IDESGI Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Central Center, 4th Floor, Guiding Room.

Yeoul stared down indifferently at the Esper sobbing at his feet.

His pale brown eyes, damp with tears, made him look delicate—almost fragile.

But Yeoul’s gaze was cold. Frozen.

“I refuse to Guide you, Esper Yoo Ihan.”

“…You know you can’t refuse without a valid reason.”

“A Guide can reject an Esper if there is a rank difference of three or more levels. Since we’re three ranks apart, my refusal does not violate any regulations.”

“Even if it’s an imprinted Esper?”

“There’s no rule against it.”

“…Of course not. No Guide has ever rejected their imprinted Esper before.”

At this point, Ihan seemed angry. He let out a slow breath, but even so, he never raised his voice. He pleaded.

“Yeoul, please… I’m really struggling. I overexerted myself earlier. Okay? Are you really going to leave me like this?”

Yeoul caught a glimpse of Ihan’s tear-filled eyes—
And then looked away.

His gaze moved to the tablet in his hands.

“The next Esper needs to come in. Please leave.”

“…You’re saying you’re going to Guide some other bastard instead of me?”

Ihan’s eyes darkened, light rippling in their depths. His hand clenched around Yeoul’s slender ankle. His arm trembled, veins standing out, yet his grip was weak.

Even with rage boiling inside him, Yoo Ihan could never be angry at his Guide.

Because when it came to Han Yeoul, he was forever powerless.

“Yeoul, no matter how angry you are at me, how can you say something like that?”

“…Please leave.”

“Fine. I’ll leave. But you can’t Guide another Esper. I won’t allow it.”

“It’s my job. Esper Yoo Ihan, has no say in it.”

“I’m your imprint. Do I really have no right to interfere?”

“We broke up before that. Please leave.”

“Who decided that? I’d rather die than break up.”

“A breakup doesn’t need mutual agreement. It’s always one-sided.”

Ihan let out a sharp breath. His fists clenched.

“…Is there someone else?”

“Yes.”

“…What?”

Ihan’s lips trembled.

For the first time, he couldn’t keep up the gentle facade.

His golden eyes flashed, sharp and dangerous.

“Who is it?”

His energy surged, his power trembling on the verge of explosion. But Yeoul didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink.

“Anyone. Anyone but Yoo Ihan.”

Ihan’s jaw tightened.

If he stayed any longer, he would say something he could never take back.

So he turned away.

He walked to the door, hand gripping the handle.

Just before he left, his voice dropped to a whisper.

“I’ll come back.”

As soon as the door closed, Yeoul finally let out the breath he had been holding.

His heart pounded.

Did he do well?
Did he hurt Ihan enough?

But then—

Ihan’s wounded expression flashed through his mind.

…He looked thinner.

Not at risk of a rampage just yet, but still—he looked exhausted.

Yeoul ran a hand over his face, sighing.

“I can’t let myself waver already.”

He had to break up with Ihan.

That was the only way to save him.

If Ihan hated him enough, he would finally accept another Guide’s help.

And when the time was right—Yeoul would stage an accident and die.

No matter how he looked at it, there was no better plan.

“I have to do this.”

Yeoul’s eyes gleamed with steely determination.

The Espers who had just returned from their mission gathered in the break room, sipping coffee.

A-class spatial Esper Kim Yushin let out a sigh so heavy it could have collapsed the floor.

“Uto’s at it again.”

“What else is new? That guy only loses his mind for one reason.”

As if rehearsed, everyone spoke in unison.

“Guide Han Yeoul.”

“One hundred percent.”

“When has that lunatic ever gone crazy for any other reason?”

“Never.”

“How long has it even been since they imprinted? And they’re already fighting?”

“What are they even fighting about?”

Just then, an Esper spoke up with a very convincing theory.

“Maybe Han Yeoul finally figured it out—that Yoo Ihan is a complete psycho.”

The air in the break room froze.

Most of them nodded as if that made perfect sense.

One of them chuckled, bringing up something amusing.

“Hey, did you guys know? Han Yeoul actually thought Yoo Ihan’s nickname had a really cute meaning.”

“What? What did he think ‘Uto’ meant?”

The guy who had spoken earlier beckoned everyone closer with a flick of his fingers. Once their heads were huddled together, he whispered,

“He thought it was because Yoo Ihan’s eyes were big and bright—like a cute, sparkling little puppy. ‘Uto’ was short for that.”

The group collectively recoiled.

“Sparkling?! What part of Yoo Ihan deserves a cute word like that?”

“I mean… his face is nice. No one can deny that bastard’s good-looking.”

“Hey! That’s not the point! ‘Uto’ means Yoo Ihan the lunatic is at it again!”

“Man, that’s some next-level rose-colored glasses. Then again, he did imprint with Yoo Ihan, so…”

Kim Yushin shook his head, his tone firm.

“That’s not why. You guys know exactly how Yoo Ihan acts around Han Yeoul.”

“Yeah. To us, he’s a rabid mutt, but in front of Yeoul? He’s a tail-wagging golden retriever.”

“But seriously, why are they fighting?”

The group fell silent.

It was obvious Yeoul was the reason, but the exact why? No one knew.

“Maybe he finally saw Ihan’s real personality? Otherwise, there’s no way an imprinted pair would be acting this cold.”

One of the Espers threw out a reasonable theory, but Kim Yushin immediately shook his head.

“No way. That can’t be it. Ihan acts like a completely different person around Han Yeoul. He’s a bastard to us, but in front of Yeoul? He’s a whiny, lovesick puppy.”

“Then why…?”

“This isn’t their first fight, but this time… isn’t it lasting too long?”

“Can we even call it a fight? Every time Han Yeoul gets mad, Ihan just begs.”

Their “lover’s quarrels” had always been one-sided.

Whenever Yeoul got angry at Ihan’s overprotectiveness and said they needed space, Ihan would sulk and whimper like a kicked golden retriever, circling around him.

Then, Yeoul would play hard to get for a bit before giving in.

“Hah, yeah. You can’t even call that a fight.”

“Exactly. A real fight needs both sides to argue. Han Yeoul might get mad, but Yoo Ihan? He’s never snapped, not even once.”

“And even then, their fights never lasted long. What was the longest? Two days?”

The Esper sitting next to Kim Yushin crushed his paper cup, his jaw clenching.

“Don’t even bring that up. That shit still pisses me off.”

Because in those two days, that lunatic Yoo Ihan massacred monsters.

And not just in the usual way—it was a slaughter.

He ripped them apart, brutally and mercilessly. Some Espers who had witnessed it were still dealing with trauma.

“You think he only went after monsters? He nearly killed us, too.”

Training sessions turned into his personal rage outlet.

How many Espers got beaten to a pulp just for talking to Han Yeoul?

Thinking back on it made Yushin shudder.

That was the first and only time all the Espers collectively agreed they couldn’t live like this—and so, they had personally pushed for Yeoul and Ihan to make up.

Their sweat, blood, and tears had played no small part in getting those two all the way to imprinting.

But this time—

“This is serious. It’s already been a week.”

Silence fell over the group.

Han Yeoul and Yoo Ihan had never fought this long before.

Why?

Even if they wanted to find out, they couldn’t get anywhere near Han Yeoul.

Because a few days ago—

Yoo Ihan had made a declaration.

“Any bastard who gets Guided by Han Yeoul—dies that same day.”

Who in their right mind would dare challenge an S-class Esper?

Thanks to that, no one had approached Yeoul for Guiding in an entire week.

And because of that, Yeoul was currently getting scolded by the Center Director.

“Han Yeoul, Guide—why are you refusing to Guide your imprinted Esper?”

Yeoul remained silent.

The director, frustrated, slammed a file onto the desk and yelled.

“Guide Han Yeoul!”

Yeoul, standing with his hands behind his back, simply bowed his head and responded in a calm voice.

“I would like to resign as Yoo Ihan, Esper’s exclusive Guide.”

“The imprint happened just last month! Why are you suddenly doing this? There has to be a reason!”

“Do I need a reason to hate someone?”

The coldness in Yeoul’s gaze made the director flinch. He took a step back, his anger momentarily retreating.

Then, shifting tactics, he tried a gentler approach.

“Of course, it’s possible to fall out of love. But you chose to imprint, didn’t you? You should take responsibility for that.”

Responsibility.

Yeoul’s lips twisted into a smirk.

‘That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.’

The only way to take responsibility was for him to die.

But he couldn’t say that.

So he said nothing at all.

The director, furious, slammed his fist onto the desk.

“If you refuse Guiding one more time, you’ll be disciplined. Understood?”

“I’ll accept whatever disciplinary action you see fit.”

The director’s blood pressure spiked.

But Yeoul didn’t care.

Expressionless, he continued in a detached tone.

“Docked pay, demotion, excessive workloads—anything is fine. Since Guides are national property, you can’t fire me, so I’d prefer a demotion.”

“I can do all three!”

“That’s fine.”

The director spent a long time trying to reason, threaten, and convince Yeoul, but in the end, Yeoul didn’t budge.

Defeated, the director sighed heavily and waved him away.

“…Get out.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Yeoul left, the director pressed his fingers against his temple. A headache was already forming.

A demotion? Sure. That would be convenient.

But if Yeoul was relocated, which Esper would not follow him?

As the director of Zone 1, he couldn’t afford to let go of a valuable S-class Esper so easily.

Thanks to Han Yeoul’s sudden change of heart, the entire Zone 1 administration was now in crisis.

Especially the Espers—many of whom looked increasingly troubled.

Of course, the one suffering the most—

Was Yoo Ihan.