“Reining in the Tyrant”

I stared blankly at the fine dust settling between the buildings and took a sip of the drink in my hand. I had ordered it out of curiosity, having heard it was a new item on the menu, but once again it was a failure. The chocolate flavour was overpowering, leaving a cloying aftertaste.

Regretting that I hadn’t just ordered my usual, I took my phone out of my pocket to check the time again. There were about 15 minutes to go. To be honest, no one would openly chide me for being out of the office, but it was necessary to stick to the working hours to avoid complaints behind the scenes.

“It really does feel like autumn. Next week it’ll be too cold to come up here.

Even with my cardigan on, the persistent wind crept through my clothes and made me shiver. My fingertips felt cold, probably because I was holding a cold drink. Of course, it was my own fault for insisting on iced drinks no matter how cold it got.

I switched the drink to my other hand and clenched and unclenched my fist, trying to warm my hands. Just then I heard voices from the stairwell leading to the roof.

“Isn’t he the worst? I wish he’d get what he deserves one day.”

“Born an S-class from the start. Why should he have anything to worry about?”

“But still, if he was a bit more pleasant, it would make things easier for everyone, don’t you think? Look at the women’s team. Eunchae and Hyunyoung don’t even bother to measure resonance as guides, and they get along well with the espers. Is it too much to ask for something similar?”

“It’s not the same. You can’t compare them. Women naturally hold hands and so on, even outside of guiding. Imagine you were the guide – would you really want to go around touching another man’s hand?”

“Who’s talking about holding hands? And for the record, I’m the same way about touching people.

It seemed that no matter how well I kept my hours, people would still talk behind my back.

Even when no names were mentioned, I could tell exactly who they were talking about. An S-class male guide with a difficult personality? That could only be me.

“Maybe it’s because he’s been through a lot. He’s got a nice face.”

“Oh, come on. What’s he been through? He’s still a guy.”

“You have no idea. I heard he was kidnapped by an unregistered Esper when he was younger.”

“Ew… seriously? How old was he? What happened after that?”

“I think it was when he was in primary school, or maybe middle school. I’m not sure of the details, but apparently he’s been completely averse to Espers ever since.”

“That’s terrible. What a piece of rubbish. What kind of monster would do that to a child?”

It was an unpleasant memory, to be sure, but nothing had happened to warrant her misplaced concern.

I escaped quickly, and the centre even assigned a psychiatrist to help me afterwards. I didn’t suffer any lasting trauma from the incident. My dislike of Espers didn’t stem from anything so dramatic.

I just didn’t like them. Plain and simple.

I couldn’t stand the way they flaunted their power as if they were superior, the way they constantly berated leaders as if they could get away with anything, the way they shamelessly extended unwashed hands or invaded personal space without permission.

And now these same people were bad-mouthing me behind my back for not being ‘nice’ to them. How could I have any affection for them?

“So you should just take it as best you can. At least he is doing his job properly.

“He treats people like they’re less than bugs. I should have been born a woman. Then I could have been led by Eunchae instead.”

The two walked away from the entrance, leaning against the railing as they continued their conversation. They didn’t seem to have noticed me yet, but if I made the slightest noise, it would be an awkward situation for everyone involved. So I deliberately held my breath.

“They’re researching cross-gender leadership methods, you know. Maybe one day you will be led by Eunchae.”

“Do you really think that’ll ever be practical? It’ll probably be less effective than same-sex contact. But hey, even if I had to do more than just hold hands with Eunchae, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Watch your mouth when you’re in public. You’ll get hauled in by the Leader Rights Committee.”

Exactly. What if someone like me overheard you?

Not that I would report them or anything. The Guide Rights Committee might be strict, but a comment like that would probably get them a warning at best. It wasn’t my problem, and the chances of it escalating into real disciplinary action were slim. I wasn’t going to cause trouble over something so trivial.

You may think me a heartless, ruthless villain, but in truth I wasn’t that kind of person. If I were, would I really be hiding so quietly, just to avoid unnecessary trouble? I’d say that makes me a pacifist, all things considered.

“Ugh, it’s cold. Let’s go back inside now that we’ve finished.”

Fortunately, the two of them left before the lunch break was over. To avoid the embarrassment of sharing the lift with them, I waited a little before descending from the roof. But just when I thought I was in the clear, I spotted another unwelcome face.

Although, to be fair, I’d sensed her presence before I saw her, thanks to her overpowering cologne.

“Oh, Jae-hee! Were you on the roof?”

What was it with these people and their obsession with fresh air? If they’d eaten well, they could have gone straight to the training room instead of flocking to the roof. And he wasn’t even a smoker.

“I saw Yoon-ho and Jun-young coming down earlier. You weren’t with them, were you?”

The words “What business is it of yours?” were on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them back, not wanting to escalate things. Ignoring him completely, I tried to walk past, but this time he grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t touch me without permission.”

“Ah, don’t be so cold. You’re going to be a guide later anyway, so it would be nice to fill you up first.”

‘Nice for you, maybe. What’s in it for me?’

I knew only too well that words wouldn’t get through to someone like that. Rather than waste my breath scolding him, I raised my free arm and physically removed his hand. I caught him subtly rubbing the spot where I had touched him, and it made my skin crawl. He certainly had a knack for making people feel utterly disgusted.

“We’re going out for a drink with the others after work. Would you like to join us, Jae-hee?”

“No.”

“Why not? Do you have plans?”

“I’m going home.”

Of all times, the lift seemed to get stuck on the lower floors, and I had to stand there for what seemed like an eternity after pressing the button. Staring straight ahead, I fought the urge to sew his constantly flapping mouth shut as he continued to chatter away next to me.

Of course, the unsuspecting idiot kept on talking.

“Got a secret lover hiding at home?”

‘Bark all you want. Go on.’

“What do you do when you go home? You don’t have anything to do, do you?”

Honestly, staring at the lift panel is more entertaining than talking to you.

“Do you have any hobbies at home? How about playing tennis at the weekend?”

Suggesting tennis to a normal person like me when his strength is many times that of the average person? The nerve of this guy is unbelievable.

Even his ridiculous suggestions didn’t warrant a response. Ignoring his chatter, the lift finally arrived. I quickly got on and pressed the button for my floor. Watching him out of the corner of my eye, I tensed slightly, wondering if he’d follow me all the way to the office. Fortunately, he pressed the button for the basement, probably on his way to the gym.

“That’s tough. You’re not even going to tell me about your hobbies? It’s not like they’re anything to keep secret.”

His voice, though still playful, dropped slightly, which rubbed me the wrong way. Realising that he would make a fuss if I ignored him again, I decided to give him a half-hearted answer.

“I read books.”

“Oh, that’s cool. What kind of books do you read? Essays? Literature?”

It wasn’t a great hobby to brag about to a colleague, so I shut up again.

“Have you read anything like The Carnivore? It looks interesting. What do you think of it? You know how much I love meat.”

‘Does he think that’s what the book is about?’

“Just kidding. It was a joke to make you laugh.”

As if eavesdropping on this conversation wasn’t irritating enough, now I had to engage in this pointless small talk with the Esper I disliked the most. It seemed that today’s luck was absolutely terrible.

I wasn’t one to wander around much anyway, but on a day like this I had to go straight home after work. If I lingered anywhere unnecessarily, who knew, I might end up in some kind of dungeon break.

“Recommend some books to me later, okay?”

I felt a strong urge to grab the hand that was tapping my shoulder and twist it, but I stopped myself. It would be a waste of time and energy. A mere guide like me could never physically overpower a physical Esper anyway.

Ignoring his persistent attempts at conversation until the last moment, I stepped out of the lift without a word. Fortunately, there was no one else in the corridor to annoy me further. As I walked slowly, I fidgeted absently with the damp, crumpled cup holder in my hand.

Ah, I just want the day to end.

—

When I got home, I ate a quick, simple meal, took a refreshing bath and then dove straight into bed. I stroked my e-reader, which was sitting patiently on standby, before pressing the power button. The novel I had read yesterday appeared on the screen.

“Do you mean to tell me that this humble servant should just put up with everything?” 

“Do you not trust me, the Emperor, to take care of things? Why must you insist on staining your delicate hands with blood?” 

“How can I trust Your Majesty? Even when the wet nurse was killed, you said nothing and hid the truth. I am not a puppet who only does what Your Majesty commands. So please, no more…”

The man’s guess was indeed correct. Reading is reading, but it’s also a hobby that I don’t like to talk about. If I admitted to being a guy who reads BL novels, it would probably sound a bit strange to most people.

Of course, I’m not just into BL – I’m a full-blown print addict, devouring almost every genre of web novel out there.