Chapter 2: Unexpected Emergency

“Perhaps we might get along better than you think?”

“Now that I think about it, your personalities are completely opposite.”

The Director drew a firm line. ‘Completely opposite to me?’ Sa-yoon was certain that Han Do-hoon would be a dull person, even without hearing them out.

“Just tell them the accommodation, no need for explanations. If you just toss them a pamphlet, they’ll figure it out on their own.”

At this nagging advice, reminiscent of a manager telling a troublesome actor to maintain an air of mystery, Sa-yoon rubbed his temples with a finger.

Sa-yoon had no interest in others anyway. Their playful retort to the Director’s words was just that; he had no intention of forming a bond with someone who would only be in the country temporarily before leaving again. Sa-yoon casually gathered the spread-out list and headed out.

Sa-yoon yawned, mouth wide, at the leisurely pace of his schedule. Just as the Director had said, guiding the dispatched overseas Espers wasn’t a difficult task.

The overseas Espers, whose eyes widened upon first seeing Sa-yoon, instinctively kept an eye on him. All they had to do was guide these docile ‘sheep’ and answer a few questions.

Of course, there were a few who, spurred by competitiveness, had challenged Sa-yoon, only to find him grabbed by the collar and carried all the way to their accommodations.

After Sa-yoon ‘kindly’ carried them upside down for better blood circulation, those same Espers offered to take over guiding duties themselves, even handling Sa-yoon’s other tasks. They were surprisingly good-natured individuals.

The only remaining task for Sa-yoon was to respond to any unexpected summon requests and resolve them.

While technically on standby for summons, it was practically a job with no duties. Unless someone had an extraordinary amount of nerve, they wouldn’t dare ring a summon knowing that Jin Sa-yoon was the standby agent. As expected, Sa-yoon’s device had remained silent for days.

“This is a total cushy job.”

Sa-yoon vowed that if such a mission arose again, he would volunteer for it.

Beep-beep.

“Ugh, what is it?”

Sa-yoon, who had been lying on the sofa, quickly sat up and checked his device. As they pressed the red alert window, his face crumpled into a frown.

[Room 2101. Emergency Call]

“…”

Room 2101 was where the recently returned Espers were accommodated. It seemed someone had pressed it without realizing Sa-yoon was the guide. What should they do? As Sa-yoon pondered sending some of the other ‘subordinates’ who had volunteered to run errands for him, the alert rang again.

[Room 2101. Emergency Call]

To call twice, it must be quite urgent. Sa-yoon slowly rose, put on the outer jacket draped over a chair, and headed out. He were a little bored anyway, and since it was his assigned duty, they figured they should at least go through the motions.

The fact that the accommodation was on the 21st floor indicated a fairly high-ranking Esper. High-grade Espers were generally eccentric. If this Esper had called them for something trivial and bothersome, Sa-yoon approached the room, intending to give them a proper ‘education.’

Or rather, they tried to approach. As they drew closer to the summoned room, Sa-yoon’s footsteps gradually slowed.

“Hmm…”

Jin Sa-yoon stood silently before the door, scratching his head. It was a somewhat awkward situation. They had responded to the call, but could this really be classified as an emergency? At the very least, they could tell just by listening that the situation inside the room was far from ideal.

Ugh… Hnnng…

Hearing the faint moans emanating from within the room, Sa-yoon needlessly rolled his eyes. There was no mistaking those sounds; they were clearly the noises of two people intimately entwined. They seemed to be enjoying themselves quite intensely.

With the wet sounds of flesh and the occasional sharp moans, Sa-yoon troubledly glanced at the device strapped to their wrist. Some Espers occasionally exhibited fetishistic tendencies; could the person inside this room be one of them?

They had anticipated all sorts of trivial errands, but certainly not a situation like this. It was rather ambiguous to apprehend and ‘educate’ someone over their personal proclivities.

Even as Sa-yoon pondered, incessant nasal sounds flowed from within. “I feel like I’m going to die,” “It’s too much,” “I’m going crazy”—the sheer variety of chaotic exclamations was enough to elicit genuine admiration.

“Right. Earning money was never going to be easy…”

They had been happy to get a cushy job for once, but the world was clearly not so accommodating. Sa-yoon let out a deep sigh at the rhythmic moans.

Normally, they would knock and ask what assistance was needed inside, but they had no patience for indulging a pervert. It would probably be better to just turn back now.

Just as Sa-yoon decided this and took two steps away from the door, the firmly closed door suddenly burst open.

“Who are you? Some pervert eavesdropping?”

“…”

Sa-yoon, who had been backing away, met the eyes of a half-naked man head-on. His gaze lingered on his glistening, taut muscles before dropping lower. Confronted with the enormous ‘fixture,’ Sa-yoon hastily averted his gaze.

‘He’s Korean, right? He looks Korean, but what is he carrying around?’

The man, completely shirtless and with only his pants loosely on, was covered in inhibitors. Black devices clung to his sculpted neck, arms, earrings, and rings, all fastened tightly against his firm muscles.

The power difference between Guides and Espers was vast. Their strength and durability were so different that they could hardly be considered the same species. Even Espers with excellent control were prone to mistakes when their emotions ran high.

Therefore, when interacting with Guides, who had bodies like ordinary humans, Espers were required to wear inhibitors. The higher the Esper’s rank, the greater the number of inhibitors they needed.

“Uh… the emergency call rang?”

The man’s furrowed brow smoothed out. He tore off the black inhibitor attached to his neck.

“The inhibitor is broken; please replace it.”

“It seems to be working just fine.”

It was working so vigorously that it seemed to have nearly killed its partner, yet appeared perfectly fine. The man shrugged, receiving Sa-yoon’s narrowed gaze.

“This is a new device I just put on. Besides this, I’m short on the required number.”

The man gestured towards the room. Eight inhibitors lay scattered on the floor. A quick glance showed he was wearing only about five or six. It seemed he lacked enough for a second round. ‘To think he needs to wear twice as many as others. He must be an Esper with exceptionally poor self-control.’

Jin Sa-yoon, squinting slightly to avoid seeing anything unpleasant, stepped into the room. Fortunately, the man’s partner was nowhere in sight. The faint sound of water suggested they had taken refuge in the bathroom.

Sa-yoon surveyed the scattered inhibitors and clothes with a reluctant gaze. Normally, Sa-yoon would argue that he should replace these himself, but that was when dealing with a normal person. This person was half-naked in front of a stranger, completely devoid of shame.

Sa-yoon quickly put on a business smile and responded mechanically.

“Sir, I’ll put in a request to send up new devices immediately. And these… I suppose I should clean these up. Yes, I suppose so. Sigh.”

Operating their device, Sa-yoon filled out a supply request for Room 2101, then gingerly gathered the scattered devices in the room. As he picked them up with the tips of his fingers, as if handling something dirty, the man who had been silent watched Sa-yoon intently. His penetrating gaze was unnerving.

“I thought it was some pervert lurking around, hoping for a threesome…”

Han Do-hoon’s eyes swept over Sa-yoon, up and down. His peculiar gaze lingered on Sa-yoon’s face.

“But that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

The man continued to stare intently at Sa-yoon, lost in thought. Sa-yoon hastily tried to leave the unsettling room.

The moment they stepped towards the exit, their vision was blocked by a large shadow. Sa-yoon, who had been about to snap and yell at the rude obstruction, took a breath and responded calmly again.

“I hope you enjoy the rest of your time with your partner. I have other duties to attend to, so I’ll be leaving.”

“Are you thinking of joining us, even now?”

Sa-yoon stared at the man with a look that asked, ‘What are you thinking?’, and the man subtly glanced towards the bedroom. At his gesture, Sa-yoon’s face crumpled miserably. Not only was he a pervert with no shame, but he was also promiscuous. Sa-yoon shook his head vigorously without making eye contact.

“Fulfilling personal desires is not part of a guide’s duties.”

“That’s a shame.”

As Sa-yoon tried to leave without further response, the man stared intently at him again and then spoke.

“Do you, by any chance, not recognize my face?”

“Thinking everyone in the world knows you is a sign of excessive self-importance.”

“I’m serious.”

At his sudden words, Sa-yoon finally realized the man looked vaguely familiar. Due to his bare torso and the crude appearance of his lower body, Sa-yoon hadn’t paid attention to his features until now, but they were those of someone they had seen many times before.

The man looked exactly like the face on the banner displayed prominently at the unit’s entrance, with its tacky slogan, ‘Hero of the Nation.’ Recognizing the man’s identity, Sa-yoon pointed a finger at him.

“Oh, Han Do-hoon?”

Esper Han Do-hoon, who had worn a stern, rigid expression in the banner photo, was now looking down at Sa-yoon with a relaxed face.