IGWKE Episode 26

Episode 26

Yoon-ui frowned in distaste, and Heon-ju burst out laughing. It was a relaxed laugh, as if he knew Yoon-ui wasn’t genuinely upset. Yoon-ui envied his carefree personality—the ability to laugh off unpleasant remarks so easily. Waiting for Heon-ju’s laughter to subside, Yoon-ui immediately began his interrogation.

“So, you went all the way to Busan. Why didn’t you make any progress?”

― Ah, well, here’s the thing. There are guides down there, but not as many as in Seoul. So, I’m even more under-guided than I was in Seoul. Isn’t that wild?

“Is that supposed to be a good thing? What’s so ‘wild’ about it? And of course, Busan doesn’t have much personnel. It’s just a branch office there. The scale is much smaller.”

Despite claims of ensuring balanced regional security and decentralization, the Busan branch was never truly designed to function as an effective gate-response agency. It was little more than a political promise aimed at garnering regional votes. With three teleportation Espers and one analyst, the gates across the entire country could be managed—what kind of decentralization was that supposed to be?

The Busan branch was nothing more than a luxurious retreat for those who didn’t want to work on the frontlines but still wanted to appear as if they were active in the field, wasting billions of won in budget. Heon-ju’s so-called “training” there was more like a casual outing to Busan.

― Oh, I see. But why was the training scheduled in Busan in the first place?

From his genuinely curious tone, it was clear that Heon-ju still didn’t know why he had suddenly been dragged to Busan. Yoon-ui muttered quietly, “Good question.” Was it really to avoid any contact with the untouchables, so much so that even the mention of his name was unwanted? Was this just excessive paranoia? Or was it something deeper?

While Yoon-ui was lost in his tangled thoughts, Heon-ju rambled on about his sudden training trip, listing about nine positive aspects of Busan and casually slipping in one negative thing as an afterthought.

― I got to eat delicious food, meet new people, and even see the ocean, which was nice. But the training isn’t progressing at all. They don’t let me leave the premises unless I’m with a guide.

“Why?”

― Because my guiding levels are below the safe threshold, they’re worried I might lose control and go berserk among civilians.

“Wow. Are you that bad?”

Startled by this revelation, Yoon-ui, who had been brooding on his own, sat up straight in surprise.

Young Espers like Heon-ju, whose abilities weren’t yet fully under control, tended to leak energy even while performing basic daily activities—like an involuntary metabolic function. If his levels were below the threshold in such a state, he was practically a walking bomb.

Heon-ju, noticing Yoon-ui’s alarmed reaction, seemed to shrink a little, answering in a subdued voice.

― I think it’s because I haven’t been properly guided from the start. But they keep saying my levels are low.

“Ah…”

If an Esper themselves felt that they hadn’t received much guiding, it was likely not because their absorption rate was low but because they simply hadn’t been provided enough guiding from the outset. With an insufficient total intake, it was natural for their stabilization levels to drop below the safe threshold after expending energy during training.

Having already sat up, Yoon-ui adjusted his posture, wedging a pillow between his head and back while hugging another one to his chest for comfort. A relaxed body brings a relaxed mind—or so he liked to think. Now ready, Yoon-ui prepared to unleash a tirade, though, fortunately, the target wasn’t Heon-ju.

“You know, it’s not just Espers in this country—our guides are kind of subpar too.”

Of course, excluding myself. Filled with well-earned confidence, Yoon-ui launched into an uninvited lecture.

“Guiding isn’t one-size-fits-all. It needs to match the Esper’s personality and how their abilities manifest. Sure, guides are born with innate powers, but those powers don’t last forever without effort. They need to study and research to adapt their skills properly.”

Yoon-ui knew he had a tendency to get overly talkative and show off whenever the topic of guiding came up. Yet, he couldn’t resist indulging in a bit of self-aggrandizement.

And so, he began with the International Guide Association’s guiding protocols and meandered through the latest research papers on the subject, rambling on for ten minutes before realizing he’d gone overboard.

“…Sorry. That was a bit much, huh?”

He’d talked so long his phone had probably heated up. Back when Jung-woo was still shy and new, he might have endured this kind of monologue. But now, Jung-woo would cut him off within thirty seconds with a sarcastic, “Wow, great lecture. Thanks, I’m enlightened!” The fact that Heon-ju had quietly listened without complaint only proved he was still green.

Moreover, Heon-ju, who had just recently awakened and lacked even the basic concepts of supernatural abilities, probably understood only half of what Yoon-ui had said—if even that. For all Yoon-ui knew, Heon-ju might have put him on speakerphone and gone off to shower. If that were the case, he decided he’d let it slide.

― Not at all! It was really interesting! Guiding is more complicated than I thought.

“Ah, really?”

Thankfully, Heon-ju’s voice sounded bright. It seemed the kid still had some military discipline left in him.

― Yeah. I always thought guiding just meant holding someone’s hand.

“Well, that’s the most common form of tactile guiding, but it’s actually called—”

And just as Yoon-ui was about to launch into another explanation, he barely managed to stop himself, catching his runaway mouth with sheer willpower. He bit down on his lip hard enough to feel like he might break a tooth before finally shutting up.

“Sorry. I tend to talk a lot when it comes to this kind of topic.”

― No, it’s okay.

“I keep getting scolded by Jung-woo for this, but I never seem to fix it.”

― No, really. This is the first time I’ve seen you talk so enthusiastically, and I think it’s fun.

“Oh, really?”

― Yeah. Usually, you talk in short sentences, and you’re always a bit indifferent no matter what you’re doing.

“Do I really come off that way? …Well, I guess I do.”

Yoon-ui wanted to deny it, but it was true. He reluctantly admitted it, and Heon-ju laughed in a low voice. It wasn’t the cheerful giggle he made when he was praised—it was a deeper, calmer laugh, one that was strangely captivating. His voice, warm and soothing, continued to say things that made Yoon-ui’s heart flutter.

― You seem so professional and cool. I can feel your passion, too.

“Uh… thanks….”

― And when you talk about guiding, you seem genuinely happy. That makes me happy too.

Heon-ju said it so easily, but his words were so flattering that Yoon-ui was glad they weren’t face-to-face. Without a mirror, he couldn’t tell for sure, but his face was undoubtedly red.

“How are you so good at saying nice things?”

Even as Yoon-ui grumbled in embarrassment, Heon-ju just laughed.

― I’m just being honest.

Apparently, Yoon-ui needed compliments more than he thought. Hugging the pillow tightly, he flopped over onto his side.

Still, was it really okay to feel this good about being sweet-talked by someone twelve years younger? Even as he tried to berate himself for his immaturity, a grin kept creeping onto his face. Covering his mouth to calm himself down, he awkwardly tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.

“I’m honest too, you know.”

― Hmm… yeah, you are. But I think we’re honest in different ways….

“Hey.”

It seemed Heon-ju’s claim of honesty was true. His awkward, unfiltered response set Yoon-ui off.

“When you come back to Seoul, don’t hang out with Jung-woo anymore. His influence is rubbing off on you—you’re picking up all the bad habits.”

― Hehe… Well, you are honest, aren’t you….

It didn’t look like Heon-ju had any intention of taking back his words, and Yoon-ui couldn’t exactly argue otherwise.

Having run out of things to say, Yoon-ui absentmindedly checked the call duration. They hadn’t even talked about anything particularly significant, yet over an hour and a half had passed. While he had scolded Heon-ju earlier about his lack of proper training, he realized he’d been keeping the poor kid on the phone after a long day.

“Hey, we’ve been talking for over an hour and a half.”

― Oh, really?

“You must be tired. Get some rest.”

― I’m not tired yet….

“Are you bragging about not being properly trained? Enough. Hang up and get some rest. You said your guiding levels are low.”

While Yoon-ui was eager to wrap up the call, Heon-ju, full of energy, seemed reluctant to end the conversation. However, even if Heon-ju had stamina to spare, Yoon-ui didn’t. He was starting to feel drained and wanted to sleep. Adding a few more remarks to hurry things along, he finally got Heon-ju to relent and agree to end the call with the promise of continuing their conversation later.

― Should I call you tomorrow then?

“No.”

Checking his calendar, Yoon-ui realized it had been almost a week since Heon-ju had left for training. A week wasn’t a particularly long time, but it had flown by, and his return to Seoul was only a couple of days away.

“You’re coming back the day after tomorrow. I’ll see you then.”

― But I’ll still be training until the afternoon that day. I won’t get back to Seoul until the evening.

“Alright, then the day after that.”

― But that’s more than three days away….

Grumbling quietly, Heon-ju voiced his dissatisfaction. Realizing that pushing further wouldn’t work on Yoon-ui, he quickly shifted gears.

― By the way, you didn’t forget you promised to buy me something delicious when I get back, right?

“Oh? Did I—ah.”

The reminder caught Yoon-ui off guard, and he let out a foolish noise. Now that it was mentioned, he vaguely remembered making that promise during a call after receiving the chocolates from Heon-ju. Out of a momentary sense of guilt, he’d agreed to treat him. Right. He did promise. Smacking his forehead, he cursed his forgetfulness. His mouth, which had acted impulsively back then, deserved another hit too.

On the other end of the line, oblivious to Yoon-ui’s self-recrimination, Heon-ju was cheerfully laughing.

― I’m really looking forward to it!

“Oh? Uh… yeah.”

― What are you going to get me?

“Well, something you like…”

― But everything I like is outside the center.

Just as Heon-ju was about to enthusiastically list all the things he wanted to eat, a flustered Yoon-ui cut him off.

“Hey, but, um… what if…”

― Yes?

Heon-ju eagerly responded, his tone bright, clearly hoping for the conversation to continue. This was a mistake.

What if we did something other than eating?

The thought lingered on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it. He’d been thinking of suggesting an alternative since the idea of going out for a meal felt slightly burdensome, but Heon-ju’s excitement was so palpable that he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“Never mind. Let’s talk about it when you’re back in Seoul.”

Opting for delay, Yoon-ui bought himself some time. Unaware of his hesitation, Heon-ju simply answered in his usual upbeat manner.

― Okay! I’ll think a lot about what I want to eat!