FETCH 37

“Mister, who are you?”

Kim Daeyoung looked at the child at the sound of his clear voice. While he was dumbfounded by the fact that he had never seen an Esper wave manifest so strongly, there was a child who had survived the freezing ability that had turned the entire area to ice.

The child was shining with very bright and clear eyes, as if he had no memory of what had happened to him. He looked to be about a high schooler, and his glowing, sparkling gaze along with his pretty face revealed his pure nature exactly as it was.

The child, holding the young Esper who had poured out his abilities and then fainted as if dead on the spot, was performing an unconscious guiding while holding him tightly.

It was staggering.

Had such a Guide existed?

Even though he had not properly manifested and was not even aware that he was a Guide, the enormous wave that leaked out of him by instinct was properly stopping the young Esper’s rampage.

Kim Daeyoung instinctively judged that he had to kill this child. To be precise, he thought he had to kill his Guide ability.

The Center was already overflowing with outstanding Guides. Moreover, both of them were boys. It was as plain as day that the situation would not flow only in the direction he wanted if they entered the Center together, claiming to be friends.

Boys were often prone to losing sight of the greater cause because they were obsessed with strange notions of loyalty or the bond between them.

Furthermore, he needed a Guide with such a strong wave. To be precise, rather than needing a Guide to attach to an Esper, he needed an opportunity to test their drug.

Kim Daeyoung was not a man to miss such a golden opportunity. He met the young Guide’s parents right away and began to lay out a string of sweet-talk.

“Your son was born with a great ability, but rather than being paired with a boy, wouldn’t it be better to pair him with a girl and form a more harmonious family?”

Even in an era where Guides and Espers were rampant, same-sex pairs were rare, and prejudice remained as strong as ever.

And as if to prove it, the man with a dignified impression sitting across from him distorted his expression. The woman sitting next to him also revealed her displeasure without filter.

“A pair with a boy? Are you talking about Kang?”

“Yes. Kang will be classified as an Esper and go to the Center.”

“Ah, ah…”

The child’s parents, not knowing what kind of potential their child had, simply let out a desperate exclamation. It was no different from the typical reaction of the public who did not know the value of a Guide. That was how so many Guides had been hidden away.

It seemed he could even hear their laments, wondering why, if he was going to manifest, he had to manifest as a Guide instead of an Esper. In front of them, Kim Daeyoung added with a sluggish smile.

“If he enters the Center after we firmly stabilize his waves, we can guarantee a solid future for the child. Although public perception is not as good as that of an Esper, a Guide is also a tremendous person of supernatural ability. Only a Guide can control an Esper. There are also many female Espers with outstanding abilities in our Center.”

“No, Jaechan will not be made to do such things.”

This is why children from wealthy families are so difficult.

The child’s father, sitting there wrapped in clothes that at a glance were worth well over the price of a mid-sized sedan, firmly cut off Kim Daeyoung’s words. However, Kim Daeyoung was not one to back down there either.

“Still, as long as the waves are inherent within his body, it will eventually become difficult for him. It is better to stabilize the waves first. There is a medicine being developed at the Center. Why don’t you try giving it to your son?”

“Are you telling me to feed my son something that hasn’t even finished clinical trials yet?”

“Don’t you know that a sudden manifestation in an unprepared situation is even more dangerous? In times like these, you never know where an Esper might be. Especially if he has strong potential like your son…”

He knew very well how those words would sound to parents with a minor child. Sure enough, the couple gasped and held each other’s hands tightly.

“It is a safe medicine; it simply isn’t sold on the market. It’s only used within the Center. Even after manifesting, he won’t have to do Center work like an ordinary person. You know, don’t you? Most Guides live just like ordinary people. We will help you.”

To a casual listener, it might have sounded like he was offering to help with a stable manifestation as a Guide, but it was the opposite. What he had prepared was not a Guide manifestation accelerator, but a guiding wave suppressor.

He spent several minutes smiling broadly while hiding that fact. Whether they were convinced, the parents said they would discuss it among themselves for a moment, and not long after, they gave their consent.

There was no one who would refuse when told it was to help their child in a good direction, especially when a top-tier expert stepped up to help. Eventually, as if resigned, Jeon Jaechan’s father opened his mouth.

“Instead, keep the fact that there is a possibility of manifestation a secret from the child himself. Please understand, as the two children are exceptionally close.”

To the somewhat overbearing attitude, Kim Daeyoung simply said he would do so.

Since that was actually a good direction for the Center as well, Kim Daeyoung readily agreed.

Following that, Kim Daeyoung visited the school Jeon Jaechan was attending. He showed a benevolent smile to the child who opened his eyes wide in front of the school gate.

“Do you not remember me?”

“I know you. The mister who took Kang away.”

His tone suggested he did not look very kindly upon the man who had taken his best friend away. His sparkling gaze was the same, but his tone, which was not entirely gentle, almost made him let out a hollow laugh.

“Do you miss Kang?”

“Yes.”

The child frowned as if asking why he would ask something so obvious. Inside the phone held in his hand, a message window could be seen that he had started but stopped before sending. Seeing that the recipient’s name was saved as “Han Kang,” it seemed he had been about to send a message to Han Kang but stopped.

“Shall Mister help you?”

“How?”

It was still a gaze full of distrust. Kim Daeyoung simply gave a thin smile and handed a white medicine bottle to the young but very outstanding Guide.

“If you manifest after taking this, you can become a Guide and live with Kang at the Center.”

“…Did I get separated from Han Kang because I’m not a Guide?”

There was no need to pay mind to the child’s expression, which darkened as if he had been hurt.

He would have already heard the news of Han Kang’s manifestation from his parents. He would have known that unlike ordinary people, those with supernatural abilities have to live apart, and he would have known they shouldn’t stay together as they did before. Kim Daeyoung drove a wedge into that fragile heart.

“Of course. Because a Guide must be by an Esper’s side. You want to be with Kang, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then you just have to become a Guide.”

“You’re saying I just have to take this.”

At that, the child’s eyes sparkled brightly again. Seeing the shy smile blooming on the child’s lips, Kim Daeyoung shouted inwardly.

Found him, the perfect experimental subject.

The one perfect person who would prove the efficacy of the suppressor.

He thought things would proceed smoothly since news of manifestation hadn’t been heard for such a long time.

But the one who manifested through all of that was none other than Jeon Jaechan.

For now, the priority was to watch how Jeon Jaechan manifested despite that potent drug.

He had put the two together for the time being because it could also suppress the fierce momentum of the sharp-tempered Han Kang, but he had no intention of leaving them that way. To do so would be to waste two seeds of precious talent.

Furthermore, Jeon Jaechan was measured at a very high rank upon manifestation. He had to determine whether his ability would be maintained even while taking the drug and whether a drug could be developed that could control that ability.

If his ability were maintained as it was, it would be enough to keep him tied within the Center like previous Guides, but even if he were to lose his ability, he also wanted to judge whether his ability would be passed down to future generations.

And yet, he produced a wave even without taking the medicine. Even though he had taken a handful of the pills.

Naturally, numerous “what ifs” followed Jeon Jaechan’s manifestation.

What if the drug actually accelerated his manifestation? Or what if the suddenly massive amount of drugs actually awakened him instead, and so on.

To resolve all these questions, Jeon Jaechan’s cooperation was naturally required. That said, there was no need to boost his spirit by acting subserviently.

Kim Daeyoung intentionally did not control the gazes the researchers shot at Jeon Jaechan. After all, whether it’s a person or a plant, they are easier to manipulate in one’s hands once their spirit has been dampened, aren’t they?

“Still, you are the first successful clinical subject. You have to act cooperatively so that we can continue to watch over you. Isn’t that right?”

It was for that very reason that he carefully chose more provocative words to make him uncomfortable.

The intention to make him submissive and hold him in his hand, that was all.

Kim Daeyoung recalled the two people’s first joint training, which had cut off at some point, leaving only noise. What would follow was obvious.

By now, there was no one among the researchers in the Center who did not know the fact that if they broke Jeon Jaechan first, Han Kang would come tumbling down on his own.