A Target Made Public
Guide City was so thoroughly cut off from the rest of society that even the smallest rumor would be dragged onto the chopping block and picked apart for at least a month. And yet, looking back now, that particular rumor had vanished with baffling speed.
"Wait—then that rumor back then..."
"It is the truth."
More than fear or shock, what Baek Yeo-eul felt was sheer incredulity. The Anti-Government Forces were hardly a powerful faction—grandiose in name alone, with precious few followers to speak of.
"You will remember the string of Esper disappearances ten years ago, of course."
Of course she did.
Ten years ago, something had happened that set the entire world abuzz for a long while: Espers had begun to vanish.
On the same day, at the same hour, more than a hundred Espers of different races, ages, and genders had disappeared simultaneously—from different countries, in different places. Nations across the globe pooled their resources, and the pursuit continued to this very day, but not a single shred of evidence had ever surfaced. Everyone had believed, without a shred of doubt, that the case would go down as one of history's great unsolved mysteries.
"It was the work of the Anti-Government Forces."
"Why... why would they do such a thing...?"
"They are preparing for war against the government."
In an instant, goosebumps raced across Baek Yeo-eul's skin.
War.
The moment she came face to face with a word she had never once imagined could have anything to do with her, Baek Yeo-eul's breath caught in her throat. She lived in a peace forged from long years and countless sacrifices, so none of it felt real—and yet she realized, with a lurch, how little she had valued the tranquility she'd been handed all this time.
Do Geon went on.
"We are their enemies, which makes S-rank Espers exceptionally galling targets for them. And in the midst of all that, a Guide appeared for Han Yi-hyeon—the very Esper they had been leaving alone, waiting for him to rampage on his own someday."
In other words—
"...You're telling me I've become their target."
"They will approach you by any means necessary. They may already have," Do Geon added.
"Which is why we have reached an exceptional decision. Effective immediately, Guide Baek Yeo-eul, your identity will be registered and placed under public protection."
"Ask my subordinate for the details."
Having dropped that bombshell on Baek Yeo-eul, Do Geon left the rest to his subordinate. Not out of any desire to torment her—he was simply a busy man. The conversation had run longer than expected, and his next engagement was breathing down his neck.
Mindful of Baek Yeo-eul's dazed silence, Do Geon rose from his seat without a word—and then noticed a presence stirring beyond the door.
"Esper Han Yi-hyeon."
The moment the door swung open, what greeted his eyes was Han Yi-hyeon dangling off Do Geon's subordinates by their arms and legs. A few of them lay sprawled out cold on the floor; the wrestling match must have gone on for quite some time.
Even with five grown men hanging off his body, Han Yi-hyeon faced Do Geon without the slightest sign of strain. To be precise, he was staring past Do Geon—straight at the door.
Poking his head out with naked anxiety, Han Yi-hyeon's appearance was more than enough to summon the scene from ten days ago.
The instant Do Geon had pried the unconscious Baek Yeo-eul out of Han Yi-hyeon's arms, a monster had appeared. But its body burst apart the very moment it materialized, and it took Do Geon a little while to realize whose handiwork it was.
A strangely unfocused gaze fixed itself squarely on Do Geon. Having dispatched the monster, Han Yi-hyeon had moved at a speed the eye could scarcely follow, and Do Geon swallowed hard at the sight of it.
Do Geon caught on to what Han Yi-hyeon wanted, standing there and staring at him in silence: the Guide in his arms. Seeing those dilated pupils, Do Geon wrapped an arm around the Guide's shoulders and drew her into his embrace.
Flinch—Han Yi-hyeon's hand twitched.
"Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped him at the sheer absurdity of his prediction landing dead on target. Do Geon took no further action; there was nothing to be gained from provoking Han Yi-hyeon in that state.
The moment he set the Guide down and stepped back a few paces, Han Yi-hyeon closed in as though he'd been waiting and gathered her into his arms. His touch was so desperate, so urgent, that the Guide furrowed her brow and let out a low groan.
And now, he was presenting that exact same scene all over again.
"...What brings you here."
"You are the one who never came when called, and my business is with Guide Baek Yeo-eul."
Do Geon gave Han Yi-hyeon a slow, measured once-over.
"Kindly rein in that killing intent."
Do Geon said it with a pointed glance toward the door. Understanding the meaning, Han Yi-hyeon realized the killing intent he'd let slip unconsciously would reach Baek Yeo-eul, and hastily reined it in.
"Guide Baek Yeo-eul's identity will be listed on the official registry."
His frantic movements stopped dead, and Han Yi-hyeon's face went rigid.
"What... what is that supposed to mean? The rule is that C-rank Guide identities never go public."
Do Geon held back his subordinates with a flick of his hand as they moved to tackle Han Yi-hyeon for his insolence.
"This is no ordinary case."
He was certain of it—that this course would reap far greater benefit. For the first time since the early days when the system had yet to find its footing, the identity of a Guide below A-rank would be made public, an event destined to linger long in people's memories.
Just as Do Geon said, even Han Yi-hyeon seemed to grasp how unprecedented this was, his expression betraying that he'd lost all words.
"So then, Esper Han Yi-hyeon."
Do Geon brushed a hand down Han Yi-hyeon's shoulder.
"You had better do well."
The shoulder muscles pressed against Do Geon's palm were rigid with tension. It was a rather amusing sight—a hot-blooded whelp of a boy, nothing more, puffing himself up for all he was worth.
Do Geon gave those shoulders a couple of brisk pats.
"And stop acting like a brat, the way you just did."
What was that?
A chill that swept through her in that instant set Baek Yeo-eul shuddering. Only then did she realize how much time had slipped by. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't even noticed her superior leaving. Baek Yeo-eul scrambled up from her seat and hurried out after him.
"Ah, Guide Baek Yeo-eul!"
It was Ha Yoon-seo. Seated beside someone, she spotted Baek Yeo-eul and waved her over.
In truth, the two of them barely knew each other beyond their names. But in this unfamiliar place, among people of dizzyingly high station whom they could never have hoped to meet otherwise, they were the only ordinary ones—and that alone kindled a sense of kinship between them.
"Geesh, what took you so long in there? The battle of wills between the Director and Esper Han Yi-hyeon was no joke."
Ha Yoon-seo shuddered, declaring it an unpleasantness she never wanted to experience again. At those words, Baek Yeo-eul finally understood what that chill from earlier had been.
But why were they locking horns in the first place? Are the two of them on bad terms?
"Guide Baek Yeo-eul."
Then the figure standing tall beside Ha Yoon-seo stepped forward. With that height and the ambiguous length of her hair, Baek Yeo-eul had taken her for a man—but the slightly husky voice was unmistakably a woman's.
Baek Yeo-eul had no trouble realizing that this was the subordinate Do Geon had mentioned.
"I am Kim Yu-ra."
"I'm Baek Yeo-eul."
As Kim Yu-ra dipped her head in a slight bow, her close-cropped hair swayed.
"Shall we go?"
"I'm sorry? Where to?"
"You have been cleared for discharge, so I will escort you home."
"...You mean Esper Han Yi-hyeon's home, correct?"
Kim Yu-ra nodded without a word.
"Your belongings have all been moved there already, but if you wish, we may stop by your former residence on the way."
"...No. Just go straight there, please."
"Understood."
She had no particular desire to see her emptied-out home anyway, and she was thoroughly exhausted. The bombshell she'd just been handed meant sleep was out of the question, but she was mentally spent.
Leaving behind Ha Yoon-seo—who promised to see her at her checkup in a month—Baek Yeo-eul walked down the gleaming white corridor. She couldn't shake the strange feeling of treading an unfamiliar hallway inside a building she knew so well.
"This is the examination room located in the Guide Center's basement. You were moved here for your safety, Guide Baek Yeo-eul."
When Baek Yeo-eul's steps slowed, Kim Yu-ra glanced back once and answered the unspoken question.
She had never once heard that the Center's basement housed an examination room. It had to have been built in secret.
Riding the elevator up to the first floor, Kim Yu-ra opened a door Baek Yeo-eul hadn't even known existed, one marked with a sign forbidding entry to outsiders. A somewhat dim corridor revealed itself, ending in a blank wall—and just as she was puzzling over the dead end, Kim Yu-ra began fiddling with the wall. Before long, the ordinary-looking surface emitted a faint mechanical click and swung open like a door.
Watching it happen, Baek Yeo-eul found the Guide Center—the building she had passed through countless times over the past five years—look utterly foreign. And she felt it in her bones that everything she knew was merely the tip of the iceberg.
"It's a secret passage. I will show you how it works another time."
Baek Yeo-eul followed Kim Yu-ra outside, where a black sedan stood waiting. Kim Yu-ra opened the rear door for her.
"Thank you."
Having never been treated like this before, Baek Yeo-eul stood there awkwardly for a moment before hurriedly climbing into the car. After shutting the rear door and sliding into the driver's seat, Kim Yu-ra checked the rearview mirror to confirm that Baek Yeo-eul had fastened her seatbelt.
"Hold on tight. The driving will be a bit rough until we are clear of Guide City. I apologize in advance."
"Underst— Aaagh!"
Baek Yeo-eul had long since grown accustomed to Lee Mi-so's reckless, tomorrow-be-damned driving, but the car swerved so hard before Kim Yu-ra had even finished speaking that a scream tore out of her. With both hands she clutched the seatbelt and the door handle—her only lifelines. Her stomach lurched and the world spun before her eyes, but she quickly understood why Kim Yu-ra drove the way she did.
"What's with that car? Something's off about it."
"Follow it for now!"
"Cut it off! Block the road!"
The reporters camped out in tents at the entrance of Guide City scrambled to their feet and gave chase to the car carrying Kim Yu-ra and Baek Yeo-eul. They were frighteningly quick—had the sedan pulled out at an ordinary speed, they would have found themselves surrounded on all sides. Kim Yu-ra slipped past the reporters planted squarely in her path with a dazzling display of steering, composed as could be, and eased into an alley.