The Price of Being S-Class

Jaeyoung was sitting at the living room table, working on an assignment.

He was organizing a list of companies to compare and sending it to his group chat when the sound of running water from the bathroom abruptly stopped.

Turning his head toward the bathroom door, Jaeyoung began tidying up.

He closed the open books and stacked them beside his laptop, then neatly gathered the A4 papers that had been scattered around.

Click.

The door opened, and Saheon stepped out through a haze of steam.

As usual, his damp body was fully on display.

At least his lower half was wrapped in a towel.

Not that it helped much, considering how conspicuously everything else stood out.

Undried droplets traced the contours of his sculpted body and dripped onto the floor.

Without realizing it, Jaeyoung’s gaze followed them downward.

Then, as if splashed with cold water, he jolted and snapped his head up.

His eyes met Saheon’s, who had been watching him as if he’d been waiting for it.

“Why?”

Saheon looked at him with a smile that suggested expectation.

“…You’re soaking the floor.”

Jaeyoung had finally realized that Saheon was doing this on purpose.

He snapped back more sharply than usual, and Saheon clicked his tongue in disappointment as he approached.

Saheon sat down on the sofa and pulled Jaeyoung onto his thigh.

Afraid of losing his balance, Jaeyoung grabbed Saheon’s shoulder and steadied himself.

“Haa.”

Saheon buried his face against Jaeyoung’s shoulder and let out a languid sigh.

Jaeyoung reached around his back and gently patted him.

Holding him like this felt nice.

His body wasn’t too hot, just comfortably warm.

It felt like hugging a warm pet while sleeping.

A pet that was admittedly far too large.

“By the way, are you always dispatched this often?”

The dungeon Saheon had gone to today was a low-rank one, C-class or below, not even worth broadcasting.

Normally, an Esper one rank higher than the dungeon would be assigned.

Yet the center had still requested Saheon.

Judging by how casually he’d taken the call, it didn’t seem like a rare occurrence.

“At least they don’t call me for B-class and above.”

“Well, obviously!”

Jaeyoung raised his voice without meaning to.

His insides churned.

The fact that Saheon didn’t seem angry made it even more frustrating.

No one in the country knew that Jin Saheon, the only S-class Esper in South Korea, was such a pushover.

“If I don’t want to go, I can refuse.”

Of course he could.

He was in that position.

“Then stop wasting your talent on pointless things.”

Jaeyoung decided then that he would manage Saheon’s schedule himself.

As his Guide, the one responsible for his overworked body, he felt entitled to that much.

“Alright. Do it however you want.”

Saheon nodded easily.

The look in his eyes as he watched Jaeyoung’s resolute face was unfamiliar.

They said dungeons existed in this world, yet didn’t belong to it.

This time, the middle of a vast farming region had transformed into a desert.

From a distance, the camera swept across the dungeon interior and the participants.

Espers dressed in thick clothing suitable for the weather were drenched in sweat.

Saheon was nowhere to be seen yet.

But when the camera panned over a sand dune, strange shapes were scattered across the ground.

Squinting closer, they looked disturbingly like people.

“That’s not… real people, right?”

Jaeyoung murmured uneasily.

The cameraman, apparently just as curious, approached without fear.

“What is that?”

The closer the camera got, the more Jaeyoung’s face twisted.

Their skin was sand-colored, flesh clinging tightly to bone like mummies.

Then, suddenly, one of them lifted its head toward the camera.

– Kyaaah.

It opened its mouth wide.

The flesh between its lips stretched long and sticky, like melted cheese.

A creature.

The cameraman must have fallen in shock—the screen shook violently.

– Ugh, aaah!

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

On the shaking screen, a bony, gaunt hand grabbed the cameraman’s leg.

Jaeyoung collapsed onto the sofa, clutching the underwear he’d been holding to put away.

“Why would you get that close…”

He’d thought the cameraman was brave from the moment he followed the dungeon raid, but this was beyond professional dedication.

Even while being grabbed, the cameraman kept filming.

Black veins surfaced across the captured skin, spreading like dead blood vessels.

– Are you trying to get yourself killed?

A cold voice sounded above the cameraman’s head.

The cameraman turned, camera in hand.

Saheon stood there, looking down at him.

– Or do you find what I said funny?

Saheon spoke with a completely emotionless face.

Crunch.

Something shattered.

The cameraman’s face went pale.

He looked more terrified than when the creature had grabbed him.

“He didn’t use his power on a civilian, did he…?”

Jaeyoung muttered uncertainly.

As if to clear the misunderstanding, the cameraman shifted the camera.

Saheon’s foot was crushing the arm gripping the cameraman’s leg.

– If you want to die, do it somewhere no one has to watch.

Saheon said calmly, then stomped down on the mummy’s head.

At the same time, the camera spun upward.

A bursting sound echoed off-screen.

– This alone doesn’t qualify as an A-class dungeon.

– There has to be something more.

The cameraman regained his composure and moved toward the gathered Espers, capturing their conversation.

Like Esper-Guide ranks, dungeon levels ranged from F to A.

The difference was that the highest was called A-plus.

Probably to reduce public anxiety by avoiding harsher terminology.

The mummy-like creatures were dealt with easily.

But the raid wasn’t over.

– There’s a reason the environment is like this.

Saheon scanned the endless desert.

– There’s only one place they could be hiding.

Having finished assessing the situation, Saheon twisted his lips into a confident smile.

Given his striking looks, that expression shone even brighter.

Many of his fans waited specifically for moments like this.

– Ground Dog!

– Yes, Captain!

A man rushed out.

He was an Esper who used earth-type abilities.

Because Saheon always called him “Ground Dog,” the nickname was more famous than his real name.

– Flip it all.

– Pardon… flip what exactly?

Ground Dog hesitated, worried he might get chewed out.

– Shake the ground. All the way down.

– Th-then there’ll be an earthquake!

That would affect not just creatures underground, but everyone above as well.

– Everyone here is B-class or higher, aren’t they?

– If you can’t handle that, hand in your license.

The cold remark made the Espers bristle.

Ground Dog was officially ranked C-class due to low innate mana, but his control allowed him to perform at B-class or higher.

Even A-class Espers would struggle against him.

And when Saheon gave an order, it had to be carried out.

– Something’s resisting!

As he shouted, the sand surged and collapsed like boiling water.

The Espers struggled not to be buried, eyes fixed sharply on the movement.

“What is that?”

Jaeyoung tried to recall any creature that lived underground.

Dungeons varied, but they didn’t invent new creatures every time.

Nothing came to mind.

– Is this whack-a-mole?

A man who looked like he’d never stepped into an arcade spoke.

He lifted a massive boulder with telekinesis.

– T-Team leader, what are you planning to do…?

– Don’t moles show their heads when you smash them?

Saheon hurled the floating boulder at the bulging sand.

Dust exploded outward.

When it settled, the boulder had shattered into pieces.

– Figures an A-class wouldn’t be that easy.

Saheon smiled in satisfaction and gathered the fragments.

The stones formed an oval shield in front of him.

Clang. Clang.

Something struck the shield.

The cameraman captured everything, yet nothing was visible.

Crack—

The stones shattered.

Dust cleared, revealing Saheon.

His once-immaculate clothes were torn, blood seeping through the rips.

What emerged from the sand was a cactus.

Of course, nothing about it was normal.

“Ugh… disgusting.”

Jaeyoung clamped a hand over his mouth.

Its thick body sprouted heavy limbs shaped like three-fingered hands.

A clear, viscous liquid dripped from them.

“Is that its weapon?”

Dark red thorns embedded its entire body.

That had to be what struck Saheon.

“Is hyung okay…?”

Jaeyoung’s eyes tightened with worry.

The vivid color of the thorns felt ominous.

– Princess—no, Captain!

– Team leader! Are you alright?!

The Espers rushed to Saheon, still keeping wary eyes on the creature.

Other creatures peeked from the sand, spying on them.

They might’ve looked cute if not for their crater-pocked bodies and oozing fluid.

– Are you hurt?

– Why did you get hurt?

The team tilted their heads in confusion.

Jaeyoung frowned.

“Why ask why someone got hurt?”

It sounded like blame.

– If you’d all done your jobs properly, I wouldn’t have been injured.

At Saheon’s icy remark, the Espers fell silent.

He was right.

There had been designated defenders.

Some looked wronged, but Jaeyoung felt oddly satisfied.