Beyond The Control

Chapter 4

“A real troublemaker has joined us. Oh, my fate!”

Soon, his weary gaze turned to me.

“That guy doesn’t know any better yet, but once he gets used to guiding, he’ll immediately understand how big a 10 percent difference is. It’ll be troublesome, but during the new employee training period, try to show your face often and make an effort to get close to him. Give him plenty of guiding too.”

Oh, could it be…

‘Is this one-month grace period for my benefit? To get close to that brat of an Esper during that time?’

Of course, it’s not just for my sake. If the two of us form a pair, it would be great for me without a doubt, good for Song Ji-hyeok, and good for the guild as they’d be able to manage an S-class Esper who’s more precious than gold. It’s truly killing three birds with one stone.

I was newly impressed by the Director who had grasped this much and made a deal in such a short time. Indeed, not just anyone holds the title of director in such a large guild.

“Thank you, Director. I’ll do my best.”

“Alright. Good luck.”

I bowed deeply and turned around. When I came out, I saw Song Ji-hyeok sitting on the chair right next to me.

Should I just pass by, or not?

I hesitated for a moment. Then I chose to greet him. Frankly speaking, it couldn’t hurt to make another impression.

“Esper Song Ji-hyeok.”

He glanced at me when I called his name. …Though his expression couldn’t be unfriendlier.

Thinking that it’s something that he’s not completely ignoring me, I smiled broadly with adult composure.

“It’s an honor to meet you like this. I look forward to working with you.”

“…Yes.”

Though he ignored my handshake, I decided not to take it to heart. I’ll get to hold his hand plenty when guiding anyway.

We’ll see if he can turn away like this then.

***

My expression as I looked at the computer monitor was quite serious. I’m sure there were two clear wrinkles between my brows.

[How to become friends with a rude person]

The attempt to seek help from a search engine was good. However, the search results were not so great. Even changing the words slightly and searching again, there was hardly any helpful content…

‘Oh, here’s another one.’

While scrolling down with the mouse wheel, I found a question post with a similar title and immediately clicked on it. Deliberately ignoring the self-introduction that said ‘I’m in 3rd grade,’ I quickly checked the content of the question and the answers below it. To summarize briefly, the question was like this:

‘How can I get close to my crush who is prickly and doesn’t talk much?’

There were three replies:

↳ Many people who seem prickly are actually tender-hearted when you get to know them. Approach carefully and touch their heart.

↳ Use the mirror effect and treat them the same way gg

↳ Forget about such a jerk and like a nice guy. There are many men in the world.

↳ I’m a guy.. and my crush is a girl

“Sigh…”

Just wasted electricity.

I finally closed the internet window and leaned back fully in my chair. A handsome but seemingly stubborn face floated in my mind. His features were so clear and impactful that I couldn’t forget them even though I’d only seen him once.

By the way, how can I really become friends with that prickly guy?

A precious S-class Esper. Having a matching rate of over 80 percent with such a person is a once-in-a-lifetime jackpot and luck that will never happen again. For the sake of my always precarious bank account, and for my struggling family, I must succeed in forming a pair contract…

As I sighed again, I suddenly heard someone shouting loudly.

“Oh, Team Leader!”

At those words, I straightened up abruptly. I could see the Team Leader really standing near the office door. It was his return after nearly a week.

“You’ve worked hard, Team Leader.”

“Did you have a good trip?”

I quickly joined the remaining team members in welcoming him. Seeing him in full combat gear, it seemed he had headed straight to the office right after coming out of the dungeon, as usual. It was a typical move for the acknowledged workaholic.

“Has everything been alright with everyone?”

“Yes. Our group also returned safely.”

“Good job.”

“I’ve been diligently guarding the office too.”

Our team has quite good bonds between members. It’s thanks to the Team Leader’s scary yet realistic principle: ‘Even if we greet each other with smiles today, we might never see each other again in a few days. So treat each other well while we’re here.’

Some of the more aggressive and cold-natured team members don’t like this atmosphere. On the contrary, I’m one of those who thinks it’s really fortunate that I’m in Team 3. If I had been in Team 6, known for its thorough meritocracy and bleakness, I would have dried up and crumbled long ago.

When I returned to my seat, the monitor screen was the same. As I was closing the search window that hadn’t been much help without any lingering attachment, there was a ding-a-ling notification sound from my device.

[Can I see you for a moment?]

It was a call from the Team Leader. I stood up immediately after checking the message and headed to the Team Leader’s office. After knocking and opening the door, the Team Leader’s bright smile greeted me.

Team 3 Leader Yoon Hyun-tae, 41 years old, A-class water attribute Esper.

Mr. Yoon, who had been leading Team 3 since before I joined, is a person renowned in many ways.

Before awakening, he was active as a national judo athlete, and his story of awakening while trying to protect a child from monsters that poured out during a dungeon break in the early days of chaos was known to almost everyone.

As I said, his personality is top-notch, but should I say it’s a reverse charm… He becomes a different person in the dungeon. Very fierce and terrifying.

If there’s a monster in front of him, he blows off its head without hesitation, and if the situation isn’t favorable, he doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice flesh to gain bone. Moreover, his close combat ability is excellent, so he often takes charge of the final kill.

Even now, a faint smell of what seemed to be monster blood wafted from the Team Leader’s body. It wasn’t noticeable because of his all-black combat suit, but I could guarantee that if washed, the water would turn bright red in an instant.

But as I said, being cold-blooded without tears or blood is limited to monstrous creatures. When it comes to fellow humans, there’s no one as warm as the Team Leader.

“I heard there was good news while I was away? I was nervous when the Guild Master called me right after I came out of the dungeon, but I nearly popped my eyes out when I heard about your matching rate with an S-class Esper. I was so happy I almost did a judo throw on the Guild Master, you know?”

Oh boy.

‘The Guild Master nearly had a close call.’

Being strong in close combat is synonymous with having excellent physical abilities. It meant that even if the Guild Master was a giant over 2 meters tall, he could still be thrown easily.

“But I hear that Esper has quite a temper. The HR Director was complaining a lot, did you think so too, Su-hyeon?”

Yes.

I almost nodded but managed to hold back. Although the first impression wasn’t great, it was still too early to judge based on just one meeting.

‘At twenty, he’s at an age where he’s likely to be rebellious. He’s just a kid.’

So I decided to postpone my evaluation of Song Ji-hyeok for later.

“He seemed quite tough. I don’t think he’ll get bullied anywhere.”

Even I found it funny after saying it. He seemed well over 180 cm tall, so who would dare try to bully a now officially recognized S-class Esper? It’s impossible unless they’re crazy.

As if everything until now was just an introduction, the Team Leader continued. His voice had become a bit more serious.

“Orders have come down.”

A printed piece of paper was pushed forward. It was a timetable I hadn’t seen in years, with schedules filled in here and there.

I immediately had a sense of what it was. Along with it, I could smell the strategy emanating from the HR Director.

“They say to follow this for the time being.”

It’s a mission that’s not difficult at all. Physical training, skill training, accessing and studying dungeon reports. These are all things I do on my own every day anyway.

However, there was one point that needed to be addressed.

“Then, about field deployments…”

To my cautious question, the Team Leader fortunately gave the answer I wanted, with a gentle smile.

“If you’ve fully recovered, you should come along. Can you?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Then go take care of your business. I’ll send you the schedule again as a file.”

“Yes. Then I’ll be going.”

I bowed my head and stood up. Just before opening the door, I heard the Team Leader’s voice once more from behind.

“Su-hyeon.”

“Yes?”

“‘Humans come first.’ You know our team’s motto, right? Don’t try too hard, just doing as you’ve been doing is enough. Okay?”

“…Yes.”

I smiled slightly to show I understood. Leaving behind the Team Leader who smiled back, I left the office feeling lighthearted.