Chapter 4
So this 4 million won is next month’s lecturer fee.
He quickly grasped the situation. The information from Ko Eunseo and the nearly empty account balance helped activate his brain.
Obviously, he couldn’t wait and starve for the original owner of this body who might return at any unknown time. He could simply use this 4 million won believing Ko Eungyo would return on time. However, if “Ko Eungyo” didn’t return next month, he would be the one who’d have to compensate for the 4 million won loss.
‘I just need to prepare for the class from now on.’
Since it’s a liberal arts class… wouldn’t it be enough to just make it look plausible?
He remembered hearing about a Guide’s experience with commissioned lectures before.
Mobile phones don’t work inside Gates unless there’s an Esper with communication abilities. Therefore, most ability users had nothing to do when bedtime came. Since there was rarely any need for communication unless it was a large-scale Gate, they usually killed time by talking to each other.
From what he heard then, these commissioned lectures were very easy. It was just about teaching classes focused on field experiences and explaining simple Gate safety rules. Yet, the side income was quite substantial.
He made a quick decision.
Teaching a class—he’d never even thought about it before. But… anyway, since he decided to do it, he reluctantly accessed Korea University’s website. Naturally, there was no way he would remember the ID and password. He didn’t know them in the first place. So he temporarily issued a new ID and password.
“Hah…”
After struggling all day, he finally found a liberal arts course called “Understanding Abilities” taught by Lecturer Ko Eungyo on Korea University’s website.
If there was one thing he overlooked, it was time.
No matter how much he intended to just pretend to lecture, at this rate, the preparation time was absolutely insufficient.
His thoughtful gaze moved back and forth between the calendar and the clock.
The semester was starting next Monday. And “Understanding Abilities” was, of all times, scheduled for Monday’s first period. Whoever decided this, it was a frustrating schedule.
With narrowed eyes, he quickly scanned the professor’s timetable several times. He had hoped otherwise, but as expected, the commissioned lecture that Ko Eungyo was in charge of was just this one. That was fortunate, if anything.
A required liberal arts class held twice a week, one hour each time. Special department students must complete this course to graduate.
‘Who on earth is this Esper that he’s having such a grand romance with…’
If he hadn’t been dating that Esper, there would have been no need to prepare for lectures or risk having his credit card cut off. He found himself blaming Ko Eungyo.
As he stretched his stiff neck from staring at the monitor for so long, he inadvertently noticed the celebrity photos densely covering all four walls of the room.
‘…No way.’
Could those photos not be of celebrities…
But of an Esper?
Unconsciously, as if entranced, he opened the Center Guide application.
In the ‘my’ option, he could see not only his basic information but also a list of Espers he was in charge of, complete with photos, names, and grades.
He was so busy that he hadn’t thought to check the Esper list. To be more accurate, he hadn’t even considered that he would need to provide Guiding to “Ko Eungyo’s” Esper.
When he was Jang Iju, this ‘my’ option’s Esper list had a long, long scroll. Over twenty Espers were in his ‘my’, and there were numerous Guiding requests from Espers not in his ‘my’ as well.
In contrast, Ko Eungyo was currently in charge of just two Espers.
And he could easily recognize one of them.
It was a face he couldn’t help but recognize—one he had seen continuously since opening his eyes in this body every time he entered the room.
“Huh.”
Can someone like their assigned Esper… this much?
When he was Jang Iju, such a thing was unimaginable. It meant all relationships were purely business. With a many-to-one relationship from the start, there was no room for forming deeply affectionate connections like love.
For him, a ‘my’ list with just the two of them dangling alone was a first.
Of course… it’s possible. Espers and Guides can become special relationships in any number of ways. While Guides seeking achievements usually choose around ten Espers with the highest matching rates from those assigned by the Center, there were Guides who didn’t follow this practice.
With so many ability users, the possibilities were incredibly diverse.
Some only worked with a few Espers who matched their preferences, or some who had quit being Guides but still provided Guiding to Espers they had grown attached to from past connections… Rarely, there were even Guides who, as if they were lovers, kept only one Esper by their side, caring for and cherishing them as though it were a destiny set by the world.
‘…At least it’s mutual, right?’
An unusually ominous feeling came over him.
Slowly rubbing his brow, he alternately looked at Esper “Woo Sihyun” displayed on the ‘my’ section of the Guide application and the man with an arrogant smile plastered on every wall of the room.
*
‘Lecture plan.’
No matter how hard he glared at the lecture plan displayed on the computer monitor screen, it didn’t change.
‘Is this right?’
He definitely remembered seeing lecture plans since he had graduated from university, but he couldn’t tell if this was correct.
Were lecture plans usually this… concise?
At two in the morning on Sunday, it seemed pointless to keep staring at the lecture plan. With a sigh, he scanned the lecture plan organized into a table for 16 weeks. The only consolation was that the lecture language was Korean. Most of the lecture plan consisted of team teaching, or in other words, team projects.
Course overview: To develop empathy and understanding abilities between Espers and Guides (hereafter ability users).
Course objective: To understand the qualities of ability users.
Main textbook and reference materials: PDF file.
Compared to other lecture plans, this one was written excessively simply. Ko Eunseo’s remark over the phone about what a non-ability user like him was doing as a professor might be true. Swallowing dryly, he looked for the PDF file uploaded to the lecture board for confirmation.
That PDF file…
Was just a list of references with titles of papers and reference books along with their authors.
At first, he thought he had found the wrong file or that it hadn’t been uploaded to the lecture board yet, so he thoroughly searched through the computer’s internal files. Logically, that couldn’t be the PowerPoint for the lecture. But no matter how much he searched, he couldn’t find a proper PowerPoint file. Soon he concluded that the owner of this body, Ko Eungyo, hadn’t created any lecture materials despite having to teach soon.
‘Is this… okay?’
Is it fine to just structure the class around team projects without actually teaching anything? But even though he now had doubts, no solution came to mind on how to change it at this point. He was a field Guide who had never once thought about becoming a professor.
I guess commissioned lectures can be done carelessly…
Nodding forcefully, he made a simple PowerPoint for tomorrow’s presentation.
“Haah…”
Alright. Let’s stop worrying about the lecture.
Rather than that, it might be wiser to worry about what to do if Ko Eungyo’s Esper boyfriend discovered that he wasn’t the “real” Ko Eungyo. If there were about ten Espers under his charge, they wouldn’t necessarily know what the original Guide was like, but… with just two, it’s different. They would immediately notice that Ko Eungyo had changed.
Should he brazenly pretend to be Ko Eungyo, or should he reveal that he’s someone else?
What if they think I’m crazy?
“…”
With such worries, he fell asleep at dawn.
It rained on the morning of the first lecture day. Though he hadn’t slept for several hours, the countless worries from last night had subsided, and his mind was filled with optimistic thoughts that the lecture might go well.
He admits it was a naive thought.
Field ability users become less startled as they become more experienced. Being flustered inside a Gate can immediately lead to injury. “Keep your wits about you!” Experienced ability users always repeatedly cautioned newcomers to remain calm. He too was one of the field Guide ability users with a strong heart.
At first, he thought he had entered the wrong classroom.
Arriving at Korea University 30 minutes early to avoid getting lost in the morning, he luckily found the lecture hall well. Up until then, he was only slightly nervous. But even after 9 o’clock, the lecture hall remained empty.
With over 80 enrolled students, he wondered how this could be possible, even considering that students often skip the first orientation day. Worried that he might have confused the lecture time, he went outside to check even the nameplate of the lecture hall.
But helpfully, the nameplate beside the classroom door, which briefly listed the lecture schedule, showed today’s timetable. And in the very first slot was inserted a nameplate that read <1st Period, Understanding Abilities>.
Today was definitely the first day of lectures.
“Um, Professor?”
Inside the lecture hall, apart from one male student who was smiling awkwardly, it was completely empty.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
