Chapter 44: The Head of the Headquarters

Chapter 44

Puzzled, I reiterated my question, wondering why an Esper affiliated with the Headquarters would have a temporary pair instead of an official one. Dr. Nam responded with an air of difficulty.

“Kim Ji-hwan is only a temporary Guide… They haven’t officially registered, yet they’ve been assigned to Jung Eui-chan Esper for several years now.”

“Why haven’t they registered?”

“Originally, Jung Eui-chan Esper had an existing pair. However, I understand he lost his partner while active in the Utility division. I’d heard he chose not to register a new pair as a way to honor his deceased former partner, but to think someone like him would cause such an incident…”

It seemed Jung Eui-chan Esper had lost his partner for some unknown reason. That tragic incident appeared to be the catalyst for his request to transfer his affiliation to the Central Center.

His ability to join the Headquarters, despite having originated from the Utility division, was likely due to the Headquarters already being aware of his tragic circumstances. After all, he possessed a history that would understandably foster resentment towards Utility.

“We still don’t know why Jung Eui-chan Esper committed such an act. The Headquarters is currently investigating the reason.”

It was also a directive from the Headquarters that Jung Eui-chan Esper was assigned to teach this particular class at the SAA.

“It seems the Headquarters wanted to directly confirm the news of Yoon Geon-woo Esper’s successful guiding.”

“So, the very fact that the class was changed to a cross-class was because I guided Yoon Geon-woo…”

“Naturally, conducting practical training as a cross-class makes it easier to obtain various pieces of information all at once.”

Thus, the reason for the curriculum’s alteration, a stark contrast to the past, was finally unveiled.

‘Just one guiding session, and for the future to change so drastically…’

It was unbelievable that an incident which had previously concluded as merely Park Hyeon-seo’s firearm accident had now escalated into such a major catastrophe. There was a limit to the snowball effect, yet to think all of this had happened because of my actions…

After the inexplicable regression, my sole objective had been to find the Esper destined for rampage and safely navigate through the graduation ceremony. Yet, now it felt as though I had truly, deeply messed up, as if a thread had been passed through my nose, completely off-course.

Quietly mulling over Dr. Nam’s words, a new question arose, prompting me to ask.

“How did the Headquarters know I succeeded in guiding Yoon Geon-woo?”

Given Yoon Geon-woo’s personality, it was highly unlikely he would have contacted them first to explain his situation. In that case, could it be…

“Surely, you didn’t implant an identification chip inside Yoon Geon-woo’s body too, did you?”

I asked, hoping against hope that it wasn’t true. However, Dr. Nam nodded in affirmation.

“The use of the identification chip was something Yoon Geon-woo Esper also agreed to. It was a condition for him to leave the Center and enroll in the SAA.”

“What kind of condition…”

“Since the SAA is a place teeming with students, greater attention to safety was absolutely necessary. If a high-grade Esper like Yoon Geon-woo were to rampage, it would undoubtedly lead to a major catastrophe.”

From a personal standpoint, I found it difficult to agree with the act of implanting an identification chip into Yoon Geon-woo’s body, especially since he wasn’t even an official Esper yet.

However, I couldn’t bring myself to refute Dr. Nam’s subsequent explanation. Having personally experienced an Esper’s ability rampage during the graduation ceremony, I was acutely aware of just how perilous such a situation could become.

‘Wait, if an identification chip is already inside Yoon Geon-woo’s body…’

In that instant, I pinpointed a crucial detail I had previously overlooked and immediately pressed for clarification.

“Then, can the Center instantly know Yoon Geon-woo’s contamination level?”

“That’s right. In Yoon Geon-woo Esper’s case, his baseline contamination level is naturally very high, so we’ve set it up to send an alarm to his person in charge if it exceeds 80%. If it goes over 90%, he’s immediately transferred back to the Center.”

The “person in charge” Dr. Nam mentioned must, of course, refer to Ajusshi. Come to think of it, I vividly recalled what Ajusshi had said when I guided Yoon Geon-woo in the isolation room, after he had crossed the critical save point.

“82%… You managed it despite exceeding the save point.”

“To avoid reverse guiding at that level of contamination, was that purely your skill? Or does Yoon Geon-woo Esper have a special fondness for you?”

Ajusshi clearly knew Yoon Geon-woo’s contamination level in real-time.

If he was being monitored for contamination via an identification chip, then the Esper who caused the rampage incident at the past graduation ceremony might not have been Yoon Geon-woo after all.

Of course, there had been no conclusive evidence that the rampaging Esper was Yoon Geon-woo in the first place. I had merely assumed it, considering him the most likely candidate.

However, the presence of an identification chip within his body didn’t guarantee the prevention of a rampage, so this, too, was merely a hypothesis.

‘At this rate, I might actually have to investigate every single graduating Esper.’

To prepare for any eventuality, should I focus primarily on Espers of A-grade or higher who lack temporary pairs?

My initial intention had been to focus solely on guiding Yoon Geon-woo, merely glancing at the others as a secondary concern, but now, my heart felt inexplicably heavier.

‘…I shouldn’t even bring up anything related to the regression.’

In truth, before hearing about the identification chip, I had intended to ask Dr. Nam if he knew anything about the regression phenomenon I was experiencing.

However, seeing the Headquarters go to such extraordinary lengths and create such a fuss over Yoon Geon-woo having received just one guiding session, it suddenly seemed like a very bad idea.

If I were to speak without any confirmed information, I feared that not only Yoon Geon-woo but I too would be taken back to the Center and subjected to various experiments, so I decided against it.

As I sat there, my expression serious, practically tearing at my hair, Dr. Nam asked if I was suffering from a headache. When I simply replied that I was a bit tired, he kindly offered to leave the room to allow me to rest.

“You’ve gone through a lot, listening to all these explanations. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask later. I’ll answer them.”

Before leaving the recovery room, Dr. Nam pulled a hard candy from his gown pocket and handed it to me. At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder if he saw me as a nine-year-old rather than a nineteen-year-old.

“Dr. Nam, how old are you?”

“Me? Do I… look old?”

“It’s not that, but you keep giving me sweets…”

“Do you, perhaps, dislike sweets?”

I said nothing more, merely fiddling with the candy Dr. Nam had given me. Perhaps it was because I had already drunk so much cocoa, but the grape-flavored candy wrapper suddenly seemed annoyingly unwelcome.

At that, Dr. Nam burst into laughter, as if something was incredibly amusing.

“I’m the same age as the Director.”

The word “Director” came from Dr. Nam’s lips. Having heard that title multiple times through Yoon Geon-woo already, a sudden curiosity prompted me to ask him a question.

“You mean the Ajusshi… the Director?”

“Ajusshi…”

“What affiliation does Ajusshi have, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Upon hearing my question, Dr. Nam seemed to ponder for a moment. Perhaps it took him some time to grasp the situation due to the casual term ‘Ajusshi’.

“What did Director Yoon Jeong-hwan tell you, Geum-i?”

“He said he was Yoon Geon-woo’s… father.”

“Was that all?”

“Hmm… he also said he was a powerless, salaried Esper. And that he had no choice but to handle Yoon Geon-woo’s disposition because he had to follow orders from above.”

Before I could even finish speaking, Dr. Nam clicked his tongue loudly, as if utterly dumbfounded.

“No, what kind of ridiculous nonsense did the Director tell you…”

“Perhaps… Ajusshi isn’t Yoon Geon-woo’s father?”

“That part is correct. He is indeed Yoon Geon-woo Esper’s father. But everything else he told you was utterly fabricated.”

Dr. Nam clutched his head with both hands, as if suffering from a headache. Then, with a deep sigh, he continued.

“The Director is affiliated with the Headquarters. A salaried employee… in a way, that’s correct, but he’s actually the one who *gives* out the salaries.”

“The one who gives out salaries?”

That Ajusshi was affiliated with the Headquarters was surprising enough, but what did it mean that he was the one who *gave* out salaries? I blinked, unable to immediately comprehend Dr. Nam’s words.

Dr. Nam immediately continued his explanation.

“Strictly speaking, his official title isn’t ‘Director’ either. He asked everyone to call him that, so we all do as he says, but he is precisely the Head of the Headquarters.”

“So… Ajusshi… the Head… the Head of the Headquarters…”

The Head of the Headquarters? Ajusshi was affiliated with the Headquarters, and his title was the Head of the Headquarters… Wait, what? I was too stunned to continue speaking, so Dr. Nam concisely summarized it for me.

“The person who is Yoon Geon-woo Esper’s father is none other than Head Yoon Jeong-hwan. He is one of only three S-grade Espers in the country. And, of course, the higher-up who instructed us that it was permissible to inform you of this fact was also Head Yoon Jeong-hwan himself.”

That Ajusshi was the Head of the Headquarters was astounding enough, but an S-grade Esper? An Esper affiliated with the Central Center, standing in direct opposition to the leader of Utility.

‘A salaried employee? What nonsense. He wasn’t simply in charge of Yoon Geon-woo because he was his father after all!’

Somehow… I should have been suspicious from the moment he said he was in charge of S-grade Esper Yoon Geon-woo’s care and disposition. Hearing all the facts, all my previous questions finally clicked into place.

As I stared at Dr. Nam with a dumbfounded expression, he brushed himself off and stood up, continuing to speak as if understanding my feelings.

“As I explained earlier, all government-affiliated organizations fall under the Headquarters, so the Head of the Headquarters… could indeed be seen as the highest-ranking salaried employee.”

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