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DB Vol 4 Part 4
by SoraiOnce caught in those eyes full of flickering heat, it was hard to look away. Won-woo only saw Gye Yoon’s eyes, but ridiculously, he instinctively sensed that Gye Yoon had started moving his other hand. There were subtle sounds that painted the scene without needing to see it. The towel being pushed aside, him grasping something and sliding up. The familiar friction sound that anyone who has masturbated would recognize.
“You stopped.”
A husky, clouded voice whispered to Won-woo. Won-woo snapped out of it, completely averting his gaze to empty space. Let’s finish this quickly. Forcing himself to concentrate, he steadily filled Gye Yoon’s interior with the accumulated energy. But he couldn’t completely shut out his surroundings.
Shh, shh.
The sound of slowly pushing up against skin rang out like a bell. Just as his patience was about to run out, thankfully, the guiding finally ended. Won-woo tried to quickly pull his hand away, but the hand holding him wouldn’t let go.
“Haa, just a moment.”
The force holding Won-woo was clearly coercive, but he could have broken free if he pushed hard enough. However, he hesitated and missed the timing.
Gye Yoon seemed to sense this hesitation and gripped even tighter. A heat that felt like it could melt his entire body poured in through their joined hands. Won-woo attributed the rising heat in his own face to this.
Won-woo held his breath and kept his gaze fixed on empty space. Nevertheless, not knowing where to look, he found himself adrift in the midst of the quickening movement of masturbation. There seemed to be no escape. Gye Yoon’s increasingly rough breathing blocked out all of Won-woo’s thoughts.
“Haa, haa, ha.”
***
Seona had no intention of taking her friend to the North. Her call to Umji was solely to inform her about suddenly being sent North. But this simple friend suddenly asked sharply,
[What’s the real reason you’re going North?]
Seona hesitated as she got off her bike and removed her helmet.
“There isn’t one. I’m just going because they told me to.”
[Since when do you follow orders so well?]
“What are you talking about? I’m a diligent worker who listens well.”
[You do listen well. Just listen. You rarely respond.]
Seona bristled.
“Well, it’s all nonsense. Just listening to nonsense is enough to fulfill my duty as a subordinate.”
[That’s true.]
Umji coolly agreed. But the moment of complacency was brief as Umji hit the nail on the head again.
[But why didn’t you let this nonsense go in one ear and out the other this time?]
If someone else had asked, Seona would have had an answer ready. They’re paying a lot. But that excuse wouldn’t work with Umji, who knew her well. Her friend sensed Seona’s hesitation again with uncanny accuracy.
[There really is a reason, isn’t there?]
“…I told you there isn’t.”
[Han Seona. I’m about to feel hurt. I’ll keep it secret, so tell me.]
Seona hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“There’s someone I care about in the North.”
[Writer Gopnalssu?!!]
Had Umji received some divine revelation today? Seona nodded enthusiastically, impressed with her friend.
“That’s right, it’s them. It still needs confirmation, but a fairly reliable source…”
Han Seona suddenly spun around, stretching her hand forward. Someone was standing in the shadows about 10 meters away. Before identifying the person, a small whirlwind formed like a ball in front of Seona’s hand. The ball, spinning rapidly with dust, was so fast it almost looked like an opaque plastic. The figure in the darkness muttered, observing Seona’s wind ball,
“You don’t hesitate to use your power.”
“I’ll call you back.”
Seona ended the call and lowered her hand. The person in the shadows slowly walked into the streetlight. Hong Seung-wook, known for his usual politeness, scrutinized Seona with sharp eyes.
“Ms. Han Seona. Did you find a perfectly matching guide?”
“No. Are you offering to introduce me to one?”
Seona retorted sarcastically, raising her hand again to deliberately form a wind ball.
“Or is there a law stating that even this level of defense is forbidden for an Esper at risk of going berserk without a Guide?”
Seung-wook muttered again, eyeing the wind ball sharply.
“If there’s a risk of going berserk, couldn’t even that much be a trigger? Yet you look very comfortable right now, Ms. Han Seona.”
“I’ve been nagged so much about showing an uncomfortable expression when I’m uncomfortable. I didn’t know I’d be criticized for hiding my expression too.”
Despite Seona’s defiant response, Seung-wook’s sharp gaze didn’t soften. Instead, he took a step forward as if trying to uncover more secrets.
“If you’re good at hiding expressions, you must be good at hiding the opposite too. Being comfortable after receiving guiding, without anyone knowing.”
Seona concentrated power at her fingertips, wondering what this man knew. Of course, she would be no match for an A-rank Esper, but if he knew anything about Won-woo, she couldn’t just let him go. Still, she tried her best to maintain a facade.
“Team Leader Hong. Stop beating around the bush and say what you want to say. Are you suspecting me of receiving illegal private guiding? If so, find evidence and report me. I have nothing to hide.”
“Then did you receive guiding through legitimate means? From whom?”
“If you’re curious, check my Center’s guiding records.”
“I did. But Ji Won-woo’s name wasn’t there.”
Seona tensed her eyes to avoid frowning.
“That’s because Mr. Ji Won-woo is a D-rank guide. You should know that.”
“I know well. Also that he covers all wavelengths despite being D-rank. Didn’t you receive guiding from Ji Won-woo?”
“I did. But it was guiding that barely registered.”
Seona spat out mockingly, staring at Seung-wook. Why did he come looking for me? She wondered if he knew something, but at her words, Seung-wook briefly turned his gaze to empty space, as if thinking. Then he suddenly changed the subject.
“You’re going North?”
“Yes.”
“Is there a reason? Ah, you said there’s someone you care about in the North.”
As Seung-wook blatantly mentioned the overheard phone conversation, Seona’s jaw twitched. Ignoring her expression, Seung-wook brazenly asked,
“May I ask who it is?”
“No. It’s my privacy. But I can definitely tell you it’s not Mr. Ji Won-woo.”
Despite Seona’s strong denial, Seung-wook didn’t back down.
“I never asked if it was Ji Won-woo, though?”
“No. But it seems like you’re looking for Mr. Ji Won-woo. Am I wrong?”
Seung-wook avoided answering, looking away, and Seona furrowed her brow in that moment. Is he really looking for Won-woo? Why? Seona observed Seung-wook, recalling the rumors between him and Won-woo.
Rumors said he chased after Won-woo alone, but did he have feelings too? If true, it was nonsense. He should treat people well when they’re around, what’s the point of looking for them after they’re gone?
“Yes, I’m looking for Ji Won-woo. Is he possibly in the North?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“If he’s in the North, tell him he needs to get out immediately because it’s dangerous.”
Seona, who had been responding sarcastically, fell silent this time. Seung-wook’s voice sounded ominous. Everyone knew the North was dangerous, but he seemed to be implying something more.
“What’s dangerous?”
“I can’t say.”
“If you say it like that, I can’t believe—”
“Anyone who learns this information gets killed. That’s why.”
“…”
“The North will soon fall into great chaos.”
Seung-wook took a deep breath, pressed his lips together, then stepped closer to Seona and repeated,
“If he needs a place to escape, I can help. Tell him to contact me.”
Seona didn’t respond, but Seung-wook turned away. It was just a hunch, but he felt somehow that Seona would be able to contact Won-woo. He wanted to track her, but suppressed his impatience due to a recent call he’d received.
‘Go to the main house right away. It seems Ji Geun-oh is trying to swallow the North properly now that he’s got power. Looks like he’s plotting something with the Yang family, you’ve heard about it before, right? That there are problems with monster appearances in the North. It seems that issue is about to get bigger. They said the North will request help, unable to handle it on their own.
So they need Espers to send North. Our Hong family has agreed to send people too. The North is too big a piece for the Yang family and Ji Geun-oh to swallow whole, right? The Hong family needs to secure a solid share too. So you should volunteer, Seung-wook. Then we can get our hands on the North’s farms.’
No matter how excited his father’s voice was, Seung-wook had no intention of following. But his mind changed after overhearing Seona’s call earlier. What if Won-woo was in the North?
‘There’s someone I care about in the North.’
Although Seona denied it, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was connected to Won-woo. It was also strange that the Gye family in the North was behind the plot to deliberately detain him using the bank president’s daughter. Despite lacking concrete evidence, he had a gut feeling that the Gye family was involved in Won-woo’s disappearance. Just then, a question from behind broke Seung-wook’s train of thought.
“Why should Mr. Ji Won-woo contact Team Leader Hong?”
As Seung-wook half-turned back, Seona repeated her question with a puzzled look.
“Even if you were colleagues at the East Center, he wasn’t on your team, right?”
“Do I need to explain my personal reasons to you, Ms. Han Seona?”
“If you explain, I’ll listen.”
Seung-wook frowned at the brazen response. Even without considering their positions at the East Center, Espers were ranked by grade. Though Seung-wook was known for being polite to everyone, he never lowered himself. He used his power and authority without hesitation when needed.
“I said it was a personal reason. Who are you to demand an explanation?”
“I never demanded. I just meant I’d listen if you chose to speak.”
Far from backing down at his menacing aura, Seona added sarcastically,
“Even if I didn’t want to hear about Team Leader Hong and Mr. Ji Won-woo, I’ve heard rumors a few times. All the rumors said that Mr. Ji Won-woo followed you to the point of stalking.”
“Do you want to brag about knowing my situation based on mere rumors?”
“No. I want to point out that despite such rumors, you never once corrected them.”
Now Seung-wook’s jaw twitched. Anger filled his eyes, but Seona finished what she had to say,
“You never stood up for Mr. Ji Won-woo when he was bullied by East Center people for so long, but now you’re looking for him for personal reasons. And you’re someone who dates publicly.”
“…”
“I’ll be going now.”
This time, Seona turned away first. Seung-wook felt a twisted mix of shame and anger that he couldn’t control. Such wounded pride should have made him want to forget about Won-woo, but the opposite happened. Seeing Seona, he became certain. She had a connection with Won-woo. The North… Seung-wook turned towards the Hong family’s main house.
***
No matter how he thought about it, it wasn’t like him. What was so special about that masturbation that he couldn’t even look properly? Won-woo couldn’t understand himself. He’d never dated, but he’d had sex with both men and women. It was only a few times, but he’d tried everything there was to try and seen everything there was to see.
Yet just now, he’d acted like a novice who’d never seen a man’s body before. But knowing the reason for this uncharacteristic shame made him want to ignore it even more. Previously, when Won-woo had been intimate with someone, it wasn’t because of desire.
On sleepless nights, his body would shiver even when it wasn’t a cold winter. His limbs were fine, but his chest couldn’t have been colder. No matter how warm the bath water was, making him sweat, his heart felt like it held ice, causing chills. This coldness only disappeared when he pressed his body against someone else’s.
But the emptiness that followed after the brief warmth was hard to bear. So he stopped physical contact with others. Yet now, just the fact that Gye Yoon had masturbated in front of him made his chest feel like boiling water. All he’d touched was Gye Yoon’s hand, and he hadn’t even seen anything.
No, why couldn’t I look? If an urgent notification hadn’t popped up on Gye Yoon’s phone again, he might have had to bow his reddened face like a complete novice who knew nothing. Wanting to cry from shame…
“I want to cry.”
Around the corner of the corridor was someone feeling exactly the same as Won-woo. Realizing the voice belonged to Jae-hak, the Gye family head’s husband, Won-woo immediately tensed. Had something happened to the child? As Won-woo worried, Jae-hak’s voice, full of sorrow, was heard again.
“I really want to cry.”
“You’ve already cried pathetically.”
The one hitting the nail on the head with an indifferent tone was Chief Jung.
“I’m so happy and grateful that our little one is speaking again… But why did she only ask if it hurt when Won-woo cried? Huh? I cried in front of my child too?”
“You cry all the time.”
“I’m so happy right now, but I also feel a bit hurt and my feelings are mixed. Why didn’t she ask me? I’m her favorite, you know?”
“No, the family head is her favorite.”
“Should I have cried differently? Should I imitate Ji Won-woo?”
“You’re disqualified from the start in terms of appearance.”
It was a strange conversation where one person stubbornly talked about himself, and the other coldly hit him with harsh truths.
“Alright! I’ll go practice right away!”
As the sound of someone running off without listening to others till the end was heard, Won-woo deliberately made his presence known as he turned the corner. Chief Jung, who had paused at the sound of footsteps, recognized Won-woo and gave a short nod with an expressionless face.
“Did you hear?”
Won-woo hesitated for a moment. Did he think I was eavesdropping?
“I didn’t mean to listen on purpose.”
“So you did hear. That’s good.”
“What is?”
“I can clear up any misunderstandings right away.”
Me, misunderstand? What? As Won-woo pointed to himself, Chief Jung pushed up his glasses.
“The family head’s husband is not jealous of you, Mr. Won-woo.”
“I don’t misunderstand. I also know he wouldn’t really practice crying.”
“No, that part is true.”
“…Ah, I see.”
Won-woo looked in the direction Jae-hak had disappeared and thought: What an embarrassingly childish person. Then came a blunt explanation,
“But his excitement to that degree is proof of how happy he is. He said he’s deeply indebted because Hwan can speak again.”
That’s not it. If anything, I was comforted by the child.
“If you call it a debt, it makes me feel ashamed for crying.”
Despite his words of shame, Won-woo’s voice was dry. It wasn’t pleasant to have someone discover you crying. Especially careless crying while knowing there were CCTVs. Fortunately, no one mentioned his crying or asked why he cried.
“It’s like catching a mouse while the cow walks backward. Regardless of your embarrassment, Mr. Ji Won-woo, the result was good.”
It was a seemingly kind yet subtly mocking consolation. As Won-woo tilted his head in confusion, he heard Chief Jung mutter,
“Well… We all cried watching the CCTV too.”
“Pardon?”
“You should go to your room. Many Espers are away from their posts right now. It’s not dangerous, but it’s safer in your room.”
“Is it because of the monsters appearing outside the farm? Is the situation bad?”
In contrast to Won-woo’s serious question, Chief Jung answered nonchalantly,
“Yes. Quite bad.”
His words and expression don’t match? As Won-woo looked puzzled, he explained calmly,
“It’s already happened, so what can we do even if it’s bad? We just have to handle it well.”
He guessed that’s better than making a fuss over something that’s already happened. However, Won-woo didn’t fully believe his words. There was someone else who had left as casually as Chief Jung, putting on clothes. Gye Yoon had looked annoyed at being interrupted by the notification, but he quickly disappeared wearing only pants without underwear, holding his T-shirt in hand. Just because someone seems calm doesn’t mean they’re relaxed. So Won-woo thought the same of Chief Jung.
“You’re not going home because you’re busy handling it?”
“I often work overtime.”
“You did yesterday too, didn’t you?”
“…I kind of like working.”
The voice of the lying office worker trembled like an ajaeng[1], betraying his dishonesty. He cleared his throat and pointed to the hallway for Won-woo.
“Nothing unusual will happen, so go to your room and rest. Don’t worry, monsters won’t come this far.”
“I’m not worried about monsters.”
“Well, you know an S-rank Esper has stepped up to stop them.”
Whether S-rank or D-rank, Won-woo didn’t care who was stopping the monsters, but something in Chief Jung’s words bothered him.
“How did you know what I know?”
“I asked the Vice Head why he was walking around with his upper body bare while putting on a shirt. He said he had just been with you, Mr. Ji Won-woo.”
“…Ah, yes.”
“His eyes were so fierce, as if he’d been interrupted at a good moment with you. He looked ready to exterminate the monsters.”
Chief Jung frowned, seeming to recall Gye Yoon’s fierce look. Then, belatedly noticing Won-woo’s stiff expression, he added reassuringly,
“Ah, don’t worry. I’ll keep it strictly confidential.”
“What, what?”
“That good time you two had.”
“…”
“Was it not good?”
Do they casually ask about such things here? Won-woo was too busy trying not to show his confusion to speak. Seeing Won-woo’s strange reaction, Chief Jung tilted his head.
“Aren’t you a Guide who covers all wavelengths? Then the guiding shouldn’t have been bad.”
“Guiding?”
“Yes. Didn’t you two do guiding in the room? It’s not like you had guiding sex.”
They did guiding masturbation. Won-woo barely swallowed a sigh and turned his eyes away, unable to look at him. Then he heard words of comfort.
“It seems the Vice Head got a bit excited after not receiving proper guiding for a long time and took off his clothes, but don’t worry. He’s not the type to cross the line with a precious Guide brought for Hwan.”
Monster trees found outside the farm had a few things in common. They appeared after Gye Yoon entered the cave, and they grew fast enough to evade the eyes of the autonomous crime prevention unit. Then suddenly, as if by agreement, they stopped occurring for a few months until that damned tree grew again today. Even simultaneously.
Unlike existing monster trees that grow tall over several days, this one suddenly grows in a few hours, or even within an hour at its fastest, bursting monster fruits before anyone can do anything. In the mountainous North, it wasn’t easy to stop trees suddenly sprouting on mountainsides, no matter how closely they were monitored.
Moreover, it was now the middle of the night. The Espers surrounding the mountain were struggling not to catch monsters but to prevent them from spreading. There was a small city nearby. Although residents were hurriedly evacuating, if even one monster escaped the containment line, civilian casualties would be inevitable.
“Damn it, where’s the support?! The monsters are coming out endlessly!”
A blood-covered B-rank Esper ran up to the second-line road they had set as the last line of defense, shouting. The manager from the North Center in charge of this area had been saying the same thing for a while, looking around as if waiting for something.
“Hold on.”
“Until when?!”
The B-rank Esper couldn’t help shouting, even though he knew the other person was too high-ranking to even greet properly under normal circumstances. That’s how many monsters were pushing down. They needed to cut down the trees and burn the fruits with high heat to prevent more monsters from emerging, but now they couldn’t even approach the trees.
“We’re really going to die at this rate!!”
“Look, support will arrive soon, so just hold on a little longer.”
“Which department is this support from?”
The manager just looked at the monster-infested mountain with heavy eyes, keeping his mouth shut. The B-rank Esper didn’t understand. Frustrated, he contacted the North Center, but there was no department that had been sent to support them. So why was the manager saying such things?
“You’re not lying to keep us here as sacrificial lambs, are you? To have us all die here like dogs…”
“Hey, move.”
Someone’s annoyed voice cut off the B-rank Esper’s words. Then soon, a figure with a deeply pulled-down hood brushed past him and moved forward. As he passed by, the B-rank Esper heard his savage muttering.
“Tactless monster bastard.”
…Huh? If he had heard those words under normal circumstances, he might have wondered if monsters really needed tact, or why there was such killing intent in the curse. But now, the content didn’t register. Though the voice wasn’t loud, he felt as if his body had been pierced by that voice. So he flinched and inhaled sharply.
For some unknown reason, the moment he heard the other’s voice, he felt suffocated. And for a brief moment, his body froze as if turned to stone. Who on earth is that? In his frozen field of vision, he saw the tall backside of the hooded man calmly walking towards the mountain. The manager followed closely behind him. The hooded man must be quite a high-ranking person, as the manager’s shoulders were stiff with tension.
“Please let me know how many people you need, and I’ll support you right away.”
As far as the B-rank Esper knew, that manager was strict, but he wasn’t the type to bow down to power. But now he was treating a young man who was the same age as his son with such politeness. As if he was serving a king… A king? The B-rank Esper’s eyes widened for a moment. Could it be… No.
There was one person who came to mind, but he immediately shook his head. He was an extraordinary S-rank Esper representing the North, but he was only half-complete as he couldn’t receive guiding… At that moment, the hooded man’s chilling voice was heard.
“They’re in the way. Clear them all out.”
It was quite an arrogant order, but the manager only looked surprised for a moment before immediately bowing his head. Then he gave orders into his communicator.
“Everyone, withdraw immediately!”
Withdraw suddenly? What does that mean? Surprised, the B-rank Esper belatedly tried to follow the hooded man, but the manager stopped him.
“You stay here and check the headcount of the team members. Keep communicating to make sure everyone can get out without a single person missing.”
The B-rank Esper couldn’t believe his ears.
“Everyone? Do you know how many monsters are on that mountain right now? We’re barely containing them by surrounding the mountain. No matter how great that person is…”
He raised his voice in frustration, but couldn’t finish his sentence as the manager gripped his arm tightly. The manager warned him fiercely with bulging eyes.
“If you want to save your comrades, just follow my instructions. Understand?”
Save your comrades. At first, the B-rank Esper thought this meant saving his comrades from the monsters. But soon he realized he was wrong. It was not long after the hooded man had entered the mountain. The B-rank Esper noticed a strange change and slowly turned his head. It was too quiet. The sound of monsters that should have been coming from the mountain couldn’t be heard. Why?
He forgot the manager’s warning and, drawn by the strangeness, headed towards the mountain. And the moment he stepped into a certain point, he could no longer move his feet. Now, not only the monsters’ roars but all sounds had disappeared. It wasn’t just a problem with his ears. Not only the surroundings but even the sound of his own breathing couldn’t be heard.
As if the world’s sounds had completely vanished to the point where he couldn’t tell if he was alive or not. Confused by this unfamiliar fear, he couldn’t move. In reality, his body became as heavy as rebar, making movement difficult. It was hard to even lift his feet, like an iron piece stuck to a magnet.
I have to step back!
A warning exploded in his head. At that moment, something came into view. A monster that he would have noticed long ago if he could hear sounds was leaping just 10 meters ahead. In this world without sound, the monster was like a muted screen. The giant monster soared high into the sky, heading towards him, but with his immobile body, there was nothing he could do.
This soundless space amplified the terror. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t tell if he was breathing. Just as he was despairing, watching the airborne monster with wide eyes, a hand from behind yanked him out. And as if released from a magnet, his body barely escaped the silent zone.
The monster? As he raised his eyes in surprise, he saw the monster falling from the air. The overturned monster was twisting its body as if screaming, with its weak spot below the chest burst open. But even now, the sound the monster made couldn’t be heard. The B-rank Esper inhaled with unbelieving eyes and then paused.
Gasp.
He could hear his own breathing. The surrounding noises also returned. But there was still a place where sound had disappeared. Right in front of him. Just one step away, no sound could be heard from inside that mountain. Only that area had turned into a world without sound. What on earth…
“Incredible.”
Hearing a groan-like exclamation, the B-rank Esper belatedly turned to look at the person who had pulled him out and saved him. It was the manager.
“What on earth happened? Who did that… No way.”
The B-rank Esper barely managed to voice an impossible hypothesis.
“It couldn’t have been the person who just went in, could it? Surely not that person alone…”
“Aren’t you a local here?”
The manager asked lowly, his gaze fixed on the dark mountain. Yes, but why? As the B-rank Esper answered in confusion, the manager warned in an even lower voice.
“Then keep your mouth shut about what you saw today.”
“Who… who is that person who went inside?”
But the manager, focused on the mountain, didn’t answer. From that dark mountain, monsters were pouring out like cockroaches fleeing a house fire. The black swarm of monsters rose into the sky like a silent tsunami, but before they could even fall to the ground, their insides burst and they fell like rain.
The B-rank Esper witnessed this scene with his mouth agape, unable to even breathe. It’s impossible. How could so many monsters so easily… It’s impossible. I must be crazy. How could a single esper do this? It couldn’t be the ability of one person. As the B-rank esper denied reality, he heard the manager’s voice. He belatedly realized it was the answer to his question.
“The master of the North.”
The manager’s eyes, fixed on the mountain, were shining with a mixture of shock and ecstasy.
Monster trees were discovered in three places. Moreover, two of them were in areas farthest from the Gye family. It seemed as if the locations had been carefully chosen, hoping for a major incident to occur in distant places while they were busy guarding nearby areas.
They had long suspected that these abnormally growing monster trees were the result of artificial manipulation. But now that the circumstances clearly pointed to someone’s scheming, Gye Min gritted her teeth. Damn Ji Geun-oh.
She had returned early in the morning and was sorting out the situation, finally finding time to receive guiding around lunchtime. Her guide was a woman in her 50s who used to work for the Gye family, but her overlapping wavelength with Gye Min wasn’t even half. Nevertheless, it was such great luck that she felt guilty compared to her brother or daughter. However, due to the wavelength range not exceeding 50%, the guiding was always painful.
This pain never became familiar, but she never wanted to show her suffering. As always, she endured the guiding without a single groan, gritting her teeth. As her energy gradually stabilized and the pain of guiding subsided, she finally took a breath.
Since she was having such a hard time, the Guide also struggled with each guiding session. She actually broke out in a cold sweat and occasionally groaned, but like Gye Min, she never said it was difficult. She just worried about Gye Min, the family head, and patted her hand after the guiding was over.
“You should rest a bit.”
Gye Min knew of the Guide’s concern, but she just nodded bluntly and buried herself in work again to handle the aftermath. After several months, monster trees appeared again causing chaos, but thankfully, it was easily handled this time because of her brother.
“The Vice Head completely dealt with the monsters in two locations. Fortunately, no monsters descended to civilian areas, so we covered it up by spreading rumors of escaped monsters from the farm.”
“What about Esper casualties?”
Gye Min’s chief secretary, who had come to report, handed over the report as if he had been waiting for this question. The North had few Guides, so the number of Espers had also decreased. No matter how much money was offered, more people were leaving. Each remaining person was precious, so the number 2 next to the word ‘deceased’ was very painful for Min. The deceased Espers were victims from the mountain where Gye Yoon had belatedly joined.
“That place had the most monsters, and the geographical conditions were poor. The incident suddenly occurred on the mountainside, making it impossible to even approach the monster tree. By the time the Espers arrived, monsters were already pouring out endlessly. The manager in charge of that area asked to convey his thanks. He said a miracle happened thanks to the Vice Head’s intervention.”
As the chief secretary said, it was fortunate that the damage stopped at this level, but the coldness didn’t leave Gye Min’s face. This incident had strengthened her suspicion that Ji Geun-oh was behind it, making it difficult to suppress her anger. However, the secretary’s next report made even Gye Min put her anger aside.
“Moreover, even after everything was settled, the Vice Head is still examining the entire area, saying he wants to find any monsters that might have remained.”
Gye Min raised her eyes curiously.
“Why?”
“Well, I suppose he’s checking in case any dangerous monsters are left.”
“That’s what I’m asking. Why is that bastard doing it?”
When the secretary was too flustered to speak, Gye Min added fiercely.
“Why is the guy who only did the bare minimum when I kicked his ass now going out of his way to do more work? And the entire area? That means he’s teleporting around, right? Why on earth?”
The chief secretary understood Gye Min’s suspicion. Indeed, until now, Gye Yoon had only done exactly what he had to do. Partly because there was a risk of him going berserk so they couldn’t give him more work, but mostly because of his own refusal. With the unpleasant reason that he didn’t want to clean up after incompetent Espers. The chief secretary, being one of the few people who knew about Won-woo’s arrival, smiled awkwardly.
“Now that he can receive guiding, he’s probably using his power freely. I think the Vice Head is finally stepping up for the North.”
“That’s impossible.”
Gye Min shook her head, showing strong disbelief.
“He only does what he wants. For the North? No way.”
The older sister, who knew her brother better than anyone, immediately ordered the chief secretary,
“Tell him to come right now. I need to hear what he’s up to.”
“Actually, Chief Jung contacted him, but he just said it wasn’t enough yet and hung up.”
“What’s not enough?”
“I guess he means he hasn’t finished confirming safety?”
That’s not it. Gye Min frowned and gestured for the secretary to leave, then tilted her head. What on earth is he planning? While she was glad that her brother could now use his full power, his unusual behavior made her suspicious. Did the side effects of guiding do something to his head?
“Huu.”
She exhaled deeply and sank into her chair. Regardless, if this incident was someone’s scheme, her brother being able to use his full power was like a stroke of heaven-sent luck. Although her head was complicated with future countermeasures and mind games against them, Gye Min put it all aside and took out her phone. She played a short video.
The background of the video was a child’s room with blocks scattered on the floor. Ji Won-woo was sitting in front of the blocks with his head bowed. Gye Min held her breath and fixed her gaze on a corner of the video. Soon after, a child’s arms and legs appeared in that corner. As if crawling, then sitting up, short chubby arms moved in the air and disappeared.
‘Does it hurt?’
Hearing the small voice that required straining her ears, Gye Min bit her lip as if choked up. Although she had watched this short video hundreds of times, every time she heard the child’s voice, a warmth welled up inside her.
‘No, it doesn’t hurt. It’s not painful.’
At Won-woo’s answer, there was movement in the corner half-hidden in darkness. Having watched it so many times, she could tell the child’s head was tilting to the side. Gye Min quickly turned up the volume out of habit. Soon, Hwan’s voice was heard again.
‘Then why are you crying?’
This was all of the child’s voice recorded on the CCTV that day. Gye Min felt proud that Hwan asked this about someone crying, but on the other hand, it pained her that she spoke first to a stranger she had only seen a few times. Did she think her family and the people around her had hurt her too? Was she feeling hurt because of that? Gye Min barely resisted the urge to go to the child, kneel down, and beg her to speak to her too, saying she was sorry.
Slowly, little by little, she needed to open her heart without startling the child. Gye Min played the short video again from the beginning, this time focusing not on the child but on Won-woo, who was bowing his head and crying silently. She didn’t trust him yet. She even thought this crying might be an act, but regardless, the results he had shown were like a miracle for the desperate Gye family. As her brother said, she felt a desperate desire not to lose him.
Footnotes:
- ajaeng: is a traditional Korean string instrument, part of the zither family. It's comparing the voice to the trembling, uneasy quality of the voice to the ajaeng’s raw, trembling, vibrating sound ↑