DPGR 1

Esper Containment Facility for Out-of-Control Risk Level Espers – Underground Bunker Entrance

“Hey! Stop him! Stop him!”

“U-ugh, ugh…!”

“I told you, you can’t! If you go in there and Baek Dojin loses control, that’s the end for you too, Guide Seo! The end!”

“Mmmgh…!”

“Ah, seriously!”

A commotion broke out in the usually quiet place.

At the center of it all was Team 1 guide and Grade A Guide, Seo Jiho.

Trying to hold him back were his captain and teammates.

“Ughhh!”

“Why are you being so stubborn?! Do you have a death wish or something?! What are you guys doing?! You can’t even hold back one small guy?! Get him back to the Guide Wing right now!”

“We, we’re trying! But Seo Jiho Guide is….”

“Ughh!”

Jiho’s face turned red as he opened his eyes wide, letting out a series of anguished, protesting sounds.

‘Why… why won’t they let me go? I can save him… if I go in there!’

There was only one reason Jiho, who was always in the guiding room, had run all the way here.

Inside that bunker—because of the captain of the Alpha Team, an Esper on the brink of a rampage.

Earlier that afternoon, an emergency guiding support request had appeared on the watches of the Unpaired Guides inside the center.

The person in need was Alpha Team’s leader, Baek Dojin.

The only guide with a compatibility rate of over 50% was Jiho, so the request was practically aimed directly at him.

However, the guides at the center were completely against Jiho stepping in.

It was because of a direct order from the Guide Director.

‘Letting him just die like this… I can’t do that!’

Baek Dojin was one of the few people Jiho leaned on.

He was the one who had rescued Jiho from a living hell, and the one who reached out first when Jiho began to wither away after entering the center.

Even before the latest large-scale gate mission, Dojin had come to Jiho and brought him sweet desserts.

“You’ve lost too much weight. Every team from Alpha to Zeta will be out for this gate, so the Unpaired Guides will have a bit of free time. Just relax and eat these until we’re back.”

“……”

“I’ll check when I return to see if you ate them all. So don’t try to ration them. And if anything’s too hard, talk to me. I’ll help however I can.”

Other espers criticized Dojin, saying he was just acting to monopolize Jiho.

Even Jiho’s own teammates in Guide Team 1 felt the same.

If Jiho became Dojin’s paired guide, it would leave a spot in the Unpaired Guide pool—something they didn’t want.

Jiho didn’t know all the details of these behind-the-scenes politics, but even so, he didn’t believe what they said.

Unlike other espers, Dojin had never gone beyond hand guiding with Jiho.

“This much is enough. I have no interest in anything beyond that, so don’t worry.”

Even on days when Dojin’s guiding rate dropped below 30%, he simply held Jiho’s hand and left, even while suffering from depletion.

How could Jiho possibly doubt someone so foolishly sincere?

‘But I was scared…’

Still, Jiho couldn’t bring himself to take Dojin’s hand.

He was afraid of others’ gazes. Afraid he’d lose the spot he had now, be chased out.

What if they send me back to the facility?

That fear, that constant thought, never left Jiho’s mind.

It was the result of long-term gaslighting.

Both in the illegal guiding facility, and here at the center—Jiho believed he had to prove his usefulness to keep his place.

Unaware that such a mindset was shackling him.

“Ugh…!”

Jiho twisted and struggled once more, trying to break free from the guides holding him.

“I said get back! It’s dangerous!”

“Argh! How is he this strong?!”

After struggling for a while—

“What the hell are you all doing?!”

A scolding shout came from somewhere.

Everyone, including Jiho and the Guide Team 1 members restraining him, froze.

Step—step—

Footsteps approached. Jiho turned his head toward the sound.

And there, he saw someone he had met once—three years ago, for the first and last time.

‘That person…’

The Director of the Esper Wing at the Awakening Management Center—the Esper Director.

Jiho’s eyes widened as he shook off those holding him, turned, and ran toward the Esper Director , waving his hands.

“U-ugh!”

The door—please—I have to go.

After a few attempts at conveying his desperate message, recognition finally flashed across the Esper Director’s face.

“Ah. You’re that… the guide rescued from the facility, aren’t you?”

Nod, nod!

“I heard you received treatment, but…”

Though the Esper Director  trailed off politely, everyone present understood what he meant. They could tell he was puzzled about Jiho’s condition.

Jiho had come from an illegal guiding facility.

As a child, Jiho had been sold to that place, where he was forced to take all kinds of drugs given to him by the “guests.”

From illegal drugs designed to enhance guiding efficiency to sleeping pills and aphrodisiacs.

Jiho wasn’t sure which specific drug had caused the side effects, but after taking one particular drug, he began to cough up blood and eventually lost his voice.

Even when he was rescued and brought to the center, all his physical wounds were treated, but his voice never returned.

“Hmmm. But why is he here? There should have been an emergency guiding request for the Guide Wing,” the Esper Director  muttered.

Jiho nodded eagerly.

He knew that Baek Dojin was inside and that his condition was critical.

While Jiho didn’t know the exact extent of the injuries, he’d heard that even without the rampage, doctors had stated it might be impossible for Baek Dojin to recover.

‘But… there’s still a chance.’

Espers had physical abilities far beyond those of ordinary humans.

If guiding was performed well enough, with their monstrous natural healing powers, the wounds could be healed, and they could rise again.

“Ugh…”

Jiho, with furrowed brows, looked up at the Esper Director, his eyes full of desperation.

The Esper Director  exhaled a deep breath, then gestured to the guides blocking the door.

“Move.”

“Y-yes?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said move.”

However, despite the order, the Guide Team 1 leader firmly shook his head.

“No. You know who’s inside, right?”

The leader’s stance was stiff. Even though the Esper Director was the one giving the order, he felt that as long as the Guide Director  stood behind him, his resistance would be fine.

The Esper Director  seemed to read his thoughts and narrowed his eyes.

“Baek Dojin is in there.”

“Yes. That’s why. Baek Dojin is an S-rank Esper. If someone like him loses control, Seo Jiho will lose his life.”

“That’s something I’ll take responsibility for, so just move.”

“….”

“I don’t want to use force against the guides.”

The last words were a warning. A dark energy began to swirl around the Esper Director’s body.

At this, the Guide Team 1 leader had no choice but to back down.

“… I’ll report this to the Guide Director.”

“Hmph. Do as you please.”

Despite Jiho struggling for an hour, the guides who had been blocking the door immediately stepped aside.

‘Huh…’

Jiho, who had never expected the Esper Director  to take his side, widened his eyes in surprise.

The Esper Director, seeing this, patted Jiho’s thin shoulders.

“There. That’s better. Go now.”

“….”

“Go do what you need to do. I’m sure you know what that is better than anyone.”

Jiho nodded blankly. He then walked toward the door, glancing back at the Esper Director and bowing his head in thanks.

With a determined gesture, Jiho pushed open the firmly closed door. The darkness inside yawned wide, ready to swallow him.

Without hesitation, Jiho stepped inside.

Screech— BANG!

The door slammed shut behind him with an eerie noise, swallowing him whole.

The guides from Team 1, who were left behind, stood in silence with faces showing a mixture of dismay and helplessness.

⸻

“Gasp… huff…”

The underground bunker’s structure was simple. However, since it was so vast, Jiho had to alternate between walking and running.

His usual living space was only about five pyeong (roughly 16 square meters), so even this much exercise left him out of breath.

“Ha… hu…”

How long had he been running?

Finally, he reached the deepest part, stopping in front of the bunker’s door, where the out-of-control Esper was locked away. He hesitated for a moment, then examined the unfamiliar control panel. After a brief struggle, he managed to get it open.

“Activate the full guiding machine!”

“W-we can’t stop the bleeding!”

“Where’s the guide? Did the request go through properly?”

“I’ll go back and check…”

Behind the door, the space was anything but quiet.

Unlike the stillness of the hallway, the room inside was filled with chaos.

A man lay on a surgical bed, surrounded by his team members, medical staff, and center employees all rushing about.

Of course, the man lying there was Baek Dojin, and the people frantically working around him were his teammates, medical personnel, and center staff.