Success Oriented Guide

While explaining, Department Head Yoo recalled a weekend when he was off-duty and a sudden report came into the working office. This was the first time he knew that Esper Go Woo-jin, who seemed to only smile like a citizen’s hero, was making such rapid progress.

“Esper Go Woo-jin immediately requested troops from the military. To rescue the people of Siren Village and deal with the remnants of the pirates hiding in it. However, there was someone who prevented the center from sending additional espers.”

He said it openly, as if he were dropping a hint. He nodded his head and smiled at Jae-chan. Jae-chan, who had just finished speaking with the person, knew exactly who he was referring to.

Director Yoon Seo-mi.

His lips were clenched. If she’d gone to such lengths to force the situation, she must have had a good reason not to let Goo-jin stay in District 1 for the weekend. Having maintained a cooperative relationship for a long time, he had a rough idea of ​​her behavior patterns. He frowned disapprovingly.

“Instead, Director Yoon Seo-mi promised ample funds and supplies to help in the restoration of Mentosa’s main island, for which I am grateful. Isn’t it more important to properly restore this location than the remnants of Siren Village? As you know, the center and the military pursue the best efficiency.”

Department Head Yoo smiled brightly. Seon Jae-chan pictured his next move six years later and thought that this person was also a very unpredictable person. While he only speaks of his loyalty to the military, he secretly releases controversial information in a tight line.

“So you’re saying that Esper Go Woo-jin was able to destroy Siren Village single-handedly?”

“That’s right.”

Jae-chan’s mouth became numb in an instant. Go Woo-jin, this guy. As if moving as a team wasn’t enough… Then, he suddenly clenched his chin. It was a curious thought.

It’s weird.

Unlike Kim Geun-won, who would just jump in and see what happened, Woo-jin was kind but rational.

He would do his best to complete a mission, no matter how small or large, but he would think things through first so that he could thoroughly complete the task. No matter how gruesome the reality of Seiren Village was, Jae-chan never thought Woo-jin would hastily sacrifice himself to such an extent.

‘Or there was another reason.’

It was Director Yoon Seo-mi who made him do that. Could she really be involved in this? What if she had conspired to force Go Woo-jin to do something reckless? Was that too far-fetched?

Besides, another question.

Couldn’t this have happened in the past?

“What would you have done if I hadn’t come all the way?”

Jae-chan couldn’t stop himself from opening the rice bowl as his mouth was watering.

Jae-chan had never visited Mentosa Island at this time in the past. Just like during the eradication of pirates, Go Woo-jin later visited the center and received guiding.

What if the Siren Village incident happened in the past? What if Go Woo-jin’s wavelength was unstable then like today? How did Go Woo-jin manage to stabilize the wavelength and arrive in a semi-stable state in District 1? At least, there would have been no Kim Geun-won with the matching rate.

“There were six guides on standby. It was prepared in case Guide Seo Jae-chan could not guide in time due to unavoidable circumstances.”

“Was there Guide Kim Geun-won?”

Department Head Yoo wondered why he was asking something obvious, but he shook his head.

Seon Jae-chan was lost in thought again. Historically, there were many S-class Espers who hadn’t been able to fully stabilize their wavelengths, and while things were better in the modern era with the development of amplifiers, their vast wavelengths were limited by even the most powerful Guides. Only high match rates and Guides of a certain rank or higher were the solution.

Therefore, Go Woo-jin of the past must have reached his limit in the end. However, why did the military not send Jae-chan to Mentosa Island in the past?

‘It must be because Go Woo-jin has stabilized.’

It must be because he’s an S-class Esper and quickly stabilized even without him.

Nam Hae-sol.

She is the only one who has the ability to make that happen. It could have been another Guide in Siren Village, but somehow he thought it was her who saved Go Woo-jin in the past. Jae-chan remembered Nam Myung-seong’s calm face, whom he met outside the window of the Mentosa base.

*

Originally, Nam Hae-sol appeared right before the New Year’s event this winter. Nam Hae-sol, who entered the District 1 center as a trainee Guide, was later officially assigned to team 5 and replaced Kim Geun-won. Jae-chan heard that she came from the province, but he never thought it was District 4.

‘Sunbae, you only move as much as you need.’

Her words seemed to echo in his ears. It was as Nam Hae-sol said. Seon Jae-chan only knew about Nam Hae-sol as much as he needed. He didn’t wonder where she came from or what kind of life she had lived.

Naturally, he thought Nam Hae-sol met Go Woo-jin after she became an official Guide. But what if the two first met on Mentosa Island around this time?

…

Seeing Go Woo-jin struggling today, Jae-chan vowed to stay by his side as a pair guide, at least until Nam Hae-sol appeared. However, it was a situation where Nam Hae-sol might have already appeared.

“I’m sorry to trouble you.”

He spoke up, barely able to keep his head from going blank.

“No. Thanks to Guide Seon Jae-chan, we’ve saved a lot of people a lot of suffering.”

He was suddenly reminded of his past when he heard the Department Head respond nonchalantly. The one who proudly greeted Go Woo-jin when he returned to District 1 each time with a need for emergency guiding. The clever act of guiding him as if he were right and using him as an excuse to restrain Woo-jin even a little bit.

“… If you contact me in the future, I’ll come running.”

Seon Jae-chan said this after gulping down the cold water. He added quietly as if nothing had happened.

“Not only through the official letter. Of course, if you contact me through Team 2, I’ll come right away, but you can also call me or send me a notification app now.”

He said embarrassingly.

He had forgotten about it until today. At this time of year, he was rejecting the emergency notifications he received on his phone or app, as other pairs of guides do.

‘Don’t call me. Go see Esper Woo-jin and tell him to come find me himself.’

He was over twenty years old when his relationship with Go Woo-jin had fallen out. It was a childish word that he passed on to the guide bureau and the working-level bureau with a lot of stomach twisting. It was like a fox acting like a tiger, trusting Go Woo-jin’s stepmother, Yoon Seo-mi, the curator.

All kinds of emotions began to flood in. From the silently turned off siren app to Team Leader Hong Ye-duk casually ripping up the business trip request letter.

The corners of his mouth became expressionless as he reflected on the past and the present. Jae-chan was surprised by Woo-jin’s messed-up wavelength, but maybe it wasn’t the first time something like this happened today.

“Once again, thanks to Guide Seon, we were able to avoid greater casualties.”

Department Head Yoo’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“If you hadn’t come, it would have been much harder without you. Thank you for coming all the way.”

His expression remained solemn. In front of Seon Jae-chan, who was suddenly speechless but eagerly shoveling rice into his mouth, Department Head Yoo decided to stop saying that he wanted to hand over the tail of the eel if he was not going to eat it. For some reason, he pushed more side dishes without saying a word, towards a face that was even worse.

*

Jae-chan, who had received additional information from Department Head Yoo, followed his lead and arrived at his quarters in Mentosa Castle in the middle of the night. It was a building next to the base.

[(picture)

(picture)

Panoramic view of Mentosa Island. Things from the horizon… 4:05 pm]

He was lying on the soft bed after washing, checking a message that he hadn’t even seen because he was so busy. Folding one arm to support the back of the head, he carefully looked at the photos and text messages that Kim Geun-won sent out of nowhere. A jeweled island, the outline of Mentosa Castle in the distance. According to Department Head Yoon, he would have been on standby for guiding, but there was no mention of him in Kim Geun-won’s text.

[Hyung, the picture is really cool. What lens do you use? 7:31 pm]

After thinking about it, he roughly sent a hospitality text message that he used to only send to the team leader and above, and then moved on to the next message. There were piles of past ties that had not yet been settled. He flicked through the text with frowning eyes and checked the three messages that arrived in the evening.

[Jae-chan, can you buy me some octopus bread when you come (laughs)? It’s a specialty of District 4, but it was so delicious (laughs) (eyes) (heart) 6:29 pm]

[Where is it? Finally got out? (laughs) 6:41 pm]

[Hey, don’t cuss me. 7:35 pm]

The texts came from Park Yu-ram, Jeong Noah, and Gyeong Chang-hyeon in that order. The most recent text message has just arrived. He pressed back after sending ‘yes’ only to Yu-ram.

Gyeong Chang-hyeon sent another message saying that Jae-chan was reading his message but ignoring him, but he simply pressed the stop notifications button. He didn’t have the energy to care about that guy. Seon Jae-chan, who had finished his hectic but superficial contact management, scrolled down to the bottom of the screen. He stared at a silent chat window.