Chapter 8: Reluctant Cooperation

Ye-seon opened his mouth, wanting to hurl a few more curses, but the words died on his tongue when he caught sight of Su-ha’s face as he instinctively caught Chaewon collapsing into his arms.

The very man who had caused this mess, Jin Su-ha, had gone deathly pale, his expression filled with shock and confusion.

It seemed Su-ha hadn’t expected Chaewon to lose consciousness so immediately either.

“…I told you to be especially careful.”

Forcing his voice down as it threatened to rise, Ye-seon spoke through clenched restraint.

“I-I didn’t think it would go this far…”

Su-ha stammered without meaning to.

Just as Ye-seon suspected, he was flustered. It was true that he’d guided a bit more roughly out of irritation, but not nearly enough to make an S-rank Esper go into shock and pass out.

No matter how heated his emotions had been, he wasn’t that reckless or arrogant.

Even taking into account that it was a first guiding, a normal Esper of B-rank or above should’ve been able to shrug it off with nothing more than a brief sting. He had controlled it precisely to that level. Exactly that much.

“….”

Su-ha fell silent, staring down at the pale face of the Esper slumped in his arms. He’d seen videos of Chaewon collapsing before, and he’d been given explicit warnings, but still, this fragile?

It was hard to believe that this man, who looked as though his neck might snap if gripped too tightly, was the nation’s first, and only, S-rank telekinetic Esper.

“Do I really have to be the one to do this?”

The question slipped out of Su-ha’s mouth as he looked at Ye-seon.

It had nothing to do with personal feelings.

He was genuinely questioning whether this man was truly someone worth assigning an A-rank guide to, worth protecting out in the field.

With a small sigh, Ye-seon gestured toward the bed beside them. Holding Chaewon almost as if he were draped over his arm, Su-ha moved at once and carefully laid him down.

No matter his intentions, seeing the sweat beading on that pale face made it impossible not to feel a twinge of guilt.

Ye-seon looked down at Chaewon, who occupied only a small portion of the wide bed meant for Espers, and began to speak.

“Year by year, the number of Espers involved in violent crime has been increasing exponentially.”

It sounded like an entirely different topic, but Su-ha listened without interrupting.

Espers turning into violent criminals wasn’t a problem unique to Korea, it was a global one.

When the world had first been thrown into chaos, when monsters seen only in movies and games had appeared and slaughtered indiscriminately, everyone had banded together to survive.

Thanks to the systems painstakingly established by each country and their appropriate responses, people no longer thought of humanity’s extinction or the end of the world whenever they heard words like dungeon or monster.

Through the efforts of Awakeners, the world stabilized far faster than expected. And as Espers found themselves with more leeway, helping suppress other violent crimes, it almost seemed as though the world had become safer than before.

“The problem is, once things became more livable, some Awakeners started turning their eyes elsewhere.”

Most Awakeners joined the National Disaster Response Agency and fought for the world, but some chose to use their powers for personal gain instead.

Sometimes, criminals awakened in the first place.

Awakeners who could easily evade both the general public and ordinary law enforcement became superhuman criminals.

It was only natural that the title Esper, once synonymous with heroes who saved the world, began to be sullied.

Day after day, the anger of those who had lost loved ones and homes to Awakeners’ crimes erupted everywhere.

In the end, alongside the Special Response Teams that handled dungeon raids and monster suppression, the state had no choice but to create Incident Response Teams dedicated to other disasters and violent crimes, especially those involving Esper-led crime and terrorism.

Ye-seon continued,

“For now, public resentment toward Awakeners, especially Espers, is still at a manageable level. But at this rate, no one knows when or how public opinion might explode. Team Leader Min has been doing an outstanding job, but the higher-ups decided that isn’t enough.”

“…So their idea is that that man can share Team Leader Min’s burden?”

Open scorn crept into Su-ha’s voice. And it was understandable.

From the moment he awakened at fifteen, Min Ihyun had been, by all accounts, the best Esper there was.

The dungeons he’d cleared and the monsters he’d defeated were beyond counting, and the people he’d saved far exceeded even that.

He had never once disappointed the public.

His physical prowess was unmatched, and his ability to capture people’s hearts through sheer presence and performance had elevated national trust to extraordinary heights.

And now they were daring to compare someone who couldn’t even handle his own power to Min Ihyun? Just because he was S-rank?

If he could, Su-ha wanted nothing more than to stand before the person who’d entertained such an absurd notion and laugh in their face.

Ye-seon, apparently not all that far off from Su-ha’s own thinking, offered no real rebuttal. He simply shrugged once and said,

“Well, that’s how the people upstairs see it. You saw it too, how Chaewon-ssi’s ability looks.”

He emphasized the word looks. In Su-ha’s mind flashed the image of Chaewon wreathed in sacred blue light when he used his power, the elegant, mysterious waves of energy undulating at his outstretched hand.

Regardless of how strong the ability actually was, it was undeniably a sight capable of captivating anyone.

“Just imagine it. Chaewon-ssi overcoming his side effects to some degree, using that power in front of people, dozens of cameras recording him as he saves those in danger.”

“…”

“Anyone who sees that wouldn’t be able to help but love him. And he’s terminally ill, remember? It’s documentary gold.”

Only then did Su-ha fully understand why they were so intent on forcing this Esper through, even assigning him in the process.

What they really needed wasn’t the raw power itself, but the title, the nation’s first S-rank telekinetic Esper, along with a face that inspired easy affection, a life story steeped in hardship, and visuals that could enchant the masses.

The public could be sharp and sensitive like a blade, but at times, they were surprisingly simple.

Just as the name Min Ihyun alone had held back the fallout of countless Esper-related crimes, skillfully leveraging this newly emerged Esper at the right moment could sway public sentiment for a while longer.

Glancing at Su-ha’s troubled expression, Ye-seon gave his shoulder a light pat and said,

“So cooperate properly, Guide Jin Su-ha. In the end, this is also about helping Team Leader  Min. Right? If we can divert some of the attention focused on him, he’ll be able to breathe a little easier too.”

“…”

“And when Chaewon-ssi wakes up, apologize. Better yet, stay by his side until he does.”

Having said his piece to the unresponsive Su-ha, Ye-seon beckoned lightly to Eunho.

Without needing further instruction, Eunho printed out the necessary reports and handed them over.

As Ye-seon scanned the data, a faint look of relief crossed his face.

It seemed to be nothing more than a simple guiding shock, no other underlying issue.

At his signal, the medical staff assisting with the examination approached and began moving Chaewon’s bed. It looked like they were wrapping things up for now.

Su-ha watched silently as Chaewon was wheeled out of the examination room, then finally followed after him. No matter what, the fact remained that Chaewon had collapsed because of his actions, he couldn’t just ignore it.

Could that man really share Min Ihyun’s burden? Take his place beside him?

Su-ha’s expression darkened as he imagined things he couldn’t possibly predict. He brushed off the lingering sensation of Chaewon’s energy from his fingertips, pretending it meant nothing.

****

Chaewon slowly opened his eyes. The unfamiliar ceiling registered first, followed by a wave of memories that crashed over him like a tide, his awakening as an Esper, the side effects, and his first guiding.

The last thing he remembered was the gentle force soothing him, then suddenly striking him with overwhelming intensity.

As his vision cleared, he realized he was no longer in the examination room but a hospital ward. It seemed he’d lost consciousness again.

“You’re awake.”

A voice spoke from right beside him. Startled, Chaewon stirred and tried to sit up. Only then did he see the man seated at his bedside, a familiar face. The guide who’d been introduced as the one who would work with him going forward. Jin Su-ha.

Chaewon quickly straightened himself and gave a small bow.

“Yes. Were you here because of me?”

“Well…”

“I’m sorry. I must’ve startled you when I suddenly passed out.”

He hadn’t even used his Esper abilities, yet he’d lost consciousness. It seemed he was in such poor condition that even receiving guiding was too much for him.

Having already sensed from their first meeting that Su-ha didn’t think highly of him, Chaewon apologized first out of habit.