"C'mon, guys! Just let it go. Why are you all being so harsh?"
"Look at that, falling head over heels just because you got an autograph from a celebrity."
"Falling head over heels? It's just that you lot lack compassion."
As Seung-cheol chuckled and teased, Se-hwa, with a disgusted expression, picked up a newspaper lying on the floor and threw it at him. The newspaper, dated four days ago, burned to ashes before Seung-cheol.
"I haven't read it yet!" Beom-gyu shouted, but no one paid any attention. Feeling wronged, he squatted down with the half-burned newspaper. Lying on the sofa, Chae-kyung said to him, "Ask Bom-i to fix it for you later."
"Bom-i noona won't do it for free."
"Nothing in this world is free. But did you even read newspapers?"
"I've been doing crosswords lately. It's fun."
Chae-kyung, knowing all the squares were already filled in, closed his mouth and smiled gently. His jet-black sunglasses reflected the light from the fluorescent lamp.
"If it's fun, keep doing it. I'll ask Bom-i to help when she comes."
"Really? Thanks!"
Se-hwa and Seung-cheol continued their pointless bickering, while Beom-gyu gathered the remaining pieces of the newspaper as best as he could. In the midst of this somewhat lively scene, Chae-kyung turned his head to look at Joo-hyun, who was sitting with a blank expression.
"Joo-hyun, you seem to like that."
Joo-hyun, who was fiddling with a lighter adorned with a beautiful engraved pattern, slowly looked up.
"No. It reeks of petrol when you light it."
"For something you don't like, you sure don't put it down."
The clicking sound of the lighter echoed again. Joo-hyun glanced at Se-hwa and licked his lips before answering, "Just. It's intriguing."
Chae-kyung extended his hand. Despite the careless toss, he caught the lighter with ease in one hand.
"Haven't seen an oil lighter in ages. This one's from an expensive brand."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Be careful not to get caught. They'll snatch it away immediately."
Many prohibited items were in Block C, one being lighters. This was due to the fear of what could happen if a runaway esper had one. While a building could be set ablaze with matches, no one had done so yet, thus matches hadn't been banned.
Joo-hyun, having received the lighter back, lit a cigarette. A heavy scent of petrol wafted through the air and then disappeared.
"Did you check him?"
The question was whispered softly, only loud enough for Chae-kyung and Joo-hyun to hear. Joo-hyun nodded without looking at Chae-kyung.
No guide who comes to Block C is sane. They range from simply nasty to insidiously cruel. Last year, Se-hwa had the misfortune of encountering an insidiously cruel guide who tormented her severely.
A guide, who had lost their family to a runaway esper, came to Block C seeking revenge. The esper responsible had died after a rampage, leaving the guide's anger directed at the surviving runaway espers.
It seemed the guide didn't care whom he took his revenge on, as long as he could enact it. Unlike Block B, where the guides' opinions were maximised, Block C catered to the guide's wishes. When asked which esper he wanted, he said anyone would do.
Initially, the guiding went smoothly. Then, on the fifth visit, the guide gave Se-hwa a small radio.
Se-hwa returned to her room and turned on the radio, only to be met with a sharp ringing in her ears. Simultaneously, her survival instincts, which had saved her countless times, screamed at her to run.
Although her room was half-destroyed and her left arm was severed, she survived. If Jin Bom-i hadn't been working that day, Se-hwa would have permanently lost her arm.
Ironically, the guide faced no punishment. Instead, Se-hwa was confined to solitary for a week for receiving a prohibited item. Her screams of ripping off the guide's arms if she ever saw him again echoed down the corridors for a week.
At least, the guide was banned from entering Block C again. Every esper in Block C believed this was due to repair costs and additional expenses.
Since then, Se-hwa had developed a deep-seated hatred for guides, especially those pretending to be good people. Of course, all runaway espers were wary of guides, but Joo-hyun decided to observe Cha In-ho, given his official status.
Joo-hyun, lost in thought, glanced at his cracked watch and then stood up abruptly.
"It's fine to argue, but don't use force. We're short on guides as it is. Beom-gyu, Doo-shik has already finished the crossword. Stop teasing him, hyung."
"What? That jerk, Lim Doo-shik!"
Beom-gyu, shouting the centre manager's name, tearily threw the newspaper scraps into the bin. He then grabbed Chae-kyung by the collar and shook him, accusing him of tricking him into getting ripped off by Bom.
"Haha, busted. Oh, Joo-hyun, are you going on a mission? Take care."
"Joo-hyun-hyung, could you bring back a newspaper or magazine if you see one?"
The chances were slim, but Joo-hyun nodded, indicating he understood. In the end, Se-hwa, who had triumphed over Seung-cheol, bid Joo-hyun farewell with a smirk while picking his nose.
Leaving the room, Joo-hyun hesitated for a moment before tucking the lighter deep into his pocket. Its slightly hefty weight soon felt familiar. Unlike the smell of oil.
***
11years ago, when Joo-hyun first arrived at Block C, none of the espers he had met then were in there now. The longest-standing one passed away four years ago. He was a powerful esper who always came back alive from any mission, but he couldn't win against himself.
Joo-hyun occasionally thought he shouldn't be alive. Like everyone else, he felt he should have died by now, but for some reason, he was still here.
Perhaps it was because he constantly thought this way that death approaching didn't scare him. This was the reason he felt no fear even with death at his doorstep.
The target of this mission, an enemy of the Association, seemed to expect an attack, as there were heavily armed guards everywhere. Joo-hyun didn't want to kill them. The mission was to eliminate a single target, and the fewer people who ended up in coffins because of it, the better.
He wasn't arrogant or complacent. He merely fought while showing some mercy.
Of course, even with some leniency, the difference between an esper and a normal person was overwhelming. But that was the usual story of an esper with a guide waiting in the wings. A runaway esper, unsure of when they might receive guiding again, would not use their abilities recklessly.
Joo-hyun was no exception, and although he completed the mission, the cost was steep.
Returning to the waiting car, Joo-hyun was covered in blood. The only thing different from the usual was the fact that almost all of it came from his body.
Normally, the belt strapped to his arm was now tightly wrapped around his thigh. There were countless bullet wounds all over his body.
If guiding felt like soaking in warm water, the guiding drug felt like plunging into lava for a moment. His mind cleared and his body heated up in an instant, only to quickly cool down again. The sensation of his powers raging subsided, but it was never enough.
Lying in the back seat, Joo-hyun gasped and coughed, the taste of blood filling his mouth. Struggling to breathe, he turned his head to spit it out, hearing the employee click his tongue.
The car, its windows tinted so darkly that the interior was invisible, sped towards Block C. However, Joo-hyun knew there would be no lifeline waiting for him there.
He had been shot too many times for conventional medical techniques to save him. Even if Bom-i happened to be back from her mission, Joo-hyun had already been saved by her once before. Bom-i could heal anything, but only once. He had already used up his chance.
Besides, Cha In-ho wouldn't come. His filming schedule was tight, and he wouldn't be available until Friday.
Today was Tuesday, and Joo-hyun was going to die today.
He wasn't scared. He wasn't afraid. To be honest, he felt no regrets either. His life lacked meaning, and thus, his death felt insignificant. The only reason he hadn't died yet was a small promise he had made to never commit suicide.
"But this unavoidable death isn't suicide... right?"
Joo-hyun thought to himself, not sure whom he was addressing, and laughed at the pain from his wounds as the car jolted. It felt like riding the world's dullest amusement ride. Not that he'd ever been on one.
But even in such a meaningless life, if there was a slight regret, no, a disappointment...
"I should've asked Cha In-ho to guide to the point of feeling like I could burst with power."
Everyone said that being fully guided felt so powerful that you felt you could fly. The lack of that feeling made this place even more hellish, as someone long gone had once told him.
If he had known this would happen, he might have asked for it at least once.
But it was too late now. The car jolted again, and this time he didn't laugh. Hearing the employee talking to someone on the phone, Joo-hyun closed his eyes.