Ordinary Person A

#44

“Thank you. Please charge this.”

“Are you sure you want to go? It might be dangerous…”

“There’s someone waiting anxiously for me.”

Even while processing the payment, the taxi driver gave a worried look.

“Rushing out in this weather… Must be someone quite special to you.”

As the taxi driver returned the card with those words, Ho-woo briefly wore a blank expression before his face settled into an enigmatic smile, neither confirming nor denying.

Ho-woo watched the taxi leave for a moment, then without hesitation, waded into the knee-deep water.

“Yul-ssi, I’m almost there.”

Ho-woo breathed heavily, wiping away his constantly dripping hair and the rain obscuring his vision. He kept muttering into the still-connected pager, telling the other person to wait just a little longer.

At this rate, I might collapse first.

Perhaps paying the price for neglecting exercise, by the time he arrived at the management complex, his legs were trembling and he was staggering.

“Whew…”

His eyes stung from the rain. Ho-woo blinked repeatedly to clear the irritating water, then pushed with all his might against the door of the management complex surrounded by high walls.

Grrrr- Grrrk-

With a scraping sound of something heavy dragging on the ground, the massive door slowly opened. Ho-woo gritted his teeth and put more strength into his fingertips. Even though he was the one pushing, it felt surreally unreal.

He pushed aside questions of ‘How?’ for now. Getting inside was more important at the moment. With Ho-woo’s final burst of energy, the tightly closed door swung wide open.

At that moment, an unseasonably cold chill pierced his lungs. Ho-woo instinctively rushed forward at the scene unfolding before his eyes.

“Yul-ssi!”

His cry, almost a scream, passed through those gathered in a wary circle around the panting man, reaching the beast holding its breath. The man, who had been frozen white, finally exhaled a long-held breath at the warmth touching his cheek.

His deeply closed eyes opened gently.

“Ho-woo-ssi.”

The voice, so fragile it seemed it might break at any moment, was filled with unbearable joy.

***

Oh-yul was in a very bad mood due to the disrupted plan. His plan hadn’t included the minister’s daughter manifesting as a Guide.

He had intended to first capture Ho-woo’s heart and then quietly but gradually infiltrate the management complex using his and Choi Seon-woo’s mental abilities. But all those plans had to be completely revised due to a single variable.

He had anticipated that variables would arise as things progressed, but this variable was quite significant.

Kim Seon-young, whom he first met at the research institute for the matching rate test, was arrogant for her age.

Oh-yul looked down steadily at the young girl who wasn’t intimidated by him at all.

Perhaps because she had been pampered since childhood, she was willful. From their first meeting, her gaze, which looked him up and down as if choosing an accessory to show off, was even haughty. Oh-yul found her arrogance somewhat laughable and even refreshing, as she had probably never been at the bottom of any group she belonged to.

“I won’t Guide anyone unless it’s the strongest Esper. Who am I to deal with vermin-like beasts?”

Despite having just manifested as a Guide, her words clearly implied she wouldn’t deal with anyone but Oh-yul. Even at these words, the expressions of the other two S-class Espers called in with him remained impassive. Having lived being treated as mindless beasts by people like her, this level of insult didn’t even register as an insult to them, and they maintained a calm attitude.

The researcher preparing the machine to read energy waves for the matching rate test was so surprised by this brazen insult, which treated all Espers as beasts, that he almost choked.

These weren’t low-ranking Espers; all three present were S-class. S-class in name, but in reality, they were beings beyond the scale of machines measuring Esper energy grades.

Even those who gained an upper hand using Guides maintained at least minimal courtesy in front of beings who could kill with a gesture or a glance.

“Of course, that’s how it should be.”

The minister’s agreement made Kim Seon-young’s head even stiffer. Oh-yul swallowed a cold sneer as he watched them take turns sitting at the matching rate machine.

The first matching rate with Ha Eun-chan was 49%. The researchers’ faces showed expectation at this not-so-bad figure. Eun-chan seemed displeased with the high percentage itself.

As he wiped his hand on his pants after holding hands with Kim Seon-young, he smiled awkwardly when his eyes met Oh-yul’s, perhaps thinking he had been caught showing his extreme dislike too obviously.

In the second test with Joo Si-yeo, the researchers’ raised corners of mouths completely relaxed into broad smiles. The 65% matching rate was quite high considering the average matching rate for S-class.

Generally, S-class Espers had overwhelmingly more energy than other Espers, so Guides with high matching rates with them were rare. When the second test recorded an even higher figure, the researchers were now filled with excitement. Oh-yul calmly sat down at the matching rate machine and lightly held the girl’s hand.

He didn’t have any particular impressions. It was just a hand, and all he had to do was release enough energy for the machine to record his energy wave pattern.

He inwardly clicked his tongue at the guiding that was so immature it was barely perceptible. Even though he knew it wouldn’t record over 40% due to being in a half-imprinted state with Ho-woo, the sensation was too weak.

Kim Seon-young must have felt it too, as she gripped his hand harder. Even though that wouldn’t improve the guiding, the girl desperately tried to draw and purify Oh-yul’s energy.

Thinking she might faint if this continued, Oh-yul blocked the release of energy and shook off her hand. The number recorded by the machine in that time was dismal.

13%.

At the number even lower than expected, Oh-yul held a faint smile in his eyes under his cold expressionless face. It was close to a sneer directed at the struggling Kim Seon-young.

Sensing this, Kim Seon-young sharply raised her eyebrows even as she panted from exhaustion. Her pride must have been severely hurt, as she bit her lips until they turned bright red.

“Oh dear, it won’t work with Esper Oh-yul. We’ll have to proceed with imprinting with either Esper Ha Eun-chan or Esper Joo Si-yeo.”

At the doctor’s tactless statement of the obvious, the young girl’s pride finally exploded violently.

“What?! What’s wrong with me?! If there’s a problem, the Esper should adjust!”

The doctor’s eyes flashed with perplexity at this unreasonable claim. Was the matching rate ever due to one person’s shortcoming? It was purely a matter of energy wave pattern compatibility. But to demand that the Esper adjust was an absurd request that made the doctor’s face crumple miserably.

Oh-yul and her matching rate was only 13%. At this level, even if guiding was performed, its effect would be almost non-existent, close to a meaningless matching rate. The minister knew this too. And Kim Seon-young, who had just performed the guiding, should know this fact even better.

“Right, of course my daughter will be paired with the best. Get ready.”

However, at Kim Dong-cheol’s sudden order, murmurs arose among the researchers. It was a disgruntled air, unable to strongly oppose their superior’s order, but also unable to agree.

Ha Eun-chan, with his short-cropped dark grey hair, frowned in displeasure at the order that anyone could see was unacceptable. His face was crumpled with disgust and aversion.

It was the same for Joo Si-yeo, who had her long hair tied up high in a ponytail. She looked at Kim Seon-young, who was now clinging to Oh-yul’s arm as if he already belonged to her, as if she were looking at an insect before turning her gaze away.

Golden sparks flew around Joo Si-yeo with a menacing aura that would have turned the place into a mess long ago if not for the Guide holding their lifeline.

“Minister, the matching rate between Guide Kim Seon-young and Esper Oh-yul is too low. It’s dangerous.”

Meanwhile, the highest-ranking researcher among them, the doctor, went to Kim Dong-cheol and whispered quietly, but he seemed more upset that his decision was being challenged, exhaling a long breath through his nose and showing his discomfort.

“Doesn’t the matching rate increase after imprinting! Do you think I don’t even know that much, you’re underestimating me!”

“But, even for that, the base matching rate needs to be at a certain level…”

As Kim Dong-cheol said, imprinting did boost the existing matching rate.

But even that had its limits.

Oh-yul glanced down at the minister making foolish statements and Kim Seon-young standing like an arrogant queen holding onto his arm. They say there’s nothing scarier than stupidity and ignorance, and this was exactly that. This situation wasn’t bad for Oh-yul, as he had originally planned to prevent imprinting with other S-class Espers anyway. Oh-yul’s lips curved up into a long smile.

At the smile of this exceptionally handsome man, both in appearance and ability, Kim Seon-young’s eyes sparkled with greedy possessiveness.

Oh-yul was not only outwardly flashy but also exceptionally talented. He was also the only S-class manifestation whose power was still growing. Perhaps imagining controlling him with just a tilt of her chin in the future, a look of satisfaction was evident on the girl’s face.