Episode 4
The seaside was cold, salty wind brushing against the skin.
Beep beep beep!
Screeeech!
As the sound of sirens grew louder, a black motorcycle came flying onto the gravel, pulling off a dangerously sharp drift.
Screeeeech!
Thud.
CRASH! BOOM!
The criminals’ sedan was lifted about 100 meters into the air before falling back down and exploding.
BOOM!
The broken pieces of the car floated back into the air and shattered like fireworks going off.
The B-rank Esper who had been inside the car put up a barrier and screamed.
“F*ck… It’s Lee Chang-gyeol!”
“Get out of the way!”
BOOM!
Just like that, a fight between one government official and five criminals began, with one kidnapping victim watching from the sidelines.
One A-rank Esper versus three B-rank Espers and two B-rank Guides.
At first glance, it might have seemed like the government official, a man in his mid-thirties, was at a disadvantage.
But even with a helmet covering his face, everyone could tell exactly who he was.
He was a famous A-rank Esper.
Lee Chang-gyeol, known by the title, “The Executor of Ethics.”
Ranked 7th among A-rank Espers in South Korea.
If you counted every Esper in South Korea, including the eight S-rank Espers, he ranked 15th overall.
“This… This is really Lee Chang-gyeol…”
The shoulders of the Esper who had his back turned toward Yeongwon began to tremble.
Lee Chang-gyeol? Somehow, that name sounds familiar… Ah!’
Yeongwon knew the name too.
He was a true veteran of the veteran chatroom.
He was also the person who had asked the anonymous people in the chatroom to “go to Ilsan.”
When he took off his helmet and fixed his half-gray hair, the five B-rank Awakened realized that the ground beneath their feet had turned into hell.
‘We’re screwed…’
‘We’re so screwed…’
Lee Chang-gyeol approached the five men with a stiff expression.
Step. Step.
There was nowhere to run.
“My dear law-breaking citizens.”
Thud.
“At a time this important.”
Crack.
“Ugh!”
“You really thought it was okay to try to sell unregistered people?”
Yeongwon couldn’t stop himself from feeling a little sorry for the criminals.
That feeling started exactly five seconds after the government official took off his helmet.
“This highly capable A-rank physical-type ace, Esper Lee Chang-gyeol.”
Smack!
“You’ve made him work this hard.”
He slammed the criminals into the ground without even touching them with a finger.
“I’m not even forty yet.”
“H-hic!”
Crack.
With nothing but his gaze, he twisted their joints and threw them back onto the ground.
“Half my hair has already turned gray.”
BOOM!
Three one-ton containers sitting in the distance shot high into the sky.
“Aaaah!”
One of the men foamed at the mouth as he stared at the chunks of metal that hadn’t even fallen yet.
“Do you think I’m angry or not?”
In industry slang, a situation like this was called getting “turned into tenderized meat.”
Some variations included “tenderized,” “got tenderized,” and “currently being tenderized.”
CRASH!
Lee Chang-gyeol smashed the containers apart as if he were taking out his anger on them.
As for the current situation, it would be perfectly accurate to describe it as:
“Human traffickers and people who rate other people’s faces getting completely tenderized by a government official who came charging in at high speed.”
“At a time like this.”
“Ghk! Agh!”
“You really should seriously reflect on the fact that you called me out to a place like this.”
Clang!
‘That container… It’s made of steel… Was that kind of structure even supposed to break while making a sound like that…? Is this for real?’
Every man who rushed at Lee Chang-gyeol to grab the government official was thrown to the ground in an absolutely pathetic state.
Meanwhile, Lee Chang-gyeol stood calmly in the middle of them, continuing to throw out sharp remarks.
“Right now, my nephew and my colleagues are barely hanging on to their lives in Ilsan. Huh?”
Every attempt to fight back failed one after another.
Smack!
“Ugh!”
Bam bam bam!
“Aaaagh!”
“From what I can see, the citizens here need quite a lot more reflection.”
“Aaaah!”
Yeongwon sat lightly on the edge of the trunk and tightly held the sack closed with both hands.
‘Sir, are you perhaps from the Ministry of Education?’
His sympathy lasted only for a moment.
After thinking carefully about the criminals’ crimes and their disgusting behavior, Yeongwon decided to mourn only one thing.
The fact that he couldn’t make popcorn right now.
“Aaaah!”
“Please lower your voice. And kindly watch your manners and language. By the way, citizens, do you happen to be carrying firearms…?”
Smack!
Suddenly, the five men pulled guns from inside their clothes, making it look like they might manage to counterattack.
But it seemed Lee Chang-gyeol had deliberately left an opening for them.
“Argh!”
Thud.
‘Oh… Nice.’
The three Esper criminals who had fallen into the trap tumbled headfirst into a hole in the ground.
Plop. Thud.
For the people getting beaten up, this was probably extremely painful.
But there was a reason overpowered characters were so popular.
Lee Chang-gyeol stacked all five guns on top of his hand and spun them around like a juggler.
Then, with a crunch, he crushed them all at once.
They turned into balls of metal.
“What exactly were you planning to show off with these little toys?”
Yeongwon became completely absorbed in the short action scene unfolding right in front of him.
It was like watching a movie where you knew from the very beginning that your side had the advantage, would keep the advantage throughout the fight, and would definitely win in the end.
And yet, somehow, it was still exciting and nerve-racking.
He even praised himself for enduring everything with patience and chewing down all that frustration, like a good boy, until now.
“My dear law-breaking citizens.”
“Hhhng… Hhhng…”
Click. Clack.
“As of this moment, I am placing you under arrest for violating the Special Act on Awakened Persons and other charges.”
Lee Chang-gyeol carefully put handcuffs on each of the five men, who had completely lost their will to fight and were sprawled across the ground.
“You have the right to appoint an attorney.”
“Ugh…”
“You will be allowed to explain or defend your actions, and you also have the right to request a court review of the legality of your arrest.”
“Hnnng…”
“If you wish to exercise your right to remain silent, you may do so. And please do not forget that your statements may be used against you.”
He even explained the Miranda rights in detail.
Beep beep beep!
“Chief! Already…”
And so, before even the last backup vehicle arrived, the arrest of the international human trafficking ring was basically over.
‘That really happened in an instant…’
Yeongwon wished he could rewind the surreal scene and watch it again like a video.
‘A-rank… A-rank, huh… And there’s an S-rank above even that…’
Yeongwon went over the scene again, breaking it down moment by moment.
There seemed to be some action and reaction involved, but the man had moved and controlled objects without even touching them.
It was something that couldn’t be explained by ordinary laws of physics.
It wasn’t completely unfamiliar to Yeongwon, but it was still strange.
With a serious expression, Yeongwon completely revised the vague idea he had previously held about Espers and Guides.
They were something far more powerful than he had expected.
They absolutely cannot be underestimated.
‘So…’
“Ah.”
Yeongwon let out a gasp and took a surprised step backward.
Tap.
But there was nowhere to go because the trunk was behind him.
“Guide-nim.”
Before he knew it, Lee Chang-gyeol was standing right in front of him.
“I am Lee Chang-gyeol, head of Emergency Response Division 2 at the Center, and an Esper.”
Up close, the man’s face looked much kinder and more ordinary than Yeongwon had expected.
Even though that appearance didn’t match the scene Yeongwon had just witnessed, considering how much he had poked his nose into everything by constantly participating in the veteran chatroom, his appearance seemed to fit that image pretty well.
“Nice to meet you.”
“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you safely. The sixteenth unregistered Guide of South Korea.”
“…Yes.”
The sixteenth unregistered Guide.
That was the first piece of information Yeongwon learned about himself at that moment.
“I heard your name is Shim Yeongwon.”
“Yes.”
“I have something urgent to take care of right now, so I hope you’ll understand that I can’t take you all the way to the Yeoksam headquarters myself.”
Lee Chang-gyeol gestured with his hand, and the motorcycle he had ridden over floated toward him.
When he reached out his hand, the helmet landed neatly on his palm.
Yeongwon watched the whole process carefully before belatedly answering.
“Ah… I’m, I’m fine…”
“Then, I sincerely look forward to working with you from now on. Please.”
Lee Chang-gyeol held out his hand for a handshake with the hand that wasn’t holding the helmet.
Yeongwon let go of the sack and took his hand.
Their hands clasped tightly.
Then the strength quickly disappeared.
The handshake had been sudden and unexpected, but it wasn’t unpleasant or awkward.
“I’ll be going now.”
Click.
Lee Chang-gyeol put his helmet back on.
“Take care…”
“Yes. I’ll see you again.”
Bow.
The two men faced each other and bowed at the same time.
Lee Chang-gyeol swung his long legs over the motorcycle.
Then he sped away from Incheon Pier at an insane speed.
‘His eyes look like someone I know… Who the hell is it?’
Yeongwon searched through his memories, trying to figure out the answer, but he couldn’t find what he was looking for.
‘If he’s someone important, I’ll remember eventually.’
Yeongwon took the sack off his shoulder and picked up a piece of the broken car from the ground.
Rustle.
He slipped one piece into his pocket.
Then, after the vehicles began arriving one after another, he walked toward the direction where the people had gathered.
Tap. Tap.
The two of them wouldn’t know it for quite some time, but this would later be remembered as one of the most important moments when a new history of the Center began.
It was the first meeting between South Korea’s first unregistered Guide and the very first unregistered Guide to stand at the absolute peak of unregistered Guides.
“Guide Shim Yeongwon, you’re using your real name, correct?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“And you’re also the person who reported the Guide trafficking operation, correct?”
“Yes…”
“You must have been really shocked, right? I’m sorry we were late. We had the Ilsan Gate situation to deal with… You must have been really scared inside that trunk.”
Yeongwon received a blanket from Goyoryeon, a member of Emergency Response Division 2 who introduced herself as a C-rank Guide, and had to answer what was basically an interrogation, even though they weren’t calling it one.
“…Yes.”
“And our chief got a little excited because of the Ilsan Gate situation, so you probably saw something you weren’t supposed to. Hahaha.”
“Yeees…”
With an apologetic expression, Yoryeon handed him a cup of warm tea.
“You know, his S-rank nephew… Um, he really loves his nephew a little too much… Um. Anyway, that’s not important. Please wait here for a moment.”
“Yes.”
“Just for a little while. I got a call from over there, so I’ll be right back.”
“You can take your time.”
Pretending to be a fragile B-rank Guide, Yeongwon wrapped the blanket more carefully around his shoulders and held the warm cup tightly with both hands.
In that state, he returned to thinking about the nature of Lee Chang-gyeol’s power.
It was a different kind of supernatural ability from anything Yeongwon had known for a long time.
His power didn’t seem to distort the world around him in any particular way, and it didn’t seem like he needed to use any kind of spell.
Most importantly…
There didn’t seem to be any painful price he had to pay every time he used that power.
Sip.
Yeongwon became interested in the “power” contained within the vessels of Espers and Guides.
At the same time, his wariness toward this troublesome situation grew rapidly.
For now… stay still. Stay completely quiet.’
Yeongwon repeated the words in his head like he was hypnotizing himself.
‘First, get inside the penthouse. I’ll think about the next problem after that.’
There was a reason that not only overpowered protagonists, but also hidden masterminds and people who secretly hid their true strength, had such a long history as classic tropes.
Beep beep beep!
Beep beep beep!
Maybe there was still work to deal with or some of the remaining members of the gang still needed to be arrested, because the sirens continued without stopping.
Yeongwon obediently waited as he had been asked.
Holding only his warm cup of tea, he leaned against the black car and looked toward the far west.
If an A-rank was that spectacular, then what were S-ranks like?
On top of that, Lee Chang-gyeol hadn’t even seemed to be fighting at his full strength
Rustle.
The wind messed up his hair.
His long hair, which he was starting to feel a little more accustomed to, fluttered softly in the breeze.
Under the stars, the sea was the only calm thing beneath the darkening sky.
A cold wind blew in.
How long had it been since he had last seen the sea?
Yeongwon slowly took another sip of warm tea as he stared at the black scenery.
One sip.
Then another.
Slowly, slowly.
The black sea rolled and swayed.
As always, Yeongwon didn’t like that huge mass of liquid whose depths couldn’t be seen.
