Chapter 41: A New Variable

I decided to find Joo Wonjae, but since I only knew his name and age, I ended up asking Jinseok to do a background check.
The Association had a team for searching for Awakened individuals, and they could also access civilian records, so they would be able to find him faster than I could.

“Manager-nim, could you possibly find someone for me?”

“Who are you looking for?”

At Jinseok’s curious face, I made up a story to explain.

“It’s someone I knew a long time ago, and I was just wondering how he’s doing. His name is Joo Wonjae, and he’s four years younger than me.”

“Is there any other information? It might be difficult with just a name.”

“He’s not an Awakened yet. He probably lives in Sector 79.”

“I’ll look into it first and let you know.”

To be honest, I thought it would be difficult to find him with just this information, but in less than a week, Jinseok came back with a list of people named Joo Wonjae living in Sector 79.
From the list, I found the youthful-looking Joo Wonjae.

He was currently 19 years old and living alone in an officetel in the city.
But it said both his parents were deceased, and the time of death was a few months ago.

‘Deceased?’

It seemed he had become an orphan recently when his parents passed away.
I didn’t have good feelings for him, but since I had also lost my mother, I felt a deep sense of pity.

I was curious about how he was doing now, and my worry grew, so I asked Jinseok if I could go out.

“Manager-nim, can I go out for a bit today?”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to see Joo Wonjae.”

“Is he an important person? This is the first time I’ve seen you go to see a friend, Guide-nim.”

Since he was an important person who would help me get rid of Hyun Taewoon, I nodded, and Jinseok said he would take me.

And so, I took Jinseok’s car and headed to his house.
But the mailbox was overflowing with bills, as if he hadn’t been home for a while.

“Are you sure he lives here?”

“Yes.”

‘Could he be staying with relatives?’ I thought, but I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
And I remembered myself when my mother passed away.
Myself, who had lain in my room all day without eating.

Just in case, I ran towards the stairs.

“Guide-nim?”

“I’ll just go up and be right back!”

“I’ll go with you.”

I went up to the floor where he lived with Jinseok.
I immediately rang the doorbell, but there was no response from inside.

“I think we need to pick the lock.”

“Why?”

“There might be someone inside.”

“You saw the pile of bills downstairs. Don’t you think he’s out?”

“I just have a strange feeling. Can’t we just open it and see?”

In the end, at my words, Jinseok called a technician from the Association.
The door opened in less than a minute, and when we went inside, the interior was cold and chilly.
Feeling a strange sense of unease, I hurriedly looked around the entire room.
And I found him collapsed in the bedroom.

“Call an ambulance!”

Jinseok, who had followed me, also seemed surprised at the sight of the collapsed Joo Wonjae.
I immediately went to him and put my hand to his nose.
Fortunately, a faint breath brushed past my fingers.

The last time I saw him, he was well-built and a handsome young man.
But the person here was a skinny boy.

When the ambulance arrived, we quickly transported the unconscious Joo Wonjae to the Center hospital.

In the end, I just confirmed his hospitalization procedure and went back home.
Even after returning home, the image of him, so thin he looked like he could die at any moment, kept coming to mind.

He must have been going through a hard time after suddenly losing his parents.
I thought about him for a while and sincerely hoped he would wake up safely.

The next day, I heard from Jinseok that he had woken up, and I went to his hospital room.
He was hospitalized in a private room at the Center hospital.
I decided to pay for all the hospital bills.

When I went to the hospital room, he was leaning against the back of the bed.
He stared at me when I came in.
Since the current Joo Wonjae didn’t know me, I greeted him first and introduced myself.

“Hello. My name is Lee Shinui.”

“You must be the guide who helped me.”

Only after hearing my name did he seem to realize that I was the one who had helped him, and he finally smiled brightly.

“Yes.”

“Thank you. I might have died if it weren’t for you.”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine now. They said I was malnourished because I hadn’t been eating properly for a few days.”

Unlike before, there was no strength in his voice.
He just looked pitiful.
Unlike in the past, he was now an orphaned minor.

“For a while, just focus on recovering in the hospital.”

“Okay. Thank you for your concern.”

From time to time, the image of him disappearing with Hyun Taewoon before I returned to the past came to mind.
But since he had never directly harmed me, I couldn’t just hate him.
And the current Joo Wonjae was a 19-year-old kid.

And so, I visited him whenever I had time.
Before I knew it, he started calling me ‘hyung’ and following me around, just like before.
I, too, unlike before, treated him comfortably like a younger brother.

“I’m being discharged tomorrow. I probably won’t be able to see you anymore, right, hyung? Since I’m not an Awakened and you’re an S-Class Guide.”

“We can see each other often. When was the last time you took an Awakening Test?”

“When I entered high school.”

Since his last Awakening Test was three years ago, if he took one now, he would awaken as an S-Class.

“How about you take an Awakening Test again?”

“Would that be a good idea?”

“Yeah. I also awakened late.”

“Okay. If I awaken, I can see you often, hyung.”

Since I was the first person to approach him after his parents passed away, he showed signs of relying on me.
He was still sensitive and kept his distance from everyone but me.

I was worried about him, but since he was also receiving counseling, he would get better soon.

As we met more often, I grew fond of him before I knew it.
Now, I had a strong desire for him to do well.

And so, on the day of his discharge, he headed to the Center with me.
Since I had sent an Awakening Test application to the Center in advance, we were able to do the test on time.
But contrary to my expectations, his grade was not S-Class, but A-Class.

It was an unexpected event, so I was flustered.
According to my plan, he was supposed to become an S-grade and become Hyun Taewoon’s exclusive.
But if he was an A-Class, he wouldn’t be able to be his exclusive unless their matching rate was high.

Still, since Hyun Taewoon had liked him before I returned to the past, he might choose him as his exclusive guide.

“Hyung! They said I’m an A-Class! Then I can keep seeing you now, right?”

“Yeah, we can see each other often from now on.”

I was flustered by the A-Class result, but seeing him so happy, a smile naturally formed on my lips.

Joo Wonjae, who had become an A-Class Guide, was now under the management of the Association.
Minor Awakened had to enter a dorm, but since he was still mentally unstable, he ended up staying at my house until he became an adult.

The short cohabitation with him for the period until the New Year didn’t feel so uncomfortable.
Rather, he felt like a younger brother, and I even felt a sense of joy in wanting to take care of him.
And so, he and I came to live together.

In the afternoon, I guided Sung Yohan, who had finished training.
He watched me guide him silently for a while and then opened his mouth.

“How did you find him?”

At his question without a subject, I glanced at his face and asked.

“What?”

“The A-Class Guide.”

Only then did I realize he was talking about Wonjae.
It hadn’t been officially announced yet, but it seemed the information had been passed on to him.

“I found out by chance.”

“I don’t think so. You received information from the Association before you saved him, didn’t you?”

“Why are you curious?”

“I’m curious about everything about you.”

He said, pressing my cheek firmly.
I quickly swatted his hand away and said bluntly.

“Don’t be curious.”

“We’re a pair, can’t you tell me? And we don’t know when we might fall for each other like this.”

He pulled the hand he was holding towards him.
I was caught off guard and ended up in his embrace, but I immediately pulled away and distanced myself from him.

Falling for him.
It was something I didn’t even want to think about.

“The guiding speed is slower than I thought today. Can’t you do second-level guiding?”

I knew he was asking me to hug him like last time, so I pretended not to know.
Then he started to provoke me.

“You must like holding my hand, Shinui-ssi.”

“No. This is just guiding. There are no personal feelings.”

“But I have a lot of personal feelings.”

He lifted the hand he was holding and kissed the back of my hand.
At that action, I flinched without realizing it and tried to pull my hand away, but I couldn’t escape his strong grip.

“Sung Yohan-ssi, if you continue like this, I can’t guide you anymore.”

“Really? I’m scared when you say that.”

Contrary to his words, he didn’t look scared at all.
I was furious at that.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t put personal feelings into guiding.”

At my words, he didn’t say anything more.
But he was still playing with my fingers.

For some reason, guiding with him was more difficult than with him.
Whether he knew my feelings or not, he once again pestered me for second-level guiding.
In the end, I had no choice but to give him second-level guiding.

On my way back, dragging my tired body, I resolved to escape the Association as soon as possible.