PARADOX 13

One week later.

“…”

Hanseo cocked an eyebrow, staring down at his silent cell phone.

‘I heard he came out of the Gate three days ago.’

As expected, no contact had come from Gu Jeyi.

Hanseo assumed Pyo Myeongho had failed to persuade Gu Jeyi and decided to consider a different plan. However, meeting Gu Jeyi naturally at the Center was no longer an option. Hanseo was no longer working as a janitor at the Center.

‘So, I have to find another way. …But first, let’s handle this.’

He looked up at the instructor.

In the large lecture hall, the massive monitor—which would usually display lesson materials—was turned off and pitch black.

“As you all know, from today on, we will be proceeding with practical training. Everyone, let’s move to the guiding room.”

“Yes!”

Following the instructor’s words, the Guide trainees stood up in a group. Hanseo rose from his seat and followed them.

“Whoa, I’m so nervous. Aren’t you?”

The man sitting next to him approached and struck up a conversation. Hanseo replied naturally.

“Tell me about it. Let’s both do our best!”

“Right. Actually, I’m more worried about what comes after this. To avoid getting stuck in a trash team and suffering like crazy, the team assignments need to go well.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Since Hanseo had no intention of becoming a team guide in the first place, he gave a casual response.

Perhaps thinking Hanseo’s attitude was the relaxed confidence of someone who had it all, the man next to him pouted his lips.

“Ah, well, Hanseo-ssi is B-class, so you’ll have choices. Many teams will request support from you. Since I’m only a C, I don’t think it’ll be easy for me to get good treatment. Even though it’s just one rank, the difference is enough to make me feel a bit of a reality check.”

The man tapped the temporary ID hanging around his neck and vented his frustrations.

Hanseo also naturally checked his own temporary ID.

<Yeo Hanseo (Guide/B)>

Guide ranks are divided from A to D, determined based on their guiding energy levels.

Based strictly on rank, B might seem average, but in reality, because the number of A-class guides is so small, one could receive decent treatment at the B-class level. The annual salary for active team guides alone was not something to be ignored.

Nevertheless, if it hadn’t been for Gu Jeyi, Hanseo would never have revealed that he was a Guide, just as in his previous life.

Because… he hadn’t become a guide through ordinary means.

‘Number 109, successful in generating guiding energy.’

‘Hmm? That’s unexpected. I thought he would fail since he’s the oldest… What about the rest?’

‘All failed. Shall I dispose of them?’

‘Yeah, dispose of them.’

“…Seo Guide.”

“…”

“Yeo Hanseo Guide!”

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

Hanseo finally snapped out of his past memories.

Everyone was looking at him; it seemed his turn had arrived.

“Yeo Hanseo Guide. Please begin guiding.”

“Yes.”

Hanseo took a deep breath as he sat in the prepared seat.

“Excuse me.”

Just then, the young man sitting opposite him spoke up. He was the A-class Esper who had come as the partner for the practical guiding education.

As Hanseo looked at him, the man gave a soft smile.

“Don’t be too nervous. This is the stage where you’re learning. It’s okay to be a little clumsy.”

Seeing him offer such kind comfort, the man seemed to think Hanseo’s dazed state was due to nerves.

‘Well, it wasn’t exactly wrong to say I was nervous.’

He was nervous. Though, it was for a reason different from what the Esper thought.

Hanseo replied like a naive rookie.

“Yeah, thank you. Uh, then I’ll proceed with the guiding now.”

“Yes, please do.”

Hanseo carefully took the right hand the Esper offered and, as he had been trained, first checked the figures displayed on the Esper’s watch.

‘35%.’

It was quite on the high side, but perhaps because he had seen Gu Jeyi’s first, it felt relatively low.

‘That guy Gu Jeyi was practically flying thanks to me. If 68% is like that, what on earth happens when it hits a single digit?’

Hanseo was constantly keeping track of Gu Jeyi’s current status. Since he was such a famous figure, it was luckily not difficult to find out how he was living.

He had been diligently clearing Gates without even contacting Hanseo, and everyone was currently rejoicing, saying Gu Jeyi was showing even more outstanding capabilities than usual.

Given that there was no mention of Gu Jeyi’s matching guide finally appearing among the countless articles pouring out daily, it seemed they had kept a tight lid on the secret.

‘It’s annoying… but I guess it’s a relief that he’s moving around fine?’

The current Gu Jeyi was taking a different path than in the previous life. In the previous life, Gu Jeyi went missing for a month after the Center explosion. Everyone thought he was resting due to injuries from the Gate, but the truth was different.

At that time, Gu Jeyi intended to completely disappear from the world. He intentionally changed his appearance and lived in a remote seaside village that couldn’t easily be found on a map.

It was in that very place where Hanseo first met Gu Jeyi.

‘But that’s something that hasn’t happened in this life.’

For some reason, a bitter taste lingered in his mouth. It felt like the taste of the coffee he had drunk earlier remained.

Hanseo shook off the memories of the past and let go of the hand of the Esper he had been holding for guiding.

“Guiding complete. Good work!”

However, as soon as Hanseo let go, the Esper immediately snatched his wrist.

‘What?’

Hanseo frowned at the strong grip. However, the Esper, who had fallen into a state of extreme excitement, didn’t seem to notice his discomfort.

“I—I found you! My Guide!”

The eyes of the Esper looking at Hanseo sparkled with a bizarre intensity.

On the other hand, Hanseo’s eyes turned cold. My guide, my foot.

“You felt it just now too, right? There was something between us.”

‘There was nothing, so let go.’

“Let’s do a formal matching rate test. My god, I applied for guide training just in case, but to think I’d meet you right away like this. I knew I had a good dream last night!”

Relying on things like superstitions wouldn’t lead to anything good, so it would be better not to dwell on them. Hanseo, who had once been involved in a cult, barely swallowed the advice that rose to his throat.

“Um, Esper Park Jintae, please calm down and let go of the Guide first.”

“Ah, ahhh! I’m sorry!”

Only after the instructor, unable to watch any longer, intervened did the Esper look surprised and let go of Hanseo’s wrist.

Hanseo massaged his aching wrist. Fortunately, it wasn’t broken, but looking at the state of it, a bruise was definitely going to form.

“I’m really sorry. I was just so happy. Ha—Hanseo-ssi? Hanseo-ssi felt it too, right? We clicked. I’ve met countless guides since awakening as an Esper, but this is the first time I’ve felt this way.”

Whether he had already seen the ID necklace with Hanseo’s name on it, the Esper muttered while calling his name familiarly. He seemed like a completely different person from the one who had been comforting Hanseo with a gentle attitude just a moment ago.

The Esper shouted with a face completely enchanted.

“We’re definitely destiny!”

“…”

Hanseo stared at the instructor with a troubled face.

‘Shouldn’t you stop him at this point?’

Fortunately, this time the instructor moved quickly.

“Esper Park Jintae, you seem far too excited right now. Shall we step outside together for a moment?”

“Yes, of course I’m excited! It’s a situation where I can’t help but be excited! This feeling, only someone who has truly experienced it can know. Ahhh…”

“It would be best to stop. You’ve frightened the Guide.”

The Esper, who had been more or less ignoring the instructor’s words the entire time, flinched for a moment.

The Esper, whose spirit died down instantly as if he had been scolded, scanned the surroundings.

Not for the instructor, but for Hanseo’s reaction.

“I’m sorry, Hanseo-ssi. But I’m absolutely not a weird person, okay? It’s just because I’m so happy right now, so please don’t hate me. You know me, right? I’m Park Jintae. Park, Jin, Tae. I’ll be in touch soon, so please be sure to answer!”

Even after finished speaking, the Esper lingered as if he didn’t want to leave. Eventually, the instructor had to practically drag the Esper outside.

Once the commotion ended, a bizarre atmosphere permeated the guiding room.

“What was that just now?”

“Was Esper Park Jintae that kind of person? He looked normal when I saw him on TV.”

“It’s a bit creepy…”

The Guide trainees whispered among themselves.

In their eyes, it must have looked like an Esper receiving guiding had suddenly fallen into an excited state and acted strangely. However, Hanseo knew that the Esper’s behavior wasn’t particularly unusual. He had already experienced the same thing.

‘It’s been so long I’d forgotten.’

When he was at the research institute, there was a time he had guided an Esper after a guiding energy experiment was finished. Back then too, just like this, as soon as the guiding began, the eyes of the subject Esper suddenly flipped, and he lunged at Hanseo.

Because the researchers were watching, no major problems occurred, but the experience remained as a bad memory in his mind, and that’s why Hanseo had lived thoroughly hiding the fact that he was a Guide even after leaving the research institute. Even the cult leader didn’t know, so there’s no need for further explanation.

‘Did they call this a traunie or a brownie? …Anyway, at first, I thought that Esper bastard was crazy.’

Later, a researcher told him the reason, and he realized that wasn’t the case.

The cause was the matching rate between that Esper and Hanseo.

The matching rate between an Esper and a Guide refers to how much their wavelengths align. The more similar the wavelengths, the higher the efficiency of the guiding for the Esper. Just as sound is transmitted clearly between radios with the same frequency.

If the matching rate is high, the guiding energy is amplified several to dozens of times and transmitted to the Esper; at that time, is the sensation the Esper feels similar to taking high-purity drugs?

It was a sensation Hanseo had never felt. Was it because he was an Esper and a Guide at the same time? He had never felt the need for guiding in his life.

“…”

Amidst the whispering of the people, Hanseo curled his palm, which still had a tingling sensation. He had pretended not to know, but just like that Esper said, he had felt something while guiding. His matching rate with him would undoubtedly be high. It might not be as high as the 90% called destiny, but it would be close.

However, even if he brought someone other than that Esper, the result would be similar.

Because Yeo Hanseo—Baekgu—was made that way.

As the successful result of an artificial guide experiment capable of guiding all Espers.