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Join the ServerThey couldn’t touch Go Ok-kyung, but surely another prophecy-type Esper would be acceptable.
The higher-ups sought a target with no public recognition and a weak background. It was then that Jung Myeong-ah was discovered.
Upon his initial arrival in Seoul, the government rejoiced when they apprehended and examined him.
His brain was teeming with abnormally activated neurons, registering a value more than double that of Go Ok-kyung.
He possessed abilities surpassing even S-class Espers, coupled with the critical weakness of being an Irregular. Jung Myeong-ah was the perfect experimental subject, ripe for exploitation.
Thus, Jung Myeong-ah was dragged to the battlefield, declared dead, and then forcibly brought back to Korea, only to be confined to a laboratory.
“This system was designed specifically for me. All the parameters were calibrated to my baseline. Forcibly inserting someone else into it naturally led to predictable results. By the time I found him, he could barely control his own body.”
Jung Myeong-ah, a man of a different gender, age, and rank, was defenselessly thrown into a system entirely calibrated around Go Ok-kyung’s brain fluid and hormones. His body withered in an instant.
The side effects tormented him without a moment’s respite. Had Go Ok-kyung discovered him even a little later, he would have lost his consciousness and merely functioned like an AI embedded in the system, just as the higher-ups had planned.
Go Ok-kyung’s sigh deepened. When she sacrificed her own body and plunged into the empty laboratory, human rights were irrelevant. It had been a sacrifice she chose.
However, upon witnessing someone who knew nothing, someone stripped of any choice, suffering within that space, Go Ok-kyung could not remain idle.
“I proposed to the higher-ups that I would cooperate with the prophecy system recovery plan again, on the condition that this experimental device be moved to my villa. I desperately wanted to extract that young man from the experiment immediately, but simply pulling him out wouldn’t solve anything.”
She continued, “He was already in a state where he couldn’t live normally outside the machine.”
Acting impulsively would achieve nothing. First, she had to deceive the higher-ups. She needed to hide him from their scrutiny and keep him alive until Jin Sa-yoon could achieve the moment of prophecy.
This was a choice only Go Ok-kyung, who knew of Sa-yoon’s future achievements, could make.
“It was a monumental decision. I couldn’t see Jung Myeong-ah’s future, nor could I see my own. For me, it was the first time I’d made a choice without knowing what lay ahead.”
If her true intentions to rescue Myeong-ah were exposed, she might be implicated and transferred alongside him for harboring an Irregular. Despite such risks, Go Ok-kyung slowly attempted to separate Jung Myeong-ah from the system.
“Then what is Myeong-ah’s condition now?”
“He has recovered about 80% of his memories and self-awareness. His will is so strong that the progress has been faster than expected. Now, all that remains is to separate his mind from the system and begin physical rehabilitation, but…”
Go Ok-kyung gazed once more at Myeong-ah, who lay pale and still.
“He refused.”
“What?”
“He chose to remain inside.”
Seeing Sa-yoon’s shocked face, Go Ok-kyung nodded. When she first heard the news, she had felt the same as Sa-yoon now. Why would he choose a life of immobility in that agonizing space?
That question was quickly answered.
“That child sees the future in even greater detail than I do. So…”
[-Beep]
A mechanical sound interrupted Go Ok-kyung’s words. Myeong-ah’s message began to type across the monitor once more.
[I still had something left to do here.]
“What on earth is it? Why did you stay there in such a state? They said they were trying to save you! You could have gotten out!”
His appearance, helplessly lying there like a corpse, sustained only by wires, was utterly tragic. What could possibly be more important than his own life, his own body, to have led him to such a foolish choice?
[Here, I can dream all day long. I can see things that are difficult to perceive outside, things that are unclear, with absolute precision. So, there isn’t much time left.]
The accuracy of a prophecy-type Esper was, at best, 70%. Even if Jung Myeong-ah’s probability was higher than Go Ok-kyung’s, it wasn’t perfect. Jung Myeong-ah, who prophesied the future through all the noise and interference, chose to remain within the machine.
He did so to dream of a clearer future and to prepare perfectly.
“In truth, your abilities were difficult to conceal. It was thanks to Myeong-ah’s prophecies that we managed to adjust things so they wouldn’t be discovered during the many incidents and examinations you underwent.”
An existence that was both a Guide and an Esper. Especially in a place overflowing with Guides and Espers, hiding Sa-yoon’s unique characteristics was no easy feat.
“We tried to make it seem like mere coincidence, allowing things to pass naturally.”
Sa-yoon looked up at her words. He recalled certain events. There were times when, just before a precise health check-up, Sa-yoon would be assigned a mission, allowing him to miss the examination, or when the processing of his ring would slow, Jung Hyun-woo would conveniently have an external assignment, making it easier to procure materials.
“I… I thought others were working hard for me.”
Many people worked hard for Sa-yoon. But no matter how much Jung Hyun-woo manipulated the figures, he was merely a medical officer, and even his biological father’s efforts would struggle to deceive precise machinery. Though Han Do-hoon eventually came looking for him after his status as an Irregular was belatedly discovered, it was a near miracle that Sa-yoon had remained in the unit for so long.
A smiling emoticon appeared on the screen.
“We prepared for the future using the prophecies each of us saw. That’s why we assigned you the people you absolutely needed: Kim Chae-jun and Kang Ah-jun. Those two were essential pillars to support you until you reached your future.”
Kim Chae-jun and Kang Ah-jun were individuals who would cherish and follow Sa-yoon more than their own lives, and they were the most suitable people to provide Sa-yoon with a new sanctuary.
Go Ok-kyung’s vision of Sa-yoon’s future was always the same. He always stood in a pollen-filled square, unifying the world. Yet, the specific image varied each time. Sometimes he was smiling brightly, cheering, and at other times, he stood there, a part of his limbs lost, looking wretched like a defeated soldier.
And the worst future was when his comrades stood in the square, holding a portrait of Sa-yoon’s obituary.
Therefore, the two of them prepared. They worked to ensure Jin Sa-yoon could endure his darkest times and rise again, even after being deceived by Han Do-hoon.
“Our goal was to ensure you reached that future in the safest way possible, no matter what.”
“I… I didn’t know. Anything.”
Sa-yoon had merely struggled to endure his overwhelming reality. He was disappointed in himself for failing to find Myeong-ah, and he agonized over his inescapable situation. All the while, he remained unaware that Myeong-ah was tirelessly working for him from behind the scenes.
[That’s something older brothers are supposed to handle, anyway.]
At Myeong-ah’s habit of calling him ‘hyung-nim,’ despite being the same age, Sa-yoon’s grim face brightened slightly.
“Now, let’s stop with the somber talk. What do you think is the reason we brought you here?”
“You said it was simply time.”
“Precisely. So, from now on, it’s up to you. Our part in this ends here.”
Go Ok-kyung smiled with a sense of relief. Sitting in her wheelchair, she patted Sa-yoon’s arm and said,
“You just have one last hurdle to overcome. It’s the biggest mountain, but once you surmount it, the world will be on your side. In honor of our great hero.”
As she spoke, her voice gradually rose, filled with emotion. Yet, Sa-yoon, the one called a hero, understood nothing. The task of revealing Airain’s true identity to the public had only just begun, and no concrete results were yet visible.
Han Do-hoon was still trying to arrest Sa-yoon, dismissing his words as mere brainwashing. Sa-yoon hadn’t even seen the faces of the higher-ups he needed to bring down. And now, the ‘last mountain’?
“As before, I cannot tell you much, lest it risk twisting the future. However, every path you’ve walked so far has been the right one, and the remaining path is a straight line.”
Go Ok-kyung extended a hand, pointing to Sa-yoon’s waist, specifically to the cell phone tucked into his waistband. At that moment, as if on cue, the ringtone chimed.
–Beep. Beep-beep. Beep
“Answer it.”
With a bewildered expression, Sa-yoon picked up his phone. As soon as he saw the name on the screen, he hastily pressed the call button.
–Team Leader!
The person urgently calling Sa-yoon was Kim Chae-jun, whose number he had recently exchanged. Kim Chae-jun, his voice unusually excited, shouted Sa-yoon’s name again.
–Something’s wrong with Han Do-hoon!
Sa-yoon’s head snapped up, and he looked at Go Ok-kyung. In response to his unspoken question, asking if this was also expected, Go Ok-kyung slowly nodded.
[It’s the final stage now.]
Words appeared on the monitor.
[The end of a hero movie is always about defeating the villain and rescuing the princess, isn’t it?]
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