Chapter 34: A New Team

After becoming a pair with Sung Yohan, I ended up joining his team.
Following Jinseok’s guidance, I went up to the third floor of the Center, and a familiar hallway that I had frequented for three years appeared.

Before going to the 05R team’s exclusive room, I passed by the 01S team’s exclusive room.
As long as Hyun Taewoon was there, I would probably never enter the 01S team’s exclusive room in my lifetime.
A sense of regret followed, but I tried to ignore it.

“This is the 05R team’s exclusive room.”

When Jinseok knocked on the door, a voice from inside told him to come in.
When I opened the door and went in, the team members were all standing and waiting for me, as if they knew I was coming.

“Guide Lee Shinui, welcome.”

Hearing the team members’ welcome, I also expressed my gratitude.
Everyone’s gaze was on me, which was burdensome, but I forced a smile.

“Thank you. I look forward to working with you.”

Sung Yohan, who was watching me, smiled and came closer.
He then introduced me to the team members one by one.
They were all A-Class Espers and guides.

If the 01S team had a warm and friendly atmosphere, the 05R team was dry and emotionless.
The team members’ expressions were all consistent, as if they were wearing masks.
I felt a sense of unease and thought that I wouldn’t be able to adapt to the team.

Perhaps my worry was evident on my face, as he said as if to tell me not to worry.

“Shinui-ssi, make yourself comfortable. It’s a family-like atmosphere.”

I had heard that you should avoid places that advertise a “family-like atmosphere” on job sites, and my first impression was not good.

I had been introduced to all the team members, but I couldn’t see the most important person, the team leader.
Feeling puzzled, I asked him.

“Where is the team leader?”

“It’s me.”

I was surprised by his words.
Team leaders were generally older people with a lot of field experience.
It was the first time I had seen someone become a team leader at such a young age.

It seemed that his abilities were more outstanding than I had thought.
I remembered that his abilities, which he had displayed at the gate in the past, were as exceptional as Hyun Taewoon’s.

Still, for some reason, I was reluctant to be under him.
Even though he had never harmed me, I kept wanting to avoid him.

“Let’s get along well from now on.”

“Yes. I look forward to working with you too.”

I nodded and answered his words about getting along well.
Next, I was being shown around the exclusive room when I saw an empty desk.
From the things on it, it seemed the person had just stepped out for a moment.

“It seems one person has gone somewhere?”

Following my gaze, he also looked at the empty desk and said.

“He died.”

“What?”

“He died at a gate a few days ago.”

There was no pity or regret in his voice as he spoke so calmly about the death.
As I stood stiffly, just looking at the desk, he continued as if it were no big deal.

“It’s common to die at a gate, isn’t it?”

He told the team member closest to him to clear the desk.
His words were also true, but since he had been talking about family just a moment ago, I felt a sense of dissonance in his current appearance.

“Shinui-ssi, your seat is in the back.”

The place I followed him to was the team leader’s office.
I couldn’t understand why we were going into the team leader’s office.

“Isn’t this the team leader’s office?”

“Yes. We’ll be sharing a room.”

I barely managed to hold back the words ‘I don’t want to’ that were about to come out and said.

“…I’m fine with sharing with the other team members. I saw there was an empty seat earlier.”

I didn’t want to receive special treatment just because I had become a pair.
The team members would surely think it was unfair.

“You don’t have to be modest.”

“Still. It’s hard to get to know the team members if I’m in a room.”

I said, looking at the team members visible through the glass wall.
They were already sitting at their desks and working.
At that sight, I thought it would be difficult to get to know them, but it seemed better than staying in the same space with him.

At my words, he wiped the smile from his face and said.

“Shinui-ssi, you’re my pair. You don’t need to get to know the other team members.”

As expected, his words about being comfortable like family a moment ago were just lip service.
My mouth clamped shut at his selfish words, but if I let it go like this, I would have to stay in the same space with him, so I honestly told him my thoughts.

“I want to get to know the team members. And, getting to know them won’t make me neglect your guiding, Esper Sung Yohan.”

He, who heard my words, told me to do as I pleased, but he didn’t yield on the matter of the seat until the very end.
In the end, I ended up taking a seat right next to his desk.

Since today was the day for the team introduction, I left right after the conversation was over.
Jinseok was waiting for me outside.

“How was it?”

“…It was okay.”

It wasn’t okay at all, but I didn’t want to whine, so I said it nonchalantly.

“That’s a relief. Now, let’s move to the training wing, and I’ll show you your exclusive room.”

I was on my way to the elevator to move to the training wing with Jinseok when I saw the 01S team’s exclusive room again.
My gaze stopped there without me realizing it.
I could hear Minseong’s laughter from inside.

I wanted to laugh and chat with him over silly jokes like before, but knowing that I was no longer in his life, I passed by the exclusive room with a bitter heart.

Just like when I first awakened as a C-Class, I took guide and Esper theory lectures and training in the morning.

Perhaps because I had trained without missing a single day for three years, or perhaps because I had become an S-Class, I couldn’t hide my wavelength control and abilities even when I tried to act clumsy.
At this sight of me, the researchers’ admiration continued.

When I was a B-Class, there was one researcher in charge of guiding training, but when I became an S-Class, there were three.
S-Classes were rare, but to the researchers, I myself was a research subject.

Before the regression, I had only ever done machine guiding training.
Originally, my partner, Taewoon, was supposed to help, but since he refused, I ended up only doing machine guiding training.
But now, in addition to machine guiding training, I received guiding training with Sung Yohan twice a week.

I had arrived a little early at the guiding training room and was waiting for him when he appeared exactly at the promised time.

“Shinui-ssi, you’re here first. I look forward to working with you today.”

“I look forward to working with you too.”

After a light greeting, I sat on the bed with him.
It was practically my first time doing guiding training with an Esper, so I was a little nervous.
There was a time when I had hoped to do it with Hyun Taewoon, but now it had become something that could not be.

Following the researcher’s guidance, Sung Yohan and I began remote guiding training.
I did remote guiding as usual and checked his guiding level, which was 67%.
If it had been Hyun Taewoon, he would have already entered the stable zone and more, which was strange.

Contrary to our 88% matching rate, my guiding with him didn’t go as smoothly as I had thought.
But it wasn’t below average.
It was just that it didn’t work as well as when compared to him.
That was a little strange.

The researchers, who seemed to think the same as me, told me to try guiding in different ways, but it didn’t change much.

“Esper Sung Yohan, are you perhaps not feeling well today?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“It’s just that the guiding doesn’t seem to be working well. I just asked just in case.”

“They say my wavelength is difficult to control.”

As he said, his wavelength was more difficult than his.
With him, the wavelength connected immediately, but with Sung Yohan, it was not easy to connect, and it would pop out at any time and get cut off in the middle.

“As we continue to train, you’ll get used to my wavelength too.”

“…I hope so.”

After the guiding training, I received feedback on today’s training from the researcher and came out, and he was waiting for me.

“Shinui-ssi, want to have lunch together?”

He suggested we have lunch together, but since we weren’t close enough to have lunch alone, I politely refused.
He looked disappointed and disappeared after promising to see me next time.

After he was out of sight, I headed to the cafeteria alone.
There was also an S-Class exclusive cafeteria, but the one I entered was empty.
It seemed they didn’t use the Center cafeteria much.
After a lonely meal, I moved to the team’s exclusive room.

After becoming an S-Class, the treatment I received was certainly better than before, but the more time I spent alone, the more I deeply felt that the past I had spent with my colleagues was more enjoyable.
I kept remembering my memories with my colleagues from before the regression, and my longing for that time grew stronger.