Inside the changing room, there was a shower area at the back.
The two of them quickly stripped off their training uniforms, stuffed them into shopping bags, and headed into the showers to wash off the sweat and grime clinging to their bodies. The instant the cold water hit his head, a shiver ran from head to toe, and a refreshing sensation followed.
After finishing the cold shower, Ho-eun stepped out of the shower stall with a white towel loosely wrapped around his body. His wet feet left damp footprints with every step. He opened the locker containing his clothes, dressed in what he had worn earlier, and finally strapped on his Guide Watch.
Since yesterday, whenever he had a free moment, he checked Do In-ho’s guiding percentage. It was currently at 15%, having dropped again since the last check. To maintain a stable 20%, Do In-ho should’ve come for Broadcast Guiding yesterday, but he never showed—not even past midnight.
Treating him like a disobedient student, Ho-eun thought he’d have to pay a visit to Do In-ho’s place after today’s session.
For the first time in a while, the three of them—Ho-eun, Yoon-jae, and Se-hee—grabbed a meal together at the cafeteria. After chatting at a café, they returned to the training hall right on time.
The training hall looked different from the day before. The cluttered space had been cleaned up, with tables and chairs now arranged in an orderly manner.
A ceiling-mounted projector beamed a white screen onto the wall. Unsure if they were about to watch a video or something else, the three of them took seats and waited, once again, for the perpetually late Hosoo.
This time, he was 20 minutes late.
Hosoo strolled in at a leisurely pace, showing no hint of guilt, holding a sheet of paper in hand.
“I’ll read out your physical fitness rankings real quick, so listen up. First, Kwon Ho-eun. Are you an athlete or something? With numbers like these, you’re pretty much on par with an Esper. Grade 1. Ryu Yoon-jae, Grade 3. Kim Se-hee, Grade 4.”
“What does physical fitness have to do with guiding?”
As soon as the rankings were announced, Kim Se-hee raised her hand and asked.
“The first test yesterday measured how much guiding energy is inside your body. Today’s physical test assessed how well you can endure while guiding. Just making contact with an Esper drains physical stamina. The weaker your body is, the harder guiding becomes. Even just holding hands could feel like you’ve run a marathon.”
“Then what happens to Guides who have weak stamina?”
“That’s exactly why we run these tests and assign rankings. This data is input into your Guide Watch. Later, when you’re actually guiding, if the system determines that your body’s hit its limit based on your stats, guiding will be forcibly cut off. The Guide Corporation prioritizes the Guide’s safety above all else.”
“And Espers aren’t even treated like people, huh.”
The thought that had been bubbling in Ho-eun’s chest slipped out in a low murmur.
Hosoo turned to him with a crooked smile.
Just when it seemed like Hosoo might approach him, he instead walked past Ho-eun to a table with a laptop.
“……”
The sound of keys tapping and a mouse clicking followed, and then the blank screen lit up—the projector began playing a video.
The footage was black and white, grainy like an old recording. Amid dark static lines, a faint human figure appeared. Surrounding them, the village seemed to be submerged—only rooftops remained above water, as if there’d been a massive flood. The scene abruptly shifted.
Now there were disasters—raging fires, lightning crashing down in torrents, and more.
As they watched, something started to feel off. Even amidst all the chaos, a single person remained standing, unscathed.
Ah, this isn’t just a natural disaster. It’s an Esper.
That person was flooding the village, burning down mountains, creating a sea of flames—all with their ability.
The footage shifted from black and white to full color.
One person stood alone, wiping out an entire military unit. A man dressed in a black uniform raised his right hand, and dark smoke poured out. In an instant, it engulfed the soldiers, strangling their throats, throwing their formation into chaos.
One man versus an entire battalion. The result defied all logic. A single Esper in black uniform, subduing an entire force—how powerful is he? No—can that even be called “power”? That’s just…
“Espers aren’t human. They’re monsters. There are more abilities out there, but for educational purposes, this video only shows the major ones. Espers can take lives in the blink of an eye. That’s why the South Korean government, and the world, strictly regulate them. Now imagine what would happen if the government stopped protecting Guides and civilians.”
“……”
“Civilians would be seen as expendable, no more than flies. Guides would be worked to death by Espers during guiding. Even if a Guide doesn’t consent, all it takes is a single touch for Direct Guiding to begin. If an Esper wants to overpower your will, all they need is brute force. You said Espers aren’t treated like people? You’re right.”
“……”
“Kwon Ho-eun. You feel sorry for Espers? Then what about the ones who kidnap Guides and use them just to survive? There’s no good or evil between Espers and Guides—only those who use, and those who are used.”
“……”
“We’re Guides. So shouldn’t we stand on the side of Guides? If the era of Guides ends and Espers take over… Think carefully about how we’ll be treated then. Let’s see who won’t be seen as human anymore.”
Ho-eun stared at the screen, processing Hosoo’s words.
This wasn’t a movie. It was real. There really were people out there with powers like that—who could decimate a military base, burn down mountains, drown entire villages. Could those beings really be called “human”? Like Hosoo said, they weren’t.
They looked human—but their powers had long since transcended human limits.
Now he understood why the media kept Espers under wraps and never revealed the full extent of their abilities.
If ordinary people saw this, what would they feel first? Terror.
Sheer, paralyzing fear would stop them from ever accepting Espers as real. And by extension, they’d reject Guides too, as people helping these monsters.
The Espers Ho-eun had known until now were different. They used their abilities to protect others. But the one in the video used his power solely for himself.
And there wasn’t a single Guide who could stop him from turning into a villain.
“What the hell. More brainwashing? First it was theory class, now this. Don’t you think it’s like they’re trying to cram some twisted ideology into us?”
“Ah… yeah, seriously.”
“They say Espers are dangerous and that they’ll inevitably cause harm. Because they’ve done it before, they’ll do it again. That if we, the Guides, don’t control them, they’ll turn into villains at any time.”
“Right…”
“They show Espers as heroes in the media, but this? It’s disgusting.”
Ho-eun turned to look at Kim Se-hee, thinking maybe he’d misheard.
She wore a sneer on her lips.
Kids these days are bolder than he thought.
If she hadn’t spoken loud enough to catch Hosoo’s attention, he might’ve said something right then and there. Luckily, he didn’t seem to hear. He sat back in a single-person armchair, legs crossed.
“Alright, each of you open the drawer at your table. There’s a flower inside.”
None of the three had realized there were drawers.
Fumbling around, they reached in and pulled out what Hosoo had described. Sure enough, each drawer held a flower—already wilted, devoid of scent.
“This is an Ability Product made by a Recovery-type Esper. A flower imbued with power. If you guide it properly, it’ll bloom forever. Starting today, we’re going to practice Direct Guiding. If you succeed, the flower will blossom. That’s your indicator.”
Each person’s flower was different.
Kim Se-hee had a branch of cherry blossoms. Ryu Yoon-jae had a plum blossom.
Ho-eun’s was something he didn’t recognize—a flower with blue leaves.
There was a name tag on the stem: Flax Flower.
Hosoo, too, held a flower—wilted and purple, with four split petals. It was unclear where he’d pulled it from.
“Focus on the hand holding the flower. Now imagine it—see the wilted flower blooming again.”
As Hosoo finished speaking, the flower in his hand slowly began to regain life. The sagging petals perked up, unfurled, and bloomed vibrantly.
He released the flower, and in an instant, it shriveled and dropped to the floor.
“From now on, we’ll be practicing Direct Guiding with these flowers imbued with Esper abilities. Your task is to bring it back to life and keep it that way until tomorrow.”
Hosoo picked up the fallen flower again and guided energy into it.
It bloomed once more—this time holding its form even after he let go. He’d probably infused just enough guiding energy to keep it alive until tomorrow.
The three of them followed suit, touching their flowers and concentrating.
Imagine it blooming again…
Ho-eun closed his eyes and focused.
Just like when he guided Do In-ho, a tingling sensation sparked at his fingertips.
He opened his eyes—and the flower had fully bloomed.
“It’s alive.”
A Guide can bring a dying Esper back to life.
Espers burn through their own life force to protect others.
Ho-eun turned the flower gently in his hands, admiring it.
Would this flower protect me—or hurt me?
As his thoughts drifted, the flower quickly wilted.
It lost its scent and beauty. Now, it was simply dead.
“Alright. You don’t need me anymore, do you?”
With a parting remark—you’ll understand guiding better if you try it for yourself, so prepare well—Hosoo vanished without another word.
Whether he left because he was busy or just couldn’t be bothered was unclear, but it was a familiar pattern.
Beside him, Kim Se-hee plucked off a cherry blossom petal, then breathed guiding energy into it.
From the spot where the petal had been torn off, a new bud sprouted.
“Look. As long as you guide it, it’ll come back to life—again and again.”
With a frown, she waved her flower at Ryu Yoon-jae.
He gently cupped his wilted flower, closed his eyes, but nothing changed—he couldn’t concentrate.
Ho-eun glanced at Hosoo’s now-empty chair, then stood up.
With no supervisor watching over them, lingering here felt like a waste of time.
“I’ll be heading out first.”
He still had to find Do In-ho—the flower that was withering even now.
He only wanted to offer a helping hand to someone clinging to the edge of a cliff.
But the more he learned about the relationship between Espers and Guides, the more it warned him—don’t get involved for something as simple as compassion. Spare your half-hearted goodwill.
