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I looked down at Kang Juha, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed. Originally, the bed was my territory, but since I couldn’t lay a sick person on the floor, I decided to give it up. Sleeping on the floor might make my back ache a bit, but if it came down to it, I could just go sleep in the spare room.

Watching him sleep like this brought back memories of our first meeting in the special treatment room. Back then, he truly seemed like nothing more than a wild beast.

Perhaps because the change had been so dramatic, it felt like a past from a long time ago, but in reality, only a few months had passed. Just enough time for a single season to turn.

The first time Kang Juha had come in on the verge of a rampage, it was a chilly day just before spring began, and now it was already summer.

Well, for someone like me who works indoors all day, the changing of seasons didn’t hold much meaning.

Juyoung and the other staff members already seemed to be planning their vacation schedules since it was summer, but for S-class Espers like me who were tied to the Center, it was a pie in the sky. Occasionally, there were cases where people went out by volunteering to escort S-class Guides as a sort of loophole, but that was only possible if you had a close Guide, so it didn’t apply to me.

Of course, even if I had one, chasing after the heels of an S-class Guide wasn’t the kind of vacation I wanted. In that case, I’d rather just stay cooped up in a dormitory with the air conditioning blasting.

I tended to take my time off to match Juyoung’s vacation. Juyoung’s grandparents farmed out in the countryside, and every summer vacation, he had to go help them out with the labor.

Since I didn’t have any family or friends to visit anyway, I matched his schedule out of consideration. Unlike Juyoung, who took about a week off, my vacation was only about a day or two.

When Juyoung was away, there were many things I had to handle personally, which was annoying. Besides, I wasn’t alone now; I had Kang Juha with me.

“Am I going to spend this vacation alone with Kang Juha…”

I suddenly wondered how field-duty Espers spent their vacations. Kang Juha wouldn’t be able to leave the Center either. What had he been doing during his vacations all this time?

The only S-class Espers around me were Director Shin and the Center Director, so they weren’t exactly suitable for satisfying my curiosity.

“…Ugh.”

At that moment, a short groan leaked from Kang Juha’s mouth. It was such a small sound that I wondered if I’d misheard it, but seeing his furrowed brow, it was definitely a sound he made.

Thinking he might be waking up, I leaned in close, and then I heard an unexpected word.

“…Sunbae.”

Sunbae? It was such a foreign word that I doubted if it was really Kang Juha who spat it out.

Naturally, since he was also from the academy and working in the Field Operations Department, there would be plenty of people who were his seniors… but it was hard to imagine Kang Juha calling someone “sunbae.”

I’d heard he didn’t really have anyone he was close to within the Center. If so, then who on earth was Kang Juha looking for right now? Seeing as he usually never mentioned it, it probably wasn’t someone from the same Field Operations Department. There was a high probability they had gone to another department.

Who is it?

Pointless curiosity arose, and I strained my ears. Just then, Kang Juha’s lips opened again, and the name I heard was…

“Yihyeon… sunbae.”

Gah! What is this right now?

I hurriedly clamped my hand over my mouth. I almost let out a scream out loud.

Kang Juha just attached my name and called me “sunbae,” right?

I don’t know why my spine was tingling so much, but goosebumps broke out all over my arms. Then, I let out a hollow laugh, wondering why I was so freaked out just because Kang Juha called me “sunbae.”

It seemed Kang Juha was dreaming right now. A total pipe dream at that.

“Mr. Kang Juha.”

“…Sunbae, I waited…”

“…Esper Kang Juha?”

Judging by what I was hearing, he really seemed to be having a weird dream.

“I missed… you.”

At this point, I was so curious about what kind of dream he was having that I felt the impulse to use my ability right away. At the same time, I thought that whatever that dream was, I absolutely did not want to look into it.

I want to see it, but I don’t!

Whether he knew my heart or not, Kang Juha kept saying he missed me. At the end, he even poured out resentment, asking why I didn’t recognize him.

“What is it, seriously…”

“…Teacher?”

He ignored me when I called him pathetically, but his eyes snapped open at my low-voiced monologue. His black pupils sparkled innocently, as if he knew nothing.

I’d thought that someday I should fix Kang Juha’s habit of calling me “teacher,” but seeing it like this, “teacher” seemed better than “sunbae.”

“Yes, it’s the teacher. Are you feeling conscious now?”

“…This place is.”

Kang Juha’s voice was dry and cracked. His dazed gaze finally swept the surroundings, and soon he let out a small sigh, as if realizing it was my house.

“As soon as you arrived at the office, you collapsed from Guiding Shock. For now, I’ve performed emergency treatment with GDX—7665, and although there are no known side effects so far, it’s not a perfect substitute, so we need to watch closely to see if there’s any other strain on your body.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Nothing can be 100 percent certain. Especially in the case of GDX—7665, which was researched for specific Espers who have severe rejection reactions to Guiding…”

What? What was it? Suddenly, my head felt dazed as if it had gone empty. I was trying to say something, but not even the memory of what I was trying to say remained in my mind.

The GDX—7665 drug I participated in developing was a medicine to help Espers who couldn’t absorb Guiding smoothly due to compatibility issues.

Although it was an essential medicine, the development cost was large compared to the demand if it were made for a minority, so no country was willing to develop or invest in it.

Only the South Korean Academy Research Institute argued for its necessity and submitted IR materials, and finally, with investment from the Center, they started the project alone.

Thus, a Guiding drug most suitable for use in the field or in combat was created, not just for Espers experiencing Guiding deficiency due to compatibility.

There was a main clinical trial subject who became the starting point of the research. At one time, the new drug was even called by a nickname derived from his name. So, that subject’s name was…

“Teacher?”

What was it?

“…Since overusing anything isn’t good. For the time being, it would be best to monitor your condition and avoid consuming Guiding as much as possible.”

“Yes. But I’m really okay. This happens sometimes.”

Kang Juha spoke calmly, as if it were truly nothing. I was the one who was flustered after hearing that.

“…Excuse me?”

“It happened often. Guiding Shock. There were many times I’d collapse as soon as I got home after finishing a mission. But each time, there was no other way, so I just endured it after taking GDX—7665.”

“Most existing Guiding drugs are recommended to be used only as supplements. It is a processed drug made to act as similarly to Guiding as possible, but it is qualitatively and quantitatively different from actual Guiding…”

In an instant, I felt a surge of anger and raised my voice without realizing it. Whether he was listening properly or not, the corners of Kang Juha’s mouth twitched and turned upward.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m just happy that the teacher is here when I open my eyes.”

“It was like that this morning, too.”

It’s been like that for the past few days, so why act like it’s something new?

“That’s why. Even if I see you every day, I’m happy every day. Strangely.”

Ahem, ahem.

I couldn’t know Kang Juha’s inner thoughts, but that statement just now was very prone to misunderstanding. Of course, since current Kang Juha had some confusion in his memories, his sense of self was unstable, so he probably didn’t even know what he was saying. It was likely something he said without much thought just now, too.

No, in the first place, both Kang Juha and I were Espers, so there was nothing to misunderstand.

“Aren’t you hungry? Since you collapsed right after training, dinner time has already passed.”

I roughly changed the subject. Kang Juha rubbed his flat stomach and then nodded.

“I think so.”

“If you’re hungry, you’re hungry; what do you mean ‘you think so’?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit lightheaded right now…”

Kang Juha smiled sheepishly again. Looking at him now, his eyes were strangely unfocused; no wonder he had been saying strange things since a while ago. It seemed he had become intoxicated by the drug. Even if it was an imitation, it wasn’t unreasonable to feel as if he had received a lot of Guiding since it was designed to mimic it.

“I guess you should stop taking GDX now.”

“Yeah…”

A response in informal speech popped out—it could have been an answer or just an exclamation.

Hearing that voice reminded me of the Kang Juha who said he was seven years old… no, thirty-forty-five years old. Back then, I felt incredibly at a loss, wondering how I could turn him back.

“I’ll check your Guiding levels. Since the shock swallowed up all the Guiding at first, I didn’t think the levels would be charged well…?”

What? Why is it full?

“It’s 82%…?”

Even though I’d pumped in GDX—7665 as it came, could the efficiency really be this good?

Guiding substitutes were effective, but they were drugs with clear limits. They were literally for makeshift use and only used in emergencies, specialized in preventing Guiding from hitting rock bottom, but they were insufficient to play the role of fully charging it.

Regarding that part, elite doctors in research institutes overseas are likely still putting their heads together and developing day and night to find a solution. At one time, I even received love calls, but I refused because I realized that life in a research lab didn’t quite suit my aptitude.

“Your usual level was around 70%, right?”

“Yees.”

Kang Juha trailed off. He looked down at the numbers on his watch, then raised his head to look at me.

“I guess it’s because the teacher gave me the injection.”

It’s a nice thing to say, that he trusts my ability that much.

“There is no research result showing that the effectiveness of a drug changes depending on the person who gives the injection.”

“I see.”

“Rather, it could be influenced by Esper Kang Juha’s condition… but even to me, this is a peculiar case. How is your condition?”

“It’s good.”

Kang Juha’s eyes curved into half-moons again. Seeing his body swaying side to side as if acting cute…

“Do you want to go wash your face with cold water?”

He definitely wasn’t in his right mind.