26 – TDG 26

Yoon Seonbae, ​who ​had ​been expressing her ​delight ​quite ​actively, ​stopped ​talking the moment she ​saw ​the massive figure ​appear behind me. ​Her ​eyelids ​flew ​open ​as ​if she’d been ​electrocuted, ​and ​after freezing for ​a moment, she kept ​her gaze ​locked on ​Han Ji-hyuk, ​asking with ​only ​her ​lips moving.

“…Who… is ​this?”

Ah, she ​doesn’t know yet. It ​makes sense, since he ​hasn’t been introduced in ​any official ​capacity.

When ​was the publication of Esper24? Was ​it next week?

I pulled ​Ji-hyuk ​closer ​and ​stood ​him beside me.

“Let ​me introduce ​him. ​This is Esper ​Han ​Ji-hyuk.”

“Th-then, is he the…?”

Seonbae Yoon’s ​mouth dropped ​open ​silently.

“…I-it’s a pleasure ​to ​meet ​you! ​I ​am Yoon ​Soo-jeong ​from Guide ​Team 2. I’m Joo-won’s mentor and Seonbae.”

“I’m ​Han Ji-hyuk. Nice ​to meet you.”

A ​satisfied smile spread across ​Soo-jeong Seonbae’s ​face stolen contentRead on Read BL Novelsas she ​brought ​the hand they ​had shaken to ​her chest.

“But ​you’re ​much more ​handsome ​than the ​rumors. ​When I ​first ​saw ​you, I thought ​an ​actor or ​a ​celebrity ​had ​walked in.”

“Rumors?”

“Oh… it’s nothing much….”

Yoon Soo-jeong trailed off with an ambiguous smile. Seeing the shy blush spreading across her cheeks, I could roughly guess what kind of rumors they were.

“By the way, what brings you here?”

“Ah, well. I was wondering if he could stay here for a bit.”

“Huh? In our office?”

“Yes. Today is his first day, but there’s no one in the Esper Team 1 office, so he can’t go in. His personal information registration was delayed.”

“Hmm…. Go ahead. We spend time in the Esper office sometimes too.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Besides, having a flower boy around brightens the office atmosphere.”

Soo-jeong Seonbae covered her mouth and gave a mischievous glance. True… he is the type of guy who looks like a painting no matter where you put him. Fine. That’s the value of a handsome man. Please, use him for eye candy [visit our site]as much as you like. I led Ji-hyuk to my desk and [Read on Read BL Novels]had him sit beside me. Since it had been a while, my desk was empty and desolate. Should I go make some tea?

“Ji-hyuk, do you want green tea? Coffee?”

“Anything.”

‘Anything’ means coffee. Got it.

“Joo-won, can I see you for a second?”

As I headed toward the breakroom, Soo-jeong Seonbae gestured outside.

She walked down the hallway and headed toward the nearby emergency stairs. Only after checking up and down to make sure no one was around did she speak in a considerably serious tone.

“I’m not fond of talking behind people’s backs, so I’ll just ask you straight. Is this for real?”

She held out her phone screen, showing the company’s anonymous bulletin board.

At the top of the dark-mode screen, a post title in bold red letters caught my eye.

Anonymous: ‘Just letting everyone know.’ [Upvotes 700 / Comments 370]

That super rookie H is in a really tight relationship with the S who was his dedicated Guide. I heard he handed over a fresh Black Card with both hands as soon as he got it. But the funny thing is, he didn’t renew the dedicated assignment. I don’t know why.

• Whoa, if this is true, the Guides who were looking forward to him will be disappointed.

• No no no, it’s just the ‘first dedicated’ hype. Some of those last a while. Since he didn’t renew, just wait until the hype dies down and then go for it….

• But they said he gave a card. Isn’t that legit?

• You clueless idiot lol…. It’s useless if there’s no dedicated assignment. What’s a card? I’ve given a few to my girlfriend too. What can’t you give when you’re dating? It’s over once you ask for it back.

• Is that card by any chance the Silver Customer check card with a 300,000 won limit? How does that even compare to an S-rank Black Card?

• Lmao damn, that hit home ㅋㅋㅋ

• Anyway, I’m so jealous… Wow, I’m buying a lottery ticket on my way home today….

• I’m more curious about Guide S.

• Guys, about H, I heard he was the cover model for the 3rd quarter of Esper24.

• No way! For real? Crazy…ㄷㄷㄷ Where did you hear that??

• A friend knows a staff member at the Center studio ㅇㅇ

• Is he really that handsome? Honestly, I’m more curious about this….

• Yes yes yes, they say he’s insanely handsome. Like, he has a halo around his face.

• He’s an Esper, not a model, why does the face matter? Totally uselessㅡㅡ

• That’s just your opinion.

.

.

.

When I looked up from the screen, Soo-jeong Seonbae continued as if she had been waiting.

“At first, I was skeptical because he didn’t renew the dedicated assignment. This place is full of groundless ‘heard-it-from-someone’ rumors. But seeing you two come to work together today….”

“Ah… yes….”

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m not trying to use this as gossip. I just thought it would be better to know how you two feel so there aren’t any awkward issues with work later, right?”

Her request was reasonable.

In this industry, where skin-to-skin contact is the primary job, romantic disputes are common. Most people endure it because of their records, but in severe cases, it turns into a chaotic brawl where people claim they can’t be on the same team anymore, or they become complete enemies and request a team transfer. Unless you’re confident, it’s best to avoid touching someone else’s ‘fishing pond.’

But I didn’t expect her to apply that rule even to a junior unauthorized copylike me. I was grateful. As explained in the book, while the stolen contentmembers of Guide Team 2 are each unique, they are loyal people. That description was spot on. I felt that Soo-jeong Seonbae wouldn’t distort my words or make things up to badmouth me.

“To be honest…. we aren’t dating. Ji-hyuk has a strong Guide dependency… so I’m staying by his side until his anxiety levels improve and he returns to a normal state.”

“Hmm. Really? Then he’s the one unilaterally obsessing? Is it… not dangerous, by any chance?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Why? Is it dangerous?”

Perhaps misinterpreting my surprised reaction, her expression changed instantly. Oh boy, it’s a misunderstanding. I hurriedly waved my hands.

“…Ah, no, I just didn’t expect you to worry about me….”

“What are you talking about? Who understands a Guide’s heart better than another Guide? If we don’t worry about and stick together, we won’t last long.”

My heart swelled at her unexpected consideration.

“Thank you, Seonbae. But I’m okay. Ji-hyuk is a kind and good guy.”

“Sure he is. Don’t trust Espers blindly. They’re geniuses at seducing people. Especially that one, his face alone is suspicious, right? You know what I mean? I hope you don’t end up quitting in tears later.”

I let out a small chuckle without replying. But I’m the one who hooked him…. It’s more like Ji-hyuk was the one seduced by me.

“But seriously, why is that man so handsome? Everyone around me was making a fuss about it, and I thought, ‘Here we go again,’ but oh my god, I almost screamed when I saw him in person. It was my first time seeing someone stolen contentlike that; I Read on Read BL Novelswas speechless. ‘Handsome’ isn’t enough—it was [unauthorized copy]like a precise and delicate beauty? Something like that. For the first time in my 32 years of life, I thought my heart had found its true owner.”

I burst out laughing at the sight of her sighing and clutching her chest as if she had just survived a near-death experience.

I understand. He has a demonic beauty that charms men and women of all ages, as certified by the original work….

Anyway, just as I and the now-overflowing-with-positive-energy Seonbae were encouraging each other and leaving the emergency stairs.

[Code Number Red! Code Number Red! Multiple gates have occurred in XX District! Requested Espers and Guides, please deploy to the indicated location immediately. Repeating, Code Number….]

An urgent deployment request arrived on my watch. Code Red is a number activated in emergency situations that cannot be delayed for a single moment. Multiple gates occur when, literally, two or more gates appear simultaneously in one location. Since it’s an uncommon case, the danger level is doubled. By the time I practically ran back to the office, the call sign was ringing on Ji-hyuk’s watch as well.

“Ji-hyuk, let’s go. It’s your first deployment.”

The scene we arrived at, having stepped on the gas, was chaotic and cluttered with evacuating citizens.

The military and police, who had deployed first, were guiding citizens to safety and forming barricades from the inside.

After presenting my ID and entering the line, I saw Song Hyun-ho standing tall like a tower at the makeshift command center. He, who had been busy giving instructions through a microphone, looked pleased upon spotting us and beckoned us to come closer.

“You’ve finally arrived!”

Around him, I saw several Espers and Guides who had arrived and were waiting.

Roughly seventeen or eighteen people—with this number, it seemed at least [stolen content]two or more teams had gathered. It was also my first time seeing so many Espers gathered at once. [visit our site]The scale of the operation was unusual; it looked like it might turn into a war of attrition.

As I observed them, they also sent probing glances toward us, who had just joined.

A tiny bit of goodwill mixed with a larger amount of wariness, or perhaps rivalry. The gazes, filled with blatant intentions to scrutinize us thoroughly, were somewhat pressuring, but they weren’t cursing or picking a fight, so just being stared at was fine.

Just then, Ji-hyuk turned his body about half a step and subtly blocked the view of me. Thanks to that, the stinging glares hitting the side of my face vanished completely.

‘…Huh?’

He blocked the gazes for me. It was so cute how he pretended not to care, and the corners of my mouth crept up.

Song Hyun-ho, who had been receiving real-time reports from the information reconnaissance team via the console, checked the time and the number of gathered members before stepping forward.

“It seems most of us are here, so let’s begin the briefing. To introduce myself again, I am Song Hyun-ho, in charge of commanding this operation.”

He pointed to a 3D map displayed on the monitor panel.

“Around 7:14 AM. A total of four gates appeared in a complex shopping district 150m east of here. The types are one Yellow Gate, one Red, and two Blue, for a total of four. They are expected to pour out a maximum of 132, 75, and 52 monsters, respectively.”

“Is that for real…? Four gates?”

“What’s the total count? That’s enormous.”

Among the stirring members, someone asked a question.

“Don’t multiple gates usually appear in odd numbers?”

“That’s not always the case; in rare instances, they do appear in even numbers. Still, just in case, reconnaissance teams are scattered within a 5km radius to search for a possible fifth gate that might be hiding.”

As expected, it was a war of attrition. To quickly eliminate the endless stream of monsters, strong firepower was needed, and two or three people couldn’t handle it.

Four gates popping up simultaneously in one area—it sounded horrific just hearing it. If such a thing opened without warning, that area would turn into ruins in less than half a day.