Chapter 75: A Glimpse of the Future

The first day on the cruise was spent comfortably exploring the interior with Wonjae, free from the approaches of other Espers thanks to the wavelengths of Hyun Taewoon and Sung Yohan.
However, whether from the tension of the first day or seasickness from the ship’s subtle vibrations, I couldn’t fall asleep and only managed to drift off at dawn.

Fortunately, when I woke up in the morning, I was clear-headed without a single headache.
I had a simple breakfast via room service while re-checking the cruise’s facilities with the pamphlet.

I saw a few places we hadn’t been able to visit yesterday, like indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a theater, a casino bar, a fitness center, sports courts, and a jazz club.
As Wonjae had said, there was nothing it didn’t have.

I thought it would be nice to have a coffee at the sky lounge after finishing my meal.

Wonjae had gone out to play with the guides he had befriended yesterday, and I moved to the lounge.
The lounge was accessible by an elevator on the deck, so I moved to the deck floor.

When I came out to the deck, Awakened from the Association and the government were mixed together, having fun.
As I watched them, my eyes met with Minseong, who was playing in the pool.
As soon as he saw me, he got out of the pool and ran towards me.

“Guide Shinui, come and play with us!”

Summer was approaching, but the weather was still cold.
And playing among a crowd of people wasn’t my style, so I shook my head.

“I was on my way to the lounge. Let’s play together next time.”

“That’s a shame. Then would you like to have dinner together tonight?”

“Sounds good. I’ll contact you tonight.”

At my words, he returned with a satisfied face.
As I was watching him and about to move to the lounge, I heard Wonjae’s voice from behind.
When I turned around, he was already right in front of me.

“The guides I befriended this time want to get to know you too. Let’s go and hang out together.”

I thought about it for a moment.
To be honest, it seemed better to make new acquaintances than to spend time alone in the lounge.

When I followed him, a few guides were sitting at a table.
They greeted me warmly.
After exchanging greetings one by one, we started talking, and they were all looking at me with curious faces.

“To be honest, your impression was cold, so it was hard to start a conversation.”

“Me? I’m not a cold person.”

The words ‘cold impression’ reminded me of my recent self.
Every time I washed my hands in the bathroom, my reflection in the mirror was always expressionless.
Only then did I realize that I had rarely smiled since returning to the past.

“Yes. Now that we’ve talked, I’m relieved that you’re a warm person!”

At his last words, I also relaxed and smiled, and the guides who saw me also chatted comfortably.
But suddenly, I felt attention being drawn to the entrance.
I saw a man in a government uniform and asked the guide next to me.

“Who is that?”

“He’s our S-Class Multi.”

A Multi was a special case of an Awakened who had both Esper and guide abilities.
It was my first time seeing a Multi, so I also looked towards the entrance again.
The Multi approached our side.
I was surprised at his appearance.
It was the Awakened I had helped when I went out before.
He also seemed to remember me, as his expression became surprised.

“Hello. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. I was looking for you, but it turns out you were from the Association.”

He said, looking at my uniform.
As the Multi and I were talking, Wonjae came closer and asked.

“Do you know each other, hyung?”

“We met briefly outside.”

At my words, he still had a curious face, but he quietly listened to our conversation.

“I want to repay you.”

“I didn’t help you expecting a reward.”

“Still, if you hadn’t helped me, I might have died.”

Since I hadn’t helped him expecting a reward, I shook my head.
However, the man’s following words were a proposal surprising enough to make even me, who was determined to refuse anything, pause.

“Or shall I see your future for you?”

“My future?”

He said in a small voice that only I could hear.

“Yes. I have the ability of foresight.”

“Is it okay for you to talk about your ability like this?”

“There are only a few Multis, so everyone who needs to know already knows. And you are my savior.”

To be honest, I was tempted by his words.
What would my future be like?

I had known the future, but now it was all twisted, and the situation was no longer predictable.

“Is that okay?”

“Yes. But there are too many eyes here, so I think it would be better to move.”

When I told Wonjae I would be back in a moment, he had a displeased look.
But seeing my face full of anticipation, in the end, he told me to come back early and sent me off.
And so, I moved with the man.

“Come to think of it, I don’t even know your name. My name is Yeongwon. A single character.”

“I’m Lee Shinui.”

“Ah! So you were Guide Lee Shinui?”

“Yes. Do you know me?”

“Your personal information was revealed during the US gate, so most Awakened probably know you. I had only heard your name, but you’re handsome in person.”

“There’s a lot of exaggerated information. Still, thank you.”

It was still strange and felt odd that people I didn’t know knew me.

“I’m an S-Class Multi. I can guide and use abilities.”

“It’s my first time seeing a Multi, so it’s fascinating.”

“I’m the first of me, too.”

There were only three Multis in Korea.
I had heard there was one in the Association, but I hadn’t seen them yet.

“Can I call you Shinui-ssi?”

“Yes. Then I’ll call you Won-ssi.”

“Okay. There’s an S-Class private room. Let’s go there.”

And so we moved to the private room.
Won invited me to sit, and when I sat down, he also sat.

“I have one request before I see the future.”

“What is it?”

“My guiding level drops a lot when I see the future. Can I ask you to guide me when it’s over?”

“Yes. Of course I should.”

Since I had guided him before, I readily agreed this time as well.

“Okay. Then please place your hand on mine.”

As Yeongwon said, I placed my hand on his.
Then, before long, a light began to emanate from his hand.
The light drew a spiral, wrapped around us, and then enveloped us.
It was similar to when I did remote guiding.

His hand, which had been holding mine for a while, began to tremble.
It was around the time the gradually strengthening grip started to hurt.
He threw my hand off as if to shake it away.

His forehead was now damp with sweat.

“This rarely happens. I’m sorry.”

“Did you see something strange?”

“To see something like this…. It’s hard to even say.”

“What is it?”

At his unusual appearance, I became nervous without realizing it.

“First, I can only see one thing.”

“One thing?”

“Yes. Usually, there are stages. It shows me from the nearest future in order. But your future was all darkness. As if it couldn’t be shown to me.”

At his words, I was worried that it might be related to my return to the past.
I tried to compose my hardening expression.
He continued to explain with a trembling voice.

“But, as I kept walking beyond the darkness, there was you and a gate.”

“A gate?”

“It was a gate engraved with a devil’s face.”

I held my breath without realizing it.
If it was the devil’s gate, it was also a gate I could never forget.

“But in front of the gate, you were dead.”

At his words, I felt the anxiety I had been holding in my heart become a reality.
As expected, the devil’s gate was waiting for me in the future.

“Shinui-ssi, if the devil’s gate opens, you must never go.”

My fingertips hardened, and my palms became sweaty.
He must have also noticed my strange state, as he continued.

“The future can be changed. So you must never go near the devil’s gate.”

“Can… the future really be changed?”

“Of course. Do you know how many people have lived because of me?”

As he said, the future could be changed.
Seeing how everyone around me had changed.

“And you must not tell anyone that I saw your future.”

At his serious words, I thought there might be an ability penalty and asked back.

“Why?”

“Because I’ll get scolded.”

However, contrary to my expectation, seeing him smile and say he would be scolded, I also relaxed completely.

“Then please guide me as a fee for the reading now.”

His guiding level was 46%, having dropped by 20% even though he had only seen the future for a moment.

“It must be hard to see the future.”

“Yes. And I can’t see my own future. So I don’t know when danger will come.”

“Aren’t you worried?”

“I’m always worried. But now I’m more worried about you.”

My anxious heart was somewhat soothed by his comfort, but an ominous feeling still lingered around me.

I wanted to believe his words that the future could be changed.
To do so, I had to prepare to face the devil’s gate that would soon approach.
So that I would never experience the same future a second time.

After the luxurious dinner banquet, I returned to my room, feeling tired.
But Sehyun was standing in front of my door.

“Sehyun-ssi, why are you here?”

“I was waiting for you. We didn’t get to talk at all today.”

Hearing his words, only then did I realize that I hadn’t run into him even once today.

“It’s already been a day since we said we’d talk together.”

“Yes. Shinui-ssi, if you have time, do you want to go to the casino?”

“I’ve never been to a casino before, so I don’t know much about it.”

“It’s okay. I’ll teach you.”

Originally, I was planning to rest in my room, but at his suggestion, I thought about playing a little more before going in.
As it was, the inside of the cruise was in a festive mood, and I was feeling a bit of regret.

“Okay. Let’s go to the casino.”

I immediately turned around and headed to the casino with him.
The casino was on the 5th floor, and there were more people than I thought.
When we entered, the first thing I saw was a row of slot machines.
He and I played the slot machines a few times and then moved to a round table that looked like a dartboard.
It was called roulette.

At the words that even beginners could do well, I played about three rounds with his help, but they were all losses.
He comforted me, saying there were other games, so I shouldn’t be too disappointed, and then we took a seat at a poker table.

This time too, he explained the rules in detail.
Listening to his words, the three of us played poker with the dealer, and luckily, I won in a row.

“Shinui-ssi, you’re good.”

“It’s because I’m lucky today.”

Just as I was about to play another round on a winning streak, I felt his wavelength, and the chair next to me moved.
When I looked to the side, as expected, he was sitting down.

“Can I join you?”

“How did you know to come here?”

I looked at him with a frown at his uninvited appearance.

“I was here before you.”

He said, gesturing with the glass in his left hand towards the bar.
It seemed he had been at the bar.

“Go.”

I said to him in a small voice so he wouldn’t hear.

“Who knows when I’ll be here with you again. Let’s just play one round.”

Knowing he wouldn’t go back meekly, I hoped he would just play one round and leave quickly.

“Then just play one round and go back.”

At my words, he smiled and then looked at him and asked.

“Cha Sehyun-ssi, can I join you too? Shinui-ssi is okay with it.”

“If he is okay with it, then I’m okay too. Then shall we raise the stakes?”

At his words, he shook his head and said.

“How about we bet on something else this time? With time.”

“Are you saying you want to buy time?”

“Yes. If I win, I would like you to give me your time.”

My brow furrowed on its own at his words.
It was a change of stakes purely for his own benefit.

“That sounds good. Then if I win, your time is mine.”

A deep sigh came out at the sight of them proceeding without my consent, but since I had no intention of losing to him, I nodded.

“As for me, I’ll bet on you not approaching me while I’m here.”

At the end of my words, the cards were dealt.
However, contrary to my expectation, the game turned in his favor.
My hands were sweating as I held the cards, and perhaps because of the nervousness, I made a series of mistakes, and he ended up winning.

“Can you make time for me tomorrow?”

I didn’t want to admit defeat, but in the end, a loss was a loss, so I answered concisely.

“Just for 10 minutes.”

“Okay.”

I thought he would complain about the 10-minute time limit, but he accepted it and left the casino.
Watching him, my heart grew heavy.

What did he want to do with me in the short time of 10 minutes?
I was curious, but I also wanted to avoid the meeting.