"If the world knows that you're an omega, you'll be an open target for every alpha in this world. That would be the biggest threat to your safety, Mr. Le An. "
He was recalling one of those meetings he had with Guiding Association directors, as a newly manifested guide.
"You'll ask, why not a beta? But, where's the appeal in that?"
"That's equally a threat to your career and the image you'll hold for the country. If we have the strongest one, we want it flawless. A hero must be… strong in every aspect, do you understand?"
Betas being flawed and alpha's domination in the world… It wasn't new for him. It was the strict rule of the old life he lived, and the rule of today. "I understand, sir."
"We're lucky about your looks, it seems backstreets were harsh on you, Le An. Constantly struggling inside the small world of yours, you don't seem like an omega to the eye at first sight. Oh, Mr. Qui came up with your name; you must thank him for his enthusiasm. Like a diamond hidden deep in a trash container, tough but delicate, precious but too little to catch the eye. He called you the treas-"
Emerald grabbed Le An's chin right after he entered the room and interrupted Le An's thoughts. "What the hell is wrong with your face this morning?" Emerald was… a bit extra as always.
Le An watched Emerald's pupils behind his glasses dilate as he stared hard at his tired face. "Nothing's wrong with my face. Now, shall we?"
"Why are you late again?" Theo murmured to Emerald, as he drifted him away to scold him later somewhere Le An couldn't hear. "I'm sorry, I overslept." Emerald apologized, avoiding Theo's anger.
But his sense of humor would always be mixed with scolds he couldn't refrain from saying. "It seems I slept for your missing hours, too Le An."
Le An avoided eye contact as he smiled. They were on the 67th floor of Guiding Institute 4 now.
"Umm…"
It was Sora's famous "umm" for taking the word from them. Le An felt like last night was just a nightmare, as he was surrounded by his friends, just like all other, normal mornings. He had Theo, Emerald, and Sora in his small circle. Theo was his guard, Emerald was his personal doctor, and Sora she was his manager. Adding his house staff, he did not have much connection with many people, although he was one of the most famous figures in the country. But trouble would always find him, no matter how isolated he lived.
"Here are 237 guiding appointments for you now. I could say it's an easy start, but 47 of them are S Level, and there are 7 emergency level espers. This 7 just turned back from District 8, they say the situation is not good there. The institute said you could be called back to guide if necessary."
"Don't they have any other guides, for hell's sake?" Emerald scoffed. "Emergency espers have their own unit. If Le An will do their job either, what will those be doing, playing cards?"
Sora ignored it and continued. "After that, there's the Institute 4 program. There are 231 esper appointments. 12 of them S levels…" Le An would go to three institutes for a day.
An esper could call a guiding request anytime, actually, but it was the simultaneous guides' job. Thus, if Le An could be available at any time, that chance would probably be abused. So those who want guiding from him could only make an appointment for the morning. And each esper, if their condition is normal, could take only 2 appointments from him in a week.
Le An was thinking about the probability of facing that man from yesterday. Could he be here now? Since he didn't see his face… The chance was low. There were no clues. Only his voice. But even his voice was hazy in Le An's mind right now. His body tensed again.
But it's worth trying, Le An thought. If I hear his voice again… He looked at the large group of espers in front of the hall, waiting in line to receive guiding from him. Emerald and Theo were still bickering about how much espers Le An had to deal with in a day. And about the meeting Le An has with GAC tomorrow. Theo rolled his eyes. "…Law enforcement about all guides, or is it just about Le An?"
Sora pressed her temples with his fingers. "I have no idea. No one gave any details about the meeting. But one thing is that… The attending sponsor list is filled with um... Bad pe-"
"Assholes." Emerald cut and huffed. Then turned to look at Le An again, worried. "And you are not even in your best shape for a crappy week like this. Three institutes, a total 488 espers. You sure you're okay? I must inform the house staff about your care for today. You liked that shot I prepared for you the other day. And I prepared a tea mix to soothe your muscles... Le An. Le An?"
"Huh, yes. Yes, I'm okay. The shot was nice."
"What do you think about the meeting tomorrow?"
"I'll see what happens when I meet with directors. Nothing's wrong yet. Can't complain beforehand." This much of a plain answer should do, he looked at Emerald back and smiled. "I'll be okay, I guess."
Theo held his shoulder, squeezing. "Yes, you'll be okay. So don't even stress about it."
Emerald murmured behind them. "The last time you said that, they dismissed your daily esper guiding limit and you nearly died." Le An ignored him. He remembered that day he guided 795 espers. After he collapsed, the threshold law was renewed. There was still no bar, but the institute number decreased. So, he would only go to 3 institutes in a day. But after that, they found a way to use him again anyway. They were sending all S levels and badly conditioned espers to those institutes. Le An will be. Practically, nothing has changed.
He got up and stepped in front of the first S level, gazed into his eyes, raised his hand, and the S level esper, like his life depended on it, grabbed it. Theo was behind Le An, following closely. Le An started. He had to talk, to recognize if the esper in front of him was that man or not. After 2 minutes was over, he tried to take his hand away, but the esper held it again. "P-please."
The instructor came closer, more like running. "Only if the treasure wishes."
"It is okay." Le An concluded. "I'm informed that you'll go back to the dungeon after this. Mid-mission break, is it, esper?"
"Yes, the treasure." He was… an omega probably. And his voice wasn't even similar. But the esper started to babble. "My back, the right side, sir." Le An could sense his wavelength was bad indeed. "Okay."
He put his hand on esper's back, guiding him right where the pain is. In the crowd, he heard someone say lucky. Esper exhaled deeply, his face fell, and his muscles relaxed. And he got his head up again, his face fully flushed. Soon there was a floral scent, but it was subtle. "My... my name-"
They were eye to eye, so Theo interrupted, guessing what was going through in this esper's mind. "That's dangerous now. Enough." Le An took his hand back. That wasn't him. He looked at the crowded room, whew. The second one wasn't him too, the third one was a woman anyway… Fourth, fifth… Theo warned him, as Le An strangely started to chat with all espers. "Don't talk with them, Le An. Why are you so talkative with all espers all of a sudden?"
"Just trying to fully wake up."
Theo sat in front of him. "Then chat with me instead." He was staring. "You are weird. Since last night."
"Because I had a flow and felt like talking all of a sudden? You know it happens sometimes."
"No, not because of that. Because you seem... Nervous?"
As Theo looked him right in the eyes, he felt like he could not hide this from him any longer. Le An couldn't muster his courage to talk back again and couldn't tell more lies. Theo leaned in more, closing all the crowd with his head in front of him as if he pressed the right point. "Am I right?"
He cannot kill Theo, right? Two years ago, Theo was at the peak of his own career as one of the best S levels in the country. He was named as the White Tiger. When they met constantly during missions, they became a duo in time. He killed, whilst he healed. The Guiding Association had made a request for Theo to become Le An's private protector and he had agreed eventually. He was also one of the public figures, a well-mannered and loved esper.
His capabilities were top-notch. How could that man kill him, and if Theo knows about the danger beforehand...
Maybe that man took Le An as a coward omega, easy to blackmail, highly protected yet visibly frail to the threats. But Le An may choose not according to the plan as well, thinking from his perspective. What would he do then? Kill as he said? That would only mean double, or triple protection.
Broad daylight getting inside through the giant glass wall somehow made Le An more braced up, he felt the lump in his throat dissipate. But something, some feeling in his heart was telling him otherwise, as if the oppression settled in him. What if? What if...
"Nothing's wrong." He said at the end. "Just the meeting tomorrow. It pisses me off."
Theo leaned back. "I get it. It pisses me off too, the fact that you will be face to face with all kinds of predators."
Le An, relieved shamefully once again as Theo took the lie. And the word predator gave him a slight discomfort. He remembered. Everybody asks for more. Yes. That was a fact. So, he decided for today, he wouldn't be hasty and tell Theo about it. Maybe going along with that man's plan for a couple of days was the safest. And theoretically, no one was in danger right now, including him. He wouldn't kill Le An. And he would have abducted him last night if that were his intention.
Simply, it was the best of the worst scenario for now. Everyone was safe, for now.