Chapter 2

What is this nonsense? Me… a guide?

Haon pondered the words of Director Han repeatedly. Even though he was now a lower-class esper, he used to be an A-class esper. To think that he became a guide after losing his esper ability!

In a situation he could hardly believe, with lips trembling, unsure of what to say.

“There are some interesting cases.”

At this moment, the voice he least wanted to hear cut sharply into Haon’s eardrums. Haon slowly turned his head towards the owner of the voice. There he was, standing with a smile on his face.

“In any case, being a guide is better than an FF-class esper. Well, we don’t know what class you’re, but it can’t be lower than FF, right?”

“…”

Even with Cha Yugeon’s teasing words, Haon did not show any anger. He couldn’t offer any rebuttal. Even without his teasing, it was already confusing and painful enough. There was no room for anger towards Cha Yugeon to seep in.

However, there was no reason to keep listening to him. Haon quickly stood up.

“Director Han, I’m a bit tired. I’ll go in first. I’m sorry.”

Without knowing what state of mind he was in, Haon hastily said goodbye and left quickly. As he passed by Cha Yugeon, he heard his laughter, but he didn’t stop. He just wanted to be alone so he could sort out his thought.

Haon walked away in a hurry.

Returning to his dorm, Haon collapsed at the entrance. He had been chewing his lip all the way home without realizing it, so a rough, cracked voice came out from between his swollen lips.

“…Impossible.”

The words he couldn’t say before now burst out.

Though rare, he knew that there were individuals who possessed both esper and guide abilities. But he had never heard a story of someone going from being an esper to becoming a guide.

It was unbelievable. It wasn’t impossible to believe the fact that he became a guide, but it was hard to accept.

After manifesting as an esper at the age of nineteen, Haon had been active in the field for ten years. Before even knowing what society was, or what the world was, his fate was determined as an esper.

Initially, it was confusing, but as the days passed, he developed a certain pride in his job. It had been so long since he didn’t dream of a life other than being an esper. But unexpectedly, his life changed again.

“Damn… What is this life?”

Haon muttered dispiritedly. They said that life is unpredictable and life does not go according to plan, but his life was way too much.

“This is too much, really.”

A sigh of despair, unheard by anyone, escaped his lips. Haon gathered his knees and weakly buried his face between his legs.

“What FF-class, seriously, this is ridiculous.”

Perhaps because he was buried in his lap, Haon’s words were muffled.

Although his abilities had gradually decreased over the past few years, and the range in which he could use his power had narrowed significantly, once upon a time, Haon was remarkably skilled. He could turn a couple of dozen stories of a building transparent with ease. The ability to turn things transparent in a wide range was useful in many ways, and Haon earned an A-class assessment.

Recently, awakening occurred more frequently among younger individuals, so there are quite a few people with special abilities in younger age groups. But ten years ago, it was rare to find an esper. It was even rarer to find a young esper.

The media reported extensively on Haon’s awakening, and the nation’s attention was focused on him. There was even a fan club created for him.

At first, having been living a normal life so far, Haon found the pouring attention intriguing, but gradually, it felt uncomfortable, like wearing ill-fitting clothes. Even as time passed, and attention towards Haon naturally diminished as more and more espers emerged, it was still uncomfortable.

In the meantime, Haon’s ability continued to decline. Some media occasionally reported on Haon’s lowered rank, but it didn’t become a significant issue. Even if Haon were to be stripped of his esper position, people’s interest wouldn’t flock to him.

But becoming a guide after being an esper was another story.

Just thinking about it made his head throb. Everything seemed to have become tangled. It would have been better if he never awakened as an esper in the first place. The helplessness took a toll on his heart.

Haon sat like that for a long time.

* * *

Several days passed. Time flowed smoothly, but Haon was still trapped in that day. Apart from going out to eat, he hadn’t stepped outside his dorm.

“So you’re a guide now?”

“…Uh.”

After several days of seclusion, his friend Siyun came to visit him. At first, Haon tried to send him back quickly, saying that he’s tired, but Siyun was more persistent than expected.

Siyun was a B-class guide in charge of Haon when he was an A-class esper.

Generally, finding a perfectly matching guide for every esper is like finding a needle in a haystack. Haon was particularly challenging in this regard. Even if you considered the compatibility with all the guides in the Center, it would barely reach around 30 percent. Among them, the person with the highest compatibility was Siyun.

However, as Haon’s rank gradually dropped, his assigned guide changed. Fortunately, they were of the same age, and their personalities clicked. The two continued to be friends. Occasionally, when Siyun’s was not assigned an esper, and he would secretly guide Haon.

Because of this, Haon couldn’t endure it any longer and had to confess everything to Siyun.

“That’s great!”

Siyun said with a voice full of excitement, making unknown gestures as if shooting a gun with both of his hand. In response to his reaction, Haon didn’t know what to say.

In fact, Siyun’s words were somewhat accurate. Rather than being stripped of all positions as an esper and having to retire, being a guide was much better.

“Of course, from your perspective, it might feel like a disaster, but I’m glad you can stay within the Center. Sorry for being selfish.”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize.”

“Just think positively. You have lived here for 10 years, this is much better instead of being kicked out after living in the Center since you were nineteen.”

Haon smiled and reassured Siyun, who was apologizing while keeping an eye on him. Although his mind was still in shambles, Siyun’s advice to think positively struck a chord within his heart.

“Hey, that’s enough sulking! I’ll buy drinks until the fourth round today, so let’s go out.”

“No, I don’t really want to go to the fourth round.”

“It’s okay. You’re going to the fourth round.”

“No, I’m not okay. You crazy guy!”

“No, it’s okay anyway. Get up quickly.”

Knowing Siyun’s a heavy drinker, Haon waved his hand and refused. Siyun arbitrarily ended the conversation, which continued to a rejection to his rejection, and forced Haon, who was sitting on the bed, to stand up.

‘Really, maybe this guy wasn’t really worried about me. Maybe he’s just craving alcohol?’

Haon thought sincerely as he was dragged along by Siyun.

* * *

The club was filled with fast-paced music.

Hyeon Siyun, the persistent guy, treated Haon to soju and grilled pork intestines for the first round, then took him to a pub for beer for the second round. When he couldn’t eat anymore, he suggested having some fried chicken with beer at a nearby place to not feel too full. After saying he couldn’t drink more, Siyun insisted on going to a club for the fourth round, suggesting they dance instead of drinking.

Due to the hurriedly consumed drinks, his head was spinning, and he felt a bit woozy.

Haon tried to calm him queasy stomach, and searched for Siyun who had disappeared into the stage. Despite being rather shameless in other aspects, he knew Siyun was particularly sensitive when drinking, so he went in alone without saying anything.

Under the flashing lights, countless people were energetically dancing. Haon grabbed his spinning head and opened his eyes wide. Since it was a club near the center, he recognized many faces he had seen coming and going.

Rolling his eyes around, Haon soon scrunched his face in disgust, as if he had seen a giant pile of crap.

“Ughh, that bastard…”

A man sticking to a woman, sloppily spilling alcohol. It was that damn Cha Yugeon.

Ugh, damn it. My eyes, my eyes. I should only see good things…

Haon quickly looked away, thinking that he had to keep his eyesight even while he was drunk. After seeing an unexpected nasty scene, he even forgot his intention to find Siyun. He believed that his future self would handle whatever trouble might arise from this later.

“Hweeeek!” Hyeon Siyun, that crazy guy.

Haon held on to the telephone pole next to the back door of the club and sobbed against his will. He had been in poor condition for a few days and had poured himself a lot of alcohol, which made him hungover faster than usual. Thanks to that, he couldn’t leave the vicinity of the club and had to lean against a utility pole to settle the alcohol bill.

“Oh, damn, it feels like I vomited my whole stomach. Huuhhh, I feel sick… Oh, the disgusting smell of cigarette smoke…”

The smell of cigarette smoke wafting from somewhere stung his nose. Already feeling like dying from the hangover, the addition of the smell made it feel like death itself. He decided it would be better to leave quickly, holding his stomach. Haon looked to the side and quickly frowned.

“Oh, shit, so dirty… It’s yours?”

The owner of the nauseating cigarette smoke was that Cha Yugeon guy. That wretched guy, even the smell of his cigarette made him look like a villain.

“I do it in a variety of ways.”

“Can’t you just keep your wretched mouth quiet?”

He must have been drunk anyway, and the other person is the bastard Cha Yugeon. There was no reason to hold back since that guy personally started the fight.

“I wouldn’t have to say this if you didn’t bother me first. Think about it. Why would I bother talking to someone like you, a lower-tier esper, no, not even an esper anymore, just a nobody?”

“A nobody? is that what you’re calling me now?”

“Ah, right. I messed up. You’re not really a nobody right? So now you’re a guide? Good for you. You’ve literally tried everything from an A-class esper to FF-class esper. Then because that’s not enough, you even tried to become a guide. What an interesting live, you had”

Cha Yugeon’s words touched on Haon’s nerves from beginning to end. If he could, Haon felt enraged enough to knock Cha Yugeon down. Unfortunately, and unjustly, he lacked the power to do so.

“Still, it’s fortunate that I won’t have to see someone like you anymore. Even if you claim to be a guide, what’s the highest level you could be? At most, you’ll probably guide an FF-grade esper. Isn’t that right?”

While Haon was suppressing his anger, Cha Yugeon continued to taunt. He couldn’t take it anymore. If killing that jerk was impossible, he should at least feed him something unpleasant. How could he make that happen? Haon thought about the scene he witnessed in the stage earlier.

Yes, there is a way.

Haon took a deep breath and prayed. Just once more, truly just once more.

“Anyway, farewell. Do you have taxi fare? I don’t know how much an E-class esper like you earns, so here you go if you don’t have any.”

“I’ve got money, give me something else.”

“Something else, what… you crazy!”

Even as Haon hold Cha Yugeon’s like a koala, he gathered his composure at his fingertips and reached his hand directly towards Chayugeon’s face.