DB Vol 1 Part 13

Sang-cheon thought the only drawback of his habit of hoarding things was lack of space, but today another one was added.

[Han Seona. An Esper belonging to the East Center. Look her up.]

The peace he had regained after handing over the communicator to Won-woo ended when another communicator rang. That’s right, there was one more communicator. Of course, it was Sang-cheon himself who had asked for it.

Due to his habit of always needing two of any good-looking device so he could take one apart, he had thoughtlessly received an extra one this time too. And now the brute was trying to use him as a secretary. No, investigating an Esper belonging to the Center?

“Ji Won-woo is looking for this person? An Esper from the same Center? Why?”

[Don’t know. That’s why I’m telling you to look.]

Although there was no cursing, Sang-cheon sometimes thought it would be better if there were curses. His low voice lacked humanity. Ah, is that why he can act as an AI without resistance? Sang-cheon grumbled inwardly while also voicing his complaints outwardly.

“Why didn’t you just ask Ji Won-woo? Why he’s looking for her.”

[…]

Sang-cheon was moving the mouse when he found the brute’s silence strange.

“Did you ask but he didn’t answer?”

[Have you found her?]

“Did Ji Won-woo really not answer when you asked? Why? Can’t he give a detailed explanation to an AI?”

[Ah, shit.]

At the low curse, Sang-cheon barely managed to suppress the corners of his mouth from twitching. Usually, his words and curses were deeply tinged with cynicism. Although he wasn’t unaware of his circumstances, it was a bit stifling that his emotions had dried up like this at the young age of early 20s. But this curse was a bit different. Anyone could hear the clear irritation in it. Now that he finally seemed to act his age, Sang-cheon spoke teasingly.

“Oh my. It must be frustrating enough pretending to be an AI and not being able to swear, huh? You can’t even press for an explanation when he doesn’t give one to an AI, right?”

[Old man, you seem to be enjoying this.]

Of course he was enjoying it. Although he had returned to his emotionless voice, Sang-cheon couldn’t close his mouth, finding this opportunity too good to miss.

“Ah, I’m just saying this because I feel sorry for you. You volunteered to do this without even knowing what an AI is, and now you can’t quit, and when I think about how much you must be struggling… it’s so funny… I mean, it brings tears to my eyes.”

[I’m not struggling. Even when my family is writhing in agony because of guiding, I’m trapped here only able to do this kind of crap. So whether it’s shitty or crappy, I have no choice but to do it all.]

Sang-cheon’s laughter disappeared as if turning off a faucet. It was the brute’s usual disrespectful voice, so with a little thought, one could tell it was intended to torment him by inducing guilt. However, the soft-hearted Sang-cheon actually tore at his hair with guilt. Well, he wouldn’t be able to do anything while trapped.

“No, well, I don’t think it’s necessarily that shitty, ahem.”

[No, it became shitty because of you, old man.]

Curses would have been better. Sang-cheon silently tore at his hair again, blaming himself. The brute, having learned how to torment him, commanded.

[Find Han Seona.]

“Oh, yes, yes, I should.”

Sang-cheon quickly focused on the monitor and started searching for Han Seona. As he did so, he casually asked.

“But he hasn’t met this person even though he has been working at the same East Center until now. Even if he suddenly says to find her, wouldn’t there be any special reason?”

[When Ji Won-woo found Han Seona, his heart reaction was similar to when he came looking for you.]

Sang-cheon’s hand stopped moving the mouse. He recalled the image of someone clinging to him and crying endlessly, almost to the point of wailing. Later, they said it was a misunderstanding about someone who looked similar, but doubts still lingered. And now, the reaction was the same as towards him?

“Then why didn’t they meet before?”

[There was no reason to look for her before, but now there is, he says.]

What on earth could that reason be?

[See if there’s any connection between Ji Won-woo and her.]

Sang-cheon frowned, examining the screen, and shook his head.

“The only overlap is the East Center where they’re working now. Even then, Han Seona only came to the East Center a year ago. I looked into Ji Won-woo beforehand, and he’s never left this area his whole life. Before that, Han Seona was in the security force of a distant branch center… Her ability is B-rank high Esper… Wow.”

[What?]

“She’s a nature-type ability user.”

But why was she working in a place practically in the middle of nowhere?

“Even if she was born in an ordinary family, with a nature-type ability, the Center would offer a high salary to recruit her.”

[It might be an unusual wavelength. Check it out.]

“Look, as I always say, no matter how good my skills are, I can’t find everything. Especially Esper wavelengths, they could easily become weaknesses, so even within the Center they’re top secret… It is an unusual wavelength.”

On the monitor was a photo of Han Seona posted on a local newspaper.

“She’s wearing five suppression piercings in her ear. At this level, there must be hardly any compatible Guides.”

Sang-cheon clicked his tongue sympathetically, then remembered who he was talking to and caught himself. At least Han Seona could get somewhat compatible Guides from the Center, but the brute’s family couldn’t even do that. Sang-cheon cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject.

“Uh, well, anyway, there’s no special connection between Han Seona and Ji Won-woo for now. Could it be that Han Seona doesn’t know Ji Won-woo at all, like me?”

[No. She should know. If she has an unusual wavelength, she would have seen Ji Won-woo’s name when looking for matching Guides.]

Ah, right, Ji Won-woo’s wavelength is wide. But even so, he’s only D-rank…

[Is Ji Won-woo really D-rank?]

The low voice flowed into Sang-cheon’s ear like a murmur.

“He must be D-rank to be disrespected like that. They say the Ji family injected him with Esper enhancer made from Alpha seeds, but well. When I looked it up, that was already 5 years ago. At that time, the Ji family made a big fuss in the media about experimenting on a Guide with precious Alpha seeds. Anyway, it’s certain that it had no effect on Ji Won-woo. Do you believe it suddenly took effect after 5 years?”

[No. The effect of Alpha seeds disappears after 3 years.]

“Really? It only lasts 3 years… Wait, are you serious?!”

Sang-cheon jumped up from his seat in surprise. Alpha seeds were considered almost like a gift from god among Espers, but they were extremely difficult to obtain. Literally priceless. But because they were so rare, nothing was known about their duration or side effects. And now to hear the effect only lasts 3 years.

“How do you know that?”

[Ji Won-woo mentioned it.]

“How would Ji Won-woo know… Ah, the Ji family. Even though he was abandoned by the Ji family, I guess he still saw and heard a lot. He might really know information that could be useful to you?”

[He needs to be alive to be useful.]

Sang-cheon frowned at the cold voice.

“He’s alive and well, isn’t he? What, is this because he was called out by Espers now? Surely no matter how nasty an Esper is, they wouldn’t dare kill someone from the Ji family?”

[Who knows. If a Guide loses fear, Espers might not be able to control their nasty temper.]

“Are you talking about Ji Won-woo?”

Sang-cheon shook his head in confusion, recalling the information he had found about him.

“He seemed like someone who lived very quietly, how could he be fearless?”

[His heartbeat was normal even when an A-rank Esper was trying to kill him right in front of him. I even warned him to avoid it, but he ignored me and instead provoked the team leader more.]

Sang-cheon tilted his head again. From what he found on the Center community, Ji Won-woo was so introverted he was called gloomy. They said he had difficulty talking to people. After nearly dying, does he now not care about anything?

[But he talks to me in that way, damn it.]

A low, vicious voice was heard. Oh? He’s getting irritated again? It was still surprising to see the brute showing emotion, even if it was irritation. What kind of way of speaking could provoke the brute like this?

“What was his way of speaking like?”

[Why do you want to know?]

Why, because I want to record it and practice it myself. But Sang-cheon couldn’t reveal his true intentions, so he answered casually.

“I was wondering if he might suspect you’re human.”

[It’s not that kind of way of speaking.]

“Then what is it like?”

Slowly, a single word popped out.

[Sweet.]

It was a completely unexpected answer. Sang-cheon immediately drew a thousand strokes between his eyebrows. Although he had only seen him once, as far as he remembered, Won-woo had a very calm impression except when he was crying. Even though he smiled a lot, it felt empty as if he had consumed all his emotions. On the other hand, the brute didn’t smile but was full of cold anger. As if all other emotions were frozen solid by that coldness.

“How is it sweet? Does he act cute? Haha, does he call you like ‘honey~’ like this? Hahaha~”

[…]

“…Ahem, I laughed too much.”

[You did. I was about to rip your mouth for laughing too much.]

The remaining smile completely disappeared from Sang-cheon’s face. He took a deep breath and quickly changed the subject.

“But if Ji Won-woo provokes Espers, won’t there be immediate problems? You said he was called out by Espers, right?”

[Probably.]

“Should I anonymously inform the Center’s security department?”

[Leave it. I don’t care if one of the Ji family dies. But if he’s fine.]

The brute slowly added, as if thinking.

[We need to use Ji Won-woo well somehow. For that, Han Seona might be important.]

“Why Han Seona?”

[She made Ji Won-woo’s heart beat like that. If she’s someone precious to him, she could be a weakness.]

***

–In the Past–

“I’m Han Seona, and I’ll be working with you from today. Yes, that’s my real name. I know everyone here hides their identity, but I don’t care. And let me tell you in advance: First, I don’t want to build personal relationships with colleagues. I don’t like talking about personal matters outside of work, nor do I like hearing about them. Especially don’t ask why I’m fighting Espers when I’m an Esper myself. I have no intention of telling you why I joined. Second, unless it’s an emergency situation where monsters are pouring down on my head, don’t contact me after work is done.”

Seona’s first impression was quite strict, but Won-woo didn’t have the capacity to care about that. He just blinked in confusion with his mouth firmly shut.

“So… you’ve newly joined our team?”

“Yes. Third, don’t ask me to repeat things you didn’t understand. I don’t like explaining things again.”

“That’s not it, But I think there’s no personnel reinforcement for our team.”

“Fourth, I also dislike pranks in the name of initiation for newcomers.”

No, that’s not it. Won-woo mumbled inside his mouth and blinked his eyes rapidly again. Seona looked at him slightly disdainfully before asking quickly.

“More importantly, I heard I’ll be deployed for today’s operation right away. They told me to hear about the operation from the team, where are the other team members?”

“Other team members… There’s an uncle who helps with information and equipment, he usually assists before operations.”

“I don’t mean rear support. I mean colleagues who will go to the field together.”

“There aren’t any.”

Seona’s eyebrows twitched for a moment.

“What do you mean there aren’t any?”

“Yes. I’m enough on my own. But you asked again?”

Seona now openly frowned and turned her head away. Her low mutter was faintly heard.

“Damn it, I told them not to put me in an ambiguous position.”

Won-woo felt awkward and was about to quietly leave when Seona called out to him.

“Where are you going?”

“…To work?”

“Alright.”

And she gathered her equipment on her own and followed behind Won-woo. This time Won-woo asked her.

“Where are you going?”

“You said you’re going to work, right? I don’t intend to skip on my first day just because I’m new.”

“It won’t be easy work. It’s quite a difficult operation for first-timers. No, that’s not the important part…”

“I’ll do my part for sure, so don’t worry.”

Her firmness left no room for further argument. And so Won-woo set out on an Esper hunt with an unexpected colleague. On the other hand, the team that had sent Seona here as a prank for a newcomer’s initiation was unlucky that day. They all perished because they failed to notice the enemy lying in ambush.

“I’m sorry for speaking rudely this morning.”

Seona apologized as soon as she realized the whole situation. Won-woo shook his head dismissively.

“I didn’t think it was rude.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I was just wondering how many colleagues you must have lost to speak like that.”

“You understand that because you’ve had the same experience?”

Won-woo just smiled faintly, but his smile disappeared at Seona’s next question.

“Is that why you work alone without making any colleagues?”

“No. It’s just troublesome. Everyone who comes doesn’t last more than a week. I’m tired of constantly explaining things to newcomers and burying corpses.”

“…”

“Go to the management bureau. They’ll send you to an appropriate team this time, if you’re lucky.”

“This team seems appropriate enough.”

Won-woo looked at her with curious eyes.

“You saw what my work is like today.”

“Yes. It certainly wasn’t ambiguous work.”

“Today was an easy day.”

“…”

Won-woo thought the conversation was over and was about to turn away when Seona called him.

“I’ll stay. Let’s work together.”

“This might sound unpleasant, but I don’t want to clean up corpses anymore.”

“I could be cleaning up your corpse too.”

“That’s the most pleasant thing I’ve heard so far.”

Seona looked at him with astonished eyes and then compromised.

“If we work together for a year, I’ll tell you why I came here to fight against Espers.”

“Uh… I’m not really curious about that.”

“I’m not curious about your thoughts either. I’m just saying I want to tell you when it’s been a year.”

“…Okay.”

And so Seona became part of the team, and though not perfectly, she kept her promise.

“I know what everyone’s saying about me, an Esper, coming to the anti-Esper side. They’re saying I came over here because I couldn’t find a matching Guide due to my unusual wavelength.”

Seona spoke first after the operation ended that day. Then she expressed her frustration.

“They’re really talking bullshit. I just do what my heart tells me to do. If I had decided to stay on the Esper side, I would have chosen to die from a rampage. What do they take me for, damn it.”

She fumed for a moment, then glanced at Won-woo and explained why she came to the anti-Esper side.

“I had a friend. A friend who shared the same hobby as me… you know? What I like? We used to talk about our favorite things every day, and when we found an amazing fanfic, we’d get so excited and tell each other, go to fan events together and collect all the merchandise. But when the war broke out, this friend said they would help the anti-Esper side.”