I awaken as a guide.

My wish was to become an A-class guide, which is only 3% of the few guides.

So-Won, who was still young, immature and ignorant, was distracted by the benefits of the country pouring out as soon as he awakened as a guide.

I didn’t do anything, but money came into my bank account, and I didn’t have to prepare for a job, and I wouldn’t need to join the military that I had delayed and postponed.

So-Won had no doubt that he would match with an ideal Esper.

“You were matched with S-class Esper Kang Tae-woo.”

However, the day I was notified of the matching result, everything collapsed.

S-Class Esper Kang Tae-Woo.

Having a terrible side effect of not being guided and he is covered with red blood veins, he was one of the only three S-class espers in Korea.

In line with his modifier monster, his ability was a body-hardening type, a man who fought bare-handed with steel-like hardness and incredible power.

Kang Tae-woo has achieved a remarkable record of less than 5% matching rate with all guides since he woke up as an Esper at the age of 10, and has always lived only with machine guidance, so he was an Esper who they did not know when he would explode.

There were times when he almost killed a person by mistake because he couldn’t control his power.

That monster and So-Won achieved a matching rate of 65% for the first time.

As soon as the matching result came out, So-Won went to the department in charge and cried and begged and asked to change Esper.

The employee looked sadly at So-Won, but all he could say was that he should be Kang Tae-woo’s guide according to the guide obligation system.

Since then, So-Won’s life has been the worst.

On his first meeting with Kang Tae-woo, he had a more horrible appearance than he had seen on the Internet.

The height of 2m, a large body, and the scariest thing was, of course, the dark red blood veins that covered the whole body.

The veins that popped out above the skin sometimes seemed to wriggle, making him feel like he was watching a horror movie.

As soon as he met Tae-Woo’s beastly eyes looking at him, So-Won almost fainted.

His body trembled unruly.

The staff managed to stop him from collapsing because his legs were weak.

Looking at him, Tae-Woo calmly turned his head.

According to the guide obligation system, So-Won lived with Kang Tae-woo in the same house, but So-Won was busy running away shaking whenever he encountered him.

He was completely deprived of food and drink and confined to his room, and fled to his parents’ house and hid, but he had to return to Tae-Woo’s house every time at the warning of the Esper Association.

So-Won suffered from depression and was worried because of the person living with him.

Tae-Woo felt sorry for So-Won.

His emotions were heavy and dull, so he didn’t feel anything, but he knew he is a monster, and would scare the small and fragile So-Won.

Tae-Woo understood that, too.

Finally, he met his guide, but he avoided contact with So-Won in consideration of him, he received a minimum of guidance, and survived through machine guidance as before.

Eight years have passed like that.

So-Won still felt that Tae-Woo was still terrible and scary, but he could get used to it a little.

Nevertheless, his life is still hard, so he has not met Tae-woo except during the contact guide.

There was no conversation between Tae-Woo and So-Won for eight years.

Tae-Woo’s condition, of course, got worse and worse.

The veins around the eyes now spread all over the face, and the guiding machine in the house increased to five.

So-Won began to feel more and more guilty about Tae-Woo, but that didn’t mean that So-Won guided him.

Still, when So-Won saw him, he couldn’t move because he was frozen like ice, and Tae-woo, who saw him, would avoid him.

The two grew farther and farther apart.

Then today, a gate opened in Incheon in the middle of the night.

The entire Republic of Korea was nervous when the gate suddenly opened in the middle of Incheon without a sign.

The government declared a state of emergency, and stronger than usual monsters popped out all at once, causing havoc near the gate.

The level of difficulty expected by the government is S-level.

It was a super-large gate in Korean history.

Hours have passed since three S-class Esper of South Korea, including Kang Tae-woo, gathered and headed to the gate.

So-Won waited at the Esper Association building near the gate to guide Kang Tae-woo, who had been to the gate according to the guide obligation system.

So-Won had already been waiting in the waiting room for hours for the gate to be closed with Esper’s guides dispatched to Incheon Gate.

By the time he was stiff from sitting for too long, he heard from the TV on the association’s wall that the gate was barely closed. Several guides sitting in the waiting room could be heard relieved.

So-Won envied those who could worry about their respective Esper.

The fact that the gate was closed meant that he had to guide Tae-Woo, and So-Won was scared to face Tae-Woo, who would not be in better condition than usual by using his ability.

“Guide Lee So-Won?”

An employee who ran hurriedly breathed heavily and found So-Won shaking with fear among several guides.

” Esper Kang Tae-woo is in an emergency. Please come with me….”

The employee’s expression was serious.

However, even when So-Won saw the face, he was not worried about Tae-Woo’s condition.

He was just scared to meet Taewoo.

The staff who guided So-Won was in a hurry.

The smell of blood intensified as he walked.

So-Won strangely began to tremble nervously.

The place where the employee brought So-Won was the operating room.

So-Won, who opened the door and entered, was surprised by the smell of blood rushing into his nose.

What was soon seen was an incredible situation.

There was something large lying on the operating room bed, and the doctors stood still, unable to do anything, surrounding it.

Something big was red wet and ragged, so it was hard to notice that it was Tae-Woo.

Blood dripped under the bed.

When he lowered his gaze, blood was already collected at So-Won’s feet.

Are those all from Tae-Woo’s body?It was an unrealistic situation.

Tae-Woo’s condition, which was belatedly confirmed, was serious.

The strong skin, which was said to never be pierced, seemed to have been penetrated by a huge horn, and blood was constantly pouring out from the large hole in the stomach.

Blood flowed steadily from large and small wounds that were not regenerating.

Tae-Woo’s condition was so serious that it was hard to believe he was even alive.

While the doctors couldn’t even figure out how to connect the completely ragged body, So-won sat on the blood-filled floor and held Tae-woo’s hand with trembling hands.

It was cold.

It was so cold and hard that it didn’t seem like a human hand.

Tae-woo, who called So-Won by making a fuss, was far more positive than usual.

Only then did So-Won realize little by little that this situation was real.

While Tae-Woo felt all his senses slowly disappearing, he sensed warmth in one hand.

Sensing that his guide had come, he opened his eyes and looked at So-Won.

The guide, who couldn’t say anything when he saw him, looked at him blankly and shed tears.

He lost a lot of weight compared to eight years ago. He always thought his plump cheeks and round eyes were cute.

The innocent guide was unhappy to meet him.

He made a man who would be happy without him unhappy because he was a terrible monster.

Tae-woo managed to say what he had been thinking all this time and couldn’t say.

“I’m sorry.”

His voice cracked and rested weakly for the first time.

So-Won’s heart fell to the floor with a thud as she heard the thin sound leaking miserably.

Guilt weighed down So-Won.

He couldn’t do anything but sobbed while holding Tae-Woo’s hand.

With a heavy cough, Tae-Woo vomited dark red blood.

The blood that came out soaked his face badly. Tae-Woo’s eyes seemed to look into the air without focus.

So-Won fel scared, he felt like he was going to die.”I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Don’t die…. Please, I’m sorry…”he hurriedly opened his mouth, but all that came out of his mouth was a simple apology that repeatedly came out.

This isn’t it.

S-class Esper, monster, steel skin that can’t pierce anything.

He never imagined Tae-Woo, who had a fancy modifier, would die.

He suffered and resented him for the life he would spend tied to him, but the reality?He had never even properly guided him, looked at him like a monster, and didn’t even treat him like a person.

On the other hand, instead of forcing So-Won to guide, Tae-Woo endured the pain that drove him crazy, and quietly left his seat when he encountered So-Won who could not move.

So-Won realized.

In fact, the worst person was So-Won, himself.

The real monster was him.

“I’ll do well from now on, I’ll guide you, and I’ll try harder. Don’t die, please…”

So-Won was now begging him, but Tae-Woo was slowly dying.

So-Won, who had noticed it, cried even louder, shedding tears.

There was no reaction from Tae-Woo, even amidst the indistinguishable cries of So-Won.

His breath was fading, and Tae-Woo’s wavelength felt in his hands was getting weaker.

He was really about to die.

So-Won held Tae-Woo’s hand desperately as if it was his life.

“Be happy.”

The unexpected words stopped So-Won’s cry.

So-Won looked at Tae-Woo in surprise.

His eyes weakly closed.

Beep.

The sound of the machine echoed in several branches like a tinnitus.

At the same time, Tae-Woo’s thin wavelength, which was felt on his hand, was cut off like scissors.

His field of vision went black.

So-Won’s eyes slowly opened.

The blurred vision became clearer and brighter.

So-Won lay blank for a while and looked around.

The place where So-Won was, is in the emergency room.

With the smell of the hospital, people were busily walking around.

The first thing that came to mind when his mind cleared, was Tae-Woo’s death.

‘Kang Tae-Woo.’

As soon as he thought of him, tears flowed down his eyes.

The tears that began with a drop flowed constantly as if it were tap water, wetting the fluffy pillow under his head.

‘Is Tae-Woo dead?’

‘He must have died.’

The bleeding operating room, Tae-Woo, who was lying helplessly without the wound regenerating, passed by So-Won’s eyes.

The break of the wavelength felt before he lost his mind and the high and the sharp sound of the machine sounded like a ringing in my ears.

“Be happy.”

So-Won remembered Tae-Woo’s last words.

So-Won didn’t treat him well enough to be blessed by him.

He’d rather have been cursed him, but there was no reason for him to say that to him.

He’d rather Tae-Woo swear at him because he did not do his duty as a guide.

The last time he saw Tae-Woo’s face, the dark red veins that seemed to eat him were spread.

The veins were spread not only through the face but also throughout the body, such curses, were side effects of Tae-Woo, who had not been guided.

If So-Won had properly guided him, he could at least die with a clean face.

Guilt squeezed So-Won’s heart.

So-Won suffered a pain, the pain that he had never experienced in his life.

He felt like he had been stabbed again and again.

Regret flooded in.

So-Won began to sob and cry aloud.

“Lee So-Won, are you sick?”

The nurse passing by was surprised and talked to So-Won when she saw him crying.

So-Won did not answer.

“It hurts. My heart hurt so much that I feel like I was going to die. Tae-Woo died and I was the cause of his death.”

So-Won hated himself, who was young and ignorant.

He’s a person, too.

He wanted to yell at himself not to look at him like a monster.

A nurse who felt So-Won, who only cried silently was unusual, called a doctor.

“Lee So-Won, congratulations on your awakening as an A-class guide. Is there any inconvenience?”

The doctor approached and examined So-Won’s body here and there.

The patient was clearly crying out like it’s the end of the world, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with his body.

The bewildered doctor looked at So-Won.

A patient who woke up as an A-class guide and fainted due to pain, and this is his reaction as soon as he wakes up.

This is the first case.

He was worried that the precious A-class guide would have complications and he would be criticized by the public.

“Nurse, please call the Guide Association.”

The doctor eventually chose to pass it on.

So-Won was speechless while crying when he heard the doctor congratulating him on seeing him awakened, it has already been eight years ago since he awakened.

Even now, he is in a state of shock because Tae-Woo is dead.So-Won looked at the doctor in tears because he was speechless and felt uncomfortable when he saw the name of the hospital written on the doctor’s name tag.

Apparently, So-Won was at the Esper Association in Incheon, which was now a university hospital in the middle of Seoul.

He thought about it because he was familiar with the name, it was a hospital that he came to when he awakened at the age of 22.

Thinking it was strange, So-Won stopped crying and looked around the hospital with a teary face.

Suddenly, he noticed a digital clock hanging on one side.

The time was midnight, and the date was summer eight years ago.

‘Is the clock broken? No, it must be a dream.’

The place was weird, the doctor was weird, and the clock was weird.

It was clearly a dream.

“Hey, this is a dream, right? Tae-Woo, is he dead?”

The nurse and the doctor exchanged strange looks.

“It’s not a dream. You’ve awakened as an A-class guide. Do you feel pain in your head?”

So-Won, who heard that it was not a dream, blinked for a moment.

Well, there’s no way he’d say a dream is not true in a dream.

‘ If this was a dream, I wanted to see Tae-Woo, who might not be there when I wake up. ‘

When he thought of Tae-Woo, tears came back from So-Won’s eyes.

“Please call Kang Tae-Woo for me…. Kang Tae-woo, S-class Esper, please…”

So-Won shed tears again.

The doctor was flustered and called both the Guide Association and the Esper Association.

So-Won only cried like a child, calling Tae-Woo’s name.

The couple, who were rushing into the emergency room, heard a familiar voice and ran to So-Won.

The couple was greatly surprised to see So-Won crying sadly.

“Oh, So-Won! Are you sick? Why are you crying? Doctor, did So-Won get hurt? How sick is he? He’s crying like this! “

It was So-Won’s mother.

So-Won turned his head to a familiar voice.

His younger parents were looking at him with worried eyes.

It was too detailed for a dream.

However, in So-Won’s head, only Tae-Woo’s who died in a pool of blood remained in his head.

“The patient has awakened as an A-class guide. There is no abnormality in the body, but we don’t know the cause. Now that I’ve contacted the Guides Association…”

“What? A guide?”

“Kang Tae-Woo… Tae-Woo…””

Crying.

So-Won’s cry confused the emergency room.

Even those brought in with mild symptoms glanced where So-Won were.

So-Won felt the gaze, but he continued to sob by calling Tae-Woo’s name regardless.

So-Won cried out Kang Tae-Woo’s name for a long time until he couldn’t cry, and the doctor and So-Won’s parents talked with serious expressions, saying that So-Won’s condition was strange.

The uproar continued until the doctor, who rushed from the Guide Association, saw So-Won and said there was nothing wrong.

“Did he fall asleep after crying or woke up from a dream?”

So-Won tried to open his eyes tightly with his broken memories.

When he looked around, So-Won was lying alone in a single hospital room.

‘Was it a dream? I wanted to meet Tae-Woo in my dream and apologize.’

Tears flowed down from So-Won’s eyes, who eventually failed to meet Tae-Woo in his dream.

His eyes stings because he cried so much.

“Oh, So-Won, why are you crying again? Are you sick? The doctor said there’s no problem…”

The door of the hospital room opened and So-Won’s mother came in.

“Mom… Is Tae-Woo dead?”

“Who is Tae-Woo? You’ve been looking for him since yesterday…. Did you dream about him? You are already old but still cries because of a dream.”

So-Won was surprised because his mother didn’t know Tae-Woo.

Last night he saw his mother, who looks young, like a dream.

So-Won couldn’t speak because he was flustered.

‘Is it still a dream?’

“Mom, what year is this?”

“It’s 2022. So-Won, are you sick? Should I call a doctor and ask him to check it out again?”

So-Won still tried to believe that this place was in a dream, but he slightly pinched his body under the blanket.

It stings.

‘It didn’t seem like a dream either.’

“So you’re saying the last eight years are all dreams?”

“So-Won, they said you woke up as an A-class guide. You always talk about not wanting to get a job. You must be happy that you don’t have to prepare for a job. Right?”

‘But the last eight years have been so vivid. It was a terrible hell, and every day was too long.’

So-Won recalled the past.

Tae-Woo’s last appearance passed by.

He can still feel the smell of blood.

So-Won even thought it was unrealistic to think that he return back in the past.

Even the cell phone next to So-Won was the model that So-Won used in the past.

So-Won pressed his cell phone hard.

Soon the screen brightened and showed the date, eight years ago.

The date was the day after So-Won woke up as a guide.

Perhaps worried about So-Won who is not answering, So-Won’s mother went outside again, saying she would call a nurse.

While looking at the figure, So-Won suddenly thought he should search for Tae-Woo’s name.

‘Kang Tae-Woo.’

When he pressed the three letters, there were a lot of articles about the profile without a face and Tae-Woo.

Fortunately, there were no reports of his death.

“Ha…”

A relief escaped So-Won, that he even exhaled deeply.

So-Won, who stretched out his arms and legs, lay on his bed.

Outside the window, he could see a clear sky without a cloud.

He tried all kinds of strange imaginations while looking at the peaceful sky, but nothing happened.

As expected, it doesn’t seem like a dream.

If so, did he go back in time?

It didn’t seem strange to say that the gate was open all the time, unknown monsters popped out, and people were in a world where they used superpowers.

‘If it’s a regression, then I…’

The door opened and the nurse came in.

So-Won quickly snapped out from his thoughts and looked at the nurse.

“Congratulations on waking up as an A-class guide, patient Lee So-Won.”

Whether when returning or dreaming, So-Won was still an A-class guide.

“I thought you weren’t feeling well, so I moved you to the Guide Association overnight for an examination, and there was no major abnormality. Is there anything uncomfortable about you? You can leave the hospital right away, but since you’re here at the Guide Association, it’ll be convenient for you to have a wavelength test. Would you like to go home after the examination?”

“Yes.”

So-Won followed the nurse to the wavelength examination room without saying anything.

It was a test So-Won did 8 years ago, so his memory is hazy.

When he arrived at the laboratory and saw large machines and researchers, So-Won feels like his memory is coming back.

When he lays down on the machine under the guidance of the employee, the machine moves alone and started the inspection.

Cold metal touched and So-Won feels it in his body, the researchers then attaches something to him.

So-Won was tested for wavelength and tried to revive some of his past memories.

So-Won’s awakening as a guide, at the age of 22, was quite late compared to the usual guide awakening as a teenager.

Class-A guides were very rare because it only makes up 3 percent of the few guides.

When awakened as a guide, after conducting a wavelength test as it is now, the matching rate with the Espers in the database would be checkes to decide who to pair with.

So-Won was matched with Kang Tae-Woo, an S-class Esper, but most of them were matched with Esper with the same grade.

Will he match with Tae-Woo again?

So-Won thought quietly.

Eight years ago, Tae-Woo and So-Won had a matching rate of 65%.

So-Won thinks that there could be a different result this time.

If Tae-Woo and himself don’t match…

He thought he might be happy.

“ Be happy.”

So-Won was surprised by the voice that sounded like a hallucination.

As soon as he remembers Tae-Woo’s last words, guilt weighs down on So-Won.

The view of the operating room, cold hands and glimmering eyes, and his own howling in the pool of blood came to mind.

So-Won, who thought of his future without Tae-Woo for a moment, was just endlessly ashamed of his ugly heart.

When he was going to die, when he was feeling guilty watching him turn cold, he regretted it like that….

He wants to hide somewhere because of his ugly selfishness.

So-Won wants to apologize to Tae-Woo.

Even if he doesn’t remember him.

‘Isn’t this regression for that?’

The wavelength test was over with the sound of the machine.

The researchers said they could take the machine off So-Won’s body and he could go home.

“Kang Tae-Woo.”

So-Won closes his eyes tightly.

So-Won could now accept that his death was entirely his responsibility. Now it was time to take responsibility for him.

Finally, the determined So-Won opened his mouth.

“I’d like check the matching rate for a specific esper.”

“Oh, do you know anyone? If so, we can check the matching rate first after mutual consent.”

“Please check the matching rate with Kang Tae-Woo, S-class Esper.”

“What? Kang Tae-Woo?”

The researcher asks back in great surprise.

“S-class Esper Kang Tae-Woo, are you going to apply for a matching test with such a monster?”

Anyway, the researcher had to check the matching rate with Kang Tae-Woo, who did not have a guide yet.

However, they never imagined, let alone heard of someone who wants to do a matching test with Kang Tae-Woo first, even though they still needs do a matching test with Kang Tae-Woo just in case it would match him.

The researcher scans the guide in front of him.

Although he was an adult, he looked young, and with round eyes and good and innocent eyes, he feels like he would be eaten right away when he stood in front of the monster.

So-Won, who was looking at the researcher’s shaking eyes, nods.

So-Won also expected this reaction.

However, he couldn’t sit still and wait until a week after the results came out.

Kang Tae-Woo must still be suffering now, he had to help him get out of the pain as soon as possible.

So-Won made up his mind.

He’ll treat him not as a monster but a human being.’

He won’t avoid him and he’ll do his best to guide him.

Even if he dies, he can die in the form of a clean person, not in a state in which the curse-like dark red veins cover his whole body.

“First of all, I will contact Esper Kang Tae-Woo, and if he agrees, I will contact you after conducting a matching test as the first priority.”

The researcher reluctantly accepted So-Won’s firm attitude, but while speaking, he was not sure if he was doing the right thing.

The researcher just bowed his head and looked at a small guide leaving the examination room.

After the examination, So-Won returns to his home with his family.

The house that he came back after a long time was the same as the house in his memory eight years ago.

Every detail was so identical that he realizes once again that this was not a dream.

He always spent time looking at the empty space in Kang Tae-Woo’s large house, but looking at the small but full of junk makes him feel comfortable.

The surprise party in the evening was so similar to So-Won’s memory that it was amazing.

A mouth-watering chocolate cake, seaweed soup, and loud firecrackers.

It was completely out of place, but this combination will make someone smile.

So-Won spends the evening with his family, chatting loudly and laughing.

Just like eight years ago, when he didn’t know he would match with Kang Tae-Woo.

After the chaotic day, So-Won blinks, holding back his sleep, lying on a small bed in a room with the lights off.

He was afraid that if he closes his eyes and opens them, He would go back to the day Tae-Woo died.

It seemed that he could still see the operating room covered with blood when he closes his eyes.

The blood-soaked Tae-Woo and the faint feeling of wavelength that seems to break at any moment bothered So-Won.

When will the matching test result be released?

He knows that it was roughly long.

It took a week last time.

It took quite a while to compare it with the entire A-class Espers, but it eventually matched Kang Tae-Woo.

This time, he’ll match it with Kang Tae-Woo first, so wouldn’t it take about two days at the earliest?

So-Won suddenly became worried.

Even if Tae-Woo, who had been seeing him for eight years, got used to it to some extent, So-Won still trembles when he faced Tae-Woo.

He wasn’t confident that he wouldn’t be nervous at the first meeting with Tae-Woo.

What does Tae-Woo thinks when he sees him?

He had never spoken to him, so he dares not anticipate his thoughts.

He appears in his dream that night.

He was dying, but So-Won’s body was so stiff that he didn’t move.

Tae-Woo’s deep, dark eyes stares at So-Won.

When So-Won closes his eyes, the high tinnitus of the machine rang.

The tinnitus of the machine soon became a ringtone.

So-Won’s eyes opens wide, frowning.

After falling into the deep and dark water and feeling he wakes up and then he receives a phone call with the ringing sound.

“Hello?”

“Are you Guide Lee So-Won?”

“Yes.”

“The results of the matching examination with Esper Kang Tae-Woo came out.”

As soon as Kang Tae-Woo’s name came out, So-Won jumps up and kneels down.

“No, already?”

It was yesterday afternoon when the wavelength test was conducted and the designated match was applied, but he didn’t expect the results to come out the next morning.

‘65%, 65%, 65%’

So-Won wished it to be at least 65% matched with Kang Tae-Woo.

What if it doesn’t match? Anxiety crosses So-Won’s mind.

“100% matching rate. It’s our first time seeing a 100%… I did the test again, but it’s still the same…. Just in case, I think you should come to the association and do a guided test with Esper Kang Tae-Woo?”

So-Won’s eyes widens.

100% instead of 65%? 100% was an impossible number, aside from the difference in results from the past.

The highest matching rate record so far was a B-class Esper and Guide in the United States, but even that did not exceed 95%.

In addition, the matching rate could not be high in the relationship with the grade difference.

Perhaps there was an error in this inspection.

The somewhat convinced So-Won calms himself from the surprise.

“When and where should I go?”

” Esper Kang Tae-woo is always at the headquarters, so the guide can come to the headquarters of the Esper Association regardless of the time.”

“Thank you,”

He is glad, anyway.

So-Won is very relieved about the result, because he is worried for a while about what if it didn’t match Tae-Woo.

So-Won, who finished the call, checked the time.

At 10 a.m.

It would take atleast 20 minutes to arrive at the Esper Association even if he use the fastest public transportation.

To arrive before lunch time, So-Won scrambles to get ready to go out.