide!”

“…”

“Hey, kiddo!”

Yeon-woo suddenly found himself embraced tightly by the man, who was about half a palm shorter. Instinctively drawing back his waist and raising both hands in the air, Yeon-woo stiffly said,

“I…I’m late.”

“Oh, Kiddo, you can be as late as you want.”

The man, not satisfied with that, continued to pat Yeon-woo on the back of his head. His hair still had moisture from the earlier splash.

“Let’s go, Kiddo!”

The man grabbed Yeon-woo’s hand and slipped it under his arm. Now Yeon-woo found himself walking arm in arm with the unfamiliar man. Trying to discreetly withdraw his arm, Yeon-woo was pulled closer by the man, who chuckled sheepishly.

“You got splashed a lot, huh? I’m really sorry about earlier. I couldn’t recognize such a distinguished person. Kang Hee-min should have sent me a photo. I would have recognized you right away.”

“Um… Do you know where Room 205, the lecture hall, is?”

As Yeon-woo was almost being dragged along by the man, he asked desperately.

“Yep, we’re heading there now.”

“…Um, could you let go of this? I’d really appreciate it.”

“Oh, Kiddo, if you lose your way, it’ll be a big problem. Just trust me and follow along.”

“Who are you…?”

As Yeon-woo, who had become the man’s darling in just a few seconds, couldn’t help but ask the question.

“Me? Jin Chung-oh.”

Smiling, the man who opened the door to Room 205, the lecture hall, said,

“I’m the team leader at SAU.”