So Won opened the closet to wash as quickly as possible and pick clothes, but ended up plopping down on the spot.
He resented his past self, who had worn only cheap clothes before becoming a Guide.
The designs that were still riding the trends from eight years ago and the childish clothes greeted So Won.
By the time he found and put on the least bad clothes, a lot of time had already passed.
Today eight years ago was a summer day with the sun blazing down.
As soon as he stepped outside, sweat streamed down.
‘Oh no…’ So Won let out a small sigh.
He had put a lot of effort into his first impression, but it seemed it would all be for nothing.
*
When the Esper Association came into view, So Won unconsciously hurried his steps.
The state-of-the-art building, larger than most government facilities, loomed even larger with each step he took.
Kang Tae Woo. Tae Woo. So Won quietly murmured Tae Woo’s name.
Tae Woo would not remember him. Therefore, he had to make sure to start off on the right foot even more.
The cool air inside the Esper Association greeted So Won. He was already panting.
The high ceiling, which felt like it could open up his chest, and the ornate structure stole the viewer’s attention.
He roughly caught his breath as he approached the information desk, and the employee attended to So Won.
“What brings you here?”
“I’m Lee So Won, here to take a Guiding Test with Kang Tae Woo.”
“Ah…. Please go to the Guiding Test Room on the 7th floor.”
After finishing his words while panting, So Won gave a bow and quickly got on the elevator.
By now he had calmed his breathing somewhat. 1st floor, 2nd floor…. The floor numbers rose quickly.
So Won suddenly became curious about how Tae Woo had reacted when he heard the Matching results.
Had he been happy? Since his emotions had dulled from the side effects of not receiving Guiding, he might have been indifferent.
So Won’s heart pounded. The guilt of having caused his death, the fear of facing the man he had been afraid of, and a slight anticipation of seeing Tae Woo in a healthy state all mingled together.
Clunk,
7th floor. The elevator stopped, and the doors slowly opened.
So Won looked around the large hallway and searched for the Guiding Test Room.
Eight years ago, he had been matched right away without taking a Guiding Test.
It seemed the past had changed because he had applied for Designated Matching.
So Won thought that after this Guiding Test, the Matching Rate would probably drop to 65%, its original value.
“Ah, found it.”
The Guiding Test Room. So Won knocked, worried that he might have come to the wrong place because it was so quiet inside.
Fortunately, the researcher inside immediately opened the door and came out, greeting So Won.
Inside the Guiding Test Room, three researchers were waiting for So Won.
As soon as So Won entered the test room, he rolled his eyes around and looked for Tae Woo.
Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, Tae Woo seemed not to have arrived yet.
Beyond the glass, there was another room in the test room.
Inside it were a large, complex-looking machine and a pair of chairs, and it seemed the test was probably conducted by sitting in there.
While So Won was looking around the test room for a while, the heavy footsteps coming from outside stopped right in front of the door.
Hearing that sound, So Won flinched in surprise.
He could intuitively sense that Tae Woo was beyond the door.
So Won’s body went rigid.
He felt as if he could already feel Tae Woo’s prickling wavelength.
Without even a knock, the door opened with a click. So Won’s body, unprepared, trembled pitifully.
His resolve not to tremble was in vain; his body would not listen.
*
Tae Woo, who had just returned from a Gate, lay alone in his Personal Room at the Esper Association late at night, with three Guiding Machines attached all over his body.
He groaned in pain as if his whole body were being slashed, letting out rough breaths.
It was always like this after returning from a Gate.
His whole body felt like it would burst, but it did not burst; instead, his body grew hot and painful.
He had long forgotten any reason to live. Because he was always in pain and suffering, he simply did as he was told.
It was stifling. From endless thirst, his body felt like it would crack and turn to dust.
The Guiding Machine could only let a single drop of Guiding trickle into the parched Tae Woo.
Then Tae Woo writhed under an even worsening thirst. Guiding.
Tae Woo’s instincts sought a Guide. He wanted to touch a Guide and erase this extreme pain.
But he had no Guide.
Instead of Guiding, the only thing he could do was drink strong liquor to make his mind hazy for a while.
Beside Tae Woo, several empty bottles of high-proof whiskey rolled around, and his Personal Room was filled with an alcohol smell that could make one drunk just by smelling it.
Ziiing.
Just then, the phone lying on one side of the bed vibrated. It was a call from the Esper Association.
‘Could it be an Emergency Call?’ Tae Woo, whose condition was already as bad as it could be, frowned and answered the phone.
Tae Woo did not open his mouth after answering the phone.
But the person who had called seemed already terrified, and trembling breaths could be heard through the phone.
Ah, hello, Esper Kang Tae Woo.
When Tae Woo did not answer, the man on the phone continued.
A Guide named Lee So Won is looking for Esper Kang Tae Woo at the University Hospital Emergency Room. Could it be your Guide…?
Crunch, the smartphone in Tae Woo’s hand was crushed in an instant.
‘A Guide?’ For Tae Woo, who had lived his whole life alone as a monster, there was no such thing.
Before he could even get angry, the pain flowing through his entire body shook him.
Tae Woo, barely holding on to consciousness, clenched his hand as if it would burst.
Tae Woo, who had suffered through the night in pain, finally stabilized only by the next morning.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, this time too, he passed without going Berserk.
Tae Woo stroked his stifling neck. Instead of rough flesh, his hand touched smooth metal.
The black, thick ring around Tae Woo’s neck was a bomb.
It was the government’s conclusion: though he was unstable due to having no Guide, he was docile for an S-rank Esper, making him easy to exploit.
If Tae Woo began to go Berserk, the bomb around his neck would mercilessly explode.
Even Tae Woo could not guarantee whether the bomb could damage his tough skin, but if that day came, he only hoped he could be freed from this pain.
His body had calmed a little, but he was still not in good condition.
Tae Woo lay motionless with the machines wrapped around him.
The only time he barely moved was when a visitor came in the afternoon.
“Esper Kang Tae Woo?”
The young researcher carefully tried to enter Tae Woo’s Personal Room, but when their eyes met, he began to tremble violently.
Facing the terrible sight of Guiding Machines attached all over Tae Woo’s body as if they were tentacles, and his eyes heavily distorted from his poor condition, the researcher wanted to faint.
“A Designated Matching application came in….”
“Do as you see fit.”
The researcher could not even enter the room, trembled at the doorway, and then fled in a panic without even finishing what he had meant to say.
‘Designated Matching, of all things.’ Tae Woo’s mood sank again.
Among all the Matching tests he had done so far, there had never been a Matching Rate above 5%.
It was as if something were toying with him since yesterday; things related to Guides kept happening.
Tae Woo did not doubt for a moment that he would spend his whole life going through Gates without a Guide, one day go Berserk, and meet a miserable death.
Even if he did get a Guide, it was clear they would be terrified by his horrible appearance and run away.
But even if that happened, Tae Woo would not care. He knew all too well that everyone feared him, a monster.
The next day, a visitor came again starting in the morning. This time, it was Tae Woo’s attending physician, whom Tae Woo knew well.
Unlike his usually businesslike expression, his face was greatly excited, so Tae Woo furrowed his brow.
People kept visiting his Personal Room, where others came maybe once a year at most, and that was not something he welcomed.
“Esper Kang Tae Woo! Hah, look at this, look at this.”
The attending physician, who had burst into the room without even knocking, approached Tae Woo without trembling, unlike usual, and handed him a bundle of papers.
As Tae Woo accepted the papers, the machines dangling all over his arms clattered against each other.
The paper Tae Woo received was a Matching Result Sheet.
“A Guide with a 100% Matching Rate has appeared! A 100% Matching Rate Guide!”
Tae Woo’s attending physician shouted excitedly like a child who could not act his age.
Normally, Tae Woo would have frowned and made him flee, but Tae Woo was so bewildered that he just stared blankly at the paper.
Tae Woo’s appearance seemed merely indifferent.
The attending physician had expected him to be greatly surprised or happy, but because his reaction was unexpected, the excited physician slowly came back to his senses.
“Um… We also found it hard to believe, so we ran the test several times, and 100% is correct. Just in case, we asked another place to retest, but the result will probably be the same.”
Only now calming down, the attending physician said while watching Tae Woo’s reaction.
100.0%.
The several sheets of paper the physician handed over were all Matching test result reports.
The same number was written on every sheet. The more he checked that number, the colder Tae Woo’s heart became.
Until now, not a single Guide had exceeded a 5% Matching Rate with him. But now one appeared, and 100%?
To begin with, the number 100 between an Esper and a Guide was impossible.
And with him, no less, 100%. The test had to be wrong.
Tae Woo glared at the letters on the paper. If the paper had a heart, it might have burst.
Seeing Tae Woo’s cold face, the attending physician swallowed a groan.
A familiar name entered Tae Woo’s narrowed eyes. Guide, Lee So Won.
It was a familiar name, but Tae Woo did not bother to think deeply and handed the paper back to the physician.
The doctor, trembling as he received the paper, left the room as if fleeing.