3 – TDG 3

He ​is ​notorious ​within ​the ​Center as an ​S-rank ​piece ​of ​trash—someone ​whose skills are backward ​but ​whose personality is ​”perfect.” Of course, ​having ​read ​the ​original ​work, ​I already know ​all ​of ​this.

After a series ​of exchanges, Yoon Soo-jeong ​glared at ​Team Leader ​Park.

“This is ​a conspiracy.”

“Where ​on ​earth ​is this coming ​from all ​of a sudden?”

Park Chi-soo, ​who had been blindsided ​by the accusation, arched ​an eyebrow.

“Why ​do ​you only give us the nightmare ​clients? Looking at Team ​1, ​they ​only ​get ​matched with the ​well-mannered ones.”

“There’s ​no ​such thing. How ​could ​we possibly interfere with the ​Espers’ inherent ​prerogatives?”

“Still, ​you could nudge ​things ​this ​way ​or ​that way.”

Park ​Chi-soo ​stepped back ​with a troubled expression.

“That… is up to ​the Guide’s own ​discretion. My role ​isn’t that of a ​matchmaker, but ​a [Read on Read BL Novels]mediator between ​Espers ​and Guides. If ​a team leader ​starts granting ​personal ​favors stolen contentto ​individual ​team [visit our site]members, ​everyone ​will rise ​up ​in ​protest.”

Yoon Soo-jeong let ​out ​a sigh ​deep ​enough ​to ​sink the ground.

“What an absurd world… filthy business. It’s all about who you know everywhere…. Did I strive so hard to enter the Center just for this?”

As Team Leader Park Chi-soo said, calling for a Guide was the Esper’s inherent prerogative. Of course, a request could be refused. The problem was that once you refused, you had to give up on ever being matched with an Esper of the same rank again. Whether there was some kind of blacklist or not, once the number of refusals reached a certain point, Espers stopped seeking them out as if they had made a pact. Since this was practically a social death sentence, the ‘right to refuse’ was a nominal power at best.

“Seon-jae, should I refuse the matching for you? If you say you’re sick….”

Seon Jae-young shook his head with a cynical face.

“Forget it. Enduring this stuff is just part of the job.”

Watching this, Yoon Soo-jeong let out a lament.

“Seriously, as soon as my savings account matures, I’m quitting immediately.”

“Just talk, as always?”

Yoon Soo-jeong’s shoe flew toward Seon Jae-young. Seon Jae-young swiftly jerked his head to avoid it, and nothing happened other than her heel leaving a small scratch on the office wall.

As the youngest member of the team, I picked up the shoe and returned it to her. ‘You didn’t [visit our site]have to.’ With [unauthorized copy]a pout, [visit our site]Yoon Soo-jeong took the shoe and slid it back onto her foot.

“If it’s so filthy and annoying, just get a ‘dedicated assignment.’”

“Hey! I’d rather you tell me to quit.”

Yoon Soo-jeong snorted. Kim Ho-jin hadn’t thrown the suggestion out there thinking it was actually a viable possibility either.

“Dedicated! Sounds great in theory. Being exclusive to one person, just cleaning up after them, and not having to respond to calls from other Espers. But what happens if it breaks? Can you handle that?!”

“It’s no joke. I was caught in the middle of a couple that broke up last time, and I honestly wanted to die.”

A rare expression of sheer disgust appeared on Seon Jae-young’s face. He was speaking with the understanding that dedicated assignments usually stemmed from romantic relationships.

“Besides, both appointment and dismissal are at the Esper’s discretion. It’s just a difference between being a dedicated slave or a multiple slave. Sometimes being dedicated can be even filthier. You fall from a mediocre gap between employer and employee into the abyss of the ultimate master and servant.”

“It’s unfair. Espers can’t even survive without us, so why do they hold all the power?”

“It’s because Guides lack ‘class’—class. To put it simply, anyone can do it.”

At Kim Ho-jin’s cold assessment, everyone except me wore a rotten expression simultaneously.

“Wow, Kim Ho-jin. Let’s not unauthorized copybelittle ourselves. If anyone [Read on Read BL Novels]could [unauthorized copy]do it, what would be the point of us!”

“I’m just stating the facts coldly.”

As the atmosphere grew sharp, Park Chi-soo stood up to calm them down.

“Now, now, stop it. We are Guides of ‘proven skill’ who were selected through a grueling recruitment competition. We definitely shouldn’t say just anyone can do it.”

Only after both of them shut their mouths in a pout did the atmosphere finally settle.

It is true that an Esper’s survival is threatened without a Guide.

However, it is also true that, coincidentally, they have no power other than that function.

That was the problem.

Ridiculously—truly ridiculously—because of the latter, the former is not considered particularly special.

Even if you scour the vast history of the world, has there ever been a time when the world was on the side of the weak?

On the other hand, what about Espers?

Even a C-rank Esper, whom [unauthorized copy]I’ve criticized so much, could kill someone with ease Read on Read BL Novelsif they decided to abuse their power.

Those with unrivaled strength have always reigned.

Furthermore, combined with a strange longing for beings with transcendent abilities, Espers became the perfect fit for all those conditions.

The ideal image of a Guide that this era desires is less about innate guiding ability and more about coaxing and soothing the acting-out Espers to make them behave like human beings.

Also, even if people complain that the work is like shit, not all Guides think that way, and even if someone does quit, that spot is soon filled by a new Guide.

Some obey the long-established system, and most think that even if they went to a normal company, they’d still be catering to a stupid boss anyway.

Just as people want to play in better waters, isn’t being an S-rank Guide much more stylish and prestigious than being a Guide for some trivial C or D-rank Esper?

Thanks to that, a distorted structure was created where there are plenty of stupid Espers who only have power, while Guides are selected from those with intelligence and refinement who passed high-difficulty exams, only to wait to be chosen by those idiots. As long as the powerful Espers aren’t dissatisfied, there isn’t a shred of possibility that the current system will be overturned.

I lay face down on my desk, cheek pressed against the surface, and muttered.

Guides of proven skill.

It sounds plausible, but the reality is this.

‘We’re just nannies.’

During the month that passed, I was called for external duties only four or five times as a temporary fill-in.

As Yoon Soo-jeong said, being a Guide at the Center didn’t end with just getting a position. Unlike Department 7, where people were called frantically even if they did nothing, we had to get calls from Espers by networking or whatever means necessary. And no one said that was easy.

“Joo-won. If you don’t get enough calls, you’ll be moved to a dead-end post.”

“You worked so hard to get up here, try a bit more.”

“Your looks are decent, so if word just gets out once, your calls will explode.”

My teammates, feeling sorry for me as I spent every day guarding my desk, even passed on their secret networking skills.

“Thank you, Seonbaes. Thank you for caring so much for a lacking Hubae like me….”

Of course, I only spoke smoothly while maintaining my current attitude.

Success? Word of mouth? That’s a terrifying thought. If I wanted that, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.

My wish is for no one to know me and for me to keep guarding my desk until the day Han Ji-hyuk appears. If I’m called away on some useless business trip and miss the date, it’s all over.

While I avoided everything and [Read on Read BL Novels]played it safe as much as possible, the day unauthorized copyof the long-awaited operation finally dawned.

Team Leader Park Chi-soo looked at my monthly leave request and approved it immediately, patting my shoulder. ‘Get some good rest.’ His gaze and gesture were full of pity.

Unlike someone like Kwon Min-wook, he was a good person no matter when I saw him.

The sky shone in a deep indigo.

It was a bit hot, but the weather was very clear.

Han Ji-hyuk’s appearance time was around 2:00 PM.

I arrived at the location with plenty of time to spare. It was a four-way intersection in a bustling district.

Because I had come here every weekend to familiarize myself, the street was etched into my mind down to the smallest cracks in the pavement.

I did one more lap to see if anything had changed. As it approached two, my heart began to pound.

I gulped down bottled water into my parched throat and looked around.

As expected of a busy area, many people appeared in small groups and disappeared down the alleys. Thinking that Han Ji-hyuk would be somewhere among them made my heart race violently.

Calm down, calm down. A single mistake could make me miss him.

Tick, tick.

The hands of the clock finally pointed to exactly two o’clock.

“…….”

I scanned the surroundings, turning my head rapidly. I could feel every sense in my body sharpening like the tip of a needle.

No matter what, I had to make contact and secure him before Kwon Min-wook did.

A tall height of 188cm, a sculpted handsome face, and a slender model-like build.

It’s a look that would stand out even from a hundred meters away.

So, as long as I stay calm, I can find him.

“Kyaaa!”

A woman’s piercing scream rang out from somewhere.

The first signal announcing the start of the incident.

Terrified people were running in confusion, crossing between the sidewalk and the road.

Instinctive senses led my feet. I pushed through the crowd pouring toward me and pushed forward with all my might.

KABOOM—!

“Hieek!”

“Run!”

Following the explosion, a chilling vibration shook the ground like an earthquake. It was exactly as described in the novel.

“Ji-hyuk!!”

Someone was collapsed at the end of the path I rushed toward.

A black T-shirt, a wide jacket, and worn-out jeans. It was Han Ji-hyuk. My palms became damp with cold sweat, and my heart began to race steeply.

Five years.

It had been five whole years.

“Urgh, ugh….”

Han Ji-hyuk was lying face down, clutching his head and groaning like a beast.

Every time he twisted his body, intangible waves that swirled like blades surged upward, shattering the pavement and the glass windows of the storefronts. Shattering glass, dust, and street miscellaneous items floated up and were scattered in all directions.

“Hup!”

As I ran to avoid them, I saw craters being blasted into the ground around Han Ji-hyuk.

This formidable power easily overturned the road, lacerated the ground, and spread sharp cracks deep into the earth. In the aftermath, a water pipe must have burst, as a jet of water erupted violently from a crack.

The disaster didn’t end there.

As the ground collapsed, utility poles fell in succession, and nearby buildings and skyscrapers began to rumble and shake.

Shattered glass rained down.

Seeing the skyscrapers sway enough to be visible to the naked eye made my skin crawl.

I have to stop this.

If the buildings collapse, there will be a massive loss of life.

This is the power of a rampaging S-rank.

It was the moment I realized for myself why S-rank and above Espers are called walking disasters.

And this is the level even before his final manifestation?

Every time the intangible tension, harboring immense power, shot out as if dancing, the very space fluctuated, devastating everything around it.

The thought that I had to jump into that suddenly felt overwhelming.

I forced my trembling hands down and swallowed hard.

This is no time to be terrified.

Kwon Min-wook did it. Why couldn’t I do something that even that bastard managed?

I threw five years of my life into the gutter for this day.