On the day I was re-contracting with Joo Seolhyeon as a temporary Guide, I requested the official who was about to disappear with the contract to find Guides with the next highest matching rates after Joo Seolhyeon. I didn’t think Joo Seolhyeon, who hadn’t provided guiding even as my exclusive Guide, would do so as a temporary Guide. And I had no intention of receiving guiding from him either. I sincerely wished for a formal relationship with Joo Seolhyeon where we only signed the contract paperwork.
‘So I need to find another Guide quickly.’
April 24th. Exactly one week after the day of my first meeting with my exclusive Guide, I would receive my first mission from the state.
At that time, due to my lack of skill in controlling my ability, I only managed to close the dungeon door after destroying the core by blowing up the entire dungeon. The problem came afterward. Excessive use of my ability had twisted my wavelengths to the point where guiding was urgently needed.
With my flame ability causing my entire body to heat up, I met Joo Seolhyeon for the second time, and even in my dizzied state, I completely gave my heart to him as he held my hand.
It didn’t matter to me that I’d heard he prohibited all physical contact before guiding except for holding hands, or that he looked at me with undisguised contempt, like I was a bug, even when just holding my hand. The moment his cool energy transmitted through our joined hands stabilized me, I found myself pledging that I would do anything for him.
‘Though the current me would never do such a thing.’
The reckless choice of raining fire over a wide field was a black history that occasionally made me kick myself under the covers, but for the current me, tempered by five years of carrying out all kinds of missions, it was a simple task I could accomplish with just a finger.
‘There’s no reason to see Joo Seolhyeon again.’
But whether small or large, using abilities means an Esper needs guiding. That’s a matter specified in the Esper Special Law of the international organization, and the reason why the state hadn’t given me any missions for five years after my awakening as an Esper.
Once I was dispatched and used my ability, no matter how much I claimed I didn’t need a Guide, the state would put me and Joo Seolhyeon in the same room regardless of our wishes.
Deciding to stop my terrible imagination there, I flipped through the documents that had arrived early in the morning addressed to me. The rough paper envelope bore the logo of the state-affiliated Guide Matching Specialist Team.
“They sent it quickly. Well, considering I was asking about Joo Seolhyeon, they must be quite capable.”
Two days had passed since I met with Joo Seolhyeon. I thought it would take at least 3 or 4 days, so having the documents arrive so quickly was something I couldn’t help but be grateful for.
[Candidate 1
Jeong Seyeon—Matching rate 60%
B-class Guide
Candidate 2
Do Wonjin—Matching rate 52%
A-class Guide
.
.
.]
The first page had a neatly organized table listing a total of 10 candidates. Behind that, their personal information registered with the state was meticulously recorded.
“They sent quite a few.”
The ratio of existing Espers to Guides was overwhelmingly lower on the Esper side. This meant there was the advantage of being able to find an exclusive Guide relatively easily if desired. However, even though Guides were more numerous than Espers, the probability of awakening as a Guide among the general population was less than 1%, making it as difficult as catching a star from the sky to find a pair with a high matching rate.
Typically, an Esper’s child awakens as an Esper, and a Guide’s child as a Guide, so it was common for arrangements to be made through blood ties and connections even before birth. But that was the case for high-ranked Espers and Guides with established lineages; generally, Guides appeared without much concern for bloodlines compared to Espers.
So having 10 candidates wasn’t incomprehensible. After all, I was the state’s only S-class Esper, so this could be considered decent.
‘But the matching rates…’
I could certainly understand why the matching rate with Joo Seolhyeon was called a miracle.
None of the Guide candidates who arrived via email exceeded 60%. In fact, all except candidates 1 and 2 were below 50%.
“A B-class Guide with a 60% matching rate.”
Generally, a matching rate over 60% is considered not bad for an exclusive Guide. I scratched my cheek while looking at the awkwardly positioned matching rate. The reason for assigning classes was due to differences in capacity. Guides also had a limit to how much guiding they could provide, and classes were divided according to that amount. Being B-class meant that even with a high matching rate with me, there would be limitations on how much guiding could be provided.
Candidate 2 was an A-class Guide but had lower efficiency than the B-class. It meant that whether Candidate 1 or 2, with lower efficiency but more quantity, they would end up being similar.
“This really is ambiguous.”
I wasn’t planning to consider anyone below 50%, but at this point, I became curious if there were any S-class Guides, so I lowered my gaze that had been lingering at the top.
[Candidate 7
Yang Garam—Matching rate 38%
S-class Guide]
There was one.
Looking at the name Yang Garam, I could recall one of the only five S-class Guides in the state. True to his name, with gentle eyes and warm brown irises, the opposite of Joo Seolhyeon.
“I think he was two years younger than me, and he’s listed as a candidate?”
Like Espers, Guides could contract with Espers from the age of 20. Since I was now 22, that meant Yang Garam was 20.
“I did have a good first impression.”
While I was uncertain about other Guides even after seeing their personal information, I definitely remembered Yang Garam. Being an S-class Guide, our paths overlapped quite a bit. The matching rate itself wasn’t terrible. It didn’t reach 50%, but being an S-class Guide, wouldn’t that cover for this aspect?
I flipped through the papers and rolled my pen. Having heard that keeping at least three temporary Guides was stable, I circled Candidate 1, Candidate 2, and Candidate 7, then raised the corners of my mouth in satisfaction.
“One of these will become my exclusive Guide, I suppose?”
When the moment came that Joo Seolhyeon grew tired of being even a temporary Guide and left, I wanted to put aside all these temporary Guide arrangements and have just one person by my side. Like how my father loved my mother and spent his life with her.
I pulled out the business card attached to the front of the documents and made a call. The other party answered immediately, before the dial tone could ring more than a few times.
“Hello, I am…”
—Mr. Woo Jeongjae? Have you seen the documents?
I didn’t expect them to already know my number.
It was surprising that the other person already knew me, but that was actually a good thing.
“Yes, I’d like to contract with Candidates 1, 2, and 7 as temporary Guides. Would it be possible to arrange schedules within this week?”
The remaining five days of the week weren’t a long time for me. Even if contracting with all three might be difficult, there was no harm in hurrying to secure at least one.
—All arrangements with the candidates have already been made. If you could let us know your available times, we can proceed with the contracts immediately.
‘Wow.’
With the phone still against my face, I nearly blurted out a sincere exclamation.
‘They’re really efficient.’
I glanced down at the name on the business card I was holding.
[Jo Hail]
Fortunately, the name was ordinary.
“Then please set up a time for tomorrow and let me know. I’ll clear my schedule for the entire day.”
Jo Hail promptly replied to my words.
—Yes, please text me your preferred location, and I’ll arrange appointments accordingly and inform you.
I stared at my phone for a long time even after hanging up. Things were going so smoothly that it felt strange.
‘Does this mean I won’t have to face Joo Seolhyeon anymore?’
If I contracted with temporary Guides tomorrow, even the tense one-sided mental battle that only I knew about with Joo Seolhyeon would end.
‘Yes, contracting as temporary Guides was a better choice than living together for a month and then completely separating.’
Unlike exclusive Guides, temporary Guides don’t deeply involve themselves in each other’s private lives. That meant one could refuse guiding or avoid the situation for personal reasons.
Of course, there were mandatory clauses in the contract. Weekly guiding obligation, no right to refuse guiding requests immediately after dispatch, and so on. But conversely, this meant that if I, as the Esper, refused guiding, the Guide’s obligations would become worthless.
“It feels empty.”
The contract would be finalized tomorrow, providing a definitive end, but letting go of a one-sided love I had desperately clung to for five years left a void somewhere in my heart.
With my body relaxed, I leaned deeply into the sofa and blinked slowly.
“I have to start anew.”
The empty space just needs to be filled again.
Wondering what kind of people the new Guides would be, I was only able to fall asleep as dawn approached, feeling half excited and half nervous.
＊ ＊ ＊
In the winter when I was 20 and my brother was 19, my brother, who looked just like our father, awakened as an A-class Guide, just like him. Since we had to register with the state within a week of awakening, my mother saw us off, entrusting my brother to me, as I had already gone through the registration process once.
But that was the problem. When I returned home, I faced our house consumed by endlessly rising red flames. Never could I hate the bright red flames as much as I did then. Firefighters who had already arrived were running in all directions trying to extinguish the fire, but I shook off my brother’s restraining hand and jumped into the inferno.
‘Mom!!’
For me, an S-class Esper, especially with flame as my element, it should be impossible for fire to damage my skin. But the flames that day seemed to have a will of their own, persistently rushing to burn me.
‘It’s me, Jeongjae. Mom, where are you? Mom!!’
While I desperately called for my mother inside, the firefighting operation was nearing completion outside. Until the fierce flames calmed down and disappeared into acrid smoke, I couldn’t find my mother.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
