Chapter 38
It was unfortunate that I couldn’t take the materials outside, but there was certainly a lot of information.
There was too much for me to go through alone, so I asked the uncle for help.
However, after reading about half a book’s worth, he was visibly struggling.
Since this was my business, I naturally had to understand everything, so I was reading through the text at a rapid pace.
“Should I buy you something to drink?”
“Ah… yes. I’d be grateful.”
I wanted coffee, remembering how draining it was to process paperwork during my time at the Association.
I hadn’t had coffee all this time because the kids were always around, but I decided to try my luck.
“I’d like an iced Americano.”
“Won’t it be bitter?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
“I thought you were an old soul, but I guess you’re just like other kids wanting to grow up fast, huh?”
I mentioned it because I remembered the café on the first floor of the Association building made good Americanos, but the uncle just laughed, thinking I was a child making an immature attempt to seem grown-up.
A little while later, the uncle returned with two Americanos and a plain yogurt smoothie.
He probably intended to give me the smoothie if I found the Americano too bitter, but I accepted the iced Americano and gulped it down.
It was refreshing to have it after so long. I definitely wouldn’t need the smoothie.
With my caffeine boost, I went back to examining the documents.
But even reading quickly through everything, more than half of the organized content matched the cases the uncle had mentioned.
As time passed, I grew increasingly frustrated, wondering if I was searching for something that didn’t exist.
So far, there was only one case where an imprint was dissolved without being refused.
When it was a one-sided imprint by an Esper, the Guide died before the imprint was completed.
After confirming this information, I was shocked.
It meant that unless I died, the guys’ imprint on me wouldn’t be broken—but I hadn’t been trying to get close to them and grow up together just to die. That wasn’t my intention at all.
Conversely, the cases where mutual imprints were broken were surprising.
When one person in an imprinted relationship died, the imprint was broken.
Unlike what they constantly warned about in school, saying dire consequences would occur, surprisingly, nothing happened when the imprint was broken.
Unlike how media portrayed it as some destined bond where both parties would die together, that wasn’t the case at all.
The problem wasn’t the side effects of the broken imprint, but what happened to the one left behind.
Mutual imprints often involve lovers who are so desperately in love they choose to “imprint” on each other.
In that situation, what happens if one of them dies?
The survivor either retires, no longer guiding or being guided by anyone, or isolates themselves from everyone. In severe cases, they even make extreme choices.
Socially or literally, they follow their imprinted partner.
This was one of the reasons the Association had headaches over imprints.
“For the Association, it’s because they lose people who can work.”
“I understand.”
To use a very light example, it’s like someone ghosting a group project because they broke up with their partner.
Of course, losing an imprinted partner can’t really be compared to a group project, but from the Association’s perspective, that’s how it is.
High-ranking Espers have the power to tackle high-level Gates, so when they sign guild contracts, they include conditions like tackling certain grade Gates a specific number of times per year for national security and social safety.
They receive astronomical sums of money for such contracts.
But sometimes Espers ignore all that and disappear.
Since this creates a power vacuum and increases the probability of Gate breaks, neither the Association nor the guilds look favorably upon imprints.
That’s why they teach from a young age not to imprint.
But incidents still happened.
Actually, even one-sided imprints are so rare that I could get these translated reports from worldwide cases. If they were common, there would be an uproar everywhere.
Even among regular people, how often can someone confidently say, “This person is my lifelong lover,” “I will only love this person,” and devote their entire heart for a lifetime without doubt?
People date, break up, get married, and sometimes divorce, don’t they?
Amusingly, Espers and Guides aren’t different from ordinary people—they become lovers and break up, become enemies, or return to being friends.
Even after saying they’ll love each other forever, they sometimes separate later.
It’s not easy for hearts to connect deeply enough to reach the point of imprinting.
“My head hurts…”
“You’ve been looking at documents too long. Take a break… By the way, you’re drinking it well?”
“It suits my taste.”
The iced Americano tasted just like I remembered from before my regression.
“The more I look, the more I don’t understand how they imprinted at their current age.”
“Really?”
“It’s similar to the youngest imprinting case ever. The youngest was 13, so they’re a bit older, but it’s hard to confirm since it’s a mutual imprint.”
About half the papers were gone.
I had already put all the materials I’d checked under the desk.
I’d been reading quickly for about three hours since arriving before lunch, but most cases were similar.
Surprisingly, there were many cases of imprinting that started with one-sided love. Often, the Guide later developed feelings, leading to mutual imprinting, while in other cases, they remained guiding partners without reciprocating the imprint.
No matter how much an Esper might consider a Guide their only person, the Guide has no obligation to fully commit to that Esper.
Even if the Esper imprinted thinking the person would become their lover, using one’s imprint to coerce the other person was taboo.
“So that’s why the Association prioritizes Guide protection.”
“Yes. Looking at this, that’s right. Before imprinting was widely known, there were many cases of threatening or restraining Guides by claiming they could only guide that specific Esper. There were several cases abroad too, leading some countries to legally prohibit it.”
One-sided imprints happened in our country too, but cases where it became a “you die, I die” situation like in foreign examples were rare.
The constant teaching in schools that no matter how desperately in love you are, you shouldn’t force it on the Guide, had been effective.
Of course, instilling in Espers the fear that even their small power can kill people played a big role too.
It was an inhumane yet necessary balance maintained by the Association and schools.
“There’s a case from about 15 years ago. In our country too, an Esper kidnapped and imprisoned a Guide, claiming they could only be guided by that specific Guide. Hmm…”
“What happened?”
“The outcome wasn’t good.”
The Esper died during the rescue operation by the Association’s Espers, and the Guide was rescued in a comatose state.
No matter how much they teach that Guides don’t belong to Espers, that they’re not objects or possessions, once someone loses their mind, incidents happen.
But I’m raising the guys well, so it should be fine.
“Well, don’t just look at the bad cases. If things don’t work out, couldn’t you do something like this?”
The document the uncle handed me was an exclusive guiding contract.
He was probably suggesting it because he knew I cared for the guys.
I would never say that the feelings of young teenagers going through puberty are shallow.
But what if, by some chance, after they’ve grown up, they find someone they like more? I might end up blocking the future of those beautiful boys, and that was something I absolutely couldn’t accept.
“I don’t like getting hurt, uncle.”
“Well, that’s only natural.”
“I don’t want to enter Gates. But if I make an exclusive contract, I’ll have to go in with Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon.”
Espers and Guides with exclusive contracts shouldn’t be separated.
Not only does the Guide only attend to the contracted Esper, but the very act of making an exclusive contract increases the probability that the Esper will reject guiding from other Guides, which also increases the chance of reverse guiding.
If I were to make an exclusive contract, it would be a 2-to-1 contract rather than the usual 1-to-1.
To put it bluntly, if Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon have a disagreement and enter Gates separately, I would have to enter Gates twice as often…
The uncle nodded understandingly as I shook my head firmly.
When less than 30% of the materials remained, I was flipping through them half-heartedly when I discovered a document with content different from everything I’d seen so far.
The uncle approached with a puzzled expression when he saw my face change.
“A case where an imprint was broken…”
“Broken, you say?”
“Yes.”
[1986, Esper imprinted one-sided on Guide.]
[1988, Esper’s imprint released.]
There were longer contents written before it, but these two lines caught my eye.
This was exactly the case I was looking for!
Now I just need to know “how” it was done.
I prayed it would be something other than the method the uncle mentioned.
I picked up my phone and went to the Association’s website.
I entered the Guide ID and password assigned to Guides and confirmed that the Esper and Guide were registered with the Association.
“The Guide is still alive!”
“Huh?”
The Esper who had one-sided imprinted and then had it broken was already deceased, with a death date in the early 2000s.
Conversely, the Guide was still alive, though due to their age, they were probably retired from guild or freelance Guide activities.
“The most recent Gate entry date is 2006. It seems they’ve retired.”
The Association keeps track of retired Guides’ locations in case emergency guiding is needed for nearby Espers.
I urgently sought out the Association deputy.
“Ah, I know that Guide.”
“Really? Could I possibly meet them? Right now… no, that would be rude, but could I find out when I might be able to meet them as soon as possible?”
The guys could receive normal guiding.
Even if it wasn’t me, even if it was another Guide, they could safely avoid reverse guiding—this thought made me desperate.
When I unconsciously started pushing, both the uncle and the deputy looked at me with surprised expressions.
Come on, people, it’s not important that I’m acting different from usual.
“I’ll mention it to them. They’re not actively participating in Gate conquests anymore, but they still maintain contact with the Association.”
I had to hold back the urge to cheer out loud.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
