14 – TDG 14

The ​woman ​who ​followed ​him was also ​a ​celebrity.

Lee ​Seo-ah.

An ​A-rank ​Esper. With long, silk-like ​shimmering ​hair cascading down ​to her waist, ​she ​possessed ​the ​only ​Avatar ​ability in the ​country.

“Aren’t ​you ​Guide Seo Joo-won?”

Song ​Hyun-ho approached me with ​long strides, ​scanning the ​scene as ​he came ​closer.

Fortunately, ​we ​were acquainted.

“I was ​contacted while ​I was passing by. ​Are you hurt anywhere?”

So ​these are the rescue ​teams sent ​by ​the Center.

I could only say that ​heaven [Read on Read BL Novels]helped us, Read on Read BL Novelsconsidering ​there ​were ​two ​Espers ​with special-grade abilities ​nearby.

“I’m fine, ​so ​please help the ​injured ​over there first!”

“Who’s there? Who ​is that?”

Lee ​Seo-ah ​tilted her head ​upon ​spotting ​Han ​Ji-hyuk. ​Even in ​the ​midst of ​the emergency, Song Hyun-ho keenly noticed that ​I was avoiding ​the answer.

“…Let’s save ​the people first.”

The two ​of them ​joined Han Ji-hyuk ​and ​set out to ​rescue the remaining ​survivors.

Song Hyun-ho’s ​speed ​and power ​were ​classified as ​world-class. ​As he ​pushed ​his ​muscular strength to ​the ​limit, swelling ​his ​physique ​and ​diving into the monster swarm with arms wide open, the gathered monsters exploded one after another as if hit by explosives. A monstrous strength that pushed back dozens of monsters single-handedly. It was truly a storm-like momentum. It was a combat style distinctly different from Ji-hyuk’s.

Lee Seo-ah’s Avatar ability proved exceptionally effective in rescuing the injured.

Having multiplied into several versions of herself, she moved tirelessly across the area.

It was around the time they succeeded in safely rescuing the last injured person that the sirens of police cars finally began to be heard in the distance.

Damn bastards. Since they were late anyway, visit our sitethey could visit our sitehave just taken their stolen contenttime and come tomorrow; why come now?

As barricades were set up and the scene was cleared, I helped transport the injured.

Around that time, the helicopter sent by the Center arrived. Guides for Song Hyun-ho and Lee Seo-ah stepped off the aircraft.

I went to find him to say goodbye before they left. Song Hyun-ho momentarily pushed back his guiding and met my eyes.

“He’s that S-rank, isn’t he?”

The sudden whisper took the form of a question, but the tone was full of conviction.

When I glossed over it with an awkward laugh, he stepped back without making me more uncomfortable.

“Good work, Guide Seo Joo-won. Please head back soon. I’ll see you later.”

In this world, there are plenty of Espers who, even if they are only C-rank, get intoxicated by the delusion that they are chosen by heaven, becoming arrogant, stiff-shouldered, and blunt in their speech. In contrast, Song Hyun-ho, who possessed an S-rank yet remained humble and easygoing, could be described as a pearl plucked from the mud, or a crane among chickens.

The fact that he used formal language and casually offered a parting greeting to a rookie Guide like me, who hadn’t been at the Center long, was proof that he was a rare man of character.

“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll be heading back now.”

After exchanging glances with the two, Han Ji-hyuk and I boarded the helicopter.

As the helicopter ascended, the scene of the accident came into view all at once, as if zooming out.

Just as I finally caught my breath and looked down, a particularly white car wedged between container boxes a short distance from the site caught my eye.

“Ah!”

It was the sedan I had completely forgotten about. I’d had it for less than three months, and now it’s like that… No doubt it’s headed for the scrapyard. My vision went dark with disappointment.

What should I tell my father? I should have just driven my own car… What a mess I’ve made by bringing this one out.

As soon as I returned to the Center, I was summoned by Head of Department Kim Yoo-hwan.

A severe reprimand awaited me for arbitrarily deploying the inexperienced Han Ji-hyuk to the scene of the accident.

‘I tried to stop him.’ ‘It was an emergency.’ ‘I didn’t use my own ability.’ I had plenty of excuses, but if exceptions were allowed, why would laws and rules exist? The Center’s Esper management system was not as lax as Department 7, where things could be patched up with a bit of grease.

“What would you have done if something unfortunate had happened in that chaotic mess of [stolen content]a scene?! You are not in a position to decide whether [stolen content]you will ‘take responsibility’ or not. Do you understand that?”

Kim Yoo-hwan’s shout echoed loudly throughout the office.

“I am sorry. I will correct this.”

I lowered my posture completely.

He trusted me enough to let me go, and I caused an accident. It was true that this incident was due to my lack of supervision, and if I were tactless enough to resist here, I’d only make things worse.

Glaring at me with disapproval, Kim Yoo-hwan let out a long sigh and shook his head.

“Get out. The disciplinary action will be delivered in writing later.”

Eh? That’s it? I thought I’d be grilled for at least thirty minutes… As I stood there blankly, Kim Yoo-hwan glared again.

“What are you doing? Get out!”

“Yes, yes! I am sorry once again.”

Stepping out of the Head of Department’s office and standing before stolen contentthe hallway elevator, the reflection in the [stolen content]mirror looked so tattered that I looked like a ghost.

It had been an unexpectedly spectacular day. I almost got crushed to death by a container, my car is a total loss, and the finale was being grilled by my boss. My mental state is truly shattered.

‘Still, it ended faster than expected.’

Hoping to gain even a shred of sympathy, I had plastered bandages all over my cheeks; I peeled them all off and stuffed them into my pocket.

However, the reason Kim Yoo-hwan didn’t scold me much wasn’t because of these bandages. He was the type of person who would have said everything he wanted to say even if I were on the verge of collapsing. It’s just like this.

‘I’ll let it slide for your father’s sake.’

I’d rather be cursed at than deal with this. It truly hurts. But since this is like an implicit rule of society, it’s not something I can avoid just because I hate it. Kim Yoo-hwan is my boss, but my father is his boss. He’s even the head of the department. He wouldn’t want to cause a situation that would make the son of such a person lose face. If I just do my job well, I won’t bring shame to my father’s name.

The disciplinary action delivered in writing will undoubtedly be a pay cut.

For a civil servant, the scariest things are dismissal or a pay cut, but to reach disciplinary dismissal, one would have to do something that damages the dignity of a national official, such as embezzlement or equivalent misconduct. Therefore, only a pay cut remains.

On my way back to the dormitory, my phone rang.

The caller ID showed it was my father.

He must have heard the news of the accident.

But it’s a voice call, not a video call? Why?

“Father. Yes, it’s me.”

• Joo-won, I heard about the accident. Are you hurt anywhere?

The voice coming through the phone sounded somewhat rushed and anxious.

The last time I saw my father was during Han Ji-hyuk’s awakening, so it’s been about a month. I wonder what to do, since every time we contact each other, it’s always news of an accident. I talk a big game about being a filial son… but in reality, I’m the definition of an unfilial child. Feeling ashamed, my voice trailed off.

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine, no injuries. But the car you lent me…”

• Don’t worry about that. As long as you are safe, I am fine. I’m sorry for calling so late….

Only after hearing that I was okay did my father’s voice soften with relief. He seemed more anxious than I thought.

Suddenly, a small memory flashed through my mind. I let out a silent groan of belated realization.

‘Ah….’

Seo Joo-won’s mother, Mrs. Yoon Yang-hee, passed away in a car accident. I unauthorized copycouldn’t unauthorized copyeven imagine the fear and despair my father must have felt when he heard that the car his son was driving had been totaled.

Only then did I understand why he called with voice instead of video. He didn’t want to show me a face that would vividly display his unsettled emotions.

My heart tightened with a mix of guilt and sorrow.

Clutching my chest and barely catching my breath, I forced a cheerful voice.

“Father, Ji-hyuk saved me, so I don’t even have a single scratch. I’m perfectly fine, so you don’t have to worry at all.”

• …I see. So I heard. Could you tell that boy thank you for me?

“Of course. I’ll be sure to tell him.”

After telling him to take care of his health and hanging up, I lingered there for a while, waiting for the heat building up in my eyes to fade.

Father. I only have a little bit more to go.

Then I’ll truly become your son. Let’s go on a cozy trip, just the two of us.

I’ll plan an amazing itinerary.

Returning to the dormitory, my chest felt tight at the thought of writing the incident report. When will I [stolen content]ever finish that? Fortunately, [unauthorized copy]I stolen contentslept a lot during the day, so I’ll have to give up on sleep tonight.

I turned back from my path to the room. Before going in, let’s check on Han Ji-hyuk’s condition again.

The more I think about this incident, the only conclusion is that I was reckless.

No matter what that guy said, I should have stopped him firmly and stepped forward myself.

It was a gruesome accident scene with many seriously injured people.

It wasn’t a problem that could be self-justified by saying ‘more casualties would have occurred otherwise’ after leaving the scene to a rookie with no real-world experience whose only combat knowledge came from simulations.

The first stroke of luck was that Han Ji-hyuk didn’t panic and handled it well, and the second stroke of divine luck was that Song Hyun-ho and Lee Seo-ah arrived just in time.

Meanwhile, this idiot Seo Joo-won did absolutely nothing.

All I did was watch from afar, stamping my feet in anxiety.

“I’m such a pathetic piece of work….”

The strength suddenly drained from my steps. [stolen content]Overwhelmed by self-loathing, I closed my eyes tightly and began to thud visit our site[visit our site]my head against a nearby wall.

“What are you doing?”

As a hand wrapped around my forehead, I snapped my eyes open to see Han Ji-hyuk looking down at me with a frown.

“Han Ji-hyuk…?”

This is the entrance to the dormitory… why is he out here? Ji-hyuk quickly pulled the bewildered me away from the wall.

“Why are you hitting your head against the wall for no reason?”

“Then… why are you here?”

Ji-hyuk pouted.

“Because no matter how long I waited, Hyung didn’t come….”

Oh, really? He came out here and waited because he was worried about me? With his serious expression, he looked like a big puppy grumbling about why I came home late, making me want to suddenly hug him and pet him.

It was a truly strange feeling that my mental state, which had been melting away under a combo attack of guilt just moments ago, was perfectly restored by [stolen content][unauthorized copy]a single [Read on Read BL Novels]affectionate grumble from my favorite person.