Chapter 71: The Day the World Met Him

“I… I’ll do well.”

“…”

“I’ll do well at the press conference, and at training too. I’ll do everything properly, so I can become an Esper you won’t be ashamed of, Su-ha.”

What Su-ha was truly worried about might not have been Chaewon, but himself.

The emotions that grew uncontrollably the more time he spent with Chaewon, the unfamiliar version of himself he was becoming, and the future where he wouldn’t be able to endure seeing Chaewon get hurt, every bit of it terrified him.

The stronger Chaewon became, the further he moved forward, the more paradoxically Su-ha shrank back and retreated. He had always taken pride in being able to handle any Esper with ease, yet in front of Chaewon everything fell apart.

He wasn’t prepared to deal with these changes, changes so profound they even overturned his feelings toward Min I-hyeon.

“Chaewon, you already are that to me.”

But the biggest problem of all was that, despite carrying all these fearful, unfamiliar, and unprepared anxieties, Su-ha didn’t want to avoid Chaewon.

“Even the moment we first met, Chaewon, you were already an Esper far beyond what I deserve.”

With no desire to run from the person he should have fled, what remained was nothing but a dead end, one he had sealed off himself.

****

At last, the day of the press conference announcing the existence of a new Esper arrived. Reflecting the explosive public interest, the venue had prepared far more seats than usual, yet even that wasn’t enough, far more reporters flooded in.

Not only journalists from the social affairs desks, but reporters from entertainment programs as well, making the scene even more chaotic.

The press conference was, of course, scheduled to be broadcast live, and it would also be streamed in real time across various platforms. In other words, the entire nation’s attention was focused on this moment.

And the star of this large-scale press conference waited for his turn in a temporarily set-up waiting room. Chaewon planned to stay backstage and appear only briefly toward the end, showing his face for a short time.

“Would you like some water?”

Sitting beside Chaewon, whose face was tight with nerves, was Su-ha, as naturally as if it were a given. When Chaewon silently nodded while clutching his hands together, Su-ha quickly poured bottled water into a cup and handed it to him.

Normally, Chaewon would have insisted on pouring it himself, but this time he obediently accepted the cup with both hands and brought it to his lips. That alone showed just how tense he was.

“It’s okay. You’ll just show your face, greet them, and then come back.”

“Yes… yes…”

Even as he nodded in response, Chaewon’s complexion remained pale. What worried him wasn’t himsef, it was the fear that he might make a mistake and ruin everything, that someone else might suffer because of it. That was all Chaewon was worried about.

Watching him struggle to relax, Su-ha quietly sat closer, took the cup from Chaewon’s hands, and set it aside. Then he gently wrapped an arm around Chaewon’s shoulders and pulled him into his embrace.

“Su-ha…?”

Before Chaewon’s puzzled voice could even trail off, a soft wave of energy poured through their bodies where they touched. Chaewon reflexively closed his eyes, surrendering himself to that warmth, and finally let his tightly wound body relax.

With his lips close to Chaewon’s ear, Su-ha whispered.

“This is nothing. Even if you make a small mistake here, it won’t cause any harm to the center or the government. Everyone knows you haven’t been awakened for long, and that you’re not used to all of this yet.”

Su-ha knew that things didn’t always go well. Sometimes, a momentary mistake could become a permanent stain that followed someone for life. Even outside of celebrities, simply having your face and name known to the public always meant taking on that risk.

But it wouldn’t happen here. No matter what mistake Chaewon made, Su-ha had no intention of letting it end there. Not that Chaewon would make such a serious mistake, but even if he did, it wouldn’t matter.

Su-ha was prepared to use every means at his disposal. If necessary, he would beg anyone, whether it was Min I-hyeon or someone else, to set things right. He himself hadn’t expected to steel himself to this extent over a single press conference.

But saying all that outright would only startle and burden Chaewon, so Su-ha hid those thoughts and continued lightly, as if it were nothing.

“So don’t worry. It’s okay if you mess up. Go ahead and make a complete mess of it.”

Thanks to Su-ha successfully sounding playful on the surface, Chaewon finally let out a small laugh while still in his arms. Slowly pulling away, Chaewon spoke with a noticeably lighter expression.

“I won’t make it that much of a mess.”

Smiling, Su-ha naturally lifted a hand and brushed Chaewon’s eye. We’re a pair, he told himself. An Esper and a guide, more special than ordinary relationships. This much should be fine.

“We will now begin the press conference.”

At that moment, the announcement rang out through the monitor in the waiting room.

Korea’s first telekinetic S-rank Esper.

A man who awakened as an Esper out of nowhere after living as a terminally ill patient, a miracle given form.

Today was the day Lee Chaewon finally stepped into the world.

****

This press conference revealed more information than ever before. Compared to previous ones, which focused on what powers the Esper possessed and how impressive those powers would be going forward, a significant portion of Chaewon’s past was also made public.

The narrative the government wanted to present to the public required Chaewon’s past to be complete.

His seemingly frail appearance compared to other S-ranks, the limitations and severe side effects of his abilities, all of it was expected to evoke a positive response only when framed by his history.

For a public that no longer blindly admired powerful Espers, Chaewon’s emergence could bring a fresh wind. The government hoped this would not only generate goodwill toward Chaewon himself, but also raise public favor toward all government-affiliated Espers.

They wanted the fact, that Espers were ultimately human beings, to sink deeper into the public consciousness.

And Chaewon stood there, waiting for his cue to appear, quietly watching as his life was laid bare before everyone.

It felt alien, as though he were watching someone else’s life. It was certainly his own, yet at the same time it wasn’t. The carefully edited story, polished like a well-written script, contained none of the real pain Chaewon had lived through.

As he watched with a detached gaze, Chaewon’s eyes shifted to Su-ha waiting just ahead. Su-ha’s eyes, fixed solely on Chaewon, were filled with concern. Only then did Chaewon fully understand why Su-ha had been so wary and worried about revealing his past in such detail.

People who neither knew nor truly cared about how painful and difficult Chaewon’s life had been would talk about it, listen to it, process it to suit their tastes, and countless strangers would chatter as if they understood his life.

For anyone, that process was bound to be uncomfortable.

“Now then, everyone, thank you for waiting.”

At that moment, the stiff-voiced government official finished presenting Chaewon’s information and data, and the host spoke in a noticeably more excited tone. Chaewon took a deep breath, then nodded toward Su-ha with a look that said Don’t worry.

He was okay. And despite everything, this didn’t feel entirely negative to him.

Standing there, watching a story about himself that didn’t quite feel like his own, Chaewon remembered the many Espers he used to see on TV before his awakening. Their stories had sometimes given him courage, sometimes moved him deeply.

They let him feel a sense of humanity he rarely encountered in his own life, and at times made him grateful simply to be alive.

Stories of people who risked their lives to save the world. Of those who willingly threw themselves into danger for others. And the fact that they had once been utterly ordinary people, all of that made Chaewon feel, in many moments, that life might still be worth living.

So he decided that this, too, was okay. In the world as Chaewon saw it, he was still inadequate and insignificant, but perhaps someone might see this story and find courage in it.

If even someone like him, someone who had been driven to the very edge of life, could endure, survive, and one day stand as someone who saved the world, then why couldn’t they endure too?

If that could happen, if even one person gained courage from hearing his story at this moment, then all of this would be more than worth it.

“Korea’s first telekinetic S-rank Esper, please welcome Lee Chaewon.”

Following that unfamiliar voice introducing him, Chaewon finally stepped out into the world.

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