After concluding that Yang Garam was too much, I took off my pajamas and turned on the shower. As water poured over my head, I calmly thought again about the situation I was currently facing.
“My condition is the same as five years ago, right?”
To check my status, I needed to go to the Center for training, but I hadn’t gone for training even once since returning after my regression.
I had tried to self-diagnose my condition while using my ability at the riverbank, but I couldn’t say I fully understood it from that alone. What I needed now was accurate statistical data about the abilities I could use.
Normally, the rule was that I should have checked into the Center for training every two days. Though it wasn’t strictly enforced, and the Center hadn’t contacted me during my absence, it was obvious I’d be interrogated by the Center Director as soon as I went on a mission tomorrow.
Of course, I didn’t do it deliberately; I had my reasons.
“…”
In the past, after meeting Joo Seolhyeon, I went to the Center every day instead of every two days like before. Half wanting to grow into an S-class esper worthy of him, and half hoping he might guide me when I returned from training.
Right now was precisely when that expectation had been at its peak, so I wasn’t confident I could go to training without recalling who I was back then. That was why I kept avoiding it, even though I knew I needed to train.
“I promised myself I would put the past behind me, but here I am still bound to it.”
I started avoiding it because I didn’t want to remember what I was like back then, but as a result, it prevented me from doing anything. Realizing this fact, I couldn’t help but feel self-deprecating.
“What does it matter if I remember? I’m no longer the Woo Jeongjae of the past.”
I clenched my fist tightly. The words I spoke to myself dug into my heart, and my heart—which still loved Joo Seolhyeon—ached, but not as painfully as before.
“I can’t avoid it anymore anyway.”
In a situation where an unfamiliar future kept approaching, there was no guarantee that my condition was the same as before. Today, I needed to go for training to check my status.
After finishing my shower and preparing to go out, I checked Yang Garam’s messages, which had accumulated a few more in the meantime. I picked up my phone, briefly wondering what I should say to him, but taking care of myself had to come first. Instead of replying to Yang Garam, I put my phone on silent.
‘If I don’t reply, he’ll surely understand I’m busy.’
Upon arriving at the Center, I took the dedicated underground elevator.
The Center classified espers by rank on each underground floor, accommodating them with facilities tailored to their respective abilities. Naturally, each floor was equipped with facilities matching the esper’s rank. There were a total of 10 underground floors, and the deeper you went, the higher the rank of the espers training there.
I habitually pressed the buttons for the 9th, 1st, and 8th basement floors in sequence, then leaned against the elevator wall. This wasn’t me being playful—the elevator only had buttons up to the 9th basement floor, and to get to the 10th basement floor, you had to press this code.
‘They haven’t changed the password for 5 years.’
Watching the elevator operate normally toward the 10th basement floor, I briefly wondered if this was a security issue. Moreover, this password was the Center Director’s birthday. I didn’t want to remember it either, but after learning that the Center Director and I shared the same birthday, it became impossible to forget.
‘Well, I guess it doesn’t matter since 90% of the Center employees probably don’t know the 10th basement floor exists.’
—This is the 10th basement floor.
While I was lost in useless thoughts, the announcement came along with the doors opening. Looking at the familiar pristine white corridor, I pushed myself away from the wall and started walking.
Not far along, I placed my hand on a sensor by a door. The door, which opened with biometric recognition, was strictly managed so that only pre-registered people could enter and exit.
The reason for isolating the 10th basement floor so rigorously was simple. Besides training facilities, the 10th basement floor also housed the research laboratory.
All research conducted by the Center took place here, and all related information flowed into this place. In other words, it was the heart of the Center. That’s why all the facilities were state-of-the-art, and it was also the only space where I could draw out 90% of my ability. Given that existing technology couldn’t contain me if I used 100% of my ability, it was evident that an unimaginable amount of money had been invested in this place.
“It’s been a while, Esper Woo Jeongjae.”
Song Songi, the manager of the 10th basement floor and the Center’s Research Director, pushed up her glasses and greeted me. Her mushroom-cut hair, thick glasses, and short stature reminded me of a walking mushroom every time I saw her, and she looked remarkably the same as before my regression.
Does this person even age?
“I heard you made guide contracts. You’re quite greedy, aren’t you? As many as four of them?”
She would occasionally voice her inner thoughts without malice. In the past, I found Song Songi difficult to deal with, but now it was different.
“I was actually restraining myself. As the nation’s only S-class esper, that’s hardly excessive.”
When I countered smoothly with a smile, her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“I thought you were slacking off since you haven’t been coming to training, but have you been secretly training intensely without me knowing?”
“Yes, I have. Very intensely.”
Considering how harshly I’d struggled for five years without proper guiding, it wasn’t a lie that still made my teeth grind.
“This is interesting. You’ve changed so much during the time I haven’t seen you.”
Did I make it too obvious?
Five years ago, I minimized conversation due to discomfort, and though the discomfort faded over time, I didn’t feel the need to engage in conversation unless it was official business. So countering her words like I just did was something that had never happened in either the past or the future.
“There’s research showing that espers are greatly influenced by their guides, but I wasn’t particularly interested. However, seeing Esper Woo Jeongjae now makes me curious.”
While I was reflecting on how my behavior had been a bit rash, fortunately, Song Songi seemed to attribute my change to the guide contracts.
It was good that I didn’t need to explain separately, but seeing her sparkling eyes made me feel uneasy inside. The Research Director held a position comparable to the Center Director, and her words carried significant impact. Like most researchers, she was the type to immediately start experimenting once something caught her interest.
“Is there a reason why you have temporary guides instead of a dedicated guide?”
Song Songi was clearly fixated on guides. And I instinctively felt that I should avoid this topic.
“I’d like to catch up on missed training. Please allow me to raise my output to 70%.”
“70% is not possible without a dedicated guide. Who knows what might happen. With temporary guides, unless they accompany you during training, only 50% is permitted.”
Fortunately, she didn’t question my natural change of topic and answered my request.
However, the content was somewhat surprising. I didn’t know that the restrictions on opening my ability would vary depending on the presence of a guide.
‘Well, back then I mainly trained to maximize efficiency while suppressing my ability as much as possible.’
My basic training intensity was around 20-30%. Even at its highest, it never exceeded 40%. I suddenly realized that I had never once engaged in high-intensity training. The cause, of course, was Joo Seolhyeon. After realizing how difficult it was to receive guiding from Joo Seolhyeon despite my efforts, I became even more cautious during training and always trained at minimal intensity. To endure with as little guiding as possible, I had to restrain my ability as much as possible.
“Oh? Come to think of it, this is a problem. You’ll be going into actual missions from now on, not just training, so you’ll need more intensive training.”
I had resigned myself to checking my ability by opening it at 50%, but Song Songi stroked her chin with a serious expression, as if she’d found a flaw in what she’d said.
“The contract is already done.”
She glanced at me and raised her eyebrow askew, then nodded as if she’d made a decision.
“Esper Woo Jeongjae.”
With a suddenly serious face and her chin raised, she called out to me, and I tensed up and nodded. She was a professional, and when she exuded this kind of atmosphere, she was often talking about work. I briefly wondered if there was anything in our conversation that would make her speak with such a sense of duty, but I focused on her voice that quickly followed.
“The temporary guides you’ve contracted with now—you chose them from among the individuals recommended by the Guide Matching Department, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then there shouldn’t be a problem if you live together.”
“What?”
For a moment, I didn’t understand what I’d heard and blinked my eyes rapidly. In that time, Song Songi had apparently finished all her calculations and nodded with satisfaction.
“We’d need to ask all four of them, but if even two of them lived with you, I could allow not just 70%, but up to 90%.”
Live together? In one house?
As I went back over what Song Songi had said, I recalled the faces of the temporary guides I’d contracted with, one after another.
Do Wonjin, Jeong Seyeon, Yang Garam, Joo Seolhyeon…
I almost let out a scream but covered my mouth. A terrible future that I didn’t even want to imagine had flashed through my mind.
‘Absolutely not!’
Of course, unlike with dedicated guides, cohabitation wasn’t mandatory, so it would depend on their consent, but I didn’t want to leave even the slightest possibility.
“You don’t need to be so grateful.”
Song Songi had misunderstood my expression, and quite thoroughly at that.
That’s not it. Not at all.
I shook my head and opened my mouth, but perhaps because I was too shocked, my lips only moved without making any sound.
“We can also study the influence guides have on espers while we’re at it. Killing two birds with one stone.”
So this was her true intention all along.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
