Episode 10.
A thorough examination…….
Seoyul shook his head, saying it was absurd, but the two of them were stubborn. So, left with no choice, he went to Jungang-dong and spent the entire day undergoing all sorts of tests.
Unlike the simple rank test, this one checked every aspect of an Esper, and the results, they said, would take a whopping week to come out.
Thanks to that, he had to endure Doun’s sharp gaze for a full week.
‘Haah…… so today’s the day. Once today is over, I’ll go back to my peaceful daily life, won’t I?’
The past week had been nothing but a bed of nails. Having been C-rank right up until his death, Seoyul had never even considered that his rank could have been misjudged.
If there had been a mistake, the organization members would undoubtedly have noticed.
“Finally, my grievance will be brought to light.”
“……I really am C-rank. You’ve been checking all week too, Esper-nim.”
“…….”
Doun lightly ignored what Seoyul said. It was because he had no way to refute it—the guiding had continued all along.
‘It had definitely been different back then.’
Was it possible for a rank to fluctuate like this to begin with? Or had it truly been an illusion?
Doun refused to believe it had been an illusion, yet he was confused by the energy he could no longer sense.
Bang!
“Are the results out?”
In his haste, Doun burst through the door and strode inside. Seoyul followed with a sigh, prompting Seonjeong to shoot back.
“You’re going to break that door. Take it easy. Showing off your strength?”
“The results?”
“…….”
It seemed nothing could reach his ears right now. Seonjeong shook her head and pulled up the examination results she’d received that morning on the screen. As expected, it was filled with all sorts of technical jargon.
“How am I supposed to understand if you only show me this?”
Doun scrunched up his face and yelled. Even though he could make out the contents if he just focused, he seemed far too impatient.
Seonjeong snorted at that and began to speak.
“Yul is…….”
At that, both Doun and Seoyul focused intently on Seonjeong. Doun in particular looked extremely tense.
After all, if the rank had changed, he would no longer have to suffer through guiding anymore.
But…….
“He’s C-rank.”
“What?!”
At that, Doun shouted as if he couldn’t believe his ears. But Seoyul merely let out a small sigh, showing no sign of disappointment, and spoke.
“See? I told you I was C-rank…….”
“That’s absurd! I definitely felt it! That wasn’t the kind of energy a C-rank would have!”
Doun threw a fit, insisting the results had to be wrong. But the results were accurate. Every test result pointed to the fact that Seoyul was a C-rank Guide.
The only additional finding was that his versatility was broad enough that, should he continue to grow, he would be able to guide far more people far more efficiently than an average C-rank.
“Are you sure it’s accurate? He’s really C-rank?”
“That’s what I just told you. If you don’t believe me, look for yourself.”
Seonjeong pulled him up to the screen, and he began to pore over the data with such intensity that he looked like he might get sucked into the monitor.
After a few minutes, he muttered in a dazed voice.
“……It’s real…….”
Once Doun accepted it too, Seoyul felt a small sense of relief. But when he discovered the emotion of regret dwelling in a corner of his heart, he flinched in surprise.
‘Could it be…… me……’
Had he been hoping for it?
He had kept telling himself no, yet it seemed he had been secretly hoping for it after all. Seoyul blushed, feeling he had been far too greedy.
But then Seonjeong said something unexpected.
“By the way, Doun, your results are real too.”
“My results?”
Come to think of it, Doun had undergone the thorough examination too. Wondering if something else had come from that, Seoyul raised his head and pricked his ears.
“The numbers you showed are impossible without being guided by a high-rank Guide.”
Seonjeong pulled up Doun’s test results on one side of the screen as she explained.
“If we take your word that the guiding only lasted a very short time, then the rank is at least A-rank.”
“A-rank?!”
Doun yelled, shocked at the incredible rank. And for good reason—the highest-ranked Guide currently in Korea was A-rank.
But she had just said “at least.”
“That’s right. Your values are at least A-rank. In fact, they’re numbers that shouldn’t be possible without an S-rank Guide.”
“……S-rank?!”
This time, it was Seoyul’s turn to be shocked, his eyes widening. S-rank. It felt utterly unreal.
‘But they just said C-rank was definite……’
What on earth was going on? Seoyul’s mind was growing more and more muddled.
“So the center reached the following conclusion.”
Gulp.
Both Doun and Seoyul gulped at the sight of Seonjeong’s serious expression. Their hearts pounded with tension.
And finally, Seonjeong opened her mouth.
“Could it be…… a Hidden Guide? That’s what they said.”
Hidden Guide.
It referred to a Guide whose rank only increased under specific conditions.
Only two had ever been discovered worldwide, so information on them was scarce. Moreover, information control by the countries that discovered them made it incredibly difficult to obtain even the smallest clue.
Yet the word “Hidden Guide,” shrouded in mystery, had just come out of Seonjeong’s mouth. And on top of that…….
“If it’s Hidden…….”
“That’s right. It’s widely accepted that a Hidden Guide is almost certainly S-rank.”
“What?!”
At that, Seoyul shouted in utter astonishment. He was hearing about Hidden Guides for the very first time, and now he was being told they were almost certainly S-rank?
And if you put all of that together…….
“M-me, S-rank?”
“Not just S-rank. Hidden.”
“H-Hidden……?”
He couldn’t believe it. It sounded completely surreal. This was all the harder to believe because there was virtually no information on Hidden Guides.
“They’re Guides who only become S-rank under certain conditions. Because they’re such a rare case and there’s so little information, no one knows exactly what triggers the change to S-rank.”
Having said that, Seonjeong searched and pulled up the two Guides on the screen.
“This person here is the first Hidden Guide. And here is the second. Both are still alive, but not much is known about them. What is certain is that their trigger conditions are completely different.”
Seoyul stared blankly at the screen. Only two in this entire world. And if what Seonjeong said was true, he would be the third.
“I-It can’t be…… me…….”
Yes. It was absurd. A Hidden Guide? And an S-rank? He had lived and died as a C-rank—what was all this supposed to mean?
“Wow. This is insane. A Hidden Guide? Hidden? An S-rank Hidden?!!”
But Doun seemed to believe it wholeheartedly, his voice rising with excitement.
“I knew it! I felt something was off! This is insane. Hidden? Wow. Shit. What do we do? What now?”
He was so excited that he cursed, expressing his joy with his entire being. Seoyul had never seen him like that before and felt both awkward and dazed.
“Calm down. It’s only a hypothesis for now, so we need to verify it slowly.”
Seonjeong soothed Doun and explained to them both.
“There’s only one thing you two need to do now: find the trigger condition and confirm whether he’s truly a Hidden Guide.”
Trigger condition…….
Seoyul sank into thought at her words. A Hidden Guide was someone who only became S-rank under specific conditions. In other words, if they couldn’t find the trigger condition, he would be no different from an ordinary guide.
“For now, Doun, you’re suspended from all missions. You and Yul need to figure out the trigger condition. This isn’t something we can help with—you two need to find it on your own.”
“If it came out once, it’s fine. We’ll find it in no time!”
Doun shouted confidently. But perhaps because he didn’t seem very reliable, she turned to Seoyul and spoke again.
“What do you think, Yul? Can you do it? Don’t feel pressured. It’s fine to just keep guiding like you’ve been doing and see if anything has changed.”
Though Seonjeong said that, telling him not to feel burdened was easier said than done. After all, everything she’d just said was still just a hypothesis.
Seoyul was anxious. What if he got his hopes up only for it to be nothing? He already felt what he had now was more than he deserved, and he was afraid that reaching for more would ruin everything.
But as if she had read his thoughts, Seonjeong gently comforted him.
“You don’t need to look like that. I’m already so proud of the Yul you are right now, and that won’t ever change.”
The hand placed atop his head was warm. Seoyul closed his eyes tightly at that warmth, then opened them again, quieting his turbulent heart.
Doun had been his unwavering savior, and Seonjeong was the most reliable adult he had ever met. He wanted to be a source of strength for those two. No matter what the outcome, he wanted to show them that he was trying.
So he steeled his wavering heart and made a promise.
“I-I’ll do it. I’ll try my best to find it.”
Seeing him clench his fists and look up at her with bright eyes, Seonjeong felt her heart swell. She felt so proud, wondering when he had grown enough to make such a determined face.
“That’s right. But don’t overdo it. And if Doun asks you for anything weird, don’t do it. Understand?”
Seonjeong added with a joke, giving him a wink.
At that, Seoyul jumped and asked,
“W-weird requests?”
“What would I even do? I’ll handle it, so don’t you meddle, Chief! Hey! Let’s go.”
Before Seonjeong could spout any more nonsense, Doun quickly snatched Seoyul and dragged him away. Seoyul was Doun’s very first Guide, and Seonjeong had always wanted to use that fact as an excuse to tease him.
Thinking this time would be no different, he quickly moved elsewhere. It was a place where lingering would do no good.
“E-Esper-nim!”
Ah…….
Doun realized he had dragged him off without a word again and stopped walking. When he turned around, he saw Seoyul, face flushed red and panting as he struggled to match Doun’s stride.
The hot, ragged breaths somehow sounded strangely ticklish. His disheveled clothes were unusually bothersome as well.
So, for some reason, he scrunched up his face even more and started nagging.
“If you’re struggling, speak up right away. You always say something too late. From now on, tell me immediately.”
“I’m…… sorry…….”
Despite his grumbling, his hands busily straightened Seoyul’s disheveled clothes. Watching him say one thing and do another, the sulky Seoyul felt his spirits lift again.
“Here. Hold my hand. Your legs are short, so you look like you might trip.”
There was no real risk of falling unless Doun walked quickly. It wasn’t like he was a toddler. But the offered hand looked so dependable that he carefully took it.
“Let’s go.”
Doun took Seoyul’s hand and walked slowly. As if considerate of him, he even walked alongside him.
The presence beside him rather than in front was still so overwhelming that Seoyul felt slightly intimidated, but it was nice all the same.
‘Esper-nim is really……’
……so kind.
Seoyul resolved to work hard for the sake of this gentle Esper, smiling brightly.