Chapter 43
Because of yesterday’s incident, it seemed like none of the students wanted to be around Ye Han-dam.
So despite seeing what happened yesterday, the teacher deliberately said it was fine and guided him.
“Where’s Ye Han-dam?”
“He’s not in his seat. Earlier when the teacher was in pain, he stood there for a while, then went outside.”
Baek Da-hyuk answered with his usual dragging voice.
The teacher being in pain is quite a serious matter, but why does it sound less serious when this guy talks about it? I nodded to Baek Da-hyuk.
“Let’s go find Ye Han-dam.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s time for class to start.”
The atmosphere was inevitably more chaotic since reverse guiding had never happened among our classmates before.
This situation wasn’t good, as guiding is greatly affected by the Guide’s physical condition and the comfort level between Espers.
I needed to check quickly, but since I also needed to confirm some things, I couldn’t guide freely.
Since he just transferred yesterday, he probably doesn’t know many places.
I searched for him as a classmate first.
When Yoon Cheong and I approached him sitting looking at the school playground, he rolled his eyes.
“Hello.”
“Um… hello.”
“It’s almost time for class to start. We need to go in.”
“You came looking for me?”
Both Yoon Cheong and I nodded.
Ye Han-dam looked at us as if surprised.
I guess it would seem strange that we’re approaching him when all the other kids are being awkward around him.
But still, since he had a period of guiding many people, in Ye Han-dam’s situation, it was necessary to talk more and become closer.
“Thanks. I’ll come back after making a call.”
He put up a wall, seemingly uninterested in becoming friends.
I decided to back off, afraid that pushing forward might only distance him further.
After returning to the classroom and some time passing, I sighed as a tiny bit of awkwardness developed between Guides and Espers during the afternoon class.
I approached Yoon Cheong, who was working with the triplets to use and control their abilities.
“Yoon Cheong, what do you think of Ye Han-dam?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Does he seem okay?”
“What do you mean? Are you interested in him?”
I stared at Yoon Cheong, who looked somewhat surprised.
“What do you mean? I’m asking if he looks like he might go berserk.”
“Ah, oh…!”
Whatever he was thinking, Yoon Cheong hurriedly shook his head, flustered.
“He was fine. Seemed pretty normal.”
“Did you see him use his power?”
“Yeah. But he’s not good at using it weakly. He tends to output too much strength…”
I wasn’t particularly concerned about his inability to control his power.
Remembering the extensive damage when he went berserk in the past, I just hoped he wouldn’t go berserk this time.
While talking with Yoon Cheong, my phone rang.
“Hello?”
– Soo-young?
“Oh, hello.”
It was the research team leader from the guild.
It seemed to be about what I asked yesterday.
– What you said is right.
“I thought so. Then all those matching rates…”
– That’s right. They’re different.
I continued the call with the team leader for a while. After listening to the explanation, I was convinced.
After the call ended, I returned to the classroom. The atmosphere was tense, but I approached Ye Han-dam anyway.
“Hi.”
“Hi? Oh, you’re the one who came earlier…”
“My name? Moon Soo-young. You can kind of remember it, and hold out your hand for a moment.”
My average matching rate with Espers is high.
Being S-class, I have a lot of energy.
But at my words, all the kids in the class were surprised, and Yoon Cheong grabbed my wrist as if trying to stop me.
“Let go, Yoon Cheong.”
“No, but…”
“It’s fine, so let go. Even if my matching rate with you is high, there’s no guarantee I won’t collapse if I’m guided together with him. And didn’t you say yesterday it would be fine?”
“I didn’t know this is what you were worried about!”
“Let go. Don’t worry.”
“How can I not worry about this?”
“It’s fine because I have a plan.”
This guy has become more afraid of reverse guiding since the incident at the Gate.
Knowing this, I understand why he’s trying to stop me urgently, but I can’t stand seeing the class atmosphere become a mess.
I’ve been watching and teaching these kids to develop their social skills for five years now, since they were 12.
“I don’t want to… I’m fine, Soo-young.”
As if this bastard making the atmosphere go to hell and then saying it’s fine with a sad face would make things better.
“Aren’t you going to hold out your hand?”
“No, well…”
The guy from before my regression definitely never came to School 3.
If he had come to School 3, the pre-regression Ji Yeohoon would have either pretended to know this money-bastard or said they were alumni.
When incidents happen, it’s always revealed which school the Esper or ability user graduated from, but Ye Han-dam’s school was never confirmed.
No matter how much I searched my memories, I couldn’t find any such memory, so wondering if it was an effect of the regression, I asked the teacher directly yesterday evening.
‘By any chance, was Ye Han-dam assigned to School 3 because of me?’
I’m S-class, and my lowest matching rate with Espers so far has been 63.5%, with an average matching rate of 74.3%.
I don’t know why it’s so high.
After the Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon incident, I was able to accurately check my matching rates, and they were insanely high, making the guild researchers’ eyes light up, saying they had research material.
And my matching rate wasn’t just one.
‘They asked if he could get help from an S-class Guide student with high matching rates… You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. The school has agreed to provide machine and drug guiding if you don’t attempt guiding.’
I’m busy raising my own kids, and it’s annoying to care for someone else’s kid, but…
I agreed because if this bastard goes wrong, my kids will be busy.
Knowing how much Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon care for me, if this bastard suddenly turns around and causes reverse guiding to all Guides and I get hurt too, those two will go crazy.
Then wouldn’t it be better to rehabilitate this not-yet-fully-crazy guy and have him help with my kids’ care?
And if Ye Han-dam doesn’t go berserk, even if Ji Yeohoon causes problems, the Association or Chaehwa would have the capacity to help.
As I grabbed Ye Han-dam’s hand, who was making a suspicious expression, all the kids in the class held their breath.
I thought about creating a very gentle breeze from my body.
And as soon as I created that breeze, before it even reached Ye Han-dam, I bit my lip as I felt a repulsive force.
Usually, when trying to guide someone with a low matching rate, Guides get a sense of concentration, and that sensation was rushing in.
“…It’s going to be reverse guiding anyway.”
“Who says so, you crazy bastard.”
I felt like the wind would swirl around freely when it touched him.
If it grew larger, it would become a typhoon, and I sensed that if it poured back to me, it would become reverse guiding.
Although the sensation of potential reverse guiding before even touching him is a first throughout both before and after my regression… I still wondered if I could guide him.
And like yesterday, I found a method again.
It was the D-class energy I had sent to Yoon Cheong last night.
I sent that energy, which Yoon Cheong had felt was different from usual, to Ye Han-dam.
Since manifesting, I’ve always felt my ability was like a breeze that cools sweat, but the energy before my regression always felt like water.
Less in quantity, slower and weaker than wind, but my energy was enough to wrap around Ye Han-dam.
Thinking this was it, I moved the energy and poured it out.
“…What, uh…? Huh?”
Ye Han-dam was bewildered.
I had been thinking since last night.
Before my regression, I had a small amount of energy, so I could only guide a limited number of people.
But somehow, my matching rate was always high.
It was why I entered the Association and one of the reasons I worked well there.
Since I could perform emergency guiding no matter which Gate I was dispatched to, I could rush to the Esper in the worst condition.
So I wondered if I, with the same graph as before my regression, could use the same energy as before my regression.
Even if I, as an S-class Guide, couldn’t guide, maybe I, as a D-class Guide, could guide one person as long as my energy allowed, just like before.
– I think it’s possible? Since you have two types of energy.
‘Right?’
– But do you have to take such a gamble?
No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like a gamble. I tried it on Yoon Cheong yesterday too.
– It was possible? Using that D-class energy?
‘Yes.’
– Well… then there’s really a possibility. When we checked your matching rate at that time, the S-class energy was around 70%, but the D-class energy was 90-91%. The average value was high too. As you go below D-class, the amount of energy decreases, but the matching rate tends to fit with more people.
The call with the research team leader earlier made me even more confident.
As soon as I thought I had filled Ye Han-dam with enough water, experiencing the exact same sensation as in the old days when my strength would drain after guiding one person, I removed my hand.
“Shit… This is fucking hard.”
Tremendous fatigue overwhelmed me. My legs were trembling so much that I involuntarily cursed, which I usually tried to avoid in front of the kids.
I did take a gamble, but now I know.
“Moon Soo-young!”
That a D-class Guide’s energy amount is insanely small.
And that I need to neatly wrap up this not-yet-fully-crazy pink-haired explosive-type Esper, who came to School 3 due to my regression ripple effect, before he explodes, so that he can live as a normal person—only then will my life become easier.
I staggered back to my seat. I could sense Yoon Cheong hurriedly following, but I collapsed into my chair and laid my head on the desk.
“Are you okay?”
…Ah, I wish everything would just turn off.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
