The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me Chapter 96

As we passed by, I saw that the residential area was relatively intact.

It was still damaged in many places, but compared to the other zones, it was clearly in much better condition.

Maybe because of that, a strange sense of relief filled my chest.

Considering the condition of the injured people, we walked very slowly.

After walking for quite a while, we arrived at a building with its door tightly shut.

The windows were all blocked, and things were piled up everywhere like barricades.

Just a few hours ago… it didn’t look like this.

But when I came out of the gate, three years had already passed.

Everything was so confusing that I couldn’t even think straight.

The man walking at the front looked around and waved his hand.

A few seconds later, the door opened, and a woman and a man came out.

“Seung-gwon!”

So that man’s name was Seung-gwon.

Of course, it was a name I didn’t know.

The two people who came out were also strangers.

And just like the four here, both of them had the aura of Espers.

What in the world actually happened…?

I just wanted to meet the Director as soon as possible.

While I stood there anxiously, the man named Seung-gwon briefly explained the situation to them.

Then he pointed at me and said,

“…So that’s what happened. And in that situation, this person helped us.”

“W-wait a minute. Lee Seung-gwon, you! You can’t just bring an outsider—!”

“She’s not an outsider. She said she’s an Esper who got caught in the Gate Rampage incident three years ago.”

Before the woman could finish, Seung-gwon quickly defended me.

The woman and the other man blinked in confusion.

“Huh? What?”

“And she even gave us detox pads and painkillers. If it weren’t for this Esper, we would all be dead. She said she wants to meet the Director, so I was planning to take her there. Could you handle things here?”

“….”

“Noona, Su-yeong. If this Esper meant to harm us, she wouldn’t have saved us at all. She even shielded us with her body.”

“…Alright.”

So the woman’s name was Su-yeong.

She still looked dissatisfied, but she nodded after hearing Seung-gwon’s explanation.

Watching that, I realized he must be someone people trusted quite a lot.

I gave a small nod to the two people standing there in shock and followed Seung-gwon.

Behind me, I heard the injured man I had helped thanking me again.

As we passed through the door, Seung-gwon apologized.

“I’m sorry. The world has become like this, so everyone has grown very cautious.”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

I wanted to say more, but I was too tense to speak properly.

Maybe he noticed how stiff I was, because Seung-gwon also stayed silent.

When we entered the lobby, I saw that the inside had changed quite a lot too.

There was a whiteboard like the kind used in meetings, covered with various maps.

Radios and supplies were stacked all around.

But strangely, there wasn’t a single person there.

Maybe he noticed my confusion, because Seung-gwon explained.

“Everyone is in their rooms right now. Except during meals, meetings, or shift changes, people usually don’t come out.”

“How many people are living here?”

“Ah… I’m sorry. That’s not something I can say myself. It would be better if you heard it while speaking with the Director.”

I guessed that since I was still technically an outsider, he couldn’t explain too much.

I nodded and followed him toward the stairs.

“We’re not using the elevator because of power issues. We do generate electricity ourselves, but it’s not enough, so only some rooms are being used.”

This building had twelve rooms on each floor, each about 50 square meters, across ten floors.

There were many people living inside headquarters besides Espers and Guides, so there were other housing buildings as well.

But this was the only one where awakened individuals stayed.

The room Seung-gwon led me to was Room 202.

The number felt familiar.

It was Cha Eunhwi’s home.

“….”

I wondered if I should ask something, but in the end I said nothing.

I would hear everything from the Director soon anyway.

Maybe the door lock had been removed, because the door handle looked clean.

Seung-gwon knocked three times.

“Director. This is Lee Seung-gwon. I’m coming in.”

Then he opened the door immediately.

Normally, when entering the Director’s office, we would wait for permission before opening the door.

But seeing him turn the handle so casually made me realize again that Seung-gwon probably wasn’t one of the Espers who had been here before.

Once the door opened, I followed him inside.

Just like the lobby downstairs, the apartment was filled with whiteboards, radios, communication equipment, and various supplies.

There was a desk in the living room covered with documents.

And the Director was sitting there.

The moment I saw his face, I froze.

The Director was wearing an eye patch over one eye.

Burn scars ran from that eye all the way down to his jaw.

Until then he had been looking down at the desk, but when Seung-gwon stepped closer, he raised his head.

He looked terribly exhausted.

His eyes were slightly cloudy.

“We have a guest.”

At those words, the Director finally looked at me.

Maybe his eyesight had gotten worse.

He squinted as he stared at me, and slowly, his face stiffened.

I staggered forward and murmured blankly,

“…Mister.”

The word slipped out without me realizing.

The Director watched me quietly for a moment, then smiled.

“I thought… you would still be alive.”

I didn’t know what to say.

Just a few hours ago, I had been spending a peaceful and relaxed day.

I only entered the gate because I was bored.

But when I came out, the world had become like this.

Seeing the Director’s badly injured face made a chill run through me.

While we stood there silently staring at each other, Seung-gwon spoke carefully.

“I’ll wait outside the door. Please call me if you need anything.”

I stayed frozen until he left.

When the door closed, the Director moved first.

With a pale smile, he pushed his chair back and slowly stepped out from behind the desk.

And then my mind went blank again.

The left leg of his pants was tied off at the knee.

Below that—

there was nothing.

“Mister… your leg…”

“There was… an accident.”

An accident.

Whatever kind it was, it must have been serious if he lost part of his body.

And now that I looked closely, there were burn scars on his arm as well.

Seeing them made me think of Yeon Dogyeong.

“What about Dogyeong? And Cha Eunhwi… and Lee Shinra…?”

“Let’s sit down and talk first. You should calm down while drinking some warm tea.”

“…I-I’ll do it. The cups and hot water—”

“No, Hyea. Even if walking is uncomfortable, I can manage this much. You look very confused, so just sit down.”

Only then did I notice the crutches leaning beside the desk.

The Director picked them up and walked toward the kitchen.

Unlike me, who still couldn’t accept reality, he moved with practiced ease.

My legs felt weak.

I sat blankly on the sofa while he returned carrying a tray with teacups.

Even though one hand held the crutch, he carried the tray with the other as if he was used to it.

While I stared at the teacup like I was in a dream, the Director spoke.

“It was around this time three years ago. You disappeared again in the C-rank gate, ‘Liar Fairy’s Forest.’”

“…The gates merged.”

“Yes. It merged with the B-rank gate ‘Citadel Hidden by Clouds.’”

So that was its name.

The letters in the system message had been broken, so I wasn’t sure before.

I gave a bitter smile.

“The ground collapsed and I fell through. It felt like the space kept repeating… I would fall down, then move upward, then fall again… It kept repeating like that until a message appeared saying the gate was cleared. Then a crack appeared in front of me, so I went through it…”

“Dogyeong told me. When you fell into the ground, he saw a strange hole.”

“…They got out safely, right? And… they’re safe, right?”