Chapter 4
“Then try doing some Guiding.”
Seoyul was taken aback. Guiding?
Try doing Guiding? Seoyul was a Guide, but throughout his entire life, he had never properly learned how to do Guiding.
All he had learned was how to make Guiding potions.
‘W-what should I do?’
He had asked to be taken along saying he could help with Guiding, but if he admitted he couldn’t do it, Dowoon might not take him. However, the risk was too great to just attempt Guiding blindly.
He had heard that performing Guiding without proper training could endanger both parties.
‘I can’t… lie.’
Seoyul held back the tears welling up in his eyes and opened his mouth.
“…I don’t know… how to do it.”
“…What?”
That face was clearly one of bewilderment. It made sense. At this age, not knowing how to do Guiding…
His face flushed with embarrassment. Still, he managed to offer a small excuse.
“Well… I learned how to make potions, but I haven’t learned how to do it for a person yet… I heard it’s dangerous to do it without training…”
His final words were barely audible. But the S-class Esper’s ears caught the sound without difficulty.
‘…What kind of kid is this?’
Dowoon was so bewildered he lost his words. But seeing how young Seoyul looked, he nodded, thinking it might be possible. In that case, verification could come later.
For now…
“Whoa!”
Lightly hoisting Seoyul onto his shoulder, he asked in an indifferent voice.
“Where should I go?”
“What?”
Seoyul’s eyes widened in surprise at the voice. But as soon as the meaning registered, expectation began to surge.
Was he going to take him along?
If so, he really needed to do well from now on. He had to provide information that would help Dowoon capture all the organization members, and only then could the future change.
‘I can do this. I’ve done well so far.’
Of course, he had blurted out something strange after a small slip, but he decided to focus on the fact that his message had been properly conveyed.
“Well…”
Encouraged, Seoyul began to share all the information he knew.
After that, everything went smoothly. Dowoon demolished the organization members’ hideouts one by one. He didn’t seem to be using any special Esper abilities, yet the organization members were crumpled and thrown like pieces of paper.
Seeing this, Seoyul felt somewhat empty.
‘Were they… this weak?’
Those people who had seemed so big and frightening to him were merely frail individuals to Dowoon.
Was this the power of an S-class Esper?
From his position on Dowoon’s shoulder, which still jolted with each movement, Seoyul witnessed the organization being wiped out. Given his position, the world appeared upside down, making everything feel even more surreal.
After Dowoon swept through each location, people wearing special team uniforms would invariably appear, handcuff the criminals, and transport them somewhere.
“This one seems to be the last.”
THUD!
Dowoon muttered as he sent the last organization member flying at the final location. Watching this, Seoyul realized that the organization was truly being dismantled.
‘Is it… over?’
As far as he knew, this was everything. Even if there were other places, the major locations had been discovered, so they wouldn’t be able to operate for a while.
‘Ah… really…’
Tears suddenly poured out. If this place could vanish so easily at the hands of one person, why had his past self run away? What had he been so afraid of?
Tears flowed endlessly, feeling pity and contempt for his stupid self. These were also tears of relief.
He had finally taken the first step. The first step toward fulfilling that small wish his mother had mentioned.
Seoyul resolved to never run away again and to move forward strongly. He disliked his own cringing self. He also vowed to cry only until today and no more.
But seeing him suddenly start crying, Dowoon asked in bewilderment.
“Why are you crying? Don’t tell me you’ve become attached to them?”
Attached?
That was absurd. With a choked throat, Seoyul could only shake his head. In response, Dowoon turned his gaze away with an uninterested “Hmm…”
Just then, as if another headache had struck, his expression contorted. He spoke to the special team that had begun cleaning up the scene, his voice tense.
“I’m leaving now, so handle the rest yourselves.”
“What? Leaving?”
“You don’t need me anymore. I’m going.”
The moment he said that, Seoyul’s vision distorted.
Before he could understand what was happening, a queasy feeling came with his vision darkening before returning.
Woong.
A low vibration sound was heard in his ears, and gradually the surrounding sounds began to grow louder. The first sound he recognized was the sharp scolding voice of a woman.
“Hey!! I told you not to use your ability to come here!”
Snapping to attention at that voice, Seoyul looked around. He had definitely been in the organization’s shabby building, but what lay before him now was a clean, bright laboratory.
Several people in white lab coats were moving around. Among them, a woman with black hair hastily tied up approached aggressively, shouting.
“Why do you keep using your ability when the medicine doesn’t even work for you? I told you to use it sparingly! I said even if you need an ambulance, don’t use your ability and just get brought in!”
Ambulance? Get brought in…?
He couldn’t understand what she was talking about, but Dowoon seemed familiar with this situation.
“Ah, what should I do when it’s urgent? Just let me go quickly. I feel like I’m about to die right now.”
“You’d better know I’m letting you off just this once. Hurry up.”
At the woman’s gesture, the researchers began to move busily. Dowoon was pressing his forehead with a pained expression, likely from a headache.
The atmosphere seemed urgent, but no one paid any attention to Seoyul, who was still hanging on Dowoon’s shoulder.
Though he was aware of his timid personality, it was still disheartening that no one noticed him despite being clearly visible.
It made him feel small, thinking his presence was so insignificant.
“But what is this?”
Just then, a welcome voice was heard. Seoyul perked up, lifting his head. The woman in front of him was looking down with an expression that seemed to say ‘explain.’
Only then did Dowoon seem to remember, letting out a small sigh before speaking.
“Ah… this?”
This?
At the somewhat bewildering reference, Seoyul turned his gaze, but Dowoon carelessly tossed him onto a sofa and said:
“My Guide.”
“Ack!”
But due to the impact of being thrown, Seoyul couldn’t hear what he had said. Besides, after being in one position for hours, his muscles were screaming in protest, leaving him completely distracted.
“What?”
The woman raised her eyebrows in surprise as she turned to look at Dowoon. But he, still with an indifferent face, moved toward a bed that looked like an operating table and lay down, taking off his upper clothing. The researchers then attached numerous patches to his body and administered injections into his arm.
“Phew…”
Seemingly feeling a bit better, Dowoon continued with a long sigh.
“He asked me to pick him up, so I did. You all can investigate on your own. I need to… sleep…”
After saying that, he instantly seemed to fall into a deep sleep. The injection given to Dowoon was probably a strong sleeping anesthetic of some kind.
Seoyul thought.
If Guiding was needed, one should go to receive Guiding, so why had they come to a laboratory? What did this mean?
Forced sleep was less effective than receiving Guiding, even from a lower-ranked Guide. Yet he chose forced sleep over Guiding.
‘Maybe there are even fewer compatible Guides than I thought…’
Seoyul remembered the information that Dowoon had awakened his abilities when he was nine years old. Since he was now twenty-six, had he been living like this for 17 years?
The reality that no one could help him felt similar to Seoyul’s own past. The feeling of living in endless pain.
‘…I want to help him.’
If there was a possibility, he wanted to help. Wasn’t he a Guide with wide compatibility? If he could provide Guiding to Espers who rarely found compatible Guides, maybe he could also help Dowoon.
“So, you asked Cha Dowoon to pick you up?”
“…Pardon?”
Startled by the suddenly close voice, Seoyul turned his head. There was the woman with a mischievous smile, asking him.
“Ah…”
His face reddened as he recalled his foolish behavior from a few hours ago.
“I’m Lee Sunjeong from Research Team 1 of the Korean Ability Management Association. What’s your name, kiddo?”
“…Seoyul.”
In his heart, he wanted to add that he wasn’t a ‘kiddo,’ but he didn’t have the courage. However, considering his age after returning to the past, he thought he might indeed look quite young.
Even to himself, being twenty years old felt sufficiently young.
“Then can you explain what happened? As you can see, the person in question is asleep.”
It seemed Dowoon had indeed been forced into a sleep state. Seoyul nodded slightly and began explaining how he had come here.
“Aha. So you’re saying the Guiding potion you make has wide compatibility, so it might help that guy?”
“Yes. Since it seems he can’t receive Guiding… if possible, I want to help him… since the Esper helped me. He’s my… benefactor…”
The last words didn’t come out properly, somehow feeling embarrassing. But Sunjeong seemed to understand, nodding her head.
A Guide with wide compatibility. Not officially registered and distributing potions only through illegal routes, she had said. Upon hearing that, Sunjeong had one thing come to mind.
‘Could it be… him?’
The timing matched perfectly. The only Guiding potion that showed any effect on Dowoon appeared about 3 years ago. It was a time when they couldn’t find any suitable potion and even reached into illegal channels.
If he was indeed the creator of that potion, Dowoon could gain a tremendous amount of time. After all, it was no exaggeration to say that he was currently walking a dangerous tightrope.
“Good. Let’s test it right away!”
“What? R-right now?”
The gentle-looking eyes widened. Sunjeong suddenly thought he resembled a squirrel.
Given Dowoon’s rather fierce temperament, she briefly wondered if it would be all right. But that was a worry that could wait until after confirming whether he was indeed the creator of that potion.
“The sooner the better. Is that okay?”
“Yes!”
After a moment of surprise, Seoyul nodded quickly. Only one thought filled his mind.
Could he be of help to him?
He hoped he could be.
With that thought, his heart began to race. This was his first time experiencing something like this, so he didn’t know what expression to make or how to act.
‘But still…’
It feels good…
For the first time, Seoyul smiled faintly, feeling a pleasant anticipation.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
