Guide to the Fallen World - Chapter 40

“Is it alright for the leader of Yeouido to say such things?”

“It’s because this leader of Yeouido is an Esper. I want to be swayed by the Guide’s hand… but it’s not easy.”

“…”

“When the ride is over, we’ll go to the industrial district. It’s a place where you can see all of Yeouido’s manufacturing and heavy industry at a glance. If you wish, we can also visit the advanced science base in District 3…”

“Have you considered letting me go, even now?”

“That would be difficult.”

“Jay is insane. When she said she’d wipe Yeouido off the map, she meant it. So please, listen to me. Jay might destroy the entire Yeouido Barrier.”

“He probably will. That’s why I’m preparing for it.”

At Yi Gyeom’s words, Yeowon gritted her teeth.

“Preparing for what! Don’t you see the people down there? It’s not too late. You should make amends while you still can!”

Yi Gyeom listened in silence before plucking the crumpled ice cream cone from her hand and tossing it away. He then pulled her hand, sticky with cream, toward his own mouth.

“Wh-what are you do—!”

Yeowon’s body shuddered as she felt him lick the cream from the back of her hand. With his lips still pressed against her skin, Yi Gyeom looked up. The Guide’s shocked expression was quite a sight.

“…I think I understand now.”

His lips parted from her hand with a wet sound.

“You’re afraid of war. Aren’t you?”

“Do you even have to ask…?”

“The Director offered to recruit me, remember? If I were to accept her offer right now, the things you’re worried about would not happen.”

“Does that mean…”

“In exchange, imprint on me.”

“What did you say?”

“Make me your Esper. If you promise me that, I will quietly place myself under the Director’s command.”

This was not a question she could answer immediately. Yeowon’s face clouded with confusion, and she fell silent.

“I don’t expect an immediate answer, so take your time to think it over. You can place war and imprinting on the scale.”

With those words, the Ferris wheel, having reached its peak, began its slow descent.

Yi Gyeom’s gaze fell on the bag of rowan berries next to Yeowon.

“When I kidnapped you, I watched your reaction in the tunnel very closely. If you had shown no response even if I killed the Hirugion, I was planning to accept the Director’s offer. I didn’t want to kill my own comrades, but if the Guide was someone cold and calculating… proving my power and usefulness would have been more effective.”

“…”

“But you cried and screamed. All because a mere Hirugion was hurt. At the time, I thought you were just acting weak to get me to lower my guard… but watching you, I knew that wasn’t it.”

And seeing that reaction, he realized something.

“If I had accepted the Director’s offer and killed my Espers, you would have despised me.”

Yeowon listened to Yi Gyeom’s confession in a state of shock. She couldn’t even remember how she got off the Ferris wheel.

To give her time to collect her thoughts, Yi Gyeom led her back to the nearby public sports field and had her sit on a bench. Before her eyes, the sun slowly began to set.

Evening was approaching, but the children were still running about on the lawn and the track, their laughter ringing out as they showed off their boundless energy.

And above them, the string of international flags swayed.

Yeowon watched the children running beneath the flags with an envious look. Just like when she used to flee to the schoolyard to escape her studies, she wanted to turn her back on this conflict and run away.

Yi Gyeom’s voice found her then.

“Do you want to run?”

“…If I run, you’ll just think I’m trying to escape.”

That answer was enough. Yi Gyeom took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Then, he began to run, slowly at first, so that the Guide could match his pace.

She stuttered in surprise at his sudden whim, but only for a moment before her legs began to move on their own, pushing off the ground.

It was just like that day in her childhood, when she wore the white team’s headband and ran beneath the flags of all nations.

“Run, Jeong Yeowon.”

Why did his words overlap with her mother’s voice? Who was this person, to be telling her to run?

The memory of her childhood, once a radiant treasure that had since become an unwelcome recollection, surfaced, and her eyes welled up with tears.

At the same time, her breath grew shorter and shorter. And yet, her body felt as light as a feather, and the hand pulling her forward was firm.

“When your head is full of thoughts, moving your body is the answer.”

She was panting too hard to reply.

“If running makes the choice easier, then do it. I just hope that I’m there at the end of that choice.”

Why was it? The more breathless she became, the lighter her feet felt. Still, she couldn’t keep up with the Esper running ahead of her. As she fell behind, Yi Gyeom cheered her on.

“Run, Jeong Yeowon.”

His encouragement brought a flood of tears.

A startled Yi Gyeom stopped and checked on her. He quickly began to apologize.

“You don’t like running. You should have said so. No, that’s not it. I was being too reckless. I’m sorry.”

Ignoring his flustered words, Yeowon sank to the ground and buried her face in her knees. A large palm began to stroke her back in a soothing gesture.

“Why are you upset? I didn’t mean it as a challenge to see if you could escape. I wasn’t mocking you. It’s a misunderstanding.”

It was as if she had become a small child again, as if she had been plunged into a moment from her past and then pulled back out. The Esper’s voice, coaxing and perplexed, droned in her ears like a sound heard from underwater.

***

Dohyuk sat in the middle of the iron ore deposit Jay had scouted for him, catching his breath. He then pulled every last bit of steel and metal from the surrounding area.

The strange phenomenon caused the earth to vibrate as if from an earthquake.

Several hours passed. The strata, which had been grinding against each other with a ceaseless roar, finally fell silent.

At the same time, the drone’s speaker, which had been quiet, lit up and activated.

[With this, we’ve cleared out about thirteen mines, big and small. Have you gathered the maximum amount you can move?]

“Yes.”

[Good. Then let’s go get our ancestor back.]

‘Is she safe?’ Dohyuk wanted to ask, but he saved his words. He would see for himself whether she was safe or not. And after that, Yeouido, too, would be erased from the map of Shelters.

As if sympathizing with his feelings, Jae declared in a cheerful voice.

[The preparations are complete. Let’s go to Yeouido.]

“…”

[Like I said, we’ll end this quickly with a war of attrition. While I draw their attention, you, Dohyuk… go get Yeowon. Safely. If she’s hurt in any way, you’re exiled. You know that, right?]

His playful words no longer scared him. Something far more terrible than exile had already happened.

At Dohyuk’s flat response, Jay deliberately switched on a hologram, briefly showing Yeowon. Surprisingly, there were not one, but two figures visible in Jay’s hologram.

The surroundings were unclear, but their movements were vivid. The familiar Esper from Yeouido was running, holding the Guide’s hand.

[Run, Jeong Yeowon.]

At his words, Yeowon burst into tears and collapsed on the spot. The hologram stopped there. Dohyuk silently stared at the blue afterimage of the crumpled Yeowon.

Her shoulders were trembling.

Rumble-rumble-rumble-ruuumble—

The silenced vibrations returned, triggering a landslide that pushed aside the surrounding earth. Jay paid it no mind and continued speaking.

[Looks like she’s doing just fine, don’t you think?]

“After I’ve secured Yeowon… may I kill him?”

[Haha. That’s why I’m showing you this. But don’t you go and get yourself killed. Yeowon would be sad.]

[Really, I shouldn’t have intervened when you tried to kill Heo Yi Gyeom back then. If I had just let you run wild, this never would have happened. Well, no use regretting it now, is there?]

The voice, mimicking an exaggerated sigh, soon fell silent. At the same time, countless holograms appeared, providing a visual confirmation of the Director’s plan.

A fleet of battleships and fighter jets filled the skies around Yeouido. Combat androids and drone squadrons with their outputs raised to the maximum. Forces of brigade, company, and regiment scale, encompassing land, sea, and air, were waiting, targeting Yeouido.

[I don’t mind losing one or two drug production bases. But losing the Guide is a different story.]

[First, we’ll move a small submarine into a tributary of the Han River.]

Dohyuk listened to the ensuing explanation in silence, thinking of her hunched shoulders.

***

She had too many worries to fall asleep. Yeowon hugged her blankets and tossed and turned.

‘You can place war and imprinting on the scale.’

Those words swirled in her head again. She wanted to ignore them and sleep, but they buzzed in her ears like a persistent mosquito, refusing to disappear. No matter how much she thought, no answer came. The more she thought, the more on edge she became.

“What should I do…?”

Since that day she had broken down crying while running, the Yeouido Esper hadn’t shown himself. Whatever his change of heart, it was a relief. She had been too embarrassed to see his face again.

She didn’t want to meet him again after showing him such a childish, crying mess.

She had finally gotten the proper tour of a Shelter she had so longed for, but instead of joy, her heart was in turmoil. There was no delight, no excitement.

‘A war might break out. Jay will really do it.’

Yeowon agonized over the unanswerable dilemma until dawn, finally falling asleep.

“…”

Only after her breathing became steady and her pulse slowed did Yi Gyeom enter the building where she slept. He opened the bedroom door without a sound. The silhouette of the Guide, sleeping soundly while hugging a blanket, came into view.

Yi Gyeom attached an overload device to the Guiding Blocker on Yeowon’s wrist, temporarily disabling its function. A device like this would break down after about an hour, but that was more than enough time.

He waited for a moment. Radiant Guiding, which she had failed to rein in completely, began to flow from the deeply sleeping Guide. It was a faint amount, but he could clearly feel it.

As if bewitched, Yi Gyeom lay down beside Yeowon.

It was utterly intoxicating.