Chapter 35: A Familiar Face

My life at the Center was ordinary, but from time to time, a surge of hatred towards Hyun Taewoon would spring up.
I no longer wanted to be entangled in the shackles of being an Esper and a Guide, but because of him, I had come back to the Association.

• [Guide Shinui, your guiding control is unstable.]

At Jinseok’s words, who was measuring my guiding level in the monitoring room, I controlled my wavelength again.
I often lost my composure like this when I thought of him.

• [You’ve returned to the average level. Please keep it up.]

Since Jinseok was a manager who had been a researcher, he was helping me with my guiding training.
I trusted him more than other researchers because he had been in charge of an S-Class Guide before.

• [Perhaps because you’re an S-Class, your control is certainly excellent, and your wavelength power is also exceptionally high.]

“You’re too kind.”

• [It’s not an exaggeration. I think it would be good for you to participate in individual gate simulation training from next week.]

I had participated in team gate simulations before the regression, but this was my first time doing an individual one.

Individual gate simulations were only available for A-Class and above, and like the team gate simulations, it was training to annihilate monsters with an energy-condensed weapon.
Instead, there was no boss monster.

Before returning to the past, I had died as soon as I became an A-Class, so I was curious about the individual gate simulation.
With a slight sense of anticipation, I finished the guiding training.

After the guiding training, I continued with other training.
It was training I had done for three years, so I received it skillfully without any difficulty.

I finished the training quickly, and since there was still time before lunch, I headed to the B and C-Class training rooms on the ground floor.
I was curious about how the colleagues I had been close with since coming here were doing.

By now, it would be their break time before physical enhancement training.
When I took the elevator up to the second floor, I could see guides scattered around the hallway.

They looked surprised, as if they had recognized me immediately.
It was probably because I was the only S-Class Guide at the Center right now, and I was the biggest issue at both the Center and in the media.
And I, in my black uniform, stood out among the gray training clothes.

“Why is he up here?”

Every time I walked, the guides would move far away and whisper.
They were all familiar faces, but the distance they kept from me was both bitter and strange.

Passing by the guides, I moved to the C-Class training room.
The training room door was wide open.
I immediately looked for Jihwon.

More than anyone else, I was most curious about his well-being since coming here.
He had joined the Association around the same time as me, and we had spent three years together.
He, like me, had trained with the goal of promotion, and later, he was promoted to B-Class and had stayed with me until I became an A-Class.
So, after him, I had the most memories with him.

“How can I help you?”

As I was loitering in front of the door, a trainer who recognized me approached.
I thought about what to say to him and then said honestly.

“I came to talk with the other guides.”

Everyone’s attention was focused on me, so their faces were clearly visible.
Hearing my words, they couldn’t hide their surprised expressions.
Perhaps, like my past self, they had a prejudice against S-Classes.

Soon, I found Jihwon, who was drinking water from a PET bottle.
He looked much younger than I remembered.
At that sight, the moment I first met him at the dorm came to mind.

“It seems to be break time. Can I come in for a moment?”

At my question, the trainer nodded with curious eyes and moved aside so I could come in.

As soon as I entered, I walked towards Jihwon.
As I got closer, a sense of tension appeared on his face.
To ease his tension, I smiled and spoke first.

“Hello. I’m Lee Shinui, who recently awakened as a guide.”

“…Hello.”

When I spoke to him, he looked even more surprised and gave an awkward smile.

“I still don’t know much, so if it’s okay, could I ask for your help?”

He hesitated at my words, but perhaps because he felt that I was friendly towards him, he eventually nodded.

“If you’re okay with it, Guide Shinui, then I’m fine with it.”

“Great. Then do you want to have lunch together after training?”

“Lunch? I’m okay with it, but…”

As I spoke to him without hesitation, the other guides who were watching us also came closer, curious about our conversation.

“How old are you, Guide Shinui?”

I was about to say 26 without thinking, but I answered 23.

“I’m 23.”

“I’m 21. I thought we were the same age because you look so young.”

I was happy to meet him again, but it was also sad to see him treat me like a stranger.

“Thank you. We’re not that far apart in age, so shall we speak informally?”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

“It would be impolite to refuse a guide’s suggestion. Okay.”

I could tell he was the person I knew from the way he immediately started speaking informally.
He didn’t judge people by their grade.
That’s one of the reasons I had gotten close to him.

I had changed, but the people other than me were the same as in my memory.
That was probably the same for him too.

Soon, the training started again.
As an S-Class, I wasn’t supposed to train with B and C-Classes, but since I had just awakened, I was told that I could train with them if I got the Center’s permission.

While his training was in progress, I got permission from the Center to train with the B and C-Classes and waited for him in front of the training room.
He, who had finished training, was surprised to see me really waiting for him and ran towards me.

“You were really waiting?”

“Yeah. I said let’s have lunch together. And we agreed to speak informally, right?”

At my words, he nodded with an ‘oops’ expression, and we headed to the Center cafeteria we used to frequent before the regression.

Since most people ate lunch outside, the cafeteria was quiet.
But soon, people started to crowd in, and in an instant, all the tables were full.

“I think someone said in the group chat that you were at the cafeteria, Guide Shinui. It seems like everyone came to see you.”

Although we had agreed to speak informally, he still used a mix of informal and formal speech, as if he were still awkward.
I thought it would get better over time and looked around.

As he said, everyone’s attention was on me.
The gazes were burdensome, but I tried not to mind them as much as possible and talked with him while eating.

“I was surprised when you suddenly spoke to me.”

“Call me ‘hyung’ instead of ‘Guide-nim’.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah. Just be comfortable.”

It was too awkward to be called ‘-nim’ when we were also speaking informally.

“Then I’ll call you hyung. I was so surprised when you spoke to me. And although it’s a little awkward now, I want to keep being friends.”

Even I would have been surprised if an S-Class guide had approached me wanting to be friends.
But if it were him, he would have said let’s be friends not because of my grade but because he liked me for who I was, just like in the past.

“I want to be friends with you too, Jihwon.”

“But did I say my name?”

At his words, I pointed to the name tag on his chest.
Only then did he nod as if he understood.

“You can call me Jihwon comfortably too, hyung.”

“Okay, Jihwon.”

He was just as I remembered.
A faint smile formed on my lips at that.

I packed my things in the training room and contacted Jinseok.
From now on, I had to commute with him, my manager.

When I was told to wait in the Center lobby, I was on my way to the first floor.
I felt his wavelength.
I became sensitive without realizing it, and my nerves were on edge.
The Association seemed to have no intention of keeping their promise with me.

Suddenly, everything around me stopped, and only I moved.
From this, I vaguely guessed that he had used his ability.

“Are you leaving work?”

As if to confirm my thoughts, he appeared from among the people.

“Do you abuse your ability like this?”

“Because the Association is monitoring.”

From his words, I could tell that the Association was working for me a little, but it was useless if he came to find me like this.

“I know you don’t want to see me. But I wanted to talk.”

“I have no intention of talking.”

“I do.”

“That’s just your own thought. Release your ability right now. If you continue to act like this, I will resign.”

At my words, he frowned and repeatedly suggested we talk, but at my firm attitude, he finally backed down today as well.

“I don’t want to be disliked by you… I hope your anger has subsided a little the next time we meet.”

As if he had just said, he didn’t want to be disliked by me, he looked at my face for a moment and was about to release his ability.
I quickly said before he disappeared.

“Don’t approach me anymore.”

At my words, he left a sad smile and disappeared.
I wished he would never appear in front of me again.
But contrary to my wish, he did not give up and came to find me at any time.