Guide Me If You Dare-Chapter 152: NOH YIHUN (8)

THE DEATH CAMP.

It wasn’t really a ’camp,’ per se.

The ’Death Camp’ was just a poor neighborhood in one of the Danger Zones in Seoul. As its name suggested, ’Danger Zones’ were areas where Gates would often appear. And they weren’t just normal Gates.

Unfortunately, the Gates that would often appear in Danger Zones were Gates that were already on the verge of bursting. In short, Dungeon Breaks— the phenomenon where monsters would get released from a Gate— would occur in Danger Zones.

You’d think the government would assign high-ranking Espers in Danger Zones, but no. Since the Gates that appear in Danger Zones are usually low-grades Gates with low-graded monsters, the government decided to just assign D-Class and F-Class Espers there since those two classes aren’t allowed to raid dungeons anyway.

Anyway, the National Guide Bureau also sent D-Class and F-Class Guides to support the D-Class and F-Class Espers in the Danger Zones.

And now, an E-Class Guide was on his way there.

"Yihun-ah, you’ll realize how easy you got it because of the Lab," Yosef Lee said, smiling creepily at Yihun. "I hope you reflect while you’re here."

"The quicker you reflect, the earlier we’ll bring you back," Charles Kang said in a serious tone. "Yihun-ah, don’t be too stubborn— you have to know that we have your best interests at heart."

Yeah, right.

Yihun just bowed his head while hiding a raised middle finger behind his back.

***

"HI! My name is Im Sung, a D-Class Guide. I’m the leader of the Guides in this zone."

Yihun bowed his head towards the older boy.

Im Sung was a petite young man with soft features.

I feel the urge to protect him even though he’s older than me.

"Hello, sir," Yihun said politely, bowing his head. "My name is Noh Yihun, a D-Class Guide."

It was Yosef Lee and Charles Kang’s order to keep his real class a secret.

Hence, even the fake ID that he carried indicated that he was a D-Class Guide.

"No need to be formal since I’m only a year older than you, Yihun-ssi."

"Then Hyung can also speak to me comfortably."

"Okay, Yihun-ah," Im Sung said, smiling. "Let me introduce you to the Espers in charge of your protection."

Yeah, Yihun noticed the male and female Espers behind Im Sung.

But...

"Why do I have bodyguards?" Yihun asked, confused. "I’m here as punishment."

"It was Mr. Yosef Lee and Mr. Charles Kang’s order," Im Sung explained. "Apparently, you’re a precious student to them."

Eww.

Yihun just kept his mouth shut because he had nothing nice to say.

"This is Lee Hansol, a D-Class Esper," Im Sung said, pointing at the male Esper politely. "He’s old."

"Yah, Sung-ah," Lee Hansol complained. "I’m only twenty-five years old."

"As I said, ooold."

"Do you think you’ll be a teenager forever?"

Im Sung just shrugged playfully.

Yihun almost smiled, but he was startled when the female Esper suddenly burst out laughing.

She’s kind of loud.

"Ignore them," the female Esper said, extending her hand to Yihun. "I’m Nam Sori, a D-Class Esper. I heard we’re the same age, Yihun-ah. Can we speak comfortably to each other?"

"Sure, Sori-ya," Yihun said, shaking Nam Sori’s hand. "Nice meeting you."

Hmm?

This girl...

"Me, too. Let’s shake hands as well," Lee Hansol said, grabbing Yihun’s other hand. "Yihun-ah, you may call me ’hyung.’"

"I understand, Hansol Hyung."

Yihun looked at Nam Sori and Lee Hansol’s hands that were still shaking his hands.

These two Espers lied about their class.

***

"YOU’RE going to share this apartment with us, Yihun-ah."

Not bad.

The Danger Zone was still a residential area.

It had an abandoned apartment complex that the Guides and the Espers there used as their official residence.

Yihun was granted an apartment with three bedrooms.

Well, 2 ½ rooms, to be precise.

The third room was just like a storage-turned bedroom.

"You’re going to use the biggest room here, so don’t worry," Lee Hansol assured Yihun while patting his back. "Sori uses the room next to yours, and I’ll be using the storage room as my bedroom."

"We’re not allowed to leave the Danger Zone," Nam Sori said. "The government takes care of everything we need from food to personal hygiene stuff, so we don’t have an excuse to leave."

That’s probably why Danger Zones are called Death Camps.

"We don’t have internet here, but we have plenty of board games and books. We’re also allowed to watch TV, but we have to be mindful when using electricity," Lee Hansol said, giving Yihun a look of pity. "You’ll get bored here, Yihun-ah."

"This place is no different from the Lab since we’re not allowed to go out and surf the internet there either," Yihun said casually. "I won’t be bored as long as I have my sketchbook and drawing materials."

Lee Hansol and Nam Sori looked relieved by what he said.

"Hansol Hyung, Sori-ya, is this place safe?" Yihun asked while looking at the two Espers. "Is our conversation here safe?"

Lee Hansol and Nam Sori looked confused at first.

And then the two Espers suddenly turned serious.

Yep— that look suits them better.

"Is there something you want to say to us, Yihun-ah?" Lee Hansol said, smiling. But his eyes were dead serious. "This house is safe. Luckily for you, both Sori and I like our privacy."

"Of course," Yihun said, nodding. "After all, you both have something to hide."

Lee Hansol and Nam Sori’s gaze suddenly turned sharp.

"You’re not D-Class Espers— your rank is way higher than that."

Lee Hansol and Nam Sori suddenly attacked Yihun as if they were about to knock him out.

Yes, he didn’t feel killing intent from the Espers.

But that didn’t mean he would just stand there and wait for the two to harm him.

Yihun put his hands on both Lee Hansol and Nam Sori’s chest, and then he immediately absorbed their Mana— only to give it back in the form of Reverse Guiding.

"Argh!"

Lee Hansol and Nam Sori both jumped away from Yihun while clutching their chests as if they were in pain.

Oh, they withstood that, huh?

To be fair, the Reverse Guiding that Yihun did wasn’t that powerful since he didn’t guide Lee Hansol and Nam Sori. He just absorbed some of their Mana. Hence, the Reverse Guiding wasn’t as effective as the Reverse Guiding done from absorbing corrupted Mana.

But, at least, it was powerful enough to stop Lee Hansol and Nam Sori from attacking him.

"Hansol Hyung, Sori-ya, calm down."

Lee Hansol and Nam Sori both glared at him.

Yihun raised his hands in surrender. "I’m only compatible with low-ranking Espers. I would know with just one touch, even without using a device to check our compatibility rate. But when I shook Hansol Hyung and Sori’s hands earlier, I didn’t feel a connection. That means you’re at least B-Class Espers."

"Sori and I are both A-Class Espers."

"Oppa!"

"It’s alright, Sori-ya," Lee Hansol said, standing up straight. "You’re not a D-Class Guide either, are you?"

"Right!" Nam Sori agreed, pointing a finger at Yihun. "I haven’t heard of a Guide who could hurt Espers."

"I’m an E-Class Guide, a secret that the Lab has been keeping from the rest of the world," Yihun said bluntly. His gut feeling told him he could trust Lee Hansol and Nam Sori, despite only meeting them that day. "Now, please tell me why you’re hiding your real class."

Lee Hansol and Nam Sori looked at each other, and then answered at the same time. "We’re not registered Espers."

"Excuse me?"

"We’re not registered Espers," Lee Hansol repeated, laughing as if it wasn’t a big deal. "Sori and I stayed in the same shelter after the apocalypse. Our experience there wasn’t good, especially at the hands of the Espers who ran the shelter. So, when we awakened as A-Class Espers, we left the shelter and joined a group that hates the current government."

"And we’re working for them now," Nam Sori added in a serious tone. "Im Sung is one of us, but he’s officially registered as a Guide since he wants to work and help Espers. However, he encountered a huge problem after he got dispatched here. He reached out to us, so Hansol Oppa and I sneaked in here and posed as D-Class Espers. Luckily, the security here is lax. We even managed to snatch the role of your personal bodyguards."

"Is there a reason why you want to approach me this way?"

"We were wondering if you were a lap dog for the government," Nam Sori said. "But, based on your attitude, it doesn’t seem like you’re the type who could be bossed around."

"I was sent here because I was a rebel," Yihun said, shrugging. "If you’re here to fight injustice or something, then count me in. I have no intention of staying quiet."

"Then can we rely on you?" Lee Hansol asked in a serious tone. "The Lab seems to care about you. Sori and I are actually wondering if you can lend us your power. But, of course, we wanted to check first if we could trust you or not."

Ah, so that was the reason why these two Espers wanted to meet him.

"Tell me, Hansol Hyung, Sori-ya. What’s going on in this zone?"

It was Sori who broke the tragic news. "Yihun-ah, the Guides here— especially the minors— are being sexually assaulted by grown Espers."

What?

Yihun’s entire body turned cold, an anger he hadn’t felt for a while rising in his chest.

"But the government is turning a blind eye," Lee Hansol said in a voice full of suppressed anger. "They don’t care since the Espers here are responsible for the Danger Zones. They can’t afford to send high-ranking Espers here because they don’t want them to get hurt. Hence, they let the low-ranking Espers protect this place— and they let those bastards do whatever they want with the low-class Guides."

Haaah.

Yihun clutched his chest tight, his eyes probably glowing. "Hansol Hyung, Sori-ya, bring me to those bastards."

***

"YIHUN-AH just didn’t try to kill Ni-ki— he actually managed to block his Core," Yosef Lee said in disbelief. "As a result, Ni-ki could no longer use his ability as a Guide."

Charles Kang wouldn’t say that he was surprised to hear that.

After all, he had always known that Noh Yihun was the only E-Class Guide capable of surpassing Song Heejin.

There was only one problem.

Noh Yihun doesn’t trust us.

"As expected, Noh Yihun is really special," Charles Kang said, smiling while nodding in satisfaction. "We should hurry and break his spirit as soon as possible."

***

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