SRSBO: Chapter 7

“Ah, there aren’t only people like that who bully others just because they are Espers. Maybe because of my line of work, I mostly just talk about negative things. But, there are also good Espers like Hyunwoo….”

Han Siyoung said as she rolled her eyes awkwardly. I shrugged my shoulders slightly.

“You don’t need to bother convincing me about the good things. As I’ve said last time, you and Yang Hyunwoo are enough Awakeners in my life.”

“Still… I hope you meet a good Esper someday. You’re a Guide, after all.”

“Even if I’m a Guide, there are many who live as ordinary people, I can live like them.”

“That’s only true if you’re a low-ranking Guide. Hyunwoo said you wouldn’t be a low-ranking one.”

“So?”

When I raised my eyebrows crookedly, Han Siyoung slightly averted her gaze and said.

“Actually… It hasn’t been reported, but recently there have been frequent crimes targeting Guides. I think it’s related to the Awakened Individuals Trafficking incident that happened last time.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, you’re a Guide too. What would you do if you accidentally get caught up in something like that, especially when you haven’t even registered as a Guide? I wish you’d report it to the government right away and at least get protection or financial support.”

Money, I’d like that too. As long as there are no mandatory services or other annoying factors. But can I really be sure that registering is the better choice?

After thinking for a moment, I tilted my head slightly and said.

“In the end, as long as I don’t get exposed, it should be fine, right?”

“Huh?”

“If I lower my guiding to the minimum, Hyunwoo said even he wouldn’t be able to tell whether I’m a Guide or not. It’s tiring to live with that constant worry, but as long as it’s only pretending outside, it should be fine. Then I can just live like that.”

“I still don’t understand what you mean by lowering your guiding to the limit. Is it because I’m a low-ranking Guide? Is that even possible?”

“Even though Hyunwoo was the only test subject, he’s still an Esper, who’s more sensitive to guiding than anyone else. Since he said that, it must be true. And honestly, how often do you encounter an Esper in everyday life?”

I shrugged it off with a light laugh, but the very next day at the café I went to for work, I learned the lesson that one should be careful with their words.

* * *

It wasn’t anything great. A certain customer had dropped something, and I simply picked it up.

“Is this… your item, Sir?”

A dark brown-colored card.

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

I recognize that item well. It was an entrance pass to the guild, carried by Awakened individuals of E-rank or F-rank, like Han Siyoung.

For Guides, there was one line drawn on the right corner, and for Espers, there were two. The card I picked up had exactly two lines.

Ding, Ding. In my mind, a line was drawn from the probably and a bell rang, as if signaling the confirmation.

…Crazy, is he really an Esper?

The owner of the pass was the man none other than ‘Joo Yunwoo’ whose name I had only learned recently.

Since then, I started avoiding Joo Yunwoo. And the reasons weren’t anything grand either, I just passed on tasks related to him to other employees or maintained a certain distance.

The café was bustling with customers at the right time, and there were plenty of employees who wanted to take over serving or handling his bills instead of me as he was that popular.

Even while avoiding him, my mind was still tangled with thoughts.

The memory of meeting the man on that rainy day lingered uncomfortably in my mind.

‘That was definitely it back then… But how? I never had any intention of increasing the guiding limit.’

There were only a few days left of my part-time job, and after that, he would be someone I wouldn’t need to see again. I had to put a stop thinking about the matter rather than overthink anything. But now, it kept resurfacing, floating up to the surface.

I recalled his reaction and the sensation of the moment when I touched his forehead. And then I sighed quietly.

The good news about the situation was that, judging by the color of his access pass, he was a low-level Esper. An E or F-rank Esper like him wouldn’t have much chance to be involved in actual combat.

With that level of rank, he was probably just a member of a rescue team or a civilian who had been registered as an Awakened individual. Given that he doesn’t go to work on weekdays, it’s clear he’s not a government employee.

I thought to myself that if I just pretended not to know and moved on, there would probably be no problem.

Time passed quickly.

I worked like crazy, visited my café shop which was still under construction, and had a farewell party for a friend who I had been indebted to. Before I knew it, it was already a week before I quit my job.

“Hmm, it seems he didn’t come today.”

“Who?”

“The customer that you’ve been avoiding lately, Sister.”

“…Mr. Joo Yunwoo?”

“Huh? Sister knows his name? Wow, I’ve never seen anyone who learned his name before!”

Feeling a little embarrassed, I quickly pointed to the coupon box.

“He made a coupon last time. You must have stamped it every time he came, right? His name should be written there.”

“Huh? Did you make a coupon for that person?”

“Yeah?”

“Eh?”

I frowned, confused by what she said. The female part-time worker followed suit, furrowing her brows as well.

I searched through the coupon box among the names that started with ‘J’ and showed her Joo Yunwoo’s coupon.

“Here it is… Huh? Why is there only one stamp?”

The coupon only had a single stamp from the day it was first made for him.

Considering the number of times he had visited since the day the coupon was issued, there should have been more than enough stamps to fill all 10 spots.

‘Did he forget?’

I had gone through the trouble of making it, but it felt like a waste.

“It can’t be because I’m avoiding him, right?”

“You don’t seriously think he wouldn’t notice, do you? Sister, you even avoid going around the place he sits when he comes in while you’re working. It’s so obvious.”

“Oh, really? Someone told me I don’t usually show my avoidance like that.”

“Who said that? I’m sure he was joking.”

It was the Crown Prince who said that. Raymond often told me that I seemed to have a knack for acting and would ask if I should consider pursuing it.

Looking back now, it seemed like he was always smirking whenever he said that.

“I was avoiding him simply because it was a bit uncomfortable. I didn’t want any unnecessary talk or unwanted attention like that.”

“Sister, you’re really weird. If it were me, I’d be grateful if someone like that showed interest, bow and say thank you, then just stuff them in a sack and run off!”

“That’s a crime.”

“Or I would have gone straight to register our marriage.”

The female part-time worker pouted and muttered under her breath.

Certainly, his appearance was something that could be ignored regardless of taste or anything.

His light brown hair looked so soft that you’d want to touch it at least once, and his well-defined shoulders, bony hands visible even through his clothes, as well as the subtle atmosphere when he slightly lowered his gaze all played a part in capturing attention.

So what, he’s an Esper. I don’t think I could bear such inedible fruit.

“Oh, right. I heard that there’s going to be a storm this morning, so it’s going to be very windy and might even rain. Just in case, make sure to close the door properly before you sleep.”

“Really? No wonder it has been raining since earlier.”

I glanced at the clock. It was almost closing time.

‘…Is he not planning on coming today?’

I might have not known where he was, but I knew where he usually sat. I felt strangely uneasy when the person who came every day didn’t show up suddenly.

The part-time female worker, who had been chatting with me, left work early, saying she had plans with her boyfriend. Shortly after, the last customer who had been staying in the café also left.

I, who was left alone, tidied up the place and finished locking up the door.

Starting today, I was going to stay at a motel for a week. I chose the one nearby because of my part-time job, and since all I was going to do was just sleep, I didn’t really care much about the quality.

Still, for an expensive neighborhood, it was relatively cheap, and above all, I liked that it was within walking distance.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

I buried my face in my scarf and casually looked around. The space between the buildings felt somewhat eerie.

As I was walking down the street at night, I saw a figure standing not far away.

It was a tall man. I could even faintly hear him groaning in pain.

‘…Is he drunk?’

Even though a year has already passed, when I see someone in poor condition, my gaze naturally goes to them.

I tried to ignore him and hurry my steps, but when the man leaned against the wall as if he were about to collapse, I finally stopped in my tracks.

I couldn’t just leave. I should at least call for help.

If I just walked away and something happened to him in this cold, it would leave a bad aftertaste.

Since I couldn’t see anyone else around me to help, I kept a safe distance and turned on my phone screen.

The figure, faintly visible in the darkness, strangely seemed familiar.

Just as I finished entering the number and was about to press the call button, a faint spark flashed from the man’s body, and his body and face was illuminated at that moment.

“…Mr. Joo Yunwoo?”

Crack.

At the same time, the ground began splitting open, glowing with a red light.

Crack. Crack.

It happened in an instant.

As if the puzzle pieces were being dismantled, the thick concrete on the ground began cracking apart and falling away.

I stared in shock at the rocks rising into the air and quickly turned around, but the situation behind me was just as grim.

“Aah!”

As I tried to step between the piles of cracked rocks and concrete, one of my legs was scraped by a stone that popped out from between them.

A situation where even running away was impossible. One side of my trousers was torn, and blood was flowing from the long wound.

However, I had no time to care about the wound. The red cracks on the floor were growing longer and longer.

The cracks, glowing red as if lava was flowing underneath, were expanding its territory like a spider’s web set to catch prey.

“Ah, crazy, what the hell is this?!”

It was my first time witnessing it in person, but I could already guess. An Esper was on the verge of going berserk.

‘Even an E or F-rank Esper can have this much power when going berserk…?’

I hurriedly looked at Joo Yunwoo. The blood vessels on his face didn’t seem to burst for now, and there was no blood flowing from his eyes.

He hadn’t lost consciousness yet, so it was just a warning sign of going berserk for now. He was still trying to control it.

Is it because he’s an offensive-type Esper? Does he have a destructive ability? What kind of power could cause the ground to crack like this?

Or do their abilities get stronger when they go berserk? If so, how much stronger?

Actually, it was useless to think about that.

I didn’t have much knowledge about Espers, and the only knowledge I have about Awakened individuals came from what I’ve overheard from Han Siyoung and Yang Hyunwoo.

I didn’t know. You need to have seen something to understand it better. I’ve never seen an Esper using their powers in front of me, except for Yang Hyunwoo. How was I supposed to figure anything out?

People often treated Awakened ones as monsters and their abilities as disasters, and there was nothing wrong with that view.

The only good thing about the misfortune was….

‘He hasn’t lost his mind yet.’

That was all that mattered to me right now.

There was no time to hesitate. Even though the person involved has somehow managed to suppress it until now, there was no telling when the power would release at any moment. And if the area of rampage continued to expand further…

One thing was certain: if things continued like this, I was done for.