Chapter 102: The Weight of a Name

Startled by the sudden question, Kim Chae-jun turned to Han Do-hoon.

It was almost the first time he had ever heard that name from Han Do-hoon. After Jin Sa-yoon’s death, Han Do-hoon had never once uttered his name.

Though he would often stare blankly into space, his thoughts transparently obvious, he had never voiced that name aloud. He had simply buried it deep within himself, in silence.

Hearing the long-missed name after so much time, Kim Chae-jun fought back the stinging in his eyes as he replied.

“There are those who can shift coordinates, but no one can move them more than five meters without preparation. Even among Space Dominators… Team Leader Sa-yoon’s application of the ability was exceptionally unique.”

Those who learned about Space Domination through Sa-yoon had mistakenly believed it to be an omnipotent power. However, that was not the case.

Strictly speaking, Space Domination was merely a support ability, primarily used for tracking and reconnaissance. Jin Sa-yoon had developed it in a unique way, training to shift coordinates.

Many attempted to emulate Sa-yoon’s methods afterward, but none proved as competent as he was. Even Kang Ah-jun, who had copied Sa-yoon’s abilities directly, utilized them in different ways, such as combining coordinates to reduce space or conveniently moving weapons held in their hands.

“……”

Han Do-hoon rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought. His gaze, fixed on the desolate view outside the window, drifted to the distant horizon.

After a prolonged silence, he finally spoke.

“I encountered an Air Rain user who wielded the exact same ability as him.”

“What?”

Chae-jun shot up from his seat, his eyes wide with shock.

“They had pure white hair. It was an Air Rain I’d never seen before…”

Han Do-hoon paused, recalling the opponent he had faced. The individual was unmistakably new, yet they evoked a strange sense of déjà vu.

Meanwhile, Chae-jun, his eyes darting back and forth in troubled contemplation, reached out a hand to Han Do-hoon.

“Was the combat footage saved?”

Kim Chae-jun asked if the recording system attached to the combat suit had captured the fight properly, but Han Do-hoon shook his head.

He had been trapped in a stone wall mid-air and plunged deep underground. While his body remained unharmed, the lens had not withstood the impact, and the memory chip had snapped in half.

“No way. Hmm. No, it can’t be, can it? It shouldn’t be…”

Kim Chae-jun nervously paced the room, biting his fingernails. He was clinging to a futile hope.

‘Could Team Leader Sa-yoon possibly be alive? Could he have escaped safely and be cooperating with the Air Rain side?’ Such a hope bloomed within him.

After all, hair color could be changed easily enough. Seeing Kim Chae-jun’s heart pound with such a desperate hope, Han Do-hoon shook his head.

“It wouldn’t be him.”

When he had been trapped beneath the rubble, flung deep underground, Han Do-hoon hadn’t been able to move properly. It wasn’t due to pain; it was because the sight of that long-missed ability had briefly brought his world to a halt.

The anticipation that it might be Jin Sa-yoon overwhelmed Han Do-hoon, much like it now gripped Chae-jun. But that lasted only a moment.

Once his heart began to beat again, forcing him to face reality, the cold truth confronted him once more.

“I touched them directly, and there was no change in my condition.”

“Ah…”

Kim Chae-jun, keenly understanding what Han Do-hoon was implying, let out a sigh of disappointment.

There was a truth unknown to the public, but familiar to those close to Jin Sa-yoon: Jin Sa-yoon was an irregular, a multi-esper.

He was both an exceptional esper and a Guide imprinted with Han Do-hoon. Imprinting was a rare occurrence in a world where matching rates had become meaningless.

Because of this, Han Do-hoon could not receive guiding from any other Guide, save for Jin Sa-yoon. This was a fact he only realized after Jin Sa-yoon’s death.

After losing Sa-yoon, Han Do-hoon, tormented by excruciating pain, refused all guiding. At first, people thought it was simply due to shock.

However, with the passage of time, they realized the truth: no matter which Guide was assigned, Han Do-hoon’s condition did not improve. Instead, the forcibly worn suppressors only worsened his symptoms.

While others remained ignorant of the reason, those who knew Jin Sa-yoon’s true identity grasped the situation and sighed in despair. For an esper who had lost their sole Guide, there was only one future.

Everyone believed Han Do-hoon would soon die. They worried incessantly, watching him closely, fearing he might take his own life in his grief.

Yet, Han Do-hoon remained composed, quietly enduring the pain as if it were a punishment he deserved. When he could endure no longer, he would take Pentosamic himself.

Only when all will and instinct were severed would another person’s guiding take effect. He would accept guiding from someone not his imprinted partner only after blocking even the essential immunities for survival.

He would shave away brain cells and lifespan, enduring day by day in a dazed state, then lead his temporarily improved body to the battlefield.

Han Do-hoon lived that way. He chose to survive for as long as possible, even if it meant such suffering. Sa-yoon’s mother, kept alive in the headquarters’ life-extension machine, was still living.

Han Do-hoon could not die until she closed her eyes peacefully. Protecting her in Sa-yoon’s stead, seeing her through her final moments, was the last thing Han Do-hoon could do.

Han Do-hoon shook his head, looking at Kim Chae-jun, who was flushed with hope.

“If it were truly him, I would know it without a doubt.”

Simply touching his imprinted Guide would have caused his body to react. Yet, no special reaction had occurred.

“Right… of course…”

Slumped in disappointment, Kim Chae-jun gathered the unfinished report. He wasn’t in the mood to focus on work. The magnitude of his hope had only piled greater frustration onto his heart.

Unmanaged disappointment welled up in his eyes, forming glistening drops.

“To be swayed again, even after being deceived so many times.”

Kim Chae-jun’s voice was filled with emptiness and defeat. After Jin Sa-yoon’s death, countless people had tried to exploit his name.

There were organizations mimicking Jin Sa-yoon to gain donations, and shamans spouting nonsense, claiming Jin Sa-yoon’s spirit had possessed them. Some even tried to approach Han Do-hoon and Kim Chae-jun by pretending to be Jin Sa-yoon.

There were individuals with faces heavily wrapped in bandages, claiming injury, who subtly tried to extract information. Each time, a ‘what if’ lingered in their minds, preventing them from denying it, and they were deceived.

The possibility that Air Rain might have secured someone resembling Sa-yoon, or someone with similar abilities, to destabilize Han Do-hoon could not be dismissed.

“Investigate if there are any suitable individuals among the missing agents or Irregulars. We need to be cautious.”

“Are you worried they’re imitating Team Leader Sa-yoon?”

“That, and they were quite powerful.”

For reasons unknown, the Air Rain user named Seol-won employed the same abilities as Jin Sa-yoon. Despite appearing to lack combat experience, their instantaneous destructive power was enough to temporarily incapacitate Han Do-hoon.

If they became a new force for Air Rain, they would prove to be a formidable opponent.

“For the time being, suspend all dispatches and restart the investigation into Air Rain from scratch.”

“Understood…”

After a brief farewell, Kim Chae-jun exited, leaving Han Do-hoon alone in the room.

Han Do-hoon recalled the eyes of the Air Rain user, Seol-won, visible above their thick mask. They were similar to Sa-yoon’s, yet different.

They gazed directly at Han Do-hoon, unlike Sa-yoon’s ever-watchful, cautious eyes. They were clear and transparent. Even knowing they were not Sa-yoon, he inexplicably longed to see the face beneath those eyes.

It was a silhouette that seemed to perfectly resemble the face he longed for. The long-dormant yearning tormented Han Do-hoon, even though he knew it couldn’t be him.

Han Do-hoon scoffed at his own heart for harboring such futile hopes. He had no right to indulge in memories. To yearn for Jin Sa-yoon while seeking someone who resembled him was a betrayal of the past.

Kang Tae-han’s words, calling him a ‘walking corpse,’ were precisely accurate. Han Do-hoon had become a living dead man.

He had to endure a lifetime in a world without his Guide. This was Han Do-hoon’s chosen penance for Jin Sa-yoon. He had to spend the longest possible time in hell.

From the hallway, he heard Kim Chae-jun’s stifled sobs. Han Do-hoon pretended not to hear, gazing out the window. His dry eyes remained unmoving.

He had no right to cry for Jin Sa-yoon.

‘If only one major, powerful incident would erupt, big enough for our Team Leader to shine.’

Sa-yoon dreamt. A person, about half a span shorter than him, smiled with a happy face. They chattered like a squirrel, then vanished somewhere, and a large, dark shadow enveloped Sa-yoon.

‘I guarantee you’ll be satisfied. I’m quite good at this.’

It was peaceful, as if submerged in the deep sea. It felt strangely nostalgic. Sa-yoon relaxed his body, as if floating on a warm surface. He drifted, surrendering his entire being to the current.

The voice of a familiar yet unknown person continued to resonate, and the blood pulsing through his fingertips throbbed. ‘I wish I could sleep like this forever.’

Lost in that thought, Sa-yoon was shaken awake by someone.

[It’s time to wake up.]

Sa-yoon’s eyes snapped open at the voice he knew so well.

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