FETCH 62

Jaechan opened the file cautiously. He scrolled down very slowly, his gaze filled with tension as he looked for even the slightest abnormality.

Jaechan interpreted the graphs skillfully to assess Han Kang’s condition. Graphs that had once seemed utterly incomprehensible were now things he could read as fluently as anyone else at the Center.

“Huh?”

But the strange thing was that Han Kang’s numbers were normal. In fact, his supernatural abilities far exceeded the average range, proving he was indeed an S-class national representative Esper.

Then why on earth is it like this…

He felt a sudden surge of fear that his guiding might not work on him during a life-or-death moment. His thoughts even raced toward an image of Han Kang dying from a rampage.

If the person I love dies because of me, that’s…

The mere thought made him dizzy. As he squeezed his eyes shut, Ji Sangtaek sauntered over and stood behind Jaechan. As the leader of Support Team 1 and the head of the Guides in charge of Team Zero, he also seemed curious about Han Kang’s status.

“Why? Is it bad?”

“No, it says he’s perfectly normal.”

“Oh, you’re right. Actually, it’s better than before.”

Choi Seokyoung, curious from the next desk over, dragged his chair over and chimed in. Ji Sangtaek read through the results carefully, then twitched an eyebrow.

“You’re right. His guiding retention ability has improved, so why is it dropping so fast?”

The specific item Ji Sangtaek was staring at was the guiding retention ability section. This was a numerical value representing how long an Esper could maintain their state after receiving guiding; as Ji Sangtaek said, Han Kang’s numbers had slightly increased compared to before.

Is it really me who’s the problem then?

If so, it made sense.

As Han Kang’s abilities gradually improved, the required amount of guiding increased, and perhaps the necessary amount wasn’t being filled. If that was the case, it was only natural for the effects to wear off quickly even if it seemed effective at the moment he received the guiding.

Jaechan bit his lip hard.

Could it be that he’s finally developed a drug resistance? If so, should I request stronger medication? More importantly, is there even a stronger drug than what he’s taking now…

When Jaechan grew quiet from his complicated thoughts, Ji Sangtaek clicked his tongue. Jaechan looked back slightly.

“It’s a bit early to start digging a hole for yourself, isn’t it? For now, we’ll have to check the matching rate. The matching rate might have changed.”

“Yes.”

“Everything will come out once you get your checkup tomorrow anyway. Don’t get too stressed out already.”

At the words that came as a comfort, Jaechan kept his mouth shut. When Esper checkups were conducted, Guide checkups followed immediately, and naturally, Jaechan was scheduled for his tomorrow.

As Ji Sangtaek said, the reality was that no answers could be found outside of the checkup. That made him even more nervous.

Jaechan desperately hoped the matching rate hadn’t dropped. If he couldn’t stay by his side because the matching rate fell, wouldn’t his manifestation as a Guide be entirely meaningless?

Jaechan tried his best to ignore the creeping anxiety. He forced himself to think positively, recalling the matching rate from previous tests and the results of the preliminary exam that hadn’t shown any other issues.

“I’m going to go see Kang for a bit first.”

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”

“Yes, sir. Keep up the good work.”

Jaechan stood up, picking up his laptop. One way or another, he felt like he would only be at ease once he saw Han Kang.

Han Kang was in the Team Combat Training Room on the 8th floor. This was where Espers in teams coordinated their combat strategies and underwent training to master attack methods suited to them. By now, they would be in the middle of drafting a new strategy.

After scanning his ID card and entering the training room, Jaechan headed not toward the arena where training was in progress, but toward the safe zone where he could observe them. The space, equipped with chairs and tables, had a transparent barrier installed to block the influence of supernatural powers.

Jaechan kept his laptop on and watched Han Kang quietly. The Espers standing in a circle were looking into their pads and coordinating their teamwork. Seeing as the voices of their conversation weren’t that low, they seemed to be constructing their strategy quite passionately.

Their appearances, full of enthusiasm, looked very impressive. As he watched him, a sense of patheticness hit him, making him wonder why he was in this state.

Complex emotions were bound to cause headaches. Pressing firmly near his throbbing temples and bowing his head low, Jaechan blinked his eyes slowly on purpose and tried to empty his mind.

First, I’ll write the drug report to send to Kim Daeyoung, and then I’ll watch Han Kang’s movements. And during the training break, I’ll tell him I applied to be a resident Guide—then he’ll smile again.

As he organized his tasks one by one, his head seemed to clear up, regardless of the heavy feeling in his chest.

Right, the answer will only come after the checkup, so let’s not buy trouble by worrying about things I can’t solve. Just as he made this vow again and let out a deep breath…

Thud!

Suddenly, a loud bursting sound rang in his ears. Startled, Jaechan looked straight ahead in a hurry. Worry instantly clouded his eyes, wondering if some kind of accident had occurred.

“Honey!”

Han Kang was looking at him with his forehead pressed right against the transparent glass barrier. Judging by how his skin was completely squashed, it seemed the loud friction sound from a moment ago was the sound Han Kang made when he slammed his forehead against it.

“Ah, you scared me.”

Jaechan laughed playfully and stroked his chest.

“Take your forehead off. It’ll leave a mark.”

“Honey, what are you doing here? Why didn’t you say you were coming?”

His voice, muffled by the glass barrier, was the same as usual, but because Jaechan had so much on his mind, even that chattering voice was a welcome relief.

Jaechan showed him his laptop screen, which he had just turned on, saying he was working. Han Kang rolled his eyes while peering at the screen. Then, with an “Oh!”, he slammed the barrier with a loud Bang!

“Why?”

“Honey! Did you apply to be a resident Guide?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

Ah, I guess the approval email arrived.

Jaechan turned the screen back to check the notification.

Sure enough, the approval email for the resident Guide application had arrived. Han Kang was grinning again as if it were such a huge deal.

Even though they were already used to the resident Guide life, Han Kang never hid his joy every time it happened. He would say things like how it was better than when other Guides were around. Considering when he first applied for a resident Guide, he was almost a different person now.

“Honey, you’re trying to do guiding all the time now.”

After smiling brightly because he was happy, Han Kang now looked at Jaechan with half-closed eyes. It was a look that would definitely make anyone else misunderstand that Jaechan was the only one in heat and rushing him.

Jaechan gave up on responding and moved his gaze back to the laptop. Then Han Kang tapped the barrier, knock knock.

“What.”

“Honey, then let’s go home together later. Are you going to keep working here today?”

“I don’t know? Depends on how you do.”

“Ha.”

Han Kang let out a smirk as if he found it absurd.

Even if it wasn’t for him, returning to the office felt a bit uncomfortable for some reason, so he intended to stay, but he didn’t give him a definitive answer.

“Hey! Kang! Aren’t you coming?”

Just then, the other teammates who had been waiting for him called for Han Kang. Well, since he had suddenly disappeared in the middle of a meeting, they had been waiting for a long time.

Jaechan waved his hand in front of Han Kang’s face, telling him to go quickly.

“They’re calling you.”

Jaechan turned the screen so Han Kang couldn’t see and clicked to open the report file. In an era where everything was electronic, the annoyance of having to write reports by hand had now disappeared.

Kim Daeyoung, who used to tell him to write them in a notebook every time, had one day given him a website address and told him to upload the reports there. He said he was the only one who could see it, and only the two of them were permitted access.

After that, the pressure for reports became even more intense. If the report wasn’t uploaded by a certain time, his watch would immediately vibrate. It was the same now.

Even though there was still plenty of time left in the workday, Kim Daeyoung had already sent a report reminder. Swallowing his annoyance, Jaechan scratched his eyebrow. It was a huge relief that the alarm Han Kang saw wasn’t this one.

“I’ll be here, so go train.”

“Sweet.”

Han Kang returned to the arena happily as if he were truly excited. Watching him, Jaechan’s eyes met those of the teammates standing in a circle. When he gave a light nod, they also grinned and greeted him.

After confirming that Han Kang had joined the teammates and the meeting had begun, Jaechan looked back at the laptop screen.

For some reason, these reports are never fun to write.

The face that had been forcing a smile until just now instantly hardened. Jaechan let out a low hum and placed his hands on the keyboard.

Name: Jeon Jaechan.

Age: 24.

Affiliation: Esper Support Team 1, Team Zero.

After entering the basic personal information, Jaechan blinked and thought back on yesterday.

“What time did I go to sleep…”

He had written down his wake-up time roughly based on the time he set his alarm, but he couldn’t remember his bedtime. Just as he let out an “Mmm” sound, he heard the door to the safe zone rattle open.

“I wondered why you were carrying your laptop.”