IMPRINT 24

Cold sweat ran down my spine. Wow, I almost killed him.

I was just starting to feel relieved, but the moment Kang Juha, who had appeared through the door, spotted me, he lunged at me with insane speed.

But why are his eyes looking so crazed…?

“Ack!”

In the split second I deliberated whether I should aim the gun again after seeing Kang Juha’s half-turned eyes, I ended up buried in his embrace along with a dull thud.

The guy was so big and hugged me so hard I thought my bones were going to be crushed. It was a stroke of luck that I was a fellow Esper; if I had been a Guide or a civilian, this would have been at least a two-week medical leave.

“…My goodness.”

Director Shin, having witnessed the series of events, stood with her mouth agape, unable to believe reality, while Juyoung—who knows when he fled—was crouching behind the opposite sofa with only his eyes peeking out warily.

“Team Leader Seong. Please tell me I’m dreaming right now. Or that I’m seeing a hallucination. Ah… right. Team Leader Seong, you used your special ability on me just now, didn’t you?”

Those were the exact words I wanted to say to Director Shin.

“Teacher…”

In the midst of this, Kang Juha called out to me in a piteous voice that would make any listener’s heart feel distressed. He then buried his face deep into my shoulder and rubbed against it; putting aside the fact that my cheek was itchy because of his hair, …I wonder how many letters of apology this will cost me.

I couldn’t even begin to guess the details of the incident, but the one fact I could confirm with my own two eyes was that the human who should have been staying quietly in the special treatment room had stormed into the National Security Bureau Director’s office.

Would there be a shred of responsibility on my part for this disaster? Or perhaps even willful negligence?

If so… disciplinary action? A pay cut?

The person in charge today is that bastard Kim Kunwoo. Where and what is that bastard doing right now?

“Mr. Kang Juha, how on earth did you get here?”

“I opened my eyes and Teacher wasn’t there.”

No, what kind of nonsense is that.

“The one in charge today is Senior Researcher Kim Kunwoo; wasn’t he there either?”

“…”

Kang Juha remained silent. Sensing something off, I pulled his body away from mine. He then slunk away, avoiding my gaze, looking exactly like a puppy caught stealing food behind its owner’s back.

“Did you escape without permission?”

“It wasn’t an escape; we came out together.”

“…Did that person bring you here?”

A faint glimmer of hope bloomed at the fact that he came out with someone. If I could just confirm that he didn’t act unilaterally, the problem might not escalate.

“…No.”

It wasn’t. It was a massive problem.

Kang Juha answered in a crawling voice and then wore a somewhat dissatisfied expression. As if it were sorrowful that I was interrogating him.

“No, wait a minute. I’m so shocked my heart still hasn’t settled down. Both of you, sit on the sofa for now.”

At Director Shin’s words, I let out a deep sigh and sat on the sofa. I hesitated before placing the gun I was holding on the floor.

“What on earth are the guards here doing… Wow.”

Director Shin, who had opened the door with an irritable voice, stopped dead in her tracks. Then, like someone lost for words, she just kept repeating “Wow, wow” while looking back at me.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

Kang Juha slithered over to sit next to me, and Juyoung, who had been shivering behind the sofa, stood close to Director Shin out of fear of Kang Juha before letting out a wheezing gasp. “Heeeeeek!”

“I think they’re all dead! What do we do…!”

“Dea— haaa… I don’t think they’re dead; they seem to have fainted. Did Esper Kang Juha do this?”

Kang Juha said nothing to Director Shin’s question, and I felt the sky collapsing once again.

There was only one person in this Center with the skill to neutralize every single guard in the National Security Bureau. And that person was currently imitating a pitiful puppy in front of me.

Ah, should I quit? Ha, right, I can’t quit.

Feeling distressed, I lowered my head and buried my face in both hands, letting out only deep sighs. Then, Kang Juha, sitting next to me, hesitated as if gauging my reaction and spoke in a small voice.

“But my special ability has returned.”

Haaa…

“Could you not have told me that happy news when I went to visit you?”

“…”

“And the very first thing you did with that returned ability was beat down the National Security Bureau guards? Please tell me that’s a lie.”

At my plea, Kang Juha agonized for a long moment before speaking.

“It’s a lie.”

It’s not a lie…!

Ah, I want to cry.

Before long, numerous footsteps, incomparable to those heard moments ago, echoed through the National Security Bureau. An armed Esper guard unit appeared, aiming their guns toward the Director’s office.

Director Shin calmly explained the situation to them, and the guard captain only left after confirming that everyone inside the Director’s office was safe. With Director Shin’s deep sigh, I thought this situation was finally reaching a conclusion, but.

Creeeeak— Thud.

The moment Director Shin grabbed the doorknob of the Director’s office, the door fell powerlessly to the floor. Everyone lost their words and stared blankly at the hallway, which was now wide open without a door. After being frozen for a long time, Director Shin turned back to me with a face that looked half-soul-less.

Before any words could come out of that mouth, I made the first move.

“I’m handing over the position of person-in-charge.”

It’s cowardly, but I have to make a living too.

Clearly, I am a vessel too small to contain Kang Juha. This is not something I can handle.

“Team Leader Seong, are you really going to be like this?”

“Director Shin, you were the one who said I could hand it over whenever I wanted. Why are you going back on your word?”

“Then what about when Team Leader Seong said it was fine!”

Director Shin gripped her head, muttering, “Oh, my head.” Her legs seemed to lose strength as she tottered and stood holding the doorframe.

I barely suppressed the urge to give up on everything and just lie down on the floor. I am a member of society. I am an intellectual. I am… I am…

“Teacher, are you going to throw me away…?”

I want to give Kang Juha a single flick to the forehead. Really desperately.

In that fleeting moment, I ran a simulation to see if there was any possibility of me winning a fight against Kang Juha. Someone who could break through the famously tight guards of the National Security Bureau and storm the Director’s office in one go…

Yeah, not going to happen.

I suppressed my anger and forced a smile.

“First, could you tell me the exact circumstances of how this happened? Depending on that, my neck might fly off, or it might stay well-attached.”

If there was an unavoidable reason, I could try to argue it somehow. As long as it was reasonable.

So, like, a fire suddenly broke out in the special treatment room. Or an external force invaded. Or even an alien invasion.

Even if you choose the last one, I’ll go crazy for once and argue along with you, so please…!

The moment Kang Juha’s lips parted, Director Shin raised her hand.

“Wait. I hear the Center Director is on his way. He’s coming with the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee, so let’s hear the circumstances then. Let’s just rest for now. Don’t say a word until those two arrive. Don’t even make a breathing sound. I feel like I’m really going to faint. Please.”

I had no choice but to nod at Director Shin’s desperate words. How could I say no when a person had aged ten years in an instant?

In the midst of this, when Kang Juha started to say, “Teacher…” while looking at me, I personally blocked his mouth. The current Kang Juha had no right to speak.

Silence settled over the Director’s office, where everything was a mess: the disarrayed table and sofa, glass fragments scattered on the floor, the rolling gun, and the entrance where the door had flown off.

“…Hiccup! Hic!”

Suddenly, Juyoung’s tactless hiccups began.

“Hic! I’m— I’m sorry… Hu-hic! I’ll, hic! I’ll leave.”

Juyoung covered his mouth and fled from the Director’s office. Kang Juha, who had been staring intently at the spot where he disappeared, whispered in my ear.

“Is that the person Teacher meets outside every day?”

“…Shh, be quiet. Please.”

“…”

Kang Juha made a dissatisfied face but did not press for an answer.

Director Shin sat on the opposite sofa and drank tea from a half-spilled cup, but she didn’t look calmed down at all.

It was only after my racing heart and stiffened muscles settled that I finally realized unstable energy was surging from Kang Juha.

If there was a silver lining, it was that his claim of regaining his special ability was the truth, not an excuse. It just seemed that he was still unskilled at controlling it.

First, I injected medicine to replenish the guiding energy he must have consumed while causing such a grand scene. Kang Juha submissively offered his arm without a word of complaint.

He had caused a riot, but should I be grateful for the fact that he didn’t go into a rampage? I suppose if Kang Juha had rampaged in the middle of the Center grounds, this single building would have been blown away easily… perhaps losing one door was getting off cheap?

Now my brain was starting to run a ridiculous “happy circuit” just to avoid reality.

After five minutes of feeling like I was losing my mind, the Center Director and the Disciplinary Chairman arrived. The two looked lost for words upon seeing the Director’s office, which looked like a storm had swept through it, merely fluttering their mouths before wearing distressed faces upon discovering Kang Juha.

I understood that feeling 100%. Because I felt like I was going to die from distress myself.

“I don’t think we can talk here… let’s move for now.”

At the Center Director’s words, everyone except Kang Juha stood up. I forcibly made Kang Juha stand up, as he was stubbornly keeping his bottom glued to the seat.

“Ah, not Team Leader Seong. Team Leader Seong, you stay here.”

“I will go as well.”

Naturally, since I was Kang Juha’s person-in-charge, I intended to accompany them. When I tried to protest, Director Shin shook her head and sent a signal.

“Stay here.”

“…Understood.”

I felt wronged, but I had no choice but to comply. Because everyone here guessed that I was at the root of the cause of this incident.

Kang Juha didn’t seem to want to go, but unable to withstand my pressure, he left the Director’s office with the three others.