Chapter 4: An Unavoidable Assignment

In other words, the abilities he had honed solely for Ihyeon had now become abilities that this Esper, Lee Chaewon, needed more than anyone else.

Faced with such a logical answer that he felt he would have made the same decision himself if he were in their position, Su-ha found himself with nothing more to say and closed his mouth.

This wasn’t Ye-seon’s personal call, it was a decision from above.

No amount of protest from a mere Guide would change that.

Ye-seon watched Su-ha’s darkened expression for a moment, then let out a short sigh and continued.

“Su-ha, let’s do this. Once a decision comes down from above, we have no choice but to follow it. Even if you object, they won’t listen. Besides, Team Leader Min isn’t actively looking for a pair Guide right now, so there’s no justification.”

“……”

“In the meantime, if you take care of Lee Chaewon properly for a while, I’ll look for another Guide. Once we find someone suitable, we’ll switch them out. And with the merit of having handled Chaewon well, I can casually recommend you to Team Leader Min. What do you think?”

Su-ha stayed silent, carefully mulling over Ye-seon’s words.

He knew they didn’t carry much real weight.

The better his compatibility with Chaewon proved to be, the more likely the upper management would try to bind the two together even tighter.

Still, those who didn’t experience the field firsthand would have no choice but to prioritize Ye-seon’s reports.

So it wasn’t entirely impossible.

In his own way, Ye-seon was doing his best to look out for Su-ha.

At last, Su-ha spoke as if exhaling a sigh.

“In the end, I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“…Well. That’s true.”

“I understand. But please find another Guide as quickly as possible. I’ll be going now.”

“Alright. You’ll receive official notice soon, so be prepared. Your accommodations will also be moved closer to Chaewon’s.”

“…Yes.”

After giving a slight bow, Su-ha left Ye-seon’s office.

He closed the door behind him and paused in the hallway.

His gaze, fixed meaninglessly on the floor, remained dark.

From Ye-seon’s standpoint, what he had proposed was the best possible option.

But to be honest, Su-ha did have one more choice.

The only reason they were sending him to be Chaewon’s Guide was because they believed Su-ha could guide him most effectively.

But what if Chaewon and Su-ha were fundamentally incompatible?

What if Suha’s Guiding caused Chaewon pain instead?

In that case, wouldn’t anyone be forced to look for an alternative?

Of course, it was something a Guide should never do.

There was no way the management team wouldn’t notice, and it went against his own conscience.

Su-ha shook his head, hurriedly casting those thoughts aside, and resumed walking.

Still, no matter how hard he tried to rein in his emotions, he couldn’t help the resentment rising toward the Esper who had appeared out of nowhere and disrupted his plans, Lee Chaewon, whom he hadn’t even properly met yet.

Guides, too, were human beings affected by emotion.

They couldn’t possibly like every Esper without exception.

****

“Mm……”

“Ah, Chaewon. You’re awake?”

A voice sounded beside him, making his head throb.

As Chaewon pressed his temple and slightly furrowed his brow, the man who had spoken carefully supported his body as he tried to sit up.

“Does your head hurt?”

“Ah, just… a little ringing. It doesn’t really hurt.”

Even with his vision still blurred, Chaewon answered obediently.

The moment he opened his eyes, he realized where he was.

Terminally ill.

Esper.

Telekinesis.

Words he had never imagined would be part of his life surfaced and faded repeatedly in his mind.

As his vision slowly cleared, he saw a man looking at him with concern.

It was a familiar face.

The man with the gentle expression spoke.

“Do you remember me? I was there yesterday when Team Leader Woo Ye-seon was running your tests.”

“Yes, yes. I remember. Your name was…”

“I’m Lee Eunho.”

“Then may I call you Eunho? Or is there a title I should use…?”

“I do have the rank of Senior Staff, but it doesn’t mean much. Just call me Eunho comfortably.”

Lee Eunho.

Chaewon repeated the name silently to himself.

Remembering names had been a skill just as important as telekinesis in the world he’d lived in.

Some people even took offense if someone insignificant like Chaewon failed to remember their name.

More people than one might expect were like that.

Then Chaewon suddenly caught a subtle oddity in Eunho’s words.

His eyes widened as he looked at him.

“Wait— was the test yesterday?”

“Yes. Yesterday.”

“Was I unconscious for a whole day?”

Seeing Eunho nod with an awkward smile, Chaewon bit his lip.

Passing out from lifting such a small ball was bad enough, but to remain unconscious for an entire day…

Chaewon didn’t know much about Espers, but even he could tell this wasn’t normal.

Carefully gripping the edge of the blanket with both hands, he spoke in a small voice.

“Then… does that mean I can go back now?”

****

“…Pardon?”

Eunho raised his voice at the sudden question.

Chaewon continued calmly.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t meet your expectations even after you went through the trouble of testing me. If possible, I’d like to thank Team Leader Woo as well, but that might be difficult. He must be busy…”

“…What?”

Still flustered, Eunho repeated himself.

He had no idea where Chaewon was going with this.

Chaewon’s reasoning was simple.

They had tested whether he would be useful here.

Judging by the situation, it was obvious he had failed.

If he was useless, he couldn’t stay.

Being cast out when you’re of no value, that was only natural.

“Thank you for being kind to me, even if only briefly. If it’s not too much trouble… could you please pass along my thanks to the Team Leader as well?”

He wasn’t deeply disappointed.

He hadn’t expected much to begin with.

The idea that he could remain here alongside other Espers had been unrealistic from the start.

That kind of place was meant for truly special people, those born with the makings of heroes.

Chaewon glanced down at his own hands gripping the blanket.

Thin, bony, and pale, no matter how he looked at them, they weren’t the hands of someone meant to protect the world.

Still… wasn’t it a little regrettable?

Leaving without accomplishing anything, wasn’t that just a little sad?

Chaewon closed his eyes tightly, then opened them, clearing away the mess of thoughts.

Whether it was regrettable or not didn’t matter.

It was never important.

What gently grasped his wrist then was Eunho, his earlier panic gone.

Meeting Chaewon’s gaze, Eunho spoke.

“Chaewon, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Yesterday’s test was just that, a test. It wasn’t an exam or anything.”

“……?”

“It’s not the kind where you pass and become an Esper, or fail and get kicked out.”

“But I—”

“You awakened as an Esper, Chaewon. And not just any Esper—the first S-rank Telekinetic in South Korea. That alone is more than enough qualification.”

Chaewon couldn’t understand what Eunho was saying.

S-rank was the highest classification among Espers.

And he was that?

As Chaewon stared blankly, blinking in disbelief, Eunho let out a small laugh and continued.

“If you choose to belong here, you don’t have to go back anywhere. Well, later on you might move out of the dorms and into official housing, but either way, you’d become a national Esper of South Korea.”

“But as you saw, I couldn’t even use my power properly before collapsing…”

“Yes. That’s true. Your side effects are quite severe. But that’s exactly why our team exists. With medication, training, and Guiding working together, things will improve. So don’t worry.”

As Eunho explained step by step while meeting Chaewon’s eyes, he was oddly reminded of the cat he kept in his dorm.

The day he’d brought the stray home, explaining, ‘I’m your family now. You’ll live here with me’.

The feeling was strangely similar.

Comparing an S-rank Esper to a cat made no sense, but Chaewon’s gentle face, eyes wide, looking at him with mild confusion, felt exactly the same.

Chaewon blinked slowly, trying to process Eunho’s explanation.

He understood the words themselves.

He just couldn’t accept them.

‘I was a complete mess, and they’re not chasing me away?’

No blame, no scolding, no condemnation, just kindness?

To Chaewon, who had always lived as though walking on thin ice, the man before him and the atmosphere filling the hospital room were all unfamiliar.

Not unpleasant, but it felt like it would take time to adjust.

As Chaewon sank into thought, Eunho spoke again.

“By the way, Chaewon. How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?”