Chapter 45
Click.
What woke him was the sound of a camera shutter. But not quite recognizing what the sound was, he lifted his head.
In front of him was Minjun.
“Just now…”
“What are you working on so diligently?”
Seoyul was about to ask if there had been a sound, but Minjun was quicker. He casually placed a hand on Seoyul’s shoulder and diverted his attention elsewhere.
“Ugh. What’s all this?”
“Ah! Guiding reports!”
Since he had been wanting to discuss this amazing topic, Seoyul opened his mouth without hesitation.
“If you look here, everything is written in such incredible detail! Just by looking at this, you can understand how the Guiding has been carried out and what the Esper’s condition is! And…”
Meanwhile, Minjun breathed a sigh of relief as Seoyul’s attention completely shifted elsewhere. Thinking he had nearly failed from the start, he pretended to be interested and nodded.
“Especially the report written by Guide Choi Insung is truly the best! It’s easy to read, and even though he wrote only the essentials briefly, it contains everything necessary. People who get perfect scores really are different!”
Sparkle, sparkle.
Seoyul’s face was seriously sparkling. He was so excited that his praise for the reports continued to pour out.
Since it was mostly about how the reports were this and the association was that, Minjun let it go in one ear and out the other as he thought.
‘I just casually mentioned it…’
Yet he’s enjoying it this much.
Seoyul tended to become very talkative when he was absorbed in a subject. That’s probably why he passed the entrance exam in one go.
But knowing this would continue endlessly if left unchecked, Minjun quickly threw another question.
“Oh, impressive. Your supervising Guide is also Guide Choi Insung, right?”
“Yes! Although we haven’t talked much yet, he seems like an amazing person.”
“Oh, really? Then shall we talk more calmly over lunch?”
“Ah! Is it that time already? I’m sorry. You must be hungry?”
Fortunately, Seoyul quickly apologized and stood up. He suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, realizing he had been speaking too excitedly.
“No, let’s go.”
Minjun dismissed it casually with a smile. Seoyul was relieved at his response and stood up.
‘I’m so fortunate to have Minjun hyung.’
They had always eaten lunch together, and that tradition continued.
At the center, most Guides ate with other Guides and Espers ate with other Espers, but Seoyul was still having difficulty fitting in, which was causing him trouble.
“You’re still so shy, what can we do with you?”
“I’m sorry. It must be annoying?”
Seoyul laughed awkwardly while scratching his head. But Minjun shook his head and answered.
“No. Being with you brings more benefits than annoyance, so it’s fine.”
“Benefits?”
“There are such things. There are.”
He messed up Seoyul’s hair thoroughly and walked ahead.
If negotiating with Dowoon could be considered a benefit, then there was that, but being with Seoyul also brought interesting and amusing situations.
‘I wonder if we’ll see it today too.’
The cafeteria they arrived at was crowded. No, it seemed more crowded than yesterday.
“What are you thinking of eating today?”
Seoyul asked while looking around. The center’s cafeteria was known for its good value and variety of menu options.
With such a wide selection, Minjun was determined to try everything and choose his favorite menu.
“Today, katsudon!”
“Then I’ll have the same.”
Seoyul smiled and agreed with Minjun’s menu choice. The menu was so extensive that it had been overwhelming to decide what to choose, but with Minjun, he didn’t have to worry about such decisions.
‘I’m really fortunate to have hyung here.’
Without him, Seoyul would probably have spent most of his lunch time just selecting a menu.
Feeling relieved once again, Seoyul ordered katsudon and sat down.
Then, quietly, table shifts began to happen around them. People started moving to tables one space away from where Seoyul was sitting.
‘Ooh. Today too!’
Minjun saw this and giggled, murmuring:
“It’s really amazing.”
“Pardon? What is?”
Seoyul tilted his head in confusion. It was fascinating that he still hadn’t noticed despite the subtle stares being cast his way.
It’s not like he completely lacked awareness, but for some reason, he seemed oblivious in this regard.
‘Is he vulnerable to goodwill?’
He noticed malicious stares so quickly, yet seemed weak to benevolent ones.
Those gathered around were all Espers, and every one of them was sending friendly glances.
Apparently, being curious about the Guide of an S-grade Esper, they came to look and developed affection for Seoyul’s cute appearance.
‘Because Seoyul is cute.’
It meant that Dowoon’s vigilance and sharp attitude toward other Espers wasn’t an overreaction.
Moreover, despite Seoyul’s official C-grade rating, he was someone who could perform higher-level Guiding.
While the exact extent wasn’t clear, Minjun thought that perhaps Espers instinctively sensed this and showed their affection.
‘Espers have good instincts when it comes to their lifelines.’
The thought crossed his mind that this might include himself as well, but he smiled wryly and observed Seoyul.
In front of him, Seoyul was scooping up the steaming katsudon and chewing with his mouth full.
‘He really looks exactly like my Mini.’
Mini was the name of Minjun’s pet squirrel. The way Seoyul filled his cheeks with food and munched diligently was identical.
“Hyung. Aren’t you eating?”
“Yeah, I’ll eat. I’m just waiting a bit to match your pace.”
“Oh! Then, I’ll try to eat a little faster. Please, go ahead.”
Eat faster, he says.
Seoyul, perhaps because his mouth was small or because of his habit of chewing multiple times before swallowing, ate slowly.
So he always took a long time to eat. But Minjun, who seemed to swallow without chewing, always finished his meals early.
Even when Seoyul had one bowl and Minjun had three, this was still the case.
“Take your time. I’ll wait for you.”
Minjun chuckled and picked up his spoon. He put one spoonful in his mouth, chewed slowly, and looked around.
Already, the surrounding tables had completely changed occupants.
‘Is that him?’
‘The Guide of Cha Dowoon?’
‘Oh, he’s quite the eye candy.’
‘If you’re done eating, hurry up and leave.’
‘Why? Let’s look a little more.’
‘If Cha Dowoon notices, there’ll be hell to pay.’
Curiosity always invites trouble.
Most conversations were along these lines, and then people would quickly change.
After the surroundings had changed about three times, Seoyul finally seemed to finish his meal and put down his spoon, saying:
“Hyung. Let’s go now. You’ve been waiting. I’ll buy the coffee.”
With those words, the Espers quickly disappeared. Somehow, Minjun had a feeling there would be no seats available at the café.
* * *
A month passed like this.
During that time, Seoyul had been traveling through various teams under Insung’s guidance, learning how Guiding was conducted.
At first, it was mainly about observing how Insung performed Guiding and dealt with Espers.
After going through all the teams once, Seoyul’s official first Guiding day finally arrived.
“The Guide team is assigned Esper teams to handle each month. Since there are more Espers, usually more than three teams are assigned.”
Insung repeated the explanation he had given before.
“Today, Guide Seoyul will be Guiding Esper Kim Gicheol from Team 7. I’ll give you the materials, so please review them before Guiding.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Answering diligently and nodding, Seoyul examined the materials transmitted to his pad.
[Team 7, C-grade Esper Kim Gicheol]
He was a thirty-four-year-old Esper who had worked at the center for quite a long time. There were no special notes in his records, and he seemed to have stable wavelengths from receiving regular Guiding.
He seemed like a suitable person for a first Guiding experience, so Seoyul felt relieved.
“I’ve checked, Guide-nim.”
“Good. Then let’s wait here for Esper Kim Gicheol to arrive.”
So they began waiting for their subject to arrive. Seoyul was sitting in the Guide’s seat while Insung leaned against the wall with his eyes closed.
Silence filled the room, and Seoyul glanced nervously at him. Still formal, Insung felt difficult to approach even after a month.
Knock, knock.
Just then, the door opened with a knock and a large man entered. Seoyul, happy that the silence had been broken, quickly turned his head.
“I’m here for Guiding… Oh!”
Not finishing his sentence, he noticed Seoyul and showed great surprise. Then, stomping his large body forward, he shouted in the most cheerful voice:
“Well! How lucky can I be! Was I the winner?”
Winner?
Seoyul tilted his head, not understanding what he meant. But Insung seemed to know something, as he stopped him with a cold voice:
“Please sit down without unnecessary talk. Guide Seoyul will be doing the Guiding. He’s still an intern, so you understand, right?”
“Of course! Who do you think I am? I’m the best at wavelength management in this center, as you know.”
After exchanging a few more words, Gicheol sat down and greeted Seoyul.
“Then, I look forward to your guidance, Guide-nim.”
“Ah, yes!”
Although he wasn’t quite sure what was happening, Seoyul straightened his posture, thinking he should focus on his job.
‘Finally…’
It was the first time he would be Guiding someone other than Dowoon. He was nervous about how it would go and also tense about having to conceal his S-grade energy.
Then Insung tapped his shoulder twice, as if to help him relax.
Gaining a little courage from that touch, he composed himself again.
‘Yes. I can do this well!’
This was just the beginning. He thought he should practice as much as possible during this internship so he could provide proper Guiding to Dowoon soon.
Lately, he had only been performing simple and quick Guiding to avoid making Dowoon uncomfortable. But since Dowoon needed to continue his activities, they couldn’t keep Guiding like that.
Strengthening his resolve once more, Seoyul carefully took Gicheol’s outstretched hand and said:
“Then, I look forward to working with you.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
