Chapter 1: The Esper Who Wasn’t Meant to Be

“So… you’re saying I awakened as an Esper?”

Even as the words left his mouth, they felt unreal.

Chaewon wondered if he was seeing hallucinations right before death.

“Yes. We’ll need a detailed examination to know for sure, but judging from the signs at the moment of awakening, we estimate a high rank.”

But if this were a hallucination, the doctor sitting across from him was far too vivid.

His voice, too, was perfectly clear.

Chaewon had suffered countless hallucinations while wracked with pain, but never one where every sense felt this sharp.

Not only his senses, but his ability to think was functioning normally as well.

As Chaewon carefully retraced the explanation he had just heard, the doctor continued.

“However, as you know… your physical condition prior to this was extremely poor, so there may be other variables. Once you undergo a full evaluation at the Center, you’ll receive a more detailed guidance.”

Still tense, Chaewon tightly clenched the hands resting on his thighs.

This couldn’t be happening.

Something had to be wrong.

He had seen countless cases where someone awakened as an Esper when faced with imminent death, but he had never heard of anything like this.

He was certain he had died.

Right before losing consciousness, he had been absolutely convinced that this time, at last, all the suffering would end.

And yet, when he gained consciousness, a doctor was sitting in front of him saying these things.

“Lee Chaewon. You must be very shocked and confused right now. Let’s move to the Center first. You’ll receive a proper explanation there.”

The doctor smiled.

It was a gentle expression, as though he were saying that all his hardships were finally over.

Chaewon stared at that face as if mesmerized.

He had become an orphan before even reaching adulthood, living a grueling life while caring for his sick grandmother.

With no room to look after himself, he worked himself to the bone, and after his grandmother passed away, he somehow clung on to life—only to receive a terminal diagnosis a mere three months ago.

His body, already beyond saving, had begun burning through what little life it had left at a frightening pace.

Even if time had been on his side, there was no way he could have afforded treatment.

Day after day, he writhed in loneliness and pain, and in the moment he lost consciousness while sensing death’s approach, Chaewon let go of the attachment he barely even had to life.

Relieved by the certainty that he would never open his eyes again.

“I’ve seen many cases, but… this is nothing short of a miracle, Chaewon. Everything will be fine now.”

Only then did the doctor’s voice begin to sound distant, as though from a dream.

After living a terminal life and standing at death’s door, he suddenly awakened as an S-rank Esper.

It was Lee Chaewon’s second life.

****

“Hyung! Su-ha-hyung!” (hyung: a term used to address older males by younger males)

Su-ha, just finishing his personal training and leaving the fitness room, paused at the sight of someone running toward him from afar while shouting his name far too energetically.

It was Jeong Jin, a Guide who followed him like an older brother.

Planning to head back to the dorms to shower, Su-ha roughly wiped his still-damp face with a towel before speaking to the now-approaching Jeong Jin.

“What are you running so hard for?”

Jeong Jin, panting as if he had sprinted all the way there, widened his eyes at Su-ha’s calm reaction and raised his voice again.

“Hyung! You think I’d run over for nothing? I just heard a crazy rumor—!”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been listening to pointless gossip again.”

“No, it’s not like that this time! Hyung, you know the new Esper who just came in is a Telekinesis-type, right?”

Su-ha gave a light nod.

By now, there was no one at the Center who hadn’t heard about the new Esper.

Not only because of the ability itself, but because of the unbelievable story that she had been a terminal patient on the brink of death before awakening.

Even Su-ha, who normally had no interest in rumors or other people’s business, knew about it.

That alone said everything about how loudly the story was circulating.

When Su-ha acknowledged it, Jeong Jin suddenly lowered his voice, leaning close to his ear to whisper.

“But hyung, apparently…”

“If it’s nothing, stop dragging it out and just say it.”

“It’s not nothing! I’ve heard from the higher ups that… they’re planning to assign you as that Esper’s Guide.”

“…What?”

Su-ha’s indifferent expression instantly changed.

Before Jeong Jin could even react, Su-ha grabbed him by the shoulders, his face twisted as he spoke.

“What do you mean by that? Are you sure?”

“I don’t know if it’s confirmed, but the rumor’s definitely going around. I heard it from Su-jeong.”

Su-jeong was a researcher under Ye-seon, the leader of Esper Management Team 1.

That meant the rumor hadn’t come from a completely baseless source.

“What are they scheming…”

A tremendous pressure radiated from Su-ha as he muttered under his breath.

At times like this, Jeong Jin found it hard to believe that the man in front of him was a Guide, not an Esper.

Intimidated by the look on Su-ha’s face, Jeong Jin was just about to call out to him when Su-ha abruptly turned and began walking away.

“Hyung! Hyung, where are you going?!”

Jeong Jin’s anxious voice echoed uselessly through the air.

****

“Um…”

Chaewon watched with an uneasy expression as unfamiliar devices were attached all over his body, then cautiously opened his mouth.

The man who had introduced himself as Woo Ye-seon, leader of Esper Management Team 1, was someone Chaewon had countless questions for, but there was one thing he needed to ask first.

As soon as he spoke, Ye-seon met his gaze with gentle eyes.

Chaewon slowly continued.

“I haven’t… ever used my power before, so I don’t know how to do it… What if I can’t do it properly?”

His gaze dropped to his wrist, which looked no different from before his awakening.

When someone awakened as an Esper, their body was usually enhanced to some degree.

It wasn’t as if a frail person suddenly turned into a two-meter-tall mass of muscle, but there were always noticeable differences compared to their unawakened state.

But Chaewon hadn’t changed.

If no longer being terminally ill counted as enhancement, then perhaps, but it was clearly different from every other case he had heard of.

And that wasn’t the only issue.

Depending on their physical condition prior to awakening, some Espers experienced various side effects when using their powers.

According to Ye-seon’s explanation, Chaewon was highly likely to fall into that category.

A small sigh slipped past Chaewon’s lips.

Of course, he wasn’t dissatisfied.

He had been someone fated to die, only to awaken as an Esper at the brink of death and be cured.

That alone was an unimaginable stroke of luck, a miracle.

There was no way he could complain about side effects.

What he truly worried about was something else.

“Don’t worry. I’ve seen countless Espers, but I’ve never met one who couldn’t eventually figure out how to use their own power.”

“But…”

“You might not do it properly at first. You might learn slowly and clumsily. There are many Espers like that. But in the end, they all succeed, and making sure that happens is our job. So don’t feel pressured.”

Despite Ye-seon’s kind explanation, the darkness on Chaewon’s face refused to lift.

That was exactly what he was worried about.

Chaewon couldn’t believe that someone like him had awakened as an Esper in the first place.

Espers were heroes, people who saved the world and protected others.

They were clearly chosen from birth, people Chaewon had never even dared to dream of becoming.

And yet, he—someone who couldn’t even properly carry his own life and had collapsed under its weight—was supposed to become an Esper and protect others?

On top of that, he had been told his ability was Telekinesis.

On a global scale, Telekinesis-type Espers weren’t particularly rare, but for some reason, Korea had seen almost none.

More than fifty years had passed since the Day of the Great Cataclysm, when unidentified monsters had poured into the world and people capable of stopping them awakened across the globe.

And yet, even now, the number of Telekinesis-type Espers in Korea could be counted on one hand.

Not a single one was currently active in the field.

And in that situation, Chaewon was suddenly suspected to be a Telekinesis Esper.

During the past few days of basic testing at the Ability User Management Center, Chaewon had faced countless gazes filled with curiosity, expectation, and doubt.

He didn’t mind the doubt or suspicion.

That was only natural.

What truly scared him were the people who expected something from him.

“I might… not be the kind of person you’re looking for.”

Chaewon quietly voiced what he felt once more.

This was a place where the best minds gathered, so his awakening itself couldn’t be a mistake.

As unbelievable as it was, it was possible that he really had become a Telekinesis Esper.

But he didn’t believe his power would ever be useful.

Chaewon’s life had never gone well, not even once.

“So please… don’t expect too much.”