Chapter 25: My Guide

“You’re here.”

“Eat up.”

Wondering if it was him, I slowly opened the door, only to push the wheelchair forward feebly at the voice coming from inside.

“I could just eat the hospital food.”

“Just eat what you’re given.”

Tae Seung-jun, who had once again packed the bedside table with food, gave me a disapproving look.

Even though I told him he could come empty-handed, he always came bearing piles of food.

Whether it was Hyung, Esper Hwang Gyu-tae, or Aran-noona, they were all dead serious about food.

“I met Esper Min Ji-oh recently.”

“That guy came again?”

“Did he apologize?”

I told Seung-jun, whose face was scrunching up, that he did, and stopped my wheelchair in front of the bed.

I was in a position where I could face him directly.

“I heard about the Gate situation.”

“You said the problem is getting bigger.”

Seung-jun, who had been picking at the side dishes, put down his chopsticks upon hearing my words.

Seeing the deepening frown on his brow, it seemed he had intended not to tell me until the end.

“You don’t need to worry about it.”

“It’s not unmanageable.”

“I decided to take the test.”

“I don’t know how much help it will be, though.”

“Hey, do you even know what kind of test it is before agreeing to it?”

“He said it wasn’t dangerous.”

I thought he would object, but surprisingly, Seung-jun didn’t try to stop me.

He just scrunched up his uneasy expression even more.

“You’re not going to ask why I didn’t tell you?”

“You probably hid it for my sake.”

“If I get anxious trying to find my lost memories, my stress will increase.”

“And my wavelength will go up with it, right?”

As if my prediction was correct, Seung-jun let out a small laugh and perched on the edge of the bed.

“You know well.”

“Don’t be anxious.”

“If you wait patiently, it’ll come back on its own.”

“It just takes time.”

“I know.”

I knew, but I had already grown impatient.

While everyone else was so busy that their alert notifications were going off constantly, I was the only one spending my time idly.

I hadn’t even tried to learn more about the Gate accident I had experienced.

When they told me this is what happened, I just thought, ‘Ah, I see.’

I only kept mulling over the thought that I didn’t want to get hurt again.

“What are you thinking about?”

“The soup is a bit salty.”

I scooped up the beef bone soup, which was full of chopped green onions, and mixed in a large spoonful of rice.

Perhaps because my mind was so preoccupied, I couldn’t even taste it properly.

“The soup is a bit salty, so your level goes up by 3%?”

Seung-jun grabbed my wrist, shook it, and shoved the watch screen in my face.

Even though I was just sitting still and thinking, my wavelength level had risen to 54%.

“I don’t think the Guiding Machine is a good match for me.”

“Even if I keep it on all day, my level goes up quickly.”

“It’s because you’re not centered.”

“If someone who can’t even handle their wavelength properly loses their mental stability, it’ll shoot past 60% in an instant.”

‘Then teach me how to get centered.’

It was frustrating that they wouldn’t even teach me how to control my wavelength, only telling me to keep my mind at ease unconditionally.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

“But there’s nothing we can do right now.”

“I can’t teach you anything until your legs have recovered.”

“Why?”

“To control your wavelength, you have to learn how to use your ability at the same time.”

“But if you try to teleport in your current leg condition, you’ll be f*cked.”

The attending physician’s words, that not a few Teleportation Espers suffered accidents where their limbs became detached, came to mind.

However, besides teleportation, I also had the Barrier ability.

“You can just teach me the Barrier ability first.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Multi-ability.”

“We all only have one ability, so we don’t know how to separate the two.”

“Ah.”

Having no other choice, I stopped asking questions and just finished my meal.

I had no idea that being an Esper came with so many restrictions.

To me, Espers were simply dangerous beings that I should not get close to.

I had especially thought of A-rank and higher Espers as walking weapons.

Now that I was talking and interacting with them frequently, I came to realize they were just people like anyone else.

If I hadn’t manifested as an Esper, I probably would have never known this my whole life.

“Get as much rest as you can while you can.”

“When else can you rest if not when you’re sick.”

“Tomorrow, just stay in bed.”

Hyung, who had filled his stomach by picking only at the side dishes, stood up and checked the model name of the Guiding Machine.

Despite his words, he seemed to be planning to get me a different machine, asking if there was anything else that was making me uncomfortable.

I stirred my soup with my spoon and brought up something completely unrelated to his question.

The thing making me uncomfortable right now wasn’t the machine, but Guide Seo Yeong-u.

“Is Guide-nim doing okay?”

At the sudden question, Seung-jun, who had been fiddling with the Guiding Machine, paused and came back to the bed.

“You’re asking now?”

Hyung, with a face that seemed to have a lot to say, just spat out those short words.

It felt like he had been waiting for me to ask.

“He’s sick.”

“He can’t come for a while.”

My stiff legs twitched at the word ‘sick.’

Unable to even ask what he meant, I just waited with my mouth open for him to continue his explanation.

“It’s just a cold.”

“Not a fatal illness.”

“Is it bad?”

“He’s someone who doesn’t normally get sick.”

“So I guess when he catches something, it lasts for a while.”

The image of his face, pale and with a nosebleed streaming down, flashed before my eyes.

With that frail body, catching a cold on top of it all meant it definitely wasn’t just a common cold.

“He’s not alone, is he?”

“Is he in the hospital?”

“He’s at home.”

“Alone.”

“Why is he alone when he’s sick!”

I snapped in anger without realizing it.

Just like that time the Guide tried to leave the room naked.

“Then who would he be with?”

“We’re all busy.”

“He has no friends.”

“And he doesn’t have a lover right now, either.”

“…He could just be in the hospital.”

“He finds the hospital uncomfortable.”

“Is being uncomfortable the issue?”

Seung-jun suddenly tilted his head to the side, and one corner of his mouth curled up.

Faced with his openly mocking expression, I tilted my head to follow his.

‘I’m being serious, so what’s with him right now.’

“I’d love it if he were in the hospital when he’s sick, too.”

“But he said to just leave him alone.”

“Our Team Leader.”

Seung-jun emphasized the last words and pointed at me with his chin.

It meant that I was the one who said it.

Because the Team Leader of Barrier Team 3, which Seung-jun belonged to, was me.

“He says when the mind is troubled, the body gets sick.”

“Who does he think he is, a doctor?”

“Don’t you think so?”

“…”

“Sigh, something even a young guy would find obvious.”

“Both Seo Yeong-u and the Team Leader, they’ll die before they listen to what others say.”

Watching Seung-jun badmouth me to my face, I accepted the clothes he took out from the closet.

I changed without a word and got into my wheelchair.

There was no need to ask where we were going.

On the way down from the Medical Center, a few people spoke to me.

Everyone who asked if my body was okay now called me “Team Leader Kim” and expressed their concern.

Just as Seung-jun had told me beforehand, I replied that I was still not well and just pushed my wheelchair.

When I kept my expression seriously grim, people stopped talking to me.

To be honest, I didn’t even notice them.

My head was so full of thoughts about Guide Seo Yeong-u that I didn’t even have a moment to feel awkward.

“But why doesn’t he have any friends?”

I asked while sitting in the passenger seat of the car Seung-jun was driving, looking out the window.

It was a question that popped out while I was trying to sort through my complicated thoughts, so it lacked context.

Seung-jun, who understood without needing an explanation, answered while casually turning the steering wheel.

“He doesn’t have any because he doesn’t have any.”

“I don’t have friends either.”

“You don’t have a single friend?”

“Yeah.”

‘Is that possible?’

I couldn’t bring myself to ask for more details, wondering if becoming a person with abilities meant cutting ties even with long-time friends.

“Then what about colleagues?”

“He must have Guide colleagues, right?”

I could accept him not having friends, but I thought he would naturally have colleagues he knew.

He said Guide Seo Yeong-u was twenty-eight, which meant he had been a Guide for eight years.

He’s been at the Center for nearly ten years, so surely he must have colleagues.

“The only beings Seo Yeong-u has are one Esper and three cats.”

“…Is that one Esper me?”

Seung-jun answered with a silence that implied affirmation.

Since cats aren’t people, if I excluded them, it meant that Guide Seo Yeong-u only had me.

Thinking that couldn’t be possible, I ended the conversation.

I just understood it to mean that as the Esper he was imprinted with, I was that special to Guide Seo Yeong-u.

Even if their relationship wasn’t deep, I thought he would at least have one friend or colleague he kept in touch with.

At least, that’s what I thought until this moment.

“Don’t act like you know you’re imprinted.”

“I’m using that to blackmail Seo Yeong-u.”

Seung-jun, who had parked the car in front of the apartment building entrance, said this as he checked the alert notification that had just started ringing.

He only unbuckled his seatbelt and didn’t turn off the car’s engine.

It seemed he was planning to send just me up.

“What kind of blackmail?”

“I told him if he skips meals and doesn’t sleep, I’ll tell you he’s imprinted with you.”

“He wants to hide it.”

“How can you check that?”

“You have to check.”

“Is he my Guide?”

Getting out of the car first, Seung-jun went to get the wheelchair he had stored in the trunk.

‘My Guide.’

I unbuckled my seatbelt, mulling over the words Seung-jun had casually thrown out.

Since he was the being imprinted with me, it seemed right that he was my Guide.

As soon as I acknowledged that fact, Guide Seo Yeong-u, who had seemed like only a stranger, felt a little closer.