DB Vol 1 Part 5

Why did he cry like that? Sang-cheon laid the unconscious Won-woo on the sofa and asked seriously.

“Does he seem familiar?”

[Ji Won-woo.]

A name was heard through the communicator.

“Who is Ji Won… Oh? Ji Won-woo? Wait a minute.”

Sang-cheon recalled the article he had given him earlier and got cursed at.

“I think the name of the Guide who survived the Monster Farm accident was Ji Won-woo. He’s only D-rank but miraculously survived, so it made the news. But how do you know?”

[I’ve seen his photo before. It’s that bastard.]

Sang-cheon was puzzled by the rare emotion in his voice.

“What do you mean ‘that bastard’?”

[Ji Geun-oh’s son.]

“Ji Geun-oh… you mean the CEO of Guide One?!”

Sang-cheon raised his surprised eyes to the air as if looking at the other person. Then a calm voice was heard in his ear.

[Yeah. Ji Geun-oh. The bastard who got my parents killed.]

***

“Wow, shit, what the hell.”

Geon-young cursed in disbelief after checking the report he had just received about Ji Won-woo. Fortunately, the high-end bar exclusively for Espers where he was seated was noisier than usual due to a light party that evening. Only his friend drinking across from him heard his curse.

“What’s wrong?”

The unique thick voice that echoed as if in a cave struck his ears. Geon-young raised his frowning eyes. His friend was sitting comfortably leaning back on the sofa, looking around as if bored. He thought again how impressive he was. It struck him again how good-looking his friend was. The voice alone was captivating, not to mention the looks and abilities. It was no wonder that ‘Hong Seung-wook’ always ranked among the most popular top Espers.

In a world where Espers are the most talked-about celebrities like entertainers. Thanks to this, even the capable Geon-young had quite a large fandom, but it was nothing compared to Seung-wook’s. This guy excelled at everything, so there wasn’t even room for jealousy. His infinitely kind personality towards his own people also played a part.

So Geon-young hesitated for a moment whether to bring up the subject that was about to come out. After all, it was a well-known fact that Ji Won-woo had stalked Seung-wook. Of course, Geon-young knew more details because he was friends with Seung-wook. This was why he hesitated now.

“Ji Won-woo has gone crazy.”

Seung-wook, who was about to raise his glass, paused for a moment.

“Because of the farm accident?”

“I guess so? I don’t know how he survived, but according to the team members who met him…”

Geon-young put his finger next to his head and twirled it. Seung-wook frowned at the expression of insanity.

“How bad is his condition?”

“They say he doesn’t know much, like an idiot. Seems like he lost his memory… Ah, actually, this might be good news for you.”

Geon-young offered congratulations, but Seung-wook’s expression remained stiff. Oh, with such a weak heart. Geon-young inwardly clicked his tongue. On the surface, it was known that Ji Won-woo had unilaterally stalked Seung-wook, but in fact, it was true that they had briefly dated.

But so what? He’s a Guide. If an Esper wants, a Guide has the responsibility to accept and stabilize them anytime. Of course, since it’s a meeting between people, emotions can naturally get mixed in, and desires can be prioritized. So there’s no reason to be criticized for a casual relationship with a Guide.

But this overly kind friend seemed to feel some sort of responsibility towards Ji Won-woo. Since anyone could tell that a meeting with a D-rank guide wasn’t just for guiding, he must have been cautious. Fortunately, no one knows that the two of them briefly dated. Although Ji Won-woo’s ability was trash, he kept his mouth shut about that fact. Even if he did talk, no one would believe him anyway.

“There’s no way it could be good news if he’s having health problems.”

“It’s definitely good news for me who had to keep a useless Guide around forcibly. With this excuse, I can really kick him out this time. Damn, if only his family hadn’t monopolized the Guides, I wouldn’t have had to listen to him. Hey, you should be happy about this too instead of hiding it.”

“It’s not like he’s on my team. I don’t really care.”

But contrary to his words, he turned his gaze away and downed his drink in one go. Geon-young could somewhat understand his friend’s reaction. No matter how much Ji Won-woo was mocked as a trashy D-rank guide, his looks were still enough to tempt anyone. When Ji Won-woo first joined the team, Geonyeong had briefly considered playing around with him. But his condition was bad. For some reason, he always seemed half out of it.

“Yeah, it’s better not to think about Ji Won-woo at all. You’ve met a proper Guide now, haven’t you? You’re really a lucky bastard. To have gotten Dani.”

“Ah, Dani.”

A smile naturally spread across Seung-wook’s lips.

“Hey, are you that happy just hearing the name?”

Geon-young teased his friend, deciding not to share the other news about Ji Won-woo. Hah, escaping from the hospital. What on earth was he thinking? As if anyone would miss him if he just disappeared.

***

No matter how long Won-woo had been exposed to it, the smell of blood never became familiar. That’s why he always wore a gas mask that covered his entire face when fighting, to the point where he became famous among enemies for that appearance. But in the long war, it became increasingly difficult to get supplies for a non-weapon like a gas mask. Later, he had to fight with his bare face, but the smell of blood was always nauseating.

“Ugh.”

As soon as he straightened up after vomiting, he heard giggling laughter through the communicator.

[Didn’t you eat a rice ball earlier? What a waste to throw it up. Quickly pick it up and eat it again]

At that sound, Won-woo gagged again, covering his mouth.

“Ah, uncle. You know I have a weak stomach.”

As Won-woo complained, the other side laughed even more gleefully. Seriously, how old are you to act like a child? Won-woo thought incredulously as he took out the communicator’s body from his pocket and unfolded it. He was about to touch the palm-sized screen when he noticed the blood on his hand and shook it off vigorously.

“Tell the lab to fix the Whisper errors. AI is good, but when fighting enemies, it should only give accurate information.”

[I told you to turn off the Whisper function when going into operations. AI only finds answers with high probability. If you want accuracy, use the search assistant]

“I was asked to test if it’s usable in actual combat.”

[Hey, damn it, don’t accept stuff like that]

“Ah, why are you cursing?”

[Since you can’t curse, I have to do it for you!]

“It’s not that I can’t, I choose not to.”

[Same difference. Anyway, I hear the government is pouring a ton of money into deep learning, they should figure it out themselves. That’s why they see you as a pushover.]

“Alright, enough nagging.”

Won-woo grumbled as he tapped the screen with his now blood-free fingers. Soon, the face of the person he called uncle appeared on the screen. Judging by the background, it seemed to be one of their many hideouts. A repair shop named ‘Hwang Sang-cheon Laboratory’. Won-woo frowned as soon as he confirmed the location.

“Why did you go there? I told you to be careful for a while since that place has been exposed to the enemy.”

[A regular customer said they needed urgent repairs.]

“You must be making a lot of money fixing that. Who told you to take out such reckless loans?”

As Won-woo spoke sarcastically, Sang-cheon retorted.

[All research requires money. Do you think I’m only doing one or two researches? But of course, I make a lot of money since customers keep coming. I’ll become rich and eat tons of blood sausage that you can’t eat. You’ve been covered in blood for years, why can’t you fix your weak stomach?]

“How can I fix being born refined? Besides, it’ll all be over soon anyway.”

[Right, the end. Not much time left now.]

As if wanting to check on the remaining esper remnants while on the topic, Sang-cheon turned his gaze to another monitor. Won-woo silently watched him on the screen before speaking.

“Do you think we’ll be happy when it’s all over?”

Sang-cheon’s arm, which had been moving as if using a mouse, stopped. Still looking at another monitor, he spoke after a long pause.

[The end of a war doesn’t bring happiness. But does it really matter? It’s not like we got into this for happiness.]

True. They didn’t start this fight hoping for happiness. Some just somehow got involved, others followed someone they knew, and some said they joined simply because they were fed well and didn’t starve. Most of those around Won-woo were like that. Although they were directly fighting the enemy in the field, they didn’t have any grand beliefs about equality and freedom. Such luxuries were for those giving orders from safe places.

“So even when the war ends, should we continue to be unhappy?”

Sang-cheon was silent for a moment. It seemed difficult even for him to deny the fact that they were unhappy. The piled-up corpses of their comrades stood in their way, making it impossible to say otherwise. Everyone else was dead, and now only the two of them remained. Somehow, the corpses of their comrades had piled up as high as a mountain.

[Those who survive war must carry the dead on their backs. It can’t be helped. Just accept it.]

“The ones who die first and bail out are the winners then.”

When Won-woo blurted out discontentedly, Sang-cheon’s lips twisted.

[Yeah, those who went first are probably having a blast at the finish line by now…]

Splat!

Suddenly, a sound like a watermelon bursting filled the air, and the screen turned red. It didn’t take long to realize that what had burst was Sang-cheon’s head. Although no smell came from the red blood trickling down the screen, Won-woo couldn’t stop vomiting that day.