Chapter 40
7.
I entered the high school division.
I couldn’t tell the guys that I knew about their imprint, and because I didn’t tell them, they couldn’t frequently apply for Gate entries.
I hated getting hurt and didn’t want to gamble with my life.
And there was another problem—the issue of my matching rate with the two guys.
Since Ji Yeohoon’s uncle was the only Guide around me who had been involved with imprints, I called him immediately after our meeting at school ended and told him what we’d discussed.
‘Beyond everything else, the matching rate being so high is also a problem.’
‘That’s right.’
‘At this level, ordinary rejection wouldn’t cause reverse guiding.’
90% and 91%.
The highest matching rate since Espers and Guides appeared was a case exceeding 100%.
It happened just once abroad—apparently when they checked the matching rate, the graph kept rising until the machine broke down.
Officially, it was 100%.
The guys and I aren’t at that level, but considering that the average matching rate for most is between 40-70%, 90% is indeed extremely high.
However, once the matching rate exceeds 60%, guiding is almost always successful unless the Esper strongly rejects it.
Literally, as long as the Esper doesn’t go berserk, if the matching rate exceeds 60%, an emergency guiding request is submitted.
Of course, the Association held all this information about matching rates.
Throughout winter, Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon searched for Guides with similar matching rates in the guild, and they found two Guides within the guild who had matching rates exceeding 70%.
Most Gate conquests requested through school were F-rank, or at most C to D-rank, so even among third-year students, they only applied once and conquered without any increase in Gate rank.
The guild-sponsored Gate field practice, which they called “part-time work,” was applied for once during winter break after the school practice, and they cleared it without incident.
Thanks to the knowledge of the two guys’ one-sided imprint within the guild, the two Guides with good matching rates deliberately went in, but since there wasn’t a lack of guiding, they just provided guiding outside after the conquest.
So we decided to wait until they became adults.
The uncle also didn’t want Ji Yeohoon to be in danger, so he hoped for the imprint to be broken, but he said he didn’t want me, whom he’d known since childhood, to be in danger either.
“Let’s go.”
“Oh, you’re here already?”
The high school dormitory was larger than the middle school dormitory.
They said that as long as you wore a shirt and dark gray uniform pants properly, they didn’t bother about what else you wore on top, and most wore school activewear.
They called it activewear or gym clothes, but it was really just comfortable training clothes.
They said you could wear either black or white, but for the first day, they asked us to wear our uniforms.
The uniform itself was very similar to the middle school uniform, just a slightly darker color, so there was a noticeable difference.
“You seem to have grown again over winter?”
Yoon Cheong, who answered that he was 183cm, was literally growing like a weed.
I knew Espers tended to grow quickly, but seeing it up close made it more disheartening.
I had just barely exceeded 170cm.
My height before the regression was 179cm… well, 178.5cm, so even if I grew exactly the same as before, I’d still be a midget compared to the two guys who would continue to grow taller.
I should have teased them more when they were younger.
‘Don’t contact me again!’
‘That’s my line.’
The two guys had a pretty big fight on the day we moved the last of our belongings to the high school division.
They were helping move stuff to my room and saying something when suddenly they yelled loudly.
Even when I asked them what was wrong, they wouldn’t properly explain.
Roughly combining what they told me, from Ji Yeohoon’s perspective, he was upset about not being able to see us often for a year due to being in different grades, and he got angry because Yoon Cheong was subtly annoying him.
From Yoon Cheong’s perspective, it was different—he said Ji Yeohoon kept trying to crawl up to me.
He said Ji Yeohoon was crawling up to me, but I didn’t really notice that. I just thought he was cute.
“Let’s not go to the middle school division.”
“Should I get caught in the crossfire of your fight? Do you want to see Ji Yeohoon experiencing reverse guiding when he can’t even receive guiding from other people?”
“…Well, no.”
I understood that no matter how long they’d grown up together, it’s irritating when a one-year-younger kid keeps getting under your skin, but seeing them not talking to each other like little kids throwing tantrums made me sigh.
I deliberately created a group chat and brought them both in, but they hadn’t spoken for a week since the day I invited them.
Because they were using the high school dormitory, their meal times were completely separate, so I was the only one with a headache.
“So you’re not going to apologize?”
“I don’t need to.”
“This kid, as the older one…”
“I don’t have such a younger brother.”
Nonsense.
They’ve been playing games together every day since they were little.
And I know that until just before they fought, they were playing bottom lane with one as ADC and the other as support.
“…Yoon Cheong.”
“Yeah?”
“You know what?”
“What?”
“They say real siblings fight a lot until high school.”
“He’s not my brother.”
Yes, they’re not biological brothers, but they’re growing up like the sibling relationship I know.
Right now, Yoon Cheong is angry, and Ji Yeohoon is too hurt to speak, but I think they’ll talk well when they see each other’s faces.
Since today was the first day of school, I couldn’t find Ji Yeohoon in the middle school classroom before today, and because they weren’t in the same dormitory, they couldn’t freely visit each other, which made them not talk even more.
That’s why I deliberately wanted to go find him, and knowing that he would follow me with not just 90% but 100% certainty if I went, I brazenly headed out.
“It’s been a week since I saw him.”
“I know.”
“Even if you don’t go, I have to. I need to provide guiding. But if you keep making that sour face, I might get angry too. Where does that attitude of ‘I won’t go to the middle school division because I’m angry’ come from? Let’s be reasonable.”
And I told him straight.
I don’t like you two fighting.
I had already messaged Ji Yeohoon the same thing.
What happens to me if you two keep this up, I asked.
Yoon Cheong closed his mouth and came out first wearing a shirt, uniform pants, and a cardigan.
His face was increasingly becoming like what I remembered from before the regression—the sharp appearance I had seen in photos and on TV.
But I don’t know if it’s just me, but the atmosphere clearly felt like he was watching for my reaction.
As soon as we entered the classroom, Yoon Seong-jin, who came running saying it had been a while, was lightly avoided by Yoon Cheong, who then used telekinesis to throw him back to his seat.
It’s still scary when someone nearly 2 meters tall comes running at you first thing in the morning.
“Another home run today… Hello!”
Baek Da-hyuk was grinning as usual, and Yoo Ji-ae waved her hands vigorously.
Sun Cheol-ho, who was still shy even as a high school student, peeked in by opening the classroom door and poking his head in before quietly entering and sitting down.
It was normal.
Even though the class had grown, there were still only twenty-four students, so it wasn’t very noisy, and there was no awkwardness since we had been together since childhood. Even for newcomers, there wasn’t a sense of exclusion.
Rather, the atmosphere was so friendly that newcomers were approached first.
“Are you going during lunch break?”
“Yeah. I think we can go right after lunch.”
“Today is chocolate!”
“I brought candy, but would chocolate have been better?”
“The more, the better, right?”
Yoon Cheong was talking normally but looked subtly sullen, which bothered me.
His expression was sharp, and because he looked sullen, the atmosphere was also sharp. The classmates didn’t pay much attention, but it felt like the back of my neck was tingling.
“Stop making that face.”
“Face? What’s wrong with Cheong?”
“He’s in a cold war with Ji Yeohoon.”
“Don’t they fight all the time?”
“For a week now.”
“What?”
They weren’t surprised about the fighting since it happened daily, but as soon as they heard how long it had been going on, Yoo Ji-ae and Baek Da-hyuk stared at Yoon Cheong.
And not long after, their expressions changed to ones of disdain.
“…What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Are you happy being like this with your younger brother for a week?”
Yoo Ji-ae is usually blunt, but Baek Da-hyuk’s usually laid-back words seemed to shock Yoon Cheong quite a bit.
He had been looking displeased all along, but that quickly crumbled.
“No apology, no reconciliation? You’re not even talking?”
“You can have disagreements with a one-year-younger brother, but why are you being so narrow-minded?”
“A week is crossing the line…”
Yoon Seong-jin, who was sitting at his desk, and Yoo Ji-ae threw straight pitches.
Moreover, the last of the triplets, Sun Cheol-ho, who had come in shyly and was listening to our conversation, muttered as if to himself but loudly enough for all to hear.
Yoon Cheong had an expression of wounded pride.
I was now confident that he wouldn’t refuse to enter the classroom or resist when I took him to the middle school division during lunch break.
Because then he’d be treated even more like an eyesore.
The triplets, Yoo Ji-ae, and I nodded, inwardly celebrating the success of our strategy.
Actually, I had bribed them in advance.
After lunch, unlike in the morning, Yoon Cheong followed without making a face saying he didn’t want to. Yoo Ji-ae and Baek Da-hyuk excitedly ran to see Do Yoon-seo, a Guide one year below us.
Leaving the still unfamiliar high school building, we arrived at the middle school division where Ji Yeohoon, who had been sitting quietly in the classroom, saw me and approached with a tearful expression.
Then he hesitated when he saw Yoon Cheong.
“Hyung…”
“What are you two going to do? Do I need to teach you how to apologize and reconcile now?”
You’re in 3rd year of middle school and 1st year of high school; you can talk to each other.
The excuse of being young is starting to not work anymore.
If they had grown up only within the Esper school system without me, they might have kept their distance from things they didn’t like, not approached them, and only seen what they wanted to see.
But I’ve watched them since they were little, and I taught them to apologize when they feel sorry.
Espers and Guides who entered late at the end of middle school had already learned a lot by spending time with regular friends before transferring.
But knowing that Ji Yeohoon, who entered school later than me, and Yoon Cheong, who grew up with me, wouldn’t keep their distance just anywhere, I scolded them a bit for staying quiet with each other for a whole week.
“Who was wrong first? Do I need to sort this out for you?”
“…No.”
“No.”
Yoon Cheong, who let out a deep sigh, gestured to Ji Yeohoon.
Then they both went outside together.
Since they both have strong pride, I didn’t think I needed to watch them talk.
Since I didn’t think they would throw punches or fight more, I watched as they returned in less than five minutes. They looked a bit awkward but similar to before.
“Do you prefer chocolate or candy?”
I didn’t ask what happened or what they talked about.
It was a trivial disagreement, and now it seemed fine, so there was no need for me to ask or for them to tell me.
When I held up the candy and chocolate, Ji Yeohoon, now at least 7cm taller than me, hugged my neck saying, “Hyung, I’m sorry.”
Yoon Cheong also fidgeted and firmly grasped my hand.
“Fight moderately, moderately.”
After unwrapping and putting them in their mouths, much of the awkwardness from after their fight had reduced.
I ruffled their hair and returned to the classroom for afternoon classes.
Everything was good up to that point.
“Since today is the first day of the new semester, we have a new transfer student. Everyone get along well, and friend, would you like to introduce yourself and go to the empty seat?”
I thought it was a day when things were going well, until a pink-haired boy entered the school of villains and heroes.
“My name is Ye Han-dam. I manifested as an Esper before, and I transferred here due to joining a guild. Please take care of me.”
“Ah, fuck.”
“…Moon Soo-young?”
“Just be quiet for a moment.”
At my low voice, Yoon Cheong tapped the desk in confusion.
I’m not in a position to explain to you right now, you hero bastard from before the regression.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
