Deal Breaker - Chapter 2
Me, Born With a ‘Guide Spoon’ in My Mouth?
[ Esper/Guide Examination Notice ]
On the day one becomes an adult, everyone receives a letter with this title from the Korean branch of the International Esper-Guide Center. It’s an official notice in the guise of a informational letter, instructing you to come to the nearest branch by a certain date to test whether you have the qualities of an Esper, a person with supernatural powers, or a Guide, one who calms Espers.
Of course, Hyeji also received the letter on her nineteenth birthday.
It was only logical that she didn’t think much of it. After all, Espers and Guides are so rare—barely one in a hundred thousand—that she was certain it would never be relevant to her. The only reason she went to the test, which she thought was a waste of time, was the intimidating warning written at the bottom of the notice.
[ If you fail to attend without a valid reason, you may face up to two years of imprisonment or a fine of up to five million won. ]
Because of that, she had to take a day off from her job at the barbecue restaurant. Then, on a day she was covering a shift for another employee so her pay wouldn’t be docked, in the middle of a hectic rush, she received a text message from an unfamiliar number.
– This is to inform you of the results of your Esper/Guide examination. Noh Hyeji-ssi, you have been confirmed as a Guide…
“Eh?”
She blurted out an audible “Eh?” right in front of a customer.
What the heck. Me, a Guide? The one-in-a-hundred-thousand chance, and it’s me?
Is this some kind of new phishing scam? When she searched the sender’s number, it turned out to be the official number of the Korean branch of the International Esper-Guide Center.
That day, she couldn’t concentrate on her work at all, mixed up several orders, and almost got fired. From the moment she left for home late that night until she arrived, Hyeji didn’t put her phone down even once. Every search term she typed in included the word ‘Guide’.
Up until now, the only thing she knew about Guides was that they calmed Espers, who possessed supernatural powers. She also knew that Guides and Espers had begun appearing one by one around thirty years ago.
They were still extremely rare, but these days, cases had increased noticeably. There was a conspiracy theory that the vaccine contained some substance that created Espers and Guides, which fueled the anti-vaccine movement. Some people even said the conspiracy theory made them get their vaccines diligently. At any rate, no one knew why these beings had suddenly come into existence.
These people mainly took on jobs related to security and safety. For an ordinary citizen like Hyeji, who had no involvement with terrifying incidents like terrorism or espionage, there was no reason to take interest in the world of Espers and Guides.
But now that it had become her world, she began to frantically search online. However, there was little reliable information, and the only things she found were so-called unverified ‘hearsay’.
“I know someone who’s a Guide.”.
“I heard something about it somewhere a long time ago.”
That sort of thing.
She wanted to see proper reviews.
But Guides, like Espers, were shrouded in mystery. Even when there were occasional interview articles, it was almost impossible to find one that revealed a real name or a face. She even installed anonymous apps, like Blind, that had nothing to do with university freshmen, but all she found were posts filled with jealousy that made her frown.
– our company’s new guide is srsly living the good life
– even if ur a guide ur not as privileged as a gold spoon tho ig?
The overall impression she got was that Guides were like hidden heroes, living in secret.
No, maybe it wasn’t that they were hiding their identities. Maybe they’d all been brainwashed together. Or maybe they were confined to some island somewhere. Even if the International Esper-Guide Center looked perfectly fine on the outside, maybe it was secretly an evil criminal organization behind the scenes. Creepy.
At the time, thanks to the wicked YouTube algorithm, she’d watched dozens of conspiracy theory videos about the Illuminati, so Hyeji’s imagination ran wild, veering far off course. She even wondered if they were government test subjects or human weapons, entertaining all kinds of bizarre thoughts as she debated whether she should go to the center or not.
A job posting from the National Intelligence Service?
With just a tap, all her worries were neatly resolved.
Reading the job listing left Hyeji stunned. Other positions had long, strict qualification requirements, but for Guide, it simply said ‘D-Class or higher’. That was it.
From then on, she started reading job postings one after another. From private companies she’d never heard of to the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of National Defense, and the National Police Agency—all places every job-seeker would dream of joining—there were countless places recruiting Guides. And every one of those prestigious institutions had much lower requirements for Guides than for any other position.
She still didn’t know what kind of ability Guides really had, but one thing was clear.
Civil servant free pass perk.
Originally, Hyeji’s employment plan had been to attend university for just one semester, take a leave of absence, and then prepare for the civil service exam. But now, there was no need for that.
“Not bad.”
Maybe because she wasn’t much for mood swings, but even after obtaining her civil servant free pass, all she could say was a casual, “Not bad.” That’s how she felt.
Until she saw a job posting from a certain foreign company that boldly listed the starting salary.
“Crazy.”
Even for entry-level D-Class, the pre-tax annual salary started at sixty million won. Then what about S-Class…?
“Insane. It’s like winning the lottery.”
She’s going to get her grade as soon as tomorrow.