Chapter 4: The Weight of Responsibility

Jo Jinwoo, no matter how Jung Hanseol considered it, still seemed to view him as the naive nineteen-year-old who had first greeted the team, clutching his pounding heart and weeping uncontrollably after stumbling over a mere stone. This perspective persisted even though a new year had dawned, and Hanseol was now a full-fledged adult.

Of course, it had only been two short months since he turned twenty, so the team members still treated him like their youngest sibling.

“So, during this upcoming large-scale battle, you absolutely mustn’t stray from my side, got it?”

Hanseol gasped, “Haah, why?”

“Once you’ve finished guiding, you’ll likely pass out. Who else will look after you then? I need to be right there to ensure you get back to the dorm safely. So, you absolutely have to stay by my side.”

Jo Jinwoo possessed the ability to teleport himself and, critically, could transport anyone he was in physical contact with to a specific location. This made him the sole team member capable of returning Jung Hanseol to safety should he collapse from guiding side effects. Hanseol shuddered at the thought of fainting without Jinwoo nearby, imagining himself becoming a monster’s easy prey. He shook his head, his brow furrowed in a deep frown.

Finding Hanseol’s expression amusing, Jinwoo chuckled softly. He then returned the dumbbell to its rack and strolled back towards the treadmill.

“Alright, then, shall we head to shooting practice together now?”

Though Hanseol hadn’t completed the full thirty minutes, Jinwoo mercifully stopped the treadmill, then sharply tugged on Hanseol’s arm. Relieved that he wouldn’t have to endure another moment of breathlessness, Hanseol allowed himself to be dragged by Jo Jinwoo toward the shooting range, located adjacent to the fitness room. A profound weariness was etched across Hanseol’s face as he stumbled along.

****

Precisely one week after Team Leader Joo Youngmin first mentioned the restructuring, notices began appearing throughout the company premises. Jung Hanseol had just completed the stringent three-step authentication process—employee ID, fingerprint, and iris scan—and was stepping into the company lobby.

He noticed a throng of people clustered near the announcement board, an unavoidable passage on the way to the elevators.

Such a chaotic atmosphere was unheard of, unless an emergency code signaling an Esper’s rampage had been declared. Though initially puzzled, Hanseol understood the reason with a quiet sigh after reading the words on the notice board.

‘Restructuring Announcement.’

Only then did Hanseol notice that every single person gathered around the board was conspicuously adorned with a holster of various designs. Apart from active field deployments, only Espers were authorized to carry firearms, whether within the company premises or outside. This meant, unequivocally, that all these individuals were Espers.

For a fleeting moment, his vision swam, forcing Hanseol to squeeze his eyes shut and then reopen them.

“Hanseol, what are you doing here?”

“Ah, Min Yugeon.”

Sensing that lingering here would only draw unpleasant stares, Hanseol carefully began to retreat. He flinched, however, at the sudden warmth of a hand gently settling on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Min Yugeon, an Esper from his own team, standing beside him. Min Yugeon, seemingly having just noticed the announcement, had his brow deeply furrowed, his gaze fixed intently on the board.

Hanseol, believing it best to escape before Min Yugeon’s fiery temper flared, subtly guided him towards the elevator. Fortunately, Min Yugeon appeared oblivious to Hanseol’s underlying intentions, a cheerful smile already playing on his lips.

“Jo Jinwoo said he’s been making you work out lately. Are you actually doing it properly? You still look so scrawny.”

“Haha… diligently, um, no, I’m doing exactly as Jinwoo told me.”

Feeling a pang of guilt at the thought of boldly claiming he was ‘diligently’ working out, Hanseol quickly corrected himself. As soon as he stepped into the elevator, he pressed a floor button and offered a sheepish smile. Unexpectedly, Min Yugeon reached out and gently kneaded Hanseol’s soft forearm.

“What? It still feels like raw dough!”

“I’m just… normal. Perhaps it’s you and Jinwoo who are excessively muscular?”

The notion of comparing himself, an ordinary individual, to Espers whose physical capabilities were not merely extraordinary but truly exceptional, was inherently absurd. Nevertheless, Min Yugeon casually dismissed Hanseol’s disgruntled mumble and continued to playfully knead his forearm within his grip. Hanseol, knowing full well that in such situations it was best to simply yield an arm and behave like the youngest, who monopolized all the affection, surrendered his resistance and humored Min Yugeon.

“Oh…”

Before they even reached the eleventh floor, the elevator halted at the fifth, and its doors slid open with a soft hiss. As light slowly seeped in, revealing the distinct silhouette of an approaching figure, Hanseol involuntarily caught his breath. The person who emerged, now perfectly discernible, was quite familiar to Hanseol.

A face touched by a faint weariness, yet utterly devoid of expression. Ash-gray hair, which seemed even more enigmatic today. And a towering height that required a considerable gaze to travel from head to toe.

It was none other than Team Leader Ryu Yishin, whom Hanseol had encountered in the first-floor cafe just last week.

“Ah… hello.”

Overwhelmed by the sudden shift in atmosphere, Hanseol, who had frozen momentarily, finally managed a belated greeting. Ryu Yishin, maintaining his stern, unyielding expression, merely cast a cursory glance around the elevator. He then completely disregarded them, as if they were invisible. Min Yugeon’s face soured as he watched Ryu Yishin press the button for the fifteenth floor and adjust the tablet clutched in his hand.

A heavy silence descended.

An excruciatingly awkward silence began to settle between them. It had been barely a week since Hanseol had concluded that Ryu Yishin was the Esper to be most wary of, yet here they were, crossing paths again.

Despite his teammates’ overprotective nature, Hanseol inevitably encountered Espers from other teams within the company’s walls. He had seen or passed Team Leader Ryu Yishin a few times before, but this was the first time they had met twice in such close proximity, within such a short span.

Hanseol stole glances at Ryu Yishin, who, with an irritated expression, was meticulously scrolling through his tablet while slowly pushing back his hair. A wave of profound gratitude washed over Hanseol for Team Leader Joo Youngmin, who had first discovered him and brought him into Team 7. He mused that if he had ended up in Team 1, working under Ryu Yishin, he might have been condemned to a suffocating hell every single day.

Just then, the elevator chimed, stopping at the eleventh floor, home to Team 7’s office. Convinced he could finally breathe properly, Hanseol offered Ryu Yishin a subtle nod. Ryu Yishin, however, remained engrossed in his tablet, effectively ignoring Hanseol’s gesture once more. Hanseol disembarked from the elevator, unfazed.

Min Yugeon, following close behind Hanseol, shook his head with an expression of palpable displeasure.

“Today’s going to be pretty unlucky. Hanseol, you should be careful too.”

Declaring that he needed to shake off the ill fortune stemming from Ryu Yishin, Min Yugeon shivered his shoulders vigorously. He then began emphatically patting and brushing off Hanseol’s shoulders. Hanseol, feeling as though the harsh pats were somehow *adding* to his bad luck rather than dispelling it, hunched his shoulders and hastened away from Min Yugeon as if in flight.

“Jo Jinwoo, Min Yugeon! You two, with me.”

A little past one in the afternoon, Team Leader Joo Youngmin answered a call at his desk and immediately rose, singling out Jo Jinwoo and Min Yugeon. Jinwoo, who had just returned from the breakroom with a freshly brewed coffee, and Yugeon, who had a lollipop perched in his mouth, both scrunched their brows into identical, displeased frowns.

“What is it?”

“It’s a case Team 5 was in the middle of, but it seems they haven’t quite finished it. A report just came in, so we need to head out immediately.”

Team Leader Joo Youngmin answered Jinwoo’s query while retrieving a .38 caliber revolver from his desk drawer. He briefly considered a jackknife from within, pulling it out for a moment. Deciding it wasn’t necessary, he returned it to its place and closed the drawer.

Grumbling softly, Jo Jinwoo returned to his desk to prepare for departure. He tilted his head, a look of confusion clouding his features, and posed another question to Team Leader Joo Youngmin.

“It’s Team 5’s case, so why are *we* going?”

“Team 5 has been dispatched to the Southwest Branch since the day before yesterday. Oh, did I not mention that? We’ve agreed to handle their cases for the time being, until they return.”

Jo Jinwoo grumbled at Team Leader Joo Youngmin’s nonchalant tone, muttering for him not to forget important details. He then cast a wistful glance at his coffee, still untouched. Without another word, Jinwoo slipped his gun into his hip holster, donned a black coat that reached his calves, and meticulously adjusted his attire.

Jung Hanseol and Kim Hyelim returned to the office, Hanseol enjoying a frozen treat for dessert, just as the three individuals preparing for deployment had completed their preparations. Jo Jinwoo, the first to spot Hanseol, immediately donned a sly smile and shifted his gaze to Team Leader Joo Youngmin.

“Team Leader, it’s not dangerous, is it?”

“It doesn’t seem that dangerous, but… why do you ask?”

“Can’t we bring Hanseol along too?”

*Suddenly, why me? Where to?* Hanseol, savoring the sweet and tart green grape flavor swirling in his mouth, widened his eyes in surprise. Jo Jinwoo, seeing Hanseol point to himself with his right index finger and tilt his head in disbelief, nodded emphatically in affirmation. Team Leader Joo Youngmin stared at Jinwoo, his eyes silently demanding further explanation. Jinwoo, as if he had been waiting for this very moment, swiftly spoke.

“Our Hanseol, I’ve put him through some pretty intense shooting practice these past few days. I thought it might be good to give him some real-world experience. Though, ideally, Hanseol wouldn’t ever have to blast the heads off actual monsters.”

Jo Jinwoo, who had subtly approached Hanseol without a sound, naturally slung an arm around his shoulder, flashing a disarmingly pleasant smile. Team Leader Joo Youngmin stroked his bristly chin, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. Then, without even glancing at Hanseol’s horrified expression, he replied.

“Alright, but Jo Jinwoo, you’d better take proper care of Hanseol. If Hanseol gets hurt, it’s on you.”

“Yes, sir! You can count on me!”

Jo Jinwoo delivered a crisp, unwavering salute. Then, in place of the dumbfounded Hanseol, who stood frozen in shock, he swiftly retrieved Hanseol’s gun and helped him properly don his coat. Everything happened in the blink of an eye, leaving Hanseol no time to protest.

“Jung Hanseol, let’s go.”

“Uh, uhh… J-Jinwoo, wait a minute!”

Hanseol, leaving Kim Hyelim’s pitying gaze behind, was unceremoniously pulled by Jo Jinwoo’s hand and led out of the office.