IDSEGI Chapter 87

Chapter 87

“You…”
Yoon Geon started to say something but closed his mouth. He gripped Ji-won’s shoulder, applying enough pressure for it to hurt slightly. Ji-won glanced at him warily, but Yoon Geon’s gaze was unbearably cold.
“Head to headquarters first.”
“Yes!”
Was he spared from punishment? Swallowing a sigh of relief, Ji-won quickly used his ability. Once they arrived at headquarters, Yoon Geon released his grip on Ji-won’s shoulder. Before turning away, he spoke in a cold, cutting tone.
“Be ready to face disciplinary action when we get back.”
Ji-won’s eyes filled with despair as he watched Yoon Geon turn his back and walk into the headquarters building.
“Ah… and here I thought he’d let it slide…”
He let out a deep sigh, and then a faint pleasant scent reached him from somewhere. It smelled like something that had clung to his clothes. Had he picked it up earlier when he hugged Han Yeoul?
That’s when a realization struck Ji-won. Staring at the empty space Yoon Geon had left, his lips silently formed words.
“Telling me not to act on personal motives… when the team leader’s worse about it.”
Of course, he didn’t have the courage to say that aloud, so he simply shook his head to himself.
* * *

When Yoon Geon entered the conference room, the Minister of Defense, Park Cheol-ho, was already there with several officers—and Yoo Ihan.

After giving a slight nod to the assembled people, Yoon Geon took the seat with his nameplate. Park Cheol-ho stood at the podium in front of a large screen, his voice heavy as he began to speak.

“The reason I’ve called you all here…”

The black screen flickered to life, revealing an image of an empty sky above a desolate city. Pointing toward the sky in the photo, Park Cheol-ho continued.

“The Jamsil Gate has disappeared.”

The room erupted in murmurs.

“What do you mean? A mega-scale gate has disappeared?!”

“Is it just the Jamsil Gate? What about other countries—China, the US, India?”

“Silence!”

At Park Cheol-ho’s commanding tone, everyone fell quiet. He began answering the questions that had been thrown out moments ago.

“After reviewing satellite images from around the world, this phenomenon has so far only occurred in our country.”

“When did it vanish?”

“We received the report thirty minutes ago. According to the informant, it hadn’t been visible since this morning.”

Normally, a gate that had expelled all its monsters would disappear naturally. But a mega-scale gate had never once closed since the day it appeared. Governments around the world had assumed such gates were like dormant volcanoes—still dangerous despite their inactivity. They had built special walls around them and relocated nearby residents.

Korea had done the same, abandoning Jamsil while keeping a constant watch on the gate that could erupt at any moment. But after ten years, vigilance inevitably slackened.

In countries like China or India, where mega-scale gates had been present for decades, there were even talks of expanding zones toward them, arguing they might actually be safer than other areas since no monsters had emerged in years.

Korea, lulled into complacency by years of peace, treated the mega-scale gate in the sky as nothing more than decoration. The government’s guard had been down—until the gate vanished overnight. Headquarters being thrown into chaos was only natural.

As murmurs rose again, one officer spoke up.

“But even if the gate erupted, it’s surrounded by walls and there are no civilians nearby. Isn’t it fine?”

It sounded reasonable, but the man sitting across from him snapped back.

“Don’t talk nonsense! Have you forgotten the Jamsil incident? The monster back then moved at terrifying speeds. What if something like that appears again?!”

“What’s there to worry about? We have Yoo Ihan, and Esper Yoon Geon as well. With two S-Class Espers, we can eliminate any monster before it causes major damage.”

Park Cheol-ho cut in firmly.

“No. We can’t do it that way.”

“What do you mean?”

Park Cheol-ho fixed his gaze on Ihan and gestured toward him.

“You explain it.”

Meeting that gaze without flinching, Ihan asked flatly,

“Explain what?”

“Until now, we’ve kept your secret to avoid public scrutiny. But now it’s time to speak. That’s why I gathered everyone here.”

“My secret, huh.”

Ihan let out a short, incredulous laugh and leaned back in his chair.

“How is that my secret? You’re the ones who got caught. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

His demeanor shifted so abruptly that, aside from a few who already knew his true nature, most in the room widened their eyes in surprise.

Normally, in settings like this, Ihan would play the part of the heroic Yoo Ihan, mindful of the minister’s image. He rarely showed his real personality to just anyone—he knew that if word got out about his rotten character, reporters would hound him relentlessly. That’s why he acted mild and well-mannered in front of people he wasn’t close to.

But this was different.

If the minister intended to pin responsibility on him, Ihan wasn’t about to sit quietly and take it. Acting foolish here would bring trouble not only to himself but also to his Zone 1 colleagues. So he dropped the mask.

“Go ahead. I’ll even hold a press conference if you want.”

“Since it concerns you, it’s better that you say it yourself.”

At Park Cheol-ho’s words, Ihan smirked again.

“Fine, sure.”

Straightening his back slowly, Ihan swept his gaze around the room, meeting each person’s eyes one by one before finally speaking.

“I can’t receive guiding anymore.”

The moment Ihan dropped that bombshell, people erupted into confused questions.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Are you saying you won’t receive guiding? Or… is it true, like the rumors say, that you really imprinted?”

“If you imprinted, just get guiding from your imprint partner. What do you mean you can’t receive it at all?”

“Minister! Please explain! Why is Esper Yoo Ihan saying something like this?”

Park Cheol-ho, who had been quietly observing, answered in a calm voice.

“Esper Yoo Ihan isn’t refusing to receive guiding. He ‘can’t’ receive it.”

“What is that supposed to mean…?”

“Yoo Ihan’s match rate with Guides has fallen below 20%. For now, we’ve only retested with some Guides. But if he imprinted, the result would be the same no matter which Guide we brought in.”

Park Cheol-ho met Ihan’s gaze directly. Their eyes clashed like blades.

“And Esper Yoo Ihan claims he has never imprinted.”

The shocking statement silenced the room. The confusion was so overwhelming that no one spoke for a moment—until one officer raised his hand after collecting his thoughts.

“But, Minister… there’s only one reason an Esper’s match rate with a Guide drops below 20%, isn’t there?”

“Yes. Only if they’ve imprinted.”

“And yet he’s claiming he’s never imprinted?”

All eyes turned back to Ihan. With a look of sheer annoyance, he snapped,

“I’m telling you I’ve never imprinted, so stop saying I have.”

“That result is impossible without an imprint.”

“Even a cow would understand better than you lot.”

As the standoff between Ihan and the minister deepened, someone quietly raised their hand.

“I understand the match rate has dropped. Then why not gather the highest-grade Guides available and have him guided by them? If he takes the medication and receives guiding from several Guides, we can at least put out the immediate fire.”

“I already told you. He can’t.”

Without looking away from Ihan, Park Cheol-ho addressed the person who spoke.

“Do you know one of the rare side effects of imprinting?”

“Isn’t it that the Esper’s match rate with other Guides drops below 20%?”

“No. There’s another. A very rare case that’s not widely known.”

“What is it?”

“A rejection response to guiding from every Guide except the one imprinted with.”

Park Cheol-ho’s gaze sharpened further, as if to stab through Ihan.

“Esper Yoo Ihan is currently exhibiting a guiding rejection response to every Guide.”

The conference room became far noisier than before.

“Esper Yoo Ihan, is that true?!”

“Is it the same kind of rejection response as Esper Yoon Geon’s?”

“How could something like this happen?! Who did you imprint with?!”

“Esper Yoo Ihan! Answer! Who’s your imprint partner? And why aren’t you receiving guiding from them?”

As questions poured toward him, Ihan slammed his fist onto the table. The crack that appeared on the solid wood silenced the room.

“I told you. I’ve never imprinted.”

“If you keep that attitude, we’ll have no choice but to withdraw the excessive privileges given to Zone 1. Before I report to His Excellency, I’m giving you the chance to come clean while I can still keep this quiet.”

“I said I haven’t, so stop twisting it. Withdraw the privileges? Go ahead. Let’s see what happens.”

The moment Park Cheol-ho invoked Zone 1, Ihan’s eyes turned feral, like a dog ready to bite.

“Why? You don’t believe me? Minister, you’re supposed to be a smart man—so why are you acting like this? Just because I can’t receive guiding doesn’t mean an S-Class drops to an F-Class. Frankly, if I gathered the rest of my strength and staged a coup, do you think you could handle it? Why keep provoking me?”

“A coup, is it? Go ahead. Who would follow an Esper bound to burn out and die?”

Ignoring everything else, Park Cheol-ho repeated the only question he cared about.

“Tell me. Who did you imprint with?”