Ordinary Person A

#2

That Esper

Ordinary Person A let out a sigh of relief.

They say that even when you think a person is going to die, there’s always a way out, and it seemed to be true. When he grabbed the hand of the Esper who saved him at the last moment, he felt pain so intense he thought he would die, but when he woke up, he was in the hospital and his body was fine.

There wasn’t a single injury, and after a brief psychological counseling, he was discharged at lightning speed. It had been a long time since the world became one where monsters could pop up, so it wasn’t a strange world where someone might die tomorrow. It’s just that the peaceful times had been long, and he was once again reminded that he too was a being that could die at any time. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant feeling.

Ho-woo contacted his company and trudged home with heavy steps. He had unintentionally been absent from work, but even if he had gone to the office, it would have been difficult to work as the office would have been in chaos.

The place where the monster had rampaged was near the building where Ho-woo’s company was located. Since it would be difficult to say the building was intact, going to work for the time being was unreasonable.

After taking a shower with water so hot it made his whole body flush red, he finally felt like he could breathe a little easier. Sprawled out on the sofa, he turned on the TV, which was excitedly talking about the monster attack that had occurred during this morning’s commute.

“Today’s attacking monster was A-grade, and Team 1 Espers dispatched from the Management Corporation dealt with it in about 30 minutes. The casualties are…”

The number of casualties listed on the screen was quite high. I didn’t become one of those numbers. Ho-woo curled up, hugging his legs.

His body trembled with belated fear that came after the relief. He really could have died, but thanks to that Esper who appeared with perfect timing, he survived.

Since he hadn’t lived with a particular interest in Espers, he didn’t know the face or name, but he remembered that the Management Corporation lists the names and faces of all affiliated Espers on their homepage.

…Should I look it up?

He suddenly had the curious thought that he’d like to at least know the name of the benefactor who had saved his life, which could have been snuffed out as easily as a candle in the wind.

Ho-woo accessed the Management Corporation’s homepage on his phone and looked up Team 1, which the news had been talking about. He blinked in surprise at the familiar face that appeared on the screen immediately.

“S-grade Esper, Oh-yul”

At the very top, in the leader position overseeing the team, was a photo of the familiar man. Gone was the gentle expression he had shown Ho-woo, replaced by a cold, stern face.

More than that, S-grade?

Although he wasn’t particularly interested in those who had manifested abilities, he still knew how incredible S-grade was. He felt like he had heard the name Oh-yul being talked about on the news before.

Korea’s first S-grade Esper, who had manifested at an incredibly young age and whose power had grown stronger as he aged, and was still growing stronger.

Even without actively looking into it, just from the rumors circulating around, he had thought this person was incredible.

So the person who saved me was such an amazing Esper.

Ho-woo stared at Oh-yul’s photo, which didn’t have even a hint of a smile. The photo on the homepage looked a bit youthful, as if it was taken a few years ago.

The person who had smiled so kindly at him had a face devoid of expression that looked as cold as ice in this photo. It would have been nice if this photo was taken with a smile too. The discrepancy in expressions was so severe that he even felt regret.

Ho-woo exited the Management Corporation homepage and carefully typed Oh-yul’s name into the search bar. Just his name alone brought up numerous posts.

There were many news articles as well, making Ho-woo realize once again that he had really paid no attention to Espers at all throughout his life until now.

Ho-woo looked through photos of him taken from afar or seemingly at official events, and clicked on one of the most eye-catching articles.

“S-grade Esper, Where is the Limit of His Ability?”

Although the title was grandiose, it was closer to a compilation of stories floating around on the internet. Nevertheless, Ho-woo examined the article intently.

“Usually, an Esper’s abilities differ according to their grade, and the S grade is given to Espers whose abilities cannot be accurately measured. Oh-yul, the first S-grade Esper, manifested at age 9 and was initially given an A-grade ability rating, but around age 15, his grade was adjusted to S.

He possesses abilities in the physical/natural water attribute, and uses rapid cooling ability that quickly freezes surrounding water.”

Ho-woo recalled the ice-blue frost that had appeared with Oh-yul’s light wave of the hand, and thought, So that’s rapid cooling.

He was a man who had a rather kind side, asking if Ho-woo was cold even while using his ability.

As Ho-woo scrolled down, he saw two photos taken from afar and the text below them reminded him of the Oh-yul he had encountered.

The eyes that had looked down at Ho-woo were tinged blue, as if paint had spread.

Among the most basic common knowledge that even ordinary people learn, there was content about their eyes, so Ho-woo could easily pull up the knowledge he had pushed to the corner of his memory.

No matter what grade, an Esper’s power is not infinite. Their power was like water circulating in nature. Without a Guide to keep that power flowing endlessly, it would eventually stagnate and rot, causing all energy to be expelled from the body, leading to a rampage.

Rampage.

Ho-woo mumbled that short word in his mouth. It was a terrifying word just to think about.

Esper or Guide rampages, those words were quite intriguing to Ho-woo, an ordinary person. Espers who are stronger than anyone but for whom the existence of a Guide is essential, and Guides who hold the leash of those Espers.

Ho-woo would never know about the world they belonged to.

He thought his curiosity about Oh-yul, who had saved his life, would soon pass. He was a man whose world was so different from his own. Even if he wanted to express his gratitude, it seemed so distant that he wondered if they would ever meet again.

“Oh-yul… Oh-yul.”

It wasn’t such a common name, but it felt somehow familiar.

Have I already become familiar with it just from looking it up a few times?

Ho-woo tilted his head, then, feeling the belated onset of muscle pain and headache, he quietly burrowed into bed and closed his eyes.

He was a person from a world that had nothing to do with him anyway.

***

It was another very late night at work.

Two months after the monster attack, Ho-woo now thought of the incident as if it were all a dream, it felt so distant. The company building that had been smashed by the monster was restored within a week by the dispatched Espers.

And the company he returned to was the same as ever. Except for the empty spaces here and there, people handled their assigned tasks, and it was the same for Ho-woo.

The only difference was that he had gained a few additional tasks that had belonged to the people who had disappeared.

Ho-woo, who had started working overtime to handle the work he had taken over and had finished all his tasks thinking today would be the last day of overtime, pushed his completely exhausted body into bed.

He was so tired that even the will to wash up seemed to have been sucked out of him. After lying buried in bed for a while, Ho-woo lifted his head groggily at the sound of a gentle doorbell.

It was quite late, and there was no one who would visit.

What could it be?

Before he could even form a small question, the doorbell sound filled the house again. Letting out a groan and raising his tired body, thinking the person would keep ringing the doorbell if he didn’t go check, Ho-woo first checked the intercom.

“Huh?”

The screen of the cheap intercom with its poor image quality was filled with what looked like a sturdy, large chest. It seemed to be a very tall man, as all that could be seen was chest, making Ho-woo’s expression bewildered.

Was there someone this big and tall in this old apartment?

No matter how much he thought about it, there wasn’t. Ho-woo stared intently at the man beyond the intercom who was ringing the doorbell again. There was no man who would come visiting and ringing the doorbell at this late hour, so he felt like he should call the police if there was even a slight mischief.

Tension circled his body, which had been slack with fatigue. Quietly taking out his phone and carefully pressing the police number connected to the Management Corporation one by one on the keypad, he cautiously asked the person beyond the door.

“Who is it?”

It was a small voice filled with tension, but the person on the other side of the door seemed to have heard the question well.

“It’s your next-door neighbor.”

It was a pleasant low-pitched voice. The familiarity, as if he had heard it somewhere before, was a bonus.

Ho-woo raised the end of his eyebrow. His next-door apartment was currently empty. It had been well over four months since the previous occupant had left and it hadn’t been filled.

“Next-door neighbor?”

“I moved in today. I heard that when you move in, you’re supposed to give out rice cakes, so I came to give you some.”

Despite the question filled with suspicion, only a very polite answer came from the person beyond the door. Ho-woo carefully opened the door without fully undoing the security chain.

Click-

As the chained door opened slightly and a familiar figure was seen through the small gap, Ho-woo had to pinch his cheek to see if he was dreaming from being too tired from work.

“Uh… Huh?”

S-grade Esper Oh-yul was standing beyond the door, holding layers of steamed rice cakes.

“Hello. Somehow you look familiar.”

The gently curving eyes and voice were still the same, even though they were meeting again after two months. Wearing comfortable black T-shirt and jeans instead of the crisp Esper uniform, and wearing slippers, he stood in front of Ho-woo like an ordinary person.