Beyond The Control – Chapter 125

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Chapter 125

Since stairs were still a bit too much for me, I decided to use the elevator. While walking slowly down the corridor chatting away, I unconsciously paused when we reached the elevator doors. My reflection appeared quite clearly on the spotlessly shining doors.

What surprised me in that brief moment was my hair. Whatever Unfist energy it was that affected body hair, my once healthy jet-black hair that had never been dyed had changed to somewhere between silver and light gray. Though I saw it every morning and evening when washing my face, I still couldn’t get used to it.

‘Should I dye it?’

That would mean my first-ever hair dye would be black. Is that even appropriate for a Korean person?

…But if I just walk around like this, I’ll attract attention. Or should I buy a wig?

While I was contemplating these trivial yet serious concerns, the elevator doors opened on the floor where the examination room was located. When the familiar space came into view, my worries about my hair instantly vanished. That space was filled with much more significant concerns.

‘The matching rate with all Espers who underwent testing came out at 99.9 percent.’

The shocking words that Gi-jun had told me still remained vivid in my memory. While they had been a powerful motivation for me to decide on reawakening at the time, now they evoked anxiety and impatience.

Would the same thing happen to me too…

“Senior Su-hyeon.”

I suddenly came to my senses at the voice. Song Ji-hyeok, who was walking hand in hand with me, was looking at me with affectionate eyes.

“Don’t worry. Even if there’s no change in the matching rate or if it drops lower than before, you’re still my one and only lover and Pair.”

“……”

“You know our Pair contract is still valid, right?”

“…I know.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

Looking at Song Ji-hyeok’s bright smile, I felt a mix of emotions. Gratitude, apology, a lump in my throat, and something welling up inside me.

And instead of saying “I’m sorry,” which he disliked, I chose to say “thank you.”

“Thanks. I guess I endured all those harsh years for this moment.”

“You’re thanking me but still throwing shade? Looks like we’re having boneless chicken again tonight.”

Like dandelion seeds scattering with a single breath, the worries that had been gnawing at me completely disappeared with just one sentence from Song Ji-hyeok. And in their place, positive energy with no identifiable source filled me up.

Yeah, it’s fine even if the rate drops… it’s… fine…

Even if it’s not okay right now, I’ll recover soon. Of course.

“Welcome.”

“Hello, Director. It’s been a while.”

As expected, the Human Resources Director personally oversaw the examination process. Seeing that this busy person had made a personal appearance again despite there being dedicated staff for the examination room, I had a feeling. It seemed the examination results would be reported directly to the upper management as soon as they came out.

Instead of immediately suggesting that we enter the capsules, the Director made a somewhat unexpected comment.

“You look good together. My intuition was right after all.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m saying I knew you two would end up like this from the first time I saw you. Haha.”

Only then did I realize where the Director’s gaze was directed. Since leaving the hospital room, Song Ji-hyeok and I had been affectionately holding hands.

Though the dark circles under his eyes were still a bit concerning, his smiling face was much better to see than a frowning one or one plastered with worries. Since we were seeing the Director after a long time, Song Ji-hyeok and I exchanged brief greetings before heading to our respective capsules.

It felt new again, but since meeting Song Ji-hyeok, I seemed to be having many unique experiences. How many times had I taken the matching rate test this year, when previously I’d take it once a year at most?

The way to spend time inside the capsule was always the same. While I was absent-mindedly thinking about various things, the announcement signaling the end of the examination played.

Song Ji-hyeok arrived at the central display board a bit earlier. Thinking ‘I guess the difference in height really matters,’ I also walked over, and as soon as the distance closed, Song Ji-hyeok’s hand wrapped around my shoulder.

‘Phew.’

I quietly let out a silent sigh, trying not to show it. I was fine until the examination was conducted, but as the moment to check the results approached, an inevitable tension built up.

“Senior.”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“……!”

At the unexpected confession, my gaze automatically turned sideways. My eyes widening was just a bonus. His handsome face entered my view even from the side, and fortunately, instead of being dumbfounded, I stammered in embarrassment.

“Hey, the Director is here…”

At that very moment, I saw Song Ji-hyeok’s pupils, which had been fixed straight ahead, dilate greatly. Following his lead, I also looked forward again.

Large letters had appeared on what had been a pitch-black screen.

[S-class Esper Song Ji-hyeok – D-class Guide Lee Su-hyeon

Matching Rate 99.99%]

***

Matching rate 99.99%.

That day when I finally saw with my own eyes the result I had desperately wished for, that day when I witnessed the usually stern and serious Director jumping up and down shouting right in front of me, that day when I hugged Song Ji-hyeok and cried like a child without even realizing it.

After that day, my life changed 180 degrees from before. Simply put, every day became very busy.

First, I went back to the Awakened Association to have my rank remeasured. Unlike before when I casually took the bus alone, the guild provided a dedicated vehicle, so I arrived comfortably.

An earth-shattering event occurred at the Association too. After completing the Guide test, I was sitting crouched on a sofa in the lobby when an employee called my name with an astonished face and took me to the second-floor examination room.

The second floor had a completely different atmosphere from the first. The first floor was so crowded with awakened people that it felt hot even just sitting still, but the second floor was noticeably quiet and pleasant. There were hardly any people passing by, giving me the feeling of being on the 7th floor of the guild building.

“Guide Lee Su-hyeon?”

Eventually, a middle-aged woman addressed me. As I responded with “Yes,” I casually glanced at her name tag and was surprised. Below her ID photo, the words “Examination Director” were clearly engraved.

I only realized why someone as important as the Examination Director had appeared before me after completing two additional reexaminations that followed. After a total of three examinations, my confirmed result was as follows:

[Unmeasurable (Unlimited) A-class]

Unlike some countries overseas where Guides can have S-class ranks, in Korea, A-class is the highest rank. An awakened person who receives an Unmeasurable A-class, or UA-class rating, is given the S-class title, but in Korea, there had never been such a result before. In simple terms, they wanted to assign the rank, but there had been no qualifying candidates.

Not only in our country but throughout Asia, UA-class Guides were particularly hard to find, leading to theories like “genetic influences play a big role” circulating as if they were established facts, though they weren’t verified theories. Then suddenly, the first UA rank appeared, so it made sense that the Examination Director would rush over in surprise.

“My goodness, how is this possible…”

The Examination Director’s face was full of emotion as she held my hand and shook it repeatedly. As for me… I was dazed. Even though I already knew that the ranks of all those who succeeded in reawakening had risen to S-class, when I actually received the UA-class result form, it felt even more unreal than when I took the matching rate test.

The aftermath was significant. The news that South Korea’s first UA-class Guide had appeared spread rapidly like wildfire on dry brush. In just a few minutes, it decorated the front pages of all kinds of mass media with “Breaking News” titles.

The excitement didn’t subside easily. To exaggerate a bit, whenever I turned on the news, related information would flow out, and interview requests and transfer offers flooded in. Somehow people found out, and contacts poured in not only through my phone but also via email, to the point where I was afraid to check them.

The media didn’t just report the news that I had succeeded in reawakening. They practically covered my entire life story – how I had been expected as a dual awakened but was quickly ignored by the public, how I had silently walked the given path until meeting Song Ji-hyeok, how I had gone through difficult times when my Guide rank dropped to D-class, and so on. In their portrayal, I was both an icon of misfortune who had lived a life more roller-coaster-like than anyone else in the world, and simultaneously an icon of hope.

But ironically, there weren’t many opportunities to directly experience this popularity(?). I mainly just went back and forth between the guild and home, both of which boasted ironclad security.

Self-searching my name with a pounding heart didn’t last long either. At first, it was fascinating, but I quickly lost interest, and later, even when I encountered it unexpectedly, I only thought:

‘Should I really write an autobiography?’

Besides becoming an overnight sensation, there was another major change in my life. When I had my rank remeasured at the Association, I received two results:

[Guide Rank: Unmeasurable (Unlimited) A]

[Esper Rank: Not Applicable]