The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me Chapter 69

“‘Up until now, all matters related to Guide Yoon Hyeya have been handled by me…’ Ah—he meant himself. And lastly, he said that from now on, all decisions related to you will be handled directly by the director. Until you officially return, you’ll stay as a temporary member of Geumgang Unit 2 and move together with us.”

“So that’s been firmly decided?”

“Yes.”

Cha Eunhwi spoke clearly, neither fast nor slow, pronouncing every word carefully.

From everything I’d seen so far, that was exactly how the director talked. Word for word. Even without notes.

At this point, it felt like that guy lived in a completely different world from the rest of us.

With that brain and memory of his, the problem is that he kept using it to pressure me.

Thinking about it made me angry again.

I corrected my mindset, took a calm deep breath—despite my anger issues—and asked another question.

“But could a meeting really take that long just to say all that? I’m honestly asking because I don’t know.”

“Ah, well… that’s because….”

“The way you’re hesitating tells me others opposed it. I still have enough sense to figure that out.”

“…Yeah. That’s right. A lot of people said they needed to check your condition themselves. Others said that since guides are badly needed right now, they shouldn’t wait comfortably—they should restore your memories as soon as possible or put you back into ability training so you can return to missions quickly.”

I expected that.

A year had passed. There had been an incident. But once people form an opinion, it doesn’t change easily—and people without common sense don’t suddenly gain it.

That was why I still didn’t trust the director or these guys completely.

It wasn’t something to get angry or disappointed about.

“This damn—”

Yeon Dogyeong flared up before I did, then shut his mouth when he noticed my look.

Cha Eunhwi continued, looking apologetic.

“So for now, for two months, you’ll focus on studying and training again—”

“Studying?”

Why was studying suddenly coming up? Training, fine. But studying?

As soon as my expression hardened, Cha Eunhwi flinched and hurriedly explained.

“I only learned this today too, since I was inactive for a year… Like how you received a self-defense weapon from Teacher Song Yuseong yesterday, there’s been a lot of talk that guides also need to respond in dangerous situations. So a formal training program was created, and guides now have to keep studying gate and monster characteristics—”

“Keep?”

“Uh, yeah. Since there are so many cases, it seems they’ve set it so you have at least two hours of theory classes a day, plus exams.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then you’d obviously be disciplined.”

“……”

“…Um, Hyeya?”

“……”

“……”

After just one day, I missed the gate.

Should I just find a peaceful D-rank gate, prepare properly, and run away again?

They say the start is the hardest part—but after surviving 30 days in a gate, it didn’t feel that hard anymore.

Half of me was thinking carelessly, but the other half was seriously considering it when Lee Shinra hurriedly cut in.

“T-That class isn’t mandatory! I checked the full revised rules yesterday. The announcement made it sound that way, but gate raids are still the top priority. Physical training is mandatory no matter what, but theory study can be reviewed independently by each unit before entering a gate. It says that’s fine. The unit leader just has to submit a report.”

Unlike Cha Eunhwi, Lee Shinra spoke fast, like he was being chased.

But aside from the beginning, he barely stuttered, so understanding him wasn’t difficult.

“So I don’t have to study?”

“Yes…!”

I couldn’t help sounding excited. Lee Shinra smiled brightly.

I hadn’t meant to make him that happy, so I quickly fixed my expression.

I saw him flinch and erase his smile.

Ignoring that, I turned to Cha Eunhwi. He looked flustered—probably didn’t even notice what happened.

When our eyes met, complicated emotions showed on his face.

I didn’t even have to ask.

This guy definitely wanted to shove all the theory he knew into my head.

I shot him an annoyed look and leaned back slightly.

“You… really want to make me study, don’t you? I seriously hate that.”

“Ah… was it that obvious?”

“Extremely. Seeing and doing something once is better than hearing it a hundred times, so don’t even think about making me study.”

“Of course, Hyeya. I’d never force you to do something you hate. Don’t worry.”

I was responding sharply, but his overly gentle voice made me glare.

“Didn’t you used to force me to do things I hated? How am I not supposed to worry?”

“…Yeah. You’re right. But I really won’t do that anymore. You can trust that.”

It seemed this time actually hit a nerve.

Cha Eunhwi’s smile faded slightly as he said that, and Yeon Dogyeong and Lee Shinra stayed quiet.

In the now-silent operations room, I thought things over.

I was considering staying for a while and then transferring units, but if the unit leader has to write reports, staying with Cha Eunhwi would be easier.

And if they kept acting this mild, I could tolerate the instinctive disgust.

After weighing things, I spoke to the gloomy-looking trio.

“How does training work? Do guides train separately?”

“Well… I think we’ll train together in the training center. That’s how esper training worked too. Since each unit handles different gates at different times, it’s hard to coordinate.”

That made sense. Same reason the cafeteria was open 24 hours.

There was no way I could keep up with their monster-level stamina, so there was probably a guide-specific program.

I’ll have to redo guiding training too, right?

Thinking about the endless training from my childhood instantly ruined my mood.

I could say this with certainty: if I had to hear another lecture about “love and compassion for espers risking their lives,” I would scream and smash a window.

As I was thinking, I suddenly lifted my head.

Lee Shinra, Cha Eunhwi, and Yeon Dogyeong—all watching me nervously—flinched at the same time.

Once again, without targeting anyone in particular, I asked,

“If I’m doing physical training, that means I’ll have to train guiding methods too, right?”

“Yes. You do have to, but—”

“But what? Why are you hesitating?”

“Yoon Hyeya, you absolutely hated guiding training. Like, on a deep, instinctive level.”

Yeon Dogyeong bluntly brought up the past.

Even before our relationship went bad, I’d complained dozens of times a day that it was boring, annoying, and that I didn’t want to do it. Of course they knew.

A month ago, that would’ve made me flinch, thinking he was mocking me again—but now I was actually glad he said it first.

“Really?” I replied calmly, then continued casually.

“If past me hated it that much, present me probably hates it even more. So if guiding training is mandatory, I’ll just go into the gate instead.”

“…The gate?”

Lee Shinra repeated blankly from across the table.

His face went pale instantly. He couldn’t speak—his lips just trembled.

As if speaking for him, Yeon Dogyeong cut in.

“No, Hyeya. Gates are dangerous. You saw it yesterday. The moment you started guiding, the monsters went berserk and rushed us.”