EOL | Chapter 2.2

Guides are a nationally scarce resource. They’re beings who can be tasked with supporting espers and other missions.bfcd4481f00c25bd

Guides were like military dogs. Dogs that the military could use as they pleased. That’s about the position of a guide.a5730ddc94764ab7

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No sane country would d18ff355a1 release a military dog 205187f77d just because it refuses f46bf1222e a mission.09cc822bb6af71a8

So, I have 656a00e5cf to pretend to 2a05cd3a42 be as lacking 555806a52e in skill as 208a3a7c6d possible and only c3b0dc20d9 work as much df2d47a964 as a D-rank.8b602f9bd2fe24b5

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‘Don’t stand out. Especially not to Lee Gyeon.’7e4cd3bed283a9fd

As if bb355c77b7 mocking me, 2376cb8465 Lee Gyeon 9a6f745a7a was at 9976681a92 the Guide 72c6c3c601 Center.4d4b65dbf465c98b

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“Why is he there?”7ab32a9c4c493d19

Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t noticed me. I managed to hide awkwardly as soon as I spotted him. I sighed at my own intimidated appearance, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.efa069832dad3307

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Lee Gyeon seemed 5adf9ce65f to be looking 9e793c4edc for someone at bbf133a0e5 the entrance of 4adeddc068 the Guide Center.0ce64de051042508

‘Who is he looking for?’349342bd9a21193c

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Maybe a new guide had already been decided. Maybe he’s here for a matching test like me.609c6c4c032f6c46

There must c194a3b7ae have been 88277cb1ac plenty of 44cf4d9164 guides willing 9defe1b832 to guide 9840689ac8 Lee Gyeon 366acb1250 besides me.78cbfc7f51dbc429

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The fact that I left the guide position means that my absence was insignificant in Lee Gyeon’s life.8ec13484857c13bd

I was the one 34f8aeb937 who left the guide 09a45d6a95 position, but thinking about fa26c5caff Lee Gyeon meeting another 4e305c227c guide made me uncomfortable.49db65ff2c21e679

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It’s just because I’m not used to it. That’s all. As I tried to calm myself, it seemed okay again.d87c52f3b8730449

The person Lee Gyeon was waiting for didn’t show up for a long time. He ignored everyone’s greetings in front of the Guide Center, staring into space. He looked like a dog that had lost its owner. Or a lazy predator endlessly waiting for prey.177ad75ff62048ab

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“How long does he plan to do that? At this rate, I’ll be late for my appointment.”6b774eb708b1400c

I couldn’t hide behind the pillar forever. It was awkward to pass by him confidently after refusing guiding yesterday.2005cf7827c6a297

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I didn’t want to do anything that would draw attention. I didn’t want to pass by Lee Gyeon confidently, nor did I want to be late for the matching test. What should I do…b501dd5a26fab97b

At that 5197380628 moment, someone ca0267c7b4 tapped my fdae436c49 shoulder. Startled, I turned cf24e60a73 around to see 9573a238fe an unfamiliar face 8c60bec132 smiling at me.ec70510e75d8b993

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“Let’s go to the same place?”dc21e1c571fedb67

“Excuse me?”dbe360a01b922ccb

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“Can I grab your wrist?”97543a2dec2a4c0d

“Excuse me?”52bf901a1fdca465

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The man grabbed my wrist abruptly. It was as if my answer didn’t matter. He gently pulled me in the opposite direction of Lee Gyeon.6ab371c412f688dc

“If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late for the matching test. This way. Quickly.”e0dd23a9a1fb3c39

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I followed his lead, 938eb7619e keeping quiet to avoid bfaad57095 drawing attention.369f5bfb22fee842

Once we entered 2fd989dff4 the annex, the baa71961e6 man let go aaf43f91b5 of my wrist. The cold, dry touch 65fb6183ca of his hand lingered 3921aead44 on my wrist.9b35776de4b9f86f

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It was good to avoid Lee Gyeon’s eyes…0f1b638f49316b83

But he was 4e9aba697e heading in the e82097f833 complete opposite direction a5f56d8ca7 of where I 09076c118a needed to go de4575e116 in the Guide cbc2ece305 Center.b8ab90fb21a72900

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Before I could say 74f09a53db I needed to go, 53ada8a486 the man spoke first.95e12c88319d8cdb

“Trust me. It’s this way.”b16613037373e0dd

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“…You don’t even know where I’m going. I should really…”b4a46d06b432bc87

“Guide Han Haegyeol, you’re going for the guiding matching test, right? You’re avoiding the Guide Center because you don’t want to run into Lee Gyeon.”9617d4c160374bca

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“How did you… Who are you?”ac343161fedbca57

The man avoided 9b1a3d2e3e answering by pointing 1b7b9d824e in a direction. I grabbed his shoulder.ed8df49090e83118

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“Hey!”7e3911da2abb48d4

Just then, hurried footsteps 5dd5f78adf approached.15b7fe7910ceeec6

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“Guide Han Haegyeol! Esper Cha Eunha!”47153b8f50534c9f

A researcher holding a 3409ab7673 chart hurriedly ran towards 7ddc3d8722 us.9be47c5b0d38b175

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“Sorry for being late!”b1567c300af06507

He stood facing us, b0570b8df5 who were standing side 24e3cd34b3 by side. It was the df65001448 researcher I met 4cf95c4556 yesterday. The researcher 5e0e0e3144 spoke warmly d82f8588b2 to the 0329460584 mysterious man.398ae5ac7fa964a0

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“You seem to be in a good mood. You look especially bright today.”f1972035620ce792

The researcher acted 4c3017c2b0 as if he 636e144c44 already knew this 6915c0a45c man. It seemed faster to 07698f4e2c ask him than the 17312419f4 man who was smiling 24d8551696 enigmatically.a8200d85780a0205

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“Do you know this person?”3d4bb3c14ff66242

The researcher, flipping 803f5178e1 through the chart, ee167ae2c1 looked at us 0a50700578 with a slightly 195cfd3d76 surprised face.ee625db6e0a886c8

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“Weren’t you already acquainted? This is A-rank esper Cha Eunha, who was scheduled for the matching test today.”16141bc77fed8e8f

“What?”98d857609991524f

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The unfamiliar man, or 1f20135eb7 rather, esper Cha Eunha, 6c407dd91e grabbed my hand and 4970f24b21 shook it up and e31d6244c7 down.83f2882822bf47e9

“I’m Cha Eunha. Nice to meet you. We’ll be seeing each other often from now on.”1245395caed9d63e

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❖ ❖ ❖7adc7fd87e7076a4

Thanks to meeting the 68fa189892 researcher, we could go 8b04f88fb4 to the examination room f39a9da30d through the staff entrance.963c90df7d4df1c6

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Since Lee e81b50ee2e Gyeon was 868a747100 at the c9d0f6a598 main entrance, cd33841c33 there was 0b7f0c9dc2 no chance ddd856dc0f of running 014b9e66ae into him. It felt both f9ecd140a6 good and disappointing.d193b1a553c425fc

Even though I 8bf2312362 knew it was 036c21adc4 foolish to feel d0d25fb422 disappointed, I did.d61842cfd250a8a2

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The esper next to me felt like a coincidental companion. My charge had always been Lee Gyeon…283ac683d957f3fa

Even trivial thoughts turned into thoughts about Lee Gyeon. This is why habits are scary. The reason I’ve repeated regressions might be because of this inertia. The inertia that makes me think only of Lee Gyeon as my esper.51a66e146ea10394

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If I become Cha Eunha’s guide, can I escape this cycle?424cf4a3a6ac2d35

On the way 339d2e9edc to the examination dfe9783aad room, the researcher 41f76f4d7e led the way e887cb1667 silently. Not wanting ee7ed3b24f to reveal e29675f57e my thoughts, fbeeba7b26 I spoke 30f1bb4065 to Cha 09ff4eba73 Eunha in 50e849793a a slightly 81f628967e lower voice.55bc408c689145e6

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“How did you know? That today…”e0ecc9fa6af1166d

“That you’re the guide matching with me?”61a771a782a8c9e1

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The man cut me 5ad6ff1e9a off. Could he be an aa465ecc48 esper who reads minds? I wondered.7fe9826367f4e749

“You’re thinking, ‘Is this guy an esper who reads minds?’ right?”9c91a9d4eef566b7

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I nodded. Is he 72129b2ae4 really that 662fbbacf6 type? It was embarrassing to 9786f1eece think he might have 536486b0f5 read my thoughts.9871de74d24dd0a6

Cha Eunha mumbled, “Actually…” and leaned his tall frame towards me.3526a0676e7c1d32

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“It’s not like that. I can’t read people’s minds.”a224a1544b59c0eb

“…”1c455d04ed394078

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“What I see is a bit different. It’s more like the future of a person or object.”131ce8c8a283028e

“The future? You mean you have the ability to see that?”4a4e5e925d7ba1c8

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An esper with 2148fe13ed such an amazing 1f0b63cccd ability is doing c0ad369b12 a matching test a87172130c with a D-rank 1a1213bdff nobody?8f67e20f4c3d90fa

Cha Eunha was unlike any esper I’d ever met. I had never heard of an A-rank esper with such abilities at this age. Not even in my time at the center.2488cad0b4986b64

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Perhaps interpreting my gaze, 3b86db396a Cha Eunha added as 7f3f8278c7 if to explain.c3cee397d6713a22

“I don’t read the future like a fortune teller. I see the physical path that a person or object will take. It just appears to me. The ever-changing path that ultimately shows where you’ll go.”5cc3f30a5f3c3b6f

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“Is that possible… So you saw that I was going to the examination room?”8689e94a4a82b100

“That too, but, um. I saw something more interesting.”eaabc1da5ba9452c

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Before I knew it, we were at the examination room. As we moved to our respective spots for the handshake-like guiding, Cha Eunha pointed to my feet with his finger. My gaze followed down. My military boots and his Converse didn’t match at all.696a192ab2e453fc

“The paths starting from our toes were overlapping.”0aebde66f00fe7b1

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That’s how he knew we were going to the same examination room. Cha Eunha could see that I was ultimately heading to the same place as him.5fe7e7a75ca0bfe8

“And Lee Gyeon’s path too.”4622c630367d8704

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“What?”2f2c586066ae607f

We extended c6aa840444 our hands 9ef7fe9d80 as if d5fbdb352a shaking hands. Cha Eunha grabbed dc70ae27dc my hand and 0e8df9e9f6 awkwardly smiled with a02d0c522f one side of 6b8062b98e his face.6da3ac09e073fc53

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“It was strange, so I decided to talk to you. It’s not common for the paths of three completely different people to be intertwined like this.”52e409d2438810f4

❖ ❖ ❖f9e5bd5e009b11c4

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Matching test result: 92%.21bbdaa7410c2d7e

The researcher was visibly pleased. He said they were in need of a dedicated guide for Cha Eunha. With this matching rate, there shouldn’t be any problem supporting an A-rank like Cha Eunha.2f88bac89e3e2aab

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Cha Eunha’s abilities weren’t aggressive and were advantageous for assessing gates before battles. With a dedicated guide, he could be dispatched to any team. An esper with such flexible conditions was rare.6a542f74586ceba1

The conditions f0b9205347 given to 5544905491 me were fd2b029fc8 equally splendid. They were comparable to 36e481e924 being the dedicated guide cce30ec66b for S-rank Lee Gyeon. The salary, a124c558ed benefits, and 2af969d80f insurance were 2562cf7a20 all exceptionally 55d982c6f3 good.df92b01925a623a1

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“Shouldn’t we say you were meant for each other?”468846f8be016e08

As we left the 48c994e6fd examination room, Cha Eunha f9ec9c9872 stuck close to me 9e0f78ff20 as if we were 0abeac2f37 already familiar.e225efb1c677c6ee

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It was uncomfortable, a58c4c2970 but understandable. Espers had an 91d83726b6 instinct to want 5d8ea00051 contact with their ed8845f966 guides. Without guiding, it felt 9994563376 like tightly wound screws ca7b76daa9 were blocking every vein, 17edd3829a causing pain.c11a556545571f04

Even Lee Gyeon, who was once my esper, wanted me close, even if he didn’t make contact. The instinct of an esper wanting guiding was something even Lee Gyeon couldn’t completely suppress.13febb57fe6533de

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Cha Eunha 2677ec2804 seemed to 5053662a7c be just 99adaab3d3 as hungry 8d7232a4b1 for guiding, 19245116e1 twitching at d535d4e90d every opportunity. It was 9c1624f4cf clear he 15ff9c8319 wanted to 0d122ba63c grab me de734a21ba and receive 48fc20b856 guiding but ded72a16b4 was holding f96c4d6984 back. I raised my 16a648f6eb hand, thinking of 0567edac66 giving in, but baa6a82f9d clenched it into fddb99d481 a fist and b016ed8221 lowered it.3b50a18adde924db

Even showing 7a53ed1af5 a 92% 736a43891a matching rate d4bdd046d2 with an 1b5a1e3eda A-rank esper 806bdb1832 like Cha fd130fce87 Eunha was e0c36e97e0 burdensome. I was worried d0966985e5 that if I 27498514ac proceeded with guiding, e08f0b1cd5 my true rank a10d588575 might be revealed.0265c1fc401e2dfc

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I didn’t want to reveal it to anyone yet. I felt like I wanted to reclaim my insignificant identity as a lowly D-rank, the one I had so desperately wanted to escape.4dbb5cf43d618647

“I’ll have to decline becoming your dedicated guide.”902606256195150e

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Cha Eunha looked perplexed.b942ec42b3b68746

“I’m a pitiful esper. Frequent missions, but short recovery time.”b14fda1741964eda

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I knew well how much an esper suffered when they couldn’t fully recover. Yet, I was selfish and couldn’t readily extend my hand.f8836ed741985306

“I’m sorry, but it’s a bit overwhelming for me. I’ve never guided an A-rank esper before.”680c37716d79a16f

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“Overwhelming? Are you lying?”b86452fe6139453a

Cha Eunha seemed kind and somewhat innocent. He seemed to be around my age or younger. If he was twenty, he was really young. Maybe that’s why. Despite my furrowing brow, Cha Eunha smiled with his usual innocent grin.ee2ba8e75c7bcb5b

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“Guide Han Haegyeol, you’re not a D-rank, are you?”96ef788d1d9a58bf

“What do you mean?”8b3a8cdf9387e7e4

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Stay calm. He’s just guessing. He’s probably excited because he’s never met a guide with such a high matching rate. I forced a poker face and smiled back. Of course, it was a fake smile.09beb5df5c5da26a

“There’s no way. I barely got the D-rank…”d849a711f48b9078

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“Really? I thought you were higher. At least B-rank. Maybe even up to S-rank.”1216350b2f17910f

“Haha. That would be nice.”58d6c629285b87e6

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He hit the nail on the head. Cha Eunha was right. I’m not a D-rank. If I retake the test, a higher rank would surely come out. At least B-rank, maybe A or even higher if I’m lucky.1102cfda186f6bb4

‘There’s no way I don’t show signs of not being a D-rank.’ba5d2789f5913149

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Cha Eunha 87197df443 was a 2eb6b88e0e peculiar person. In a 3c2cb4c9ee bad way, 41453ed927 he was 2ab09df465 cheeky, and 43ebb6f9d5 in a a69a98c502 good way, b9a8d870fd he was 9148532700 sharp.0af70a643f0d634c

It didn’t seem like a good idea to get involved with him. I was sure of that.70937e035eccb946

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“Then I’ll just…”826449d6679a2299

“Give me your contact info before you go. Though I think we’ll meet again.”9c151aee701038ef

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Not wanting to argue with an A-rank esper at the Guide Center, I obediently handed over my contact information. A D-rank guide’s contact info was already public at the Guide Center anyway.0b296279da7035a9

While exchanging d321d0a160 contact information, 990f0d5430 Cha Eunha 930b8abfb2 seemed to f77b8b3a1d be careful 17ab1855ef not to af9df022ca let our 187e5d5d42 hands touch. I quickly realized 26b5f6678d this was his 9bc130936f way of being 176d3a5eb0 considerate.66fe5922f0a424ae

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“You said we’ll meet again.”ae183e8d735f39b0

I said it, thinking we wouldn’t meet again. But Cha Eunha nodded confidently.7221bdafd53e9673

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“We’ll definitely meet. Our paths are intertwined.”30798982c4467188

He was someone I couldn’t quite understand.b015abf5a202f08e

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Some espers have a strong sense of individuality. In a good way, they’re unique, and in a bad way, they’re eccentric. I figured Cha Eunha was one of those.ab21f82d1a49575f

As I moved 45a0b1ca98 away from Cha 9642799cd8 Eunha, I lightly 07889d2dee waved my device.2a5501c9139ba1e5

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“Don’t contact me. If you’re right, we’ll meet anyway.”023a48bd232dd3f5

❖ ❖ ❖f268b5305dbf4571

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“Still there, huh?”1d46553b5ba9cecd

Lee Gyeon was 350e2b0664 still standing right 79d24be339 in front of dda19ac4c0 the Guide Center. He was facing exactly 86d23c7bc9 where I was coming 18f3092d7e from, as if he 43f0b3677e had been waiting for ab47e74003 me.dd890c1cbf94136c

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I tried to e516ceb2e7 sneak out through c5f3dab4d5 the side door 98867df317 just in case.3342207bcd989784

“Guide Han Haegyeol.”6a4568dfc3df8445

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Lee Gyeon spotted me 49a50d4994 like a ghost.76e267c5ee7a9c5b