HLSEBT - 58

58. His Grandfather 1

The friend sitting next to him scolded him lightly.  

“Where are you going to meet an S-class Esper? Mr. Gong is part of the Protection Bureau.”  

“Are you talking about Director Gong Joo-chan, the Esper on the same level as the Center Director? I’ve only worked at the Ark, Joo-han-ah.”  

Woo Joo-han lowered his head, looking somewhat disappointed.  

The teacher, who had finally managed to steer the students away from the topic of Lee Hyung-kyung, returned to the main subject.  

“This video best explains immunity. Many of you might already know it.”  

A convenience store engulfed in flames appeared on the screen. The footage was quite blurry, likely recorded by a pre-Crack era security camera.  

Since the camera was positioned above, the faces of the people weren’t clearly visible.  

- Please save me! My daughter’s inside!  

A woman in her thirties stood in front of the convenience store, stomping her feet. She called out her daughter’s name and pleaded for help from those around her.  

But the surrounding situation didn’t look good either. People were screaming and running away.  

“For your information, a gate-type Crack opened in the neighboring building around this time.”  

Han Eun-seok paused the video briefly to provide additional context before resuming playback.  

Just as the woman stood there without receiving any help, suddenly, a man burst into view from the bottom right corner of the screen.  

The man ran into the blazing convenience store without any protective gear. The woman screamed. Something shattered.  

The students watched the video intently.  

About ten seconds after the man entered, the flames inside the convenience store began to subside. It wasn’t because of rain or a fire extinguisher.  

- Min-young-ah!  

Amid the woman’s desperate cries, the man emerged from the burning convenience store, cradling a young girl in his arms. He handed the child back to her mother.  

Han Eun-seok zoomed in on the video. Though the footage was pixelated, the man’s condition was still discernible.  

“Not a single scratch…”  

“But did that guy use some kind of ability? He just went in, right?”  

“I don’t think he used anything. His expression looked a bit… clueless.”  

Students who had carefully observed the man threw in their own comments. After sharing their observations, Han Eun-seok spoke.  

“This is the first recorded video of fire immunity. It holds significance as a historical document. In this case, it wasn’t just immunity; the fire itself was extinguished without using a fire extinguisher.”  

“Is he an Esper?”  

“The concept of Espers didn’t exist at the time. If you’re asking about his manifestation period, this person manifested as an Esper slightly after the time of this video.”  

Han Eun-seok asked with a hint of anticipation in his voice.  

“Do any of you recognize this person?”  

The students furrowed their brows, staring intently at the screen, trying to guess the answer.  

The question implied that the man in the video was someone they should recognize. Yet no one could quite place him.  

The puzzling atmosphere shifted when a calm voice spoke up.  

“Cheon Sung-beom.”  

The classmates quickly turned to look at Cheon Geonyoung, then glanced at the teacher, silently asking if the answer was correct. The teacher smiled faintly and replied.  

“That’s right. Chairman Cheon Sung-beom.”  

“Chairman CH? Wow.”  

“He looks so young… and kinda handsome…”  

“Isn’t this just image correction due to the poor video quality?”  

The students whispered excitedly among themselves. A student sitting next to Cheon Geonyoung widened their eyes and asked:  

“Kwon Hee-sung, how did you know?”  

“I think I saw it in a documentary while flipping through channels.”  

The other student, unaware of Cheon Geonyoung’s real name, quickly accepted his explanation.  

Naturally, no one thought the boy sitting next to them could be the grandson of the man known as the Tiger Chairman.  

“The concepts of immunity and nullification originate here.”  

Han Eun-seok changed the screen after skipping the video. Diligent students prepared to take notes immediately. The sound of pens clicking echoed simultaneously.  

“Some natural Espers have immunity to attacks of the same element. Not all of them, but typically those we refer to as higher-grade Espers.”  

The teacher scanned the students, most of whom were busily scribbling notes with bowed heads.  

Only one student wasn’t looking down.  

“In simple terms, an A-class fire Esper wouldn’t sustain any damage from a C-class fire Esper’s attack. They wouldn’t get burned by a flame-breathing monster. That’s what we call immunity.”  

“Is it like nullification?”  

“That’s closer to the concept of cancellation. Immunity to attacks is limited to oneself. It means not getting hurt by flames, but it doesn’t affect the surrounding environment. Of course, it’s still an incredible advantage…”  

“So basically, they stay unharmed while others struggle. Is that hard to understand?”  

“It’s completely broken. They’re not much help to others.”  

Han Eun-seok nodded lightly.  

“But it increases personal survival rates. Espers with immunity receive different pay compared to those without it. It’s an open secret.”  

“I’m definitely teaming up with an Esper who has immunity.”  

One student declared enthusiastically. The student sitting next to her shot her a disdainful glance.  

“What did you hear earlier…? Only they survive. While your partner stays safe, you’ll be attacked and die.”  

“…Then it’s useless.”  

“Then look for an Esper with cancellation abilities. It won’t be easy, though.”  

Hope flickered back into the student’s eyes at the teacher’s words.  

“Cancellation. This is closer to the concept Suwoo mentioned earlier. It’s the ability to neutralize an attack with the same power.”  

He flipped the screen, and a video featuring Director Lee Hyung-kyung played. The students’ immersion skyrocketed instantly.  

In the video, Lee Hyung-kyung was countering a monster spewing massive ice spears. Even advanced shields couldn’t stop the spears, but with a casual wave of his hand, they transformed into tiny shards of ice.  

“Wow!”  

“This is insane… If I can’t go to Yeouido, I’d rather just die.”  

The fiercely flying ice spears turned into small fragments in an instant and disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if deleting an opponent’s attack in a video game.  

The students’ expressions brightened significantly. They felt they could trust their lives to an Esper like him. But soon, realizing how rare Espers like Lee Hyung-kyung were, they fell back into gloom.  

“With cancellation abilities, it’s possible to minimize collateral damage, as you just saw.”  

“Does it mean having an armored vehicle wrapped around your body?”  

“Something like that. But it comes with the condition of being the same type of attack. Where would you find such a thing in this world?”  

Han Eun-seok began explaining a major incident where hundreds of Espers gathered to save a village on the brink of flooding after a dam nearly collapsed.  

It was during this explanation, as he prepared to wrap up the lesson, that the transfer student quietly listening to the lecture raised a question.  

“A question?”  

“Are there any cases among us with immunity or cancellation?”  

Taken aback by the sudden question, Han Eun-seok blinked.  

Could this be an attempt to torment a seemingly clumsy teacher? Surely not.  

He doubted for a moment, but the questioning student’s face showed nothing more than mild curiosity.  

“Among Guides, cases of immunity… Hmm. At least in the cases I know of, there aren’t any.”  

He answered earnestly. Cheon Geonyoung lightly nodded, signaling he had no further questions.  

“Our fate really sucks. We’re just supposed to heal and die…”  

“Now that I think about it, it’s infuriating.”  

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Students left for the snack bar one by one, discussing the plight of Guides.  

Cheon Geonyoung slowly read the textbook’s explanation of immunity and cancellation, then stood up to prepare for the next class.  

---

He had known about his immunity to fire.  

This was back when Cheon Geonyoung was neither an Esper nor a Guide—just an ordinary human.  

He realized fire couldn’t harm him when he was eleven years old, a year after losing his parents.  

At the time, he lived with a housekeeper and several live-in tutors assigned by Chairman Cheon. Naturally, there was also a doctor.  

Cheon Geonyoung’s condition was unstable.  

Having witnessed the murders of his father and mother in succession, he lost his voice from the shock and became extremely fearful of meeting anyone outside the people he already knew.  

Meanwhile, Chairman Cheon had staged the accidental deaths of his second son and daughter-in-law.  

Details of the story were never reported. Everyone remained silent about Chairman Cheon’s loss, as if bound by a blood oath of silence.  

Chairman Cheon provided his grandson, who had lost his parents, with a massive house on private property.  

That house caught fire.  

The origin of the fire was unknown, but it spread rapidly from the first floor to the second, then to the third.  

The artificial heat cutting through the humid air gradually woke the residents one by one.  

Cheon Geonyoung had been sleeping in the attic. When sleep eluded him, he often climbed to the attic to gaze at the stars through the skylight before dozing off.  

Rumble. He woke to what sounded like an approaching storm, but flames immediately engulfed him.  

As soon as he regained consciousness, he tried to escape downstairs. However, the staircase leading to the lower floors was consumed by fire, blocking his escape.  

“Help! I’m trapped!”  

He tried to scream for help but failed.