EOL | Chapter 2.2

Guides are a nationally scarce resource. They’re beings who can be tasked with supporting espers and other missions.29079a749bbd5edf

Guides were like military dogs. Dogs that the military could use as they pleased. That’s about the position of a guide.18e41a9fe148052c

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No sane country would 0f79dd6cda release a military dog c3d38d0aff just because it refuses 4d40c7eeec a mission.bc672bdc36e15d0b

So, I have ef4d262f3c to pretend to f75dfee651 be as lacking b2653f375f in skill as 6c1fdf7746 possible and only 5e6e067fff work as much 8703955da4 as a D-rank.3bec7f86321451cd

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‘Don’t stand out. Especially not to Lee Gyeon.’d3aab9efa53f6a76

As if f63d369fe6 mocking me, 11b9e99374 Lee Gyeon 68f2781694 was at 96f7c55f19 the Guide b30b6197be Center.eab166885edb0835

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“Why is he there?”40deba2671082533

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.ce42e447d2d99766

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Lee Gyeon seemed 4bcd22b919 to be looking 10f0e5037d for someone at 92870364f8 the entrance of f00bd2e1d9 the Guide Center.caca25c7d4547cfa

‘Who is he looking for?’8727c3981f237f76

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Maybe a new guide had already been decided. Maybe he’s here for a matching test like me.2656f134082ba753

There must have been 6751976e31 plenty of guides willing 0b211d9384 to guide Lee Gyeon 9844b3b950 besides me.f5d7f1d27a545fc1

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The fact that I left the guide position means that my absence was insignificant in Lee Gyeon’s life.f809b6a0036b8e28

I was the 890eb6a566 one who left 8d1937b45a the guide position, 81442523dc but thinking about 52eda72898 Lee Gyeon meeting 772ee4579b another guide made 0ded2e86c7 me uncomfortable.5168e3fd129681dc

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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.4e6d1b93b5ac572f

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.0fe680327196e8ce

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“How long does he plan to do that? At this rate, I’ll be late for my appointment.”a8ff2497bf697bb2

I couldn’t hide behind the pillar forever. It was awkward to pass by him confidently after refusing guiding yesterday.61df26ca11ee6dda

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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…f306f4a51a141ecd

At that moment, a076aa48c6 someone tapped my aacd5a5042 shoulder. Startled, I turned 42554c6016 around to see f8a381fe84 an unfamiliar face 35552c3da2 smiling at me.cb2c9f48f659a651

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“Let’s go to the same place?”a31a45bae4a9c6b7

“Excuse me?”bb9bd853c56f85a5

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“Can I grab your wrist?”25b6e9645377c0ed

“Excuse me?”5d8c3c722453a943

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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.51c6a0a13ed59ea4

“If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late for the matching test. This way. Quickly.”26bbde0e0d9f5980

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I followed 9f71c6fdfa his lead, 08c4ffef39 keeping quiet 6bcda1357d to avoid c099cf8c19 drawing attention.97b15e517c9389a6

Once we 292e824677 entered the 74d3e25a4f annex, the ab94e4a02c man let ea57bee2aa go of 207722dc9f my wrist. The cold, dry touch 6b2079d682 of his hand lingered f6109a30f2 on my wrist.09cee189993fd6de

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It was good to avoid Lee Gyeon’s eyes…a11679ebddbb9ee5

But he was e3606a307c heading in the 6b090dff02 complete opposite direction 1644c9deb5 of where I 269bb9446e needed to go d4c5960bca in the Guide 6d1f6b268f Center.4dc02c5fcfcbb329

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Before I 968b59ee45 could say bf493f1144 I needed 7d727e2a9e to go, 6362f709a6 the man 24428e5927 spoke first.adbfdf6bcbe5b5f6

“Trust me. It’s this way.”3edb322a5069d1c1

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“…You don’t even know where I’m going. I should really…”9ca9a5ba9b499997

“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.”7b7eb17041f3355e

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“How did you… Who are you?”7859ab3682014b52

The man f93b7afeb3 avoided answering 84cdb5b5b4 by pointing 8df34c1bcd in a ebf3e79385 direction. I grabbed his 4fc5b6cbac shoulder.744fca5ee43ad219

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“Hey!”6d544bb9bd51c2ed

Just then, 0090154a50 hurried footsteps bb576472c8 approached.15df4123b39760b9

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“Guide Han Haegyeol! Esper Cha Eunha!”14e84f87b8ac19f1

A researcher holding 12e91bd7d1 a chart hurriedly 1a892dd7de ran towards us.9fd5e2c7eab7425e

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“Sorry for being late!”58acb0537041b273

He stood 13e7bcb073 facing us, 081594606a who were 61497ad245 standing side e19ea3fcb2 by side. It was 6051cdf2bf the researcher c0c35dd893 I met da69bfb0f8 yesterday. The researcher spoke 72fe79f01f warmly to the 9b0ded9253 mysterious man.95c94e91c996b85f

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“You seem to be in a good mood. You look especially bright today.”e800f9737d187354

The researcher acted as bf6d49752c if he already knew 60d19bb576 this man. It seemed faster to 0c7d153376 ask him than the ccbc58f4ca man who was smiling 7813f8c67c enigmatically.22e281c97d896e06

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“Do you know this person?”7086fdb20bbb2eed

The researcher, flipping through 9a11eb9d24 the chart, looked at 8e98967aeb us with a slightly 9b58cef22e surprised face.35bdcd21e026c7f5

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“Weren’t you already acquainted? This is A-rank esper Cha Eunha, who was scheduled for the matching test today.”4cbb173d29235856

“What?”5aa9fe137b0fb1a0

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The unfamiliar 88c6e1d125 man, or 02cad6725f rather, esper 9d5bd2d5a8 Cha Eunha, 2e856b584d grabbed my f078846f68 hand and eea1166006 shook it 2b997b79df up and 5f12bb1492 down.9cb0d97ee2dd198f

“I’m Cha Eunha. Nice to meet you. We’ll be seeing each other often from now on.”e63a9d8afd8fc1df

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❖ ❖ ❖dec5fa3a85c6a3f2

Thanks to meeting 9028223314 the researcher, we 2d9cfd628c could go to adee3ea524 the examination room 608e4af07c through the staff acf4a9e9f4 entrance.44faaee7c7a556b1

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Since Lee 4e24ff5e46 Gyeon was 20662337ff at the 263d17f81a main entrance, 0f445c62de there was f76b803462 no chance 0a6165b3ff of running 12dce323fb into him. It felt both good fd88df2ff4 and disappointing.37fe92c7a749b1ed

Even though 9220268177 I knew edeb4a4405 it was cf62b49360 foolish to d101dc152d feel disappointed, 7ee540ed4c I did.8f3a54df37416ed0

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The esper next to me felt like a coincidental companion. My charge had always been Lee Gyeon…0d02881ca05cdaeb

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.c00d4097f4e74de7

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If I become Cha Eunha’s guide, can I escape this cycle?133543535648634a

On the way to 2f3f200247 the examination room, the 8793aa6c79 researcher led the way 818a7dfc0f silently. Not wanting to reveal bad0f27487 my thoughts, I spoke 40ac05d84f to Cha Eunha in 6d95977ef1 a slightly lower voice.0797c197c1c472a9

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“How did you know? That today…”6dbe0a47d719be77

“That you’re the guide matching with me?”a081e6e7ac1155bc

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The man 418f2a1260 cut me 5e01c1fc44 off. Could he be 3a159dfeb2 an esper who ce6bcbf98a reads minds? I wondered.bce018e70867ec5a

“You’re thinking, ‘Is this guy an esper who reads minds?’ right?”f83cf491a76032fc

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I nodded. Is he really f21b865991 that type? It was 5721c29736 embarrassing to 3bf0b1d20f think he e5458ba0b2 might have 15d51dfce8 read my 120089cf85 thoughts.470e26a9ab4f8edc

Cha Eunha mumbled, “Actually…” and leaned his tall frame towards me.75fcc37b50860686

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“It’s not like that. I can’t read people’s minds.”efcf6bfd90165ff8

“…”638a388498d03367

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“What I see is a bit different. It’s more like the future of a person or object.”23f269a70641b9b3

“The future? You mean you have the ability to see that?”fffd61ab78ad16df

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An esper with such 4617309c56 an amazing ability is 61d672788b doing a matching test 76302f1d4b with a D-rank nobody?96180e0ed0591aab

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.95c7f0e784c87d21

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Perhaps interpreting my fae3a7e7c3 gaze, Cha Eunha aca14c6c9b added as if 6a67fbcdc8 to explain.312642d7df64d446

“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.”dcf3afc4183333d4

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“Is that possible… So you saw that I was going to the examination room?”89ef30f2bc0c5a42

“That too, but, um. I saw something more interesting.”dd54c86615bd3260

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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.575da330539291e9

“The paths starting from our toes were overlapping.”e235f6d07dd6ecec

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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.0c7898f2e7acd484

“And Lee Gyeon’s path too.”6fe5bd4fae211ac3

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“What?”93dda08aa2a8cddd

We extended our hands 812a61b231 as if shaking hands. Cha Eunha ca0ff209d7 grabbed my 6b2fc8f1dc hand and 8632c3965d awkwardly smiled 1f2389d02d with one 15b4ad8b00 side of abebf9bf52 his face.438b4781b8128417

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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.”b3018706e3071536

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Matching test fcbc501fb6 result: 92%.c3b6ec15564992a0

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.db25c92e45d842f7

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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.078b2d7697c41edb

The conditions given to 1b23155535 me were equally splendid. They were comparable to 98fc5a5a27 being the dedicated guide 1bff9dcca0 for S-rank Lee Gyeon. The salary, benefits, and f0f65c32e8 insurance were all exceptionally 952acf59dc good.53045f8b72c68dc2

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“Shouldn’t we say you were meant for each other?”fdb0a84fc530257d

As we left 120a0b5d27 the examination room, 2817f9bd3b Cha Eunha stuck 44064f15e9 close to me 13f9328515 as if we 313ffc0d53 were already familiar.002485d3ffbf4853

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It was uncomfortable, 0cee6b7974 but understandable. Espers had an instinct a8ee65fc94 to want contact with 474fda680c their guides. Without guiding, it f4570b1d07 felt like tightly 4d2e1edc02 wound screws were 7bffc24ce1 blocking every vein, edb59f5657 causing pain.870fca2fc8d4b947

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.268068e0085d117d

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Cha Eunha c21aba1c1f seemed to b2acc89adb be just 3087c1f5cc as hungry e4db64c228 for guiding, 7fdb14fd80 twitching at 6d67b36cd5 every opportunity. It was clear he 0ded38f68b wanted to grab me 2c576363cc and receive guiding but f44164c859 was holding back. I raised my hand, 017f5d31c9 thinking of giving in, fa7a31f098 but clenched it into 3fc620f679 a fist and lowered c75d9c1f70 it.7e70671a35fa0598

Even showing a 92% c5950b55dd matching rate with an 708c8b357f A-rank esper like Cha c05c704211 Eunha was burdensome. I was worried bd2f585967 that if I 9b818c0783 proceeded with guiding, d36cb5e5b8 my true rank e74bc74a9a might be revealed.ffe234c04c54bdc7

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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.65211df24de61a17

“I’ll have to decline becoming your dedicated guide.”b182b798ad1b2035

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Cha Eunha looked perplexed.c103f997b4775b53

“I’m a pitiful esper. Frequent missions, but short recovery time.”0a15d675e77b41e0

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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.7bc3e0da5fb44d44

“I’m sorry, but it’s a bit overwhelming for me. I’ve never guided an A-rank esper before.”eb700089b21b4292

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“Overwhelming? Are you lying?”cca1483ab35e7a95

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.2f8f1193597bcd02

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“Guide Han Haegyeol, you’re not a D-rank, are you?”d866426363e5de27

“What do you mean?”9a3b124ce9366df7

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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.f4648d7dc6269c4f

“There’s no way. I barely got the D-rank…”5488be43547aae96

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“Really? I thought you were higher. At least B-rank. Maybe even up to S-rank.”3758ef9f306914e0

“Haha. That would be nice.”c123b529517aff2c

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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.44e98c043d321580

‘There’s no way I don’t show signs of not being a D-rank.’f87eb67a84a08b49

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Cha Eunha was a c098214138 peculiar person. In a bad way, 4082c890e5 he was cheeky, and 4da4ab44ec in a good way, 21de09f489 he was sharp.f7631e385482f84f

It didn’t seem like a good idea to get involved with him. I was sure of that.ee8af7e218b1d35e

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“Then I’ll just…”fe0838cffaf62101

“Give me your contact info before you go. Though I think we’ll meet again.”43ad738f6ec47dc5

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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.56d2fe9f80b17693

While exchanging contact 8497014103 information, Cha Eunha f35c138d23 seemed to be 07b0ffe757 careful not to 403bc10499 let our hands 1a30554706 touch. I quickly realized 67201ef5ca this was his 36d7f983f5 way of being 2a24221a48 considerate.5f23860db3f87e9c

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“You said we’ll meet again.”ef8a06ca9213bfa6

I said it, thinking we wouldn’t meet again. But Cha Eunha nodded confidently.26e73b3cfac9a088

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“We’ll definitely meet. Our paths are intertwined.”a37daeec0ce1cf65

He was someone I couldn’t quite understand.5c0262dfa948060f

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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.518afafbf087359d

As I moved bbfe802e8b away from Cha 59f2a58786 Eunha, I lightly d60eac0429 waved my device.88aa66e761b0c012

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“Don’t contact me. If you’re right, we’ll meet anyway.”1a31495c60f0ba99

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“Still there, huh?”b173ff59e699e760

Lee Gyeon was 238242e38b still standing right b214dfe6da in front of 90f0d1083f the Guide Center. He was facing exactly c9218dae1b where I was coming c9bdb0720e from, as if he 2f5fa99897 had been waiting for 7bd9f648bc me.cfc293c4ed2fa42f

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I tried 4f9768eace to sneak d509eabced out through f8c408d962 the side 60dcb5d415 door just 626ee00088 in case.8ec3d615287d41d7

“Guide Han Haegyeol.”a4a3b6b412129119

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Lee Gyeon spotted 789fab4ae3 me like a c916226c77 ghost.3ee60793b76d35ee